The Life of Jesus
Of the four gospels, the Gospel According to Matthew connects Jesus most closely to the story of God’s people and the expected Messiah in the Hebrew Scriptures. This curriculum will walk you through Jesus’ life and ministry from the perspective of Matthew’s community of first-century Jewish Christians: people of God refocusing on the covenantal love between God and God’s people through the illumination of Jesus’ example and teachings. Like the Jews in Jesus’ day, those of us who have been Christians for a long time can often benefit from the reminder of the intention behind our religious customs.
lessons
1. A Tale of Two Kings (Matthew 1:18–25; 2:1–12)
2. A Test of Readiness (Matthew 4:1–11; 4:18–22)
3. Do Not Worry (Matthew 6:19–34)
4. Mercy, Not Sacrifice (Matthew 8:5–13; 9:9–13)
5. The Present Kingdom (Matthew 11:1–6; 11:25–30)
6. The Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 12:46–50; 13:24–33)
7. A Question of Responsibility (Matthew 14:13–21; 15:21–28)
8. Prioritizing People (Matthew 17:24–27; 18:19–35)
9. First and Last (Matthew 19:16–26; 19:27–20:16)
10. God Breaks In (Matthew 21:1–11; 22:34–40)
11. Beware and Be Ready (Matthew 23:13–23; 24:3–8)
12. To Love as God Loves (Matthew 25:31–45; 26:6–13)
13. Christ Is Risen (Matthew 27:45–54; 28:1–10)
writers
Cherice Bock,
Matt Boswell,
Mark Bredin,
Martin Kelly,
Stephen Potthoff,
Ed Schneider,
Rosemary Zimmermann,
Phil Baisley,
Noah Baker Merrill,
Lynn Holt,
Judy Maurer,
Benigno Sánchez-Eppler,
Colin Saxton,
Elizabeth Todd