Gospel = Radical.  Intro to Matthew.

THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.  What does that statement mean to you?  Unpack it a moment—what has come along to change everything in your life from that moment forward?  Getting your college degree or masters or even PhD is an achievement that cannot be taken away and forever changes the box you check about highest level of education, right?  Getting engaged might mean you believe you will never be alone again … matrimony that you will not have to wake up alone … bearing children that you will find yourself regularly concerned about how and where they are—no matter their ages.  But really, as life changing as each of those things are, not one of them represents something as huge as the one I am to suggest.

We remember that the single thin page between the Old and New Testaments in the Bible, between Malachi and Matthew, represents 400 years when God was silent.  [You may wish to reference a recent briefing,’Lovin the Word’, for greater context:  http://pastorwoman.com/ReadArchive.aspx?id=1441]  The last thing God had told the people was that he would send an ‘Elijah’, who in fact was John the Baptist, to prepare the way for the Messiah.¹

We turn the page from Old Testament to New and discover the Gospel of Matthew.  The word gospel derives from the Old English god-spell, meaning "good news" or "glad tidings". The word comes from the Greek euangelion, or "good news". The gospel was considered the "good news" of the coming Kingdom of Messiah, and of redemption through the life and death and resurrection of Jesus, the central Christian message.²

There are four gospels, written in Greek by four different men, to describe the life, teaching and workings of Jesus Christ, Son of God.  Matthew, Mark and Luke are referred to as synoptic gospels; synoptic comes from two Greek words meaning, ‘able to be seen together,’ describing Jesus from a similar point of view, including his parables, life events, etc.  The gospel of John looks even closer at his identity as the Christ.  [I have Morning Briefings from the entire gospels of Luke and John archived at Pastorwoman.com]  John seems to be the go to gospel, where folks are pointed when they first want to read scripture or know Jesus, because John looks at Jesus up close and personal.  After all, John refers to himself as ‘the disciple whom Jesus loves’. 

The earliest gospel is Mark; it is also the shortest with just 661 verses, and talks a lot about what Jesus did.  Matthew has 1068 verses and Luke has 1149, reporting a lot about what Jesus said.  John is the latest of the gospels.³ 

Let me introduce you to this fellow Matthew, whose gospel we shall study.  He clearly had a brilliant mind, geared toward detail, which made him well suited to be an author, recounting much about the Messiah.  On the other hand, he was a Jewish tax collector, hated by many, which made him a most unlikely candidate to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. 

We read of Jesus’ invitation to be his disciple in Matthew 9, verse 9 -  “When Jesus was leaving, he saw a man named Matthew sitting in the tax collector’s booth. Jesus said to him, “Follow me,” and he stood up and followed Jesus.”  Simple.  Clear.  Strange.  And then Jesus goes over to his house for dinner along with a bunch of other crooks!  To see the context, read chapter nine: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+9&version=NCV&interface=print

Take a look at his previous calls for disciples:  “As Jesus was walking by Lake Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and his brother Andrew. They were throwing a net into the lake because they were fishermen. Jesus said, “Come follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” So Simon and Andrew immediately left their nets and followed him.

As Jesus continued walking by Lake Galilee, he saw two other brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus told them to come with him. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and they followed Jesus.”⁴ So by the time Jesus recruits Matthew, he is joining a band of fishermen, who have already said yes to Jesus.

Questions:  Why would Matthew step away from his big salary as a tax collector to follow Jesus, taking only his pen along with him?  And just what did the fishermen think and feel as they abandoned their life’s work, even their father, to answer Jesus’ call?  So interesting to ponder I think.

Jesus is radical, and takes people with courage to answer when he says Follow Me.  Gospel = good news = Jesus= radical.  Simple.  It changes everything, and I love it.

Christine

www.pastorwoman.com