Sermon Tone Analysis

Please take your Bibles and turn to .

Two weeks ago I began preaching a message, which I really did think I could get through in one weeks time.

Well today’s message is the third part of that one sermon.

Of course being the fellow that I am I have kept studying the passage in question and seeking to deepen my understanding of it so that I can better communicate it to you folks.

Two weeks ago I began preaching a message, which I really did think I could get through in one weeks time.

Well today’s message is the third part of that one sermon.

Of course being the fellow that I am I have kept studying the passage in question and seeking to deepen my understanding of it so that I can better communicate it to you folks.

Today we are going to review the various fulfillment passages that we have already looked at in the Gospel of am taking the time to do this because these so-called “fulfillment formulas” are a peculiar aspect of the Gospel of Matthew, and as students of God’s Word we need to seek to understand the author’s intent.

We will try to establish an understanding of the broad view or the purpose for which Matthew is so keen on these fulfillment passages.

And then we will try to work from the broad to the narrow — in other words, what was Matthew’s purpose for this specific fulfillment passage in .

Let’s read the passage together first.

As we go over the various passages this morning they will all, or at least most, be found in the Gospel of Matthew.

Feel free to flip through your Bible to each passage.

But the passages in question will be on the screen for your convenience.

Let’s begin by talking about the purpose for the Gospel of Matthew.

The Purpose for the Gospel of Matthew

One can argue that there are various purposes for Matthew’s written account of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

You may or may not recall that when we first started studying this book in December of 2013 I stated that the entire book is heading toward the Great Commission found in

In order to get to this point in which all authority is given to Jesus, Matthew had to build the case that Jesus was the One whom God had intended from ages to past to receive this authority.

Therefore, Matthew begins his account by stating that this is:

Ever since the time in which David set his heart to build a house for God to dwell in, God began to promise that David’s son, or descendant, would be the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ.

He would be the One who would have all authority in heaven in on earth.

Thus Matthew begins his written account with the genealogy of Jesus being traced back to Abraham, and through David.

Jesus, in a legal sense, is the rightful heir to the throne of David.

An interesting side note is that though there were many who had the legal credentials to be the heir to the throne, Jesus (and I suppose his half-brothers as well) may have been the last to establish the legal lineage since the documents that established the birthright to those in the line of David were most likely destroyed when Rome razed the Temple in A.D. 70.

Not only did Jesus have legal validation as heir to the throne of David, but He also had prophetic validation as well.

Over and over again in this gospel account Matthew states something to the effect that “all this took place to fulfill what was spoken ...” As I stated earlier, there were many who could have had the legal credentials to the throne of David.

It had been close to a thousand years since God made the promise to David, and so his descendants would be, for all practical matters, countless.

But only One would have the prophetic credentials, and Matthew’s purpose seems to be to demonstrate that Jesus, and Jesus alone had the prophetic credentials.

For the next several minutes we are going to briefly look at these various fulfillment passages, before we circle back to our text for today.

As always, feel free to flip through the Gospel of Matthew in your own Bible, but the passages will be on the screen for your convenience.

The first passage is found in .

This is set in the context of Joseph discovering that the woman who was betrothed to him was pregnant.

It was a scandalous thing.

He was trying to discern what he ought to do.

Should he divorce her?

Should he seek to have her stoned to death?

But an angel appeared to him, instructing him to take her as his wife, for this was “a God-thing.”

After the angelic announcement Matthew narrates:

This passage is taken from , and it is such an important, doctrinal point for it regards the virgin birth of Christ.

If Jesus had not been born of a virgin then He would have had the same sin nature that you and I have, and therefore He would not have been a suitable substitute.

He would not have been able to absorb God’s wrath that was intended for us.

In there are three fulfillment passages, all of which surround the early days of Messiah.

The first in in regards to Joseph and Mary fleeing with their young child to Egypt to escape the fury of Herod the Great.

This prophecy was originally spoken by Hosea, and was a reference to the of the nation of Israel’s exodus from Egypt.

But it has its final fulfillment in Jesus when as a lad He moved back from Egypt and He and His parents settled in Nazareth of Galilee.

I wonder how many of David’s descendants were also called out of Egypt?

The next fulfillment passage in this chapter has to do with Herod’s slaughter of the boys in Bethlehem who were two years old and younger.

The final fulfillment formula in this chapter is found in the last two verses:

Nobody really knows which passage Matthew was referring to in this verse, but we do know that since it was given under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it is a valid fulfillment.

All of these fulfillment passages in answer the question that would be natural to most Jews: How could Messiah be from Nazareth and not Bethlehem?

In the next passage Matthew informs us that Jesus had moved from the village of Nazareth where He had grown up, to Capernaum.

Matthew again saw this as a fulfillment of a passage from Isaiah.

Matthew sees that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah because He and He alone brought light to this incredibly dark, and evil place within the nation of Israel.

Our next instance of the fulfillment formula being used is found in .

This is set in the midst of the section in which Jesus had healed a leper, a centurions’ servant, and Peter’s mother-in-law.

Matthew wrote:

Matthew seems to have seen the fact that Jesus healed all who came to Him as being a fulfillment of .

The next fulfillment passage is set in the context of which we looked at quite recently.

The Pharisees were conspiring to destroy Jesus because He had dared to break their man-made traditions, and healed a crippled man on the Sabbath.

Therefore Jesus withdrew from that particular place, and the crowds followed Him and He continued to heal all who came to Him.

And Matthew sees this as a fulfillment of another passage in Isaiah that is about the Suffering Servant.

The final two fulfillment formulas that we will look at this morning are found in , the chapter that we have spent the last four weeks or so studying.

The first of this is found in Jesus explanation to the apostles as to why He was teaching the crowds in parables.

All of the other fulfillment passages we have looked at this morning are narrated by Matthew as he is telling us the account of Jesus of Nazareth.

But this one is a part of what Jesus spoke, rather than being Matthew’s narration.

Jesus’ purpose in using parables was two-fold.

First, it was to fulfill what had been written by Isaiah the prophet.

Second, it was so that only the intended audience could understand the message that was being given.

All of this brings us to our passage for today, .

Jesus Addressed the Crowds in Parables

There is a sense in which this fulfillment formula is used as a segue from the parables that were told to the crowds to the parables and explanations that were told to the apostles in private.

Notice that the text says that He did not speak to them without a parable.

As I have said before, there was a decided shift in the ministry of Jesus after the confrontation in when the Scribes and Pharisees claimed that Jesus cast out demons in the power of Beelzebul, thereby committing the unpardonable sin — blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

By virtue of His authoritative teaching and the miracles that Jesus performed He authenticated His claim to be the Son of Man.

And yet the religious leaders of Israel were so blinded by their sinful reliance on the doctrines of man rather than the doctrine of God that they did not recognize Jesus for who He was.

As a matter of fact they refused to recognize Him as Messiah.

Of course Jesus was not at all surprised by their rejection.

It was prophesied of old that they would reject Him.

Jesus knew all along that He would be rejected, that He would be pierced.

Isn’t it amazing that in spite of His certain knowledge of these facts that He still was willing to be found in appearance as a man, and become obedient to the point of death on the cross?

The fulfillment passage found in verse 35 actually comes from rather than from the prophetic writings.

This lengthy psalm that comprises 72 verses was written by Asaph.

Some may question the reference in to a prophet, but Asaph is referred to as a seer in .

The term “seer” is a more ancient reference to a prophet.

In this lengthy psalm Asaph “recounts the history of Israel for the next generation.

The psalm stresses Israel’s unbelief, which led to God’s discipline.

In spite of this, God continues to manifest His faithfulness to Israel through powerful acts and by choosing David to shepherd them.

In Matthew’s view, Jesus is the son of David who fulfills the Davidic role as Israel’s ultimate shepherd” (Turner, pg.

346).

The pattern of hard hearts and unbelief were just as prevalent in Jesus’ time as it was in David’s.

And, unfortunately it is still prevalent in our own time.

I don’t know about you, but I struggle with how people can continue to refuse to see God at work in this world.

But that is because of the blinded hearts of man.

As Paul wrote, quoting the psalmist:

Why did Asaph style his historical narrative as parabolic?

“He does this because events well known by his contemporaries would be ancient secrets to the coming generation.

Also, his recounting of the past historical events reveal the story of God’s faithfulness to His people in spite of their sin.

His faithfulness is manifested in powerful redemptive acts.”

So why did Matthew choose to site ?

There is an obvious connection with the term “parable” that the psalmist used, and the parables in which Jesus told the crowds.