1. According to Matthew - Introduction

A study of the Biblical Book of Matthew
Part 1 –An Introduction

The traditional view of Matthews gospel was that it was an account of the life of Jesus written by the apostle of Jesus called Matthew, also known as Levi. It's earliest and oldest title in Greek reads 'kata matthaion' which simply means 'According to Matthew'. However, in the text itself, the author chooses to remain anonymous. The gospel shares much in common with Mark and Luke, but has its own unique passages.

 A tradition grew early in church history to name written accounts after apostles in order to give them authenticity. The verdict of most modern scholars is that we cannot know for sure who actually wrote the gospel. For the benefit of our journey, and following the example of many before us, we shall go with the earliest title and tradition and refer to the author as 'Matthew' ... without speculating on which, when, how or why!

Matthew’s gospel was completed sometime in the first Century, a few decades after the death of Jesus.  It was seen by the early church as the most important gospel and is frequently quoted by writers in the first three Centuries.

The audience that Matthew seems to be particularly addressing are those with some Jewish background who have become or are ‘becoming’ Christians. 130 distinct allusions are made to the Jewish Scriptures of the Old Testament. Jesus is pictured as the Messianic King foretold by the prophets. Matthew talks a lot about the Kingdom of God and identifies that kingdom with the things that Jesus did and said. Whilst Jesus is proclaimed the King, He is also pictured as the suffering servant. In Jesus glory and humility, power and gentleness, are perfectly combined.

But more of that will be seen as we travel throughout its pages!

Some unique things about Matthews gospel.

• of 1068 verses, 644 contain words of Jesus (3/5th)
• there are 35 parables
• there are 20 miracles - 3 of which only appear in Matthew (9:27-31 ‘Blind’, 32-33 ‘Dumb’ and 17:24-27 “The coin in the fishes mouth”)

Matthew alone records any teaching about the church.

• 16:18-19 ‘Built on the rock of faith’
• 18:20 ‘Wherever 2 or 3 gather in my name’
• 27:16-20 ‘Description of a worshiping community

People

We read of various people, places, parties and institutions in the gospel that would have been as familiar to the original readers as Barack Obama, Clint Eastwood, and the Vatican are to ourselves.  When we meet them in the gospel their names and titles may sound familiar, but we may not be sure exactly who they are! So before we go any deeper into the gospel itself we’ll begin with a brief introduction to some people who populate its pages and the institutions that held power.

The Gospel speaks of Priests and Rulers, Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, Galileans and Samaritans. Who were these people. What did they stand for? How did they feel about Jesus?

PRIESTS – “Jesus entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests.” (Mat 12:4 NRS)

The priesthood was an Old Testament institution established in the time of Moses. Priests were required to be descendants of Aaron, Moses brother. These priests were the only ones authorized to offer sacrifices and were to instruct the people in Divine law.  Originally a religious office, by the time of Jesus they also exerted considerable political influence.

The High Priest was president of the Sanhedrin (the Jewish Governing Body) having both political and religious power. The Chief priests (mentioned 64 times in the N/T) were temple officers with seats in the Sanhedrin. They were different from the ordinary priests (like Zechariah in Luke 1:5) who simply carried out their religious functions.

To use an Episcopal illustration from the British Isles (Where religion and state are not separated):

• High Priest = Archbishop of Cantebury
• Chief Priests = Bishops in the House of Lords
• Priests = Vicars and Curates etc...

The High Priests and Chief Priests - along with the aristocratic families from which they came, generally opposed Jesus and later would oppose the apostles.

RULERS -  While Jesus spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live." (Mat 9:18 NKJ)

These were members of the Sanhedrin or others with political influence.  They did not necessarily have a religious function, but held political office. Sometimes they are called ‘Officials’.  In Marks gospel (5:22) the ruler who has a sick daughter is named as Jairus.

PHARISEES - "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. (Mat 23:27 NKJ)

The Pharisees arose during the time of the Maccabees (historically the time between the Old and New Testaments.) They liked to trace their origin to the time of Moses. Their name means ‘The Separated Ones’. It may have come from their resolve to be separate from the political parties in the nation, but more likely from their zeal to separate themselves from sinful practices and zealously follow God’s law.

You could describe them as the ultra-conservatives of their day or compare them to todays orthodox Jews. They held to the authority of the written law and to the authority of the oral traditions that interpreted Mosaic law and how to apply it.

The gospels give the impression that they had a faith that had grown sterile. Again and again Jesus confronts them, showing their piety to be legalistic and hypocritical. In their eagerness to exalt the written law they ignored practicing the love and mercy towards others the law was intended to establish.

They did not like Jesus. He certainly did not fit their preconceived notions of how a Messiah should behave. His interpretations of scripture, which cut through human tradition and exposed original intent, were not in harmony with their rigid structure.

SADDUCEES The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him…  (Mat 22:23 NKJ)

If the Pharisees were the ultra conservatives of their day, the Sadducees represented the liberal wing of the faith. They had close links with the priesthood and were well represented in the governing body of the Sanhedrin.

The Sadducees only acknowledged the 5 books of Moses as being scripture. They did not believe in angels, resurrection or the immortality of the soul. They owed their prominent position in society due to their ability to fit in well with the pagan power structure of the Romans. They were not against the secularization of either their nation or their religion. They agreed with the Pharisees only in one thing – their dislike of Jesus, and plotted with them for His murder.

SCRIBES  "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. (Mat 5:20 NKJ)

The scribes were the seminary professors and intellectuals of the day. They were drawn from amongst both the Pharisees and Sadducees. They were seen as being the authority in interpreting the law and respected by the people for their devotion and learning. Jesus came into conflict with them when He challenged their interpretations.

HERODIANS  “And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. "Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" (Mat 22:16-17 NKJ)

The Herodians were political in nature. They were, as their name implies, linked to the ruling family of King Herod and supported Roman rule. They were against any form of political or religious change that could threaten their power structures. They interpreted the claim made for Jesus as being the Messiah as a political treat and regarded Him as dangerous.

GALILEANS  “Simon the Zealot” (Mat 10:4 NAS)

Amongst the disciples was one called Simon the Zealot (also known as Simon the patriot or Simon the Canaanite). Referred to broadly as ‘Galileans’ the term denoted those who were prepared to resist the Romans by force.  Maybe we would call them ‘freedom fighters’ or ‘revolutionaries’. Simon was thought to have come from amongst their number, as did Barabbas, who was set free by the authorities in the place of Jesus. 

SAMARITANS “These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.” (Mat 10:5 NKJ)

The Samaritans were descendants of people imported after the Assyrians defeated the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 BC. They were a religious mix, some strictly monotheistic and claiming Jehovah as their God, some sticking to pagan practices, or even mixing the two! They had their own traditions and customs. There existed intense racial hatred between the Jews and Samaritans.

ESSENNES

Whilst nowhere mentioned in the biblical text, the Essenes were a monastic desert community that devoted themselves to scripture and prayer.  They have historically been linked to both John the Baptist and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

PONTIUS PILATE AND THE FAMILY OF HEROD THE GREAT

Rome was represented in Judea by the  procurator (or governor) Pontius Pilate.  Pilate features in the passion narrative as the one who releases Barabbas at the demands of the crowd and has Jesus condemned.

Answerable to Pilate were the various members of the family of Herod the Great. Herod named his sons Herod, which means for us… confusion. When you come across ‘Herod’ in the biblical narrative, it is not always the same Herod.

HEROD THE GREAT was appointed king of Judaea B.C. 40 by the Roman Senate. He was brave and skilled in war, and a shrewd scholar; but also extremely suspicious and cruel. He destroyed the entire royal family of Hasmonaeans, put to death many of the Jews that opposed his government, and killed his wife Marianne and the two sons she had borne him. By these acts of bloodshed, his love and imitation of Roman customs and institutions and by the burdensome taxes imposed upon his subjects, he so alienated the Jews that he was unable to regain their favor, even by his splendid restoration of the temple. He died aged 70, in the 37th year of his reign. In his closing years John the Baptist and Christ were born; Matthew (2:1-14) narrates that he commanded all the male children under two years old in Bethlehem to be slain following the visit of the Magi.

HEROD ANTIPAS was the son of Herod the Great and Malthace, a Samaritan woman. After the death of his father he was appointed by the Romans tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea. His first wife was the daughter of Aretas, King of Arabia; but he subsequently divorced her and took to himself Herodias, the wife of his brother Herod Philip. In consequence Aretas, his father-in-law, made war against him and conquered him. He cast John the Baptist into prison because John rebuked him for his unlawful marriage; and afterwards, at the instigation of Herodias, he ordered John to be beheaded (as we will see in Matthew chapter 14). In consequence of accusations brought against him by Herod Agrippa I, Caligula banished him in A.D. 39 to Gaul, where he is thought to have died.

 HEROD AGRIPPA I was the son of Aristobulus and Berenice, and grandson of Herod the Great. He gained the favor of Caligula and Claudius to such a degree that he gradually obtained the government of all of Palestine, with the title of king. He died at Caesarea, A.D. 44, at the age of 54, in the seventh year of his reign, just after having ordered James the apostle to be slain, and Peter to be cast into prison, according to Acts 12:21.

HEROD AGRIPPA II, SON OF HEROD AGRIPPA I. After his father died when he was just seventeen, he received ,in A.D. 48, from Claudius Caesar the right of appointing the Jewish high priests, together with the care and oversight of the temple at Jerusalem. He is mentioned in Acts 25 and 26. He was the last representative of the Herodian dynasty.

Institutions

There were three institutions that governed peoples lives, the Sanhedrin (we have already briefly mentioned),the synagogue and the temple.

THE SANHEDRIN  were a kind of glorified county authority. They were the governing body of the Jewish population both politically and religiously. They sought to govern through the laws of the Old Testament which were both civil and religious in scope. As we said earlier the chief officer was the High Priest, below him were the chief priests, then came the scribes and finally the lay members. Their authority extended not only Jews in Palestine but throughout the Roman empire. Kind of like the Vatican!

THE SYNAGOGUE  In 586BC the temple had been destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar and the Jews taken into captivity in Babylon. They continued to meet in small groups on the Sabbath to study the scripture and worship God. After their return from exile, even though the temple was eventually rebuilt, they carried on with their weekly meetings in their local communities. Wherever Jewish people were in the Roman empire, they met together around their scriptures.

In Luke 4:16-30 there is a passage that revolves around Jesus reading scripture in His local house of worship. Paul and the other early missionaries typically would begin their work of outreach by speaking in the local synagogue.

THE TEMPLE  The temple at the time of Jesus was a construction modernized by Herod the Great. His 40 year building program, though intended to build his reputation amongst the Jews, was more of a monument to himself than an indication of his devotion to them or their God!

Many gospel events take place in and around the Temple. The Jewish people were required to appear at Jerusalem for several of their important festivals, and Jesus is pictured a number of times preaching to them on such occasions. In AD70 the temple was destroyed by the Romans after a time of Jewish revolt.

Having talked a little about the who, when and wheres of Matthews Gospel we shall next time move onto the text itself, beginning with the begats!

2. Begats and Kings

 

In our previous session we took a look at some of the people and institutions that we will meet in the Gospel of Matthew. We now consider the text itself.  Cole Porter suggested 'When they begin the beguine'. Matthew suggests ‘we begin with the begats!’

Before we read them, consider for a moment Matthew’s gospel as a movie rather than a book. When you go to the cinema, you settle into your seat, the lights dim and often the first thing shown (after all the trailers) is the title followed by the stars names in great big letters.

When you see the names you realize whether or not this an important picture! John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart, Tom Cruise, Kirsten Dunst... so the credits begin to roll. Matthew begins his gospel with a list of credits that includes some of the megastars of Jewish history. Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Josiah... the kind of names that would have his targeted audience of folk with a Jewish background thinking... hmm... this may turn out to be quite a movie! So lets roll the credits... Matthew 1:1-17

Matthew 1:1 An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.  2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, 4 and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of King David.

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah,  7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

 12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.

 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.  (Mat 1:1-17 NRS)

In some cultures, and Palestine at the time of the gospels was no exception , it was very important who your family is. Your family tree said a whole lot about your significance.

Matthew establishes Jesus in a relationship with both Abraham and David. He constructs a family tree that allows for Jesus to be both Messiah and King. From Abraham Israel had inherited its sense of destiny. The promise of a promised land was first delivered to Abraham. It was through the seed (descendant) of Abraham that all peoples of the world would one day be blessed. God entered into a covenant agreement with Abraham that his descendants would be blessed by God.  So Matthews genealogy begins with Abraham.

The next significant figure is David.  God's promise to David was that the Messiah would come through his family line, the ultimate king of Kings would be from the Kingly line of David.

A third significant event in the nations life was that of their exile to Babylon after the fall of Jerusalem.  God s promises to restore remained in effect.

Numbers had a significance to biblical writers. Matthew groups his family trees into 14 generations (14 of course being 2 x 7 and 7 being associated with the 7 days of Creation). So we read in verse 17, ‘14 generations from Abraham to David; 14 generations from David to Exile; 14 generations from exile to the birth of the Messiah.’

If we compare Matthews genealogy to that of Luke we see Luke also groups his family tree into groups of 7, (but in reverse order) beginning with Jesus earthly father Joseph, back to David, back to Abraham, back to Noah and right back to Adam. Matthew writes with a Jewish readership in mind, Luke constructs a history for a more diverse audience.

Matthew is concerned to immediately place Jesus within a historical framework. For the Jews their history also shaped their destiny. It mattered greatly to them not just who they were, but whose they were. The promises of God were passed from generation to generation. So here is Matthew beginning on a promising note; the promises made to Abraham, the promises made to David; the promises made in exile; see now... they are fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

And so the credits have rolled and we move to Act one, Scene One, Take one... the birth of Jesus Christ, a passage that helped launch a thousand Nativity plays!

Matthew 1:18-25.

18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.  19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
 22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25 but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.  (Mat 1:18-25 NRS)

Without this passage (and the complementary accounts in Luke) we would never have the season of Christmas. We may never have had a host of other things too, such as nun’s habits, the celibacy of the priesthood and the veneration of the Virgin Mary... but that's up for debate!

All of which is to say that we are immediately in a controversial area.  Mary is to have a baby through the Holy Spirit, Joseph not being the biological father. There is talk of angels and dreams, of mystery and unfulfilled prophecy. We could get caught up in debating theories of virgin births and looking at alternative interpretations, but rather than follow that road, it is more helpful to ask what else is happening in the text as we have it in Matthew.

Firstly notice the integrity of Joseph. This is a story of a man constantly wrestling with the unbelievable.  We are told he was a man ‘who always did what was right’. We are given a glimpse into his love both for Mary and her child. However bizarre the events appear in the midst of them Joseph remains faithful to his dreams.

Secondly we note the name of the child. Immanuel = God with us; Jesus = Savior. In verse 21 we are told ‘He will save His people from their sin’. There is sense of destiny in the story even before the child is born.

Thirdly, although there is much that is hard to understand in this account its purpose is to direct us the uniqueness of Jesus Christ that was there from the very beginning. His place in the scheme of things is significant, both through His ancestry and the fact that His life is birthed through the action of the God’s Holy Spirit.  He is a son of God like no other. He is a child born to be a King like no other.

As we move to the second chapter of Matthew, although it contains much about wise men and the continuing dreams of Joseph, it is mostly about the actions of King Herod the Great. It as though Matthew, before he starts to introduce us to the radical servant King Jesus Christ would become, wants to give us a picture of everything a King shouldn’t be. Notice how in this passage the events are linked to the Old Testament.

Matthew 2:1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.

 5 They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 6 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.'" 7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage."

 9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

 13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." 14 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called my son."

 16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: 18 "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more."

 19 When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, 20 "Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child's life are dead." 21 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. 23 There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He will be called a Nazarean." (Mat 2:1-23 NRS)

Matthew, the most Jewish of the gospel writers, increases the significance of the birth of Jesus be having Him welcomed by Gentiles and associating Him with their prophetic traditions.  They bring Him gifts that relate to the life He would live, gold, fit for a King, Frankincense, a perfume of worship and Myrrh, a spice related to suffering.  (The significance of the gifts is wonderfully captured in the hymn ‘We Three Kings). Yet this chapter isn’t really about them, but about Herod’s dealing with them.

And even though Joseph is warned in three further dreams to firstly flee to Egypt, secondly to return to Israel and thirdly to move to Nazareth, his dreams revolve around the actions of King Herod and the appointment of his successor in Samaria, Herod Archelus.

We saw in our first session that our Bibles feature a number of characters of the Herod dynasty. The particular one we deal here is the grand-daddy of the bunch, Herod the Great who ruled from 47-4 BC. His power came to him through his father, who was a good friend of Julius Ceaser and secured his sons appointment to Judea. However Herod wasn't the only son. It took much political outmaneuvering and the violent removal of all opposition  before Herod took the throne.

As a King he was both brutal and decisive; punishing and executing enemies, rewarding friends. That was how he came to power, that was how he stayed in power. Staying with movie imagery, if they made a movie about Herod it would probably make the Godfather or the Sopranos look tame!

He would torture his sons friends to discover if they were plotting against him. He had two of his sons executed by strangling them. When his oldest son attempted to poison him, he put him in chains and left him to rot. Then, in his old age, he grew ill with an incurable disease.

It was around about this time that visitors from the East arrive 'asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?' (v2). In characteristic fashion he arranges a secret meeting with them to ascertain how to quell this latest threat to his power.  Under the pretension of wanting to also worship him, he seeks information of the whereabouts of this new King.

In verse 16 we are told that Herod discovers he has been tricked and in a stroke of extreme brutality orders that all of the infant children under two years in the Bethlehem region are to be murdered.  Matthew sees this as an event pictured by the prophets. Verse 18  'Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: 18 "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more."

This act of infanticide was just the tip of the iceberg. Historians tell us that five days before he died Herod had his own son, Antipater executed. Then he called all the leading Jews of the day in his territory to the palace, imprisoned some of them and gave orders they were to be killed the moment he died. Why? He wanted to ensure there would be people mourning, not rejoicing, when death finally came to him.

Knowing of this background we should not be surprised that when Joseph has dreams of Herod they turn out to be nightmares.   Joseph listens to his nightmares and understands them as warning that he is firstly to get out of Bethlehem, and travel to Egypt and eventually to take up residence in Nazareth.  And again Matthew links the whole story into the visions of the prophets, verse 28; 'There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He will be called a Nazarean."'

Before introducing to the King of Kings Matthew paints a picture of what a bad King looks like. And the canvas upon which he paints is that of the prophetic utterances of wise men, both in the land of Israel and in the lands of the Gentiles.

If we were to give a synopsis of tonight's episode for TV Guide maybe it would go something like this...

As a hateful old King is living his last days in the splendors of a marble palace, a child of noble heritage is born in a stable. There, surrounded by the warmth of animals, He enters the life of a poor and humble family. After a series of unprecedented prophetic events the family settles in a small town far from the seat of power. He becomes a carpenter, living and laboring in obscurity for thirty years. We hear little of Him, until one day He wanders down to the Jordan river and encounters a true prophet of His own generation. Tune in two weeks from now for the next amazing episode of... ”According to Matthew”

3. Baptized

“According to Matthew”

A study of the Gospel of Matthew

Part 3: Baptized.

It is AD28. Rumors are spreading through town that one of the Old Testament prophets has returned. It has been 400 years since Malachi, the last of the great prophets of the Old Testament, finished his book by writing 'But before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes, I will send you the prophet Elijah”’ (Malachi 4:5)

Last session we pictured Matthew as a movie. We began with an impressive cast list. We witnessed a child born to be King, in the bosom of a humble family, welcomed by worldly wise men. We saw the terrible dying acts of the despot ruler Herod the Great who was everything a King was not meant to be. Now we are introduced to one who announces that a different kind of Kingdom is ready to dawn. His name is John. We know him as John the Baptist.

Matthew offers us more than just a story. He weaves everything together with prophecies of the Old Testament, even using numbers and symbolic images to present us with a particular theological view of Jesus Christ.

Part of that picture involves John the Baptist. To understand his importance to Matthews story we need to jump forward to a verse that comes a few chapters later; Matthew 11:14. “If you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who was to come”

Matthew suggests that John is the one who fulfills the Elijah role. He is not suggesting John was Elijah re-incarnated. Rather that, returning to Malachi's words, John is the one who has task of announcing that the terrible (which should be interpreted not as terrible as in frightening, but rather terrible as in ‘awesome’) 'Day of the Lord' had arrived. His presence precedes the dawning of the new age!

John's background

The gospel of Luke tells us that John was born into a priestly family. His father, Zecheriah served in the temple. (Luke 1:5ff). As a male of the tribe of Aaron with a religious intent, John may well have trained for the priesthood. Somewhere along the way he felt a call to a very particular kind of ministry.

Some scholars link John with the Essennes desert monastic community. The classical scholar Josephus described the Essennes as the third strand of Jewish spirituality, along with the Pharisees and Saduccees. John certainly seemed to be shaken by the emptiness and ritualism of the religion of his day and may well have sought for a deeper religious experience amongst such a community.

In the text we are simply told that he lived in the wilderness, wearing camel skins and surviving on a diet of locusts and honey. By ‘locusts’ Matthew is most probably referring to the fruit of the Carob tree that is common to the region, rather than the grasshopper like insects associated with the plagues of Egypt. Its large red pods have been used for food for animal and man since prehistoric times. (I’m told locust beans taste a little like chocolate.) They are sometimes called "Saint John’s Bread" because of the connection to the gospel story.

Matthew also links John the Baptists proclamation to the prophecies of Isaiah who spoke of one who would come from out of the wilderness declaring that it was time for people to straighten out their lives because something new was in the air.

Let us look at that text, Matthew 3:1-12

Matthew 3:1 In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming,

² "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."³ This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'" ⁴ Now John wore clothing of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

⁵ Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, ⁶ and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. ⁷ But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Bear fruit worthy of repentance. ⁹ Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ¹⁰ Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹ "I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

¹² His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

John’s message was stern and bold, echoing many of the Old Testament prophets who came before him. He condemns sin and calls the people to holiness and righteousness. Although some of it is more of the same that people had heard before he does strike some new notes.

Firstly there is a sense of urgency. Verse 2 ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near’. John urges the people to hurry. Repentance was something to be done now. No time to lose. This was the hour of salvation. He focuses his listener’s attention not on some distant future, but their immediate situation.

One can not help but reflect that our present day Christianity lacks such an urgent note. Our motto can be; ‘There’s always tomorrow.’ Yet we can’t say that for sure. You can put things off for to long. Tomorrow may be too late. Today is the time to be right with God. God’s Kingdom is always near to us!

Secondly John urges personal responsibility. When he sees the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism he warns them to ‘Bear fruit worthy of repentance’ because ‘Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’

He stresses that religious position was not important. It was ‘walking the talk’ that counted. The only true spiritual path was one that showed itself in a changed life and sprang from an inner, personal commitment to God.

John sees faith not as something that can be inherited, but something to take personal responsibility for. ^“Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.”

There was a movie some years ago that had the title ‘God has no grandchildren’. The premise of the film (made by evangelist Luis Palau and focussing on the spiritual decline of the church in Wales) was that at the end of the day; we all stand equal before God. God only has children, not grandchildren.

Though we may be influenced for good or bad by our parents, they don't determine our salvation. We are not saved or lost by their choices; we are saved or lost by our choices. A person’s religious identity derives from claiming the faith for them self and is not ascribed by birth.

So John warns the religious folk of his day that being part of a great heritage didn’t cut it. As folk belonging to the esteemed and influential tradition of Presbyterianism, the founders of nations and structures that have influenced the course of nations, we would be foolish to assume that the faith of the founding Fathers somehow guarantees our own spiritual destiny. We also need to make the faith our own.

Thirdly, John sees baptism as a sign of preparation rather than initiation. John was not the first to practice baptism. In other religious traditions ‘passing through’ water or being ‘marked by water’ was a way of being received into a religious tradition. John sees the baptism he offers as being a prelude to something greater that was to come. The baptized are urged to repent, in order that nothing will get in the way of their being embraced by God’s coming kingdom. ¹¹ “I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

There is an interesting passage in the book of Acts where Paul in his missionary journeys comes across a group of folk who had been amongst those baptized by John, but whom had not yet heard the Christian gospel. Acts 19:4-5  ^“Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus." ⁵ On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Such wide ranging uses of baptism within scripture has opened the way to the sacrament being practiced in differing ways amongst the Christian churches. Baptists as well as many Evangelical Protestant and Pentecostal traditions still lay great stress on repentance and starting over.

Other tradition’s stress that baptism is a prelude to what is yet to come. Many see it as a form of initiation or new beginnings. Our own tradition takes this latter route. We offer baptism to both children and adults, seeing it as related to covenant theology… and the idea that our salvation is entirely dependant of the grace of God revealed to us in Jesus Christ; who claims all people, young and old, as His own.

What was the reaction to John’s preaching? The crowds came. People wondered if he were the messiah. Word of his ministry even spread to Herod’s palace, particularly when John rebuked him for marrying Herodias, his brothers wife. For such open criticism John is eventually imprisoned and executed.

John was regarded by Jesus as a truly great prophet. We will read later in our story Jesus telling the crowds; ‘Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11). But that is to come. Let us return back to our script as our drama reaches yet another significant milestone… Jesus comes down to the riverside… where John is baptizing:- Matthew 3:13-15 

¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"

¹⁵ But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented.

We know very little of Jesus childhood. For 30 years it is mostly veiled in silence. Although it is probable that His family went to Jerusalem on a number of occasions to participate in the feast days, it is not to Jerusalem that Jesus heads as His ministry begins, but to a meeting with His cousin John. Jesus asks to be baptized.

John objects and tries to talk Him out of it. Different commentators offer us differing interpretations as to why John is so reluctant to baptize Jesus. William Barclay suggests it was because Jesus was a Jew who had fulfilled all the requirements of the law. Others suggest it was because John had known Jesus since childhood and recognized Him as having nothing to repent of. Maybe it was a bit of both.

The link between John’s reluctance and Jesus request is their deep humility. Jesus sees it necessary to humble himself and identify completely with the state of humankind; lost, sinful and needing to change. He starts where we all start our spiritual journeys, recognizing our need for renewal and empowering.

John is humbled that one whom he had the highest admiration for would wish to be ministered to by him. Matthew Henry comments ‘John's modesty thinks this an honor too great for him to receive, and he expresses himself to Jesus, just as his mother had done to Jesus mother Mary in Luke 1:43 ‘And who am I that the mother of my Lord should come and visit me?’

Jesus speaks of His baptism as being necessary to ‘fulfill all righteousness’. Eugene Petersen in the Message captures well the sense of Jesus reply. He pictures Him saying; ‘John, let’s just do it. God's work, putting things right all these centuries, is coming together right now in this baptism."

Barclay writes that ‘This was the very moment for which Jesus had been waiting.’ Because of John’s baptism people were conscious of their need for God as never before. This was Jesus supreme moment of opportunity. In His baptism Jesus identifies himself with all those He came to save.

Let us read of the baptism itself: Matthew 3:16-17

¹⁶ And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."

If ‘According to Matthew’ were a movie, as Jesus comes up out of the water we need to cue the special effects department. The heavens are opened. A voice is heard. The Spirit descends like a dove. This scene is filled with the sort of imagery that the original readers would have associated with the dawn of a new age.

It is also richly Trinitarian. Although the doctrine of the Trinity as an article of faith would not emerge till later centuries, the foundations for such teaching are all here in this passage. God the Father speaks of Jesus as the beloved Son and the Spirit descends. It’s all the action of the One God, everything is related, yet there are three distinct entities involved. Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

We read of the ‘Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on (him) Jesus’. Throughout scripture the dove is invested with rich symbolic meaning.

In the book of Leviticus (1:14) the dove was associated with the burnt offering offered to the priests. The purpose of the burnt offering was a sacrifice to make atonement for the sin of the offerer so they could gain God’s acceptance.

In Johns gospel when John the Baptist describes Jesus to potential disciples he declares; “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’ (John 1:29). We saw previously in the gifts of the Wise Men the unusual gift of Myrrh, a spice associated with death and suffering. So the life of Jesus will be one of service and eventually offering Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.

In the Story of Noah it is a dove carrying an olive branch that returns to Noah bearing news that the floodwaters were at an end. So Jesus will declare that the time for Gods Kingdom of peace to dawn had come. Matthew Henry points out that Spirit does not come as an eagle, which though a royal bird is a bird of prey, but as a dove, a creature of gentleness associated with peace.

There is verse in the Song of Solomon 2: 12 ‘Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.” That God is in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, is a joyful message, which comes to us, as it were upon the wings of a dove.

In the story of creation in Genesis 1 we read: ‘Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” (Gen 1:2). Whilst a dove is not particularly referred to, there is that whole notion of the Spirit descending and creating new life and order. It may be significant that back in chapter 1 Matthew’s genealogy is phrased in terms that can be translated as the ‘Genesis of Jesus’.

And then there are the words that are spoken; "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." They come from within a rich scriptural tradition combining two passages. The first part of the verse comes from Psalm 2:7; “I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father.”

Psalm 2 pictures a mysterious character, the anointed one, who will bring about God’s reign to a chaotic and disorded world. It is to this unidentified character that the words “You are my Son” are addressed.

Isaiah 42:1 reads "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.”

As we see the full quote from Isaiah it has deep meaning, revealing Jesus as being not only one with whom God is well pleased but also as the one on whom God’s Spirit rests and who will bring justice to all the world. Rich imagery and rich words!

One of the characteristics of Matthew’s gospel, and with scripture as a whole, seems to be that the deeper you dig the more there is to see, particularly in the way different scriptures relate to one another. This is all the more remarkable when you consider the different time periods and cultures that gave birth to the words.

Yet every book has its own character and message. And Matthew is no exception. He has in mind to give us a particular picture of Jesus Christ and place His life within a particular framework.

We began with what we earlier described as the genesis of Jesus, a list of ancestors carefully designed to reveal Jesus as intimately related to the destiny of the nation. We explored with Matthew the nature of power and the despotic rule of Herod the Great. We glimpsed the dawn of something new in the birth of Jesus. We have been down to the river and yet more has been revealed. The Kingdom is near.

Next time we’ll leave the cool waters and head with Jesus into the heat of the desert sun and some devilish temptations. Putting it that way sounds like an ad for the Las Vegas tourist board. I make no apologies. If I can tempt you to continue your journey through Matthew, my task has been accomplished.

4. Testing Times

 

“According to Matthew”

A study of the Gospel of Matthew

Part 4: Testing Times

We began our journey into Matthew with the opening credits and witnessed a potentially Oscar winning cast list of descendants. We then witnessed the continuing dreams of Joseph and the arrival of gentile princes to witness the birth of one born to be King of Kings. We were given a glimpse into the darkness of King Herod the Great before journeying down to the banks of the Jordan and witnessing Jesus being baptized by John.

We noted John’s reluctance to baptize Jesus and the revelation that appeared following the baptism. The voice of God declares ‘This is my Son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased”. The Holy Spirit hovers over Him in the likeness of a Dove. We saw how both the proclamation and the symbolism had a background rooted in scripture.

It is time for us now to leave the waters and head into the wilderness. Let us look at the opening verse of chapter 4.

‘Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.’ (Verse 1)

The baptism of Jesus was a spiritual highpoint, both for John and for Jesus. For John it was the revelation that the One whom he had been waiting for had arrived. For Jesus there was a confirmation of His identity as the beloved Son of God and the empowering of the Holy Spirit as He began the work He had been born to accomplish. But as so often happens following a spiritual high, there is a time of testing.

For John that testing came in the form of his arrest and eventual execution. For Jesus it came as the Spirit led Him into the wilderness to prepare for the days that lay ahead of Him. We are also introduced to the character of the devil, the great adversary and opposer of all that Christ will seek to do.

Satan, Lucifer or the Devil as he is known, appears in a number of biblical books. He’s there in the second creation account offering Eve tasty fruit. He lays down a challenge to God in the Book of Job. He and his legions wage war in the Book of Revelation and meet their doom.

In Matthews’s gospel the Devil is pictured as a persuader who seeks to convince Jesus to abandon His mission or take steps that would make it invalid. He hangs around in the shadows. He makes a brief appearance when Peter seeks to dissuade Jesus from facing the Cross. Jesus addresses Peter with the words “Get thee behind me Satan!’ (Matthew 16:23)

The devil in Matthew is not a comical red robed horned cartoon character, but something altogether more sinister. He is a personification of the inner, seductive voice of wrong. He has voice that speaks to our baser instincts and desires and encourages us to act upon them rather than seeking a spiritual path.

The Greek word translated as ‘temptation’ is the word ‘peirazein’. ‘Peirazein’ is better translated as ‘test’ rather ‘temptation’. The object of a temptation is to catch us out but the object of a test is to enable us to make the right choices. In school, when we were given a spelling test it wasn’t designed to make us look stupid but to teach us how to spell correctly. So the ‘tests’ Jesus faces in the wilderness are to help Him clarify His vision as to how His mission will be accomplished.

Let us look at the first of the tests. Verses 2-4

After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' "

Fasting is a spiritual discipline practiced by both religious and secular folk. Some fast to lose weight. Others to concentrate on a particular spiritual discipline such as prayer. Some fast during Lent from a particular food group such as chocolate. Luke tells us that Jesus ate no food, Matthew simply tells us He was hungry.

Hunger is more than just a physical sensation. The atmosphere in the desert would be dry and hot. Jesus is completely alone. The environment itself was bleak. Not only does He fast from food but He is removed from any kind of stimulus.

Matthew likes to use numbers symbolically. The number 40 symbolized a period of probation. The rains of Noah’s flood fell for 40 days and 40 nights. Moses receives the 10 commandments during a period of 40 days and 40 nights he spends on the mountain. When in the wilderness spies are sent out to survey the Promised Land (Numbers 13:25) the spies return after 40 days (and presumably 40 nights). The Israelites roam in the desert for 40 years. Through His 40 days of fasting Jesus prepares to meet the test.

The first test comes as a challenge to His identity. At His baptism a voice has declared Him to be the Son of God. “If you are the Son of God” urges the voice; “tell these stones to become bread”.

During the 40 years they spent in the desert the Israelites survived on manna that fell from heaven. Jesus is challenged to make manna from the rocks of the earth. Such would certainly relieve His physical hunger pains.

Matthew Henry comments “Satan is an adversary no less watchful than spiteful; and the more ingenious he is to take advantage against us, the more industrious we must be to give him none. When he began to be hungry, and that in a wilderness, where there was nothing to be had, then the Devil assaulted him.” Which is a round about way of saying that temptations tend to strike us at our points of greatest weakness.

Yet this testing isn’t really about food or depravation, but about identity. If Jesus were the Son of God, why did He have to go hungry? The voice He had heard, was it for real? Surely turning a little stone into a morsel to chew upon would dispel any doubts that He had. Was such a small act really out bounds? Echoes of the Genesis story and the serpents questioning “Did God really say you shall not eat the fruit” are translated into “Did God really call you a beloved son?”

For many of us we likewise struggle to find our identity within our faith. At our baptism we are marked with water as a sign of our being children of the covenant. In the baptismal service we are claimed as sons and daughters of God. Growing into such an assurance is life-long process.

Though we pray every Sunday, ‘Our Father’ we have those times when we are unsure of both how we relate to God and how God relates to us. Although we seek to depend upon God and live openly before God we are also champions of our own independence and are often troubled that our actions do not well represent the faith we claim to believe in.

When troubles come we hear people declaring they feel abandoned by God. Isn’t God our parent? Shouldn’t the parent be taking care of the child? But not everybody takes that approach. In the Old Testament book of Job we discover a person whose status as a child of God is stretched to the limits, yet he remains faithful and we hear him declare; ^“Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face. (Job 13:15 NIV).

The Devil likes to use the word “If”. “If you are so and so… then do this”. How many times in our own experience have we struggled with the “If” word? Instead of just getting on and doing something we have said, “Well if only I had this or was that or had the other”. How many times do we look back and think “What if?”

Jesus answers all three of the temptations with the phrase "It is written”. In each case the replies He offers come from the Book of Deuteronomy.

To the temptation to turn stones into bread he responds with Deuteronomy 8:3. The full text comes from a passage shortly after the Israelites have entered the land of promise and are bid to remember the gracious provision of their Father God.

It reads ‘He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” (Deuteronomy 8:3)

In the original context the words were an exhortation for the people of Israel to be faithful to the laws of Moses. It was in the law that they found their unique identity as the people of God. For the Christian Church it can be read as an encouragement to find out identity in the revelation of God that we find in the 66 books of the Bible.

God knows we need to eat. There are numerous passages (such as the feeding of the 5000) where the ability of God to meet our needs is clearly displayed. We are positively encouraged to feed the hungry and act justly towards the most needy of our sisters and brothers, for in doing so we are serving Christ. Bread isn’t the issue here! 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

What is at stake is our identity in Jesus Christ as sons and daughters of an awesome God. To place it in a contemporary context our issue isn’t so much a lack of bread as an over-abundance of provision that causes us to forget our reliance upon God. We need to modify the Lords Prayer from saying “Give us our daily bread’ to read ‘Stop giving us so much bread that we forget to thank You for it”.

Our materialistic ways blind us to the need for spiritual growth and cause us to neglect our need for relationship with God. As we forget whose we are we also forget who we are. The first test is a challenge to identity.

The Temptation to Presumption (verses 5-7)

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: " 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' " Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' "

Having failed to rob Jesus of His sense of identity as a Son of God, the Devil turns things around. “So... let’s say you are the Son of God. How is anybody going to know about it? I've got a great idea. Play superman. Show them you can fly! That would be awesome. You know who you are and if you do this everybody will know who you are.”

The temple was built on the top of a great plateau with a sheer drop of 450 foot down into the valley below. The ancient historian Josephus (in his Antiquities) describes it as so very high, that it would make a man's head giddy to look down to the bottom.

Every morning the priest would come out onto the roof of the temple and await the coming of the dawn. When the sun rose the priest would blow the trumpet and summon worshipers to morning prayer. It would indeed be quite sensational if once the worshipers had gathered the priest launched himself out into the unknown and hoards of angels came and bore him up on their wings! 'I believe I can fly...'

You will notice that the devil quotes scripture and becomes the one who says “It is written'. There is nothing in the scripture he quotes that is unreasonable. The temptations end with Jesus being ministered to by angels. There are some incidents in Matthew when Jesus escapes from crowds or triumphs over sticky situations that bore witness to the fact that God was taking care of Him.

The devils use of scripture reminds us that just because somebody can quote the bible chapter and verse that doesn't mean they have good intentions! There are those who will happily attach their personal peeves and prejudices to bible verses that seem to suit their particular causes, be they social, political or financial. And do so for all the wrong reasons!

It cautions us to be careful of the way we handle God's Word. Every verse has a context. Taking verses out of their situations, either their historical or grammatical contexts, opens them up to being misinterpreted. You sometimes hear people saying, as though it ends a debate, 'The Bible says...' Oftentimes you can quietly be thinking to yourself, 'Yes, but the bible also says....'

Which is kind of what happens here. Jesus matches the Devil quote for quote. The quote Jesus gives leaves no room for creating self-inflating fantasies. “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’

There are many reasons why throwing yourself off high buildings is not recommended, not least of them being that it is a very, very, stupid thing to do. However we do well to acknowledge that stupidity and religion can be very comfortable bedfellows. The Church does not always take the side of reason!

We also know that super-human feats and wonders can quickly become yesterday’s thing. A Kingdom founded on sensation mongering would be doomed to failure.

Yet neither of these really get the root of the problem with this temptation. It is an invitation to presumption. It invites us to believe that we can do anything, be anything and get away with anything and that at the end of the day God will smile upon us. It asks us to deny that our actions have consequences. It suggests we should not be content with being followers of Jesus Christ but embrace the notion that we ourselves are gods and that whatever we do with our lives God will look after us.

If we expect that because God has promised never to leave us or forsake us, that we have no obligation to seek to live His way, then we are being presumptuous. If we believe that because God has promised to supply our wants, God should give us whatever we fancy; we are fooling nobody but ourselves.

If we live on the basis that because God has promised to keep us, we can happily flirt with any kind of danger or excess; to quote Matthew Henry 'This is presumption, this is tempting God. ... He is the Lord our God.... We must never promise ourselves any more than God has promised us.”

Before we look at our third temptation I'd ask you to remember that Matthew has been talking in the previous chapters about kingship. He gave us that whole chapter about King Herod the Great as a picture of everything a king wasn't meant to be. And of course everybody knew that whilst Herod may have been big in Judea, compared to Caesar he was just a pawn in the game. Because if you were talking about world domination then really you had to talk about Rome. Judea was a colony. Rome was an empire.

The Third Temptation – Idolatry Verses 8-10;

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’

Matthew has pictured Jesus as the descendant of the David, of the Kingly line, welcomed by worldly Wise Men as being the King of the Jews. But what sort of Kingdom will he rule over? And what kind of King will he be?

The devil takes Him to a very high mountain and lays before Jesus all the splendor of the world, all that was wonderful and fantastic and everything that a person could ever desire. 'And you know what Jesus? All you got to do is one chorus of ‘I did it your way' and I'll give you the lot. Just a little bit of R-E-S-P-E-C-T , that’s what I want you to do for me... is that too much to ask?

The devil’s command challenges Jesus to accept the status quo of the rebellious state of the world, to acknowledge that violence, power, selfishness and practical atheism could win the day, and to go along with the whole show.

Notice this about the final temptation;

• It begins by looking. Just like Eve in the Garden of Eden the fruit looks good and she can't wait to get a bite of it. So as the riches and glories of the best this world can offer are laid before Him the Devil hopes to entice Jesus. Later He would teach that the eye was a gateway to all kinds of evil.
• It focuses on things. We live in an age where many are possessed by their possessions and no matter how much they get it never seems to be enough. Life isn't about stuff. He who has the most toys leaves one heck of a lot of useless junk for his children to clear up when he's gone.
• It ignores the whole. The Devil just offers up all that glitters and is like gold. The striving and fury of human history, the suffering and inequality of life are completely ignored.
• It appeals only to the unthinking. There is no logic involved in this temptation. Nobody can have it all! Those who try usually end up consumed by the task and die lonely. Absolute power absolutely corrupts.

For Jesus this was a test to see if He would compromise on all that He was setting out to achieve. Maybe He could pretend that the human condition wasn't so bad after all. Maybe He could try and bring change in the way it usually came, through might, coercion and short term victories rather than seeing things through the long haul, whatever it cost.

But He knew that you couldn’t change the world by becoming like the world. The last thing the world needed world was another King of the same old- same old!

His rebuttal is terse and direct. “Devil... away. Worship only God!’ The First commandment is sharply contrasted with the ways of the world. Through His actions Jesus declares that there is nothing in life or on earth, nothing that money can buy or power confer, that is more important than living a worshipful life before God.

The tests have been faced and Jesus has passed with shining colors! So we conclude... verse 11;

Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Who were these angels? Of course we'll never know, but it always seem to be the case that when you trust in God and are battling through things that God sends along angels to help you through. You think your alone, but your not. Some complete stranger offers a word... that song comes on the radio... you come across that passage in a favorite book you had never noticed before... God provides angels and we often entertain them unawares.
So; temptations. The big three. Avoid them if you can.
Firstly, the temptation to forget that we are daughters and sons of God. That through the grace of Jesus Christ we are Gods ultimate concern.
Secondly, the temptation to presume upon God's love. There is a God and it isn't ourselves.
Thirdly, the temptation to compromise what we believe in order to gain the illusory pleasures of this world. The temptation to make idols of just about anything! Worship God. That's all.
Of course these tests are ones which come to us in many different guises and forms. Hopefully when we recognize them we can come though them and be the stronger for it!
And next time: Jesus finally gets around to beginning His ministry!