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b'Each of the four Gospels tells the story of Jesus\\u2019 life, death, and resurrection in a way that will make the most sense to its original audience. Matthew was written to Jewish Christians, so he emphasizes the fact that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, the fulfillment of the Jewish Scriptures.\\nIn fact, he tells the story of Jesus in a way that intentionally parallels the story of Israel. Jesus is called out of Egypt (Matthew 2:13-23) like God called Israel out of Egyptian slavery (Exodus 13:17-22). Jesus\\u2019 baptism in the Jordan River (Matthew 3:13-17) parallels Israel\\u2019s journey through the Red Sea (Exodus 14:15-31). Then, Jesus wanders in the desert for forty days (Matthew 4:1-11), like how the Israelites wandered the desert for forty years (Numbers 32:13). Finally, He climbs up a mountain to teach His followers (Matthew 5:1-2), like Moses who climbed Mount Sinai to receive the law from God (Exodus 19-20).\\nMatthew points back to the Jewish Scriptures again and again. Try flipping through Matthew to see how many times it says \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153\\u2026this happened to fulfill the Scriptures.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Matthew argues that Jesus is the promised Messiah\\u2014the One who fulfills the law perfectly and who will bring salvation to Israel.\\nAnd this promised Messiah is talked about all throughout Scripture. We see hints about what He will be like: He will be a prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15), born from a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), and He will come from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), to name a few. And He will come to free His people from bondage, reigning over them as their loving King.\\nJesus knew all these prophecies. Matthew shows that Jesus taught with authority\\u2014even calling out religious leaders when they weren\\u2019t teaching Scripture correctly. Jesus could correct them because He Himself is the fulfillment of the Scriptures they taught (Matthew 16:16)!\\nThis is good news, because if God kept His promise to send us the Messiah, we can trust that He will keep His promise to return and destroy suffering, sin, and death so we can live with Him eternally in renewed creation. \\u2022 Taylor Eising\\n\\u2022 The whole Bible anticipates Jesus. How might this affect the way you view the Old Testament? \\n\\u2022 Does knowing that God keeps His promises give you comfort? Why or why not? \\nThe Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153This man truly was the Son of God!\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Matthew 27:54 (NLT)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nIsaiah 53; Mark 10:32-45; Philippians 2:6-11; Hebrews 4:15-16'