JANUARY 02 THE JESUS QUESTIONS Introduction-02: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33 (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17)

 JANUARY  02  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-02: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17)

LIVING FOR JESUS   Daily Prayer    

JESUS, we pray as You instructed us to pray: “Our Father who is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread…” (Matthew 6:11) and we have such confidence in Your Daily Provisions for us that we will proclaim as did King David, “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want…” (Psalm 23:1) Lord Jesus we come humbly before You each morning to start our day knowing that You ARE what You say You ARE: You Lord Jesus ARE “The Way, the Truth, and the Life…” (John 14:6) Lord we cannot know Your Truth on our own without “Faith” in Your Holy Word and “Trusting” that the “Way” that You have so Graciously Promised to daily lead us will produce “Abundant Life” — Lord we know that You are good to us because You choose to Love us in spite of ourselves and we thank You and give You praise. Lord I pray that You and Your Holy Spirit will move me and my selfish desires out of the darkness and into YOUR LIGHT!    AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus is a Name that is unlike any other name in history and this blog seeks to discover the TRUTH of Jesus because there are some very bold and “miraculous” claims associated with the Name of Jesus in the Holy Bible! The challenge of this blog is not to provide “proof” because this blog does not seek to be either the “judge” or the “jury” but rather this blog is simply a common ordinary, everyday “Joe” that takes the “witness” stand and with my left hand planted firmly on the Holy Bible and my right hand raised toward the heavens I proudly proclaim before all men, “I swear to tell the TRUTH, the whole TRUTH, and nothing but the TRUTH, so help me God!” I seek no personal secular gain but seek desperately for Spiritual guidance to live my life in “peace” and in the many years that I have been searching for a “shelter in the storm” I have learned that when you find that unexpected umbrella that it is smart to open it up and let it protect you from the rain. I stand before you and say that I did not expect to find TRUTH in any particular place, person, or philosophy because all my previous expectations and explorations of places where I “just knew” that TRUTH could be found had landed me in some very peculiar predicaments! My “witness” that I share in this blog is a daily journal started in 2001 and has continued to the present that is the results of the reality of applying the TRUTH that I found in a book called the Holy Bible to my daily life — and I can document through that daily journal of my journey seeking TRUTH that by following God’s instructions found in the Holy Bible I have avoided personal spiritual disaster and I know that my “deliverance” came not because of anything that I have done! My personal efforts are all selfish in nature and have always landed me in some form of trouble from which the TRUTH of GOD always has to rescue me! The Bible then has given me confidence that the Holy Scriptures are the Inspired Word of God and that the Holy Scriptures are designed to reveal The TRUTH of GOD. In my life and my personal experience, the TRUTH that I have discovered in the Holy Bible has been constant and it consistently produces successful results in my personal life when I follow the TRUTH found in God’s Word. This blog then does not look to “prove” that the Word of God is infallible, this blog is simply to document how in my personal life the Word of God has proved Itself to me to be infallible in the results the WORD OF GOD produces in my personal physical and spiritual life and I challenge you to answer for yourself the question posed by a man who was desperately seeking answers in his life, “What is truth?”. Take any book or any philosophy and search for the TRUTH within that book or philosophy and when you apply what is proclaimed by that book or philosophy to be the “truth” to your own life, you must then “test” your newly discovered “truth”: Ask yourself “Is this ‘truth’ actually making an improvement in my personal life?” The success or failure will be determined by what you “believe” and you must ask yourself and respect yourself by answering honestly this very personal question: “Am I willing to bet my life, my soul, and my eternity on this newfound ‘truth’ ?” The world was telling me loudly and rudely “You can find ‘TRUTH’ without God” — but Reality is: GOD IS TRUTH!!!  CONCLUSION: NO GOD = NO TRUTH!!! I close with the words of a famous country song: “That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!”  Remember, “You are only ‘lying to yourself and living the lie’ if you are not believing in and living your life through the TRUTH as TRUTH proves itself TO YOU BY THE FRUIT IT PRODUCES IN YOUR DAILY LIFE AND DOCUMENTED THROUGH YOUR OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE ———  ONLY YOU KNOW WHAT YOU REALLY BELIEVE!!!!

JANUARY 01 THE JESUS QUESTIONS Introduction-01: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33 (Matthew 1:1 thru 28:20)

 JANUARY  01   THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-01: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 28:20)

         {Note from the writer of this blog: This blog is not meant to “argue” or “prove” the existence of God. The writer of this blog sits down at the start of each day with an open Bible and as the Holy Spirit reveals God’s Word, the writer simply writes down in this blog what the Bible inspires from the reading of God’s Holy Infallible Word! There is no claim that “I am right” but I simply ascribe as TRUTH what the WORD OF GOD speaks to me from His Holy Word, THE BIBLE — fully admitting to all, that although my intellect is limited by my worldly flesh,  I can confidently proclaim: my spirit is free!}

 

LIVING FOR JESUS   Daily Prayer    

JESUS, we begin this new year with HOPE, not because of anything we have done but because of WHO YOU ARE! Lord Jesus, I have year after year made resolutions and tried to make changes in my lifestyle, but on my own I have to admit that very little positive progress was ever made — until — until I learned of the HOPE that is given as a Free Gift called Grace included in a single verse of scripture that is so familiar that  the verse is considered cliche — but to those who read the verse and know why the verse was inspired and the original intent, the verse itself can be read a thousand times a day and with each reading NEW HOPE springs eternal from GOD’S WORD: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) Therefore looking expectantly towards a year that HOPE will reign sovereign in my day-to-day life, I start this day, January 1, 2021 with this prayer to my Lord Jesus and TRUST YOUR PROMISE that JESUS will “never leave nor forsake” me and I will look forward with HOPE to JESUS leading me in “paths of righteousness”!!!    AMEN

JANUARY  01   THE JESUS QUESTIONS   Introduction-01: Lessons, Lifestyle, and Parables of Jesus: JQ#1-JQ#33  (Matthew 1:1 thru 3:17)

This blog is a “Daily Devotional” — for me — and you are invited to make it part of YOUR DAILY TIME WITH GOD as I encourage you to spend EACH DAY of your NEW YEAR ahead in the WORD OF GOD and LET GOD SPEAK DIRECTLY TO YOU THROUGH HIS WORD. The Holy Bible contains all the TRUTH each unique individual needs to live an abundant life and this blog is simply a window into my soul which has found Peace with God from the WORD OF GOD! The cliche then is to desire “World Peace” yet deny the TRUTH that can achieve “Inner Peace”. The writer of this blog was given an “Inspiration” in April of 2016 and that “Inspiration” is the basis of this daily blog: The Holy Spirit presented the challenge to me in this way: “Read through the complete Gospel of Jesus Christ written by St. Matthew (the first book in the New Testament) starting with Matthew 1:1 and every time you come to a ‘Question’ that Jesus asks, your challenge is to give Jesus a ‘Truthful answer’.”  Think about that challenge and your “mission” <<< should you choose to accept it >>> is to read the Gospel according to Matthew and “give Jesus a TRUTHFUL answer”— we are all different and each of us has a unique perspective. This blog therefore is simply me sharing my “perspective” of what the WORD OF GOD has done for my life once I started my “Spiritual Journey to Truth”.

  TRUTH can only be found where TRUTH exists, not where we want it to exist 

As you read this blog remember that the TRUTH OF GOD will change you from the inside out and that you will see that person in the mirror in a different “LIGHT” — remember also that TRUTH is FREE so what have you got to lose??? The Holy Spirit left me with these words of wisdom: “No one but God owns the TRUTH and He gives it FREELY to all who search for it, so if someone tries to charge you for TRUTH, don’t buy it — no matter how pretty a package they present their LIE with!”
  

DECEMBER 31 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#1-33 Conclusion The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

 DECEMBER 31  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#1-33 Conclusion   The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ 

LIVING FOR JESUS - Daily Prayer   

JESUS, Lord and Savior, as this year ends, let us rejoice that it ends with Hope, Your HOPE!!! The past year You have filled our Cup of Grace to overflowing and Your Mercy has showered upon us an abundance of Your Spirit of Peace and Joy. Thank You Jesus for Your Mercy and Grace that You have bestowed so Graciously upon us and as the year ends today we rely on Your Promise that You will never leave us nor forsake us so just as each new day is given to us as the sun rises because of God’s Faithfulness to Provide for our daily needs we look forward to a New Year that will be filled with Promise and Hope because each day we will have the SON RISE to LIGHT our way.  O the Blessed Walk from darkness into LIGHT!!!     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus Lived a Perfect Life that proved He was the Chosen One, God’s Messiah, for only this Jesus, born in Bethlehem to a “virgin” could have Taught the world about the “kingdom of heaven” filled with the Promise that “whosoever” believes that “God so loved the world” that He “gave His only begotten Son” SO THAT EVERY BELIEVER WOULD INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE as part of GOD’S Master Plan of Salvation sealed with the Blood of Jesus Christ would indeed receive GOD’S ASSURANCE THAT THE BELIEVER “SHALL NOT PERISH” (JOHN 3:16)!!! From Genesis to Revelation God has revealed this Plan of Salvation through the Sacrifice of the Passover Lamb to Provide Deliverance of God’s Chosen People to the Land of Promise! Only the Messiah would have lived a Perfect Life and then Sacrificially die a cruel death and  VOLUNTARILY Shed His Innocent Blood for the Remission of ALL SIN. The study of Matthew is a study of the “kingdom of heaven” as revealed to us through the Eyes, Heart, and Mind of THE One who has been there.  Jesus made it clear that “all authority” was His because God the Father had willed it so and Jesus laid out the pathway for us to “inherit the Father’s kingdom” — but at the same time Jesus was also making it clear that if we chose to live for ourselves that we would spend an eternity separated from God. As much as Jesus Preached “Salvation” He also Preached the “Final Judgement” when at the end of our lives EACH INDIVIDUAL will stand before God and we will be judged by how we lived our lives! Jesus Preached “you will know a tree by its fruits” and on several occasions Jesus said plainly that “by [our] own words” [and beliefs] we will condemn ourself and we will either be rewarded by our Faith in God and His Son or we will receive judgement for rejecting God and His Plan of Salvation. If one “choses not to be saved” then that person has “condemned oneself to eternal lostness”! God is Faithful and Jesus Taught that everyone is given the opportunity to either “Accept” or “Reject” God’s Plan and it is this “Choice” alone that determines our “Eternity”!!! God is Sovereign and has declared that we have the right to “Act according to our Choices” but in His Sovereignty God has reserved the Right to determine the “Consequence of our actions” thereby establishing the Eternal Consequence of Self Determination — God does not send anyone to hell, “WE PUNCH OUR OWN TICKET TO OUR CHOSEN DESTINATION” — we either choose to believe God and spend eternity in heaven with Him or we choose to reject God and by our own choice we condemn ourselves to eternity separated from God — BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR BECAUSE GOD NEVER FORCES HIMSELF ON ANYONE, IT IS OUR CHOICE TO BELIEVE IN HIM OR NOT, IF ONE CHOOSES TO NOT BELIEVE IN GOD THEN GOD WILL GRANT YOU YOUR REQUEST AND LEAVE YOU TO YOUR OWN DEVICES. Just remember, Heaven and Hell are where we must live Eternally with our Choices we make in our lifetime ——— TRUTH ETERNAL is that GOD IS LOVE and we will know for Eternity we were RIGHT TO CHOOSE GOD or WRONG TO REJECT HIM!!! Jesus Taught us above all that we were to “Choose Life” and “Reject Evil” and spend an ETERNITY WITH GOD — and Jesus not only Taught us “How”, He Taught us “Why” and made it clear “Where” our Choice to Accept or Reject Him would take us!!! Let us therefore end this year and this study of Jesus with thankful hearts and look forward to another year knowing that we need not worry about tomorrow (or next year) for God the Father is already there and has all the provisions we need already waiting for us!!!   Life is a Gift, but like any gift we must open it and accept it before it becomes ours!   In the famous Christmas quote from Tiny Tim, “God Bless us everyone!!!” 

DECEMBER 30 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-16 The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

 DECEMBER 30  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-16 The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ 

LIVING FOR JESUS - Daily Prayer   

JESUS, Lord as I come to the last days of another year that You have so graciously provided for us, my thoughts are turned to the wonders of Your Love which You have so graciously bestowed on such an unloveable creature as me. Lord Jesus, I know that aside from those Good Things You have given me and my family over the past year that there would be little to no good at all in my life were it not for Your Forgiveness of my many shortcomings and I would still be lost in my sin — BUT GOD, O the Mystery of God’s Love that has been given without condition or limit and we, the recipients of that UNCONDITIONAL LOVE OF GOD, have experienced the Abundant Life.  As I look toward another year I confidently pray, not my will, but Thine be done!      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus was shown by circumstance to be the Messiah as recorded in the first four chapters of Matthew’s Gospel of Jesus Christ and starting with Chapter 5, Matthew records the Sermon on the Mount with which Jesus started demonstrating through His Life and Teachings that He was the Son of God and the long awaited Messiah. Jesus was first recognized as an extraordinary Teacher after the Sermon on the Mount and throughout the remaining writings of Matthew, Jesus then asked a series of Questions which would focus our attention on a specific topic or Lesson that Jesus used to explain to us “How” to live a life pleasing to “our heavenly Father”. The Lessons that Jesus Taught from His Questions were always built around an Example that Jesus Himself had Lived. That Jesus was Teaching Spiritual Lessons from God the Father was evident to everyone that had witnessed the Life that Jesus Lived and the Lessons of God that Jesus was Teaching. This Teaching of God and His Kingdom of Heaven “Fact” was best expressed in a conversation Jesus had with “a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. He [Nicodemus] came to Jesus by night and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with Him.’” (John 3:1-2) Jesus went right to the “Point” of His Teachings: “Jesus answered [Nicodemus] and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’” (John 3:3) Nicodemus knew that Jesus was Teaching about the things of God and if we study all the Questions Jesus used to introduce each Kingdom Lesson we too will know Jesus is the Greatest Teacher of the Mysteries of God that will ever walk the earth and in our “understanding” (that Jesus was so concerned about) of His Lessons that we also will “know” that Jesus IS the Son of God and was sent to bring Salvation to a lost and dying world. Jesus certainly didn’t ask Questions to gain “understanding” from us but rather Jesus asked His Questions to impart “understanding” to us that we may know that God “so loved the world” (JOHN 3:16)  that there were no limits to what God would do to impart Kingdom Knowledge to us in order to lead us “Home to be with our Heavenly Father”!!! The Gospel of Matthew begins: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ…” (Matthew 1:1) and ends with Jesus summing up His Lessons: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen (Matthew 28:19-20) Jesus never got off Point and Jesus never spoke without Teaching and for certain, after studying the Birth, Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus, we can confidently proclaim Jesus as the Messiah. To confirm to yourself the intent of The JESUS Questions, all one needs to do is “understand” that Jesus, the Son of God is asking the Questions directly to you and if you will give Jesus an “honest answer” — you will KNOW as did Nicodemus that Jesus is Teaching us about the Kingdom of God”!!! Once you “learn” what Jesus is Teaching, you will possess all the knowledge necessary “to become children of God…born not of…the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:11-13) The study of Matthew introduces Jesus Christ as the Son of God and if we learn the Lessons Jesus Taught with His Questions we will be equipped to enter into God’s Labor with Him for the Kingdom’s Sake and as we stand before God at the Final Judgement we will hear God declare to us “Well done thy good and faithful servant…enter into My Rest!!!”  

DECEMBER 29 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-15 The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

 DECEMBER 29  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-15   The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ 

LIVING FOR JESUS - Daily Prayer to JESUS    

JESUS, Your Grace has been sufficient for my every need, You have kept Your promise to lead us through the valley of the shadow of death and to lavish upon us the abundant life!  Lord, I started the year praying that each day You would fill us with Your Spirit and guide us through every situation and You have! Lord Jesus, today I simply lift my voice and my heart to You in Praise - giving You all the Glory - for You alone are Worthy - for You are my Passover that has delivered me from this body of death - Your  Blood is Victorious over the world and all its lusts that rob us of Your Joy and Peace - Lord, Savior, Redeemer, Praise to Your Holy Name JESUS!!!      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus was shown to be the Messiah by a series of prophecies that were fulfilled with the events surrounding His “virgin birth” and each one is unique in that each event came about as simple undisputed facts that could not have been controlled or manipulated by someone after the event itself occurred such as the lineage of His parents and His being born in Bethlehem and then as Jesus began His earthly Ministry that He was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist who was the prophetic fulfillment of the forerunner of the Messiah and it was at this occasion that John declared about Jesus: “Behold [JESUS], the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world!”. John, the Messiah’s forerunner, had been foretold thousands of years earlier and John’s declaration and message of “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” and his claiming that Jesus was the “Lamb of God” are Biblical facts that point to Jesus as being the long awaited Messiah and are facts that could not be made up by followers of Jesus after His death! These “FACTS” could not have been “manufactured as part of some conspiracy” because the Jewish leaders at that time simply would have been disputed those events because the Jewish traditions are built entirely on the preservation of their lineage and in addition the Jewish leaders were well versed in the Jewish Holy Scriptures which are filled with prophecies of the Jewish Messiah and would have corrected any false claims immediately. Add to those facts about John the Baptist fulfilling the prophecy of the forerunner of the MESSIAH and the Jewish leaders protecting their Jewish heritage, these same Jewish leaders were the ones that condemned Jesus to death in the first place because of His claim to be the Son of the God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob, these same Jewish leaders would not have allowed any sect of “blasphemers” to fabricate a story using the Holy Scriptures to put the religious leaders in such a bad light!  Then to add insult to injury, the Jewish leaders had to stand by and let all these “false fables” become The New Testament and become the most printed and most widely read book in the history of the world! If Jesus had not existed and had not the “facts” surrounding Him not been true, then those “fabricating blasphemy” would have been punished because history itself proves that the Jewish leaders had the “power” to put someone to death if they were guilty of blasphemy — indeed this claim that He was the Chosen One is the very reason they used to put Jesus Himself to death! The odds are absolutely astronomical that these many facts could be fabricated for one man especially when the facts bring so much “shame” on a group of Jewish leaders that were so “all-powerful” and had dedicated centuries to preserving their heritage and control over the Jewish traditions! Matthew, who was a Jew himself and an eyewitness to the life Jesus lived and knew full well the Jewish heritage that had been handed down to him through his Jewish family plus Matthew was a well-educated Jew who was taught the Jewish Holy Scriptures and prophecies of the Coming Messiah making Matthew indeed the best qualified person to recognize that JESUS FULFILLED PROPHECY and was indeed JESUS CHRIST, THE MESSIAH!!!  Matthew had written his Gospel of Jesus account  C. A.D. 50 and that would have been contemporary with many of the powerful Jewish leaders that had  been responsible for Jesus being executed for “blasphemy” against the Jewish traditions and Holy Scriptures and had Matthew simply fabricated these “facts about the life of Jesus” then Matthew himself would have been stoned to death and his writings would have been utterly destroyed. The simple fact that Matthew’s Gospel still exists is proof that the Gospel is the TRUTH OF GOD and JESUS IS GOD’S SON!!! The body of evidence is so great that one must fabricate reasons NOT TO BELIEVE — it is not a lack of FACTS that prevents one from BELIEVING IN JESUS — no, as with all things relating to faith in anything, it is our own “BELIEF” in the “FACTS” that establishes our “FAITH” — even atheists have “faith” but God cannot be “dis-proved” and hence everyone is left with the individual responsibility of determining where we will spend our “eternity” — and that final determination will be based on what you “BELIEVE” to be “TRUE” about “JESUS” because the FACT of ETERNITY does not exist outside the FACT OF GOD and it was God that declared when the Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:11) There is no other man in all of history that can show from prophecy  past to prophecy future that He is the Son of God for we know from these God Protected and God Preserved Holy Scriptures that JESUS IS THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD — the facts prove it, but will you believe it to be true?

DECEMBER 28 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-14 The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

 DECEMBER 28  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-14   The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ 

LIVING FOR JESUS - Daily Prayer    

Jesus, You Lord are the reason that there is HOPE each and every day, for we need Your Forgiveness, Mercy, and Grace on a daily basis! Just as You prayed to the Father for us (1) “Give us this day our daily bread” and (2) “Father forgive them for they know not what they do”  let us daily take up our cross and follow You and depend as You did on the Father’s will for our daily lives. Thank You Lord for Sacrificing Your Perfectly-Lived Sinless Life for our guilty lives so soiled with our daily iniquities — so we pray “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever!”      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus has been introduced by St. Matthew in his Gospel of Jesus Christ in such a manner that Jesus is revealed as the Messiah by (1) <<Matthew 1:1-17>> His genealogy, “the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ” (Matthew 1:1) that proves Jesus to be “the Son of David” and “the Son of Abraham” thereby fulfilling the minimum requirement for the long awaited and highly anticipated Jewish Messiah who in Jewish eschatology is a future Jewish king from the Davidic line. (2) <<Matthew 1:18-25>> His “virgin birth” as prophetically written over 700 years before by the prophet Isaiah “Therefore the LORD Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 11:1,Isaiah 7:14, & Numbers 24:7,8a,16-17a) (3) <<Matthew 2:1 - 2:23>> Prophecies fulfilled by Herod about the Messiah’s birth being in Bethlehem - the city of David  (Isaiah 40:3, Jeremiah 31:15, Hosea 11:1, & Micah 5:2) and finally (4) <<Mathew 3:1-17>> The testimony of John the Baptist the “forerunner of the Messiah” who was preaching “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand…” (Matthew 3:2) John was baptizing in the Jordan all those that went out to him in the wilderness to hear his message of “Repentance” and “were baptized by [John] in the Jordan [after] confessing their sins…” (Matthew 3:6) and when John saw Jesus, John proclaimed Jesus the One that John had been sent by the Holy Spirit to “prepare the way of the Lord” (Matthew 3:3) and John also said when he saw Jesus coming to him in the Jordan, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) and finally (5) <<Matthew 4:1 - Matthew 28:20>> Matthew documents that Jesus by virtue of His Lifestyle, the Lessons and Parables that Jesus taught, and that Jesus with His Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection “proves” that JESUS IS THE MESSIAH, GOD’S ANOINTED, GOD’S ONLY BEGOTTEN SON”!  Therefore, we end the Gospel of Matthew with enough evidence to prove, in any modern court, that Jesus IS the rightful Heir to His Father’s Kingdom — but just as it was true when Jesus walked the earth, each of us in our modern world must view the “evidence” through the filter of “FAITH” and provide the final verdict for ourselves and honestly answer the single most important question you will ever be asked: for one day YOU WILL STAND  in His Presence and Jesus  Himself will ask YOU — “But who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:29)

DECEMBER 27 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-13 The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

 DECEMBER 27  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-13   The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ 

LIVING FOR JESUS -Daily Prayer   

JESUS we thank You for Your daily Presence in our lives as we see You revealed by Your Holy Word and Your Holy Spirit. Lord I pray that in my life I will know that You are always there and if I fail to recognize You then give me understanding that it is my own flesh that is blinding me to your Presence — and that upon the realization that darkness prevents my eyes from beholding Your Glory in my life that I will take up my cross and be crucified with You and know that Your Spirit is Resurrected in us and You will illuminate our darkness with YOUR LIGHT! Lord, our daily walk is our “now” and is the only “time” we can experience GRACE! Only if we decrease and You are allowed to increase can we behold our Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah! Forgive me of my daily shortcomings and my failure to see You working in my life — even so, come now Lord Jesus!     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus was first revealed by the Gospel of Matthew as the Messiah by circumstances beyond His control but were obviously circumstances ORCHESTRATED BY GOD as part of God’s Master Plan. Up to the point where Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan river, Jesus was validated as the Messiah by many external witnesses and circumstances such as Jesus being born in Bethlehem of Judea, the son of Mary (a virgin) who was betrothed to Joseph whose lineage could be traced back to King David. Jesus began His public Ministry after being baptized by John the Baptist who was the forerunner of the Messiah as written by the prophets. Jesus demonstrated by the way He lived, especially His Earthly Ministry from His baptism in the Jordan to His baptism on the cross that His Perfect Life and His Sacrificial Death is the greatest “witness” to the TRUTH OF GOD that JESUS IS THE MESSIAH!!!   Everything that Jesus does, He does at the direction of His Heavenly Father and His Message is “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. The JESUS QUESTIONS themselves reveal and witness to Jesus being the Messiah, therefore let us look at one more detail of Matthew’s introduction of Jesus that is also a separate witness to Jesus being the Messiah and what His “Mission” and “Purpose” was in being born in the flesh, at this particular time, in this particular place, to these particular parents. Matthew starts his Gospel of Jesus Christ with “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ” (Matthew 1:1) and within this “genealogy of Jesus Christ” is further “witness” to God’s Master Plan of Salvation and Jesus being the Messiah sent to earth, taking on earthly flesh to Administer God’s Plan!!! Jewish tradition, from the very beginning, has always placed great importance on the “lineage” or “family line” and the main reason “lineage” was so important to Israel was because one’s “lineage” determined their “tribal inheritance”! Inheritance among God’s people is based upon the fact that at God’s directions, each Jewish tribe or “family” had received a particular portion of the “Promised Land” and for a person to inherit land in a particular area assigned to that tribe, the person had to produce “evidence of birth” that he was from that particular tribe. That “evidence” of birth into a “tribe” came through records of the family genealogy. The genealogy of Jesus therefore would determine His Inheritance and a close look at the genealogy of Jesus Christ reveals some very important “signs” or “evidence” of miraculous claims by Jesus as they relate to the “Purpose and Life of the Messiah”!!! This genealogy of Jesus revealed that Jesus through His Lineage was born “the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.” (Matthew 1:1)  Now is a good time to revisit the “book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ” as listed in Matthew 1:1-17 and ask yourself about your personal lineage and understand the “Importance” of your “Spiritual Lineage” in “inheriting” your “portion of the Promised Land” that has been set aside for you in “the kingdom of heaven”!!! This investigation of your personal “Spiritual Inheritance” can be understood by reading what Jesus told Nicodemus in John Chapter 3:1-21 which includes these two Promises by Jesus that address your “Spiritual Inheritance”:  (1) “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3) and (2) “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes on Him shall not perish but [inherit] everlasting life.” (John 3:16) so by reading the “Promise of God” regarding your “inheritance”, you must ask yourself: “Have I received Him and claimed my Godly inheritance and my right to become [a child] of God by believing on the [Name and Person] of Jesus Christ.?” (See John 1:12-13)