FulFILLED

Before we continue on in the Old Testament with Moses & the Israelites, we are going to travel further in time to the New Testament! The book of Matthew has a great way of showing us how the 2 Testaments link, and also how they link all the way to us: that link is Jesus Christ!

"The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." Matthew 1:1.

Matthew starts out describing how Jesus was born out of the original line of Abraham & David. This shows that as Jesus grows up, He will have the authority to speak to the Jews and teach them about the law which He came to fulfill:

"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." Matthew 5:17.

In fact, the first chapter of Matthew shows clearly that the law & prophecies were being fulfilled since Jesus' birth! And why is all this significant? We live in a world of doubt today. Also, a world of disconnect. There is no faith in God, and a lot of faith in technological connections yet being so distant & disconnected from God!

Without these crucial first few chapters of Matthew, it would be hard for Jews to see a connection to God through Jesus (who IS God!). It would also be hard for humanity as a whole to connect with Him in this day & hour. If Jesus did not fulfill, we could not be filled by Him today!

Most of us know the story of Mary & Joseph, and how she was a virgin with of the Holy Ghost (Matthew 1:18). But did you know it was foretold long ago in the OT!? (Old Testament):

"Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." Matthew 1:22‭-‬23.

So many people today say they can't believe the Bible because it's so old. But with it's list of geneologies & fulfilled prophecies documented, how can we not!? Many of us have looked into ancestry.com to try to see the links to our past. If we don't trust the Bible, which is literally ancestry.com since the beginning of time, how can we trust a website!? Again, all about a modern-day disconnect from an obvious Truth!

It's all about the Emmanuel: God with us. Since the tabernacle until now, that's what God has wanted: to dwell with us. But remember, if Jesus did not fulfill, we could not be filled with the Holy Ghost & dwell with Him in that special way today!

Joseph & Mary had to take young Jesus to Egypt for a while to protect Him from king Herod, and even that was a fulfillment:

"And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son." Matthew 2:15.

And when they had escaped, king Herod was so upset that he had all the boys killed that were 2 years old and under. Again, another true (yet devastating) fulfillment:

"Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not." Matthew 2:17‭-‬18.

When it was safe to return after the death of Herod, God guided them to Nazareth "...that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene."

Matthew 2:23.

Then came the birth of John the Baptist, who would make way for Jesus and point people to Him. He baptized many people and told them to repent of their sins. ANOTHER fulfillment:


"And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." Matthew 3:2‭-‬3.



And we are now coming to a very crucial fulfillment: Jesus' baptism. Now, I am not only speaking of the fact that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. I am talking about the fact that Jesus had another baptism that would come in the future: the baptism of the Spirit! So, John introduced water baptism, but he prophesied of Jesus' Spirit baptism of the Holy Ghost which is just as crucial to our salvation:


"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:" Matthew 3:11.



This was not fulfilled in these few chapters, but John spoke of something that had to happen after Jesus' death & Resurrection when He poured out His Spirit! After seeing all these past fulfillments take place, there's no question this one will too! Don't worry, we're making our way there!


John the Baptist thought he was so unworthy to baptize Jesus. He knew who he was (Jesus & John were cousins). But not only that, John knew Jesus was THE ONE. But Jesus said He must be baptized by John:


"And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him."
Matthew 3:15.



The Spirit of God then descended upon Him like a dove, and already the prophecy of John showed signs of being fulfilled too!


If it has been hard to believe the Bible for any reason, take a good look at these chapters. It is so clear to see how much God wants to reveal that His Word is true, and that He desires to dwell with us in a special way. If we can find other sources credible, then we should have no problem believing God!