Presents
Matthew
1, 2 , 3 , and 4 on one
file.
Presents
Matthew
1, 2 , 3 , and 4 on one
file.
Zech. 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout (for joy), O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
Yes, rejoice greatly and shout for joy, for all the many promises of God written in the law and the prophets declaring that He would send the greatest gift ever there was to mankind came to pass exactly as it was written. Is it not therefore fitting that the very name of the one who would write the gospel that commences the New Testament is "Matthew"... which means "Gift of Yahveh"?
"Haven't you read", for "It is written", that Jesus Christ would come and fulfill all the things foretold of Him by the prophets?Romans 6:23 "... the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
That is why you will find in this opening book of the New Testament those phrases and others such as "that which was spoken" and "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken" along with over 60 references to the Old Testament, to document beyond any reasonable doubt that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, fulfilled the Law and the Prophets at His coming!
To that end, the special object and "Divine purpose in the Gospel of Matthew is to set forth the Lord as Yahveh's King. Hence those events in His ministry are singled out and emphasized which set forth His claims as the Messiah - sent to fulfill all the prophecies concerning Him" (Companion Bible, pg. 1306).
Then too, not only will we be presented with the documentation that Jesus Christ is the King of kings and the One spoken of and written of in the Old Testament, but we will learn many remarkable and enlightening fundamentals of truth, including four events connected with His infancy, two miracles, nine special discourses including the Sermon on the Mount and the Olivet Prophecy, six events connected with His Passion, and ten parables including the Parable of the Tares, the parable which separates not only the "tares from the wheat" but also separates "the meat eaters from the milk drinkers" (Heb. 5), for this "Parable of the Tares" must first be understood if one is to understand any of the other parables Christ spoke.
The New Testament begins by establishing the "engendering" of the "Royal Genealogy", the Throne of David, the kingship line, the lineage of the King of kings,
Let us now begin our study of this marvelous gift of knowledge from our Father allowing the entire Old Testament to stand as the foundation and serve as the complete and the only necessary introductory to "The Holy Gospel According to Matthew". Here then is the all important first verse of the New Testament.
The New Testament begins by establishing the "engendering" of the "Royal Genealogy", the Throne of David, the kingship line, the lineage of the King of kings, the family through which the promised "seed" would come to this earth to tabernacle among men. You "see", the very BIRTH of Jesus Christ attests to the faithfulness of God to keep His unconditional covenant which He made to Abraham way back in Genesis 12:3 and 22:18.Matthew 1:1
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Of course the "national blessings" of the Abrahamic covenant which you can read about in Genesis 48 were passed down through Joseph and his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, but it would be through Judah that the sceptre of the king, i.e. the kingship rights, would come. In other words, it would be through this lineage that Christ would be established forever as the King of kings.Genesis 12:3
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.Genesis 22:18
And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Even though the genealogy concerning the Throne of David we are about to read of here in Matthew is actually Joseph's genealogy, it was by "adoption" that Jesus became the son of Joseph and was therefore "legally entitled", as if by birthright, to the inheritance of His father who was a direct descendent of the royal line through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Israel), and Judah. However, not only was Christ legally entitled to the throne, in Luke chapter 3 we find that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was also directly descended from Abraham, David, and Judah through her father, Heli, a pure blooded Judahite.(We will briefly discuss the added significance of this in one of our next studies.) Here is the prophecy declaring that it would be through David that the King of kings would come and reign and prosper:
Again, this is the subject of the Book of Matthew, i.e. setting forth the Lord as YHVH's King. Here is another prophecy of that "seed" which would proceed out of the loins of David and through Whom the Kingdom of God would be established... forever!Jeremiah 23:5
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
Having now established the "Royal Line" as the one through which Jesus Christ would be "set up" as King, Matthew now gives us the details of the "begettal" of that royal line. The word "begat" is "gennao" in Greek which means to engender from "father to son".2 Samuel 7:12
And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.[16] And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
The genealogies given to us here and in Luke chapter 3 are replete with divine intervention, for throughout the Old Testament (even into the NT) beginning right in the Garden of Eden with the seduction of Eve followed by the invasion of the nephilim (sons of God) in Genesis 6 who came to earth in their angelic form without being born of woman and then took to wife the daughters of Adam during the days of Noah, we find Satan's attempt to destroy the "seedline" through which Messiah would come. With that thought in mind one can easily identify specific events in the lives of each of the patriarchs listed above where that same attempt was made to destroy the promised One of God, the blessed "seed" who would come forth and be a blessing to all nations. Of course all attempts to thwart the plan of God have failed miserably up to this point and shall continue to do so.Matthew 1:2
Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;
Tamar is among the four women mentioned in this genealogy, the other three being Rehab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. You should also know the story of Judah's disobedience in taking to wife and having sons born to a Canaanite woman and how God used Tamar, Judah's daughter-in-law, to raise up the twin brothers of Pharez and Zarah (Gen. 38) to continue the royal lineage.[3] And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;
We have record of the events and experiences of Rehab (Josh. 2:1) and Boaz and Ruth (Ruth 4:1) and Jesse, etc., all of whom testify to the faithfulness of God.1 Chron. 2:4-5Matthew 1:4
And Tamar his daughter in law bare him Pharez and Zerah. All the sons of Judah were five. [5] The sons of Pharez; Hezron, and Hamul.
And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon;[5] And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;
It is interesting that reference to Bathsheba once being the wife of Uriah is made here for one cannot help but be reminded of the story of what happened to Uriah. Therefore we are confronted with the "humanness" of us all, including the sore level to which some of us have already lowered ourselves, even as did some of our most cherished forefathers. That is not meant to be demeaning nor to diminish our respect and admiration for our forefathers in any way whatsoever. It just serves to remind us that we are all sinners in the flesh and that we all fall short of the glory of the One who came from above to this earth to dwell in the flesh and pay the price that we might be forgiven and through believing in Him, receive the "gift of eternal life".[6] And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;
You see, God loves all of His children, though many be "publicans and sinners". Of course, the good religious folks accused Jesus Christ of being friends and associating Himself with publicans and sinners. Matthew 11:19 "The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children." To wit, it is therefore also fitting that the writer of the first book of the New Testament, Matthew, was also a publican.
Dr. Bullinger on page 1308 of the Companion Bible points out the following concerning the "character" of characters above as well as scriptural references for each of them.[7] And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa;[8] And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias;
The "carrying away to Babylon" commenced with Jehoiakim, continued in Jechoniah, and was completed in Zedekiah (2 Kings 24 & 25).Bad father (Rehoboam) begat a Bad son (Abijah)[9] And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias;Bad father (Abijah) begat a Good son (Asa)
Good father (Asa) begat a Good son (Jehoshaphat)
Good father (Jehoshaphat) begat a Bad son (Jehoram)
[10] And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias;
[11] And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:
"Jesus" (Iesous in Greek, pronounced ee-ay-sooce) is "Yehoshua" (Yehowshuwa) in Hebrew which means "Yahveh's Savior", the Anointed One (christos) of God.Matthew 1:12
And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;[13] And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;
[14] And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;
[15] And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;
[16] And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
When you think about the fact that there were only 42 (3 x 14) generations from Abraham to Christ, there really aren't that many generations in the history of the world from Adam until present day, are there?[17] So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
Matthew now tells us a little of the "Christmas Story".
Of course we know that Joseph was not Jesus' natural father. God was! And Matthew is going to tell us how that came to be! The word "Now" which begins this verse means "Now (in contrast to the "begettals" above). It happened like this (on this wise). Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they did the "husband and wife thing" she was found to be already pregnant!Matthew 1:18
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Wow! This was "shocking news" to Joseph, who we will read in the next verse was a "just man". You see, the penalty for an adulterous affair willingly committed by a virgin who is engaged to be married, is to be stoned to death. Here is the law concerning this matter:
This law of stoning pertains to a betrothed virgin who "willingly" commits adultery. (The words "she cried not" means that it was consensual sex, i.e. she did it willingly.) If you remember when the scribes and Pharisees brought the woman who was caught in the act of adultery to Jesus and quoted this law, that "she should be stoned to death", Jesus KNEW that they were in grave error quoting the law, for He KNEW that the woman they brought to Him was a "married" woman and that stoning did not apply to married women as it did to virgins who were betrothed! So instead of just exposing their Biblical ignorance to the crowd, He kneeled down in the dirt and wrote the "correct law" pertaining to a married woman, which actually required action on the part of the Priests. So now that the Pharisees KNEW full well that she couldn't be stoned (or they would be BREAKING THE LAW of Moses themselves) Jesus stood up and said, "Let he who is WITHOUT SIN cast the first stone! Ha, ha! They couldn't stone her because of the law... but now instead of just looking like "buffoons" (Biblical illiterates) to the crowd, they appeared as SINNERS too, which is a tough, embarrassing thing for self-righteous hypocrites to endure!Deut. 22:23
If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her;[24] Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour's wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you.
Nevertheless, as you can see this was no small matter for Joseph to consider. He therefore decided instead to give her a writ of divorcement according to Deut. 41:1, which was to "put her away" privily!
But wait! Time for a little Divine intervention.Mat. 1:19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
The word "conceived" is the same Greek word "gennao" translated "begotten" in vs. 2, 16, & 18, and should be rendered as such.[20] But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
Mary would "bring forth" (tikto) a son, not bear a child to Joseph because Jesus was not his son. And again, Jesus means "God's Savior" or "Yah-shua" in Hebrew.[21] And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Why was Jesus birth "on this wise"? To FULFILL the prophecies concerning Him... AS A SIGN to document that He was indeed Emmanuel, God with us! Here is the verse quoted from Isa. 7:14 which was fulfilled:[22] Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
Here is the original prophecy:[23] Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
The very manner of His birth was a fulfillment of prophecy and it was fulfilled in the "virgin" whose name was Mary.Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
There was no doubt whatsoever in the mind of Joseph that this was a message from God, unlike Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist who doubted the angel of the Lord when he told him that Elizabeth would conceive and bear a son.Matthew 1:24
Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
Don't think "staying away" from his beautiful young wife was not a "trial" for Joseph! (Of course I speak as a man.) Good thing he had that visit from the angel to help increase his faith. Nevertheless, give Joseph credit for faithfully following through as God had instructed him, and naming the boy JESUS.[25] And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
In our next study we shall see "wise men" asking the very first question in the New Testament, namely, "Where is He That is born King of the Jews?" Whoever they were, these wise men must have been men of substance or renown or both, for Herod the king will become very upset by the nature of their inquiry!
The next time someone tells you that Christ was a Jew (of Judah) let them know that, yes... He was of that regal kingship line of the House of David through which He is the King of kings, but He was also of priesthood line through the tribe of Levi through which He is the Lord of lords.
The four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, each present the Lord Jesus Christ in a different "light". Matthew, whose name means "Gift of Yahveh", presents the Lord as Yahveh's KING whereas Mark presents Him as "Yahveh's SERVANT", Luke presents Him as "Yahveh's MAN", and John presents Him as "YAHVEH HIMSELF" (see notes and structure on page 1304 in the Companion Bible). Two of these, the presentation of Christ as God's KING in the Gospel of Matthew and God's MAN in the Gospel of Luke, both require that genealogies be established, else we would not have been given them, would we? You "see", a wise person knows and understands that there are no "filler words" in the Word of God placed there just to take up space. As it is written: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16)." If you believe that, then there surely must be something to be learned from the genealogies which are given to us, right? However, sometimes it takes a little work to dig and uncover the precious gems to be found in His Word. So let's get out the shovels and "see" what lies beneath the surface.
So we "see" then that to present Christ as the royal KING of Israel requires that the legal "royal genealogy" of the Throne of David, i.e. from Abraham downward to David, be established while to present Christ as God's MAN, i.e. "what He is - before Man (intrinsically) - the ideal man", requires that the natural seed line, the human genealogy, be established upward to Adam.
To that end, we saw earlier where Matthew presented the legal regal lineage of the Throne of David, though it was through Christ's legal stepfather, Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of course since Joseph was not Christ's natural father, neither then is Matthew's genealogy Christ's natural seed line. We find that (Christ's natural branch, His family tree) in chapter three of the Book of Luke where Mary's genealogy is given on her father's side, a man named Heli, the Greek form of Eli.
What means all of this? Well, first take a look at the following two verses which to some appear to be contradictory to each other:
"As was supposed" is a legal term which means "by law". In other words, Christ was Joseph's son as was supposed, "by law" (i.e. his stepson), just as Joseph whose natural father by begettal was Jacob (Mat. 1:16), was Heli's son "by law", i.e. Heli's son-in-law! Therefore the genealogy given in Matthew is Joseph's genealogy while that which is given in Luke chapter three is Mary's genealogy through her father, Heli, who was also a pure-blooded Judahite!Matthew 1:16
And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.Luke 3:23
And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
We see also that Christ did not come through David's son Solomon, who is listed in Joseph's genealogy in Matthew, but rather He came through David's son Nathan as documented in Luke 3:31: "Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David."
So we now know that Mary's father was of the royal tribe Judah. But what about her mother? Remember what we said in our first study concerning the foundation for understanding the things that are written in the New Testament? With that foundation (the OT) under you, Mary's mother's genealogy can easily be determined by reading just a few verses.
Here they are:
This verse tells us that Zacharias' wife, Elizabeth, was of the daughters of Aaron which means that she was a Levite, a descendent of the tribe of Levi!Luke 1:5
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
Note: Would you believe that this verse actually holds the major key that allows us to determine the conception/begettal and then the very birth date of Jesus Christ? It is contained in the fact that Zacharias was a Levitical Priest who was performing the priestly duties assigned to the "Course of Abia" which is one of 24 courses you will find listed in 1 Chronicles. It is this course of Abia that gives us the key to the date of the conception/begettal and hence the birth of Jesus. Again, there is a reason we are given this information, and you know what? It HAS BEEN THERE ALL ALONG, every Christmas season, year after year, right there in Luke 1:5... but who ever asks the question "What in the world is the Course of Abia"? If you would like to know the actual date of Christ's birth (which is definitely not Dec. 25th) then log unto pamphlet #1072, or if you have a Companion Bible, study appendix 179.
This verse gives a second witness to Elizabeth's pure Levite heritage by testifying to the fact that both Zacharias and Elizabeth obeyed the commandments and ordinances, one of which was that a Levite Priest could only marry a Levite woman. Now couple that with this next verse concerning Elizabeth's relationship to Mary, the mother of Jesus.[6] And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
In order for Elizabeth to be a pure blooded Levite, both her mother and father had to be Levites, right? Now let's think this through... In order for Elizabeth and Mary to be blood relatives, i.e. cousins, it means that Mary's mother had to be a Levite, because her father was a pure blooded Judahite, remember? So what does this all mean?It means that Mary was HALF of the tribe of JUDAH and HALF of the tribe of LEVI.Luke 1:36
And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
You see, the royal KINGSHIP line comes through the tribe of Judah, and the royal PRIESTHOOD line comes through the tribe of Levi. The reason there is so much space taken up in the gospels with the heritage of Christ's lineage is to document that He RIGHTFULLY & LEGALLY qualified, even right down to His PERFECT PEDIGREE as: The KING of KINGS and the LORD of LORDS.
The Word of God is perfect,
even
as He was perfect. So next time
someone
tells you that Christ was a Jew (of Judah) let them know that, yes...
He
was of that regal kingship line of the House of David through which He
is the King of kings, but He was also of priesthood line through the
tribe
of Levi through which He is the Lord of lords.
And so it is that Jesus Christ was "made an high priest
for
ever after the order of
Melchisedec", king of the just (Hebrews
6:20). Now, did you open pamphlet #1072
yet, to find the actual date of Christ's birth?
Let us now return and continue our study in the Book of Matthew where the apostle gives us some more important details concerning the birth of the King of kings. We already learned that the Old Testament declared in Isa. 7:14 that He must be born of a virgin. Did you know that the Old Testament also declared when and where He must be born? Daniel's prophecy tells us when and Micah told us where! You "see", when you consider the events of the crucifixion foretold of in such detail in the 22nd Psalm along with all the other prophecies given concerning the Messiah, there can be NO DOUBT whatsoever (if you claim to believe the Old Testament is the Word of God) that the One spoken of in the law and the prophets is none other than Jesus Christ, for no other person could ever even come close to fulfilling even a small portion of that which was prophesied of the Anointed One of God, Emmanuel, which is to say God with us. In fact, in today's study we are going to see that even the kenites confirm that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem.
Notice it does not say how many wise men there were, nor does it say that they were gentiles, nor does it say that they were priests or kings. It just says that they were magoi, wise men! We know that tradition has it that there were three wise men, taken from the fact that there were three gifts presented to the young child, but there is no scriptural support for such a claim. So just remember when you sing along with "We Three Kings of Orient are...", don't confuse song lyrics based on tradition with scripture. Speculation is fine, but be wise with the wisdom of God's Word from which all true wisdom flows.Matthew 2:1
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,
Notice also that it does not say the wise men came to Bethlehem but rather that they came to Jerusalem! The fact is that they never did go to Bethlehem and they were never, ever, present at the "nativity scene", i.e. at the manger. Only the shepherds from the field were at the manger. You see, the wise men will confirm to Herod that it was about two years since they saw the "star" declaring the birth of Messiah and so obviously by the time they arrived they were much too late for the manger!
Nevertheless, when the wise men started to inquire concerning the whereabouts of the King of the Jews, they caused quite a stir among the people and when word of their quest reached Herod the king, he became very troubled indeed! Here then is the first question found in the New Testament:
How "wise" indeed these men were for they had come to worship the King of Israel knowing with certitude that He had been born! The question is, "How would they have known that the 'star' meant Messiah had come?" That's easy! Wisdom from the Word of God foretold of that Star of Israel![2] 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.
That about says it all concerning the qualifications of a "wise" person... and a word to wise is always sufficient.Numbers 24:16
He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
Beware that there is another "star" spoken of in scripture... a fallen "star" whose name is "Lucifer", which means "morning star"! Isaiah 14:12: "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!" That "fallen star" shall soon be released by the one who is holding him back (Michael, Rev. 12:7-9) and shall come to this earth claiming to be the Messiah. We shall learn of him and also of his children of disobedience, the tares, later, in this great Book of Matthew and what a great "gift of God" this book is! Now back to Matthew 2.[17] I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth."
We see that King Herod is in control and he intends to remain that way, whatever the cost may be to others! That's Satan's way, alright, and Satan will even get this heathen to kill innocent little babies and children in order to further his selfish agenda. Nice guy!Matthew 2:3
When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
Now notice what he does next:
Herod sure took the "wise" men seriously, didn't he? He believed them concerning their "knowledge" of the "Star" and so he proceeded to do the work of the evil wicked one, to seek and destroy the King of Israel, Jesus Christ. He began by assembling all the religious leaders, the high priest and members of the Sanhedrin along with the scribes of the people, and demanded that they tell him where Christ would be born!Matthew 2:4
And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
This event shall prove to be not only a witness against Herod, but against the scribes and Pharisees themselves who out of their own mouths shall confirm from scripture that Messiah, the Anointed One, would be born in Bethlehem of Judea. (A wise person should be able to "see" that this is also a witness against the false messiah to come who shall never be able to fulfill all the things written of the true Messiah and contained in this Book of Matthew). Only Jesus Christ fulfills the law and the prophets!
Imagine that? They found it and actually correctly quoted the scripture (next verse). However, isn't it interesting that none of them wanted to go to Bethlehem to seek the Christ child to worship Him? That doesn't speak much concerning their wisdom and love of God, does it? Here is what they found in the Old Testament (it is written) concerning the birthplace of the "Ruler in Israel" who shall come and reign forever![5] And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
Here is that verse from Micah, in the Old Testament, recorded in Matthew 2:6, in the New Testament. It is all the Word of God!Micah 5:2
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.
The word Beth-lehem means "house of bread" (beth = house, lehem = bread). Is it any wonder that the true Bread of Life who came down from above to tabernacle among men would be born in a town named "House of Bread"? How perfect the Word of God.Matthew 2:6
And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
Next, Herod wanted to know from the "wise men" exactly WHEN they saw the star appear! The reason was so that he would know about how old the Christ child was. Take heed when non believers want information concerning God's Word! You "see", Herod the Great Hypocrite, while plotting in his heart to murder Jesus Christ, spoke such sweet sounding and reassuring words to the wise men, acting as if he was genuinely interested "as they are" in going and worshipping the King! Yeah right! Take an object lesson from this when dealing with politicians and kenites, for the wise men did discuss the time they first saw the star appear, not readily discerning that this creep would later use the information he had extracted to murder innocent babies and toddlers from 2 years and under.Matthew 2:7
Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
Though he had no intentions of worshipping anyone other than himself, a characteristic type of antichrist for sure, someday old king Herod along with everyone else will come and worship at Christ's feet, for it is written that every nation, including all the rich men and kings of the earth, shall bow a knee to the King of kings. The difference is, "wise men" do so now![8] 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.
Father always takes care of His own and as you can "see", these wise men had Divine guidance in their sincere hunger and thirst to seek the King of kings. And you can just imagine how thrilled and overjoyed they must have been in "knowing" that God was with them! Do you know the feeling? He has promised to "never leave you nor forsake you" (Heb. 13:5).Matthew 2:9
When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw 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 exceeding great joy.
By the way, notice in verse 9 that there is no reference to a "babe" in a manger (brehpos in Greek, infant) but rather to a "young child" (paidion, toddler) in a house (next verse) because as verse 16 will document, Jesus was probably close to 2 years old at this time and certainly no longer in a manger.
The wise men fell down and worshipped Him only, not His mother Mary. And they "presented", i.e. offered, meaning in a ceremonial or reverent manner, their gifts of gold, to the King of kings, and frankincense and myrrh to the Lord of lords. Yes, one day soon in like manner, every knee including all the kings of the earth shall "fall down" (bow a knee) to Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords. You "see", eventually He will either be your King and your Lord or you will no longer exist after the great white judgment.[11] 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.
Following their visit, the wise men received a warning from God that they should not return to Herod and so they headed for home using an alternate route. Just wait until Herod finds this out for then all "hell" and "death" shall break loose in the land as this "mad man" after the manner of the "death angel" himself, slaughters all the children two years and under in Bethlehem and in all the coasts thereof! Take an object lesson from this too and know that though they speak such sweet and convincing words of peace, Satan's children of disobedience have no compassion of the innocent when it comes to furthering their agenda.[12] And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
Next, we will see Divine intervention continue as more and more prophecy concerning the King of kings is fulfilled exactly as it is written leaving no doubt whatsoever that Jesus Christ is Emmanuel, which is to say "God with us".
The simplicity of the matter is that babies are not naturally born before the travail, but after the labor pangs!
How familiar are you with the plan of God? Hopefully today's study will further your overall understanding as we are going to pay close attention to observing the "right hand of God" ever-present in the affairs of His servants in both taking care of His own and in bringing to pass the exact fulfillment of His Word, His Will, His loving plan of salvation for His children. You "see", there is a positive "end" to His plan for His children and it is in our understanding of that which is entailed in His deliverance and redemption that allows us to "see" His purpose of allowing captivity and bondage and oppression and yes, even death in this flesh age "under the sun". To wit, common sense alone tells us that one cannot be delivered from bondage unless he is first bound, can he? One cannot be awakened unless he is first asleep! One cannot be healed unless he is first sick! One cannot be exalted unless he is first humble! And as it is written in Isa. 66, one cannot be born naturally without there first being travail, i.e. labor pangs! So yes, there is a "negative part" to part to God's overall plan, but those with eyes to see and ears to hear understand that our Father is in complete control and that He is able to heal the blind, and cause the lame to walk, and the "dead" to come alive!
Earlier we left off where God had again intervened and warned the wise men that they should not to return to Herod. So they departed into their own country another way.
Well now, what have we here? Looks like old Herod is Satan's right hand man, doesn't it? Is this not the MO and the workings of the great red dragon himself, trying to devour the woman's child as soon as it was born?Matthew 2:13
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.
Knowing that old dragon wanted the young child dead would lead one to conclude that there's going to be some trouble, right? Even though this dragon, Satan, the son of perdition, has been judged and sentenced to die, God still uses him to fulfill the negative part of His plan which has a positive outcome in turning His sons back to Him.Rev. 12:3
And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.[4] And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
Birth is not brought forth without labor pangs, travail, and neither shall the birth of a new age when Jesus Christ returns as King of kings be without those preceding labor pangs.It is written in Mat. 24 and Mark 13 for it is the natural PLAN OF GOD and you can read of it in Isa. 66.[5] And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
This is written to God's elect, those who "tremble", i.e. are reverent toward His Word.Isaiah 66:5
Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.
Do not think for one moment that our Father has forgotten what His enemies have done to His children! The wicked shall receive their just reward! Woe![6] A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the LORD that rendereth recompence to his enemies.
This is pretty basic stuff, though perhaps the spiritual analogy is too deep for many intellectual religionists. The simplicity of the matter is that babies are not naturally born before the travail, but after the labor pangs![7] Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child.
The good news is that there shall be rejoicing and comfort for all those who mourn. Thank God for the travail for it brings forth the Son, and the joy of that will pale into insignificance the anguish of the hour of great tribulation! John 16:21 "A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world."[8] Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.[9] Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God.
The reason we have taken so much time to refresh our minds of these basics is so that we understand the Plan of God has and is unfolding exactly as it is written, and to know there is a positive outcome to His Plan, which is to bring about salvation.So REJOICE and be glad and give thanks to Him![10] Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her:[11] That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.
[12] For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees.
[13] As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
[14] And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the LORD shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies.
This flesh age is only temporary and all that is "under the sun" shall pass away!
Let us now return to Mat. 2 where we see Joseph, who was a "just man", chosen as the stepfather and guardian of Jesus Christ because he earned the right to fulfill his part in the great plan of God.
And so it would be that Christ dwelt for a time in the land of Egypt where Israel was once held in bondage!Matthew 2:14
When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
It was spoken of by the prophet Hosea whose name means "salvation".[15] 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.
Not only was what took place a fulfillment of prophecy concerning the Messiah, it is also reminder to us of the love our Father had for His son, Israel, in his youth during the days of bondage and captivity in Egypt. Remember He sent His servant Moses unto Pharaoh to say the following:Hosea 11:1
When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
Of course Pharaoh refused to let His son (Israel) go because God hardened his heart and so it came to pass that God did slay the firstborn in the land of Egypt and then called Israel out of Egypt with a mighty hand. You see, it was by the slaying of the firstborn that freedom was purchased. (Freedom comes with an awesome price, doesn't it? Consider the blood shed by our own sons and daughters to keep our nation free!)Exodus 4:22-23
And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:[23] And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.
And so it would ultimately be by the slaying of the firstborn of God, Jesus Christ, that salvation and freedom from death would be brought to world. Even at the very moment of the slaying of that One on the cross, He went to the place of those who were bound (spiritually) because the price of redemption had not been paid, and He offered them salvation there.
That is why Jesus Christ came at the first advent, i.e. to offer salvation, to proclaim liberty to those in spiritual Egypt (captivity), to recover sight to the blind (Luke 4:18), to open the prison to them that are bound! That is why Christ read only through the first half of Isa. 61:2 when He stood up in the temple (Luke 4:16) and read from the scroll. It was to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD... and then He closed the book and sat down. You "see", the second half of Isa. 61:2 declares His second advent when He comes as the King of kings to execute justice throughout the earth and to set aright that which has been wronged... thereby bringing comfort to all those who mourn! Be patient knowing that "It is written"... and it shall happen exactly that way! Yes, the tears of this flesh age shall one day end!!1 Peter 3:19-20
By which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison; [20] Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
Jesus Christ is the Deliverer and the Redeemer. He will lead you now to freedom and comfort and peace of mind IF you will follow His voice, His Word!Isaiah 61:1
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
Christ is not returning in a lowly state but as the exalted King of kings who shall unseat the great red dragon from power and rule this earth with a rod of iron. Satan doesn't like that thought, as we see expressed in his right hand man (and type), Herod![2] To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
The truth of the matter is that Herod was really mocked of God! And in keeping with Satan's characteristic out-of-control emotions, this hot-headed self serving ego-maniac, who was outwitted by wisdom (wise men who listen to God), flew into an irrational and insane rage and "slew all the children that were in Bethlehem" and the surrounding area that were two years old and under! Funny how God's servants have a way of "firing up" the old dragon when they outwit him or challenge his authority! Witness the rage of Nebuchadnezzar when Shadrach, Meshach and Abedneggo would not bow down to his image. To wit, the "bruisers" and two witnesses shall also cause the old dragon much consternation whereby he shall breath fire from his nostrils!Matthew 2:16
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.
But what about all those innocent children who were slain in Bethlehem and the surrounding area? How could God allow such a thing to happen?
[17]Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,
It is extremely important to understand the entire context of the prophecy of Jeremiah from which this one verse was quoted! However, since Rachel is referred to, before we go to Jeremiah let us refresh our memories concerning this mother and favorite wife of Jacob (Israel) who gave birth to both Joseph and Benjamin who would later be of the northern House of Israel and the southern House of Judah respectively. In Gen. 35:18 we find that Rachel died (giving birth to Benjamin) and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem, the place where Christ was born! (Coincidence? Of course not!) And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, she named her son "Ben-oni" which means "son of my sorrow". But you "see", the child's "father" saw things differently and renamed him "Ben-jamin", which means "son of my right hand" (Gen. 35:18)! This is truly significant and the reason becomes apparent in "that which was fulfilled which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet".[18] In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
Let's begin in Jer. 31:7:
This speaks of the spiritual condition of our people for they are indeed spiritually blinded to truth and do stumble at His Word. You "see", they are spiritually impregnated with the lies of Satan which are perpetuated by the traditions of men and so they do not "understand" the Plan of God for this flesh age.Jeremiah 31:7
For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.[8] Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither.
God shall save His people (vs. 7)! Proclaim it! Praise Him! Teach His Word and the hope of His salvation![9] They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
You know the parables. He loves all of His children and when one of His sheep goes astray He leaves the flock and goes after that one!Jeremiah 31:10
Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.
Yes, this is the Old Testament declaring that Jesus Christ has paid the price as the kinsmen redeemer and is able to take His own from the hand of the oppressor. You "see", through His death He has defeated Satan (i.e. death, see Heb. 2:14) and we have the victory in Him. So are you going to mourn the plan of God as we see it unfolding or rejoice in knowing the outcome? Are you going to mourn as those women did when Christ was walking up the hill to Golgotha to be crucified on the cross? What did He say to them? "Weep NOT for me..." (Luke 23:28)! We will soon see what He has to say about the weeping here in Jeremiah. Until then, here is more of the joyous future of His plan for His children, which are the pouring out of His blessings:[11] For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.
Have you not read? God is going to wipe away all tears from their eyes. Rev. 21:4 "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." This flesh age is only temporary and all that is "under the sun" shall pass away![12] Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.
This is not a "maybe"! These are His promises! And you know what? God's elect, those who revere His Word, and those who turn to Him and to His Word, can claim them now! He sits on the throne at the right hand of the Father and He will lead you beside the still waters now (Ps. 23).[13] Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.
This places in context the beautiful Plan of God and brings us to the next verse in Jeremiah which is the one quoted by Matthew in Mat. 2:18:[14] And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD.
What does the LORD say about the bitter weeping and the tears and refusing to be comforted?Jeremiah 31:15-17
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.
Do you see why the "father" changed the name of Ben-oni, son of my sorrow, to Ben-jamin, son of my right hand, for thy work shall be rewarded and God will deliver His people (that thy children shall come again from the land of the enemy). God is in complete control as evidenced by the presence of His hand in all the events we are reading about in Mat. 2![16] Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.[17] And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border.
Here we see His hand once again:
Right on time... according to His will! Again, God's Divine hand is right on top of these events seeing to it that all things are fulfilled exactly as they are written. By the way, if that which is written by the Jewish historian, Josephus, is correct, then old king Herod who died at age 70 suffered from a horrible disease. Here is an excerpt from "The Works of Josephus" describing Herod's maladies. It is not a pretty sight.Matthew 2:19
But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
God brought forth the Deliverer from out of the land of Egypt in like manner and with the same words as He sent the deliverer Moses into the land of Egypt. Moses was a type of savior who delivered his people from bondage and caused them to obey the commands of God by placing the blood of the lamb upon their doorposts and the lintels of their houses whereby the death angel was required to pass over them. Notice the parallel in Mat. 2:20 to that which God told Moses in Exodus 4:19 "And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life."JOSEPHUS [Antiquities, 17.6.5] But now Herod's distemper greatly increased upon him after a severe manner, and this by God's judgment upon him for his sins; for a fire glowed in him slowly, which did not so much appear to the touch outwardly, as it augmented his pains inwardly; for it brought upon him a vehement appetite to eating, which he could not avoid to supply with one sort of food or other. His entrails were also ex-ulcerated, and the chief violence of his pain lay on his colon; an aqueous and transparent liquor also had settled itself about his feet, and a like matter afflicted him at the bottom of his belly. Nay, further, his privy-member was putrefied, and produced worms; and when he sat upright, he had a difficulty of breathing, which was very loathsome, on account of the stench of his breath, and the quickness of its returns; he had also convulsions in all parts of his body, which increased his strength to an insufferable degree. It was said by those who pretended to divine, and who were endued with wisdom to foretell such things, that God inflicted this punishment on the king on account of his great impiety; yet was he still in hopes of recovering, though his afflictions seemed greater than any one could bear. He also sent for physicians, and did not refuse to follow what they prescribed for his assistance, and went beyond the river Jordan, and bathed himself in the warm baths that were at Callirrhoe, which, besides their other general virtues, were also fit to drink; which water runs into the lake called Asphaltiris.Matthew 2:20
Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.
Joseph was a wonderful guardian who faithfully obeyed each and every command given to him.[21] And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.
[22] But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:
The prophets foretold of the lowly birth and humble beginnings the One who would be exalted (Matthew 23:12) as the King of kings and Lord of lords over all the earth! You "see", Nazareth was kind of what we would call "the low rent district", an area of Galilee that was "looked down upon" as Dr. Smith notes in his dictionary:[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.
To that end we read in John 1:46 "And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see." So we do SEE that Jesus Christ, the soon coming King and Governor over all the earth, was born in the little town of Bethlehem (House of Bread) and lived both in Egypt and Nazareth that the Word of God might be fulfilled exactly as it was written. How perfect the plan of God! Yes, how truly marvelous and wondrous indeed!"The origin of the disrepute in which Nazareth stood, (John 1:47) is not certainly known. All the inhabitants of Galilee were looked upon with contempt by the people of Judea because they spoke a ruder dialect, were less cultivated and were more exposed by their position to contact with the heathen. (Smith's Bible Dictionary)"
So get ready for some more exciting wisdom from His Word, because in our next study... "Here comes............ Johnny! (the baptist that is)"!
Spiritually speaking we are in the wilderness today.
The Word of God is precise in every detail and we have seen the clear evidence in just the first two chapters of Matthew that our Father is in complete control of His plan, which always has and always will come to pass exactly as it is written and according to His time table! To that end, as we enter this third chapter of Matthew we are fast forwarded from the events surrounding the young child in chapter two, through the ministry of John the Baptist who would now be about 30 years old and six months Christ's senior, right up to the beginning and "Anointing by God" of Jesus Christ's ministry. That anointing of the "Prophet who would come" (Deut. 18:18) will render John the Baptist the last of the prophets and therefore the "one who would come before Him" preaching and preparing the way, fulfilling the scriptures declaring that it would be so.
Thus shall we enter a "new time", a new dispensation, as describe by Paul in the opening verses of the great Book of Hebrews:
Jesus Christ, the Word of God, is the one we are to hear (Mat. 17:5). With that serving as the introduction to today's study, let us ask for wisdom from above and read and understand the third chapter of Matthew.Hebrews 1:1-2
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,[2] Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds;
"In those days" while Jesus was growing up, John the "baptizer" was doing his thing preaching and teaching God's Word in the countryside of Judea. In doing so, he was fulfilling the Word of God... that which was written in the prophets concerning the "voice" of one heralding in the wilderness, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight."Matthew 3:1
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
Spiritually speaking we are in the wilderness today, the desert where the dry bones (Ezek. 37) abound because of the great spiritual famine which is so widespread throughout the land in these last days (Amos 8:11-13). You see, there was a spiritual famine at the time of John the Baptist as well for the great synagogue had come forth and the scribes and the Pharisees, the chief of whom were not of Judah nor even descendants of Abraham, i.e. they were kenites, now sat in the seat of Moses, which means they were in authority over the church. Jesus Christ pointed this out to His disciples in Matthew 23:2, "Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat."
So what was it John came preaching in preparing the way before Messiah? He preached "repentance" in a BOLD fashion and we are going to see an example of it in his discourse with some kenites a few verses hence.
True repentance is more than just an expression of remorse, although that can be a good starting point, for true repentance requires action which is a change of direction, a "turning around" from traveling down the wrong path. However, for a person to make such a change in direction he or she must first want to, desire to, which simply means there must first be a "change of heart". Pay attention to what John has to say beginning in verse seven and you will further understand the requirement of repentance.[2] And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
This was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah in chapter "40". However, since only one verse is quoted here we need to do our due diligence and go to that section of scripture and study the context of what was spoken.[3] For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
"Comfort ye" is declared twice for emphasis. You see the truth of His Word is that which gives comfort and the truth of the matter is that there is good news for Jerusalem because Yeshua Messiah is coming soon to set things aright.Isaiah 40:1
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Speak ye comfortably, i.e. to the heart, and proclaim that her warfare will soon be over, for it is written.[2] Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.
This is the verse quoted in Matthew regarding the heralding, the crying in the wilderness, to make a straight path because the LORD shall soon be revealed and His justice executed throughout the earth.[3] The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Both the nations and individuals shall receive their just recompense at the return of Christ. Luke 14:11, "For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." You see, His glory SHALL BE revealed, and ALL FLESH shall see it together, for IT IS WRITTEN! What path do you choose to follow?[4] Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
When you hear the phrase, the straight path or the straight and narrow path, do not be misled or deceived by religious people who are placed in bondage by the traditions of men with their lists of do's and don'ts, etc. Christians can and should be free from "religion" and all that pious hypocrisy whereby church systems teach that you must walk some kind of tight rope to be accepted by God. You see, following God's ways, His paths, produces happiness and freedom... economic freedom and prosperity, political freedom, and freedom from fears and anxieties. So contrary to erroneous popular belief, it is not drudgery but rather pure pleasure and enjoyment to walk in His ways... unless of course you actually like misery and bondage and oppression and stress and anxiety! Of course, Satan also has a whole array of bottled spirits and mind altering drugs, both with and without a prescription, that you can always turn to help you deal with those things.[5] And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Moving right along... it is also written in Malachi, whose name means "My Messenger", that God will send Elijah the prophet before the great and dreadful day of the LORD, which is His second advent, not His first.
What shall that spirit of Elijah do before (lest) Christ smites the earth with a curse, i.e. the cursed one SatanMalachi 4:5-6
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
That's easy, for it is written:
He shall turn the hearts of God's children to their fathers (plural), to their true heritage all the way back to their fathers the patriarchs (as being true Israel) and therefore the children of the Most High God, their heavenly Father. Yes, that spirit will also turn the hearts of the children of disobedience back to their fathers, the kenites, who are the children of the most low god, Satan himself. We will discuss more of Elijah when we get to the 11th chapter of Matthew where Christ said that John would have been accounted as Elijah IF they would have accepted Christ, i.e. as the King of kings. However, they not only did not accept John the Baptist and Jesus Christ, they murdered them both.[6] And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
This is significant in that John came dressed or clothed (think spiritually) in the "same raiment" of camel's hair in which Elijah came! Luke 1:17 "And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."Matthew 3:4
And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
Here is how Elijah looked:
You can see old John did not dress like a pretty-boy preacher and he ate "locusts" alright! Just wait until you see how he handles and devours the locusts (kenites) in verses 7-12 and declares the "fire to come" (vs. 10, 12) which shall consume the unfruitful trees, the tares and the chaff! So don't think for one minute John was intimidated by man! He was not your typical piously-robed, sweet-talking, "neither hot nor cold" preacher who never says anything that might offend somebody! He "turned heads" when he spoke for he did so with the authority of the scriptures. That is why Christ said concerning his manner of teaching in Matthew 11:7 "And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? [8] But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses."2 Kings 1:8
And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.
Jordon means the descender and it would be there that the Holy Spirit would descend upon Christ.[5] Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,
Now here comes the self-righteous religious hypocrites and "spiritual" leaders![6] And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
John let them know that he had their number (Rev. 13:18) and that he knew they were the offspring (generation) of vipers, i.e. the children of that old serpent from the beginning, called the devil and Satan (Rev. 12:8). Christ also confronted and exposed them in John 8:44 when he said to them "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."[7] But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
The "kenites", the sons of Cain (Kayin in Hebrew), have infiltrated and usurped the tribe of our brother Judah and make the false claim that they are children of Abraham and therefore "God's chosen people"! Sadly, most churches and most Christians believe that LIE, for it is indeed a lie! In fact, only two out of the seven churches Christ addressed in Rev. 2 & 3, the church of Smyrna and Philadelphia, know "the scam", i.e. that these dudes are liars and not God's chosen people at all. They are of the synagogue of Satan. Here is what Christ says to the two churches "in the know", the church of Smyrna and Philadelphia respectively: Rev. 2:9 "I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan." Rev. 3:9 "Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan,which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee."
The point is, they did not fool ol' John the Baptist and he "let them have it with both barrels", so to speak!
Don't give me flowery words and promises, give me action! Let the thoughts of your heart if they be true be made manifest, shown, demonstrated, by producing fruit in your life and the lives of others. And don't give me that "We're God's chosen people stuff!" It won't fly![8] Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
To this day, these impostors who are descendants of the Snake Numero Uno, claim to be God's chosen people, the people of the covenant made to Abraham. They use that "front" to rob and steal the wealth and heritage of true Israel. John knew who they were and so he gave them a little lesson in humility. However, don't miss the deeper truth here in that whosover will, even these "stones" of the little rock, could be raised up to be servants of God, if they repent and turn to Christ.[9] 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.
Next, John the Baptist lets them know that they "serve the same bad fruit" as the one who is at the head of their family tree, the tree of Gen. 3 and Ezek. 31, that tree of the knowledge of good and evil (i.e. Satan) who fed his poisonous fruit to mother Eve in the garden of God. That evil tree (Satan) has been sentenced to be hewn down and cast into the lake of fire at the end of the Millennium, along with every other corrupt tree bearing bad fruit.
Don't let people use claims that they are "God's chosen people" or even special sheep of His flock! You test their fruits according to the Word of God and let the results speak for themselves. Remember the simple adages, "Actions speak louder than words!" or "I can't hear what you are saying because of what you are doing!"[10] And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.Matthew 7:15
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
If someone tries to tell you they are a good fruit tree and yet all you see on their branches are thorns and thistles, then don't believe their words for the evidence belies their testimony.[16] Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Again, it is real simple as Christ explains:
[17] Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Here is the judgment that shall come to the "tares" (Mat. 13) and although these are the words of Christ, this is exactly what John said to Pharisees and Sadducees.[18] A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.Remember, in Biblical symbolization - trees are people!
The "fire" spoken of is none other than our Father, who is a "consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29), who shall consume all evil and wickedness in that lake of fire which follows the great white throne judgment. In other words, as He spoke in the beginning and things came into being, so shall He speak at the end of the Millennium and all that is wicked and corrupt shall cease to exist.[19] Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.[20] Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Have you been baptized with His "fire"? You "see", the Holy spirit is liken unto "fire" which both purifies gold and warms the heart of His children while at the same time it consumes away that which is stubble, like thorns and thistles. So what John is telling the kenites to their face is that Jesus Christ is coming to execute justice and everyone shall receive his or her just recompense according to their works.Matthew 3:11
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
The "fan" spoken of here is a winnowing fan used to separate the wheat from the chaff. What John is saying is that "Harvest time" is soon coming! Judgment is coming! And there shall be a separation of the wheat from the chaff, the children of light from the children of darkness.[12] Whose fan is in His hand, and He will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
This must have been a real shock to John when you think about it. I mean, here comes the Messiah... Oh Wow.. the sinless Messiah Himself coming to "camel hair sinner John" and requesting of him to be baptized![13] Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
Here is John's humble reaction:
We ALL have need to be baptized by Jesus Christ, the Word of God. The word baptize (baptizo in Greek) means to be "totally wet" as in "totally immersed" and it can be applied to other subjects, which it even is in this chapter, i.e. to both water and spirit.However, there is only one baptism and that is the baptism John spoke of in Matthew 3:11, the baptism of the Holy Spirit which is to be initiated and totally immersed in His Spirit, the Word of God. In other words, one can be baptized in water but if that person is not then immersed in His Spirit, the Word of God, he or she is still in need of true "baptism"! To wit, denominations argue over the methodology of "water baptism" (again baptizmo by definition means to be made totally wet by immersion) while both they and their congregations remain Biblically illiterate, void of His Spirit, void of being immersed in the Word of God.[14] But John forbad Him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
That having been said, Jesus Christ was our example to follow and He was baptized in water.So when we rightly follow His example we do so as recognition and open acknowledgment of our initiation and public confession that we believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and in His death, burial, and resurrection, and that we are asking the Holy Spirit to enter and guide our lives from this point on. Baptism therefore is a beautiful thing!
So John recognized that Christ must be baptized, for His time had come, but just imagine how awed John must have felt![15] And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
Did you know that "dove" is "Yonah" (Jonah) in Hebrew which means warmth as "cooing", i.e. the warmth of their mating. If you look up Jonah (dove) in your Strong's concordance you will find that it actually comes from the root "Yayin" which is "wine"![16] And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
Nevertheless, John "saw" the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus Christ and to that end he both "witnessed" and "bare record" to the fact the Jesus Christ was INDEED the Messiah!
Again, John witnessed and bare record that Jesus Christ was truly the "Anointed One" of God. He both "Saw" (with his eyes) and he "Heard" (with his ears, next verse).John 1:32-34
And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.[33] And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
[34] And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
The disciples Peter, James, and John will also hear these same words spoken on the mount of transfiguration, confirming from above that Jesus is the Christ. We will discuss this in more detail when we get to chapter 17.Matthew 3:17
And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Matthew 17:5
While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
Next, we will see the tempter, the old devil, misquote and misapply scripture right to the Messiah! Just imagine the audacity of this low life serpent!
Satan is very knowledgeable of the scriptures and can twist and TURN around the Word of God ever so ingeniously and cunningly.
The time has now come for Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One of God, to begin His ministry, and you know what? Satan isn't going to like that! In fact, he doesn't like any Christian beginning a ministry whereby the truth of God's Word is taught, so take heed to today's lesson! Remember, the old serpent has tried to destroy this One and thwart God's Plan from the very beginning, even from the garden of Eden in this flesh age down through the generations from Adam and Eve, through Noah and his family, through Abraham and Sarah, through Judah, through David, etc... all the way to Mary.
So we are now going to see Satan tempt and even try to destroy Jesus Christ, the second man Adam, in the same manner and fashion as he did the first man Adam and his wife Eve... so get a clue! You "see", Satan is going to use scripture and just twist and modify it ever so slightly and craftily so as to change the truth of God's Word into a lie, an utter falsehood! He is really, really good at doing that, a fact to which the testing by scripture (assaying by fire) of some very major doctrines of Christianity today, such as the any-moment rapture theory, will attest. (A word to the wise.)
In other words, the old serpent is going to misquote and misapply scripture to promote his agenda which is the same today as yesterday, to destroy Jesus Christ, the Word of God, so he can draw the people unto himself. You "see", Satan knows the scriptures very, very well, for he was once a "morning star", a star of light and truth, a beautiful cherub who walked "straight up and down" in God's ways and covered the mercy seat until iniquity was found in him (Ezekiel 28:15 "Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.")
The point is, Satan is very knowledgeable of the scriptures and can twist and TURN around the Word of God ever so ingeniously and cunningly. Again, he has managed to create and change whole doctrines by this method, a method to which most Christians are unaware and not skilled enough in their Father's Word to detect. Therefore, it is important that we take some extra time to note Satan's first temptation and the reason for the failure of the first man Adam, in order to emphasize the victory over Satan by Yeshua in the wicked one's temptation of the second man Adam. To the beginning we go...
HOLD EVERYTHING! (... flags go up!) Did you catch it? Are you familiar enough with Genesis to know that Satan has just twisted what God said... because although it seems to sound right, that is NOT what God stated at all! He really told Adam "of every tree of the garden you may freely eat", except one specific "tree", the tree of the knowledge of good and evil! Satan is very subtly trying to minimize and obscure the specificity of that one particular tree? He's real good my friend!Genesis 3:1
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Here is what God actually said:
Eve does not detect the twisted subtlety of the sly fox and now, having been drawn off guard just a little, gets drawn further into his seductive trap by engaging in a losing argument with Satan about what God said. Take heed! NEVER argue with the chief scripture lawyer, Satan. We will see in today's study how Christ handled this same serpent when he misquoted scripture!Genesis 2:16-17
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:[17]But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Editors note: Did you catch it? Did you see it? Did you notice one very important point here? Their were other trees in the garden of Eden besides Christ, the tree of life, and Satan, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the midst of the garden, or else how could you have freely eaten of them?
Again I remind you - In Biblical symbolization Trees are people! See pamphlet #7011.
Did you catch it this time?The words "every" and "freely" are missing from Eve's quote! Read again Satan's craftily modified quote of God's Word and you will see that he made God sound negative and restrictive in His command by telling Eve she was not permitted to eat of every tree in the garden, when the fact is she was told very positively that she could "freely eat" of "every tree"... only ONE was singled out! Pretty slick, huh? Eve bought into this spirit of negativity and left out two VERY IMPORTANT words, "freely" and "every"! She then makes another HUGE ERROR in quoting God's Word when after adding the words "neither shall ye touch it", she waters down the categorical consequence of transgressing His command when she says "lest ye die", leaving out God's emphatic words "Thou SHALT SURELY die"... not perhaps!Genesis 3:2
And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
"GOTCHYA", thinks Satan to himself! And now for the final twist to 180 degrees from the truth.[3] But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
So the deceitfully brilliant and charismatic one, Satan, through his cunning manipulation of words and language, coupled with his "appearance" as an angel of light, a good pastor and teacher indeed, has just TURNED the truth of God's Word into an outright lie! Then notice what he does next, now that he has gained her confidence as one who seems to be so knowledgeable about what God knows and says...Genesis 3:4
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
This little goody was not even a twist nor a misquote but rather a total fabrication out of "thin air", thin "dark" air that is, for nowhere did God say this. Read over it again, in your Bible. God didn't say anything about eye being opened![5] For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Satan is speaking on behalf of God, appearing as an angel of light, using smooth words that stroke the flesh ego and sound real good, even logical. The problem is... it is not WRITTEN, as in GOD DID NOT SAY IT. This "ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil", is the age old philosophy of "enlightenment", "the god within you" of the "higher educated" intellectuals who think that they are capable of determining the right and wrong paths to follow for themselves (and others) apart from the Word of God. In fact, it is the basis of all "liberalism" as we see it active in leadership today, both politically and ecclesiastically. How vain indeed! However, the record of this earth age shall stand as witness against that lie!
In order to "live" (as in eternally) man must partake of the heavenly manna, that spiritual bread from above which is the rich nutrition of the Word of God, which alone gives and sustains life.
Let us now learn from the example of Jesus Christ how to handle Satan, the chief scripture lawyer! As preface to the three separate temptations recorded here in Matthew, here is a brief outline of the flow:
Temptation. "If Thou be"
Answer. "It is written"
Temptation. "If Thou be"
Answer. "It is written"
Temptation. "If Thou wilt"
Answer. "It is written"
Not only did Jesus Christ come to this earth to pay the price and to defeat death (Heb. 2:14), which is Satan, but the following verse also speaks to the importance of this temptation.Matthew 4:1
Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
So we now see Jesus Christ about to be tempted one on one, not just by the spirit of Satan, but by Satan himself, just like he tempted Eve. This is extremely important information, for those in this final generation shall also face this spurious messiah when he comes at the sound of the 6th Trump claiming to be God (2 Thes. 2).Hebrews 4:15
For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Numbers in scripture have spiritual significance and help us to partake of that "hidden manna", giving us a deeper level of understanding. For instance: each time the number 40 is used throughout the Bible it denotes probation or testing, e.g. it rained 40 days and 40 nights at the time of the flood, Israel wandered in the wilderness 40 years, Moses was on the mountain 40 days, and here we see Christ tempted of Satan after 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness.[2] And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterward an hungred.
Here are a few other numbers and their meanings:
Note: See appendix 10 in the back of the "Companion Bible", Kregel Publishers, for a brief synopsis of numbers in the Bible.5 = Grace
6 = Man
7 = Spiritual Completion
8 = Resurrection & New Beginnings
10 = Law or Ordinal Perfection as in the 10 commandments
12 = Governmental Perfection as in 12 tribes, 12 apostles, etc.
Now, it is obvious that after
40
days and 40 nights of not eating, Christ certainly would have been "an
hungered" and Satan knows it! Therefore,
Satan will use this moment of flesh weakness to tempt and challenge
Christ
concerning His authority! Do you
know
what your weaknesses are? I sure hope you do not think
that
you do not have any (for then ego and self-righteousness are evidently
two of them) and furthermore, do not think for one moment Satan doesn't
know them also. He
is
especially cognizant of the weaknesses of God's servants and
handmaidens,
to which HIStory shows... beginning with the woman in the garden, you
know...
Adam's wife to whom he listened!
We are now going to read the very first words from the lips of Jesus Christ following the anointing of the Holy Spirit as He faces the spiritual temptation of Satan. Remember well these first three words of Christ for they should forever be words of example to all the servants of God.[3] And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
Christ may have been hungry for physical nourishment but He certainly had no fear of starving to death and He did not allow the crying out of the flesh to prevent Him from walking in the spirit, so He was able to "see" right through Satan's motive to use this opportunity to cause Him to stumble. To that end, Christ quoted from the 8th chapter of Deuteronomy to draw OUR ATTENTION to, and make the analogy to, the temptation of Israel in the wilderness, which is "written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come (1 Cor. 10:11).[4] But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Do you want happiness and peace of mind... ETERNALLY, as in life eternal? Then stay in His Word and walk in His ways and you shall possess it because the LORD has PROMISED it to be so... those who love and serve Him. You "see", if you partake of the true bread of life, you shall never hunger nor thirst! John 6:35 "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.Deut. 8:1-4
All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers.
If you have wisdom from His Word, then you know that that our trials and temptations are opportunities to show forth the love and trust we have for our Father and His Word. James 1:2-4 "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; [3] Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. [4] But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."[2] And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
In order to "live" (as in eternally) man must partake of the heavenly manna, that spiritual bread from above which is the rich nutrition of the Word of God, which alone gives and sustains life. John 6:63 "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."[3] And He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
And so it shall be with your spiritual raiment (Rev. 19:18) when you partake of the heavenly manna![4] Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.
The holy city is Jerusalem and the pinnacle is Mt. Zion, the seat to where Satan, the false Messiah, will soon come!Matthew 4:5
Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
Satan is again challenging the authority of Jesus Christ and has twisted a quotation from the 91st Psalm, a Psalm written by Moses, in his futile attempt to tempt God! Take heed to this devious method of making the scriptures appear to say something they do not say, simply by omitting or adding to that which is written. To say God doesn't like that would be a gross understatement of that which is written so we will let the Word of God speak to this: Rev. 22:18-19 "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: [19] And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.[6] And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Satan is guilty of doing BOTH! So let's compare what is actually written to what Satan quoted and note the changing of God's truth by his both "taking away" from the prophecy (teaching of God's Word) and "adding to" it:
Well, lookie there! Satan left out (took away) the whole object of the subject which is "to keep thee in all they ways". That's the charge the angels have been given! You know what this reminds me of? Many preachers tell our unsuspecting brothers and sisters who listen to them and follow their words without checking out what they teach in the scriptures (that's a Big Boo-Boo), that if they just have faith in God then they can claim the following verse from John 15:16 "that whatsoever ye ask of the Father in my name, He may give you." They apply that to asking for all sorts of things, even and especially material things. But the subject and context of the scripture from which this quote is taken concerns God's elect and their doing the work of God in "bringing forth fruit". Whatsoever you ask in the name of Christ to help you produce that fruit, such as wisdom and understanding to help teach, etc., He will give unto you.Psalm 91:11
For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
Let us now continue with the 91st Psalm.John 15:16
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, He may give it you.
Go back and re-read what Satan said and you will notice that he added the words "at any time", changing the intent of the bearing up which applies to "keeping thee in all thy ways" to now include jumping off a cliff!Psalm 91:12
They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Satan also totally ignored the next verse, which you better believe he is well aware of. You see, Christ has all power and authority in both heaven and earth and He has given that power, which is His Word, His Spirit, unto His servants: Luke 10:19 "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."
It is those who love their Father and keep his ways that He lifts up and delivers.[13] Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
There is no other way to be set on high. God will protect those who know Him, those who "call upon His name" which means to cry (proclaim) His name (His authority which is His Word). Acts 2:21 "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved."[14] Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
So after Satan botched up quoting the 91st Psalm in trying to tempt Christ, a scheme of which Christ was totally aware, here was the Lord's reply.[15] He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.[16] With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
Jesus once again refers to Deuteronomy where the admonition to us is to stay in His Word DILIGENTLY keeping His commandments, and His testimonies, and His statutes, which He has commanded thee! If you don't, then those ministers of Satan who appear as angels of light will be able to give a little twist to God's Word and just like Eve...DOWN YOU GO!Matthew 4:7
Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Would you believe that the majority of so-called Christian ministers today fit into this category today and have deceived the majority of our people (5 out of the 7 churches in Rev. 2 & 3) into accepting phony doctrines of men like "any-moment rapture theories", etc.? Christ said it would be that way in the final generation of the "fig tree": Mark 13:6 "For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many."2 Cor. 11:13-15
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.[14] And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
[15] Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
Here then is the section of scripture in the Book of Deuteronomy that Christ quoted and expects His servants to be familiar with (yes it is in the Old Testament)!
And so do not argue with Satan or his children! You "see", it is the power and the authority of Jesus Christ, the Word of God, that "casts out all thine enemies". Now, enjoy the privilege of watching our Savior do just that, i.e. cast out the enemy, in these next verses!Deut. 6:16-19
Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted Him in Massah.[17] Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.
[18] And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers,
[19] To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken.
Oh, let's try the worldly power and ego trip on Jesus Christ. That's a HOOT! Like we believe there is anything in this flesh age worthy to be compared with the glory which lies beyond the veil of this dimension! Besides, God's elect have not only read the Book of Ecclesiastes wherein the man of wisdom who once HAD IT ALL (he's dead now... it happens you know) documents that there is not enough power, not enough money, not enough Hollywood entertainers, not enough fast women, and not enough wine to satisfy the flesh for but a short time, but many of God's elect once personally tested various parts of his research (heh, heh, you know who you are) to know that it is true!Matthew 4:8
Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
What will it take for you to fall down and worship him? Take notice from this verse that Satan has these things at his disposal to give and so he uses money, power, and ego very effectively in his repertoire of wiles![9] And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Now here comes "the casting out of thine enemies from before thee" (Ps. 91:19)!
Hey, another quote from Deuteronomy chapter 6! It would do one well to diligently read and study the whole chapter![10] Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: forit is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
To swear by His name is to act by and with His authority, which is the Word of God. Jesus Christ set the example right here in Matthew for us to follow. And when you order Satan and his demonics OUT from before thee in His name... he is subject to that power and authority!Deut. 6:13
Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve Him, and shalt swear by his name.
Let there be no doubt whatsoever in your mind about who is in charge! Just remember to stay in His Word and be real careful of those who claim to represent Christ by checking out what they say with the supreme and ultimate authority, the Word of God, to see if there are any twists or omissions or added statements that are meant to CHANGE the truth into a lie!Matthew 4:11
Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto Him.
1 Thes. 5:21
Prove all
things; hold fast that which is good.
The time has now come for Jesus Christ to openly begin His ministry.
The time has now come for Jesus Christ to openly begin His ministry according to and after the manner of that which is already written in the law and the prophets! It is truly amazing how one can trace and follow His ministry from the Old Testament! In fact, anyone who is familiar with the prophecies contained therein, many of which we have already covered (e.g. His birthplace, called out of Egypt, etc.) and all of which Messiah must needs fulfill, can easily discredit a phony, an imposter who comes claiming to be the Messiah, with a few "it is written's"!
Jesus Christ, the Anointed One of God, knows that John the baptist's ministry has ended and it is now time for the Call to Repentance and the Proclamation of the GOOD NEWS that Kingdom of heaven is NOW AT HAND for WHOSOEVER will come and follow the Light that has come into the world. How is it that the kingdom of heaven is now "at hand"? Because the King of the dominion of heaven has come to earth and now dwells among men!Matthew 4:12
Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison*, He departed into Galilee;
Also, it is important we take note that Jesus Christ, the Light which shines in the "darkness", openly began His ministry in Galilee, which means "the heathen circle".
Galilee = Galilaia, gal-il-ah'-yah, Greek 1056; of Hebrew origin [Hebrew 1551 (Galiyl)]; Galil'a (i.e. the heathen circle), a region of Palestine :- Galilee.
We will not take the time to review the history of this region in detail. Just know that this land was the first to be afflicted by the armies of Assyria (2 Kings 15:29) and so it was promised that it would be the first to see the Light of Messiah! How beautiful and how perfect is the Word of God. Here are the translations (meanings) of the names of the towns in verse 13. You can substitute them for the proper names and read the verse anew.[13] And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
Nazareth = the guarded one
Capernaum = city of consolation
Zabulon (Zebulun) = dwelling place or habitation
Napthalim (Naphtali) = my wrestling
Now we are now going to see the Light go forth and begin to shine in the great darkness! To that end, Jesus Christ will begin His ministry by announcing that the door to the kingdom of heaven is now open and all those who will repent (change) and follow the Light can see their way and enter in.
How fitting indeed that this is a fulfillment of that which is spoken by Isaiah the prophet for his very name means the "Salvation of Yah" which Christ has come to bring to the world of darkness. Of course it is by no accident that it should be so... for everything Christ did and even said was preordained of God. John 12:49 "For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, He gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak." And so it was that Christ began His ministry in Galilee because it was written that He would do so over 700 years prior to the event.[14] That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
He brought light into the depth of the great darkness to shine unto and encompass ALL nations (Galilaia).Isaiah 9:1
Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.
If you remember from Gen. 1:3, the great Light was the first thing God brought into the world of darkness which had become "tohu va bohu", utterly void and desolate, at the rebellion of Satan. Genesis 1:2-4 "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. [3] And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. [4] And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness."[2] The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
Jesus Christ is that Light and the hope of our salvation. John 12:46 "I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness." To walk in the Light you must follow Him! Thus repentance is coupled with the proclamation of the GOOD NEWS (Gospel) of the Kingdom of God and the establishment of the King of Righteousness.
The joy and happiness and exultation that the Light shall bring to the world really is Good News and you know what else is GOOD NEWS? You can have all that joy and peace of mind even now if you will hear His call and follow Him.[3] Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
Here is how Dr. Bullinger translates verse three after noting on page 943 of the Companion Bible the error of translation caused by dividing the Hebrew word "haggil'o" into two words thereby adding the word "lo", which is "not". You will also find this consistent with Dr. Moffat's translation.
And there is more GOOD NEWS!Thou hast multiplied the exultation,
Thou hast increased the joy:
They joy before Thee according to the joy in harvest.
And as men exult when they divide the spoil.
It shall be a jubilant Jubilee indeed for Freedom and Liberty shall be "proclaimed throughout the land" and there shall be no more bondage and oppression. His rod and His staff which provide comfort and peace (Ps. 23) shall replace that staff of burden and that rod of oppression wielded by the taskmaster and the oppressor![4] For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.
The Kingdom comes in not without "Spiritual Warfare" so put on the whole gospel armor of God... but always remember it is written that "our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29)" and when He and His spirit of Truth comes in contact with evil rudiments and iniquitous works, those things are "burned up", as in completely and totally consumed away! Peter documents this for us in 2 Peter 3:10 "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements [evil rudiments] shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up."[5] For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.
And so it is that God sent His only begotten Son into the darkened world to bring the Light and therefore salvation unto any and all who will now follow that Light (Jn. 3:16, Jn. 12:46).However, at His second advent He shall come as the King of king and Lords of lords to rule all nations and every knee shall bow to His name, i.e. His authority. The question is... since the kingdom of heaven is at hand will you accept Him as King and Lord now and be part of the kingdom that shall reign?
These "5" titles ("5" is the number of grace in Biblical numerics) are all part of the Comfort He gives to those who love Him.[6] For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
(1) Wonderful means "miracle or marvelous thing" and so it is that the Word of God works wonders and miracles in our lives.
(2) Counsellor means "to advise or consult" and so it is that we seek wisdom and counsel from His Word to lead us in the paths of righteousness, i.e. to do the right thing in all our affairs.
(3) The Mighty God has all power in heaven and earth and so it is He who is our Rock and our Fortress. Psalm 18:2 "The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower."
(4) The Everlasting Father. Only through partaking of the fruit from the Evergreen (Ever-Living) Tree of Life can we have everlasting (eternal) life. In fact, our Father likens Himself to and evergreen (fir) tree: Hosea 14:8 "Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard Him, and observed Him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found."
(5) The Prince of Peace (see next verse) is the only ruler who can "order" true and lasting peace on this earth and "establish" it with truth and justice.
It is also written in the Book of Revelation concerning this child who was born to "rule all nations" in righteousness! Rev. 12:5 "And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne."[7] Of the increase of his government and peacethere shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
So we see that the 9th chapter of Isaiah speaks of the ministry of Jesus Christ being fulfilled in Matthew 4, concerning that Light coming into the darkest hour of the world and proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom of God and that the Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace shall come and set up that kingdom to be established forever.
Next, we are going to "hear" from the King of kings and Lord of lords Himself (who we know now sits on the throne at the right hand of His Majesty in heaven) that the kingdom of God is at hand... which means that Christ, the Light, has already come into the world and that whosoever will believe in Him and follow that Light can be part of that great ruling kingdom RIGHT NOW! And they shall rule and reign with Him a thousand years throughout the Millennium (Rev. 20:6). So let us now return to Matthew 4 and pick up where Matthew quotes two verses from that great 9th chapter of Isaiah which declares the Lord's Proclamation of the Kingdom and the call to repentance! How perfect is the Word of God!
The Light which has "sprung up" to break the darkness is so beautifully called "the dayspring" by Dr. Luke.Matthew 4:15
The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;[16] The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
Want peace and happiness... from now until forever? Then come out of darkness and into the light of His marvelous truth (His Word) and He will guide your feet and keep you in the paths of His righteousness.Luke 1:77-79
To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, [78] Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, [79] To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
The very King of the Dominion (king-dom) of heaven was right there with them, dwelling among them. Do not make the simplicity of this complicated nor mysterious. Very simply, if you love God and follow Jesus Christ, who is the Word of God (i.e. keep His commands which is His Word) then He is with you and dwells with you now! Again, the only condition is YOU loving Him by seeking Him through His Word.[17] From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
You see, the Father Himself says that if you do not follow Christ, which is to study His Word and keep His sayings, then you do not love Jesus Christ!John 14:15-17
If ye love me, keep my commandments. [16] And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; [17] Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
Here it is:
At no time is going to church made to be a requirement of loving Him! In fact, and this may shock some, but church has little or nothing to do with the reality of Christianity unless His Word is taught there chapter by chapter and verse by verse for the purpose of setting God's children free. You "see", it is His Truth that sets men free... and that means free from the many church traditions which hold our people captive. Let's learn from Master Teacher, Jesus Christ, and see how it should be:John 14:24
He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
Peter and Andres were commercial fishermen which is how they made their living.Matthew 4:18
And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
Do you hear Him? You see, if you follow Jesus Christ, the Word of God, as one of His disciples, you too will become a fisher of men's souls. However, the fishing is not done for the purpose of self gain by putting them into your own boat (which will ultimately sink if you do, Luke 5:7) or the boat of some church or ministry (which shall incur the same fate), but to bring them to Jesus Christ, the Light of Truth, the Word of God... for to be fed meat and bread from His table, for they are His and they belong to Him, not captive in some boat (read Jn. 21:9-11).[19] And He saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
There was no emotional, guilt laden, pleading altar call at some church service which caused them to follow Jesus Christ. It was when they "heard" the words of Jesus Christ, the Word of God! Following Him then immediately (straightway) became the TOP PRIORITY in their lives.[20] And they straightway left their nets, and followed Him.
Notice that the first ones to be called of God are "brothers", which is "aldelphos" in Greek. (Of course, those with eyes to see and ears to hear are thinking "Phil-adelphia"). The first two brothers were Simon (hearing) who was called "Peter" and "Andrew" his brother whose names mean "Rock" and "Man or Husband" respectively. The second two brothers were James and John whose names mean "Contender or Supplanter" (James is a form of Jacob) and "Gift of Yah" respectively. Amazing, isn't it? Simply amazing![21] And going on from thence, He saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them.
So the disciples, when they "heard" with their ears the Words of Jesus Christ, they knew it was the true Word of God and so the "nets" they were casting, i.e. their career goals in life, the commercial "ship" they were sailing as they were setting their future in order (mending their nets), and all their earthly "gifts" (Zebedee means 'gift') including their earthly father (if you have understanding, Luke 14:26) immediately became secondary priorities to the Word of God and His kingdom. Yes, it is that exciting to "hear" the true voice of the Great Shepherd![22] And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed Him.
And so it is that Jesus Christ began to teach His Word and proclaim the GOOD NEWS of the kingdom all around Galilee and heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people! You "see", it is Jesus Christ who heals all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. Man most often looks only upon the flesh as being sick while the true illness lies in the mind of the soul which is void of His Word.[23] And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching [proclaiming] the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
[24] And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto Him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and He healed them.
Those with eyes to see, while taking note that the word "Decapolis" means 10 cities (deca = 10, polis = city), should be reminded of that which is yet to come in the "metropolises" headed by the 10 men of Zech 8:20-23.[25] And there followed Him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.lunatick = seleniazomai, sel-ay-nee-ad'-zom-ahee, Greek 4583; middle or passive from a presumed derivative of Greek 4582 (selene); to be moon-struck, i.e. crazy :- be lunatic.
Nevertheless, next we are going to learn the characteristics of a true disciple of Christ. If you think you already know what they are, you just may be surprised!
To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Now, we are going to "hear"
from
the King of kings and Lord of lords Himself (who we know now sits on
the
throne at the right hand of His Majesty in heaven) that the kingdom of
God is at hand... which means that Christ, the Light, has already come
into the world and that whosoever will believe in Him and follow that
Light
can be part of that great ruling kingdom RIGHT NOW!
And they shall rule and reign with Him a thousand years throughout the
Millennium (Rev. 20:6). So let us now return to Matthew 4 and
pick
up where Matthew quotes two verses from that great 9th chapter of
Isaiah
which declares the Lord's Proclamation of the Kingdom and the call to
repentance!
How
perfect is the Word of God!
The Light which has "sprung up" to break the darkness is so beautifully called "the dayspring" by Dr. Luke.Matthew 4:15
The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;[16] The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
Want peace and happiness... from now until forever? Then come out of darkness and into the light of His marvelous truth (His Word) and He will guide your feet and keep you in the paths of His righteousness.Luke 1:77-79
To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, [78] Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, [79] To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
The very King of the Dominion (king-dom) of heaven was right there with them, dwelling among them. Do not make the simplicity of this complicated nor mysterious. Very simply, if you love God and follow Jesus Christ, who is the Word of God (i.e. keep His commands which is His Word) then He is with you and dwells with you now! Again, the only condition is YOU loving Him by seeking Him through His Word.[17] From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
You see, the Father Himself says that if you do not follow Christ, which is to study His Word and keep His sayings, then you do not love Jesus Christ!John 14:15-17
If ye love me, keep my commandments. [16] And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; [17] Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
Here it is:
At no time is going to church made to be a requirement of loving Him! In fact, and this may shock some, but church has little or nothing to do with the reality of Christianity unless His Word is taught there chapter by chapter and verse by verse for the purpose of setting God's children free. You "see", it is His Truth that sets men free... and that means free from the many church traditions which hold our people captive. Let's learn from Master Teacher, Jesus Christ, and see how it should be:John 14:24
He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.Just going to church on Sunday won't cut it. He said, "He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings"
Peter and Andres were commercial fishermen which is how they made their living.Matthew 4:18
And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
[19] And He saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
You see, if you follow Jesus Christ, the Word of God, as one of His disciples, you too will become a fisher of men's souls. However, the fishing is not done for the purpose of self gain by putting them into your own boat (which will ultimately sink if you do, Luke 5:7) or the boat of some church or ministry (which shall incur the same fate), but to bring them to Jesus Christ, the Light of Truth, the Word of God... for to be fed meat and bread from His table, for they are His and they belong to Him, not captive in some boat (read Jn. 21:9-11).
[20] And they straightway left their nets, and followed Him.
There was no emotional, guilt laden, pleading altar call at some church service which caused them to follow Jesus Christ. It was when they "heard" the words of Jesus Christ, the Word of God! Following Him then immediately (straightway) became the TOP PRIORITY in their lives.
Notice that the first ones to be called of God are "brothers", which is "aldelphos" in Greek. (Of course, those with eyes to see and ears to hear are thinking "Phil-adelphia"). The first two brothers were Simon (hearing) who was called "Peter" and "Andrew" his brother whose names mean "Rock" and "Man or Husband" respectively. The second two brothers were James and John whose names mean "Contender or Supplanter" (James is a form of Jacob) and "Gift of Yah" respectively. Amazing, isn't it? Simply amazing![21] And going on from thence, He saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them.
So the disciples, when they "heard" with their ears the Words of Jesus Christ, they knew it was the true Word of God and so the "nets" they were casting, i.e. their career goals in life, the commercial "ship" they were sailing as they were setting their future in order (mending their nets), and all their earthly "gifts" (Zebedee means 'gift') including their earthly father (if you have understanding, Luke 14:26) immediately became secondary priorities to the Word of God and His kingdom. Yes, it is that exciting to "hear" the true voice of the Great Shepherd![22] And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed Him.
And so it is that Jesus Christ began to teach His Word and proclaim the GOOD NEWS of the kingdom all around Galilee and heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people! You "see", it is Jesus Christ who heals all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. Man most often looks only upon the flesh as being sick while the true illness lies in the mind of the soul which is void of His Word.[23] And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching [proclaiming]the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
[24] And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto Him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and He healed them.
Those with eyes to see, while taking note that the word "Decapolis" means 10 cities (deca = 10, polis = city), should be reminded of that which is yet to come in the "metropolises" headed by the 10 men of Zech 8:20-23.[25] And there followed Him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.lunatick = seleniazomai, sel-ay-nee-ad'-zom-ahee, Greek 4583; middle or passive from a presumed derivative of Greek 4582 (selene); to be moon-struck, i.e. crazy :- be lunatic.
Nevertheless, in our next study we are going to learn the characteristics of a true disciple of Christ. If you think you already know what they are, you just may be surprised!
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pursuits;
to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy
Spirit, you accomplish both.
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