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Dr. Manny Arango
Hey, Bible nerds. This is Dr. Manny Arango, and I'm your host for the Bible department podcast powered by Arma. This podcast follows a Bible reading plan we created to help you read the entire Bible in a year. You can head to the show notes or thebibledepartment.com to download our reading plan and join the journey. Bam. Welcome to day 56. I hope that our introduction into the Gospel of Matthew was super, super helpful yesterday. Today we got a lot of Sermon on the Mount content. So we're reading through Matthew Chapter 5, 6, 7, and 8. Four more chapters. I'm pretty sure every. We broke it down. So it's four chapters every day through Matthew's Gospel. I feel like that's true. Anyway, I'm not gonna take time to, like, look at the breakdown right now. If you haven't done today's reading, go ahead. Timeout. Pause. Go do the reading real quick. I'll be right here when you get back. Let's jump right on in. We've got our first context clue. Okay. When you open up Matthew, chapter five, okay, you're gonna see that right at the beginning of Matthew, chapter five. I'm reading in the esv. It says this in verse one, Seeing the crowds, he on the mountain, okay? And when he sat down, his disciples came to him. So this is why it's called the Sermon on the Mount, okay? Because Jesus is on a mountain, but he's not on a mountain in Luke, okay? This exact same sermon is recorded in Luke. And if you go to Luke chapter six, okay? If you go to Luke chapter six, verse 12, it says, now, during these days, he went out to the mountain to pray, okay? So he's up on a mountain, and then guess what? He comes down the mountain. He actually goes up to the mountain to pray. He calls the disciples. We get a list of disciples, and then verse 17, he came down with them and stood on a level place with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. The they had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, okay? And he looked to his disciples and said, blessed are are you who are poor. So he immediately goes into the Beatitudes, which is a classic portion of the Sermon on the Mount. Only in Luke's Gospel, he ain't on a mountain. He's on a level. It literally says, states stood On a level place, okay? So Luke's Gospel. No, mountain. Matthew's Gospel, mountain. And this is where the. You know, a lot of Western readers get jacked up because you're kind of like, well, the scriptures are contradicting themselves. Was there a mountain? Was there not a mountain? There's this movement, you know, in. In New Testament studies to try to harmonize all four of the Gospels. But here's the reality, okay? For the Western person, we think about truth as facts, okay? So truth and facts are the same thing. But for an Eastern person, truth is not bound to what's factual. Truth is bound to the theological truth that a symbol encapsulates. So why does Matthew. The better question, the question that a Westerner would ask is, wait, so was it on a mountain or was it on a plain? And that's just not the question that an Easter person would ask. The question an Easter person would ask is this. Why does Matthew choose to place this sermon on a mountain? What is going on? What is Matthew trying to show us? Because he's trying to portray Jesus in a particular way. Let me. Do I go in depth on this on our courses, okay? So if you haven't taken our Matthew course or the Luke course or the John course, or the Mark course, or the introduction to the Gospels course, if you haven't taken any of those courses, I challenge you. Really, I wanna give you a big challenge, like take all five of those courses. But one of the things that I talk about in those courses is that the Gospels are not photographs of Jesus. They are portraits of Jesus. They're paintings, okay? If you get a portrait, a portrait is based on the artist's interpretation of their subject. Whereas a photograph has to look factual, has to be the same every time. If I don't look like me on my passport or on my license, then it'll raise suspicion, okay? Whereas a portrait, there's an artistic. There's an artistic interpretation to a portrait. So the Gospels are not photographs. There are portraits of Jesus. And for Matthew, his portrayal of Jesus, his portrait of Jesus is that Jesus is a New Moses. And where did Moses give the law? Ah, Mount Sinai. That's right. So this is not about, was it factually a plane or was it factually a mountain? Don't miss the forest for the trees. The truth that Matthew is trying to portray is that Jesus is a New Moses. And how does he portray Jesus as a New Moses? He doesn't say, alert, alert. Here's the New Moses. No, he just puts him on a mountain and everyone goes Way, way, way, way, way. Jesus is reinterpreting the Torah while on a mountain. Ah, he's a new Moses. So we actually get seven of these moments where Jesus is reinterpreting the Torah. We get the first 1 in chapter 5, verse 21, where Jesus says, you have heard it was said. Okay? And then he's going to reinterpret. And then you get the next one at chapter five, verse 27, where Jesus says, you have heard it said. And then we get the next 1, chapter 5, verse 31, it was also said verse 33. Again, you have heard it was said again. That's chapter five, verse 33. And then chapter five, verse 38, you have heard that it was said. And then our sixth one, we get in verse 43 of chapter five, you have heard that it was said. Okay? And then the last one. Oh, no, that's our sixth one. Okay, great. We get six. Sorry, for whatever reason, I thought we had seven, but we get six of them. Okay, you have heard it was said. You have heard it was said. You've heard it was said over and over and over and over and over again, okay? Because Jesus is reinterpreting the Torah, and he has the authority. Authority to do that because he is the fulfillment of the Torah, which leads us to our nerdy nugget. Okay? That's all of our context just for what is happening with this Sermon on the Mount. Okay, next, let's move into our nerdy nugget. Okay? There's a key word that Matthew is going to use over and over and over and over and over again. And it's actually really, really important. And the word is fulfill. Fulfill. I've got logos on this iPad. I've got my notes on this iPad. I just got iPads galore. Okay? We gotta read Matthew, chapter 5, verse 17, okay? Because this is gonna frame our understanding of what's happening in this sermon where Jesus is reinterpreting Torah. It says in Matthew, chapter 5, verse 17, do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot will pass from the law until it. Until all is accomplished. Okay? So I've not come to abolish the law. I've come to fulfill the law. Okay, so we now have to ask a very nerdy question, which is, how does Jesus use the word fulfill in Matthew's Gospel? Well, let's read A couple of passages. We're going to read Matthew, chapter one, verse 22 to 23. We're going to read Matthew, chapter two, verses 14 to 15. We're going to read Matthew and chapter two, verse 23, and Matthew, chapter eight, verse 16 to 17. We'll read those four and just kind of wrap our minds around how Matthew uses the word fulfill. Okay, so Matthew, chapter one, verse 22. It says this. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son. They shall call his name Emmanuel. Okay, let's look at the next one. Matthew, chapter two, verse 14 and 15. Okay. And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet out of Egypt I called my son. Okay, so all of a sudden, we already see the way that Matthew uses fulfill is clearly connected to prophetic words, that there are things that have been prophesied in the Old Testament and they're now reaching their fulfillment where? In the person of Jesus. The fulfillment comes in the person of Christ. Let's read a couple more. Matthew 2. 23. And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene. Last one. Matthew, chapter 8, verse 16. That evening, they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons. And he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah. He took our illnesses and bore our diseases. Okay, so we get all these prophetic words in the Old Testament, and then Jesus's life begins to fulfill all of these prophecies from the Old Testament. So how then is the law gonna get fulfilled? Well, for that, you need to read Jeremiah 31. And when you read Jeremiah 31, you realize that there is a prophetic word concerning the law. It says, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant or a new law. Okay, covenant law. Very synonymous words. I'll make a new covenant with the house of Israel. I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they shall be my people, and I will forgive their iniquity. Okay, Ezekiel, chapter 36, very same thing. And I will give you a new heart and a new spirit. I'll put my spirit within you, to cause you to walk in my statutes and to be Careful. To obey my law or to obey my rules. So Ezekiel and Jeremiah are both saying, there's gonna come a day where there's gonna be a new covenant, a new law. And God is gonna do something different in this new covenant that he hasn't done before. He's gonna give people a new heart and a new spirit, and he's gonna put the law within them. So the law is no longer gonna be written on the tablets of stone. It's gonna be written on people's hearts. But he's gotta give them a new heart and a new spirit in order to do that. And so what do we have in the ministry of Jesus? We have the fulfillment of these prophetic words from Jeremiah and Ezekiel happening in the ministry of Jesus. So Jesus is now saying, whoa, whoa, whoa, I didn't come to abolish the law, I came to fulfill it. I came so that new covenant believers, New Testament believers, would have a new heart and a new spirit, and they would not only have the requirements of the law placed on them, but they wouldn't be burdens. They would actually be able to fulfill the righteous requirements of the law. See, in the Old Testament, God gave a law, but wasn't able to give the means by which anyone could obey the law. He could only give the law, not help anybody obey it. Now, in the New Testament, the law isn't abolished, it's fulfilled because the same law applies. Love your neighbor as yourself. Love the Lord your God, with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. But in addition to getting the law, now I have a heart that seeks after God. I have a spirit that's on the inside of me that helps me to obey. I have the law, not just as an external thing that's outside of me, but is written on the tablets of my heart that that is the fulfillment of the law. Not that any of these laws are bad or archaic or need to change. Actually, here's what God says. Here's what Jesus says. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven. What was the. The. The religion of the Scribes and the Pharisees? Just, hey, maintain your behavior. As long as you don't have adultery or cheat on your wife, you're good. Jesus comes and says, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm not just here for behavior modification. I'm here for your heart. Even if you look at someone with lust, you are in sin because now your righteousness has to exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees. Because I did not come to abolish my father's good law. I came to actually cause you to fulfill the law. And I'm going to do something for you on the cross which will cleanse you so that you can actually receive the Holy Spirit, so that you can live out the righteous requirements of the law, and so that your righteousness will actually exceed that of the Scribes and the Pharisees. What if I told you that what you're learning in this video was just the tip of the iceberg? The Bible department is actually powered by arma. What is arma? I'm so glad you asked. ARMA is an online subscription based platform that we designed to help people, everyday people learn the Bible for themselves. We started ARMA so that anybody, anywhere could have access to trustworthy and entertaining Bible and theology content. In addition to this podcast, we have over 60 courses on individual books of the Bible, on theology topics, and on some hot topics like homosexuality, tithing, and women in ministry. But really, ARMA is a community. A community of people that I've gotten to know. A community where thousands of people are currently finding family, asking questions and nerding out on the Bible together. If you want a community to read the Bible with you this year, or if you want to dive into some deeper theological content, or if you want more exclusive access to me and the entire armor team, how about you go to thebibledepartment.com I'll be sure to post the link in the description of this video. Let's make this your year to become a Bible nerd. That's our nerdy nugget. In order to know how Matthew is using the word fulfill here In Matthew, chapter 5, verse 17, we have to know how he uses the word fulfill in the entire book, which then leads us to Jeremiah and Ezekiel, which helps us to interpret this verse in context of everything that Matthew's actually doing, which leads us to our timeless truth. Our timeless truth is found in Matthew, chapter six, verse nine, and it's centered around prayer. But I don't just want to stop at the Lord's Prayer. It says when you pray. Okay, when you pray, I want you to pray like this, okay? Our Father, hallowed be thy name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. The core of this actually hinges on Humility. Okay. Some of us think you have a problem praying because you're not good at scheduling or. Cause you don't have discipline or self control. Nope. I'm here to tell you that the issue is actually arrogance. You think that you don't need prayer. If you were aware of your desperate need for the spirit of the Lord and for God's grace on you, then you'd be praying. But here's the next one, okay? And when you fast, okay, there's instructions about fasting, there's instructions about giving, there's instructions about all this stuff. And what does it all hinge on? Humility. Not secrecy, but humility. Now, I would say that Matthew 6, 9, 13 should be a. A template for how we should pray. Number one, we should always pray with thanksgiving. First, Hallowed be thy name. Before I ask God for anything, I'm gonna praise him and worship him and give him thanks. Because thanks turns what I have into more than enough. I don't know how many people. This is your testimony? There are times where I start my prayer time with thanking the Lord. And by the time I'm done thanking God, I forgot why I even started petitioning him in the first place. So we never petition before praise. We always praise, then petition. Next. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The first thing I want to petition God for is not what I need, but that his kingdom would come. I care more about his kingdom than my personal needs. Next. Give us this day our daily bread. God, give me the stuff that I need. Next. Forgive our debt as we have forgiven given our debtors. It's already a given that I have forgiven the people in my life. And last, lead us not into temptation. Please deliver us from evil. And then I'm gonna end that prayer with. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. Okay, so our timeless truth is that that prayer has been prayed by Christians for 2000 years and it's still relevant today. As relevant today as it was when Jesus originally taught his disciples to pray that prayer. I think that's a good prayer to commit to memory if you are a new Christian. I think that you should memorize this prayer. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. I know it in the King James. You should commit this prayer to memory. I think that it's good for people in church to say this prayer on a weekly basis. I think that this prayer is a good thing to memorize and to recite. But I also think it's good as a format or a template for prayer. And you can insert your own words, but keep the template the way that it is, because it's a great template. Okay. That we praise the Lord, then we petition him for kingdom things, and then we ask for personal provision, and then we pray through forgiveness. And then we bind the hand of the enemy. Okay. And we address rulers and dark powers of wickedness and dark forces in the world. And we speak boldly to the enemy and silence him. And that is spiritual warfare is a part of how we should pray as believers every single time we pray. Okay, that is day 56. Okay, we got day 57. Tomorrow we're gonna be in Matthew chapter 9, 10, 11 and 12. We got four more chapters tomorrow. I'll see you right here. Super, super pumped to be going through Matthew with you and really proud of you. Okay. If you are on a 56 day streak, I'm so proud. I'm so proud. I know I'm not your pastor, but I'm so, so, so, so, so proud of you. And I'll see you right here for day 57. Love you guys. Peace. Thanks so much for joining us on the Bible Department podcast. You can find us online and learn more about the show at the Bible Department and on Instagram Hebible Department. If you enjoyed this episode and want to dive deeper into the Bible, you can get free access to our library of courses@thebibledepartment.com we'll see you back here tomorrow.