Note: This was preached outside hence some of the unique background noise.

As we come into Matthew 3, we are jumping somewhere between 18-30 years later. Luke 2 records the events at Jesus' birth, His circumcision, and when He was twelve-years-old. Matthew 2 records the activities within the first two years of his life, and from Luke 3, we learn that Jesus was around 30 years of age when he began his public ministry. (See Luke 3:23)

So Matthew picks up his record somewhere in this time frame with the ministry of John the Baptist, The Herald of the King.

We must be honest about the seriousness of our sin and rest in the comforting grace of God.

If you long for a God, who can be touched and felt you will find your answer in Jesus. He has made God real. He came and suffered with us and suffered for us. (See Mark 10:45; Philippians 2:6-8; Hebrews 4:15)

Will you follow Him? Through his words of introduction, Matthew has clearly pointed out that Jesus is the Messiah. He is the rightful decedent of David by both His human adopted father and a human mother. In Him are the promises made to the family tree of Abraham, Judah, and David fulfilled.

When the King of kings arrived, some accepted Him, while others rejected Him. The challenge to us is which one will we be? Will we be counted among those who accepted Him or ones who rejected Him?

The earthly lineage of Jesus through a promised line was not a perfect line. Each one of the individuals, even though they could be classified as "good", had their flaws. So how could all nations be blessed by Abraham, who was a lier? Why should God not have removed the sceptre from Judah, who defiled the marriage bed and had children out of wedlock? What makes David's kingdom so special, especially since he by all points was a molester and a murderer? The promises given to this family tree were secure, not because of the individuals to whom the promises were given, but because of who would eventually come through this family tree. (See Matthew 1:16)

Jesus the Christ, the son of David, the son Abraham was unlike anybody in history. Yes, there have been some mighty individuals, but none of them could amount to the stature of the one born of Mary, whose name is Jesus and is called the Christ.

Matthew begins by laying out what every king has, a lineage that gives him the right to be king. As we saw a few weeks ago Jesus is the rightful decedent of David. Those who grew up with Jesus and knew Jesus knew who Mary and Joseph were and from whose family they descended. (See Matthew 13:55-56) He is King for He is of the house and lineage of David. (See Luke 2:4)

There are many great encouragements and comforts in the ministry of Christ in the life of a believer. Trust Him, lean upon Him, and follow Him. Thank you Robert Ewers for your ministry to us.

There has been much debate over what the Lord meant by the Kingdom. The primary cause being the fact that neither Jesus nor the Gospel writers explicitly defined it. It was something that they assumed would be understood. For both, the Greeks and Jews define “kingdom” as the abstract concept of one’s “sovereignty, royal power, or authoritative rule”.

In 1 Chronicles, we read how Saul’s kingdom was turned over to David, indicating that the authority that was once Saul’s was now David’s. David then had legal authority. He was king. (See 1 Chronicles 12:23) The nobleman went to the governing authority in a far country to receive his rite to be a governing authority. (See Luke 19:12) But a “kingdom” was also, a concrete concept, “a territory, people, or realm over which a king rules”. (See 2 Chronicles 20:30; Matthew 4:8)

With this understanding, you come to see the Kingdom as something that is both present and future, as well as spiritual and physical. The Kingdom is now but not yet. It is as Baker’s Encyclopedia of the Bible defines it,

The sovereign rule of God, initiated by Christ’s earthly ministry and to be consummated when “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ” (Rv 11:15).[i]

This is why Jesus could both point to a present and spiritual kingdom, but also a future and physical kingdom.

[i] Ladd, G. E. (1988). Kingdom of God (Heaven). In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 2, p. 1269). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

As we make our way through, we will be confronted with this reality. Jesus is King, He is the Messiah, and in Him are the prophesies fulfilled. He has come to reveal His Kingdom calling the Jewish people and the world to become citizens of this kingdom. The overall message of Matthew is the Kingdom of Heaven, of which Jesus is King. Through Matthew's record of the life of Jesus, we are called to live in His Kingdom, accepting His rule in our lives, and walking as citizens of this higher country with the greater King. (See Matthew 11:28-29)

In this message, we turn our attention to answering the first of two questions that will help us grasp a better understanding of the overall message of Matthew. To accomplish this we will look at Paul's words recorded in Romans 1, and at the very beginning of one of the most doctrinally rich epistles, the Apostle lays out for us what you could say is Jesus’ divine rite to be King.

Jesus is the rightful King because of Who He is. Jesus was the fulfilment of all the Old Testament prophecies given by God concerning the coming King. He was the child born, and the Son given upon which the government rests. (See Isaiah 9:6)

Jesus is the God-man. He is 100% man and 100% God and will be for all eternity. He was not conceived after a typical human fashion. His conception was a supernatural divine work. It was only by the work of the Holy Spirit that God was able to become human (See Matthew 1:20). The Word God makes it clear that there was no human male input into this conception (See Luke 1:20; Matthew 1:24-25). As the truly only God-man He is the rightful divinely appointed King.

Christ’s coming is drawing neigh, and the trials of life seem to be growing day by day. It is easy for us to become complacent and to hide away in our homes and churches. But the fact of Christ’s coming should not be a hindrance to our work, for it is His coming that should be our motivation for going, growing, and glowing.

In 1 Thessalonians 5, the Apostle Paul told the believers that to the lost world Christ coming would be as a thief. It will surprise them, for when they think they have finally found peace, God’s wrath would be poured out (See Matthew 24:36-39). Yet to the believer, the imminent return of Christ is a motivation. For those who know Christ as Saviour, His coming will not leave us desolate, but victorious (See 1 Corinthians 15:51-58).

The Beatitudes deal heavily with our character, for the Kingdom life is defined by the inner man. Kingdom life is about the attitude of the heart.

Poor in spirit means a complete dependence upon God. It is humility of spirit, understanding our own spiritual emptiness.