Bible Study

Today we read Matthew 5. The so-called Beatitudes (“blessed are…, blessed are”) are very famous. But what if you think: “How can I be blessed? Because I am sometimes *not* merciful or pure in heart or a peacemaker? Sometimes I seem to do the opposite of what it says here (and I hate it when I am like that…)!?” The answer is that *Jesus* is all those things. *He* is poor in spirit, He is meek, He is pure in heart… And because He has given you His Holy Spirit ,who enables you to believe in Jesus Christ, you *are* blessed!

Today we read Matthew 4. Note that Jesus uses words from the Bible to fight back against Satan’s temptations. We Christians should memorize parts of Scripture, since the Bible is the actual Word of God. Satan knows this and is afraid of it. A good verse to memorize today would be Matthew 4:4: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Today we read Matthew 3 and once again meet John the Baptist who is preparing the way of the Lord, pointing people to Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. Also, notice the Trinity at the end of the chapter: God the Father is well pleased with Jesus; God the Son is being baptized; and God the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus as a dove. One God in three persons.

Today we read Matthew 2. Here we have the well-known account of the wise men (sometimes called “three kings”), following a star to find the Messiah, the baby Jesus. At least one of these wise men possibly came from Persia! Once again, Old Testament prophecies are fulfilled: from Numbers 24:17 (that a star would come out of Bethlehem) and from Micah 5:2 (that the Messiah Jesus would be born in Bethlehem). These prophesies–and so many more– are all fulfilled in Jesus Christ!