Blessed are you, God of all creation.
You spoke in the beginning, and all things came to be.
You spoke, and your Word came to live with us,
full of grace and truth.
Bless this place where we would hear your voice.
Bless this place where we would hear your story.
As we listen, may our ears be attuned to you.
As the Word is spoken, may you speak to us.
May all we hear lead us to you.
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Zechariah finishes out with references to Christ, but also to the final coming of Christ. Many of these passages are echoed in the book of Revelation.
There are no specific events in Malachi that lead us to undisputed dates, but it is most likely that Malachi was a contemporary of Ezra and Nehemiah, about 100 years after the end of the Babylonian captivity. From the accusation-question-response format (“I have this against you…” “What do you mean? When did we do that?” “You do this when…”) we can hear that the Israelites were worshiping God, but that there worship was not a whole-hearted commitment to their covenant God. God both warns them to turn to him and gives them a vision for the coming of the Messiah. The last few verses say that Elijah will come to usher in the Messiah, and both Matthew 11:14 (Jesus speaking) and Luke 1:17 (an angel speaking) connect John the Baptist with this prophecy, identifying Jesus as the Messiah.
500 years pass, and Jesus is born. Sometime after his death the Gospels are written, and each writer has a point of view and an audience. Matthew seems to be writing to a Jewish audience. He has a lot of Old Testament references (look how many times even in today’s reading Matthew references OT prophecies), and his opening genealogy specifically links Jesus both to Abraham and to David. Three women are mentioned by name (and a fourth, Bathsheba, through reference), and we have read about each of them this summer. Even though he has a Jewish audience, the references to Rahab and Ruth, as well as the inclusion of the Magi, show that Matthew emphasizes Jesus as the hope for the world.
Matthew 4:23 says Jesus went out teaching in the synagogues, preaching the Good News of the kingdom, and healing. We will keep an eye out for these three, especially the Good News of the kingdom. The kingdom of God, or as Matthew frequently calls it the kingdom of Heaven, is the major theme of Jesus’ preaching.
No comments:
Post a Comment