Monthly Archives: February 2022

Matthew 4- Fisher Of Men

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And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. Matthew 4:18-20

The ministry of Christ has begun and now it’s time to build his Church, and he’s going to start with Peter and Andrew. As Jesus says “Peter upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18) Now its interesting to note Simon Peter’s name means “Rock”. So Jesus is beginning to build His Church, because the Church means people, called out believers. Now the amazing thing is these fishermen left behind everything to follow Christ. It says “They straightway left their nets and followed him” There was no hesitation by Peter and Andrew, they were all in for serving The Lord, are you?

Jesus uses the fishing analogy to apply to evangelism. Jesus said “ I will make you fishers of men” Meaning they were now going to dedicate their lives to saving souls for God. Think of the symbolism here, when you preach the gospel your casting out a net, and some people who are drawn to Christ will answer, others will fall away out of the net. We all should be “Fishers of Men” fulfilling the Great Commision, doing The Lords work

And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him. Matthew 4:21-22

Imagine the reaction of the Zebedee brothers’ father, when his two sons walked off the job and followed Jesus. He was probably furious, he was probably thinking “What is wrong with these boys”? They responded to a higher calling , to follow Christ. The world won’t and can’t understand this, because truly the world hates Jesus. When you sit back and think about all the disciples who gave up to follow Jesus, you have to ask yourself, would you have done the same under the same circumstances?

So now Jesus is going to turn the world upside down, who does he recruit, four fishermen, what? You would think he would have recruited a couple of Pharisees and Sadducees, no Jesus was looking at the heart, he wanted some real workers on fire for The Lord

Its time to cast out our nets, its time to be “Fishers of Men” share the good news of Jesus Christ with everyone Amen!

Matthew 4- Jesus Ministry Begins

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Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. Matthew 4:12-16

The hour has come now for Jesus to begin his Earthly ministry. Remember Jesus had just been baptized by the Holy Spirit, and gone 40 days and 40 nights fasting in the wilderness and overcame the temptations of Satan. Even though Jesus was fully God and fully Man, Satan couldn’t make Christ sin. The mission to the cross has begun, where finally Satan, sin, and death will all be defeated forever (Genesis 3:15, 1 Corinthians 15)

Again we see Matthew tying together the Old Testament prophecies and the fulfillment of Christ. Isaiah 9 is mostly popular for verse 6 about the incarnation of Christ “For unto us a child is born, a Son is given” but do we skip over the beginning of the prophecy? The Messiah will be the light of the Gentiles, the New Covenant is coming in Christ, even the accuracy of the details mentioning the Jordan river, where Jesus was baptized, and Galilee where Jesus ministry began.

From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 4:17

The message of Jesus’ ministry was pretty simple, “Repent (Turn away from your sins) for the Kingdom of Heaven is coming” Notice this is the same strong message that John the Baptist was preaching. Prepare yourself for the Kingdom of God, how? By repenting of your sin, and becoming Born Again! A message so simple yet so few actually follow. You can create all kinds of religious rules and practices, but until you do what Jesus says, its all meaningless

The hour has come now, for Jesus’ ministry to begin. What does that mean? It means he and his disciples are going to not only save the world, but turn the world upside down. The religious system as we know it will be fulfilled and Jesus will reveal God’s grace and righteousness. The display of the New Covenant will be demonstrated as having power and authority over demons and performing miracles. The introduction of the New Covenant will make a way for Gentiles and Jews to become Children of God through Christ

This is where it all began, just like the Mustard Seed that is planted with a tiny seed and grows into a mighty tree. The Kingdom of God began, with One Lord , Jesus Christ , and spread throughout the entire world building God’s Kingdom Amen!

Matthew 4- Jesus In The Wilderness

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Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Matthew 4:1-6

The first thing we want to notice here, is the parallel similarities between Jesus being in the wilderness for 40 days and Moses leading the Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years. The number 40 in the Bible is typically symbolic for a time of testing or trial. However a common theme we see throughout Jesus ministry is Christ is the greater Moses. While Moses led the Israelties from slavery, Jesus freed us from slavery of sin and death. While Moses parted the Red Sea, Jesus walked on water, while Moses struck the rock in the wilderness for water, Jesus is the Living Water. All these things in the Old Testament are a foreshadow of Christ to come

Now we see a battle between Jesus and Satan, good vs evil, we have to remember Jesus was not only fully God but also fully human (Philippians 2) Satan knew this and decided to try and take advantage by tempting his flesh. Satan challenges Jesus to demonstrate his deity by turning the stones into bread. Jesus makes the statement “Man can’t live on bread alone” We could write a sermon just on this statement, but the point is there’s more to life than just our physical needs. We have to feed our souls with the bread of life, the living word of God. 

Then Satan challenged Jesus deity again by saying if you are the Son of God then let the angels save you. (Psalm 91) Notice how Satan will quote the Word of God to use against Jesus. Don’t be tricked, many false prophets and false teachers will try to use the Word of God to deceive you also! (Matthew 7)

Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. Matthew 4:7-11

Satan tried to use his final temptation, “Worship me and I’ll give you the world” isn’t this the same blasphemous message Satan is still using today to get people to worship him? As Jesus said “Worship The Lord your God only” This is the Shema from the Old Testament, and should still be our motto for Christianity, Worship The Lord your God only and not anything of this world. As Jesus also said “What does it profit you to gain the whole world and lose your soul” (Mark 8:36)

Jesus defeated Satan that day in the wilderness, even though he was fully human and was vulnerable from fasting , he still overcame Satan. Jesus eventually finished his work at the cross (John 19:30) and defeated Satan, sin , and death forever Amen! 

Matthew 3- Baptism of Christ

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I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? Matthew 3:11-14

John was known as the “Baptizer” for a reason, as we talked about previously, John the Baptist came to “Prepare The Way of The Lord” the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah. However as John baptized people with water, He spoke about another baptism that could only happen by The Lord, that is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. John said “He (Christ) shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit” 

Jesus then appeared and John declared “Behold The Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world “ (John 1:29) John the Baptist was affirming Jesus is The Christ, as Isaiah prophesied John is the Messenger of the Messiah. However what happens next is unexpected, Jesus asks John to baptize him also! At first John refused to baptize Jesus saying “ I need you to baptize me” , John understood that Jesus was the sinless Son of God, how can a sinner baptize The Lord?

So the question was Why did Jesus have John baptize him? Well there are several reason probably why this happened. First, we must remember Jesus was fully God and fully Human (Philippians 2), Jesus came to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:7) Jesus was performing all the requirements of fulfilling the law and righteousness. Secondly , John the Baptist was from the Levitical line of Aaron, by blood line John fulfilled the requirements of the High Priest. Part of the duties of the High Priest , were to offer the sacrifices to God, as we know Jesus was the last and perfect sacrifice to God for the sin of the world.

And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Matthew 3:15-17

As Jesus said “Let it be done to fulfill all righteousness” Christ came to Earth to save humanity because humanity was incapable of saving themselves. Now another reason probably why this event happened was to affirm the Triune nature of God.

When Jesus was lifted out of the water the Heavens opened up and the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove, then God the Father affirmed “Jesus is my beloved Son” We see the Father, Son , and Holy Spirit all together working in unity. Also during this baptism John the Baptist affirmed the Jesus is the Christ, the Lamb of God

The Baptism of Christ one of the mysterious events of the Bible but also one of the most beautiful moments when we see the  blessed Trinity coming together for the salvation of the world, Amen!

Matthew 3- Prepare The Way

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In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. Matthew 3:1-6

Again we are seeing more fulfillment of prophecy, John the Baptist was the fulfillment of the Messenger of The Messiah. “A voice of the one calling in the Wilderness, to prepare the way for The Lord” (Isaiah 40) John is the messenger for Jesus, to prepare Israel for the coming of the Christ. 

So how did John the Baptist prepare everyone for Jesus? By a strong message of repentance and baptism “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” John is telling Israel, get ready the Christ has come, turn away from your sins, confess your sins to God, and be cleansed. Of course preaching a strong message of repentance goes either way, either people are pricked to the heart to turn to God or people harden their hearts and reject God

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Matthew 3:7-10

 The New Covenant is coming through Christ, John begins by calling out the false religious system and its leaders. “O generation of Vipers” , John addressed the religious leaders, “Who has warned you for the wrath to come”? Many believed they were saved just because they were descendants of Abraham, but salvation comes only through Jesus Christ alone!

The ax is laid at the root, meaning judgment is coming, those who don’t produce good fruit, those who are not Born Again, will be chopped down and thrown in the eternal Hell fire. Obviously John the Baptist never sugar coated his message, He was here for one reason , to announce the Messiah and lead people to Christ. 

Even today, the message must remain the same “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” , Jesus is coming back again soon, those who remain dead in their sin will not inherit eternal life, Amen!