Well, in case you haven't noticed, I haven't been very consistent with my blogging. Finding the time to write has proved much more difficult than I had anticipated. But I will not wave the white flag yet! I've still got fight left in me, so here I am with my brief (I hope), scratch-the-surface (I know) insight into Matthew chapter 4.

This is an incredible passage of Scripture because it gives us a glimpse into Jesus Christ, fully man and fully God. He faced temptations and trials like all mankind, yet it was impossible for Him to sin or to give in to temptation. This is a mystery I may never understand, I suppose because I know my own weakness and tendency toward sin. The sinless Son of God faced the same temptation yet was unable to go against His very nature.

But the beautiful thing is that Christ was tempted. Why is that beautiful? Because I don't think I could worship a God who doesn't know what it's like to be in my shoes. The writer of Hebrews describes Jesus, our High Priest, this way: "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15). It's also interesting to note that it was God's will for Jesus to be tempted. It wasn't like the devil just sneaked  up on Him when He wasn't expecting it. Matthew 4:1 says that Jesus was "led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil."

So how do we respond when faced with temptation? The same way Christ did: with the Word of God. Jesus had a Scriptural response every time the enemy tempted Him. We should follow His example and rely on the only sure defense we have. So how do we know what verse to apply to our specific trial or testing? For that matter, how do we even know that we're being tempted? How do we know whether that thought or desire is from God or from the enemy? How do we even know what sin is, what violates God's law? And how do we implant the Word so deeply in our lives that we are ready "in season and out of season"? (2 Tim. 4:2)

I think the answer to all of those questions is in the first response Jesus gives: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4, Deut. 8:3). Food is something we depend on daily for our survival. It is a basic necessity in life. And yet our source of life is not food, but the words of God. As much as I would wish to, I can't gorge myself during the holidays then fast for the next three months. Even if I pig out one day, somehow I'm still hungry for breakfast the next day. It's the same way with God's Word. We can't speed-read the entire Bible in a week, then expect it to last us the whole year. It is something we should be filling ourselves with every day. The only way we can really hide God's Word in our hearts is if we are spending our time there consistently. And I believe we also need to read the whole Bible, trying to gain an accurate understanding of God's truth, so that when the enemy comes at us with Scripture that he twists, we will have enough confidence in who we know God is that we can spot Satan's lies.

Incidentally, all of the Scriptures Jesus quoted were from the book of Deuteronomy. So I'll follow His example and leave with the Shema. My prayer is that these verses would be true in our own lives, not in the form of phylacteries or the legalism of the Pharisees, but that His Word would be in our hearts and on our minds and in all our conversations, that His Word would permeate into every area of our lives, and that, when faced with temptations and trials, His Word would be so dear to us and so alive in our hearts that the enemy shrinks from the words of God spoken by our lips.

Matthew chapter 3 describes John the Baptist's ministry. He called for repentance, and his baptism was an outward demonstration of that repentance. In a sense, it was a symbolic burial, since it signified the death of the old, sinful life and turning toward a new life of righteous living. As believers, we take part in water baptism to signify this death and burial, but also to identify with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. In speaking to the apostles James and John, Jesus said, "The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized" (Mark 10:39). This passage shows how baptism is a way of identifying with Christ. We may not suffer bodily as Christ and His apostles did, but we will readily and publicly declare that Christ has taken our sin and nailed it to the cross; we have put on His righteousness, having no righteousness of our own; and we have surrendered our lives to His will and to walking obediently in His truth.

This water baptism is not salvation or a necessary part of salvation. It is an outward demonstration of what has taken place in the believer's life. After all, as John the Baptist tells us, the Messiah's baptism is not baptism with water but "with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (Matt. 3:11). Christ came to bring reconciliation with God so that God Himself in the person of the Holy Spirit could dwell in believers. But Christ also came with fire to judge. Verse 12 talks about the winnowing fork and how Christ will separate the wheat from the chaff. This makes it clear that the fire is a fire of judgment for those who have rejected Christ. But I also think He judges the works and life of a believer with fire. Zechariah 13:9 and 1 Peter 1:7 both speak of the process of refining and purifying gold with fire. In the same way, our works are tested by fire and judged. Our actions and our motives should be pure in the sight of God.

If John's baptism was one of repentance, then why was Jesus baptized by him? Wasn't He perfect, without sin? John asked the same question in Matthew 3:14: "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" Why would the Lamb of God, the Savior of the world, come to John to be baptized? He had no sin to repent of and His life was the standard for righteous living. Jesus answered John: "Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness" (Matt. 3:15). Jesus certainly set an example for us as believers and bestowed honor on this public act of baptism, but is that what "fulfill all righteousness" means? According to David Guzik, the "purpose was for Jesus to completely identify Himself with sinful man... [H]ere is Jesus... standing in the place of sinful man." He had no need to repent, yet He identified Himself with sinful man by taking part in this public display of repentance. At the cross, He was guilty of no sin, yet He took the place of sinful man and suffered and died in his place - in my place.

But God made certain that the world would know that Jesus was not sinful man. At the moment that Jesus came up from the water, the heavens were opened, the Spirit descended on Him, and a voice spoke from heaven. This was not another baptism of repentance, this was announcing and anointing the Son of God. Father God spoke from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:17). WOW! Can you imagine being there and seeing the Spirit come down and hearing the voice of God? Can you imagine how anyone present could turn away and not follow Him as Messiah? Flashing neon signs would not have been more obvious! But I think maybe we do the same thing when God shows up in our lives. We stand in amazement, we might shake our heads in wonder or tell a few people about it, but in a week's time, our life is unchanged by it. I hope and pray that when we hear His voice, we respond, and when we see the Son of God for who He is, we run to Him.


I think my favorite part of this chapter is that we see so clearly all three persons of the Trinity. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, beginning His ministry, is identifying with sinful man and identified to sinful man. The Holy Spirit is anointing and empowering Jesus for His ministry. And God the Father, full of love for His Son, is approving Jesus' ministry.

Matthew chapter 3 brings us to John the Baptist and the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry. The first two chapters have given us an introduction to His life and here is the moment when the Messiah, the Lamb of God, appears on the scene and is commissioned for His ministry.

First, we see John the Baptist fulfilling prophecy and preparing the way for the Messiah. What was his message? "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 3:2). I think I'll pick this apart.


Repent: The Greek word literally means "to perceive afterwards." The implication is that understanding one's action is followed by a regret or reproach of that act. Dictonary.com defines it as feeling "sorry, self-reproachful, or contrite for past conduct." But I don't think it is a passive word. Repentance requires an action - true sorrow for past sins can only be coupled with a change of course. When someone apologizes to you, then turns around and does the same thing, you know that their apology was insincere. In the same way, true repentance is always accompanied by action. So do we need to repent before coming to God? According to David Guzik, "Repentance does not describe something we must do before we come to God, it describes what coming to God is like." He uses the illustration of travelling. If I ask you to come visit me in Pennsylvania, I don't have to say, "Leave North Carolina and come to Pennsylvania." Coming to Pennsylvania requires that you leave North Carolina. In the same way, coming to God requires that you turn away from your sin.


The Kingdom of Heaven: Interestingly, Matthew is the only Gospel writer who uses this phrase. It occurs 32 times in the Gospel of Matthew. The term "heaven" was common in Jewish circles and shows how, out of reverence, Jews were reluctant to use the name of God. I think we should read "Kingdom of Heaven" and "Kingdom of God" interchangeably. The Jews of that day and age were waiting for a political Messiah who would establish an earthly kingdom, but the Messiah had come, not to save a nation, but to save mankind.


At Hand: The Greek word means "to draw near, to approach." The Kingdom of God was near, bringing salvation to all mankind. The Messiah that had been promised for thousands of years had finally come.

I love the way Matthew Henry responds when faced with God's wonderful gift of grace. I couldn't put it better, so I'll let him tell you his insight: "This is a great inducement to us to repent. There is nothing like the consideration of divine grace to break the heart, both for sin and from sin. That is evangelical repentance, that flows from a sight of Christ, from a sense of his love, and the hopes of pardon and forgiveness through him. Kindness is conquering; abused kindness, humbling and melting. What a wretch was I to sin against such grace, against the law and love of such a kingdom!"

Whew! And that was only one verse!

I'm going to skip ahead to the Pharisees and Sadducees, those wonderful, hypocritical characters we so love to hate and so hate to see in the mirror. They came to John, along with all the other Jews, to be baptized. But John knew their hearts and that there was no real repentance. Maybe they were just acting like they really wanted the Messiah to come. If they believed it, would it not have changed their hearts? According to John's harsh words, they believed that being of Jewish blood was enough to save them. But it's not, and God did raise up stones to be Abraham's children, stones that were grafted in (yes, I mixed my metaphor), and I'm one of them!

We may not have the divine insight that John did, so how do we know if repentance is real? Is it enough to feel sorry for what I've done? Is repentance just beating myself up for what I've done? As I mentioned earlier, true repentance demands a response, a change of course. John puts it this way: "Bear fruit in keeping with repentance" (Matt. 3:8). If I have truly repented, my life should show it. The Christian life should not be one of accepting the gift of salvation and then abusing that grace. If I truly understand the depth of my sin, I should fall on my face weeping because I have grieved the heart of my Father. I should run so hard toward Him that I leave every selfish sin behind. If I really grasp God's holiness and the extent of Christ's sufferings to rescue me from my own dark and wicked heart and the punishment I justly deserve, shouldn't my life be an act of worship lived in gratitude to Him?

Thanks for your comments! I'll finish up chapter 3 in a followup post.

In the first chapter of Matthew, the Son of God became flesh and fulfilled the prophecies that He would be a Jew, of the line of David, and born of a virgin. Jesus fulfilled all of these prophecies, and as Matthew continues his account, he includes more Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah. Would Jesus fulfill these as well? Matthew loves to quote the Old Testament, and here is a basic outline of the prophecies included in chapter 2:

1. Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, fulfilling the prophecy in Micah 5:2.
2. Jesus was called out of Egypt, fulfilling Hosea 11:1, which is applied to both Israel and the Son of God (Jesus).
3. Weeping and mourning for the death of children at the hand of Herod, which fulfills Jeremiah 31:15.
4. Jesus would be called a Nazarene, which fulfills extra-Biblical prophecies based on either Him being despised (Psalm 22:6, Isaiah 53:3 - Nazarene=despised); the true Nazirite; or the Branch (Hebrew, netzar) in Isaiah 11:1. See Matthew Henry's commentary.

I love how many of  Renaissance artists depicted this scene with a whole slew of wise men.

Matthew chapter 2 starts with the visit of the magi, or wise men, astrologers or astronomers from the east. There is a huge mystery surrounding the account of the magi. Who exactly were they? Where did they come from? How many were there? What did the star look like? How did they know that it meant that the King of the Jews had been born? Much has been speculated and surmised on the subject, and I won't attempt to do that here. I may have to wait until I fall face down before the Messiah myself before I understand their story, but it does mean a great deal to think of the Christ-child, a humble baby, the son of a carpenter, being worshiped by wise men who had traveled over desert and mountain to see Him. These wise men gave Him gold, frankincense, and myrrh - not your ordinary baby shower gifts, but this was no ordinary baby. This was the King of the Jews, the promised Messiah of Israel.

You would think that with the coming of the Messiah, the people would rejoice, but even the scribes and chief priests seemed less than eager to welcome Him. Sure, they knew the Scriptures and the prophecies, but had they really grasped it? Or had their legalism and hypocrisy blinded them to the Truth? Unfortunately, this is something we'll see over and over again in this Gospel - the religious leaders acting as blind guides, unable to see that the Light of the world had come to set them free. They wanted a conquering king who would set them free from the oppressive hand of the Roman Empire. What they didn't realize was that their bondage was not to an Emperor or foreign rule, but to their own sin, and all their efforts at righteous living were just like filthy rags compared to God's holiness.

When we come to God, or when God shows up in our lives, making Himself known and getting our attention, I pray we respond like the magi and not like the chief priests and scribes, or worse, like Herod. Do we seek Him until He may be found? Do we bow down and worship Him? Do we give Him the best we have to offer? Or, since He is not like the God we wanted or imagined Him to be, do we disregard Him? Do we oppose Him if He makes us uncomfortable or makes us set aside our own agenda? I pray that when He comes, we will recognize Him and see Him as He is. And, seeing Him as He is, how could we do anything but fall on our faces in worship?


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Being the daughter of a history buff, I love learning about my ancestry. My aunt has done wonderful research into our family history, and we've learned incredible stories about those who have gone before us, whose blood runs through us. For example, my great-great-great... [ad nauseum] ... grandfather showed up near Boston Harbor one day in the 1700's and ended up in the hull of a ship hauling out crates of tea in what became the most famous tea party in our country's history. Of course, there are some shady characters in there too, but let's not focus on my boot-legging great-grandfather. We'll just leave him out of this.

John and I were listening to Dr. J. Vernon McGee and his unforgettable staccato as we made the 12-hour drive home from North Carolina yesterday. He made a statement about studying the Bible. He said that sometimes we need to look at it as through a telescope, getting the large, vast picture of the book as a whole. But sometimes we need to look at it as through a microscope, delving deep into even the smallest verses. Last year was my telescopic year and I read - or attempted to read - through the Bible at a break-neck pace. I love getting the picture of God, the Creator of the universe, and His plan for mankind, carried out and prophesied through the lives of Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, and so many more, and finally fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. No book is more complete in its presentation of a consistent theme: the redemption and salvation of mankind.

As much as I love this big-picture reading of the Word of God, this year I am taking a microscopic approach. Since I fell off the Bible-in-a-year freight train as I reached the New Testament, I have decided to start my in-depth study there in the Gospel according to Matthew. I plan to write a summary/reflection for each week and share it through my blog. From past experience, the deepest I have ever delved into God's Word has been through studying with the understanding that I'd be sharing what I'd learned with others. My hope is that some of you will not just read it but will join me in my journey. I'm not totally sure of the logistics, but I would love to have the input and wisdom of others. So this is my formal invitation: if you would like to join me in my study of the book of Matthew (and who knows where else afterward), please comment or message me and be ready to share your input on Matthew chapter 1 by the end of this week!

There was once a man named Jacob who had a dream. He saw angels ascending and descending a flight of steps to heaven. In that dream, God blessed him and made a promise that all nations would be blessed through his offspring. Jacob called that place "Bethel," - the house of God. He had heard from the Lord and he understood the nearness of God in that place.