MUSICAL INTERLUDE: Fire Never Sleeps

DID YOU KNOW: What happened the writer of the Gospel of Matthew?

"DID YOU KNOW?" will be a summer series where we review issues of the Bible and the Christian faith of special interest. If you have a suggestion/question that you'd like addressed in a "DID YOU KNOW?" segment, please e-mail the coaches.

We discussed that the apostle Matthew - the former tax collector - wrote the Gospel of Matthew.  What happened to him afterwards?

Scripture is silent on the fate of most of the apostles, and Matthew is no different. He is not mentioned in any of the epistles (letters) and the next time we see him after the Gospels is in Revelation, where John sees all 12 apostles standing with the 12 patriarchs around the Throne of God.

But there are traditions that have been handed down.  It is important to remember that traditions are not authoritative, and could be wrong.  But they can still be useful, if used cautiously.   Fox's Book of Martyrs reports this about Matthew:

He wrote his gospel in Hebrew, which was afterwards translated into Greek by James the Less. The scene of his labors was Parthia, and Ethiopia, in which latter country he suffered martyrdom, being slain with a halberd in the city of Nadabah, A.D. 60.

Ethiopia is a land in eastern Africa, while Parthia is a region now in north-eastern Iran.  A halberd is a spear with an axe-attached - given the regions Matthew was working when he would have died, it is more likely to have been a simple spear.

So Matthew, like most of the apostles, died a martyr for the Gospel of Christ.

HUMOR: Evangelistic Barber

Not mine.  Found online.

There was a barber that thought that he should share his faith with his customers more than he had been doing lately. So the next morning when the sun came up and the barber got up out of bed he said, "Today I am going to witness to the first man that walks through my door."
     
      Soon after he opened his shop the first man came in and said, "I want a shave!" The barber said, "Sure, just sit in the seat and I'll be with you in a moment." The barber went in the back and prayed a quick desperate prayer saying, "God, the first customer came in and I'm going to witness to him. So give me the wisdom to know just the right thing to say to him. Amen."
     
      Then quickly the barber came out with his razor knife in one hand and a Bible in the other while saying "Good morning sir. I have a question for you... Are you ready to die?"

BIBLE NEWS: 'The Bible' Coming to Theaters

The television series 'The Bible' was a smash hit on television, beating out all competitors in the ratings.   Now, the producers are working on turning it into a 3-hour theatrical movie focussing on the life of the Jesus that will show in the cinemas in the Fall.

"We're cutting a movie version right now, a three-hour version of Jesus and [we have] many, many offers from theaters globally," executive producer Mark Burnett told The Hollywood Reporter on Monday at NBCUniversal summer press day.  Burnett said the movie version will have a big focus on the Resurrection. He is eyeing a fall release.Burnett also shared that there is a distinct possibility that more stories will be told for The Bible, a passion project for he and wife Roma Downey.

WEEKLY COMIC: Narrow Way

GETTING READY: Free Copy of the ESV for Kindle

We've discussed a few times that EFCA Bible Quizzing is switching to the English Standard Version (ESV) for the 2013-2014 season.  (If you need background on why, e-mail the coaches or ask us on Sunday sometime.)  We've been using the New International Version (NIV) for so long, it is possible you don't have a copy in your house.  If you want a free copy, consider getting the  FREE Kindle version which can be read via a Kindle reader device, their online reader, iOS reader app for iPhone/iPad/iPod, or Android reader app.

("Getting Ready" will be a weekly feature on preparing for next year.  So stop back for more tips on free ways to get access to the ESV.  And, yes, we will have scripture portions for 2013-2014.)

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Brass Bible

Bible covers can often be art in their own right.  This engraved brass cover is one example.