We will now review some of the things that we learned from the book of Matthew.  As we approach the celebration Christmas, the birth of Christ, some of the first things we learn are about the miraculous birth of Jesus,  He was of the lineage of David.  The promised Messiah was to be a descendant of David, and Jesus was.  Also, the birth of Jesus was miraculous because Mary was a virgin, which was also prophesied in the book of Isaiah.  We also have to acknowledge the faith of Joseph.  He was ready to put Mary aside quietly, but when the angel told him not to, he believed and obeyed.  That first Christmas was not about trees, presents, and decorations, but about the Savior of the world being born in a difficult situation in a difficult time.  We still face difficult times today when we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord.  This is especially true in some parts of the world.  Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem right before Jesus was born.  This was not an easy journey and was not to a luxurious hotel.  Though Matthew does not tell us all the conditions of the birth of Jesus, we know from Luke that there was no room for Jesus in the inns, so he was born in a barn, basically.  There is still no room for Jesus in many homes today.  We are told that the wise men came to see Jesus after following a star to where He was.  Wise men and women today still seek Jesus.  These wise men first went to the rulers to attempt to find exactly where Jesus was, but this was not successful.  I believe that we can say that in order to find Jesus in our life, we must come to Him by the call and direction of God.  The world will never lead us to Jesus.  Only faith in God's call will.  We often call them kings, some even name them, and we have them there that first night with the shepherds, though none of this is from the Bible.  Even the fact that their were three wise men is not stated.  As we celebrate Christmas, we need to make sure that the emphasis is on the birth of Christ, and not simply on all the traditions that may have grown up around it.  We can say that all wise men, and women, will seek Jesus and bring Him gifts when they find Him.  We can also say that God, and not earthly rulers, will lead us to God, and that there will always be those who want to destroy the message of Jesus.

Matthew 28:11 says, Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.  While the women were on their way to tell the disciples that Jesus had risen, the guards were on their way to tell the chief priests all that had happened.  When we see something miraculous happen today, there will always be those who will attempt to discredit it.  Verse twelve states, And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,  In this case, it was the religious leaders who were willing to pay to discredit the miracle of the resurrection.  The Bible says they paid the guards a lot to lie about what happened.  People today are still willing to pay a lot to attempt to discredit Jesus.  Some even go to war in order to do so.  Verse thirteen declares, Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.  The chief priests, those who were supposedly the spokesmen of God, made up the lie for the guards to tell.  The guards were to say that the disciples stole the body of Jesus.  Since the responsibility of the guards was to keep this from happening, this put them in a bad position.  Anyone who attempts to add to or take away from the gospel of Christ is guilty of spreading a lie.  Verse fourteen states, And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.  The chief priests were even willing to lis to the governor if necessary.  The religious leaders said they would protect the guards by lying for them.  There are still religious leaders today, though hopefully not those who profess to follow Christ, who will go to any extreme to discredit the gospel of Christ.  Verse fifteen states, So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.  The guards did what they were paid to do and told the story they were told to tell.  This lie was believed by many Jews, God's chosen people, until the day this book was written, and they still believe it today.   Verse sixteen states, Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.  The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to a mountain that Jesus had appointed.  We are not told how they received these instructions from Jesus, but we can be certain that they did.  We do not always know how God is going to speak to us today, but if we are following Christ, we can be certain that He will.  Verse seventeen says, And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.  The disciples had scattered at the crucifixion, but now were gathered together at the instruction of Jesus.  When they saw Jesus, they worshipped Him, and yet some of them still doubted.  When people truly encounter Christ today, some accept and worship Him as their Savior and Lord, but many more doubt and refuse to accept Him.  Verse eighteen declares, And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.  Jesus declared His divine authority.  He has power over heaven and earth.  Verse nineteen states, Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  Jesus gave the His disciples, those there that day and all who have come since, their commission.  We are to take the gospel of Christ into all the world, and to baptize those who accept Christ in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.   Then, verse twenty continues, Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.  We are not just to reach people with the gospel and forget them, but we are to teach them to live in accordance with the teachings of Jesus.  We can do this without fear, because Jesus has promised that He will be with us always.

Matthew 28:1 says, In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.  When they could come to the tomb, the two Marys came.  There were religious restrictions on the sabbath that kept them away.  Hopefully, there are no religious restrictions today that keep us from coming to Jesus.  The religious leaders and Pilate did not have to worry about the disciples of Jesus stealing His body.  They had not even come back to see if what Jesus had said was true, that He would rise again on the third day.  Though they might have come for the wrong reasons, these two women still came.  There are those today who come to learn about Jesus for the wrong reasons, but often they encounter the reality of Jesus as Savior and Lord.  Verse two states, And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.  Something miraculous happened at the tomb.  An earthquake occurred and an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled back the stone that was sealing the tomb.  The earthquake did not unseal the tomb, but the angel did.  There could be no doubt that God was behind the opening of the tomb.  The tomb was not opened so Jesus could get out, but so Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus could see in.  Jesus was already gone.  Verse three says, His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:  We are told what the angel looked like.  I am sure this was not what the women were expecting.  We will always get much more than we are expecting when we come to Jesus in faith.  The women were looking for a dead body, not an empty tomb, and the disciples weren't looking at all.  Verse four says, And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.  I am sure this really was a shock for those assigned the responsibility of keeping Jesus' body in the tomb.  Not only was the body gone, but there was an angel there.  I believe that they basically fainted.  Verse five states, And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.  The angel told the women not to fear.  We might say that would have been easier said than done, but then the angel told them he knew why they were there.  They were seeking Jesus, Who had been crucified.  We must seek not just the crucified Jesus, but the resurrected Christ.  We will never find Jesus still on the cross nor in the tomb.  Verse six declares, He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.  This is the good news, the gospel.  Christ is not in the tomb, but He has risen.  The women were invited to see where Jesus had lain.  I believe this was simply to show that they were in the right place and Jesus was indeed gone, in spite of the sealed tomb and guards.  Verse seven states, And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.   The two women were told to go quickly and tell the disciples that Jesus had risen from the dead, and were also told that He went before them into Galilee.  We today have the same instructions.  We are to go quickly and tell people that Jesus is risen, and can take comfort in the fact that He will always go before us.  Verse eight states, And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.  Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Jesus, did as the angel instructed them to do.  They did not just hang around hoping that the angel would return or that Jesus would come there.  We also have to go where God sends us to share the good news.  Verse nine declares, And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.  On the way to tell the disciples, the women met Jesus.  They fell at His feet and worshipped Him.  As we go to do the work that God calls us to do, the Holy Spirit goes with us.  We should worship God in everything that we do, because He is the One Who brings us forgiveness and gives us purpose.  Verse ten says, Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.  Jesus reinforced what the angel had said.  They were not to be afraid, and they were to tell the disciples to go to Galilee, and that they would see Jesus there.  We will not find Jesus in an empty tomb.  We will find Jesus alive and at work in the world today when we come to Him by faith.

Matthew 27:55 says, And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him:   Many of the woman who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were still there, though not close.  We are not told how they ministered to Jesus really, but we are told that they did.  Not everything done for Jesus will be noted by the world.  Verse fifty-six states,  Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s children.  We are told who some of the women were.  Mary Magdalene, who had been forgiven for so much was there, as was Mary the mother of Jesus, who had been told that He would be the Messiah.  The mother of James and John was also mentioned.  She had high expectations for her sons in the kingdom of Christ.  Though we cannot say for sure how much faith they had left, they had not totally abandoned Jesus.  Even if circumstances in our life seem to be more than we can bear, we can never abandon our faith in Jesus, and we need to get closer to Him and not farther away.  Verse fifty-seven states, When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple:  Among other things, this proves that it is not impossible for a rich man to follow Jesus.  This rich man, Joseph of Arimathaea, was a follower of Jesus.  Verse fifty-eight says, He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.  This man, Joseph, went to Pilate and begged for the body of Jesus.   We are not told where the closest disciples of Jesus were, but not everyone let the fear of being identified as a follower of Jesus keep them from going to the authorities about Him.  We cannot allow anyone or anything to keep us from identifying ourselves as followers of Jesus.  Pilate delivered the body to Joseph.  Verse fifty-nine says, And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,  Joseph wrapped the body in a clean linen cloth.  He may have felt that this would be his last act of service to Jesus, but whatever he was feeling, he still acted in the best interest of Jesus, and so must we also.  Verse sixty states, And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.  The body of Jesus was placed in a new tomb and a a great stone was rolled in front of the door.  This would have seemed to be the end of Jesus, but we know that it was only a brief pause in His ministry.  Of course, from then on, the ministry of Jesus has been totally spiritual.  Verse sixty-one says,  And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.  The two Marys were there by the tomb.  We are not told where the mother of James and John was, but the two Marys were still there.  Verse sixty-two states, Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,  The next day, the religious leaders came to Pilate, not to show support for Jesus, but to attempt to make sure that He would not escape the grave.  They would not be successful.  Verse sixty-three says, Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.  They told Pilate that they remembered Jesus' statement that He would rise again in three days.  Though they had Jesus crucified for His declaration being a lie, they hoped to make sure it didn't happen.  People who refuse to believe the gospel of Christ will always do everything possible to disprove it, even if it is only in their own rationale.  Verse sixty-four says, Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.  The religious leaders asked Pilate to secure the tomb so that the body of Jesus could not be stolen.  They said that if the body of Jesus disappeared, this would be an even greater problem than Jesus claiming He was the Son of God, so they wanted the tomb guarded.  There is no way that people will ever be able to seal in the truth of God.  All the religious, and government, officials really did was insure that the only way Jesus could escape the tomb was by the power of God.  Verse sixty-five declares, Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.  Pilate told them to go and watch and make the tomb as secure as they could.  Verse sixty-six then states, So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.  The stone covering the tomb was sealed and the guards were set to watch it.  The religious leaders had Jesus killed and now they had His body sealed in the tomb and guarded.  They likely felt that they were victorious, but they would soon see how wrong they were.  Anyone who feels victorious over the gospel of Christ today will one day see how wrong they are, if not in this world, then in the coming one when Christ returns.

Matthew 27:45 says, Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.  The earth was dark for three hours, and without Jesus' sacrifice, the world would be in complete spiritual darkness today.  I have heard some people say that if the earth was dark for this period that there must have been an eclipse, but the God Who created light certainly can control it without needing help.  Verse forty-six states, And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?  Jesus cried out to the heavenly Father asking why He had forsaken Jesus.  I cannot imagine how Jesus, Who was guilty of no sin, felt when He took the sins of the whole world upon Himself.  Since sin separates us from God, Jesus at that point would have indeed felt separated from God.  Still, when we are separated from God, it is we who have forsaken God, and not God Who has forsaken us.  Verse forty-seven states, Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.  Even at this point, those gathered for His crucifixion failed to understand what Jesus was saying.  I believe they thought Jesus was delirious and calling on Elias, or Elijah.  We must first understand Who Jesus is and what He did on the cross in order to understand what He is saying to us today.  We must come to God through the cross of Jesus in order to be restored to a right relationship with God.  Until we do, the Bible will never make sense.  Verse forty-eight says, And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.  Some took Jesus a sponge soaked with vinegar to drink from.  I don't believe that this was an act of compassion though.  Verse forty-nine declares, The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.  The rest of the people said to just let Jesus be and see if Elias, or Elijah, would save Jesus.  Not only did they not understand Who Jesus was and what He was saying, but they failed to understand who Elias, or Elijah was.  The prophets never had any saving power, but could only point people to God, Who alone can save anyone.  Verse fifty then declares, Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.  Jesus cried out once more, then yielded up the ghost.  Jesus' life was never taken from Him, but He willingly gave it up for all who will place their faith in Him.  Verse fifty-one says, And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;  The veil of the temple, which separated the people from God, was torn from the top to the bottom.  Now, instead of only the high priest entering into the presence of God on special occasions to represent the people, all people were given access to God at any time.  Jesus removed the need to go through anyone in the world to get to the heavenly Father.  The earth itself was shaken by the death of Christ.  Verse fifty-two states, And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,  Then verse fifty-three continues,  And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.  Many of the dead saints were resurrected and went into Jerusalem and appeared to many people.  I don't know who they were or how long they stayed, but we are told this did happen.  The death of Jesus was not just a quiet event.  The people of the world had to take notice whether they wanted to or not, and especially the religious leaders.  Verse thirty-four declares, Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.  We are not told how the religious leaders reacted, but when the soldiers watching Jesus saw what was happening, they declared that Jesus was indeed the Son of God.  After His crucifixion, people began to understand Who Jesus really is.  The only way that we can meet Jesus is after His crucifixion, and even without the earthquakes and the dead rising around us, we must accept that He is the only begotten Son of God and the Savior of all who believe.  We have no other High Priest but Jesus, and through Him we have direct access to the heavenly Father.

Matthew 27:32 says,  And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.  Though Simon of Cyrene was compelled to physically carry the cross of Jesus, that is something no one can do spiritually.  We are told to take up our cross daily, but we can never take up the cross of Jesus.  Jesus alone is able to bear the cross of salvation.  I believe that our cross is to simply put our lives in God's hands at all times.  Verse thirty-three states, And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,  They ultimately reached Golgotha, the place of the skull.  This was to be the place of Jesus' crucifixion.  Verse thirty-four says, They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.  They attempted to get Jesus to drink a drink of vinegar mixed with gall, but He didn't drink it after He tasted it.  I am not sure why they wanted Jesus to drink this.  It may have been just another attempt to mock Him, but for whatever reason, they were not successful.  Neither will we be successful in forcing Jesus to do anything that He does not choose to do.  Verse thirty-five states, And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.  People around Jesus were still attempting to profit from His crucifixion.  They divided His garments and cast lots for them.  This also fulfilled a prophecy about the Messiah.  Now, we can either believe that those crucifying Jesus felt the need to validate Him by fulfilling a prophecy about Him, or that even without their knowledge a prophecy was fulfilled.  I choose the latter.  Verse thirty-six says, And sitting down they watched him there;  After dividing His garments, they sat down to watch Jesus.  I believe that they were curious about what Jesus would do, but didn't think anything would happen except His dying.  It is not enough to sit and watch to see what Jesus is going to do.  We must accept Him by faith in what He has done and will do.  Verse thirty-seven declares, And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.  The people were still trying to mock Jesus.  They placed a sign over His head boldly pronouncing Jesus as the King of the Jews.  Though placed there to mock Jesus, they proclaimed the truth.  No matter what we do, we can never change the fact of Who Jesus is.  Verse thirty-eight states, Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.  Jesus was crucified between two thieves, who were guilty of their crimes.  I believe this was another attempt to mock Jesus, making Him the center of the crucifixions.  Whenever we come to Jesus, we come as guilty people deserving of our punishment, and Jesus will always be in the midst of us.  Verse thirty-nine states, And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,  Then verse forty continues, And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.  The people showed their contempt for Jesus by shaking their heads at Him and verbally abusing Him.  They did not understand Jesus's statement about the temple and attempted to use His own words to mock and discredit Him.  People today still take a passage of scripture out of context  and attempt to change what God has really said.  The context is really the whole Bible, and its message will never contradict itself.  Verse forty-one states, Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,  This simply tells us that the religious leaders were as bad or worse than anyone else.  Verse forty-two says, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.  The religious leaders, who should have understood Who the Messiah was to be, were still taking the words of Jesus to be about an earthly kingdom.  Until we see Jesus and understand His word from a spiritual, or heavenly aspect, we will continue to make a mockery of His message.  We cannot add material, or earthly, things to the promise of Christ.  Verse forty-three continues, He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.  Basically, the religious leaders were saying that in order for them to believe Jesus that He would have to come down from the cross to prove that God had delivered Him.  We still hear people today say that if God is real and is so great, then why do those that follow Him suffer.  Jesus did come down from the cross in accordance with God's will, and He was victorious even though the religious leaders thought they had defeated Him.  Though we may not be delivered from a particular situation in this life, if we remain faithful to God, we will be delivered in the everlasting life to come.  Verse forty-four states, The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.  Though we know that one thief eventually accepted Jesus as his Savior, at first both were evidently crying out against Him.  Even if we get to the end of our life, if we call out sincerely in faith in Christ, we will be saved.  It is always the sacrifice of Christ that saves us and never our own goodness or works.

Christmas Reason

The spirit of Christmas time,

Should be forgiveness and love,

Not filled with the crime,

Of give me and shove.

Can there really be peace,

Throughout all the land,

When greed will not cease,

As in humility we stand?

We look more to getting,

Than to Christmas giving,

Hoping what we are netting,

Makes the day worth living.

Remember Christ is the reason,

We celebrate the season.

      17  Dec. 2018

            JBD