THE ORIGINS OF JESUS CHRIST - MATTHEW 1:1-17

Matthew is the first book of the New Testament in our Bibles. For a long time it was considered to be the first gospel written, though most scholars now consider Mark to be the first one. 

The early church thought it was written first in Hebrew or Aramaic. You will still see that argument pop up on social media today by those who want to attack the accuracy of the Bible. This comes from a statement written by Papias around 135 A.D., which is difficult to interpret. However, there are no ancient manuscripts of Matthew in Hebrew. Most scholars today believe it was written first in Greek. 

Since Matthew was a tax collector for the Roman government, he would have been able to read and write Greek, which was the language of commerce. Galileans also lived in close proximity to Greeks and had dealings with them. The fact that Matthew often quotes the Old Testament from the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation, shows he knew Greek.

He would also be adept at making and keeping records. Given these abilities, and his being one of the Twelve, he was uniquely qualified to write about the life of Jesus with accuracy.

Matthew’s gospel was accepted and the most highly revered in the first three centuries of the church. It was regarded as Scripture. It was the most quoted by the early non-canonical writers, such as Ignatius. He quoted Matthew in a letter written around 110 A.D. Ignatius was the bishop of Antioch at the time he wrote the letter. 

Matthew and the other gospel writers, the Evangelists, sought to provide historical information. But each one had their own viewpoint and goals. Matthew had more than one goal, but one of his goals was clearly to show that Jesus is the Messiah the Old Testament promised and for whom the Jews were anxiously waiting. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of David, the Son of God, the Son of Man, and the promised Immanuel.

Matthew also shows us that the Jewish leaders and many Jews, did not understand this or chose to reject it. Matthew also shows that the messianic kingdom has come, inaugurated by the life, death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus at his ascension. 

Matthew also shows that the community of those who believe, both Jew and Gentile, are the people of God. They participate in the New Covenant, receiving forgiveness from sins, and membership in the kingdom. 

The Genealogy of Jesus

1:1-17

This section begins a larger section that goes through 2:23 that we might title as “a record of the origins of Jesus Christ”. 

The first verse gives us titles for Jesus. First is his given name, Jesus. It is “Yeshua” in Hebrew. It means “Yahweh saves”. We see this in verse 21, where the angel tells Joseph to call the baby Jesus “for he will save his people from their sins”. 

Second is the title “Christ”. It means “anointed” and is the Greek equivalent of Messiah. By the time of Jesus, it referred to the one who would bring in the promised future, righteous, king who would reign over God’s people.

Other titles are “son of David” and “son of Abraham”. Although Abraham preceded David in time, Matthew mentions David first. The title “Son of David” is mentioned many times in this gospel. The reason is the importance of God’s covenant with David, including God’s promise that David’s descendant would occupy the throne forever. (2 Samuel 7:12-16) 

The Jews saw this as a promise of the coming anointed one who would deliver Israel from the Romans and restore their kingdom. They considered themselves still in exile. Although they were in their homeland, they did not rule it. They were not a sovereign nation. They were an unwilling vassal of Rome, which was in a long line of foreign nations ruling Israel. They needed a king to rescue them. So, Matthew began his gospel with this genealogy to proclaim that God’s royal line will be consummated in the coming of Jesus Christ. 

Isaiah’s prophecy further developed the picture of this Son in Isaiah 9:6-7. He said:

For to us a child is born, 

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be be no end,

on the throne of David and over is kingdom,

to establish it and to uphold it.

So, the title “son of David” was seen by many to be messianic. 

Jesus is also “son of Abraham”. This is a given if he is son of David. So, why does Matthew mention it? 

God also made a covenant with Abraham. God promised that through Abraham’s offspring (or seed) all nations would be blessed. (Genesis 22:18) And, later, Matthew will connect this as he records Jesus commissioning his followers to make disciples of all nations. (Matthew 28:19) Matthew sends a clear signal that the Messiah is not just for the Jews, but also for the nations, the Gentiles. 

Matthew is claiming at the very beginning of his gospel that Jesus is the Messiah\Christ that has come in fulfillment of the promises to David and to Abraham. Jesus is the one who will bring blessings to all nations. 

Continuing the thought of “all nations”, look at the women mentioned in the genealogy. Ruth and Rahab, and possibly Tamar, were Gentiles, not Jews. Bathsheba, who was a Jew, was married to a Hittite and was likely regarded as one because of that. (See Ruth 1, Joshua 6, Genesis 38:6, 2 Samuel 11:3)

Most genealogies of the time only listed men. So, Matthew signals a new role for women in the New Covenant. Paul would later write “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28) 

Matthew divided the genealogy of Jesus into three periods:

1. Abraham to David;
2. David to Babylonian exile; and
3. Babylonian exile to Jesus.

Verse 17 divides the genealogy into three sections of 14. There are names left out to get that. So the number 14 here must have symbolic, rather than literal meaning. Since a major point of the genealogy is to show that Jesus is a descendant (son) of David, it appears the grouping of 14 may also point to David. 

The Jews, and other ancient people, used a form of symbolism called Gematria. It ascribes number values to letters. Hebrew originally did not have vowels, only consonants. David has two Ds and one W. His name in Hebrew has a W instead of the English version of V. 

D had a value of 4.  W had a value of 6. The two Ds plus W equals 14. 

The genealogy also shows us God is faithful. He continued to work with his people even though they were not always faithful. Some had epic failures, such as David, with whom God made a covenant. Yet God kept his covenant promises. 

We see that Jesus is the point of the genealogy as he is the point of the Bible. 

 

“We could spend the rest of our lives thinking as deeply as we possibly can about the attributes of God and not come anywhere close to exhausting the depths and the riches of who He is.”   R.C. SPROUL

HELL

 Hell is a real place where certain people will be punished forever.

This is the historical, orthodox doctrine of hell. Some theologians claim, though, that it is a temporary place prior to annihilation. We will, of course, look at what the Bible says about it.

First, what did Jesus say? 

He spoke of hell as an eternal reality.

Jesus spoke of hell more than anyone else in the Bible. He referred to it as a place of eternal punishment, a place of suffering, and a place where there is no fellowship with God. 

Hell is a place of eternal punishment.

In his story referring to the righteous as sheep and the wicked as goats, He said of the goats “these will go away into eternal punishment”. (Matthew 25:46) 

The punishment is for rejecting Jesus through unbelief. John 3:18 says “Whoever believes in him (Jesus) is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only So of God.” Condemned means judged and sentenced to punishment, not just criticized. 

Paul echoed this theme when he wrote:

“…when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might…” (2 Thessalonians 1:5–10)

The punishment of hell is permanent and eternal. 

Hell is a place of suffering.

Jesus says in hell “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 8:12). The intensity of misery will makes a person grind his teeth as he or she bears the suffering. Weeping and gnashing of teeth is Jesus’ typical description of suffering in  Matthew’s Gospel. 

The identical phrase appears in Matt. 8:12; 13:50; 22:13; 24:51; and Matt. 25:30.

The cause of the suffering is often credited to eternal fire. For example, Jesus referred to hell as a “fiery furnace” where law-breakers will be thrown at the end of the age when he returns. 

“The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 13:41–42). 

He referred to it as the “hell of fire”. (Matthew 5:22), the “unquenchable fire” (Mark 9:43) and the , “eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41).

He said that, upon his return, the wicked would be thrown into the fiery furnace where there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:40-42)

Jesus also described hell in the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, in Luke 16:19-31. The rich man in hell was “in torment” and “anguish”.

This punishment is permanent, not temporary. John’s vision of eternity was that  sinners’ “portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death”. (Revelation 21:8)

One should fear eternal death more than physical death since eternal death is forever. That is what “eternal” means, after all. 

The verse functions as an argument against Annihilationism as well. Annihialationism is the view that those consigned to hell will eventually cease entirely to exist. But, if the final judgment simply ended existence, then it would be of the same nature as physical death. Jesus calls upon men and women to believe in him because eternal life and eternal death are at stake.

Hell is a place with no fellowship with God.

While believers bask in the glory of God in eternity, so bright that there is no need of sun or moon (Revelation 21:23), Hell will be bereft of God’s glory, a place of gloomy darkness. 

"Cast into outer darkness" is a phrase from the Gospel of Matthew (8:12, 22:13, 25:30) describing hell as place of exclusion, woe, and judgment. It represents a state of total separation from the light, joy, and presence of God. 

Hell will not only be the abode of unbelieving humans, but of the devil and his angels who joined him in rebellion against God. God did not spare these angels, “but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness”.  (2 Peter 2:4) Imagine having to spend eternity with those guys! 

In other words, all the joys that we associate with light will be withdrawn, and all the fears that we associate with darkness will be multiplied.

Jonathan Edwards wrote this about Revelation 6:15-17: “Wicked men will hereafter earnestly wish to be turned to nothing and forever cease to exist that they may escape the wrath of God.”

Conclusion

Hell is not a subject we like to think or talk about. But, it is necessary for all to understand the seriousness of rejecting Christ. And to appreciate God’s grace in sparing us from his wrath.

JUDGMENT & RESTORATION - AMOS 9

 Amos 9

Vision of Destruction

9:1-4

This verse begins another vision given to Amos. Here he sees the Lord standing beside or on an altar. It would be one of the pagan altars, possibly at Bethel or Dan where the golden calves were. God will shatter the columns until the temple falls on the people worshipping there. The ones who escape will be killed with the sword. This is part of the invasion that will lead to the destruction of Israel and exile for the survivors.

There is no escape from God’s judgment, even if they dig down to Sheol or up to heaven. (2) He will find them no matter where they hide. He will strike them and send them into captivity. Some will die by the sword even while captive. 

God Declares Himself

9:5-6

The Lord identifies himself with his power. If he touches the earth it melts and people mourn. If he calls for the sea, the pour out over the face of the earth. All of creation is subject to his command. His name is Yahweh (the LORD). (6)

Israel Like Other Nations

9:7-10

Israel has lost it special place with God. It has become like Egypt, Philistia, and Syria. It is just another sinful kingdom. God dealt with them and now with Israel.He will destroy it. But, it seems he will leave a remnant. He said he will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob. But he will hake it and kill the sinful people in the nation. (10) 

Restoration Of Israel

9:11-16

In addition to the terrible judgment of invasion, death, and exile, God will bring a day of restoration. He will repair the booth of David. A booth is a fragile structure of branches, contrasted with the great structure of temples that will be destroyed.

However, this restoration will come through the line of David. That is a problem for this northern kingdom of Israel because its people have rejected the house of David and separated itself from Judah, David’s tribe and descendants. 

This restored entity will include all the nations called by God’s name. In those days, the land will be restored, ready to be plowed and planted. God will restore and all his people to rebuild. He will plant them and they will not be uprooted.

James, the brother of Christ and head of the Jerusalem church, at the conclusion of the Jerusalem council in Acts 15, says that the coming of the Gentiles to faith in Christ is the fulfillment of God’s promise to restore and build Israel, his people, in Amos 9. 

This fits perfectly with Paul’s later writing that the true Israel is the church and true Jews are believers in Christ. He wrote: “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel before hand to Abraham, saying ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed’. So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. (Galatians 3:7-9) 

THE DAY OF BITTER MOURNING - AMOS 8

 

Amos 8

The End Has Come

8:1-2

The Coming Judgment

These verses conclude the series of visions in chapter 7 that start with the words “this is what the Lord God showed me”. 

In this vision, God showed Amos a basket of summer fruit. This meant it was the end of the harvest, at the end of summer, but the people would not get to enjoy it. 

God’s patience is finally exhausted and he says the end has come to Israel. There is a play on words here, as the Hebrew word for summer fruit and the word for the end sound the same. We lose this in the English translation.

God can say the end has come because he knows it will come. He knows it will come because he has decreed that it will come. 

But God said he would never pass by them again. The wording sounds somewhat like the language of the Passover, when God said he would pass through Egypt and kill the firstborn of Egypt, but passover the houses of the Israelites who had put blood on the doorframes. (Exodus 12:23) 

This time, God says, he will not pass through to save them, but will allow death to come in. There will be wailing in the temple. This is partially in response to Amaziah’s rebuke of Amos, when he said Bethel is the king’s sanctuary and a temple of the kingdom. (Amos 7:12-13) There will be dead bodies thrown everywhere, and silence from the lack of people to make noise.

The curses of the covenant are reflected in this. God said, if Israel made idols, he swore that they would “soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it, but will be utterly destroyed.” The few survivors would be scattered among the gentile nations. (Deuteronomy 4:25-26) 

The Corruption Of Israel Exposed

8:3-6

God addressed Israel by the sins that brought judgment: trampling the needy and poor (4), just waiting through religious days so that may resume dishonest trade, and enslaving the poor and selling them.(6) The reference to the New Moon is because the day of the New Moon was the beginning of the Hebrew month and was a Sabbath of sorts, since no work was to be done and sacrifices were offered. 

The Lord’s Judgment

8:7-10

As a result of the prideful sins of Israel, the LORD (Yahweh) swore to hold them accountable for their deeds, and bring judgment so terrible that people would mourn and the land itself would tremble. Judgment would be like the rising of the Nile when it floods, covering the land.

There will be cosmic signs of catastrophe, the sun going dark at noon. Their joy   will turn to sorry and bitter mourning will be the norm.

Famine of the Word

8:11-14

Part of the judgment will be God withholding his word from them. He likens it to a famine. The Israelites might seek God’s word in desperation, but they will not find it because he will withhold it. There would be no prophets. 

We can actually see this judgment in action, as there was a period of 400 years of silence from the time of Malachi until John the Baptist appeared on the scene. There was no prophecy and no scripture written during that time.

Their pagan gods would also be silent. The golden calf at Dan would fall as would any places of worship at Beersheba. 

Takeaways

As the people of Israel finally face judgment for their sins, we are reminded that there is a final judgment for all people. When Jesus returns, he brings deliverance for believers, but wrathful judgment for unbelievers. That is why we must proclaim the gospel, and why that proclamation must include the reality of judgment. 

HOLY WEDNESDAY

 Holy Wednesday

On this day, Jesus experienced beautiful devotion and devious betrayal.

Mary Anoints Jesus

14:3-9

The setting for the story is the little village of Bethany on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. (3) Jesus and his disciples spent the nights there after days of confrontations in the city of Jerusalem. Bethany was the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha. 

A man named Simon the Leper hosted a dinner for Jesus and his disciples. (3) Simon would have been healed from his disease, or otherwise could not have been in such a gathering. Maybe Jesus healed him previously and so the dinner was in his honor. 

To the surprise of the men, a woman entered the room. Mark does not name her, but John’s account tells us it was Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha. (John 12:1-3)

Mark may have omitted her name to keep the reader’s focus on Jesus. He presents this event as the beginning of the end of Jesus’ earthly life as he is anointed for death. 

We know Mary from two previous encounters with Jesus. First, she sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to his teaching despite her sister wanting her to help her serve dinner. But Jesus told Martha “one thing is necessary” and “Mary has chosen n the good portion, which will not be taken away from her”. (Luke 10:38-42)

Mary’s desire to be near her Lord and to concentrate on his teaching was far more beneficial than being very busy preparing and serving with a meal. So, Jesus further said that would not be taken away from Mary.

The second time we see her is after the death of her brother, Lazarus. When Jesus got there, Mary said Lazarus would not have died if Jesus had been there. While that sounds like a reproach, it shows that Mary believed in Jesus’ divine power to heal. 

Mary’s entrance into the room where the men were gathered around the table was practically walking into the lion’s den. It was inappropriate in that culture for a woman to come into such a gathering of men except to serve them food and drink. As soon as the men realized she was not carrying a picture of wine or a platter of food, they would have begun to sit up and watch her, maybe even say: “what is she doing here?”. 

Mary knew this and knew the men would not approve. But, she went anyway because she thought only of Jesus, not of the opinion of others. She was compelled to go because of her love for Jesus and devotion to him. 

Imagine the shock of the men when Mary held up a beautiful alabaster flask. It was probably translucent white with artistic carvings on it. It was valuable and undoubtedly contained something valuable.  

In fact, it contained pure nard, an expensive, perfumed, ointment that came all the way from India.  It was worth around a year’s wages. It may have been a family heirloom or an investment.

Their eyes would go wide as she broke the top off of the flask. Mary was all in with her love for Jesus. She was not going to just pour a drop on him and then put the top back on the flask. No, she intended from the beginning to use the whole thing.

As Mary poured the contents of the flask on Jesus’ head, the room was filled with the fragrance of pure nard. Mary continued pouring until the flask was completely empty. It probably held 12 ounces or more. 

The ointment ran down Jesus’ hair and dripped down even to his feet. The men must have looked on in shocked silence for a few minutes as the enormity of her sacrifice for Jesus became apparent. 

You know, most of us are practical. We count the cost of things and we order our activities and expenses according to our priorities.  The disciples were practical too. They complained. They scolded her! They said the flask should have been sold and the money given to the poor. They said it was wasted! (4)

I suspect they were not that concerned about the poor. Judas certainly had ulterior motives. But I think the others might have been embarrassed or ashamed. While they had the unique privilege of being with Jesus all day every day, they bickered about who was he greatest, they tried to exclude others from getting close to Jesus.   

But here is this woman who is not even supposed to be there, who was not one of the inner circle, but who came to Jesus with no motive other than to express her love for him and to honor him, even at the expense of her own humiliation. 

Notice also that Jesus did not join the complaining chorus. He received this extravagant gesture of love and honored the woman who gave it. He jumped to her defense, interrupting the scolding, and saying: “leave her alone”. (6) 

Jesus also said that Mary had done a beautiful thing to him. His time was short and Mary had done what she could by preparing his body for burial in advance. (8)Mary seemed to understand what the disciples did not, that Jesus was going to die soon and they would likely not have time to prepare his body for burial when it happened. 

Jesus was not minimizing the needs of the poor. He always advocated for the poor. But he was saying he would not be with them much longer and acts of love and devotion were completely appropriate. (7) Again, Mary chose the better thing. 

Jesus even said that what Mary did would be told everywhere the gospel is preached in the whole world. What an honor! That prophecy has been fulfilled thousands of time and it is fulfilled here today. 

What Jesus said here is not new. God has always expected his people to love him extravagantly. The book of Deuteronomy records Moses giving the law to the Israelites again as they are about to enter the Promised Land. Moses said “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might”. (Deuteronomy 6:5) 

Jesus called this the great and first commandment. (Matthew 22:38) In other words, the first and greatest thing believers should do is love the Lord extravagantly, with every part of their being and everything they have. 

If you love Jesus extravagantly, you might go somewhere you have not been comfortable before. Certainly, you might go to the mission field at home or abroad, or into full time ministry. But, maybe you just go and serve in Jesus’ church. Or maybe you develop a regular habit of praying and reading your Bible every day. Or, you give to his church sacrificially.  

While the beautiful expression of devotion was happening, a great betrayal was plotted. 

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

14:10-11

In contact to Mary’s act of devotion to Jesus, Judas sought to betray him. Mark specifically identities him as one of the Twelve. He was an insider, close to Jesus. Yet, he met with members of the Sanhedrin, agreed on a price, and began to look for the opportunity to betray.

Mark does not name the price as Matthew does. Instead he focused on Judas’ greed and the depth of his betrayal as one close to Jesus.