The Northern kingdom of Israel’s troubles intensified
considerably when their first king, Jeroboam, built his new houses of God,
his new altars, and his new forms of worship to attempt to keep the
subjects of his kingdom from going to Jerusalem to worship around 900 B.C.
Almost 1000 years later, Jesus met one of the descendants from that
Northern kingdom at Jacob’s well. After a somewhat lengthy conversation
concerning natural water and living water, the Samaritan woman’s many
husbands, and the proper place of worship — a mountain established in
the old northern king of Israel or in Jerusalem, Jesus said, ". . .
the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the
Father in spirit and in truth . . . ." The implication is clear for
Jesus had just said, ". . . the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in
this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father." With the
coming of Jesus, the temple for worship would change, the manner of
worship would change, and the place of worship would change.
Upon hearing those statements of Jesus, the woman said, "I know that
Messiah cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us
all things." The response of Jesus was, "I that speak unto thee
am He." Jesus claimed to be the one of which all the prophets had
prophesied was coming, the Savior of Israel.
Since the time of Adam down through Abraham, Moses, David, and 1000 years
of the prophets, the promised Messiah was proclaimed. When Jesus stated
that he was the long awaited Messiah, he knew what the current
understanding of the Messiah was. To the Jews of Jesus’ day, the Messiah
was to become the king of the Jews, a political leader who would defeat
their enemies and bring in a golden era of peace and prosperity. The one
anointed by God and empowered by God's spirit to deliver His people and
establish His kingdom. Jesus said, "I . . . am he."
In Matthew’s gospel, the gospel written to the Jews, the theme is the
long sought for kingdom that God had promised to the Jews. It proclaimed
the fulfilment of the covenant with Abraham that ". . . I will make
of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great;
and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and
curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth
be blessed." This new kingdom of God is mentioned fifty-one times in
the gospel of Matthew, twice as many as any of the other gospels.
In Matthew’s gospel, the promises of God contained in the prophets are
recalled and their fulfillment in Jesus Christ is announced. The phrase,
or its equivalent, "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by
the prophet" occurs 16 times in reference to the coming of Jesus and
His kingdom. The organizational structure of the gospel itself can be
divided into five major sections aligning with the five books of the
Jewish Torah (The implication seems clear, the teaching and life of Jesus
was giving a new Torah for the Jews that surpasses the old.). As Jesus
said, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets:
I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."
In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus is portrayed as a descended of the three
great figures of the Old Testament and yet surpassing them: Abraham —
Jesus’ genealogy is traced back to Abraham, the father of not only those
naturally born of his descendants but those spiritually born of Christ
which also are his descendants; Moses — Jesus appears as the royal
teacher whose authority exceed that of Moses by giving not the principles
of a lesser natural kingdom but of a greater spiritual kingdom; and David
— Jesus fulfills the promise and the hopes of a new David, born in
Bethlehem like David, recognized as the "son" of David five
times, but is called the Lord of David. He was proclaimed as the new king
of the Jews.
The proclamation of Jesus that He was the Messiah, the long awaited king
who would bring a new golden era of peace and prosperity to Israel, should
have brought jubilation. It did not. He was not destined to sit in the
throne room of an earthly palace. The earthly descendants of Abraham would
not sing in the streets of Jerusalem with joy for their king was destined
to die as a criminal by crucifixion.
When Jesus was asked why his own people had delivered him to be crucified,
He responded, "My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of
this world, then would my servants fight . . . ." Pilate, the
governor, then ask, "Art thou a king then?" Jesus answered,
"Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this
cause came I into the world . . . ."
The prophet Zechariah portrayed the coming glory of the Messiah. The
prophetic writings of his book is often called the most Messianic of all
the Old Testament books because it contains eight specific references to
the Messiah in its brief 14 chapters. There are more prophecies of Christ
in Zechariah than in any other prophetic book with the exception of the 66
chapters of Isaiah.
Zechariah proclaims that God is "jealous for Jerusalem" and like
Haggai urges Zerubbabel to rebuild the Temple. He does so by telling of
his night visions — Chapters 1-6; four messages that he preaches to the
people — Chapters 7 & 8; and the giving of his "burden"
where he proclaims the coming of Christ and the establishment of His
kingdom — Chapters 9-14.
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