Bible Understanding Made Easy (Vol 2): Volume 2: Matthew's Gospel

By Anthony L. Norwood

Bible Understanding Made Easy is a series of books used to inspire and teach the Word of God to sincere souls trying to draw closer to God. This volume is dedicated to building understanding of the life of Jesus Christ as taught by the book of Matthew.

The world has been intrigued by the life and teachings of Jesus Christ for nearly 2,000 years to this date. This is for good reason. He is a wonderful Lord and Savior. He is also the Master teacher. All mankind must know Him in order to be saved. Knowledge of His will for our lives brings peace and joy to ones soul. This work is dedicated to showing the world the peace and joy of Jesus Christ by a more in-depth study of who He is and what He offers to mankind.

The method of teaching used in this book was purposely kept as simple as possible so that beginning students of the Bible can be inspired and build a rich foundation of understanding the Bible that will last a lifetime! This volume is more in-depth than the first installment of this series entitled Bible Understanding Made Easy, Volume 1: The Old Testament. This is because more time is devoted to studying verse-by-verse and small groups of verses. Lastly, as an added bonus, there are many life application style mini-lessons that Christians of today can use to help build faith, encourage, and inspire sincere folks to maintain a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

For ordering within the United States of America and outside of the United States of America please call (toll-free in the U.S.) 1-888-795-4274 or Email XLibris at [e-mail]. The easiest way would be to add the book to your shopping cart above and order online as another alternative. Normally, you may pay using your nations own currency (i.e. the U.S. dollar, the British pound, Euro, etc.). Please call or Email XLibris Corporation for currency exchange rates..

Please do not forget to purchase the first in this series entitled Bible Understanding Made Easy, Volume 1: The Old Testament {click here to be taken to volume 1}

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 27, 2009
• ISBN: 9781469117126

Anthony L. Norwood

Anthony L. Norwood has preached Gods Word since 1999. He is currently the minister to the Henry Street Church of Christ in Gadsden, AL, USA.

Book preview

Bible Understanding Made Easy

Volume 2: Matthew’s Gospel

Anthony L. Norwood

Copyright © 2009 by Anthony L. Norwood.

Grammatical editing by Clorine W. Drake and Jocelyn R. Norwood

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Contents

Foreword

Chapter One

Introduction to the Gospel According to Matthew

Chapter Two

The Birth and Preparation

of Jesus Christ for His Ministry

Chapter Three

The Public Ministry

of Jesus in Galilee

Chapter Four

The Private Ministry

of Jesus in Galilee

Chapter Five

Jesus’ Ministry in Judaea

Chapter Six

Jesus is Arrested,

Tried, and Crucified

Chapter Seven

He is Risen!

God’s Plan of Salvation

What Are You Going To Do Now?

Chapter Eight

Final Quiz

Final Quiz Questions

Final Quiz Answer Key

REFERENCES

Dedication

This labor of love is first dedicated to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus is the reason for my being and I will love you until the end of my days and beyond.

This book is also dedicated to the love my life, which is my wife Jocelyn. You have been wonderful to me beyond belief! You are my special gift from God!

Last, but not least, this book is dedicated to the current residents and the memory of the late residents of the city of Mount Clemens, Michigan, USA! Mount Clemens was a great community for this author to grow up in. We were truly a village raising each child as the old African proverb says! The schools and neighborhood, also known as King Side really cared for each other! This author was very privileged to grow up in such a wonderful, hard working community!

Foreword

Friend, it is with great appreciation expressed by this author that you have decided to take this second installment of the Bible Understanding Made Easy Series. This volume two is dedicated exclusively to the Gospel according to Matthew. Originally, volume two was supposed to cover the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but the amount of information contained in the book of Matthew was too much to combine with these other books of the Bible. As a result, this author apologizes for the inconvenience.

As always, this book is merely a commentary. It is not designed to replace the Bible. On the contrary, it is designed to drive one to the holy pages of God’s Word. The book of Matthew gives us many details into the life of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This author is sure that if you approach the book of Matthew with an open heart, then you will not be able to resist loving Jesus Christ! He loved you and me so much that He gave His own life for your and my salvation! If you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, then you are missing out on the greatest treat this world has to offer!

Please read this commentary at your own pace. Unless otherwise stated, all Scriptural references were taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Please enjoy this Bible journey through the book of Matthew! You will never be the same after the fact! May God bless you and yours!

Chapter One

Introduction to the Gospel According to Matthew

The book of Matthew is one of the most beautiful books in the Bible. It is a recording of the life of Jesus Christ, Himself. It reveals His teachings, loving deeds, miracles, and most of all, His crucifixion, death, and resurrection for the salvation of the world. This is certainly a book of inspiration for all Christians!

The author of this great book of the Bible was obviously, the Apostle Matthew. It was written before the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Scholars date its composition between A.D. 60 and 65. The purpose of the book is to prove Jesus is the "Messiah, which means the Christ (Daniel 9:25-26; John 1:41; 4:25-26). These are expressions also meaning Jesus Christ is the Son of God and "Savior of mankind (Matthew 3:16-17; 17:4-8; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-23; 2 Peter 1:16-18; Matthew 1:21; Luke 2:8-21; John 4:42; Acts 5:30-32; Ephesians 5:23; Philippians 3:20; 2 Timothy 1:10; Titus 1:4; Titus 2:13; 3:4-6; 2 Peter 1:1; 2:20; 3:2, 18; 1 John 4:14). These expressions are also the equivalent of saying Jesus Christ is the Lord," meaning the Father God’s approved and appointed Ruler of all mankind (Acts 2:36; Psalm 2; 1 Timothy 6:14-15). Matthew also proves Jesus Christ is the heir to the throne of David, which means the Lord of the Jewish people and all mankind (Acts 13:22-23) (Easton, 1897).

Chapter Two

The Birth and Preparation

of Jesus Christ for His Ministry

Not much is recorded regarding the birth and childhood of the Lord Jesus. Matthew 1:1-4:16 record these stages of the Lord’s early life. The birth and childhood of the Lord is recorded in Matthew 1:1-2:23. His preparation for ministry is recorded in Matthew 3:1-4:16 (Elwell & Yarborough, 1998).

• Matthew 1: This great chapter gives the genealogy of Jesus Christ and the story of His birth.

• Matthew 1:1-17: The genealogy of Jesus Christ from Abraham to His adoptive, earthly father, Joseph, is recorded by God (Matthew 1:1-17). This is important, because one of the identifiers of the King of the Jews was to be descended from King David as revealed by God hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus Christ (Psalm 132:11; Jeremiah 23:5; Matthew 1:1, 6) (Torrey, 1880). 1 Chronicles 17:11-14 and Psalm 89:3-4 are also prophecies foretelling that Jesus Christ would be the descendent of David (Nave, 1995). Abraham, of course, was the ancestor of the Jewish people and of whose Seed would be the blessing to the entire world (Genesis 22:18; Matthew 1:1). Remember, the Seed of Abraham is singular and means that God promised to bring one special child, which is Jesus Christ, through the lineage of Abraham (Galatians 3:16). The blessing God was promising the world through Abraham was a Savior who would rescue God’s people from the judgment of God that will befall mankind at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Only those people whose names are written in the book of life, which are Christians in our day and age, shall be saved. These are those who God has embraced as His Christian children (Matthew 7:13-14; Revelation 20:12-15; Luke 10:20; Hebrews 12:23; Ephesians 5:23). Man will take only one of two roads in the afterlife: (1) The road to eternal life and joy in heaven or (2) the way to eternal misery (Matthew 7:13-14). The eternal life of faith and obedience to Christ leads to everlasting joy (Matthew 7:21; John 3:16; James 2:20; Revelation 2:10; 21:4). The death of Jesus Christ was foretold back in Isaiah 53, hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, to show that Jesus’ horrible death on the cross of Calvary was a substitute for the eternal death that all mankind deserves. The only way to avoid this eternal death, which means eternal punishment, is to become a Christian (John 14:6; 15:13; Romans 8:1). Jesus’ blood washes away the sins of all of God’s people who will believe and obey the Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:5; Acts 22:16). Jesus’ genealogy through His earthly mother, Mary, is given in Luke 3:23-38.

• Matthew 1:18-19: These verses describe the espousal period of Mary’s and Joseph’s lives. The Gospel writer, Matthew, tells us that Jesus’ earthly mother was found to be pregnant while she was espoused to Joseph (Matthew 1:18). In other words, they were not officially married at this point. Espousal, in the Jewish tradition, during Mary’s and Joseph’s time, means according to Easton’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary (1897), . . . to betroth. The espousal was a ceremony of betrothing, a formal agreement between the parties then coming under obligation for the purpose of marriage. Espousals are in the East frequently contracted years before the marriage is celebrated. Of course, to betroth means there was a promise to marry each other (Betroth, 2008). This is close to our current term being engaged for the purpose of a future marriage. The Word of God is telling us that Joseph, when he found out Mary was pregnant and obviously knowing he was not the earthly father due to the fact that they had not slept with each other, decided that he was going to privately put her away (Matthew 1:19). Joseph obviously cared for Mary despite the fact he thought she may have slept with someone else and did not want her to have to endure public shame. Perhaps, in the back of his mind, Joseph also did not want her killed for this act. The Jewish espousal was actually more formal than our current engagement, but not quite marriage. It was somewhere in the middle. Nonetheless, it was permitted by the Old Testament Law of Moses to kill an espoused person for unfaithfulness (Deuteronomy 22:23-28) (Robertson, 1995). In human thinking, Joseph is a very underrated Bible character, because he does not get the credit he deserves for being a compassionate man in sparing Mary public shame. Is this not one of the characteristics that Christians should have nowadays? Of course, we are never to badmouth any one including our enemies, because Jesus told His followers the following Words of truth, "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you . . . " (Matthew 5:44). The writings of the Holy Spirit captured in the Bible also instructs Christians with the following Words, "Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man" (Colossians 4:6). Our words, as Christians, should attract people and be pleasant to the ears of all whom we come in contact with.

• Matthew 1:20-21: These are some of the most beautiful Words in the Bible and they read, "20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the 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 Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. In these verses, God clears up any confusion and misunderstandings about the sexual purity of Mary. Remember, it had been foretold hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus that a virgin would conceive a child. Mary was surely a virgin, which means she never had sex before she became pregnant. This virgin pregnancy was the sign of the coming of God. Isaiah said the following Words, hundreds of years before Jesus was conceived, Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14). Getting ahead in our analysis, the Word Immanuel means God with us (Matthew 1:23). Thus, this is showing us that God in the flesh was coming through the womb of Mary. Many people try to strip Jesus of His Divine status as God along with the Father God, but the truth is He is God along with the Father and Holy Spirit. In other words, God the Father is certainly God (John 3:16). Jesus is the Son of God which is also God (John 1:1-3, 14). The Holy Spirit (also known as the Holy Ghost) is also God, because Jesus is shown to be the Son of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20). Although Jesus was fully human (Hebrews 4:14-16), the dual nature of being God in the flesh is also true (John 1:1-3, 14). This is one of those issues one has to accept by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Getting back to Matthew 1:20, many people have made up many false stories about Mary’s virginity in an effort to disprove the virgin birth of Jesus. These false stories are not worth repeating, because whenever God clears someone’s name as He has done in Matthew 1:20, then there is no more argument. If God says that it is so, then it is. What greater witness is there than God? Not any! The angel, bearing a message from God, of course, instructs Joseph to take Mary as his wife because her pregnancy was the work of God, Himself. He is also told to name the child Jesus" and that the purpose of Jesus Christ coming into the world was to save them from their sins! Always keep in mind that sin separates from God. When one is separated from God, he/she is lost to eternal misery (Isaiah 59:2; 1 Peter 3:12; Matthew 7:21-23). The only solution to erasing sin is to become a Christian, which gives us the forgiveness of our sins, peace with God, and salvation from eternal judgment (Revelation 1:5; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; John 14:6; Romans 5:9-11; 2 Corinthians 5:19; Mark 16:15-16; Matthew 28:18-20).

• Matthew 1:22-23: These verses show us the eternal plan of God. God planned for hundreds of years to impregnate Mary with the Son of God, Jesus Christ. A principle that is mentioned by God which will always be true is this. When God sends His Word out, it will always be accomplished! In other words, whatever God Wills and says He wants to happen will certainly happen and nothing can stop it (Isaiah 55:11). Remember, the Prophet Isaiah foretold of this virgin birth and lived hundreds of years before Mary and Joseph.

• Matthew 1:24-25: These verses show us the righteousness of Joseph in following the Word of God as given to him by the angel. He certainly obeyed God’s Word and took Mary to be his wife. He further called the child "Jesus" as he was told to do. This is one of the first examples of faith and obedience to the Word of God in the New Testament. Any time the Word of God goes out, Christians must believe it and obey it. The two concepts work hand-in-hand. In other words, you and I cannot have one without the other to be saved (James 2:20; Matthew 7:21; Hebrews 3:12; 11:6). This is because unbelief can cause us not to be saved in the end just like disobedience will cause the same miserable fate! Friend, may it never be for you and me!

• Matthew 2: This great chapter of the Bible heavily re-affirms the Old Testament of the Bible as God’s Word, because Matthew 2 refers to and records the fulfillment of particular prophecies given by the Old Testament prophets. Prophecies are simply Words from God that sometimes reveal the future. Thus, many times, the prophets (i.e. preachers) from hundreds of years ago, such as Isaiah, Daniel, Jeremiah, and others would foretell events that would take place hundreds of years after their own deaths. These God-given, perfectly accurate predictions were signs often used to identify the Son of God, Jesus Christ, when He would arrive hundreds of years after the death of these Old Testament preachers.

• Matthew 2:1-2. This passage of Scripture records the coming of the wise men from the east to Jerusalem and their inquiry into where the King of the Jews was? To this author’s knowledge, the exact location from which these wise men came is a mystery. Nonetheless, it is not important in our pursuit of understanding of this great chapter of the Bible. Verses 1 and 2 start off this chapter and read, "1 Now 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, 2 Saying, 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. This obviously tells us the King of Jews would be born in Bethlehem. God revealed in the Old Testament, hundreds of years before this event, the King of the Jews would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)! Herod was known to be the king of the Jews, but he was not officially a king, because the Romans actually ruled Judaea and Judaea was a Roman province. It was just customary to call Herod king, but he was not a true king over an independent nation, because the Jews were not free! Actually under the Roman system, Herod was considered to be a tetrarch (Easton, 1897). A tetrarch was a ruler of a subordinate principality (Tetrarch," 2007). Of special note, Christians must understand that God mentions actual historical figures that really lived, which shows Jesus was an actual, historical figure that really lived as well. Thus, Jesus is no myth, because He is mentioned alongside of others, such as Herod, Pontius Pilate, and other well-known historical names that can be verified outside of Biblical sources!

• Matthew 2:3-6: This is where Herod responds to the question of where the King of the Jews was according to the question of the wise men from the east. Herod was greatly upset by the news of a potential rival to his throne. He feared his power would end (Robertson, 1995). The devil’s tools against Christians are the lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). This just means that Satan (also known as the devil) uses our forbidden desires against you and I to make us sin (James 1:14-15). We see these tools being used against Herod. The lust of the flesh refers to sins of the body including sexual taboos. The lust of the eyes refers to materialistic greed and the pride of life means anything that makes a person feel conceited. To be power-hungry is one description of the pride of life. Herod did the smart thing, because he gathered together the chief priests and scribes to determine where the King of the Jews would be born. Lord Willing, we will study more about the chief priests and scribes later, but it is sufficient to know at this point that they were the religious leaders of the Jews at the time. If any one should have the answer, then it should have been them! Nonetheless, these religious leaders took the right approach when answering Herod’s question because they referred to Micah 5:2. In other words, they quoted the Bible. This is a concept all Christians must learn in order to correctly serve God and please Him! You and I must learn to refer to the Scriptures, instead of our own opinions when it comes to what God wants in our lives. The Scriptures are the final authority on all things dealing with God’s Will (2 Timothy 3:16-17). When Christians do not obey the principle of letting the Bible rule in their lives, then arguing and divisions surface and God is never pleased with these things in Christians. When the Word of God speaks, it should be the end of all disputes! Remember, as Christians, God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). Thus, what seems good to us can be totally contradictory as to what God Wills for you and me!

• Matthew 2:7-8: The sneaky, underhanded nature of Herod begins to show in these two verses. Herod privately met with the wise men from the east to find out when the star appeared and sent them to search throughout Bethlehem to find out where the King of the Jews was born. Herod lied to the wise men by saying that he wanted to worship this young King as well. This will become obvious as Jesus’ story progresses! Unfortunately, Herod found out that the star had appeared as a sign to the wise men two or less years before their arrival in Herod’s presence (Matthew 2:16) (Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown, 2004). As we will find out later, Herod did not want to find out where Jesus was born in order to worship Him! Instead, Herod wanted to find out where He was born in order to eliminate Jesus from the start. That way, Herod had no challenge to his own power. A lesson in this is obvious for the Christian. No matter what station God elevates us to in life, do not let a desire for power over take our righteous behavior in God’s sight. We must stay humble no matter what, because it is God who blesses us to obtain certain levels of success in life and the devil’s weapon used to get us to sin is called the pride of life (James 1:17; 1 John 2:16).

• Matthew 2:9-10: The wise men did proceed to Bethlehem and by a miracle, the star appeared over where the child was. When they saw the star, they were extremely joyful. Now, this can be seen as symbolism for today as well. This is because the Father God leads people to Jesus Christ and obviously, the work of God led these wise men to God’s Son! The Word of God says the following Words about the Father God leading men to Jesus Christ, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6:44). These wise men were excited to see the King! So should we be as Christians, because He is going to raise all Christians from the dead at His Second Coming to eternal life and joy in heaven forever more (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; John 5:28-29; Revelation 2:10; 21:4)! Does God the Father use stars to lead men to Jesus today? No. God has said that today, He uses preaching of the Word of God, which is the preaching of salvation through Jesus Christ to draw mankind to the Father (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Corinthians 1:18, 21; Romans 1:16; 10:17; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:38; Romans 10:9-17; Matthew 28:18-20). Thus, although they may be sincere, many people claim to be Christians because they saw a light, an angel spoke to them, or some other type of supernatural experience leading them to believe they had become Christians. Unfortunately and compassionately said, this is just not the truth. God has said,  . . . faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). This author realizes that mankind wants a more fanciful way of saying they were brought to God and saved by Jesus Christ accordingly, but God has chosen no other way of saving mankind except through good ole fashioned preaching of the Word of God (1 Corinthians 1:21).

• Matthew 2:11-12: These two verses are important to today’s Christian as well. We find in these verses where the wise men found the child, bowed to Him, and worshipped Him! They also presented gifts to Him in the form of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. When one is in the presence of a King, then he/she does not come empty-handed. This author knows, extensively, that false preachers and churches have exploited honest sincere folks by tricking them into giving only used to fund the filthy lifestyle of their false leaders. This author’s heart goes out to these folks that have been tricked out of their hard earned funds which were given in true, sincere devotion to God. Nonetheless, Christians are commanded to give God of their material possessions anyway despite being deceived in the past (1 Corinthians 9:1-14; 16:1-2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-15; Galatians 6:9; Matthew 25:31-46). The church offering, of course, is used to fund the efforts of the minister of the congregation and to provide for the needy Christians of the church (1 Corinthians 9:1-14; 16:1-2). Thus, Christians must be aware not to become stingy, especially if burned in the past by dishonest people, because good sincere preachers of God’s Word and needy Christians still must be provided for! Most importantly, when we are in the presence of Jesus Christ, which is every day of our lives, you and I, as Christians, must make our whole lives a living sacrifice (Matthew 28:18-20; Hebrews 13:5; Romans 12:1). In other words, we are to give God complete faith and obedience every day of our lives and this is 24 hours a day as well (James 2:5; 1 Timothy 6:18)! There is no such thing as a part-time Christian. Please, always keep that in mind along this Christian journey that we call every-day life. Also, Matthew 2:12 tells us that God warned the wise men in a dream not to return to Herod. They escaped back to their own country by leaving a different way from which they originally came. This shows if God Wills to protect you and me, He will keep us from hurt, harm, and even potential danger! If you are in a dangerous situation or potentially dangerous situation, then pray for deliverance, because anything that is God’s Will has no choice but to be done (1 John 5:14-15)!

• Matthew 2:13-15: We see God, in these verses, protecting His Seed, in the form of Jesus Christ. God warned Joseph, Jesus’ earthly, adoptive father, to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt to avoid the tyranny of Herod. Joseph did just that and the family was kept safe until the death of Herod. The family remained there until Herod died and even this move by the family to go into Egypt and later return to Israel is a fulfillment of the Word of God preached hundreds of years before this event. That prophecy was contained in Hosea 11:1 in which the prophet, Hosea, said that the Son of God would come out of Egypt. Again, the Word of God is true and no prophecy of the Bible will ever fail even if they were written hundreds of years before the event actually happened! This should show that all of the Bible’s words foretelling the coming of Jesus the second time is true, even though it has not happened yet!

• Matthew 2:16-18: These verses document and teach us of the tyranny of Herod. He slaughtered all the male children in Bethlehem 2 years old and under. He was going to maintain his power one way or another! What a wicked heart! This was also a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy uttered hundreds of years before this slaughter of the innocents! That prophecy was Jeremiah 31:15. Rachel was not literally weeping, because she had been dead for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Rachel is the Jewish ancestor of the tribes descended from her sons Joseph (called Ephraim and Manassas) and Benjamin (Genesis 35:16-18, 24) (Nave, 1995).

• Matthew 2:19-21: After the death of Herod and the demise of those who wanted to kill Jesus, an angel of God advised Joseph that these enemies were no longer living. In this dream of which the angel appeared to Joseph, God commanded the family to return to the land of Israel out of Egypt.

• Matthew 2:22-23: This is where the family of Jesus returned to Israel out of Egypt, but the hand of God was still at work directing their paths. Joseph feared Herod Archelaus would harm the family as well. Herod Archelaus replaced his father, Herod the Great, as ruler over the Roman province of Judaea. As a result, the family moved into Galilee instead and specifically into the town of Nazareth. Please remember that there were three divisions of the territory of the land of the Jews in Jesus’ days on earth. These divisions were the province of Galilee in the north, the province of Samaria in the middle, and the province of Judaea in the south under the rule of the Romans (Easton, 1897). God moved the family to the northern-most providence in Israel being Galilee! One only has to wonder sometimes, as Christians, when things seem to not go our way or opportunities close in our faces directing us to do things that we did not plan. Well, that is only God directing our paths. Remember, His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). He is in control even though our Christian lives do not seem to have order in our own opinions! In these situations, Christians have to just trust in God and lean not to their own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6)!

• Matthew 3: This great book of the Bible gives us God’s account of two very important events in Bible history. The first event is the preaching of John the Baptist prior to the ministry of Jesus Christ. The second event is the baptism of Jesus Christ at the hands of John the Baptist.

• Matthew 3:1-3: This passage of Scripture begins the New Testament’s teaching regarding the preaching of John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1). John the Baptist was preaching in the Roman province of Judaea, which was southern Israel at the time of Jesus walking on the earth in the flesh as the Son of God. The message that John the Baptist was preaching was as follows, " . . . Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2). The word "repent in the original Greek language from which it was translated means to change one’s mental attitude and conduct (See the Greek word metanoeo which is Strong’s number 3340) (Robertson, 1995). A simpler way of saying this is not necessarily to feel sorry about a sin(s) one has committed, but after feeling sorry about doing something that God would disapprove of, the sincere heart says to itself, I will not do this or that any more. I decide to do what is right instead of what is wrong." Repentance is a change of direction in life away from sinful things and toward behavior that pleases God instead. What brings any sincere person to a state of repentance is feeling sorry for the bad deed or deeds he/she has done. This feeling bad toward mistreating God through disobedience is called godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:10). Godly sorrow is what motivates any sincere person to repent in order to regain the favor of God and peace with Him as well! Getting back to what John the Baptist was preaching, he was telling the people to turn away from a sinful life, because God’s kingdom was soon to come! The only way to get into God’s kingdom to obtain everlasting life is to first repent of one’s sins! The Apostle Peter made this plain with the following statement according to the New International Version, " . . . Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. It’s just not popular preaching today that one must repent before they can claim to be a Christian, but the truth is the truth and God’s Word never changes (John 17:17). Only man’s opinions, as reflected in deceptive preaching, change! If God says that one has to repent before he/she can truthfully claim to be a Christian, then there is no argument that can win against the Word of God. The Word of God is always right, but man is often wrong (Matthew 15:19; 2 Corinthians 11:14-15; Matthew 24:11, 24; 2 Peter 2:1; 1 John 4:1)! Friend, never accept the preaching of any man without verifying his message in the Bible. This is what all Christians must do to protect themselves from false teachers as the Bible teaches us through the example of the ancient Bereans who studied in the Bible itself to see if the Apostle Paul’s teachings were true (Acts 17:10-12). Generally speaking, if the message preached matches the Bible’s teachings, then it is an authentic message from God. Matthew goes on to quote the Old Testament passage proving the identity of John the Baptist and reads, For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT . . . " (Isaiah 40:3, Matthew 3:3 New American Standard Version 1995). This shows the harmony and unity of the entire Bible from both the Old and New Testaments of the same. This is showing the teachings of the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, who foretold the coming of John the Baptist. John the Baptist’s mission was to prepare the hearts of the people to receive Jesus Christ hundreds of years before John the Baptist and Jesus Christ was born! How did John the Baptist prepare the hearts of the people for Jesus? First, He persuaded them to come out of their sinful behavior, because no one has fellowship with Jesus Christ if they are living in sin. In other words, hypocrisy has to be eliminated in one’s life in order to be at peace and harmony with Jesus Christ. Remember Jesus said the following Words regarding any one having a true relationship with Him, "13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you" (John 15:13-14 Emphasis Added). What did Jesus command? It is stated in Luke 13:5, which reads, "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." This shows that Jesus’ preaching is consistent with John the Baptist’s preaching. Both told us the Word of God and both of these delivered the Father God’s message that one must repent in order to be saved (Hebrews 1:1-3). Second, John the Baptist prepared the people for the coming of the Son of God, which was Jesus Christ, by identifying who the Son of God was to the world (John 1:29-51). Contrary to popular belief, many Jewish people living during the time of Jesus Christ on this earth knew very early on that Jesus Christ was and is the Son of God. In fact, many of them received Him as the King of Israel very early on (John 1:29-51; 9).

• Matthew 3:4-6: These verses give us some of the details of John the Baptist’s life. He was a modestly dressed man who wore clothing made of camel’s hair and a leather belt. He ate locusts and honey as his food (Matthew 3:4). Regarding many in the world today, the Christian world has become vain in the fact that the appearance of someone is more impressive than the words that they are speaking! Well, appearance means nothing when it comes to preaching God’s Word, because God judges by the heart. This is evident from the incident where God was selecting the second king of Israel back in 1 Samuel 16:1-13. The Prophet Samuel was sent to anoint the next king of Israel. This means he was sent to appoint the replacement for King Saul. Samuel was impressed by the appearance of one of the sons of Jesse named Eliab. Eliab, in human wisdom, had the height and appearance of a king. Unfortunately, Samuel had to go through several of Jesse’s sons until he came to the last one being David. God had to recondition and re-teach Samuel’s mind with the words, " . . . Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart . . . " (1 Samuel 16:7 New King James Version). As Jesus said, we are to judge a tree by its fruit (Matthew 12:33). Friend, please do not be so caught up in admiring a leader due to the outward appearance, because what is on the inside can be far from desirable! Getting back to the book of Matthew, the Bible shows us that John the Baptist’s teaching ministry was well-received by people from all around Judaea. These Jews came and were baptized by John the Baptist confessing their sins (Matthew 3:5-6). Some Bible commentators are adamant that the people were publicly and verbally confessing their sins and perhaps even specific things that they had done (Boles, 1989). Others believe that this was a silent confession to God in the heart. Unfortunately, this author is not going to settle the debate, but one thing is known. That is, if one wants to be close to God and gain His forgiveness, then he/she must come to a state of godly sorrow (i.e. sadness for offending God through sin), which causes repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10). Remember, without repentance first, no one can truthfully claim to be a Christian (Luke 13:3, 5; Acts 2:38).

• Matthew 3:7-8: These are some of the most important Words in the Bible and deserve special attention. Matthew 3:7-8 reads as follows, "7 But 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? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance . . . " This shows us that John the Baptist preached to a mixed crowd. That is, some of the people in the audience accepted his message given to him from God and others did not accept his Words! Unfortunately, two morally corrupt groups showed up at his preaching. These were the Pharisees and Sadducees (Matthew 3:7). These are important Bible characters to know, because, with few exceptions, these became the mortal enemies of Jesus Christ while He was on the earth. Who were the Pharisees? The Pharisees were a party of Jews that believed in the strict observance of the Old Testament Law of Moses (Acts 15:5) (Torrey, 1880). This was fine, because this is what Jesus did in perfection while living in the flesh. In other words, Jesus never sinned by being 100% obedient to the Old Testament Law of Moses (Matthew 5:17-18; Hebrews 4:14-16; John 8:29). The Pharisees also believed in keeping the traditions of their elders (Matthew 7:5-8). Now, this was a problem that they had, because they would put the traditions of the elders before the Word of God! This was sin, because this became a style of worship and lack of obedience to God that God did not want in the first place. They added to and subtracted from the Word of God by creating traditions causing themselves and the Jewish people to deviate from what was really commanded in the Word of God which was the Old Testament Law of Moses at the time. These traditions were things that Jesus refused to do and as such, it caused the hatred of the Pharisee group to come down upon Him (Matthew 12:1-14)! Now, this is important, because every thing that Jesus did was right in the Father God’s eyes and we, as Christians, must follow Jesus’ lead to be righteous in God’s eyes and saved as well (Matthew 3:17; 15:9; 17:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; Romans 8:29; Matthew 7:21; Hebrews 1:1-3; 12:24). As a result, even today in so-called Christian churches there are many traditions that are being done that God never commanded for us to do (Mark 7:7)! When this is the case, then we must abandon that worship as Jesus did, because it is God that we must please and not man (Acts 5:29). Any time someone adds or subtracts from the Word of God, it brings down curses on that individual and not blessings (Galatians 1:8-9; Revelation 22:18-19). The curses extend even to the point of not being saved in the end, because Jesus shows us that if we worship according to man’s opinion and not according to the New Testament Bible pattern, then we are worshipping in vain (Hebrews 12:24, Matthew 7:21; John 4:24). Please friend, come out of tradition and into truth for the salvation of your soul! If the preaching is not sound, meaning incorrect according to the Bible, then it cannot save (Deuteronomy 4:2; Galatians 1:8-9; Revelation 22:18-19). Not one word, from Genesis to Revelation, can be changed by the opinions and traditions of mankind! Returning back to the subject of the Pharisees, their moral corruptness (i.e. hypocrisy) was also shown in the fact that they made long prayers to impress the hearers and swindled the widows out of their possessions (Matthew 23:14). They were also self-righteous, because they felt they could do no wrong and elevated their own personal righteousness over others in silly pride (Luke 18:9-14; 1 John 2:16) (Torrey, 1880). This is a spirit God does not want any Christian to have. We should not be self-righteous, but confess our faults to God when we make mistakes. Otherwise, we will not be forgiven of our sins through self-justification (Acts 8:22; 1 John 1:8-9). Furthermore, righteousness in God’s eyes is not to be compared one person to another. In other words, as Christians, we cannot compare our righteousness to other Christians, because all have sinned and continue to sin after becoming a Christian (Romans 3:23; 6:23; 1 John 1:7-10). In the end, even though Christians are commanded to live in obedience to the best of our ability and with all of our might, we are all going to be saved by grace (Matthew 7:21; James 2:20; Philippians 2:12-13; Ephesians 2:5, 8). Remember, grace is the unmerited favor of God shined down upon all Christians. No Christian on earth has a right to brag about his/her own personal righteousness, because God declares us to be righteous due to the penalty of our sins being put on His Son, Jesus Christ, and not because we are so personally righteous according to our own merit (Isaiah 53: Hebrews 9:28). Always, keep in mind that God’s grace is reserved for those Christians that are trying to do right, but fall from time-to-time! Grace does not apply to those who are purposely and stubbornly rebellious, because without repentance, even after one has become a Christian, a person cannot be saved (Acts 8:22). Returning to the Pharisees, they loved titles, such as "Rabbi." But Jesus said to call no man Rabbi (i.e. teacher), Master (i.e. teacher), or Father on this earth in a religious sense (Matthew 23:7-10) (Torrey, 1880). Another great error being made in the religious world is that people call preachers by the title of "Reverend. This is greatly in error, because the name Reverend is God’s name and never applied to a man in the entire Bible (Psalm 111). No man should become the object of worship and when we call someone Reverend, then we are worshipping him and not God. Please do not call any man, in a religious sense, Rabbi, Master, Father, or Reverend, because it is sin! The titles, Rabbi, Master, Father, or Reverend" apply only to God and His Son, Jesus Christ (Matthew 23:7-10). Lastly, regarding the Pharisees, they did have some positive ideas, because they believed in the resurrection of the dead and of angels (Acts 23:8) (Torrey, 1880). The Bible clearly teaches that there will be a resurrection of the dead and in fact, the angels are the ones that will cast the evil into everlasting fire (John 5:28-29; Matthew 3:12; Luke 3:17; Matthew 13:24-30). As you will see, if the Lord Wills, the Pharisees became the bitter enemies of Jesus even to the point of seeking opportunities to take the Lord’s life (Matthew 12:14) (Torrey, 1880).

• Matthew 3:7-8 continued: The preaching of John the Baptist continues in these verses. Remember, when John the Baptist saw the Pharisees and Sadducees, he began to preach about the wrath of God to come! We have already studied about the Pharisees, but let’s take a moment to find out who the Sadducees were. Remember, the Sadducees also became bitter enemies of Jesus Christ, generally speaking. The Pharisees and Sadducees were theologically opposed one to another. In other words, they had opposite religious beliefs. The Sadducees did not believe that there was a resurrection of the dead (Matthew 22:23-34; Acts 23:7-8). The Sadducees were also flawed in their knowledge regarding the things of God, because they did not believe there were angels or that man has a spirit (i.e. soul) that lives on beyond the grave (Nave, 1995). On the other hand, the Pharisees believe in both angels and the eternal spirit within man. This triggered arguments between these two religious parties of the Jews. There is no doubt, Biblically speaking, that the Pharisees were right, because there will be a resurrection of the dead, angels are real beings created by God, and all mankind has a spirit (John 5:28-29; Matthew 2:19; 28:2; Luke 1:13, 26-38; Matthew 16:26). In the context of Acts 23:7-8, what is meant by the word "spirit is the soul of mankind (Vincent, 1886). In other words, the Sadducees did not believe that there was an immaterial, eternal nature of mankind after the body dies. From the history books, it seems that they believed in the soul, but thought that it died along with the body according to the non-Christian, Jewish historian Josephus (Barnes, n.d.). The Bible often uses the words spirit and soul interchangeably many times in the Bible, but not all the time. The context determines this interpretation and at a later time, the difference between the two will be explained in those situations where the Bible does make a distinction between the two (if the Lord Wills). Moving forward, the doctrine of the Sadducees is so dangerous to man’s soul, because if one does not believe in an afterlife, then he/she will have no incentive to live a clean, morally correct life in the sight of God and according to the Word of God. This doctrine of no afterlife exists today in other forms, but Jesus surely shows us we have to have faith in Him as the Son of God and obey Him to be saved, which means to live a clean, morally correct life in the sight of God (Matthew 16:15-16; Mark 16:15-16; James 2:20; Matthew 7:21; Hebrews 1:1-3). Of course, one must believe that this same Son of God is one’s Savior (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 5:9-10)! Unfortunately, those who do not believe in and/or obey Jesus Christ will have both the body and soul assigned to eternal punishment (Matthew 10:28). Lastly, before moving on, it is obvious that the Pharisees and Sadducees were both classified as vipers" by John the Baptist. Really, it was God classifying them as snakes, because the Holy Spirit was speaking through John the Baptist (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Thus, this is an indication that the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees caused people to live in such a way that was displeasing to God and caused them to go unto eternal punishment (Matthew 15:1-20; 23:13-39). Reader and friend, is this not enough evidence to show that there are false teachers and preachers even in our day and time? Of course! This is why one must study the Bible, itself, and not accept everything someone says. Unfortunately, false teachers and preachers have existed for thousands of years and exist this very day (Jeremiah 14:14; Matthew 7:15; 24:11, 24; Mark 13:22; Luke 6:26; 2 Peter 2:1; 1 John 4:1)! Again, if it is not in the Bible, then it is false teaching and false teaching condemns one to eternal punishment (Galatians 1:8-9; Matthew 15:9; Mark 7:7; Matthew 7:21; Revelation 22:18-19; 2 Thessalonians 2:2-17). False ministries exist today. Come out from among them before it is everlastingly too late!

• Matthew 3:7-8 Part 3: The preaching of John the Baptist continues in Matthew 3:8 and reads as follows, " . . . Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance . . . " (New King James Version). This shows us that repentance isn’t a feeling, but an action. Many Christians confuse the concepts of godly sorrow, repentance, and confession. These three things are related, but different. Remember, godly sorrow is the feeling of regret produced by sinning against God (2 Corinthians 7:10). Godly sorrow is what drives one to repent. Repentance is a change of mind toward the sinful deed(s) that one has done. Thus, repentance is an action and not a feeling! It is a determination in the mind to quit doing whatever it was that was sinful in the sight of God. Also, repentance can also be a change in another way. We know that if one knows that he/she should have done something that God wanted him/her to do and did not do it, then repentance is doing that action instead of neglecting one’s God-given duty (James 4:17). For example, if a stranger is met that is in need