Questions on Matthew 1 to 14
1. Why did Matthew record Jesus' genealogy in his first chapter? Answer
2. Were Joseph and Mary married when Jesus was born? Answer
3. Why did Joseph want to divorce Mary (Matthew 1:19)? Answer
4. What does the name Emmanuel tells us about Jesus? (Matthew 1:23). Answer
5. When was Jesus born (Matthew 2:1)? Answer
6. Who were the Magi (Matthew 2:1 - 2) and when did they first see the "star" leading them to Jesus? Answer
7. What is frankincense and myrrh (Matthew 2:11)? Answer
8. Why did the Holy Spirit, like a dove, descend upon Jesus after he was baptized (Matthew 3:16)? Answer
9. Why did Jesus leave his hometown of Nazareth (Matthew 4:13)? Answer
10. Were Peter and Andrew Jesus' first two disciples (Matthew 4:18 - 19)? Answer
11. What are the Beatitudes (Matthew 5)? Answer
12. Where did Jesus give the Sermon on the Mount? Answer
13. What is the "jot" and "tittle" Jesus mentioned in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:18)? Answer
14. What is the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6)? Answer
15. How did Jesus sum up what he taught in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7)? Answer
16. What made Jesus' healing of a Roman centurion's servant unique in his ministry (Matthew 8:5 - 13)? Answer
17. Why did some scribes think Jesus' healing of a paralytic was blasphemous (Matthew 9:2 - 6)? Answer
18. What made Jesus' raising of Jarius' daughter from the dead unique in Biblical history (Matthew 9:18, 23 - 25)? Answer
19. Whom should Christians fear (respect) (Matthew 10)? Answer
20. How hard is it to be a true Christian (Matthew 10)? Answer
21. How long was John the Baptist in prison (Matthew 11:2)? Answer
22. Did Jesus' disciples sin when they picked grain to eat on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1 - 8)? Answer
23. What is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:24 - 32)? Answer
24. Why did Jesus teach using parables (Matthew 13:10 - 16)? Answer
25. Why didn't Jesus do many miracles in Nazareth (Matthew 13:54 - 58). Answer
Answers on Matthew
1. Matthew's genealogy in chapter 1 shows the descendants of King David through Solomon and the kings of Judah all the way to King Jehoiachin. The descendants of Jehoiachin ultimately lead to Jesus' step-father Joseph.
[Chart of Matthew's Genealogy of Jesus]
Matthew's genealogy was meant to prove that Jesus had a legal right to sit on David's throne.
2. Mary and Joseph were betrothed to each other at the time of Christ's birth. Betrothal, in the first century, was considered as binding as marriage. It was usually accompanied by a partial payment of the full "bride price" or dowry paid by the groom (or groom's family) to the bride's father as compensation for the loss of his daughter to marriage (see Genesis 24:53 and 34:12).
3. Joseph and Mary were betrothed to each other but had not yet consummated the marriage. When Joseph discovered Mary was pregnant, he naturally presumed she had an affair (adultery). God's law required both the woman and man who committed adultery to be put to death (Exodus 20:14, Leviticus 20:10).
Joseph, however, being a merciful man, was inclined to divorce her secretly instead of opening her up to public shame (Matthew 1:18 - 20).
4. The name Emmanuel, which means "God with us" (Matthew 1:23), is one of the many proofs that Jesus was a member of the Godhead before his birth (see also John 1:1 - 4)!
[Was Jesus the God of the Old Testament?]
Jesus was willing to divest himself of his glory (John 17:5), riches (2Corinthians 8:9), his perfect pain-free existence (1Peter 2:21 - 24) and much more to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins.
5. The Lord's birth occurred between August 27 and September 9 in 5 B.C., with it highly likely occurring (due to its symbolism) on Saturday, September 2.
[Jesus' Conception, Birth Timeline!]
September 2 was extra special as it was the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) which is the start of the Biblical calendar's civil year.
6. The wise men or Magi who visited Jesus were high-level Parthian priests and influential members of one of Parthia's two assemblies (Lost Ten Tribes of Israel . . . Found! by Stephen M. Collins, pages 385 - 86).
The Parthians were rivals of Rome. They, in fact, decisively defeated Roman general Crassus' forces in Rome's attempt to conquer Parthia in the Battle of Carrhae around 53 - 52 B.C. This is why both Herod and Jerusalem were fearful when the Parthians and their huge caravan appeared near Jerusalem (Matthew 2:3).
The wise men first saw the "star" two years prior to their arrival in Jerusalem or 7 B.C. (Matthew 2:7, 16). This date for the its first appearance is why Herod the Great murdered all the males two years old or younger in Bethlehem.
7. Frankincense is a gum resin obtained from trees in the genus Boswllia. The resin is collected, dried, ground into a powder and then burned as incense.
Myrrh comes from trees native to parts of Arabia and Africa. The resin the trees produce are dried and ground before they are used. The special oil used to anoint the wilderness tabernacle, its furnishings, and even those who served in it, was made with myrrh (Exodus 30:22 - 33).
8. John the Baptist was unaware it was Jesus who was the Son of God (see John 1:31 - 34). John, prior to the Lord's baptism, was told to look for the person on whom the Spirit descended to know who was God's son. The manifestation of the spirit was a sign from God for John.
[Should We Worship the Holy Spirit?]
9. Jesus moved to Capernaum from Nazareth in order to fulfill prophecy (Matthew 4:13 - 16).
10. The Apostle John reveals the first two disciples called to follow Christ are Andrew and himself (John 1:35 - 39). Peter was called third (verses 40 - 42).
11. The Beatitudes are a series of behaviors or attitudes that, if manifested in this life, will bring a reward (blessing) from God the Father. They are listed in Matthew 5:3 - 12.
12. Jesus likely gave his famous sermon near Mount Eremos.
[Location of the Sermon on the Mount]
13. Jot is the English translation of the Greek iota, which itself was derived from the Hebrew letter yod (yodh). Both the letters iota and yod are the smallest of their respective alphabets. Tittle means "a little horn," "horn like" or an apex or point. It can refer to a diacritical dot placed over abbreviated words and some letters.
The Lord used a jot and tittle, the smallest letters and marks, to underscore his life and teachings should not be interpreted as doing away with (abolishing, nullifying) God's law.
[The Jot and Tittle of Scripture]
14. What is commonly called the Lord's Prayer is the prayer given in Matthew 6:9 - 13. Jesus words were meant to be an outline only and not mindlessly repeated (see Matthew 6:7).
[Meaning of the Lord's Prayer]
15. The Lord summed up his message by stating the following.
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven (Matthew 7:21).
Performing miracles or even spreading the gospel is not enough to please God (verse 22). What matters is that we obey what God says and build righteous character with his help.
16. There are a few striking things about Jesus' healing of a centurion's servant.
a) The Centurion was a Gentile and not an Israelite. Jesus' ministry, and those of the disciples, were centered on Israelites (Matthew 15:24, Mark 10:6).
b) The Centurion sought the benefit of his servant and not himself. He also showed uncommon humility for a man responsible for leading 100 soldiers.
c) The Centurion's understanding of Jesus' authority and his faith in it was unmatched even among God's own people!
d) Jesus was legitimately amazed (surprised) at what the Centurion said and his faith.
e) Jesus merely commanded the servant be healed without even seeing him. This unique show of power and authority was only rarely exercised (see John 4:46 - 54).
17. Only God can forgive sins. Since the scribes were not about to admit that Jesus was God's Son, the only thing they could conclude was that he was pretending to be God by making blasphemous statements.
18. Jesus resurrection of Jarius' young daughter was, chronologically, only the second time he brought someone back from the dead. It was also the fifth resurrection recorded in the Bible. The last time the Lord will bring someone back from the dead is Lazarus.
[Who Has Been Resurrected from the Dead?]
19. Christians should not be afraid of those who can only kill a person's body. They should revere, however, God who can kill both a body and a person's spirit (the "spirit in man" that gives humans a mind and is a perfect record of their life) for all eternity (Matthew 10:28).
20. Anyone who wishes to follow Jesus must place him and the pursuit of righteousness first in their lives. The love and acceptance of family, spouses, children, and so on must be secondary. Christians must also be willing to "take up their cross" or endure the hardships of life, relationships, trials and troubles (Matthew 10:32 - 39).
It is great deception to believe that once a person "accepts Jesus" their lives will be made easier, they will be constantly blessed with what they want, etc.
21. John the Baptist began his ministry in the spring of 26 A.D., six months before Jesus' ministry began in the fall. He was arrested and put in prison around April to May in 27 A.D. It was in the summer of 28 A.D. that he sent his disciples to question the Lord (Matthew 11:2 - 6).
[Why Did John the Baptist Doubt Jesus?]
John stayed in prison until being beheaded by Herod Antipas on his birthday. This occurred sometime before the Passover of 29 A.D. John was ultimately in prison roughly a little less than two years.
22. Jesus' disciples violated the man-made and vain traditions of the Pharisees. The Jewish leaders interpreted the Sabbath (and many other) Biblical laws so strictly that it left no room for judgment and mercy.
The disciples were not harvesting crops on the Sabbath but rather fulfilling the human need for food by plucking a few grains. Jesus used the example of David eating showbread to highlight that emergency circumstances call for mercy. He also asserted his right to determine what can and cannot be done on the Sabbath since he created it (Genesis 2:1 - 3).
23. The Pharisees were attributing an exercise of God's righteous power to Satan the devil. The act of doing so knowingly, unless repented of, constitutes the unpardonable sin which will be punished by eternal death in the lake of fire.
[What Is the Unpardonable Sin?]
24. Jesus spoke in parables as a way to conceal, not reveal, his teachings to the general public. Only those whom God is working with are given the spiritual insight to comprehend the true and full meaning of the Lord's parables (Matthew 13:11, 16).
25. Nazareth was where Jesus lived from his birth to the age of 30. When he preached in the city the people's familiarity with him and his family led them to discount his message and justify their disbelief. Jesus performed only a few miracles in Nazareth as doing more would be counterproductive given their faithlessness.
[Jesus' Post-Resurrection Ministry!]