Dear Church - Matthew 2

Dear Church 2

          As we tour the New Testament, we find that the books are not arranged in chronological order. The order of books is not an issue of inspiration but of practicality since the Vulgate Latin Bible in 382 when Jerome was commissioned to revise an earlier version of the Gospels. Jerome listed the Gospels in his understanding of chronological order: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, followed by the history book of Acts. Then, the epistles of Paul are positioned by the book's length and not by the date of writing, and the general epistles are arranged by length as well. The book of Hebrews, which is lengthy, is placed in-between because there is debate about whether the Apostle Paul wrote the book or not. Then, the prophetic book of Revelation is placed at the end and is the last inspired book written by the Apostle John.

          The Gospel of Matthew in 45 AD was the first inspired New Testament book.
In his Gospel, Matthew had a profound mission to enlighten his fellow Jews about the fulfillment of prophecies in Jesus, the promised Messiah. Let's explore a partial list of these prophecies below.

         As non-Jews, seeing fulfilled prophecies is also powerful and encouraging. As Christians, we have confessed, “I believe that Jesus is the Christ.”

           Matthew 16:13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

         What did you mean when you made that profession? You affirmed that Jesus is the Anointed One, the promised Messiah from the Old Testament. It would be good to know what some of those passages predict if you affirm that.

          We can confidently worship the one true Messiah because of the many fulfilled prophecies.