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Thursday, January 7, 2016

Matthew 1-7

First Week In Matthew


(Matthew 1-7)
What an amazing way to enter the New Testament! The Apostle Matthew gives us the start we need if we want to get to know Jesus better or if we just want to get to know Him for the first time. In seven chapters, he takes us from the promise of the messiah in the Old Testament, the birth of Jesus, the beginning of His ministry and through the greatest sermon ever preached. Not bad for seven short chapters!

From Abraham to David to Jesus, Matthew demonstrates that God's promise to establish a kingdom and sit a ruler on the throne that would rule forever has been kept. Jesus is that fulfillment. J.C. Ryle put it this way, "Jesus came to fulfill the predictions of the prophets, who had long foretold that a Savior would one day appear. He came to fulfill the ceremonial law, by becoming the great sacrifice for sin, to which all the Old Testament offerings had ever pointed. He came to fulfill the moral law, by yielding to it a perfect obedience, which we could never have yielded - and by paying the penalty for our breaking of it with His atoning blood, which we could never have paid."

His baptism by John is an example for all of us as we choose to become disciples and follow Him. While He was sinless, He was still obedient to John's baptism. God, the Father recognized this by declaring, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Jesus later in Matthew commands his followers to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." (Matt 28: 19-20)

His temptation is a great example to us that in our lives we will be confronted by Satan. He gives us the solution to this problem as He quotes scripture and is obedient to His Father's commands. Had He come to this earth and never suffered in His life and dealt with our weaknesses, we would question His ability to fully understand our struggles. As it is, He dealt with far more than we will ever face and He stands as our advocate before our Father. That is good news!

The Sermon on the Mount stands as the greatest single teaching in the history of mankind. Jesus deals with human weaknesses and gives us the answers to our questions. You want to find joy and happiness, Matthew 5: 2-11. Purpose in life, Matthew 5: 13-16. Relationship issues, Matthew 5: 21-47. And on and on.

Take the time to read the first 7 chapters of the gospel according to Matthew. It will take you less that 30 minutes. That's not a lot of time to find the treasure that is found in these chapters. You will grow in your knowledge and in your love and appreciation of a God that keeps His promises, sends His only son and provides us with teaching that enriches our lives. Good stuff? Great stuff!