HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1229
Matthew
T H E R E I S A K N O C K O N T H E D O O R , and you open it to find
a royal messenger. “The king is coming to your home tomorrow!” he
announces. “He wants to visit you and get to know you.” Then the
messenger gives you a book. “You may read all about the king in this
book,” he says. “It will help you know him better before he comes.”
What you will be
When the messenger leaves, you eagerly open
reading about
the book. You want to read every word, again
and again. You want to know all about the king
1:1–2:23
The birth of Jesus
before he comes to see you.
“King Jesus, the Messiah, has come,” the book
3:1– 4:25
Jesus begins his ministry
of Matthew tells you. “He wants to know you,
love you, and bring you into his royal Kingdom
5:1–7:29
Jesus teaches many truths
of Heaven. You may live with him there forever
to people on a hillside
and ever. Read this book. It will help you get to
8:1–12:50
know him.”
Jesus heals many people
Matthew, the author of this book, was once a
13:1-58
Jewish tax collector. He had been hired by the
Jesus tells many parables
Romans, who controlled the land, to collect taxes
14:1–20:34
from his own people. Matthew soon learned he
Jesus continues to teach
could make a lot of money—and a lot of enemies.
and heal
With the authority of the Roman government
21:1–26:30
behind him, it was easy to charge higher taxes
Jesus teaches in Jerusalem
than were required and then pocket the differ26:31– 27:56
ence. Yes, Matthew was rich, but he was spirituJesus is arrested, tried, and
crucified
ally bankrupt. Crowds flocked to his booth each
day to pay their taxes, but he was probably one
27:57– 28:20
Jesus rises from the dead
of the loneliest men in Israel. Busy at his work
one day, he looked up to see Jesus. “Follow me,”
Jesus told him. Incredibly, Matthew did! He left all—his work, his money, his
position with the Romans—to become one of those who later became known
as the twelve disciples or the twelve apostles. Only one thing could have motivated him to do such a thing: He saw that the value of the person he followed
was far greater than the worth of what he left behind. He saw a person who
was willing to love and accept him. He saw a man who cared enough to help
him change. He saw God, and he knew it.
Now there was no turning back. Matthew had to tell others about Jesus. So he
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