Bible Reading Plan: Matthew
Let’s begin the new year by reading the Gospel of Matthew together. Matthew tells the story of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This first Gospel picks up where the Old Testament left off, by revealing Jesus to be the long-awaited Messiah. Jesus is the true king who came to save God's people and teach them (and us!) what it means to live as part of that kingdom.
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WEEK ONE
Key Thought/Summary
When a new king arose to power in Ancient Greece or Rome, messengers would be sent throughout the empire with this word on their lips: euangelion. Gospel. Jesus’ origin stories are some of the most famous and oft-repeated in the world, and it is easy to let them feel overly familiar or nostalgic. But by presenting Jesus’ life to us as euangelion, Matthew is telling us a subversive alternative story about the world: a baby born to a teenage girl and a carpenter in a stable is the one true king. More than that, he is Immanuel—God with us. Wrapped in flesh, God has come to ordinary people, and ordinary people, like us, are invited to join the kingdom he is building. Will you?
WEEK TWO
Key Thought/Summary
If you ran into Jesus on an ordinary day, what might he say? Matthew gives us a glimpse into the famous teaching we call the Sermon on the Mount. As Jesus travels through Galilee, teaching and healing the sick, crowds gather. Most are barely hanging on under the weight of Roman oppression, and to them, Jesus proclaims a startling truth: God’s Kingdom belongs to the poor, the powerless, and the overlooked. This Kingdom turns the world’s values upside down. Flourishing is found not through power or self-protection, but through faithfulness to God and self-giving love for neighbors and even enemies. Jesus offers more than lofty ideals; he invites his followers into an entirely different way of life. What might it look like to live the way of Jesus’ Upside-Down Kingdom today?
WEEK THREE
Key Thought/Summary
Jesus ends the Sermon on the Mount with a sober warning: hearing his words without putting them into practice is like building a house on sand. When the floodwaters of life come—and they will—that kind of foundation cannot hold. But those who live out his teaching build on a solid rock that remains secure when the waters rise. Coming down the mountain, Jesus demonstrates what this looks like, embodying everything he has taught. He brings the Kingdom of God to those who are sick, suffering, and afraid, revealing his power and authority. Matthew shows that Jesus is not just a wise teacher to admire, but the one we can trust to bring healing, restoration, and wholeness. The question is: will we build our lives on him
WEEK FOUR
Key Thought/Summary
In Israel, being called as a disciple was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: a rabbi believed you could truly become like him if you left everything to follow and learn from him. This is the invitation Jesus extends to his followers. He truly believed they could become like him—healing the sick, casting out evil, and proclaiming God’s message with authority—and he sends them out to do just that by the power of the Spirit. But becoming like Jesus also means living a life of self-sacrificial love. As he says, “Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” Matthew shows us that following Jesus will cost us something, but it is worth it all.
WEEK FIVE
Key Thought/Summary
Not everyone welcomes Jesus with open arms. As his miracles become harder to ignore, resistance grows from the Pharisees and teachers of the Law. They question his authority and challenge his teachings, accusing him of leading the people astray. But Jesus is not surprised by these mixed reactions. Instead, he begins telling parables to reveal what the spread of God’s kingdom will be like. Like seed falling on different kinds of soil, his message will take root in some hearts, while others will harden themselves against it. Yet, despite the obstacles, God’s kingdom is like a mustard seed that grows into a mighty tree or yeast that works through the whole loaf. Though it may seem small and insignificant now, it will grow and endure.
WEEK SIX
Key Thought/Summary
Would you consider yourself interruptible? After his cousin, John the Baptist, is executed, Jesus withdraws to grieve in solitude. Yet, when the crowds follow him, he doesn’t turn them away. He shows compassion, making miraculous feasts to satisfy the hungry. Later, he brings peace to chaos, walking on top of troubled waters and comforting his disciples in a storm. In his pain, Jesus remains interruptible and available to those in need. As we watch Jesus lift loaves of bread into the air, blessing and breaking them, Matthew foreshadows what is to come. Soon Jesus will break bread for an even greater feast in Jerusalem, and soon his own body will be broken, too. In him, we see that the true power of God’s kingdom is revealed through self-giving love.
WEEK SEVEN
Key Thought/Summary
“Who do you say that I am?” Jesus asks the twelve. Peter answers rightly: he is the Messiah, the true King Israel has been waiting for. Yet, the road before Jesus is nothing like what they imagine. They expect him to raise a rebellion, to cleanse the temple, or to confront Israel’s leaders. They don’t expect him to say that he will go to Jerusalem to be killed and raised on the third day. What’s more, he calls them to join him, laying down their own lives in self-giving love. As you read, consider how you would answer his question. Who do you say Jesus is? If you call him Messiah, are you willing to go where he goes, even if the path to life comes through surrender
WEEK EIGHT
Key Thought/Summary
God’s Kingdom plays by a different set of rules. Jesus tells stories where debts are erased, and forgiveness knows no limits. He proclaims that greatness belongs to the servant, not those with status. He declares that true wealth is gained by giving generously, even when it’s undeserved. But these are more than just countercultural teachings. They foreshadow the rest of Jesus’ time on earth. From here on out, every step Jesus takes will bring him closer to the cross, where he will fully embody the upside-down values of grace and mercy he calls his followers to. As you read, pay attention to what unsettles you. He is constantly challenging his disciples’ preferences and assumptions. How does he challenge yours?
WEEK NINE
Key Thought/Summary
“Hosanna! Rescue us!” the crowds cry as Jesus rides into Jerusalem, welcoming him as the long-awaited Son of David. But this has dangerous implications: if Jesus is King, every other claim to power—from Caesar to Herod to the chief priests—is challenged. In fact, Jesus immediately marches into the Temple like he owns the place (because he does) and calls out the compromise and hypocrisy running rampant in God’s place of worship. The religious leaders push back, questioning his authority and plotting against him, but Jesus responds with clever parables that expose their blindness to God’s mission. Like them, it is easy for us to run ahead of God, assuming He will align with our expectations. May we instead learn to humbly seek where God is at work and faithfully follow His lead.
WEEK TEN
Key Thought/Summary
Jesus weeps over Jerusalem. He paints an image of a hen in a farmhouse fire, sacrificing herself to shield her chicks from the flames. This is what Jesus longs to do for his people: take the consequences of their mistakes upon himself. Yet, they refuse his offer of rescue. The flames are coming, and Jesus withdraws to prepare his disciples. Instead of following Jesus’ way of peaceful enemy-love, Jerusalem is on a collision course with Rome, and one day, the temple will be destroyed. But their failures won’t be the end of the story. Jesus will be vindicated by his resurrection, and his Kingdom will spread to all nations. In the meantime, the Father is looking for servants with mercy, integrity, and humility to spread the good news. How can we become those servants today?
WEEK ELEVEN
Key Thought/Summary
For centuries, Israel told the story of the night God set them free from slavery in Egypt, trusting He would do it again. At a quiet Passover meal in Jerusalem, Jesus declares the moment has finally arrived. Taking the bread and cup, he gathers up generations of hope and centers them on himself: what God promised, Jesus will accomplish. Later, in Gethsemane, Jesus prays in anguish and surrenders to the Father’s will before a crowd arrives to arrest him. He is betrayed by a disciple, abandoned by his friends, and condemned by those he came to save. This is a New Exodus from a far greater enemy than Pharaoh, and it comes at a great cost.
WEEK TWELVE
Key Thought/Summary
“Crucify him! Crucify him!” the crowd’s cry rises before Pontius Pilate. After a sham trial, Jesus is handed over, and though Pilate finds no guilt in him, he gives the people what they demand. It looks like utter defeat for the Kingdom. Soldiers dress him in a scarlet robe, press a crown of thorns on his head, and spit on him as they hail him “King of the Jews.” Jesus breathes his last, and his followers lay his body in a tomb. But what if this isn’t the end? What if this isn’t defeat at all? Could it be that the soldiers’ mockery is a coronation, and that surrender at the cross is actually victory? Night has fallen, but dawn is coming.
WEEK THIRTEEN
This week's reading:
Key Thought/Summary
He is risen! Three days after his death, Jesus’ female followers wake at dawn, heavy with grief, and return to his gravesite to complete the sad but reverent task of a proper burial. Instead, the earth shakes, the stone rolls away, and an angel announces that the tomb is empty! Jesus has been raised, just as he said, and many see his resurrected body face-to-face. Echoing back to the first chapter where Matthew calls him Immanuel, “God with us,” Jesus gives a parting promise to the disciples: I am with you always. Until he returns one day, his followers are sent out to share the good news that Jesus is the true King of the world, and anyone can join his Kingdom. What does it mean to you that Jesus is alive and with you today?