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The Word Fulfilled

January 19, 2025 Preacher: Kevin Godin Series: Matthew - The King in His Beauty

Scripture: Matthew 2:15–17

Sermon Transcript:

As many of you know, I am bi-vocational, and I travel frequently. I have been doing it for so long that I have refined every step into a system that keeps things smooth and efficient. My wife Beth, however, is not a fan of the system. She says I am no fun in airports and such because I don’t chill-out like so-called “normal” people on vacation do. I still prefer to avoid the kinds of issues many of those “normal” people deal with. Anyhow, one of the things I do before checking out of a hotel room is to go through an orderly inspection of the room to make sure I don’t forget anything.

Before we move on to chapter 3 in our journey through Matthew’s gospel, we are going to take one last sweep through the first two chapters because there is something important I want to make sure we have before we leave. It is something we need for the rest of the journey. In fact, it is one of the main things that Matthew wants us to understand.

One of the best ways to figure out what is important in the Bible is to look for what the authors repeat, and Matthew has already repeated something several times that he will continue to say throughout the entire book. Matthew keeps telling us that Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Scripture. That is important to His overall message and it’s the main point of the sermon this morning,

Jesus is the fulfillment of the promises and prophecies of the Scripture

Matthew isn’t just telling us a story; he’s showing us how everything in the life of Christ fulfills God’s bigger plan. Right from the beginning, Matthew tells us that Jesus’ birth fulfilled what the Lord spoke through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 7:14,

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel

Matthew says, hundreds of years before he was born, Isaiah was talking about Jesus, whose name means "God with us."

When the wise men arrive in Jerusalem asking where the king of the Jews has been born, Matthew points to another prophecy, reminding us that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. Micah 5:2 says,

And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel

Matthew shows us even Jesus’ birth location was not by chance but part of God’s divine plan. When Herod orders the massacre of male children in Bethlehem, Matthew recalls Jeremiah 31:15, connecting the pain of Israel’s history with the hope of God’s promise to deliver them,

A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more

After Joseph and Mary flee to Egypt with the child Jesus, Matthew tells us that their return fulfilled what the prophet Hosea said in Hosea 11:1,

Out of Egypt I called my son

Just as God brought Israel, His "son," out of Egypt in the Exodus, so now He brings Jesus, the true Son, out of Egypt as the Savior of His people.

Then when the family settles in Nazareth, Matthew 2:23 says,

23 And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.

There is no specific verse or reference in the Old Testament that says this, but notice Matthew uses the plural. He says this was “spoken by the prophets.” As I said last week, the term Nazarene was a reference to someone from a backward or insignificant place. Jesus living in Nazareth fulfills the prophecies that the Messiah will be of humble origin, unexpected, and not the result of his environment.

Do you see the pattern? Matthew doesn’t want us to miss it, Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises. These first two chapters lay the foundation for what we’ll see again and again in the rest of the book—that Jesus’ life, ministry, death, and resurrection all bring to completion God’s eternal plan to save His people.

This pattern will continue through the entire Gospel. Again and again, Matthew will pause to show us that what Jesus does, what happens to Him, and even how people respond to Him are all part of God’s eternal plan, foretold in Scripture. It’s as if Matthew is saying, “Pay attention—this isn’t random. This is exactly how God said it would happen.”

For example, when Jesus begins His ministry in Galilee in Matthew 4, it fulfills Isaiah 9:1-2,

The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned

Jesus’ presence in Galilee, a place of spiritual darkness, signals the arrival of God’s light and salvation. When Jesus heals the sick and casts out demons in chapter 8, Matthew reminds us this is what Isaiah foresaw in Isaiah 53:4,

He took our illnesses and bore our diseases

Jesus isn’t just showing compassion; He’s embodying the suffering servant of Isaiah who would bear the brokenness of His people. Even Jesus’ humility and gentleness are significant. When He avoids unnecessary conflict and ministers quietly, Matthew 12 points us to the prophecy in Isaiah 42:1-4,

Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench

Later, in chapter 21 when Jesus enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey, Matthew points us to Zechariah 9:9 which says,

Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden

Jesus is the King who comes not in earthly splendor but in humility, just as the Scriptures foretold.

When Judas betrays Jesus for thirty pieces of silver in chapter 27, Matthew reminds us Zechariah 11 and Jeremiah 32,

They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set... and they gave them for the potter’s field

When the soldiers gamble for his clothes in chapter 27, Matthew recalls Psalm 22:18,

They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots

These are just the places Matthew stops to make sure we got it. If we were to include every fulfillment mentioned or alluded to in the Bible it would take a long time because there are hundreds of them. Amazingly, there were many other things Jesus did that didn’t get recorded. The apostle John says in John 21:25,

25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

Matthew wants us to realize that the evidence for Jesus as the Messiah is overwhelming. Jesus is the one Scripture has been pointing to all along. Everything comes together in Him. He is like the sun around which everything else in the Bible orbits. The hundreds of individual promises we find in the Old Testament are all just different aspects of this one amazing promise that finds its realization in Christ. Everything is connected to the promise that God will redeem his people.

The promise is first given to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:15, when He tells them He will bring a savior from the seed of the woman who will destroy the serpent despite fierce opposition. This turns out not merely to be a prediction, but a living and active promise. The word of promise is also the means of accomplishing what is promised. This word of God, this promise unfolds throughout history while also sustaining the people of God, with each contributing to the final fulfillment in Jesus.

This is the same promise given to Abraham and his descendants as a blessing for all nations in Genesis 12. It was renewed during the exodus as Israel was called to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. It was further clarified to David, whose line would establish an eternal throne and kingdom. The prophets consistently point back to the promise as the foundation of their message, emphasizing its ultimate fulfillment in the coming Messiah even as it unfolds in the life of those they spoke to.

Now Matthew is telling us that this single, unifying promise that contains all the individual promises has found its climax in Jesus Christ. The central figure of God's plan to save humanity is God Himself. With the coming of Jesus, the last chapter in the story of salvation has begun. God Himself has come to save His people.

There are not just hundreds of individual prophecies, there is one prophecy that has hundreds of steps as it unfolds. That is why the New Testament often applies Old Testament passages to Jesus that seem to already have been fulfilled. For example, Hosea 11:1, which says “out of Egypt I have called my son” is a reference to the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt. Jeremiah 31:15, which refers to Rachel weeping for her children, is talking about the youth of Israel being taken away in exile but Matthew applies both to Jesus.

Neither of these are given in the Old Testament explicitly as prophecies about the Messiah. Is Matthew just stretching things to make his argument work? Do these passages have multiple meanings?

Not at all. All these are connected to the unfolding of the bigger promise. The context of Hosea 11 in talking about the Exodus points to the need for a future savior and redemption. The context of Jeremiah 31 describes the future day when God will restore his people, forgive their sins, and bless them with peace. What Matthew sees and what I hope we will see is already there in the Old Testament, which is that there is ultimately one unifying promise of redemption that ties everything together and that promise is Jesus Christ.

Think of it like a mortgage. I have one mortgage, one promise to pay the bank, but the fulfillment of that one big promise is made up of many smaller promises to pay each month. These are not independent, it is all part of the same promise, and those monthly payments are part of the keeping of the big promise. All the Old Testament prophecies; that God will send a prophet like Moses, a King like David, a sanctuary for the people, and so forth are all part of the one promise. Jesus is the answer to every promise.

Matthew is anchoring everything on the reliability of God’s word as he tells us who Jesus is and what he did. He knows we will need that solid foundation to persevere until he returns. We need that confidence to deny ourselves and follow Him. We need that cornerstone to be willing to leave all the world offers and put our trust in him alone. We need that anchor if to give our lives, if necessary, for Him.

Matthew is showing us we can have complete confidence because we worship a God who is faithful in every detail. Nothing is overlooked or forgotten. We can therefore live with boldness and confidence in those promises that we are still waiting for. The apostle Paul put it this way in Romans 8:31–32,

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

If God has already done the greater thing by sending Jesus to die for us, why would we doubt he will do everything else he promised? All of history, from Genesis 3 down to this very day, he has been faithfully working out His plan of redemption. He is almighty, so nothing outside of him can stop him. He is unchanging and perfectly loving, so his desire will not fade. He is all knowing, so it isn’t like something can come up he wasn’t prepared for. What can stop Him?

I am told the United States keeps 5,000 tons of gold at Fort Knox. This gold is locked up behind a 22 ton blast-proof vault door which is locked using a combination entered by at least 10 people, none of whom know more than their portion of the combination.

That vault is surrounded by concrete-lined granite walls, several security gates and alarm systems. Besides that, it is in the center of a hardened military base protected by patrols of riflemen, attack helicopters, tanks, and other combat vehicles operated by the best trained and equipped military in history.

But brothers and sisters, our inheritance is far more secure than the gold at Fort Knox because our salvation is guarded by the power of God Almighty. One day all that gold will be worthless, and those granite walls will crumble, but the promise of God never fails and God has promised to save everyone who puts their faith in Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:20–22 says,

20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. 21 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, 22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

The same sovereign grace and immeasurable power that orchestrated every detail of history to fulfill these prophecies is at work in our lives today. This is why the apostle Paul declares with confidence in Philippians 1:6,

6 … I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

God is not only sovereign over history, He is sovereign over the future too. Jesus assured us that not even a sparrow falls to the ground apart from the Father's will and that every hair on our heads is numbered. Since, by faith we have been united to Christ, the only way for God’s work in us to fail is for Christ to fail. This is impossible because He has already shattered the power of Satan and overcome death. Every prophecy regarding His church and His coming will be satisfied just as completely and meticulously as were those of His first coming. We have been saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved. This is why Romans 8:28 says,

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

The same word of God that upholds the universe by His power is at work, orchestrating the details of our lives to bring to His plans to pass in ways we may never know. Let me give you just one example.

On Christmas Eve 1875, Ira Sankey, who was the song leader for the famous evangelist D.L. Moody was travelling on a steamboat down the Delaware river. Several passengers recognized him because his picture had recently appeared in the newspaper. They asked if he would sing for them and Sankey decided to sing the hymn Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us.

When he finished singing, a man asked if he had served in the Union Army. Mr. Sankey replied that he had. The man then asked if he recalled being on picket duty on a bright moonlit night in 1862.

Surprised, Sankey said he did. The man said, "So did I, but I was serving in the Confederate army. When I saw you standing at your post, I thought to myself, ‘That fellow will never get away alive.' I raised my musket and took aim. I was standing in the shadow, completely concealed, while the full light of the moon was falling upon you. At that instant, just as a moment ago, you raised your eyes to heaven and began to sing… ‘Let him sing his song to the end,' I said to myself, I can shoot him afterwards.' He's my victim at all events, and my bullet cannot miss him.'

But the song you sang then was the song you sang just now. I heard the words perfectly: ‘We are Thine; do Thou befriend us. Be the Guardian of our way.' Those words stirred up many memories. I began to think of my childhood and my God-fearing mother. She had many times sung that song to me. When you had finished your song, it was impossible for me to take aim again. I thought, ‘The Lord who is able to save that man from certain death must surely be great and mighty.' And my arm of its own accord dropped limp at my side."

Friends, we may never know the dramatic ways God has protected, guided, and used us. We can be sure though that all through our lives God has been at work through many dangers, toils, and snares to bring us to this day and He will not stop until we are safely home.

Our main point was that Jesus is the fulfillment of the promises and prophecies of the Scripture. That is not just a matter of history or theology. That is a practical matter for us. It is practical because if we have put our faith in Jesus then those promises are ours. Those prophecies are the foundation of our salvation. Each of us have different experiences and the Master uses us all differently, but we all share one faith, one Lord, and one baptism.

Because of the Scripture that Jesus fulfilled in His first coming, every believer shares in five blessings that come from the promise. If you are a believer who is discouraged today, I want you to listen carefully, this is what Jesus has done for you.

  1.       In Jesus believers are Reconciled.

Through the death of Jesus Christ, the hostility between God and us is removed. All of us have sinned, rejecting God and breaking his laws. We were estranged from God because He will not have fellowship with those who reject Him. But Jesus purchased our repentance and reconciliation on the cross. Romans 5:10 says,

10 …while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son…”

In Christ we have now have peace with God. The broken relationship has been restored. God loves you and is pleased with you.

  1.       In Jesus we are Justified.

Reconciliation has to do with relationships, justification has to do with guilt. To be justified means to be declared innocent before the law. In Christ we are justified. Romans 8:1–2 says,

1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

Through His blood, Jesus takes away the guilt of our sins and secures our forgiveness. He redeems us from the curse of sin by paying for our sins in His own body on the cross. He dies in our place to satisfy the law. In Christ, we stand innocent before God because, by grace, we have been given the righteousness of Jesus.

  1.       In Jesus we are Sanctified.

To be sanctified means to be holy or set apart. Christ died to make us holy, to set us apart for God. In Ephesians 5:25–27 while instructing husbands, the apostle Paul shares a profound truth about why Jesus went to the cross. He says,

25 …Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

The death of Christ cleanses us from the pollution of sin and renews us in the image of God. This is why we cannot claim to have justifying grace if we do not have sanctifying grace, because they come from the same atonement. We are more than merely declared innocent, Jesus’ sacrifice also purges our consciences so we can serve God in hope and by His Spirit, He equips us with every grace needed to grow into holiness.

When we struggle in our pursuit of holiness, we must remember that Jesus has already purchased our sanctification by His blood. This is His work, that we are cleansed by the word through the work of the Holy Spirit. The way to fight sin is not to focus on the sin, but on what Christ has done for us.

  1.       In Jesus we are Adopted.

When we were in sin, we were children of wrath, alienated from God and having no part in the inheritance He has set aside for His children. Galatians 4:4–7 says Jesus has changed all that,

4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Through Jesus, all who believe, both Jew and gentile become God’s children and given all the privileges of sonship. We are adopted into the family of God and have become heirs of His kingdom. Not only are we followers of Jesus Christ, but Matthew is showing us that by coming from heaven to Earth, Jesus has become our brother, making God our Father.  

  1.       In Jesus we inherit Eternal Glory

The apostle Paul says “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” We are not, however, to be pitied, because the effects of Christ’s death do not end in this life but secure our eternal inheritance. The story does not end here. It doesn’t end with our weakness or even death. We will be raised again just as He was. Death has no permanent claim upon us any more because of the cross. Hebrews 9:15 says of Jesus,

15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

Ephesians says our future glory is a "purchased possession" secured by the blood of Jesus. All this is what Jesus is accomplishing as He perfectly and completely fulfills every prophecy of Scripture. Each time Matthew says something Jesus did fulfilled Scripture, what he is saying to us is that God has kept His promise and we can trust Him to continue to keep them for all eternity.  

Just consider the amazing planning involved in Jesus satisfying hundreds of detailed predictions throughout His life. Details that required the coordination of events over thousands of years and involving millions of choices made by people along the way, surely we must recognize this could only be the work of a sovereign God. Our wisdom and strength could never accomplish anything like this. We can’t plan even a single day!

Matthew makes sure we understand that Jesus is the fulfillment of the promises and prophecies of the Scripture so that we respond in the only way that makes sense before such an awesome God, with faith and worship. God alone deserves all the glory and honor for our salvation. How can we not worship such an awesome God who pours out such grace and blessing on the likes of us.

In Titus 3:3–7 the apostle Paul says,

3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

The most difficult doctrine in all the Bible is why God would choose to love sinners. The answer to that question can only be found in God Himself. All we can do is to stand in awe at His love and grace and mercy and worship Him. If you have not yet repented and believed in Jesus for your salvation, what is stopping you? What do you have now that is better than this?

For those who have, as we leave here today, I pray we leave with a renewed sense of awe at this God who has saved us. I pray we leave with a renewed sense of purpose in encouraging each other as Matthew does, by pointing others to trustworthy of God’s word and the Savior it proclaims.

I would like to finish with Hebrews 10:23–25 as the final application and encouragement. It says,

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
 

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