Matthew Resources and References

As the From Hevel to Eternity Blog and Podcast continues to work through the Book of Matthew, I wanted a landing spot for links to the many resources and reference materials used during this study.  Below is a table with the reference source and a link to more information about that source.

I have referenced the Thomas Schreiner book before as a great resource for getting a fuller picture of the whole Bible, but if you are only going to get one book to study Matthew I highly recommend Charles Quarles: A Theology of Matthew: Jesus Revealed as Deliverer, King, and Incarnate Creator (it is short, easy to read, and does a GREAT job helping to see what the Book of Matthew reveals about Jesus).

Additional Resources and/or Works Cited:

TGC Courses: Matthew [ESV Study Bible]	Via The Gospel Coalition (TGC): <https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/course/matthew/#overview>: Taken from the ESV® Study Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright ©2008 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For more information on how to cite this material, see permissions information here.
TGC Courses: Matthew [Knowing the Bible: Matthew]	Via The Gospel Coalition (TGC): <https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/course/knowing-bible-matthew/#week-1-overview>: Matthew: A 12-Week Study © 2014 by Drew Hunter. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
TheBibleProject:	TheBibleProject: <https://thebibleproject.com/ >
overviewbible.com	Matthew’s Genealogy: 5 Subtle Clues Modern Readers Might Miss by Jeffrey Kranz <https://overviewbible.com/matthew-genealogy-jesus/ >
[BLB: Study Guide for Matthew 1]	Blue Letter Bible Study Guide for Matthew 1 [by David Guzik] [https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/archives/guzik_david/StudyGuide_Mat/Mat_1.cfm]
[Ben Sira 25:7-11]	Ben Sira 25:7-11 (NRSA) [https://www.biblestudytools.com/nrsa/ben-sira/passage/?q=ben+sira+25:7-11]
[Good news the the poor]	Tim Chester Good News to the Poor: Social Involvement and the Gospel
[Chambers - 7/21]	Oswald Chambers: My Utmost for His Highest July 21
[Chambers - 7/25]	Oswald Chambers: My Utmost for His Highest July 25
[2 Enoch 52]	2 Enoch 52 [http://www.pseudepigrapha.com/pseudepigrapha/enochs2.htm#Ch52]
[Chandler1]	Character and Influence MATT CHANDLER | APR 8, 2018 SCRIPTURE: MATTHEW 5:1-16 https://www.tvcresources.net/resource-library/sermons/character-and-influence
[Origen1]	Origen of Alexandria https://www.iep.utm.edu/origen-of-alexandria/
[Origen2]	Origen of Alexandria https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/origen/#TheSin
[Oaths1]	Tractate Shevuot Oaths https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/tractate-shevuot-oaths-chapter-3
[Yom Kippur1]	https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/yom-kippur-101/
[Erev1]	Laws and Customs of Erev Yom Kippur https://www.ou.org/holidays/yom-kippur/customs_of_erev_yom_kippur/
[Helps]	Copyright © 1987, 2011 by Helps Ministries, Inc.
[Poythress]	Parables and Miracles: Methods for Interpreting and Applying the Miracles and Parables of Christ [Curated from a lecture series by Vern Poythress In partnership with Westminster Theological Seminary] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/course/parables-and-miracles/#course-introduction

Words in the Four Gospels (part 3 of 3)

The words used in books can clue us into the focus of the Divinely inspired Biblical authors of those books.  When it comes to the Gospel accounts, we can see some of that focus through the percent of the time that word is used in a book (relative to the total times used in the Gospel accounts).

When you look at the percentages, the counts tell the tale of the themes.  

• The Gospel of John, which focuses on the divinity of Jesus, is the most likely gospel account to use phrases like Eternal Life, Believe, and glory

• The Gospel of Luke, who is writing his friend Theopholus to tell him about Who Jesus is and what Jesus accomplished, has the highest percentages for phrases like Savior and Salvation and the Kingdom of God.

• Mark, who I’ll jokingly term the Michael Bay of the gospel writers, writes the shortest, most condensed, and action packed gospel account.  And the percentages show his book is WAY more likely to use words like immediately, right away, just then, suddenly, or at once as he weaves his way through cutscene after cutscene.

• Matthew, who most frequently points toward Jesus as being the Jewish Messiah & the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, has the highest percentages of words like fulfilled and righteousness.

They all tell the same story, but the language helps to highlight the structure and characteristics each author was divinely inspired to present.  Knowing words like fulfilled and righteousness are most often used in the Book of Matthew means that whenever we come across one of those words during our study, we should probably pause and reflect on what Matthew is really underlining. 

• Percentage of the times the word(s) show up in each book relative to the total number of appearances in all four books.

• The percentage is based on an average of 6 different translations (with correction for different translations of the same Greek root words).  See Gospel Words (parts 1&  2 for additional information about the word count process)

Words in the Four Gospels (part 2 of 3)

The last blog post put up an initial list of words to think through.

Well, how often do these words come up in the Gospel Accounts?  Below are the answers. 

Note that my word counts are not from one specific translation; they are an average taken from 6 different translations (ESV, NASB, KJV, CSB, NIV, & NLT).  I did correct for different choices in the English translation (so if one uses the word commandment and another uses law, but it's the same Greek root word, then I searched for both to get an accurate count).  

How to read Table 1: the ‘total’ column displays the number of times (on average) the word(s) show up in all 4 Gospel Accounts (sorted by frequency).  I have also included columns for each of the individual books to the left of the ‘total’. 

How to play it as a Bible Study game:

1. Print out the words listed in Part I of the blog post

2. Divide your group into 2 teams

3. Lay the words out face up and have each group take turns picking one word  [each team guesses a word AND one of the four gospel books to go along with that word (ex: Lord, John)]

4. The team gets points equal to the total number of times that word is used in all four books AND additional points for the number of times that word is used in the gospel book selected. (Ex: so if Lord was used 100 time total and 18 times in John, the team would be awarded 118 points)]

5. After all words are selected, the team with the most point wins

Words in the Four Gospels (part 1 of 3)

This week the From Hevel to Eternity podcast is starting a chapter by chapter walk through the book of Matthew.  The previous podcast provided an Intro to reading the gospel and the last blog entry provided additional information about the four gospel accounts.

Sometimes what kinds of words are used and how often can help us frame a book better.  

Knowing the number of times a specific word shows up doesn’t magically give you the overall theme of the books, but sometimes it can clue us into things the Biblical Author wants us to catch. 

This is the template for a ‘word association game’ to go along with the four gospel accounts.  The point of the game is to get you thinking through the language of the book.  So look through this word list and without looking at the answer key (part 2) try to guess which words show up MOST frequently in each book.  

Note that my word counts are not from one specific translation; they are an average taken from 6 different translations (ESV, NASB, KJV, CSB, NIV, & NLT).  I did correct for different choices in the English translation (so if one uses the word commandment and another uses law, but it's the same Greek root word, then I searched for both to get an accurate count). 

The way points are awarded is this:

• A team guesses a word AND one of the four gospel books to go along with that word (ex: Lord, John)

• The team gets points equal to the total number of times that word is used in all four books AND additional points for the number of times that word is used in the gospel book selected. (Ex: so if Lord was used 100 time total and 18 times in John, the team would be awarded 118 points).

Why 4 Gospels?

This week the From Hevel to Eternity podcast is starting a chapter by chapter walk through the book of Matthew.  We invite you to join in and read along with us. 

Matthew is the first book of the New Testament and is one of the four Gospel accounts (with Mark, Luke, and John).

• All four gospel accounts affirm the birth, life, ministry, death, resurrection, and return of Jesus. 

• All four gospel accounts affirm that Jesus was fully God and fully man

• All four gospel accounts affirm that Jesus lived a perfect life and was the Messiah

• All four gospel accounts affirm faith in Jesus as the only path to redemption for sinful man.

If the gospel accounts affirm the same theology it begs the question: why four gospel accounts?

• First off, Who Jesus is and what He accomplished is significant.  His earthly ministry was action packed and His Divinity is beyond our full comprehension. 

• Putting all of this into one Gospel account would be too much for our heads to compute.

• John concludes his gospel account by stating ‘There are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they would all be written, I suppose that even the world itself wouldn't have room for the books that would be written.’ (John 21:25)[WEB translation]

• God, in His perfect wisdom, inspired the four gospel authors to reveal exactly what we needed to know about Jesus.

• The gospel accounts were not written to be mere biographies of Jesus (though they do contain historical facts about the historical Jesus)

• At a high level, each divinely inspired author focuses on specific characteristics of Jesus.

  • The Gospel of John, which focuses on the divinity of Jesus, is the most likely gospel account to use phrases like Eternal Life, Believe, and glory

  • The Gospel of Luke, who is writing his friend Theopholus to tell him about Who Jesus is and what Jesus accomplished, has the highest percentages for phrases like Savior and Salvation and the Kingdom of God.

  • Mark, who I’ll jokingly term the Michael Bay of the gospel writers, writes the shortest, most condensed, and action packed gospel account.  And the percentages show his book is WAY more likely to use words like immediately, right away, just then, suddenly, or at once as he weaves his way through cutscene after cutscene.

  • Matthew, who most frequently points toward Jesus as being the Jewish Messiah & the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, has the highest percentages of words like fulfilled and righteousness.

If you’re interested in learning more about why there are four different gospel accounts I highly recommend the below audio cast from Danny Akin (provided by the Gospel Coalition).  If you are looking for a free Seminary level course about the Bible I highly recommend the below link for Interpreting & Teaching the Bible (provided by Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary)

Danny Akin: Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary course: Interpreting & Teaching the Bible; Pt. 9

[https://www.sebts.edu/academics/distance_learning/interpreting-teaching-bible.aspx]

Danny Akin: Why Four Gospels? New Testament Basics - Wake Crossroads 2004-05 (via Thegospelcoalition.com) [https://resources.thegospelcoalition.org/library/why-four-gospels]

When 'coincidence' isn't really.

In the Book of Esther, events 'just so happen' to unfold in a way that shows God's saving grace for His people.  Even though He isn't actually mentioned in the book His Divine Providence is all over it's pages.

As a society we love words like 'luck' or 'coincidence', when things appear to randomly happen that align perfectly with other events already transpiring.  Television and movies thrive on the comedy behind these situations.  I love it when a well thought out script has multiple events happening concurrently and then they all 'happen' to merge into one final showdown.   These fictional stories are the works of human authors, and a good show makes us forget it has been entirely scripted.  We tend to apply this to real life as well, we get mesmerized by the moment and in the midst of the complexity of 'coincidental situations' we forget about our Creator.

Christian's far too often speak about their belief in the Sovereignty of God while at the same time complaining about their luck or the randomness of life.  We verbally profess God's providential guidance and care over all situations while mentally asking God why He is not involved in our everyday life.

According to Merriam-Webster coincidence is 'the occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection'.  Sovereignty is having 'controlling influence' over situations.

If we profess that God is absolutely sovereign then we must concede that 'coincidence'...isn't really.

God has controlling influence over His creation.  Through His Providence, He has has the power to sustain and guide events.  This doesn't mean the we are animatronic beings who are controlled by a God holding a play station controller steering our lives (there is some interplay of Divine Rule and human responsibility that exceeds my capacity for understanding).  BUT, when it comes to putting us where we are at, in the struggles we are in, and the 'coincidental' events that converge around our lives we must recognize that God is there too.

As we get ready to start the book of Esther this week, don't write off the 'lucky' sequence of events we read through as mere coincidence.  Through each chapter ask the question: Just because God wasn't directly mentioned, does that mean He wasn't directly in control?  And then, as we connect dots in the lives of Esther, Mordecai, and the Israelites...ask yourself the question:  Do I believe that God is Sovereign over my life even when I don't see Him in its everyday circumstances?

Esther Word Game (Part 2)

Yesterday I put up an initial list of words to think through and take some guesses at the most frequently used.

Well, how often do these words come up in the book of Esther?  Below are the answers. 

Note that my word counts are not from one specific translation; they are an average taken from 6 different translations (ESV, NASB, KJV, CSB, NIV, & NLT).  I did correct for different choices in the English translation (so if one uses the word commandment and another uses law, but it's the same Hebrew root word, then I searched for both to get an accurate count). 

How to read the table: the words are ordered from most to least occurring words.  The 'AVG' column displays the average total across the six translations.  I have also included the raw per translation data in the other columns.

word(s)	AVG	ESV	NASB	KJV	CSB	NIV	NLT
King	151.0	167	167	160	136	142	134
Decree(d)/order(s)(ed)/edict/law(s)/commandment(s)	36.8	36	32	31	37	39	46
Royal	20.2	17	15	13	38	23	15
eyes/saw/look(ed)/sight/see [vision]	15.8	20	16	20	16	10	13
feast(s)/banquet(s)/festival	15.5	15	14	17	13	13	21
Palace	13.7	13	12	13	12	10	22
Kingdom/empire	11.5	10	9	12	10	10	18
Command(ed)	10.5	9	9	10	18	12	5
please(s)(ing)	9.2	10	10	7	7	9	12
hang/hanged/hung/impale(d)	9.2	9	9	9	9	9	10
gallows/pole(s)	8.7	9	9	8	9	8	9
robe(s)/garment(s)/apparel	7.2	8	8	7	5	8	7
eat/drink(s)(ing)	7.2	9	8	5	8	6	7
ring	6.0	6	6	6	6	6	6
gold/ golden	6.0	6	6	6	6	6	6
wine	6.0	6	7	6	6	7	4
lovely/beautiful/fair	4.7	5	4	5	4	5	5
scepter/sceptre	4.0	4	4	4	4	4	4
Fast(ing)	4.0	3	4	3	4	5	5
crown	3.7	4	4	4	4	3	3
garden	3.2	3	3	3	3	4	3
gift(s)	2.7	4	2	2	3	2	3
God	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Prayer	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0

How to play it as a Bible Study game:

1. Print out the words listed in Part I of the blog post

2. Divide your group into 2 teams

3. Lay the words out face up and have each group take turns picking one word

4. Each team gets points based on the number of times the picked word shows up

5. After all words are select, the team with the most point wins

General Lesson of the Esther Word count game: Isn't it interesting that a book in the Bible doesn't mention God or prayer at all?  Does God not being mentioned mean that God isn't present?