Matthew 4

This chapter covers a lot! It opens with what may be one of the most under-stated things in the whole Bible: "And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry." (4:2, NASB). Maybe they didn't have words like starving or famished, but after that long without food Jesus most assuredly was *very* 'hungry'. Satan takes this opportunity to tempt Him, but Jesus rebuffs him by quoting back scripture in each instance. That is an excellent example to us of how we should resist temptation: memorize passages of God's Word on various topics, so that we can recall them and recite them in stressful situations. David said it well in the Psalms: "Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You." (119:11, NASB)

At some point after the temptation, Jesus got word that John has been taken prisoner (by Herod as we'll later find out, though a different person of the same name than was king at Jesus' birth). He relocated to another part of Israel to begin His ministry, in turn fulfilling yet another prophecy (Isaiah 9:1-2), and started recruiting his disciples. Four are named in this passage, all fishermen, and in fact two pairs of brothers: Peter, Andrew, James, and John. With them in tow, Jesus began to travel - preaching, teaching, and healing as He went... amassing quite a crowd of followers in the process.

Matthew 3

It isn't mentioned directly, but this chapter jumps forward many years from the previous ones. Jesus is now a grown man, and we are introduced briefly to John the Baptizer (I use that term out of habit, as it is what a prof in my high school used to make sure people didn't think John was a Baptist in the modern denominational sense). The details about him and his relationship to Jesus are glossed over in this Gospel, but when I get to... I think it is Luke... there will be a lot more depth about them. As I read Matthew I really begin to appreciate Luke more: it was geared toward a Gentile audience, while Matthew was aimed at Jewish folks. That is in part why Matthew focuses so heavily on where Jesus and the events surrounding His life fulfill prophecy.

Speaking of that, we find out that John's ministry was foretold by Isaiah (40:3). The classic idea we have of baptism also gets its roots here, with people being immersed in the Jordan river as a symbol of their repentance and being forgiven of their sins. I know that some churches practice simply sprinkling with water instead, and while their heart is in the right place it doesn't evoke the same idea of being completely washed clean and becoming a new creation.

Finally, we have the public revealing of Jesus and His true nature as the Son of God. This is one of many events in Jesus' earthly ministry that would have been pretty amazing to see! Ah, what I wouldn't give for a time machine...

Matthew 2

As I suspected in my comments on the previous chapter, this section contains more of the 'Christmas Story' as we traditionally think of it. The visit of the magi, or wise men, is often pictured as being right at Jesus' birth - but it certainly looks from the text like it came later, maybe even as much as a year or two after He was born.

It is also pretty cool that the closest things they had to scientists back then came to worship Jesus, after observing some sort of new star in the heavens. I've often wondered if that was God using a supernova or comet - something like that which He simply timed properly - or if it was something altogether supernatural. It doesn't much matter, just something I've thought about a few times.

We've also got the account of Herod's mass murder of children in this chapter. As with all violence, especially against the young and innocent, it is a tragedy... but it shows just how much some people love power, and how twisted our sinful, human nature can be. It also fills another prophecy about Jesus' birth (Jeremiah 31:15), as does His family's return from Egypt after Herod's death and their eventual settling in Nazareth.

Matthew 1

This chapter features two main parts: the genealogy of Jesus and then the abridged story of Jesus' birth. I'll tackle that first. Matthew doesn't go into nearly as much detail here as some of the other Gospels, from what I remember; in particular I think Luke has more in the lead-up to Jesus' birth.

There will likely be more about the events around His birth in the next chapter of Matthew, but the big takeaway here is that Jesus was born to a virgin. His mother, Mary, was impregnated by God - not God physically coming down and sleeping with her, as some claim, but supernaturally without any physical contact from a man. This is the only such event in history, and I've always thought it made perfect sense since Jesus was sinless. It is clearly stated elsewhere in the Bible that all humans have an innate sinful nature, and that it is passed down from father to son (and daughter) - but Jesus had no human father, and so did not inherit that nature! This was the only way that God could be born into our world, really, and it had been prophesied hundreds of years earlier by Isaiah (7:14). This is the first of many prophecies about the coming Messiah which Jesus fulfilled, and I will try to highlight as many of them as I can over the course of reading through the Gospels.

As for the genealogy, it traces Jesus' royal lineage through his adopted human father, Joseph. He was a direct descendant of King David, which was important because that was another prophecy about the Messiah: he would reign on the throne of David forever (Jeremiah 33:14-17). It also interesting to note so many names from the Old Testament which feature in this list - Rahab, Ruth & Boaz, David & Solomon, and of course the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). It really goes to show that the Bible is His Story - the story of Jesus, from His hand in creation through to the end of time. May His name be praised forever and ever, amen!

Reboot!

So it has been nearly three years now since I abandoned this project, and it has been my intent to resume many times... but it never came together. At the stage I am now at in life, though, I really need to be in God's Word regularly - and not just reading it mindlessly, but meditating on it. I am also in need of God's truth in my life, and His instruction.

As such I am rebooting this blog. I am not going to resume in I Samuel, where I left off, though. That part of the Bible is largely historical, and while very interesting to my mind it is not exactly overflowing with lessons and teaching I can apply in my life as a husband and father. Instead, I am going to start fresh in the Gospels, and work my way through the New Testament one chapter and one day at a time. When I finish, I hope to go back and resume my study of the Old Testament as well... but lets not get ahead of ourselves just yet :) I will be reading Matthew chapter 1 shortly, and hopefully posting my thoughts before the stroke of midnight. That doesn't give me very long, so I had better get to it!

To any of you who follow this blog, I would greatly appreciate your prayers for my continued dedication to studying God's Word, and of course any comments you want to leave on this blog :)

1 Samuel 11

Wow, now this chapter is pretty amazing! Some of the Israelites weren't sure that Saul was the right man to lead them - questioning God yet again - but when one of their towns is attacked and Saul finds out about it the Spirit comes on him again and he summons the Israelites to war. He is very persuasive, in that he threatens death to anyone (presumably any man fit for battle, at least) who doesn't come with him, and in turn 300,000 men report for duty. Saying they defeated the invaders would be an understatement: no two enemy survivors made it out together.

Some interesting things to take away from this chapter:

- Saul was working his fields when the news of the invasion came to him. Working... in his fields... despite being king. I guess the Israelites really didn't have the concept of what a king was like yet, or maybe things were just different back then.

- After the battle, many called for the execution of those who had spoken out against Saul's kingship. Saul prevented it, though... again showing that he at least started his reign with honor.

1 Samuel 10

As I suspected in my last entry, this chapter contains a bit more activity. Samuel privately anoints Saul and tells him that he is to be king. He then foretells of a few signs that this is true, which happen in their turn. Once that is all complete Samuel calls the Israelites together and reveals the king that God has selected for them (since they rejected His divine leadership).

It is interesting, as I mentioned last time, that we see a very different side of Saul here. I suppose I should look at it the other way - this is Saul as he was when young, when God picked him and His Spirit filled the young king and led him to prohecy.

I am also a bit ammused at the image of Saul hiding among the luggage when it is time to reveal him publicly as king. It seems that stagefright is not a recent contrivance!