The Bible in a Year

New Testament

Matthew 12 to 20
Read this coming week:
Jul 11 1 Chron 14‐15, Ps 10, Matt 12 Jul 12 1 Chron 16‐17, Ps 11, Matt 13
Jul 13 1 Chron 18‐20, Ps 12, Matt 14 Jul 14 1 Chron 21‐23, Ps 13, Matt 15
Jul 15 1 Chron 24‐25, Ps 14, Matt 16‐17 Jul 16 1 Chron 26‐27, Ps 15, Matt
18 Jul 17 1 Chron 28‐29, Ps 16, Matt 19 Jul 18 2 Chron 1, Ps 17, Matt 20

Reading Questions
For next week you’re reading Matthew 12 to 20.
Answer the following:
• What is “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit”? (12)
• Who understands parables according to Jesus?
(13)
• Why does John the Baptist die? (14)
• What are the differences between the feeding of
the 4,000 and the feeding of the 5,000? (14/15)
• Should Christians pay taxes according to Matthew
17 and why/why not?
• How many steps are there to take if “your brother
sins against you”? (18)
• How is it possible for a camel to pass through the
eye of a needle or a rich man into the kingdom of
God? (19)
 • Whose mother asks for her sons to have
preferential treatment? (20)

Matthew and the early church

One of the ways that the church arrives at the
“canonicity” or Scriptural reliability of a text is by
checking its use in the early church. This method of
checking is one among many, but its results often tell us
much of how widely spread the Gospel was and how
well it fit to the oral traditions of Christianity that were
at the time more reliable than written traditions.

Matthew’s Gospel is mentioned by several of the early

church fathers, including some of the earliest known
writers of Christianity, Ignatius of Antioch and Polycarp.
In fact, these early writers quote Matthew’s Gospel
directly at times.

It is also interesting to note that it was not only

orthodox Christians, but also heretics that began
quoting Matthew to give their writings credibility. As
the heretics found that Matthew’s gospel was
considered a gold standard in orthodox theology, they
began quoting it as well to give their false writings some
credibility.

Aside who is using the Gospel, we do know that this

Gospel itself is a reliable and trustworthy account of the
grace given to humans beings by God.
Please don’t throw this away. If you’re not going to use it, leave it for
someone else to use.