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New Testament: Matthew
Question one
Nowadays, there are many different translations of the Bible in almost all languages of the world. It seems that a person only needs to go and preach the Word of God written in the Bible. However, if you look at all the different translations of the Bible, it is rather difficult to understand which one should be used. It should be noted that at times, some translations do not agree upon some points. This poses in a difficult position anyone who wants to learn the Word of God, but does not know which translation of these words to choose. For this assignment, I will take a look at some translations and try to distinguish which represents the Word of God more correctly and which contains some distortions.
One should know that the Bible is not written as a complete book. It is a collection of ancient manuscripts that somehow managed to survive. These ancient manuscripts are not the originals that came to us directly from the Apostles, but are the rewritten works of the early Christians who wanted to keep the Word of God. Manuscripts were copied at different times for the transmission and preservation of the Word of God to the next generation. However, at different times, there was a certain political and ecclesiastical influence on the copyists of manuscripts. Therefore, different manuscripts may have some distinctive features if to compare to the original. It should be noted that the presence of more ancient text of all manuscripts, such as the text undergone the least amount of corrections and errors, is of great importance for the translation of the Bible.
There are different manuscripts that are different classification. In the New Testament, there are uncials, which are large texts. They may contain several books of the New Testament. There are also minuscules, which are small text fragments up to a couple of verses of one chapter. With regard to the Old Testament, we know the Masoretic Hebrew text and the Septuagint text in ancient Greek, which contains the full text of the Old Testament. As there is a wide variety of manuscripts which one or another translation of the Bible is based upon, we can trust the most ancient ones.
For the analysis, the author has chosen four translations of the New Testament, Matthew 7:21 7:23. The translations have been taken from the online Bibles, including the New Revised Standard Version. It is obvious that the same passage has different translations in different versions of the Bible. In the New Testament of the New Revised Standard Version, a reader can read the following translation:
7:21 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
7:22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’
7:23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers (Ridling, 1989).
On the Bible Gate Away website (n.d.), there is another version of translation:
7:21 Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
7:22 Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?
7:23 Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!
If a read has a look at the Bible on the Recovery Version web page, he or she can find the following translation:
7:21Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but he who does the will of My Father who is in the heavens.
7:22 Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, was it not in Your name that we prophesied, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name did many works of power?
7:23 And then I will declare to them: I never knew you. Depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness (Recovery Version).
The King James New Testament Holy Bible proposes the variant that greatly differs from all the versions above:
7:21 Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (King James, 2004).
As the passage has only three sentences, it is rather difficult to understand its meaning. The author suggests that Matthew wanted to say that one should not simply believe in God and pray daily, but show ones love to God with ones actions. It is about the true love to God and belief in Him. The point is that one cannot ask for a place in Heaven until one deserves it. Matthew said that regardless how hard one prays, if there are no actions in name of God, a person would never be allowed to enter the Heaven gates.
From the translations presented above, it is obvious that they were made by different translators. The main difference between them is in lexis. The words chosen by the translators are different not only morphologically, but they have different meaning, as well. For example, the last words of the passage are go away from me, you evildoers! (Ridling, 1989). The same words are used in the translation given on the Bible Date Away website. However, in the Recovery Version website translation, the Matthews words are different. He says: depart from me, you workers of lawlessness (Recovery Version). In the King James version, another variant of translation: depart from me, ye that work iniquity is proposed (King James, 2004). All the words used in the following translations have different contextual meaning.
Question two
The structure of the Gospel of Matthew indicates a well-crafted composition. Best of all this is indicated by the formula (7:28; 11: 1; 13:53; 19: 1; 26: 1), which is considered to be a long time, introduces five major “conversations” contained in the 5-7, 10, 13 and 24-25 chapters, representing a detailed compilation of Jesus sayings on various topics (discipleship, mission, parables, and the future of the relationship). However, what is more remarkable is that the dramatic development of the story of the Gospel, which shows Jesus as the Messiah (1: 1-4: 16); describes His public ministry in Galilee (which is growing as a response to his words, and confrontation (4: 17-16: 20 ); shows (through His disciples specific instructions about rejection and death); the true purpose of his messianic mission (16: 21-18: 35); describes the collision of the Messiah with the official leaders of Israel, which took place during his dramatic (and only) to Jerusalem (19: 1-25: 46); special focus should be made on Chapter 23 (in which the unbelieving Jews rejected His appeal); and finally, ends his suffering, death and resurrection, thus performing His messianic mission (26: 1-28: 20). Thus, it is possible to sate that the Gospel is a dramatically structured description of Jesus as the Messiah of Israel who is opposed to the unbelieving Jews.
The theological perspective of Matthew is best characterized by the word “performance” and is best seen in one of the most frequent of (more or less variability in words): “All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by Lord through the prophet” (Matthew, 1:22; Ridling, 1989). The so-called “formula-quotes” represent a historical commentary of Matthew and show his great ability to notice and draw attention to the interrelation that exists between the Old Testament Revelation and the story of Jesus. This tendency, however, is not confined to the citation of any unambiguous predictions. In Matthew, there are many allusions to the Old Testament. It should be noted that many of them stress the “typological” relationship between Jesus and the main aspects of God’s activity in the past history of Israel. A strong example of this is the formula given in Chapter 12 is repeated three times: “But I tell you that this place is one greater than the temple (Jonah Solomon) (12: 6, 41, 42). Thus, we can say that Matthew describes Jesus as one who did not only follow, but exceeded those through whom God led His people in the past (through the priest, prophet, king, and sage).
The first two chapters clearly show that Matthew focuses on the idea of performance. Literally translated, the first two words mean “a book of origin.” The Genealogy (1: 1-17) begins with these words. Jesus shows that he represents the pinnacle in the development of the history of the Old Testament Israel, especially in the royal branch of David. The remaining part of Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 consists of five short stories. Each of these stories focuses on a quotation of the Old Testament. The purpose of the narrative as a whole is to ensure and show how this scripture is fulfilled in Jesus. Therefore, all the “narrative of childhood” indicates identity and origin of Jesus as the Messiah. Direct quotes represent the part of the biblical coloring. It is possible to hear the echoes of the history of Moses and Pharaoh. It should be noted that some topics are related to the idea of the kingdom and the messianic mission.
Reading the Gospel of Matthew helps to understand the meanings of his words in Chapter 7. There are false prophets, as well as false believers. False prophets appear because there are some people who wait for them. A fallen human nature is prone to a compromise; for complete peace of mind to everyone, I would like to fulfill what God requires, but to fulfill so that the execution was burdensome. The direct violation of the word of God would be too risky. The situation would be different if there were a spiritual leader. For example, the prophet could have sanctioned such a breach, take responsibility and thus remove it from those who would not want to walk a narrow way. If you wish, this “prophet” could always be distinguished from the true man of God, but if there is no desire, if the listener does look for the truth and revelation of God and self-justification, he/she might not even notice quite obvious things. It is no wonder that all this is peculiar to those who call themselves Christians. After all, one name, as Jesus said, is not enough. Thus, one should have a willingness to take the most narrow way, and meanwhile, the devil is always ready to point out the way that is lighter and supposedly leads to the same goal, as he pointed them to the Savior in the time of temptation in wilderness (Matthew 4: 3-10). The sole criterion of the truth is the same fulfillment of the words of Jesus (vv. 24 – 27). And it’s not only that the person living in the kingdom (as are all true Christians), with no one confused: it is impossible to imitate the grace of God. The fact is that no power and no gifts do not bring a man to the Kingdom. First of all, one must change internally, and if such a change has occurred, everything else will be useless (Art. 22 – 23).
Question three
The New Oxford Annotated Bible provides its explanation of this passage. The footnote in the Bible suggests that the following passage is about righteousness (Harris, 2010, p. 1756). The editor of the book suggests that Jesus taught his students to behave ethically. The entire Chapter 7 of the Gospel is based on the idea of how to behave accordingly. David Nevue (n.d.) has also studied the Gospel of Matthew. He states that people show their love to God not with the words that come out of their mouths, but with their actions, how they follow the His commandments.
Question four
In order to distinguish some textual and translational questions that remain unanswered to the author, it is necessary to analyze the word by word translation of the Greek text. To complete that, the author has used two opportunities: a word by word dictionary translation and machine translation of the entire passage. The machine translation of the passage is:
7;21 everyone who says to me, Lord sir, eiselefsetai the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of my Father in heaven.
7:22 Many erousin me in ekein?t?imer? Lord sir, tht?s? name eprofitefsamen and t?s? name demons exevalomen and t?s? name under several epoiisamen?
7:23 and then confess unto them that it never egnon you out: leaving from Me, you who practice lawlessness (Google translator).
Obviously, such a translation is not enough to complete the analysis. For the word by word analysis, the author used an online dictionary provided by the Greek Bible website. The translated passage is:
21 No (not) everyone (each, any, every, all, the whole…) the (this, that, these) say (speak, affirm over, maintain, teach, command) me (my) Lord (the owner, the master, the one who controls the person) Lord (the owner, the master, the one who controls the person) into enter the Messiahs kingdom the (this, that, these) the valued expanse of the sky with all things visible in it (the universe, the world) but (nevertheless, notwithstanding) the (this, that, these) make (prepare, produce, provide things for oneself) the (this, that, these) what one wishes or has determined shall be done (of the purpose of Gob to bless mankind through Christ) the (this, that, these) generator (male ancestor, teacher, Father of Jesus Christ) me (my) the (this, that, those) in (by, with) the valued expanse of the sky with all things visible in it (the universe, the world).22 Many (much, large) say (speak, affirm over, maintain, teach) me (my) in (by, with) he (she, it) the (this, that, these) day Lord (the owner, the master, the one who controls the person) Lord (the owner, the master, the one who controls the person) no (not) the (this, that, these) thy (thine) name and (also, even, indeed, but) the (this, that, these) thy (thine) name the divine power (a spirit, a being inferior to God, superior to men) to cast out (with a notion of violence) and (even, also, indeed, but) the (this, that, these) thy (thine) name strength power (ability) many (much, large) make (prepare, produce).23 And (also, indeed, but) then (at that time) agree with (not to refuse, promise, concede) himself (herself, themselves, he, she, it, the same) that (because, since) never learn to know (know, understand, perceive) you; go away (depart) of separation I (me, my) the (this, that, those) work (trade, do business, exercise, commit) the (this, that, these) the condition of without law because ignorant of it, because of violating it, contempt and violation of law, iniquity, wickedness (The online Greek Bible, n.d.).
Evidently, there are translational issues that the author has to understand. The main issue concerns which word is more appropriate to use: evildoers or workers of lawlessness. In the Greek version of the Bible, it is obvious that the word lawlessness is used. However, the word evildoers is used in several English translations, presented in the first question. This issue belongs to translational question to be answered. There is not much difference between the word order of the Greek text and the English translations.
Question five
The Bible dictionaries have been created and used for a long time. Scientists have always strived to find out sacral meanings of the Bible words. Nowadays, there are many dictionaries that contain the explanation of Biblical terms. Thus, the author has taken the Mercer Dictionary of the Bible. Before looking for the definitions of the terms and loaded words, it was necessary to define them. The list of the terms is:
Lord;
Kingdom of Heaven;
Will;
Father;
Heaven;
Day;
Prophesy;
Evildoers.
Some of these words cannot be found in the dictionary, such as the word Day. In this case, the words are not terms but loaded words. Hence, the author has decided to divide the answer to this question into two parts: the first part will contain the analysis of terms, whereas the second one will be devoted to the meanings of the loaded words. For the terms explanation, the author has chosen the Anchor Bible Dictionary.
Terms
Heaven and Kingdom of Heaven are the terms that may be considered synonyms. In the Anchor Dictionary, the terms heaven and kingdom of heaven mean heights or high places.
Lord is also used by Matthew in his Gospel. The Hebrew word for Lord is Jehovah. The word means the one who has total control.
Prophesy (or prophecy) is the function of a prophet. The function is in predicting or foreseeing some events. In the passage from the Gospel of Matthew, the term means to honor, show respect.
Loaded words
Day is one of the loaded words, which frequently appear in the text of the Gospel. For the Hebrews, a day is the period of time between the sunrise and the sunset. In the analyzed passage, the word is loaded with a special meaning. Matthew meant the Judgment Day.
Will. Nowadays, the word will is used as a noun or verb. If it is used as a noun, it means a desire to do something. If it is used as a verb, it means to try to make something happen by thinking about it very hard. In this passage, Matthew loaded the word with an additional meaning Gods rules and laws. These things God wants everyone to obey and follow.
Father is one of the loaded words in Matthews Gospel. In the passage, the word does not mean the biological father every person has, but the Creator who is the Father of every creature in the world.
Evildoers. In the previous parts of the journal, the author has already mentioned that the Greek word is not translated the same way. The literary translation of the word is lawlessness. However, Matthew, perhaps, did not mean that those who live against the social law would be punished. On the contrary, those who act against Gods will would not be allowed to enter the Kingdom of heaven. This word is a vivid example of how translations and their meanings may differ. The author of the paper suggests that Matthew could not find a better word than lawlessness. However, the translators used the right word and loaded it correctly.
Question six
The New Annotated Oxford Bible (NAOB) (New Revised Standard Version) Hebrew Bible begins with an introduction. It has been written by Dwane Harris, the editor. Dwane explains the peculiarities of the Bible. The editor writes that the New Annotated Oxford Bible, the Hebrew Bible is the Pentateuch, which consists of five parts. It should be noted that it is not appropriate to call the Bible Pentateuch because all of its books were written by different authors. Dwane Harris explains that both Christians and Jewish accept the five books as a unit. The New Annotated Oxford Bible has been written with footnotes and endnotes because it is meant for study. Nowadays, there are many students who study theology and the Bible. The editors of the NAOB edition tried not to overuse the explanations, as well as remain it clear and understandable.
Another theme of the introduction is the meaning of the Pentateuch and the explanation of how the five books unite in it. Law is predominant genre of the Pentateuch (Harris, p. 3). The editor clarifies that law may be not an appropriate word for the Hebrew torah, because this word has several meanings, including the meaning teaching (Harris, p. 4). The second part of the following introduction is devoted to the present source theories. In this part, Dwane Harris explains modern views on the unity of the Torah. In the end, the editor slowly leads the reader to the explanation of the chronology of the five books. The main aim of the introduction is to show what the editors thought when completing the New Annotated Oxford Bible. The editor suggests that this edition of the Bible is unique as it contains many annotations if to compare to other editions of the Bible.
The author of this work suggests that the introduction helps understand the editors attitude to their work. Firstly, it is obvious that the editors have made a thorough research when writing and compiling the New Annotated Oxford Bible. Secondly, when a reader knows the background of the book, it is easier to read and it. Another significant finding is that the introduction is written in a modern language. The point is that some people do not like reading the Bible because it might be difficult to understand. In this edition of the Bible, the editors tried to make annotations and explanations rather understandable and easy. Hence, every word will be easily understood by an ordinary reader.
Question seven
It has never been easy to paraphrase the Bible. There are only lexical reasons for that. The point is that the Bible is one of the oldest books of all times. Hence, there are not many words in modern languages that can be equal synonyms to the words used in the Holy Bible. The authors attempt to paraphrase the Matthew 7:21 7:23 is:
None of those, who call upon God, will become a resident of the Heaven; only those, who live according to Gods laws, will go to Heaven. Many of you will come to me on the Judgment Day and beg for mercy. They will say that they have prayed for me, and cast out their demons, and did everything to honor me. I will remain deaf. I have never known any of these lawless people.
The meaning of the passage is that there are people who only seem to believe in God and live in accordance with His rules. Such people look for mercy from everyone in the world. Moreover, they look for sympathy from God. In this passage, Matthew says that such people will never find any peace in the Kingdom of Heaven. To take ones place in Paradise, one should have an open and pure heart, full with love. The author suggests that people, described in Matthews passage, are selfish; such people always look for benefits. God does not accept such children. For those who pray only to show how religious they are or to get some benefits, God will remain blind, deaf, and mute. God talks only to those who respect Him and His son, and who do not make a great display of their belief.
In this passage, Matthew arose a significant issue of the truth of faith. Nowadays, as well as several centuries ago, there are those who speculate on others belief in God or make business out of this faith. Such people tend to show how great their love to God is. However, God is not what outside; God is what inside. After having read the passage, the author of the paper realized that there is much to think about. On the one hand, there are only three simple sentences. On the other hand, they have a deep meaning. The point is that one should not only live according to the Gods laws, but also be honest with oneself. One can pray day and night, donate money, and help patients in hospices and the retirement houses; however, one should be honest with ones heart. To believe in God, one should have faith in the heart.
The faith is not what one gets with baptizing. The faith is what one gets with life experience. Even if a person goes to a church every week, reads the Bible and sings Gospels on the Christmas Eve, it does not give him or her the privilege to enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew, p. 23, NRSV).
The main issue of the passage, which needs to be studied further, is its initial meaning. Obviously, one cannot analyze it without reading the entire book of Matthew. The author suggests that the further research should be devoted to the issue of the significance of the passage in terms of the meaning of the Book of Matthew. The point is that such a research will help understand whether the passage has another meaning except that one has already been discussed above. For this research, it would be necessary to address not only the Bible, but other sources, for example, the studies on the Bible since the ancient times. The author supposes that it is significant to understand not only what the passage means nowadays and how modern people percept it, but also how Matthew understood it and those who were his contemporaries.
Question eight
In order to answer the following question, the author of the analysis has chosen two one-volume commentaries: The Harper Collins Bible Commentary and Arthur Peakes Commentary on the Bible.
In the Harper Collins Bible Commentary, the author pays much attention to the themes Matthew wanted to outline. The author suggests that the main theme of the Gospel is to show that God is with us. The author of the Gospel emphasizes that Jesus is the son of God. On the contrary, Arthur Peake outlines that in the passage, Matthew wanted to say that those who have false teachers will not be heard by God and that such teachers will be punished.
Unfortunately, neither of the comments answers the above-mentioned questions. The point is that the unknown issue, which remained after reading the passage, was what one should do to obtain faith and to get an allowance to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The author of the paper suggests that it needs some deeper analysis and not just a simple commentary as in this case. There are no studies on a deeper meaning of separate passages of the Gospels.
Question nine
The author has chosen two commentaries to analyze. One of them is the Abington New Testament commentaries. In the commentaries, the author thoroughly analyzes the events that Matthew has described. The author of the commentaries looks deep into the meaning of every word, as well as the events that followed or proceeded the description. For example, the author takes much time to outline and analyze the way Matthew described Jesus family. He states that one cannot follow Jesus genealogical tree, because Matthew did not provide his readers with any information on it. There is only one mentioning of non-linear relatives Judah and his brothers (Senior, 1998).
In the Abington New Testament commentaries, the author outlined that Matthew repeated some words several times. For example, the words David and genesis often appear in the text of the Gospel. In the commentary, the author also describes and thoroughly analyzes the story of Jesus birth. He refers to the ancient Jerusalem laws that could have been applied to Mary and Joseph. The commentary is meant to explain the readers what Matthew wanted to say in the Gospel. Moreover, the author includes his analysis and thoughts.
After having read the commentary, the author of this paper has found out that all the researchers of the Gospel of Matthew have the same opinion on the verses 7:21 7:23. In this verse, Matthew teaches the right way to live. One should do everything to fulfill Gods will; one should live according to Gods laws and rules. The laws and rules are also outlined in the Gospel.
The peculiarity of the Abington New Testament commentaries is that the author uses several resources to prove and contradict his point of view. Speaking about the verses analyzed in this journal, it is necessary to mention that the word evildoers has attracted the commentators attention. For several centuries, there were speculations on this word. Different churches interpreted it the way they wanted and that it was more convenient for them. For example, as the Abington New Testament commentary states, some suggested that non-Christians are evildoers, whereas others suggested that evildoers are Jewish opponents (Senior, 1998).
The second full-scale commentary, the author of the paper has chosen, is The Commentary Practical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible. The commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew was written by David Brown. In the introduction, the author briefly describes Matthews life and origin. The peculiarity of the commentary is that the author analyzes every verse of the Gospel. David Brown describes in details all the phrasal verbs or terms that may be unknown to an average reader.
Chapters 5 8 were united by David Brown in the chapter called Sermon on the Mount. The analysis conducted by David Brown is very unusual. The point is that the author of the comment does not pay attention to the meaning. For example, one of the comments is:
Many will say to me in that dayWhat day? It is emphatically unnamed. But it is the day to which He had just referred, when men shall “enter” or not enter “into the kingdom of heaven.” (See a similar way of speaking of “that day” (in 2Ti 1:12; 4:8).
Lord, LordThe reiteration denotes surprise. “What, Lord? How is this? Are we to be disowned?”
have we not prophesiedor, “publicly taught.” As one of the special gifts of the Spirit in the early Church, it has the sense of “inspired and authoritative teaching,” and is ranked next to the apostleship. In this sense it is used here, as appears from what follows (Brown, 1979).
Here, the author did not outline what Matthew did want to say. Perhaps, it is because the commentaries were written in the nineteenth century. It was not very significant for David Brown to explain his readers what Matthew meant because prophets did that during messes. Hence, the author commented on the word use and not the meaning.
It should be stressed that t is difficult to compare both comments. As the author of the paper has already mentioned above, the comments focus on different aspects of the Gospels text. David Brown did not pay any attention to the meaning of the Gospel. On the contrary, in The Abingdon New Testimony Commentaries, the author does not consider the lexis of the Gospel. The author of the paper suggested that the fullest commentary on the Gospel of Matthew should contain both analyses.
Reflection
The Gospel of Matthew is rather significant in terms of Jesus ministry. Jesus was striving to live his life according to Gods rules. Later, he provided his students with those rules. Matthew tried to provide the ancestors with the most detailed description of Jesus life. The passage, which the author of the paper has analyzed, is rather significant for Jesus ministry. It is significant to mention that the reflection paper will be devoted not to the passage as a separate writing, but to the passage in the context of the entire Gospel of Matthew.
It is well known that Matthew aimed his work at describing Jesus life in detail. He outlined not only the way of Jesus life, but also the main ideas of his teachings. The passages 7:21 to 7:23 are, perhaps, the most significant ones for Jesus ministry. The point is that in the following passages, Matthew provided every Christian with the main rule: to go the righteous way, the way of God. If a person does not follow this way, he or she will not be heard when the Judgment Day comes. Jesus showed how a person should live with his/her actions. He is the son of God who strictly follows the Fathers rules. In the Gospel, Matthew showed that since his birth, Jesus had not done anything against Gods will. That is why he is the King of Jerusalem.
In the settings of Jesus ministry, the text has the same meaning, as it has been discussed above. Jesus lived following his Fathers laws and rules. He had faith in his heart. Maybe, it is the reason why some of the Hebrews have not accepted him as the Messiah. In the passage, Matthew showed the main ideas of Christianity: one should not pray all day long to be heard by God and one should follow the rules of God. Jesus showed that in practice during his short life.
According to the convictions of the early church, the Gospel of Matthew was written the first one. It contains the description of Jesus life; hence, it was the first to appear. The following Gospel is considered the most significant among other ones. The point is that Matthew described Jesus miraculous actions, how he healed people. Moreover, Matthew outlined the concept of law, the essentiality of discipline, teachings, etc.
The Gospel of Matthew was of the highest importance for the early church. The point is that before it, there was only the Old Testament. For the early church, the Old Testament was very sacral and mysterious. On the contrary, the Gospel of Matthew described the life of a human who was not an average one. He lived among people and communicated with them unlike those who were described in the Old Testament.
Nowadays, not many people pay attention to what the Gospel says. The Gospel of Matthew contains the list of the Ten Commandments, the description of Jesus life, and the righteous way of life. It should be noted that modern people tend to forget about God and substitute Him with other values, such as money, beauty, fame, etc. Most of the Americans visit a church every week; however, it is the only thing they do to praise God. In the todays world, people do not have time to pray.
The point is that they do not want. In the paper, the author has analyzed the meaning of the passage 7:21 7:23 of the Gospel of Matthew. It says that one should show his or her love for God not in prays, but in actions. Nowadays, it is not difficult to donate some money to the poor. Perhaps, it will be only one dollar a month or more. God does not count money; He counts good actions. The main idea is to do that with an open heart.
Another problem is that nowadays, it is not popular to be a Christian. People become Buddhist, Scientologists, Cabalists, etc. On the one hand, it is radical to state that only Christian faith is the correct one. On the contrary, it is not necessary to forget the origins. A person has Christian parents and has been baptized; thus, there is no reason to change the religion. God does not prohibit people from believing in Buddha or practicing yoga. God wants a person to follow the right way.
The author of the paper suggests that following the right way does not imply that one should become an anchoret and go away from the civilization to pray. The main idea of the righteous way, as Matthew described in the Gospel, is to follow the Ten Commandments and have faith in ones heart. The passage that has been analyzed above contains the suggestion concerning the false teachers who will suffer when the Judgment Day shall come. The point is that one should be careful not to be tricked. In the modern times, when money is the religion, it is significant to find the right teacher who will follow one along the righteous way. Such teachers can be easily found among priests in churches or the elderly who have lived a long life and are wise. The principal idea is to search for the teacher not using ones eyes or ears, but heart.
When speaking about my life, I should mention that I have already read the Gospel of Matthew when I was a child. I was impressed by Jesus way of life. I decided to act as he did. I tried not to make my parents sad and to be patient to everyone. Obviously, as a child, I was bored in several hours. Perhaps, Jesus was not as perfect as Matthew described him.
Several years have passed since the first acknowledgement with the Bible and the Four Gospels. The Gospel of Matthew will always remain in my memory. Perhaps, my views are similar to those the early church had. When reading the Gospel of Matthew, it becomes obvious that Jesus was among us; he breathed the same air, ate the same food, and walked the same ground. He was not perfect, as well as an ordinary human is. However, he did his best everything to make the lives of people around him much better. Moreover, he tried to teach his followers to do that.
Nowadays, I can easily analyze the Gospel; I have been reading every evening before going to bed. Moreover, I know much about the history of creating the Gospels and their creators. It is not difficult for me to find a deep meaning in every verse of every Gospel. However, the Gospel of Matthew will always remain special for me.
The Gospel is special for me not only because it was the first Gospel I have read. The point is that the Gospel of Matthew has helped me to understand what is good and what should not be done. Besides, I have found out what it means to believe in something or someone. After the finish of the research and analysis, I may conclude that in Chapter 7, verses from 21 to 23, Matthew did not outline what should be done to evildoers on the Judgment Day. The point is that the passage may relate to each relationship between two people. There are always those who follow the wrong path. Moreover, they teach the others how to do that. On the contrary, there are those who act right and do not wait for any reward. However, there shall be the day when evildoers will be punished. There is not only human, but Gods justice in the world.