Mark Overview
No Gospel is less important than the next, even a short book like Mark. Mark, only 16 chapters, may be a book of limited information, but it is with reason. Mark is writing to show that Jesus did not come to be served but to be a Servant. The Romans, like many of us today, need religion to be practical and applicable. Well this is the book for you. This is a book revolved around deed, not words.
The book Mark is a book of omission, you will NOT read about
- royal genealogy, no Magi visiting,
- no boy at the temple,
- actually no mention of Jesus as a boy at all,
- no Sermon on the Mount,
- no quotes from Prophets,
- no divine titles are given to Him,
SOOOO if it omits all that what will it include? Good question. It will completely portray Jesus as our example as a humble and perfect Servant. Another thing you will find in Mark is a sense of Urgency! Read this book and apply it, NOT in January, not when the kids are older, not when our finances are different…apply it as Mark would say in Greek “Eutheos” (you know since the book was written to Romans it would be written in Greek not Hebrew…see how far we have come in our Bible logic)
Matthew Overview
I forgot to post an overview on Matthew. Sorry.
Each book of the Gospel has an emphasis. Matthew’s emphasis is Jesus was the Messiah as foretold in the Old Testaments from the Prophets. Matthew quotes from the Old Testament more than any other New Testament author and seems to aim his message directly at the Jewish people. You may have heard the book of Matthew referred to as the “Gospel of the Kingdom”, the term kingdom of heaven is used 43 times in this book.
The record of the genealogy is very important. The Messiah would come from the son of David, the line of Abraham. The genealogy links Jesus to 2 great covenants:
- God’s covenant with David was a promise that the King would sit on the throne forever from his line
- God made a covenant with Abraham that through him He would bless the whole earth.
Matthew’s name means gift of the Lord. The Book of Matthew covers fully the Sermon on the Mount, and a discussion of the End of the World times. Another name Matthew is referred to as, is Levi. But I think we all know him as the Tax Collector. This is so important to note. This is who he was. The tax collectors were usually very wealthy men, and what they did was they pre-paid the peoples taxes for them. Then, they went out and collected from the people the tax they owed and padded the amount or added interest to it. This in fact was against the Law of Moses stated in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, so the tax collectors had bad reputations with the Jewish Leaders.
I couldn’t help but to think about the “pre-pay” the taxes part. Hmmmm. When Jesus told Matthew to follow him, and Matthew immediately did. He was walking away from quite a bit. Something to think about.
Due to the nature of this book, it was written in Hebrew first, and years later a Greek version was translated.
Matt 2; Luke 2:39-52
Wow. You can really feel the difference between the authors God chose. Matthew clearly writes straight from the OT scriptures. He quotes directly from the Prophets of Micah, Isaiah, Hosea and Jeremiah. I would RATHER you forgo the Blog and instead every time it says “As a Prophet wrote” or “As it is written” look up the original text by cross referencing. If you do not know how to do that, e-mail me and I will write you back Pszyman@comcast.net
Let’s talk about the Magi, or as we like to call them the Wise men. How many were there? Not sure, but you can count on the fact that whether their were 3 or 30 they traveled in a large entourage, so don’t let the Jesus movies fool you. You read that the Magi had direct contact with Herod, even though Herod lied to them and said “bring him here I will worship him” yeah right! He’s crazy and we know he would have killed Jesus if found. Herod considered himself King to the Jews. Anyway, some time within the first few years of Jesus’ life the Magi greeted Him and brought him 3 gifts:
- Gold: for royalty, Jesus is King.
- Incense: symbolic of Prayers of the High Priest rising up tp Heaven. (Jesus is the High Priest)
- Myrrh: a burial oil, a foreshadow of His death.
How did they know how to find Jesus? Any of the Old Testament readers remember the story of Balaam and the talking Donkey ?(one of my favorites!) This visit was prophesied through the oracle given to Balaam the Sorcerer. Numbers 24. (start in 22)
“I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob;
a scepter will rise out of Israel.
He will crush the foreheads of Moab,
the skulls of all the sons of Sheth. Nu 24:17
Luke 2:39-52. The Jews were required to visit the Temple in Jerusalem 3 times. The Passover was the most important pilgrimage. The Passover was a remembrance of the Exodus out of Egypt when the Angel of Death in the last plague “passed over” the homes with the sacrificed animal blood and spared the first borns of the Jews. The reason to note this is because when Jesus stayed at “His Father’s House” He was to be sitting learning from the top teachers, Rabbis’ in the land for they would be visiting too.
Since we are reading this chronologically did any of you write in your Bible, “Jesus first written Words in the Bible” next to:
“Didn’t you know I would be in my Father’s House?”
Here are some words I circled in Matthew
- Jerusalem (it means Heritage of Peace) vs 2
- Disturbed, )Ummm I told you as long as things stay QUIET the Jews can rule themselves) vs 3
- Look at Matthew 2:15 and then Hosea 11:1
- Matthew 2:6 then Micah 5:2
- Archelaus (they avoided him because he just killed 3000 Pharisees) vs22
- Nazareth (means The Branch) vs 23
- Jeremiah 31:15 look up
Reading the Bible in 365 