Southern Christian
University
Matthew, Mark,
Luke, & John
James A. Turner
Class Session Two
Hello, students. When our first class session was up, I
believe we were reading from the gospel of Luke. And, I believe, I stated that we would turn
and read Matthew's account in this class session, and that we plan to do. But first, I would like for us to briefly
review some of the things that we went over in our first class. First, Matthew, Mark and Luke are referred to
as the synoptic gospels, S‑Y‑N‑O‑P‑T‑I‑C,
because they are so much alike.
Frequently, all three writers record about the same events. And sometimes, what they record may seem to
be contradictory of what another one says, but there are no real
contradictions. Each writer wrote from
his own viewpoint, and they are usually easily reconciled.
We also talked about a few things
about each one of the writers, that Matthew is one of the twelve apostles that
Jesus chose, and when Jesus chose him for full‑time ministry, Matthew was
a publican, a tax collector, and he was sitting at the place of toll when Jesus
called him to full‑time ministry.
Immediately he left the place of toll and followed Jesus. Soon after he was called, he gave a great
feast, and invited many publicans and sinners,
and many publicans and sinners attended that feast. So Matthew, very definitely, is an inspired
apostle, and thus in every sense well qualified to write the gospel according
to Matthew. A good probable date for his
book would be about 50 A.D., written especially
for the benefit of the Jewish people when those Jewish Christians were being
persecuted by the unbelieving Jews.
Remember Acts chapter seven, after Stephen was stoned to death, that
those who stoned him laid down their clothes at a young man's feet whose name
was Saul. Then in the eighth chapter, we
read that devout men took Stephen out and buried him, and as for Saul, he made
havoc of the church, committing both men and women to prison, and the disciples
were scattered abroad, and they went everywhere preaching the word. It looks like the hardened Jewish people
continued to persecute those Jewish Christians.
Surely there was a great need for Matthew's gospel. Matthew then wrote, we think, to assure and
comfort and encourage those Jewish believers during that time of
persecution. Matthew uses the Old
Testament Scriptures many times to show that what was done, or what Jesus did
was in fulfillment of those Old Testament prophecies. A good running statement
that he makes is and this came to
pass that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophets. Thus showing that the Old Testament prophets
had prophesied concerning Christ, and what had transpired was in fulfillment of
what the Old Testament prophets had said.
Surely that was very meaningful to those Jewish converts, and, of
course, showing that the New Testament religion is about Christ and his work is
a fulfillment of what the Old Testament prophets had said concerning him. That Christ is the fulfillment of the
promises that God made to Abraham and on down to David.
In regard to Mark, we called
attention to how that we first read about Mark in Acts 12:11-12,
12:25, that when Peter was released from
prison, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were
gathered together praying, Acts 12:12. Paul and Barnabas were at Jerusalem
during the time that Peter was released by the angel, and I guess during that
period when Herod killed James, the brother of John. They had been sent by the church at Antioch
of Syria, the first Gentile church, to carry contributions to the elders of the
church at Jerusalem. When they returned back to Antioch,
they carried John Mark with them (Acts 12:25). And John Mark started with them on that first
journey as they set sail to the isle of Cyprus.
He was with them during that work on the isle of Cyprus,
but then they went up to Perga of
Pamphylia, John Mark left them
and went back home to Jerusalem,
(Acts 13:13). When Paul and Barnabas got ready to go on
that second journey, Barnabas wanted to carry John Mark again, and Paul did not want to carry him because he
had left them on that first journey, and the contention became so sharp that
they separated. Barnabas chose John Mark
and sailed again to the isle of Cyprus,
going in the same direction that they had gone on that first journey. Paul chose Silas, one of the two men that the
church of Jerusalem had sent to tell in person those Gentile Christians at
Antioch that the men did not have to be circumcised, and that they did not have
to keep the law of Moses and just to refrain from the pollution of idols and
fornication and from what is strangled and from blood.
In I Peter 5:13,
Peter speaks of Mark as his son. And in
Colossians 4:10, during that first Roman
imprisonment of two years, Mark was with Paul during that imprisonment,
Colossians 4:10 and also Philemon, verse
twenty‑three. And then during the
second Roman imprisonment, Paul writing to Timothy and telling him ‑‑
I believe he states that only Luke is with me and take Mark and bring him with
you, for he is useful to me in the ministry.
So we have a long period of time there when we do not have anything
recorded about John Mark, after Barnabas took him on that second journey. But, evidently, Mark must have turned out well
on that journey. These other records
show very definitely that he turned out to be a good worker, fellow worker, a
laborer in the kingdom of God. And we have reason to believe that since he
was in the company of Peter and Paul, that he must have had a miraculous
gift. Remember by the laying on of the
apostles' hands, miraculous gifts were given.
The gifts are enumerated in I Corinthians chapter twelve, verses four
through eleven. Either Peter or Paul
could have imparted to him the gift of prophecy, which would have given him
inspired ability to teach. Of course, he
had heard Paul preach many times, and early writers speak to the point that he
pretty well wrote down what he had heard Peter preach. But I believe up and above that that he was
an inspired man, and he wrote the gospel of Mark, which is the shortest of all
the gospel books, only sixteen chapters. And he does not give anything about
the birth of John the Baptist or the birth of Christ, but just moves
immediately in telling about John the Baptist came preaching and then
immediately into the work of Jesus.
Then in regard to Luke, Luke is
the only one who gives details about the birth of John the Baptist and also
several things about the early days of Christ.
Remember he tells about Christ being in the temple when he was twelve
years of age, that neither Matthew or either one of the other gospel writers
tells about, and so we have more from Luke.
His gospel ranks first from the standpoint of telling about Christ,
first giving about the angel appearing to Zecharias, while he was in the temple
during the time of his work in the
temple, according to the order of the course.
We turned back and read from the account in I Chronicles chapters twenty‑three
and twenty‑four about David dividing up the Levites and also then of the
priests in chapter twenty‑four, into twenty‑four courses. And Zecharias was of the course of Abijah,
and I believe he was the eighth course of those twenty‑four courses. So those first three chapters of Luke tell us
a number of things that we are not told about by either of the other gospel
writers. And we have more about the
childhood of Jesus in Luke's gospel than we do in Matthew's gospel.
Then with John's gospel, it is
very different from the other gospels, and I do not believe we will move
further on that today. Let me see some
other things that we went over.
Okay. We will notice today in our
reading that Matthew's account about the virgin birth of Christ is later than
Luke's account. Remember that the angel
Gabriel appeared to Zecharias, while he was burning incense on the incense
altar, and told him that his prayers had been heard and that his wife, Elizabeth would bear a son,
and he was to call his name John, and that he would be filled with the Holy
Spirit from his mother's womb. So John
the Baptist was to be filled with the Holy Spirit and named before he was
conceived. And remember that Luke tells
about the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary before she was with child and told
her that she was going to have a child, and “that
he shall be great and he shall be called the Son of God Most High. And God shall give him the throne of his
Father David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his
kingdom there shall be no end (Luke 1:31-33).”
Mary wanted to know how could that be?
And she says, “how can this
be, seeing that I know not a man”?
Mary was a virgin. She had not
had sex with any man. So she asked the
angel how that would take place. And
Gabriel told her how it would take place, and that which would be conceived in
her would be of the Holy Spirit.
I believe we will just stop from
that brief review and begin reading from Matthew's gospel. Matthew begins by giving the genealogy of
Jesus as traced through Abraham and then David and on down until the birth of
Christ. Let us begin and read his genealogy.
Remember that Matthew's genealogy is very different from Luke's
genealogy, as given in chapter three of Luke.
Luke begins and traces backward all the way back to Adam. “The
book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham, and
there are many, many passages that speak of Jesus as being the son of
David. And it looks like the Jewish
people as a whole recognize that Jesus
was the son of David. Abraham begat Isaac”. Now, do you
remember the promise that God made to Abraham as recorded in Genesis 12:3,
that God called Abraham while he was still uin the Ur of the Chaldees and told
him to leave his country and his kindred and his father's house and go into the
land that I will show thee and I will bless thee and make thy name great and
through thy seed all nations and families of the earth shall be blessed. And that promise meant that Christ would come
of the seed of Abraham. But remember
that not only did the Jewish people come of the seed of Abraham, but many
Gentile people came of the seed of Abraham.
First the son of the handmaiden, Ishmael, and how Abraham was ready for
Ishmael to be his heir.
When Isaac was weaned, they gave
a big feast. And on that occasion, Sarah
saw Ishmael persecuting her son Isaac, and it stirred her up. And she said to Abram, cast out the
handmaiden and her son, for he is not going to inherit with my son. Abraham had had that son for about seventeen
years, and he did not want to cast out the handmaiden and her son. But God told Abraham to do as Sarah had said
for him to do. And that he would make a
great nation of Ishmael. But he said, “but in Isaac shall thy seed be called,”
meaning that the Jewish people would come from the descendants of Isaac and not
through Ishmael. Then after the death of Sarah, Genesis twenty‑five,
Abram married Keturah and had six sons by her, but they did not inherit like
Isaac did. So God’s chosen people, the
Jews, were to be called through Isaac.
And then in regard to Isaac, he and Rebecca had twins, Jacob and
Esau. And God made a choice before they
were born that the Jewish people would be called through Jacob (Genesis 25:21-23;
Romans 9:10-12). Notice here, “Abraham
begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and
Jacob begat Judah, and his brethren; and Judah begat Perez and Zerah of Tamar; and Perez
begat Hezron; and Hezron begat Ram; and Ram begat Amminadab; and Amminadab
bsgat Nahshon; and Nahshon begat Salmon; and Salmon begat Boaz of Rahab; and Boaz begat Obed of Ruth.” So notice here in verse five, two Gentile
women in the genealogy of Christ. Salmon
begat Boaz of Rahab. And Rahab hid the
spies and sent them out another way, and she and her house were saved because
of that (Joshua 2:1-21, 6:22-23). “And Boaz begat Obed of Ruth.” And I am confident you remember from the book
of Ruth about that story. “And Obed begat Jesse; and Jesse begat David
the king. And David begat Solomon of her
that had been the wife of Uriah. Of
course, that's Bathsheba. And Solomon begat Rehoboam; and Rehoboam
begat Abijah; and Abijah begat Asa; and Asa begat and Jehoshaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat begat Uzziah; and
Uzziah begat Jotham, and Jotham begat
Ahaz; and Ahaz begat Hezekiah; and Hezekiah begat; and Manasseh begat Amon;
and Amon begat Josiah; and Josiah begat Jechoniah and his brethren, at the time
of the carrying away to Babylon.”
We read about that carrying away
to Babylon in II Kings chapter
twenty‑four. And that was in 597
B.C. He is called Jehoiachin in that Old
Testament reference, and he is called Jechoniah here. He is called Coniah, which would be the short
of Jechoniah in Jeremiah 22:24-
30. And remember that the prophet
Jeremiah made a prophecy concerning Jechoniah or Coniah, as he is called in
that reference. The Revised Standard
version says “write this man as
childless. A man who shall not prosper
in his days, for none of his seed shall reign on the throne of David in Judah.”
I am not quoting it exactly, but that is the meaning of it. So Jeremiah said that the descendants of
Jechoniah are not going to reign in Judah. In other words, when Jechoniah was carried
into Babylonian captivity at the time of that second carrying away, for all
practical purposes that was the end of the earthly throne of David. Of course, there was that king Zedekiah, that
the Babylonians called him, that was made king.
But he was supposed to have been under the authority of the Babylonian
government. But then he rebelled. And so after eleven years, the Babylonian
forces came back and destroyed the temple and all the great great houses in Jerusalem,
and then there was the third and final carrying away in 586 B.C. Now, on the basis of the reading of the King
James and the American Standard Version, some have concluded that this king did
not have any children. But we see from
the reading here in Matthew 1:12
that he absolutely had children. But
that was marking the end of the earthly throne of David. And in our Acts class, we reviewed about that
throne of David and how that the Old Testament prophets continued to tell that
Christ would be raised up to reign on the throne of David. And I have forgotten right now whether that
was included in your handouts or not. If
it is, be sure and give careful attention to the outline Christ Is Now Reigning
On The Throne Of David. And remember as
promised by the angel Gabriel, “God
shall give him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign over the
house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” The house of Jacob today is the new Israel of
God, made up of Jews and Gentiles who have obeyed the gospel of Christ and
applied the blood of Jesus to save them from sin (Romans 2:28-29).
Now notice that Jechoniah did
have children after he was carried to Babylon,
verse twelve. “And after the carrying away to Babylon, Jechoniah begat Shealtiel; and Shealtiel
begat Zerubbabel; and Zerubbabel begat Abiud.” Now, Zerubbabel would be the grandson of
Jechoniah. And he is the one that led
that first company of Jews back to the land
of Israel. After the fall of Babylon,
Cyrus, the new Persian king, immediately told the Jewish people that all those
that wanted to go back to Jerusalem
could go back. That first company was a
little less than fifty thousand people, including their servants, and they were
led back under the leadership of Zerubbabel,
who was their first governor. In other
words, he was appointed by Cyrus to be the first governor of the people in the land
of Israel, and we learn that from
reading about him in the book of Ezra.
It shows very plainly that Zerubbabel was the one that led them back and
was their first governor. And remember
again the prophecy made by Jeremiah, “write
this man as childless, no more shall a man of his seed prosper, reigning in Judah.”
Well, that is the place that the premillennial preachers like Harold
Lindsey are going to have him to reign, according to Harold Lindsey in his book
entitled, The Late Great Planet Earth.
He talks about how that another temple must be built, and be built on
the same location that the other temples were built on, and the Jewish system
put into operation again including animal sacrifices. And think how ridiculous when one the primary
burdens of the Epistle to the Hebrews was to show them the superiority of
Christ and the New Testament religion over the prophets and angels, through
which the Old Testament law was given.
The writer continues to talk about how that the New Testament law is
superior to the Old Testament law and that the blood of animals could not take
away sin (Hebrews 10:3-4), and how the law was
a shadow of things to come and not the very image of those things. And if the
worshipers back there had “once been
cleansed, that they would have had no remembrance of sin,” speaking of
that day of annual atonement when the high priests went into the most holy
place in the tabernacle and made atonement for himself and for his family and
then for all the people.
They had a day of annual atonement as set forth in
Leviticus chapter sixteen. And thus the New Testament writer says that if the
worshipers had once been cleansed, there would be no remembrance of sin. But they had that system of remembering,
having that day of annual atonement, which came on the tenth day of the seventh
month of the Jewish calendar. Under the
Old Testament law, there was no complete forgiveness of sin. When a person learned that he had sinned,
according to the first five chapters of the book of Leviticus, he was to carry
the animal that the law required to make atonement to the place where the
tabernacle was. And the tabernacle was
at Shiloh, for about three hundred or more years, that
was the first place of worship for the Jewish people. In Deuteronomy chapter twelve, instruction is
given that they could not make their sacrifices for sin anywhere except at the
tabernacle, and then a number of centuries later in the days of Solomon the
temple was built in Jerusalem; and
then Jerusalem was the only place
that they were to keep the three annual feasts.
In Joshua 18:
1 after the initial conquest of Canaan, they set up the
tabernacle at Shiloh.
And so that is the place that God chose as the first place of worship
for the Jewish people. And the people
went there to offer their sacrifices for sins and to keep those three annual
feasts. But let me emphasize that this
is saying that there was a descendant of Jechoniah, and Christ comes of his
seed, that he could not prosper reigning in Judah. So if we did not have another reference, but
Jeremiah 22:24-30 and Matthew 1:12,
they show that the premillennial doctrine that Christ is going to come back to
earth and reign on an earthly throne for a thousand years is a false
doctrine. And give close attention to
the outline if I included it, that Christ Is Now Reigning On The Throne Of
David. Verse thirteen again, “Zerubbabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat
Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor; and Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim;
and Achim begat Eliud; and Eliud begat
Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Mathan; and Mathan begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary,
of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. So
all the generations from Abraham unto David are fourteen generations, and from
David unto the carrying away from Babylon, fourteen generations, and from the
carrying away to Babylon unto the Christ, fourteen
generations.”
Now, it begins and tells about
the angel appearing to Joseph after Mary was with child. And Joseph was about to put her away privily
and not make a public example of her when he was told by the angel of the Lord
in a dream to be not afraid to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is
conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
And remember Luke's account was that Gabriel appeared to her before she
was with child. So verse eighteen, "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on
this wise, when his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came
together as (husband and wife),
she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
And Joseph her husband, being a righteousness man and not willing to
make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily." He did not know why she was with child, and
evidently he thought that she had had sex with some man. But he did not want to make her a public
example and was minded to put her away privily.
"But when he thought on
these things." He was
thinking about what he ought to do about the matter. "Behold,
an angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of
David fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in
her is of the Holy Spirit."
And remember Gabriel said that the Holy Spirit would overshadow her and
the child would be conceived by the Holy Spirit. And Mary was ready to be the handmaiden of
the Lord. But here in Matthew's account,
it would have to be later than Luke's. "And she shall bring forth a son, and
thou shalt call his name Jesus, for it is he that shall save his people from
their sins." Remember John
and Jesus were named before they were even conceived in the womb. "Now
all this has come to pass that it might be fulfilled which is spoken by the
prophet, by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Behold, the virgin shall be
with child and shall bring forth a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel,
which is interpreted God with us."
There are several passages that
speak of Christ as God. And so during
that personal ministry of Christ, God was with the people. The quotation there
is from Isaiah 7:14. There are some problems
with that reference, and I wish we had time to go into some detail about that,
but let us be assured of this one thing, that the inspired writer here is
stating things correctly that Isaiah 7:14 was
referring to the birth of Christ, that a virgin would bring forth a son and his
name was to be called Emmanuel, which is being interpreted God with us. "And
Joseph arose from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and
took unto him his wife: And
knew her not untill she had brought forth a son: And he called his name Jesus." And notice that they did not have sexual
relations. That is the meaning of, “and knew her not until she had brought
forth a son.” And he called his
name Jesus like he had been instructed to do by the angel of the Lord and like
the prophet Gabriel said he was to be called.
Now, you know how the Catholics try to make Mary a perpetual virgin, and
about every year people somewhere supposedly are seeing the virgin Mary. They gather at one place after another, and
about every year they supposedly are seeing the virgin Mary somewhere. And there is absolutely no proper grounds for
them referring to Mary as a perpetual virgin.
Matthew shows very plainly that Joseph and Mary had a number of children
after the birth of Jesus. I am reading
from Matthew chapter thirteen beginning with verse fifty‑four, about the
other children. "And coming into his own country." (Christ).
"He taught them in their
synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man
this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is
not this the carpenter's son? Is not his
mother called Mary? And his brethren,
James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Judas?" So four brothers. "And
his sisters, are they not all with us?" Sisters would have to be at least two,
wouldn't it? So four boys besides Jesus,
five, and two sisters would make seven.
So there would be at least seven in the family of Joseph and Mary. And James the Lord's brother was made an
apostle (I Corinthians 15:5-8; Galatians 1:18-19), and
he is the author of the book of James.
And Judas, that would be another one of the brothers that wrote a New
Testament book entitled Jude. And so
there is no ground whatever for Mary being a perpetual virgin.
Chapter Two,
"Now
Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold,
there came wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of
the Jews? For we have seen the star in
the east, and have come to worship him." Now, remember in Luke's
account that an angel appeared to the shepherds as they were keeping watch over
their flock and told them fear not for this day in the city of David
there is born a Savior who is Christ the Lord. And the sign
that was given to the shepherds was that you will find the babe lying
in a manager wrapped in swaddling clothes.
And they went and found the babe in the manger as the angel had told
them. And then after the angel had
appeared to the shepherds, there appeared a great multitude of the heavenly
hosts singing praises and saying peace on earth, celebrating the birth of
Christ. So Matthew's account looks like
it is about two years later than Luke's account in regard to the child
Jesus. And here wise men come from the east
seeking for the Christ child. "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have
come to worship him." Now,
remember Abraham was in the Ur of
the Chaldees in the land of Mesopotamia
when God called him. Do you suppose that
is where the wise men may have come from?
"And when Herod the king
had heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him." Herod, of course, did not want any rival to be
made king. And he did not know that it
was about a man who would establish a
spiritual kingdom. "And
gathered together all the chief priests and scribes of the people he inquired
of them, where the Christ should be born.
And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea:
For thus it is written through the prophet." And thus it is written, Matthew says, a
number of times in this book that it might be fulfilled by the prophet. "And
thou Bethlehem, land of Judah, art in no wise least among the princes
of Judah:
For out of thee shall come forth a governor, who shall be shepherd of my
people Israel." And notice that the reference is from Micah 5:2,
and so the chief priests and scribes knew the Old Testament reference
concerning Christ. They knew that reference, that Christ was going to be born
in Bethlehem, and so they told king
Herod. Verse seven, "Then Herod, privily called the wise men,
and learned of them exactly what time the star appeared." Now,
Herod then gives a decree that all children under two years of age should be
put to death. So it must have been about
two years prior to their coming to Jerusalem
inquiring before the wise men came to Jerusalem. "Then
Herod, privily called the wise men, learned of them being exactly what time the
star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go out and search out exactly
concerning the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me the word, that
I may also come and worship him."
And, of course, what Herod wanted to do was to kill that child and not
to worship him.
"When
they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in
the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young
child was." Not a babe
wrapped in swaddling clothes, but where the young child was. "And when they saw the star, they
rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And
they came into the house, and saw the young child with Mary his mother." And so they are no longer in a stable, and the
babe is no longer wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger as stated
in Luke. But they are in the house, and
they came into the house and saw the young child with Mary his mother. "And
they fell down, and worshipped him:
And opening their treasures, they offered unto him gifts; gold, and
frankincense, and myrrh." So
they offered him three gifts. I reckon
it is on the basis of those three gifts that still many are trying to dramatize
the birth of Jesus to have three wise men, but the Bible does not say how many
wise men, but they offered three gifts.
"And being warned of God
in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own
country another way." Let me
emphasize again that the Bible makes a distinction between men and angels. And I do not like to hear our brethren speak of angels as just
messengers and leave the impression that men, ordinary men, can be angels.
Hello, students. It is time for us to begin this second part
of this class session. And when our time
was up for the first part of it, we were reading Matthew two and on verse
thirteen. I want to read it again and
emphasize it again. We have already read
that when Joseph was about to put away Mary privily that an angel of the Lord
appeared to him in a dream. Verse
thirteen here reads, "And when
they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a
dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into
Egypt, and be thou there until I tell thee:
For Herod will seek the young child to destroy him." If you have not given careful attention to
various references that are talking about angels, I hope that you will do so,
and that you will see clearly that the Bible makes a distinction between men
and angels. For instance, if an angel is
just a messenger, and he can just be a man carrying God's message as some few
of our brethren are speaking of them, can such a person appear to another
person and tell him something in a dream?
I believe you know the answer to that.
I think we have already mentioned
that an angel can take any form that they need to take to do whatever God wants
them to do. In the ninth chapter of the
book of Daniel, we read about how that Daniel was confessing and praying to
God. He had learned that the time for
Babylonian captivity was to be over, and it looks like that he was expecting
much greater things to be taking place in regard to the people in Jerusalem. So he was confessing his sins and the sins of
the people and making requests to God when the angel Gabriel flew swiftly and
got to Daniel before he had completed his prayer! Do you think the space
Shuttles can fly that fast? And then in
the thirteenth chapter of the book of Judges, we read about an angel of the
Lord appearing to Manoah’s wife, who was barren, and told her that she was
going to bear a son and that she was not to drink any wine or strong drink and
the that child that would be born was to be a Nazarite, from his mother's
womb. Manoah was not present when the
angel appeared to his wife, and he prayed to God that the man might be sent
again. His prayer was answered, and the
man returned, and Manoah questioned him about the child and then he questioned
the angel about himself. I am reading
from Judges chapter thirteen, picking up with verse seventeen. This is after the man returned a second
time. "And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord, What is your
name, so that when your words come true?" In other words, when this child is born, and,
of course, that child was Samson. He was
to deliver the people of Israel
from the Philistines. "Come true we may honor you? And the angel of the Lord said to him, Why do
you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?
He had wanted to prepare a meal for the man, but the angel told
him if he did anything, to make ready a
burnt offering. And so that is what we
are reading about here in verse nineteen.
"So Manoah took a kid
with a cereal offering, and offered it upon the rock to the Lord: To
him who works wonders; and when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar,
the angel of the Lord descended in the flame from the altar, while Manoah and
his wife looked on, and they fell on their faces to the ground. And the angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the
Lord. And Manoah said to his wife." See, if he had just remained in the form of a
man, they would not have known definitely, but when he ascended in the flame of
the sacrifice that was being made, then they knew that he was an angel. "And Manoah said to his wife, We shall
surely die, for we have seen God. But
his wife said to him, If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have
accepted a burnt offering and a cereal offering at our hands, or given us all
these things, nor announced to us such things as these. And the woman bore a son, and called his name
Samson:
And the boy grew, and
the Lord blessed him." And
so he was to deliver the people of Israel
from the Philistines.
Please start giving careful
attention and try to discourage these few brethren, that seemingly want to make
men angels. There is no such thing as a
human being actually being an angel!.
Verse fourteen, "And he
arose, and took the young child,"
and the young child must have been about two years old. Herod had inquired of the wise men exactly
when the star appeared. And they knew
that the child had been born by the appearance of the star. "And
he arose and took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
And was there until the death of Herod:
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord to the prophet,
saying, Out of Egypt did I call my son." And that is from Hosea, chapter eleven and
verse one. "Then
Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceedingly wroth,
and sent forth, and slew all the male children that were in Bethlehem, and in
all the borders thereof from two years old and under." See, he had learned exactly when the star appeared. So the child must have been about two years of age when the wise men came. "According
to the time which he had exactly learned of
the wise men. Then was fulfilled
that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying, the voice was heard
in Rama, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and she
would not be comforted, because they are not." And you see another statement, might be
fulfilled. And then was fulfilled that
was spoken by the prophet, and that is from Jeremiah 31:15.
"But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord
appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, Saying, Arise, and take the young
child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel:
For they are dead that sought the young child's life." This Herod was dead. "And
he arose, and took the young
child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.
But when he heard that Archelas was reigning over Judaea in the room of
his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither:
Being warned of God in a dream, he withdrew into the parts of
Galilee and came and dwelt in the city called Nazareth:
That it might be fulfilled which is spoken through the prophets, that he
should be called a Nazarene." And
remember that Mary was in Nazareth,
when Gabriel appeared to her. And so the
fulfillment of two references. Out of Egypt
did I call my son and that he would be called a Nazarene. And when Philip told Nathanael about
Jesus Nathanael replied, “can any good thing come out of Nazareth,”
and he was told to come and see (John 1:44-51).
Chapter Three,
"In
those days cometh John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, and saying, Repent ye:
For the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
For this is he that was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, The
voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way of the Lord, make
his paths straight." And
that is the reading of Isaiah forty and verse three. I believe we read the three prophecies of the
Old Testament concerning the coming of John the Baptist. Isaiah 40:3
and Malachi 3:1 and Malachi 4:5‑6
are the three Old Testament prophecies concerning the coming and the work of
John the Baptist. Reading from Isaiah
again, Isaiah chapter forty verses three through five, "The voice of one that crieth, Prepare ye in the
wilderness the way of Jehovah, make level in the desert a highway of our
God." And that is the verse
that is quoted. And then verses four and
five, "Every valley shall be
exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low:
And the uneven shall be made level, and the rough places plain: And the glory of Jehovah shall be
revealed, and all flesh shall see it together:
For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it." And, of course, verse five refers to the
coming of Christ, that after John had prepared a way that Christ would come.
Verse four, of course, is figurative and symbolic language that John the
Baptist would make a good way for Christ, and then Christ would come as stated
in verse five. Let us go ahead and look
at those two references in Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, about
John the Baptist. Malachi 3:1,
"Behold, I send my messenger,
and he shall prepare the way before me:
And the Lord, whom ye seek, will come to his temple." And so in 3:1,
both John the Baptist and Christ are spoken of.
"That John would prepare
the way before me:
And the Lord, whom ye seek."
And that is Christ. "Will suddenly come to his temple:
And the messenger of the covenant." Remember God is going to give Christ as a
light and a covenant to the Gentiles in addition to the Jews. "And
a messenger of the covenant, whom ye desire:
Behold, he cometh, saith Jehovah.
And who can abide the day of his coming?" The coming of Christ. "Who
shall stand when he appeareth? For he is
like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:
And he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver:
And he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver." And, again, figurative language about
Christ. And the refining, of course,
would be turning them away from sin and receiving forgiveness of sin through
the cleansing blood of Christ,. He would
be a purifier of the souls of man.
So back to our reading in Matthew
3:4, "The
voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way of the Lord, make
his path straight. For John himself had his raiment of
camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins and his food was locusts
and wild honey." You
remember Jesus later asked a question about that, when John, after he was in
prison, sent some of his disciples to ask Jesus was he the one to come, or do
we look for another? And Jesus told them
to go back and tell John the things that you saw and heard. And blessed is he that is not offended in
me. But then he talked to the people
about John the Baptist and commended him in a very good way. And he said, “What
went you out in the wilderness to see? A
reed shaken in the wind? What went you
out to see? A man clothed in soft
raiment.” Well, they surely did
not go out to see a reed shaken in the wind when they went to hear John. John was a courageous man, and he did not
listen to the voice of what was popular.
But he gave God's message to the people.
And his clothing was camel's hair and a leathern girdle, and his food was locusts and wild honey. So he surely was not clothed in soft
raiment. And now John himself had his
raiment of camel's hair. And in this he
was also in the likeness of the prophet Elijah (II King 1:3-8). And remember, as we have already read from
Luke, why Luke tells us that he was to do the work that had been prophesied,
concerning the coming of Elijah. "John himself had his raiment of
camel's hair and the leathern girdle about his loins, and his food was locusts
and wild honey. And then went out unto
him Jerusalem and all Judaea and all the regions round about. And they were baptized of him in the river Jordan confessing their sins." And I believe I have a question? How can we reconcile this with a statement
made in Luke 7:30, how that the Pharisees and
the lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, not being baptized
of John, when here and also the
parallels in Mark and Luke, it is stated that all the people went and
were baptized of John in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. The word all, of course, is used in a
relative sense. And we still use the
word all too many times today in a relative sense. But there are a few exceptions to it. "Then
went out unto him Jerusalem, and all of Judaea,
and all of the region round about the Jordan, and they were baptizing of him in the
river Jordan, confessing their sins."
If you have not read the outline
entitled Six Baptisms Of The New Testament, I want you to give careful
attention to it. And if you are
preaching, I hope that you will use that lesson. You will
probably need to divide it into two lessons and learn a number of those
references that are given and get up and give in a detailed way about those six
baptisms of the New Testament and how that when Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:4,
“that there is one Lord, one faith,
and one baptism,” that all those baptisms had been fulfilled except the
baptism of fire, and it will be administered in the second advent of
Christ. I can remember the day when a
great number of our brethren would speak of John's baptism as just a baptism of
repentance and that it was not for
remission of sins. But the Bible
plainly teaches that it was for remission of sins. And here in verse six, if there was no
remission of sins, then why the confession of sins? They were baptized with him in the river Jordan,
confessing their sins. And Mark 1:4
and Luke 3:3 plainly states, the KingJames
version that John's baptism was (for), the American Standard (unto) remission
of sins, and the same in Luke 3:3. So two references very definitely say that
for or unto the remission of sins. And
the Greek word there is EIS, the same Greek word that is used in Acts 2:38,
and the same as used in Matthew twenty‑six and twenty‑eight when
Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper. This
is the blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many (for) in the King
James Version and (unto) the American Standard Version the remission of
sins.
Young's Analytical Concordance
gives forty‑three Greek words for the English word that may be translated
as for or unto. It may be that some of
you have heard preachers tell you that in Acts 2:38
that the word there means because of. It
is no such thing according to Young's Analytical Concordance. That word means, “with a view to”, and, of
course, with a view to receiving remission of sins. Now, there is a Greek word
that means because of in Young's Analytical Concordance. It is spelled
G‑A‑L‑A‑L. But you do not have to know Greek to
know that they are using it wrong, it is the same word used in Matthew 26:28. “This
is the blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the
remission of sins.” Did Christ
die because men's sins were already
forgiven or did he die that they might be forgiven?. So John's baptism was from heaven, (Matthew
21:23‑32), It was for remission of sins, (Mark 1:4
and Luke 3:3), and those who rejected it were
left in a lost condition. Luke 7:29‑30
talks about how the people justified God when they received John's baptism, and
the people as a whole received John's baptism.
And further then, verse thirty says the Pharisees and the lawyers
rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of John. So they remained in a lost condition. And that reference needs to be used to teach
how important it is that people believe
and that they repent of their sins and confess the name of Christ before men,
and then they are to be baptized for the remission of their sins. Those who rejected John's baptism remained in
a lost condition!
How can anyone reason properly
that man can be saved today without accepting the baptism of the great
commission that Jesus gave? Remember
after Jesus was raised from the dead, he said to his apostles as recorded in
Mark 16:15‑16 “go ye into all the world, preaching the gospel to the whole
creation. He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved.” So that conjunction is joining two things
of about equal rank together. Men must
believe, of course, talking about that kind of faith that causes a man to do
what the Lord has instructed him to do. “He that believeth not shall be condemned.” Somebody may say, well, it does not say
anything about he that is baptized not will be condemned. Let me give a
parallel sentence, he that eateth his food and digesteth it shall live. He that eateth not shall die. A man surely cannot live who does not eat,
and so the digesteth is not needed. And
remember in John 3:16,
"God so loved the world that he
gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on him shall not perish but
have eternal life. For God sent not his
Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might
be saved. He that believeth on him is
not judged." "He that
believeth not on him is judged already," or condemned, according to
what version you are reading from, "already,
because he had not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God." I believe that is verse eighteen. Now, that reference needs to be emphasized
that a person does not have to go out and publicly state that I am going to
follow the devil. All he has to do is
just refuse to believe on the name of the only begotten Son of God, and he is
doing what the devil wants him to do. He
is going the way of disobedience and he is condemned. Of course, if he repents and then turns and
obeys the Lord, he will be forgiven. But
as long as he stays in that state, he is condemned. And John 3:36
in the American Standard version, “that
he that obeyeth not the Son shall not seelife, but the wrath of God abideth on
him.” So a person who is not
willing to believe and obey Christ cannot be saved.
Matthew 3:7,
"But when he saw many of the
Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said unto them, Ye offspring
of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of
repentance:
And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father:
For I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up
children unto Abraham." Why
does John the Baptist make a statement like that? Think not to say, “we have Abraham to our fathers.” Notice the fact that the Jewish people were
reasoning, why we are the descendants of Abraham, and God gave the promises to
Abraham. And we are his descendants;
therefore, we are a saved people. But
John said, “God is able even of
these stones to raise up children unto
Abraham, and that there is more involved than just being a fleshly Jew!
You have got to obey the Lord. "And even now the axe lieth at the root of
the trees:
every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down,
and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize
you in water unto repentance: But he that cometh after me." (Christ)
"Is mightier than I,
whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He
shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and with fire." So John said Christ will administer two
baptisms. And, of course, Christ also
gave the command of water baptism as given in Matthew's account, Matthew 28:18-20,
all power and authority. One says power
and the other one says authority, the King James and American Standard
Versions. "Is given unto me in
heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore and
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the
Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all things what so ever I have said unto you, and I will be with
you always even unto the end of the world."
As stated here that Christ was to baptize with
the Holy Spirit and with fire. And the
apostles were baptized with the Holy Spirit on that first Pentecost after the
resurrection and ascension of Christ as given in Acts two. And then some years later, when those
gathered at the household of Cornelius were baptized with the Holy Spirit, but
then Peter commanded that they be baptized with water, and, of course, because
water baptism is for remission of sins.
And remember there is more to baptism than it looks like on the
surface. On the surface, baptism is the
likeness of the death, burial and
resurrection of Christ, as set forth in (Romans 6:3-7).
The death burial, and resurrection are the primary facts that a sinner must
know and believe before he can be saved I Corinthians 15:1-4.
Baptism must be preceded by faith (John 8:28;
Hebrews 11:6), repentance (Luke 13:3;
Acts 17:30-31)
and confession (Matthew 10:32;
I Timothy 6:12),
and then baptism puts one into Christ (Galatians 3:26-27;
Romans 6:3-7), and into His church which is
his spiritual body (I Corinthians 12:13;
Ephesians 1:22-23, 4:4).
Christ' blood was shed in his death, and it is at the point of baptism that the
alien sinner applies the blood of Christ.
(Exodus 12:7, 12:13; Ephesians 1:7).
"So he shall baptize you with
the Holy Spirit and in fire."
Notice verse twelve shows that fire baptism is hell fire. "Whose
fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and he
will gather his wheat into the garner; but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable
fire." The way of
threshing grain in that day and time was for them to pile up the barley grain,
or the wheat, or whatever small grain crop that they were harvesting on the
threshing floor, and then an ox pulled
the threshing sled around over the grain to separate the chaff from the
grain. And then when that was done and
the wind was right, they had the fan or shovel, or whatever they used to throw
the grain up with, and the wind would blow the chaff out from the threshing
floor, and the grain would be left on the floor. And that is the illustration here in verse
twelve, "Whose fan is in his
hand, that he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor." Jesus used this illustration to show what
fire baptism is. "He will gather his wheat into the garner." And the wheat would represent the
righteous. The chaff would represent the
ungodly. "But the chaff, he will burn up with unquenchable fire." I am confident that all of you have been
giving attention to some of the large fires that we have been having in a
number of western states and how some of those fires get up in the crowns of
the trees, and then they go up many feet above the crowns of the tree. A few days ago, they were talking about
flames that were a hundred and fifty feet in height and being driven by the
wind and in the crowns of the trees and reached out very far in the direction
of the way the fire was burning. It is
just almost unquenchable when the wind is blowing in the forest where the trees are thick and gets
in the crown of trees like that, but God can send a rain, a downpour, and
handle it in a matter of a little while.
So the only fire that is unquenchable is hell fire. John says that Jesus will burn up the chaff
with unquenchable fire.
And if you do not remember II
Thessalonians one beginning with verse seven, you need to write that down at
the end of verse twelve. In that reference Paul said, “ye that are troubled”, talking about those who were being
persecuted. "When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from
heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that
know not God and obey not the gospel of the Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. Who shall be punished with
everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his
power." And at the same time
that Christ would come with his mighty angels taking vengeance on those who
know not God, have not obeyed the gospel of God, he is coming to be marveled
out in his saints, verse ten of that same reference. And so in the second advent, Christ will come
with his mighty angels, taking vengeance on those who know not God and obey not
the gospel, and he will be coming to reward with eternal salvation his redeemed
people.
"Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John would have hindered him, saying, I
have need to be baptized of thee, and cometh thou to me?" John the Baptist recognizes that Jesus is
superior to him prior to the baptism of Jesus, but he did not know that he was
the Christ to come until he saw the Spirit descending as a dove upon him, as we
are told in the first chapter of the gospel of John. So Jesus went from Galilee
to the Jordan
to be baptized of him. And this has been
used to try to prove that baptism is not necessary, that Jesus did not have any
sins; therefore baptism is not for remission of sins. And some would reason he was just baptized to
show the people that he was in a saved condition, but he had no sins. But the point is that the baptism of John
came while the Old Testament law was in effect and it was from heaven (Matthew
21:23-32).
And people had to receive the baptism of John if they received the
counsel of God, and of course, Jesus also, even though he had no sins, because
baptism had been commanded. And so in
order to keep all the provisions of the law then, he needed to be
baptized. Even though he did not have any sins, baptism was still commanded. "But
John would have hindered him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and
comest thou to me? But Jesus answering
said unto him, Suffer it now: For thus it becometh us to fulfill all
righteousness." Righteousness comes by a person doing as the law of God commands
(Psalms 119:172). And no man is righteous apart from the
keeping of the commands of God. And so
Jesus needed to be baptized to fulfill all righteousness.
"Then
he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was
baptized, went up straightway from the water:
And, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God
descending as a dove, and coming upon him:
And, lo, a voice out of heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son in whom I
am well pleased." So the dove descended on Jesus. “And
Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway from the water.” That implies going down into the water,
doesn't it? And John's baptism, he was
baptizing in the river Jordan.
John 3:23says that on another occasion that “John was baptizing at Enon near to Salim,
because there was much water there”.
So baptism was a burial in water.(Acts 8:36-39; Romans 6:3-5). New Testament baptism is a burial in water
and not sprinkling or pouring.
Chapter Four
Is about Jesus being driven into
the wilderness and after forty days being tempted by Satan. "Then
was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the
devil. And when he had fasted forty days
and forty nights, he was afterward hungered.
And the tempter came and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." And I would like for you to notice that the
Jewish people would have been very well pleased if Jesus had submitted to
every temptation of Satan. They
wanted Jesus to do great signs. And they
were surely ready for him to multiply the loaves and the fishes. And so it would have pleased them well if
Jesus had turned the stones into bread. And notice that Jesus answered using
the Old Testament scriptures. "But he answered and said, It is
written, man shall not live by bread
alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." And that reference is from Deuteronomy
chapter eight and verse three that man does not live by bread alone, but by
every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Man cannot have spiritual life without the
word of God. How much spiritual food are
you eating? Which kind of food are you eating more of, physical or spiritual?
There are books of the Bible, especially the Old Testament, that for all
practical purposes, some members of the church do not know about. And so man
does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the
mouth of God. "Then the devil
taketh him up into the holy city, and he setteth him on the pinnacle of the
temple. And saith unto him, If thou art
the Son of God, cast thyself down: For it is written, He shall give his angels
charge concerning thee." And
that reference is from Psalms 91:11‑12. "And
on their hands shall they bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot
against a stone. Jesus said unto him,
Again it is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." The Jewish people would have been very well
pleased if Jesus had cast himself down from the pinnacle of the temple. “Jesus said unto him, Again it is written." And then the statement is from Deuteronomy 6:16. "Thou
shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God." "Then
the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountains, and showeth him all
the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and he said unto him, All of
these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence,
Satan:
For it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only
shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth
him, and, behold, the angels came and ministered unto him." And don't you know it would have pleased the
Jewish people if Christ had submitted here to the devil's temptation and become
an earthly ruler. That was what they
were expecting him to do.
Remember that even the twelve
apostles were expecting Christ to become an earthly king. When Jesus told those twelve apostles, as
recorded in Acts one and I believe around verse four or five, “John indeed baptized with water, but ye
shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit, not many days hence”. The apostles understood that something great
was going to happen when Jesus told them that, and they said “wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom
to Israel.” Even after all the teachings of Christ to
those twelve apostles, they did not understand.
And we need not get so disappointed when we teach over and over again about something and then find
that some of our brethren, or maybe all of them, did not understand Jesus had taught his apostles for that three‑and‑a‑half‑year
period, and they still thought that he was going to be an earthly king. And remember from John 6:14-15,
after Jesus had multiplied the five loaves and the two fishes and fed the
multitude of five thousand men and by the time you add the women and the
children to the five thousand, you have over ten thousand, and they took up
twelve baskets full. And John tells us ‑‑
and he is the only one of the gospel writers that tell us this, that they were ready to take him by force
and make him an earthly king. But
Jesus knew what they were about to do and fled from their presence. And when Pilate was questioning Jesus about
whether or not he was a king, Jesus said that, “my
kingdom is not of this world. If my
kingdom was of this world, then should my servants fight that I should not be
delivered, but now is my kingdom not from hence (John 18:36).” So Christ did not come to be an earthly king;
if so, he would have let them make him an earthly king. And as stated in John 18:36, “my kingdom is not of this world.” There are still those who teach that old
premillennial doctrine, and they are determined to make Christ an earthly
king! God did not send Christ to earth
to be an earthly king, but he ascended to the Father, “far above all rule, and power, and dominion, and every name
that is named (Ephesians 1:21).”
Hello. We are ready to begin our third part of this
class session. We were reading from
Matthew four. I believe the last verse
we read was 4:11. "Then
the devil leaveth him."
After he had brought all three temptations. Remember that with these three temptations,
he appealed to Jesus through every avenue of temptation. You remember how John says, I John 2:15‑16,
“Love not the world, neither the
things that are in the world. If any man loves the world the love of the Father
is not in him, for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the
lust of the eyes and the pride of life
is not of the Father, but of the world.”
When satan tempted Jesus, he tempted him through all three avenues of
temptation, as set forth here in Matthew four.
This is why Hebrews 4: 15 reads, “For we have not a high priest that can not
be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but was tempted in all points
like as we are, yet without sin.” As we go along, I would like for us to
take time to read some of the parallels from Mark and Luke, the three synoptic
gospels that are very much alike, and notice the differences in their
accounts. Here in Matthew three
beginning with verse thirteen, we have Jesus going to be baptized of John, and
then the temptation. Now, turn and read
Mark's account and look at how much shorter it is.
Turn to Mark one beginning with
verse nine. "And it came to pass in those days, that
Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in the Jordan."
So he does not tell about John telling him I need to be baptized of thee and
comest thou to me, and the reply of Jesus, but he just states that he came from
Nazareth of Galilee to be baptized of John in the Jordan. And notice how brief Mark is about the
temptation of Christ in verse twelve, "And
straightway the Spirit driveth him forth into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days,
tempted of Satan; and he was with wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto
him." So his account is very
different from Matthew’s and Luke’s in that it is very short. But you see that there is no
contradiction. But they all speak of
forty‑day period, and that he was tempted of Satan. But one additional thing here that the others
did not mention was that he was with the wild beasts. The others do say that the angels came and
ministered unto him. I believe both of
them do. Matthew did, and Luke does.
Turn now to Luke the fourth
chapter, and let us read Luke's account beginning with verse one. "And
Jesus being full of the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan." After his baptism. "From the Jordan, and was led in the Spirit into the
wilderness, during forty days being tempted of the devil. And he did eat nothing in those days, and
when they were completed he hungered.
And the devil said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, command this
stone that they become bread. And Jesus answered unto him, It is
written, That man shall not live by bread alone. And he led him up and showed him all the kingdoms
of the world in a moment of time. And
the devil said unto him, to thee will I give all the authority and the glory of
them: For it hath been delivered unto me, and
to whomsoever I will give it. If thou
therefore wilt worship before me, it shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, It is
written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou
serve." So Luke gives a
different order than Matthew, but there is no conflict. "And he led him
to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If
thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:
For it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, to
guard thee:
And on their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy
foot against a stone. And Jesus
answering and said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord
thy God. And when the devil had
completed every temptation, he departed from him for a season. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit
into Galilee:
And there went out concerning him throughout all the region round
about. And he taught in their
synagogues, being glorified of all."
Back now to Matthew chapter four
and verse twelve. "Now when he heard that John was
delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee; leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea." (The sea of Galilee) "In
the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali." That territory was given to those two
tribes. "That
it might be fulfilled which was spoken through
Isaiah the prophet, saying, the land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea." Again, that it might be fulfilled as
spoken of through the prophet.
"The land of Zebulun,
and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the
Gentiles; the people that sat in darkness saw a great light; and to them that
sat in the region and shadow of death to them did light spring up." Meaning that Jesus went to that territory,
and those that sat in darkness, in the way of sin, they saw a great light,
Christ came into their territory. "From that time began Jesus to preach, and
to say, Repent ye:
For the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Now, you would probably think from reading
only Matthew's account that Jesus did not start preaching until after John was
delivered up. But from the gospel of
John, we learn to the contrary that Jesus was teaching before John was put in
prison. But look at verse twelve again. "Now
when he heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee." It would be easy to conclude that from
Matthew’s reading that he did not do any preaching until John was delivered
up. But John's account shows that Jesus
was teaching before John was delivered up.
Matthew does not say that he did not teach any until John was delivered
up, but it just talks about John being delivered up.
Verse seventeen, "From that time began Jesus to preach, and
to say, Repent ye:
For the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two
brethren, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into
the sea:
For they were fishers. And he
saith unto them, Come ye after me, and I
will make you fishers of men." Now, Jesus had had association with
these brethren prior to this time.
Remember from John chapter one that Andrew was one of those two
disciples that followed Jesus when John said to them, behold, the Lamb of God
that taketh away the sins of the
world. One that followed him was Andrew,
and he went and found his brother Peter.
And, of course, the other one was the apostle John himself. And so Jesus had had association with these
disciples prior to this time, but he calls them to full‑time
ministry. "And walking about the sea of Galilee. He saw two brethren, Simon who is called Peter." And Jesus is the one that called him
Peter. "And Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea:
For they were fishermen." They
were not fishers who would just get a few fish for the family, that was their
business of catching fish and selling them for a living. "And
he saith unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and
followed him. And going on from thence,
he saw two other brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a
boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they straightway left the boat and their
father, and followed him."
And, of course, these two brothers also had prior association with
Jesus. And let us see, I do not believe
we will take the time to read the parallels of that.
Verse twenty‑three, "And Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and
healing all manner of disease and all manner of sickness among the people. And the report of him went forth into all Syria." Syria,
of course, is a foreign country, bordering Israel
on the northeast. And so the report goes
forth into all of Syria. "And
they brought unto him all that were sick, holden with divers diseases and
torments, possessed with demons, and epileptic, and palsy; and he healed them." How people can read the many references about
all the healing that Christ and his apostles did, including the raising of the
dead, and then believe that people have
miraculous power to heal the diseases of man today, I do not see how
they can believe such. The people in the
countries around Jerusalem, went to
be healed of their diseases in that slow day of travel and communication. If a man could actually heal, it would go on
CNN and other networks, and in a matter of a short period of time, there would
be people present from about every nation unto heaven. In a few hours there would be millions of
sick people to be healed of their diseases!
"And there followed him
great multitudes from Galilee, and Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judaea, and from beyond the Jordan."
And then chapters five, six and
seven give the long discourse that Jesus gave in teaching the multitudes that
were following him, that is referred to as the Sermon on the Mount. I believe we will wait about reading the
Sermon on the Mount for now and turn now and read some from the gospel of
John. We have already talked about that
John's gospel is very different from the synoptic gospels, and it looks like
John may purposely have put in some things that Matthew, Mark and Luke did not
mention that were very important, and,
further, that John wrote much later than the event of the Roman soldiers making
war against Jerusalem in 70
A.D. We know definitely that those three
books were written before 70 A.D. And
according to early writers, Matthew must have written at an early date, around
50 A.D. Luke had written his gospel account before he wrote the book of
Acts, and it looks like in 62 or 63, he
had completed the book of Acts (Acts 28:30-31). And so Luke probably wrote the gospel account
while Paul was in prison at Caesarea. That would have given him the opportunity to
talk to many eyewitnesses, which he did as given in Luke 1:1‑4. And if so, the time of Luke would have been
about 58 or 59. And according to early writers Mark wrote down the preaching of
Peter and that he wrote to the Gentile people and especially to those in Rome.
So it looks like that the late sixries would be a good probable date for Mark's
gospel.
Then John's gospel was much later, probably in the late 80s or early
90s. John, does not mention the
destruction of Jerusalem in any
way. Surely if he had written before 70
A.D., he would have mentioned that event.
And it looks like he would have mentioned that event, since it was such
a tragic event for the nation of Israel
if he had written soon after that event. John 19:14-16
strongly indicates that John wrote a long time after the destruction of Jerusalem,
when Jewish time had been replaced by Roman time. And I believe we called attention to this
reference in the first class session. There are several points of internal
evidence which strongly indicates that the five books of John were the last
books of the New Testament.
John's gospel account is very
different from the others. It is very
different from the others in the way
that John gives titles and descriptions of Jesus. He describes him and gives titles to him, way
beyond all three of the synoptic writers. For instance here in chapter one,
"Christ is the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him
was not any thing made that hath been made." Verse four, "In him was life; and the life was the light
of the world." So Christ
is the Word. Christ is the light,
meaning spiritual light, and the “life
in him was light.” So Christ is
the word. Christ is the light. And further the Word became flesh and dwelt
among us. We beheld him as the only
begotten of the Father. And I can
remember when I thought those references, only begotten of the Father
referred to the virgin birth of Christ.
But in Acts 13:33, Paul quotes from Psalms 2:7
of the prophecy concerning Christ, “this
day have I begotten thee.” And he
applies it to the resurrection of Christ from the dead. And so then John points out Jesus in verse
twenty‑nine, "Behold the
Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world." And going back to Exodus twelve, the Passover
lamb was a type of the Christ to come as stated by Paul in I Corinthians 5:7,
“for even Christ our Passover hath
been sacrificed for us” Then
again verse thirty‑five, "Again
on the morrow. John was standing with two of his disciples (Andrew and John himself),
and he looked upon Jesus as he walked and saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And they turned and followed him."
In chapter four of John, Jesus
talks to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well about how he could give her living water. And so Jesus is the living water. And in John the sixth chapter, it says “I am the bread of life. Your Father gave you bread in the wilderness,
but I am the true bread that came down out of heaven.” So Christ is the bread of life. They ate the manna in the wilderness and
died. Jesus said, those who eat this
bread shall never die. Further in
chapter ten of John, he is spoken of as the shepherd of the sheep that would
lay down his life for the sheep. “My father loves me, for I lay down my life
for the sheep.” And so Jesus is
the good shepherd. And he is the door
to the sheepfold, also in John chapter ten.
And in John the eleventh chapter, "I
am the resurrection and the life." And John fourteen, "I am the way, the truth and the
light." And so that is
one of the peculiar features of the
gospel of John, referring to Jesus in so many different ways. And remember that the gospel of John actually
does not cover many of the days of the ministry of Christ. I believe I stated
how that chapters thirteen through nineteen of the gospel of John cover only
about one day in the life of Jesus. But
what John does record is very important for all of us. Instead of telling about the virgin birth of
Christ, John begins his gospel by calling attention to the preexistence of
Christ. "That
in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God." And so Jesus is
God. "The same was in the beginning with God." Meaning that he was with God the Father and
with the Holy Spirit. It may be that anti Christ, who were saying that Christ
had not come in the flesh were already doing this evil work when John wrote his
gospel, and that is why he talks about the preexistence of Christ, and that the
Word became flesh. See also I John 2:18,
2:23,
2:26,
4:1-3; and II John 7. "All things were made through him, and
without him was not any thing made that hath been made."
There are a number of references
that speak of Christ doing the actual work of creation. In Hebrews 1:2,
the writer says, “through whom
God also made the worlds.”
And in Colossians one and, I believe, verse eighteen, “he is before all things and in him all
things consist.” And then there
are a number of other references that teach that the actual work of creation
was created by Christ, that God made the worlds through him. So evidently the plan was God's in the
creation of the world, and Christ was the one to carry out the plans of the
actual creation, and the Holy Spirit must have put the finishing touches to
God's creation. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form and void. And darkness was upon the face of the deep,
and God said, let there be light. And
there was light.” And so God, in the beginning, created the heavens and
the earth. The Hebrew word for God
there, I believe they say, is plural.
And I did not get all the verse that I
intended to get. “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face
of the water.” So don't you think
that would be the Holy Spirit that had a part in the creation? And then you get down to verse twenty‑six,
and we know that there is more than one involved. For it says that God said, “let us make man in our image after our likeness.” And then there is a reference, I believe, in
Job that says, “by his Spirit hath
he garnished the heavens.” It
looks like the Holy Spirit must have put the finishing touches to
creation.
We know that is the case in
respect to the gospel scheme of redemption, that it was God's plan. “God so loved the world that he gave his
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have
everlasting life”. But Christ
willingly gave himself to be that sin offering for man, and then the Holy
Spirit came on the apostles and guided them into all truth. So very definitely, in respect to the gospel
scheme of redemption, the Holy Spirit has done that finishing work of guiding
the apostles and other inspired men into
all the truth and giving “them signs
and wonders” to confirm the messages that they gave (Hebrews 2:3-4).
So back to John 1:4,
"In him was life; and the life
was the light of men." In
chapter 8:12
of this book Jesus said, “I am the
light of the world. He that
followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” And so Christ is the light of men. He is the light of spiritual insight. "And
the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not." It shineth in the darkness of the world, men
going the way of sin. "And the darkness apprehended it not. There came a man from God, whose name was
John. The same came for a witness, that
he might bear witness of the Light, that all might believe through him." (Christ)
"He was not the
light." John the Baptist was
not the light, but he came to bear witness of the light. "He
was not the Light, but came that he might bear witness of the Light. There was the true Light, even the light that
lighteth every man coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the
world knew him not. He came unto his
own, and they that were his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them he gave
the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on his
name." And, again, according to that false doctrine of
premillennialism, they say that Christ came to his own, and he had intended to
establish his kingdom, but the Jewish people, as a people, rejected him, so he
did not establish his kingdom. And he
ushered in the church age, and that we're now living in the church age, and the
kingdom is yet to come.
Well, how were the Colossians “translated, out of the kingdom of darkness
into the kingdom of his dear Son,” if the kingdom
of Christ was not present when the
gospel was preached to them, (Colossians 1:13)? Jesus used the word church and kingdom interchangeably in Matthew 16:18-19,
where he said to Peter that, upon this rock, meaning the bedrock of truth, that
Peter had confessed that thou art the Christ of the Son of the living God. “I
will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the
kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shall bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” And so in that reference, Jesus was using the
church and the kingdom interchangeably.
And so Christ established his church, his kingdom. It was fully established on that first
Pentecost after the resurrection and ascension of Christ. "He
came unto his own." And the
Jewish people as a whole rejected Jesus but remember there must have been at
least twenty thousand of Jewish believers in a matter of a short time after the
gospel was first preached on Pentecost.
"He came unto his own,
and they that were his own received him
not." And, again, if Christ
was not able ‑‑ He is God, and
if he was not able to do what he came to do the first time, then what
assurance would we have that he could do what he wanted to do a second
time. That doctrine is ridiculous! "He
came unto his own, and they that were his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he
the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name." Now, believe in a number of passages is
spoken of as meaning everything in respect to a person believing in such a way
that they do everything that the Lord commands them to do in order to be
saved. It is not just an intellectual
faith, as many passages show. And remember in James chapter two, that James
said that the devils believed and trembled.
If just an intellectual faith will save a man, even the devil's will be
saved. "But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to
become children of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the
will of man, but of God." In
other words, a spiritual birth; not a fleshly birth, but a spiritual
birth.
"And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld
his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father,) full of grace and
truth." So the Word became
flesh, and that occurred when Jesus was born of the virgin Mary. John beareth witness of him, and crieth,
saying, “This was he of whom I said,
He that cometh after me is come before me, for he was before me. For of his fullness we all received, and
grace for grace. For the law was given
through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." Now, that does not mean there was not
any grace and truth back under the law of Moses, but such kindness and
such grace as the gift of God for our
salvation. Grace and truth came through
Jesus Christ. "No man hath seen God at any time; the only
begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." And remember again in Hebrews chapter one
where the writer states in the American Standard Version, that “Christ is the brightness of his glory and
the express image of his person.”
I mean, the King James. I keep
getting the King James and the American Standard mixed up. But, anyway, Christ came to show God. Christ has showed the kind of God that God
is. "And
this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent unto him from Jerusalem priests and Levites to ask him, Who art
thou? And he confessed, and denied not;
and he confessed, I am not the Christ.
And they asked him, What then?
Art thou Elijah?" And
remember that reference from Malachi chapter four verses five and six that
Elijah would come before that great and notable day would come, but that
reference was that John would come, and you can see why they ask the question about
Elijah. "And he saith I am not.
Art thou the prophet? And he
answered, no. They said therefore unto
him, Who art thou? That we may give an
answer to them that sent us. What sayest
thou of thyself?" And notice his reply. "He
said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of
the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet.
And they had been sent from the Pharisees." The Pharisees made up their minds very early
that they were against Christ, and they had rejected the baptism of John, and
as a religious group they rejected Christ.
"And they asked him, and
said unto him, Why then baptizeth thou, if thou are not the Christ, neither
Elijah, neither the prophet?"
Now, note that John said, I am
not Elijah, but he did come in the spirit and likeness of the Old Testament
prophet Elijah, and that was the meaning of Malachi, chapter four verses five
and six. John the Baptist would come to
turn the people, which thing he did. "John
answered them, saying, I baptize with water;
in the midst of you, standing one, whom ye know not; even Jesus cometh
after me, the latchet of whose shoe's I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. On the morrow, he seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith,
Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world." Now, remember that Jesus and John the Baptist
were cousins. John the Baptist was about
six months older than Jesus. But John
did not know that Jesus was the Christ until the Spirit descended upon him when
he was baptized. And notice that he
tells us that. Verse thirty, "This is he of whom I said, After me cometh
a man who is become before me: For he was before me. And I knew him not; but that he should be
made manifest to Israel, for this cause came I baptizing with
water." Now, John knew that
the Christ was to be manifest to Israel,
and he knew that that was the purpose of his ministry, but he did not know definitely that Jesus was
the one until the Spirit descended upon
him when he was baptized. Verse thirty‑two,
"John bare witness, saying, I
have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove, out of heaven, and it abode upon
him. And I knew him not:
But he that sent me to baptize in water, he said unto me, Upon
whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and abiding upon him, the same
is he that baptizes in the Holy Spirit." So when Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit
descended as a dove upon him, and then John knew that he was then the Lamb of
God, that he was the Christ that had come to take away the sins of the
world. "I
have seen and have bore witness that this is the Son of God." Now, all of this that you have read here, I
believe I am right in saying that they are all peculiar to the gospel of
John.
"Again
on the morrow John was standing, and two of his
disciples; and he looked upon Jesus as he walked, and saith Behold the
Lamb of God!" In substance,
John is saying follow him, he is the one that is greater than I am. "And
the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. And Jesus turned, and beheld him following,
and saith unto them, What seek ye? And
they saith unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher,)
where abidest thou? He saith to them,
Come and ye shall see. They came therefore and saw where he abode, and they
abode with him that day: It
was about the tenth hour. One of the two
that heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's
brother. He findeth first his own
brother Simon and saith unto him." Notice that John does not speak
of himself in the first person, but you can see by the way he is talking, that
it would have to be him. "Two disciples heard him speak, and
they followed him." And then he says that one of them was
Andrew. "One
of the two that heard John speak, followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's
brother. He findeth first his own
brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is, being
interpreted, Christ."
Evidently, Andrew did not have the ability as a teacher as Peter,
because we do not have any account of him doing much teaching like Peter did,
but notice what he did, he went and found his brother. When you think about personal evangelism,
think of the gospel of John. Andrew went
and found his brother Simon. "And he brought him unto Jesus. And Jesus looked upon him and said, Thou art
Simon the son of John:
thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, Peter." So the Lord changed Simon's name to
Peter. "On the morrow he was minded to go forth into Galilee, and he findeth Philip." And
notice again Philip. "And Jesus saith unto him, Follow me." And Philip goes and findeth his brother
Nathanael. "Now Philip was from Bethsaida of the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip findeth Nathanael, and said unto him,
We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and in the prophets wrote, Jesus
of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And
Nathanael said unto him, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?
Philip saith unto him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and
saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou
me? Jesus answered and said unto him,
Before Philip called thee,
when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the
King of Israel." And I think we would be right in saying that
verse forty‑nine shows that Nathanael was the first one to confess that
Jesus is the Son of God. "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou
art the King of Israel.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee
underneath the fig tree, believest thou?
Thou shalt see greater things than these. And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, Ye shall see the heavens open and the angels of God descending
upon the Son of man." Don't you think verse fifty‑one
will be fulfilled at the second advent of Christ, when he will come with his
holy angels? Our time is up for this
last period of this class session. So we
will plan on beginning and reading some
more in the gospel of John, then back to Matthew, after we have read from John
awhile. Thank you for your good
attention.