Donnels Creek Church

  • Jesus Came to Die to Learn Obedience and Be Perfected

    Today’s Lent reading reinforces what has been taught the past three Sundays at the Creek. We have been in Matthew 4:1-11 and much focus was on the humanity of Christ and while in the flesh he learned to obey and be led by the Lord.

    Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. Hebrews 5:8

    For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.
    Hebrews 2:10

    The very book in the Bible that says Christ “learned obedience” through suffering, and that he was “made perfect” through suffering, also says that he was “without sin.” “In every respect [Christ] has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

    This is the consistent teaching of the Bible. Christ was sinless. Although he was the divine Son of God, he was really human, with all our temptations and appetites and physical weaknesses. There was hunger (Matthew 21:18) and anger and grief (Mark 3:5) and pain (Matthew 17:12). But his heart was perfectly in love with God, and he acted consistently with that love: “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth” (1 Peter 2:22).

    Therefore, when the Bible says that Jesus “learned obedience through what he suffered,” it doesn’t mean that he learned to stop disobeying. It means that with each new trial he learned in practice—and in pain—what it means to obey.

    When it says that he was “made perfect through suffering,” it doesn’t mean that he was gradually getting rid of defects. It means that he was gradually fulfilling the perfect righteousness that he had to have in order to save us.

    That’s what he said at his baptism. He didn’t need to be baptized because he was a sinner. Rather, he explained to John the Baptist, “Thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15).

    The point is this: If the Son of God had gone from incarnation to the cross without a life of temptation and pain to test his righteousness and his love, he would not be a suitable Savior for fallen man. His suffering not only absorbed the wrath of God. It also fulfilled his true humanity and made him able to call us brothers and sisters (Hebrews 2:17).

    John Piper, 50 Reasons Christ Came to Die

    Reflection

    1. Please meditate and ponder upon this and, if journaling, write a response of your reaction to this teaching.
    2. In what way did living through suffering make Christ able to make atonement for sin?
    3. In what ways does considering Christ an “elder brother” help make him more real and relatable to you?

  • Psalm 41

    Blessed is the one who considers the poor!
        In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;
    2 the Lord protects him and keeps him alive;
        he is called blessed in the land;
        you do not give him up to the will of his enemies.
    3 The Lord sustains him on his sickbed;
        in his illness you restore him to full health.

    4 As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me;
        heal me, for I have sinned against you!”
    5 My enemies say of me in malice,
        “When will he die, and his name perish?”
    6 And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words,
        while his heart gathers iniquity;
        when he goes out, he tells it abroad.
    7 All who hate me whisper together about me;
        they imagine the worst for me.

    8 They say, “A deadly thing is poured out on him;
        he will not rise again from where he lies.”
    9 Even my close friend in whom I trusted,
        who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
    10 But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
        and raise me up, that I may repay them!

    11 By this I know that you delight in me:
        my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.
    12 But you have upheld me because of my integrity,
        and set me in your presence forever.

    13 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
        from everlasting to everlasting!
    Amen and Amen.

    Reflection

    1. In what ways were you at one time considered poor?
    2. How can Jesus say, “I have sinned against you,” v.4? (compare with 2 Corinthians 5:21)
    3. In what ways are you comforted knowing that this one, in the Psalm, who prays is also in the presence of the Lord forever?

    content by Ed Killian and Chad Bird

  • The Work of Christ in Propitiation & Expiation

    Today continues a thought from yesterday on propitiation but adds something called expiation. This article is important to know but also a bit more on the theological side of Christ’s work. The sacrifices in the Old Law were a type of what was to come in the Messiah. L. Michael Morales explains in brief the way Christ fulfills the sacrificial system.

    In the world of the first century, Roman crucifixion was not only a horrific form of torture, reserved for the lowest dregs of the criminal class, but it was also associated with severe shame.

    Not only were Roman citizens exempt from this humiliating death, but even the word crucifixion was avoided in social gatherings. In the Jewish mind-set, crucifixion was seen through the lens of Deuteronomy 21:23, which declares that anyone who hangs on a tree is cursed of God (see also Gal. 3:13).

    Given such a reality, how is it that the Apostle Paul, along with the rest of the New Testament authors, determined to know nothing but “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2), even to placard publicly Jesus as crucified in preaching (Gal. 3:1) and, indeed, to boast in nothing else except “the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (6:14)?

    The answer lies, in part, in the sacrificial system of the old covenant temple. God, to the praise of His unsearchable wisdom, gave ancient Israel sacrifices to serve as theological tools, instructing His people about the remedy for sin and the need for reconciliation with God.

    After the resurrection of Jesus and the outpouring of His Holy Spirit, the Apostles were enabled to discern in the pages of the Old Testament Scriptures how the system of sacrificial worship had been divinely ordained for the sake of unfolding the wonders of Christ and His accomplished work on the cross (e.g., Rom. 3:21–26; Heb. 9:16–10:18). The categories of sacrifice enabled the paradigm shift to seeing the cross of Christ not as a source of deep embarrassment but rather—and wondrously—as God’s greatest gift to humanity and His highest demonstration of love for sinners (Rom. 5:8).

    Two theological concepts of sacrifice are especially noteworthy for understanding the death of Jesus on the cross as the only sacrifice able to secure pardon from our sins and definitive reconciliation with God: expiation and propitiation.

    Expiation refers to the cleansing of sin and removal of sin’s guilt. In the sacrificial system of Israel, blood was collected from an animal’s severed arteries and then manipulated in a variety of ways. Blood was smeared, sprinkled, tossed, and poured out. Remember, “the life of the flesh is in the blood.” (Leviticus 17:11) Displaying the blood before God demonstrated that a life, had endured death, the wages of sin.

    Propitiation refers to the soothing of God’s righteous wrath and gaining of His favor. We find a vivid portrayal of the appeasing of God’s wrath as we reflect now on the whole burnt offering. Israel’s worship was founded on the whole burnt offering, so much so that the altar, the central focus of worship, was even dubbed “the altar of burnt offering” (Ex. 30:28).

    Jesus fulfilled the Levitical system of sacrifice only because He offered Himself up to God on the cross as One who had fulfilled the law. In His tormented night of prayer in Gethsemane He had prayed, “My Father . . . not as I will, but as you will” (Matt. 26:39), and then He drank the cup of divine judgment as our blameless substitute. Jesus’ life of complete and loving devotion to God, offered up to the Father by the Spirit and through the cross—this is the appeasing of God’s wrath.

    Because Jesus’ suffering was as a vicarious* penal substitute, sinners can find rest for their souls. A Christian basks securely in the warm rays of the Father’s favor only because that storm of judgment has already broken in the full measure of its fury on the crucified Son of God. His shed blood cleanses us from our sins, removing our guilt from the sight of God.

    His wholehearted, law-keeping life offered up to God through the cross, even as He bore our penalty, rises to heaven as a pleasing aroma. Here, at last, the chief of sinners finds cause to boast in nothing at all except in the One who “loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:2).

    *Vicarious: Experienced through the actions of another person.

    Reflection

    1. Hebrews 12:2 “he despised the shame of the cross,” affirms what was stated earlier in this article. Do you think people in first century Rome would wear cross jewelry or clothing? Explain.
    2. Galatians 6:14 Paul says that his only “boast is in the cross of Christ.” How is this true for you?
    3. Meditate upon Ephesians 5:2: “And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Journal or think through how following Jesus’ example of love can change how you are live in this world.

  • Jesus Came to Die to Absorb the Wrath of God

    “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— Galatians 3:14

    “Whom God put forward as a propitiation (wrath absorber) by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.” Romans 3:25

    “ In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation (wrath absorber) for our sins.” 1 John 4:10

    If God were not just, there would be no demand for his Son to suffer and die. And if God were not loving, there would be no willingness for his Son to suffer and die. But God is both just and loving. Therefore his love is willing to meet the demands of his justice.

    God’s law demanded, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). But we have all loved other things more. This is what sin is—dishonoring God by preferring other things over him, and acting on those preferences. Therefore, the Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We glorify what we enjoy most. And it isn’t God.

    Therefore sin is not small, because it is not against a small Sovereign. The seriousness of an insult rises with the dignity of the one insulted. The Creator of the universe is infinitely worthy of respect and admiration and loyalty. Therefore, failure to love him is not trivial—it is treason. It defames God and destroys human happiness.

    Since God is just, he does not sweep these crimes under the rug of the universe. He feels a holy wrath against them. They deserve to be punished, and he has made this clear: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). “The soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4).

    There is a holy curse hanging over all sin. Not to punish would be unjust. The demeaning of God would be endorsed. A lie would reign at the core of reality. Therefore, God says, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them” (Galatians 3:10; Deuteronomy 27:26).

    But the love of God does not rest with the curse that hangs over all sinful humanity. He is not content to show wrath, no matter how holy it is. Therefore God sends his own Son to absorb his wrath and bear the curse for all who trust him. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13).

    This is the meaning of the word “propitiation” in the text quoted above (Romans 3:25). It refers to the removal of God’s wrath by providing a substitute. The substitute is provided by God himself. The substitute, Jesus Christ, does not just cancel the wrath; he absorbs it and diverts it from us to himself. God’s wrath is just, and it was spent, not withdrawn.

    Let us not trifle with God or trivialize his love. We will never stand in awe of being loved by God until we reckon with the seriousness of our sin and the justice of his wrath against us. But when, by grace, we waken to our unworthiness, then we may look at the suffering and death of Christ and say, “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the [wrath-absorbing] propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

    from John Piper’s Fifty Reasons Jesus Came to Die

    Reflection

    1. John Piper said, “Therefore sin is not small.” How do you sometimes justify your sin or think in your heart that some of your sin is “small”?
    2. What does the word propitiation mean and how did Jesus propitiate for you?
    3. How would God be unjust if He just overlooked sin or simply decreed forgiveness?
    4. In what ways does this reading increase your love and praise for Christ?

  • Psalm 89:38-52

    Listen to the audio above from Hidden Streams. The Scripture text is below. You can also journal or think through some reflection questions.

    38 But now you have cast off and rejected;
        you are full of wrath against your anointed.
    39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant;
        you have defiled his crown in the dust.
    40 You have breached all his walls;
        you have laid his strongholds in ruins.
    41 All who pass by plunder him;
        he has become the scorn of his neighbors.
    42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
        you have made all his enemies rejoice.
    43 You have also turned back the edge of his sword,
        and you have not made him stand in battle.
    44 You have made his splendor to cease
        and cast his throne to the ground.
    45 You have cut short the days of his youth;
        you have covered him with shame. Selah

    46 How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
        How long will your wrath burn like fire?
    47 Remember how short my time is!
        For what vanity you have created all the children of man!
    48 What man can live and never see death?
        Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah

    49 Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,
        which by your faithfulness you swore to David?
    50 Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked,
        and how I bear in my heart the insults of all the many nations,
    51 with which your enemies mock, O Lord,
        with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed.

    52 Blessed be the Lord forever!
    Amen and Amen.

    Reflection

    1. Think of or describe a time when you have been in a place where it is always winter but never Christmas. How did it affect your prayer life?
    2. What is the hope we have by praying constantly?
    3. In what way was Jesus abandoned?
    4. In what way does it impact you that Christ has experienced being abandoned?

  • 008 Matthew – The Way: Help in the Wilderness 2

    Lords Day 7

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    Date: February 15, 2026

    Lord’s Day 7

    Series: Matthew in Seven Movements: The Way

    Title: Help in the Wilderness 2

    Text: Matthew 4:1-11

    Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,

    “‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
        but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

    5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

    “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’

    and

    “‘On their hands they will bear you up,
        lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

    7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,

    “‘You shall worship the Lord your God
        and him only shall you serve.’”

    11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

  • 007 Matthew – The Way: Help in the Wilderness

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    Date: February 8, 2026

    Lord’s Day: 6

    Series: Matthew in Seven Movements          

    Title: Help in the Wilderness

    Text: Matthew 4:1-11

    The Testing of the Second Adam

    This text directly proceeds the baptism of Jesus.  It was at this scene that Jesus submits to the washing of John the Baptizer.  As he comes out of the water the heavens open and we see The Father, saying, this is my son in whom I am well pleased.  At the same time, the Spirit is descending upon Jesus.

    It is this same Spirit that we see in (4:1) led Jesus to the wilderness.  The language of Mark (1:12) says that the Spirit DROVE (ESV, LSB), IMPELLED, SENT (NIV), FORCED (AMP) him to the wilderness.  This is not to say that Jesus was resistant for Jesus was obedient in every way.  We should not get that implication. 

    There was an urgency here on the part of the Spirit.  There was no resistance on the part of Jesus.  Where God wanted the Son to be, the Son was happy to dwell.  “Delight yourselves in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Ps. 37:4)

    The purpose for this trip to the wilderness is to be tempted by the devil.  Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights.  This meant that he went without food for 40 straight days and nights.  A couple of things to observe here:

    1. Moses and Elijah did the same thing.  Moses fasted (Ex 24:28) before the law was given.  Elijah fasted (1 Kings 19:8) while under the law.  Jesus is fasting here at the beginning of the gospel of grace.
    2. It states that at the end of the 40 days, Jesus was hungry (no duh!).  For the first time God is experiencing hunger.  Do not forget that Jesus is fully God and fully man.  This was one of the lessons in our study of Colossians.  This can be a difficult thing to wrap our mind to understand but it is no less true.  God had not been hungry.

    It is important to understand what Scripture teaches regarding one of the roles of Christ.  He came as the second Adam.

    Turn with me if you will to Romans 5:12. We will be only touching on this briefly because someday, we will journey through the book of Romans.  But I have said this a few times and I have not specifically shown where this idea of Jesus as the second Adam is found.

    Federal Headship of Adam

    12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men[e] because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

    15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

    18 Therefore, as one trespass[f] led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness[g] leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

    Scripture gives us insight on the mission of Jesus as the second Adam (Romans 5:12-21; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22). The disobedience of the first Adam was superseded by the obedience of the second Adam, Christ.

    As we go into these few passages it is important that we are reminded of something we have already considered before.  What Jesus is entering here is a period of testing.  The same type of testing Adam and Eve faced.

    Briefly, let me remind you the definition of sin is found in 1 John 2:16.  Sin is loving the world.  Loving the world more than loving our Lord.

    “For all that is in the world the desires of the flesh, and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life – is NOT from the Father by is from the world.” 1 John 2:16

    This is ultimately the description of the fall of Adam and Eve.  This is exactly what happens in the Garden.

    Eve saw that the “Fruit would be good to eat”Lust of the Flesh
    “Gain wisdom so as to be like God.”Pride of Life
    Looked at the fruit and saw that it was pleasant to the eyes.”Lust of the Eyes

    We have noted before how in the temptations Jesus faced the exact same temptations which resulted in the fall of first Adam. 

    “Turn these stones to bread”Lust of the Flesh
    “Prove that you are the Son of God”Pride of Life
    “Bow down and obtain all these things.”Lust of the Eyes

    This much is true that Jesus is able “to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)

    Please take note of the significant differences between the temptation of the first Adam and the temptation of the second Adam.

    First AdamSecond Adam
    Plush garden with much food – excess food and luxuryJudean wilderness that is one of the most desolate places on earth. Scorpions, spiders (Mark says he was there with wild beasts 1:13)
    Full and satisfiedEmpty stomach having fasted 40 days
    Enjoying companionship and not alone – could encourage each otherJesus fully alone and secluded with no encouragement

    There is a stark difference here. 

    Exegesis

    4:3 “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

    Is this not an interesting statement?  Think for a moment, what was the last thing, according to our text, that Jesus hears before going to the wilderness?  “This is my son, in whom I am well pleased.”

    The first thing that the enemy did here, the deceiver, was to twist and cause doubt.  He will twist scripture here in a moment and he is causing doubt here.

    He did the same thing to Eve.  Did God really say you shall not eat of any tree? 

    His efforts here are to raise doubt.  Why would this raise a doubt?

    This is God and he is hungry. 

    Would it have been such a horrible thing for Jesus to turns stones into bread?  Have you asked yourself that question?  Why is this such a big deal?  Does not the Lord’s prayer (Matthew 6) teach, “give us this day our daily bread?”

    Who was it that brought Jesus to this place?  To whom was Jesus being obedient?

    There is nothing wrong with eating.  I would be in a LOT of trouble if there was something wrong with eating.  But in this moment, for Jesus, this is not the time for eating. 

    The Spirit had driven him here and the Spirit would sustain him.

    I can sum this entire sermon up here in Matthew 4:3 and 4.  This is profound.  As I was preparing for this, it moved me.  Chapter 4 verse 3 and 4 is the Cliff Notes to this whole section.

    RIGHT HERE – Jesus was fully

    1. OBEDIENT to the Lord and

    2. DEPENDANT upon the Lord.

    Jesus hears the request of the devil, “IF YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD. . . “and in return QUOTES GOD.  “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”

  • 006 Matthew – The Way: And So It Begins

    Date: February 1, 2026

    Lord’s Day: 5

    Series: Matthew in Seven Movements          

    Title: And So It Begins

    Text: Matthew 3:13-17

    Introduction

    In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

    3 God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

    6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters below from the waters above.” 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above. And it was so. 8 And God called the above sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

    9 And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

    11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 

    12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

    14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the sky to separate the day from the night. And let them be for seasons,[f] and for days and years, 15 and let them in the sky give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 

    16 And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 And God set them in the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

    20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds[g] fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

    24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

    26 Then God said, “Let us make man[h] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

    27 So God created man in his own image,
        in the image of God he created him;
        male and female he created them.

    28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 

    And it was so. 

    31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

    You would recognize this reading as the Creation Account from Genesis 1. This is a very well-known passage if you have just been in the faith for a short while. 

    As the first words of our Scripture open we see the Spirit of God hovering over waters and beginning to create.  As He created, it is as if He steps back and looks and says, “Good.” 

    Waters, land, sky = good; Plants, stars, seasons = Good; Creatures, birds, fish, animals = good.

    He gets to the end of day six, looks at man, the very created thing made in His image and likeness and considers all that He has created and says, “It was very good.”

    Then God places man in this Garden named Delightful.  I can also mean pleasure. That is the Hebrew word Eden: delightful, pleasure.

    It is not until we get to Chapter 2 and verse 18 that we see the first occurrence of the phrase, “It is not good.”   This, of course, is before the fall of Adam so we see in this statement, it had nothing to do with sin.  Sin was not a part of the world yet.

    So, we can have something that is not good and it not be related to sin.  And God made Adam fall asleep and when he woke up, Eve.  He said, “Woah man!”  That was Adam’s way of saying, “It is good!” (true story)

    Chapter 3 we all know it is the introduction of the serpent. Tempting Eve and causing her and Adam to sin was the plan of the enemy and he was successful.

    Eve saw that the three was good . . .for food and that it was a delight . . . to the eyes and she ate. Enter God.  This was not good.  So much was this not good that it brought the curse of death and separation from God.

    A String of Not Goods

    Then we get a STRING OF NOT GOODS.  There are decades, centuries of not good.

    After the sin of Adam and Eve and their removal from Eden, Adam had children, not in the likeness of God, but in the likeness of himself (Genesis 5:3). Through time God chose to work through and closely with those made in the image of Adam.

    These begin a very long string of failures of which today I will only hit the highlights.  These failures that were friends of God.

    Noah: It says (Gen 6:5) the deterioration of sin had gotten so bad that every inclination of the heart was always evil. God is pronouncing JUDGEMENT.

    The creation that was “very good” had become “very bad.” He chose Noah and had grace upon him and saved Noah and his family (Genesis 6:8).  Noah and family were only saved because God was gracious to them. 

    We see that in Noah, old habits die hard.  The earth was flooded, the water receded, and it is time for a second creation. Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth.

     This Noah who had received God’s grace and was saved from the destructive flood acted like a drunken sailor, passed out and then was disrespected by his son Ham. Cursed!

    Abraham: An idol worshiper (Josh 24:2) was chosen by God to begin a new people. 

    THE MAN OF FAITH THAT MOST OF THE TIME WAS FAITHLESS

    To save his own life he (potentially) sacrificed his marriage and life by lying who his wife was.  He also, in attempt to help God along with the promise He made, participated in a plot to impregnate his wife’s servant and this turned out really well.

    David: A shepherd boy who grew into a mighty warrior and great king.  We are aware of his sin and rebellion.  He stole a wife, impregnated her and to cover it, killed her husband. All to keep his sin hidden.

    These are the highlights.  There is a long history of failure, Judges, kings with shallow courage and faith, false prophets and grumbling citizens.

    These were NOT pleasing in God’s sight.  These were NOT GOOD.  A string of not good and more not good. 

    Then there is one who was chosen.  This one is different. 

    Isaiah lets us know of what this future chosen one is like.  God speaking through Isaiah we hear the word “delight” again.  Hope for the first time since the Garden, which was the last time anything GOOD was mentioned.

    Is 42:1, “Behold my servant, who I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit on him,”

    The Baptism of Jesus

    The water of the Jordan was the scene of John the baptizer. Person after person coming to repent of their sin and be symbolically cleansed.  (WE NEED THIS. We NEED WASHED.  WE NEED CLEANSED.  WE ARE REBELLIOUS.  We CAN’T GET OUT OF OUR WAY TO REBEL”

    Then arrives Jesus.  Can you imagine?  It’s like it is mid-sermon/mid-baptism.

    Jesus Baptism was covered in all four Gospel accounts.  John the Baptist and the baptism of Jesus, the feeding of the 5,000 and the Passion week of Christ are the only events that are found in each of the four gospel accounts. 

    JESUS was the one for whom John was looking. There is the uncertainty when we combine the texts from John and Matthew. 

    Matthew says that as a part of John’s preaching he was telling people – I AM NOT THE MESSIAH.  I am not the Christ.  He who comes after me, one I am not worthy to carry the sandals.  He is the Christ.

    There were people designated to carry sandals. They were lowly servants.  They were the lowest of servants.  Kings and people of status had these servants.

    John is essentially saying, “I am a servant of Christ, but I am not even worthy to be the lowest of servants.”

    So here in Matthew, John the Baptist is LOOKING for Jesus.  (John the Baptist and John the apostle and writer of John are two different people.  John (Johannes) is a popular name, kind of like Bubba in the south.

    There seems to be a partial recognizing here of Jesus (the Matthew account).  I say only partial because John seems to know who he is but it not fully certain.  We will find this later in Matthew 11, the last time we hear of John the Baptist.  He is in prison and he sends messengers to Jesus, “Are you the one?”

    John says, “I did not know him but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on who you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptize with the Holy Spirit.’” (John 1:33)

    John sees Jesus, “Behold the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” (Jn 1:29) This is NOT just the sin of the Jewish people.  Not just the family of Abraham.  This is the sin of the Gentiles too.  The Passover lamb.  The lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world. (Rev. 13:8). The lamb that was to take away our sin. (Before Genesis 1:1)

    This lamb comes to be baptized.   “Uh, no!” John says. “What are you talking about baptism?  Me baptize you?  No, You need to be baptize me!”

    Jesus says, “John, I’ve got to do this.  It is fitting.  I have to fulfill all righteousness.”

    These people lined up to be baptized.  Convicted and recognized their sin.  Feeling the need to be purified.  We are sinners.

    Not Jesus!  He is not a sinner.

    Jesus, pure, the second Adam (more on this next week), having never committed any offense and perfect in every way, righteous in every way. 

    I have to do this.

    He was numbered with the transgressors (Isaiah 53:12).

    Let’s put in this circle all the guilty.  Just lump them all here.  Transgressors ALL of them.  You know who is in that circle?  Jesus.  Numbered with the transgressors.

    Even though perfect, he looked just like you and me.  He is God in the flesh: he has hands, legs, and feet.

    He is NOT in the image of Adam.  He went into the waters as if He was.

    This moment the sky opened and the Spirit . . . remember that Spirit that hovered over the waters at creation?  This is that Spirit that was creating back in Genesis 1?  He is hovering, once again, over water.  It descended upon Jesus at the waters of the Jordan.

    There is debate on interpreting this concerning the dove.  Was it a real dove?  Many say, not really.  As he baptized Jesus, John saw something and the people saw something. 

    This something was the Spirit of God and it descended.  They could literally see the Spirit entering Jesus and it appeared like a dove. 

    Like the dove that returned to Noah?  A sign of new beginnings.  The dove that brings back the olive leaf?  There is life!  Here is proof.  And this Spirit descends up our peace, Jesus.

    From heaven, the Lord said, “Very good!”  There is a theme here in Matthew where Jesus matches with Genesis.  “This is my son, in whom I am well pleased.”

    Filling full the prophet Isaiah, “Behold, my servant, whom I have chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him” (42:1)

    This is the first time since the fall that God has spoken and said this is good.  With Jesus, “I am well pleased!”

    This is significant.  This is pivotal.

    Jesus in the baptism, is humbling himself – though in the FORM of God did not consider equality with God a thing to hold on to but made himself nothing taking on the form of a servant and was born in the “LIKENESS” of sinful flesh.  But he is not a sinner.  Yet he takes on the image of a sinner.

    He became like you and me in every way, but the sin. 

    Noah = failure

    Abraham= failure

    David = failure

    Every king = failure

    Every priest = failure

    Jesus, “I am well pleased.”

    What Does This Mean?

    1. There were many people APPEARING before John the Baptist to repent because there was a lot of rebellion, and this continues to be the case. 

    I was praying earlier this week concerning our nation.  Much pondering to the rebellion that is happening.  Tina and I chat about, I just miss the old days. 

    But as I was praying I said to the Lord, Going back to the old days is not going to fix anything.  There was rebellion then, it just wasn’t as contentious.  It is more visible and in your face.

    It is so easy to idolize a time period and think that just a return to that and things will be fine.  Absolutely not. 

    There was sin in 1985. There was sin in 1971.  There was sin in 1950.  There was sin in 1800, 1700, 1492 and you just name the date, Jesus was always needed. 

    In Genesis there were four people and one of those committed murder.  25% of the Earth’s population was guilty of murder. 

    The people in John’s day felt the need to repent, to be washed and they were.  There were a lot then and there still remain a lot. 

    We have right here what many people need.  Not a lot of finger wagging and I told you so’s but Jesus, the Savior.  Jesus the righteous.  Jesus, the one in whom God is well pleased.

    He is the ONLY one in whom God is well pleased. 

    You think God is pleased because you come to assembly? 

    You think God is well pleased because you read Scripture occasionally? 

    You think God is pleased because you come from a family that has gone to church since Thomas Jefferson?

    He is well pleased because of Jesus.  And those who are IN JESUS, God is well pleased.

    • Jesus is the ONLY offering that is not filthy rags (Isaian 64:6)

    If we go back to the first part of this study on the Advent, we had Joseph.  He finds out that his wife to be in pregnant and he knows he is not the source of that pregnancy. 

    Joseph had every right to put Mary away!

    You know what he had the right to do?  He was fully and legally right to put her away.  But he did not.

    The angel came and instructed him about what was taking place.  He did not put Mary away, though he had the legal right to do.

    This made for an interesting public appearance. 

    In every way our Savior appears as fallen, yet He is the only one in Whom the Father delighted.

    THE HEBREW WRITER SAYS: He became like us much in every way, He was made like his brothers that he might be a service to God.

    For those of us in Christ, for those of us who are by faith in Jesus, this is how we stand before God.  We don’t stand before Him putting on our fig leaves to hide our shame.

    We appear before God in Christ.  This is the one in whom God delights. 

    I am with Him!

    • In Him we are a new Creation

    2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.   

    Explain how it should read –

    Spirit hovering over us and sprinkling us with water

    Those in Christ are a new creation – old things have passed, the new HAS come!

  • 005 Matthew – The Way: The Washing

  • 004 Matthew: Messiah the Advent – A Cry from the Wilderness