Evening star., 1923-07-28

career. He gives us the fullest ac-
count of Christ's Sermon on the
Mount that outlines His program
for the Kingdom Of God. He was
impressed by the Lords teachings
concerning stewardship and the
scholarship in the arrangement of his
gospel which was written with a
purpose to prove to the Jews that
Jesus fulfilled the prophecy concern
ing the Messiah. The man who in
former days had been Indifferent to
his national faith and ideals became,
under the influence and instruction of
the Lord Jesus, the most patriotic
of all the apostles. He sought to
present to his countrymen-i in his bio
graph Of Jesus the fact that He was
''the Christ of Israel--born king of
the Jews" He proved that he was
master Of the Old Testament
Scriptures. which he quotes to prove
how Jesus in His ministry did what
He aid that 1t might be fulfilled
which was spoken"
Matthews days spent in the presence
of Jesus had resulted In a complete
moral and spiritual revolution. He
had been despised because he was not
patriotic and Indifferent to the faith,
teachings and traditions of his
countrymen. His gospel sounds the
note of loyal patriotism and the most
intense interest in the religious re-
quirements and prophecies of his
ancestors faith. Judaism helped
him to understand Christianity. which
had been Graded in its lap, and he
Lord a constant reminder Of the
prophets OF the Old Testament.
Matthews respect for the traditions
of the past does not degenerate into
dogmatism and ceremonialism. This
has made it eminently proper that
his gospel. which is thoroughly Jew
ish. should be the flrst book of the
New Testament, making. as 1t does,
a connection with the Old Testa-
ment.
He showed commercial skill and
literary ability in the way he
order. that must have filled him with
Joy as he recalled the days spent with
the Lord in Galilee and about Caper-
naum. where he first met Him face to
face and answered His call to become
an apostle: We owe to Matthew's
erence and research more than to any
other apostle the preservation in its
fullest forms of the words and say
ings of Jesus, especially those that
present Him in the character Of the
great prophet. who. like the prophets
of old time. denounces national sins,
and predicts the future of the nation
and the church. Instances OF this
characteristic are the full report Of
the Sermon on the Mount in three
chapters: the charge to the apostles
in chapter Y; the great series of
prophetic parallels in chaper XIII. pc
culiar to this gospel; the denunciation
of the scribes and pharasees in chap
ter XIII: the prediction OF the fall
of Jerusalem and the parallels of the
second advent in chapters XIV and
XIV"
His life reveals the Transforming
power of the Lord Jesus as much as
did that of Peter and John. While
he did not attain to the heights of
leadership that these men won, Mat
thew in his quiet business method of
service tried to cooperate with all
who loved the Lord. His scholarly
and spiritual presentation of Christ
as the Messiah earned for his gospel
the appropriate and honorable place
as the first book of the New Testa-
ment. His life teaches US the value
OF being associated with the great
cause of Christ. 1t encourages US to
look in the most unexpected and de-
spised places to win recruits for
Christ's cause.
Copyright. 1921