Lisnagarvey High School

The Study of the Gospel of Matthew

Abraham               The ‘father of the Jewish people’; important Old Testament figure.

Allegory                 A type of parable in which every person, place or thing has a spiritual
                               meaning.

Angel                     A celestial being; a messenger of God.

Annunciation       The time when Mary was told she would give birth to the Messiah; a special
                               feast day in the Roman Catholic church 26^th March).

Apostle                  A person chosen by Jesus to spread the gospel.

Ascension            A person chosen by Jesus to spread the gospel.

Aramaic                Spoken in Palestine at the time of Jesus.

Atonement           The belief that reconciliation between God and people was made possible by
                               the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Baptism               The practise of using water as a symbol of forgiveness of sins.

Birth Narrative     The stories of the birth of Christ as found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.

Blasphemy           False claims to be God, irreverent words about God.

Caiaphas             The High Priest at the time of the death of Jesus.

Caesar                 A title used for Roman Emperors.

Chief Priest          Jewish religious leader at the time of Jesus.

Chosen People   The Jewish belief that the Jews are God’s chosen people.

Christ                    The Greek word for ‘the anointed one’. Messiah in Hebrew.  Christians believe
                               in Jesus to be the Messiah predicted in the Old Testament.

Circumcision        The removal of the foreskin from the penis; a sign of  God’s covenant with
                                the Jewish people.

Covenant               An agreement or promise; it refers to an agreement between God and people
                                in the Bible.

Crucifixion             A cruel method of capital punishment which involves the victim being nailed
                                to a cross by hands and feet.

Disciples               Followers of the earthly Jesus.

Dropsy                   A disease in which fluid collects in the body.

Frankincense       A resin burned during temple worship.

Final                       Refers to the end of time when Christians believe God will judge the living and

Judgement            the dead.

Gentile                   A non-Jew.

God-fearer            A non-Jew who followed Judaism without becoming a full member.

Golgotha              Also called ‘The Place of the Skull’; it is where Jesus was crucified.

High Priest           The religious leader of the Jews; the chief priests of  the Sanhedrin.

Holy Spirit             Third person of the Trinity.

Hypocrite              Someone who does not practice what they preach.

Idolatry                   Worship of false gods.

Immanuel/

Emmanuel            Hebrew word meaning ‘God is with us’.

Incarnation            The belief that God came to earth in human form (in the person of Jesus).

Israel                      The ancient name used for the Jewish people.

Judaism                 The Jewish religion.

Kingdom of God   The rule of God; proclaimed by Jesus as…

Leprosy                  Those who suffer from a skin disease – the disease damages the nerves

Sufferer                   affecting the hands, feet and face.

Life after                 The belief that when people physically die their spirit lives on.

Death                   

Magi                        A name for the wise men from the time of Jesus birth.

Magnificat              Mary’s Song of Praise which she sang when she found out she was
                                pregnant with Jesus.

Miracle                   A remarkable and inexplicable act or event, e.g. a healing which is believed
                                to be an act of God.

New Testament   The second part of the Bible; tells the story of Jesus and the early church
                                 including letters.

Nunc Dimittis       The prayer of praise sung by Simeon when he saw the baby Jesus in the
                                Temple.  Nunc Dimittis are the opening words of the prayer.

Old Testament     The Books of the first part of the Bible, telling the story of the Israelites before
                                 the time of Jesus.

Palm Sunday        The Sunday before Easter Sunday when Christians remember Christ being
                                welcomed into Jerusalem on a donkey.

Parable                  A form of teaching used at New Testament times; a story which contains a
                                spiritual truth or meaning.

Parousia               The 2^nd coming of Christ.

Passion                The sufferings of Jesus leading up to his crucifixion.

Passover              A Jewish religious festival which remembers the Exodus from Egypt.

Pentecost             A Jewish festival, also called the Festival of Weeks, which occurs 40 days
                              after Passover, the Christian festival which celebrates the coming of the
                              Holy Spirit to Jesus followers on the first Pentecost after Jesus death.

Persecution         Treating people with hostility and hatred; can be sanctioned by a government.

Pharisee               A Jewish religious leader who had contact with the ordinary people.

Pontius Pilate      Governor of Judea from AD26-36.

Prophet                 A person chosen by God to give a message or warning.

Rabbi                     A Jewish teacher.

Redemption         The Christian belief that Jesus death was a payment for sin; it freed people
                                from the punishment they deserved to receive from God.

Renunciation       To give up something; usually for religious faith.

Resurrection        The Christian belief that Jesus rose again three days after his death.

Sadducee              An upper class Jewish religious priest.

Salvation               The belief that humankind can be saved and reconciled with God through the
                                death of Christ.

Sanhedrin             The highest Jewish council at the time of Jesus; they had responsibility for
                                religious and legal matters.

Samaritans           A mixed race, partly Jewish, who were seen as enemies of the Jews and
                                treated with contempt.

Scribe                    A  teacher of the Law, someone who copied out the scriptures.

Sermon on           Jesus teaching which can be found in Matthew Ch 5.

the Mount

Synagogue           Means ‘bringing together’; refers to the building Jews met for worship on the
                                Sabbath.

Temple                  The building in Jerusalem where Jews worshipped and offered sacrifices to
                                God; the Temple was destroyed in AD70.

Torah                     The Jewish Law, founded in the first five books of the Old Testament.

Transfiguration    Describes a change or transformation in shape or appearance; refers to the
                               event described in Matthew Ch 17 when Jesus appearance changed in front
                               of his disciples.

Trinity                     The doctrine that God is three persons, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in one
                                being.

Universalism        The belief that God is for everyone, not just the Jews.

Virgin Birth            The belief that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a  virgin when she gave birth to
                                Jesus.  Jesus was conceived by the power of the holy spirit.