HOW ACCURATELY DID MATTHEW USE THE OLD TESTAMENT? Introduction The Bible contains two parts, which are the Old Testament, the so-called the Jewish Bible, and the New Testament. Though many different writers involved in writing the Bible, the two Testaments are not independent; they are cross-referenced to each other. Christians often treat the Old Testament not only as the historical documents or literatures of the Israelites, but also as an important element of the foundation of the New Testament, because the writers of the New Testament lay strong emphasis on the relationship of Jesus with the prophecies of the Old Testament, which includes "the birth of Jesus, the place of His birth, the flight into Egypt, the return to Nazareth, the role of John the Baptist in preparing Jesus for His public ministry," the crucifixion of Jesus, and the resurrection of Jesus. The New Testament is a collection of different spiritual literary works, which includes the Gospels, a history of early church, the epistles of Paul, other epistles and apocalypse. Without deeply thinking or researching of the chronological order of the Gospels, a reader should not have problem to observe that the Gospels begin with the Gospel of Matthew, and to notice that there are many common areas, including content and literary characteristics, among the first three Gospels, the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The reason that the Gospel of Matthew is in the first place among the four Gospels is due to the early church tradition that Matthew was the earliest one who recorded Lord’s word and Jesus stories. In the fifth century, Augustine of Hippo claimed that "the canonical order of the four Gospels was the chronological order." In the late-eighteenth century, J. J. Griesbach stated that The Gospel of Mark was a short version of the combination of the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke. In the nineteenth century, German scholars concluded that the Gospel of Matthew was preceded by the Gospel of Mark and Matthew used the Gospel of Mark as his primary source. No matter which theory that most New Testament scholars accept, Matthew did not simply copy sources from other Gospels, but also included his own ideas and quoted verses from the Old Testament. So the question of readers should rise is "How strong relationship did the Gospel of Matthew have with the Old Testament?" or "How accurately did Matthew use the Old Testament?
Matthew In the Bible’s New Testaments, the book of Matthew is of Gospels genre. In the Old Testament, God appointed the people who we know as prophets. They were the ones to describe Jesus life and work. What they wrote, those things did happen during Jesus life on earth.
The Christian Scriptures is the entire Christian Bible. It is composed of both the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Testament. The Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) is composed of several books all containing stories about Jesus, and the Christian Testament (New Testament) which contains the stories of Jesus and the earliest Christian Communities. Although these stories cannot confidently prove to us that they are true there are several distinct similarities, which are contained in nearly all of the books. These similarities are so frequent that their constant occurrence seems more than coincidence. Although these similarities occur often in the books of the Hebrew Scriptures, there are four short books included in the Christian Testament, which we must rely on to understand Jesus’ ministry and life.
The word parable draws its origin from the Greek word “parabole” which loosely translates to mean “to cast” (bole) some things, related or otherwise “alongside” (para) each other to infer the intended deeper meaning to the target audience. (Unlocking The Prophecy Code). Therefore, it makes sense for a parable to be a comparison of two or more related things that are put together on a parallel that enables proper distinction between them to enhance clarity in teachings such that their hidden meanings get revealed. The book of Matthew presents a variety of parables, with each parable addressing a particular thematic concern enshrined in the religious teachings. Consequently, it is right to postulate that Jesus used parables primarily as teaching aids by incorporating analogies and comparisons of things earthly and those belonging to the heavenly realm. The parable about the shepherd and the parable about the servant, both in chapter 18, show different natures of humankind. While the parable about the shepherd portrays unconditional forgiveness, the parable about the servant portrays justice based forgiveness.
The author’s intent is Christological. Jesus is the Son of God. He is God amongst us. Recognized titles in Matthew include Christ, Son of God, Son of Man, Son of David, King, Immanuel. In addition, “the allusions and actions of Jesus of Matthew’s Jesus also communicate his Messianic claims.”2 The Gospel functions as a teaching tool and can be used liturgically. The author of Matthew intended it to be read and for his audience to understand, be engaged in and appreciate the literary devices and references. He “did not write for bad or casual readers, but in stead for good and attentive listeners. The ancient audiences were “accustomed to retain minute textual details”.3
The author of Mark gives the basic outline or the “essentials” of Jesus’ biography. Considering this and the fact that Mark was the first gospel written, it should come as no surprise that the gospels of Matthew and Luke borrow from and expand on Mark. However, this does not mean that one should only read Mark because the “essentials” are all that’s needed in order to be a follower of Christ. Matthew and Luke have important material that Mark does not include. They also narrate from different perspective and with a different purpose. On the other hand, it also does not mean that reading Luke and Matthew will reveal everything you need to know about Mark, Mark merely includes details and wording that Matthew and Luke do
In the gospels of Mark and John, both showed a vivid portrait of Jesus in their writing. Mark’s gospel describes much more of Jesus' life, miracles, and parables as suffering servant. However, John’s gospel was written to convince people to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. Nonetheless, both John and Mark present many of the crucial events of Jesus' life, including his trial, crucifixion, and resurrection.
The Old Testament is divided into six major sections. During each of these sections, elements of Old Testament history foreshadow various New Testament themes and events. Some of these various accounts recorded in the Old Testament are prophetical in nature and foretell specific details about various events that will be fulfilled in New Testament times. Each of the six major sections carries its own unique overarching theme that will in some way tie into New Testament history and theology. The six major sections of Old Testament are: creation (Genesis 1-11), covenant (Genesis 12-50), congr...
Baptist Publication Society, 1886). Clarke, Adam; ed. ; pp. 63-63. Clarke's Commentary (New York: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 2003). no date. Criswell, W. A. & Co., W. A. Expository Notes on the Gospel of Matthew (Grand Rapids: Zondervan).
The Old Testament serves as a foundation for the teachings of God, while the New Testament continues to build and preserve God’s principles. The Old Testament and New Testament have a very unique relationship, as they are complementary to each other. The Old Testament contains many prophecies that are fulfilled in the New Testament. God can be viewed as fearsome in the Old Testament, whereas God portrays a friendlier and more compassionate persona in the New Testament. Although there are many differences between the two, there are also many similarities due to the heavy influence that the writings of the Old Testament had on the books and passages of the New Testament. An example of similarity between the Old Testament and the New Testament can be examined between passages from the First Book of Samuel and the Gospel of Luke, located in the Old Testament and New Testament respectively.
One of the greatest debates that continues to rage on amongst theologians, as well as others, is in regards to the balance between the humanity and the divinity of the person of Jesus Christ (also known as Christology). This debate can be especially challenging in the Scripture passage of Matthew 26:36-46 where the reader finds Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Many of the ancient and medieval theologians worked to explain away apparent humanistic characteristics seen in this section of the text, while more modern theologians seem to be more open to embracing these characteristics. While the ancient and medieval theologians may not have embraced the humanity of Jesus, the translations and backgrounds of the words “cup”, “grieved”, and “agitated”, along with the translation of the passage itself, the humanity of Jesus is not only present in the passage but also a necessity to the salvation of humanity through the sacrifice of Jesus. Simply put, for the salvation through death to be relatable for humanity, Jesus had to also be, at least in part, fully human as well as being fully divine.
Christianity started as a missionary religion and has now become the world's most widespread faith. It focuses on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The traditional story of Jesus tells of his birth in a stable in Bethlehem in the Holy Land, to a young virgin called Mary who had become pregnant with the son of God through the action of the Holy Spirit. The story of Jesus' birth is told in the writings of Matthew and Luke in the New Testament of the Bible. The New Testament, a collection of twenty-seven books written in the century after Jesus' death in 30 C.E., has had importance by shaping the church's teachings, ethics, ritual, organization, and mission in the world (Van Voorst 245). His birth is believed by Christians to be the fulfillment of prophecies in the Jewish Old Testament which claimed that a Messiah would deliver the Jewish people from captivity ("The Basics").
The contents of the Bible have dealt with controversy in regards to its inerrancy since publication, and will surely continue to. Historians progress to learn more about biblical stories in order to provide evidence for the reliability of information. Many believers today understand that not everything in the Bible has been factually proven. An outstanding topic many scholars pay attention to lies within the four gospels. The three synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, replay essentially the same story with minor inconsistencies, while John portrays Jesus in an entirely different way. The differences in each gospel are due to how each gospel entertains different portrayals of the life and understanding of Jesus himself, in order to persuade
Early Christian writers believed that the book of Matthew was the earliest of the synoptic Gospels. They believed that he wrote the Gospel in Palestine, just before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Although this opinion is still held by some, most scholars consider the Gospel According to Mark the earliest Gospel. They believe, based on both external and...
Lane, William. The Gospel According to Mark: The English Text With Introduction, Exposition, and Notes (New International Commentary on the New Testament). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1974.
The New Testament teaches about who Jesus is and what he did on the earth. John wrote the last of the four gospels which recount Jesus’ life and what is to come. The gospel of John is somewhat different from the other three gospels, in that it is more symbolic and less concrete. For example, John expresses Jesus as the Passover Lamb when Matthew, Mark, and Luke do not. This gospel is showing that Christianity is moving away from the long-practiced Jewish traditions. John’s gospel can be laid out into four parts: the prologue or the incarnate word, signs of the Messiah with teachings about life in him, the farewell teaching and the passion narrative, and the epilogue or the roles of Peter and of the disciple whom Jesus loved. The Gospel of John is arguably the most