Matthew 4:1-11 - Getting Started

I've been looking forward to this particular post since we started this thing. The big picture element is breathtaking to me and I'm eager to get started.

We've all heard sermons on this passage. I've heard many - some very good, some not so good. But one thing that each sermon has had in common is the main emphasis of the passage: Jesus has shown us in the wilderness how to deal with temptation using Scripture. That is a fine thing. That truth is definitely present. But there is something much bigger here than Jesus showing the importance of knowing Scripture.

Before we launch into this, I want to say something about "new" interpretations. The big picture interpretation I'm going to propose may be something you've never heard before. Whenever I hear someone teaching on a familiar passage and they give an interpretation that I've never heard before, red flags start going off all over the place for me. I ask myself, what are the odds that in the 2,000 year history of the church this person is the first one to get the right interpretation of this passage? I then do my own study to determine if that person was being faithful to the text.

If my interpretation of this passage strikes you that way, please do your homework. Get into the habit of not being spoon fed. Those who swallow whatever they are given are far more likely to be poisoned!

I will just let you know that I have checked a number of commentaries and I am not the first person in the history of the church to have seen this interpretation. However, don't let that prevent you from doing your own investigation. I think the reason I have never heard this interpretation preached is because of how shallow our study and preaching has become. May the Lord lead us to turn that tide.

Last time, I asked you to look at the last part of chapter 3 for the reason that Jesus gives to John for His being baptized. He tells John, "It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." So, Jesus is concerned about fulfilling all righteousness. We will have a better idea of what that means as we progress in chapter 4. We just want to keep it in mind as we go.

Alright, let's talk big picture. If we take a bird's eye view of the first four chapters of Matthew, we will see in Jesus' life allusions to events in the OT, especially those surrounding the Exodus. In the book of Exodus, Israel went from the promise land into Egypt where they had to stay for a period of time. Then they left Egypt and went through a body of water (Red Sea) and went into the wilderness for testing for 40 years. In Matthew 2, we see Jesus going from the promise land into Egypt where he had to stay for a period of time, then coming out of Egypt back into the promise land. In Matthew 3, we see Jesus going through a body of water. In Matthew 4, he goes into the wilderness for testing for 40 days.

So, as we look at the temptations in the wilderness, we should keep in mind this parallel with Israel's history as well as the concept of fulfilling all righteousness.

So, let's go. First, verse 1 indicates the divine purpose behind this event. "Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil." We know from James 1:13 that God tempts no one. We also know from Job 1 that no temptation happens outside of the sovereign will of God. Jesus himself indicates in the Lord's prayer that God is sovereign over what temptations are allowed to come our way. So, He tempts no one but no temptation occurs without being ordained by God. And everything He does has purpose. So Jesus' time in the wilderness has massive big picture significance.

Next, Matthew tells us that Jesus fasted 40 days and nights and he was hungry. I believe that this information in v.2 and what we read in v.11 serve to make sure we understand that this experience was a serious trial for Jesus. He was hungry (v.2) and he was ministered to by angels (v.11). These verses indicate that this wasn't a game of charades where Jesus acted like he was being tempted and tried. He wasn't just pretending.

There is a move in many circles of the church to lean toward the idea that Jesus didn't experience real temptation. Some are afraid that if we say that Jesus was genuinely tempted, then He must have been capable of sinning, which is out of the question. They think that you can't have both a truly tempted Jesus and an unable-to-sin Jesus. This is a false dichotomy, however.

First of all, it is important to realize what is at stake here. If we say that Jesus was not truly tempted, we make a liar out of the writer of Hebrews:

Hebrews 2:18 - For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.

Hebrews 4:15 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.

Hebrews teaches us that Jesus' ability to serve as our high priest hinges on the fact that he was tempted as we are.

If Jesus was not tempted, then He did not truly assume a human nature. And if that is true, we are dead in our sin. The atonement is predicated on the full humanity of Christ. If He was not fully human, He was not our true representative, the second Adam, and we still owe a debt we can never pay.

So, our whole faith rests on this.

What then do we say to the charge that we can't have a Jesus unable to sin and a Jesus who was really tempted? I'll share an illustration from one of my professors.

There was a long distance swimmer who decided to swim the English channel. As he was swimming, his coach was following in a boat a short distance behind him just in case he had a muscle cramp or became exhausted. The boat was there so that he could not drown. At the end of the successful swim, someone asked the swimmer why he didn't drown. What do you think his answer was? He said, "Because I swam." Imagine how upset the swimmer would have been if someone had said, "The only reason you didn't drown was because you had a rescue boat behind you." The fact that the swimmer could not drown did not mean that he didn't pump his arms and kick his feet and propel himself from shore to shore. He swam the English channel just as he would have if he had been alone.

Jesus couldn't sin. But that doesn't mean that He didn't feel the full weight of temptation. He did. He bore it all. He fulfilled all righteousness.

So as we look forward to this first temptation, let's resist our temptation to minimize what Jesus was experiencing. He was hungry. He was weak. He was exhausted. He needed. And it was into this situation that the Holy Spirit led Him in order to be tempted.

For next time, concentrate on the first temptation. If you have time find out what Scripture Jesus is quoting. Look at the context and see if you can find a connection between the OT situation from which the quotation came and Jesus' situation in the wilderness. Remember that Jesus is concerned with fulfilling all righteousness.

Let's also thank Him for His perseverance under temptation so that He could be our great high priest, perfectly able to sympathize with us in our weakness.

Matthew 3:1-12 - Big Picture

There are a couple of things I want cover in this post. First, let's talk about how this passage is functioning in Matthew's theme of the New People of God. Second, I'd like to touch on some present day implications for the Church.

As we've talked about before, Matthew will over the course of the book show the Jews separating from Jesus and Jesus building a New People of God out of believing Gentiles and Jews. This chapter is very in-your-face, in that we see that the first time that the Kingdom is preached in this gospel it results in a confrontation between the truth and the Jewish leaders. The huge verse behind this idea is verse 9. Right after telling the Pharisees and Sadducees to bear fruit in keeping with repentance, John says, "Do not presume to say among yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones."

I can almost hear the collective gasp that must have resounded in the crowd as John dared to say such things to the religious elite. These were the leaders of God's chosen people, defined by their posterity, their circumcision, and their law. To be a son of Abraham was to be among the people of God. This was an exclusive party. If you were a Jew you were in. If not, you were out.

And here, John the Baptist says, "That is all but meaningless. You must bear fruit that is the evidence of repentance." This is the beginning of the tension between the Kingdom of Heaven and the Jewish leaders. A totally mind-blowing new paradigm is arriving in this Kingdom and the Jews simply will not be able to handle it.

John continues with more tough words. He returns to the fruit theme, "Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees; therefore every tree not producing good fruit is cut down and cast into fire." The ax is here. The time has come. Fruit will determine which tree lives and which one is removed.

In verse 11, John gets very specific. Up until this point, the chapter was focused on John. Now John shifts the focus to Jesus, on whom it will stay until the end of the Gospel. He tells of One who is coming who is qualitatively different from John. John baptizes in water. This One will baptize in the Holy Spirit and fire.

Let me stop and say that there is so much here, we could spend weeks looking just at this. The issue of the connection between baptism and repentance could be a whole series in itself and would require going all over the Bible. For the sake of time, I'll give you my two cents and encourage you to investigate it for yourself. There are three ways this could be taken: 1) baptism effects repentance, 2) baptism demands or summons repentance, or 3) baptism presupposes and expresses repentance. I think these are the only ways the grammar of the Greek here could be read. However, in the context of the whole of Scripture, #3 is the only plausible option. If you want to talk more about it let me know.

Then what about baptism by the Spirit and fire? This is an extremely difficult phrase to interpret. Again, I don't want to write a book. Some think that both things are referring to salvation. Some think that both are referring to judgment. Some think that the Spirit refers to salvation and the fire refers to judgment. Personally, just looking at the flow of the passage, I lean towards judgment. Matthew uses the word 'fire' three times, one right after another in verses 10-12. The first and third times it is clearly referring to judgment. Given Matthew's affinity for triads (which we will see all through the book, including the next chapter) I think he is giving a triple warning of judgment. The Spirit? Well, both the Greek and Hebrew words for spirit also mean wind or breath. There are numerous places in the OT where wind and fire are part of a picture of judgment.

I'm not certain and I would never argue with anyone about it. But I didn't want to ignore it. So there you go.

But what is the predominant picture painted here of the Coming One? This man will be a Judge like no other. He is no passive, sissy hippy. He means business and He will separate the wheat from the chaff.

And the chaff are doomed.

Who are the chaff? The several references to repentance and fruit in the preceding verses tell us that the wheat are the people who bear fruit. The chaff are the people who don't bear fruit. This kind of stark separation will be seen later on using the imagery of sheep and goats. There is no ambiguity. There are no borderline cases, no reviews, no appeals - you either bear fruit or you don't. And woe to all those who don't.

Alright, how about present day implications. Think for a second about the fact that the first preaching about the Kingdom was a sermon about judgment. Consider also that Jesus in His preaching had far more to say about hell than heaven.

But it has become quite uncommon to hear this kind of preaching today. The prevailing idea is that it is unloving to preach about hell and judgment - we should love people to repentance. How strange to think that the preaching of Jesus and John the Baptist would be considered harsh and pessimistic today.

If you only hear one line in this whole post, hear this one: it is the most loving thing you can possibly do to tell someone that if they do not repent and give themselves without qualification to Christ, a terrible expectation of judgment awaits them. Literal hell. Literal fire. I think most people are afraid of being rejected for speaking this truth. Don't worry - you will be rejected. (Just wait for chapter 10.) Jesus and John were both killed for speaking the truth. The wheat will hear and heed, and the chaff will hear and reject - you can bank on it. But at the end of the day this does not excuse us from delivering the truth in love. I believe that judgment is an indispensable part of the gospel. Grace is not grace outside the context of God's wrath over man's sin. People must know what they are being saved from.

Repent. Bear fruit. Or face judgment. That is the message of this passage.

Take a look at the end of chapter 3 on your own. There is an important key there that we'll need before we look at our next passage. John objects to baptizing Jesus. Jesus gives him a reason why it is necessary. Find it and chew on it. Our next passage is Matthew 4:1-11. Wonderful things await us. Spend some time in it before the next post. Drink deep.

Matthew 3:1-12 - Metanoeite!

That's meta-noy-ate-uh. It's the Greek verb for "repent." This one word encapsulates John's message.

But first, let's take a look at a few ways that John is a forerunner of Jesus.
1. The first words we hear him say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," give us the content of his message, but also, if we look further in the book, we'll see that Jesus begins his ministry with these exact words in 4:17.
2. In 3:7, John addresses the Pharisees and Sadducees as "you brood of vipers." Who else addresses them this way? Jesus does in 12:34 and 23:33. In 3:8, John admonishes them to "bear fruit in keeping with repentance." Fruit bearing is one of Jesus' favorite metaphors; he uses it in chapters 7, 12, 13, and 21.
3. John says that his own baptism is of water, but that Jesus will baptize with the Spirit and fire. 4. Later, John's death at the hands of Herod precedes Jesus death at the hands of Pilate.

So we see that John is serving as a forerunner in a bunch of little ways.

But what is the main way in which John is the forerunner of Jesus? His whole purpose is tied up in that greek word above. Metanoeite. The command to repent. This the bulk of his message in this passage. Verse 2 is the key: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

As we saw in chapter 2, there are two camps here. One camp is responding favorably to John's message. One camp is not. The people of Judea have heard the message of repentance and have come to confess their sins and be baptized. The Pharisees and Sadducees have not come for this purpose. How do we know? Because of how John welcomes them to the scene: "You, brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? [In other words, 'it's not like you to humbly confess sin'] Therefore, bear fruit in keeping with repentance."

He goes on to cut them off at the knees: "Do not presume to say among yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones." John is saying here that salvation is not a matter of paternity but of repentance and faith. In other words, being a descendant of Abraham is of no help to you without the fruit of repentance. Paul says in Galatians 3:7, "it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham."

Paternity is not the precursor for inclusion in the people of God. Repentance is. This is John's purpose - to issue a call to repentance as salvation draws near.

How does John know that the Jewish leaders have not repented? They have not born evidence of it, the fruit of repentance. They think that they have heaven in the bag because they are Jewish. The reality is that they are doomed to hell because they have not repented as manifested in the bearing of fruit.

So, John's message is, "Repent - someone else is coming after me who will separate those who have not repented from those who have." That One coming after John is going to separate the wheat from the chaff. We'll look at this more closely in the next post.

Now, what should we chew on here? One huge thing is that people who have repented show signs of it. Church membership is meaningless here. Having said a prayer won't cut it either. True repentance and faith is the only way.

I'm afraid that many people in our churches are damned because they have been convinced by someone or have convinced themselves that all they needed to do was say a prayer. We all know people who claim to be Christians but who show absolutely no signs of fruit.

My older sister said a prayer when she was a kid and spent all her adolescent years and early adulthood believing that she was saved. A few years ago, in her late twenties, she was studying Hebrews and through that study was led to turn away from her sinfulness and give herself completely to Him. Some time later, as she reflected back on her life and the lack of fruit that characterized it prior to her study of Hebrews, she realized that she was not saved when she prayed that prayer as a kid. She realized that it was in the Hebrews study that she had actually repented and given herself to the Lord.

Let me testify today that I know that my sister is redeemed, and I know when it happened. The rest of our family would say the same thing. Her life prior to that study was virtually devoid of fruit, joyless and miserable, lived according to the course of this world. She is today a new creation. The old has passed away. She has repented and given herself to the Lord. He has taken away the heart of stone and replaced it with a heart of flesh that beats only to please her Master. I do not personally know of another person in whom the Lord has worked such a dramatic change. She is literally the kindest, sweetest person I know. She has borne fruit in keeping with repentance.

Repentance results in fruit. Period. My goal is not to make everyone doubt their salvation. But it is my goal to make some of you doubt your salvation. If you made some kind of public display, prayed a prayer, walked an aisle, got baptized, joined a church, preached a sermon, or had the hair on your neck stand up when you sang a hymn, but you do not have any fruit providing evidence that you have repented of your sin and become a new creation - it is very likely that you are the chaff and not the wheat. And right now you have a horrible expectation of judgment.
But it doesn't have to be that way. Pray that the Lord will grant you repentance. Turn from your sin. Surrender to the Savior. Pledge to Him everything that you are. And trust Him to save you. All those who truly desire Him and do this will be saved.

For those of you who have repented, may the Holy Spirit bear witness with your spirit that you are an adopted child of God. For those of you who have not, may the Holy Spirit lead you to profound grief over your sin and utter dependence upon God to save you from His own wrath.

Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

Matthew 3:1-12 - John the Baptist

Can you believe it? We've moved on to a different chapter! I'm going to make a concerted effort to move quicker. There was just a lot of background to cover in chapter 2. From here on out we won't camp out for so long.

Okay, I mentioned a while back that the verb tenses make a shift between chapter 2 and chapter 3. In chapters 1 & 2, the tenses were primarily aorist (you don't have to know what that means). In chapter 3, they are primarily present tense. Basically, we could think of the first couple of chapters as backgrounding and now we are in the foreground. Its like a wideangle shot in a movie then zooming in for a closeup. We are about to be introduced to Jesus. But before that, the suspense builds with this first part of chapter 3, as John the Baptist, the forerunner, predicts Jesus' intro.


By way of reminder, when we look for the main point of a text, we want to pay special attention to any "authoritative speakers" we find. We have one in this passage, of course - John. The first 6 verses serve to establish him as such a speaker, telling us why what he says is important. In the second half of the passage we see that all the dialogue comes from him. So, we get his resume, so to speak, in the first part of the passage, so that we will pay close attention to what he says in the second part of the passage. Everything is moving toward the dialogue, so it is the dialogue that will hold the key to our interpretation.


Today we'll take some time to look at this first part, why we should pay attention to this guy. The most obvious reason is the OT quotation from Isaiah 40:3. As in the previous 2 chapters, Matthew is not being subtle here. John the Baptist is the one about whom Isaiah prophesied.

It is helpful to understand the context of the OT verse being quoted. In Isaiah 39, Isaiah has told Hezekiah of the coming Babylonian exile. Chapter 40 opens with, "Comfort, O comfort My people," says your God. "Speak kindly to Jerusalem; and call out to her, that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity has been removed, that she has received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins." A voice is calling, "Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. "Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; and let the rough ground become a plain, and the rugged terrain a broad valley; Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

Let me say something real quick about a concept called multiple fulfillment. Frequently, in the Bible we find prophecies that have a near future fulfillment and a distant future fulfillment. That is, the prophecy is fulfilled multiple times. That is the case here. The coming of John the Baptist as the forerunner for Jesus is the distant future fulfillment.

Thus, the Lord is sending a message of comfort promising salvation from the LORD. This idea is prominent in the prophets and throughout the OT. The book of Judges is especially helpful in terms of God sending salvation following God’s judgment for the sins of His people. In each ‘cycle’ of sin and salvation in Judges, God raises up a redeemer. This text in Isaiah trumpets the ultimate redeemer, God Himself and calls on a forerunner to prepare the way. So, what does this tell us about John? His words are to be heeded - he is preparing the way for salvation.

There is something else very cool here lending credibility to John that our modern culture would never pick up on a casual reading. What's the deal with the clothes? Well, John's description in the greek text is an almost verbatim copy of the description of Elijah in 2Kings 1:8 LXX (LXX is the 'Septuagint'; it is the greek Old Testament used by most Jews during this time period.) In Matthew 11:14, Jesus confirms that John is a prophet and says that John is Elijah.

What about the diet? Later, Jesus tells us that John 'came neither eating nor drinking' (11:18). This just means that he didn't eat meat or drink wine, which is what this passage is implying. He was set apart, consecrated to the Lord.

All of this says, "John is an authoritative speaker. Listen to John."

Now, what does it mean for John to be a forerunner?

We'll talk about that next time. If you can, read the second half of this passage several times and think about what John is doing to prepare the way for Jesus. And what does that mean for us as we tell people about Jesus?

Matthew 2:1-12 - Big Picture

Before you read this post, be sure to check out the comment by Rick Jones on the last post. Rick had some great insights on why Jerusalem was troubled by the birth of the King. Anyone else who would like to make comments, just click 'comments' under the post. On the comments page you'll have an opportunity to register. Pretty simple.

Alright, it's big picture time. I think the main idea here is something we've already talked about. This narrative is serving to show that Jesus is the Messiah, giving his 'credentials'. There are several things that point us in this direction.

1) There are the Gentile magi who travel from the east to worship the King of the Jews, having received special revelation regarding the child's location and identity. vv.1-2.
2) There is the Jewish madman Herod, who believes so strongly that the baby is the Christ that he tries to hunt the baby down, and finally kills all the male babies two years old and younger in Bethlehem on the off chance that one of them is the baby King. vv.3, 8, 16.
3) God appears to the magi in a dream and warns them not to divulge to Herod where the child is. God, through supernatural revelation is protecting this baby. v.12.
4) An angel appears to Joseph in a dream telling him to take the baby and Mary to Egypt. Again, God, through supernatural revelation is protecting the baby. vv.13-14.
5) The Lord appears to Joseph in a dream in Egypt telling him it is safe to take the child back into Israel. He later steers Joseph to settle in Galilee to stay away from danger in Judea. Again, supernatural revelation...vv.19-20, 22-23.
6) The biggest thing: four OT quotation/allusions showing that all of this was a fulfillment of Scripture. These are Messianic prophecies - Jesus fulfills them all.

These things so convince the listener that Jesus is the Messiah, that by the time we actually hear from him in chapter 3, we accept what he says. In everyday life, before I accept or believe something that someone says, I want to know who that person is. Same thing here.

Another somewhat latent theme, as I've written before, is the providence of God in all of these things. The OT quotations as well as the other supernatural things that happen show us that this is all going according to plan. The fulfilled prophecy doesn't just tell us that God foresaw what was going to happen, and that now the events are happening just as He foresaw. Rather it tells us what God determined would happen and that now He is working all these things according to His plan. If we believe that prophecy is simply God foreseeing things rather than divulging His plans, we must also believe that God is the luckiest being conceivable. Imagine the absurdity of thinking that all the things in this chapter happened according to chance and yet somehow worked out in God's best interest. And our best interest, for that matter. If we fast-forward to the cross, and believe that God has only foreseen things rather than planned them, then the cross is simply what Pilate gave Him to work with. Therefore, the cross was handed to God, rather than God handing it to Jesus. Scripture will not allow such a view (Acts 2:22-23; 4:27-28; Eph 1:11).

Rather, we should cherish this birdseye view of God's providential care in the securing of our salvation. He has orchestrated every piece of the puzzle and this chapter shows Him bringing it together.

Also, a huge theme in the book that we will see over and over is the rejection of the Jews and the inclusion of the Gentiles. This chapter gives a small picture of this in that the Jewish figures reject the baby and the Gentile figures seek him and worship him. Jesus' ministry will begin focused exclusively with the Jews. As the tension builds between Jesus and the Jews because of their unbelief, Jesus then makes a decided change in his ministry and teaching. He will begin to build the new people of God, the Church. We'll see this change very clearly. God's providence is evident throughout, showing that the Church was not plan B. It was plan A (Rom 9-11; Eph 2-3).

So what is the application? Beyond just pondering the beauty of this portion of salvation history, we should look at the two camps in the story. We see people making choices. Some choose to seek the Messiah and worship him. Others reject him and even try to destroy him. Black and white. Yes or no. Christ presents every human being with a choice. Worship or reject. As we will see later in this book, he divides the wheat from the chaff, the sheep from the goats, the believers from the unbelievers. He is the Great Divider. (He is also the great Uniter as he unites believing Jews and Gentiles in the body of Christ, Eph 2-3.)

Our preaching, teaching, and evangelism should highlight this choice. I'm afraid for many pastors Jesus has become an I'm-okay-you're-okay cosmic hippy/genie who just wants to make everyone feel good. If we are telling people that Jesus is the answer to their heartache and loneliness, we are not presenting him as the choice that he is. If he is Tylenol for the broken heart, one might think, 'That's a nice option. I'll keep that in mind.' But if he is presented in stark terms, that he must be embraced or rejected, and that this one decision has eternal ramifications, heaven or hell - now, that's a decision that demands attention.

Please understand, I am not saying that as we share we must frame Jesus as a choice. I'm saying that he IS a choice and that if we do not present him as he IS, we have not presented him at all. John the Baptist will be doing some hardcore preaching on this very subject in our next passage.

Have you made the choice yet? Still thinking about it? There are only two sides of the line. To be undecided is to be decided against him.

For next time, Matthew 3:1-12. Read it if you can. Several times would even be better.

Drink deep and I'll talk to you soon,
Greg

Matthew 2:1-12 - Herod & All Jerusalem

Alright, before we go on to Herod and Jerusalem, I want to say something about intended meaning. As I mentioned last time, I don't think that providence is the main point of the passage, but it is in there. In fact, God's providence over all things is a clear theme throughout the bible. The thing to keep in mind as we go along is that there are layers of meaning in most texts, especially in Matthew. What do I mean by layers of meaning? There is truth that can be gleaned by the novice student, kind of like a surface meaning. Then there are things that can be seen by people with a little broader knowledge of the Scriptures. Then there are things, huge things, which can be found by those completely eaten up with the Word. To illustrate, the first time I watched Star Wars with my son Jackson, we were watching Episode 1. He was two. He loved it. It was the only thing on the planet that could make him sit still for two solid hours. (I was so proud.) He could see what was going on. He learned the characters, which ones were good, which ones were bad, and the sequence of events. He was seeing the movie as it was, but at a very surface level. He had never seen the original trilogy. So when we would watch the movie together, we were seeing things at very different levels. I had seen the original trilogy 1.53million times. So I was picking up things that he couldn't have because he was not familiar with the original movies. I was making connections all over the place, seeing the significance of certain lines, noticing the development of different characters, picking up on the irony of several relationships, noticing repeated themes and phrases, and basically enjoying the movie on a much deeper level. Jackson's interpretation of what he was seeing was not wrong. He just wasn't seeing as much as I was.

It is the same way with the Scriptures. John MacArthur has a bit better grasp on the Bible than I do. When we study the same book, we'll come up with different levels of stuff. He will see and understand far more than I will.

I say this simply so that as I'm pointing to a number of different things going on you won't freak out. My goal is to hit things on the surface and things a little deeper - like close-up shots and big picture shots. So far, in chapter 2 we've seen that Matthew is establishing Jesus' credibility as the Messiah. That's a big picture thing. We've also seen the Magi and their journey and the significance of what they did and said. That's more of a close-up thing. We're about to look at Herod and Jerusalem, another close-up thing. Finally, we'll look at a couple of big picture things to finish up this passage. It's the big picture stuff that you might not pick up on the surface.

Okay. Herod. We'll try to follow roughly the same pattern we saw with the Magi. What he knows, where he is, and what he does about it. What he knows: Well, he knows what the Magi told him - they were led there by a star, a Jewish king has been born, and that the baby is to be worshiped. It should be striking that a group of Magi from the other part of the known world are the ones filling Herod in on this. Which brings us to Where he is: he is in Jerusalem, in Israel. He is in the best place in the world stay up to speed on things like this. But he didn't have a clue. And he freaks out. And he's not alone: v.3 "When Herod heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him." (This is pointing to one of the major big picture things that we'll talk about later. But I'll force myself to wait.)

Why would Herod be bothered by the birth of a baby King of the Jews? It's obvious - job security. But it's most likely deeper - he doesn't want anyone to be king over him. Why would Jerusalem be bothered, too? Honestly, I don't know. If you have any ideas let me know. I have a big picture answer, but on a human level I'm not sure. Maybe they were afraid of a revolution. Maybe they preferred to not rock the boat. I don't know. One thing is certain, they were the most likely people on the planet to seek Him out and worship Him. Paul referred to the Jews as the "Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all..." (Rom. 9:4-5; By the way, take a look at Romans 9-11, if you have time, for a hint about the big picture of Matthew.) They were in the perfect position to accept Him and worship.

What he did: what the Jews did with what they knew will be seen through the rest of the book. This chapter, though, tells us clearly what Herod did with what he knew. He brought in the experts to find out where to look for the boy. Notice that their response not only tells him where to look, but it confirms to him who the child is. So he knows that this is the Christ, but he proceeds with his plan anyway. He lies to the Magi, telling them that he wants to worship the child, too, so that they will find the boy for him. Later in the chapter, he will do the unthinkable in his attempt to destroy the boy. What did Herod do with what he knew?

This is a huge question. It's the most important question for every person who ever lived. What have you done with what you know? Romans 1 indicates that the knowledge of God's creation alone is sufficient revelation to make us culpable before God. His creation alone tells us that He is and that He is to be worshiped. To fail to do that is to be condemned. So, no one will be able to stand before God and say, "but I didn't know."

But those of us to whom much has been revealed will be all the more culpable. Jesus says to the Jews in Matthew 11:21-22 "...if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you." For Herod and the Jews, who knew who Jesus was and rejected Him, hell will be all the more unspeakable.

Speaking about the issue of what one does with what one knows, the writer of Hebrews wrote:
"For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?" (Heb 10:26-29)

What have you done with what you know?

Alright, next time - big picture things.

Until then, drink deep.
Greg