Let's Meet the King, Part 2

Imagine what it would have been like to walk alongside Jesus as he conducted his ministry on earth. Think about the people you'd mean the conversation should have and how your love for Jesus would grow as you saw his compassion and felt his grace today on Insight for living. Chuck Swindoll presents a brand-new study through the gospel according to Matthew. Essentially, this series gives us an occasion to rollback the calendar 2000 years to experience the ministry of Jesus in real time, Chuck titled his first message, let's meet in the quietness of this moment, our father, we are grateful for relationship with you that has brought peace in place of chaos and has brought relief in place of guilt has brought hope in place of emptiness and has introduced us to one who knows us the best yet loves us the most. Your son Jesus.

We never tire of worship.

We route we weary of activities, even religious activities. There are times when we long for just moments with you or we might get to know you better and understand you more in depth than we have before we have no idea what the future holds. We couldn't predict what this year will be like, or even tomorrow. You told us. Another parts of your word that your life is a vapor, it appears for a little while and then vanishes away use the things we discovered, to remind us over and over that we really are not ready to live until we are ready to die and being ready to die were able to grasp all that life has for us and live it to the full. Thank you father today for the reminder that your love for us is constant unconditional pure that it comes to us again and again.

Often when we least expect it today on this day of worship. We thank you again for your profound gift to us in your son Jesus. Teach us in the years we walk with you to become increasingly more unselfish as we share the good news is we share from our own treasure that this message might spread far beyond the familiar world in which we live. May our gifts today take that message and spread it far and wide. We release that with great joy and faith. Just as we give our gifts today in the name of Christ our Lord. Everyone said Matthew Swindoll.

Be sure to download his searching the Scriptures. Studies by going to Insight world.org/studies another message from Chuck entitled, let's meet the king the book we began this study is a book filled with this story is the story of the great King who left the riches of heaven to become a commenter on this earth that we the commoners after believing in him would become the regal children in his family.

No one ever said it better than Paul. Second Corinthians 89.

You know the grace of our Lord Jesus, though he was rich, yet for our sakes became poor but we through his poverty might be rich. Only a God of surprises would've come up with a plan that magnificent. It's our joy to begin the day to take on the study of this gospel story, I provided you with an outline of the like you to keep your eye on it as we work our way through it.

Have your pen ready or your pencil given you four columns that marked out the four Gospels, but you might want to write in the margin.

The meaning of the word gospel is an Anglo-Saxon word good spell. It comes from a term that means good news so the gospel would be the good news. The good news of Matthew. The good news of Mark.

The good news of the good news of John now with that in mind, be ready to write in each column, various things. Matthew presents Jesus as the King support chain below his name.

You will see all the way through the writing of Matthew, the King, the king, the Messiah promised one. Matthew was written to Jews. That's why there were so many references of Jewish significance. References to the law. References to the customs references to the feast and events of the Jews very familiar to Jews. Now let's go back to the outline and noticed that there is a writer and he writes for a reason to begin with the writer in this book.

Of course, is Matthew he's only called Matthew in this book Mark and Luke calling Levi no doubt Jesus gave him the name Matthew back for your note. You may want to note it means gift of God. Gift of Yahweh.

So God chose the Lord Jesus chose Levi to walk with him and he chose this man giving him a name gift of God. What a man he was now one of the right.

Well, Matthew writes obviously to show us that the king who is calm is worthy of our trust.

He is that that's the reason. Matthew put his words together.

He wants us to know this is written by a man who knew him personally walk with him was among the disciples about their family what we know about them will first let me have the Lord of the list.

Look at Matthew 10 square the Lord gives us a list of all the disciples there in verse two. Here are the names of the 12 apostles. You can read Simon called Peter Andrews. Peter's brother James is the son of Zebedee, John, James's brothers. We've already got brothers, James and John. They were called. Otherwise, sons of thunder.

They had a real anger problem of the subject and then Philip comes along. Martha Bartholomew is mentioned Thomas, who was a twin named didymus in John's Gospel meeting twin peers. Matthew parenthesis the tax collector James son about the us Thaddeus Simon the zealot and Judas Iscariot study the name the study. The list of these names for a few moments. You can't tell by looking but no doubt it's pretty close through probable that Matthew and James the son about the us were brother C. Matthew followed by James and another gospel writer in another gospel to others.

Matthew I should say Mark and Luke. Mattie was called son of Althea's just as James is there brothers listen to the writings of Michael Green, who adheres about this fascinating family we learn from Mark and Luke. That Matthew was the son of Althea's and so was Jane Mark 318 as well is Matthew 10 verse two. They were, therefore, brothers, and at the end of the applied apostolic list for all its variations, we find James son of Althea's Thaddeus Simon the zealot and Judas Iscariot for the last four who were named we know that Simon was a zealot not to be confused with Simon Peter C down next to the last. Simon is called the zealot what is that mean that is to say a violent resistance fighter against the occupying Roman forces very likely Judas Iscariot was one as well. One of the more probable derivations for his name is sick.

Carious. The word means dagger carrier.

He carried a dagger he would be among those so bent on resistance that they were ready to assassinate and the dagger was always handy. Judas knows no doubt was the most zealous of the 12, which explains his departure from the faith.

He never was really a believer in the Lord Jesus, but he followed Jesus, believing Jesus would overthrow the Romans and you live for that and when he realized he would not be doing that Judas turned on them. It's another subject will go into at some of the time back to this quote most of the common people of Israel were people of nationalistic patriotism, but his brother Matthew or Levi was totally different. To follow this carefully. James is a zealot. He's a son is about the us so is Levi, but Levi's different as he grew up he formed taxes for Herod Antipas.

He cooperated with the occupying power that his brother was set on seeking to overthrow with the blood a revolution. Imagine that you're a strong right-winger and you have a left wing liberal for brother and to make matters worse, he works for the IRS and so here you are with her brother completely different agenda in life that you have and you wind up with the same list of disciple I told you he was a got a surprise it's only a life and a person like Christ could change the hard of a Matthew and while I'm at it, change the heart of James who must've grown up prejudiced against his own brother, Matthew was a Quisling. James was a freedom fighter. Here they are winding up, not just in the same family, but among the same body of disciples. He writes in conclusion, it took Jesus of Nazareth to bring the two brothers together. Nobody else could you know will not let that go without an application.

Some of you are sisters or brothers to someone who is totally different. You're convinced of one frame of thinking and your sibling is convinced of another. You don't walk together. You don't think alike.

You don't vote alike, you aren't in the same camp and I'm sure people who know both of you have said to you on occasion it was hard to believe that your sisters or that your brother's because you're so different you know what's the shame of all that your tendency is to write them off.

Things he so right wing you will never make a left turn or the other side.

He so liberal he can think outside the boundaries of the liberalism bead and on top of that the IRS what you expect to I will go any further I get an amen. If I go further so not going to go there but you know what I'm saying now bring Jesus into the picture. All of a sudden all of your habit of writing office to stop will warn you about writing anybody off because you need a reminder.

Someone probably once wrote you off and look at where you are today. Your background maybe you're not a Quisling. Maybe you're not a fraud, but truth be told, you've done some things you're ashamed of. So if I were all sinners. Sorry sinners you don't deserve the breath it's in our lungs and along came Christ who said to us want you to follow me show you how this works its way out while I'm on this sort of personal side, go back a chapter to Matthew 911, thoughts like this. Matthew nine is Jesus. Verse nine is walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector who by the way is the last places you ever want to go that was a strong right-winger stay away from those crooks sit away from those people. They want your money. By the way, it's good to have me to add this before I go any further.

Matthew being a tax collector. It took the life of Jesus to change him.

They were as much hated as social pariahs.

The Jews class them with murderers.

They weren't even welcome in the synagogue there were two kinds of taxes. There was the fixed tax made up of ground tax, grain and wine taxes oil tax from tax income tax and poll tax. Those with fixed taxes and then there were the arbitrary taxes levied on customs transport exports and imports, the former that is the fixed tax had a fixed percentage well known by everybody was figure to be about 25%.

It was in the latter category that there was limitless opportunity for bribery and extortion. They made the publicans that made the public and so hated. To make matters worse. Matthew worked under the employee of Herod and to put us who in turn had to make massive block tax disbursements to the swine of Rome. It was a very lucrative place in which to work.

This is the man who was changed from his disreputable profession to become a follower of Jesus.

Now all that is the background I want you to get the picture of Levi before Christ got a hold of this is not the first time he hears all of our meats. Christ, I think there have been weeks of the pathways follow from a distance and maybe even believe in his heart that this is Messiah doesn't quite know what to do without. With all of this not look closely, Jesus comes along. He sees Matthew sitting in the collector's booth and rather than walking away as all the other freedom fighters would have done.

He walks in and says follow me and be my disciple. Matthew got up and followed. Think about it sheet though he was.

He was rich he has made money on the hide of fellow Jews hated why would he want to be numbered among those are going to follow Jesus there filled with people are going to hate people like him.

It was the power of Christ, the druid read on. I love this part later Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home.

I'm sure it was a big place, really big place. He invited them to be as dinner guests along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners that mean much to you because we want tax collectors today, but we do will be colored by the names but let's say you have a party and you bring in a bunch of your friends from the IRS and you bring your buddies along with those with whom you once worked were all together at one table is not going to be fun. I could just imagine some of you would respond to that.

I'm sure you'd be very gracious, but we read verse 31, I should say verse 11 when the Pharisees saw this so what this whole group sitting together for dinner, disreputable sinners, tax collectors, people that are hated, as well as those the site when the Pharisees saw this, they said to the disciples. What is your teacher eat with such skull. These are Pharisees looking in from the outside. They wouldn't dare go in there and get their garments soiled by this story, but to sinners sitting around the table. Milligan Jesus response.

He said healthy people don't need a doctor.

Sick people do. Then he added. Now you go and learn the meaning of the Scripture. I want you to show mercy not offer sacrifices. They're all busy doing all their sacrifices, older fees, other customs don't go that route going show mercy for I've come to call not those who think they are righteous with those who know they are sinners.

By the way, do you know that about yourself. Honestly, there are some so smug and snobbish that consider that an insulting question. If you are born without Christ. As you are and if you're living your life without God you have no righteousness. Although you have status, although you may have all the stuff that money can buy your center.

Not until you acknowledge that and see yourself is that, would you ever come anywhere near the ranks of those who were followers of Christ. No one comes to Jesus who doesn't first see herself or himself as a sinner because when you see yourself in that light. You have no trouble believing in one who can save you from your plight because the tragedy is if you are like most is that you die in your sins and you have nothing when you face eternity to bring you before God clothed in the righteousness of Christ that you're not surrounded by personally righteous people today. You're not hearing the words of a righteous person and myself. I'm a sinner that's been delivered from my sin by the grace of God like everyone of you know Christ has what the Pharisees could never see all he could see was the sinfulness of life. They didn't realize they were the same camp in need of a physician as much as any other center. I love this thought was one man writes when Jesus called Matthew as he sat at his receipt of custom Matthew rose up followed him left everything behind him except one thing is pin's not good. He brought along his pin seat with the other disciples that they were writers. The fishermen are people who work the trades Matthew made his living writing that's why when you read through Matthew you if you find it excellent, excellent Greek excellent writing easy well as DA Carson writes Matthew was a skilled literary craftsman and gave his gospel structure form and rhythm that the Matthew were going to be studying. It will be a book of structure, form and rhythm as far as his styles and phrases are concerned.

Just keep in mind what he loves to refer to proceed on the chart. He refers 32 different times to the kingdom of heaven. That's a phrase he loves.

He also we will refer to the law he will refer to custom to refer to many of the Jewish traditions because it's a Jewish gospel written to fellow Jews and by the way welder on the subject of styles and phrases get this only 20 references to the Old Testament or in John's Gospel, 25 are in Luke's gospel 36 Old Testament references are in Mark's gospel. 53 are in Matthew gospel did you get them. 53. In Matthew 36 in Luke 25 in I'm sorry 36 and Mark 25 in the John's Gospel when we start over. Shall I there were 20 in John's Gospel 25 in Luke's there were 36 in Marx and 53 in Matthew got. That said nothing. Use the theme Jesus Christ is Israel's Messiah. Jesus Christ is Israel's Messiah. I think we have those facts straight. Now at a course the most important one is underscoring that Jesus Christ is Israel's Messiah you're listening to Insight for living Chuck Swindoll titled the first message in his new study of Matthew. Let's meet the king to learn more about this ministry. Visit us online@insightworld.org and the fact that Jesus is Israel's Messiah will be our theme over the next several months.

If I could better part of the year as Chuck guides us through a verse by verse study of Matthew.

Start with the birth of our king and traces footsteps all the way through his great commission. Now, in conjunction with this broadcast series. You'll be glad to learn that Chuck has just completed a commentary on Matthew and it's available right now.

In fact, because of the scope of this study Chuck's commentary comes into hardbound volumes. The set is called swindles living inside commentary for Matthew. Whether you're new to the Bible or your teaching the Bible is a pastor, you'll find Chuck's approach to Matthew, both scholarly and accessible and is written in the engaging style that's become a hallmark of Chuck's teaching to purchase swindles living inside commentary for Matthew go to Insight.org/store if you prefer to call us your listening in the United States dial 1-800-772-8888 Insight for living ministries is supported not by the purchase of commentaries but through the voluntary contributions of grateful listeners and we invite you to join our mission to introduce King Jesus to 195 countries of the world to give a donation, call us again if you're listening in the US, call 1-800-772-8880. Many are choosing to automate the giving by becoming a monthly companion.

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Call us listening in the US., 1-800-772-8888 can easily sign up online insight time or/monthly companion. Let's meet the Friday insight for living. The preceding message. Let's meet the king was copyrighted in 2014 and 2021 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R.

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