Week 7 : Matt. 15:1 - 17:8

Far to the north of Jerusalem, the religious capital of Israel, close to the border of the Holy Land, is Caesarea Philippi. In Jerusalem, the holy city and site of the holy temple, the atmosphere of the old Jewish religion filled every man's thought, leaving no room for Christ, the new King. The Lord purposely took His disciples far away from this place to Caesarea Philippi, to reveal something new concerning Himself and the church, which was mentioned for the first time here.

Jesus began by asking them:

Who do men say that the Son of Man is? And they said, Some, John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. He said to them, But you, who do you say that I am? (Matt. 16:13-15)

This seemingly simple question is the most important question that we can ever be asked - who is the Christ? The disciples showed us that without a heavenly revelation, our view of who Christ is is limited. As a man, Chris was a mystery to that generation, as He is to people today. Surely He is the greatest of the prophets, yet none knew Him as the Son of the living God. Peter then received a revelation from the Father:

And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. And Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in the heavens. (Matt. 16:16-17)

The Christ refers to the One prophesied in the Old Testament and whom His saints through the ages looked for. It refers to the anointed One of God, of His commission, whereas the Son of the Living God speaks of His person. His commission is to accomplish God's eternal purpose through His crucifixion, resurrection, ascension and second coming, whereas His person embodies the Father and consummates in the Spirit for a full expression of the Triune God. The living God is in contrast to the dead religion. The Lord is the embodiment of the living God, having nothing to do with dead religion.

And I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. (Matt. 16:18)

The revelation of Christ is only the first half of the great mystery, which is Christ and the church. Therefore, the Lord needed to reveal the second half of the mystery to Peter, which is the church. This rock refers not only to Christ, but also the revelation concerning Christ that Peter had received. The church is built on Christ and on this revelation concerning Christ.

The Lord's building of His church began on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4, 41-42), yet the prophecy even now has yet to be fulfilled. In the original Greek of the New Testament, the word for church is ekklesia, which means an out-calling. This word is used in reference to a called-out congregation. That the Lord would call it My church indicates that the church is of the Lord, not of any other person or thing; it is not like the Christian denominations, which are denominated according to some person's name (e.g. Lutherans and Wesleyans) or according to some matter (e.g. Baptists and Pentecostalists). Instead, the church that Christ is building is inclusive and non-sectarian. If we see that the church is build on Christ and Christ alone, we will be saved from division.

Week 6 : Matt. 13:8 - 14:36

After His rejection by the Jewish religious leaders (Matt. 12:22-37), His own Galilean countrymen (vv13.53-58), and by the Gentile politicians (vv14.1-13), the Lord Jesus withdrew to a deserted place privately.This indicates that from then on, He would hide Himself in a deserted place, a place without culture, away from the religious, cultured and political circles. He did this by means of a boat (v14:13), implying that He would do this through the church.

In spite of His threefold rejection, there were still many who sought and followed the heavenly King. They did this by leaving their cities; the Lord did not come to them in their cities, but they left them to come to Him in the deserted place. Throughout the centuries, the true followers of Christ have left cultured spheres to follow their heavenly King outside the cultured world.

These followers spent much time in the Lord's presence, with their sick being healed. However as evening fell,

the disciples came to Him, saying, This place is deserted and the hour is already late. Send the crowds away that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves. But Jesus said to them, They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat. (Matt. 14:15-16)

The disciples' concept was that the followers should do something; this is wholly according to the principle of the law. However, the Lord's concept is to give people something to enjoy; this is the principle of grace. Actually, grace is just the Lord Himself coming to us to be our life supply, our enjoyment, and our everything. When we have the Lord, we lack nothing (Psalm 23:1). The Lord intended to show that what His followers need is the proper food to satisfy their hunger. All that they needed was Hs resurrection life, which would satisfy their spiritual hunger, as signified in this miracle. This corresponds with Matt. 6:31-33, where we are told that the kingdom people should not be anxious about what they will eat.

The disciples only had five loaves and two fish between them. John 6:9 tells us that the loaves were barley loaves. Barley, a crop which ripens before the wheat crop, signifies the resurrected Christ (Lev. 23:10); thus barley loaves signify Christ in resurrection as food to us. Both the loaves and the fish are small items, which indicates that Christ came to His followers not as a King to reign over them (which is what the Jews were expecting), but as small pieces of food to feed them.

The Lord took the food, and looking to the heavens, blessed it and broke it. This signifies firstly that the Lord took His Father in the heavenlies as His source, while the breaking of the food shows us that whatever we bring to the Lord must be broken, that it may become a blessing to others. Having broken the food, the Lord gave it to the disciples to distribute to the crowds, indicating that they were not the source of the blessing; they were only the channels by which the Lord's blessing reached the people for their satisfaction.

When everyone had fully satisfied themselves by enjoying the Lord's grace, there were twelve handbaskets full of broken pieces, indicating that not only is the resurrected Christ unlimited and inexhaustible, but that His provision is abundant, more than sufficient to meet all our need.

Week 5 : Matt. 11:2 - 13:7

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered Him, saying, Teacher, we want to see a sign from You. But He answered and said to them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. For just as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. (Matt. 12:38-40)

Of all those who opposed the Lord Jesus during His life on earth, none opposed Him more than the religious establishment, the scribes and Pharisees of Judaism. Matt. 12:1-14 show that while they cared only for religious ordinances and practices, He cared only for His members, firstly by leading His disciples to pick grain to eat on the Sabbath, and then by healing a man with a withered hand, again on the Sabbath, a day on which, according to Jewish ritual, no work was to be done. Jesus did not care for such rituals - if He saw one of His children in need, He went to them to help them.

The climax of their rejection of the very One who had come to save them was their asking for a sign. A sign is a miracle with some spiritual significance. 1 Cor. 1:22 confirms this word that the Jews continually seek for signs. Today, many unbelievers challenge God, saying, "If God is real, why does He not give us a sign, to prove He exists? Then we would believe." They are no different to the stubborn unrepenting unbelieving Jewish religionists who opposed the Lord Jesus in that day.

The Lord's answer was to reveal to the whole universe something further concerning Himself. Jonah was sent by God to preach the gospel of repentance to Nineveh; Jonah feared God, and tried to escape by sea; he was cast into the water, and swallowed by a great fish, which, after three days and nights, spewed him up onto the land near Nineveh, after which Jonah went to the Gentile city and preached the gospel to them, and the Ninevites repented, and were spared God's judgement. Here the Lord, as the greater Jonah, clearly was prophesying concerning His coming death and resurrection, when He would be interred in the earth for three days, before coming forth in resurrection to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles. (Remember, in my previous posting, I covered the matter of the signs of dispensational significance, showing how the Lord would turn from Israel to the Gentiles, before finally returning to Israel at the close of the age).

The Lord then gave them a second sign, the sign of Solomon. King Solomon's two main achievements were to build the temple of God in Jerusalem, and to speak the words of wisdom. As the greater Solomon, Christ is the One who is building the real temple, the church, and speaking the real word of wisdom, the gospel of grace. To Him, the Gentile seekers (signified by the Queen of Sheba) come "from the ends of the earth"

These two signs are interesting because they are seemingly out of sequence; according to history, Solomon preceded Jonah, yet here the Lord deliberately mentions Jonah first. This is because these signs have spiritual significance, which is serious and very meaningful. Jonah is mentioned first because he signifies Christ in His death and burial, while Solomon typifies Christ in His resurrection. Christ must die first before He can be resurrected; then He builds the church and speaks the word of wisdom.

If the Pharisees had taken in the Lord's word, they would have recognised the first sign when He was crucified, buried and resurrected, and they would have repented and believed. Even in His answer to their provoking question, Jesus was merciful, giving them the opportunity to yet receive Him, by giving them such signs. His death and resurrection are the unique sign given to that generation, and they remain the unique sign to this day. The Pharisees, that "evil and adulterous generation" did not care, and they rejected the King-Saviour. From this point on, having been rejected by Israel, the Lord forsook the Jews, and instead turned to the Gentiles.

Week 4 : Matt. 8:18 - 11:1

After delivering the decree of the kingdom's constitution in the "Sermon on the Mount", the Lord performed several miracles (Matt. 8:1-17): healing a leper, a paralysed servant, and His disciple Peter's mother-in-law. Taken on their own, these cases may appear to be simple stories showing His compassion for us, but dig below the surface for a moment, and they take on great dispensational significance.

The first class of people saved by the King to be the people of His kingdom is represented by the leper. Leprosy signifies rebellion and disobedience (e.g. Miriam in Num. 12:1-10 and Naaman in 2 Kings 5:1, 9-14). All fallen human beings have become leprous in the eyes of the Lord, but in His mercy and compassion, He came to save us, even being willing to touch us when no other would. Since the leper worshipped Him and called Him, "Lord", this shows us that the leper signifies more specifically the Jews. The Lord came first to the nation of Israel.

After healing the leper by His touch, He healed the servant of a Roman centurion. The centurion and his servant represent the Gentiles. While the Jews were rebellious and disobedient, the Gentiles are paralysed, dead in function because of their sinfulness. The Lord came first to the Jews, and then to the Gentiles. The believing Jews were saved by His direct touch, while the believing Gentiles are saved through faith in His word. Since the centurion recognised the Lord's authority, he asked only for His healing word, demonstrating such faith that Jesus,

marvelled and said to those who followed, Truly I say to you, With no one in Israel have I found such great faith." (Matt. 8:10)

After bringing full salvation to the Gentiles, the Lord then comes to the third case, represented by Peter's mother-in-law, who was stricken with fever. She represents the Jews living at the end of this age. The Lord will come back again to save them in the house of Israel. Once healed by His direct touch, as was the leper, they will serve Him. Finally, after healing her, He cast out demons and healed many other ill people, in fulfillment of Isaiah 53:4. This healing signifies the power that will be manifested in the millennial kingdom.

So, in isolation, these cases are just examples of miraculous healing, but together, they show in miniature the coming kingdom of the heavens. These cases are reinforced by vv. 9:18-34; the Lord comes first to Israel, represented here by the a ruler of the synagogue and his daughter, to save them with His direct touch (their faith is still insufficient for them to receive their salvation through His word); then to the Gentiles, represented by the woman with a flow of blood, who are again saved by faith (v9:22), and then returns to the house of Israel again, before healing the blind, the dumb and the demon-possessed in the kingdom age.

Week 3 : Matt. 6:1 - 8:17

You then pray in this way: Our Father who is in the heavens, Your name be sanctified; Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on the earth. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
(Matt. 6:9-13)

Probably the most recognisable verses from the Bible are those that make up the so-called Lord's Prayer. Yet these verses aren't prescriptive; Jesus said, "pray in this way", which means that we can take this prayer as a pattern for our prayers, but that we shouldn't simply repeat His words. Most Christians in denominations will recite this prayer at every Sunday morning service, and they may be perfectly sincere in doing so, which is very good; however, there is far more to this pattern of prayer than just the recitation.

Firstly, in verses 9 and 10, we can see the Trinity of the Godhead implied: “Let Your name be sanctified” is mainly related to the Father, “let Your kingdom come” to the Son, and “let Your will be done” to the Spirit. This is being fulfilled in this age, and it will be fulfilled in the coming kingdom age, when the name of God will be excellent in all the earth (Psa. 8:1), the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of Christ (Rev. 11:15), and the will of God will be accomplished.

Verse 9 says, “Our Father Who is in the heavens, let Your name be sanctified.” Today God’s name is not sanctified; rather, it is profaned and made common. Unbelievers may ask, “What is God? Who is God?” People speak about Jesus Christ in the same way that they speak about Plato or Hitler. They make the name of the Lord Jesus common. But we know that the day will come, in the millennium, when the name of God will be sanctified. But, prior to that time, our Father’s name is wholly sanctified in the church life today. We do not call upon the Father or speak the name of the Lord in a common way. Rather, when we say “Father” or “Lord,” we sanctify these holy names. Thus, we need to pray, “O Father, let Your name be sanctified.”

Verse 10 says, “Let Your kingdom come.” Although the kingdom is here in the church life today, the manifestation of the kingdom is yet to come. Thus, we must pray for the coming of the kingdom. This matter of the kingdom is clearly related to God the Son. It then continues, "Let Your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.” Following the rebellion of Satan (Ezek. 28:17; Isa. 14:13-15), the earth fell into the usurping hand of Satan. Thus, the will of God could not be done on earth as in heaven. Hence, God created man with the intention of recovering the earth for Himself (Gen. 1:26-28). After the fall of man, Christ came to bring the heavenly rule to earth so that the earth might be recovered for God’s right, that the will of God might be done on earth as in heaven. This is the purpose of the new King establishing the kingdom of the heavens with His followers. The kingdom people must pray for this until the earth is fully recovered for God’s will in the coming kingdom age.

When the Father’s name is sanctified, the Son’s kingdom has come, and the Spirit’s will is done on earth as in heaven, that will be the time of the manifestation of the kingdom. But we who are in the reality of the kingdom today must pray for these things.

So far, we should pray firstly for God's need; now in verse 11, we may then pray according to our need. When God's need is met, He can then meet our needs. According to verse 11 we are to ask “today” for our “daily bread.” The King does not want His people to worry about tomorrow (v. 34); He only wants us to pray for our needs today. The term “daily bread” indicates living by faith. The kingdom people should not live on what they have stored; rather, by faith they should live on the Father’s daily supply.

We should then also consider our failures before God and our relationships with others. Verse 12 indicates that we must admit and confess that we have shortcomings, mistakes, and wrongdoings. We are in debt to others. Hence, we must ask the Father to forgive us as we forgive others for the Father’s sake.

Verse 13 is interesting. Its purpose is to show us that we are weak, and more particularly, to make us admit that we are weak. If we think that we are strong, we are likely to act independently from the Lord, and do a work not according to His will. Matt. 7:22-23 shows us clearly what the result of that is:

Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, was it not in Your name that we prophesied, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name did many works of power? And then I will declare to them: I never knew you. Depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.

Anything which is done independently from the Lord, even many good things done in His name, is ultimately a work of wood, grass and stubble (1 Cor. 3:12-15), and will eventually be consumed by fire, depriving the owner of their kingdom reward (although not their eternal salvation). Rather, we should say, “Father, I fully realize that I am weak. Please do not bring me into trial. There is no need for You to do that, Father, for I recognize my weakness.” Never say to yourself, “Whatever happens, I am confident I can stand.” If that is your attitude, be prepared to face many trials and temptations, where you will surely fail. Instead, pray that the Father would not bring you into trial, but that He would deliver you from the evil one.

Week 2 : Matt. 4:1 - 5:48

After His baptism by John, His being tempted in the wilderness by the devil, and His beginning of His ministry by calling His disciples and preaching the gospel of the kingdom in Galilee, Jesus took His disciples up a mountain to tell them about the kingdom of the heavens. Although "great crowds followed Him from Galilee and Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan" (Matt. 4:25), only His disciples came up to Him on the mountain (Matt. 5:1).

This means that the "Sermon on the Mount" was only given to His disciples, His believers. It was not given to the Jews of the Old Testament. The Lord described the kingdom of the heavens, a very particular term used only in the gospel of Matthew - the other three gospels refer to the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is God's general reign, from eternity past to eternity future. It includes the patriarchs, the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, the church in the New Testament, the coming millennial kingdom, and the new heaven and new earth with the New Jerusalem in eternity. The kingdom of the heavens, on the other hand, is a section of the kingdom of God, composed of only the church today and the heavenly part of the coming millennial kingdom, just as New South Wales is only a part of the nation of Australia. In the Old Testament times, the kingdom of God was already there, existing with the nation of Israel. However, the New Testament begins with John the Baptist's proclamation:

"Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near" (Matt. 3:2),

revealing that the kingdom of the heavens was actually a person, the very Jesus Christ. (Although note that John only said that the kingdom had drawn near - the kingdom of the heavens did not properly come into existence until the day of Pentecost, when the economical Spirit of God was poured out on the 120 believers (Acts 2:1-4)). Jesus confirmed this when He was questioned by the Pharisees concerning the kingdom:

"...The kingdom of God does not come with observation; Nor will they say, Behold, here it is! or, There! For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." (Luke 17:20-21)

How blind the Pharisees were, to not see that the kingdom of the heavens was standing in the midst of them. This is why the first blessing that the Lord mentions in the so-called Beatitudes is:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens" (Matt. 5:3)

To be poor in spirit means not only to be humble, but also to be emptied in our spirit, not holding on to anything of the old dispensation, being ready to receive the new things, the things of the kingdom of the heavens. Spirit here refers not to the Spirit of God, but the human spirit, the deepest part of our being, the part by which we may contact and receive God. The Pharisees were definitely not poor in spirit; instead they were weighed down and laden with old thoughts and concepts and dead knowledge concerning the Lord and the coming of His kingdom. Oh Lord, make us poor in spirit, so that we can receive the kingdom of the heavens!

Week 1 : Matt. 1:1 - 3:17 (Part 2)

In my previous post, I looked at the genealogy of Jesus Christ. However, I also wanted to touch upon chapter 2, the very familiar Christmas tale of the magi coming to find Jesus. My local shopping centre has had their Christmas decorations up for some weeks now, and there is a very large and prominent nativity scene portrayed. Unfortunately, Christian tradition sometimes uses a little too much creative license in its narrative, and glosses over the intrinsic significance.

The magi received a vision, a star, concerning the birth of the King of the Jews. However, instead of following the vision, they followed their natural thought and concepts, and went to Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish nation - after all, where else would a reasonable person expect to find the King other than the capital city? When they got there, they consulted Herod the king, who asked the priests and scribes. The priests and scribes knew the scriptures, and were able to tell him that the place was Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). This pointed the magi back in the right direction, and they found the star again which led them to the place where Jesus was. I should point out here that the magi did not find Him in a manger in a stable because there was no room at the inn - although the shepherds in Luke found Him there, it would not do to find a King in those circumstances! Instead, Matthew records that they found Him in a house. After this, the magi returned by another route, Joseph fled with Jesus and Mary in fulfillment of the prophecy in Hosea 11:1, and Herod embarked on a campaign of infanticide, in fulfillment of the prophecy in Jer. 31:15.

So far, so familiar to most Christians and even to unbelievers in Western civilizations who get exposed to this on a yearly basis. But what of the intrinsic significance that I alluded to? We may have a vision or a revelation of Christ, but if we follow our natural thought, we will often go in the wrong direction. This wrong direction can have strong negative consequences. To correct ourselves, we need to come to God's Word - the Bible clearly shows us who Jesus is. Living vision always accompanies our reading of the scriptures, and it is the vision that leads us to the very Christ - remember that the prophecy in Micah only named Bethlehem as the place where He was born, but it was the star, the vision, that led the magi to the street and the house where He was. Once we have seen this Christ, our lives are different, and we can no longer travel on the same paths that we travelled before.

It's also interesting to note that although Herod and the priests and the scribes were all made aware by the magi that the King of the Jews had been born, none of them went with the magi to Bethlehem. They had had the scriptures in their possession, they probably knew them by heart, but it was pagans coming from another land who worshipped Him. The Jewish religionists had no heart nor interest for Christ.

Week 1 : Matt. 1:1 - 3:17 (Part 1)

The four Gospels can each be considered a biography of the man Jesus. Each gospel emphasises a particular aspect of His person - Matthew presents Him as the King, the Christ of God prophesied in the Old Testament, who brings the heavens to earth; Mark presents Him as a slave, the Servant of God, labouring faithfully for Him; Luke presents Him as a genuine man, the only proper and normal man who has ever lived - as such a man, He is the Saviour of mankind; and John presents Him as the Son of God, the very God Himself becoming flesh, coming to be life to His people.

The opening of each of the gospels differs according to the aspect that the writer was portraying. A king needs to have his genealogy established, to prove that he is the rightful heir of the throne; so Matthew lists the genealogy of Jesus, starting with Abraham, through David, and ending with Mary. Mark, on the other hand, offers no genealogy - no-one has any interest in the background of a slave. To establish that Jesus was a genuine man, Luke also needed to establish His genealogy, this time starting with Adam and down to Joseph, the husband of Mary. Since John is showing us that Jesus is the eternal God manifested in the flesh, he too has no need to establish a genealogy.

So many believers are uninterested in the genealogies, skipping over chapters full of "so-and-so begat so-and-so, who begat so-and-so", yet even these simple verses are full of significance. For instance, in Matthew's record, of all the antecedents listed, only five are women. Mary, of course was a chaste virgin, but the other four were not so pure - Tamar committed incest, Rahab was a prostitute, Ruth's tribe was the product of incest, and Bathsheba committed adultery - yet each one is specifically mentioned in the genealogy of the King. This shows us that no matter what our original condition, God can still work something marvellous through us, and we can participate in the enjoyment of the birthright of Christ.

Consider the example of Bathsheba. Matthew 1:6 says, "...And David begat Solomon of her who had been the wife of Uriah". Matthew specifically mentions Bathsheba as being another man's wife to emphasise the greatness of David's sin. 2 Samuel 11:2-27 records how King David committed adultery with her, causing her to become pregnant, and then arranged for Uriah to be in the front line of battle. Uriah was killed in action, and David took Bathsheba as his wife. This greatly displeased God, who sent the prophet Nathan to rebuke David. Psalm 51 records David's repentance in reaction to this rebuke:

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from Your presence,
And do not take the Spirit of Your holiness away from me.
Restore to me the gladness of Your salvation,
And sustain me with a willing spirit.

David's repentance issued in God's forgiveness, and as a result, Solomon was born, the one who would build the temple of God in Jerusalem. So this passing reference in Matthew's genealogy to Bathsheba shows us how how our transgressions, followed by our repentance and turning back to God, issue in forgiveness, through which God can continue to bless us.

In the beginning...

"God desires all men to be saved, and to come to the full knowledge of the truth" - 1 Tim. 2:4

Recently, the church in Sydney finished its year-long program of reading through the entire New Testament, including all the footnotes from the Recovery Version. So now we are going to repeat the exercise, except this time taking two years to read through the New Testament.

By taking twice as long, we should have more time to get into the study of the Word, particularly using the Life-Study of the Bible to unlock the riches of God's revelation. I found that it was sometimes quite hard to keep up with the one-year schedule, but so far (less than a week!) it's been much easier.

So for the next two years, I am going to endeavour to be faithful and diligent to study the New Testament, each week blogging about what I enjoyed. Please pray for all the brothers and sisters, that through their labour they would gain not just knowledge of the Lord, but also richer experiences of Him through His Word.