Matthew (Part 5)(BST 10-21-07)

Matthew (Part 5)
Bible Study Time 10-21-07

As we read about the Lord’s temptation in the wilderness, we see evidence that He was very man and very God. Matthew says that after 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness, Jesus was hungry. His body needed food just like our bodies need food. However, we also see evidence that He was truly God because His hunger never hindered His dedication or His devotion to God. In no way was the Lord Jesus persuaded or influenced by the counsel of the devil.

Jesus refused to turn the stones into bread. He refused to throw Himself from the pinnacle of the temple. He refused to fall down and worship the devil. Though Jesus had a human body which had human weaknesses, He was never influenced by the weaknesses of the flesh.

We need to pray that we too can follow the Lord’s example in spite of our weaknesses. The Apostle Paul gave some good advice to those of us who wish to live victoriously. To the Romans, Paul said:

Romans 13:14 NKJV
14 . . . put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

To Timothy, Paul said:

1 Timothy 6:10-11 NKJV
10 . . . the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.

And again Paul said to Timothy:

2 Timothy 2:22 NKJV
22 Flee . . . youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Paul told the Corinthians that they should flee from idolatry and sexual immorality.

So the Lord Jesus set a beautiful example for us in that He immediately dismissed every suggestion of the devil. He did not dwell upon them. He did not debate the issues in His mind. He simply said, no, immediately and decisively, and He used the word of God as His defense. He said:

Matthew 4:4 NKJV
4 . . . "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"*

He said:

Matthew 4:7 NKJV
7 . . . “It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"*

He said:

Matthew 4:10 NKJV
10 . . . it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"*

It is written; it is written; it is written. The word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword. The devil has no weapon that is its equal.

The Lord Jesus had the unique distinction of being God in the flesh, but we as believers today have been given all that we need to stand firm against the devil. First of all, Paul said:

1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV
13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Second, we know that God has promised to supply our every need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus, and we are thoroughly equipped by the inspired word of God to complete every good work.

Third, we have the whole armor of God that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. We have the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit.

We have nothing to fear from the devil if we walk in the light of the word of God. If we resist the devil, the devil will flee from us. The Bible says that when Jesus resisted the devil,

Matthew 4:11 NKJV
11 . . . the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

Then Matthew says that when Jesus heard about the arrest of John the Baptist, Jesus left Judea and went up into Galilee. While living in that area, He began to preach the exact same message that John the Baptist had been preaching, namely that the people should repent for the kingdom of heaven was at hand.

The scriptures make it very clear that Jesus never told anyone that He was going to die for the sins of the world. Just before His crucifixion, He told His disciples that He was going to be killed and then raised again the third day, but He never said that this was going to happen so that He could pay for the sins of the world. Luke goes on to explain that even at that late date the disciples understood nothing about the fact that Jesus was going to be killed and raised from the dead. It is therefore certain that they knew nothing about Jesus dying for the sins of the world. As Jesus began His public ministry, His message was simply that the kingdom of heaven was at hand.

Of all the Biblical writers, Matthew is the only one who uses the expression, the kingdom of heaven. Even so, Matthew uses this expression 64 times in his gospel account. It was Matthew’s unique way of referring to the earthly kingdom in which the Lord Jesus will rule and reign. The kingdom of heaven was Matthew’s theme throughout his gospel account.

In Zechariah’s short little book of prophesy, he revealed many of the details concerning this promised earthly kingdom. Zechariah, Chapter 8, says:

Zechariah 8:1-3 NKJV
1 Again the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying,
2 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'I am zealous for Zion with great zeal; With great fervor I am zealous for her.'
3 "Thus says the LORD: 'I will return to Zion, And dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth, The Mountain of the LORD of hosts, The Holy Mountain.'

When the Lord said, I will return to Zion, He was referring back to the time when the presence of the Lord did actually dwell in the temple in Jerusalem. This was, of course, before the temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. As Zechariah wrote his prophetic writings, he was writing as one who had been allowed to return to Jerusalem from Babylon.

Zechariah and his fellow countrymen had begun the task of rebuilding the temple, but it appears that Zechariah knew that the presence of the Lord would not dwell in that temple until the Lord, Himself, should come down from heaven in bodily form to dwell there. In verse 9 of Chapter 9, Zechariah said:

Zechariah 9:9 NKJV
9 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey . . .

Zechariah was encouraging the people to prepare the temple for the coming of the Lord, for someday the Lord, Himself, will come into Jerusalem to dwell in the temple. In that day the Lord will rule as the King over all the earth. Zechariah said:

Zechariah 8:22-23 NKJV
22 Yes, many peoples and strong nations Shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, And to pray before the LORD.'
23 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."'"

The Lord spoke through Zechariah and said:

Zechariah 8:11-13 NKJV
11 . . . I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,' says the LORD of hosts.
12 'For the seed shall be prosperous, The vine shall give its fruit, The ground shall give her increase, And the heavens shall give their dew — I will cause the remnant of this people To possess all these.
13 And it shall come to pass That just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, So I will save you, and you shall be a blessing . . .

I remember hearing my family members talk about a Jewish man who came to my great grandfather in Galveston, Texas. The man asked if he could use my great grandfather’s last name on his new business venture because he was afraid of what people might think if he used his Jewish name.

Obviously, this man had had to deal with the extreme prejudice of the Gentile nations. But during the kingdom, when the Lord rules from Jerusalem, the Jews will no longer be a curse among the nations. They will be a blessing. Everyone will want to be around the Jews, and everyone will want to be the friend of the Jews because the Jews will be known as the people of God. It will be understood throughout the world that the Lord God dwells in Jerusalem and that His blessings flow out from Jerusalem through His chosen people, the Jews of the nation of Israel.

Well, with these things in mind, it’s no wonder the children of Israel were excited about the coming of the Messiah and the kingdom of the Messiah. It was like music to their ears when John the Baptist and Jesus came preaching the good news that the kingdom of heaven was at hand.

Jesus never had to stand up and shout that He was the promised Messiah. He never had to shout that He was the one who would bring in the everlasting kingdom. First of all, that would go against the humble nature of God. When Jesus taught, He taught the simple truths of the kingdom. He said that in the kingdom the humble and those who mourn will be greatly blessed. He said that it will be the meek who will inherit the earth.

He taught the people about the profound righteousness of the kingdom. He said that murder begins with hatred and adultery begins with lust. He said that people should actually love their enemies and care for their enemies. All of these things were so foreign to anything the Jewish people had ever heard before. When Jesus spoke:

Matthew 7:28-29 NKJV
28 . . . the people were astonished at His teaching,
29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

The people listened to the words of Jesus, and they saw the miracles that He did. When John the Baptist’s disciples came to Jesus and asked:

Matthew 11:3-6 NKJV
3 . . . "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"
4 Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:
5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."

Who else could give sight to the blind and make the lame to walk but the Lord God of heaven. Jesus did not have to boast of His position or His calling; His words and His works stood as the proof of who He was.

As I have already mentioned, the words and works of Jesus were all a part of His kingdom message, but before the kingdom could come, the Jews had to accept it by believing in Jesus. This kingdom had been promised to Abraham, but Jesus was not going to come down and force the Jews to believe in Him. Nor was He going to force the Jews into a kingdom that they could not believe in.

The nation of Israel had to believe, so Jesus set apart his disciples and challenged them to go out with the message of the kingdom to all the Jews. In Matthew, Chapter 10, we read that Jesus gave His disciples very specific instructions, saying:

Matthew 10:5-8 NKJV
5 . . . "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.
6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7 And as you go, preach, saying,'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead,* cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

Obviously, these instructions are not for us today. These instructions were for the disciples who taught the kingdom message. This message was not for the Gentiles. Even if the Gentiles had accepted Jesus as the Messiah, it wouldn’t have brought in the kingdom. The kingdom had been promised to the Jews, and it was the Jews who had to accept it.

Today, there are Christian groups that work very hard to convert the Jews. We have to applaud their efforts because God wants Jews to be saved just like He wants Gentiles to be saved. It is God’s desire for all men to be saved. But we need to understand that even if every Jew in the world came to understand that Jesus was the promised Messiah, the kingdom still would not come.

The kingdom will not come because that offer of the kingdom is no longer on the table. It was on the table during the time of John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus. It was still on the table after the Lord’s resurrection. On the day of Pentecost, Peter stood up before a great crowd of Jews and said:

Acts 2:38-39 NKJV
38 . . . "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ . . .
39 For the promise is to you and to your children . . . "

Shortly after the Day of Pentecost, Peter again stood up before a group of Jews just outside the temple and said:

Acts 3:19-25 NKJV
19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,
20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before,*
21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things . . .
25 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'*

Throughout the period of time covered by the book of Acts, the message of the kingdom went out to the Jew first and also the Greek, but throughout that period of time, the Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah.

At that point, God set aside the kingdom message and started revealing the program for us today. We no longer preach the kingdom or the King, but we preach the Savior who is the Head of the Church which is the Body of Christ.

Someday, when the Body of Christ is complete, God will take up the Church into heaven, and then once again the message of the kingdom will go out during the great tribulation period. The two witnesses and the 144,000 Jews will bear witness to all the world that Jesus was and is the promised Messiah. They will bear witness to the fact that the blood of Jesus was and is the blood of the New Covenant which has the power of the Holy Spirit behind it. At that point, the Jews will believe, and Jesus will return to the earth to establish the kingdom.

It’s been a pleasure studying with you this morning. I’ll look forward to studying with you again next week at this same time.

Church links:
http://www.peacechurch-ok.org/
http://www.eleventhavenuechurch.com/
http://gracebiblechurch-fw.com/