Matthew 3:13-17 continuing…

One of the things that we must realize is that the reason for Jesus’s coming was to glorify His Father, and another was to fulfill all righteousness. When He came to present Himself for baptism He was not only glorifying His Father, and fulfilling righteousness; He was also doing a third thing. This was God’s endorsement, approval of John Baptist’s ministry.

Fulfilling righteousness, meant that He must meet every real requirement of the Law of God. By being baptised He was identifying Himself with man as the God-Man. He was also illustrating, and committing Himself to the righteous requirements of His Father and the law. Had He not done so He would not have fulfilled all righteousness.

Jesus did not make a dramatic approach onto this scene. He did approach with intention and purpose, and that was to be baptised by John. By His coming to John it does show that John is His herald and prophet. It would be good at this point to realize what John said when he saw Jesus coming, and it is not recorded in Matthew’s gospel, but it is in the Gospel of John (written by the apostle John, not John Baptist); “…Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. John is the one who declares Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Now, that is the ministry of the herald of the King of kings.

One other thing we will see in these few verses is that this King of kings is audibly confirmed by His heavenly Father. No kingship is genuine lest it be given and approved by God, the king maker.

Vv. 13-14 –

The major announcement which was made by the herald of the King is found in John 1:29, and is quoted above. “The Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world”. That is a wonderful, powerful, majestic announcement of John concerning the appearance of Jesus as he is baptizing in the Jordan River. Surely everyone who was there recognized the meaning of this declaration. They knew what the Old Testament laws were, what they said, and what they meant. They had heard all the prophecies of the Scriptures.

John, at first did not want to baptize Jesus. In this very action he was recognizing and declaring the deity of Jesus. He recognized him as being sinless, when he declared, “I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?”

John had rejected baptizing hypocrites because they were unworthy, but rejects baptizing Jesus because He is without sin. John has an excellent gift of discernment. Of course his heart is right, and desires to fulfill righteousness, and he sees that what Jesus speaks is the truth, therefore, he goes ahead and baptizes Jesus.

The heart’s desire for every Christian is to see that the righteousness of God is lived out in their lives. Let’s begin to see that righteousness of Christ fulfilled in us by the power of God’s Spirit. Learn of the King, and learn from the King.

vv. 8-10

These religious leaders had come to see John Baptist; thinking or hoping they could gain some pull with him. They quickly found out they could not. They were quickly condemned and without apology.

They also, quickly learned that there was no benefit for them of being descendants of Abraham. No more than being born in a garage makes one a car. There is no security in one’s ancestry – not for eternity, unless your ancestry is being reborn into Jesus Christ, ie., being born again. They will be judged by their faith and the works that they did (James 2:17; Rev. 20:12).

Those who believe that their good works will out weigh the bad deeds they have done; as though God has a scale to weigh works; need to realize God is not like the lady justice who is blindfolded; God judges with His eyes wide open, and He sees quite clearly. All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). In that day of judgment at the Great White Throne you will be judged by your works, and will be found lacking. All God will see is “Filthy rags”, and it will be a stench to be cast out for the burning.

It is sad to say, but when we look at verses 7 – 9, the religious leaders came out to hear John, and evidently their whole attitude stank to heaven, because John, filled with the Spirit of God quickly jumps their case, “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham”. He knew how to win friends among the religious elite, didn’t he. It is quite apparent from the Gospel accounts, that these religious nobles actually hated John, but could do nothing with him because of the people. He had the people’s ear, and they did not.

The Pharisees were sticklers of the law, conservative when it came to the Scriptures, but they were very legalistic, and never obeyed it in many ways themselves, by giving themselves loopholes that the people knew nothing of. They were very self-righteous.

Another group was the Saducees. They were very different from the Pharisees, because they did not believe in much, if anything, spiritual. You might call them the liberals among the groups. They claimed acceptance of the “Law of Moses” – our first five books of the Bible, but claimed no obedience to it. They did not believe in the supernatural – no angels, or bodily resurrection of the dead. I am pretty sure they would have equated the miracles of the deliverance from Egypt of the Israelite’s a mere metaphor or something. Elijah being caught up in a chariot of fire was probably a wild legend, or again a metaphor for some teaching purpose. Naaman would not have actually been healed of leprosy by dipping seven times in the muddy stream, and he probably wasn’t even healed at all in their way of thinking. Some one once made the statement, “No wonder they are called Saducees, for they are sad you see.”

I have already mentioned that we should not judge motives, but maybe that is what I am going to do now with these two groups. They are already condemned. Any of them who never trusted Jesus as their Lord and Savior are condemned for all eternity. Any of them who did go ahead and trust Jesus is in glory by now, so there is no way my judgment of them will make things any better or worse. It just makes me wonder what was their motive for being there to here John preach, since John asked them, “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come” (v. 7)? It may have been out of curiosity. They may have heard about this preacher who was preaching about the coming of Messiah, calling for repentance, getting the hearts of people ready to receive their King. What was it about John that drew a crowd. There are preachers and religious leaders like that in 2007, who are more curious about how to draw a crowd, than about the preaching of God’s Word. No where are we commanded to draw a crowd. They probably came to check the message John was preaching. Was he really a prophet. They could tell. They knew when a prophet was among them. Maybe they also thought that they could gain his approval, and they could share in some of the crowd, and eventually take over the Baptist movement.

The Pharisees were ‘legalist’, and they offered no hope to anyone, except all who were perfect. They never found anyone like that, but themselves. Their humility is preposterous, and non-existent. They may have been the conservative group, but they were Jesus haters, and despisers. They led in the taking of Jesus to trial and crucifixion. They actually hated the truth of God’s Word, and especially His Living Word. Believing His Word we would trust Jesus, and follow Him.

The Saducees believed in nothing spiritual. According to them there was no resurrection of the dead, no angels, no life after death at all. What a sad existence that would be. That would be motive for eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die. There is, however, life after death, and it can be spent in one of two places. There is hell for all who refuse and reject Jesus as personal Lord and Savior. There is Heaven for all who hear the call of the Father to His Son, and trust in His death, burial and resurrection. You will see Him face to face. Confess Him now as Lord, or do it then, and be cast alive into the lake of fire which burns forever; ie., Hell. God in His love, has positioned the cross between you and Hell to keep you from going there. You must come to Him.

Matthew 3:1-12 continuing…

 “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (v. 2).

The next thing we see is the message of the herald. It was a message which needs to be proclaimed and heard today. The world does not need to hear little mamby, pamby, sissy messages of movie previews and reviews, and learning social skills. The message the world needs, and that religious people need is the same one John came preaching – repentance. The world needs to know they have sinned and grieved the heart of God, and that He is angry with their sin, but loves them, and has shown that love by judging sin upon His own Son on the cross. Repentance equals change – a complete reversal in direction. Repentance is a sorrow for abusing the glory of God, and changing your actions, your thoughts, your beliefs accordingly. When we look at those that came to hear John we see several religious elites who came, seeking the baptism of repentance, but John was quick to see that their hearts and lives were not in it. One’s religious heritage makes no difference; if there is no repentance they are without Christ.

The world today is in peril. The return of the Lord is closer than it has ever been, and the wickedness of mankind keeps degressing from worse to worse. Now, I know that sounds really negative, and I guess it is, but sometimes negative is the truth. A battery has no power without the negative; but when you put the negative and positive together you get POWER. If you do not believe it just go out to your car, truck or whatever you drive, and disconnect the negative cable from the battery; go ahead and see if it will start. I will guarantee that it will not. Put a piece of tape on the negative side of a regular “Energizer” type battery, put it in your i-Pod or whatever; see if you have anything. Again YOU WON’T. Positive has nothing without Negative. Before there is a positive response of people to the Gospel of Jesus Christ they must know that they need a Savior. With murders, rapes, robberies, home invasions, carjackings, and just out and out debauchery occurring daily it is time we proclaimed the fallenness of mankind, not be trying to tell them how good they/we are.

REPENT. Turn to the One who paid the penalty for your sin. That is King Jesus.

“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way” Matthew 2:11-12.

We have already looked at the testimony of the Magi, but now let’s finalize this study of the second chapter of Matthew by seeing the RESPONSE OF THE MAGI [wise men]. They first learned of the birth of this King by the appearance of a “Star”. As far as I am concerned it was a star; a very special star made up of the Glory of God just for this time, and this very special King. The fact that it moved suggest to me that it could have been the very Glory of God showing the way to the Lamb of God born in a manger.

These Wise men followed the Glory of God which had shined and led. When the wise men went to Jerusalem they went to the evil king Herod asking where the King of the Jews was to be born. He did not know. Herod called for the Priests and Scribes, who could have cared less, but did have a knowledge of the prophecies, but they did not go with the wise men. When they found out the baby would be born in Bethlehem, they were told by Herod to come and tell him so he could go and worship Him too.

When the wise men find Jesus, in a “House” they bowed and worshipped Him, and gave him “Their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Their first response when they see Jesus is worship. Surely there must have been something different about the appearance of Jesus as they saw Him in their house. By the time the wise men found Jesus He could have been as much as two years of age. He was no longer the babe lying in a manger, but two year old child walking about the house, and probably talking as well.

Their second response was to give Him gifts. These are gifts given to kings. Gold is a precious metal of royalty; Frankincense is a precious fragrance of royalty; and Myrrh is another precious fragrance of royalty usually used in burials.

The response of those who are found by Him should be to worship Him, trust His Word the Scriptures of the Holy Bible, and know that all He has said will be fulfilled. THE WISE WORSHIP HIM – THE FOOLISH REMAIN INDIFFERENT.

Matthew 2:1-23 continuing

“And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet…” Matthew 2:4-5

Sometimes, even many times we are surprised by those who are religious leaders; look at the INDIFFERENCE OF THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND THE SCRIBES. The Chief priests had political and religious power. They were originally to descend from Aaron brother of Moses. During the time of Jesus this had become an office of political favor and could be purchased for the ‘right price’.

These men were supposed to be in charge of the temple, and its sacrifices. They were profiteers rather than servants of God and the people. That will later be seen in Jesus’s entering the temple area and upsetting the ‘Money changers’ tables. These would tell someone who had brought their own lamb for sacrifice that it had a blemish, thus was unfit as a sacrifice; sell this individual another lamb; then turn around and sell the one they had said was blemished to another unsuspecting customer. O, the power that religion holds on people. O, the shame it should be to all those who are truly in Christ Jesus; to see those who make profits from the selling of “healing merchandise”, “Handkerchiefs’, ‘cloths”, “Holy Oils” “a piece of the cross”, etc.; for the purpose of healing, blessing or whatever. THIEF.

These “Priests”, by representation, should have been seeking the Messiah, but it seems they had no care for it. These were supposed to be the spiritual leaders of their people “Israel”, but they were bought and paid for by the political system, and their own greed. The people who call themselves Christian must needs be very cautious when dealing in the political arena. There should never be an offer of material benefit for a candidate, nor receipt of material benefit from a candidate. The Christian person, nor Christian ministry is for sale. In case someone misunderstands I will state it again. The Christian is not for sale, nor is the ministry of the Word of God. I for one will not be found to be a part of the “woman” riding the beast of “Democracy” (Rev. 17:3).

The Scribes were authorities on Jewish law and the Scriptures. They too were negligent in searching for the Messiah. They were more concerned with the thing which are at hand. The coming of Messiah would take care of itself. There is a like negligence of the prophecies of God’s Word today; a denying of their importance. Wake up Christian. Wake up pastors. These Scribes just had no care. They too, were bound up in the office of their position, rather than in the One who came, and is coming again. I really hate to admit it, but that is the attitude I see in far too many pastors in 2007.

Matthew 2:1-23 continuing…

“When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him” Matthew 2:3; “And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also” 2:8; “Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men” 2:16.

Another thing, the third thing we look at is the TESTIMONY OF HEROD’S JEALOUSY AND HOSTILITY. Herod was actually only a Roman appointed king of the Jews. He married a Jewish heiress in order to make himself more acceptable to the Jews. He was cruel and merciless. He was so incredibly jealous; even to the point of killing his own sons to protect ‘his’ throne.

Herod was troubled because he already saw this baby as a threat to his political and military power. This is the Herod known as “Herod the Great”. This Herod is founder of the famous and infamous line of Herods, and he ruled from 37 – 4 B.C.. In Psalm 2:1-2 we read, “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed,…”. Surly, Herod the Great was the first to attempt the destruction of the Lord as He became a man.

This king was a man who was not beyond using deception to get information that he wanted, espcially if it affected his reign. He would deceive, lie, kill, do whatever it took to preserve his kingdom. He lied to the Magi to try and find out where this baby was; “Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.” (vv.7-8). Herod had no intention of worshipping this new born king. He would kill him, but not worship him. That is, if there had not been divine providence involved. One day Herod will fall down and worship at the feet of this King; whom he tried to kill; and will call Him Lord (Philippians 2:9-11).

One thing is for sure; God preserves His Word, ie., His Son, and the written Word; and those who trust Him. Those who try to destroy Him will be destroyed.

Matthew 2:1-23 continued…

“Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him” Matthew 2:2.

The second thing we look at is the TESTIMONY OF THE MAGI. The Magi were probably from the area of Persia, and were known as astrologers and/or magicians. This is by no means an approval on those practices of evil. It shows still the darkness of their hearts, but also a drawing power of God’s Spirit to people who do not know Him. The testimony of Daniel was strong even 450 years later.

So, what was the testimony of these Gentile “Magicians”? They came to the king, one who thought he was the king of Jerusalem, to find out where this King would be born (v. 2). First of all it seems they had a testimony of God’s Word. They had heard this message of a coming King of the Jews from somewhere and it must have been from the Scriptures which Daniel had written. They must have read of the “Stone cut out without hands”,

“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” Daniel 2:34. “Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.” Daniel 2:45.

The very fact that these men are seeking Him says much about who it is. Why would these men who held much importance for the king of Persia at the time be going off following a “Star”? Didn’t they have important matters to attend to? I mean by that things they would have considered important. Maybe they had other men who filled in for them in performing their duties.

One of the things that certainly can be said of these “Magi” is that they were seekers of the truth. In that endeavor we all should be, and those of us who know Jesus as our Lord and Savior have been found by Him.

The testimony of the Magi troubled king Herod. He was, according to historians of that time, a very jealous man. He was the “King of Jerusalem”, and no one was going to have his throne. Are you troubled by this King, or do you find life, hope, peace, joy, and eternal life in Him?

THE ACTIONS OF WISE AND FOOLISH MEN

Matthew 2:1-23  There will be further posts from chapter 2 of Matthew

We are given evidence of the Kingship of Jesus. It is shown by the actions of men; both foolish and wisemen. There is evidence provided us by Scriptures which have been fulfilled only in the person of Jesus Christ. These evidences should evoke the sinner to ascribe to Him His worth by receiving Him; and the saint by ascribing all our worship to Him, through our love by obedience to His commandments.

In this chapter the “Wise men” are of course those who come seeking the one who was “Born King of the Jews”. Herod, of course, is one of the foolish men who by Hiis very act of free will was used to fulfill the very Word of God by his act of hatred.

We are not told how many of these “Wise men” there were. It has mostly been assumed that there were three, because when they brought their gifts to Jesus there was only three gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh (v. 11). Where did these wise men come from. It very well could be that these were men who came from the area around Persia, and their knowledge of Scripture could probably be traced back to Daniel (See Daniel 5:11). There is no evidence to back this up, but is only a possibility. Wherever they came from; whoever they were; somewhere they had gained a knowledge of a coming King of the Jews.

“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem” Matthew 2:1; “And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son” 2:13-15; Verses 17-23 are also included in this section.

First of all let’s look at the EVIDENCE OF SCRIPTURE (v. 6). Now concerning the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem Micah the prophet wrote by the breath of God, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” (5:2). There are some who believe Jesus was merely a man who plotted to meet all the Scriptural evidence, and as if the Holy Spirit knew this would happen, He gives us evidence of His birth, knowing no man can plot or plan the place of their birth. I speak as a man to men. Concerning the escape from out of Egypt (vv. 13-15), we find Hosea writing by God’s breath, “When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.” (11:1). Certainly a reference to Jesus’s coming out of Egypt as a child.

In verses 17-18 of our text we find it proclaimed in Scripture, “Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not” Jeremiah 31:15. This was a proclamation of the hideous act of Herod’s jealousy, and his slaughter of innocent children two years of age and under. O, how there must have been much weeping when the soldiers came with swords, and the blood of infants flowed in the homes and streets of Ramah.

“He shall be called a Nazarene” (v. 23b). According to many scholars there are no written prophecies available to us which this would refer. It is interesting to note a few Scriptures which speak of Jesus being despised. The word ‘Nazarene’ could be a reference to one who is despised or detestable.

“Nazareth, an obscure town 55 mi. N of Jerusalem, was a place of lowly reputation, and nowhere mentioned in the OT. Some have suggested that ‘Nazarene’ is a reference to the Heb. word for brance in Isaiah 11:1. Others point out that Matthew’s statement that ‘prophets’ had made this prediction may be a reference to verbal prophecies nowhere recorded in the OT. A still more likely explanation is that Matthew is using ‘Nazarene’ as a synonym for someone who is despised or detestable–for that was how people from the region were often characterized (cf. John 1:46). If that is the case, the prophecies Matthew has in mind would include Ps.22:6-8; Is. 49:7; 53:3.” From the MACARTHUR STUDY BIBLE pg. 1396.

Those Scriptures say, “But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.” Psalm 22:6-8. From Isaiah we read, ” Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.” Isaiah 49:7; “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” Isaiah 53:3.

It is possible that more than one prophet wrote of Jesus being called a Nazarene. Matthew does mention, “…Which was spoken by the prophets…” (v. 23). Jesus was from Nazareth. He was despised of men and rejected. How do you see Jesus?