When I say the words “Bible study,” what do you think of? The concept of Bible study is a very broad topic. When you say bible study, you have to define the term to make sure people know what you mean. You could mean a short devotion that you read before you go to work, you could mean joining in with a small group discussion, you could mean attending a church service...or you could mean actually sitting down and studying the Bible yourself, like you would study for a test in school. When I say bible study, I'm talking about actually sitting down and studying the Bible yourself, like you would study for a test in school. Having enough biblical knowledge to pass life’s tests is what matters, when it comes to studying God’s word. Today we will be starting a series that will help us see the Bible for what it is...the Word of God. Christians today tend to ignore the Old Testament. But that is the place we have to start if we are going to defend our faith. You see, Jesus, the Messiah is revealed in the Old Testament. It’s easy for us to say that we live from the New Testament, so we don’t need to study the Old Testament. But looking back and seeing Jesus reflected in the Old Testament gives us more insight to God’s overall message for us. Genesis 1:1 “ In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
We all know the Bible begins with the creation of the universe, but it pivots within the very first verse specifically to the earth. It doesn’t discuss the other planets or physical things in space. Just the earth and what affects it...sun and moon Why is that? God could certainly have given us the information on how/why He made the entire universe and everything in it...visible and invisible. But He didn’t. Why not? The bible turns our attention to one specific bloodline on earth that leads one place...to the Messiah. Jesus, the Messiah and His kingdom are the central theme of the Bible. That is why we see genealogies listed in different books of them bible. The Bible tells the story of God redeeming His creation back to Himself. It’s not a book to learn everything about everything, it’s a book to learn the most important thing...how to be saved and sanctified in the Kingdom of God. 2 Timothy 3:14-17 “14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” The first part of that passage is about salvation and the second part is about sanctification and kingdom living.
The bible is a collection of books written for a specific purpose. So you must understand what its purpose is, so you can use it correctly. It is vital to your eternal future. Again, the Bible is not a book that teaches you everything about everything. For example, you cannot read the Bible to learn about mechanical engineering or aerodynamics. The people designing and building bridges and jets don’t need the Bible for their work, they need something else. So lots of other books are beneficial for this earth, but only the Bible contains everlasting truth. The Bible is sometimes very obvious in its reading and understanding. Things such as salvation by grace through faith and that Jesus is the only way to the Father are clear. But sometimes it is much more subtle as it points to its own authority and inspiration. It was written by 40 different authors over 1,500 years. And despite that, every book of the Bible is pointing the same direction. If you read carefully you can identify the more subtle patterns that reflect the Old Testament into the New Testament. Let’s start by looking at the first book in the New Testament, Matthew. As we begin we have to ask, who was Matthew’s gospel written to? Matthew was written to the Jews, because Matthew was a Jew, and he structured his book to get the attention of the Jews who would read it. When we read it today as Americans, we don’t see the obvious connection that Jews of Matthew’s day would have seen. Let’s take a closer look in order to discover what Matthew was really doing when he wrote his account of Jesus. Here are some of the highlights.
It begins with the part we all skip, a genealogy of Jesus going back to Abraham. Then picks up with His story. Matthew 1:20-21 “20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Jesus was to be born to be a deliverer. Jesus is the one who is to deliver us from the bond of sin and death. Then in chapter two, a king wants to kill babies to try and eliminate Jesus who he saw as a threat to his power. Herod makes a law to kill any male child under the age of two. Matthew 2:16 “16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.” The enemy’s tactics have not changed. He doesn’t mind killing some children to stop God’s kingdom from advancing. Today it looks a little different, because he doesn’t wait till they are born. Abortion has been a death law that satan has used to prevent more of God’s imagers from entering the earth realm. As God’s children, we are a threat to him. Next in Matthew, we read that Joseph is told in a dream to take Jesus to Egypt to avoid death. So, they go to Egypt, later in another dream, he is told to come out of Egypt.
Matthew 2:13-15 “13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, 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 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Matthew 2:19-20 “19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead.” We don’t hear anything about His childhood or teenage years, because chapter three jumps directly to John the Baptist announcing the soon coming arrival of the kingdom. Jesus then comes on the scene, but before He starts His ministry, He is baptized and then immediately, He was led into the wilderness to be tempted. Matthew 3:16-17 “16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 4:1 “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” The last temptation of Satan was to try and get Jesus to worship him.
After the temptation, Jesus starts His ministry and begins to perform miracles. Matthew 4:23-24 “23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them.” Then Jesus goes up a mountain and delivers the sermon on the mount where He gives a new law. Matthew 5:1-2 “Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:” Jesus continues and delivers a powerful new message to the people. It goes on for 3 chapters. It wraps up like this: Matthew 7:28-29 “28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.” It seems odd that before He starts, back in chapter 5 verse 2, it actually mentions that “He opened His mouth.” Some translations like the NIV (nearly inspired version) don’t even have those words. But they are significant. When He spoke, He had authority. He is speaking as God. Later we see that Jesus provides bread for the crowd. We’ve all heard the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000.
Matthew 14:16-20 “16 But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.” When we focus on the miracle itself, although it is powerful, it tends to turn our thoughts to our need of a miracle. I wish Jesus would come fix my problems. The thought is What’s in it for me? But is that the reason Matthew included it in his gospel? At this point, you may be asking yourself, when is Randall going to tell me something that I didn’t already know? That’s a fair question. And one I will answer now. Does this account of Jesus in Matthew remind you of anything from the Old Testament? If you look closely, you will see a striking resemblance and parallels to the Old Testament and the nation of Israel...God’s children. In the old Testament, God sent Israel (his original name was Jacob) to Egypt to save His family from death during a famine. Genesis 46:1-4 “So Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2 And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” 3 Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go
down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. 4 I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph's hand shall close your eyes.” Exodus starts with a family tree genealogy. It gives us the names of the sons of Israel. The heads of the 12 tribes who came to Egypt with Israel to be saved by their brother Joseph. After multiplying quickly in Egypt, Israel is put into slavery. God then sends a deliverer to bring them out. Moses is born. Do you remember what happened when Moses was born? Moses was to be the one to deliver Israel out of the bond of slavery in Egypt. Exodus 1:22 “22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.” Pharaoh was worried that the Israelites were growing too numerous, so he ordered that all the male children that were born should be thrown into the river. The mother of Moses actually followed the order, but she put Moses in a basket first, so he would live. Moses was to be the one to lead Israel out of slavery in Egypt. Exodus 3:9-10 “ 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
After the 10 plagues that God sent to judge the Egyptian gods, Pharaoh releases Israel and they go into the wilderness where they immediately are tempted to go back to serving the Egyptians and their gods. Exodus 14:11-12 “11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” The reason they wanted to go back was because they had the red sea in front of them and the Egyptian army behind them ready to attack. We know what happened next. Exodus 14:16 “16 Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.” After the miracle of the parting of the red sea, other miracles happen. Moses prays and God sends mana for them to eat, he strikes a rock and God sends water from the rock. Then Moses goes up on Mt Sinai, from where God speaks the law to Israel. The 10 Commandments. This was the scene. Exodus 19:17-18 “17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.”
The first verse of chapter 20 says “And God spoke all these words, saying,” It was only after God had spoken the law directly to Israel, that Moses brought the stone tablets down from the mountain with the 10 commandments written down. God spoke His law first. Do you see the reflection of the Old Testament in the New Testament book of Matthew? The birth of the nation of Israel, God’s children and Moses, are a reflection of the birth of Jesus and His ministry. There are some shocking similarities., that reveal how Jesus is the true Israel. Jesus is the way to become a true son of God. Let me recap it quickly. Matthew starts with a genealogy and Exodus starts with a genealogy. Both Israel and Jesus were sent to Egypt to escape death. Israel through a dream of a Joseph and Jesus through a dream of a Joseph. The same way that Pharaoh ordered that the male children be killed when Moses was born, Herod also ordered that all the male children be killed when Jesus was born. Both Pharaoh and Herod were worried because their power was being threatened, so they put death laws in place to keep their control. In Exodus, Moses led God’s children out of slavery. And in Matthew, Jesus led God’s children out of being a slave to sin and death.
In Mathew, Jesus is tempted in the desert to worship Satan and and in Exodus, Israel is tempted to worship foreign gods, instead of the One True God. In Matthew, Jesus performs many miracles, and in Exodus, Moses performs miracles. In Exodus, Moses goes up on the mountain and from there God speaks the law...the 10 commandments. In Matthew, Jesus also goes up on a mount and delivers a new law.
Do you see how Matthew’s original audience, the Jews of his time, would have been shocked to realize that Jesus was revealed as the actual Son of God, by His connection to Exodus? Exodus, the second book in the Old Testament is a parallel to Matthew, the first book in the New Testament. They both point to the Messiah, Jesus and His Kingdom.
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