April 9th The Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 1-4)
Matthew 1-4: The Kingdom of Heaven
Home Work
* Read Matthew 5- 7
Warm Up Questions
1. How would you define sin?
2. What does repentance mean to you?
3. What does it mean to "follow Jesus"?
Teaching Outline
The first four of the Ten Commandments are about worship. The very first is to have no other Gods.
- "If you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his command and decrees... the LORD will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your ancestors." (Deut. 28:1, 36).
- N.T. Wright Quote.
- Exile is intentionally mentioned in the opening genealogy. And most people living in Jesus' day believed they were still in exile (Nehemiah 9:6).
- Jesus' actions in Matthew 2-4 are meant to be seen as "passover" or a "new Exodus." (Slaughtering of sons, escaping to Egypt, testing in the wilderness,) all lead to Jesus' first teaching "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." And,
- "Come, follow me." Jesus will model and teach them what true repentance looks like.
Quotes for Reflection
Saving from sins is a much larger, broader, and darker thing. Because in the Old Testament, Israel worships idols despite being commanded against it. And the idolatry they commit lead them to do thing which the Bible calls "sins". That's how idolatry works. It messes us up with our worship....When your worship life gets mess up, your moral life gets messed up. The answer to that was exile.
- N.T. Wright,
Matthew
Repent in Jesus' context would have carried the connotations of 'what Israel must do if YHWH is to restore her fortunes at last. The repentance for which Jesus called was not at all like regular repentance of individual sinners when they recognized their sin and underwent normal Jewish practices for restitution. That could take place at any time in Israel's history, and would not of itself indicate the coming of the kingdom or the end of exile... Jesus was urging his compatriots to abandon a whole way of life, and to trust him for a different one.
- N.T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God
Discussion Questions
1. What resonates with you?
2. Where do you find resistance?
3. What might this understanding of the gospel mean for your everyday life?