Matthew (Program #18) – The Decree of the Kingdom’s Constitution (6)

Matthew 5:17 says “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill.”  Yet in other places in the New Testament we are told that the law has been done away with.   This has made the subject of the law a subject of great controversy and debate on Christians for hundreds of years.  In the Old Testament it was clear that God dealt with His people through the principle of the law.  But in the New Testament that principle has been replaced by the principle of faith.  So does that mean that the believers now has no obligations to conduct themselves according to the high standard of Scriptures?

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Matthew (Program #17) – The Decree of the Kingdom’s Constitution (5)

The teaching and preaching in the gospel of Matthew concerning the kingdom begins with repentance; “Repent for the kingdom of the heavens is drawn near”.  To repent is to have a complete change of mind.  After dealing with our mind however, the kingdom then becomes a matter of our spirit; “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens” and finally “blessed are the pure in heart”.

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Matthew (Program #16) – The Decree of the Kingdom’s Constitution (4)

We’ve often heard a person described as the salt of the earth.  It’s become a very common term use to describe someone of solid and dependable character.  Actually this term comes from the New Testament gospel of Matthew and it along with it’s companion verse “you are the light of the world” are used specifically to describe not just people of character but actually those people who are fit to inhabit the kingdom of the heavens.

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Matthew (Program #15) – The Decree of the Kingdom’s Constitution (3)

Any nation or kingdom can only be as strong as its citizens.  The kingdom of God or the kingdom of the heavens as it is described in Matthew is no different.  So what are the people that inhabit this heavenly kingdom like?

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Matthew (Program #14) – The Decree of the Kingdom’s Constitution (2)

In three well-known chapters in the gospel of Matthew, the Lord Jesus gives a detailed description of the kingdom of the heavens.  It’s no accident, that this description begins with short verse: “Blessed are the poor in spirit”.  The kingdom of the heavens is absolutely related to our spirit.

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Matthew (Program #13) – The Decree of the Kingdom’s Constitution (1)

The gospel of Matthew is the gospel on the kingdom of the heavens.  One of the most difficult things for believers to understand is the kingdom of the heavens.  It does not correspond to any natural or religious concept.  It refers to something very specific.  To understand the kingdom of the heavens, we all need to be unloaded of our traditional thoughts and concepts from the past.

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Matthew (Program #12) – The Beginning of the King’s Ministry

In the Old Testament, Isaiah give us a wonderful prophesy concerning the beginning of the ministry of Jesus Christ that would take place hundreds of years later.  The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali…the way to the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the gentiles.  The people sitting in the darkness have seen a great light; and to those sitting in the region and shadow of death, to them Light has risen.  So it was Christ began His earthly ministry not in the religious capital Jerusalem, but in the despised region of Galilee.

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Matthew (Program #11) – The King’s Anointing (4)

In a well-known exchange between the Lord Jesus and the devil, Satan tempted Him to simply perform a miracle to proof His divine status.  As the genuine and all-powerful God, this would have been easy for Him to perform a simple miracle.  But instead He answered the challenge by saying to Satan, “you shall not test the Lord, your God”.  We are going to look at 3 major tests given to the newly annointed King in Matthew chapter four.

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Matthew (Program #10) – The King’s Anointing (3)

Of course we all know the story that Jesus was born as a babe in Bethlehem.  We also know that Jerusalem was the religious capital of the world in His time.  But it is interesting the Bible introducing His ministry doesn’t say that Jesus came from Bethlehem and went to Jerusalem.  Rather it says then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan.

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Matthew (Program #9) – The King’s Anointing (2)

There are two basic ministries that characterize both the Old and New Testament; the ministry of the priesthood and the ministry of the kingship.  It’s interesting that in Matthew chapter 3, we see two representatives of these two basic ministries together as the age is changing.

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