St Matthew & Yom Kippur - The Day of Atonement

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St Matthew, Apostle, Evangelist

see caption
St Matthew and the Angel
by Rembrandt

Public Domain

Matthew’s name appears in lists of the twelve apostles of Jesus. According to Matthew’s Gospel, Matthew was a tax collector, though Mark and Luke call the tax collector Levi. According to Luke, when he became a follower of Jesus, Levi or Matthew held a feast in Jesus’ honour. Nothing else is known for certain about Matthew.

The early church believed that Matthew was the author of the Gospel that bears his name. There is debate among academics about it and in what language it was originally written. It is generally accepted that the Apostle Matthew had a strong association with it at least. The Gospel that bears his name may originate from a church associated with him, but it owes much to other proclamations of the gospel message. It is accepted that it was written for the Hebrews rather than for Gentile Christians.

There are later legends surrounding Matthew and his exploits as an apostle and evangelist in the east, Islamic writings claim Matthew and Andrew were the two disciples who went to Aethiopia to preach the message of God.

Yom Kippur - The Day of Atonement

Today marks the date Moses came down from Mt Sinai with the 10 commandments and found the men worshipping the golden calf, (the women refused, which is seen as atonement for Eve’s sin).

Yom Kippur

Picture courtesy of www.faithfulstewardship.org

Moses was so angry at the idol worshippers, he threw down the tablets and they shattered. They had to ask God’s forgiveness and Moses had to go back up the mountain and get a new set of the commandments. It became the annual day the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies in the Temple and sprinkle the blood of the animal sacrifice on the Ark of the Covenant, asking God’s forgiveness for the sins of Israel for the year.

As Christians, Jesus made the supreme sacrifice for us with his blood covering us for a lifetime. Many Jewish believers in Jesus, today praise God for securing their Salvation in Jesus Christ. A good day to confess any sins (Terse) and remember that as we are forgiven, so we must forgive, then rejoice in the knowledge of our Salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. Today pray for Israel and Jerusalem and especially for our Messianic brothers and sisters in Christ and their outreach to their own people.

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Prayer 7s Ministry, New Zealand. You may not use the material for commercial purposes.