Matthew Introduction

We would often sit at my grandfather’s knee and ask him to tell us about our ancestors. He had lots of stories. At times I think of those stories as I go through my own life. 

It is natural for us to process our reactions and emotions through not just our history, but the collective history of our family. But it is more than history, it is our future. Many of us set personal goals, and not just for ourselves, but for our family going forward. How many parents proudly saw their children be the first generation of high school and college graduates.

Despite the fact that you and I live in one of the most individualistic times in recorded history, and in one of the most individualistic societies in the world, despite these facts, we are drawn to know from where we came, and we hope that, as we add our little bit, we will advance our tribe.

That is part of what it means to be human. 

Here is another part of being human—that we are spiritual beings. Therefore, all of this, our history, and our future hopes, are about more that our physical life. 

Which is why the Gospel of Matthew is so cool. 

Matthew, as he tells us about Jesus, draws on the family story—the Old Testament. It is a story of more than our physical world, but the total real world. God’s world.

Matthew draws our attention to moments and words of Jesus. These moments and words directly connect to family story of the past. Yet in the past they seemed like random events and cryptic sayings. Now, in the person of Jesus, these seemingly disparate past events and words combine revealing a unity that has been planned since the beginning—a unity of revelation—revealing Jesus as the center. 

As if that is not enough for us, Matthew does more. 

As he draws together the material about Jesus, we hear Jesus, in his own words, tell us what it means for those who seek to follow him. 

And yet there is even more. Jesus doesn’t leave us where we meet him.

Jesus gives legs, not to God’s hopes, but to his promises. In Jesus, God’s promises ring through the ages giving us hope—eternal hope—all the while proclaiming the universality of the Good News. 

I can’t wait to get started—how about you?