Matthew 5:43-48

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[i] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 5:38-42

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’[h] 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Matthew 5:33-36

33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

Matthew 5:31-32

31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’[f] 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Matthew 5:27-30

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’[e] 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Matthew 5:23-26

23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

Matthew 5:21-22

21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister[b][c] will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’[d] is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

Matthew 5:17-20

17 “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. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Salt and Light:  Matthew 5:13-16

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:1-12 - the beatitudes

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them.

The Beatitudes

He said:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 4:23-25

23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. 25 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis,[g]Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.

Matthew 4:18-22

18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.

21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John.They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Matthew 4:12 - 17 - Jesus begins to preach

Matthew 4:1-11

Matthew 4:1 - 11 - The temptation of Jesus

Matthew 3:13-17

Matthew 3:13-17 - John baptizes Jesus.

Things to check out:

- Why did Jesus get baptized.
- The Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus.  Does that mean that the Holy Spirit wasn't in Jesus before that?

Matthew 3:1-11

Matthew 3:1-11 - Enter John the Baptist

Things to check out:
- "Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near."
- prophecy about him.
- His clothes were like Elijah's(?)
- Calling the pharisees and sadducees a brood of vipers.  Does it say in other gospels he called all the people that?
- Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

Matthew 2:19-23

Matthew 2:19-23 - The return from Egypt.

It says that Joseph was afraid to return to Judea and that he was warned in a dream not to.  Was Joseph warned as a concession to his fear?  Was it coincidental?

Also, is the prophesy about Jesus being called a Nazarene more Drash, or is the prophecy clear (to us)?

See https://www.gotquestions.org/Matthew-2-23-Jesus-Nazarene.html for more discussion.

Matthew 2:13-18

Matthew 2:13-18 - The escape to Egypt.

Two prophesies:  1.  Hosea 11:1 and Jeremiah 31:15 - were these prophesies originally for something else and had "echoes" here, or did they stand on their own and were originally about Jesus?

Looking at the first, the full text of Hosea 11:1 is, "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.".  This isn't even a prophecy.  Why would Matthew take this so out of context?

From http://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/2575/how-can-the-flight-to-egypt-in-matthew-215-be-a-fulfillment-of-hosea-111
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The usage of Hosea 11:1 in Matthew 2:15 is consistent with the "drash" reading of scripture that was accepted among the dominant Pharisaic Jewish tradition at the time of Jesus.
See this explanation of "drash" and its relationship to context in the Wikipedia article on "pshat" [emphasis is mine]:

Definitions of Peshat also note the importance of context, both historical and literary. This is in contrast to Drash, which will often take the text of a verse out of its context, for uses beyond the context such as ritual or moral purposes. However, this does not mean that Peshat and Drash are fully opposing methods. In fact, one may often be used in helping to explain the other, in finding and defining nuances in text that might be otherwise inexplicable without application of both methods.

For Matthew, Joseph's flight to Egypt and return with Jesus mirrors the exile of Jacob's son Joseph to Egypt and the later exodus of Israel with Moses as referenced in Hosea 11:1. Not only is the narrative context of Hosea not critical to Matthew, the fact that there is such an applicable verse in a different context and written so long before is further proof of his point and invites further comparison of the life of Jesus with other similar passages.
This usage of scripture is in part based on the conviction that they contain all knowledge of significant truths, past and future, either explicitly or in hints, and that this knowledge can be found in individual verses or even in parts of verses read on their own without reference to narrative context, and sometimes even read on opposition to the simple meaning (the "pshat") to yield new understanding.
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Matthew 2:1 - 12

Matthew 2: 1- 12 - The Magi visit Jesus.

So, at the Day of Judgement, do the Magi enter heaven?  Did they say the ABC prayer?  They did believe in the Christ.  Did they give up their magic arts after they met Jesus?

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_Magi :

The word magi is the plural of Latin magus, borrowed from Greek μάγος magos,^[10] as used in the original Greek text of the Gospel of Matthew ("μάγοι"). Greek magos itself is derived from Old Persian maguŝ from the Avestan magâunô, i.e., the religious caste into which Zoroaster was born, (see Yasna 33.7: "ýâ sruyê parê magâunô" = "so I can be heard beyond Magi"). The term refers to the priestly caste of Zoroastrianism.^[11] As part of their religion, these priests paid particular attention to the stars and gained an international reputation for astrology, which was at that time highly regarded as a science. Their religious practices and use of astrology caused derivatives of the term Magi to be applied to the occult in general and led to the English term magic, although Zoroastrianism was in fact strongly opposed to sorcery. The King James Version translates the term as wise men, the same translation is applied to the wise men led by Daniel of earlier Hebrew Scriptures (Daniel 2:48). The same word is given as sorcerer and sorcery when describing "Elymas the sorcerer" in Acts 13:6–11, and Simon Magus, considered a heretic by the early Church, in Acts 8:9–13. Several translations refer to the men outright as astrologers at Matthew Chapter 2, . . .

Matthew 1:18-25

Matthew 1:18 - 25 - The birth of Christ

Why didn't God let Joseph and Mary get married first before making Mary pregnant with Jesus.  It would have saved them both a lot of pain, humiliation, societal shame, etc.

One simple reason is that God wanted to remove any doubt that Mary was a virgin.  But no one believed that anyway.

I think part of the answer lies in God making opportunities for us to grow in faith and obedience.  Mary worshiped God by accepting His will in her life, even though it was going to ruin her socially.  Joseph showed mercy by not having Mary brought before the Sanhedrin, and later believed God and married Mary.

We value our comfort and reputation above all else.  God values our faith, obedience to Him, and the things we do that will last into eternity.  Thus God will happily destroy our reputations and make us uncomfortable in exchange for producing eternal fruit in our lives.

What does Isaiah's prophecy in vs 23 say to us about the Bible?

Matthew 1:1 - 17

Matt 1:1-17 - The genealogy of Jesus.  It says there were 14 generations between Abraham and David, between David to the exile, and from the exile to Christ.

Why do they say that?  There are clearly more.

I will continue to look into this, but so far I found one interesting comment.  https://bible.org/seriespage/origins-jesus-christ-matthew-11-25 mentions that the first 14 generations takes an upward trend to David.  The second 14 generations takes a downward trend toward exile, and the third is upward again to Christ.  Somehow Matthew is showing God's sovereignty through this(?).