Jesus was a rabbi. Not a reverend. Let's remember that when we read his words. Thanks for joining us, friends, on the line of fire. This is Michael Brown.
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So if you're not getting the frontline newsletter, by all means, take a moment, go to thelineoffire.org. thelineoffire.org. Click subscribe. If you're already getting it, tell a friend. Jesus Christ is actually Yeshua the Messiah.
His mother's name was Miriam. Not Mary. He had disciples with names like Yochanon and Yehudah, and Matit Yahoo, And he was a rabbi Not a reverend. He was called Christ because Christ is the Greek way of saying Messiah.
So when we read his words, we don't want to read them against the backdrop, say, of 21st century America.
Well, they absolutely apply to every culture around the world. at all times, all generations. But we don't want to read him as if he was uh a mega Republican or a liberal Democrat for that matter. We don't want to read him as if he was sitting in the Vatican teaching. We don't want to read him.
as if he was a Puritan. from England in the seventeenth century. I'm just saying culturally We've got to put things in the proper context, right? For example, if I'm trying to explain MAGA to somebody. And it's before America exists as a nation.
It's like, what are you even talking about? What does MAGA even mean? Is it a good phrase or a bad phrase? It's a contemporary American concept.
So what we want to do is is just look back. Before we dig into the words of Jesus Yeshua, Let's look back at what comes first. Matthew's gospel. I'm going to go through this pretty quickly. But I just want to get you.
gets you caught up to where we're going. Because we're going to dig in starting in Matthew, the fifth chapter of the Beatitudes, in our next podcast. All right, so. The first chapter, how does Matthew start? Verse one.
The genealogy of Yeshua the Messiah, son of David, son of Abraham. Boom. It doesn't get any more Jewish. Biblical Israelite than that does it son of David who is the prototype of the Messiah, son of Abraham, who's the father of faith. And the genealogy, this shows you where you're coming from, how you got where you are today.
Boom starts right there. And the genealogy itself is amazing. That's a whole other subject to teach on Monday. And it's divided into three groups of 14, likely using David twice, the end of one, beginning of another, for these three generations of 14. Why?
Because Matthew is most likely saying, this is about David. The new David The the Messiah. The greater David. Because David in Hebrew, Daled Vav Daled, is 4 plus 6 plus 4, the numerical value of the letters. Numerical value didn't exist in Old Testament times as best as we can see.
It comes in in the intratestamental times, but Three generations of 14 based on the name David. And then he's born in fulfillment of a messianic prophecy, Isaiah 7, 14, the famous prophecy of the Alma, the girl, the virgin who gives birth.
So he's grounding everything right there.
Okay, now we go into the second chapter. And he's now revealed. as the one born king of the Jews King of the Jews Not head of the church in a foreign Gentile sense. The ecclesia was not a foreign Gentile thing, but the community. the family of God, which now consists of Jews and Gentiles as one in Jesus Yeshua.
that before that time was overwhelmingly Jews with the occasional Gentile added in. But he's speaking now, and he's coming into the world. He's born king of the Jews, and of course, he dies king of the Jews, and he's presented as fulfilling. The prophecy in Micah 5 about being born in Bethlehem. Right?
And he's also there as a light to the Gentiles. This is part of his messianic mission. But he's coming as king of the Jews.
Now, check this out. Matthew Then quotes from Hosea Jesus, after he's born, Joseph, his earthly father, is warned in a dream to flee. Herod wants to kill him.
So he flees to Egypt, and this fulfills as he's going to come out of Egypt and come back into the promised land. Out of Egypt I called my son from Hosea eleven.
Now if you go and look at Isaiah 11, That's actually not a prophecy. It's talking about Israel's past. When Israel was a child, and I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. What Matthew saying is: just as it happened to Israel. In its infancy, Just as it happened to Israel in its infancy, when Israel was God's son, his firstborn, so also it happens to the Messiah as a child in infancy, going into Egypt and then coming out of Egypt.
Out of Egypt I called my son, first my son Israel, then my son the Messiah.
So as it happened to Israel, it happened to Egypt. As it happened to Israel, it happened to the Messiah. These are the parallels. I mean, they're undeniable. And and and then and then We see that there's an attempt to wipe out.
all the males, all the boys born in Bethlehem, because Herod's trying to kill this king of the Jews out of jealousy and competition.
Well well, what does that remind you of? Yeah. Pharaoh's attempt to wipe out the baby boys in Israel when they were in Egypt. Obviously the deliverer was about to come and be born, Moses.
So Satan knows that try to wipe him out first. Suppose it happened to Moses in his infancy.
So it happens to Messiah in his infancy. And then Matthew quotes saying, They they go to Nazareth, not Serit. They go to Nazareth. Nazareth to live. In fulfillment of what the prophets wrote, he'll be called the Nazarene.
What's prophets plural? There's no specific prophecy that says they'll be called the Nazarene, but Isaiah 11:1. says it'll be a net sare uh uh uh little branch that comes out of the stump. La Rouge. There'll be a netzer.
And elsewhere he's called the the the semach, the branch.
So these concepts of lowliness, of just being a little branch. Of being a netzer, so it's a world play, not seret netzer, it's a word play, as you have throughout the Hebrew Bible, different word plays. I'll give you one example. The name Babylon, what does the name Babylon come from? Genesis 11.
Name Babylon comes from Bab-Elu, gate of the gods. We know it in ancient Akkadian, Assyrian Babylonian. That's what it comes from. But in Genesis 11, God confuses the tongues. of the people So it's called bavel because God balaled the tongues.
It's just a play on words. It's not saying that's the actual etymology. It's just a play on words. It's like saying they call me Mike because I'm always talking with a mic. All right, so Matthew finds that play on words that even the Messiah's lowliness, Isaiah 53, there's nothing special about him, he's just born in obscurity.
The prophets, plural, They paint this picture. And then John the Immerser comes. With with the water baptism in Jordan, of course, the children of Israel have to pass through the Jordan when they come into the promised land. And he's preaching repentance was a fundamental message through the New Testament, a fundamental message through the Old Testament and through Judaism. That's the message that John is preaching.
And then Messiah. What what happens? He goes into the wilderness. for forty days just like Israel was in the wilderness, for forty years. He rebukes the devil how by quoting from Deuteronomy He quotes three times from the book about the wilderness wanderings.
And then he comes out of there in the fullness of the Spirit, and then Coming into Galilee reminds Matthew of what's spoken of the light shining before the announcement of the birth of Messiah in Isaiah 9. There it is in Matthew 4, as he comes into Galilee, a great light has shone upon us. And then where does Israel receive the law? At Mount Sinai, at the foot of Mount Sinai. God speaks to them from the mountain, so Messiah goes up on the mountain to teach.
And then throughout the Beatitudes, I mean, there's so much there, some, some just Direct Quotes from the Old Testament. Where Jesus says, truly happy, blessed are the meek. Fill inherit the earth. Right? So that's quoting from Psalm 37, 11.
that the meek will inherit the earth. And so much of the teaching, you've heard this. I'm teaching this. I'm taking what's written in scripture, taking it further. And he says he didn't come to abolish the law of the prophets, but to fulfill, so he's going to bring it to its highest and fullest meaning.
So this is the background. This is the context. and it is for all the entire body. But it is a Jewish teacher, a Jewish rabbi. The Messiah as the preeminent teacher and preacher who's going to bring his words.
And then after that, after the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5, 6, and 7, and Matthew 8 and 9, he performs 10 miracles. 10. That number sounds familiar, 10 plagues, 10 wonders. He performs ten miracles. He teaches.
And he performs miracles. demonstrating that he alone is the Messiah. of Israel. All right. I've got a concluding word for you in a moment, but first.
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All right, my closing thoughts. Jesus Yeshua. is the Savior of the world. Because he's the Messiah of Israel. He's the Messiah of Israel and therefore the Savior of the world.
He did not come. Just as a saviour of the Gentile world, He came as the Messiah of Israel, whose mission was not just to redeem Israel. But to bring the entire world into the knowledge of God. But if he's not the Messiah of Israel, As many rabbis would say, hey, he's fine for the Christians, but he's not for the Jews. If he's not the Messiah of Israel, then he's the Savior of no one.
Next broadcast. We dive into the Beatitudes.
