The Christmas Story: As Told By Matthew
Tim Melton
Matthew 1-2
To appreciate the perspective of Matthew it helps to know his background. In Matthew 9:9-13 we see how Matthew came to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. ''Follow me,'' he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and ''sinners'' came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ''Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?''
12 On hearing this, Jesus said, ''It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.''
Matthew was one of those people you would consider beyond the reach of God. Do you know any people like that? People who would be the last one you would think would ever be interested in the things of God. It is amazing that God would use such a man to eventually write part of the Bible.
Matthew brought together the testimony of his transformed life, his life experience with Jesus, and his knowledge of the Old Testament to present Jesus Christ to the Jews of his day.
Have you ever met a person who had a hard time believing the Christmas story? Maybe it was the virgin birth that caused the problem for them. Or maybe they just could not believe that there is a God, and that He took on the form of a baby to save the world. Or maybe they struggle with the star, and the angels singing to the shepherds. Matthew, a disciple of Jesus, faced a similar problem.
Matthew was Jewish. He was a follower of Jesus. Matthew knew that Jesus was the promised Messiah, but most of the Jews would not believe. So, what did he do? He wrote the gospel of Matthew. The book of Matthew was written so that Jews would believe.
...
Tim Melton
Matthew 1-2
To appreciate the perspective of Matthew it helps to know his background. In Matthew 9:9-13 we see how Matthew came to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. ''Follow me,'' he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and ''sinners'' came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ''Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?''
12 On hearing this, Jesus said, ''It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.''
Matthew was one of those people you would consider beyond the reach of God. Do you know any people like that? People who would be the last one you would think would ever be interested in the things of God. It is amazing that God would use such a man to eventually write part of the Bible.
Matthew brought together the testimony of his transformed life, his life experience with Jesus, and his knowledge of the Old Testament to present Jesus Christ to the Jews of his day.
Have you ever met a person who had a hard time believing the Christmas story? Maybe it was the virgin birth that caused the problem for them. Or maybe they just could not believe that there is a God, and that He took on the form of a baby to save the world. Or maybe they struggle with the star, and the angels singing to the shepherds. Matthew, a disciple of Jesus, faced a similar problem.
Matthew was Jewish. He was a follower of Jesus. Matthew knew that Jesus was the promised Messiah, but most of the Jews would not believe. So, what did he do? He wrote the gospel of Matthew. The book of Matthew was written so that Jews would believe.
...
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