Fools And Wise Men, Part 2

Matthew 2:7‑12

     Take your Bible and let's look at the second chapter of Matthew, Matthew chapter two. What a great time we're having in the Book of Matthew. The indication of your response by your being here with such anticipation is really a joy to my heart. This is just ... in fact this Book is goin' get better and better and better as we go because we'll build a deeper and deeper backlog of its understanding that'll enrich every passage, it's just a tremendous, tremendous Book. It's really the, the kickoff of the whole New Testament and aptly placed by the Holy Spirit at the very beginning of the New Testament.

     The theme of the New Testament as you well know is Jesus Christ; He is the theme of the New Testament. Particularly, is He the object of these four Gospels as they are known, that begin the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Each of these Gospels, each of these evangelist writers portrays Jesus Christ in a unique way. Although they all four cover His life, they cover it in very, very unique styles and from a very, very unique perspective.

     In Matthew, He is the sovereign who comes to reign and rule. In Mark, He is the servant who comes to serve and to suffer. In Luke, He is the Son of man who comes to share and sympathize. In John, He is the Son of God who comes to reveal and redeem. And each one of the evangelists approaches the person of Jesus Christ in a very special way. And there's a wonderful blending as you note as I went through that, in Matthew He's the sovereign, in Mark He's the servant, notice the ultimate contrast, He is the sovereign, He is the servant, two extremes. And then you come to that same kind of extreme contrast in the last two, in Luke He is the Son of man, and in John the Son of God, two absolute opposites. Man and God, sovereign and servant. And so the dimensions of Jesus Christ fill in all the space between those two, in both cases. The sovereign God and the servant man, and everything in between that fills up all that He is. This is the principle behind the diversity in the four Gospels.

     We know that Matthew presents Jesus Christ as King, as sovereign. Everything in Matthew focuses on His majesty, on His sovereignty, on His great personage, as the Ruler the one who has the right to reign, the Messiah, the anointed one, the promised King. In fact the opening sentence of Matthew gives you the key, remember it, in 1:1? "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham. And naturally David was the great king, David was the one who fostered the royal line. And so Matthew at the very beginning emphasizes that Jesus Christ comes from David, He comes originating in Abraham as it were in terms of the Jewish race, and coming through the line of David which is His right to reign and rule. And so the beginning of this Gospel is unique to Matthew, no other Gospel begins this way. Matthew begins this way because Matthew presents Him as King, and so Matthew traces the Lord's lineage from Abraham through the royal line of David.