Matthew 8 - Power Over the Storms of Life

And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him! Matthew 8:26-27. 

The disciples marveled at how Jesus displayed power over the wind and waves as they crossed the Sea of Galilee to deliver the good news of the kingdom. While Jesus slept in the back of the boat, a storm began to rage such that the disciples were afraid for their lives. They had to wake Him, wondering why He didn't seem concerned that they were about to perish.

Hard to imagine, but this is exactly how the Bible relays the incident. Jesus was content in the arms of His heavenly father, completely at peace as the wind and waves roared about Him. He was displaying to the disciples that He is ABOVE all earthly circumstances, even those things that are part of nature, such as tumultuous seas.

When He awoke, He rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith and then calmed the wind and waves with His word. This is the power and authority that the heavenly father had given Him BEFORE the cross. Imagine the power and authority available to Him now, post cross and resurrection! We are part of His body, and all the authority He has, we have too, In Him! See Ephesians 1-2.

In Jesus, we have the power and authority to be victorious in every storm of life! Selah!

Matthew 6 - Forgiveness & the Lord's Prayer

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. Matthew 6:5

Jesus instructed His disciples to look to the spiritual truths behind the Mosaic, Levitical laws, particularly the ones regarding oaths, prayers, and fasting. During their day, many of the religious Jews made great spectacles of their alms givings, prayers, and fasting. They sounded the trumpet, so to speak, announcing to all their good works, thinking that their conduct made them righteous before God.

But we know that all of man's righteousness is filth before a holy God. There has to be a righteousness that comes from a place other than man's deeds. This is where Jesus Christ, the Savior, comes in.

Regarding prayer, the pattern most of us in denominational circles were taught was the Lord's Prayer, as found in this chapter of Matthew. Here, Jesus specially lays out a format for praying to the Heavenly Father, but did you realize that this is an Old Testament pattern that was necessary and important BEFORE the cross?

Now, after the cross, there is a New Covenant; those of us who are IN HIM, are born again, new creations with God's spirit living inside of us. If the gospel of Grace which Paul preached is true, and it is, then it cannot also be true that we must first forgive before being forgiven by the Father. No, we are already forgiven IN CHRIST, for every sin committed, whether it be past, present, or future.

Under the Old Covenant, it is was important for Israel to be in a state of forgiveness toward their brethren - having a soft, pliable heart - so that when the New Covenant was instituted, they would receive Jesus as Messiah and enter into the Kingdom of God.

Selah! Think about it!

The Gospel of Matthew by way of Daniel 9

Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Daniel 9:24

The Gospel of Matthew is a book written to the Jewish people about a Jewish Messiah, Jesus, who fulfilled many Jewish prophecies.

There are some scriptures in Matthew that are confusing, particularly in the area of Jesus' revelation of End Times. This is because most of us have been taught the Dispensationalist or futurist view that there is a coming evil antichrist, a Great tribulation, that God will reveal Himself to Israel after all the Gentiles come into the church, and basically that the church is an afterthought--that Israel is His favorite, the apple of His eye, His chosen people. This teaching never sat right with me when I dug into the Word. The scriptures do not support this view.

After a year-long study of eschatology, mainly the Book of Daniel, I came to the realization that much of Biblical End Times scriptures referred to the events that happened to Israel and Jerusalem in 70 AD. On the day of Passover, exactly 40 years after the crucifixion, the Roman armies destroyed the temple and the city, as documented by the famous historian, Josephus. This is what is called the Preterist position, which was the predominant view held by the church fathers for years until the mid 1800s when the futurist view came into vogue.

As we study Matthew, we will look at the Word based on the supposition that the events of 70 AD fulfilled much of the End Times scriptures presented by Jesus. He was warning the rulers of that evil generation that rejecting Him would bring about terrible consequences. Judgment was coming and it came in 70 AD.

Here are some links to explore:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBlpbzWM5lI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc-6yN9I2MM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbTmTEVk8WE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GzcypwV9Kk
http://www.preteristarchive.com/StudyArchive/s/significance-of-ad70.html