Swindoll's Living Insights Commentary Matthew 1a - Flipbook - Page 20
THE BOOK OF MATTHEW
silence during which God’s people pored over the Old Testament writings for clues pointing to the coming Messiah, many may have wondered whether God had forgotten His promises and deserted them.
Seeming silence from God can feel that way sometimes. However, John
the Baptizer broke the silence with a call to repentance in preparation
for the coming Messiah . . . and then Jesus Himself arrived with an offer
of the kingdom, based on one condition—faith. Faith in a Messiah who
met very few people’s expectations. Faith in a kingdom that advanced
through peace rather than war. Faith in a God who cared not only for
His people, Israel, but for the whole world.
For anybody who feels like God forgets His people, Matthew speaks
loudly in the silence. He will never forsake His people and never
break His promises. Though God may not show up exactly the way
we’re expecting or through the means we think He should, God does
show up. Matthew’s Gospel not only reveals that Jesus is the King, Israel’s long-awaited Messiah, but it also reminds us that Jesus is our
Immanuel—“God with us”—now resurrected and ascended, yet with
us still, even to the end of the age (see 28:20).
Get ready to meet your King!
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