Gospel of Matthew

In this expositional study of the book of Matthew, Prophet Russ brings dynamic, inspirational insight into the study of the Gospel of Matthew that will impact your life and supercharge your understanding of the life of Jesus

In Matthew 1, we have an introduction to Mary and Joseph, and an account of Jesus’ birth.  We will also find an undisclosed revelation hidden in the accounting of the geneaology of Jesus through the line of Joseph. This passage purports to cover 42 generations of Jesus but only mentions 41. Where is the missing 42nd generation? The answer is a revealing of the believer’s connection to Jesus through the many-membered body of Christ of whom Jesus is the head.

After the prophesying of Malachi, the voice of God grows still, and for 400 years, there is nothing said or written by men or women of God that rises to the caliber of holy writ. For the Jews, in their traditions, the line of prophets was extinguished with what we call the Old Covenant period, numbering 55 prophets in all according to the teachings of the rabbis (the Talmud alleges that the era of prophets ended in the 1st generation of the second temple era). This is why the Pharisees and Sadducees were reluctant to call John the Baptist a prophet, even though the popular view of the common people is that John was, in fact, “Elijah the Restorer” spoken of by Malachi (Matt. 21:26).

The gospel of Matthew does not actually name Matthew as its author, although tradition holds that he is indeed the writer of it. The book was written approximately 35 years after the resurrection, just after the time of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, although some estimates suggest that he it wrote 10-20 years earlier. The character of the gospel of Matthew is very Jewish in nature, making references to the law, ceremonial cleanness, the temple, and Old Testament prophecies with very little if any explanation, giving us the sense that Matthew assumed his readers were Jews and would understand all these references.

Each of the four gospels is unique, presenting the claims of Christ and the narrative of Jesus’ life in a particular light:

1. In Matthew, we find Jesus as the Messianic Savior, the hope of the Jews.

2. In Mark, Jesus is the Servant sent to fulfill the purposes of God.

3. In Luke, He is the Savior of all mankind, very human and approachable.

4. Finally, in John, Jesus is the Cosmic Christ, the living essence of the Creative Principle of the Universe, clad in the flesh, paying for our sins.