Matthew 3:1-17

So I finally got to the parts I like most :D JESUS SPEAKS!!! :D

So verse 1 brings up John the Baptist. I knew very little about John the Baptist other than he preached that people should be baptised for the repentance of sins prior to Jesus' coming. My researching showed that accounts of John in the New Testament are very similar to the accounts given by Josephus, a well respected Jewish historian. Johns mother was Elizabeth, Jesus' mothers cousin :P Johns preaching was prophesied and this is documented in verse 3. Malachi 3:1 prophesied the coming of a "forerunner" to Jesus. Someone to prepare the way!

Verse 7 brings up Pharisees and Sadducees. The Pharisees and Sadducees were opposing Jewish political party type groups. Both were so tied up in ancient traditions that they neglected to see Jesus as the true Messiah. (Here is a website about the differences: m)

And the rest gets pretty tough :)

The Pharisees and Sadducees were probably pretty used to being honoured by those in their presence. But John comes out calling them vipers. They feel that they don't have to repent because they are descendants of Abraham and thus He warns them that just because they are descendants of Abraham they are not freed from having to repent from their sins. Can't ride into heaven on the coat sleeves of a righteous relative so to speak.

In verse 11 John says that he will baptize in water for the repentance of sins, but the baptizer who follows him will baptize in holy spirit and fire. He says that the one who follows will come and collect the "gooders" and purge the "garbage" so to speak. That he will clean the earth of evil! Woot?

And so Jesus comes to John to be baptized in verse 13. John states that he is unworthy of baptizing him and that if anything Jesus should be baptizing him! But Jesus says "Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him." (3:15). So it seems that Jesus being baptized by John was the catalyst to Jesus for beginning his "mission" to..essentially save humanity! It was necessary for this to happen to fulfill God's will!

The last two verses document God's "reaction" to the day's events. The heavens BREAK OPEN! And the spirit of God descended like a dove. Apparently the dove plays some heavy significance. Leviticus outlines the different levels of sacrifices that could be offered to God. The dove was the lowest grade of sacrifice and as such was the sacrifice of most poor people who couldn't afford things like bulls and ... goats? A pretty awesome thing to consider when taking into account the fact that Jesus was here to save ALL people! Even those who were not Pharisees and Sadducees :D The poorest of the poor.

And finally verse 17. God speaks! "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Not only does this verse affirm the belief that Jesus was sent from God, but also is a testament to Jesus righteousness during the undocumented years. Only Jesus was ever free from sin. If Jesus had been a horrible person most of his life, surely God would not have been proud ;)

This was interesting. There are sooo many things I didn't go into detail on, but surely if you're more interested you can look it up. If I had the time I would for sure. There is SOOO much information out there!

SO EXCITING!

God bless!

Matthew 3

1In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,

2And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

3For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

4And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

5Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,

6And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

8Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

9And 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.

10And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

11I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

12Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

13Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.

14But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?

15And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.

16And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

17And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Matthew 2:1-23

Ok, so it took me a couple days to get on with it :)

I sort of skim read this chapter a number of times before doing it. I guess because it initially was kind of boring. But, as I'm slowly figuring out, it's often the boring parts that are so JAM PACKED with information....kind of amazing how that works, eh?

So verse 1 talks about Jesus being born in Bethlehem. Pretty boring I guess....obvious at best :P But this was prophesied in the old testament (Micah 5:2). And of course all the skeptics out there might say "OH! Well, any Jew could have just decided to fulfill all of the prophecies! However, it seems that Mary and Joseph didn't CHOOSE to have their baby born in Bethlehem, they were forced there by Ceasar Augustus when he initiated some tax thing that forced Joseph to return to his original birth place....interesting! Verse 1 also talks about Herod the King AND the magi's. So it seems the magi's weren't even Jewish, and so some people wonder how they would have even known what they were looking for. Or why they even cared :P I guess the training had been passed down generation to generation from Daniel, who was in charge of that kind of stuff.....interesting connection. Herod was just a nut in general.

Verse 2 talks more about the magi's and the chapter moves into Herod's insecurities about losing his throne. The magi's get word from God that Herod wants to harm the child, and skip town to avoid getting chopped.

So an angel speaks to Joseph in a dream and basically tells him to flee into Egypt to avoid the wrath of Herod. There they raised Jesus until Herod's death. And so it's written in Hosea 11:1 - "And out of Egypt I called my Son". Furthermore, Jeremiah 31:15-17 refers to the murder of male children (2 and under?) by Herod in an effort to protect his status as king (Matthew 2:16), as well as the return of Jesus to Israel.

So God spoke to Joseph and told him it was safe to return with his precious child to Israel, that those that wished to kill Jesus were no longer in power. But when Joseph returned he was still leery of the guy in charge (Herod's son), and so settled in Galilee, and more specifically in Nazareth, which it states also fulfilled a prophecy (verse 23). HOWEVER! In my research I found that there is no written documentation of such a prophecy. And so I will be linking to a website which discusses this because I have no real opinion on the matter :) I believe that it was a real prophecy....just no idea how Matthew came to know about it :)



I'm doing it! One chapter at a time :P I have some energy so maybe I'll do Chapter 3......Maybe ;)

Matthew 2

1Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

2Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

3When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

4And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

5And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

6And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

7Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

8And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

9When 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.

10When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

11And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

12And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

13And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth 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 bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.

14When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:

15And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.

16Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

18In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

19But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,

20Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.

21And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.

22But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:

23And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.