Matthew | Knowable Word

The Context of the Great Commission

June 30, 2021 By Peter Krol

Erik Raymond has a thoughtful piece entitled “The Context of the Great Commission is a Miracle.” He combines a number of helpful OIA skills: context, observation, overcoming familiarity, and head and heart application.

Sometimes we get discouraged about the mission. We don’t see the results we’d like. The sting of rejection lingers. The footsteps of apostasy haunt us. The seemingly unanswered prayers fatigue us. Looking through natural lenses, we could conclude the gospel is not working. Thinking like entrepreneurs or fishermen, we might conclude it’s better to pack up and go home. Maybe we should do something else.
But this is thinking naturally, not supernaturally. Remember the context of the Great Commission. Everyone was ready to go home after Good Friday. That’s the point. Christ rose from the dead and surprised everyone. He changed the whole narrative. He’s alive, ruling, reigning, and unstoppable.

Check it out!

Catch the Differences

January 29, 2021 By Peter Krol

Earlier this week, I completed my 11th annual speed read of the Bible. This time, I used a detailed chronological reading order I’ve never used before, which enabled me to catch on to some things that have escaped my notice before. Of course, the purpose of reading large portions of Scripture is not to notice every detail. But the pathway you take through the Bible can certainly help to freshen up some things.

For example, read the following selections of Scripture, one right after the other, and see if anything jumps out at you, as it did for me.

And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”
Mark 10:32-34

And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”
Matthew 20:17-19

And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.” But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.
Luke 18:31-34

Can you spot the differences? Image by Dmitry Abramov from Pixabay

There are, of course, many differences in the accounts, from Mark’s narration of the disciples’ amazement and fear, to Matthew’s passive voice “he will be raised,” to Luke’s hiding of the saying such that they didn’t grasp it. Each of these differences provides a clue into the narrator’s unique intentions.

But what struck me the most this time around was the differences in how Jesus is “delivered over.” If you didn’t catch the difference, go back and read the passages again, paying special attention to whom Jesus is delivered over to, and in how many stages.

What does Luke’s distinct account suggest about his intentions in describing this passion prediction? How does this fit with Luke’s larger treatment of the Jews in both Luke and Acts?

Saints Resurrected at Jesus’ Death

December 2, 2020 By Peter Krol

Greg Lanier has a helpful piece on “Resurrected Saints and Matthew’s Weirdest Passage,” where he addresses some common questions on Matthew 27:52-53:

The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

Lanier asks:

Did this really happen?
What exactly happened?
What does it mean?

He looks closely at the text in its context to provide reasonable answers.

Check it out!

Context Matters: My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?

July 10, 2020 By Peter Krol

Perhaps you’ve heard Jesus’ cry of dereliction while hanging on the cross. “How great the pain of searing loss; the Father turns his face away” (Stuart Townend). Perhaps you knew that Jesus was alluding to David’s lament in Psalm 22. But what exactly was David’s concern, and why was it so devastating? And how did Jesus share that experience in his own crucifixion?

When we learn to read the Bible properly—not as an assortment of quotes and aphorisms—we find that some familiar phrases take on entirely new meanings.

David’s Crisis of Faith

In Psalm 22, David feels utterly abandoned by God (“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). The reason is that, as he looks around, he sees no evidence of God’s presence or activity to save (“Why are you so far from saving me?”). David cries and cries, but receives no answer (Ps 22:1-2).

David understands how these things work, and he seeks to console himself with the perspective of history. In Israel’s covenant with her God, there is a direct connection between loyal trust and deliverance.

In you our fathers trusted (Ps 22:4a).
They trusted, and you delivered them (Ps 22:4b).
To you they cried and were rescued (Ps 22:5a).
In you they trusted and were not put to shame (Ps 22:5b).

Those who trusted in God were rescued, and those who proved disloyal were put to open shame. This strengthens David to persevere in trust and believing loyalty (Ps 22:3).

“But I am a worm and not a man” (Ps 22:6). The problem is, it’s not working the way it ought. David has trusted and remained loyal, but he is still put to shame! He is mocked and scorned. His trust in Yahweh is now the very thing for which he is mocked (Ps 22:8).

What’s at stake here is that the connection between trust and deliverance appears to be broken. For generations, the Israelites had a pattern of abandoning God when things didn’t go their way. Will David do the same? Now that he has hard evidence that trust in God will not pay off? Will he change his mind and go back to Egypt? Will he grumble and complain? Will he turn to other gods?

In the rest of the psalm, we see David mature from a questioner (Ps 22:1-10) to a beggar (Ps:11-21), then to a preacher (Ps 22:22-26), and finally to a missionary (Ps 22:27-31). He withstands the test and survives the crisis of faith. With all outward appearances to the contrary, he proclaims that Yahweh remains worthy of fear (Ps 22:23), praise (Ps 22:25), and service (Ps 22:30).

Jesus’ Crisis of Faith

Though David felt that God had abandoned him, we can confidently conclude that this was not truly the case (2 Sam 7:9, 12-15). Yet for Jesus, such abandonment by the Father was in fact a reality. He faced his darkest hour alone (Mark 15:33-34), accompanied only by the sin of the world that had now become his own (2 Cor 5:21).

Once again, we must ask the question of historical habits: Will Jesus survive the crisis of faith? Will he fall to pieces, just like generation upon generation of Jews had done before him? Since trust in the Father is not paying out in deliverance, is it worth it for him to continue trusting at all?

This tension is all the greater when we observe Mark’s attention to the question of perseverance. Those who deride him dare him to come down from the cross (Mark 15:29-30). They doubt his ability to attain salvation for himself (Mark 15:31). They claim they will believe what he has said, only if he will come down (Mark 15:32). If he can’t save himself, they wonder whether Elijah will come to take him down from the cross (Mark 15:36).

But Jesus perseveres. He stays on the cross until all is finished, and he can proclaim that “he has done it” (Ps 22:31; see John 19:30). He remains loyal, even when abandoned by his Father. Because the Father despised and abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and hid his face from him (Ps 22:24), all the families of the nations can now worship before him (Ps 22:27).

And though the answer was delayed three days, we know that he who cried out to his Father was eventually heard (Ps 22:24, Rom 1:4, Heb 5:7-9).

Conclusion

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When you hear or recite the question, don’t allow it’s familiarity to dull your senses to the visceral conflict it betrays. Delight in this hero, who succeeded in every way where Old Covenant Israel failed. Behold the crisis of faith, the disillusionment, and the unbelievable temptation to come down from the cross to prove his worth. And rest assured that you will never have to experience such complete abandonment, because he already went through it once for all.

Tell the coming generations of his righteousness, and that he has done it.

Context matters.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

Context Mattered to Jesus, part 3

February 17, 2020 By Ryan Higginbottom

In the third and final temptation of Jesus, the devil takes him to a high mountain. He promises Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory” if Jesus will simply fall down and worship him.

On one hand, this sounds like an easy trap to avoid. Temptations don’t get much more obvious than worship the devil.

But for Jesus, this temptation is real. As the Son of God who will ascend to heaven, Jesus is destined for kingship, power, and glory. But the path is incredibly hard. It involves humiliation, suffering, betrayal, and a horrendous death.

Satan is proposing a way around the hardship, a back door to the main stage.

Resisting with Scripture

In response to the devil’s offer, Jesus counters with clear teaching from Scripture.

Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” (Matthew 4:10)

This command is found in Deuteronomy 6:13. Here’s the larger context.

And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you—for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth. (Deuteronomy 6:10–15)

In response to his first temptation, Jesus’s use of Scripture showed that he was putting himself in the place of Israel. This raised the question, Will Jesus obey?

In the second temptation, Satan tempts Jesus to test the Lord, to call forth an unnecessary, dramatic rescue. Jesus turns this away as well, knowing that God is with him and that his delivery will come after the grave.

In this final temptation, Satan continues the pattern. He asks Jesus to claim now what he will receive later. To avoid the pain and rejection associated with his upcoming ministry, and to end up with glory, Jesus only needs to worship the tempter.

But Jesus refuses. He obeys. He will not forget the Lord, who brought his people out of the house of slavery and who will once again liberate his children. He will not go after another god, for he knows the Lord is in his midst—the Lord is with him. Jesus knows that the Lord is jealous and that his anger can be kindled to destruction.

Jesus is the Better Israel

We know what happened to Israel after Egypt. They grumbled, they didn’t obey the Lord, and they followed after other gods. Eventually, they went into exile because of their rebellion and idolatry.

Jesus stands where Israel fell. He walks the path from his baptism to his cross and he trusts the Lord with every step. In this encounter with the devil, Matthew shows Jesus’s intentions and first steps, and he invites careful attention to the Savior’s life and words.

Context Mattered to Jesus, part 2

February 3, 2020 By Ryan Higginbottom

After Jesus was baptized by John, he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness for a showdown. Because he was hungry after a 40-day fast, Satan suggested he turn stones into bread. In the previous post in this series, we looked at the way Jesus turned back this temptation by quoting from Deuteronomy 8.

Satan then took Jesus to the top of the temple in Jerusalem and proposed a free fall. The devil quoted from Psalm 91, indicating that God had promised to protect Jesus no matter what. We have already examined this misuse of Scripture in detail, so in this article we will take a close look at Jesus’s response.

The Context of Jesus’s Response

In reply to the devil’s temptation, we read this.

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Matthew 4:7)

This quotation comes from Deuteronomy 6:16. The larger context is worth discussing at length. In the midst of a second giving of the law, God gave his people instructions for their new life in the promised land they would shortly enter.

You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah. You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies and his statutes, which he has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may go well with you, and that you may go in and take possession of the good land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers by thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has promised. (Deuteronomy 6:16–19)

Note that the primary example of Israel testing the Lord is at Massah. This narrative is found in Exodus 17:1–7.

God brought Israel out of Egypt and through the Red Sea. He protected, provided for, and liberated his people in miraculous ways. But when they faced a water shortage at Rephidim, the people quarreled with Moses and grumbled against him. Moses feared he would be stoned (Ex 17:4)! Finally, God provided water from the rock at Horeb when Moses struck it with his staff.

It’s easy to see how Israel complained about God. How exactly did they test him? Moses tells us.

And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exodus 17:7)

One of the foundational aspects of the Exodus story is that God heard the cries of his oppressed people and vowed to free them. With numerous and precious promises, God told Israel that he remembered his covenant and would be their people (Ex 6:2–8). He traveled with them as a pillar of cloud and fire; they knew his awesome and mighty presence with them (Ex 13:21–22).

And yet, the people doubted their God. They thirsted and thought God was either absent or uncaring, both of which thoughts they had more than ample evidence to dismiss.

We’ve now dug down two layers—how exactly is this related to Jesus’s temptation?

A Fuller Meaning

One on level, Jesus’s meaning is clear. Satan wants Jesus to test God’s willingness to rescue him. Jesus refuses. The sort of rescue Satan proposes is artificial and boastful; God promises his protection for those who love him, not as a form of theater.

But the full context of Jesus’s reply gives even more weight to his meaning. Jesus will not forget his Father’s promises or his presence. He will not doubt God’s ability or willingness to provide exactly what is needed at the proper time. And, of course, he will need to trust the Lord for the greatest rescue of all time.

That rescue will not happen at his arrest, his imprisonment, his trial, or his execution. And it certainly will not happen at the devil’s prompting, as though it were a birthday party magic trick.

No, Jesus knows the Father’s love and the Father’s plan. He trusts God in his mission and his timing. And he looks forward to his dramatic, rumbling, stone-splitting rescue from the grave on Easter morning.

Jesus will have angelic aid at his great rescue, but to agree to the devil’s terms would be to trade a precious, valuable, family heirloom for a cheap, plastic, vending machine imitation.

One Final Temptation

We have one temptation remaining, and Jesus used the Bible again to refuse the devil. Please join me next time in the final article in this series.

How Matthew’s Opening Verses Frame the Book

January 22, 2020 By Peter Krol

I appreciate Charles Quarles’s reflection on Matthew’s gospel, and how the opening verses establish the theological themes that ought to shape our reading of the book. Quarles describes how even his PhD students often need to learn how to read the Bible the way the author intended. His observations and reflections are well worth considering.

For the last ten years I have concentrated my studies on learning to read theologically the Gospels, particularly the Gospel of Matthew. By reading “theologically” I do not mean reading Matthew through the lens of a particular creed or confession (though I am strongly confessional). Nor do I mean asking how each narrative or paragraph might relate to the various categories of systematic theology like ecclesiology, pneumatology, demonology, etc. (though I highly value systematic theology and often employ this reading strategy). I mean rather reading Matthew like the apostle himself intended it to be read. Matthew has packed his Gospel with all the cues and prompts necessary to read his Gospel properly.

Check it out!

Context Mattered to Jesus

January 20, 2020 By Ryan Higginbottom

The temptation of Jesus is a fascinating exchange. In this brief passage we find four explicit quotations of Scripture and deep theological themes.

In my last article I wrote about the way Satan misused Psalm 91 when he tempted Jesus to throw himself from the top of the temple (Matt 4:6). We saw that Scripture quoted out of context can be used for evil purposes.

I’m grateful to Seth S., one of our blog commenters, who suggested we look at the other side of this face off. He proposed we examine Jesus’s use of the Old Testament in his resistance of Satan in the wilderness.

This proved too much for a single post, so I will begin the task today and continue it in my next article.

Temptation to Produce Bread

Let’s set the stage. Matthew 3 ends with Jesus’s baptism, and Matthew 4 begins with his temptation.

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:1–4)

Satan tries to appeal both to Jesus’s hunger and his identity. Surely the Son of God could produce food for himself when he is hungry. Why not do it right here and now?

Jesus’s reply is worth studying in depth.

The Context in Deuteronomy

In all three instances of temptation, Jesus quotes from the book of Deuteronomy to turn away the devil. In the case of Satan’s appeal to turn stones into bread, Jesus looks to Deuteronomy 8.

And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. (Deuteronomy 8:3)

Finding this verse is important, but we must also know its context.

The book of Deuteronomy is a second statement of the law to the people of Israel, given with an eye toward their upcoming entrance into the promised land. In this book, God reminds Moses what he has done for the nation of Israel, and he charges them with obedience in the future.

Jesus in the Place of Israel

There are several details in Deuteronomy 8 worth noting.

Israel is supposed to remember the way God led them for 40 years in the wilderness (Deut 8:2).
God humbled Israel in the wilderness, testing them to know what was in their heart, whether or not they would keep his commandments (Deut 8:2).
God humbled Israel and let them hunger, feeding them with manna, so that he would make them know that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from God’s mouth (Deut 8:3).
God disciplines Israel in the way that a man disciplines his son (Deut 8:5).
Israel must keep the commandments of God because God is bringing them into a good land, a land with plenty of bread (Deut 8:6–9).

This context helps us to understand Jesus’s purpose.

Jesus has been led by God the Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days (Matt 4:1–2). He voluntarily went hungry for these 40 days (Matt 4:2). Jesus knows he is the Son of God, because he just heard his father say these exact words (Matt 3:17).

And, crucially, by resisting the devil’s first temptation, Jesus shows that he knows man does not live by bread alone; he does not need to learn this through the same discipline Israel faced.

Through examining the context of Matthew 4 and Deuteronomy 8, we discover some profound truths. Jesus has voluntarily put himself in the place of Israel. Furthermore, he has taken the first step in obeying God in this role by showing he depends on God—he does not need to turn stones into bread.

This sets up a crucial question both for the rest of the interaction with Satan and for the rest of the Gospel of Matthew: Will Jesus keep the commandments of the Lord? Will Jesus trust God to bring him through the wilderness and into the land of plenty, rejecting all other gods?

Conclusion

As Christians who know the rest of the Bible, we know the answers to these questions. But Matthew is framing the launch of Jesus’s mission with the themes of obedience, sonship, and substitution.

Be sure to come back to read my next article, when we continue to look at Jesus’s quotations of Scripture to deny the devil’s advances.

Why is Matthew’s Quotation of Micah Different from Micah?

January 8, 2020 By Peter Krol

In the video below, John Piper offers some fascinating insight into how to think about Old Testament quotations in the New Testament. In Matthew 2, King Herod asks the chief priests and scribes where the Messiah is to be born. They respond by quoting Micah 5:2 … sort of.

Piper takes a close look at the text of Micah 5:2 and the quotation of it in Matthew 2:6. He carefully observes all the differences between the two passages, and he asks interpretive questions, such as “Why is this part different?” and “Why is that part different?”

He then proceeds to answer his interpretive questions from the literary context of the rest of Matthew’s gospel, and he comes up with a surprising answer. Piper himself acknowledges that you won’t find this answer in any commentary. But as you examine the Scripture for yourself, do you find his answer plausible?

Check it out!

Quoting Scripture Contrary to Its Purpose is Devilish

January 6, 2020 By Ryan Higginbottom

*Temptation of Christ* (1663), Philips Augustijn Immenraet, public domain

Have you ever tried to hammer a nail with a hand saw? When was the last time you flipped a pancake with a whisk?

Using tools or utensils for unintended purposes just doesn’t work.

Context Matters

When it comes to the Bible, proper usage is even more important, because we are dealing with God’s word.

We have devoted many articles on this blog to the importance of context in the Bible. We have called attention to numerous examples of the proper use of Scripture, respecting the location of phrases and verses within paragraphs, chapters, and books.

But we can learn through both positive and negative examples. So today, we’ll look at a Bible quotation used out of context. And we won’t just look at any example, we’ll look in the Bible itself at an example of the misuse of Scripture.

The Temptation of Jesus

After Jesus is baptized, he is led by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1). Jesus rebuffs Satan’s three-part temptation by quoting the Bible at each turn. (This narrative is found in both Matthew 4:1–11 and Luke 4:1–13. I’ll use Matthew’s version.)

This section of Scripture is often used to illustrate the value of knowing the Bible. Memorizing God’s word is a mighty tool in resisting temptation. This is all very good.

But in one of Satan’s temptations, he quotes the Bible, and that is worth exploring.

Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”(Matthew 4:5–6)

The devil cites Psalm 91:11–12 and, taken as quoted, the verses are compelling. God seems to promise protection in angelic form, without a qualification in sight. If we stick to Satan’s words, his case is persuasive.

Exploring Psalm 91

Jesus’s reply to the devil is simple, coming straight from Deuteronomy 6:16.

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Matthew 4:7)

How exactly is what Satan offers a test of God?

Instead of a blanket promise of safety, Psalm 91 is about God’s protection for those who seek their shelter in him. This thread runs throughout the psalm.

It is he who “dwells in the shelter of the Most High” that will “abide in the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1).
The psalmist replies to this promise by calling God “My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust” (Psalm 91:2).
The psalmist says that “Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place,” “no evil shall be allowed to befall you” (Psalm 91:9–10, emphasis mine).
God says, “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name” (Psalm 91:14).
Finally, this “holding fast” to God takes a specific form: “When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him” (Psalm 91:15).

Psalm 91 does not offer a safety net to rescue everyone from the consequences of reckless behavior. Rather, God promises his protection to those who make him their dwelling place. To those who call to him. To those who hold fast to him in love.

Consider the Text

In the title of this article, I claim that the quoting of Scripture contrary to its purpose is devilish. I mean, very simply, that this is a tactic of the devil.

Not everyone who quotes Scripture in this way is evil or is possessed by a demon. But we should be sobered as we observe this strategy. The Bible can be used as a tool to accomplish evil purposes. The words of God are not a magical incantation of righteousness.

This understanding should affect the way we listen to sermons, digest proof texts, and read theological arguments. Let’s give ourselves to a careful study of the Bible, that we might recognize and avoid this devilish error.

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