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II. The Kingdom Comes

A. Elijah’s Return

In this lesson, we look in depth at Matthew’s "first book."

The narrative section of the "book" details the preparatory ministry of John the Baptist and the early temptations and ministry of Jesus in Galilee (see Matthew 3:1-4:25). This is followed by a long discourse - Jesus’ "Sermon on the Mount" (see Matthew 5:1-7:27). Finally, the book concludes with the formula statement: "When Jesus finished…." (seeMatthew 7:28-29).

Matthew quite consciously paints the figure of John the Baptist such that he evokes the revered prophet Elijah. Elijah had been swept up to heaven in fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:11). But in the Wisdom literature and in the later prophets, Israel had been taught to expect that he would return to announce the coming of the Messiah or the Day of the Lord (seeMalachi 3:23-4; Sirach 48:4,10). Jesus will tell us later in this Gospel that John indeed is Elijah who was to come (see Matthew 17:10-13).

But Matthew gives us a little clue early on. He begins with John preaching in the desert, clad in the same strange garb as Elijah (compare Matthew 3:4 and 2 Kings 1:8; Zechariah 13:4).

John announces his mission with a quote from the prophet Isaiah (see Isaiah 40:3). The quote, and its context, is significant. It’s taken from the first verses of the central part of Isaiah’s prophecy (chapters 40-55), which describes how God will fulfill His promises of salvation. The specific quote is taken from Isaiah’s description of the return of the exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem.

Matthew seems to be saying that John is fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy, paving the way for the "glory of the Lord [to] be revealed, and all mankind shall see it together" (see Isaiah 40:5).

B. Crossing Jordan, Testing Israel

With the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River and his temptation in the wilderness, Matthew returns to the "new Moses" symbolism he introduced in his prologue to the Gospel.

Remember that in the prologue Jesus, like Moses, is born under perilous circumstances - all the male Hebrew children are under a despotic ruler’s death threat. Like Moses, he is saved in Egypt.

Now, in his Gospel, Matthew is going to deepen the identification of Jesus with Moses and the story of the chosen people of Israel. And here, too, if we’re going to understand what Matthew is talking about, we need to appreciate the deep Old Testament background to the text.

Jesus, as Matthew tells the story, is going to relive the experience of Israel - which was born as a new people of God in its miraculous crossing of the waters of the Red Sea, then tested in the desert, before finally being given a new law and a new covenant brought down by Moses from Mount Sinai.

Notice how in His Baptism, Jesus is called the "beloved Son" of God. Israel, too, was called God’s beloved son (compare Matthew 3:17 and Exodus 4:22; Psalm 2:7; Isaiah 42:1;Genesis 22:2).

Immediately upon leaving the waters, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the desert to be tested for forty days and forty nights. This too corresponds with the history of Israel - which immediately upon crossing the Red Sea into freedom is led into the desert to be tested for forty years (compare Matthew 4:1-2 and Exodus 15:25; 16:1; see also Deuteronomy 8:2-3;1 Corinthians 10:1-5).

Jesus will undergo the same tests and temptations as Israel. But history won’t repeat itself with Jesus. Israel failed its test of divine sonship, falling prey to the temptations to doubt their God, to distrusting His promises and disobeying His commandments. They proved by their grumbling and their idolatry to be unable to keep His covenant. But Jesus will resist and overcome the temptations put to Him by the Devil. In this He will show Himself to be a true and faithful Son of God.

The three temptations put to Jesus roughly correspond to those endured by Israel in the wilderness. He is first confronted with hunger and tempted, as Israel was, to grumble against God (see Exodus 16:1-13). Next, he is dared to put God to the test - challenged to question God’s care and concern for Him. This, too, recalls the quarreling of the Israelites with Moses at Massah (see Exodus 17:1-6; Numbers 20:2-13; Psalm 95:8). Finally, Jesus is tempted to worship a false god, which Israel actually did in creating the idol of the golden calf (see Exodus 32).

Each time Jesus rebukes the Devil, he quotes Moses. These aren’t just random citations, either. Each of His three quotes is carefully drawn from a key section in the Book of Deuteronomy in which Moses warns the people - years after the experience in the desert - to learn from their infidelities and to trust in the providence of God. Each of the quotations refers respectively to the three temptations Israel faced:

In response to His first temptation, Jesus explains, as Moses did, that God tested the Israelites with hunger to show them that people aren’t meant to live by bread alone - but by God’s Word of promise (compare Matthew 4:4 and Deuteronomy 8:3).

The Devil then tries to quote a little Scripture in the hopes of tricking Jesus. He asks Jesus to test what the Scriptures say about God’s promise to protect Him from all harm (compareMatthew 4:6 and Psalm 91:11-12). That was what was going on at Massah, when the Israelites were thirsty and demanded that Moses produce water. Even though God had been feeding them throughout the journey with manna, bread from heaven, still they doubted His care for them, still they demanded another sign.

Jesus responds again with the words of Moses: "You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test" (compare Matthew 4:7 and Deuteronomy 6:16).

Finally, the Devil asks Jesus to bow down and worship him. Jesus waves him off with a final quotation from Moses and Deuteronomy (compare Matthew 4:10 and Deuteronomy 6:12-15).

When we read the temptation episode against the Old Testament backdrop that Matthew supplies it becomes far more than an isolated biographical moment in the life of the Savior. Now, it is a crucial turning point in salvation history. Matthew’s skillful use of the Old Testament materials aims at showing us that Jesus is "the new Israel," the chosen first-born Son of God, who will fulfill God’s will for His people by being a light for the nations. In the desert temptation at the start of His ministry Jesus reverses the disobedience and infidelities of the chosen people - as He will atone for their sins on Calvary at the conclusion of His public ministry.

C. Kingdom Restored

To signal the start of Jesus’ public ministry, Matthew chooses a direct quotation from Isaiah - as he did in heralding the arrival of John (see Matthew 4:15-16; Isaiah 8:23-9:1).

Here, too, we need to pay close attention to the Old Testament history and background if we want to understand the full depth and intensity of the message Matthew wants to convey.

Let’s look at the background of Isaiah’s prophecy: In 733 and 732 B.C., the twelve tribes of Israel were facing a rapacious Assyrian empire. The region where the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali dwelled was the first to be picked off. They were attacked and hauled off into captivity by the Assyrians (see 2 Kings 15:29; 1 Chronicles 5:26). It marked the beginning of the end - or so it seemed - of the kingdom that God had promised to David (see 2 Samuel 7:12-13; Psalm 89; Psalm 132:11-12). Later the tribes beyond the Jordan and in Samaria would fall, and finally, around 586 B.C., Jerusalem was captured and its inhabitants deported to Babylon by the King Nebuchadnezzar (see 2 Kings 24:14).

All this is going on in the background of the Isaiah passage from which Matthew’s quote is drawn. Isaiah prophesied that the lands of the Zebulun and Naphtali, the "first [to be] degraded," would be the first to see the light of God’s salvation. And it’s not coincidental that Matthew has chosen to draw from a section of Isaiah that foretells the birth of the Messiah - a child who would liberate the captives, restore to unity the scattered tribes, and assume his seat on "David’s throne and over his kingdom" (see Isaiah 8:23, 9:1,5-6).

What Matthew is doing is identifying Jesus’ actions - moving to Galilee and Capernaum - as the beginning of the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. Capernaum, where Jesus will live, is situated in between the tribal territories of Zebulun and Naphtali. Matthew seems to be saying - as Isaiah said - that where the kingdom first began to crumble, God will begin its rebuilding and restoration. Is it any wonder that immediately after that quote from Isaiah, Jesus begins preaching that "the kingdom…is at hand" (see Matthew 4:17)?

All of this will be reinforced later in the Gospel by Jesus’ focus on "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (see Matthew 10:5-6; 15:24; 19:28; compare Revelation 7:4-8). But, we will see the significance, too, of Matthew’s reference to "Galilee of the Gentiles" (see Matthew 4:15). The kingdom that Jesus announces is going to bust open the doors of the house of Israel to welcome not only the twelve scattered tribes but all the peoples of the world (seeMatthew 8:10-11; 21:43; 28:19).

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