Have you ever wondered why the religious establishment missed Jesus, or what it truly meant for the first Jewish believers to declare him as Messiah? In this episode of Seek Go Create, Tim Winders guides us through the Gospel of Matthew, unveiling how it was written to make a case for Jesus as the long-awaited King. Discover the historical backdrop, the significance of Jesus’ royal lineage, and the powerful Sermon on the Mount—all while exploring what life in the Kingdom looks like then and now. Dive in and see Matthew like never before, as both a compelling argument and a transformative spiritual journey.

"Matthew isn't proving Jesus fits the prophecies. He's showing that Jesus is what the prophecies pointed to." - Tim Winders

Episode Resources:

1. NT90 Hub – This is the central website for the 90-day New Testament reading plan, with downloadable, printable plans, background information, and links to all episodes and resources.

Episode Highlights:

00:00 Introduction to the Series

00:36 Resources and Preparation

01:11 Overview of the Gospel of Matthew

02:35 Historical Context and Audience

04:40 Structure and Themes of Matthew

06:32 Personal Reflection on the Sermon on the Mount

08:29 Parables and Teachings of the Kingdom

08:54 The Olivet Discourse and Its Significance

10:19 Reading Plan and Final Thoughts

the king and his kingdom.

Matthew builds the case for Jewish believers.

Jesus fulfills every promise.

The religious establishment missed him, and the countdown to judgment has begun.

This is Seek Go Create.

Welcome back.

You're listening to Read the New Testament in 90 days, 27 books in order.

In context, we're walking through the New Testament, the way it was written

so that you can hear it the way the first churches, the first believers did.

Before we get going today, make sure that you go to K2 m Foundation slash.

NT 90, that's K two M Foundation slash NT 90 to get all the

resources, background info.

We even have a link to some of the notes and sources to the

things we're talking about.

And, of course, the big thing, make sure you download a printable

or a PDF copy of the reading plan so that you've got it handy.

Get the resources at K two M Foundation slash NT 90 today.

Stop.

Is Matthew one of my favorites?

Oh, I love this book.

It is so rich.

It is so full.

it is the second gospel that was written.

We believe it was written for Jewish believers, and, we're

going to have fun with this.

Here's some key facts.

The author is Matthew, one of the 12 tax collector turned apostle,

also went by the name Levi.

The date we have for the release is right in the ad 48 to 50 timeframe.

So let's just say 18 to 20 years since the resurrection.

Now, I do have a bit of a theory on this.

I can't back this up.

But I do wanna comment that it is my belief that Matthew being a tax collector,

being detailed, and especially with the book that we read now, which is the

Gospel of Matthew, I actually believe that this was a cumulative writing project.

In other words.

He most likely was writing this all along.

And when we say that it was available in about the 80 48 to 50 range,

that is probably when it started.

That's probably probably where it got to the point where we see it

now and it started circulating so.

But I believe that he wrote it.

this is just my theory over the course of about probably five, 10, maybe 15

to 20 years, going all the way back to the, to the cross and the resurrection.

The audience appears to be Jewish believers caught

between the ancient faith.

The Messiah's arrival once again.

About 18 years after the resurrection, the temple is still standing to set the stage

and the synagogue tensions are rising.

Let's get some historical context for Rome.

The empire was stable under Claudius.

The Jews were watched, but tolerated.

That's about to change.

We'll see that coming up.

in the next few books, Jerusalem, the temple sacrifices were continuing daily.

The Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the scribes were still

holding religious power.

And remember that that was the system.

Those were the people that rejected Jesus, and they are still intact.

The church was primarily Jewish believers that were caught between two worlds,

the ancient faith of their fathers and the claim that Messiah has already come.

And they were right in between that.

Synagogue doors are closing to them, and family ties are straining.

There's a lot of stress.

The tension is if Jesus is the Messiah, why did the religious leaders miss

him and did the system reject him?

Jewish believers need more than stories.

They need proof scripture level.

Proof.

Why now?

Why would this be released at this time?

Matthew writes to settle the question, he builds his case like a lawyer,

genealogy, establishing royal lineage prophecy after prophecy being fulfilled.

The king's own words about his kingdom.

This isn't a biography, it's a brief.

For the defense, the king has arrived.

The evidence is overwhelming, and the religious establishment that

rejected him is about to face judgment.

Here's what we're going to encounter in Matthew.

It's very structured and deliberate like a tax collector might do.

Very methodical.

He's not telling stories.

He's making a case.

The king has arrived and this is what his kingdom looks like.

Here's what you'll hear as you start reading Matthew the genealogy.

14 generations from Abraham to David, 14 to exile, and 14 to Christ.

This isn't filler.

This is Royal Lineage.

David's throne has an heir that is very important to the Jewish faithful

to the Jewish believers fulfillment.

This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet that appears

over and over in this book.

Matthew isn't proving Jesus fits the prophecies.

He's showing that Jesus.

Is what the prophecies pointed to.

Oh man.

And here's my favorite.

The sermon on the mount the king delivers in Matthew five, six, and seven.

His constitution from a mountain could be, could be a realistic

mountain, it could be symbolic.

We're not sure.

I actually believe it was at least a mountain or A hill.

Kingdom ethics.

And we'll hear this over and over again.

You have heard it said, but I say to you, those are some quotes that

Jesus will use over and over again in that Jesus isn't interpreting Moses.

He's speaking with greater authority than Moses.

This is what life in the Kingdom looks like.

He was speaking it to that audience, but it applies to us today.

Quick sidebar, just a personal thing here.

The reason that I love Matthew so much, a few years back, I believe

it was deep into the COVID years.

I was just, you know, I was a bit unsettled.

There was a lot going on.

I'm sure some of you remember that time.

And I really wanted to do more, some meditation and things like that, but

that's kind of not the way my mind works.

Some of you might be able to relate to that, but I wanted something

that would just nourish my soul and my mind during that time.

And in a Bible app that I had, I still have.

I, it had the Sermon on the mount and I looked at it and it had

someone that would read it out loud, and it was about 15 minutes.

I went, oh, 15 minutes.

That's about a good meditation.

And so I said it, and almost every morning for about three years.

I would listen to the Sermon on the Mount.

I would sit, didn't even have my Bible open or anything, and I would just

listen to the Sermon on the Mount.

And every time I did, I would hear different things and I would, I would

listen to it as if I was sitting on that hillside listening to Jesus deliver this.

And I can tell you, man, it was powerful.

There were things that after about a hundred times.

I heard them differently after a year.

I heard them differently after two years.

It was like, I've never heard that before.

It is so powerful.

That's why, and maybe it was part of the impetus or the catalyst for this immersion

of what was going on in the first century.

Person that was hearing these words.

And so anyway, just quick sidebar if you can.

When you get to that section, read it out loud, or if you can find it somewhere,

listen to the sermon on the mount.

Very, very powerful.

another thing you're gonna get from Matthew, the parables of the

kingdom seeds, yeast, treasure nets.

The kingdom isn't coming someday.

It's here.

And it's growing.

It was here in the first century and it's here now, hidden at times, but unstoppable

present, but not yet fully revealed.

Another thing that I want you to focus on as you read through Matthew, the

Vete discourse in Matthew 24, this.

Is a very significant passage.

Jesus sits on the Mount of olives and answers his disciples question,

when will these things be?

When will they occur?

His answer is specific, false.

Messiahs wars, famine, persecution, the abomination of desolation, all of those.

And then he says, this generation will not pass.

Until all these things take place.

He's not talking about a distant future.

Truthfully, he's not putting it.

2000 years later, he's talking about what they will see with their own eyes.

Keep that in mind as you read this.

In Matthew 24, Matthew's first readers understood the stakes.

They were living in the countdown.

The king had announced judgment on the temple, and it was.

Coming Now, what you're gonna be doing is you're gonna read Matthew, if you're

following along with the reading plan over the next eight sessions, the

next eight days per the plan, if you can compress some of those, maybe

do the Sermon on the Mount all at one time, maybe some of those items.

Circling around Matthew 24.

Try to read those in one setting.

That would be awesome.

what's coming up next, just to give you a glimpse is we finally will

get to Paul Galatians the first letter that Paul wrote, freedom

in Christ and the Danger of Going.

Back to the law.

It fits so well in the reading order right here.

Once again, I'd love for you to go to K two M Foundations slash NT 90 for.

More details for the downloadable reading plan and just some resources

that will be helpful along the way.

And before I wrap up here, I want to encourage you share

this with some friends.

We need some people reading along with us.

You do.

that way you can kind of talk to them, bounce ideas off each other,

and, just reach out to them.

Share it with a friend who might want to read or needs to

read scripture with context.

Okay.

Let's wrap up here.

Before you read, let's set the scene.

It is AD 48.

Jerusalem's Temple still stands.

Its sacrifices rising daily, but for a growing number of Jewish

believers, something has shifted.

Messiah has come, and the religious establishment missed him.

Matthew writes to settle it genealogy.

Royal lineage prophecy after prophecy fulfilled on a mountain

side, the king delivers his constitution on the mount of Olives.

He answers the question everyone is asking, when This generation will not pass

away until all these things take place.

The countdown has begun.

Now, let's read.