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MATTHEW
"To fulfill all Righteousness...." |
Overview
The entire Gospel of Matthew could be summarized as follows – Jesus Christ is the true Messiah as demonstrated by the fulfilled prophecies, the miracles he performed, his genealogy, and his resurrection from the dead. As Messiah, he proclaimed the start of a new age and a new people of God. In this new age, the people of God would be those who accept that Jesus was Messiah and who follow his teachings. His teachings, both in word and actions, revealed how the Old Testament Law was supposed to be interpreted. The new interpretation emphasizes a righteousness that begins in the inner man and then becomes expressed in visible actions of love and service to all regardless of their status in society or their connection to Abraham. These new people of God now have the responsibility to carry this message to the entire world remaining faithful to these teachings until Christ returns to enact final judgement.
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| Lesson Summary |
| Unit |
Lesson |
Reference |
Study Focus |
Small Group Focus |
| 1 |
“Follow Me” |
Matt. 4:17-5:16 |
To emphasize the joy of being in the kingdom and the responsibility of discipleship to impact the world around us. |
To realize the sense the responsibility we have as disciples to communicate the joy of the “kingdom is near.” |
| 2 |
“Surpassing the Law” |
Matthew 5:17-48 |
To understand that the difference between a “law” based righteousness and an “attitude” based righteousness. |
To identify areas where our behavior conforms to the “letter” but our attitude does not conform to the intent. |
| 3 |
“To the fields!” |
Matt 10:1-42; 28:16-20 |
To understand that dangers and demands are part of following Jesus. | To challenge us to move beyond the comfort zone and trust in God’s provisions |
| 4 |
“Weeds & Pearls” |
Matt 13:24-30; 36-43; 44-46 |
To understand the parables of the weeds and the hidden pearl. |
To challenge us to value the kingdom and communicate that value to others |
| 5 |
“New Community” |
Matt. 18:1-35 |
To discuss the difficulty of dealing with sin in the community |
To challenge the group to be willing to “go to great lengths” for the sake of one “little sheep” |
6 |
“You did it to me” |
Matt. 25:31-46 |
To examine the description of judgement in Matthew 25 |
To imagine where “cups of cold water” could be given. |
| Bonus |
“Make Disciples” |
Matt. 28 |
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To challenge the group to invest time in making disciples, going beyond simply teaching others. |
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| References Cited |
- Aune, David E. “The New Testament in Its Literary Environment,” Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1987.
- Hagner, Donald A. “Matthew,” Word Biblical Commentary, Nashville: Nelson Publishers, 1993.
- Johnson, Luke Timothy, “The Writings of the New Testament,” Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1999.
- Meier, John P. “Matthew, Gospel of,” Anchor Bible Dictionary, New York: Doubleday, 1992, electronic edition.
- Patterson, Stephen and Meyer, Marvin. The "Scholars' Translation" of the Gospel of Thomas, electronic edition from http://www.misericordia.edu/users/davies/thomas/Trans.htm, January 19, 2005
- Vorster, Willem S. “Gospel Genre”, Anchor Bible Dictionary, New York: Doubleday, electronic edition.
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