Kingdom Disciples

Fulfillment is a key theme in the Gospel of Matthew . With the arrival of the Messiah, the time of fulfillment began. What were the implications for the Law of Moses? In his ‘ Sermon on the Mount ’, Jesus provides clear answers. He did not come to settle the interpretive disputes between competing Jewish sects over the details of the Law but to FULFILL the “ Law and the Prophets .”

Jesus began to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God in Galilee after the arrest of John the Baptist. That incident foreshadowed the opposition he would face throughout his ministry. Resistance to his efforts would culminate in his arrest, trial, and execution. His message brought fulfillment but also opposition. Unlike the ancient prophets, his work did not begin or center in Jerusalem, though it certainly ended there - (Matthew 4:13).

Jesus is the true Sanctuary of God that was foreshadowed in the ancient religious structures and worship rituals of the nation of Israel. He is the dwelling place of God’s presence and glory and the true and final mediator between Heaven and Earth. The man from Nazareth was the Temple “made-without-hands” that was destroyed by evil men but restored when his Father raised him from the dead.

The Bible speaks of the “ mysteries ” of God, His ways that are hidden from this world’s “wisdom” and defy human expectations. In his teachings, Jesus declared that not everyone can understand the “ mysteries of the kingdom .” It is God who reveals the deep and obscure things to whomever He pleases, and in His Son, He has done so for all the world to see. In the death and resurrection of the Nazarene, God has disclosed His true nature and the salvation that He now offers to all men and women.

The promises of God find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. “ IN HIM ,” they find their “ yea ” and “ amen .” The things that were once “ hidden ” are revealed in the life, words, death, resurrection, and exaltation of the Son of God, the one in whom all the shadows and types prefigured in the Hebrew Bible are actualized. All God’s “ mysteries ” are laid bare for all men to see in the Nazarene, especially in his death and resurrection.