Matthew Book Assignment #1

"Finally, the Messiah has come"
a. Was Matthew the first gospel written?
-No
b. What does "Gospel" mean?
-"good news"
c. What promise does Malachi close the OT with?
-God will send aMessiah to fix Israel's problems and bring peace and joy to the people.
d. What does Matthew declare as he opens up the NT?
-that this promise from centuries past is now fulfilled
e. What does Matthew convince readers of?
-That the Messiah has come at last
f. Who wrote Matthew? When was it written?
-Matthew....before 4 BC to about AD 30

"Shaking Jesus' Family Tree"
a. Why were genealogies so important to Jews?
-certain rights and responsibilities were inherited.
b. Did Jesus meet the "ancestral requirements" for being the Messiah? How?
-By comparing Matthew's genealogy to other genealogies, Jews could confirm that Jesus did met the ancestral requirements for the Messiah
c. Why is his family tree a bit odd?
-It only randomly matches Luke's genealogy, it also includes women
d. How does Matthew target Jewish readers more than any other Gospel? (hint: see "The Jewish Gospel")
-traces Jesus' family tree to Abraham, father of the Jews;
-points out 57 prophecies that Jesus fulfills
-uses common Jewish phrases such as "kingdom of Heaven"

"Wise Men With Shocking News"
a. What does "Eastern lands" refer to?
-may have been the empire of Parthia, stretching across what is now Iraq and Iran.
b. What did the wise men bring?
-frankincense, gold and myrrh
c. Who predicted that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem?
-Micah
d. What was Herod's "vicious" order?
-kill all the Bethlehem boys age 2 and under
e. When do scholars think Jesus was born? (What year)
-6 or 7 BC