I. Israel As Messiah’s Subjects In The Kingdom. II. Messianic Prophecy. III. The Compassion of the Rejected King.

I. Israel as Messiah’s subjects in the millennial Kingdom Age.. 

A. Israel will become the subjects of the King’s reign (Isa. 9:6-7; 33:17, 22; 44:6; Jer. 23:5; Mic. 2:13; 4:7; Dan. 4:3; 7:14, 22, 27). 

B. In order to be the subjects 

(1) Israel will have been converted and restored to the land, as has already been shown. 

(2) Israel will be reunited as a nation (Jer. 3:18; 33:14; Ezek. 20:40; 37:15-22; 39:25; Hos. 1:11). 

(3) The nation will again be related to Yahweh by marriage (Isa. 54:1-17; 62:2-5; Hos. 2:14-23). 

(4) She will be exalted above the Gentiles (Isa. 14:1-2; 49:22-23; 60:14-17; 61:6-7). 

(5) Israel will be made righteous (Isa. 1:25; 2:4; 44:22-24; 45:17-25; 48:17; 55:7; 57:18-19; 63:16; Jer. 31:11; 33:8; 50:20, 34; Ezek. 36:25-26; Hos. 14:4; Joel 3:21; Mic. 7:18-19; Zech. 13:9; Mal. 3:2-3). 

(6) The nation will become God’s witnesses during the millennium (Isa. 44:8, 21; 61:6; 66:21; Jer. 16:19-21; Mic. 5:7; Zeph. 3:20; Zech. 4:1-7; 4:11-14; 8:23). 

(7) Israel will be beautified to bring glory to Yahweh (Isa. 62:3; Jer. 32:41; Hos. 14:5-6; Zeph. 3:16-17; Zech. 9:16-17).   

II. Messianic Prophecy.

The Prophecies Of Messiah (10-18). (P=Prophetic Verse. F=Fulfillment Verse)

10. P. He would be born in Bethlehem (Mic 5:2). F. Mt 2:5-6; Lk 2:4-6 .

11. P.  He would be worshipped by wise men and presented with gifts (Ps 72:10; Isa 60:3, 6, 9). F. Mt 2:11.

12. P. He would be in Egypt for a season (Num 24:8; Hos 11:1). F. Mt 2:15.

13. P. His birthplace would see a massacre of infants (Jer 31:15). F. Mt 2:17-18.

14. P. He would be called a Nazarene (Isa 11:1). F. Mt 2:23.

15. P. He would be zealous for the Father (Ps 69:9; 119:139). F. Jn 6:37-40.

16. P. He would be filled with Yahweh’s Spirit (Ps 45:7; Isa 11:2; 61:1-2). F. Lk 4:18-19.

17. P. He would heal many (Ps 53:4). F. Mt 8:16-17.

18. P. He would deal gently with the Gentiles (Isa 9:1-2; 42:1-3). F. Mt 4:13-16; 12:17-21. 

III. The Compassion Of The Rejected King. Matthew Chapter 14.

A. Execution Of John The Baptist. 14:1-12.

1. The growing rejection of Yeshua and His ministry, anticipated in the preceding chapter, now had its toll in the execution of John the Baptist. John had been fearless in his denunciation of Herod Antipas who was living unlawfully with Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. Herodias, a New Testament Jezebel, had plotted against Herod’s first wife, the daughter of Aretas, king of Arabia, who had to flee for her life. Herodias, although a niece of Herod Antipas, began to live with him in an unlawful union.

2. John had said plainly, “It is not lawful for thee to have her” (Mt. 14:4). For this affront to Herod and Herodias, John had been placed in prison, but Herod was restrained from doing more because he feared the reaction of the Jews who counted John as a prophet.

3. This did not deter Herodias, however, but she bided her time. When Herod was having a drunken feast in honor of his birthday, she had her daughter, Salome, dance before those celebrating the birthday. This pleased Herod to the point that he promised Salome anything she would ask, to half the kingdom. She, having been instructed by her mother, asked for the head of John the Baptist on a large platter, such as was used for food. Herod, although reluctant to give the order, nevertheless, under the pressure of the circumstances, commanded that it should be done. John, summoned out of his dark cell where he had had gloomy thoughts about his own future and the future of the kingdom, ended his lifework abruptly at the executioner’s block, and the head was delivered to the damsel on a platter as she requested. His sorrowful disciples came, claimed the body which had been thrown out as refuse, and gave it a decent burial.

4. For John, it meant leaving the damp castle of Machaerus, built on the cliffs east of the Dead Sea, for a sudden entrance into glory. Like many great prophets before him, he had sealed his testimony with his own blood. When his disciples came to tell Jesus, it was another evidence of the growing rejection of Yeshua and His message and a stark reminder of the awfulness of sin and unbelief. Parallel references are found in Mark 6:14-29 and Luke 9:7-9.

B. Feeding Of The Five Thousand. 14:13-21.

1. Upon hearing the tidings of John’s execution, Yeshua withdrew into an unpopulated place. He wanted to be alone with His disciples and desired to confer with them privately, according to Mark 6:30-31. Although Christ was rejected by those in authority, the people were still enthusiastic followers of Messiah, and they followed Him out of many cities until they found Him. As Yeshua viewed the great multitude, His heart was moved with compassion toward them both for their physical ills and their spiritual needs. All four gospels record this important incident in the life of Christ (Mk 6:30-44; Lk 9:10-17; Jn 6:1-14). Although Matthew does not mention that He taught them, Mark 6:34 declares, “He began to teach them many things.”

2. After a long day of teaching and healing, the disciples counseled Jesus to urge the multitude to go away that they might find food in the villages nearby. As far as the disciples were concerned, this was an easy way out. As in the case of the Samaritan woman in John 4, and in the case of the little children who were brought to Christ in Mark 10, so here they wanted to avoid involvement in the need. But Yeshua replied, “They need not depart; give ye them to eat” (Mt 14:16). The disciples, forgetting the power of Messiah to do miraculous things, protested that they had only five loaves and two fishes, enough for one person but not for five thousand.

3. Yeshua did not argue with them, but commanded them to bring the five loaves and two fishes to Him. He then ordered the multitude to sit down in an orderly fashion on the grass, and, having the food in His hand, He broke it and gave it to the disciples to distribute. The miracle of multiplication took place, and verse 20 records, “They did all eat, and were filled.” The fragments gathered in twelve baskets were far more than the boy’s lunch that had been placed into the hands of Christ at the beginning. The multitude, described as five thousand besides the women and children, had been miraculously fed.

4. This illuminating incident of the miraculous power of Christ to take what little was placed in His hand and to bless it until it was sufficient for the multitude has encouraged all believing hearts. They have realized their own impotence and lack of resources, but have been encouraged by the miraculous power of Yahweh to take little and make much of it.

5. Matthew does not mention what is recorded in John 6:14-15, that the multitudes, impressed with this tremendous miracle, not only recognized Christ as the predicted Prophet but wanted to take Him by force and make Him a king. The multitude reasoned that with such a miraculous king who could heal the sick, raise the dead, and multiply food, they had one who had sufficient power to give them victory over the oppression of Rome. Like Moses, who gave manna from heaven and Elisha who miraculously fed a hundred men (2 Ki 4:42-44), Yeshua seemed to be a great leader. This was not the way, however, in which the kingdom was to come, and their faith was a superficial confidence that came from having full stomachs. All too soon, some of them would be part of the mob crying, “Crucify him.”

C. Messiah Saves The Disciples In The Storm. 14:22-33.

1. The disciples were undoubtedly thrilled at the enthusiasm of the multitude to make Jesus King, and it served to renew their hopes, in spite of the growing rejection, that Jesus would be victorious and that they would reign with Him in the kingdom on earth. Jesus had to impel them to get into a boat and go to the other side, somewhat against their will. Meanwhile, Jesus Himself sent the multitude away, and, in the gathering darkness, went alone to the nearby mountain to pray.

2. Meanwhile, the disciples, crossing the Sea of Galilee, perhaps at its northern tip, were caught in one of the sudden storms that were so characteristic of the sea, located as it was between high hills which surrounded it.⁶⁹ According to Matthew 14:24, they were tossed with waves and the wind was against them. Early in the fourth watch, probably between three and six a.m., Jesus joined them, walking across the sea to their boat. In the darkness, this was a terrifying spectacle to the disciples, who cried out with fear because they thought they were seeing a ghost.

3. To alleviate their fears, Jesus spoke to them, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid” (v. 27). Peter, wanting reassurance, said, “Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water” (v. 28). Jesus invited him to come, and Peter began to walk on the water to see Jesus. Seeing the sea lashed by the wind, he became afraid and began to sink. When he cried, “Lord, save me” (v. 30), Jesus extended His hand and, rebuking Peter, said, “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” (v. 31). When they both arrived in the boat, suddenly the wind ceased. The disciples worshiped Him, bowing down before Him and exclaiming, “Of a truth thou art the Son of God” (v. 33). There is no reason to reject this outstanding miracle, except on the unsupportable assumption that miracles are impossible.

D. Healing in Gennesaret. 14:34-36.

Upon landing on the other side, they came to Gennesaret, the area between Capernaum and Tiberias, northwest of the Sea of Galilee. According to John 6:24, Jesus probably landed first near Capernaum and then later, leaving Capernaum, went into the larger area of Gennesaret. His privacy was short-lived, for as soon as the people learned of His presence, they streamed out of cities from as far away as Tiberias, according to verse 23, in order to be healed. Matthew summarizes their confidence in Jesus in these words: they “besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole” (Mt 14:36). Although rejected by the leaders of Israel, Jesus still had compassion on those who put their trust in Him. In a world so wicked that it would behead a prophet like John the Baptist, and so unspiritual that it wanted to make Jesus a king by force, the compassion of Christ was yet extended to all who had genuine need. What was true of a wicked and unbelieving world in the first century is still true in the twentieth.

Nobles And Governors Will Reign Under David In The Millennium. Matthew Chapter 11

I. Nobles And Governors Will Reign Under David In The Millennium.

1. In the millennial age Yeshua, Christ, will be “King of kings, and Lord of lords” (Rev. 19:16). As such He is sovereign over a number of subordinate rulers. Under David the land of Israel will be ruled through these individuals. 

a. And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them [Jer. 30:21]. 

b. Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment [Isa. 32:1]

c. My princes shall no more oppress my people; and the rest of the land shall they give to the house of Israel according to their tribes. Thus saith the Lord God; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, said the Lord God [Ezek. 45:8-9]. 

2. In the New Testament it is revealed that authority over the twelve tribes of Israel will be vested in the hands of the twelve disciples. “you which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel [Matt. 19:28]. This would indicate that under David there will be many subordinate rulers, who exercise theocratic power and administer the government of the millennium.   

II. Matthew Chapter 11. Overview.

A. This picture of John is very full of pathos (emotion of sympathetic pity), from the high triumph of inspired preaching to the solitude and loneliness of a prison. John made as direct application to Jesus as his circumstances permitted. Surely the wisest course possible, Yeshua answered him not by verbal assurance, but by the deeds of the Kingdom. The credentials of Christ are ever to be found in His actual works.

B. The fickleness and worthlessness of public opinion has striking exemplification here. In the ordinary manner of life, Yeshua and John were contrasts. The one was a stem ascetic (practicing strict self denial as a measure of personal and especially spiritual discipline), living in the simplest fashion; the Other was a Man of the people, living in the ordinary way. The first they said had a devil; the Master they charged with gluttony and drunkenness. There is but one thing for any who are called to public service, that is, to go straight on, undeviating in loyalty to God, and deaf to the voices around, knowing that at last “wisdom is justified by her works.”

C. Christ upbraiding the cities! It seems so contrary to His spirit of love and gentleness, but it is not so. Why does He reproach them? “Because they repented not.” They persisted in rebellion, and that in spite of the manifestations of His power. There is, then, a condition more deeply degraded, more hopeless, than that of Sodom. The sin against light is far more terrible in itself, and more awful in its results, than sins committed in darkness. Capernaum’s rejection of the Son of God is infinitely worse than Sodom’s bestiality.

D. From reproach of cities, the Master turned to prayer. The use of the word “answered” is suggestive, revealing the perpetual fact of communion existing between Christ and God. The note of praise was the response of Christ’s heart to the secret of Yahweh.

E. From prayer, He turned back to the crowd with words full of sweetest pity and most divine power. He claims knowledge of the Father, which can be gained only by those to whom He willed to reveal the Father. And while we pause and wonder whom the favored ones will be, there breaks on our listening ears the sweetest of all music. He calls all who labor and are heavy laden, and promises to give them rest by so revealing the Father that to do His will will be the delight of life, the light burden, the easy yoke.

III. The Growing Opposition To Yeshua.

A. The Discourse On John The Baptist. 11:1-15.

1. Having sent forth the twelve, with instructions to preach the kingdom of heaven and having given them authority to perform miracles (Mt 10:7-8), Yeshua departed alone to teach and preach in the cities of Galilee. During His tour, John the Baptist, earlier announced as being in prison (Mt 4:12), sent two of his disciples to Yeshua with the question, “Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?” (11:3), (i.e., “he that should come,”) which signifies the Messiah and is used in that specific sense especially also by the Baptist, 3:11; Mark 1:7; Luke 3:16; John 1:27. This designation was derived from Ps. 118:26 and Ps. 40:7.”

2. John had been imprisoned in the fortress of Machaerus, the royal house of Herod, facing the Dead Sea, because of his fearless attack upon the immorality of Herod, who was living in adultery with Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife (Mt 14:3-4). Significantly, the Jewish leaders had been silent concerning this public scandal.

3. The question that the disciples of John communicated to Jesus has been interpreted by some as indicating a wavering faith in Christ on the part of John the Baptist, and others, who have come to John’s defense, regard John as asking a natural question. Undoubtedly, John had anticipated that Jesus would not only be “the Lamb of God, [who] taketh away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29), but would be one who also would judge sin. John had declared, according to Matthew 3:10, “The axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” He had also predicted that Christ would baptize with fire (v. 11) and that He would “gather his wheat into the garner,” but would “burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (v. 12). John, languishing in prison, did not sense any divine deliverance from a wicked world. Instead of God triumphing, it seemed that Herod, in spite of his wickedness, was still in power.

a. John 1:29, (the sin of the world, which is the individual sin of unbelief in Christ; which results in a person’s new birth: John 3:3, 3:16), relates to individual salvation through belief in Christ. Unbelief is the only unforgiveable sin, which can easily be remedied, “through belief in Christ.”

b. Other sins are not unforgiveable, e.g., theft, lying, etc., and will not result in such a sinner’s spending eternity in hell, unless a lifetime of unrepentant sin is the model of that person’s life, which would indicate that such a person had not actually come to belief in Christ. (i.e., 1 Cor 6:9-11).

c. Isaiah 51-54 (712 B.C.) relates to the sins of the nation of Israel against Yahweh, being cleansed through the suffering of Christ. Isa 53:4-5 does not relate to physical healing in the world in which we live, but to the spiritual healing of Israel, which will come through belief, and which has yet to come (Mt 24:29-30; Zech 12:10), when Israel receives Yeshua as Yahweh’s appointed King (Deu 17:15, 1451 B.C.). Note: all too often in today’s world we hear the statement of someone who says, “by his stripes we are healed” (Isa 53:5) Such a statement is wrong, by being taken out of context.

4. Accordingly, John needed reassurance and clarification. In the background was the Jewish interpretation of the Old Testament prophecies, which offered the puzzle of a suffering Messiah who would also be a glorious ruler (cf. 1 Pe 1:10-12). While John should not be represented as questioning the validity of the revelation that came to him, that Jesus was indeed the Messiah who would save Israel from their sins (see 3.a.b.c above), the question had been raised in his mind whether he should look for still another to bring the judgment of God upon a wicked world, and fulfill the predictions of the glorious reign of the Messiah.

5. The same questions of the ultimate triumph of God undoubtedly face everyone in suffering for Christ’s sake. If our God is omnipotent, why does He permit the righteous to suffer? The answer, of course, is that the time of God’s judgment has not yet come but that the final triumph is certain. The genuineness of John’s perplexity should not be questioned, as he attempted to reconcile his concept of a triumphing Messiah with his own situation in prison and the reports that came to him of the works of Christ, which were acts of mercy rather than acts of divine judgment. Understandably, John needed reassurance and further information.

6. In answer, Yeshua told the disciples of John to tell him what they heard and saw. As stated in Matthew 11:5, His works were many: “The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.” It is most significant that Jesus did not attempt to answer the real question of John, of why judgment on the wicked was not being inflicted and why the people of Israel had not yet been delivered. Instead, Yeshua pronounced a blessing on those who would not be offended by the apparent delay in fulfilling predictions of divine judgment. Interestingly, later in this chapter He delivered a message of judgment on the cities of Galilee, but first Yeshua called attention to the unique role of John as the prophesied messenger which would come before the Messiah.

7. Lest there should be any inference from His remarks that John was weak or vacillating, He appealed to the fearless witness of John which had led to his imprisonment. Those who had gone out in the wilderness to hear John had not gone because he was a weak reed, shaken by every wind. Instead, they found a man who thundered demands for repentance. They did not find a man clothed in soft raiment. John, in prison in Herod’s house, was undoubtedly still clad in the rough garments of the wilderness. Was John a prophet? Jesus answered yes. John was not only a prophet but the prophesied messenger of the Messiah. In verse 10, Jesus quoted Malachi 3:1, “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me.” The quotation in Matthew, similar to the quotation in Luke 7:27, changes the phrase “before me” in Malachi to “before thee,” and therefore interprets the Malachi prophecy as referring, first, to John the Baptist as the messenger, and second, to the Lord as “messenger of the covenant.” There is allusion also to Isaiah 40:3, a specific reference to John the Baptist, “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” Mark combines the two Old Testament references in describing the ministry of John (Mk 1:2-3). Among the prophets before Jesus, there were none greater than John the Baptist, but Yeshua declared that in the future kingdom of “heaven on earth,” the least of God’s servants would have even a greater privilege.

8. How can we explain this contrast? The key may be found in that John is described as one “born of women,” probably referring to the sinful descent of men from Eve (cf. Job 14:1; 15:14; 25:4; Ps 51:5). Because of his great mission in preparing the way for Christ, John is declared to be greater than the prophets who had predicted Christ. The privilege of God’s servants who will live in the presence of Christ in the millennial kingdom, however, is even greater, as this will be the complete fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. The question of John why God permits the wicked to triumph in their violence was recognized by Jesus when He stated, “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.” Mt 11:12 pointed out that Christ, until now, the prophets prophesied the future triumph but did not realize it (v. 13). Both John the Baptist and Jesus were to suffer at the hands of wicked men and die; this is the main import of what Yeshua said. The interpretation that He called here for resolute courage on the part of the disciples is not the main point. In closing His comment on John the Baptist, Jesus added, “And if [you] will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come” (v. 14). This must be interpreted in the light of Matthew 17:10-13, where John the Baptist is again related to fulfilling the prophecy of Malachi 4:5-6, that Elijah the prophet would come before the day of the Lord. Some expositors find complete fulfillment of the prophecy about the coming of Elijah in John the Baptist. Others identify one of the two witnesses in Revelation 22 as Elijah sent back to earth. Jesus closed His commendation of John the Baptist with the exhortation, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (11:15). The test of faith that comes as we await God’s future triumph is common to all believers.

9.  Mt 11:12. “The arrest, imprisonment, and eventual execution of John, and the Jewish leaders’ violent opposition to Jesus were attempts to seize and control the unfolding kingdom. The words “until now” hint that the kingdom will someday break from from the grip of those who seek to restrain it.  John The Baptist, Mt 3:2, said, repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. The book of Matthew was written only to Jews, who expected a kingdom where Messiah would remove the oppressive Roman rule from them. John was preaching repentance, as was Jesus, saying that ” if Israel wanted the Kingdom, they would have to live like kingdom people. The kingdom is a promise of God to Israel that is literal, earthly, eternal and unfulfilled (2 Sam 7:8-16). As opposed to the desired kingdom that was the view of Israel, Yeshua stressed honesty, ethics, and a change in the lives of first century Jews. The kingdom will not come until after Christ returns from heaven to earth, with His saints and angels in Heaven (Zech 14:1-5, 9; Mt 24:29-31; Mk 13:24-27; Lk 21:25-28; Rev 19:11-16; 17-21). The kingdom will last 1,000 years (Rev 20:1-6), and will have the righteousness that the Matt 11 Jews had not desired. It is important to know that these events are not accidents waiting to occur, but are fulfillments of prophecy of Yahweh that go back to Gen 3:15, and that were spoken by Yahweh to Jewish prophets to be made known to Israel.

B. Unreasonableness Of Unbelief. 11:16-19.

1. In contrast to His commendation of John for his resolute faith and courage, Yeshua commented on the Jews’ vacillating and unreasonable attitude of unbelief. There are four classes of unbelief in this chapter: (1) John’s perplexity (11:1-15); (2) the unreasonable unbelief of Christ’s generation (11:16-19); (3) the impenitent unbelief of the cities of Galilee (11:20-24); (4) the unbelief of the wise as compared to the faith of babes (11:25-30).

2. Christ likened the generation who heard His message to children playing in the marketplace, acting out a make-believe wedding. When they were unable to attract other children to join them, they changed to a make-believe funeral with no better result. They then complained, “We have piped unto you, and you have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and you have not lamented” (v. 17). In like manner, Yeshua said, John came as a prophet of the judgment of Yahweh, neither feasting with them nor drinking. The reaction of the multitude was, “He has a devil” (v. 18). By contrast Christ came and freely ate with them at their dinners, and they objected to this, saying, “Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners” (v. 19). Unbelief can always find excuses and can justify criticism of servants of Yahweh.

C. Judgment On The Unepentant Cities Of Galilee. 11:20-24.

1. In anticipation of God’s ultimate judgment upon wicked unbelief, Christ declared a solemn judgment on the cities of Galilee in which He had done so many mighty works. He pronounced a woe on Chorazin and Bethsaida, cities which eventually went into ruin. He declared that if the mighty miracles done in Galilee had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have been brought to repentance in sackcloth and ashes. Accordingly, although Tyre and Sidon would be judged by Yahweh in the day of judgment, the judgment on the cities of Galilee would be more severe.

2. His most biting words were for Capernaum, which He described as “exalted unto heaven,” but which “shalt be brought down to hell” (v. 23). He declared, in connection with Capernaum, that if the miracles He had performed there had been done in Sodom, it would have been brought to repentance and would have been preserved instead of destroyed. Anyone who visits the ruins of Capernaum today and sees the pitiful remains of what was once a beautiful city, can realize the literalness with which this prophecy has been fulfilled. Significantly, Tiberias, not far away, was not condemned and is not in ruins.

D. Invitation To Personal Discipleship. 11:25-30.

1. In commenting on the unreasonableness of unbelief, Christ thanked Yahweh that those who come in childlike faith are also recipients of divine revelation concerning the Son. This is not to support the concept that the Christian faith is unreasonable, but rather that unbelief is not intelligent in the light of revelation concerning God and His Son.

2. It is a profound truth that God has revealed His divine wisdom to those who have trusted Him and has hidden His divine wisdom from those who are wise in the knowledge of this world. It is part of God’s gracious provision for those willing to trust Him and receive His Son as Savior.

3. This great truth, however, is eclipsed by the profound statement of verse 27, sometimes referred to as a great Christological passage. Here, Christ declared that all things had been committed unto Him by God the Father. In keeping with this truth and the infinity of divine wisdom, no one really knows the Son as does the Father, and no one knows the Father in the way that the Son knows Him. But to some extent, this can be revealed by the Son to man in spite of his limitations. The infinity of the knowledge of God and the infinity of the authority of Christ over all things, whether in heaven or hell, whether angels, devils, or men, time, or eternity, is a comprehensive statement of the deity of Christ and the background of His gracious invitation that follows in verse 28.

4. In the verses which follow, Jesus, having turned from the general unbelief which characterized the cities of Galilee, extended a personal invitation to the individuals among them who would find in Christ rest of heart and soul.

a. In verse 28, He invited all who labor and are heavy laden to come to Him, and to those who do, He promised to give rest. Whether their load is the burden of guilt of sin or the sorrows that are natural to life but which are too great for human strength to bear, Yeshua urged needy souls to come to Himself.

b. In verses 29-30, Jesus extended the invitation, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

(1) In exhorting them to take His “yoke,” Christ was inviting them to discipleship. A pupil enrolling for instruction under a teacher is considered as coming under a “yoke.”

(2) Instead of exchanging one burden for another, however, it is exchanging one which is onerous and crushing for one which is light and rewarding.

(3) There is an inner satisfaction and rest of soul in being a disciple of Christ which is unknown by the child of the world, who attempts to bear his own burden.

The Relation Of Satan To The Millennium – YTCK (Matthew Chapter 3)

I. The Relation Of Satan To The Millennium – YTCK (Matthew Chapter 3) 

A. The thousand year millennium is better known to Jews, and Old Testament Scriptures, as the Kingdom Age, the Davidic Kingdom (2 Samuel 7:8-16), and was offered through the preaching of  John The Baptist (Matt 3:2), Yeshua (Matt 4:17), and the Disciples (Matt 10:7), only to Israel (Matt 10:6). The Kingdom is a literal, earthly, unconditional, and unfulfilled, part of the Abrahamic Covenant, having defined dimensions (Gen 15:18-21). The blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant will be grafted into Gentiles during the  Kingdom age (Gen 12:3b; Rom 11:17-24), along with unbelieving Jews who come to faith in Christ during the Tribulation (Zech 12:10). 

B. Consider the thief on the cross (Lk 23:42-43). And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” Notice that Christ didn’t say that He was already in His Kingdom. Instead, Yeshua said, “today, you shall be with me in Paradise,” which is in the Presence of God, in Heaven. The thief would be joining, “in heaven,” Enoch (Gen 5:24); Elijah (2 Kin 2:1); Lazarus (Lk 16:22), etc. The kingdom had not yet come while Yeshua and the thief were on the cross. 

C. Christ told First Century Israel to pray for “the kingdom to come” (Matt 6:10), but the kingdom had not come while Christ was on earth (Acts 1:6-7). The Kingdom will not come until Christ comes from heaven at the end of the seven-year tribulation, and sets up the kingdom, where he and those who come down from heaven with Him, will rule and reign with Him for 1,000 years (Zech 14:1, 4, 5c, 9; Matt 24:29-30; 1 Cor 6:2; Rev 19:11-17; 20:4-6). 

D. There is no way that we, as Church Age believers, can be doing kingdom work. Only Christ can set up this earth for his kingdom which will come. The Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached by the 144,000 Jews (Rev 7:1-8; 14:1-5) during the Tribulation (Matt 24:14). The responsibility that believes in Christ have today, is to preach the Gospel of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ (1 Cor 15:1-8) to unbelievers, so that they can come to belief in Christ (John 3:16, Acts 16:30-31), and have eternal life with Him (John 17:3), through death or the catching up of the saints (John 14:2-3, 6; 1 Cor 15:50-54; 1 Thes 4:13-18. John 14:6 tells of a a requirement for belief in Christ; it also tells of Christ taking His saints to heaven with Him) so that believers can return to earth with Him after the Tribulation, and rule and reign with Him.

E. Immediately following the second advent Satan is bound for a thousand years. John writes: “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And He laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be fulfilled. “[Rev. 20:1- 3]. 

F. Satan, as the god of this age (2 Cor. 4:4), has carried on his work to defeat the purpose and program of God. The millennial age is to be the age in which divine righteousness is to be displayed (Isa. 11:5; 32:1; Jer. 23:6; Dan. 9:24). It is also to be God’s final test of fallen humanity under the most ideal circumstances. All outward sources of temptation must be removed so that man will demonstrate what he is apart from Satanic influence. So that there can be the full manifestation of righteousness and a test of humanity apart from external temptation, Satan must be removed from the sphere; therefore, at the second advent he will be bound and removed from the scene for the entirety of that millennial period.   

II.  Yeshua The Coming King (YTCK Matthew Chapter 3) – The Introduction And Baptism Of Christ.

A.  The Preparatory Ministry Of John The Baptist (Mt 3:1-12).

1. For four hundred years since the close of the Old Testament, no prophetic voice had been raised in Israel. To be sure, God had spoken by angels to Zacharias and Elizabeth, to Joseph and Mary, and to the Magi, but no human voice had spoken for God, except that of the child “Yeshua” in the temple (Lk 2:41-50). Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, came John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness of Judea (cf. Mk 1:1-8; Lk 3:1-20). Clothed in a long garment made of rough camel hair, bound with a leather belt, and eating locusts and wild honey, John’s garb was appropriate to his office and was similar to that of Elijah (2 Ki 1:8) and which, apparently, was the customary dress for prophets, even those who were false prophets (Zee 13:4). Matthew assumed that his readers were familiar with John the Baptist and did not give his background as Luke does (Lk 1:5-25, 57-80).

2. The message of John (Baptist) was like that of Elijah, as he heralded his exhortation to Pharisees as well as Sadducees and to all who came: “Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” His role was that of a herald coming before the king. Matthew finds John fulfilling the prediction of Isaiah 40:3-5, that there would be a voice crying in the wilderness to prepare the way before the Lord. Like the servants of a king, who would smooth out and straighten the road in preparation for their sovereign’s coming, so John was preparing the way spiritually for the coming of Christ.

3. John’s message was a stern rebuke of the hypocrisy and shallow religion of both the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Unquestionably, he was attacking the established religion of his day and demanding sincerity and repentance, instead of hypocrisy and religious rites. His call to repentance is backed up by the succinct announcement, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

4. What did John mean by “kingdom of heaven”? While the precise phrase is not found in the Old Testament, it is based on Old Testament terminology. Nebuchadnezzar, for instance, referred to God as the “King of heaven” (Dan 4:37). Daniel had predicted that the climax of world history would come with the advent of the Son of man, who would be given an everlasting kingdom. This was likewise to be fulfilled by the prediction of Daniel 2:44 that “the God of heaven” would “set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed.” Matthew, alone of New Testament writers, uses “the kingdom of heaven” and rarely uses “the kingdom of God,” which is often used in parallel passages in the other gospels, and throughout the New Testament. Context must be considered in determining the meanings of both kingdom statements. 

5. Although the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God are similar, there is some distinction. The kingdom of heaven refers to that which is obviously in its outer character a kingdom from above, and includes all who profess to be subjects of the King. The kingdom of God is more specific and does not seem to include any but true believers who are born again. In Matthew 13, the kingdom of heaven seems to include both the good and bad fish caught in the net and the wheat and the tares in the same field, whereas Nicodemus is informed that the new birth is necessary to enter the kingdom of God (Jn 3:5). All agree that those in the kingdom of God are also in the kingdom of heaven, however. (Ps 103:19 “The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all,” e.g., “God keeps Jupiter from bumping into Mars, etc..” However, until Christ is ruling over the earth in the Kingdom, we are affected by the truth of Eph 2:1-2, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air (Satan), of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.”

6. Eschatologically and dispensationally, a threefold distinction must be observed in the use of the term “kingdom of heaven.” First, in John the Baptist’s ministry, it is announced as at hand, meaning that in the person of the King, Yeshua, the kingdom was being presented to Israel and to the world. Second, in Matthew 13, the kingdom in its present form, “a mystery,” whose truth was not revealed by God to the OT Jewish prophets,  is revealed, that is, the rule of God over the earth during the present age when the King (Yeshua) is absent. These are mysteries because they were not anticipated in the Old Testament doctrine of the kingdom. The third and climactic form of the kingdom will be when Christ returns to set up the kingdom of heaven on earth, in fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecies and countless other passages of the Old Testament that picture a golden age, when the Son of David will reign over the entire world in righteousness and peace. Only the premillennial interpretation of the concept of the kingdom allows a literal interpretation of both Old Testament and New Testament prophecies relating to the future kingdom.

7. The ministry of John the Baptist signaled a spiritual crisis in Israel. Would they accept their King, or would they reject Him? The ministry of John the Baptist was to prepare the way by calling Israel to repentance. Per God’s word, Israel must accept the King of God’s own choosing ( Deu 17:15). 

8. The ministry of John the Baptist was very pointed. He challenged the prevailing Jewish concept that they were saved simply because they were descendants of Abraham. He declared that God is able to raise up children unto Abraham from the stones of the earth, certainly a dramatic picture of supernatural, spiritual resurrection. He declared that the ax is already in hand to cut down every tree that does not bring forth fruit. By this he meant individual Jews as well as Judaism as a dead ritual.

9. The climax of John’s thundering message was that he was only the forerunner. After him was to come a greater Prophet whose shoes he was unworthy to remove. This coming one would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire, and would bring judgment on the nation like one who, in threshing, separates the wheat from the chaff. In thus describing Yeshua, John was speaking prophetically. Although he knew Yeshua, as his mother, Elizabeth, was a cousin of Mary, at this time he had not identified Yeshua as the Messiah, although he may have had some knowledge of His call as a Prophet.

10. In this third chapter of Matthew, three baptisms are mentioned: (1) that of John the Baptist, a baptism of repentance; (2) a baptism of the Holy Spirit, which would be brought and administered by Christ; (3) a baptism with fire. These should not be confused. The baptism of repentance, administered by John (Baptist), was in preparation for the coming of Christ and was succeeded by the baptisms administered by the apostles. The baptism of the Holy Spirit was not initiated until Acts 2 and the day of Pentecost, and symbolized entrance into the body of Christ (1 Co 12:13). The baptism with fire seems related to the second coming of Christ, for only then will the wheat and the tares be separated and the tares, like the chaff mentioned by John the Baptist, burned with fire (cf. Mt 13:30, 38-42, 49-50).

11. All of the baptisms signify initiation into a new situation of separation to God for the righteous or separation unto judgment for the wicked. The figure of the threshing floor, where the wheat and the chaff are tossed into the air with a wooden shovel to allow the wind to separate the two (the wheat falling to earth while the chaff blows away), is symbolic of the coming separation between that which is true and that which is false in religion.

B. The Baptism Of Yeshua (Mt 3:1-17). 

1. All four gospels give the account of the baptism of Yeshua (cf. Mk 1:9-11; Lk 3:21-22; Jn 1:31-34). When Christ came to Galilee to be baptized by John, He was immediately identified, according to John 1:29, as “the Lamb of God, [who] takes away the sin of the world.” John alone records the announcement after His baptism that Yeshua was the one of whom John had been preaching: “This is he of whom I said, After me comes a man which is preferred before me: for He was before me” (Jn 1:30). Matthew alone records John’s protest that Yeshua did not need to be baptized, and John consents only when Christ says, “That it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness” (3:15). When Jesus was baptized, Matthew, along with all the other gospels, records how the Spirit of God descended like a dove upon Christ, and how the Father’s voice from heaven identified Yeshua, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

2. The tendency to identify the baptism of Christ as one of repentance or as one similar to Christian baptism can be justified only on superficial connection. The baptism of  Yeshua Christ was unique, an initiatory right, setting Him apart to His role as Prophet, Priest, and King, and anticipating His death on the cross. No other, before or after, can share this baptism.

3. This chapter of Matthew is noteworthy, first, because Matthew passes over all the incidents of Christ’s childhood, including His appearance in the temple at age twelve (Lk 2:41-50). His presentation is thematic, not biographical. He is introducing Yeshua as the Messiah King of Israel, fulfilling the anticipatory prophecy of the Old Testament and confirmed by the voice of the Father from heaven as God’s beloved Son. 

The Theocratic Program Offered At The First Advent Of Christ – Part 2

I. The Theocratic Program Offered At The First Advent Of Christ – Part 2.

II. Four Aspects To Part 2 (A-D).

A. The Theocratic Offer In Relation To The Old Testament Prophecies. 

The authenticity of the kingdom offer was substantiated by an appeal to the Old Testament promise. On numerous occasions the Lord explains a course of action, about which question had been raised, by appealing to Old Testament Messianic promises to show that He fulfilled that which Messiah would do at His coming. His right to possess the temple of God and cleanse it is justified by an appeal to a Psalm that was recognized as Messianic (John 2:17 with Ps. 69). His first public appearance in the synagogue brings forth a statement of Messiah’s work (Luke 4:18-19 with Isa. 61:1). The question as to whether He has been preceded by the promised Herald is established from the Messianic Scriptures (Luke 7:27 with Mal. 3:1). The question as to whether He is qualified to be the Messiah, personally, brings forth an exposition of the Messianic promise (Luke 20:41-44). The final cleansing of the temple is justified again by an appeal to the Messianic promise (Matt. 21:13 with Isa. 56:7). In the resurrection ministry Christ clearly established the relationship between the Old Testament prophets and Himself (Luke 24:25-27). Such citations are sufficient to show that Christ constantly appealed to the theocratic kingdom promises to explain His course of action.   

B. The Relation Of Christ To The Offer.

The kingdom was offered in the person of the king. The Lord’s statement is: “behold, the kingdom of God is within your midst” (Luke 17:21). The Lord is not asserting that His kingdom was to be a spiritual kingdom in the hearts of men. Such is contrary to the entire tenor of the Word of God. He is asserting that the kingdom to which they were looking was already “at hand” in the person of the king. The rightful king was present and all that was required was repentance on the part of the nation and a reception of Christ as the theocratic Messiah.  

C. The Contingency Of The Offer.

 1. The offer of the kingdom was a contingent offer. God knew full-well the response of the nation Israel to the offer of the kingdom, yet the establishment of the theocratic kingdom depended upon the repentance of the nation, the recognition of John the Baptist as the promised forerunner, and the reception of Jesus Christ as the theocratic king. More than one expositor has stumbled over the ultimatum of Christ, “I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” The only adequate explanation is to see, what our Lord understood clearly, the contingent nature of His message of the Kingdom. To put the matter in a word: the immediate and complete establishment of His Kingdom depended upon the attitude of the nation of Israel, to whom pertained the divine promises and covenants.

2. That our Lord clearly understood the contingent nature of His Kingdom message is plain from His evaluation of John the Baptist and his meteoric career. Every intelligent Jew knew that the final word of the final Old Testament prophet predicted the appearance of Elijah as the precursor to the establishment of the Kingdom. And Jesus declares, in Matthew 11, concerning John, “If you are willing to receive him, this is Elijah, that is to come.” Still later, when historical events have demonstrated the certainty of His rejection and death at the hands of the Jewish nation, our Lord again refers to John, but now the die is cast, “Elijah does first come and restore all thing,” He assures the disciples; but He adds, “I say unto you that Elijah is come already, and they knew him not.” [The sequence of thought is as follows: (1) Elijah is coming as the restorer (Mal 4:5; (2) he came, unrecognizable in the person of John the Baptist, and was killed; (3) Christ (the Son of Man) faces a like fate. The disciples seem to grasp only the first two points.]

3. I do not hesitate to say that you have here the key to one of the most puzzling problems of New Testament eschatology in relation to the Kingdom: The immediate establishment of the Mediatorial Kingdom on earth was contingent upon the attitude of Israel. Throughout both Testaments the blessings of the theocratic kingdom were made to depend upon the repentance of the individual and the reception of a new heart from the Messiah. Even in the theocratic administration of the Old Testament the unbeliever and the defiled were cut off from participation with the believing and prepared people. This is clearly presented by Peter in Acts when He calls upon the nation to repent (Acts 2:38; 3:19).   

D. The Bona Fide Offer.

 1. This offer of the kingdom was, nevertheless, a bona fide offer. It would be a mockery for God to present the theocratic kingdom if it were not a genuine offer. This Kingdom was offered to the nation in good faith, i.e. it would have been bestowed provided the nation had repented. The foreknown result made no difference in the tender of it, so far as the free agency of the nation is concerned; that result flowed from a voluntary choice. The national unbelief did not change God’s faithfulness, Rom. 3:3. It would be derogatory to the mission of Christ to take any other view of it, and the sincerity and desire of Jesus that the nation might accept, is witnessed in His tears over Jerusalem, in His address to it, in His unceasing labors, in sending out the twelve and the seventy, and in His works of mercy and love. It follows, then, that the Jews had the privilege accorded to them of accepting the Kingdom, and if the condition annexed to it had been complied with, then the Kingdom of David (2 Sam 7:8-16) would have been most gloriously reestablished under the the Messiah.  

 2. There are many who argue that the bona fide offer of a kingdom at the first advent minimizes the cross and leaves no place for the accomplishment of the redemptive program of God. In reply to this contention it may be said that the offer and the rejection of the theocratic kingdom was the design of God by which His eternal purpose was actually accomplished. That which accomplished the divine purpose of salvation through Christ’s death was the rejection of a kingdom offered to Israel.

 3. The question, “How, then, would the atonement have been made by the shedding of blood?” has nothing whatever to do with the sincerity of this offer, for “the manifold wisdom of God” would have been equal to the emergency, either by antedating to some other period, or by providing for it previously; or in some other, to us unknown, way. As it was, God’s purposes, “His determinate counsel,” are shaped by what was a foreseen voluntary choice of the nation. God’s mercy was willing to bestow, but the nation’s depravity prevented the gift. That the Kingdom would have been established had the nation believed, is evident from Deut., chap. 32; 2 Chron. 7:12-22; Isa. 48:18; Ps. 81:8-16, etc.

4. Paul’s argument in Romans proceeds on the supposition that the nation had the power of choice, that it willfully chose the evil, and that God in mercy overruled its fall for the salvation of the Gentiles. They stumbled and fell, not through necessity, and not because God’s Purpose required it, but solely through their own unbelief; and God’s plan, as the Omniscient, embraced the same as a foreknown result, and made provision accordingly.

 5. The principle that God makes a genuine offer, even though it is foreknown that it will not be accepted, is recognized in Scripture.   This first offer of the kingdom had been typified by the events at Kadesh-Barnea. There, this same nation, which had already tasted the discomforts of the desert, were given an opportunity to immediately enter their promised land. Thus, left to choose, they failed to enter, and returned to forty years more of wilderness wandering and added judgments. They might have entered the land in blessing; God knew they would not. Still, it was through their own choice that the blessing was postponed. Later they were brought again to the land after their judgments and afflictions in the wilderness. This time, however, it was without reference to their own choice.   

 6. There are some who hold that the offer could not have been a genuine offer because the Old Testament predicted His sufferings first, then His glory to follow. It is contended that the order makes the death necessarily to come first, and therefore there could have been no genuine offer of the kingdom. It is sufficient to point out that the prophets saw the events in the light of the rejection, in the actual order in which it took place, not in its contingent order. This order does not violate the genuineness of the offer, but does show that the rejection of the offer was the appointed means of accomplishing God’s desired end. 

7. Some contend that neither, the Lord nor John, ever offered Israel an earthly kingdom, but only a spiritual kingdom. Such a view entirely fails to comprehend the nature of “the kingdom” preached by John, the Lord, and His disciples. The fact has been shown that they preached the same kingdom that the Old Testament promised, and Israel expected without change of concept whatsoever