Category Prophecy

Before the coming of Messiah there must be the coming of His messenger. This is what the prophecies had foretold and this is fulfilled in a wily wilderness preacher around the time of Jesus.

• The messenger will be a desert prophet (wilderness) crying out for repentance in preparation for the coming of the Lord. (Isaiah 40:1-3; 740 BC – 680 BC) ¹ “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” Says your God. ² “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the Lord’s hand Double for all her sins.” ³ The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.“

Matthew, the tax-collector-turned-apostle, tells the reader that John the Baptist is the person of Isaiah’s prophecy. The strange prophet in the wilderness crying out for change, according to Matthew, is the prophesied voice. Look at it! In Matthew’s narrative John is referred to as the voice of one crying in the wilderness: this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 40:1-3). The main idea of Isaiah’s prophecy is that the person crying out is trying to get the people ready for the arrival of the Lord. Now think about what John the Baptist, according to Matthew, was saying to the people:

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:1)

It is clear that John the Baptist is trying to get the people ready and that Matthew, a Jewish man, sees in the ministry of the baptizer the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy.

• The messenger will confront evil, call for true righteousness, and then the Lord will come to His temple. (Malachi 3:1; 432 BC – 425 BC) ¹ “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the Lord of hosts.

The prophecies foretold a person who would prepare the way before the Lord Himself: Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me (Malachi 3:1). That is what John was doing – preparing the way before the Lord. John’s ministry attempts to ready the common people and priests for the coming of the Lord to His own temple. The baptizer had spoken openly and directly to the scribes and Pharisees about their need for repentance (Matthew 3:7-12). John’s denunciation of their ministry was aimed at helping them avoid an unpleasant confrontation by the Lord of the temple. Why? In the previously mentioned prophecy from Malachi there is a prediction that warns the priesthood (Malachi 3:2-3). It says to the religious leaders that the Lord they claim to be seeking will come suddenly or unexpectedly to His own temple. They did not listen to John and the Lord whom they were seeking suddenly came to His own temple (Malachi 3:1). [What Jesus found was precipitated a physical reprimand by the Lord Himself (John 2:13-17). The response of Jesus to uncleanness in the temple was itself a sign. He cleansed it by removing the corruption and chastening the corrupters. See Malachi 3:2-3.] John the Baptist, is a messenger arriving before the Messiah (Jesus of Nazareth) preparing the people and promoting genuine repentance in the priesthood.

• The messenger will succeed in promoting a revival characterized by a turning of hearts Malachi 4:4-6 (432 BC – 425 BC) ⁴ “Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, With the statutes and judgments. ⁵ Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. ⁶ And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”

This prophecy from Malachi mentions the return of Elijah. It says that Elijah the prophet would be sent before the coming of the day of the Lord. Both Matthew and Luke provide accounts of Jesus telling people that the Elijah of this prophecy is… John the Baptist (Matthew 11:7-15; 17:1-13; Luke 7:24-29; Mark 9:2-13). In essence, Jesus says that John, if they are willing to receive it, is the Elijah that that was mentioned by the prophet Malachi (Matthew 11:14-15).

¹⁴ And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. ¹⁵ He who has ears to hear, let him hear! (Matthew 11:14-15)

If you are not willing to receive it, as evidence by a refusal to repent, then John is not Elijah to you; John himself would deny being Elijah when asked by the unrepentant religious leadership (John 1:19-21). To those willing to receive the gracious gift of a warning from God through the prophet in the wilderness, John is Elijah. In person? Reincarnation? No, he is Elijah in spirit (personality type) and power (Luke 1:5-17).

The Relevance

God still works this way. That is, Christ does not come casually into a life, a church, or a community. Before His arrival there will be people who will promote preparation. They are Elijahs if you are willing to receive them. These people will speak unapologetically about repentance, reordering priorities, and truth-telling. These things come before revival; repentance precedes renewal. (Among Gentiles repentance is not the same as among the Jews. John the Baptist could say repent because he is speaking to the Jews. They had been tutored by the law. Paul, an apostle to the Gentiles, starts the spiritual conversation differently. As Gentile they are ignorant concerning the law and the prophets. If he had started with “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” they would have had questions? E.g., repent from what and whose kingdom. For the Gentile a repentance is still needed. But it is from believing in things other than Christ for salvation. After receiving Jesus, Gentiles willing to place their faith in Christ must be patiently taught to live for Him. See Matthew 28:18-20). Repentance is not entry-level Christianity. It is ongoing spiritual realism. It is the ongoing the refusal to make peace with sin wherever it is found.

John’s words to the Pharisees also remind the modern Jesus follower that heritage is not a substitute for holiness (Matthew 3:8-9).

In His grip by His grace,
Roderick Barnes

Seeing the Son of David (Matthew 1:1; 22:43; 45)

What is the point of telling me that Jesus is the Son of David? To answer that question we have to look at what the term means to the people of the New Testament. To people living in the New Testament period, the phrase Son of David was loaded. Using it meant that the person was expressing messianic expectations. All by itself the term Son of David is a messianic title. We miss the speaker’s message when we see them refer to Jesus as the Son of David and think of this as merely a genealogical description. Son of David carried royal, covenantal, and eschatological meaning. Those meaning can be found in the Hebrew Scriptures and Second Temple Jewish expectations.

• The Royal Aspect of Son of David – The foundation of regarding the title Son of David is based on God’s covenant with David. The LORD promises King David a line and lasting kingdom through his descendant: “I will raise up your seed after you… and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” (2 Samuel 7:12–13) Thus, to a Jewish hearer, “Son of David” meant: (1) A legitimate heir to David’s throne,  (2) a king whose right to rule came by divine promise, and (3) a ruler whose kingdom would have enduring, even eternal significance. This title was not merely a metaphor; it was a reference to God’s promise to David — a line and a lasting kingdom.

• The Roles of the Son of David – Most Jews expected the Son of David to be: (1) a national deliverer, (2) arestorer of Israel’s sovereignty, (3) One who would defeat Israel’s enemies (Rome, in their context), and (4) A restorer of justice, law, and worship. How did they get these expections? These expectation were birthed and shaped by texts such as:

• • Isaiah 11:1–10 (a shoot from Jesse)

  • Jeremiah 23:5–6 (a righteous Branch from David)

  • Ezekiel 34:23–24 (David as shepherd-king)

Thus, Son of David implied political restoration, even if Jesus redefined how that restoration would occur.

What follows are my findings on the phrase Son of David in the Gospel of Matthew.

• Matthew 1:1 —² In the opening of the gospel and the beginning of Jesus’ genealogy. We must not miss that the first thing that the author would have us to know about His subject: He is descended from David. In this way Matthew sets out the premise of the book and begins his proof.
• Matthew 1:20 — In the address of the angel to Joseph concerning Mary’s Baby we are told that the angels regard Joseph as a descendant of David. Through Joseph the Baby will inherit a legal right to the throne of David. It is important to note that Joseph is descended from David through Solomon and Jeconiah; this blood line cannot ascend to the throne.¹ Mary is also descended from David through his son Nathan. Through her Jesus receives his blood right to the throne.
• Matthew 9:27 — In the importunate prayers of the two blind men of Capernaum we are told that they regard Jesus as being the heir to the throne of His father. The blind can see who He is, friend!
• Matthew 12:23 — In the question of the amazed multitudes concerning the identity of Jesus, there is the question of whether or not Jesus is the Son of David. The question of the crowd shows that Jesus is viewed through the lens of messianic expectations. To see Jesus properly is not to see him as a son of David (υἱὸς Δαυίδ) (Matthew 1:20) but the Son of David (ὁ υἱὸς Δαυίδ)(Matthew 12:23). Jesus of Nazareth is not merely in the line but is in fact the culmination of the line.
• Matthew 15:22 — In the crying out of the Gentile woman of Canaan as she requested help for her daughter. The Gentiles know that the help of the nations will be a Jew (Matthew 15:27) and that he will be the heir to the throne of David.
• Matthew 20:30-31 — Jesus is referred to as the Son of David twice in the requests for mercy of two blind men. It is not to be overlooked that in each case where he is addressed by the blind that they call him Lord and Son of David.
• Matthew 21:9 — In the crying out of the multitude as Jesus enters the city.
• Matthew 21:15 — In the crying out of the children as Jesus enters the temple.
• Matthew 22:42 — In the answer of the Pharisees to the question of Jesus concerning the genealogy of the Christ.

Besides these occurrences David is mentioned by Jesus in His response to the criticism of His disciples (Matthew 12:2) and in exposing the ignorance of His enemies (Matthew 22:41-43, 45). The first and last mentions of David are key. In the former we are told that Jesus is descended from David. In the latter we are told that the expectation of the Israel was that the Messiah will be a descendant of David. Everything between these two statements serves to show that Angels, Jews, and Gentiles know or expect Messiah to be the Son of David. What is Matthew’s point? For those who are willing to look, the former tax collector would have us to know that Jesus is obviously the long-awaited Son of David. Matthew wants us to see that those who were willing could see it. Even the blind guys could see it (Matthew 9:27; 20:30-31). Do you?

In His grip by His grace,
Roderick L. Barnes, Sr.

Notes

¹ Joseph’s line is considered disqualified from the throne of David because of a specific divine judgment pronounced on King Jeconiah (also called Coniah or Jehoiachin)—a judgment that affects the royal, legal line descending through Solomon (Jeremiah 22:24–30). This is a well-recognized issue in biblical theology and is central to understanding the genealogy of Jesus.

² It has been said that the emdash is a sure sign that content has been generated by AI. In this case the emdashes represent the fact that the author is a nerd and uses them for writing and actually knows the keystroke in Windows to produce the character.