Hebrews 8- Mediator of New Covenant
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Author Archives: Unashamed of Jesus
Matthew 3- Baptism of Christ
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!
Hebrews 7- A Better Covenant
Matthew 3- Prepare The Way
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!
Hebrews 6- Anchor of our Soul
Matthew 2- Jesus The Nazarene
But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene. Matthew 2:19-23
God works in mysterious ways, we heard this phrase a million times, but when you read the Bible you see how God works in ways we can’t even comprehend. Just when you think the fight is lost, God shows you He is in complete control. While Jesus time in Egypt was temporary and a fulfillment of prophecy, the time has come for Christ to come back home
Notice how accurate the Messianic prophecies are, the Christ would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), The Messiah would then go to Egypt (Hosea 11:1) , however when we reflect about the Christ being a Nazarene, its more of a cumulative case. This is why many were probably confused about the Messiah
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: Isaiah 11:1
The word “Nazarene” in Hebrew means “Branch” , as we know Isaiah 11:1 is a prophecy of the Messiah, as the stem of Jesse is the line of David. The Messiah will come from the Line of David, as we see the genealogy of Christ at the beginning of Matthew 1:6 “And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;”
Jesus the Nazarene is the Branch of Jesse. Again you can use the words Nazarene and Branch interchangeably.
I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Acts 26:9
It’s clear that the Apostles and early Chistians, identified the Messiah as Jesus of Nazareth. As we learned earlier Nazarene is actually a Messianic title. As we also remember Jesus was rejected in his hometown of Nazareth (Luke 4:16-24) Just as the name Bethlehem had significant meaning , also the name Nazareth has significant meaning also
So as the disciple asked “Can anything good come out of Nazareth”? The answer is Yes, the Christ, Son of God came out of Nazareth to save us from our sins Amen!
Hebrews 5- Author of Salvation
Matthew 2- Rachels Weeping
Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. Matthew 2:16-18
As we just went over Jesus’ flight to Egypt, this was the event that God was protecting him from. One of the most horrific events in the entire Bible, King Herod ordered the killing of all Jewish males 2 years old and under. This can only begin to show you how insane and dangerous King Herod was. This also shows you that Satan was not only defeated but was totally confused on how to stop the Messiah. Often we give Satan too much credit, when Satan knew all the prophecies yet still couldn’t figure out how to defeat God
Speaking of prophecies, this event is yet again another fulfillment of prophecy. Again Matthew continually demonstrates how Jesus fulfills all the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. Over 300 hundred prophecies fulfilled by Christ, the mathematical probabilities are astronomical, yet Jesus fulfilled them all. How can anyone doubt that Jesus is The Messiah?
Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. Jeremiah 31:15
When you analyze this prophecy by Jeremiah, at first glance it appears to make any sense, however when you break it down it’s very precise. The slaughter of the children is known as “Rachel’s Weeping” . Rachel is obviously the wife of Jacob, mother of Joseph. Rachel was buried near Bethlehem, hence the reference of location by the prophet Jeremiah. If that wasn’t enough for you , the Hebrew meaning of the name Rachel means “ewe” which is a baby lamb. Bethlehem is the city of the Passover Lamb and the slaughter was of children, it’s amazing the precise accuracy of this prophecy
And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live. Exodus 1:15-16
It’s also interesting to reference the foreshadow of this event with Moses. The King of Egypt, ordered all the male Hebrew children to be murdered. Again Satan failed again to kill the Messiah. Satan knew Christ would come from Israel, but he didn’t know who or how. Many events in Moses’ life were a foreshadow of Jesus to come. This is an event that draws alot of similarities to Rachels Weeping
God is in complete control, even with all the evil in this world, Satan couldn’t kill the Messiah. Trust in the Lord and not in our own understanding Amen!
Deity of Christ- Who Can Forgive Sin?
Hebrews 4- Word of God
Unashamed of Jesus 