Friday Playlist : Matthew ch. 1-4

This is officially my first edition of the Friday Playlist, a selection of scripture readings for the following week with a few notes on interest and questions to guide your reflection. If you want to read more about this study concept, you can do so here. Just remember that the goal is to connect with 3-4 other individuals in making a commitment to doing these readings and gathering sometime during the week to discuss. I really think that will make this practice much more fruitful for everyone involved. With that brief introduction, let’s dive into Matthew.

Before you begin your readings, I want to just drop a few things to think about in your head. Matthew is one of four books in the Bible we call Gospels. The bible has many different types or genres of literature. There is poetry [Psalms], Law [Leviticus], Letters [Philippians] and Apocalyptic books [Daniel & Revelation] just to name a few. The Gospels are a genre all to themselves, and with every section of the bible that we read, it’s important for us to understand the “type” of book we’re reading. The Gospel of Matthew is an account or perspective on the life of Jesus. Perhaps something to discuss at your first group gathering is the question of why there are four different accounts of Jesus’ life. They each tell the story in their own way and on several occasions, they tell things in a different order with different details. [Email me if you want to know more about that.]

So as we read the book of Matthew, it’s important for us to understand that there are some things in the story that the writer [in this case, Matthew] really thinks are important. There are subtle things communicated in the text that when we understand more of the context from which Matthew writes deepens the story for us. This may be more true of Matthew than any other book, and here’s why.

Of all the Gospels, Matthew writes from the perspective of someone highly educated in the Jewish faith, and he writes to an audience that shares that characteristic. I will do my best to bring those things to your attention as we work through the story because they do help us understand the text in a much better way.

That’s probably enough intro. If you have any questions, please let me know. I’m particularly interested in what works well here, what might be missing, or what is not of much value. I’m assuming that the design of this playlist will be a work in progress for a few months and I very much appreciate your feedback in that process. I would appreciate you dropping a comment at the bottom of this post if you do have something so that the entire community can interact with those thoughts.

Quiet your hearts. Take out your headphones. It’s time for Track One.

Track One : Matthew 1:1-17
Matthew begins his Gospel in a way you might expect someone who is setting up the story of the true “King” of Israel. He begins with a recording of the genealogy of Jesus. As you read through this list, take some time to write down some of the names that you recognize. If only a few come to mind, look up some names in the back of your bible in the dictionary or the concordance [if you have a Study Bible. If not, pick one of these up!] As you work through those names, write down any in particular that jump out at you that might not fit. Particularly, I want to encourage you to wrestle with a few things from the genealogy.

What is the significance of Matthew beginning his Gospel in this way?

Matthew lists several women in the genealogy of Jesus which is a bit out of the ordinary during that time period. Any ideas as to why that is? What particular history is Matthew connecting Jesus to when he mentions them? If your stuck, consider the fact that 4 out of the five mentioned are either Gentile [Non-Jewish] or have Gentile connections. Thoughts?

The line of Jesus comes through Joseph. The text says it this way. “Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born…” So, the genealogy of Jesus doesn’t come through Mary [the virgin who has conceived this child by the Holy Spirit] but Joseph.
Any thoughts on the significance of this?

Track Two: Matthew 1:18-2:23
This is the kind of story that could really be a great holiday pageant. Wouldn’t you agree? That is the way most of us were first exposed to the story of Jesus’ birth, and so we connect this story with young children dressed up as Shepherds and Wise men, and farm animals surrounding this beautiful birth scene. But notice what happens in this section of scripture. Sure, there are a few people who come to pay this newborn baby homage, but Jesus’ entry into the world is not well received. In fact, his presence sets off a massacre which forces Jesus’ family to flee to Egypt. Jesus is born into trouble, and from the very beginning of his life, he is on the run. Jesus will later say to his disciples, “Foxes have holes, and birds have nest, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” From his first breath, this is Jesus’ life story.

How do you understand the significance of the name Emmanuel which means “God with us?” What does that mean to you?

If you were reading the Gospels for the first time [and if you are, that's great!] how might this text foreshadow for us what we might find in the rest of the story?

The birth of Jesus is the beginning of a clash between kingdoms. What have we learned about these two kingdoms already in the story?

Track Three: Matthew 3:1-12
Verse 5 in this text is really significant. It says that, “then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him…” The significance of this verse is that the people are turning away from Jerusalem [where all religious business was officially taken care of in the Temple] and instead going out to John. John is baptizing which is a ritual of purification in Judaism. It’s what you went to the Temple to do, but the people aren’t doing that. They’re turning their backs on the established religious practice of the day, and instead, “going out to him.”

What do you make of this movement we see the beginnings of in verse 5?

What do you make of the nature of John’s appearance and his message? What has gotten John so stirred up?

In what ways have you had to turn your back on what you’ve always known in order to experience God in a new way?

In what ways might God be calling you to “go out” today?

Track Four: Matthew 3:13-4:11
Again in this section, there is something subtle that has been communicated to this highly educated [in terms of Jewish understanding] audience. To understand it we must review a bit. Immediately after Jesus’ birth, he flees into Egypt. He comes back to the “homeland” and “passes through the waters” in this baptism experience. He then goes into the desert for 40 days to be tempted by the Devil and next we will begin our readings in the 5th chapter of Matthew where we find Jesus on a mountain giving a “new” understanding of the law. What is the subtle hint here? The story of Jesus mirrors the story of Israel. They flee to Israel. They escape. They pass through the waters [For more info here, rent some VeggieTales] and they spend forty years in the desert where they receive “the Law” from the mountain with Moses. There is one incredible important difference though.

Where Israel failed, Jesus doesn’t.

What’s being communicated to us in the way Matthew is setting up this story? What are we learning about Jesus?

In what way does the Devil tempt Jesus? Do you see a pattern to what he puts before Jesus to entice him?

How does Jesus respond?

Track Five: Matthew 4:12-25
The story is really about to shift into high gear. Jesus begins his ministry. He calls his first disciples, and then what…

What are the first fruits of Jesus’ ministry?

Matthew uses the language of the Roman empire to describe the message that Jesus was bringing. He called it “good news.” In Greek, evangelion. For the Romans it meant, we had conquered more people. What does it mean for Jesus?

Again, spend some time considering what we’re seeing here in the text. We are headed towards a clashing of Kingdoms. How might the “good news” clash with the kingdoms we surround ourselves with everyday?