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So His fame spread throughout Syria…and the great crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.  When Jesus looks out on these great crowds, he climbs, at the beginning of chapter 5, up on the mountain. 

It’s often depicted that the sermon that Jesus gave on that mount was to the crowd, but the first verse only says, and when He sat down, His disciples came to Him.  It’s possible that Jesus was leading the crowd up this mountain to preach to them; the language indicates the possibility that Jesus ascended to get away from the crowds.  Maybe there’s a reason Matthew leaves this ambiguous for right now. 

The preaching is packed with conviction and encouragement: the hearers both reminded of their duty to the LORD and impelled to not settle for mere obedience.  “You’ve heard it said…” Jesus begins – connecting to their knowledge of the law – and then presses beyond:“…but I tell you…”  Later, Jesus’ hearers are reminded of the smallness of their faith both in the power and in the attention of their Heavenly Father. 

Connecting it all is the integrating concept in the middle of chapter 5: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.”   This question of Jesus’ relationship to the Jewish past and faith will prove central to Matthew’s story: Is Jesus an aberration, is He an abomination, or is He truly Immanuel – God with us – the grand climax to which Abraham’s story always aspired?

Our verse for this week is Isaiah 40:31: “But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

Matthew chapters 5 and 6.  Now let’s read it!

“… I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul.  And I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah.  And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more…Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house…”

The capture of the Ammonite capital following the death of David’s son might lead us to believe that all is now well with David’s kingdom.  But turning to chapter 13 reveals this success was only a momentary respite, and Nathan’s prophecy that the LORD “will raise up evil against you out of your own house” today is filled full. 

The author introduces us to David’s son Absalom through his sister, Tamar, and the treachery committed against her by his half-brother, Amnon.  The account in chapter 13 is physically and emotionally brutal, and Absalom’s vengeance matches its ferocity.   David receives conflicting messages, Absalom fears for his own neck and flees Jerusalem, leaving a father to grieve the loss of two sons. 

After three years, Joab seeks reconciliation by calling on a wise woman from Tekoa to persuade the king to recall his son.  Her technique is reminiscent of other times wisdom was put before David: she tells him a story.  David heeds her (and Joab’s) counsel, but Absalom spends two more years in Jerusalem without receiving an audience with the king.  Absalom lets his displeasure be known, and his resentment toward his father will fuel the rest of his life’s story.   

A thread to pay attention to is David’s declining discernment and courage.  Amnon’s violation of Tamar made him “very angry,” yet he did nothing.  The spirit of the king longed to go out to Absalom, yet for three years he did not.  And two more years go by without David recognizing the powder keg he was filling in Absalom – more obviously grieving the loss of Amnon than anything else that had happened.  Watch and see if this theme threads its way through the coming chapters. 

Our verse for this week is John 14:6: “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

2 Samuel chapters 13 and 14.  Now let’s read it!

In the first two chapters of his book, Matthew establishes continuity between Jesus’ story and the story of Abraham’s descendants – the children of Israel.  Matthew makes sure we know that Jesus was a true descendant not only of Abraham but also of David – the king whom the LORD promised an everlasting throne.  He recounts the words of Israel’s prophets showing how Jesus’ early journeys had been foretold.  And Matthew bakes Jesus’ experiences within contextual comfort food: an unconventional birth story; angels appearing in dreams; inordinate danger from an unhinged ruler; and Egypt, as a place of refuge. 

In today’s reading Matthew begins to establish Jesus’ message and intentions.  In chapter 3 the message is presented by John the Baptist: first generally, and then directly at the Jewish leaders.  In chapter 4 the message is proclaimed by Jesus, through his encounter with the Tempter, in his early preaching, in his call to the first disciples and through the healings He performed. 

Pay attention to the geography.  As a child, Jesus’ parents had avoided Judea and lived in Nazareth, a town in the northern province of Galilee.  Jesus will return to the North after his baptism, settling in the city of Capernaum, originally part of the ancestral lands of Zebulun and Naphtali but now occupied by foreigners.  John was preparing the way in the southern region of Judea, around Jerusalem.  It might not be accidental that Matthew highlights the varied locations in which the kingdom of God was present and preached. 

Pay even more attention to the dialogue, especially to the first lines of dialogue for each character.  There’s John the Baptist’s bold exhortation: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  There’s Jesus’ obedience: “Let it be done so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”  The voice from heaven: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”  And the Tempter: “If you are the Son of God…”

Also follow Jesus’ responses to the Tempter in chapter 4: He quotes the Jewish Scriptures.  Not only does this strengthen Matthew’s claim that this Jesus is not disconnected from Israel’s past, but it also, emphatically, shows Jesus’ own commitment to God’s word.  When tested, Jesus responds with the strongest weapon at His disposal: “It is written…”

Our verse for this week is Isaiah 40:31: “But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

Matthew chapters 3 and 4.  Now let’s read it!