Month: December 2021

Matthew 13:35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

Jesus had been speaking many parables about the kingdom of heaven. Matthew records this activity as fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah. The promise is that the Messiah will speak things which have been kept secret since the beginning of time. In other words, we have a promise that we have heard, and will continue to hear, secrets from God’s Word.

God promises to us that He will reveal things to us that we could not learn or know about from any other source. What things? Gospel words, like the birth, life, death, and resurrection of the Son of God for our forgiveness, life, and eternal salvation.

This “secret” could not be made up by man, discovered by Satan, or heard about in any other way than through a special revelation of God the Spirit through the Word of Gospel. And Jesus loves us enough to tell us the Secrets of the eternal, invisible Kimgdom. And He continues to reveal those secrets to us through the Word read, heard, believed, and applied to our hearts by the Spirit.

This promise does not mean we will know and understand everything about God, His life, and His Kingdom. He will keep some mysteries to Himself. But He wants us to know, understand, and believe what He has revealed. When we are in the Word He will “utter secret things.” It behooves us to read and listen. Deuteronomy 29:29: “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us.”

Matthew 12:18, 20, 21 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles….A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.

Matthew quotes the Messianic Servant Song from Isaiah 42 to reveal Jesus as the promised Christ. In the context of healing a withered hand on the Sabbath and driving out a blind and dumb demon. Matthew connects Jesus to the prophecy with a promise for Gentiles: He will send forth judgment unto victory.

The Lord God has declared Jesus to be His servant and His beloved. He is chosen and God is well pleased with Him. He is anointed with the Spirit to carry out the mission of bringing judgment unto victory for all people. All Sin, Evil, Death, Disease, Devil, and demons are judged by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This chosen and beloved Servant, through gentle humility, suffering, and death, has violently judged Evil and secured Victory for all.

We are among those Gentiles who “trust in his name.” The promise is for me, and I believe it: Jesus Christ, the Beloved Servant, has violently overthrown and demolished my Enemies and earned total victory for me. Now I live free!

Matthew 4:16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light, and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

When Jesus begins His public ministry in Galilee, Matthew quotes the prophet Isaiah declaring that the fulfillment of the Messianic Promise is coming true. A great light has dawned on the darkness of sin and death. The people that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death include all of us humans born in original sin in a sin-cursed world under the control of darkness and death.

We do not even really know, and cannot know, how dark and deadly it really is in us and around us. We sit in darkness and in the shadow of death so deeply that we don’t know how blind we are to truth, beauty, and grace, or how dead we are, totally separated from life and all good. We have nothing to compare our existence to until we catch a glimpse of The Light.

Until the light of the Gospel of Christ dawns we are stupid, ignorant, selfish, mean, hateful, miserable, sad, mad, and hopeless. Then, upon hearing the gospel, a great light has sprung up. We see Jesus, heaven is opened, and life comes in. Jesus is the light that has dawned on our dark world and shined in our dead hearts.

We may open our spiritual eyes, our minds and our souls, to the great Light every day through repentance and faith. We may behold wondrous things out of His Word. We may see the joy of salvation and experience the peace of God. All this Light, and much more, is as close as our mouth and our heart. Confess with the mouth and believe with the heart, and Light will Dawn again and again.

Matthew 3:12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into his garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

John promises that Jesus will do two things for us: gather and burn. One sounds beneficial; the other not so much. The image of harvesting and gathering the wheat and letting the chaff blow away and be burned is familiar enough even though we may not have seen such activity ourselves.This is what will happen at the end of the age when the harvest of souls occurs at Jesus’ Return. The useful fruit that has been grown and ripened over the year will be gathered into the garner. The useless chaff will be burned with fire. In 1 Corinthians 3 the promise is that we all go through the fire of death and Judgment, wherein gold, silver, precious stones will be purified and wood, hay, straw burned away. Our Lord will save in us that which will last forever.

The Lord is promising to work out this process in our daily lives as well using the image of pruning and burning grapevine branches to grow more fruit. He saved us for good works that we should walk in them. Our purpose is to bear fruit, and God will have His way. We may notice that chaff and branches are not necessarily bad things, but even so-called “good works” done in the flesh get in the way of genuine fruit, and so must be purged. The process hurts, but we must still go through fiery trials for the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Thank God for the purging and burning promise and for the process that molds us closer into His image that produces fruit that lasts. “Count it all joy when you meet various trials.”

Matthew3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he will baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.

John the Baptizer promises that the one coming after him will baptize us with the Holy Spirit and with fire. John baptized with water. This was unto repentance, so that the penitent baptized person would be ready to believe and receive the Gospel of forgiveness and salvation through the Messiah. It worked. Many people repented, were baptized, and went on to follow Jesus. The Kingdom was growing.

When we were baptized we were baptized with water connected to the Word. That we could see and hear. But also with that, something mighty powerful happened in the heavenly realm, the spiritual world. We were filled with Spirit and fire.

”Baptized with the Holy Ghost” means to be over flooded with God and His Life, which drowns out the Old Man, Sin, Death, all Evil, and Satan within. Violence happens, and violence recurs every day that we remember our Baptism with repentance and faith. We arise daily with New Life, renewed, restored, refreshed, cleansed, and whole.

Violence also happens because we are baptized with fire. Fire is dangerous but very useful when it burns up wasted and useless stuff along with toxic and harmful substances. and attitudes. No one likes to be burned, but we know the necessity of it. The Spirit knows how to control the fire in order to precisely burn away what gets in the way of our sanctification.

Matthew 3:2 [John came preaching] And saying, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Both John and Jesus inaugurated the public ministry of Christ with the same announcement of the long-awaited promise: the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew uses the term “heaven” in place of the kingdom of “God.” But the meaning is the same. God Himself has broken into human history in the human person of Jesus of Nazareth. The kingdom is now here, at hand, standing right in front of you. The reign and rule of God has come to take over all the evil kingdoms of the world and establish, or reestablish, the One Eternal Reign of God.

The kingdom is ruling now in the hearts and souls of believers. This “already” part of the promise must be believed, since we do not always see or feel it. But it is nevertheless true: “the kingdom of God is within you.” This awesome thought will blow you away when you dwell on it. Through Jesus’ life, ministry, death, and resurrection He has brought the kingdom into our lives. We live in it, and seek it, by faith.

The full visible power and glory of the kingdom is yet to be revealed. This “not yet” part of the promise must also be believed, since the time for the full unveiling is still in our future. We wait in faith with eager longing.

Both John and Jesus say, “Repent daily, and receive the kingdom.” Thy kingdom come to us. Thy will be done in us. Enjoy God’s kingdom rule and life.

Matthew 2:6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, who shall rule my people Israel.

Matthew quotes the prophet Micah in regard to the prophesied promise of where the Messiah Yeshua will be born. The Savior of the world will be born in Bethlehem. In this fulfilled prophecy is the promise: a Governor will come out of Bethlehem who will rule God’s people Israel.

The promise is for Gentiles who become a part of His people by faith in Jesus the Christ. By being born from above through the Gospel Word we enter the kingdom of God. Over that Eternal Kingdom the Governor, the Prince, the Ruler, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the King of all the kingdoms of the world will rule the universal, invisible Church of believers for its good. Indeed, this God of our Lord Jesus Christ gave Him as head over all things to the church.

This is the promise: Jesus has taken over as Absolute Monarch over all things just for the good of the Church, you and me. The One who loves me is in charge of everything for me.

Therefore, we pray with trust and confidence: “Thy kingdom come” to my heart and life, and “Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever and ever.” Then we sit back and enjoy His Kingship and His Kingdom.

Matthew 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanel,which being interpreted is, God with us.

This Christmas Promise about the name given to the virgin-conceived child God-man Emmanuel, which means God with us. The promise of God coming to be with us into our history, on our earth, in our world, one of us, in our life is replete in the Scriptures and it comes true in the Incarnation story of Christmas.

Jesus, the Son of God became Son of Man, Emmanuel, God with us, so that He could take our place under Sin and grant righteousness instead, take our place under Judgment and grant salvation instead, and take our place under Death and grant life instead. This is the promise. This is what it means that God is “with us.”

He is one of us, and He promises to be near us always, even in us. Matthew begins his Gospel with this promise, “God with us.” He finishes his Gospel with the same promise: “Lo, I am with you always.” We are never alone; we are never in need; we never want; we never miss His Presence; we always have His Ear; we always have His help, a very help in time of need. Jesus Never Fails!

Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS, for he shall save his people from their sins.

This unconditional Christmas Promise is a bedrock of the Gospel Message. The angel give Joseph a command and a promise. “Call Mary’s son Jesus ,” for the name carries a rich and profound meaning: it means “the Salvation of the Lord,” or “Yahweh Saves.” Jesus saves! That is the promise given in the name of the Son of God who became the Son of Man. That promise has been fulfilled in the person, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Jesus will save His people. His own people historically, culturally, genealogically, geographically, politically, and religiously are the Jews, the children of Israel, the sons of Abraham. They are the sons of the Promise given to Judah, Jacob, and Abraham. But in the NT all peoples, Gentiles included, who hold the same faith in the promised Savior, Jesus, have become “His people.” We are His saved people. One cannot read the Bible History without a convicted “Amen” that both those people and me need saving from sins.

Jesus will save us from our sins. Sin is the problem. Jesus is the solution. Jesus fulfilled the promise to save us from the Penalty of our sins, past and future, which is eternal death and separation from God. He saves us from the Power of canceled sin in the present, that is, we cannot be successfully accused of guilt and judgment, and we have the Word and Spirit to overcome temptations to sin more often, and when we do sin we are forgiven. He will save us from the Presence of Sin forever in heaven, where we shall enjoy God forever in perfect bliss.

Song of Songs 8:6 Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm; for love is strong as death: jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.

There may not be a more powerful way for God to say “I love you” in all of human literature than what the Bride says to her Groom in this verse. Love is strong as death! We know of no stronger force in God’s created universe than life and death. Because of Sin, Death has taken over everything; it is all-pervasive; it has separated us from God and from all that is life. Death is inevitable and nothing can stop it. It looms; it engulfs; it comes; it’s certain.

Ah, but there is Good News! We have a Promise! By the Resurrection of Jesus Christ “death is swallowed up in victory!” Life is stronger than death and it overcomes because it comes from the heart of God, which is absolute love. We will never comprehend the height, depth, length and width of God’s Love. We must ask for a revelation.

When our Lord God wanted to express his thoughts towards us and shout “I love you,” He must clothe them in words. He did: “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” He could not say it better or shout it louder. The Lord has set, always sets, and will forever set me as a seal upon His heart. He is jealous for our love and trust, and the vehement flame of the death of the Son of God violently loves us to Life.