Hello, this is such a great topic, and I've tried so many ways, and so some of ya'll may also be interested in what I've found over much time and trying many ways of reading/studying scripture, things you all have pointed out, helpful things, and one more thing so helpful to add.
I've tried extensively (fully through many books) reading commentaries, prayer for understanding, hearing it read aloud (and reading it aloud myself), looking up every cross reference (and from more than one listing of cross references), getting extensive information from study guides and about the cultural situations and context. ...
All of those. (and more than just a little, but fully through many books, all the gospels and most epistles and books like Isaiah also, with all of those)
None of them have been as helpful in the end for my learning as truly
listening. (in one's mind, being silent and trying to hear what the words are saying)
To listen well, I needed to put aside the ideas and commentaries and issues and doctrines, and so on, every last way of distraction, from a - z, and just purely listen, trying to
hear all that is being said.
So, while I still continue to use commentaries and cross references when in bible study groups, and at times alone, and listening to others read and more...when I read alone the main way I need to read is: I
don't think about doctrine, ideas, arguments from the past, theories, etc..... I don't let all those other voices speak up, over the text.
I silence all of those other voices. For a while.
And my own voice also. I also silence me, in addition to all the other viewpoints....
"Ears that hear" is the wording in the gospels about this.
"Whoever has ears, let them hear." -- Christ in
Matthew 11:15 He who has ears, let him hear.
Paraphrase: Those that will be humble and truly
listen and hear, that is who He is speaking to and wants from us.
You might try reading
about Matthew's Gospel before reading for itself. Its difficult for us here in the 21st cent to grasp the mindset of those of the first century considering time and culture but it is these who penned the Gospels.
There were no Christians in the time of Jesus, only the Jews. Some Jewish background might be helpful.
Hidden Hebrew in the Gospels | immanuEL (etrfi.info)
You might try reading a chapter (why not start at the beginning) and read a commentary verse by verse... Maybe
John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary ?
Also, try reading it side by side with another translation (I like Phillips, The Message, and NLT) - they are all available for free on the internet. Biblestudytools.com offer multiple comparisons by verse.
Just remember you don't have to understand it all on the first go-round. It is like building a house, you start with the foundation, then walls, then roof etc.
Read it the first time and the Holy Spirit will give one insight and then another the next time around
Have a great journey
That actually is more of a controversial question than you might think. I suggest asking for either an Anglican or a Catholic opinion about that, since it is what you are interested in. Every drop of Matthew is packed with references to other scripture. Literally everything in it is alluding to something else at all times. Every story, every question, every answer and every image. They all point outwards and not back towards Matthew such that it doesn't explain itself. Mathew anticipates that you have an encyclopedic knowledge of all the scripture that comes before it. It also has some unusual features like magic numbers 14 and 42, and its difficult to find any reason for them in the text. Many people read Matthew only as a story or else as a strictly historical account and will overlook things like this as trifles to be considered later.
I am studying St. Matthew's Gospel and other Scriptures and here is how I go about it, perhaps the means and resources will help you also:
1) Read it through myself out loud (for everyone in the era the Scriptures were written in read out loud and not silently to themselves, the meaning is better caught in my experience when this is done) and listen to an audio Bible of it. Ignore as much as possible the chapter/verse divisions for they are artificial.
2) Read commentary on it from the Saints or other righteous men. If you become Anglo-Catholic or Roman Catholic you will see the importance of the Church Fathers who are considered divinely inspired. They are perhaps the greatest of all sources on learning what Sacred Scripture means. I'd recommend either
St. Theophylact's Commentary (which is explicitly for beginners and is an easy and beautiful one, one voice speaks) or the
Catena Aurea/Golden Chain which is a compilation of many Church Fathers organized by St. Thomas Aquinas, he puts all of their commentary into conversation as one so reading through it is like hearing conversation between some of the most righteous men of all time as they speak about Sacred Scripture.
3) Prayer before and after reading or study of commentaries on the Gospel. Here as follows is St. John Chrysostom's (one of the greatest Fathers) prayer before reading Sacred Scripture, the Our Father as taught in St. Matthew's Gospel by the Lord Jesus also is good (in fact it is perfect by definition):
"
O Lord Jesus Christ, open You the eyes of my heart, that I may hear Your Word and understand and do Your Will, for I am a sojourner upon the Earth. Hide not Your Commandments from me, but open my eyes, that I may perceive the wonders of Your Law. Speak to me the hidden and secret things of Your Wisdom. On You do I set my hope, O my God, that You shall enlighten my mind and understanding with the light of Your knowledge, not only to cherish those things which are written, but to do them; that in reading the lives and sayings of the Saints I may not sin, but that such may serve for my restoration, enlightenment and sanctification, for the salvation of my soul, and the inheritance of life everlasting. For You are the enlightenment of those who lie in darkness, and from You comes every good deed and every gift. Amen."
God bless you brother.
heh, my wording didn't say what I meant.