Chapter 2:
Matthew
The person:
Matthew was a Jew, of the tribe of Levi. He was very aware of his heritage, but with a heart for the growing universal church.
Probably born in Capernaum59, he probably had Sadducee leanings at first, which allowed him to become a tax collector without conscience, (no true Pharisee could justify a position as a tax collector for Rome). He was methodical in his approach to life, which was probably refined by book-keeping techniques. Tax collecting was not confined to accounts but also local census taking. Romans used the data collected by publicans to analyse society much like internet collects data today. His Jewish name was Matthew meaning ‘gift of God’. But as he associated with Roman people he was known to them as Levi which means ‘Attached to’. It was much more common for a Roman to refer to a Jew by his tribe than his first name. We can assume that James, son of Alphaeus was a brother of Matthew because Alphaeus was not a common name, and because he is placed next to James in some passages60. Matthew records his own call in Chapter-nine.
Matthew stays very much around the Jewish temple as the base for his early mission. Around seventy AD when the Temple was destroyed, Messianic-Jews were also being expelled from the synagogues. In response to this upheaval of the new church, Matthew used accumulated notes to write them into a Gospel later in life. His chief aim is to tell the Christians not to forget their Jewish roots, and Jews not to reject the Messiah was Jewish. When the Temple was destroyed he travelled north to Herophilus in Turkey, then probably onto Spain61.
The Gospel:
This book is Jewish in nature. Some bible teachers like to say there is a difference between the ‘kingdom of heaven’ and the ‘kingdom of God’. Not so! Devout Jews would not say the name God. Even today in Jewish literature you will see ‘G-D’, lest they take the name of God in vain. So when Matthew talks of the kingdom of Heaven he is using a euphemism for the kingdom of God.
In his prologue, Matthew gives Joseph's ancestry, because Jewish readers would want to know his pedigree. That was essential to fulfil the Law and to give Joseph the right to adopt Jesus legally. But if it had been Jesus' genetic genealogy, Jesus could not have been 'King of the Jews', because Jeconiah is there in the list of ancestors, and he was cursed never to have an ancestor to sit on the throne of Judah:
King Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim, even if you were the ring I wear as the sign of my royal power, I would still pull you from my finger I would hand you over to the enemy you fear, to King Nebuchadnezzar and his army, who want to kill you. You and your mother were born in Judah, but I will throw both of you into a foreign country, where you will die, longing to return home. Jehoiachin, you are unwanted like a broken clay pot. So you and your children will be thrown into a country you know nothing about. Land of Judah, I am the LORD. Now listen to what I say! Erase the names of Jehoiachin's children from the royal records. He is a complete failure, and so none of them will ever be king. I, the LORD, have spoken. 62
Matthew witnessed Jesus’ speeches and gathers them into logical categories, so when he writes his Gospel, he groups the sermons into similar themes rather than putting them into chronological order. He is steeped in the Old-Testament, often quoting ‘That it might be fulfilled’, and emphasizing ‘I have not come to abolish law’.
When Matthew wrote up his Gospel, he gathered his material into clear groups: The sermon on the Mount, The kingdom Parables, Olivet discourse, the lost articles etc. Chapter-one begins the genealogy of Jesus because readers want to know His pedigree. Matthew uses Joseph’s line.63 Any claimant of the throne of Israel must come from David. You may notice he grouped them in three sets of fourteen generations, this is probably no more than a checksum system to demonstrate his accuracy.
Matthew introduces us to the word ‘Assembly’, which is translated as Church in most versions of the English Bible. The word church here means a Congregation or Assembly. It is the usual Greek word when translating the Hebrew word, first mentioned by Moses to describe the assembly of Israel at Sinai. Matthew quotes Jesus using the word ‘assembly’ twice in his gospel, the second time he uses it is in the context of the local assembly.64 But when Jesus introduces us to His concept of the term Church. Jesus does so in a particular geographical place and historical moment of time. Jesus first introduces us to ‘Church’ in the context of a direct conflict between Church and Hell, which Satan will not win65.
Matthew records, Jesus took the disciples on a journey through Caesarea Philippi,66 to the Mount of Transfiguration. This road takes them right past the temple of Pan. You will remember this was heart of Dan country. Dan had set up groves and shrines all over its territory. Pan was a prime god in both Greek and Roman culture. The mouth of a seemingly bottomless pit, at the altar in the temple of Pan was called the ‘Gate of Hades’67. Each year in the spring, Pan required a sacrifice of children be thrown into it before leading his menials out of Hades for a bestial orgy. This was the place Jesus passed with his disciples on route to mount Hermon68. Here he broached the subject that would change the focus of his mission.
The disciples had been with Jesus some thirty-months now and Jesus was keen to change the focus of his ministry away from the preaching and healing and toward the main purpose for which he came, the journey to Jerusalem and the cross. So he asked them who they thought He was. Peter gave his famous reply, ‘You are the Christ’! And Jesus answered him, ‘you are blessed Simon son of Jonah because it was not flesh and blood that answered but what was given to you from my Father in heaven. I am telling you Peter that on this rock I will build My church so the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. And then I will give you the keys to bind what is bound in Heaven and loose what is loosened in Heaven.
One thing is for certain here, no matter what role you think Peter is given later, he is not the rock on which the Church is built. Peter could not descend into Hades and return triumphant after three days. Jesus is looking at this temple, housing the great pit into which children were thrown. He does so, with the full knowledge that in a few months, defeating this evil instigated by Satan, would bring Him to the culmination of his mission. Defiantly Jesus declares, ‘the gates of Hell will be defeated’!69 I will assemble my church on the declaration ‘I am the Christ’.
Jesus was only free to complete this task once His father had confirmed the disciples were ready, This statement by Peter was that sign. At that time and in that place marked the move of the disciples from flesh and blood understanding of the kingdom, to spiritual recognition. It had been voiced through Peter.
After this confession, Jesus turned his face toward Jerusalem70. The time for general teaching to the nations is over. Jesus now concentrates on His disciples, telling them plainly about the cross, his death and resurrection. Peter has seen the Messiah, Jesus has recognized the spiritual statement of Peter, Jesus can now move on even though the group had not connected Him to the cross.
From that time began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up 71
Directly from this incident, Jesus continued up the road to the mountain where he was transfigured. On that Mountain we are privy to a conversation between Moses, Elijah and Jesus.72 Moses representing the Law and Elijah representing the Prophets, discussed all that Jesus' death in Jerusalem would mean.
Chapter 3
Mark
The person:
Who was John Mark? What we know, we glean from the Gospels and Acts. There are a few outside sources.
Johanan (John) was his Hebrew name, Mark was his Greek name. He comes from fairly wealthy family who have at least one servant, (Rhoda). His mother was one, Mary, and they lived in a house with an upper room between Gethsemane gardens and the pools of Bethesda73. John-Mark was only a lad during Jesus’ time, and he should have been in bed after the last supper, but he sneaked out and hid behind a tree, listening to Jesus’ prayer, which he recalls for his gospel74. Both the house and the household of Mary were significant for the early Christian community in Jerusalem. Peter seems to have known that Christians would be gathered there for prayer when he was let out of Antonia Fortress by an angel. It was a very conveniently house for the prayer meeting in Acts.
The early church nickname Mark ‘Stubby-Fingers’.75 His uncle was Barnabus.76 we will see Mark pop up time and again through the New-Testament, especially in Acts and the letters of Paul. He was very much the assistant. The Bible would not been written but for several of such assistants that get minor mention in passing. Mark never becomes a leader in the Church but rather pursued his ministry by assisting, Barnabus, Paul, Luke and Peter. He knew Latin and translated and interpreted for Peter while in Rome.
“Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.”77
The Gospel:
Mark was not an eyewitness of most early events. But there are some bits in Mark that belonged to a young lad who crept out and hid in the garden of Gethsemane. These are eyewitness account. For example, it is not hard to believe that Peter dictated the largest chunks the Gospel of Mark because of its style and some phraseology.
“Mark, having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately, though not in order, whatsoever he remembered of the things said or done by Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor followed him, but afterward, as I said, he followed Peter, who adapted his teaching to the needs of his hearers, but with no intention of giving a connected account of the Lord’s discourses, so that Mark committed no error while he thus wrote some things as he remembered them. For he was careful of one thing, not to omit any of the things which he had heard, and not to state any of them falsely.” 78
Mark is the shortest of the gospels. Mark does not have all the teachings of Matthew or Luke either. Usually an author decide upon his readers before beginning to write as this affects the language and style of a book. But this book does not seem to have a particular audience in mind, which is additional evidence that he is being dictated to. It is generally accepted, Mark wrote down the gospel while in Rome with Peter as his personal assistant for two-years.
Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, did also hand down to us in writing what had been preached by Peter.”79
Everything was ‘Immediate’ for Peter.80 the disciples managed to get from boat to shore, from Galilee shore to Capernaum ‘immediately’. Peter, the action-man was not interested in walks and conversation in between. Mark has to omit all the detail to keep up with Peter telling the story. Miracles appealed to Peter because results were ‘immediate’; there are eighteen recorded in Mark. Parables required sitting still to listen, so there are only four of those. In contrast, Matthew and Luke have more than seventeen teaching sessions each. Peter was the disciple that sneaked into the trial of Jesus. Mark writes about the illegality of that trial81. They tried Jesus for blasphemy and passed a death sentence, (which Rome would not allow them to do). They also disregarded the witnesses ‘right to silence’, to which any accused is entitled to under Roman law. But Mark also records another illegal act. The Sanhedrin falsely found Jesus guilty of blasphemy. Then changed the charge sheet saying they had found him guilty of treason. Rome did not recognize blasphemy as a crime but treason carried the death penalty. Peter would have been there to witness all that.
Regarding the law, Mark also mentions the incident of Joseph of Arimathea who went to Pilot ask for body. This was a courageous act, first, because he was a member of Sanhedrin and so risked being called a traitor and being tried himself, Second, because Pilot actually broke the rules by saying, ‘yes’. Under Roman law Jesus should have had his legs broken and left to be pecked by birds on the side of the road, Crucified victims were not entitled to be buried. Once again, Prophesy told us in advance it would not happen that way. According to both prophesy and fact, Jesus, the sacrifice, could not be left until morning, not left for birds to peck, but must be buried in a borrowed tomb, without a broken bone. How else could Jesus rise again on the third day, ‘in accordance with the scriptures’.
59 He certainly worked as a Tax collector in the area but most commentaries play safe with Palestine as his birthplace
60 Acts 1: 13 ... they went up into an upper room,… Matthew and James the son of Alphaeus, …
61The Quran holds the view that they were ‘Helpers of Allah’ in Ethiopia Quran 3:49, but it is much more widely believed he worked in Turkey.
62Jeremiah 22: 24-30 and another argument for the Virgin Birth.
63Greek for ‘Genealogy’ is Genesis, the origins of. Or ‘the Why and Wherefore of’
64Matthew _18: 17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the Church: but if he neglects to hear the Church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
65 This battle will reach its climax in Revelation chapters 16 ff
66(in the Golan heights), Banias or Panias (Greek B or Roman P), There was a thriving Church in the locality between 300 & 500 AD as it sent representatives to both the Nicean council of 325 AD and Chaldean Counsel in 452 AD.
67 See Figure 5. This is the very place they threw the children sacrifices.
68 Some scholars thought the transfiguration might have been on Mount Tabor but this is unlikely, as Mount Tabor was the site of a Roman military camp at the time of Jesus.
69 In the words of the creed, ‘He descended into hades and on the third day arose’.
70Luke 9
71Matthew 16: 21
72Representing the law and the prophets
73Acts 12: 12 see map page 49
74Mark 14: 51–52 --The most probable way we have a record of what Jesus prayed because the other gospels record Jesus going to pray alone .
75Hippolytus (Philosophumena, VII, xxx)
76Colossians 4: 10
772 Timothy 4: 11
78Eusebius : Ecclesiastical History
79Against Heresies, Irenaeus of Lyons (who lived from about 115–202 AD) & commentary on 1 Peter, by Clement of Alexandria
80Mark 1:12, 1:28, 1: 42, 2::8, 2: 12, 4: 5, 4: 15, 4: 16, 5: 13, 6: 27, 10,52, 14: 43.
81John 18: 15 suggests there was another disciple who knew the high priest and got inside. It was unlikely to be John but as a minor from a well established family and with a disability, might it be Mark? It might also be referring to Joseph of Arimathea of course, we may never know for certain because Mark is deliberate in not saying..