Chapter One
GenesisIntroduction
Why read this book?
If you're like most people, you've wondered about the deep questions
of life: Why are we here? What is life all about? Genesis takes you back to
the beginning of time to find the answers. It tells about many beginnings:
the first plants and animals; the first man and woman; the first
sin; the first news of God's salvation. It also shows God's dealings with
Noah, Abraham and others, demonstrating his desire to fellowship with
his people.
Who wrote this book
and when?
Moses probably wrote this book around 1440 B.C. But since he was not
an eye-witness to the creation, he relied on revelation from God and,
perhaps, earlier oral or written records.
What period of history
does it cover?
From the time of the creation (a date that can only be speculated) to
the time when the Israelites arrived in Egypt and grew into a nation
(about 1800 B.C.).
Why was it written?
To show that when God made the creation, it was good. But Genesis
goes on to say that when sin entered the world, it corrupted the creation.
The story tells the beginning of God's plan for salvation. Genesis
provides the framework upon which the rest of the Bible builds.
To whom was it
written?
Since this book announces that all peoples on earth will be blessed
through Abraham (12:3), it seems fair to conclude that all people can
benefit from the account of this patriarch and his descendants.
What to look for
in Genesis:
Notice the focus Genesis places on the relationship between God and
humanity-broken in the garden and restored through sacrifices and
personal encounters with God. Through the stories of history Genesis
illustrates cycles of sin and repentance.
The Beginning
1 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the
earth. 2 Now the earth was a formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the
Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated
the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light
"day," and the darkness he called "night." And there
was evening, and there was morning-the first day.
6 And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the
waters to separate water from water." 7 So God made
the expanse and separated the water under the expanse
from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God
called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and
there was morning-the second day.
9 And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered
to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was
so. 10 God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered
waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was
good.
11 Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear
fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds."
And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants
bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing
fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And
God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning-the third day.
14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the
sky to separate the day from the night, and let them
serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to
give light on the earth." And it was so. 16 God made
two great lights-the greater light to govern the day
and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made
the stars. 17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to
give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the
night, and to separate light from darkness. And God
saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and
there was morning-the fourth day.
20 And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse
of the sky." 21 So God created the great creatures of
the sea and every living and moving thing with which
the water teems, according to their kinds, and every
winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that
it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful
and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." 23 And there
was evening, and there was morning-the fifth day.
24 And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures
according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that
move along the ground, and wild animals, each according
to its kind." And it was so. 25 God made the
wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock
according to their kinds, and all the creatures that
move along the ground according to their kinds. And
God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the
sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over
all the earth, and over all the creatures that move
along the ground."
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful
and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.
Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air
and over every living creature that moves on the
ground."
29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing
plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree
that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for
food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the
birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the
ground-everything that has the breath of life in
it-I give every green plant for food." And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very
good. And there was evening, and there was morning-the
sixth day.
2 1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed
in all their vast array.
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had
been doing; so on the seventh day he rested a from
all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and
made it holy, because on it he rested from all the
work of creating that he had done.
Adam and Eve
4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when
they were created.
When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens- 5 and
no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth
and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the Lord
God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no
man to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the
earth and watered the whole surface of the ground- 7 the
Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the
man became a living being.
8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in
Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 And the
Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground-trees
that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In
the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from
there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name
of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land
of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is
good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) 13 The
name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through
the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is
the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the
fourth river is the Euphrates.
Matthew
Introduction
Why read this book?
Have you ever read a sequel to a novel without having read the original
story? Trying to pick up the story line without a transition can be
difficult. The Gospel of Matthew serves as such a transition. It connects
the story of the Old Testament with the story of the New Testament,
helping us understand how the life and teaching of Jesus built upon
what had come before.
Who wrote this book?
Matthew, a tax collector who became one of Christ's twelve disciples.
Why was it written?
To offer irrefutable proof that the long-awaited Jewish Messiah had
come to inaugurate God's kingdom on earth.
When and to whom
was it written?
Matthew possibly wrote this book in the A.D. 70s (though some believe
he may have written it in the 50s or 60s), primarily for Jewish readers.
He offered a persuasive account of the Good News of Jesus, citing Old
Testament evidence that supported the claims believers had been
making about Jesus.
What to look for
in Matthew:
Notice Matthew's frequent use of the Old Testament and how his
Jewish orientation flavors his descriptions. For example, he frequently
uses Son of David instead of Son of God (as in the Gospel of John). One
of Matthew's major themes is the kingdom of heaven. Note Jesus'
teachings about what it means to be a citizen of that kingdom.
The Visit of the Magi
2 1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during
the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to
Jerusalem 2 and asked, "Where is the one who has been
born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and
have come to worship him."
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all
Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all
the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he
asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 "In Bethlehem
in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet
has written:
6 "'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of
Judah; for out of you will come a ruler
who will be the shepherd of my people
Israel.'"
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out
from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent
them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful
search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me,
so that I too may go and worship him."
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way,
and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of
them until it stopped over the place where the child was.
10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming
to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary,
and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they
opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of
gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12 And having been
warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned
to their country by another route.
The Escape to Egypt
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared
to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and
his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you,
for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him."
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the
night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the
death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had
said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my
son."
16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by
the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the
boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old
and under, in accordance with the time he had learned
from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet
Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18 "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."
The Return to Nazareth
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a
dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, "Get up, take the
child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those
who were trying to take the child's life are dead."
21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went
to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus
was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was
afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he
withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived
in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said
through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
3 1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the
Desert of Judea 2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom
of heaven is near." 3 This is he who was spoken of
through the prophet Isaiah:
"A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'"
4 John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had
a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and
wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem
and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing
their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan
River.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees
coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them:
"You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the
coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We
have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these
stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is
already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does
not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into
the fire.
11 "I baptize you with water for repentance. But
after me will come one who is more powerful than I,
whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 His winnowing fork
is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering
his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff
with unquenchable fire."
The Baptism of Jesus
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be
baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying," I
need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"
15 Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to
do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the
water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw
the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on
him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son,
whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
The Temptation of Jesus
4 1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be
tempted by the devil.
Continues.
