To Fulfill What Was Spoken (Part Three)

To Fulfill What Was Spoken (Part Three) 

Fulfillment Formula #7 (Matt. 12:17 + Isa. 42:1)

“And many followed him, and he healed them all and ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: ‘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’” (Matt. 12:18-21).

“Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law” (Isa. 42:1-4).

Fulfillment Formula #8 (Matt. 13:35 + Psa. 78:2)

“All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: ‘I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world’” (Matt. 13:34-35).

“Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth! I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old” (Psa. 78:1-2).

Fulfillment Formula #9 (Matt. 21:5 + Zech. 9:9)

"Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord needs them, and he will send them at once.’ This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, ‘Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden’” (Matt. 21:2-5).

^“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech. 9:9).

Fulfillment Formula #10 (Matt. 27:9 + Zech. 11:12)

“Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me” (Matt. 27:9-10).

“Then I said to them, ‘If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.’ And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. Then the LORD said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter’—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter” (Zech. 11:12-13).

To Fulfill What Was Spoken (Part Two)

 To Fulfill What Was Spoken (Part Two)

Fulfillment Formula #3 (Matt. 2:18 + Jer. 31:15)

“Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: ‘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’” (Matt. 2:16-18).

“Thus says the Lord: ‘A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more’” (Jer. 31:15).

Fulfillment Formula #4 (Matt. 2:23 + Isa. 11:1)

“Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead. And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled: ‘He shall be called a Nazarene.’” (Matt. 2:20-23).

“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch [Nazarene, means Branch] from his roots shall bear fruit” (Isa. 11:1).

Fulfillment Formula #5 (Matt. 4:15 + Isa. 9:1)

“And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: ‘The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—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’” (Matt. 4:13-16).

“But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined” (Isa. 9:1-2).

Fulfillment Formula #6 (Matt. 8:17 + Isa. 53:4)

“That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: ‘He took our illnesses and bore our diseases’” (Matt. 8:16-17).

“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted” (Isa. 53:4).

To Fulfill What Was Spoken (Part One)

To Fulfill What Was Spoken (Part One).  Each of the four gospel accounts—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—draw from roughly the same content of Jesus’ life, ministry, teaching, death, and resurrection, but each one writes to a distinct audience from a distinct perspective with a distinct goal. Matthew writes to the Jews from an Old Testament fulfillment perspective with the goal of convincing them that Jesus is the Messianic King. Mark writes to the Romans from an action and accomplishment perspective with the goal of convincing them that Jesus is the Divine Lord who came not to be served but to serve and give his life a ransom for many. Luke writes to the Greeks from an outsiders’ perspective with the goal of convincing them that Jesus is the Son of Man who came to seek and save the lost. John writes to the whole world from a theological perspective with the goal of convincing them that Jesus is the Son of God who possesses and grants eternal life to all who believe.

Zeroing in on The Gospel According to Matthew, the apostle uses at least twenty-four direct Old Testament promises or descriptions that have been exclusively fulfilled in Jesus Christ. By viewing Jesus through the Old Testament, one can and must recognize him as the Messiah. “Virtually every significant event of Jesus’ life is shown to fulfill Scripture” (Andreas Kostenberger, The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown, p. 214). Of those examples, ten follow a certain “fulfillment formula” that alerts the reader of Matthew’s cumulative biblical evidence supporting the singular conclusion that Jesus is King. “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet” (Matt. 1:22).

Fulfillment Formula #1 (Matt. 1:23 + Isa. 7:14)

“Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel,’ which means, God with us” (Matt. 1:20-23).

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isa. 7:14).

Fulfillment Formula #2 (Matt. 2:15 + Hos. 11:1)

“Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt I called my son" (Matt. 2:13-15).

“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son” (Hos. 11:1).

They Went Out From Us

They Went Out From Us.  I used to suspect that church membership was wise though secondary, an organizational help but not necessarily a biblical concept. The New Testament convinced me that I was wrong, not by a particular verse, but by a network of verses that—when put together—formed the baseline of the normality of membership. A churchless Christian was an anomaly, an ember separated from the fire, and an easy target for the enemy. The New Testament simply assumes membership without explicitly demanding it.

Membership seemed so common in the early church that it never needed a formal defense or an extended explanation, thus there are no verses that codify it. (Though one verse at least strongly rebukes those who minimize the value of meeting together as a church, due to social pressure and threatened persecution: “not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some” [Heb. 10:25].) Yet, there are several verses that demand the removal of membership due to disbelief or unrepentance. Like detecting the existence of a black hole by its shadow when it eclipses another star, one can detect the existence of membership by its shadow when it is revoked. For instance, the Apostle John exposed apostasy within the congregations under his care: “Many antichrists have come” (1 John 2:18). Therefore, “they went out from us, but they were not of us” (1 John 2:19). “They” and “us” requires an official designation; “from” and “of” requires congregational belonging. Believing in Christ clearly precedes belonging to the church. “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting” (2 John 10). John implied a meaningful membership.

Another example of revoking membership required an entire chapter from Paul (1 Corinthians 5). Different than in John’s epistles, expulsion due to heresy, Paul required expulsion due to unrepentance. “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans” (1 Cor. 5:1). “Let him who has done this be removed from among you” (1 Cor. 5:2). “I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty” (1 Cor. 5:11). “Purge the evil person from among you” (1 Cor. 5:13). Thankfully, this expelled person seems to have repented and that his membership was happily reinstated: “You were grieved into repenting” (2 Cor. 7:9). More generally, yet consistent with both above examples, is Titus 3:10, “As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him.”

Membership was a voluntary necessity that could be revoked or refused. Membership helped the congregation’s leadership to identify those who represented Jesus in their specific locality. Membership formed a church’s roster. From within the membership, other subgroups were identified, such as widows who qualified for church support (1 Tim. 5:16). ”Let a widow be enrolled if …” (1 Tim. 5:9), “but refuse to enroll younger widows” (1 Tim. 5:11). Sub-rosters argue strongly for the existence of a main roster. Thus, membership occupied a space that was less than obligatory, but more than optional. The result was this: any mature Christian who wanted to grow their Christian witness and live the Christian life would join a church.

The Servants Knew

The Servants Knew.  Probably neither advisable nor edifying, but for argument’s sake, if it were possible to hear a representative cross-section of the prayers of Christians, what do we ask of the Lord? Filtering out requests for the effectiveness of weight-loss prescriptions and for celebrity coaches dressed in Carolina blue to hurry up and retire already, might our typical prayer somewhat echo Isaiah 64:1? “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence.” When we pray, how often do we ask for dinner and a show? We want a front row seat when God wows the world and fills our churches with new converts, which are certainly right and good to pray. But Jesus shows us that a different kind of front row seat exists for catching a different kind of glimpse at the way God works. Jesus shows his servants what he is doing. 

In the first of seven miraculous signs chronicled in the Gospel of John, Jesus turned water into wine (John 2:1-12). The miracle seems almost reluctant … almost. Jesus did not call for a meeting but was invited to a wedding with his disciples (John 2:2). Knowing the unpublicized scoop about Jesus’ identity, Jesus’ mother seems to suggest that he avert a party failure since “they have no wine” (John 2:3). But Jesus is not reluctant; he is focused on a different audience which his mother could not perceive. Preventing party embarrassment isn’t the point. The wine is secondary. The buzzed crowd never gets a sermon. It is never explained to the master of the feast what Jesus did, or why, or how he did it, though he marveled at the unconventional social practice of keeping the best wine for last, an advantage which he did not activate but might have stolen the credit (John 2:10). All the speaking and doing that Jesus does happens in the periphery, because: “My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4).

“Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.’ So they took it. When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now’” (John 2:6-10).

Hidden from general view, Jesus gives a direct blessing to the servants. It is they who Jesus instructs. It is they who fill the jars. It is they who draw out some water-turned-wine for the maître d’. It is they who knew “where it came from” (2:9). The servants, not the scholars, get to see how God works. The servants, not the socialites, have a role to fill. The servants, not the spectators, witness when Jesus “manifested his glory” (John 2:11) while the others merely marvel at the taste of the wine and the lateness of the hour. The servants alone know!

When Each Part Is Working Properly

When Each Part Is Working Properly.  Formally or informally, the end of August functions as New Year’s Eve for the church, with Labor Day being the unofficial holiday. Happy (early) New Year! The metaphorical ball is going to drop in a few days, not in Times Square, but at the local church. New Year’s at church is a time for remembering our vision (where we are going), being and becoming spiritual mature by knowing Christ deeply, loving God and others authentically, and serving the world purposefully, and reemphasizing our mission (how we will get there), disciples making disciples. What is our spiritual health assessment and next step?

Having spent time at the macro-level in 2024/25 (Ephesians & Hosea), the preaching ministry at Grace will cycle back to the micro-level during the upcoming church year (1 & 2 Timothy, tentatively). We will carefully consider our individual spiritual disciplines, spiritual gifts, and spiritual callings in 2025/26. Every Christian has a salvation testimony, a song in the night, a spiritual gift, and a meaningful ministry largely echoing Paul’s final words to faithful Timothy, ”As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Tim. 4:5). All four of those actions are commands: be, endure, do, and fulfill!

The church’s overall health assumes and enhances the individual’s spiritual growth. Its inverse is also true: the individual’s spiritual growth assumes and enhances the church’s overall health. Therefore, whether at the church or in the disciple, the common denominator is spiritual maturity. Our maturity affects the maturity of others; the maturity of others affects our maturity. “Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Eph. 4:15-16). God designed the church for synergetic spiritual health/growth. When each part is working properly, then each church is able to build itself up in love.

To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice

To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice.  You might have used this line today thinking it was a Bible verse, “Ask forgiveness, not permission.” I know that I quoted this maxim for years before attempting to find it in the Bible. It’s not there. (By the way, neither is, “Cleanliness is next to godliness.”)

Experts who track the origins of quotations suggest that the first one to speak or write these words publicly might have been Rear Admiral Grace Hopper of the US Navy. But the saying likely predated her, too. Hopper’s full quote clearly rested in the context of operational expediency inside a large bureaucracy: “Do the right thing within the organization, whether they know it or not. That way you can help the people who work for you.” My paraphrase: don’t wait for specific approval from the organization to benefit the people in the organization.

“Ask forgiveness, not permission,” is sadly applied outside Hopper’s intent to renegades who justify their unconventional behavior that runs roughshod over people and boundaries to achieve personal agendas. Perhaps you can hear an echo of, “Ask forgiveness, not permission,” in another of our extra-biblical maxims, “You can’t make omelets without breaking eggs.” Such a rebellious spirit, however, the Bible condemns directly in at least five places, and indirectly in probably fifteen more.

The first direct condemnation of rebellion disguised as piety formed its enduring biblical principle. King Saul had directly disobeyed God’s command, yet he attempted to deflect his guilt by blaming the people and pretending a religious motive for his disobedience. “And Saul said to Samuel, ‘I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal’” (1 Sam. 15:20-21). Saul was implying that he had improved God’s command by editing it, but God was not fooled. “And Samuel said, ‘Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king’” (1 Sam. 15:22-23).

Harkening back to Saul’s disobedience, this principle is repeated four more times in similar situations: Psalm 51:16, Hosea 6:6, Matthew 9:13, and Mark 12:7. But, it is categorically better to align with God’s word than to course-correct. God wants the heart, not the sacrifices.