- The Bible
gives us four accounts
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of the life and times of Jesus.
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And each one of
those accounts was written
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for a very distinct purpose
and a very distinct audience.
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Today, we're gonna look at
just one of those narratives,
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an account written by a man
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that most people didn't
have the time of day for.
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[gentle upbeat music]
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Today, I'm gonna be presenting
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the second part of
a brand new series.
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So if you missed episode one,
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you might wanna go
back and listen to it
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because it sets the stage
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for what we're going
to look at right now.
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We've been talking about
the four gospels: Matthew, Mark,
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Luke, and John, and
why they're so important
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and why they're
structured the way they are.
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And I think the context is
really gonna prove important.
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I'm starting with
the Book of Matthew,
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but only because it comes first
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in the pages of
the New Testament.
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It certainly wasn't the first
of the gospels to be written
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because that honor
goes to the Gospel of Mark.
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But I still believe that Matthew
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has been placed
before Mark in your Bible
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for an important
and strategic reason.
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Chances are, it was
written about 85 AD,
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more than 50 years
after the Ministry of Christ.
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And it was written by
a former tax collector
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named Matthew
Levi, who appears to be
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primarily writing to
people who are new believers
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in order to confirm
them in their faith.
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In fact, historical records
show that the earliest church
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actually used this gospel
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as a sort of training
manual for new Christians,
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showing them what it means
to live the Christian life.
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And I guess the reason
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it worked so well
as a training manual
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is because it
puts a lot of effort
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into telling us what Jesus said,
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and then it shows
us what Jesus did.
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You find five main discourses
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or sermons from
Jesus in this gospel.
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And you find descriptions
of the deeds of Christ
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scattered in
between those sermons.
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So, in other words,
it's teaching us about Jesus
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by alternating
between word and deed,
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which gives the reader some idea
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of how to apply the
teachings of Christ.
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And while this
gospel is suitable reading
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for any kind of audience,
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Matthew appears to
be addressing people
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who have a Jewish background,
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not exclusively, but primarily.
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And that's what
makes its placement
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in the New
Testament so important.
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It comes before the other three,
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and it's a story that begins
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after 400 years
of silence from God.
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For 400 years, there
had not been a prophet,
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and there were no writings to
add to the canon of scripture.
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And what I find
really interesting
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is the fact
that the Jewish Bible
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does not have the same
order of books that we have
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in our
westernized Old Testament.
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It's all the
same books, of course.
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But where our Old Testament
ends with the Book of Malachi,
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the Hebrew Bible ends with
the Book of Second Chronicles.
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And the very last thing you read
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in the Book of Second Chronicles
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is the story of
these wicked kings of Judah
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who reigned right
before the Babylonians
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came to destroy the city
and leave the temple in ruins.
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It tells us that King
Jehoiakim, and I quote,
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"Did evil in the
sight of the Lord."
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So Nebuchadnezzar was allowed
to come and take him prisoner.
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Then his son Jehoiakin
with an N, took his place,
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and he was just as evil,
so he was taken prisoner too,
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at which point the Babylonians
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installed Zedekiah
as the king of Judah,
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and that was the
end of the story.
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Now Zedekiah was as
bad as the rest of them.
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So the Babylonian
hordes came one last time
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and took the people
of Judah to Babylon,
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where they were
captives for 70 long years.
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Now the point of
the story is this.
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These kings were
said to be abominations.
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That's the word the Bible uses.
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And so, because of
their abominations,
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the temple was
completely destroyed,
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or it was made desolate.
00:04:09.24\00:04:11.48
So what we have is an
abomination of desolation,
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a phrase that shows up
in the teachings of Jesus
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over in Matthew 24.
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And here's what he says there.
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"Therefore, when you see
the abomination of desolation,
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spoken of by Daniel the prophet,
standing in the holy place,
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whoever reads
let him understand,
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then let those who are in
Judea flee to the mountains."
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What Jesus is doing is
predicting the next time
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the temple will be
completely destroyed,
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which, of course, happens
under the Romans in AD 70.
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And to this day, the
temple has never been replaced.
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So the original order
of the Old Testament books
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ends with the first
destruction of the temple,
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followed by a
really brief description
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of the Persian King Cyrus,
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who liberated the
Jews after 70 years
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and gave them permission
to return to Jerusalem
00:05:03.60\00:05:06.40
to rebuild the
city and the temple.
00:05:06.40\00:05:08.97
Now Cyrus was a really big
personality in ancient history.
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He's a key player in
the story of the Bible,
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but this story that you find
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at the end of the
original Old Testament
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only gives Cyrus
a few short lines.
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It kind of skips past 70
years of Babylonian captivity
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and announces that
Cyrus was told by God
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to rebuild the temple.
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And it doesn't even tell us
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that the temple was
eventually completed.
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In other words,
the Old Testament
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ends with a bit
of a cliffhanger,
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which is really,
really important.
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And what's interesting about it
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is the way that the
rest of the Old Testament
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makes Cyrus out to be
a messianic character,
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basically a
forerunner of Christ.
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Isaiah chapter 45
calls him God's anointed,
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which is mashiach in
Hebrew or literally messiah.
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He's a king that
comes from the east
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to liberate God's people
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and restore them
to the Promised Land,
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which is exactly what you find
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in the prophecies of
the Second Coming of Christ.
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In fact, there's a
cryptic message in the Book of
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Revelation that deals
with the battle of Armageddon.
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In a passage that
we kind of mangled
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during the latter
half of the 20th century,
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where we came to the point
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where its original
meaning was thoroughly obscured.
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We've ruined our
understanding of it.
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You find it in Revelation
16, where it says this.
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"Then the sixth
angel poured out his bowl
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on the great river Euphrates,
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and its water was
dried up so that the way
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of the kings from the
east might be prepared."
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Now, I've seen all kinds
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of modern
interpretations of this verse,
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but most of
those are a distortion
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of what John originally meant.
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Some modern books will tell
you that this army from the east
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is probably gonna be from China.
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But most people forget
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that two-thirds of the language
in the book of Revelation
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is actually borrowed
from the Old Testament.
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And if you want to understand
what John is telling us,
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well, you have to
read the whole Bible.
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In fact, if I only had one point
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to make on this show, it's that.
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Read the whole Bible.
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Cyrus was a king from the east,
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and he conquered
the city of Babylon
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by diverting the Euphrates River
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to create a path for his
army under the city wall.
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John is clearly alluding
to Cyrus, a liberating king,
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and he's using that
story to point forward
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to the return of Jesus,
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the ultimate King
who comes from the east.
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And it's no small coincidence
that Matthew makes the effort
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to include this statement
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that you find in
Matthew chapter 24.
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Jesus says, "For as
lightning comes from the east
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and flashes to the west,
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so also will the
coming of the Son of Man be."
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So the Old
Testament ends with Cyrus,
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this messianic king, and
a promise of restoration,
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and then you get 400
years of prophetic silence.
00:07:58.57\00:08:02.38
And then you get
the gospel of Matthew,
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which opens with
these astonishing words.
00:08:04.68\00:08:08.55
It says, "The book of the
genealogy of Jesus Christ,
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the Son of David,
the Son of Abraham."
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Now that
doesn't seem astonishing
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until you
understand the context.
00:08:19.76\00:08:22.36
When Matthew says that
Jesus is the son of David,
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he's telling us that Jesus
is the long awaited Messiah
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because that's an
important prediction
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that the Old Testament made.
00:08:31.31\00:08:32.64
Messiah was going
to be a descendant
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of this great and famous king.
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"Behold, the days are coming,"
it tells us in Jeremiah 23,
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"that I will raise to
David a branch of righteousness;
00:08:40.65\00:08:44.12
a King shall reign and prosper,
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and execute judgment and
righteousness in the earth."
00:08:46.22\00:08:49.92
That was a
prediction made by a prophet
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right before the
Babylonians pulled into town,
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which is, of course,
how the Old Testament ends.
00:08:55.56\00:08:58.47
So essentially, with
the Gospel of Matthew,
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the New Testament picks up
00:09:00.67\00:09:01.90
exactly where the
Old Testament leaves off
00:09:01.90\00:09:05.07
and basically
opens with the words,
00:09:05.07\00:09:07.18
"And now that King is here."
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I'll be right back after this.
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- [Narrator 1] Life
can throw a lot at us.
00:09:15.88\00:09:18.29
Sometimes we don't
have all the answers,
00:09:18.29\00:09:21.69
but that's where
the Bible comes in.
00:09:21.69\00:09:24.13
It's our guide to a
more fulfilling life.
00:09:24.13\00:09:27.23
Here at the Voice of Prophecy,
00:09:27.23\00:09:28.73
we've created the
Discover Bible guides
00:09:28.73\00:09:30.87
to be your guide to the Bible.
00:09:30.87\00:09:32.50
They're designed to
be simple, easy to use
00:09:32.50\00:09:34.97
and provide answers to many
of life's toughest questions.
00:09:34.97\00:09:38.01
And they're absolutely free.
00:09:38.01\00:09:40.04
So jump online
now or give us a call
00:09:40.04\00:09:42.31
and start your
journey of discovery.
00:09:42.31\00:09:44.61
- Each one of the four gospels
has a different emphasis,
00:09:46.01\00:09:48.88
and in the Gospel of Matthew,
00:09:48.88\00:09:50.15
that emphasis is
the kingship of Christ.
00:09:50.15\00:09:53.62
The book opens with
a genealogy for Jesus.
00:09:53.62\00:09:56.02
And for centuries,
critics have scoffed
00:09:56.02\00:09:58.59
at the details
of that family line
00:09:58.59\00:10:00.56
because they find
a different genealogy
00:10:00.56\00:10:03.10
in the Gospel of Luke.
00:10:03.10\00:10:04.77
But in reality, this
isn't that hard to understand
00:10:04.77\00:10:07.24
because all of us have
more than one genealogy.
00:10:07.24\00:10:10.91
I can trace my family
back through my dad's side,
00:10:10.91\00:10:14.01
but I can also do it
through my mom's side.
00:10:14.01\00:10:16.04
And they're obviously
going to be different lines
00:10:16.04\00:10:19.01
unless my family's a
little too close-knit,
00:10:19.01\00:10:21.15
if you get my drift.
00:10:21.15\00:10:23.08
What Matthew does is
trace back the lineage of Jesus
00:10:23.08\00:10:26.45
through Joseph, his
adopted and legal father.
00:10:26.45\00:10:30.39
And Joseph is a
descendant of David,
00:10:30.39\00:10:32.49
which gives Jesus a
legal claim to his throne.
00:10:32.49\00:10:36.70
But on the other hand,
00:10:36.70\00:10:38.20
Luke is tracing Jesus'
lineage back through Mary,
00:10:38.20\00:10:40.37
and that's because
he's trying to demonstrate
00:10:40.37\00:10:42.60
the humanity of Christ.
00:10:42.60\00:10:44.61
And so he goes all
the way back to Adam.
00:10:44.61\00:10:47.01
Matthew, you'll notice,
only goes back to Abraham.
00:10:47.01\00:10:50.95
Now here's
another interesting detail
00:10:50.95\00:10:52.55
that I didn't
notice until recently.
00:10:52.55\00:10:54.98
There is more than one
king in Matthew's genealogy.
00:10:54.98\00:10:57.92
In fact, there are several.
00:10:57.92\00:10:59.75
But Matthew only
uses the word king
00:10:59.75\00:11:02.52
in conjunction with David.
00:11:02.52\00:11:04.49
He says that, "Jesse
begot David the king."
00:11:04.49\00:11:06.80
And then he says,
"David the king begot Solomon."
00:11:06.80\00:11:10.47
But all the
other kings in the list
00:11:10.47\00:11:12.23
are never recognized as royalty,
00:11:12.23\00:11:14.24
and that is not an accident.
00:11:14.24\00:11:16.84
Matthew is alerting us
right at the top of the story
00:11:16.84\00:11:19.84
about the thesis
of his entire book.
00:11:19.84\00:11:22.28
Jesus is the long awaited King.
00:11:22.28\00:11:25.41
The opening phrase tells us
that Jesus is the son of David,
00:11:26.82\00:11:29.98
which gives him a
claim to the throne.
00:11:29.98\00:11:32.15
And he's also
the son of Abraham,
00:11:32.15\00:11:34.19
which makes him a
son of the covenant,
00:11:34.19\00:11:36.12
which gives him a
claim to the Promised Land.
00:11:36.12\00:11:39.29
So Matthew is telling
his mostly Jewish audience
00:11:39.29\00:11:42.63
that Jesus is a
child of the covenant
00:11:42.63\00:11:45.10
who has the right to stand
at the head of God's people
00:11:45.10\00:11:48.00
because he's also the King.
00:11:48.00\00:11:50.71
And from that point forward,
00:11:50.71\00:11:52.51
you'll find a couple
of really important themes
00:11:52.51\00:11:54.81
that just keep popping
up over and over and over.
00:11:54.81\00:11:58.15
One of those themes
is the word fulfilled
00:11:58.15\00:12:00.72
because Jesus is the fulfillment
00:12:00.72\00:12:02.45
of the Old Testament prophecy.
00:12:02.45\00:12:04.82
This begins right after
the genealogy in chapter one,
00:12:04.82\00:12:08.06
where it says this.
00:12:08.06\00:12:09.56
"So all this was done
that it might be fulfilled,
00:12:09.56\00:12:12.86
which was spoken by the
Lord through the prophet saying,
00:12:12.86\00:12:15.43
"Behold the virgin shall
be with child and bear a Son
00:12:15.43\00:12:18.80
and they shall
call His name Immanuel,"
00:12:18.80\00:12:20.90
which is
translated, "God with us."
00:12:20.90\00:12:23.97
Matthew is demonstrating
that Jesus is the child
00:12:25.17\00:12:27.68
the prophet Isaiah predicted.
00:12:27.68\00:12:30.35
And the other big
word in Matthew's book,
00:12:30.35\00:12:32.55
in addition to fulfilled,
is either king or kingdom,
00:12:32.55\00:12:36.58
which is the
framework for the entire book.
00:12:36.58\00:12:39.39
As we've seen in
a previous episode,
00:12:39.39\00:12:41.29
the early Christians
associated the four gospels
00:12:41.29\00:12:43.76
with the four
faces of the cherubim.
00:12:43.76\00:12:46.03
And, of course,
Matthew is the lion
00:12:46.03\00:12:48.90
because Jesus is the
lion of the tribe of Judah,
00:12:48.90\00:12:51.83
the long awaited King.
00:12:51.83\00:12:53.44
Let me show you
just a few examples
00:12:54.60\00:12:56.10
so that you get a sense of
just how pervasive this theme is
00:12:56.10\00:12:58.71
throughout the rest of the book.
00:12:58.71\00:13:00.48
In the 13th chapter,
there's a series of parables,
00:13:00.48\00:13:03.85
and every single one of
them begins with the phrase,
00:13:03.85\00:13:05.91
"The kingdom of
heaven is like..."
00:13:05.91\00:13:08.95
And what's really
fascinating about that
00:13:08.95\00:13:10.79
is the way that
the other gospels
00:13:10.79\00:13:12.42
will tell these same stories,
00:13:12.42\00:13:14.39
notably the
parable of the sower.
00:13:14.39\00:13:17.23
But in Matthew, Jesus
calls the seeds in that story
00:13:17.23\00:13:20.16
the word of the kingdom,
00:13:20.16\00:13:22.23
and he's the only
one who does that.
00:13:22.23\00:13:24.03
Mark just calls it the word.
00:13:24.03\00:13:25.47
And Luke calls
it the Word of God.
00:13:25.47\00:13:28.10
They were all
listening to the same parable,
00:13:28.10\00:13:30.01
but they're
emphasizing different points
00:13:30.01\00:13:31.77
depending on the
audience they're addressing.
00:13:31.77\00:13:34.58
It's a little bit
like telling your kids
00:13:34.58\00:13:36.95
it's going to snow today,
and one of them gets excited
00:13:36.95\00:13:39.48
because it means
there's no school.
00:13:39.48\00:13:41.35
And another gets
excited because, well,
00:13:41.35\00:13:43.25
they get to make a snowman.
00:13:43.25\00:13:45.29
Both of those ideas are true,
00:13:45.29\00:13:46.89
but based on a
child's temperament,
00:13:46.89\00:13:48.92
they're going to emphasize
00:13:48.92\00:13:50.16
different aspects
of what they heard.
00:13:50.16\00:13:52.59
And for Matthew, one of
the most important ideas
00:13:52.59\00:13:55.00
in these parables was
the idea of the kingdom.
00:13:55.00\00:13:58.10
Something else you
might find interesting
00:13:59.27\00:14:00.77
is the way that
Matthew is the only one
00:14:00.77\00:14:03.04
who tells the
story of the wise men,
00:14:03.04\00:14:05.21
and here's the
way that he tells it.
00:14:05.21\00:14:06.98
It says, "Now after Jesus
was born in Bethlehem of Judah
00:14:06.98\00:14:10.78
in the days of
Herod the king, behold,
00:14:10.78\00:14:13.62
wise men from the East
came to Jerusalem saying,
00:14:13.62\00:14:16.62
"Where is he who has
been born King of the Jews?
00:14:16.62\00:14:19.82
For we have seen
His star in the East
00:14:19.82\00:14:21.69
and have come to worship Him."
00:14:21.69\00:14:23.49
"When Herod the king heard this,
00:14:23.49\00:14:25.76
he was troubled, and
all Jerusalem with him."
00:14:25.76\00:14:29.36
After this point, Matthew
records the trouble with Herod,
00:14:29.36\00:14:32.40
the imposter king who
does not have a genetic claim
00:14:32.40\00:14:35.80
to the throne of David.
00:14:35.80\00:14:37.47
And when Harod
gathers a team of advisors
00:14:37.47\00:14:39.61
to ask them if the
wise men are right,
00:14:39.61\00:14:42.11
here's what they
tell him in Matthew 2:6,
00:14:42.11\00:14:45.41
"But you, Bethlehem,
in the land of Judah,
00:14:45.41\00:14:47.82
are not the least
among the rulers of Judah;
00:14:47.82\00:14:50.39
For out of you
shall come a ruler
00:14:50.39\00:14:52.45
who will shepherd
my people Israel."
00:14:52.45\00:14:55.26
Now that's a quote
from the prophet Micaiah
00:14:55.26\00:14:56.99
who says that this
King born in Bethlehem
00:14:56.99\00:14:59.39
would have roots stretching
all the way back to eternity.
00:14:59.39\00:15:03.03
In other words, this
was God in human flesh.
00:15:03.03\00:15:06.57
So again, Matthew
was taking a highlighter
00:15:06.57\00:15:08.74
to the ideas of Old Testament
fulfillment and kingship.
00:15:08.74\00:15:13.11
And this is what he does
throughout the rest of his
00:15:13.11\00:15:16.38
gospel. You'll find
people addressing Jesus
00:15:16.38\00:15:18.35
as the Son of David seven times.
00:15:18.35\00:15:20.92
And then you'll find
another three occasions
00:15:20.92\00:15:23.08
when Matthew applies
that title to Jesus himself.
00:15:23.08\00:15:26.29
And before Jesus
begins his public ministry,
00:15:27.42\00:15:29.76
right after the story
of the wise men and Harod,
00:15:29.76\00:15:32.23
we get the account
of John the Baptist,
00:15:32.23\00:15:34.60
which underlines the
same themes yet again.
00:15:34.60\00:15:37.77
Here's what it says
in Matthew chapter three.
00:15:37.77\00:15:40.37
"In those days, John the Baptist
00:15:40.37\00:15:42.27
came preaching in the
wilderness of Judea and saying,
00:15:42.27\00:15:44.81
"Repent," Why? Well, "for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand!"
00:15:44.81\00:15:49.81
In Matthew chapter 10,
Jesus tells his disciples,
00:15:51.21\00:15:53.08
"Go preach," saying the
kingdom of heaven is at hand.
00:15:53.08\00:15:56.55
In one of the kingdom parables
from Matthew chapter 13,
00:15:56.55\00:15:59.75
Jesus describes the
second coming by saying,
00:15:59.75\00:16:02.62
"The Son of Man
will send out his angels,
00:16:02.62\00:16:05.09
and they will
gather out of His kingdom
00:16:05.09\00:16:08.06
all things that offend and
those who practice lawlessness."
00:16:08.06\00:16:11.97
In Matthew 25,
there are more parables
00:16:11.97\00:16:14.27
that start with
those same words,
00:16:14.27\00:16:15.84
"The kingdom of
heaven is like..."
00:16:15.84\00:16:18.04
In Matthew 22, we
have the famous parable
00:16:18.04\00:16:20.28
of the wedding feast,
which starts with the words,
00:16:20.28\00:16:22.64
"A certain king arranged
a marriage for his son."
00:16:22.64\00:16:26.61
What's interesting is that
Luke tells that same story,
00:16:26.61\00:16:29.18
but for some reason,
00:16:29.18\00:16:30.42
he never mentions
that the father is a king
00:16:30.42\00:16:32.82
because Luke was
emphasizing something different.
00:16:32.82\00:16:35.82
Then we have some
subtle mentions of kingship
00:16:37.06\00:16:39.59
on top of all of
the explicit ones.
00:16:39.59\00:16:42.16
In the story of the demoniac,
00:16:42.16\00:16:43.70
only Matthew has the
crowd respond by saying,
00:16:43.70\00:16:46.27
"Is this not the Son of David?"
00:16:46.27\00:16:48.70
In the parable of the landowner,
00:16:48.70\00:16:50.31
which you find in chapter
20, the owner of a field says,
00:16:50.31\00:16:53.68
"Is it not lawful for me
00:16:53.68\00:16:55.01
to do what I wish
with my own things?"
00:16:55.01\00:16:58.01
Because he has ultimate
authority over the land like a
00:16:58.01\00:17:02.25
king. There are 10 occasions
where people bow to Jesus,
00:17:02.25\00:17:05.69
which only happens once or
twice in the other gospels.
00:17:05.69\00:17:08.92
Matthew tells us that people
00:17:08.92\00:17:10.43
were surprised by Jesus'
teaching because he quote,
00:17:10.43\00:17:13.26
"Taught them as
one having authority."
00:17:13.26\00:17:16.16
And then, when Jesus is
teaching, Matthew points out
00:17:16.16\00:17:19.10
that he's sitting on top
of a mountain when he does it,
00:17:19.10\00:17:21.77
which is
important because Psalm 2:6
00:17:21.77\00:17:24.54
points out that
the Messianic King
00:17:24.54\00:17:26.47
will be found at the top of
Mount Zion, where the temple is.
00:17:26.47\00:17:30.01
I mean, we could go on for hours
00:17:30.01\00:17:32.15
with all the little clues
00:17:32.15\00:17:33.38
that Matthew weaves
throughout his story,
00:17:33.38\00:17:35.72
but I think you get the point.
00:17:35.72\00:17:37.29
So let's take a little break,
00:17:37.29\00:17:38.79
and I'll be
right back after this.
00:17:38.79\00:17:40.89
- [Narrator 1] Here
at the Voice of Prophecy,
00:17:44.13\00:17:45.59
we're committed to
creating top-quality programming
00:17:45.59\00:17:48.00
for the whole family,
00:17:48.00\00:17:49.43
like our audio adventure
series, "Discovery Mountain".
00:17:49.43\00:17:52.53
"Discovery Mountain"
is a bible-based program
00:17:52.53\00:17:55.10
for kids of all
ages and backgrounds.
00:17:55.10\00:17:57.44
Your family will enjoy
the faith-building stories
00:17:57.44\00:18:00.24
from the small
mountain summer camp Pentown.
00:18:00.24\00:18:03.04
With 24 seasonal
episodes every year
00:18:03.04\00:18:05.58
and fresh content every week,
00:18:05.58\00:18:07.72
there's always a new
adventure just on the horizon.
00:18:07.72\00:18:10.89
- One of the key
features of Jesus ministry
00:18:14.66\00:18:16.76
is the way that he clashed
00:18:16.76\00:18:18.29
with the religious
authorities of Judah.
00:18:18.29\00:18:20.70
The first part of his ministry
00:18:20.70\00:18:22.16
focused on the north up
in the region of Galilee.
00:18:22.16\00:18:24.87
And then, as the time for
his crucifixion draws closer,
00:18:24.87\00:18:28.17
Jesus goes south to Jerusalem.
00:18:28.17\00:18:30.51
And it's there in the holy city
00:18:30.51\00:18:32.84
that he experienced
the fiercest opposition.
00:18:32.84\00:18:35.88
And on one important occasion,
00:18:35.88\00:18:37.55
he rebuked the
Sadducees and Pharisees
00:18:37.55\00:18:39.88
with a statement that, well,
00:18:39.88\00:18:41.72
kind of encapsulates all
the major themes of Matthew.
00:18:41.72\00:18:45.59
Here's how that reads
over in Matthew chapter 16,
00:18:45.59\00:18:48.59
where the Bible says,
00:18:48.59\00:18:50.29
"Then the
Pharisees and Sadducees came,
00:18:50.29\00:18:53.29
and testing Him asked
00:18:53.29\00:18:54.73
that He would show
them a sign from heaven.
00:18:54.73\00:18:57.20
He answered and said to them,
00:18:57.20\00:18:58.83
"When it is evening, you
say it will be fair weather
00:18:58.83\00:19:01.47
for the sky is
red, and in the morning,
00:19:01.47\00:19:03.94
it will be foul weather today
00:19:03.94\00:19:05.34
for the sky is
red and threatening.
00:19:05.34\00:19:07.58
Hypocrites! You know how to
discern the face of the sky,
00:19:07.58\00:19:11.61
but you cannot discern
the signs of the times."
00:19:11.61\00:19:15.25
This is not
really about the weather.
00:19:15.25\00:19:17.25
What Jesus is saying is
that his arrival as Messiah
00:19:17.25\00:19:20.19
was thoroughly
predicted in the Old Testament,
00:19:20.19\00:19:23.12
but these people were
tragically blind to it.
00:19:23.12\00:19:26.03
Prophecy was
clearly being fulfilled
00:19:26.03\00:19:28.53
right in front of their eyes,
00:19:28.53\00:19:30.27
but the people who taught
those prophecies to the people
00:19:30.27\00:19:33.67
were somehow missing it.
00:19:33.67\00:19:35.67
In the Gospel of
John, John describes it
00:19:35.67\00:19:37.87
as people living in darkness
00:19:37.87\00:19:39.61
who somehow fail
to see the light.
00:19:39.61\00:19:42.74
It's a sober reminder
that having a religious degree
00:19:42.74\00:19:46.01
or credentials, that
doesn't make you right.
00:19:46.01\00:19:49.58
The religion of Christ is far
more than mere head knowledge.
00:19:49.58\00:19:52.95
It's experiential.
00:19:52.95\00:19:54.12
It's based on a
personal relationship
00:19:54.12\00:19:56.66
with the author of this book.
00:19:56.66\00:19:59.09
I mean, if this is nothing more
00:19:59.09\00:20:00.56
than a book of historical facts
00:20:00.56\00:20:02.13
or a tool that lets you
accumulate power in this world,
00:20:02.13\00:20:05.83
you're completely
missing the point.
00:20:05.83\00:20:08.50
But Matthew Levi, the
author of this gospel,
00:20:09.70\00:20:12.21
did not fail to notice.
00:20:12.21\00:20:14.11
And throughout the
book, you find little touches,
00:20:14.11\00:20:16.44
little flourishes that tell us
00:20:16.44\00:20:18.75
what might have been
going through Matthew's mind
00:20:18.75\00:20:21.02
as he witnessed the
life and teachings of Jesus.
00:20:21.02\00:20:24.02
Matthew was a tax collector,
00:20:24.02\00:20:26.09
which in the minds of
his fellow countrymen,
00:20:26.09\00:20:28.19
meant that he was a traitor.
00:20:28.19\00:20:29.99
Tax collectors or publicans
worked for the Roman government,
00:20:29.99\00:20:34.00
the much
despised occupying force.
00:20:34.00\00:20:37.20
Matthew's job wouldn't be unlike
00:20:37.20\00:20:38.70
somebody doing
tasks for the Nazis
00:20:38.70\00:20:41.14
in a French
village in the early 1940s.
00:20:41.14\00:20:44.11
And so day after day,
00:20:44.11\00:20:45.64
Matthew sat in his toll booth
in the Village of Capernaum.
00:20:45.64\00:20:48.74
And it was his job to
crack down on the locals
00:20:48.74\00:20:51.71
and make sure they were giving
enough money to the Romans.
00:20:51.71\00:20:54.68
He was really
the IRS of his day,
00:20:54.68\00:20:57.62
which, as you know, isn't
popular at the best of times.
00:20:57.62\00:21:01.42
So you would think the Messiah
00:21:01.42\00:21:03.22
would probably skip
over somebody like Matthew,
00:21:03.22\00:21:05.69
a traitor to the
covenant people of God,
00:21:05.69\00:21:08.66
a man who confiscated
00:21:08.66\00:21:10.23
what belonged to the
descendants of Abraham,
00:21:10.23\00:21:12.20
the proceeds of
the Land of Promise,
00:21:12.20\00:21:15.24
and he gave it to
their gentile overlords.
00:21:15.24\00:21:18.64
So you'd think that
the long-awaited King
00:21:18.64\00:21:20.81
would skip past a
guy like Matthew because,
00:21:20.81\00:21:23.24
at the very least,
having Matthew tell his story,
00:21:23.24\00:21:26.55
well, that would
be really bad PR.
00:21:26.55\00:21:28.98
But according to more
than one gospel account,
00:21:28.98\00:21:31.85
Jesus actually
approached Matthew at work
00:21:31.85\00:21:35.19
and asked him to
become a disciple.
00:21:35.19\00:21:37.33
And, of course, that
created quite an uproar
00:21:37.33\00:21:39.89
among the religious leaders
00:21:39.89\00:21:41.16
who were watching
Jesus like a hawk,
00:21:41.16\00:21:43.26
hoping to find
something wrong with him.
00:21:43.26\00:21:46.23
Here's the story the way
that Matthew himself tells it,
00:21:46.23\00:21:48.70
beginning in
chapter 9:10, where it says,
00:21:48.70\00:21:52.24
"Now it happened, as Jesus
sat at the table in the house,
00:21:52.24\00:21:55.81
that behold, many tax
collectors and sinners
00:21:55.81\00:21:58.55
came and sat down
with Him and His disciples.
00:21:58.55\00:22:01.78
And when the Pharisees saw
it, they said to His disciples,
00:22:01.78\00:22:04.89
"Why does your Teacher eat with
tax collectors and sinners?"
00:22:04.89\00:22:09.06
When Jesus heard
that, he said to them,
00:22:09.06\00:22:11.16
"Those who are well
have no need of a physician,
00:22:11.16\00:22:14.10
but those who are sick.
00:22:14.10\00:22:15.76
But go and
learn what this means.
00:22:15.76\00:22:17.70
I desire mercy
and not sacrifice.
00:22:17.70\00:22:21.44
For I did not come
to call the righteous,
00:22:21.44\00:22:24.07
but sinners, to repentance."
00:22:24.07\00:22:26.04
It was just
inconceivable to these people
00:22:27.34\00:22:29.21
that someone like Matthew Levi
00:22:29.21\00:22:31.15
could be considered
a religious acolyte.
00:22:31.15\00:22:34.58
Matthew might have had
some kind of genetic claim
00:22:34.58\00:22:37.35
to the land of Abraham, but
he didn't have a moral claim,
00:22:37.35\00:22:41.19
not after selling
out to the Roman Empire.
00:22:41.19\00:22:43.86
But then Jesus points out
00:22:45.06\00:22:46.46
that none of God's
people have been faithful
00:22:46.46\00:22:48.70
and that Messiah
had come as a physician
00:22:48.70\00:22:50.83
to heal the sickness
that permeated everybody.
00:22:50.83\00:22:54.74
"You think you know
God," He told the Pharisees,
00:22:54.74\00:22:57.04
"but then please explain why
00:22:57.04\00:22:58.77
you don't seem to know
anything about God's mercy."
00:22:58.77\00:23:02.51
Now, from where I sit,
00:23:02.51\00:23:04.01
I can see that the story of
Matthew continues to this day.
00:23:04.01\00:23:07.52
We often hear
about religious leaders
00:23:07.52\00:23:09.22
who fall way short
of the glory of God.
00:23:09.22\00:23:11.99
But then we see the humble,
the down and out, the despised,
00:23:11.99\00:23:15.62
the people to whom
nobody gives a second thought,
00:23:15.62\00:23:18.59
and somehow when
they see who Christ is,
00:23:18.59\00:23:21.83
they manage to display
his character to the world
00:23:21.83\00:23:25.03
far better than the rest of us.
00:23:25.03\00:23:27.74
I was reading a
Scottish preacher
00:23:27.74\00:23:29.14
from the 19th
century the other day,
00:23:29.14\00:23:31.47
and he was imagining the
scene at a party for Jesus.
00:23:31.47\00:23:34.64
A party that, according to Luke,
00:23:34.64\00:23:36.21
took place in
Matthew Levi's house.
00:23:36.21\00:23:39.45
Now, given the fact that Matthew
00:23:39.45\00:23:41.35
collected money for the Romans,
00:23:41.35\00:23:42.78
it was probably a
pretty nice house.
00:23:42.78\00:23:44.99
And he's so excited to meet
the long-awaited King of Israel
00:23:44.99\00:23:48.26
that he invites
everybody he knows.
00:23:48.26\00:23:51.59
So we have this
collection of people
00:23:51.59\00:23:53.13
the Pharisees call
publicans and sinners,
00:23:53.13\00:23:56.90
and it's no surprise that
these people would show up
00:23:56.90\00:23:59.53
at a Matthew Levi party.
00:23:59.53\00:24:01.70
The publicans were probably
looking for opportunities
00:24:01.70\00:24:04.61
to network and
make even more money.
00:24:04.61\00:24:07.14
And the sinners were probably
00:24:07.14\00:24:08.48
just looking for
another excuse to get drunk.
00:24:08.48\00:24:11.38
But both of these groups
00:24:11.38\00:24:13.18
were in better
shape than the Pharisees,
00:24:13.18\00:24:15.52
who went to the
party to discover scandal.
00:24:15.52\00:24:19.02
I'll be right back after this.
00:24:19.02\00:24:21.36
- [Narrator 2] Are
you searching for answers
00:24:26.93\00:24:28.13
to life's
toughest questions like,
00:24:28.13\00:24:30.23
where is God when we suffer?
00:24:30.23\00:24:32.03
Can I find real happiness?
00:24:32.03\00:24:33.87
Or, is there any hope
for our chaotic world?
00:24:33.87\00:24:37.01
The Discover Bible
guides will help you
00:24:37.01\00:24:38.61
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00:24:38.61\00:24:40.78
Visit us at biblestudies.com
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or give us a
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or have the free guides
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Visit biblestudies.com
and begin your journey today
00:25:13.48\00:25:17.55
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life's deepest questions.
00:25:17.55\00:25:21.42
- Here's what I find
interesting about Matthew.
00:25:25.02\00:25:27.32
He's the only one who records
the parable of the two sons.
00:25:27.32\00:25:31.96
One of the boys
in that story says
00:25:31.96\00:25:33.56
he will not do
what his father asks,
00:25:33.56\00:25:36.00
but then he regrets saying
that, and he does it anyway.
00:25:36.00\00:25:39.73
The second son obediently says,
00:25:39.73\00:25:42.50
"Whatever you
ask Dad, I'll do it."
00:25:42.50\00:25:44.81
But then he never does it.
00:25:44.81\00:25:47.08
"Which of the two did the will
of his father?" Jesus asked.
00:25:47.08\00:25:50.38
And, of course, the
answer is the first boy
00:25:50.38\00:25:52.61
who ended up obeying his dad.
00:25:52.61\00:25:55.12
And then comes the moment
00:25:55.12\00:25:56.35
when Jesus confronts
the priests of the temple
00:25:56.35\00:25:58.49
and reveals the point of
that story in Matthew 21:31.
00:25:58.49\00:26:03.49
Jesus said to them,
"Assuredly I say to you
00:26:04.63\00:26:06.76
that tax collectors and harlots
00:26:06.76\00:26:09.26
enter the kingdom
of God before you."
00:26:09.26\00:26:11.93
At the feast of Matthew Levi,
00:26:13.00\00:26:15.14
the Pharisees confronted
Jesus disciples saying,
00:26:15.14\00:26:17.87
"What kind of
religious leader is this?
00:26:17.87\00:26:20.71
I mean, just look at
the company He keeps.
00:26:20.71\00:26:23.08
This is a house full of
really despicable people."
00:26:23.08\00:26:26.68
And honestly, I'm guessing that
00:26:26.68\00:26:28.18
some of these brand
new fans of Jesus felt,
00:26:28.18\00:26:31.12
well, a little uncomfortable.
00:26:31.12\00:26:32.82
Some of them were
likely wondering if Matthew
00:26:32.82\00:26:34.66
really should be
included in their number.
00:26:34.66\00:26:37.86
And now, toward the
end of Jesus' ministry,
00:26:37.86\00:26:40.30
He says that
people like Matthew Levi
00:26:40.30\00:26:42.90
are going into the kingdom
00:26:42.90\00:26:44.67
ahead of the people
who appear to be righteous.
00:26:44.67\00:26:48.67
It's no small wonder
that Matthew was floored
00:26:48.67\00:26:51.57
by the discovery of
the long-awaited King
00:26:51.57\00:26:54.24
and that somehow a guy like him
00:26:54.24\00:26:56.38
was brought into
the inside circle
00:26:56.38\00:26:58.25
in spite of who he
was and what he'd done.
00:26:58.25\00:27:01.85
And not only that, he was
actually preferred by the King
00:27:01.85\00:27:05.69
over the people
who had spit on him
00:27:05.69\00:27:08.36
when he was
sitting in his toll booth.
00:27:08.36\00:27:10.26
Matthew could see that the
kingdom of God was at hand,
00:27:11.69\00:27:14.36
and it was nothing
like most people expected.
00:27:14.36\00:27:17.53
And Jesus the King
00:27:17.53\00:27:18.87
was defying a lot of
people's expectations.
00:27:18.87\00:27:22.47
For hundreds of years, 400
years of prophetic silence,
00:27:22.47\00:27:27.24
the religious authorities
00:27:27.24\00:27:28.44
had been re-casting
God in their own image.
00:27:28.44\00:27:31.78
But then, when the
silence finally broke,
00:27:31.78\00:27:35.15
humbled tax
collector was able to say,
00:27:35.15\00:27:37.95
"The Son of David is here,
00:27:37.95\00:27:39.82
and he's nothing at
all like I was told."
00:27:39.82\00:27:43.09
The lion of the tribe of Judah
00:27:43.09\00:27:44.63
is the point of Matthews gospel.
00:27:44.63\00:27:47.10
And I'm guessing that if
you took the time to read it,
00:27:47.10\00:27:50.40
you might just discover that God
00:27:50.40\00:27:52.97
is also nothing at all
like you thought He was.
00:27:52.97\00:27:56.47
I'm Shawn Boonstra, and you've
been watching "Authentic".
00:27:56.47\00:28:00.54
[gentle upbeat music]
00:28:00.54\00:28:03.68