MATTHEWThe Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah1:1-17pp — Lk 3:23-381:3-6pp — Ru 4:18-221:7-11pp — 1Ch 3:10-17

1 This is the ge ne al o gy a of Jesus the Mes si ah b the son of Da vid, the son of Abra ham:

2 Abra ham was the fa ther of Isaac, Isaac the fa ther of Ja cob, Ja cob the fa ther of Ju dah and his broth ers, 3 Ju dah the fa ther of Pe rez and Ze rah, whose

moth er was Ta mar, Pe rez the fa ther of Hez ron, Hez ron the fa ther of Ram, 4 Ram the fa ther of Am min a dab, Am min a dab the fa ther of Nah shon, Nah shon the fa ther of Sal mon, 5 Sal mon the fa ther of Boaz, whose moth er

was Ra hab, Boaz the fa ther of Obed, whose moth er was

Ruth, Obed the fa ther of Jes se, 6 and Jes se the fa ther of King Da vid.

Da vid was the fa ther of Sol o mon, whose moth­er had been Uri ah’s wife,

7 Sol o mon the fa ther of Re ho bo am, Re ho bo am the fa ther of Abi jah, Abi jah the fa ther of Asa, 8 Asa the fa ther of Je hosh a phat, Je hosh a phat the fa ther of Je ho ram, Je ho ram the fa ther of Uz zi ah, 9 Uz zi ah the fa ther of Jo tham, Jo tham the fa ther of Ahaz, Ahaz the fa ther of Hez e ki ah, 10 Hez e ki ah the fa ther of Ma nas seh, Ma nas seh the fa ther of Amon, Amon the fa ther of Jo si ah,

11 and Jo si ah the fa ther of Jec o ni ah c and his broth ers at the time of the ex ile to Bab­ylon.

12 Af ter the ex ile to Bab ylon: Jec o ni ah was the fa ther of She al ti el, She al ti el the fa ther of Ze rub ba bel, 13 Ze rub ba bel the fa ther of Abi hud, Abi hud the fa ther of Eli a kim, Eli a kim the fa ther of Azor, 14 Azor the fa ther of Za dok, Za dok the fa ther of Akim, Akim the fa ther of Eli hud, 15 Eli hud the fa ther of El e a zar, El e a zar the fa ther of Mat than, Mat than the fa ther of Ja cob, 16 and Ja cob the fa ther of Jo seph, the hus band

of Mary, and Mary was the moth er of Jesus who is called the Mes si ah.

17 Thus there were four teen gen er a tions in all from Abra ham to Da vid, four teen from Da vid to the ex ile to Bab ylon, and four teen from the ex ile to the Mes si ah.

Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Mes si ah came

about d: His moth er Mary was pledged to be mar ried to Jo seph, but be fore they came to geth er, she was found to be preg nant through the Holy Spir it. 19 Be­cause Jo seph her hus band was faith ful to the law, and yet e did not want to ex pose her to pub lic dis­grace, he had in mind to di vorce her qui et ly.

a 1 Or is an account of the origin b 1 Or Jesus Christ. Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek) both mean Anointed One; also in verse 18. c 11 That is, Jehoiachin; also in verse 12 d 18 Or The origin of Jesus the Messiah was like this e 19 Or was a righteous man and

1:1 genealogy. Jesus’ genealogy is crucial to his claim to be the Messiah, as it traces the lineage of Joseph, his recognized father, back to Abraham through David. It shows that from a legal standpoint, Jesus is qualified to rule from the throne of David.1:3 Tamar. The mention of women in a Jewish geneal-ogy is unusual. But in addition to Mary, four women are listed in this catalogue of names: Tamar, who was involved in a scandal with Judah (Ge 38); Rahab, the Canaanite harlot of Jericho (Jos 2:1–21); Ruth, who was not an Israelite, but a Moabite (Ru 1:4); and Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, who committed adultery with David (2Sa 11:1:1–5). At the beginning of his Gospel, Matthew shows how God’s grace forgives the darkest of sins and reaches beyond the nation of Israel to the world. He also points out that God can lift the lowest and place them in royal lineage.

1:16 the husband of Mary. Matthew was careful not to identify Jesus as the physical son of Joseph. called the Messiah. The words “Messiah” (from the Hebrew) and “Christ” (from the Greek) both mean “Anointed One.”1:17 Abraham . . . to the Messiah. The genealogy is bro-ken down into three groups of names with 14 genera-tions in each list. A basic covenant is set forth in each period: the Abrahamic covenant, the Davidic covenant and the New Covenant.1:18 pledged to be married. In Jewish culture, this cov-enant was made about a year before the marriage. Engagement was understood to be as binding as a marriage covenant; therefore, a legal divorce was re-quired to withdraw from the agreement.

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In societies organized around kinship, genealogies (lists of names tracing the ancestry of a given in-dividual or group) serve as public records that document history, establish identity and/or legitimate office. The key to legitimacy and identity is a direct, irrefutable familial tie with the past. Such lists may ascend from the individual, using the formula “x the son of y, the son of z . . . ” (see 1Ch 6:33 – 43; Ezr 7:1 – 5; Lk 3:23 – 38) or descend from a common ancestor, using the pattern “x was the father of y, y the father of z . . . ” (see Ge 5:1 – 32; Ru 4:18 – 23; Mt 1:1 – 17). These two basic types of genealogies can be combined (cf. Mt 1:1 and 1:2 – 17). In addition, genealogical rolls may either contain a simple suc-cession of names or may be supplemented with expansive content pertaining to the deeds of certain prominent individuals on the list.

Genealogies feature prominently in both the early and later history of Israel. There are ten principal genealogical lists in Genesis alone (e.g., “the written account of Adam’s line” in Ge 5). These records served to establish and protect identity in that they regulated a variety of social inter actions, including marriage and land inheritance (see Dt 25:5 – 10; Ezr 10:18 – 43). Thus the registration of families who had

returned from exile was a profound concern dur-ing the postexilic period (see 1Ch 1 – 9; Ezr 8:2 – 14; Ne 7:7 – 63). Genealogies were especially impor-tant in ancient Israel because the right to hold important offices was a hereditary privilege. For example, the priesthood was assured to the sons of Levi (see Ex 6:16 – 26; Nu 3:10; 1Ch 6:1 – 53), while kingship was reserved for the descendants of Judah (see Ge 49:10) and more specifically for the sons of David (see 2Sa 7:12 – 16; Ps 89:29; Isa 9:7; 11:1 – 3).

In the New Testament era certain genealogi-cal records were stored in a public archive in the temple mount, while others were maintained by private families. Early Christian preaching radi-cally redefined genealogical descent by consid-ering all who identified with Jesus as true, legal descendants of Abraham, “heirs according to the promise” (Gal 3:29; cf.  Mt 3:9; Jn 8:33,39; Ro 4:16).1

The New Testament preserves two pertinent genealogical lists, both of which present the hu-man ancestry of Jesus as the son of David (see Mt 1:1 – 17; Lk 3:23 – 38). The two listings are differ-ent, and the reasons for this variation have been extensively debated. It may be that the register in Luke preserves the biological family tree of Jo-seph, while the one in Matthew records the legal line of descent that authenticated Joseph’s (and Jesus’) claim to David’s throne. Others suggest that the genealogy in Matthew is Joseph’s, while the one in Luke is Mary’s.

1See “Adoption in the Roman World” on p. 1479.

GENEALOGIES IN ANCIENT ISRAEL (Mt 1)

C O N T E X T N O T E S

The opening of the Gospel of Matthew in the Liesborn Gospels; Germany, tenth century AD© The Schøyen Collection, MS040, www.schoyencollection.com.

P E O P L E S , L A N D S A N D

R U L E R S

C U LT U R E A N D

H I S T O R Y

A N C I E N T T E X T S A N D A R T I F A C T S

R E L I A B I L I T YA R C H A E O L O G Y

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the Lord had com mand ed him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not con sum mate their mar­riage un til she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

The Magi Visit the Messiah

2 Af ter Jesus was born in Beth le hem in Ju dea, dur ing the time of King Her od, Magi c from the

east came to Je ru sa lem 2 and asked, “Where is the

20 But af ter he had con sid ered this, an an gel of the Lord ap peared to him in a dream and said, “Jo seph son of Da vid, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, be cause what is con ceived in her is from the Holy Spir it. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, a be cause he will save his peo ple from their sins.”

22 All this took place to ful fill what the Lord had said through the proph et: 23 “The vir gin will con ceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Im­man u el” b (which means “God with us”).

24 When Jo seph woke up, he did what the an gel of a 21 Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means the Lord saves. b 23 Isaiah 7:14 c 1 Traditionally wise men

1:23 Immanuel. The angel’s message to Joseph indi-cated that Mary would fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah (Isa 7:14). “ Jesus,” the Greek form of “Joshua,” means “salvation.”1:25 did not consummate. The clear implication is that Mary was a virgin only until the birth of Jesus. The brothers and sisters of Jesus (13:55–56) were probably younger siblings born to Joseph and Mary after Jesus’ birth. Joseph could not have had children by a previ-ous marriage, as some suppose, for then Jesus would not have been heir to the Davidic throne as the oldest son of Joseph.

2:1 Magi from the east. These “Magi,” or wise men, would have been of the same class as the wise men of Bab ylon over whom Daniel was made ruler (Da 2:48). to Jerusalem. Contrary to popular belief, the events of chapter 2 probably took place some months after Jesus’ birth. Herod murdered all the male children two years and under, going by the time the wise men said the star had appeared (and probably leaving a signifi-cant margin for error). In addition, it would have been strange for Mary and Joseph to offer the sacrifice of the poor (see Lev 12:8; Lk 2:24) if the wise men had just given them rich gifts.

B I B L E C H A R A C T E R S

JOSEPHSTEPFATHER

Stepparents take on one of the hardest tasks in life — raising a child who isn’t biologically theirs. When Joseph first learned that his fiancée Mary was bearing someone else’s child, he must have felt deep heartache. By law, he had the right to accuse Mary of adultery and have her executed. Then an angel brought instructions in a dream: Joseph was to stay with Mary, for her child was from God.

Three times Joseph received angelic messages in dreams, and each time they called for moves he had not planned and would not wish for. First he was called to care for a wife he had never slept with and a child who was not his. Then he was ordered to flee as a refugee to far-off Egypt. Finally an angel told him to return home, where skeptical neighbors probably remembered that Mary had been pregnant before her marriage.

We know one thing about Joseph: He obeyed, following the angel’s orders in each difficult case. A dutiful stepfather, he treated his son as his own, raising him according to the Jewish law. As a carpenter, he taught Jesus to hammer and saw. As a righteous man, he modeled for him an obedient life.

We last hear of Joseph when Jesus was 12. After that, the Bible only mentions Jesus’ mother, Mary, and Jesus’ brothers. (Joseph probably died before Jesus began his ministry. From the cross, Jesus committed the care of his mother to one of his disciples [see Jn 19:25 – 27].) Through his faithfulness as a stepfather, however, Joseph made a lasting contribution to the world.

Life Questions> Has God asked you to do any thankless tasks? What were they, and how did they turn out?

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18 “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” c

one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to wor ship him.”

3 When King Her od heard this he was dis turbed, and all Je ru sa lem with him. 4 When he had called to geth er all the peo ple’s chief priests and teach ers of the law, he asked them where the Mes si ah was to be born. 5 “In Beth le hem in Ju dea,” they re plied, “for this is what the proph et has writ ten:

6 “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of

Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ a ”

7 Then Her od called the Magi se cret ly and found out from them the ex act time the star had ap peared. 8 He sent them to Beth le hem and said, “Go and search care ful ly for the child. As soon as you find him, re port to me, so that I too may go and wor ship him.”

9 Af ter they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them un til it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were over joyed. 11 On com ing to the house, they saw the child with his moth er Mary, and they bowed down and wor shiped him. Then they opened their trea­sures and pre sent ed him with gifts of gold, frank­in cense and myrrh. 12 And hav ing been warned in a dream not to go back to Her od, they re turned to their coun try by an oth er route.

The Escape to Egypt13 When they had gone, an an gel of the Lord ap­

peared to Jo seph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his moth er and es cape to Egypt. Stay there un til I tell you, for Her od is go ing to search for the child to kill him.”

14 So he got up, took the child and his moth er dur­ing the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed un til the death of Her od. And so was ful filled what the Lord had said through the proph et: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” b

16 When Her od re al ized that he had been out wit­ted by the Magi, he was fu ri ous, and he gave or ders to kill all the boys in Beth le hem and its vi cin i ty who were two years old and un der, in ac cor dance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the proph et Jer e mi ah was ful filled:

2:7 Then Herod. This is Herod the Great, who reigned over Palestine for over 30 years. A crafty ruler and lavish builder, Herod had a reign marked by cruelty and bloodshed.2:15 was fulfilled. The prophecy quoted here, from Hosea 11:1, refers to the nation of Israel as God’s son coming out of Egypt in the Exodus. Jesus is the genu-ine Son of God, and as Israel’s Messiah, is the true Is-rael (Jn 15:1); therefore, he gives fuller meaning to the prophecy of Hosea.

2:18 Rachel weeping for her children. This proph-ecy comes from Jeremiah 31:15, in which Rachel, entombed near Bethlehem some 13 centuries be-fore the Bab ylonian captivity, is seen weeping for her children as they are led away in 586 BC. In the slaughter of the male infants at the time of Christ’s birth, Rachel is again seen weeping for the violent loss of her children.

a 6 Micah 5:2,4 b 15 Hosea 11:1 c 18 Jer. 31:15

HOW CAN WE UNDERSTAND THE TRINITY? (Mt 3:16 – 17)

The short answer is that we can’t. Not fully. Finite human beings can’t fully comprehend an infinite

God. But we can grapple intelligently with the con-cept of one God who exists as three distinct and ir-reducible persons: Father, Son and Spirit.

The Father is referred to as God in Matthew 6:26,30. Jesus is referred to as God in John 1:1,14 and Hebrews 1:6. The Spirit is referred to as God in Acts 5:3 – 4. All three are referred to as God even though Mark 12:32 tells us that “God is one and there is no other but him.” How do we reconcile this?

The apostle Paul says that God placed clues in cre-ation so we can know more about him (see Ro 1:20). One of the ways we can come to know more about God’s nature is by drawing analogies with things that we can see. And we do see examples of three forms in one essence when we examine God’s cre-ation. Take water, for example. Water is always water, even though it can be experienced in three different forms: liquid, solid (when frozen) and vapor. God is still God even though he can be experienced in three forms — Father, Son and Spirit. Light is another ex-ample. Any color of light can be formed from the three primary colors: red, blue and yellow. Even light that appears white and colorless to the human eye is actually a manifestation of those colors. So nature shows us that one substance with multiple aspects can exist in unity. Keep in mind that these are ex-amples, not explanations. God cannot be explained or understood, but these examples give us a way to begin thinking about the mystery of the Trinity.

Q&A

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them: “You brood of vi pers! Who warned you to flee from the com ing wrath? 8 Pro duce fruit in keep ing with re pen tance. 9 And do not think you can say to your selves, ‘We have Abra ham as our fa ther.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up chil­dren for Abra ham. 10 The ax is al ready at the root of the trees, and ev ery tree that does not pro duce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 “I bap tize you with b wa ter for re pen tance. But af ter me comes one who is more pow er ful than I, whose san dals I am not wor thy to car ry. He will bap­tize you with b the Holy Spir it and fire. 12 His win now­ing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his thresh ing floor, gath er ing his wheat into the barn and burn ing up the chaff with un quench able fire.”

The Baptism of Jesus3:13-17pp — Mk 1:9-11; Lk 3:21,22; Jn 1:31-34

13 Then Jesus came from Gal i lee to the Jor dan to be bap tized by John. 14 But John tried to de ter him, say ing, “I need to be bap tized by you, and do you come to me?”

15 Jesus re plied, “Let it be so now; it is prop er for us to do this to ful fill all righ teous ness.” Then John con sent ed.

16 As soon as Jesus was bap tized, he went up out of the wa ter. At that mo ment heav en was opened, and he saw the Spir it of God de scend ing like a dove and alight ing on him. 17 And a voice from heav en said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

The Return to Nazareth19 Af ter Her od died, an an gel of the Lord ap peared

in a dream to Jo seph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his moth er and go to the land of Is ra el, for those who were try ing to take the child’s life are dead.”

21 So he got up, took the child and his moth er and went to the land of Is ra el. 22 But when he heard that Ar che la us was reign ing in Ju dea in place of his fa­ther Her od, he was afraid to go there. Hav ing been warned in a dream, he with drew to the dis trict of Gal i lee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Naz a reth. So was ful filled what was said through the proph ets, that he would be called a Naz a rene.

John the Baptist Prepares the Way3:1-12pp — Mk 1:3-8; Lk 3:2-17

3 In those days John the Bap tist came, preach ing in the wil der ness of Ju dea 2 and say ing, “Re pent,

for the king dom of heav en has come near.” 3 This is he who was spo ken of through the proph et Isa iah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ ” a

4 John’s clothes were made of cam el’s hair, and he had a leath er belt around his waist. His food was lo­custs and wild hon ey. 5 Peo ple went out to him from Je ru sa lem and all Ju dea and the whole re gion of the Jor dan. 6 Con fess ing their sins, they were bap tized by him in the Jor dan Riv er.

7 But when he saw many of the Phar i sees and Sad­du cees com ing to where he was bap tiz ing, he said to

2:23 Nazareth. Those who lived in Nazareth were looked down upon (Jn 1:46). Perhaps God chose this place for his Son to emphasize his humanness.3:2 Repent. The Greek verb translated “repent” indi-cates a change of attitude. The basic idea is a recogni-tion of sin and a reversal of thinking, which changes one’s life.3:3 Prepare the way for the Lord. As roads were smoothed and straightened for the arrival of a king, so John was preparing a spiritual path for the Messiah. The quotation is from Isaiah 40:3.3:7 Pharisees and Sadducees. The Pharisees and Sad-ducees were two prominent groups in Judaism at the time of Christ. The groups differed considerably in their beliefs. The Pharisees not only based their beliefs on the law of Moses, but also on a large body of oral tradition. They were devout and zealous, concerned with outward righ teous ness. The Sadducees were as-sociated with a priestly caste, and in doctrine they held primarily to the first five books of Moses. They did not believe in the resurrection of the dead and did not adhere to all the detailed laws of the Pharisees. Formerly enemies, the two groups seemed to unite against a common enemy: the long awaited Messiah.3:11 baptize. Sometimes fire has connotations of judg-ment in Scripture, but here the fire of God’s Spirit rep-resents the transforming power of his grace and love. The baptism of all Jesus’ disciples with water is an

outward sign of the inward work of the Holy Spirit. It is the symbol of obedience to the command to believe in Christ’s saving work of grace on the cross.3:15 to fulfill all righ teous ness. This phrase does not suggest that Jesus came for baptism because he had sinned; the Lord Jesus was without sin (2Co 5:21; Heb 4:15). His baptism probably served several pur-poses. By being baptized, he confirmed the ministry of John and fulfilled the Father’s will.3:17 God, the Father of Christ—Most Chris tians even-tually wonder how God may be called the Father of Christ and Christ the Son of God. First, one must recognize that God is spirit (Jn 4:24), and Christ was the Son of God before he assumed a human body in Bethlehem (Jn 3:16; Gal 4:4). Passages that use terms implying physical origin must be taken in a figurative sense (Heb 1:5). Second, the title expresses a son-ship relationship, unique from that of his disciples (Jn 20:17). He was begotten of God unlike anyone else (Jn 1:14; 3:16). The Nicean council in the fourth cen-tury used the phrase “very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father” to describe this unique relationship. Third, the title describes equality with God. When Jesus claimed to be “one” with the Father, he was speaking of a unity of “substance” with the Father and thus equality in all the attributes of deity (Jn 10:30). The Jews understood this claim because they took up stones to stone him,

a 3 Isaiah 40:3 b 11 Or in

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Jesus Calls His First Disciples4:18-22pp — Mk 1:16-20; Lk 5:2-11; Jn 1:35-42

18 As Jesus was walk ing be side the Sea of Gal­i lee, he saw two broth ers, Si mon called Pe ter and his broth er An drew. They were cast ing a net into the lake, for they were fish er men. 19 “Come, fol low

Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness4:1-11pp — Mk 1:12,13; Lk 4:1-13

4 Then Jesus was led by the Spir it into the wil der­ness to be tempt ed a by the dev il. 2 Af ter fast ing

for ty days and for ty nights, he was hun gry. 3 The tempt er came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to be come bread.”

4 Jesus an swered, “It is writ ten: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on ev ery word that comes from the mouth of God.’ b ”

5 Then the dev il took him to the holy city and had him stand on the high est point of the tem ple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw your self down. For it is writ ten:

“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a

stone.’ c ”

7 Jesus an swered him, “It is also writ ten: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ d ”

8 Again, the dev il took him to a very high moun­tain and showed him all the king doms of the world and their splen dor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and wor ship me.”

10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Sa tan! For it is writ ten: ‘Wor ship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ e ”

11 Then the dev il left him, and an gels came and at­tend ed him.

Jesus Begins to Preach12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in

pris on, he with drew to Gal i lee. 13 Leav ing Naz a reth, he went and lived in Ca per na um, which was by the lake in the area of Zeb u lun and Naph ta li — 14 to ful­fill what was said through the proph et Isa iah:

15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles — 16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of

death a light has dawned.” f

17 From that time on Jesus be gan to preach, “Re­pent, for the king dom of heav en has come near.”

protesting that “you . . . claim to be God” (Jn 10:33). Fourth, the title emphasizes Christ’s role as the re-vealer of God. He alone possesses the knowledge of the Father (Jn 14:6–9; 1Jn 1:2), and he is the sole me-diator of that knowledge (1Ti 2:5). Therefore, no one can know the Father except through the Son (Jn 14:6).4:1–4 It is written. Satan did not lead Jesus into the place of temptation, the Holy Spirit did. Perhaps part of the reason for this was to show us how to deal with temptation. Jesus quoted the Word of God, showing the power of Scripture in battling with the evil one.

4:10 Satan. Satan is not dispatched easily by anyone who merely says, “Away from me.” The only way we can be victorious in temptation is through the blood and authority of Jesus Christ.4:15–16 great light. The passage quoted here (Isa 9:1–2) foretells the reign of the Messiah in the coming king-dom.4:18–20 I will send you out to fish for people. This allusion to Jeremiah 16:16 was used to call Peter and Andrew to a life of ministry.

a 1 The Greek for tempted can also mean tested. b 4 Deut. 8:3 c 6 Psalm 91:11,12 d 7 Deut. 6:16 e 10 Deut. 6:13 f 16 Isaiah 9:1,2

DOES THE SPIRIT LEAD US INTO TEMPTATION? (Mt 4:1)

God does not tempt us to sin — that’s Satan’s spe-cialty. However, God may see fit to test us. On

occasion this testing places us in Satan’s line of fire.In this case, the Spirit tested Jesus by allowing Sa-

tan to tempt him to sin. Jesus’ victory over tempta-tion was crucial to the success of his divine mission. In the midst of the struggle, Jesus demonstrated his unwavering commitment to God’s plan and his word. Similarly, God may allow our faith to be tested on the path to spiritual success, as he tested Paul (see 2Co 12:7). As we rely on God’s help to win battles over temptation, we become more prepared to fulfill our unique, God-given purpose.

Why, then, does Jesus tell us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation” (Mt 6:13)? If God knows we’ll benefit from being tested, wouldn’t it be better to pray, “Lead us into temptation and give us strength to overcome it”?

Not necessarily. Jesus linked “lead us not into temptation” with “deliver us from the evil one” (Mt 6:13). Thus, avoiding temptation means avoiding the devil’s snares and enticements. Avoiding tempta-tion doesn’t mean that we avoid trials that spiritually strengthen us. Jesus wants us to see God as the one who delivers, not the one who tempts. In our prayers, we look to God as the source of victory over the evil one. God tests us not that we might fall into sin but that we might experience victory.

Q&A

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Dimensions of rooms, steps, doorways, cornices and exterior mea sure­ments are mentioned in history (Josephus and the Mishnah) but are subject to interpretation.

20 BC–AD 70

Begun in 20 BC, Herod’s new structure towered 15 stories high, following the floor dimensions of the former temples in the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. The high sanctuary shown here was built on the site of the former temples of Solomon and Zerubbabel.

The outer courts surrounding the temple mount were not completed until AD 64. The entire structure was demolished by the Romans in AD 70.

HEROD’S TEMPLE

© 2011 by Zondervan. All rights reserved.

MATTHEw    1223

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