Reading Journal: KJB, Matthew Chapters 1-8

What mainly caught my attention in Matthew was how it states how you should not treat others who you treat you with wickedness exactly how they treat you, but rather the opposite. In other words, it is opposing the belief of “an eye for an eye.” For instance, “love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew, 6:44). This is indicating that regardless of how evil someone is towards you, your behavior towards them should remain good. For the ancient Israelites, this may mean that if you are acting evil towards another, regardless if they are doing it to you as well, you are still committing a wrongdoing because you are being evil as well. This caught my attention because it is emphasizing to still be nice to your enemies, and those who treat you unpleasant.

Furthermore, in the Matthew text dreams often emerge through the characters and these dreams each have a meaning. The dreams are a symbol of a warning or advisement ahead of time. As an example, ” the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him” (Matthew, 2:13). This conveys how the angel of the lord was attempting to warn Joseph about something tragic that could have happened, and is trying to protect them, with the use of his appearances in Joseph’s dreams. These dreams are sending messages and communicating with others. Therefore, it is a symbol of a messenger depicting the realities that are soon to occur.