Matthew, Chapter 3

Chapter 3 of Matthew takes quite a leap forward from the previous two chapters. It also deals heavily with prophesy, specifically with Isaiah chapter 40. This chapter is a leap forward from the previous two chapters because Jesus is now an adult ready to begin His public ministry. Most scholars agree that He was roughly 30 years old at this time, so we have quite a gap in his early life between chapters 2 and 3. Chapter 3 deals almost exclusively with the role John the Baptist played in the early ministry of Christ.

We know from Isaiah 40 that John the Baptist was prophesied to prepare the way for the Lord. He was a bit of an iconoclast, as he was very outspoken and preached a radical message of the coming kingdom of God. We know of John the Baptist’s early life from the first chapters of Luke. He was a relative of Jesus since Mary and his mother, Elizabeth, were relatives of each other. John knew he had a calling to preach the true word of God in order to prepare the way for Jesus. His message was simple: he urged people to repent of their sins and be baptized. He also knew that he was merely a placeholder. John the Baptist was humble in knowing that Jesus would soon supersede his ministry in every way, and worked hard to deflect all the glory on to God.

7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
11"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. – Matthew 3:7-11

This is a powerful message that John preaches. In this message he states that it is not important who your ancestors are, because that has nothing to do with your salvation. Only your repentance and the fruit that you produce with it. There are two things in this. First, mentioning that being a child of Abraham has no bearing, and that God can raise stones as children of Abraham implies that Christ’s message of salvation for all. Second, the fruit produced with your repentance is just as important. It is not enough that we simply accept this gift, we also must transmit it on to others as well. This is another instance of our mandate once we accept the gift of salvation.

13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"
15Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.
16As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." – Matthew 3:13-17

This paints a great picture of Christ’s humility. He had absolutely no reason to be humble, yet he bestowed a great honor on John the Baptist during His own baptism. This was yet another fulfillment of prophesy, but it is here that Christ’s message becomes clear from the Father. It is in this moment that Christ’s public ministry begins, and that ministry would change the world.

TODAY’S QUESTIONS:

1. How would John the Baptist have been received today?
2. Why did Christ wait so long to begin His ministry?
3. Why was it important for John to prepare the way?

Matthew, Chapter2

One of the things that stands out about the book of Matthew is how the author links Jesus' life to the prophecies he was supposed to fulfill. In yesterday's chapter, we saw two instances of this. We saw that He was to come from the line of Abraham and David, so Matthew proved this by listing His genealogy. We also saw that He was to be born of a virgin, so Matthew lists this as well. We have seen that prophesy plays a major role throughout the Bible because of what we read in Isaiah. Many of those prophecies come true here in the book of Matthew

In chapter we see three more major prophesies fulfilled. We see that He would be born in Bethlehem, be called out of Egypt, and be called a Nazarene. In these prophesies we see a larger view of how Jesus' gift of salvation was meant for the whole world. Yes He was born a Jew, but a Gentile king in Herod influenced His early life. It was also the Gentile Magi that came and worshipped Him after His birth. When Joseph was forced to flee Israel it was Egypt, a nation that had long been an enemy of Israel, that provided a safe haven.

10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. – Matthew 2:10-12

The background of the Magi is quite diverse. In that day, they were astrologers and seekers of wisdom. They looked for signs in the heavens that would lead them to a greater understanding of the world. This is a representation of the Gentile view, as they were not Jewish. Upon finding Christ they knew that they had found something special, even though they were sent by Herod who was a very evil man. The magi represent those in the non-Jewish world that still seek the ultimate truth. In this story they see that Christ's salvation is meant for both Jew and Gentile alike, as they saw the majesty of God in the Christ child.

13When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." 14So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son." – Matthew 2:13-15

The evil of Herod is shown here through the innocents that were forced to suffer under his rule. This was an established king, backed by the strongest power in the world at the time in Rome. Despite all this, Herod was so afraid of a mere child that he ordered the execution of every male child under the age of two. This is clearly a lust for power that could not be quenched. Herod probably didn't even believe in the prophesies of Christ, yet he still feared them so much He tried to make sure they did not come to pass. God, as usual had other plans. By sending Christ to Egypt He fulfilled another prophesy and made sure that His plans would come to pass.

TODAY'S QUESTIONS:

1. Why did Christ have such humble beginnings?
   
2. Why would the Magi fear returning to Herod?
   
3. Why did God choose Egypt as a place of refuge?

Matthew, Chapter 1

I have never done an in depth study of the four gospels. When considering what I was going to write about next here I was considering sticking with the Old Testament and focusing on the life of David. I believe that is where I will go next, but I feel more led to focus on Jesus' life for the next several weeks. Jesus was, after all, the most important person who has ever lived. We have seen many of His teachings through Paul's work, but we have yet to focus on the gospels themselves. It is my hope that we both come away more enlightened after taking a closer look at the gospels.

We begin in Matthew 1. Matthew starts off the New Testament, and it is the first work in the Bible after about a 460 year gap between it and the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi. The book serves as a connection between the Old and New Testaments. As we know from reading Isaiah, there were still several misconceptions within the Israelite culture. By this point in history Rome was the dominant force in the world. They controlled Jerusalem, but still allowed the Jews to worship. They, in turn were searching the prophecies about the Messiah, and Matthew begins his book with Christ's genealogy to show that He fulfilled some of the prophesies based on His ancestry.

When looking at this genealogy we see Christ's human element before he was born. We those that were righteous and blessed, like Abraham and David, listed alongside those that were corrupted by sin, like Uriah. Even though Christ was not born of a man because of the virgin birth, Matthew wanted to show that Jesus had traceable roots throughout humanity. Even though this line was steeped in sin because it was from man, Christ was above all that.

18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

 20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." – Matthew 1:18-21

God has not yet chosen to bless my wife and I with children yet. Still, I have been around enough parents to know that what Matthew writes of here is not a normal occurrence when the impending birth of a child is announced. Most of the time it is simply a strip turning blue and not some angelic host with a proclamation. Needless to say, this was a pretty big deal in the time of Christ's birth. We already see that His birth will be special simply because of the way it is supernaturally announced.

Now imagine being Joseph or Mary for a moment. If you are Joseph, you have no choice but to believe that Mary was guilty of adultery, which carried severe penalties in that society. The idea of a virgin birth was (and still is somewhat) ludicrous. Joseph simply wanted to save Mary the shame of bearing a child that was not his by sheltering her and divorcing her quietly. Mary, on the other hand, had to be confused as well. She obviously knew she had never had sex, but now she was pregnant? She also had been visited by an angel, as we see in the other gospels. They told her of her special calling in life and how she would be another fulfillment of prophesy. It is important to remember here that Mary and Joseph were likely no different than many people of the day, yet God chose them as the parents to the greatest gift He would ever give humanity.

TODAY'S QUESTIONS:

1. How would you react if visited by an angel as Mary and Joseph were?
   
2. What is the importance of a virgin birth?
   
3. Why did God choose two normal people as opposed to royalty?

Isaiah, Chapter 66

It has been a long journey, but today we finally reach the end of Isaiah. I have been told that the book of Isaiah is the Cliff’s Notes version of the Bible. It contains 66 chapters, just like the Bible itself contains 66 books. Some chapters make more sense than others, just as some books of the Bible make more sense than others. One could chalk this up to mere coincidence. Still, God does have a sense of humor. Sense many of the topics in Isaiah relate to the past, present, and future of God’s people it is easy to come to the conclusion that the book is a digest of the Bible.

Just as the book of Revelation deals with judgment and hope at the end of the Bible, so does chapter 66. We first begin with a warning about sacrifices. It wasn’t that God felt sacrifices were wrong. The Israelites were still 800 years away from Christ negating the need for the system of sacrifices. What Isaiah warns of here is doing something without your heart being in it. Basically, this is a warning against upholding rituals while changing nothing morally. This carries over to today because we still can pay lip service to Christ. If He is not truly in our hearts, however, and nothing changes we get nothing out of our service to Him.

19 "I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations. 20 And they will bring all your brothers, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the LORD -on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels," says the LORD. "They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the LORD in ceremonially clean vessels. 21 And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites," says the LORD. – Isaiah 66:19-21

We see the judgment of the Lord in the previous verses on those who do not accept Christ into their hearts. In this final section, however, we end this book with the promised hope. It is appropriate that a book filled with so much prophecy ends with one final prophecy of hope. These three verses above clearly show the coming ministry of the apostles after Jesus was crucified. They were called to spread the Message to the ends of the earth, and that calling is shown in verse 19. In verse 20 we see that this Message will bear fruit, as many will come to the holy mountain because of it. In turn, they become priests and Levites because they believed.

Do you see how this applies today? We are all priests responsible for spreading the gospel if we are believers in Christ. My pastor often speaks of how the gospel comes to us on its way to someone else. In that vein, it becomes our utmost responsibility to further it beyond us. That is one of my goals in writing this blog. Whether one person hears this message or a thousand I am here to proclaim it. I refuse to let it stop with me, and I am encouraged today by Isaiah’s closing words.

For those of you who have been with me since I began writing about Isaiah I want to thank you. The commenting forum has remained silent, but personally this has been a thoroughly enjoyable read for the past two months. Up next I am debating heading into the gospels themselves or beginning a writing on the life of King David. Stay tuned on Monday.

Isaiah, Chapter 65

The Word of God this morning is like an oasis in the desert. Vacations are supposed to be a relaxing time, but this one was a disaster on top of everything else that has happened recently. Still, in the middle of it all, God provided. When we checked into a hotel room that was far from what the ad promised and wasn’t even a safe place to stay, God provided with temporary lodging from a great friend. When one of our travel companions got sick in Key West, God provided with a safe journey back to Miami. When our rental car became damaged in a hit and run, God is currently working on providing for that unexpected expense. When our return flight got delayed and caused us to miss a connection, God provided with safe travel home.

What does all this have to do with Chapter 65 of Isaiah? Well, as I got back into the Word for the first time in a week I saw that today’s message was on judgment and salvation. To me, the trials of the past three weeks have almost been like a judgment. They have been a test to see if I can remain faithful as everything else falls apart around me. Last night as we were in the Detroit airport and we received yet another piece of bad news, our luggage would not be returning with us, I had to burst out laughing. Even then, God still provided, and that is where the salvation aspect comes in. Last night, my salvation was a McDonald’s double cheeseburger. I sat on the plane and enjoyed it simply because it was a small, perfect provision from God.

13 Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
"My servants will eat,
but you will go hungry;
my servants will drink,
but you will go thirsty;
my servants will rejoice,
but you will be put to shame.

14 My servants will sing
out of the joy of their hearts,
but you will cry out
from anguish of heart
and wail in brokenness of spirit. – Isaiah 65:13-14

Ultimately, this is what it comes down to when we face judgment. Those that have accepted Christ will receive these blessings, while those that haven’t do not. When we face judgment and can still praise God for even small positives, it means we are far from being broken in spirit. This applies to me right now because I am so broken physically, emotionally, and mentally, but I am still strong in spirit. Even now that I am home I am far from having all the answers, but God has never disappointed me in the past. This period will end, hopefully sooner rather than later.

17 "Behold, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind.

18 But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
and its people a joy.

19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and take delight in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying
will be heard in it no more. – Isaiah 65:17-19

As a Christian, the final result of all of this judgment and the ultimate salvation is, of course, heaven. Here we see Isaiah’s vision of heaven in the penultimate chapter of his book. It is very similar to John the Revelator’s version seen in the book of Revelation. It is generally regarded as a place where even the little worries of life that bog us down and stress us out are washed away easily by our loving creator. Here, heaven is a remade earth wiped clean of sin. It is a place where we will be so separated from our sin that God will hear and answer our prayers before we are done praying them. I recognize that what I have been through has been taxing, but it is minor compared to what others struggle through daily, with no end in sight. For them, this promise is even larger. It is something even more to hope for.

TODAY’S QUESTIONS:

1. Why would those without Christ see judgment differently?
2. Why are we still judged even after accepting Christ?
3. How different is the new earth that Isaiah speaks of late in this chapter compared to our current earth?

Isaiah, Chapter 64

Today’s chapter in Isaiah is a continuation of yesterday’s message on praise and prayer. Yesterday, the first half of chapter 63 was about redemption and vengeance, while the second half was about praise and prayer. Ultimately, in prayer we are asking for God to intervene on our behalf. In prayer we seek God for the things that are far beyond our control. In that is an act of faith. It is faith because we must wait on God and trust He will come through. Sometimes He does quickly, while other answers to prayer take time. In both, we must remember to praise God at all times.

Praising God is not always easy. Though this is being published on a Wednesday morning, I am writing this on a Tuesday where I am having difficulty immersing myself in prayer. I am also struggling to praise God today because one thing after another continues to go wrong. I still do not have the answers that I am seeking. Even in that, new events come up such as some bad news my wife received today, or an unexpected expensive repair job on my car. I am left wondering what is going to happen next, and I am concerned that all the joy will be sucked out of a trip that is normally nothing but a joy.

1 Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains would tremble before you!

2 As when fire sets twigs ablaze
and causes water to boil,
come down to make your name known to your enemies
and cause the nations to quake before you!

3 For when you did awesome things that we did not expect,
you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.

4 Since ancient times no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. – Isaiah 64:1-4

This is where I am at the moment, as I am waiting on the Lord. It is an act of faith to wait on the Lord, because he does not always answer immediately when we are in trouble. Right now it can be a struggle to wait, especially since things continue to go badly, but I have faith. I know that He has delivered in the past. I must continue to take this posture in my prayer life, as well as my regular life.

TODAY’S QUESTIONS:

1. Why does Isaiah continue to repeat himself concerning sin in the later verses?
2. How do you wait on the Lord?
3. How can we find victory and overcome the stain of our sin mentally?

Programming note: Because I will be out of state, chapters 65 and 66 of Isaiah will be finished up on April 10th and 11th after I return.

Isaiah, Chapter 63

I find it interesting that both redemption and vengeance come at the same time in this chapter. It makes sense when you think about it. In completely black and white terms, you are either for God, or against Him. Either you have asked God into your heart, or you have not. If you haven’t, you are going against His will. There is no middle ground here. That is why both redemption and vengeance come at the same time. When that time comes, you will be on one side or the other. That is why it is the most important decision you can make.

2 Why are your garments red,
like those of one treading the winepress?
3 "I have trodden the winepress alone;
from the nations no one was with me.
I trampled them in my anger
and trod them down in my wrath;
their blood spattered my garments,
and I stained all my clothing.
4 For the day of vengeance was in my heart,
and the year of my redemption has come.
5 I looked, but there was no one to help,
I was appalled that no one gave support;
so my own arm worked salvation for me,
and my own wrath sustained me.
6 I trampled the nations in my anger;
in my wrath I made them drunk
and poured their blood on the ground." – Isaiah 63:2-6

I hate to belabor the point, but God is clearly stating here once again that we cannot save ourselves. He did not say that we worked salvation for ourselves. He did not say that it was ours to judge the other nations, either. Ultimately, the power to do so lies in the hands of God and God alone. This not some Jonathan Edwards commentary about sinners being in the hands of an angry God. It is quite the opposite. God despises our sin, but as we have seen through previous chapters and as is outlined in previous promises, we know that God loves us. He provides a way to avoid this anger through the death and resurrection of His son Jesus Christ.

8 He said, "Surely they are my people,
sons who will not be false to me";
and so he became their Savior.
9 In all their distress he too was distressed,
and the angel of his presence saved them.
In his love and mercy he redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them
all the days of old.
10 Yet they rebelled
and grieved his Holy Spirit.
So he turned and became their enemy
and he himself fought against them. – Isaiah 63:8-10

I love this picture of both God’s love and his grief during judgment. When we rebelled against God it hurts Him simply because of His deep, abiding love. He wants everyone to come through that open door of salvation, but He is at the same time saddened because there will always be those who rebel against Him. To me, this makes God more personal because He is such an emotional God. He is not impartial, just toying with at a whim. His nature is to love and He illustrates that love throughout the Bible. He also illustrates that love throughout our lives when He continually welcomes us back even though our nature is to screw things up. His grace is infinite, and His love is ultimately patient.

TODAY’S QUESTIONS:

1. How do you illustrate God’s love?
2. Why is it our nature to fail?
3. Is it possible to deny God until it is too late, yet still live?