The Three Cs

The setting of the Gospel of Saint Matthew is unlike the other three Gospels: It resounds with the proclamation that Jesus is the Messiah. Matthew moves quickly through the birth and infancy narratives of chapters one and two into the adult ministry of Jesus. But along the way Matthew sets the stage by showing how prophecies from Isaiah, Malachi, Zechariah, Hosea, and Jeremiah, in particular, effectively link Jesus to the Torah (Matt. 1:1-17), the virgin birth (Isa. 7:23) in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), and as a survivor of a slaughter of innocents (Jer. 31:15) who comes out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1). As chapter three opens, John the Baptist, the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth (Luke 1:5-80) has begun his ministry as the one calling in the desert to turn the hearts of the fathers. Textual Notes 1 Ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις -- The expression “in those days” rings throughout prophetic scripture, serving as an important marker that something big is about to happen: Elijah has arrived to “...

The pericope for Lord’s Supper in the Gospel of Matthew is in the midst of a paradox. The fruit of salvation offered in a cup is sandwiched by two of the worst kinds of sin. On one hand, Jesus will be betrayed by someone who doesn’t believe in him (Mt 26:14-16, 24), and on the other he will be denied by someone who does (Mt 26:30-35). Jesus will warn us that it would be better we hadn’t been born than to betray Him (Mt 26:24), and he has already said that if we deny him, he will deny us (Mt 10:33). All the while, forgiveness is in the offering. As readers hit this foundational passage to the sacrament of Holy Communion, the ministry of Jesus is coming to a close. Matthew has presented the Messiah in an orderly fashion, not linearly like Mark and Luke, through five discourses — the sermon on the mount, the ten miracles, the establishment of the apostolic ministry, the kingdom parables, the life of the church, and the prophecy of the end times — and he has gone into great detail conn...