Biblical Reflections Cogworks Media

The Gospel of Matthew is the transition between the Old and the New Testaments.  Matthew is writing to Jews living outside of Israel to tell them that in Jesus all of the prophecies and the promises of the Old Testament have been fulfilled.  The key verse for Matthew is 5:17, where Jesus says that he did not come to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfill them.  Matthew presents Jesus as the Messianic King, the descendant of King David, and the new Moses, who presents a New Covenant and a New Law.

Paul’s Letter to the Galatians is likely his earliest letter in the New Testament and his most stern letter.  He is upset that people in the churches in Galatia are turning from a gospel of “grace through faith” to a different gospel of “grace through faith plus obedience to the Law of Moses” in order to be saved.  This is an intense presentation of the Gospel.  This is the book that turned the heart of Martin Luther to salvation and became his constant companion when preaching the gospel during the Reformation.

The Gospel of John is a deep, deep book, that is exquisitely written.  While we focused on the person of the Apostle John and his first epistle, 1 John, in Episode 1 of this series, here we take a look at the Gospel of John.  John says that he wrote this Gospel so that we, the readers, would believe that Jesus is the Christ, that is the Messiah, God come in the flesh, who died to take away the sins of the world, and that believing this truth we would have eternal life in Christ Jesus.

The testimony of the Angels is reported to us in scripture by Mary, the Mother of Jesus.  Mary tells us that the Angel Gabriel told her she would give virgin birth to the Messiah.  Mary reported what the shepherds told her that the angels had said to them on the night Jesus was born.  Mary told us what the angel of God said to her betrothed, Joseph, that Mary was pregnant with the Messiah by reason of the Holy Spirit and that she was still a virgin.  And she waited 50-years to be able to tell her story.

The testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by the early church is recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:1-11.  Taken on its face, it is a masterful, legal presentation of concentric rings of evidence, consisting of different witnesses, with different perspectives, sympathies, indifference, and even opposition, yet who all testified that Jesus is God come in the flesh, who died to take away the sins of the world.  After reading this, no objective person can deny that there is enough evidence to prove the Gospel Message.

The Apostle Paul was a Type A++++ personality, who always graduated first in his class. Unlike Peter, Paul, as a Pharisee, thought that if he could work hard enough, he could get to heaven on his own merit.  And so, God broke Paul, over and over and over.  Finally, in his old age, Paul could say with confidence in his letters, it is not my work or my accomplishments, but God’s grace that has saved me.