MATTHEW LESSON 3


     For the last two lessons, we have been laying foundation for the
New Testament study.  We will continue this week, as well, with the
Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled in the New Testament
through the birth, life, crucifixion, and resurrection of the Lord
Jesus Christ.

      In Jeremiah 3l:l5, we read about the massacre of the infants.
"Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and
bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be
comforted for her children, because they were not."

     You see, Jeremiah was speaking prophetically of the time when
Herod would try to destroy the Christ child by killing all the 
children born anywhere near the time that Jesus was born.  Herod had
asked the wise men to come back and tell him where to find the new
born, but they went back home another way to avoid telling where to
find Jesus.

     Matthew 2:16 "Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the
wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the
children that were in Beth-lehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from
two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently
enquired of the wise men."

     God knows the plans of people, even before they carry them out.
He even knew, in the time of Hosea hundreds of years earlier, that
Herod would try to destroy the Christ Child.

     Hosea 11:1 "When Israel [was] a child, then I loved him, and
called my son out of Egypt."

     All through the Bible, Egypt had been a place of refuge.  Not
only did Jesus run to Egypt for safe harbor, but so did Joseph in the
Old Testament.  If you remember, just a few years ago when the whole
world turned its back on the Shah of Iran, Egypt took him in.  You see,
Egypt, with all its faults, has still been a place of refuge.  God
will not overlook this.  He will bless them for it.  In Matthew 2:14,
we see the fulfillment of Hosea 11:1, Matthew 2:14 "When he arose, he
took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into
Egypt:"

     If we will really look at this Scripture above, we will more
fully understand why the wise men brought the gold as a gift to the
baby Jesus.  We will also understand that it was not just one or two
coins, but enough to sustain Jesus, Mary, and Joseph until it would be
safe to return to their homeland.

     In Isaiah 9:1-2, it is prophesied that Jesus would minister in
Galilee.  In Matthew 4:12-16, it is fulfilled (not only fulfilled, but
distinctly mentioned).  I will just mention one sentence in this,
Matthew 4:14 "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by
Esaias the prophet, saying,"

     You see, every little detail is important to God.  In Deuteronomy
18:15, it was predicted that Jesus (as a prophet) would be raised up
to help His people.  Jesus was many things, including a prophet.
Deuteronomy 18:15  "The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet
from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye
shall hearken;"

     Jesus was Prophet, Teacher, Healer, Deliverer, but most of all He
was, is, and always will be God the Word.  A prophet (worth his salt)
tells the truth, and Jesus said that He was the Son of God.  We see
this prophecy in Deuteronomy fulfilled in John 6:14 "Then those men,
when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a
truth that prophet that should come into the world."

      Jesus filled so many shoes, but, I believe, one of the most
 important things is His priesthood.  He is our High Priest.  He
 intercedes for us continually.  I John 2:1 "My little children, these
 things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have
 an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous::

     In Psalms 110:4, we read the prophecy of Jesus a Priest, Psalms
110:4 "The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou [art] a priest
for ever after the order of Melchizedek." You see, Melchizedec was the
one Abraham paid his tithes to.  He had no father or mother.  A
shadowy figure of the coming Christ.  In Hebrews 6:20, Melchizedec was
mentioned again in a comparative light of Jesus as High Priest.
Hebrews 6:20 "Whither the forerunner is for us entered, [even] Jesus,
made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec." There is
much mystery surrounding Melchizedec, but if it were important for us
to know more about him, then there would be more written in the Bible
about him.  The important thing to note in all of this, is that Jesus
the Christ is our High Priest forever.  There is no need for another.

      In Isaiah 53:3, it is prophesied that Jesus will be rejected of
 men: "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and
 acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him: he
 was despised, and we esteemed him not."

     No other person has ever been so rejected. His own disciples, who
walked with Him daily, ran when they crucified Him (except John).  The
Jews, or His fellows, did not accept Him as Messiah. In St. John 1:11,
we read of this rejection fulfilled.  John 1:11 "He came unto his own,
and his own received him not."

      Jesus had character above all of His fellows.  In Isaiah 11:2,
 we read of the prophecy: Isaiah 11:2 "And the spirit of the LORD
 shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the
 spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear
 of the LORD;"

    Solomon was known for his wisdom, but we read in Luke 11:31" The
queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this
generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of
the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than
Solomon [is] here."

     Jesus is the source of all wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and
counsel.  We must pray for the mind of Christ to be able to minister
in these areas.  In Luke 2:52, we read the fulfillment.  Luke 2:52
"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and
man."

     This Scripture in Luke is just after His visit in the temple at
Jerusalem when He was 12 years old.  God allowed Him a natural family,
so that He could be tempted and have feelings of growing up, so He
could relate to us.

    In Zechariah 9:9, it is prophesied about His triumphal entry into
Jerusalem.  In the song "Messiah" that my grandson, David, sings, it
tells of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on a colt of an ass.  Zechariah
9:9  "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of
Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he [is] just, and having
salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of
an ass."

      In John 12:13 "Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to
meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed [is] the King of Israel that
cometh in the name of the Lord." John 12:14 And Jesus, when he had
found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written," His entry into
Jerusalem will be one of power and great glory when He comes again.
He will be Lord of lords and King of kings and will reign for 1000
years with great power and authority here, on the earth.

     It was prophesied that Jesus would be betrayed by a friend.
Jesus even called Judas "friend" when he came to betray Him.  Judas
kissed Jesus on the cheek when he betrayed Him.  Judas had walked with
Jesus and the other disciples.  He had seen the miracles, but Satan
entered him through his greed, and he was tempted more than he could
stand up to.

     We read the prophecy of this in Psalms 41:9 "Yea, mine own
familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath
lifted up [his] heel against me."

     Mark 14:10  "And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the
chief priests, to betray him unto them."

     Judas carried the purse and was caught up in greed.  The thirty
pieces of silver tells us much (3 times 10).  That is God dealing with
the world system.  You know three means God, and 10 means world
government .  "Silver" means redemption.  Can you see the spiritual
message here?  God redeemed us from the world system through His Son.
In Zechariah 11:12 "And I said unto them, If ye think good, give [me]
my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty
[pieces] of silver."  We see the fulfillment in Matthew 26:15, "And said
unto them, what will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you?  And they
covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver."  The remorse of
Judas was evident when he went back to the authorities, tried to give
the money back, threw it down, and went and hung himself.

     Zechariah 11:13, it prophesies of Judas carrying the money back
and them buying a potter's field for burying the poor with the blood
money. Zechariah 11:13 "And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the
potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the
thirty [pieces] of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of
the LORD." In Matthew 27:6-7, you can easily see this fulfillment.
You may read these scriptures at home.  They are so familiar I did not
reproduce them here.  I will just put a portion here so you may see
the fulfillment, "And they took counsel, and bought with them the
potter's field, to bury strangers in."

      We see in Psalms 109:7,8 that Judas' office was to be filled by
 another, and then in Acts 1:18-20, we see the fulfillment.  In the
 first chapter of Acts verse 26, we see that Matthias took Judas'
 place with the other ll disciples.

     The prophecy of false accusers coming against Jesus is in Psalms
27:12 "Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false
witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty."
You see, there could be no true accusation against Jesus, for even
Pilate said, "I find no fault in him."

     The fulfillment of this prophecy is found in Matthew 26:60-61,
"But found none: Yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they
none.  At the last came two false witnesses, And said, This fellow
said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three
days."  You see, Jesus was innocent of all charges; the Bible says He
was free from sin.  In Chapter 53 of Isaiah Verse 7, it was prophesied
that Jesus would not try to defend Himself, and in Matthew 26:62-63,
the high priest tried to ask Him if He were Christ, the Son of God.
Jesus did not answer.

     You see, Jesus was, and is not, subject to the high priests of the
world.  HE IS THE HIGH PRIEST.

     In Isaiah 50:6, it prophesies that Jesus would be smitten and
spit upon. In Mark l4:65, we see the fulfillment "And some began to
spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto
him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their
hands."

     You see, every little detail was fulfilled.  In every point,
Jesus fulfilled the prophecy.  Can you imagine how these people, who
hit Jesus and spit upon Him, will feel when they stand before Him on
judgement day?

     Next, we will try to finish the prophecies and fulfillments
before we go into Matthew chapter 1.

                          Matthew 3 Questions

1.  How were the prophecies of the Old Testament fulfilled?
2.  How did Herod try to destroy the Christ Child?
3.  Why did the wise men go home another way ?
4.  What country has been a place of refuge throughout the Bible?
5.  How much gold did the wise men bring Jesus?
6.  Mention 5 things Jesus was when He walked here on the earth.
7.  Jesus filled many shoes, but what is one very important job He
    filled?
8.  We are supposed to sin not, but if we sin, we have an--------with
    the Father.
9.  Jesus was to be a high priest after the order of -----------.
10. Whom did Abraham tithe to?
11. What is the most important thing to remember about the priesthood?
l2. Who denied Jesus 3 times just before the crucifixion?
l3. Finish this verse "He came unto his own --------------------------.
l4. In chapter ll verse 2 of Isaiah, we discover some of Jesus'
    character traits; name 6.
15. What was Solomon known for?
16. How was Jesus compared to Solomon?
l7. We must pray for what to be able to minister in wisdom, knowledge,
    understanding, and counsel?
18. Why did Jesus have a natural body and a natural family?
19. In Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, when He was here on the earth, what
    was He riding?
20. When Jesus returns to the earth, how will He enter Jerusalem?
21. How many years shall Jesus reign here on the earth?
22. When Judas came to betray Jesus, what did Jesus call him?
23. What was the price he sold Jesus for?
24. What is the spiritual meaning of the price paid?
25. What 3 things show the remorse of Judas?
26. What became of the money?
27. Who replaced Judas with the eleven?
28. What was the statement of Pilate about Jesus' guilt?
29. What did Jesus say, when questioned by the high priest?
30. Who is the real High Priest?