I want t exercise my presumed right of poetic license before you read the context of Pastor Sampier's exegesis on Saint Matthews posit, with particular interest paid to his quote of Christ's statement that "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them."
When he spoke on Sunday, February 10th , he stated to you that he was more serious than ever before regarding scripture. He stated to you that all the words of the prophets must come true and that Jesus had come to fulfill all those words. Many things are yet to come, things spoken of by the prophets and that the advent of Jesus set into motion. As proof that the prophecies of Jesus are fulfilled, he offered the prophecy of Jesus as found in Matthew 23 - that not one stone of the temple would be left upon the other- and they weren't; destroyed by the Romans in approximately 70 AD. They were seeking the over-laid gold on the temple that had seeped into the cracks. And not one stone was left upon the other. He offered for your consideration, the 9th chapter of Isaiah: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given... And he was.
But, continuing with the theme that all the words of the prophets are to be fulfilled, he noted the following: "Of the increase of his government and peace, there shall be no end..." That wasn't fulfilled. Jesus was murdered by Pilate. So, if we believe, then we must accept first, that Christ arose on the third day, as the first fruit of the resurrection, just as he himself prophesied, and secondly, there will be a time, yet to come, when his words will be completely fulfilled and "...of his kingdom, there shall be no end..." And he will reign supreme, as the words of the prophets so state. Additionally, as believers, we must adhere to the words of prophesy, as they regard the end-time. Please read the following dissertation with thought paid to the full completion of all that has been prophesied and all that Christ has said must come to pass.
_____________________________________________________________________During the Christmas season, I produced for the Church family, a short article harmonizing the accounts of Mathew and Luke regarding the birth and early childhood of Jesus. From comments I have received, the "harmony" was a help and made the recording of the two more understandable and even compatible.
In the course of study, I became intrigued with Matthew's writing and I have continued a new study of his Gospel. I noted with special interest, his very early notation on Jesus' statement that he had not come to destroy the Law, (Moses' writings), or the prophetic writings. Matthew records Jesus' statement "Do not think that I have come to DESTROY the Law or the prophets." The Greek word used for "destroy" means to "loosen down," as one would loosen down a tent, meaning "it is no longer of beneficial use." Jesus said, " I have not come to do that. What I have come to do is to "make full," "to bring to completion" what Moses and the prophets have set forth. His strong statement seems to mean "My mission is to fulfill the requirements of the Law and to bring to complete fulfillment the prophetic utterances."
To place emphasis upon what he had just said he added, "Until Heaven and Earth pass away, not one "jot" or " tittle," (the smallest of Hebrew letters), "shall pass from those writings until all shall come into being."
I had to ask myself, "Can this be true:" In our day and age, so little attention seems to be paid to the moral responsibilities set forth in the COMMANDMENTS and even less attention seems to be paid to recorded prophecies.
When we look at "prophetic" statements said to have been made by Jesus during his ministry, and we see their fulfillment, could he be stating a truth? In Matthew 23:37-38, Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Then he emphatically stated "YOUR HOUSE IS LEFT TO YOU DESOLATE." Some time later, explaining this to his disciples, he remarked "There will not be left 'one stone upon another' in the temple structure." Jerusalem was ravaged, people killed, the captives dispersed and their temple utterly destroyed; circa 70 A.D.
[HISTORICAL NOTE: The reason the temple stones were removed from one another was that the interior of the temple area was overlaid with gold sheeting. When the temple was burned by over-zealous Roman soldiers, the gold melted and ran into the cracks between the stones. The only way to retrieve the gold, part of a soldiers' booty, was to pry the stones apart- and leave nothing unturned.]
In still another incident of Jesus' prophecies being fulfilled is that of Peter's epic failure. As recorded in Matthew 26, just prior to Jesus' crucifixion, Peter declared with characteristic self-aggrandizement, "Though all the apostles deny and forsake you, I WILL NOT!" Jesus replied, "Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me thrice." And he did. And he fled into the darkness. And Jesus later offered specific instruction for Peter's reconciliation.
In my studies, I became concerned with regard to certain prophecies made by Isaiah, In these prophecies, there are some profound statements that seem to be unfilfilled to this day.
There does seem to fulfillment in some instances. Matthew states in Chapter 4:13-16 that Jesus making his residence in Capernaum was a fulfillment of Isaiah 9:1-2 "...The land of Zebulon and the land of Naphtali, by way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined." Matthew also felt that John the Baptist's preaching was a fulfillment of Isaiah 40:3 "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the lord." There were other prophecies he felt were a fulfillment of the Messiah's coming which I shall note later.
However, please note Isaiah 2:1-22. Surely, this is a Messianic prophecy! Has it ever come close to being completely fulfilled? I think not. When read in the perspective of the totality of prophetic fulfillment, I believe you will understand there is yet more to come!
Christian adherents hold that Isaiah 9:6 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given" is completely Messianic. Luke obviously embraces the fulfillment of the prophecy in his not so thinly veiled description of the birth of Jesus in Chapt.2:7-14. But, the latter portion of vs.6 and vs. 7 has never come close to having been fulfilled "And the government shall be upon his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this."
This prophecy certainly was not fulfilled in the sentence of the Christmas message of a child being born and a son being given. Quite the opposite! Jesus was crucified and hanged on a crude, raw hewn cross that was intended for vilification, under a tag dictated by Pilate "THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS." Written in three languages, so there would be no misconception of who he was and, in spite of their best human efforts to the contrary, to divinely confirm that this man was himself, the fulfillment and completion of all Messianic prophecy!
Isaiah 11 contains yet another spectacular, powerful prophecy that is assuredly Messianic: "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2) The spirit of the LORD will rest on him--the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, The Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD--3) and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4) but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth."
And Isaiah goes on to describe with almost ethereal quality what it will be like when Christ reigns: The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together;and a little child will lead them. 7) The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8) The infant will play near the cobra's den... 11) In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant of his people...
Do all these prophecies fall to the ground unfulfilled?
In this same book, 61:1-3, the prophecy states :The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor; he as sent me to heal the brokenhearted..."Luke states that in the early stages of his ministry, Jesus went to Nazareth. After he had entered the Synagogue and formalities had been dispensed, he was handed the scroll of Isaiah and asked to read. He went to what is now referred to as Chapt 61 and read those very words and then stated, 'TODAY, THIS SCRIPTURE IS FULFILLED IN YOUR HEARING." (LUKE 4:21) Jesus read nothing further.
He fulfilled this part in their presence but, are verses 4-11 just added words, filler, if you will, or do they remain to be fulfilled? "They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. 5) Strangers will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. 6) And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. 7)Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and
everlasting joy will be yours. 8) "For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing. in my faithfulness I will reward my people and make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed." 10)I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11) For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.
Again, Jesus' words come to mind: Do not think that I have come to destroy--abrogate--take down or make of no-effect,' the law of the prophets."
I have come to fulfill or "fill to the fullest." Until the Heavens and the Earth shall pass away, not one 'iota,'(jot) or one particle of a Hebrew writing character shall, in any manner, pass away from the Law till all shall come to be."
I have noted that in our day, little attention is paid to the moral and ethical demands of human conduct as set forth by the Commandments. Even less attention is paid to prophecies recorded in the Old Testament.
It has been approximately 2,000 years since Jesus made his statements(s) and approximately 2,700 years since Isaiah recorded his prophecies. Does time negate our Lord's words? Does it negate Isaiah's prophecies? Here is the matter laid out and the resolution to the whole thing, " To him who hath an ear, let him hear..."
With some degree of dismay, but with hopeful anticipation of verses 16 and 17, I am submitting Matthew 13:13b-17 to you as further testament to the state of the spiritual Union as it now possibly stands:
Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them who will not see or hear is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: "You will be ever hearing but never understanding: you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. for this people's heart has become calloused: they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them." 16.) But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17). For I tell you the the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it."
