Matthew - Week 6

Nazareth in Galilee 

READ 

Matthew 2:21-23 

21 So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and his mother. 22 But when he learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod’s son Archelaus, he was afraid to go there. Then, after being warned in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee. 23 So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: “He will be called a Nazarene.” 

Joseph continued to be directed by dreams from an angel of the Lord. He returned to Israel with Mary and Jesus, but was afraid to settle there because Herod’s son was then in control. Another dream revealed that he should go to Nazareth, a town in Galilee. This was north of Judea and Samaria. Galilee did not have nearly as many Jewish people as Judea. This also fulfilled the prophecy that Jesus would be “called a Nazarene.” Nazareth was an unimpressive town. Nathanael expressed the thought of the day when he asked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (see John 1:46).  

REFLECT 

Think about how God’s plan was for Jesus to have a lowly beginning in a stall with animals and grow up in a town that was not respected by the Jewish people.  

RESPOND 

With a fellow believer, read John 1:45-51 about Jesus choosing some of the disciples. See what Nathanael said about Nazareth and what his later responses were. 

Repent 

READ 

Matthew 3:1-2 

1 In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, 2 “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” 

Matthew’s Gospel shifts from the account of the birth and early life of Jesus to the beginning of His public ministry. The message of John the Baptist was for people to “repent,” which literally means “to change one’s mind.” The Jewish people needed to change their minds about what God was beginning to do on earth. It assumes when one changes his mind, he will also change his direction by turning to God.  

REFLECT 

Think of the different things about which you have changed your mind. Did that also change your behavior from that time forward? Of course, the greatest change of mind would be trusting in Jesus as Savior. 

RESPOND 

Talk with a believer about the word “repent” not appearing in the Gospel of John. A key word in his Gospel is “believe,” that appears over 80 times. One cannot believe in Jesus unless he changes his mind about himself being a sinner, and changes his mind about Jesus, that He is God and able to forgive him of sin because of His death on the cross. See verses such as John 1:12; 3:15-16; 5:24.  

Prepare the Way 

READ 

Matthew 3:3 

3 The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said, “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the LORD’s coming! Clear the road for him!’” 

Isaiah’s prophecy points specifically to John the Baptist as the one preparing for the “LORD’s” coming. “LORD” in all caps is a reference to Jehovah. This passage, therefore, is calling Jesus “Jehovah.” Those who deny that Jesus is God and that He is Jehovah deny the Word of God. 

REFLECT 

Think about the importance of Isaiah’s prophecy associated with John the Baptist and Jesus. 

RESPOND 

Read Isaiah’s prophecy in Isaiah 40:3. For those who doubt believing what the Bible says about Jesus, read 1 John 2:21-23. If one denies the Son he does not have the Father either. 

John the Baptizer 

READ 

Matthew 3:4-6 

4 John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey. 5 People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John. 6 And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. 

This passage tells about the clothing and diet of John the Baptist. People did not seem repelled by him because they came from a large area to see him and hear what he had to say. Notice the order of confession and baptism: “And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.” These people were repenting—they were changing their minds about their sins and realized they needed to admit them. After they confessed them, John baptized them in the Jordan. 

REFLECT 

Does this pattern of confessing sins and being baptized seem important to you? Baptism in an outward expression of an inward possession. It revealed they were identifying with John the Baptist and his message. 

RESPOND 

Consider the debates people have whether one should be sprinkled or immersed in baptism. Read 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 where the Israelites were “baptized as followers of Moses” and they didn’t even get sprinkled because they crossed on dry ground. It reveals identification with Moses. When one believes in Jesus, that person is baptized into the body of Christ, as 1 Corinthians 12:13-14 indicates.  

Prove By Your Lives 

READ 

Matthew 3:7-8 

7 But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize, he denounced them. “You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee the coming wrath? 8 Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.” 

John the Baptist was not impressed with the religious leaders of that day. He called them a “brood of snakes” and asked who told them to flee from the wrath to come. Their words may say the right things, but John the Baptist wanted them to prove by their lives that they had repented of their sins and turned to God.  

REFLECT 

Does your life give evidence that you have turned away from your sins and turned to God? 

RESPOND 

With a friend, read and meditate on what Jesus said in Matthew 7:15-20. It is important to say the right words, but actions demonstrate what one really believes.