Tag: Matthew 1

Origin of the King: Matthew 1-4

Reading the opening chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, I was reminded of a special keepsake that has been passed down through the generations in my husband’s family. One Christmas, his uncle brought a pile of old hand-made quilts from his grandparents’ house and told all of us to choose what we wanted. There was only one that caught my eye–I loved the pattern and the colors, even though it was the most ragged one of the bunch.

Fishing it out of the pile, I unfolded it and a yellowed piece of paper fluttered out. Dated January 1, 1976 and written in his grandmother’s elegant script, the first sentence read: “These are the names on this quilt mostly made in 1809 and taken overland by covered wagon on the Oregon Trail.” With hearts pounding, we examined it more carefully and found multiple names embroidered onto it. We realized the tattered old quilt was a priceless family heirloom tracing back over 200 years. Honored to have it, the quilt personally connects us to the history of the Oregon Trail and the many hearty souls who traveled on it. We have a link to the past that adds color and texture to our family history.

I pulled out that quilt to admire it again as I was reviewing the long list of names tracing Jesus’ genealogy back through the generations in Matthew chapter one. Most of us wouldn’t find that as an exciting “attention grabber” to start a book, but for the original Jewish audience, it would’ve brought to mind people they’d learned about previously in the Hebrew Scriptures.

Bible teacher Jen Wilkin explains that Matthew’s intent was for his primarily Jewish audience to see and understand that Jesus was the fulfillment of all God’s promises in the Old Testament. Although we may find genealogies in the Bible boring to read, knowing the stories behind the people makes them come to life. Jen Wilkin points out that genealogies in Scripture show us that God sees us as individuals and knows us each by name.1  It’s like seeing the names of previously unknown ancestors embroidered on a family quilt. Suddenly faceless people from the past become distinct individuals with personal stories.

Matthew traces Jesus’ family tree through His earthly father, Joseph, to show that Jesus’ lineage proves He has a legal right to Israel’s throne. He is the long-awaited Messiah and King promised throughout the Old Testament. (You can watch a video teaching I did on this by clicking here. Fast forward 18 minutes to get to the start.)

This fall I’ll be writing in conjunction with Tara Leigh Cobble’s Knowing Jesus as King to help us walk through the Gospel of Matthew together. We’re going to see Jesus portrayed as the one true king who enters the world to re-establish God’s righteous kingdom on earth. In his classic book Mere Christianity, beloved author, scholar, and former atheist C.S. Lewis explains: “Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage [against the enemy].”2 So, making the choice to study the Bible and apply what we’re learning advances God’s kingdom into “enemy-occupied territory.”

Overview of Themes: The Gospel of Matthew tells the story of Jesus from birth to death to resurrection and shows Him as the rightful king who came to earth to restore His kingdom. It is a book filled with contrasts: The Kingdom of God vs. the Kingdom of the World, Pride vs. Humility, Self-Righteousness vs. God’s Grace, Hypocrisy vs. Pure Heartedness, Feeling Anxious vs. Trusting God. Matthew not only teaches us about the life of Jesus, he also gives us practical wisdom for how to function as citizens of His kingdom while we’re still living in enemy-occupied territory.

Chapter one continues beyond the genealogy with the birth of Christ. The narrative focuses on Joseph and describes Jesus’ earthly father as a righteous man. After encountering an angel, he decides to remain betrothed to Mary despite her seemingly scandalous pregnancy. Joseph’s actions reveal his whole-hearted belief in the angel’s proclamation: “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.” (1:21) Never missing an opportunity to highlight Old Testament prophecy, Matthew writes, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: `The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).” (1:22-23)

Chapter two continues with the Christmas story as wise men from the east come seeking the Christ child in Bethlehem after observing a star heralding His birth. “Most likely, the magi knew of the writings of the prophet Daniel, who in time past had been the chief of the court seers in Persia. Daniel 9:24-27 includes a prophecy which gives a timeline for the birth of the Messiah.”3

After the Magi depart, Joseph encounters an angel in a dream with an urgent message: “’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.’” (2:13b, NIV) Heeding the warning without delay, Joseph departs for Egypt with his wife and child during the night, escaping King Herod’s vicious slaughter of baby boys in Bethlehem.

Sometime later, an angel again appears to Joseph in a dream saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” (2:20) Joseph’s responsiveness to God’s instructions despite the incredible hardship and inconvenience reveals a humble and obedient heart. There’s much to admire and imitate about his quickness to obey the Lord.

In chapter three we meet Jesus’ relative John the Baptist, “preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” (3:1b-2) Pointing out another fulfilled prophecy, Matthew highlights John as the one foretold by the prophet Isaiah, “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” (3:3) You may remember John from the Christmas story in Luke. He’s the baby who leapt within the womb of his mother, Elizabeth, at the arrival of Mary, pregnant with the Messiah.

Baptizing repentant sinners in preparation for the coming of the Christ, John hesitates when Jesus asks to be immersed in the waters. Believing he isn’t even fit to untie Jesus’ sandals, John only agrees when Jesus says, “It is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” (3:15) As Jesus comes up out of the water, Matthew confirms Him as the Christ and spotlights each person of the Trinity: “heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’” (3:16b-17) Jesus’ baptism marks the beginning of His public ministry at age thirty.

In chapter four  the Spirit leads Christ “into the desert to be tempted by the devil.” (4:1b) The enemy appears to Jesus when He’s weakened and exhausted at the end of a forty day fast. Tempting Him in three different ways, the devil lures Him to succumb to sin. Jesus overcomes each temptation by fighting back with the words of the Scriptures. In this scene Matthew shows Jesus as a man who experiences the human struggle with sin, but also as the Messiah whose righteousness triumphs over it.

Returning from the wilderness, Jesus calls two sets of brothers who are fishermen as His first four disciples: Simon (later re-named Peter) and Andrew, James and John. The chapter closes with momentum building: “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.” (Matthew 4:23-25)

Just four chapters into this gospel Matthew has already included seven prophecies fulfilled by Jesus, leaving no question that He is the King of Kings.

Two themes will begin to emerge in Matthew’s writing: Jesus’ arrival  in “enemy occupied territory” to reveal His upside-down kingdom and  His repeated teachings that emphasize living from the inside out. We’ll be blazing through Matthew’s gospel in the next few months. As you read it, consider asking the Lord to reveal where He’s inviting you to shift your practices and priorities to seek His kingdom first.

You can follow along with our study by ordering your copy of Tara Leigh Cobble’s Knowing Jesus as King.

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All Scriptures quoted from the New International Version , 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, Biblica Inc., Zondervan Publishing.

  1. Jen Wilkin, Knowing Faith Podcast, Episode 2, “Jesus’ Family Tree”, 9/13/17
  2. C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Geoffrey Bles Publishing, 1952
  3. “What Does the Bible Say About the Three Wise Men (Magi)?”https://www.gotquestions.org

Jesus: Alpha and Omega

The person of Jesus is subtly or overtly woven throughout every plotline contained in the Bible. What a privilege it is to hold His Word in our hands and to be able to study it. What a thrill it is to realize again that His Word is living and active, always revealing new truths.

ΑΩ

I spent the fall leading a group studying God’s covenants in the Old Testament and how Jesus fulfilled them in the New Testament. Learning about the ways God’s plan unfolds through the centuries has given me an even deeper appreciation for why we celebrate the birth of Jesus. He was there with God at the dawn of creation and will be there in the earth’s last days.   Jesus says it clearly in the book of Revelation:

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” (Revelation 22:13, NIV)

In spite of His lofty position, He was willing to become a baby and grow up in our fallen world because He loves us so desperately. He endured it all so we could be saved from our sins and so we could choose to have a relationship with Him.

As I’ve been reading daily advent devotions this season, a few have driven home this concept of Jesus as Alpha and Omega: the One who was there in the beginning and will be there in the end. I’d like to share two new things that struck me about Jesus and the Christmas story in a new way.

Old Testament Connection

Jefferson Bethke’s devotion Jesus, True Jubilee provides new insight on the lengthy list of Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew 1.                He points out that the names are organized in six groups of seven names. The next name, Jesus, was at the beginning of the seventh group of seven names. The Jews reading Matthew’s gospel would have understood the significance of this this:

“The idea of 7 7’s had been in the Jewish world for hundreds of years, as the sign of completing and celebration. More     specifically, it pointed to the party and celebration of Jubilee. The Jubilee year would be the completion of the sabbatical years. Every 7 years God commanded Israel to take an entire Sabbath year. Rest. Let the crops chill. Enjoy His presence. But every 7th cycle of 7 years (so every 49 years) Israel was to throw an incredible party that entailed a few things — large scale debt would get cancelled, slaves would be set free, and God’s presence would be particularly manifest in the year of Jubilee….

Now back to Matthew. You can see just how explosive the list of names now becomes. In a very creative and fresh way Matthew is saying that the entire year of Jubilee that the Old Testament laid down was simply an arrow or signpost pointing to Jesus as the true Jubilee. With Him beginning the 7th group of 7 Matthew is saying Jesus is ushering in the true Jubilee!

Our spiritual debts are cancelled. We as slaves to sin are set free. And God’s presence is particularly made manifest in the fact that God Himself, Jesus, is walking among us! …When He entered into our world, He was bringing with Him an entire world Himself — a new way to live, to act, to love, and to know God face to face.”  (Jesus, True Jubilee, Jefferson Bethke, www.faithgateway.com)

New Testament Connection

I never realized the Christmas story is also told in Revelation from a very different perspective. Author John Eldredge describes it in a devotion I read recently:

“Contrast your associations with Christmas night to this description given to us from heaven’s point of view:

I saw a woman… She was pregnant, and she cried out in the pain of labor as she awaited her delivery. Suddenly, I witnessed in heaven another significant event. I saw a large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, with seven crowns on his heads. His tail dragged down one-third of the stars, which he threw to the earth. He stood before the woman as she was about to give birth to her child, ready to devour the baby as soon as it was born. She gave birth to a boy who was to rule all nations with an iron rod…

Then there was war in heaven. Michael and the angels under his command fought the dragon and his angels. And the dragon lost the battle and was forced out of heaven. This great dragon — the ancient serpent called the Devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world — was thrown down to the earth with all his angels… And when the dragon realized that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the child. But she was given two wings like those of a great eagle. This allowed her to fly to a place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be cared for and protected from the dragon for a time, times, and half a time… Then the dragon… declared war against the rest of her children — all who keep God’s commandments and confess that they belong to Jesus. (Revelation 12)

Eldredge continues:  “Startling. Vivid. Disturbing for sure. And an essential part of the story.

I would pay good money to have a nativity scene with this included. Not only would it capture our imagination, I think it would better prepare us to celebrate the holidays and to go on to live in the story Christmas invites us into.

Yes — Christmas is the glow of candlelight on golden straw, and a Baby sleeping in a manger. It is starlight, shepherds in a field and the visit of magi from the east. But Christmas is also an invasion. The kingdom of God striking at the heart of the kingdom of darkness, with violent repercussions.” (Remember the Dragon: Christmas Is an Invasion, John Eldrege, www.faithgateway.com)

God’s Perfect Plan

The more I study the Bible, the more I’m in awe of God’s perfect plan and the way it all unfolds. The fact that God’s instructions for the Jews in the Old Testament would connect to Jesus’ place in the genealogy shows His attentiveness to detail. The idea that Jesus’ birth is described in the last book of the Bible from heaven’s perspective leaves me speechless.   Both concepts reinforce the fact that Jesus is the center of God’s plan to redeem people in every generation. The person of Jesus is subtly or overtly woven throughout every plotline contained in the Bible. What a privilege it is to hold His Word in our hands and to be able to study it. What a thrill it is to realize again that His Word is living and active, always revealing new truths.

I pray your Christmas celebrations are more meaningful as you consider Jesus, the Alpha and Omega who humbled Himself and came to earth for our sakes. What a blessing and privilege it is to be included in a love story that started when time began and will continue until it ends.

Click on the link for a Christmas worship moment with Chris Tomlin’s “Joy to the World (Unspeakable Joy).”