Matthew (Part 14)
Bible Study Time 12-23-07
Bible Study Time 12-23-07
We’ve been studying the book of Matthew for the past few weeks, and in this book we are given valuable information regarding the one person who can guarantee us eternal life. Matthew says that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin. When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, God the Father spoke from heaven saying:
Matthew 3:17 (KJV)
17 . . . This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Jesus had a public ministry in which He healed the sick, made the lame to walk, and raised the dead. At one point, Jesus spoke to his disciples and said:
Matthew 13:16-17
16 . . . blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which you see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which you hear, and have not heard them.
Isaiah was one of those prophets who desired to see the day when the Son of God would walk upon the earth and preach the word of God. Seven hundred years before Jesus was born, Isaiah spoke of the coming of the Son of God and said:
Isaiah 9:2
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 has the light shined.
Matthew tells us that Jesus was born as the Son of God. He says:
Matthew 1:18-21
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.
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privately.
20 But while he thought on these things, the angel of the Lord appeared to 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.
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Then Matthew goes on to say that the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus was in accordance with another of Isaiah’s prophesies. He says that:
Matthew 1:22-25
22 . . . all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
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.
24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
There are those who say that Isaiah’s prophesy concerning the virgin birth was merely pointing to the fact that Isaiah’s wife would be a virgin until the conception of their first child. But this thought is contrary to the word of God.
Matthew emphatically states that the birth of Jesus was the direct fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophesy. He said, all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet.
Furthermore, Matthew says that while Mary was still a virgin, Jesus was conceived in her womb by the Holy Spirit and that Joseph and Mary shared no marital intimacy until after Jesus was born. That’s just as plain as language can make it, and we have to conclude that Jesus was the Son of God and that He was, indeed, Lord at His birth.
To prove to the people of his day that He was the Son of God, Jesus did many undeniable miracles. He did these miracles out in the open and in full view of all the people, but in spite of these miracles, He was rejected. He was falsely accused of blasphemy, and then He was crucified as a criminal. However, Jesus proved once again that He was the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead. Matthew says that:
Matthew 28:1-8,16,17
1 . . . as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the sepulcher where they had laid the body of Jesus.
2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not: for I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified.
6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that Jesus is risen from the dead . . .
8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.
16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
The disciples had believed in Jesus because they had seen His miracles, and they had heard Him speak with such great authority. But even some of them had a hard time believing that He had actually been raised from the dead. Matthew said that when they saw Him, they worshiped Him, but some doubted.
Millions of people since the time of Christ have had to deal with all of the issues that Matthew and the other gospel writers present in their accounts of the life of Jesus. Was Jesus really born of a virgin? Did He really do all of those miracles? Was He really raised from the dead?
This world has no lack of controversies, but honestly in regard to most of them, it makes little difference what stand we take. However, this is one of those controversies that we have to get right. Our point of view on this issue has consequences which are eternal. What we believe on this issue will determine our quality of life here on earth, and it will determine our eternal destiny.
We know that no one can believe in Jesus unless he is drawn by the Father and his eyes are opened by the Holy Spirit, but at the same time there is solid evidence that the gospel accounts are true. What about the empty tomb in Jerusalem? What about all those prophesies that Jesus fulfilled in every detail? Well, this evidence, while significant to those of us who believe, may mean little to those whose eyes have been blinded by the god of this world. Nevertheless, the Apostle John said:
John 1:11-12
11 (Jesus) came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
John the Baptist said:
John 3:36
36 He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.
Jesus said:
John 3:16 (KJV)
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
If a person is to experience the salvation of God, he must get this question right.
From the beginning, Jesus emphasized the importance of believing the gospel. Mark 1:14 says:
Mark 1:14-15
14 . . . after (John the Baptist) was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Jesus taught the necessity of believing the gospel, but it was the Apostle Paul who formalized the doctrine of salvation by faith. In Ephesians 2, he said:
Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV)
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
In his letter to the Romans, Paul was able to reveal for the first time the spiritual processes that work to bring about a person’s salvation. He said:
Romans 3:21-22
21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe:
Paul says that when a person believes, he is justified, or made righteous, in the sight of God. This is the same for all believers. There is no difference from one person to another:
Romans 3:23-25
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 (We are) justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood . . .
The word propitiation is a reference to the mercyseat in the Old Testament tabernacle. The mercyseat was the lid on the Arch of the Covenant, and this is where the blood of the animal sacrifices was placed. The blood of these animal sacrifices provided a temporary atonement for sin. Every year a new sacrifice was offered, and the sins of that year were pushed forward to the next year.
Well, in Romans 3, Paul says that the blood of Jesus has provided a permanent atonement for sin. His blood has been applied to the mercyseat of God’s heavenly tabernacle, and His blood has been set forth as the propitiation for sin. His blood provides eternal redemption, but only for those who are willing to believe. Salvation comes through faith in His blood.
Often people will ask, how can I know that I am saved? Well, we know that we are saved if we believe that the blood of Jesus is able to save us. If we believe that we have to add other things to the blood of Jesus because the blood of Jesus is not quite powerful enough to save us, then we have good reason to doubt if we are saved. But for those who believe in the power of the blood of Jesus, their salvation is eternally secure.
The mercyseat is where man comes face to face with God. Those who put their faith in the blood of Christ are accepted by God. Therefore, Paul says in Romans 5 that:
Romans 5:1 (KJV)
1 . . . being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Now, Paul was the first to admit that up until he met the Lord on the road to Damascus, he did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God or that Jesus had come back from the dead. He dismissed such thoughts as pure foolishness. But as Paul was walking along on that road to Damascus, the Lord Jesus spoke to Paul, and Paul could no longer deny what was obviously true. Jesus was alive, and Jesus was the Son of God.
Paul said that when he did finally come to this realization, his life was changed forever. When he put his faith in Christ, he became a completely different person. He was amazed at the changes that he saw in himself. The old Saul had passed away, and the new Paul had come to stay.
Well, as God continued to work in Paul’s heart, Paul grew in his understanding of what had actually happened to him on the road to Damascus. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul said:
Galatians 2:20
20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
The Lord had revealed to Paul that when he put his faith in Christ, he was identified with Christ on the cross, so that in a spiritual sense, he was crucified with Christ. But Paul was also indentified with Christ’s resurrection, so that Paul was able to live his life as a totally new person, a new creation in Christ.
In the book of Romans, Paul called this identification with Christ a baptism, and he said that every believer experiences this spiritual baptism. The moment a person believes, he is baptized into the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. In Romans, Chapter 6, Paul says:
Romans 6:3-5 (KJV)
3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
So God revealed to Paul why his life had undergone such a radical change, but God also revealed to Paul that this change was intimately related to his future eternal hope. In Romans 8, Paul says:
Romans 8:1,14,16,17
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
16 The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ . . .
Paul knew that Christ was going to inherit all things and that he would be a joint-heir with Christ in this glorious inheritance. He said, if I have to suffer for Christ’s sake, that’s OK:
Romans 8:18
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Paul saw a glorious change in his life, and he knew that a glorious future awaited him. That’s why he could say:
Romans 1:16
16 . . . I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes . . .
Well, it certainly has been a pleasure studying with you this morning, and I’ll look forward to studying with you again next week at this same time. I hope you have a very merry Christmas.
Church links:
Matthew 3:17 (KJV)
17 . . . This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Jesus had a public ministry in which He healed the sick, made the lame to walk, and raised the dead. At one point, Jesus spoke to his disciples and said:
Matthew 13:16-17
16 . . . blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which you see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which you hear, and have not heard them.
Isaiah was one of those prophets who desired to see the day when the Son of God would walk upon the earth and preach the word of God. Seven hundred years before Jesus was born, Isaiah spoke of the coming of the Son of God and said:
Isaiah 9:2
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 has the light shined.
Matthew tells us that Jesus was born as the Son of God. He says:
Matthew 1:18-21
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.
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privately.
20 But while he thought on these things, the angel of the Lord appeared to 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.
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Then Matthew goes on to say that the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus was in accordance with another of Isaiah’s prophesies. He says that:
Matthew 1:22-25
22 . . . all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
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.
24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
There are those who say that Isaiah’s prophesy concerning the virgin birth was merely pointing to the fact that Isaiah’s wife would be a virgin until the conception of their first child. But this thought is contrary to the word of God.
Matthew emphatically states that the birth of Jesus was the direct fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophesy. He said, all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet.
Furthermore, Matthew says that while Mary was still a virgin, Jesus was conceived in her womb by the Holy Spirit and that Joseph and Mary shared no marital intimacy until after Jesus was born. That’s just as plain as language can make it, and we have to conclude that Jesus was the Son of God and that He was, indeed, Lord at His birth.
To prove to the people of his day that He was the Son of God, Jesus did many undeniable miracles. He did these miracles out in the open and in full view of all the people, but in spite of these miracles, He was rejected. He was falsely accused of blasphemy, and then He was crucified as a criminal. However, Jesus proved once again that He was the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead. Matthew says that:
Matthew 28:1-8,16,17
1 . . . as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the sepulcher where they had laid the body of Jesus.
2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not: for I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified.
6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that Jesus is risen from the dead . . .
8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.
16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
The disciples had believed in Jesus because they had seen His miracles, and they had heard Him speak with such great authority. But even some of them had a hard time believing that He had actually been raised from the dead. Matthew said that when they saw Him, they worshiped Him, but some doubted.
Millions of people since the time of Christ have had to deal with all of the issues that Matthew and the other gospel writers present in their accounts of the life of Jesus. Was Jesus really born of a virgin? Did He really do all of those miracles? Was He really raised from the dead?
This world has no lack of controversies, but honestly in regard to most of them, it makes little difference what stand we take. However, this is one of those controversies that we have to get right. Our point of view on this issue has consequences which are eternal. What we believe on this issue will determine our quality of life here on earth, and it will determine our eternal destiny.
We know that no one can believe in Jesus unless he is drawn by the Father and his eyes are opened by the Holy Spirit, but at the same time there is solid evidence that the gospel accounts are true. What about the empty tomb in Jerusalem? What about all those prophesies that Jesus fulfilled in every detail? Well, this evidence, while significant to those of us who believe, may mean little to those whose eyes have been blinded by the god of this world. Nevertheless, the Apostle John said:
John 1:11-12
11 (Jesus) came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
John the Baptist said:
John 3:36
36 He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.
Jesus said:
John 3:16 (KJV)
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
If a person is to experience the salvation of God, he must get this question right.
From the beginning, Jesus emphasized the importance of believing the gospel. Mark 1:14 says:
Mark 1:14-15
14 . . . after (John the Baptist) was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Jesus taught the necessity of believing the gospel, but it was the Apostle Paul who formalized the doctrine of salvation by faith. In Ephesians 2, he said:
Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV)
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
In his letter to the Romans, Paul was able to reveal for the first time the spiritual processes that work to bring about a person’s salvation. He said:
Romans 3:21-22
21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe:
Paul says that when a person believes, he is justified, or made righteous, in the sight of God. This is the same for all believers. There is no difference from one person to another:
Romans 3:23-25
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 (We are) justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood . . .
The word propitiation is a reference to the mercyseat in the Old Testament tabernacle. The mercyseat was the lid on the Arch of the Covenant, and this is where the blood of the animal sacrifices was placed. The blood of these animal sacrifices provided a temporary atonement for sin. Every year a new sacrifice was offered, and the sins of that year were pushed forward to the next year.
Well, in Romans 3, Paul says that the blood of Jesus has provided a permanent atonement for sin. His blood has been applied to the mercyseat of God’s heavenly tabernacle, and His blood has been set forth as the propitiation for sin. His blood provides eternal redemption, but only for those who are willing to believe. Salvation comes through faith in His blood.
Often people will ask, how can I know that I am saved? Well, we know that we are saved if we believe that the blood of Jesus is able to save us. If we believe that we have to add other things to the blood of Jesus because the blood of Jesus is not quite powerful enough to save us, then we have good reason to doubt if we are saved. But for those who believe in the power of the blood of Jesus, their salvation is eternally secure.
The mercyseat is where man comes face to face with God. Those who put their faith in the blood of Christ are accepted by God. Therefore, Paul says in Romans 5 that:
Romans 5:1 (KJV)
1 . . . being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Now, Paul was the first to admit that up until he met the Lord on the road to Damascus, he did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God or that Jesus had come back from the dead. He dismissed such thoughts as pure foolishness. But as Paul was walking along on that road to Damascus, the Lord Jesus spoke to Paul, and Paul could no longer deny what was obviously true. Jesus was alive, and Jesus was the Son of God.
Paul said that when he did finally come to this realization, his life was changed forever. When he put his faith in Christ, he became a completely different person. He was amazed at the changes that he saw in himself. The old Saul had passed away, and the new Paul had come to stay.
Well, as God continued to work in Paul’s heart, Paul grew in his understanding of what had actually happened to him on the road to Damascus. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul said:
Galatians 2:20
20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
The Lord had revealed to Paul that when he put his faith in Christ, he was identified with Christ on the cross, so that in a spiritual sense, he was crucified with Christ. But Paul was also indentified with Christ’s resurrection, so that Paul was able to live his life as a totally new person, a new creation in Christ.
In the book of Romans, Paul called this identification with Christ a baptism, and he said that every believer experiences this spiritual baptism. The moment a person believes, he is baptized into the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. In Romans, Chapter 6, Paul says:
Romans 6:3-5 (KJV)
3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
So God revealed to Paul why his life had undergone such a radical change, but God also revealed to Paul that this change was intimately related to his future eternal hope. In Romans 8, Paul says:
Romans 8:1,14,16,17
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
16 The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ . . .
Paul knew that Christ was going to inherit all things and that he would be a joint-heir with Christ in this glorious inheritance. He said, if I have to suffer for Christ’s sake, that’s OK:
Romans 8:18
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Paul saw a glorious change in his life, and he knew that a glorious future awaited him. That’s why he could say:
Romans 1:16
16 . . . I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes . . .
Well, it certainly has been a pleasure studying with you this morning, and I’ll look forward to studying with you again next week at this same time. I hope you have a very merry Christmas.
Church links:
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