There are those who believe and teach that an earthly messianic kingdom was offered to the Jews first and that only after it was rejected was it offered to others. But that is not the way we should read Matthew. Matthew knows nothing of two Gospels. There is only one Gospel of God’s rule in Jesus Christ, and he takes pains to show that it was preached from the beginning. Continue reading ““The Message We Preach””
“Final False Prophet” Jude
“Flourishing are the Persecuted for Righteousness” Pt 2 Matthew 5:10-12
“The Christian Mission”
There is something very significant about the ordination of a Christian to the ministry, at least if that person has been called to the work by God and takes the call seriously.
In Matthew 10.5-42, we have a record of the first Christian ordination ever to take place. It is a particularly important and solemn one. In this chapter we read about the Lord commissioning the twelve apostles to preach in Galilee. As John Ryle notes, “Never was there so important an ordination! Never was there so solemn a charge!” Continue reading ““The Christian Mission””
“Flourishing are the Persecuted for Righteousness” Matthew 5:10-12
“The Action Jesus Took”
At this point we might think we have reached the end of the lessons in the passage (Matthew 9.1 – 10.4), since a need has been perceived and described, and we have been told to pray for a solution: “Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” What more can we do? We have been told to pray, so we pray. That is the end of it. Ah, but it is not. What strikes us at this point is that having instructed His disciples to pray and undoubtedly having prayed Himself, Jesus also took action. He placed “the very men who had been urged to pray that the Lord of the harvest might thrust out laborers into his harvest … in the forefront of these laborers.” Continue reading ““The Action Jesus Took””