Friday - Matthew 3 - The Work of a Country Preacher

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HE continuity in Matthew 1, 2 & 3 is noteworthy. Jesus is presented as the sinless Son of God, a true Jew, a descendant of David, the King of Israel and now (in this chapter) as the willingly humble Servant of the Father. His cousin John was busy blazing a trail for Him (through preaching) when Jesus came to him for baptism. What was John's message like? Well, in keeping with the developing theme of the gospel of Matthew, John the Baptist preached concerning the closeness of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 3:2). Naturally, if the King had arrived, then there had to be a kingdom to consider. Now, His kingdom, particularly at this first Advent, was not of this world. His kingdom was just exactly what John said it was: the kingdom of heaven.  Someday God's great kingdom will come to earth, but Christ came originally to rescue souls from the kingdom of darkness and to usher them into His kingdom of light.

It may seem odd that when the Creator became a creature, He became a very lowly one.  Christ was a poor, obscure carpenter. No less unexpected is the style of Jesus' announcer.  John the Baptist was the one who was assigned the glorious task of declaring Christ's arrival. But look at him! The description of John is obviously intended to remove any ideas about him being an angelic herald. He was a country preacher.  He literally preached out in the countryside.  His clothing was strange.  His diet was weird.  His message was as blunt as could be. He called everybody a sinner (or a snake).  He declared God's anger. He told everybody to repent. And, apparently those who were converted confessed their vices publicly as John baptized them (Matthew 3:6). I suppose John never read "How to Win Friends & Influence People" or "The Power of Positive Thinking" - but he did have God's power on his ministry, and of course, that was enough. Droves of people came out into the country to hear John thunder and watch him hurl his spiritual lightning bolts.

John was not the least bit interested in building his own kingdom though. Without reservation he declared that although he baptized with water, the Messiah had arrived and would be baptizing with fire (Matthew 3:11). What a message! And, just think about what must have gone through John's mind when he had the privilege of baptizing the Messiah; when he saw the Spirit of God descending visibly to land on his cousin (John 1:33). This simple country preacher had a position of unsurpassed privilege. He was the messenger sent to declare that the King had come. What a work!  John didn't lead the nation like Moses or fight great battles like David. He didn't write great books like Jeremiah or Solomon.  He didn't perform marvelous miracles or erect famous landmarks. He just stood on the banks of a small river and preached the simple truth, but according to the King, he was great (Matthew 11:11). He was faithful to his task. Are we faithful to ours?

Thursday, January 2 - Matthew 2 - Worshipping the Young King

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T is convenient and appropriate to remember that when we finished the book of Malachi, we left the Jewish nation kingless. From the time that the Babylonians came in and captured Jerusalem, Israel had been without a homegrown king. Of course, they had been looking for one (as had been the wise men mentioned here in Matthew 2:1). Israel was looking for a deliverer; anticipating a return to the glory days that they read about in their Scriptures. It had been centuries since the Jewish prophets had stopped preaching about the coming of the Messiah. But the Jews had not given up hope.  At least not officially.

Anyone who has even a cursory familiarity with the New Testament knows that Jesus is King.  He is the King of Kings. But what did His kingship look like in Matthew 2? And, how did the wise men know to come looking for a king in Judah? The narrative here is quite simple really. Men from the east saw a star that they interpreted to be connected to the birth of a Jewish King. They came to the capital city to the royal palace looking for this Prince.  They found Herod instead. The religious leaders of that time did point these easterners toward Bethlehem though. There, they found Jesus and worshipped Him. Then, God warned Joseph to get out of town (and, out of the country) to protect the young King's life.  Joseph, Mary and Jesus lived in Egypt until Herod was dead. Afterward they returned to the Holy Land, but to Nazareth, not Bethlehem

Now, just because a new star rises in the sky, that wouldn’t necessarily mean that a pilgrimage is in order. How did the wise men know to look for a King? We must assume that they had Divine guidance, but did they have any Biblical leads to follow? Balaam the prophet had spoken of the coming of "a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter out of Israel" (Numbers 24:17). Perhaps we should assume that these wise men were given a spiritual understanding of that obscure verse and then made the connection with the strange star and its exceedingly unique movements in the sky (Matthew 2:9).

Jesus is King. He has not yet been crowned, nevertheless He stands to inherit the throne of David. The Magi had it right. (Matthew 2:2 & 11). And as it is commonly said, "Wise men still seek Him!"

Wednesday, January 1 - Matthew 1 - The Virgin Born Son of God

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VER since the fall of Adam in the garden of Eden, we have been waiting for a deliverer. Now we have Him. The Deliverer is Jesus!

Matthew 1 ties the Old and New Testaments together perfectly. This commencement of the New Testament breaks in with a long list of names, including many of the major characters that we learned about in the Old Testament. Matthew's gospel is about Jesus Christ, the king of the Jews. However, the Jews that we have learned about are by no means forgotten.  Of course, there is no reason to forget them. Boaz, Rahab, Ruth, Jesse, David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Zerubbabel... these were Christ's human ancestors.

Now clearly, Matthew 1:16-25 is a section that is given to emphasize the virgin birth of Christ. His humanity, His deity, His mission and His position as Savior are also included, but these verses declare first and foremost that Jesus had a legal ancestry, but no earthly father; no biological dad. Joseph is called the husband of Jesus' mother. Mary was pregnant before she and Joseph consummated their relationship. The Holy Ghost was the agent who miraculously caused Mary to have a child. Since he knew that he wasn't the child's father, Joseph did consider divorce. But an angel vouched for Mary's sexual purity. An Old Testament prophecy had called for the sign: the virgin birth of the Messiah. She was not a virgin permanently or perpetually, but she was “unpolluted” in that sense until after she had birthed the Christ.

Why such an unmistakable emphasis on the holy conception and delivery of Jesus? Three reasons: 1. The miracle of His birth validates the prophecy and commences the verification of His claims.  2. His deity and preexistence demand a supernatural conception.  3. The holiness of His nature required that there be a disconnect between Him and Adam (yet he had to be human in order to die for humanity). For Him to be a substitute for the guilty, it was necessary that Christ have no guilt. He was Jesus (Jehovah the Savior), so even without the judicial and logical reasons for the virgin birth, there was just no practical way for Christ to save sinners if He was guilty too. If He had been guilty then He would have needed a savior to save Him. But He didn't need a savior. He is the Savior, the One and only Savior; our Savior!