1. God’s Mission in Matthew
Matthew : Prologue
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.’ (5.3)
Matthew : Instruction on the Torah
‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.’ (5.17)
Matthew : Instruction on religious duties
Matthew : Living the life of discipleship to Jesus
‘So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.’ (7.12)

2. God’s Mission in Matthew
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”Mt

3. God’s Mission in Matthew
Mt :
Thesis:
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you. (v. 7)
Basis:
For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. (v. 8)
Illustrations:
Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? (v.9)
Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? (v. 10)
Concluding inference:
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him? (v. 11)

4. God’s Mission in Matthew
God deeply cares for you, even more so than a human parent, and he will not turn a deaf ear to your prayers.
So . . .
Be encouraged
Be persistent
Be expectant
The good things God gives are those which are necessary to live the life of discipleship

5. God’s Mission in Matthew
‘So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.’ (7.12)
The expression of the ‘golden rule’ is the working out of the Jesus Creed:
‘You shall love the Lord you God with al your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commands depend all the Law and the Prophets.’ (Mt )

6. God’s Mission in Matthew
The concept of loving your neighbor runs throughout the Gospel: Mt Mt Mt

7. God’s Mission in Matthew
Loving your neighbor is the visible expression of loving God
Following the golden rule is putting into action what it means to love your neighbor
The main idea:
‘Treat others only in ways that you’re willing to be treated in the same exact situation.’

8. God’s Mission in Matthew
As the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, Jesus perfectly embodied the command to love:
Jesus heals the afflicted
Jesus offers encouragement
Jesus forgives sin
Jesus exhibits mercy
Jesus shows compassion
Jesus gives rest to the weary
Jesus hands over his life for the sake of others