Marriage and Adultery

Matthew 5:27-32

Adultery in the Heart

27 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not commit adultery.' 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

Marriage Is Sacred and Binding

31 "Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' 32 But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

Marriage and Adultery are addressed by Jesus in this long discourse on Mount Tabor as matters of the heart as much as of the flesh.  He may have chosen this place solely because it was easy to preach and be heard from on high or it might be because He was trying to bring them closer to a higher point up towards heaven to hear the real meaning and intent of the Law of Moses and of the Prophets (according to Jerome).  Either way He began teaching them more than just how to live for God’s blessings and to reveal the deeper meanings of adultery and marriage in these passages recorded in Matthew 5:27-30 and Matthew 5:31-32 for us as if we sat with the multitude on that mountain to hear from Him.  He began by first telling them that they had heard a traditional interpretation of scripture (“you have heard it was said”) but that He was giving them the divine meaning (“but I say to you”) out of heaven from God’s very word and intent of these things.  Regarding adultery, Jesus told them it was much more than physical intimacy with someone you are not married to, but that the thoughts and intents of the heart known by God as declared in Hebrews 4:12 are found and revealed in the scriptures illuminating the heart of man and woman.  The unbridled lust of desire unchecked in the heart and mulled over in the mind (James 1:14-14) was the real adultery according to our Lord.  The physical act was just the outworking of that sinful desire left unchecked and not refused to dwell on, or even worse, coddled and nurtured until the physical act is committed.  Jesus exposed our hearts and minds by the written word because He is the living Word (John 1:1) who reveals the truth to us.  The solution to stop this unchecked and misdirected desire was given as extreme examples of tearing out the eye or cutting off the hand before it could lead the rest of the body and soul into judgment, but it appears to be more of a hard warning to instead check our eyes (Job 31:1, 4, 9) for our wandering thoughts and restrain our hands from doing the evil (Isaiah 1:16) outwardly in the body as a result of not stopping the misplaced desire of further temptation.  He then moved to a related issue regarding marriage and divorce by pointing out the sanctity and binding permanence of that covenant made before God (Genesis 1:27, 2:24, Malachi 2:14, 15-16) between a man and woman.  He permanently joins us so that our children are sanctified as godly offspring to be fruitful and multiply righteousness instead of perpetuating sin opposed to God’s word and intent for us as designed and created for his glory, even if yoked in marriage with an unbeliever (1 Corinthians 7:14).  The only certain reason to dissolve this union according to the Lord is if the other is unfaithful.  This even causes the other to commit adultery if divorced for any other reason.  Divorce is not to be entered into lightly even in light of Paul’s further instructions in Corinthians 7:10-11, 12-13, 15.  The issues of marriage and adultery leading to divorce are therefore linked together in this teaching and are to be taken to heart lest immoral thoughts become illicit behavior and destroy what God has brought together.  We have been called to live at peace with the Lord and with each other.

The Law Written on Our Heart

Matthew 5:17-26

Christ Fulfills the Law

17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Murder Begins in the Heart

21 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.' 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

The Law must be written on the heart for true change to happen and endure.  It is not that the Law is completely done away with as some imagine with the appearance of Jesus Christ and the New Testament sealed with His blood, but that the moral laws of God are to be lived out of willing obedience with heartfelt desire to please our Redeemer.  Jesus Himself made it crystal clear that He did not come to get rid of the Law given to us by God through Moses and the prophets, but to keep it fully to the letter but also to the intent.  None of God’s word is to be minimized or eliminated by our rationalization to recuse ourselves from living accordingly.  More to the point, we are taught that if we not only disobey the scriptures but teach others to do so according to our reasoning then we find no reward in heaven, only loss and shame as the least honored there.  We are called to the greatness of willing obedience to God’s word (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and teaching the whole counsel of God’s word as contained in all the scriptures from Genesis through Revelation.  It is all His word, including the Law which He writes on regenerated hearts (Jeremiah 31:33, Romans 2:15, 2 Corinthians 3:3) for us to put into daily living.  That is the true righteousness which the Pharisees missed and which is a warning for us not to repeat this gross error by excusing away the parts of God’s word that we find disagreeable or difficult.   The only way to salvation is through hearing and responding in the obedience of faith to that word which declares we are all sinners (Romans 3:20-23) and only find deliverance from our due judgment by the grace of God in Christ (Romans 6:23).  It is Christ’s righteousness alone which gives us entrance, not our vain and stained attempts of working good or penance in place of obedience to hear His word and rely on His work as John 6:28-29 tells us.  Not only is this the basis, but Jesus went on to clarify how anger in our hearts is as the murder which the Law speaks of.  He just made it clear the intent is not religious activity but a heartfelt drive to love as He does and not excuse hatred because it is the intent of the Law in our hearts not to harm our neighbors (Romans 13:10) but to do them good with intent and actions.  This is so important that Jesus told us here that He will not accept our worship if we harbor hatred.  We are to reconcile with our adversaries or face the consequences of our sin.  We will pay the full price of disobedience and the judgment of our murder in our hearts and minds if we are unforgiving and unrepentant.  These are hard sayings meant to bring our awareness to sin and live for Him according to all that is written for our life and godliness (1 Timothy 4:8, 2 Peter 1:3, 8).  May we exercise our faith to life and godliness through the word of God and prayer to be established in the truth (2 Peter 1:10, 3:18) in knowing Jesus Christ and following Him.  His word is written on our hearts! 

Blessings of Salty Believers in the Light

Matthew 5:1-16

The Beatitudes

1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Believers Are Salt and Light

13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Jesus gave a long list of blessings for those who walk in the light of Himself and all He taught that we might become salt to season and preserve the world with truth and love in His grace and mercy.  They lead to supreme blessedness and exalted happiness in living to please God in Christ by willing obedience to His word in its principles, commands, and according to its examples.  Jesus saw not just a single person to teach these to, but to a gathering multitude.  We can all learn under His under-shepherds in this way now, for that is why He gave gifts to men (Ephesians 4:7-8, 11-12) that they might preach and teach from the scriptures to the body of Christ.  The first blessing is for the humble, those who realize they are poor in heart or spirit.  This means we see ourselves as sinners needing grace and forgiveness and not imagining we are deserving or better than others due to our religious works that always fall short of God’s standards.  The second blessing is an encouragement to know we will find comfort in Christ when we mourn in sadness for our loss or failures.  He is the comforter who lives within us for this very purpose (John 14:26, 2 Corinthians 1:3-5) to bring comfort and also dispense it through us to one another.  The third blessing is hope to the meek to remind us that we will inherit the kingdom of God on earth.  Such selfless gentleness is considerate and humble as the woman who was ever thankful for the crumbs from the Master’s table (Matthew 15:27) falling for her to sustain and satisfy her every want and need.  Are we so easily satisfied with godly contentment as we know we have been given an endless kingdom with and in Christ?  The fourth blessing is for those who are filled with that contentment when they hunger and thirst for righteousness above the passing pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11:25) and temporal treasures which turn to dust (Matthew 6:19-20).  True contentment results from seeking godliness (1 Timothy 6:6) in all we think, do, and pursue.  The fifth blessing is for showing mercy as we have received such forgiveness by the grace of God in Christ while we know we deserve the consequences of what we sow with our sin.  God pours out His mercy on us when we are doing the same for one another in thankfulness as instruments in our Savior’s hand.  The sixth blessing describes how our changing hearts becoming pure as we seek to set our minds on things above (Philippians 4:8) lead us to a clearer sight of God Himself as our sin is intentionally put to death or mortified (Romans 8:13, Galatians 5:24).  Our thoughts are not to continue to pursue what the fallen world puts before us, but what the scriptures say and the Spirit in us leads us to pursue instead.  The seventh blessing is a call to make peace with others and not fight or contend with arguments and lack of love.  This is a characteristic of those who are God’s children and why we must pursue peace with one another (Romans 14:19, Hebrews 12:14).  The eighth blessing is to comfort us when we are persecuted for doing all these things of righteousness by reminding us that we are of the kingdom of God and as its permanent citizens are expected to suffer for His name’s sake and the gospel’s.  We will be spoken evil of, mocked, slandered, and even physically attacked because we are His and identity with Jesus Christ our Lord to others.  This brings a great reward to so suffer as He did.  Finally, we see how these make us salt and light to this sin-stained world groaning for redemption (Romans 8:22).  As salt, we add God’s flavor of forgiveness and grace with eternal hope for sinners and as light we show the way in Christ.  By doing the good that Christ demonstrated for us to imitate (1 Corinthians 11:1), we glorify God and bring our good works prepared for us to do (Ephesians 2:10) to bear on the sin of the world that they may also repent and give Him the due glory by faith and willing obedience to the gospel.  These are great blessings indeed for salty believers in the light of God’s love and grace! 

Light into Darkness was Followed and Preached

Matthew 4:12-25

Jesus Begins His Galilean Ministry

12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

15 "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles:

16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned."

17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Four Fishermen Called as Disciples

18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

Jesus Heals a Great Multitude

23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. 24 Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. 25 Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.

The light of God in Jesus Christ (John 8:12) came into this world covered in the darkness of sin’s corruption and dearth of the word of God to open blind eyes to see the eternal kingdom of God.  This again was a realization of the revealed word of God as it was written down by the prophet Isaiah long ago (Isaiah 9:1-2) so that those who read and studied the scriptures might have hope (Romans 15:4) in the fulfillment of God’s promises.  From living under death’s shadow, the curse of Adam described and made clear by the law (Galatians 3:13-14, 23-24).  Yes, the light of true and lasting hope had finally come and the striving to earn God’s favor for salvation from His wrath was the dawning of that hope in the person and work of Jesus the Christ as the Son of God and man.  This Jesus reached the physical age to begin His work of the good news of this deliverance and of living for the kingdom of God by first calling a chosen group of men to work alongside Him to learn and take part in the delivery of that message, with Him and after He returned to heaven where He came from.  The first two ephemeral fishermen and set the tone for the calling of them all; He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."  That is the work of all the followers of Jesus Christ which we are tasked with (Matthew 28:19-20).  This Messiah then took them along as He healed the bodies and would of sinful men by setting them free from affliction and giving them the light of hope in the darkness of this corrupted world.  He taught them more than He healed their bodies because their souls needed wholeness much more than their outward selves.  What He taught them was that good news, the gospel, of His coming into the world and pointing us to Him to reach the Father in heaven by repentance through faith in His word as hidden in the scriptures of the Old Testament but now being revealed by and through Him.  The result was that many followed Him to hear more, though some only wanted outward healing for partial wholeness, just as the emphasis today is often skewed by some.  The main point to realize from these events recorded here is to see how the light of the world came down into this present darkness (Ephesians 6:12) of our sin stained world to be followed as His disciples and preached so others might hear and repent from evil thoughts and deeds so they may turn to Him in His righteousness and live according to His truth as it is written for us.  This is the gospel hope that cannot ever disappoint! 

Tempted but Without Sin

Matthew 4:1-11 

Satan Tempts Jesus

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."

4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"

5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down.

For it is written:
He shall give His angels charge over you,'
and,
'In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"

7 Jesus said to him,
"It is written again,
You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"

8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."

10 Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan!
For it is written,
You shall worship the LORD your God,
and Him only you shall serve.'"

11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

The temptation of Christ by the adversary lasted 40 days; that is more than a month and a week of waiting while fasting before facing such an effort to cause the Son of Man and God to fall into disobedience as he had done with Eve in the beginning (Genesis 3:1, 4-5, 2 Corinthians 11:3).  The difference was of course that Jesus was not just a man but also God in the flesh of a man.  His human side was controlled perfectly by the divine and He resisted all temptation with steadfast obedience and did not sin (Hebrews 4:15).  He did this so when He died as a perfect sacrifice without any blemish of disobedience or selfishness He could then pay the price once and for all as He Himself also ministered that offering for us as our High Priest as well.  The first temptation to disobey was a mocking that said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."  The ‘if’ questioned Christ’s divinity and the rest was a twisting of God’s word to satisfy self instead of obedience to God’s word in context of spirit and truth.  Jesus answered with the word of God from Deuteronomy 8:3 which pointed to living according to God’s word and trusting His provision in His providence and not with demands for immediate needs to be met immediately.  This would be a lack of faith and disobedience to living as the LORD God would have us to in humble reliance.  He set the example for us to likewise live by faith and not demand our needs from God our Father.  The devil then attempted to get Jesus to throw Himself off a building and let God provide angels to catch Him.  Firstly, this was off the temple and not just any building, suggesting a religious justification for such an act to tempt God to keep Him safe while doing a foolish thing.  We are not to listen to such temptations to test God either by running into danger and imagine that He will keep us from getting killed as such an act of tempting God would bring to us.  Jesus therefore told the enemy that it was written, "You shall not tempt the LORD your God.”  Finally, the adversary tempted our Lord by offering power over all nations and kingdoms with all their glory.  How ironic and shortsighted to offer the Lord of all what He already possessed as the Sovereign King of all kings!  Nonetheless, the example was also for us to not desire to pursue our own glory and power of political pride over trust me worship of God who raises and brings down rulers (Daniel 2:21, Romans 13:1) in His predetermined plan of all history.  Jesus as the Son of man refused to worship any but his Father in heaven and as the divine Son of God was unable to do so.  We as mere mortals have only our humanity to answer the tempter from, yet that nature has God’s Spirit living within us to enable us to answer the same way as our Lord Jesus Christ did now!  Thus we are able to say, “Away with you, Satan!” when tempted with the desires of our eyes, flesh, or pride of life and do the will of God according to His word instead (1 John 2:15-17).  Jesus was tempted without sin for our sal; when we are tempted, we must not allow ourselves to be led away by our desires (James 1:12, 14-15) but pray for His Spirit to give resolute strength and guidance to overcome these attempts to make us disobey as our fallen natures are accustomed to. 

The Way of Repentance Pronounced

Matthew 3:1-17

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the LORD;
Make His paths straight.'"

4 Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him 6 and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, 9 and do not think to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 10 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

John Baptizes Jesus

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"

15 But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him.

16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Just as it was written (Isaiah 40:3-5) long before Jesus Christ came into the world as a union of God and man and grew to the point of revealing Himself to the world, a prophet named John was sent before to prepare the way for Him.  This was actually Elijah in spirit and word (Malachi 4:5, Matthew 11:13-15, Luke 1:17) sent to prepare a straight path to and for the Messiah; straight for Him and His sheep as preparation for the people to hear Jesus by pointing them to turn from idolatry and immortality to God, which is repentance leading by faith to that narrow way of salvation in Jesus alone and no other path (Matthew 7:13-14, Acts 4:12) to reconciliation (Romans 5:11, 2 Corinthians 5:19) with God.  This John baptized those who had ears to hear that they might demonstrate their turning from sin to Him who was to come, a cleansing more than ritual to prepare the straight way of their hearts to Him as they confessed their sins, agreeing with God that their sins were seen as God does and then committing to turn away from them.  However, this invitation was for the sincere who had broken hearts and spirits (Psalm 34:18, Isaiah 57:15, 66:2) under sin’s load they carried, not for the self-righteous Pharisees and Sadducees who relied on their outward works in an attempt to please God and impress others.  He called them to real change of heart reflected in real changes of actions and not mere platitudes alone.  He reminded them that they cannot inherit forgiveness to salvation by their ethnicity or religious upbringing.  Without fruits of real demonstrable change there was no end but a certain judgment of fire which tests the soul and consumes the one relying on his or her own religious righteousness.  God can raise up His children from the least of mankind to Himself apart from these things of man’s own efforts to earn God’s favor.  Salvation belongs to the Lord alone and not to our desire or doing (Psalm 3:8, Revelation 7:10)!  In the end, God will separate the true seed of His children of faith and grace as a farmer threshes wheat by throwing it in the air and letting God blow away the chaff to be burned, a powerful warning to the self-righteous and assurance to those left standing in God’s grace.  When Jesus therefore came to John to be baptized as a man and shown to be divine by God’s Spirit shown resting on Him, the affirmation of His identity was confirmed with these actions and God the Father’s own attesting words, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  This the way of repentance by faith was introduced and the path to the Savior was begun for His ministry and our deliverance from the wrath of God on our sin.  The gospel was being fleshed out for us as long predicted.  This was good news indeed! 

The Flight, The Fight, and The Fulfilled Return

Matthew 2:9-23

9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

The Flight into Egypt

13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him."

14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, 15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called My Son."

Massacre of the Innocents

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

18 "A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted,
Because they are no more."

The Home in Nazareth (Luke 2:39)

19 Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child's life are dead." 21 Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.

22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. 23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, "He shall be called a Nazarene."

The wise men from the East of the first eight verses of this chapter followed the predetermined star to where the young divine child was in the house in Bethlehem where He had been born into this world just two years earlier to the fanfare of the heavenly hosts he the witness of the shepherds come from nearby.  Their rejoicing was enhanced by their worship and witness to His majesty and they presented the heavenly King with precious gifts as worthy offerings from what the Lord had given them.  This pattern we repeat each year with our Christmas gifts to one another in remembrance of the offerings of our lives given to Him who was to give the greatest gift of His Son for our deliverance from the wrath of God on our sin.  These wise men listened to the warning in a dream to not return to Herod and point him to where the Lord was to protect Him until it was His time to begin the ministry of the gospel.  The flight subsequent dream of Joseph to warn them also led him to take Mary with Jesus to Egypt to escape assassination of the true King of kings.  This also was a sign to those who studied the scriptures of the validity of God’s word and predetermined providence as it was written in Numbers 24:8 and Hosea 11:1 long before.  The fight followed this exodus from danger at Herod’s hand as that evil king killed all children 2 years old and under who had been born when the star had appeared as the wise men revealed on their quest to find and worship the true King whom Herod imagined as a dangerous rival to his throne.  This also was fulfilled prophecy of Jeremiah 31:15 of the lamentation and bitter weeping for the murdered children of Rachel the wife of Jacob who was named Israel, the chosen people of God.  Finally, the return of Jesus and His earthly parents to their home in Nazareth was seemingly to be realized after Herod died and the threat was gone.  This also was told in a dream by God to Joseph as the head of the family (and not to Mary) to return to the land of Israel of Rachel’s children and of God’s.  But by the grace of God another dream was given to redirect them from Bethlehem to Nazareth by Galilee instead as they travelled back because of the evil ruler of Judea who was Herod’s son.  This also had been foretold long ago according to the plan of God as it was written in Judges 13:5 about Samson then as a type of the deliverer who was ultimately Jesus Christ our Lord and King.  How God left a trail of breadcrumbs in His word for us to follow and prove the coming of Christ in this way as recorded for us to marvel at in awe and wonder that we might also be wise men to come to Him in worship and offer Him the best gift of our very lives (Mark 8:35, Romans 12:1, Galatians 2:20) as we live crucificially (Galatians 6:14)!  This account then described the fight, the flight, and the fulfilled return of Jesus Christ for our deliverance.  May we follow His leading and still small voice by the Spirit of God living in us as He brings His words to bear on our hearts and minds to follow (Isaiah 30:21) where He brings us as He has determined for our good (Romans 8:28). 

Wise Men Worship the King!

Matthew 2:1-8

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

5 So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

6 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.'"

7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also."

Jesus Christ had just been born and already the enemy sought Him out to stop His mission on earth to redeem His own children.  As a young child of about 2 years old He was sought by wise men from the East who had read and poured over the scriptures which pointed to the coming of the Messiah according to His star pointing the way as prophesied by Balaam long ago (Numbers 24:17, Isaiah 60:3).  His enemy Herod also sought Him for a more nefarious reason, to kill the child King under the ruse of wanting to have Him sought out so Herod could worship Him.  Such cunning was not effective against God’s Spirit to keep Him safe, however.  The plans of evil men to stop God never achieve their ends but only end up ending them.  Herod was troubled for the wrong reason because he felt his position as king threatened by this divine King who had been born and was being sought out by these wise men who had their dreams realized from scripture that played out in the sky by the appearance of the star over Bethlehem.  Herod double checked this prophetic claim with the chief priests and scribes who studied the scriptures and came to the same conclusion according to the passage in Numbers and also in Micah 5:2 that identified the Messiah as the King of all who was from eternity without beginning or end (עוֹלָֽם, olam), the days of eternity (John 1:1-2, 17:5).  He was a divine King who had always existed and always will, but Herod could only see the human side of a rival ruler to contend for his throne, not the divine nature of the God-man who had come among us.  Because of his fears Herod thought to use the wise men who sought out the child to worship as God to bring Him to him so he could kill the competition instead of worship also.  He asked them when the star appeared to ascertain the age of the child for an evil purpose and then tasked them to diligently seek Him out and tell him where the child was so that he could also come worship.  It was a lie and ruse as we see shortly in this account.  The men from the East, however, knew that truly wise men worship the King of kings and do not seek to destroy Him, His message, or His people.  This is wisdom sadly unheeded by this world under the evil influence (Galatians 1:4, 1 John 5:19) of the wicked one. 

Christ is Immanuel: "God with Us”

Matthew 1:18-25

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins."

22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."

24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, 25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.

As in Luke 2:1–7, the account of Jesus the Christ being born of God’s own Spirit through a chosen vessel of a human woman is recorded for us to know how He came to us as promised from the beginning after we fell in the disobedience and disbelief of sin.  Mary was pregnant by God’s work, making the Almighty His father and giver of life as a begotten Son and not created as all humans have been in Adam.  This is a marvelous thing we often gloss over without considering the miraculous aspect of God and man brought together in the divine person of Jesus of Nazareth who came out of Bethlehem to walk among us, Immanuel!  Mary’s husband knew he was not the father but did not comprehend the baby’s conception until God showed the truth to him in a dream to explain and name Him.  The explanation was that the child was God’s and that His name defined His work upon the earth as the Deliverer of God’s called and chosen children.  He would save us from God’s wrath on our inherited sin and bring new life and hope again!  This quoted scripture from Isaiah 7:14 was a reminder of God’s planned sovereign purpose come to fruition in the proper time (Galatians 4:4-5) as designed by Him for this moment to bring salvation.  Surely Joseph must have known this promise and would have been in awe of God’s word and work even if he did not yet understand all the ramifications right away, and he accepted this promise as true and married Mary instead of breaking it off and dishonoring her.  He knew God had a purpose and accepted His plan and his part as her husband and God ad his son’s Father instead of himself.  Later they would have their own fully human children after Jesus, contrary to some teaching to the contrary; God makes that clear here and in other places (Matthew 12:46-47, Mark 6:3).  Until then he waited and they named the boy Jesus as their firstborn son and God’s only Son to save His people from their sin.  What a wonderful and awesome work of God to deliver us and bring us to Himself by coming to take on our just punishment of death to undo the sin of all mankind at Adam’s hand (Genesis 3:17, 19, 22) and its resulting punishment (Romans 6:23)!   As the second Adam (Romans 5:14-15, 17-18, 19) Jesus would turn the disobedience of we sinners into His righteousness through His complete obedience as fully man born of a woman to undo Eve’s sin of disobedience and who only was able to do so because He was also fully God.  Because God was His Father, Jesus was able to undo Adam’s sin of following Eve in disobeying God’s command and passing that as our inheritance as the head of the family to us.  God with Mary undid the damage of disobedience of Adam with Eve because it was God’s work of complete obedience to His own word for us (Romans 5:20-21) that we were unable to work out for our own salvation.  What grace in His work to save us!  Yes, Christ was God with and among us, Immanuel. 

The Promised Messiah Come at Last!

Matthew 1:1-17

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:

2 Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. 4 Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. 5 Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, 6 and Jesse begot David the king.

David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa. 8 Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. 9 Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. 11 Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.

12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. 14 Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. 15 Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. 16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.

Here begins the promise left from four hundred years ago by Malachi.  Matthew starts the lineage of Jesus on the human side with Abraham as the father of us by faith (Galatians 3:9) instead of going to the absolute beginning of Adam, the son of God as given in Luke 3:38 which focused on His divinity as well as humanity.  This account shows us that God is faithful in His promises, that He is sovereign in His choices and history, that He uses men and women (5 mentioned here) and above all that the Lord is the God of grace to preserve this lineage and show it to us to demonstrate His promises.  Jesus as Messiah was the Anointed One in the picture and type of King David (Jeremiah 23:5-6, 33:15-16) which made the scriptures difficult to separate which was being talked about in the Old Testament prophecies about the Christ to come.  He was spoken of there the whole time in scripture (Luke 24:27) but the eyes and ears of most were shut until He lived and died and arose among us (Luke 24:31, 34-35) and opened our eyes to see and ears to hear Him.  These genealogies are just added breadcrumbs leading back to tie the promises with the reality of Jesus the Messiah spoken of who had come at last to deliver (save) His called and chosen people at last according to His promises.  The long-hidden mystery of the identity of the Anointed Savior (Romans 16:25, Ephesians 3:9, Colossians 1:27) was unveiled before us at last!  The significance of the generations were also shown to be in equally divided from Abraham to David, David to the Babylonian captivity, and from captivity to Jesus Christ being born among us.  The exact number of generations was not the focus, for these represented the Abrahamic covenant (vv. 2-5), the Davidic covenant (vv. 6-11), and the anticipated New Covenant in verses 12-16 which Malachi and others had spoken of (Micah 5:2, Malachi 4:2) before the four hundred years of silence from the messengers of God until He became a man among us (John 1:14) to show us His glory.  Yes, it is not the numbers or even the persons of the generations listed which are the most important message, but that the promised Messiah had come at last! 

The Great Day and the Son of Righteousness

Malachi 4:1-6 

1 "For behold, the day is coming,
Burning like an oven,
And all the proud, yes,
all who do wickedly will be stubble.

And the day which is coming shall burn them up,"
Says the LORD of hosts,

"That will leave them neither root nor branch.

2 But to you who fear My name
The Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings;
And you shall go out
And grow fat like stall-fed calves.

3 You shall trample the wicked,
For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet
On the day that I do this,"
Says the LORD of hosts.

4 "Remember the Law of Moses, My servant,
Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel,
With the statutes and judgments.

5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.

6 And he will turn
The hearts of the fathers to the children,
And the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse."

Yes, the Day of the final judgment is coming still even though we do not know the exact date of His return.  Fire will both burn up this world (2 Peter 3:7, 10) before it is made anew (Revelation 21:5) and it will be a never-ending real place where those rejecting God and His Messiah will find torment that never stops (Revelation 20:10).  These are uncomfortable truths that must be faced in light of eternity and not left unsaid because they are harsh or seem to take the focus off the goodness of God’s grace.  The goodness and severity of God (Romans 11:22) are a complete summation of grace and judgment answered in the gospel of Jesus Christ whom Malachi pointed to here.  The proud and those who continue in evil thoughts and actions, who reject God’s grace in the word of the gospel, these will be burned up forever while those finding their righteousness in Christ by the deliverance of His work to earn their atoning forgiveness will find eternal peace with God (Romans 5:1-2) and a place before His face forevermore (Revelation 21:3, 22:3-5)!  As revealed here in verse 2, those who by faith and repentance fear His name and trust His work on their behalf will find healing for their sin and its ravaging in the fallen human nature through Adam in the second Adam, the God-Man Jesus Christ.  He is the bright Sun of Righteousness and Son of God who heals us forever and makes us new creatures (Galatians 2:20) to enjoy true joy and fruitfulness (Acts 2:28, 1 Peter 1:8) now and forever.  The wicked who refuse to turn from sin to Him, who continue in willful disregard and disobedience of idolatry and immortality, these will be trampled down as ashes but not destroyed.  This is a humbling picture and not one of pride or our own vengeance; the Lord would have that all come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), but they will be held accountable (2 Peter 3:10) who do not join with us to “look for [a] new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” as 2 Peter 3:12-13 tells us.  Malachi therefore reminded his listeners and readers afterwards to look back at the words of the law given through Moses to follow the LORD and to wait for Elijah the prophet to come who would usher in the needed repentance through faith by announcing and pointing to the Messiah, the Christ, when He would stand at last upon the earth among us before the terrible Day of the LORD’s judgment.  He would turn the hearts from sin to Him in that call to repentance (Luke 1:17, Matthew 11:13-15, Mark 9:12-13).  This was John the Baptist announcing Christ to turn His people to Himself and trust Him for their salvation which they could never earn for themselves (Romans 3:21-22, 23-24, 26) by faulty good deeds which never could be enough to earn the favor of God (Galatians 2:16, Titus 3:5).  This is the message of warning and of hope left by the last human prophet before four hundred years of silence from God until His Son, the final prophet (Hebrews 1:1-2, 2:3) would come to save His sheep as their one-time sacrificial lamb for atonement, their eternal high priest in heaven, and Great Shepherd (Hebrews 13:20) of their souls.  From the beginning in creation seen in Genesis 1:1 to the revelation of the Word made man (John 1:1-3, 14) and ending in the eternal presence with God through the grace of the Lamb in the consummation of all things in Revelation 22:21, we can see His eternal plan of redemption in all the scriptures of Old and New Testament books.  What an eternal plan of planned redemption has been unfolded for us to revel in!  All scripture points to Christ (Luke 24:27) as told us all along and has now been revealed.  How our hearts therefore burn within us (Luke 24:31-32) in hearing and reading these things when He opens our eyes!  Give Him all your praise, honor, and glory (1 Peter 1:7) for the Son of Righteousness risen in your soul in light of your deliverance in the Day of the Lord!