In order for us to live, Christ had to die. On Good Friday, we reflect on the price it cost to free us from our sin. We can only live because our sin was nailed to the cross with Christ. In order for us to have the certain hope of resurrection, we first need to be certain that we have trusted in Jesus’s death for our salvation. In order for us to be freed from the bondage of sin, God had to take on flesh and be nailed to a cross. In order for us to be freed from the law, the LORD had to subject himself to the curse of death. In order for us to be freed from death, Jesus had to be buried in a tomb.
News of Jesus has gotten out. The crowds are swelling, wanting to see this man who has the power to heal and cast out demons, this Jesus who speaks with an authority none of them had ever experienced before. And then something truly incredible happens: Jesus withdraws froam the crowds who are clamoring for Him and heads elsewhere. Often our greatest moments of testing come, not in moments of failure but in moments of perceived “success.” What allows Jesus to resist the temptation to be drawn into the adulation of the crowds? What allows Him to resist getting comfortable where He is? What allows Him to make a decision that cuts against the grain? It’s that He knows His purpose. As Christians, as a church, the temptation to achieve worldly success and adulation will lead us into a failure to live out God’s real purpose for us if we don’t have clarity on what God’s mission and purpose for us truly is.
When the gospel is preached, and the Holy Spirit is at work, it causes people to respond. Sometimes that response is positive, as we see in vs. 14 and 15. Sometimes that response is negative, as we see when Jesus returns to Nazareth. This is especially true when it comes to how people respond to who Jesus actually is. It’s one thing to be curious about Jesus, to be attracted to the blessing you think Jesus may be able to offer. It’s another thing to acknowledge Jesus as king and be willing to offer yourself to Him. As the end of this story shows, though, we can boldly declare the reality of who Jesus is without worrying about how people will respond because at the end of the day, God is in control and sovereign over all, and nothing will happen apart from His good plan.
The gospels contain two (very different) genealogies. Both genealogies establish Jesus’ Davidic lineage, but while Matthew traces Jesus’ ancestry through Solomon, Luke traces it through Nathan. The reason for this discrepancy continues to be debated by scholars. What is even more telling, though, is that while Matthew’s genealogy starts with Abraham and traces forward to Jesus, Luke’s genealogy starts with Jesus and traces back to Adam. The difference between Luke’s genealogy and Matthew’s is rooted both in audience and purpose. Luke, writing to a primarily gentile audience, is seeking to show that Jesus is the Saviour and Messiah of all people. Also, in placing His, He now records Jesus’ genealogy all the way back to Adam to establish that the Son of God is also the Son of Man, a direct descendant of Adam. Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise made in Genesis 3:15, the one who would crush the head of the serpent under His heel. Jesus is the true and better Adam, as Paul writes to the church in Rome in Romans 5:12-21. Only a true son of Adam and the divine Son of God could be one to serve as the Saviour of all.
In Matthew 28:18-20, we see that disciples of Jesus ought to be baptized just as Jesus was, but why was Jesus baptized? Luke 3:3 tells us that John was “proclaiming a baptism for the forgiveness of sins,” but Jesus had no sins that needed to be forgiven as the sinless Son of God. In Matthew 3:15, we see that Jesus says He is being baptized to “fulfill all righteousness.” This gives us insight into why Jesus would be baptized. First, He is baptized as a symbol of His full obedience to the Father. In this, He sets the example for all His disciples who would come after Him. Second, His baptism by Jesus identifies Him as the one whom John had been preparing the way for. When the heavens open, the Holy Spirit descends, and the Father speaks His approval, we see the public ministry of Jesus inaugurated in a powerful way. Through His baptism, Jesus shows Himself to be our perfect example and our long-awaited Saviour.
When children get a scrape or cut, they often want a bandage. Bandages can be helpful, they can offer protection for the wound and control the bleeding, but bandaging a wound is not the same as having a wound healed. Many people have deep wounds that they have covered with layers and layers of bandages, those bandages may help to control the bleeding and offer some protection, but God wants something so much more for us then simply managing our wounds, He wants to heal them.
“Busy” and “tired.” That’s how so many people describe themselves. We live in a world where so often our value is tied to our productivity. That’s not just true in the world, it’s so often true in the church. We may know that we’re not saved by our works, but we often live as if we will be saved by our work. In the midst of a world that is filled with tiredness and busyness, the invitation of Jesus is like an oasis in the midst of a desert: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
One of the most beautiful truths of the gospel is that Jesus died for us “while we were still sinners.” He knew the real us, not some glossy, photoshopped, curated version for us. He knew us completely, even the parts of us that we’re terrified anyone else would find out about, and yet He loved us so much He died for us. We live in a world that craves authenticity and yet is awash in a cheap imitation of what it means to be fully known. In the gospel we find the beautiful truth that through Jesus God loves us just as we are AND that He loves us too much to leave us there.
We live in a culture where everything feels up for grabs and change seems to be the only constant. On a macro level in Canada, we have experienced and are continuing to experience huge economic, political, geo-political, technological, and cultural upheaval. On a personal level many people are in the midst of situations that have or will turn their lives as they’ve known them upside down. We live in uncertain times. And yet, as human beings we have a deep need for certainty. So, is there anything we can be certain of in these uncertain times? Romans 8:31-39 answers that question with a resounding YES! No matter what this world may throw at us, if we are followers of Jesus, we can be certain of God’s love for us demonstrated through the death and resurrection of Jesus and his sure and certain victory over sin, Satan, and death. If we plant our feet and put our faith in Jesus we have a certain hope that will not disappoint us.
Jesus was born a Jew. In fact, He would end up being the ultimate Jew. The only one to ever fulfill completely and fully all the requirements and commands of the Old Covenant and in so doing He would usher in a new covenant by fulfilling the old one. This new covenant through Jesus is the means by which all people, Jews and Gentiles, could become the people of God. This passage is a reminder that Jesus is the centre point of all history and that our future will be determined by how we respond to the redemption He offers.