Disciples Global Network

In Matthew’s Gospel account, the life, and the deeds of Jesus echo key events in the history of Israel. Not that he reenacts them, but he brings what God began in the past to its intended fulfillment in the Kingdom of God. The Nazarene is the Greater Lawgiver foreshadowed in the story of Israel’s exodus from Egypt. By presenting parallels between Moses and Jesus, Matthew sets the stage for the teachings of the “ Coming One ,” especially as represented in his ‘Sermon on the Mount’.

According to the Psalmist, the “ Son ” will be anointed to reign on the Throne of David “ on my holy mount .” According to the New Testament, that king is Jesus of Nazareth, and his rule began following his resurrection and ascension. Ever since his enthronement, he has been extending his sovereignty to the “ uttermost parts of the Earth ” as his heralds proclaim the “ Kingdom of God ” to the nations.

The Prologue of John’s Gospel introduces key themes of his book - Life, Light, Witness, Truth, and Grace. Jesus is the Light of the world, the source of Grace and Truth, the True Tabernacle, the only-born Son of God, and the one who alone has seen the Father. It concludes by declaring that he is the one who interprets the “ unseen God .” Only the Nazarene has seen God and he resides “ in the bosom of the Father ,” an expression stressing the intimate relationship between the Son and the Father.

In his Letter to the Galatians , Paul chides believers for their desire “ to return to bondage under the weak and beggarly rudiments ” of the world, including calendrical observations and circumcision. Since they are no longer “minors” but full heirs who live in the AGE OF FULFILLMENT and have the Gift of the Spirit, resorting to outmoded rituals is tantamount to returning to a state of slavery.

Paul pinned the start of the “ Last Days ” to the death and resurrection of Jesus. In him, the messianic age, the time of fulfillment has arrived. Ever since the promises of God have been finding their “ yea and amen ” in the Risen Christ. While the term “ Last Days ” is not frequent in Paul’s letters, he does demonstrate his understanding that History’s final stage has commenced with the death and resurrection of the Nazarene, and therefore, nothing can or will ever be the same again.

The Gift of the Spirit is for every man who repents, even to those afar off, and in fulfillment of the promise of the Father . After completing his sermon on the Day of Pentecost, Peter summoned his audience to repent and be baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ.” But something more than a call to accept the Gospel was transpiring - he concluded his sermon on a note of fulfillment and with a foretaste of things to come. The apostle’s sermon began with a citation from the Book of Joel, and he finished it with a clause from the same passage, thus neatly bracketing Peter’s message.