The Book of Matthew; an Introduction – Part IId

Saturday, 6 July 2024

 

The Book of Matthew; an Introduction – Part IId

 

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

 

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*Jeremiah (book 24) speaks more of false prophets than any other book in the Bible. Entire sections are dedicated to false prophets and false prophecies. False prophets are even singled out by name several times.  

 

Here is a Matthew 24 connection –

 

“At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people” Matthew 24:10, 11. 

 

*Another fantastic parallel is in Jeremiah 31. Here’s the book/chapter (24)31 –

 

“Hear the word of the LORD, O nations;
proclaim it in distant coastlands:
‘He who scattered Israel will gather them
and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.’” Jeremiah 31:10 (NIV)

 

Now Matthew 24:31 –

 

“And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”

 

Notice the numbers again (24)31 and 24:31

 

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*Lamentations (25th book) says –

 

“The tongue of the infant clings
To the roof of its mouth for thirst;
The young children ask for bread,
But no one breaks it for them.” Lamentations 4:4

 

Matthew 25:44 says –

 

“Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’”

 

Notice again, the immensely accurate verse distinction – (25)4:4 and 25:44!

 

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*Ezekiel (26th book) 5:2 reads –

 

“When the days of your siege come to an end, burn a third of the hair with fire inside the city. Take a third and strike it with the sword all around the city. And scatter a third to the wind. For I will pursue them with drawn sword.”

 

Now Matthew 26:52 –

 

“‘Put your sword back in its place, Jesus said to him, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.’”

 

Astonishingly enough is that fact that both books read about the “drawn sword” at the numbers (26)5:2 and 26:52, but also worthy of note is that the term “drawn sword” is mentioned more times in Ezekiel than any other book of the Bible, confirming that this is a valid link.

 

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*Daniel (27th book)  –

 

“A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel's situation might not be changed” Daniel 6:17.

 

Now read Matthew 27:66 – 

 

“So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.”

 

Glorious!

 

*Again in Daniel, the 9th chapter –

 

“...in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.”

 

Now read Matthew 27:9 –

 

“Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled.”

 

Notice the intricacy: Jeremiah is quoted in Daniel (27)9 and Matthew 27:9.

 

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*Hosea (28th book) 2:15 reads –

 

“There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.” (Achor means trouble.)

 

Matthew 28:2 says –

 

“And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.”

 

If you look at the comparison, it fits very well. God said in Hosea that He would make the valley of trouble a door of hope, and the ending of all our trouble (in and from death) came as the stone was rolled away from the door of the tomb! As usual, notice the numbers (28)2 and 28:2!

 

*A second marvelous parallel is Hosea 6:3 –

 

“Let us acknowledge the Lord;
    let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
    he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
    like the spring rains that water the earth” (NIV).

 

Now read Matthew 28:6 –

 

“He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”

 

The parallel cannot be mistaken! Just as we were in search of God, He came to us, proving it when He arose and appeared in the morning. And once again, we have the astonishing numerical parallel: (28)6:3 and 28:6!

 

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If you have enjoyed these patterns, we will provide one more fantastic numerical pattern that runs outside of the 28 chapters of Matthew but instead links to the 40th chapter of Isaiah and corresponds to Matthew, the 40th book of the Bible –

 

Isaiah 40:3 says –

 

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God.’”

 

Now Matthew 3:3 –

 

“For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:
‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.”’”

 

The interesting thing about this is that Matthew is the 40th book of the Bible. The parallel then is Isaiah 40:3. Matthew (40)3:3. 

 

Life application: The issue concerning the matter that the book, chapter, and verse divisions did not exist at the time Matthew penned his gospel 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, it does not mean that it is not a valid teaching. The fallacy of Chronological Snobbery was then discussed, showing that it is not proper to assume something is incorrect simply because it is new.

 

But why would God allow the church to go through 1800 years of incorrect thinking if dispensationalism is correct? The answer is obvious when thought through. If the church knew that the return of Jesus for His church and the establishment of His earthly millennial kingdom was based on the return of the Jewish people to the land, it would have become the main passion and mission of the church to make that happen.

 

However, Israel had a time of punishment preset by God in order to fulfill their promised punishments according to the Law of Moses. That needed to be fulfilled. Also, the church’s main mission was specifically given by Jesus in Matthew 28 –

 

“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.”

 

These words were the Lord’s post-resurrection command to the church. Those so directed didn’t quite get it the first time, and so they asked Him about future matters before He ascended. When they did, He reiterated His directive to them one final time –

 

“Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, ‘Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ 7 And He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’” Acts 1:6-8

 

The disciples were looking forward to the kingdom age. The church, if it realized all that God was doing, would have been looking for the resurrection of the dead and the rapture so that they could be with the Lord. If it was understood that Jesus would return when Israel was in the land once again, that is all people in the church would be working towards.

An entire planet of people needs to hear the gospel, but the church would be working on reestablishing one little people group into a teeny slice of land in the Middle East. Things would not have worked out well. If you want proof that this would be the case, look at today’s modern rapture-seeking crowd.

They literally spend all of their time reading about the rapture, watching videos about the rapture, calculating the timing of the rapture, scolding others about their mistaken priorities, and never spending a moment of the day doing what they should be doing – as commanded by the Lord Himself.

 

Don’t be like these people. Read the word! Study the word! Tell people the gospel! And then baptize and disciple those you tell. If you don’t do these things, you are being disobedient to the very words Jesus instructed you to do in the word that you fail to pick up and read!

 

Lord God, help people (including us!) to have properly directed priorities concerning our duties as instructed by You in Your word. May we be faithful and obedient followers and doers concerning what we have been instructed. To Your glory, we pray. Amen.