The Gospels

Pastor, at some point this year you will be providing background context for the NT passage which you are about to preach, guiding your flock in properly visualizing the world of Jesus and the apostles, so that your people might better connect with the passage and also apply the background framework in their own studies. What will you teach them concerning the origin of the Gospels?

My goal in this article is to encourage you to pause and reflect on what will be said concerning the publication date of Matthew’s Gospel.

Matthew Through Old Testament Eyes, Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2024, 389 pages, paperback.

I have already reviewed the previous volumes from this series. All three were what I would call average to above average works, containing useful content, although my repeated refrain was that in my opinion they fail to live up to the title. If you want to write a NT commentary “through OT Eyes” then you really can’t superimpose the NT on it. At least you can’t unless what you meant to say was something like “How the NT Book of _____ Reads the OT.”

Read the series.

(Isaiah 42:1-4, Matthew 12:15-21, and John 4:1-42)

Read the series.

The Serpent in the Wilderness

(John 3:12-15 with Numbers 21:4-9)

Read the series.

(Ezekiel 18:3, 37:9-10; 1 Samuel 10:6, John 3:1-11)

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(John 3:1-11 with Ezekiel 36:25-27)

The concept of the New Birth—aka, “regeneration” (Titus 3:5) or “circumcision of the heart” (Deuteronomy 30:6, 5:28-29 and 10:16)—is found throughout Scripture, but Jesus’ words to Nicodemus are perhaps the Bible’s definitive text on this subject.

Yeshua and Nicodemus

The (ESV) text of John 3:1-11 is a good place to start our investigation:

Read the series.

My Father’s house

Jesus’ childhood narrative in Luke 3:41-51 records the only words spoken by Jesus while a youth. His family joined the caravan for an annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. When they could not find Jesus in the caravan, they searched, finally returning to the temple courts in Jerusalem, where Yeshua was in dialog with the learned rabbis.

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(Matthew 2:23, Genesis 28:10-17 with John 1:43-51)

Jesus as Netzer

Jesus was just beginning to assemble His band of key disciples. The first chapter of John’s Gospel introduces us to Nathaniel (probably also known as Bartholomew). During their initial meeting, Yeshua dazzles Nathaniel and then shares a midrash to describe the nature of His ministry.