Last week I mentioned that Matthew created a gospel characterized by careful organization.
A truth is hidden in the three-fold pattern: The third section, 3: One additional point probably ought to be made about the four Gentile women we were surprised to meet there: It is easy for us to forget how shockingly unacceptable this would have been in the first-century world, not just for Joseph and his peers but also for the earliest Christians who preached the gospel. Matthew wants to reassure us: But where we see connection, we also see disconnection: Though the Law required that Mary be put to death for adultery Deuteronomy Yes, of course he would; which is precisely why Joseph treats her with mercy and forgoes the strict letter of the law.
Remember this as we read on, for Joseph is our first example of the kind of righteousness Jesus will require of all his disciples.
Who, then, is Jesus? Herod must rely on the astrologers to find Jesus; they follow the star, find the child, and worship him 2: Herod also wants to follow Jesus, but not to worship him! Just as Israel passed through the waters of the Red Sea Exodus 14 , so also Jesus will pass through the waters of baptism Matthew 3: But through all of this connection we once again find an important disconnection: Again, Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land, but Joshua was; so also those in this gospel who look to Moses as their authority will not be able to enter into the promised salvation fulfilled in Jesus, the one who is the new Moses and the true king of the Jews.
As the chapter comes to a close we find that though Herod is dead, the political threat of kings in conflict remains 2: Jesus will proclaim the kingdom in this region all the way until Chapter 19 , when the true king of the Jews will return to Judea and head to Jerusalem for the final confrontation with the powers that seek to impede his reign. But what kind of reign will Messiah Jesus bring about? The sections that follow begin to answer that question.
As the previous chapter introduced us to the king of the Jews, so now John is presented as his royal representative preparing Israel for his arrival. Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.
He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse Malachi 4: But when representatives of the Jewish leadership arrive 3: Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. His everyday speech and conversations reflected who he is.
The same should be true of us. Paul wrote in Colossians 4: If we truly have the Holy Spirit actively living inside us, we will be consciously avoiding things like:.
Instead, we will choose to be encouraging, uplifting, forgiving, loving, mending, or just silent. Both of these are true statements.
International students are using your Bible study guides at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. NIV It is absolutely essential for your spiritual life that you understand that when you study the Bible it i s not for the purpose of just learning all kinds of facts about the Bible. Maybe you are thinking, So What? Every animal slain on every altar in the OT just pointed to the future One who would be the one sacrifice for all sins forever, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. That is precisely the reason for which we have been saved.
I was recently reminded of just how true these statements are in a not-so-pleasant manner. A man who has claimed to be a Christian for many years was recently exposed as a fraud. Recently, however, while showing these items to someone, it was discovered that this man had failed to remove some tell-tale evidence from the items that clearly proves that he did not make them.
When confronted about the issue, the man became belligerent and anything but Christ-like. Why should non-believers want to be like that?
Now I know the man I just spoke of is not the norm—that there are far more true Christians than not.