The Book of Matthew; an Introduction – Part IIc

Friday, 5 July 2024

The Book of Matthew; an Introduction – Part IIc

The list of books of the Bible that match the corresponding chapters of the Book of Matthew continues here:

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*Job (18th book) says –

“There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. 2 And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. 3 Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East.” Job 1:1-3.

Matthew 18:1-4 says –

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’
2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.’”

Job was certainly unlike any other man of his time.  Read the following description by the Lord Himself –

“Then the LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?’” (Job 1:8).

However, even with such righteousness, Job faced difficulties that he did not understand.  In the course of these difficulties, Job questioned God's purposes.  Towards the end of the book, God challenges Job with hard questions to which we have Job's response –

Then Job answered the Lord and said:
2 “I know that You can do everything,
And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.
3 You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
4 Listen, please, and let me speak;
You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’
5 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,
But now my eye sees You.
6 Therefore I abhor myself,
And repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:1-6.  

The link is obvious:  Job was considered righteous, but yet he - in the end - was humbled like a child before God's majesty.

*A second link to confirm this chapter link is that it states –

“...this man was the greatest of all the people of the East” (Job 1:3).

 Matthew 18:1 says –

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’”

Notice the book/chapter and chapter/verse parallel – (18)1 and 18:1.

A third parallel falls in Job 16:19 –

“Surely even now my witness is in heaven and my evidence is on high.”

Matthew 16:19 says –

“Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.”

Notice the numerical parallel – (16)19 and 16:19

*Job contains the three witnesses against Job; Matthew says that “by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.”

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*Psalms (19th book) says –

“But the LORD shall endure forever; 
He has prepared His throne for judgment.” Psalm 19:7

Matthew 19:28 says –

“So Jesus said to them, ‘Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’”

What’s extra special here is that the parallel from Psalms occurs in the 19th chapter!

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*Proverbs (20th book) says –

“A man with an evil eye hastens after riches, 
And does not consider that poverty will come upon him.” Proverbs 28:22

And the parallel in Matthew 20 –

“Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?  Or is your eye evil because I am good?” Matthew 20:15

In fact, an “evil eye” is extremely rare in Scripture. Both of these accounts are dealing with inappropriate use of riches. Something Matthew as a tax collector would be very familiar with.

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*Ecclesiastes (21st Book) says –

“The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.” Ecclesiastes 1:1

Matthew 21 records the people of Israel hailing Christ Jesus as the fulfillment of this, He the greater Son of David –

“Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!” Matthew 21:9

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*Song of Songs (book 22) concerns the wedding of the king, the son of David.  

Matthew 22:1, 2 –

“And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: 2 ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son.’”

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*Isaiah (book 23) is filled with warnings of WOE to the people of Israel. Woe is mentioned 8 times through Isaiah 5.  

In Matthew 23 Jesus gives His famous discourse to the teachers of the law and Pharisees –

“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” (23:13).

Note that Jesus says this to them 8 times, precisely matching Isaiah.  

It’s interesting to note that Isaiah points out all the faults of others in these chapters, but when he has his famous vision of the Lord at the beginning of chapter 6, he cries, “Woe to me.” He had seen the LORD Almighty and suddenly realized his own low state. On the contrary, Jesus finishes His 8 woes and that’s that. As the Incarnate Word of God, all was said and there was no need for more! 

*Another interesting point is what it says in Isaiah 1:23 –

“Your princes are rebellious,
And companions of thieves;
Everyone loves bribes,
And follows after rewards.
They do not defend the fatherless,
Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.”

And Jesus says in Matthew 23:1, 2, 3 –

“Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: ‘The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.’”

Notice the comparison between the leaders of Isaiah’s time and Jesus’ time, as well as the astonishing numerical parallels (23)1:23 and 23:1,2,3!

Life application: The fact that the book, chapter, and verse divisions did not exist at the time of Matthew was discussed in a previous introductory commentary. It was then discussed that just because dispensationalism was not properly understood or taught until much later in the church age does not mean that it is not a valid teaching.

This is a fallacy known as chronological snobbery. Other names for this fallacy are historical elitism, temporal arrogance, time-based condescension, chronological superiority, and history-dismissing arrogance. The idea is that something taught at one time is superior to what was previously taught, or it is superior to what is later taught.

Those who are chronologically snobs towards dispensationalism essentially say, “Nobody ever taught that in the past, and it is therefore a false teaching.” One can see the arrogant, condescending, elitist attitude flowing out of such a claim.

In regard to dispensationalism, the problem with that rests in their misunderstanding of history itself. God promised to punish Israel for their disobedience. However, He clearly and unambiguously promised that they would be restored. He did this explicitly in Leviticus 26, and He alluded to it innumerable times after that.

However, this was done in order to bring in the Gentile-led church. To understand this, and to see what God has been doing, watch ing the sermon series from the book of Judges clearly reveals this is so. The story of the sacrifice of Jephthah’s daughter that is found in Judges 11 gives an exacting portrayal of what God is doing and why.

These marvelous patterns from Matthew provide their own sort of confirmation that God reveals certain things at certain times to ensure that we don’t just get stuck in the chronologically-snobberous attitude that we have everything figured out and that God’s plan fits our own little box and goes no further.

Be willing to put aside your presuppositions, and be willing to allow God to reveal to us those things that should be revealed at their own proper time.

Lord God, thank You for not having rejected Israel. Though the church thought this for so long, it also led to a lot of other bad theology. If You would break Your covenant with them, then how easy would it be for You to break the one that You made with us as well? But we can now see that salvation is eternal. The pattern for it rests in the saving of Your wayward people, Israel, for their own day of redemption. Hallelujah and Amen.