Journaling in Matthew 1-4

My first year in college, I was required to take a course in New Testament History. As part of the homework for this class, I had to read through and comment on sections of the New Testament. Below are some of my summaries of and reflections on the first four chapters of Matthew:

Matthew 1: The beginning chapter of his Gospel; Here Matthew introduces his readers to the person of Jesus Christ through the use of a genealogy, not only tying the focus of his book (Jesus) directly to the Old Testament, but also setting up a foundation for the rest of his Gospel, which shows how Jesus acted as a fulfillment of God’s covenant promises to Abraham and David. Matthew continues Jesus’ genealogy with a quick (not even ten verses!) account of the birth of Christ.

Personally, I enjoy this part of Matthew, as it reminds me that God will always fulfill His promises, even if it takes a long time for them to come to pass.

Matthew 2: In this chapter, Matthew elaborates on the consequential events Jesus’ birth. Some time after He was born, wise men from the east come to worship Jesus as the king of the Jews. Once Herod discovers this, he tries to trick the Magi into revealing to him the location of the young Christ. However, the wise men are warned by an angel about Herod’s intent, and so deny him the chance to murder the child Jesus. After Herod is outwitted, orders that all boys aged two and under in the vicinity of Bethlehem be killed.

I enjoy this chapter because it reminds me that God will always protect and provide for His chosen vessels of His will in this world. Matthew also shows how the events surrounding the birth of Christ fulfilled three direct prophecies by the Old Testament prophets.

Matthew 3: In this chapter, Matthew jumps far ahead to the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry, when He was around the age of thirty. Although John the Baptist initially tries to talk Jesus out of being baptized, Jesus remains firm in His intent. Immediately after Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit descends upon Him, showing the Father's approval and the unity of the Trinity in Christ's life and work; this event thus signifies the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry.

When I read this chapter, I always like to pause over the mystery of exactly why Jesus chose to be baptized when He was already completely sinless: "to fulfill all righteousness." Regardless of why Jesus was baptized, He still set up an important standard for us as Christians to follow.

Matthew 4: After being baptized, Jesus travels out into the wilderness for over a month, fasting and enduring temptation from Satan. After forty days of this, the devil personally tempts Jesus to: 1) rely on Himself, rather than His Father, 2) prove His divinity and anointment by testing the providence of God, and 3) worship the created (Satan) instead of the Creator as a shortcut to the rule of God on earth. Confronted with each of these temptations--some coming as a twisted interpretation of Scripture!--Jesus steadily holds firm to the revealed word of God as His encouragement, His warning, and His instruction.

Just as Christ submitted to Scripture in resisting and rejecting the temptations to sin, so too should we. In all four of these chapters, the Old Testament is quoted, either to show the fulfillment of its prophecies, show how the New Testament is a continuation of Old, or to show its usages. The Old Testament was relevant to the early church, and it is relevant to us now.

Is God Selfish? Part 4: The Goodness of God

In my previous posts, I considered whether God could be rightly called selfish, and the answer was yes; God's focus in always on Himself, because He is the highest and greatest force in the universe. Because He is infinite and perfect in all His attributes, God has every right to feel superior to anything and everything else that exists, because nothing else can equal or surpass Him. In fact, God’s supremacy almost seems to conflict with His humility; if anything, God’s humility comes from a false sense of inferiority—or does it?

All this talk of God's power and limitlessness has so far been unbalanced. Let me take some time to balance it out. God is not only a God of infinite highness (Is. 55:8-9); He is also a humble God. That is, even though He is infinitely higher than His creation, God is willing to lower Himself to its level and work within it and even serve it. This is because of God's selflessness; as the most morally perfect and righteous and holy being in the universe, God is completely selfless--He is focused on the needs of others, rather than His needs. Now while this might seem to be at odds with the entire point of this series (God is selfish), bear with me for just a moment.

In addition to being a holy God (Lev. 11:44-45; 1 Sam. 2:2), a God of justice (Ps. 50:6; Is. 30:18) and wrath (Rom. 1:18, 9:22) and integrity, God is also a God of love (1 John 4:8, 16). The nature of God is that because of His love, He must love another. That need was fulfilled in eternity past through union and fellowship with the members of the Trinity. After creation, God intended for man to join Him in that perfect community with the Trinity (Gen. 3:8). Thus, because God is selfless, He is focused on us, and He wants to give us the best and greatest thing to give in the universe. However, because God is both infinitely higher than His creation and infinitely perfect, the best thing He could give us is actually Himself!

Therefore, in order to give us what we need most, God calls attention to Himself as the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). There is no god other than God; He is the only one we've got. God can not only demand our love and respect and fear and obedience because He is the one most deserving of it; He can also ask for it because He knows that that is what we most need. We must taste and see the Lord is good (Ps. 34:8)! God is not only "selfish" because He is the highest and greatest being in the universe, but also because He is the most filling and fulfilling being in the universe, and He is that way because He is the Most High!

I hope that this series of posts has satisfactorily explored and explained the question, Is God Selfish?However, there is always something more to be learned, and I hope these posts have encouraged you to use this question as a starting point for more study in God's Word.

Is God Selfish? Part 3: The Supremacy of God, Part 2: Creation

In my previous post, I concluded that because of God's nature as an infinite being, He must be superior to anything finite, and equal to anything else infinite. However, God is the only infinite being--the Most High, as Scripture describes Him; thus, there is no one His equal or superior. Thus, we (as finite beings) can only come to God as an inferior being; since God is the highest, no one can try to approach Him on equal ground. Additionally, consider: God is the Creator of both the earth and the people and animals who populate it. So not only does God have the position of being the only infinite being, but He also has the authority that is His right as Landlord of earth. Thus, God is supremely important in creation, since there cannot be any creation equal to or higher than Him.

Because of this, one cannot judge God, His actions, or His motives. Why? To judge someone, you are placing yourself in a position above that person, giving you authority to affirm or condemn the motives of their actions and the actions themselves. However, if God is the Most High, you cannot be in a position above God, preventing anyone from attempting to judge Him; one cannot be greater than the Infinite Being.

It is ridiculous to believe an infinite being should have an inappropriately high or finite sense of importance; the very nature of “infinite” being it is not finite or limited. Thus, it is somewhat silly to assume an infinite being can have an opinion of himself that “crosses the limit”. So God cannot have a false sense of superiority; He has every right to feel superior to anything and everything else that exists, because nothing else can equal or surpass Him. Really, God’s supremacy almost seems to conflict with His humility; if anything, God’s humility comes from a false sense of inferiority—or does it?

Is God Selfish? Part 2: The Supremacy of God, Part 1: To Infinity...and Beyond?

In my previous post, I asked the question of whether God could rightly be called selfish,and my answer was yes. However, before you ask me anything, let me continue. In the Bible, God does hold His will and desires above those of all others. But that is not because He has a misguided sense of superiority—far from it. Rather, God's superiority is proper and appropriate for Him.

Consider: God is an infinite being, and is called the Most High in Scripture: see Genesis 14:22, Deuteronomy 32:8, and Psalm 18:13. If God is an infinite being (or rather, the Infinite Being), then by extension, He has an infinite mind, containing infinite knowledge and wisdom and possessing an infinite capacity. Thus, the infinite mind of God should produce thoughts of infinite importance and opinions of infinite value. Also, if God is the Most High, then there cannot be anyone as or more important than Him. All this combines to show us that God is infinitely higher than His limited and fallen creations, and is of infinitely greater value than them.

So if God’s value is infinite, and there is no one to equal or surpass Him, then for God to value Himself appropriately, He must consider Himself of the utmost importance, surpassing anything and everything else that exists. When one also considers that we are only finite beings, we must come to the conclusion that it would be sheer madness for God to consider something finite of equal or superior worth to Himself, because it is impossible for anything other than God to be equal to a greater than God. Thus, God must consider Himself supreme above all else. And if God is supreme above all else, then of course He has the authority to do as He wishes. However, we must also consider that God's ownership of creation entitles Him to authority over it.

Is God Selfish? Part 1: Selfish Savior?

The other day, I was at an in-home bible study after a day of VBS. The current lesson was on counting the cost of discipleship and the priority of following Jesus. At the end of the lesson, one of the students made a comment about how God must be selfish to demand so much from us. The student quickly realized what she had said, and corrected her statement to “jealous,” but her original comment started me thinking. Is God a selfish God? After all, He does claim to be above all other objects and beings, and to own all of creation. Doesn’t that make Him…well, greedy?

Not necessarily.

The dictionary definition of “greedy” is “a selfish or excessive desire for more than is needed or deserved, especially of money, wealth, food, or other possessions.” Extending from this, the dictionary definition of “selfish” is (1) “holding one’s self-interest as the standard for decision making”, and (2) “having regard for oneself above others’ well-being.” Now, as contradictory as it may sound, God (by being perfect) could be considered selfish—at least by the dictionary’s standards—but not greedy (again, according to the dictionary).

At heart, most (if not all) of us are selfish. This is primarily because our sinful nature's misguided sense of superiority. I act like I am better or greater than others because I place myself above them in my sight. I make my self-interest my standard for thinking and judging because I, at heart, am a sinful—and thus prideful—being. I regard myself above others because my sense of priority is corrupted; I place greater priority on myself than anyone else, and I am sure that I am not alone in this matter. But what about God's sense of superiority?

Commentary on John 1:2-3a

Another semester, another Greek class. I am already enjoying the homework in particular for this one. This semester, my classmates and I each have to translate the first chapter of John's Gospel, verse by verse. We even get to examine verbs and diagram some of the sentences! That aside, after my teacher diagrammed the first verse in class, he paused for a minute to elaborate on how the sentence structure revealed the emphasis of John's thinking as expressed in his writing. Since then, as I have been translating the rest of my Greek assignment, I have constantly been writing down my thoughts and commentaries on these verses. Below is my translation of these first nine verses, and my exegetical teaching on the second and third verses:

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through Him all things were made, and without Him not even one thing was made. What came into being ⁴ by him was life, and the life was the light of men; ⁵ and the light shone in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. (John 1:1-5, personal translation from the Greek)

Verse 2: "He was with God in the beginning." This verse repeats and emphasizes what was in the previous verse; although the Word was God, it was also distinct from God. Although the Word possessed the qualities and nature of God, it was still somehow apart from God. This is a concept relating to the Trinity--each Person of the Trinity is God, but each Person is also distinct from each other. By repeating that the Word was with God in the beginnging, John continued to attract the attention of his Jewish readers. Additionally, by saying that the Word was in the beginning, John was repeating that the Word was present at creation in Genesis 1 with the Father and the Holy Spirit (Gen. 1:1-2) and that the Word was therefore existant before the creation of the world. Again, if the Word was before the created universe, then it must have been uncreated--it must have been eternally co-existant with God.

Verse 3a: "Through Him all things were made, and without Him not even one thing was made." Again, John continues to compare and contrast how the Word was God and yet distinct from God. Even though the Word is distinct from God (as shown in the previous verse), John is claiming that He possesses the same attributes as God--namely, His creative power. As a matter of fact, John is stating that 'the Word' is what brought the entire creation into existence. Now, John is not saying that the Word (God the Son) created the universe, instead of God the Father, but that the Father used the Son to create the world (since the Word was with Him in the beginning); that is why John uses the word "through" in this verse. John also contiues to speak to his Jewish audience here; any Jew reading this would have been extremely familiar with how God created the universe with only His words--here, John is adding an entire new dimension to Gen. 1 by claiming that the words God used to fashion everything were actually the Word, through which the Father excercised His tremendous creative power.

To help you grasp this concept, imagine God the Father is like a painter carefully deciding how to begin His artwork. A painter possesses the artistic skill, and can express it directly (such as painting with his fingers), or indirectly (such as through a tool). The Father chose to use the Son as the means through which He created the world, instead of directly creating by Himself. This is similar to how a painter can chose to use a paintbrush to design a work of art, instead of expressing himself directly with his fingers. While this analogy is limited, it gets accross the point I am trying to make from John's Gospel: the Father and the Son had equal roles in the creation of the universe. (Yes, the Spirit also had a role that was just as important, but the Son's role in creation is the focus of this verse.) Here, John was giving clarification to the role that the Son played in Genesis; in the foundation of the New Testament, he was shedding light on the beginning of the Old Testament. Isn't it just incredible how the word of God comes together?

What Did Jesus Ever Do for You?

Earlier this semester, I was reading my Bible after breakfast. As I was reading, I came accross Luke 8:26-39, the story where Jesus drives out demons from a man into a herd of pigs. You are probably familar with this story, but in case you are not, I will relate it:

After Jesus demonstrated His divine power over nature by calming a storm, He and His disciples landed at the region of the Gerasenes. There, Jesus was met by a demon-possessed man. The demons dwelling within this man were completely scared of who Christ was, and begged Him to not torture them. Instead of commanding the demons to go into the Bottomless Pit, Jesus allowed the demons to flee into a herd of pigs that were grazing close by. Later, the people from a nearby city came and discovered the once-demon-possessed man calmly sitting next to Jesus. Out of fear for the power that Jesus wielded, the townspeople asked Him to leave. As Jesus was leaving, the man that He had saved from the demons wanted to come with Him--he begged to follow Jesus. So of course Jesus allowed him to come along, right? Wrong.

This might not make sense at first--after all, why would Christ reject a ready and willing disciple? Here was Jesus' reason: "Return home and tell how much God has done for you." Note, that Jesus was not rejecting a willing disciple, He was rejecting the man's intention. God's plan was different from the man's, and God corrected the man. This formerly demon-possessed man thus went out and told all over town what Jesus had done for him. He wasn't just satisfied with telling his family--he needed to get out and tell as many people as possible about what God had done for him and how He had saved him. This is something that we can all learn: God may not want all of us to actively witness to people in other countries--sometimes, He may want us to stay at home and actively witness to our neighbors. Regardless, we are all called to tell others of what God has done in our personal lives.

So--what about you? What has Jesus ever done for you? And how many people in your town have you told?