MAKE UP OF THE GOSPELS

"[B]ecause no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." 2 Peter 1:21 (CSB)

 As we thought about the Four Gospels yesterday, I mentioned that they had different reasons to be written. So, today take time to meditate upon this chart and information before we start unpacking the Beatitudes of our Lord in Matthew.

Book	Written to	Jesus seen as	Style of Writing	Symbol	Tribe of Israel	Birth Record
Matthew	Jews	King	Topically	Lion	Judah	Yes
Mark	Romans	Servant	Chronologically	Ox	Ephraim	No
Luke	Greeks	Perfect Man	Historically	Man	Reuben	Yes
John	World	Deity	Argumentatively	Eagle	Dan	No

Why two with Birth Accounts and two without?

Ø Matthew shows the King’s lineage.  Proof of his authority.

Ø Mark writes about a servant, and no one cares about his past.

Ø Luke shows the Perfect Man, and the Birth Account proves He is a man.

Ø John is writing about His being God – God has no beginning.

CITIZENS OF HIS KINGDOM

When the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” Matthew 27:54 (CSB)

Matthew is one of the Disciples of Jesus, and also one that the Holy Spirit used to write the Redemptive Biographies of Jesus Christ. Each one of these four Gospels – the Good News – looks at Jesus from a different angle. Matthew displays the King, Mark a Servant, Luke a Perfect Man, and John shows Him as Deity.

So, in this book, we find among other important lessons, five important lessons.

·      Matthew sought to prove to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah (1:17)

·      Matthew had a special interest in the Church.  This is the only account to include the word “Church” (16:18)

·      Matthew had a strong interest in Eschatology (24)

·      Matthew had a great interest in the teachings of the Kingdom (4:23; 13:24, 31, 33, 44, 45, 47)

·      Matthew wrote to show Jesus as the King (27:37)

Since any King must have a Kingdom, Matthew begins his book with what we call the Sermon on The Mount. This has been called the Magna Carta of how to live in the Kingdom. As we look into these important guidelines for His citizens, His Ambassadors (2 Cor. 5:20). So, walk with me through some important truths dealing with our Kingdom Citizenship. (Go ahead and Read Matthew 5:1- 12 to prepare for this trip).

MAKING EVERYTHING NEW THIS YEAR

Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.”  (Revelation 21:5 CSB)

Have you ever felt like you needed a “do-over?” You know, you tried so hard to do things right only to blow it in some way. Harsh words, angry looks, broke something special, hurt someone, or just plain sinned. I’m sorry just doesn’t seem to cut it.

Life doesn’t come with “spellcheck.” It doesn’t have a rewind button or a delete button. We can’t highlight some part of it and write a new scenario over it. As you look back at last year, do you see the mistakes and failures? Do you wish you could have done better? Is guilt gnawing at you? Do you wish things could be different?

The good news is this – with God, it is possible to have a clean slate. Making Jesus your Savior cleanses you of all that is/was/will be wrong in your life. If you already have this relationship, today is the first day of a clean new you. A New Year, a new month, a new week, a new day. God is whispering to you – “I am making everything new.” Now, let Him help you to make this the best year of your life – no matter what circumstances you are in – or will be in – this year.

If you do not have this relationship, there is not a better time to change that than now. God tells us that if we repent, admit that Jesus is Lord, and turn our lives over to Him, we have a new relationship – we are a part of His Forever Family, and we definitely have a real New Year.