There are many ways to start a book. Matthew started his book with a list. On that list are the names of the family of Jesus. Matthew was a Jew. Lists like this were very important to him. Matthew wanted you to know that Jesus could name his family all the way back to Abraham and David. Jesus was a son of Abraham, so he could be part of God’s promise to Abraham. Jesus was a son of David, so he could be part of the promise God made to David too. This was important to Matthew. Because Matthew wrote his book to tell us that Jesus was God’s promised Saviour*. He was the one who would keep the promise God made to Abraham. He was the king that God promised to David. Matthew wrote his book to help people see that Jesus was the Messiah*. He was the one that the people of God had been waiting for for so long.

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After he made his list, Matthew told about how Jesus was born. Jesus came to earth just like the prophets* said he would. Then Matthew told three stories. He told the story of John the Baptist. [1] He told the story of how John baptised* [2] Jesus. Then he told the story of how Satan* tempted Jesus. [3] Matthew told these stories to show people who Jesus was. Matthew said that Jesus was the Son of God. He was the one that the prophets* had talked about.

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Matthew told about what Jesus said and did in the rest of the book. Jesus healed people who could not walk. He made blind people see. He set people free from evil* spirits. But before he did these things, he spoke to a large group of people. He sat on the mount and spoke about the kingdom* of heaven*.

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Matthew did not tell us all that Jesus did. He did not tell us all that Jesus said. But each story tells us things about Jesus. Jesus did many wonderful acts. He spoke with authority. The prophets* said that the Messiah* would do these kinds of things. Matthew was telling us these stories to show us something. Jesus was the one that the prophets* talked about. He was the one that God promised to send. He was the Messiah*.

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Matthew then told how Jesus sent his friends all through the land of Israel. He told his friends to tell people about the kingdom*. [4] Matthew said that Jesus was like the servant of the Lord* that Isaiah talked about. He was the one who would give all of the people hope*. [5]

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But many people did not believe what Jesus said. Many of the priests did not believe him. The teachers in the city did not believe him. They were not happy that so many people followed him. They soon became angry and they made plans to kill him.

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But Jesus kept teaching. Jesus told many stories about the kingdom*. He said that this kingdom* was what the prophets* had talked about. These stories are ‘parables*’. In these parables*, he said that this kingdom* would be great. Jesus would rule over all people on the earth. But this kingdom* would begin in a small way. It would grow like a seed. These stories tell us that Jesus is the King. His kingdom* began when he came. But the people who follow him must wait with patience for the end of the age. That is when the kingdom* will be everything Jesus and the prophets* promised.

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The last parts of Matthew say what Jesus did and said before he died. That was when Jesus talked about the church* for the first time. He promised to form his ‘church*’. He said nothing could stop him from doing that.  This church* was not a building like the temple*. This church* was made of people. But he would not begin to gather these people until he would ‘suffer many things…[and] be killed and on the third day be raised to life’. [6]

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When Jesus came into Jerusalem, the crowds welcomed him as their Messiah*. But this did not last for long. Jesus gave his final messages to the crowds and to his followers* on the Mount of Olives. After that, the leaders turned the people against Jesus. Soon, Jesus gave up his life when he let the Jews put him on a cross*. But Matthew ended on a note of hope*. He told us that Jesus rose from the dead. After that, Jesus met with the men and women that followed him.  And he sent them out to tell people about the kingdom*. He told them to go into all of the world and tell people the good news. And he promised to be with them to the very end of the age. [7]

 

[1] Matthew 3:1-12

[2] Matthew 3:13-17

[3] Matthew 4:1-11

[4] Matthew 10

[5] Matthew 12:21

[6] Matthew 16:2

[7] Matthew 28:19