Dr. J. Vernon McGee :: Outline for Matthew

OUTLINE: “Behold Your King” — Matthew presents the Lord Jesus Christ as the King.

I. Person of the King, Chapters 1, 2

II. Preparation of the King, Chapters 3:1 — 4:16

III. Propaganda of the King, Chapters 4:17 — 9:35

IV. Program of the King, Chapters 9:36 — 16:20

V. Passion of the King, Chapters 16:21 — 27:66

VI. Power of the King, Chapter 28

There is a movement in Matthew. Learn to think your way through the entire Gospel from the first chapter through the twenty-eighth. You must know Matthew to understand the Bible. You can no more understand the Bible without understanding the Gospel of Matthew than you can write without an alphabet.

THE BRIDGE BETWEEN THE OLD & NEW TESTAMENTS

There are approximately 400 years between the days of Nehemiah and Malachi and the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. This is a great yawning chasm of silence as far as Scripture is concerned. Nevertheless, this period was a thrilling time when momentous and world-shaking events were transpiring. A brief understanding of these days is at least essential to a right appreciation of the New Testament.
World history made rapid strokes in this interval. The internal condition of Judah experienced a radical transformation. A new culture, different institutions, and unfamiliar organizations arose in this period and appear in the New Testament.
The Old Testament closed with the Medio-Persian Empire being the dominant power. Also, Egypt was still a power to be reckoned with in world politics. During the interval between the Testaments, both faded from the scene as outstanding nations. World power shifted from the East to the West, from the Orient to the Occident, from Asia to Europe, and from Medio-Persia to Greece. When the New Testament opens, a new power, Rome, is the world ruler. Aconsideration of some important, approximate dates will give a rapid succession of major events that mark the transition.

The experiences of the nation of Judea during the inter-testament period affected its internal life. In fact, a radical change took place. After the Babylonian captivity, they turned from idolatry to a frantic striving for legal holiness. The Law became an idol to them. The classic Hebrew gave way to the Aramaic in their everyday speech, but the Hebrew was retained for their synagogues. The synagogue, which seemed to have come in right after the Captivity, became the center of their life in Judea and also everywhere they went into the world.
Many parties appeared among them. In Judea there were several prominent ones. They were:

1. Pharisees — The Pharisees arose to defend the Jewish way of life against all foreign influences. They were strict legalists who believed in the Old Testament and who were nationalists in politics.

2. Sadducees — The Sadducees were made up of the wealthy and social minded who wanted to get rid of tradition. They rejected the supernatural and were opposed to the Pharisees who accepted it. The Sadducees were closely akin to the Greek Epicureans.

3. Scribes — The scribes were a group of professional expounders of the Law that stemmed from the days of Ezra. They became “hair-splitters” and were more concerned with the “letter of the law” than with the “spirit of the law.”

4. Herodians — The Herodians were a party in the days of Jesus who arose as political opportunists seeking to maintain the Herods on the throne.

There was great literary activity during this period in spite of the fact that there was no revelation from God. The Old Testament was translated into Greek in Alexandria in Egypt during the period 285-247 B.C. It was made by six members from each of the 12 tribes; hence, the name given to this translation was “Septuagint,” meaning seventy.
The Apocrypha of the Old Testament was written in this era. These are 14 books that bear no marks of inspiration. They are as follows: 1 and 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, 2 Esther, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, Song of the Three Holy Children, History of Susannah, Bel and the Dragon, Prayer of Manasses, and 1 and 2 Maccabees. There are two books classified as the Pseudepigrapha because they bear the names of two characters of the Old Testament, but there is no evidence that these two were the writers. These two books are the Psalter of Solomon and the Book of Enoch.
Although this is a period marked by the silence of God, it is, nevertheless, evident that God was preparing the world for the coming of Christ. The Jewish people, the Greek civilization, the Roman Empire, and the seething multitudes of the Orient were all being prepared for the coming of a Savior, insomuch that these events produced the scene Paul labeled “the fulness of time.”