During the summer, we’re doing what any good TV network does and playing mostly reruns, working through previous episodes in Matthew’s Gospel. But for these three days, we have some new material on Matthew chapter 4.

If you’re just joining us, you need to read last Friday’s post and then yesterday’s post for this to make sense, along with the text we’re looking at, Matthew 4:1-11. We saw how Jesus was symbolically re-enacting the scene of Israel’s failure, but this time getting it right – being “God’s son” in a way that Israel never could.

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During the summer, we’re doing what any good TV network does and playing mostly reruns. If you joined Coffee with the King part-way through 2015, this will give you the opportunity to catch up on some previous series. Either search the archives, or binge-read through previous notes on Matthew’s Gospel in chronological order, which will be freshly re-posted each day. (There will also be a few never-before-read episodes starting tomorrow, when we get to chapter 4, so look out for them.)

Earlier this week, we saw one example of how Matthew takes time out from telling the story of Jesus to draw out parallels with events in the Old Testament. “That reminds me of the time when…” There’s often an immediate surface connection between the New Testament story and the Old Testament reference – for example, place names, or key words. But the primary connection is big-picture. It’s in the continuity between the way God worked in the history of Israel, and in the life of Jesus.

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During the summer, we’re doing what any good TV network does and playing mostly reruns. If you joined Coffee with the King part-way through 2015, this will give you the opportunity to catch up on some previous series. Either search the archives, or binge-read through previous notes on Matthew’s Gospel in chronological order, which will be freshly re-posted each day. (There will also be a few never-before-read episodes starting Friday, when we get to chapter 4, so look out for them.) 

Today, we look at the story of the wise men, right on January 6 (traditionally celebrated as the day they turned up). You’d think I planned it that way. Read Matt 2:1-12 before we begin.

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During the summer, we’re doing what any good TV network does and playing mostly reruns. If you joined Coffee with the King part-way through 2015, this will give you the opportunity to catch up on some previous series. Either search the archives, or binge-read through previous notes on Matthew’s Gospel in chronological order, which will be freshly re-posted each day. (There will also be a few never-before-read episodes starting Friday, when we get to chapter 4, so look out for them.)

Yesterday, we saw the Old Testament background to the famous “sign of Immanuel” in Matthew 1:22-23. You need to read that post for today to make sense. Because in it, we saw that just like God was with Ahaz for his good, so God is with us in Jesus for our good. And yet, there’s another side to this sign.

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Welcome back for 2016! During the summer, we’re doing what any good TV network does and playing mostly reruns. If you joined Coffee with the King part-way through 2015, this will give you the opportunity to catch up on some previous series. Either search the archives, or binge-read through previous notes on Matthew’s Gospel in chronological order, which will be freshly re-posted each day. (There will also be a few never-before-read episodes starting Friday, when we get to chapter 4, so look out for them.)

Before we begin, read Matt 1:18-25.

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