A NEW MONTH – THE NEW TESTAMENT!

Day 277 – Reading – Matthew 3, Mark 1, and Luke 3

Read and believe in Jesus!

MATTHEW

Matthew’s other name was Levi.  Before following Jesus, he was a hated, but wealthy, Tax Collector (or Publican). The Jews did not like him, but he had a lot going for him. He had to collect a certain amount for the Romans, but anything else was his. Tax Collectors often added exorbitant amounts to the required fees, making themselves very rich (think of Zacchaeus). 

When Jesus called Matthew, he immediately got up and left it all behind. (Including his Tax booth, from which looters probably made a good haul.)

Matthew’s Gospel was the first written, about 20 years before Jerusalem was destroyed. He presents Jesus as the “Messiah, King of the Jews,” so many scriptures tie Jesus to the Old Testament. The phrase, “the Kingdom of Heaven,” occurs 32 times.  The main body of his Gospel is divided into five sections, each with an important teaching.  Some have paralleled these with the 5 books of Moses.

The rejection of Israel’s Messiah is a constant theme, more than in the other Gospels.  He shows the most attacks on Jesus himself, from Herod’s murder of the babies in Bethlehem, to the vivid scene at the cross.

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MARK

Mark is the shortest Gospel. It moves quickly. (Notice how often he uses the word “immediately.”) It’s like that old Dragnet show, “Just the facts, ma’am. Just the facts.”  Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Mark pictures Jesus as “the Servant.” His audience seems to be Roman (or Gentile) believers.

Mark (or John Mark) was a young cousin of Barnabas.  He started out with Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey.  But when they got to Perga, Mark found the work too hard, gave up, and sailed back home “to Mama.”

When P & B were planning their second missionary journey, to check on the churches they’d established, Barnabas (the encourager) wanted Mark to try again, but Paul said an emphatic “No!”  They quarreled a bit, and Barnabas ended up taking Mark and going on their own. Paul, meanwhile, enlisted Silas.  TWO missionary teams were now on the scene.

However, later, Paul had to change his mind about the young man.  Paul told Timothy in 2 Tim. 4:11 to “get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.” 

(Don’t give up, you who are struggling and making mistakes each day!! God is not done with you yet.)

Simon Peter also had a good influence on young Mark. In 1 Peter 5:13, he called him, “Mark, my son.” Peter was always the quickest to act among Jesus’ disciples, and the one who made the lion’s share of mistakes, so it is likely he identified with Mark and was the source of information for Mark’s Gospel. Several personal accounts of Peter’s life can be found in it.

Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 3 – John the Baptist.

All three of these Gospels present John as the “forerunner” to Jesus. All three of them quote either Isaiah 40 or Malachi 5 about John being “a voice crying in the wilderness; ‘prepare the way of the Lord.’” and “God’s messenger, who will prepare the way,”

Instead of becoming a priest like his father, Zechariah, John spent his years “in the wilderness,” dressed in clothes that would endure the elements, camel’s hair and leather.  He existed on bugs (or maybe pods from the Locust tree) and honey.  Truly, the picture of a prophet. Then, at age 30, the call came and he began preparing the way for the Messiah.

How?  By calling Israel to repentance.  By condemning their sin and telling them how to change. And by baptizing them to show outwardly the cleansing they sought.  Hearts remorseful about their sin and eager for change were the kind of people the Messiah sought. John addressed the crowds, the religious leaders, the tax collectors, and the soldiers about their sin and how to bear the fruits of righteousness.

And always John pointed to the soon coming One, who was greater, mightier, more worthy, and who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. The Lamb of God.

And then, there He was, asking to be baptized.  At first, John refused, but when Jesus said, “Let it be so now, for this it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness,” he agreed.  Jesus wanted to thoroughly be identified with the people He had come to save, though He personally had NO SIN to repent of.

Then John witnessed “the sign” that proved to him who this man, Jesus, was.  As Jesus came up from the water, “the heavens werre opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him.  And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”  

It was the sign that God had previously given to John, that indeed Jesus was the One.  It was a sign to Jesus that His time of ministry, for which He had come to earth, had begun.  And God was very pleased with Him.

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LUKE takes a moment here to review Jesus’ genealogy for his friend, Theophilus.  Since he’s presenting Jesus as “Man,” he traces the line all the way back to Adam and to God.  

NOTE: Luke begins with Joseph, the supposed father of Jesus, saying he was the “son” of Heli. But this was Mary’s father, so in fact, Joseph was his “son-in-law.”  Mary (through her father) could trace her line back to King David, too, except it was through his son, Nathan, and not Solomon.

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All three of these Gospel accounts show the Holy Spirit “driving” Jesus into the wilderness to be “tempted by Satan for forty days.” Matthew and Luke do it in the next chapters.  Mark does it quickly here, in verses 12-13, then rushes on to tell about Jesus’ ministry:

• Jesus proclaims the Gospel of God, saying, “The Kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the Gospel.”
• Jesus calls Peter and Andrew, who were fishermen, saying, “Follow me.”
• Jesus also calls James and John, who also left their nets and followed Jesus.
• Jesus teaches “with authority” in the synagogue at Capernaum.
• Jesus casts out a demon, amazing the congregation.
• Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law, and then heals ALL in the crowds of sick people or those oppressed by demons.
• Jesus touches and heals a leper, who then went everywhere telling about his miraculous cleansing.

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(LORD, thank you for John the Baptist and his brave proclamation about Jesus. Please help me to be bold in telling others about sin, and Jesus’ so great a salvation.)