Matthew Assignment # 1

on pp 300-301
a. Was Matthew the first gospel written? Probably not.
b. What does "Gospel" mean? "good news"
c. What promise does Malachi close the OT with? God will send a Messiah to fix Israel's problems and bring peace and joy to the people.
d. What does Matthew declare as he opens up the NT? That this promise from centuries past is now fulfilled.
e. What does Matthew convince readers of? That Jesus is the Messiah.
f. Who wrote Matthew? When was it written? Matthew. Probably after AD 70.


on pp 302-303
a. Why were genealogies so important to Jews? Because certain rights and responsibilities were inherited.
b. Did Jesus meet the "ancestral requirements" for being the Messiah? How? Yes. He was a Jew, descended from Abraham. And he was related to King David.
c. Why is his family tree a bit odd? It only randomly matches Luke's genealogy and it includes women.
d. How does Matthew target Jewish readers more than any other Gospel? (hint: see "The Jewish Gospel") The writer traces Jesus' family tree to Abraham, father of the Jews; points out 57 prophecies that Jesus fulfills; uses common Jewish phrases such as " kingdom of heaven"; and compares Jesus to Israel.


on pp 304-306
a. What does "Eastern lands" refer to? It may have been the empire of Parthia, streching across what is now Iraq and Iran.
b. What did the wise men bring? gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
c. Who predicted that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem? Micah.
d. What was Herod's "vicious" order? Kill all the Bethlehem boys age two and under.
e. When do scholars think Jesus was born? (What year) 6 or 7 BC.