Preaching through Matthew 4:12-7:27 (Block One)
Hello Everyone,
If you were to preach through Matthew 4:12-7:27, what would be your main points? These main points would be determined by the central ideas of this passage. The needs of your congregation would shape your imperative themes, which is the particular response from them that you expect to achieve from your message. Please read the following summary of Matthew 4:12-7:27, which provides these answers for you.
The Establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven: Predestination-Calling-Justification-Indoctrination (4:12-7:27) – Block 1 consists of a narrative section (4:12-25) and a discourse (5:1-7:27) emphasizing the ordo salutis scheme of “predestination-calling-regeneration-indoctrination” in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Literary Evidence for the Theme – The prologue to the Gospel of Matthew establishes Jesus Christ as the Messiah. He was predestined as the Son of God and called into His office as the King of Israel. After Jesus is justified and inaugurated as the Messiah by water baptism, the coming of the Holy Spirit with the voice of the Father declaring Him as the beloved Son of God, and the wilderness temptation, Jesus Christ begins to declare that the Kingdom of God has arrived upon earth (4:12-25). He establishes the Kingdom of God by delivering His “Inaugural Address,” called the Sermon on the Mount (5:1-7:27). Israel must now decide whether to accept or reject their Messiah.
Literary Evidence of a Common Theme between the First Narrative Section and the Discourse that Follows – The first block of Matthew emphasizes the believer’s sanctification through indoctrination (Matt 4:12-7:27). Matthew uses a transitional sentence common each of the five discourses to inform the reader that Jesus had ended His teaching (Matt 7:28-29).
The one Old Testament prophecy of this narrative-discourse block is found in 4:14-16, which quotes Isaiah 9:1-2 as a fulfillment of prophecy. God predestined the coming of the light of the Gospel in Galilee, reinforcing the theme of this section of Matthew’s Gospel, which states that He brought light, or understanding of God’s Word, into the region of Galilee through His teachings. Thus, the ἵνα πληρωθῇ formula of this block reflects its theme of indoctrination.
Matthew 4:14-16, “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.”
Isaiah 9:1-2, “Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.”
Literary Evidence of a Common Theme between the Sermon on the Mount and Exodus 19-40, which Establishes Doctrine – The references to the Ten Commandments and its statutes in the Sermon on the Mount allude to Moses delivering them to the children of Israel when establishing the Law. In His Sermon, Jesus correctly interprets the heart and essence of the Mosaic Law for the Jews. Thus, we establish a parallel with the giving of the Law in Exodus and the first discourse in Matthew as they both serve to indoctrinate the children of God. Just as the book of Exodus establishes the doctrine of the nation of Israel by the giving of the Ten Commandments and statutes, so the Sermon on the Mount establishes the doctrine of the children of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Central Ideas - Here are proposed statements expressing the central ideas of the first narrative-discourse block (4:12-7:27) emphasizing predestination-calling-regeneration-indoctrination in the Kingdom of Heaven:
Exegetical Idea of the Text—Jesus preached the Gospel to the poor in spirit, called disciples, healed the sick, and taught the principles of the kingdom of Heaven.
Theological Idea of the Text—God has offered redemption to all of mankind through the preaching of the Gospel as a witness that the kingdom of Heaven has come.
Homiletical Idea of the Text—Because the kingdom of Heaven has come, the Gospel calls men to follow Jesus and become His disciples in the kingdom of Heaven in order for the church to fulfill the Great Commission.