Calvin Synod Herald, 2009 (110. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

2009-03-01 / 3-4. szám

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CALVIN SYNOD HERALD

Continuedfrom page 7

son of David. As the Virgin Bom One, Jesus is more truly the fulfillment of God’s Promised deliverance than even Isaiah himself knew! The original context of this prophecy is Isaiah 7:14 and originally was in the context of a promise regarding Israel’s deliverance from Syria’s threat in those days. Jesus though, as the Virgin Bom, is a deliverer who will not only provide a temporal deliverance (like the one from the Syrians in Isaiah 7), but will in fact provide deliverance from God’s curse (Matthew 1:21) which, despite the return from Babylon , still rests upon the people and the Land and hinders the fulfillment of these promises. Jesus, in other words, is the Virgin Bom One. The doctrine of the Virgin Birth finds it’s import not just in the sheer miraculous entrance of the Incarnation, but links the Incarnation to the divine purpose of atoning for sin and reversing the curse and fulfilling the promises made by the prophets. On a theological note then, this argument by Matthew renders it foolish to separate Incarnation from Propitiation! Matthew inextricably links them here!

Matthew 2 shows how Jesus’ coming from the first heralds the day when all the nations - not simply the Jews - will bow before the Lord of Hosts. Malachi 3:12 is one such verse - “Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the LORD of hosts.” The coming of the Wise Men as Gentile leaders is the beginning of this promise being fulfilled much to Herod’s dismay. A righteous Messiah, of course, spells Herod’s doom and he wishes the Messiah dead.

The balance of Matthew 2 shows how Jesus’ early life so closely identifies with the Sufferings of Israel... their exile in Egypt and their return to the Promised Land.

Matthew 3 regards John the Baptist prophetic ministry and climaxes in Jesus’ baptism. The word “son” is prominent in these early chapters because God, throughout the Old Testament, sought a king, a “son” for Himself (see 2 Samuel 7:13,14). Jesus, as we’ve seen is the Son of Abraham, the Son of David, He is the “Son” called from Egypt, and He is the “Beloved Son” as declared publicly from heaven itself in Matthew 3:17.

The “Son” referred to in 2:15 is, in its original context, corporate Israel. The point in applying this to Jesus is that Israel the “son” failed and came under God’s curse after entering the Promised Land (the reason they were sent into Exile in the first place). Jesus, though, as the well pleasing Son will enter testing and NOT fail, though tested by satan personally and directly (Matthew 4:1 -11). Jesus is all that Israel failed to be and perfectly fulfills the meaning of His name “Jesus” or “Joshua”. Jesus is the final Joshua, the one who will lead the New Israel, the Redeemed People of God. Compare this line of thought to Paul’s discussions of the Last Adam Paul describes in Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15. In both lines of thought Jesus is everything Israel and the World itself could ever hope for!

As the Ultimate Joshua whose charge was to not let the Book of the Law depart from him but to meditate on it day and night (Joshua 1:8-9), Jesus our Lord sits down to teach the people on the Mount.

His sermon is not a renunciation of the Law as some self-proclaimed “New Testament Christians” claim, but an interpretation and application of the Law to the people God

has sent Him to lead, now that Jesus has come to fulfill all the promises of the Prophets. This is what Jesus Himself says in Matthew 5:17-20.

Jesus begins the Sermon with “Beatitudes” or “Blessings”. Unlike Luke 6 where in another sermon Jesus has blessings and curses at the same time, Matthew reserves the curses or “Woes” for later in a direct confrontation with the Pharisees. Here, the Blessings are pronounced and explained for Jesus’ disciples. The themes of “blessing” and “curse” go back to the Old Testament and Deuteronomy 28 where blessings and curses were promised to the people. Here Jesus resumes the theme of blessing and curse. How did this theme relate to Jesus’ audience?

In many ways, the people knew there were as yet many unfulfilled Messianic promises as yet unfulfilled. In that way the people recognized themselves as still victims of the curse that cast them out of the Land and into Exile.

Perhaps his audience - humble people - was considered particularly cursed by the people who supposedly “knew the Law”. In Matthew 23 these people come under Jesus’ special condemnation. Believing themselves blessed, Jesus says they are, in fact, more cursed than those they despise (see John 9:34 in context). The Sermon on the Mount does not address these people. Instead it addresses Jesus’ followers who likely wonder what Deuteronomy 28 means after their ejection to Exile and subsequent return to the Land only to be under Rome’s domination. Jesus tells them the path to blessing. It resides in the attitude of faithful clinging to God’s promise when all seems lost due to the curse we find ourselves under. This is first seen in Habakkuk 2:4 and becomes the historical context and origin from which the doctrine of Justification by Faith finds its wellspring! These are blessings that come to the humble, the trusting, the God reliant instead of the self-reliant.

To study the Sermon most profitably, the careful tracing of cross-references from the Gospel forward will be well rewarded! Even terms like “peace” (in “Blessed are the peacemakers”) which we believe we understand automatically - take on new meaning as their roots are traced through the Old Testament. (See the recommended resources below for help with the languages involved!). Every effort should be made to understand the scriptures Jesus quotes or alludes to in their original setting. One will then be able to see how leaders in Jesus’ days had distorted the God’s Law and thereby broke it.

For example, in Matthew 5:43 we read “You have heard it said ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemies’.” (ESV) Upon investigation, not one verse in the Books of Moses ever reads “hate your enemies”. Only “Love your neighbor” exists as God commands. The part about “hating your enemy” is a corollary added to the text by the rabbis who allowed hating one’s enemy. Jesus considers it utterly unbiblical! In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25ff) we see one of these instances where a Torah scholar wants to limit his obligations by interpreting the word “neighbor” as much as possible. (Perhaps he’d heard the sermon and realized Jesus did not tolerate ADDING to God’s Law in this way!)

Understanding Matthew 5:38ff is another interesting case where understanding the original text helps us understand precisely what Jesus is getting at. He’s not an “Old Testament”