Talk of JESUS .com

Tag: Matthew

11 Witnesses to Jesus Risen! – the Eleven
HE IS RISEN!
‘HE IS RISEN, INDEED,’ goes a traditional response.
Christ Born & Witnessed, Crucified, Risen, Ascended..
Continuing Witness to Jesus’ Resurrection!
Witnesses to Jesus Risen! – Mary Magdalene
John 20 continued
(Not Twelve, but the Eleven – one)
The Holy Spirit & Forgiven Sins
Ministry of the Twelve (then Eleven)
Matthew 10:
Matthew 10: continued Complete Jewish Bible [CJB]
John 20 continued
Next:
Christ Born & Witnessed, Crucified, Risen, Ascended..

If you haven’t been following this series you will likely ask, “Why is he talking of Easter during this Advent season of Christmas in the year of our Lord, 2020?”

My dear brother or sister in Christ,

Allow me to ask you a question:

Do you talk of Jesus OR ‘christmas’?

Christians and non-Christians alike will focus on the ‘.COMmercial‘ obligations of this ‘holiday’ season so much more than the CHRIST of ‘christmas.’ And in fact, (in case you haven’t heard) Jesus, Emmanuel or God With Us was most likely NOT born DECEMBER 25.

(Forget the ‘.com‘ technical choice of my Christian Social Witness – talkofJesus.com for my personal & shared talk of Jesus Christ.)

Has Christmas not become MORE important than EASTER in the witness of the 21st c. Church?

How like the world we have become.

Many 21st c. ‘christians’ also witness the risen JESUS of the resurrection, celebrated by eggs and bunnies impersonalized and separated from the Person of God, without witness of the Person symbolized, He who died for sinners and defeated death!

Yes, JESUS IS born as a man-child like no other. Yet our witness must remember the shadow of the Cross on a newborn’s manger and the glory and hope through CHRIST’s resurrection.

Continuing Witness to Jesus’ Resurrection!

Our journey through Scripture in this year of our Lord 2020, continues in the Good News of John. We have just begun to revisit the personal witness of many who testify to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

As a reminder to contemporary readers of John’s Gospel:
- Jesus was crucified around the year AD 30
- John writes his Gospel to the churches in about AD 85
Witnesses to Jesus Risen! – Mary Magdalene

Some who witnessed the risen Jesus fifty years earlier still lived!

As we continue in John’s Good News and Mary’s announcement of Jesus’ resurrection, we begin to hear his Gospel through the ears of others. See Jesus with their eyes and experience the risen Christ through their personal touch and interaction with the risen Lord Jesus.

Mary Magdalene came and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her.
John 20:18 NASB

What command had the risen Lord given Mary?

“..go to My brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’”

John and Simon Peter have already run to the empty tomb where the crucified Body of Jesus had been placed prior to celebration of the feast of the Passover and observing of the Sabbath. Then they returned not yet having seen the Lord.

John 20 continued

It had been morning when the women had first seen the empty tomb before summoning John and Peter.

19 Now when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week..

.. and when the doors were shut where the disciples were together due to fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and said to them, “Peace be to you.”

20 Having said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

(Not Twelve, but the Eleven – one)

We mentioned previously that Judas Iscariot, Jesus’ betrayer has hanged himself. John will mention shortly that Thomas also is not present.
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And just one additional reminder: 
the eleven Disciples, Jesus and His family are all Jews.
Though their common language is Greek or locally Arabic,
the Complete Jewish Bible [CJB] (used here occasionally) gives flavor of Jesus as the Messiah of Israel.
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21 “Shalom aleikhem!” Yeshua repeated.

“Just as the Father sent me, I myself am also sending you.”

22 Having said this, he breathed on them and said to them,

“Receive the Ruach HaKodesh!

The Holy Spirit & Forgiven Sins

“Receive ye the Holy Ghost,” translates the King James and most versions read, “the Holy Spirit.”

What follows should sound familiar if you have followed the great commission of Jesus to the Twelve Disciples given earlier in His earthly ministry and all returned to Jesus amazed.

23 If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”

What an astounding authority Jesus has given to the Apostles through the Holy Spirit!

Many Jewish disciples will know it well from the Psalms of David. Gentile Christians to whom John now also witnesses may know it from Paul’s letter [ca. AD 56.] to the Romans [4:7].

לְדָוִד מַשְׂכִּיל אַשְׁרֵי נְֽשׂוּי־פֶּשַׁע כְּסוּי חֲטָאָֽה׃

אַשְֽׁרֵי אָדָם לֹא יַחְשֹׁב יְהוָה לֹו עָוֹן וְאֵין בְּרוּחֹו רְמִיָּה׃

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
Psalm 32:1-2 WLC, KJV

The Lord has instructed His Disciples on how they must judge their fellow saints and others with unfailing grace and mercy in His Name, especially forgiving those who also follow Jesus as their Lord and their God.

Ministry of the Twelve (then Eleven)
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Eleven now and again Twelve Apostles after Mathias replaces Judas Iscariot
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Although John reveals much of the Holy Spirit, he does not reiterate what is already well known of the ministry of the Twelve prior to Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection. (Remember John writes this decades later to his beloved fellow saints of the church.)

Jesus had previously given the Twelve a taste of this awesome power over sin in the lives of others.

Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming.
Luke 9:28-29
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Most of the following is also witnessed in Luke's Gospel Chapter 9:
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Matthew 10:

Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

Now the names of the twelve apostles are these:
1. The first, Simon, who is called Peter,
2. and Andrew his brother;
3. and James the son of Zebedee,
4. and John his brother;
5. Philip
6. and Bartholomew [son of Talmai];
7. Thomas [not present for Jesus’ first appearance]
8. and Matthew the tax collector;
9. James the son of Alphaeus,
10. and Thaddaeus;
11. Simon the Zealot,
12. and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him [who hanged himself].
Matthew 10:5 continues:

These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them:

“Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
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(Of course Christ commissioned these to go to all of these after His resurrection.)
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“And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
It is Jesus’ urgent appeal to the Jews through the Twelve – Matthew 10:7 NASB

Matthew 10: continued Complete Jewish Bible [CJB]

7 As you go, proclaim, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is near,’ 8 heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those afflicted with tzara’at, expel demons…

12 When you enter someone’s household, say, ‘Shalom aleikhem!’ If the home deserves it, let your shalom rest on it; if not, let your shalom return to you. But if the people of a house or town will not welcome you or listen to you, leave it and shake its dust from your feet!

Yes, I tell you, it will be more tolerable on the Day of Judgment for the people of S’dom and ‘Amora than for that town!

16 “Pay attention! I am sending you out like sheep among wolves, so be as prudent as snakes and as harmless as doves.

Be on guard, for there will be people who will hand you over to the local Sanhedrins and flog you in their synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as a testimony to them and to the Goyim.

19 But when they bring you to trial, do not worry about what to say or how to say it; when the time comes, you will be given what you should say. For it will not be just you speaking, but the Spirit of your heavenly Father speaking through you.

Therefore when Jesus appears in Person to the eleven Apostles after His resurrection from the grave, He had already taught them what He is about to say.

John 20 continued

If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them;

if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
John 20:23 CSB – Jesus’ authority given to the Apostles through the Holy Spirit

Next:

John is not making a list of miracles so that the Eleven (who will soon add Mathias as replacement to Judas Iscariot) can convince their first century A.D. followers that Christ IS Risen indeed!

You will find many of these miracles of the Holy Spirit witnessed in the Acts of the Apostles.

(Again, when John wrote his Gospel these had already taken place.)

If you have been following John’s Gospel closely you may have noticed my intentional oversight of some detail about the Disciples. Thomas, who was not present with the other eleven will appears next [vs. 24-29].

We will begin with Thomas next time.

Also, John has much more to say about Peter and we will once again want to add more detail about other Apostles and especially John.

30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.
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To be continued...
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December 9, 2020
Another Day of Silence at the Grave of a Loved One
It’s a familiar scene — loved ones mourning their loss in silence once the dead body can no longer be embraced by eyes or arms.

All that remains are our fleeting memories of a life which has passed into lifeless dust. I have been there. Likely you have as well.

It happens that the Beloved Body laid to rest previously is Jesus Christ.

Perhaps you missed these mourners outside the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea where the remains of Jesus were sealed. In our own grief we lament how such a public spectacle of Jesus’ Crucifixion on a Roman Cross could have been inflicted on the Son of God.

A Day of the silence of the Passover Lamb

“An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.
Matthew 16:4 CSB

Now the LORD had prepared a great fish…

(Certain death: Three days & three nights away.)

Now the LORD had appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah spent three days and three nights in the stomach of the fish.
Jonah 1:17 – with commentaries

Perhaps the bereaving Apostles or distraught mourners had recalled this and other sayings of Jesus.

“A little while, and you will no longer see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me.”
John 16:16 NASB
Christ :: The Three Days and the Three Nights

Don't become too immersed in the discussions of 'days' or 'dates' of Christ's Crucifixion and Resurrection, but for the curious here is an article discussing some of the Jewish calendar issues involved.

After a brief time of carrying His pierced body from the Cross, Joseph and the others must wait until the completion of the Passover feast and until the day after the Sabbath to return and dutifully complete their burial task.
We noted several witnesses to Jesus’ crucifixion previously in It is finished.. + Death’s witnesses. John does not list everyone nor does the Apostle include some additional events.

John has not mentioned Judas Iscariot since his betrayal of the Lord in Gethsemane. Yet Matthew’s Gospel reveals the death of Jesus’ betrayer, the 30 pieces of silver purchasing the field of blood and how it fulfills prophesy.

3 When Y’hudah, who had betrayed him, saw that Yeshua had been condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the head cohanim and elders..

“I sinned in betraying an innocent man to death.”
the confession of Judas Iscariot – Matthew 27:4 HNV

5 Hurling the pieces of silver into the sanctuary, he left; then he went off and hanged himself.

From Crucifixion until Christ’s Resurrection

Before we proceed to John’s witness of Christ’s Resurrection, let’s linger just one more day to note events and witnesses beyond the tomb where Jesus’ body lay.

Matthew 27:

59 And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.

61 And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.

What a sorrowful scene…

And Matthew records:

62 Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate..

64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day..

65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.” And they went and made the tomb secure with the guard, sealing the stone.

Luke 23:

And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man (he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God; this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain. It was the preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.

Now the women who had come with Him out of Galilee followed, and saw the tomb and how His body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes.

(Note the brief amount of time these women John names had to see the tomb, return with spices and just begin the wrapping of Jesus’ slain body.)
- Luke tells us (Luke 23:56b) why they had to leave Jesus’ body until later.
And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.
Luke 24:1 NASB
The Apostle Matthew tells how Joseph wrapped Jesus’ crucified body in a clean line cloth and laid the Lord in a place he had prepared for his own death.
Then Matthew tells us (27:60b NASB):

and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away.

Matthew, the Disciple of Jesus also records the sad scene of silent mourning, where Joseph must have recalled these two women who lingered there.
⁶¹And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.

Joseph rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulcher, and departed.
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To be continued..
.. at dawn the first day of the week ...
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December 4, 2020
It is finished.. + Death’s witnesses
The Sorrow of Souls Severed from each other

Have you experienced it — the death of a loved one?

Death pierces the flesh of those left to mourning in unspeakable ways, but most of all it severs from our soul that of another to which we have clung.

Having breathed His last some time before, Jesus’ crucified body receives yet another piercing by a Roman spear as John and others remain nearby.

.. and having come to Jesus, when they saw him already having been dead, they did not break his legs; but one of the soldiers with a spear did pierce his side, and immediately there came forth blood and water..
John 19:34-35 YLT

The Lord had loved these so much, the ones remaining at the foot of the Cross for six arduous hours, witnessing His life pouring out before them.

The Centurion in effect pierced their own hearts, severing their souls from the One they loved – Jesus, the One who loved them so much.

Witnesses to Emmanuel’s Death!

John records these events of the day of preparation and Passover feast, as we noted earlier in Crucifixion! – The Spirit of Grace, and retells the Good News to a generation near the time of his own death nearly sixty years later.

John 19:

23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided his clothes between them…

25-27 While the soldiers were doing this, Jesus’ mother was standing near the cross with her sister, and with them Mary, the wife of Clopas and Mary of Magdala…

..“Look, there is your son!” And then he said to the disciple, “And there is your mother!”

38-42 After it was all over, Joseph (who came from Arimathaea..).. came and took his body down. Nicodemus also ..

The short list of witnesses:
- Jesus’ mother Mary
- Mary’s sister, Salome
- Mary, the wife of Clopas
- Mary of Magdala
- The Apostle John (of course)
- (and let’s not forget) Roman Soldiers (not named here, but present)
Other Witnesses:

Although their meeting with Pilate likely took place during the time Jesus remained on the Cross, John records that two important Jewish officials succeeded in lobbying Pilate to allow Jesus’ body to be buried in the new tomb of Joseph. They may have witnessed His death and most certainly could confirm His mortal wounds.
- Joseph of Arimathea
- Nicodemus the Pharisee
What about Matthew?

The Apostle Matthew also records Jesus’ crucifixion and was, in fact, a tax collector with political connections to Roman and Jewish authorities. Matthew records earlier events of the evening preceding Jesus’ trial:

Matthew 26: Complete Jewish Bible
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As reminder that John, Matthew and the Apostles are ALL Jewish,
I offer this cultural religious look of the CJB version of Matthews's Gospel about the Messiah Jesus (in Greek, Christ).
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30 After singing the Hallel, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Yeshua then said to them,

“Tonight you will all lose faith in me, as the Tanakh says, ‘I will strike the shepherd dead, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you into the Galil.”

59 The head cohanim and the whole Sanhedrin looked for some false evidence against Yeshua, so that they might put him to death. But they didn’t find any, even though many liars came forward to give testimony…

Matthew 27: Early in the morning, all the head cohanim and elders met to plan how to bring about Yeshua’s death. 2 Then they put him in chains, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor…

The Apostle Matthew seemingly was present not only in Gethsemane, but for Jesus’ trial by the Jewish officials who condemned their Messiah. Matthew also tells the horrific story of Jesus’ scourging.

27 The governor’s soldiers took Yeshua into the headquarters building, and the whole battalion gathered around him. They stripped off his clothes and put on him a scarlet robe, wove thorn-branches into a crown and put it on his head, and put a stick in his right hand. Then they kneeled down in front of him and made fun of him: “Hail to the King of the Jews!” They spit on him and used the stick to beat him about the head.

Add to the list of witnesses:
- The Apostle Matthew
Matthew adds detail of other witnesses to Jesus’ crucifixion:
- a man of Cyrene named Simon
- a Roman officer & other Roman soldiers at Golgotha
32 As they were leaving, they met a man from Cyrene named Shim‘on; and they forced him to carry Yeshua’s execution-stake. When they arrived at a place called Gulgolta (which means “place of a skull”), they gave him wine mixed with bitter gall to drink; but after tasting it, he would not drink it…

54 When the Roman officer and those with him who were keeping watch over Yeshua saw the earthquake and what was happening, they were awestruck and said, “He really was a son of God.”

There were many women present

55 And many women were there watching from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while caring for Him.
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Matthew's Gospel helps clarify who some of these women were and their importance to the Christ Jesus and His beloved friends.
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56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Miryam of Magdala (or from Magdala)

Miryam the mother of Ya‘akov and Yosef, or James and Joses in some translations of common Hebrew names. She is Mary, wife of Clopas and sister of Mary, widow of Joseph.

He also confirms the presence of James’ and John’s mother.

Mark, referring to these same three women gives her name, Salome. Due to the importance of family in Jewish tradition she may also have been a sister of Mary, therefore confirming her sons James and John to be not only Jesus’ closest Disciples but also His cousin.

Why do the Apostles mention these women?

Because the women would survive as witnesses even as all of the Apostles but John were martyred for their witness of Jesus as the Christ and resurrected Messiah of God.

It is the same reason that some Jews, even some of the house of Herod, became believers in Christ. And gentile Romans in every major city would call Jesus Christ Lord by the time John writes his Gospel.

John 19:

40 They took Yeshua’s body and wrapped it up in linen sheets with the spices, in keeping with Judean burial practice.

41 In the vicinity of where he had been executed was a garden, and in the garden was a new tomb in which no one had ever been buried. So, because it was Preparation Day for the Judeans, and because the tomb was close by, that is where they buried Yeshua.

παρασκευή +++ All must remember the Sabbath

There they buried Jesus, His body taken from the Cross on the Day of Preparation for the Passover.

“And it shall be from new moon to new moon
And from sabbath to sabbath,
All mankind will come to bow down before Me,”
says the LORD.
Isaiah 66:23 NASB
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To be continued...
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Page TWO - Please click Page 2 below for the questions.
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November 13, 2020