Thursday
Nights
October
6, 2022
Introduction
Three weeks ago we did a bit of introduction to Matthew
as both a book and a person, so I won’t say much tonight other than to remind you that Matthew
was a Jewish tax collector who decided to follow Jesus. We also looked at the magnificent, complex, and
beautiful genealogy of Jesus that Matthew laid out that stretched from Abraham to David to
Babylon and then to Jesus.
Two weeks ago we started to look at the birth of
Jesus Christ and
how God sent an angel to Joseph to let him know that his wife was carrying a
very special baby.
Last week we
peeked into the visit of the Magi to the two-year-old child in Bethlehem. After being warned by an angel, Joseph took
his family to Egypt.
2:19-23 On To Nazareth
:19 Now when Herod was
dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
dead – teleutao
– to finish, bring to an end, close
Interesting choice of words from
Matthew. Herod the great didn’t just
“die”, he “came to an end”.
:20 saying, “Arise, take
the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who
sought the young Child’s life are dead.”
Don’t forget that these are ancient times.
Joseph was living in Egypt and he didn’t have
the benefit of watching Fox News or CNN to find out the latest developments
back in Israel.
The angel tells Joseph that Herod was dead, and that it was now safe to
return to Israel.
:21 Then he arose, took
the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.
:22 But when he heard
that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was
afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into
the region of Galilee.
:22 Archelaus was
reigning over Judea
Herod the Great had seven sons, some of which didn’t reach adulthood
because they were killed by Herod.
When Herod died, his kingdom was divided among several of his sons.
Archelaus was
the sixth son, and when Herod died, Archelaus ruled over the regions of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea
(Edom).
He ruled from
4BC to AD6.
Archelaus was
known for his tyranny, murder, instability, and it’s been thought that he was
insane. Sounds a bit like dad.
So Joseph won’t want to settle in the southern
area of Judea, and instead heads north.
:22 he turned aside
into the region of Galilee
At Herod the
Great’s death, the region of Galilee was ruled over by Herod Antipas from 4BC
to AD 39.
Herod Antipas would have John the Baptist arrested and beheaded. Jesus called Antipas a “fox” (Luke 13:31-33),
and Jesus would stand before Herod at one of the trials before His death.
A word about
Galilee
There are some Bible verses that make us believe that the area of Galilee
was a backwoods region, kind of like Hillbillies in the Ozarks.
I’ve taught this.
What I didn’t know until recently was the history of Jews migrating from
Babylon.
The Jews had
been taken off to Babylon in 586BC by King Nebuchadnezzar.
When the
Persian King Cyrus let the Jews return (around 500BC), they returned in a few
waves initially, but they all settled in the south near Jerusalem.
This
brought about the rebuilding of the Temple and the priests reinstituting Temple
sacrifice and worship.
Yet
a million Jews remained in Babylon. There were great
rabbinical schools that flourished in Babylon.
By 300BC the
land of Israel was being ruled by the Greeks, descendants from Alexander the
Great’s conquering of the land.
Under the
leadership of Judas Maccabeus, the Jews rebelled against Greeks (167BC) and set
up an independent
kingdom that lasted until 63BC.
This
kingdom, known as the Hasmonean dynasty brought hope
to the Jews still living in Babylon, and for the hundred years before Jesus was
born, large numbers
of Jews began to immigrate back to the land of Israel from Babylon.
The
southern part of Israel had already been settled, the central part of Israel
was occupied by the Samaritans, so the immigrants from Babylon settled in the north, in
Galilee.
They
founded cities like Cana,
Nazareth, Capernaum, Chorazin, Magdala, and Bethsaida.
They
settled in Galilee
Remember in our first week how we saw the genealogy of Jesus going from
Abraham to David to BABYLON
and then to Jesus?
I think we can appreciate a little better why Matthew took
the genealogy through Babylon. A
significant part of Israel’s population had those same connections back to
Babylon.
These Jews who
settled in Galilee might have been looked down upon by those in the south, but
they weren’t ignorant idiots.
They
were extremely religious.
They
brought their own rabbinic schools.
They
would have been considered “charismatics” in a way because they believed in and
were acquainted with the power of the Holy Spirit.
They
were not the “traditionalists” (those lived in the south).
They
raised their hands when they sang. They danced in the
synagogues.
Their
rabbis performed miracles, healings, and prophesied.
How do we know this?
The
Mishnah, the six volumes of Jewish traditions, was written about 100 years
after Jesus.
There
are more quotes from rabbis of Capernaum than all the other rabbis of the world
combined.
Ray Vander Laan likes to say that Capernaum was the
“Harvard” of ancient Judaism (though I think that might be a little
exaggerated).
Capernaum would become Jesus’ base of operations after He
grows up.
Does any of this change your perception of the Galilee?
:23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth,
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be
called a Nazarene.”
:23 dwelt in a
city called Nazareth
(play map video)
If you look on the map, Nazareth
is in the center of the Galilee region, about midway between the Sea of Galilee
and the Mediterranean. It’s up in the
hills north of the valley of Jezreel.
Today, Nazareth is a large Arab
city.
When you visit Israel, the tour
guides tend to only give you a glimpse of the city, even though it has a famous
churches built to commemorate parts of Jesus’ life.
What was Nazareth like in
Jesus’ day?
There have been
some archaeological digs recently that have found a small village dating back
to the first century. Some
archaeologists have concluded the village was only a few hundred people.
But not a lot of digging has been done, so I’m a little reluctant to say
too much. We’ll just watch and see.
(Note: Twenty-five years ago we didn’t know where
Magdala or Bethsaida were – but over the last twenty years both of those places
have been identified and we’ve been to both of them)
Jesus would
grow up in the city called Nazareth.
After His ministry had started, He made a trip back to Nazareth.
(Matthew 13:54–56 NKJV) —54 When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their
synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man
get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is this not the carpenter’s son?
Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?
56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man
get all these things?”
These people remembered Jesus. They remembered Joseph. They knew Jesus’ family.
Lesson
How to Dad
I think sometime it would be cool to do a
“Father’s Day” message on the life of Joseph.
He was a good dad. I could see
Joseph making a video like this…
Video: How to Dad - Cheerios
Look at what we
know about Joseph:
He wasn’t
afraid to take Mary as his wife, even though he faced possible scandal.
We talked last
week about the example of obedience Joseph set for his family.
He obeyed God and took his family to Egypt.
He obeyed God and took his family back to Israel, to
Nazareth.
He provided for
his family. He worked a job. He raised a family.
Dads, do the hard things.
Sacrifice for your family.
Provide for your family.
Love on your kids.
Play with your kids.
It’s worth it.
:23 He shall be
called a Nazarene
Matthew is a little vague here about the prophecy. He just says it was the “prophets”. I am not aware of a specific prophecy calling
the Messiah a “Nazarene”, but there are some that are close.
It’s a little unclear what the term “Nazarene” even refers to. Many say it means He was from Nazareth, but I
think there’s probably more to it than that.
You are
familiar with Samson. Samson was a Nazirite, or
from the word nazir. The word nazir
means “devoted” or “dedicated”. A person who wants to devote himself to God for
a period of time takes a “Nazirite vow”, and he grows
his hair, doesn’t touch dead bodies, and doesn’t eat or drink anything
connected to grapes.
Famous Nazirites were Samson, Samuel, and even John the Baptist.
Jesus was not a true “Nazirite” (He did drink wine), but He was definitely
“devoted” to God.
Another idea … Isaiah
wrote,
(Isaiah 11:1 NKJV) There shall come forth a Rod from
the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of
his roots.
This is a prophecy about the Messiah (“Branch”) being a descendant of
Jesse, who was King David’s dad.
The word for
“Branch” is netzer, which is pretty close to the word for
“Nazarene”.
Other than
that, this is one verse for which I’m waiting further information…
3:1-6 The Baptizer
Matthew now fast forwards about thirty years in time.
:1 In those days John the
Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
:2 and saying, “Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
:1 John the Baptist
John’s name in Greek is Ioannes
It is based on the Hebrew name Jehohanan, or
Yehohanan, which can be shortened to Johanan or Yohanan.
Our English name John is shortened from Johanan.
His name means “Yahweh
is gracious”
He is called “the Baptist” because he baptizes people, not because he
belongs to a Baptist church.
The Greek word
for “baptize” is baptizo, which means to “immerse” in
water.
It does not mean “sprinkle”
:1 preaching in the
wilderness of Judea
This was most
likely the area of the Jordan River near where it empties into the Dead Sea.
It’s like a
desert there. The word for “wilderness”
is literally “desert”.
We’ve talked
about this before, that to a Jew, the wilderness is where you will meet God.
Moses found the
burning bush in the desert.
The Israelites
jelled as a nation in the desert.
Elijah spent
time in the desert before confront King Ahab.
It’s in the
desert that the Essene Jews set up their community at Qumran to seek God and
study the scrolls.
Jesus will
spend forty days in the desert before His ministry starts.
It’s in the desert where you have nothing, where you can depend on nothing,
except God.
Many of the
people who will be coming out to see and hear John will be coming out to meet
with God.
A site has been
set up along the Jordan
in Israel in this area where
today people may be baptized.
(play Southern
Baptism video clip)
It’s hot and dry, and very different from the baptism site near the Sea of
Galilee.
Today, this area of the Jordan is very muddy since the river has been
lowered in volume by Israel and Jordan for farming. We’ve done baptisms there
but it is a bit dirty.
:2 Repent, for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand!
The word “repent”
means to “turn around”, or literally here to “change your mind”.
This is not all that John said when he preached, but this is the point of
his messages.
He is
encouraging people to turn from their sins and be prepared for the kingdom of
heaven.
What is the “kingdom of heaven”?
It’s the coming of Jesus. It’s
getting right with God.
Lesson
Are you right with God?
Let me stop and echo the simplicity of John’s message.
Are you right with God? Are you
ready to meet Him?
How can a person be right with God?
You can’t do it by trying to live a perfect life.
You can only do
it by admitting your need for God, confessing and turning from your sins, and
receiving the forgiveness of Jesus.
Jesus told a story …
(Luke 12:16–21 NKJV) —16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain
rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I
have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build
greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will
say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your
ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ 20 But God said
to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ 21 “So is he who lays up
treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Are there things in your life that are not right with
God? Tonight is a chance to change all
that.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve done this before and failed.
Admit to God your failings.
Ask God to forgive you.
Turn away from your sins.
And follow Jesus.
:3 For this is
he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one
crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His
paths straight.’ ”
:3 The voice
of one crying in the wilderness
Matthew has once again brought
out another Old Testament prophecy.
(Isaiah 40:3 NKJV) The voice of one crying in the
wilderness: “Prepare the
way of the Lord; Make
straight in the desert A highway for our God.
The apostle John tells us that
the Baptizer himself made this connection early on in his ministry in regards to the prophecy of Isaiah …
(John 1:22–23 NKJV) —22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to
those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said: “I am ‘The voice
of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the Lord,” ’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
:3 Prepare
the way of the Lord
This was John’s purpose, his
mission.
In the ancient
cultures, highway workers would be sent ahead of the king’s traveling entourage
to make sure the roads were smooth for the king, or even to make sure there
were roads at all.
The next verse in Isaiah says,
(Isaiah 40:4 NKJV) Every valley shall be exalted And every
mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough
places smooth;
John’s ministry was to prepare people’s hearts for the coming King.
What might that look like in our lives?
The prophet Malachi talks about Elijah coming before the “day of the LORD”…
(Malachi 4:6 NKJV) And he will turn The hearts of
the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come
and strike the earth with a curse.”
One
of the things most dear to God’s heart is the family.
“Preparing a way” might look like God working in your
family.
Family troubles can be some of the hardest and most
painful to deal with.
Are there valleys that need to be lifted
up? Are there crooked places that need to be made straight?
Don’t quit on your family.
Let’s read this out loud together …
(Ephesians 4:30–32 NKJV) —30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed
for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger,
clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,
even as God in Christ forgave you.
:4 Now John
himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and
his food was locusts and wild honey.
:4 John himself was
…
I mentioned a
minute ago that John the Baptist was a Nazirite (Mat. 2:23).
Before John was born, an angel spoke to John’s dad Zacharias …
(Luke 1:15 NKJV) For he will be great in the sight of
the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong
drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s
womb.
So as we are picturing what John might have looked
like, add long, long hair.
:4 clothed in
camel’s hair … leather belt
Camel’s hair comes from … camels. Remember that
John is living in the desert.
Camel’s hair has “thermostatic” properties, meaning it will keep you cool
in the heat and warm in the cold.
Perfect for desert living.
So he’s dressed a bit oddly.
John seems to
be dressing like the prophet Elijah, who was described as…
(2 Kings 1:8 NKJV) …A hairy man
wearing a leather belt around his waist…
The angel also told John’s dad …
(Luke 1:17 NKJV) He will also go before Him in the
spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the
children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a
people prepared for the Lord.”
Any of that sound familiar?
John wasn’t Elijah, but he came in the “spirit” of Elijah.
:4 locusts and wild
honey
Living in the desert, there is not a lot of choices
of what you can eat.
At least
locusts (think grasshoppers)
were considered “kosher”, something a good Jewish boy could eat.
(Leviticus 11:22 NKJV) These you may eat: the locust after
its kind, the destroying locust after its kind, the cricket after its kind, and
the grasshopper after its kind.
Honey makes me
think of the goodness of God, even the word of God:
In writing about the words of God, David said,
(Psalm 19:10 NKJV) More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also
than honey and the honeycomb.
The Psalmist wrote,
(Psalm 119:103 NKJV) How sweet are Your words to my
taste, Sweeter than honey
to my mouth!
John was a prophet through whom God’s word came.
:5 Then
Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to
him
:5 Jerusalem,
all Judea …
John was drawing crowds from the area around the Jordan, the area of
southern Israel, and as far away as Jerusalem.
:6 and were
baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
:6 baptized by
him in the Jordan
“baptized” is an “imperfect” tense. This means that this was something continuous
going on. It wasn’t a once-a-year event,
but possibly even daily.
Christians sometimes think that
“baptism” is a unique Christian sacrament, but it’s not.
Its roots were in the
Jewish “mikvah”.
The Jewish mikvah was a
ritual cleansing something like a “bath”.
It doesn’t appear in
Jewish literature until the 1st century BC.
There seems to be a
requirement of the “mikvah” using “living water”, which was water from a spring
or a river. Sometimes the collection of rainwater was
allowed if done properly.
Archeologists have found
lots of examples of mikvaoth (plural) in Jerusalem,
especially around the Temple. Dipping in
a mikvah would have been required before entering the Temple.
There was a sect of
Judaism in Jesus’ day called the Essenes who practiced this ritual cleansing.
Though some of the Essenes were
sprinkled throughout the land, a great number of them lived in a commune down by the Dead Sea in
a place known as Qumran. This is where
the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.
The Essenes were highly
critical of the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and felt they had defiled the
Temple and needed reforming.
(play Qumran Mikvah clip)
The Essenes built numerous mikvaoth and regularly practiced this ritual cleansing.
Some have suggested that
John may have had a connection with the Essenes.
There is mention of a preacher
named “John” in their writings.
:6 confessing
their sins
John’s baptism involved the
element of confession of sins.
We tend to
think of baptism as becoming a part of Christianity, as being baptized “into
the church”. There is no “Christianity”
yet.
John’s baptism wasn’t into Judaism, the people he baptized were already
Jews.
His baptism was
in a sense a statement that the people were adopting something new, they were
moving away from their sins toward righteousness.