FBC Beaumont

The Sermon on the Mount moves logically from the attitudes of the blessed life to the purpose of the blessed life. The purpose of spiritual blessing is to be a blessing to others. The primary analogies Jesus uses for the kingdom influence of His people in the world are that of “salty salt” and “lights set on lampstands.”

The Sermon on the Mount is the greatest sermon ever preached. The main question Jesus is answering is: “What is true righteousness?” Jesus flips the “religious script” of the spiritual leaders of the day who believed in a primarily external type of self-righteousness. Jesus, the master teacher, does not begin His sermon by harping on these religious leaders but just points out that character flows...

The first disciples of Jesus were called with a specific message, method, and mission. The choice of mostly fishermen was both convenient and strategic. These men were summoned to become “fishers of men,” in part because they already knew how both “fish” and “water currents” worked. They were, by the nature of their career, faithful, bold, adaptive, busy, and patient people. As kingdom men and wom...

The temptation of Jesus allows the enemy of God (Satan) to affirm Jesus’s identity as the king as well. King Jesus was tempted by Satan so that every creature, both angelical and earthly, would know that Jesus is both Christ and Conqueror.

The baptism of Jesus reads as an unusual, out-of-the-ordinary event. The Son of God baptized? The Spirit of God descending? The Father God speaking? This of course was all “fitting” to “fulfill all righteousness” as Jesus prepares to become our perfect substitute in life and in death on the cross.

Greco-Roman rulers would always have their visits announced by an official herald before their arrival. These envoys would prepare the way for the King’s visit by making proclamations and preparations. They served as both the king’s “secret service” and his “hype man.” John the Baptist fulfills these political and prophetic expectations (Is. 40:3; Mal. 3:1) by preparing the way for King Jesus. Joh...

Matthew concludes his narration of Jesus' early childhood by showing the humility of His Kingship. This approachable King was born in a humble village and grew up in a despised city. The humility of King Jesus does not just make Him easier to approach in times of need, but His "lowly and gentle" heart (Mt. 11:29) is certainly something for us to imitate in our own lives (Phil. 2:1–13).

Matthew does not spend time on the narrative of Jesus as a baby but skips ahead two years to show the contrast between how the gentiles responded to His birth and how the people of Israel responded. Jesus is shown to be prophetically born in Bethlehem and contrasted with the current “king” who is there at that time: Herod. In the gifts given by the Magi we see symbolically who Jesus is, what He ca...

2. Matthew balances Jesus' human heredity against His divine heredity. As the perfect union of God and man, Jesus could and would represent humanity flawlessly in His sacrificial monarchy. The mission of the cross is hidden in the message of the cradle.

Matthew’s gospel was largely written for a Jewish audience and begins by answering the most important question a Jew would ask in relation to the Kingdom of the Messiah: how can Jesus claim to be King of the Jews? Matthew traces Jesus' pedigree through David, Judah, Abraham, and the surprisingly gracious inclusions of 5 women (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary).