Matthew does more than any other Gospel writer to show how Jesus fulfilled prophecy. Many speculate this is because Matthew was writing to Jewish Christians who were being tempted to abandon their faith, so he had to take every opportunity to illustrate how Christ fulfilled the Law of Moses. Jesus’ life was lived—quite literally—by the book.
We all take “marching orders” from somewhere.
• Popular culture
• The expectations of others
• Our personal desires
Though in these early years, Jesus wasn’t yet old enough to make the conscious choice to fulfill the word of God (e.g., Joseph is the one who led the family down to Egypt) as He grew, however, the Bible makes clear that He was committed to the Scriptures and to prayer. He was devoted to living up to all that His Father had called Him to be and do.
What about you and I? If someone were to look at our lives and try to find parallels in the Bible…would there be any?
-- Justin
Hey Justin! I'm glad you are doing this blog. Thanks for sharing the link with me! I've posted it on my blog too for others to see. This is a great way to get into the Word. I look forward to your comments along the journey!
ReplyDeleteI've read all four of the readings today so my comment is more related to Day 2 (2:18-25) since it is fairly fresh on my mind.
ReplyDeleteWhile Herod was certainly the main motivation for going to Egypt, isn't it interesting how God provided for them a blessing in disguise to finally be able to get away from the ridicule they were no doubt enduring because of the virgin conception of Jesus. As you pointed out on day 2, Mary knew and more importantly Joseph knew, but none of their neighbors knew. No doubt they were running for their child's life but I find it interesting that not only was God instructing them on how to avoid the death of their child but he also provided a path to get away all of the ridicule from their neighbors.
Youth often have to endure a lot of ridicule from their peers. Kids are just mean to each other sometimes (as are adults unfortunatley). How comforting is it though to know that God is there with you in that ridicule and will provide a means for escape. Maybe not on your time table or maybe not the means of escape that you think you need, but eventually.
Again, Chris, I'm indebted to you for giving me a fresh insight. I really think blog ministry is great precisely because it allows for reflective collaboration between folks who live on opposite sides of the world.
ReplyDeleteTracy, thank you so much for your kind words and for being willing to link to this site from your blog. I pray that this will be a blessing for you.