<P> The Gospel of Matthew begins with the words "The Book of Genealogy (in Greek, "Genesis") of Jesus Christ ", deliberately echoing the words of Genesis 2: 4 in the Old Testament in Greek . The genealogy tells of Jesus' descent from Abraham and King David and the miraculous events surrounding his virgin birth, and the infancy narrative tells of the massacre of the innocents, the flight into Egypt, and eventual journey to Nazareth . </P> <P> The first narrative section begins . John baptizes Jesus, and the Holy Spirit descends upon him . Jesus prays and meditates in the wilderness for forty days, and is tempted by Satan . His early ministry by word and deed in Galilee meets with much success, and leads to the Sermon on the Mount, the first of the discourses . The sermon presents the ethics of the kingdom of God, introduced by the Beatitudes ("Blessed are ..."). It concludes with a reminder that the response to the kingdom will have eternal consequences, and the crowd's amazed response leads into the next narrative block . </P> <P> From the authoritative words of Jesus the gospel turns to three sets of three miracles interwoven with two sets of two discipleship stories (the second narrative), followed by a discourse on mission and suffering . Jesus commissions the Twelve Disciples and sends them to preach to the Jews, perform miracles, and prophesy the imminent coming of the Kingdom, commanding them to travel lightly, without staff or sandals . </P> <P> Opposition to Jesus comes to a head with accusations that his deeds are done through the power of Satan; Jesus in turn accuses his opponents of blaspheming the Holy Spirit . The discourse is a set of parables emphasising the sovereignty of God, and concluding with a challenge to the disciples to understand the teachings as scribes of the kingdom of heaven . (Matthew avoids using the holy word God in the expression "Kingdom of God"; instead he prefers the term "Kingdom of Heaven", reflecting the Jewish tradition of not speaking the name of God). </P>

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