Matthew Ch. 4 Plot Outline

Matthew Ch. 3 First Impressions

Pharisees and Sadducees


John says, “You brood of vipers. Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath. Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not say ‘we have Abraham as our father,’ for out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.”


While the Pharisees and Sadducees are two very different groups, John addresses them together calling them a “brood of vipers.” (Children of Snakes – perhaps recalling the serpent in Genesis 3).
What similarities do they share that might make them alike deserve his rebuke?

1. They are religious leaders
2. They lack the spiritual fruit
3. They depend upon Abrahamic.

Contrast – Jesus and the Religious Leaders

• Do not claim “Abraham is our Father” 3:9
• “This is my beloved Son” 3:17

Israel, the descendants of Abraham, are referred to as God’s son. Here epitomized by the religious leaders we see that their dependence upon Abraham, and their various approaches to God have yielded no fruit. Judgment is coming to Israel and the people are not to turn to them for guidance. Rather they must get in line with everyone else – because God is preparing them for a new work.
When Jesus is baptized the heavens open up and God says “this is my beloved Son”.
Conclusion: Jesus is the True Son of God

Sunday Topic: Matthew 2:13-23

Title: Herod's Revenge
Topic: The Kingdom of Man and the Will of God
Passage: Matthew 2:13-23

Summary 

Rumors of the messiah's birth began to circulate after the arrival of strange men from the east (Magi).  These rumors disturbed Herod, and whether he believed them or not, talk about the messiah agitated the people and made them hard to govern.  He summoned the Magi to find out as much as he could about the child. He even aided them in their search by gathering the scribes and teachers of the Law to discern the place of the child's birth.  Then he spoke to them in secret and falsely professed his own desire to worship the child.  Herod struck a deal, that the Magi would return after finding the child and reveal his whereabouts to him - then Herod would kill him. When the Magi did not return Herod was furious.  He refused to be made a fool of, and he would not allow these rumors of a messiah to fester in his kingdom.  He had tried to treat the infection, but now he was forced to resort to more drastic measures - and sever the limb.  Based on the information he had gathered from the Magi and religious leaders he ordered that all male children 2 years of age and under be killed - in and around Bethlehem.  But God warned Joseph in a dream, and told him to flee.

This passage shows how much people can suffer from the sinful acts of others.
It also shows how God acts to ensure that his will is done in spite of all opposition.
This passage ultimately calls us to have hope in God's sovereignty even when great injustices seem to remain unresolved.

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Sunday Topic: Matthew 2:1-12

Title: How the Magi Became Wise Men
Topic: The journey of faith begins with what you know and ends where only God can take you.
Passage: Matthew 2:1-12

Summary

The Journey of the Magi began far from God, as gentile astrologers from the east.  The practice of their art was the way they sought spiritual guidance. We cannot be sure how they heard about the promised messiah. But they used what they knew and looked to the stars for the proper time to set out on their journey to meet him.  Naturally they first went to Jerusalem to look for the new king.  It was the capital city.  But they did not find the child  there.  Instead they found Herod on the throne.  A cruel man who sought to deceive them by aiding them in their search - in the hopes they might lure him to the child. They had learned from Herod that the child would be born in Bethlehem, but where? Just then, miraculously, the star they that had signaled the child's birth began to move.  It guided them till it stopped - right over the house where the child was.  The Magi fell down and worshiped the child, and offered their gifts.  Before they left on their journey home, God warned them in a dream that they should not go back to Herod.

This story is about a journey of faith.  The Magi were men who sought spiritual guidance, and because they did not know God, they looked for it in the stars. Though they used what knowledge they had to seek out the messiah, ultimately it was not enough to find him. It took God's own intervention to bring them. God used their star in a miraculous way, and lead them directly to the messiah. At the end of this story, the Magi hear the voice of God himself.  Think about that. God himself had spoken to the them. The spiritual guidance they had always sought in the stars was finally theirs for real.  In seeking the messiah, Magi became truly wise men.