Day 1

Reading: MATTHEW 1-4

Journal

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham (1:1). Thus, Matthew begins his gospel to provide the essential bridge that links the Old Testament (OT) to the New Testament (NT). The long awaited Messiah had finally entered human history to bring about redemption and deliverance in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, veiled in flesh and blood.

Matthew's account of the life of Christ is targeted at Jewish readership, obvious from the many OT references he quoted throughout his book, that this is indeed the King of the Jews. Everything about Jesus is unique, from His miraculous birth, His flight to Egypt, His forerunner, His baptism, and His temptation by Satan. All these point to Him as the culmination of what the OT prophets predicted over a thousand years ago. The Seed of the Woman had finally appeared.

The promise to Abraham was that "in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Genesis 12:3). Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, is 'the Son of Abraham' and as 'the Son of David' He is indeed qualified to be Israel's King. It is no wonder that in the first four chapters, Matthew presented Christ with many prophetic quotes as he narrated incidents concerning His birth, baptism, and battle with the devil.

The temptation of Christ qualified His messianic status as the Man whom God chose to fulfill all righteousness on behalf of mankind, by facing the common enemy of God and man—the adversary, Satan. Only by passing this crucial test could Messiah begin His ministry of reconciliation. There are many discourses and good expositions on the nature of Christ's temptation. We need to realize that in essence, the tactics used by Satan on the Son of God encompassed the whole person: body, soul (mind), and spirit. He still uses the same tactics on Christians today: the necessity of the flesh, the vanity of the mind and the religiosity of the spirit.

How do we overcome the devil and his temptations? By grounding ourselves in the sure Word of God just as Christ did. Nothing else will deliver us from the mortal enemy of our souls.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. And take... the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. (Ephesians 6:12, 17)

Ponder & Meditate

Today's reading mentioned at least seven OT prophecies that were fulfilled on Christ. Can you find them?

The wise men came from a distant land to look for the King, not to ask favors or seek personal gains, but to present their most precious gifts in reverend worship.

Consider this: What is the first thing we do when we come before our God and King—to put forth our petitions and ask for blessings, or to offer Him our worship and praise?

Matthew's Gospel

Perhaps it is only appropriate that the gospel records should begin with Matthew's account, just as Jesus straightly told the Samaritan woman:

You do not know what you are worshipping; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. (John 4:22)

It is an undeniable fact that God had chosen the Jewish nation to be the recipients of His oracles and revelation, and to bring forth the promised Savior of the world through the Jewish lineage. That Jesus was born a Jew is a fact; but it cannot be construed as a natural or exclusive right of the Jewish people that they are therefore entitled to God's favor unconditionally.

However, a clear understanding of the Person of Jesus Christ and what He accomplished in His lifetime cannot be divorced from the fabric of Old Testament theology and prophecies, or else we will not be able to grasp the redemptive work of God from its progression to completion, nor fully appreciate the salvation offered by Christ's ultimate sacrifice in its entirety and perfection.

Matthew, therefore, repeatedly pointed back to Old Testament prophetic text to prove his point to his Jewish readers, while at the same time provided references to the less knowledgeable or non-Jews like us, to see for ourselves firsthand his personal witness of Jesus—His life and works—that this is indeed none other than the King in His first advent to fulfill the first three of the Jewish feast days, which depicted pictorially the Messiah's role as the Passover Lamb in His sacrifice, the Unleavened Bread in His death and burial, and the First-fruits in His resurrection.

OUTLINE OF MATTHEW

1. Background of the King (1-2)

        a. Genealogy and Birth (1:1-25)

        b. Infancy and Growing Years (2:1-23)

2. Preparation of the King (3-4)

        a. His Forerunner (3:1-12)

        b. His Baptism (3:13-17)

        c. His Temptation (4:1-11)

        d. His Message and Calling (4:12-25)

3. Declaration of the King (5-7)

        Sermon on the Mount | Discourses

4. Authority of the King (8-10)

        a. His Miracles (8:1-9:38)

        b. His Delegates (10:1-42)

5. Rejection of the King (11-16)

        a. Rejected by the Common People (11:1-30)

        b. Rejected by the Religious Leaders (12:1-50)

        c. Parables of the Kingdom (13:1-58)

        d. Rejected by the Authorities (14:1-15:39)

        e. Revelation to His Disciples (16:1-28)

6. Instructions of the King (17-20)

        Faith | Taxes | Humility | Offenses | Forgiveness

        Divorce | Riches and Rewards | His Death

        Ambition

7. Suffering of the King (21-27)

        a. His Confrontation and Conflicts (21:1-23:29)

        b. His Prophecies (24:1-25:46)

        c. His Passion (26:1-27:66)

8. Triumph of the King (28)

        a. His Resurrection (28:1-17)

        b. His Commission (28:18-20)

The Four Gospels

The New Testament begins with four accounts of the life of Jesus Christ, written by four different authors each focusing on different aspects and appealing to specific readerships.

One wonders why there are four and not just one account, with seemingly similar narrations in the first three gospels. The reason can be attributed to the multi-facet nature of the person and work of this controversial historic figure who claimed to be both the Son of God as well as the Son of Man.

Interestingly, one of the Old Testament prophets had a vision of God in which he saw four angelic creatures, each with four faces depicting that of a lion, an ox, a man and an eagle. This has set many Bible scholars thinking what Ezekiel saw might be a revelation of the mystery of Christ embodied within the four gospels.

Most agreed that Matthew portraits Jesus as the Messiah King to the Jews (the Lion of Judah), Mark presents Him as the subservient Servant to the Romans (the lowly Ox), Luke pictures His humanity to the Greeks (the perfect Man), while John proclaims the divinity of Jesus as One Who comes from above (the majestic Eagle).

However we look at it and whatever perception we may have or entertain about the Person of Jesus Christ, He cannot be ignored or dismissed like any other person we encounter or know based on His claims, credentials and character. Just as He confronted His followers in the past, the same question is now directed to us:

Who do you say that I am?

Our response and what we do about it will have eternal consequences.

New Testament

 

To

JESUS CHRIST

Author and Finisher of our Faith

Eternal Logos

Savior and Lord

To

The CHURCH

Bride and Body of the Risen Lord

Chosen People

Redeemed and Loved

Preface to Volume 1

This devotional material arises from an initiative I put forth in 2015 to two Christian WhatsApp chat groups to go through a daily Bible reading plan in that year. What prompted me on this journey was an article I read from the Navigator News in which a young student convert, delivered from his addiction to computer games, made a decisive and complete break from his time-wasting habit by getting rid of all his treasured games collection, and replaced it with a deep love for reading God's Word. In fact, in a space of two years he read the whole Bible six times!

That is no mean feat for a new Christian, considering there are many long-time believers who might not have read the Bible even once in their lifetime. There is really no excuse for anyone living in a country with freedom of belief and full accessibility to the Bible, printed or in electronic form, not to make an effort to read through the Book of books. Even if one is illiterate or visually impaired, there is still a wide selection of audio Bibles out there with no lack of modern gadgetry to aid in listening to a narrated form.

Having read through the Bible four times myself alternatively in English and Chinese, I can understand the difficulties faced by anyone who sincerely wants to take up this challenge, only to see his or her initial enthusiasm dwindles away by all the seemingly boring ceremonial details in Leviticus, or if he or she manages to get past that first hurdle, only to be stumped by the long list of genealogies found in the volume of Chronicles. So what is it that enables some people to read the Bible from cover to cover, year after year, when the majority could not seem able to even do it once, regardless how hard they try or however long it takes them?

I believe it has to do with the heart attitude—how we regard God's Word in the first place. Reading the Bible in itself takes effort and requires self-discipline, and I am not even talking about studying, understanding or applying it here; just simply reading it. Anyone who sets off to learn a skill or take up a course needs a clear goal or objective in mind or it will either end in failure or not achieve the desired result. The goal or objective is the basis that motivates us when the going gets tough and we feel like giving up.

What then is the goal or objective for reading the Bible? To know the Author—God, as He reveals Himself to us within the pages of inspired writings, Who He is and how we can have a real, vibrant, living relationship with Him. The Bible is essential for spiritual nourishment and growth just as food is to the physical body. Wisdom and insights gained from meditating and applying its principles and truths are just as valuable for a fulfilling life of faith.

It is my prayer and hope that as you embark on this enriching journey of 77 days through the New Testament, you will not only discover the pleasure of reading God's Word, but also find gems of truth that will have you coming back for more.

Introduction

The Daily Reading Journal is a series of three volumes covering the Old and New Testaments of the Bible:

1. The New Testament in 77 Days
2. The Old Testament: The Law & The Prophets in 157 Days
3. The Old Testament: The Writings in 87 Days

Together, these three volumes allow anyone who desire to read through the Bible to do so in less than a year, or 321 days to be precise. The organization of the reading plan is intentional, beginning with the New Testament and followed by the Old Testament in two parts, namely, The Law & The Prophets and The Writings. Readers with some knowledge will realize that the Old Testament readings are patterned after the Jewish scripture ordering, not the English Bible which many Christians are used to. For reasons that will be explained in the Preface to these volumes, I will not elaborate too much in this post.

Hopefully, as this blog progresses, it will be a refreshing journey for those desire to go deeper into the Word of God and in the process, find new gems and insights that will keep you coming back for more.