Gospels (NT) – Page 15 – Seeking the kingdom

God as asylum seeker (Matthew 2:16)

How can God’s kingdom ever be established when rulers like Herod will do anything go keep their power?

Beautiful. Tender. Vulnerable. Helpless. Disarming. How can anyone hate a newborn? How can an infant seem like a threat? You’d have to be power-crazed to kill a baby. Herod is. He executes all the baby boys in Bethlehem. There can be no rival “king of the Jews” (2:16).

Herod’s acts are treason: he attempts to assassinate of the heavenly king’s heir. It’s part of the long-standing war over who rules the earth. On one side of this battle is the oppressor of God’s people, bearing down on them with the military might of Rome. On the other side is an infant bearing the promise of restoring heaven’s rule on earth. But how can a toddler stand up to a tyrant? Continue reading “God as asylum seeker (Matthew 2:16)”

Jesus fulfils what? (Matthew 2:13-15)

How can Matthew say that Jesus’ flight to Egypt fulfils Hosea 11:1? Hosea was talking about Israel’s exodus.

Open Matthew 2:13-15 and Hosea 11.

Matthew says Jesus fulfilled many Scriptures (1:22; 2:15,17, 23; 4:14; 5:17; 8:17; 12:17; 13:14, 35; 21:4; 26:54, 56; 27:9). But please read these before you claim that this proves Jesus was the Messiah. Some of these seem odd to us. Matthew 2:15 might be the most problematic:

Matthew 2:14–15 (NIV)
¹⁴ He got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, ¹⁵ where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Matthew seems to say that Jesus went to Egypt to escape Herod, and then returned because Hosea predicted it. But when Hosea spoke of God’s son, he meant the nation of Israel: Continue reading “Jesus fulfils what? (Matthew 2:13-15)”

How did the magi find Jesus? (Matthew 2:1-12)

Persian astrologers came looking for Jesus? What do you make of that?

Open Matthew 2:1-12.

You’ve seen the Christmas cards. Three wise men. On camels. Following a star. Balthasar, Caspar, and Melchior — three kings of orient according to western tradition. So we build nativity scenes with a manger and kings and camels and shepherds and sheep and the donkey that carried the very pregnant Mary. There probably weren’t three wise men: their caravan would have been larger for safety’s sake. The Bible doesn’t say they rode camels either. We made up the bit about the donkey too.

And they weren’t “wise men.” Magi were originally a class of Persian priests who practiced astrology and other magic arts. In Daniel 2 (LXX) they’re bundled with enchanters and sorcerers as advisors to the king of Babylon. In Acts 13:6-8, a Cypriot ruler had a magos advising him, and Paul despised him. The word usually has negative connotations in Jewish literature—a trickster/deceiver. Matthew hints at that when he says that Herod was “tricked” by the magi (2:16). Continue reading “How did the magi find Jesus? (Matthew 2:1-12)”

King of the Jews (Matthew 2:1-10)

Who was king of the Jews — Jesus, or Herod?

herodiumandmasada — Models: Masada and Herodium

Open Matthew 2:1-12.

Mary, Joseph, wise men, shepherds, and perhaps angels. Ask people to name the key players in the Christmas story, and that’s probably what you’ll get. There’s someone else who doesn’t make our Christmas lists. That’s because we don’t read the Bible as a kingdom story. Continue reading “King of the Jews (Matthew 2:1-10)”

Our king among us (Matthew 1:22-23)

Immanuel — the whole scope of the Bible’s story is in that word.

Open Matthew 1:22-23.

How do you understand Immanuel? Matthew explains it means, God with us.

What does that mean to you? A warm and fuzzy feeling that you’re not alone? A comfort? Assurance of safety? Yes, God’s presence does make a huge difference to us individually, but there’s so much more than that going on in Matthew’s story. In fact, what Matthew has in mind is pretty close to the core of the Bible’s whole story. Continue reading “Our king among us (Matthew 1:22-23)”

Immanuel (Matthew 1:18-25)

In what sense is Jesus the Immanuel child spoken of in Isaiah 7:14?

Open Matthew 1:18-25.

Matthew 1:22-23 (my translation)
²² This whole thing has come about to fulfil the word of the Lord through the prophet, ²³ “See, the virgin will conceive and bear a son and they will call him Immanuel” which translates as “God-with-us.”

Continue reading “Immanuel (Matthew 1:18-25)”

Why ancestry.com? (Matthew 1:1-17)

Slow down! There’s a significant message in that list of names at the start of Matthew’s Gospel.

Open Matthew 1:1-17.

Matthew would never win a creative writer’s award. His first chapter is about as interesting as a Jewish telephone book. Why would he start with a list of largely unfamiliar names? Continue reading “Why ancestry.com? (Matthew 1:1-17)”

Matthew’s main message

The New Testament is not a stand-alone story. It’s the surprising plot twist that resolves the old kingdom struggle in a new way.

We’ve spent six months reading the first book of the Bible, showing the kingdom of God is the theme that binds the story together. We’ve seen why Jesus thought God-as-king was the central plot line. So I’ve been bursting to bring that understanding of the kingdom over from the OT into the New. Today we’re starting with Matthew’s account of the Gospel. Continue reading “Matthew’s main message”

John 3:16 — a kingdom perspective

Before we resume our series in Genesis, would you like a taste of how a familiar text jumps to life when read from a kingdom perspective?

John 3:16–17 (ESV)¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

This text expresses God’s love for his world, i.e. the gift of his Son who changes everything. Jesus is indeed the central character of the entire biblical narrative, so let’s situate this familiar text within the story of God’s kingdom. Continue reading “John 3:16 — a kingdom perspective”