The Book of Matthew; an Introduction – Part IIb

Thursday, 4 July 2024

 

The Book of Matthew; an Introduction – Part IIb

 

The list of books of the Bible that match the corresponding chapters of the Book of Matthew continues here:

 

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*1 Samuel (9th book) contains the following –

 

“As soon as you come into the city, you will surely find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now therefore, go up, for about this time you will find him” 1 Samuel 9:13. 

 

Matthew 9:13 says –

 

“But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”  

 

*The fact that sacrifice is mentioned, in both paragraphs 9:13 shows a pattern by itself, but in a deeper parallel we see the following, again from 1 Samuel –

 

“So Samuel said:
      ‘Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
      As in obeying the voice of the LORD?
      Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
      And to heed than the fat of rams.’” 1 Samuel 15:22

 

Saul was first shown the importance of sacrifice in 1 Samuel 9, but he failed to make the distinction between mere sacrifice and the more important aspect of following the Lord. Jesus had to again teach this lesson to Israel’s leaders in Matthew 9:13.

 

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*2 Samuel (10th book) says –

 

“Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife” 2 Samuel 12:10.  

 

Here's the parallel in Matthew –

 

“...and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household” Matthew 10:36.

 

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*1 Kings (11th book) mentions Elijah for the first time in the Bible, and although Elijah is mentioned many times in Matthew, he is first introduced in Matthew 11:14. “And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.”

 

Interestingly, in 1 Kings 18:14, it says: “...Elijah is here.”

 

Notice both occur in the 14th verse.

 

*A second parallel in 1 Kings is this –

 

“And he said to them, ‘What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, “Lighten the yoke which your father put on us”’?” 1 Kings 12:9 

 

Now read Matthew 11:29 –

 

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

 

Notice not just the “yoke” parallel from the 11th book and the 11th chapter, but notice the numbers without the word “Kings” – 11:29 and 11:29

 

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*2 Kings (12th book) describes the history of Israel as a divided kingdom, meaning Israel in the north and Judah in the south, each with its own kings and slowly divergent cultures. The chronology continues through the destruction of first the northern kingdom and culminates in the destruction and exile of the southern kingdom.  

 

Matthew 12:25 states the following –

 

“But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.’”

 

*A second link is found in 2 Kings 1:2 –

 

“Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria, and was injured; so he sent messengers and said to them, ‘Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury.’”

 

Now read Matthew 12:24 –

 

“Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, ‘This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.’”

 

*A third link is found in 2 Kings 11:5 –

 

“Then he commanded them, saying, ‘This is what you shall do: One-third of you who come on duty on the Sabbath shall be keeping watch over the king’s house…’” 

 

In Matthew 12:5 we read –

 

“Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?” 

 

Notice the numerical pattern as both are in verse 5.

 

It’s interesting concerning the number of links in the books of Kings because Matthew’s book details Jesus as Israel’s King.

 

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*1 Chronicles (13th book) it says –

 

“Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have given to the house of my God , over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, my own special treasure of gold and silver” 1 Chronicles 29:3.

 

Matthew 13:52 says –

 

“Then He said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.’”

 

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*2 Chronicles 16:10 (14th book) says –

 

“Then Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in prison, for he was enraged at him because of this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time.”

 

The parallel is what King Herod did in Matthew 14:10, “So he sent and had John beheaded in prison.”

 

Both occur in verse 10. Prophets of righteousness really had it tough. God bless them!

 

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*Ezra (15th book) 3:5 discusses freewill offerings given to the glory of God – 

 

“Afterwards they offered the regular burnt offering, and those for New Moons and for all the appointed feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and those of everyone who willingly offered a freewill offering to the LORD.”

 

This is contrasted with the inappropriate gifts of the Pharisees in Matthew 15:5 –

 

“But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”’” Matthew 15:5.

 

Again, notice that the parallels are both contained in verse 5.

 

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*Nehemiah (16th book) is concerned primarily with the rebuilding of the walls and gates of Jerusalem after the exile. In fact, the entire 3rd chapter concerns the gate building. Nehemiah’s efforts were not overcome by the forces of evil.

 

Matthew 16:18 says –

 

“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”

 

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*Esther (17th book) teaches us the importance of fasting to seek God’s face and His favor, saying –

 

“Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” Esther 4:16

 

Matthew 17:20, 21 says –

 

“So Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.’”

 

Life application: As noted in the previous life application, the book divisions, chapter divisions, and verse divisions in the Christian Bible did not exist at the time of Matthew. And yet, most honest Christian evaluators of the Bible would agree that these patterns are real and that they seem to point to more than just random chance.

And yet, many of those same people will dismiss various doctrines that supposedly arose later in the church age. For example, dispensationalism is called everything from poor theology to outright heresy by some. Those scholars believe the church has replaced Israel and that the modern state of Israel is an aberration.

 

They then attack those who originally proposed the doctrine of dispensationalism, saying that it is a new and aberrant teaching that only came into existence around the 1800s. But if dispensationalism is true, it doesn’t matter when it was “discovered,” just as the dating of the discovery of these patterns in Matthew is irrelevant.

 

But two points should be considered. The first is that many of those who dismiss dispensationalism because it is new teach doctrines that are only one or two hundred years older, such as Calvinism. In the span of the church age this is like the difference between children that are one and two years old. Thus, their thinking is biased, skewed, and flawed.

 

Second, however, is that Paul taught the dispensational model in Romans 9-11. It is clearly revealed elsewhere explicitly, and it is typologically seen again and again in the Old Testament. A review of the sermons by the Superior Word from Genesis, Joshua, and Judges in particular clearly and unambiguously portray the dispensational model.

 

Don’t be swayed by people who have not thought through the entire panorama of what God is doing in and through chronological history. God has not rejected Israel! The church has not replaced Israel! And, finally, the modern state of Israel, even if it is not right with God at this time, is placed back in the land of Israel for the fulfillment of God’s purposes, just as the dispensational model reveals.

 

Lord God, though we are unfaithful, You are always faithful. You will never reject those with whom You have covenanted. And what a blessing it is to know this. Since the day we met Jesus, we have continued to err and stray. But He remains faithful to us every step of the way. Super-duper and Hooray! Praise God for Jesus, our faithful Lord. Amen.