Title Matthew Panorama
Contents
Matthew Panorama
Subject : Birth of Jesus Christ, Descendant of Abraham and David
The Gospel of Matthew begins with a genealogy at the outset, saying, "The world of Jesus Christ, the son of Abraham and David" (1:1). This is an important proposition that reveals the theme and purpose of the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew wrote the Gospel for a clear purpose. The purpose is to prove that "Jesus" of Nazareth is the "Christ" that God promised to Abraham and David. That is why it is not simply saying “Jesus, the son of Abraham and David,” but “the world of Jesus Christ.”
If you take note of the genealogy in Chapter 1, it says, “From Abraham (2) to David (6), from David to the Babylonian captivity, and out of the captivity Jesus was born, who is called the Christ” (16), and presents it in three parts, 14 generations each. you see what you're doing. The intention for doing this is clear. It is to highlight “Abraham, David, and Jesus” through the genealogy. Abraham and David are two great peaks towering over the mountain range of the history of redemption. This is to show that this mountain range extends down to "Jesus who is called Christ." God made a covenant with Abraham, "In your seed all peoples under the earth will be blessed" (Genesis 22:18), and to David, "Your throne shall be established forever" (2 Samuel 7:16), Jesus It is to prove that you have accomplished it through Christ.
Here is an important point to understand the pulse of the history of redemption. How were the Old Testament saints saved? From Abraham to David, we were saved in the covenant established with Abraham, and from David to the coming of Christ we were saved in the Davidic covenant. If you claim that you have been saved through some other means, you consider the death of Christ in vain. Because there is a way to "salvation" and you don't have to die. If you ask how we were saved from Adam to Abraham, we can say that we were saved in the "original gospel." As such, the genealogy of Chapter 1 has an important meaning.
But another thing to notice is that "this to Babylon" (1:11-12), that is, the period of captivity, is taken as a turning point. This is to prove that God's covenant and David's throne have been succeeded without being cut off or interrupted even during the captivity period.
Therefore, the main character of the Old Testament is Christ, and the purpose of the writing of the Old Testament is to draw a blueprint for Christ in “many parts and forms” (Heb 1:1). Only then can we prove that “Jesus of Nazareth” is the Christ by listening to the written word (the Bible). It should be clear to the point. The prophets are unanimously promising a return, or restoration, from captivity. However, this restoration is not all about “returning” from Babylon. It overlaps with the expulsion from Eden, that is, the return from Satan's slavery. “I will take you out of the nations, I will gather you from among the nations, and bring you to your homeland, and I will sprinkle you with clean water and you will be purified. And He says that He will put “a new spirit, a new heart, and my Spirit” (Ezekiel 36:24-27) in you. This reveals the overlapping picture of the return from Babylon and the return of the captivity through Jesus Christ. Therefore, in this book, 12 times (1:22, 2: 2:22), it is argued that “all these things took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophets” (Matthew 1:22), that is, the fulfillment of the Old Testament. 5, 17, 23, 3:3, 4:14, 8:17, 12:17, 13:35, 21:4, 26:56, 27:9).
who do you say i am
Therefore, what we should not miss in the Gospel is the Lord's footsteps going up to "Jerusalem." and heart. The Lord, “who began to teach his disciples that they must go up to Jerusalem, suffer many things, and be killed, and be raised on the third day,” has been on his way to Jerusalem with a wretched heart. “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man has been delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they decide to kill him; and they will hand him over to the Gentiles, to humiliate him, to whip him and to crucify him, and on the third day he will rise.” (20:18- 19) and repeats it. The Gospel of Luke says, "When the promise of Jesus' ascension (death and resurrection) was fulfilled, he was determined to go up to Jerusalem" (Luke 9:51). The reason why this is so important is because the many lessons he gave while going up to Jerusalem can only be properly understood by looking at it in this context and with the heart of the Lord.
Preaching that deconstructs the gospel
In the Gospels, the works of the Lord, his teachings, and his miracles appear. If you treat this piecemeal, you will deviate from the purpose and theme of the Gospels. "Who is Jesus? Why did he have to come?" Only when we testify on the basis of the structure we need to believe in, we can make the theme stand out and create unity in witnessing to Christ as our Redeemer.
Herein lies the illusion and confusion. If he preaches the Gospel and forgets this composition and unity, he is not preaching the "Gospel". Because the Gospel is a piece of testimony (sermon) that testifies that the Lord died and rose again, beginning with the birth of the Lord. But if you treat it like a piece of shattered glass, it is disguised as "lessons, blessings, and miracles" rather than the gospel. Therefore, the Bible is a line, not a collection of points. Today's sermons do not view the Bible as the history of redemption, but approach it from a didactic point of view, resulting in dismantling the gospel.
In this context, the wonders and miracles in the Gospels and the miracles and miracles in the book of Acts are completely different in meaning. If the miracles in the Gospels were a sign to show who “Jesus” was, the miracles in Acts were the signs that “Jesus,” who was crucified and killed, was raised from the dead. After raising the lame at birth, Peter said, “You killed the Lord of life, but God raised him from the dead, and we are witnesses of these things. did” (Acts 3:15-16). That is why they say, “Because they hated the challenge of the resurrection, they arrested them” (Acts 4:2-3).
spiritual exodus
Also, the Gospel of Matthew interprets the Lord's work as a spiritual exodus from Egypt. It says that the baby Jesus went down to Egypt to escape Herod's conspiracy, "to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet, 'Out of Egypt I have called my son'" (2:15). This is a quotation from Hosea 11:1, which refers to the exodus of the Old Testament church from Egypt. However, Matthew associates Jesus with the spiritual Moses, and Herod who wants to kill the baby Jesus with Pharaoh who wants to kill the baby Moses, and connects the Lord's return from exile to Egypt with the Exodus. While this is a huge leap forward, it cannot but be called an amazing inspiration. This logic is possible because we do not see the Lord as an individual, but as the head and representative of the New Testament church. That's right. The Gospel is the spiritual exodus from Egypt, clearly revealed in the fact that the Lord became the Passover lamb.
This is also reflected in the arrangement of the Sermon on the Mount. "Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and a great crowd followed from across the Jordan. When Jesus saw the crowd, he went up to the mountain and sat down; and his disciples came to him, and he opened his mouth and taught, saying," (4:25-5:2). It reminds us of the scene where the Ten Commandments were spoken on Mount Sinai after the Israelites were called out of Egypt. The Lord accomplished the crossing of the Jordan by being baptized in the Jordan River, and by being led by the Holy Spirit and being tempted for 40 days in the "wilderness", He fulfilled the 40 years of wilderness life. Jesus Christ is the spiritual Joshua (Jesus) who will lead God's people to Canaan.
“Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the world,” he promises.