Here is today’s lesson, which I have uploaded to this blog as a PDF:

God Does Not Give A Free Pass To Those Who Have Not Heard The Gospel

Matthew 3:1: “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
3 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.”

The first coming of Jesus was not something that was done in a corner. There were the angels that appeared the night He was born; there was the dramatic trip by the wise men that stirred up the whole city of Jerusalem; and there was John the Baptist, who made it very clear that the Messiah was at hand – and, in fact, actually pointed Him out when He came!

Over the course of His ministry Jesus made it clear that He was the Messiah. He performed many miracles; He claimed it personally on several occasions; and He was widely know. Jesus was not an obscure person; He was quite famous.

But Jesus was still rejected by His people and the chief priests. They weren’t interested in His offer, so the Lord sent the terrible judgment of AD 70 upon them. Jesus came and offered, but He was rejected and murdered.

I realize that He had to die, but the Jews did not have to reject Him. Although God knew that they would reject Him, it was still their choice. The day will come when the Jews will regret that decision and will accept Him as Messiah, but that day will not be until the very end of the Tribulation.

Personally, I do not think that day is very near. There are far too many things that need to happen before the Tribulation starts. Several wars needs to take place, Israel needs to be radically changed, and Babylon needs to be rebuilt and become the center of the world. It could easily take a lifetime – if not more – for all these pieces to fall into place. I doubt that the Tribulation will begin anytime soon.

How He Became King: After his father Omri died
When He Began Reigning: Uncertain
Reign Length: 22 years
Ruled Over: Israel
Type of King: Evil
Prophet: Elijah, Micaiah
Death: Killed in battle
Burial: Buried in Samaria

Ahab became king after his father Omri died. He reigned for 22 years, and he was even more wicked than the rulers who came before him:

I Kings 16:29: “And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years.
30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him.”

King Ahab married the wicked woman Jezebel and worshiped Baal:

1 Kings 16:31: “And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.
32 And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.
33 And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.”

Elijah the prophet had his ministry during the reign of Ahab. Elijah told Ahab that there would be no rain but by his word, and there was no rain for three years. Ahab tried to find Elijah so he could kill him, but the Lord watched over Elijah and protected him. In the third year God told Elijah to go to Ahab, and the prophet challenged the king to a contest:

I Kings 18:17: “And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?
18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.
19 Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table.”

Elijah said that both sides were to build altars, but neither were to light their sacrifices. Instead they were to call out to their gods and ask their gods to light the sacrifices for them, in order to prove that they were the true God. The servants of Baal spent hours calling out, but nothing happened and their sacrifice remained unlit. When Elijah called out to God, though, fire came down from Heaven and consumed both the sacrifice and the altar itself (1 Kings 18:20-38).

Elijah then commanded that the prophets of Baal be killed. After they were dead, Elijah told Ahab that it was going to rain (I Kings 18:41-45).

When Jezebel heard what had happened, she said that she was going to kill Elijah:

1 Kings 19:2: “Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.”

Elijah then fled to Horeb, where God spoke to him and told him to anoint Jehu as king over Israel.

Benhadad, king of Syria, fought against Samaria. When God delivered them into Ahab’s hands the king defeated them, but instead of destroying them he made peace with Benhadad and sent him away. God sent a prophet to tell Ahab that since he refused to kill Benhadad, God would kill him instead:

I Kings 20:42: “And he said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.
43 And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.”

After this Ahab saw Naboth’s vineyard and coveted it. Ahab tried to purchase it, but Naboth refused to sell it. When the king told Jezebel about this, she arranged for Naboth to be murdered. After Naboth was dead the king seized his vineyard. Elijah met him there and told the king that the dogs would lick his blood in the same place where they licked Naboth’s blood:

I Kings 21:17: “And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
18 Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it.
19 And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.”

Furthermore, God said that He was going to destroy Ahab’s house as utterly and completely as He had destroyed Jeroboam’s house:

1 Kings 21:21: “Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel,
22 And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin.”

However, when Ahab put on sackcloth and wept, God said that He would bring the judgment in the days of Ahab’s sons, and not in Ahab’s days.

When Ahab went to attack Ramothgilead, he persuaded Jehoshaphat (the king of Judah) to help him in battle. The prophet Micaiah warned them that the battle would not lead to victory:

I Kings 22:15: “So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.
16 And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the Lord?
17 And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the Lord said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace.”

Ahab became angry with Micaiah and had him thrown in prison. However, Micaiah was correct. During the battle Ahab was shot by a chance arrow and wounded, and he died of his injuries:

I Kings 22:34: “And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.
35 And the battle increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot.
36 And there went a proclamation throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his own country.
37 So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria.
38 And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armour; according unto the word of the Lord which he spake.”

After he died, his body was brought back to Samaria and buried. His son Ahaziah then ruled over Israel in his stead.

Matthew 2:12: “And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.”

As you can see, God was protecting the child. He allowed the wise men to come and worship Him, and then He moved Jesus to Egypt for safety – thus fulfilling an Old Testament prophecy.

Matthew 2:16: “Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying,
18 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.”

Here we see that another Old Testament prophecy was fulfilled. Herod tried to kill Jesus, and did so by the mass slaughter of all children 2 years old and younger. But the attempt failed because Jesus was in Egypt.

These are just two of the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled; there are many more. The fact that Jesus fulfilled all of the Old Testament prophecies about Him is very strong evidence that He was exactly who He claimed to be.

Here is today’s lesson, which I have uploaded to this blog as a PDF:

Church Discipline Is Not Optional

Matthew 2:10: “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child
with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.”

The reason the Gentile wise men spent all that time traveling to Israel was so they could worship and honor the Messiah. They probably knew about Him from Daniel’s prophecies, and they were thrilled when they at last found Him. They were eager to worship Him and they gave gifts that were worthy of of who He was. They gave Him gold, which was a gift for a king; frankincense, which was an offering of incense to a deity, and myrrh, which probably looked forward to His death. In these gifts the wise men revealed that they understood who He was and what He had come to accomplish.

As a side note, it’s interesting to notice that Jesus was in a house, not a stable, and that he was a young child, not an infant. He was probably around 2 years old at the time these events took place.

How He Became King: After Zimri killed himself
When He Began Reigning: Uncertain
Reign Length: 12 years
Ruled Over: Israel
Type of King: Evil
Prophet: Uncertain
Death: Uncertain
Burial: Buried in Samaria

When Israel discovered that Zimri had assassinated King Elah, the nation appointed Omri as their king:

I Kings 16:16: “And the people that were encamped heard say, Zimri hath conspired, and hath also slain the king: wherefore all Israel made Omri, the captain of the host, king over Israel that day in the camp.”

Omri then went up against Zimri and besieged the city of Tirzah. When Zimri saw that all was lost, he burned down the king’s palace and died in the fire (1 Kings 16:18). Omri then struggled against Tibni, because some of the nation supported Omri and the rest supported Tibni. Over time Tibni lost, and after he died Omri became king:

I Kings 16:21: “Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; and half followed Omri.
22 But the people that followed Omri prevailed against the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath: so Tibni died, and Omri reigned.”

Omri reigned over Israel for 12 years. He did worse evil than those who came before him:

I Kings 16:23: “In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah.
24 And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria.
25 But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the Lord, and did worse than all that were before him.
26 For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger with their vanities.”

When he died, he was buried in Samaria:

1 Kings 16:28: “So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria: and Ahab his son reigned in his stead.”

His son Ahab then became king over Israel.

Matthew 2:3: “When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.”

This is really an astonishing story! The chief priests knew what the prophecies said, but they weren’t looking for the Messiah, they weren’t concerned about Him, and ultimately they had Jesus killed. They didn’t care about Him and they weren’t going to worship Him. They saw Him as a threat, not a blessing, and so He had to die. The leaders killed the prophets who prophesied about Christ, and they ultimately killed Christ as well. That is why God brought the terrible AD 70 judgment against Jerusalem.

Jesus came unto His own, and His own received Him not. He spent His earthly ministry reaching out to them, but they refused to repent and believe. Even after Jesus rose from the dead, He waited 40 days to give Israel a chance to repent – but even His resurrection refused to persuade them.

Here is today’s lesson, which I have uploaded to this blog as a PDF:

Christians Are Not Allowed To Form Alliances With Non-Christians

Matthew 2:1: “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.”

A few points. First, the Bible just says there were wise men; it doesn’t say how many. There may have been more or less than three. It’s certainly likely that these three people didn’t travel all the way by themselves; they probably had servants, and supplies, and so forth. So it’s likely that they made up quite a group. These were not three people, riding camels, carrying only the clothes on their back. This was quite an effort.

Also, notice that these wise men – who were not Jews! – knew that the Messiah had been born, but Israel missed it entirely. (The Jews have still missed it, to this day.) It should have been a source of tremendous embarrassment that Gentiles realized the Messiah had been born while they did not, but that’s not how they saw it. Their response was not to worship Jesus but to hunt him down and try to kill him. That attitude has not changed over the years either: the Jews continue to reject Jesus, to this day.

The Bible tells us that one day the Jews will realize their error and will repent and be saved, but that day is still many years away. It will not occur until the end of the Tribulation.

How He Became King: After assassinating Elah
When He Began Reigning: Uncertain
Reign Length: 7 days
Ruled Over: Israel
Type of King: Evil
Prophet: Uncertain
Death: Burned down the palace and died in the flames
Burial: Unknown

After Zimri assassinated Elah, he reigned for seven days:

I Kings 16:15: “In the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah did Zimri reign seven days in Tirzah. And the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines.”

When the nation of Israel found out what Zimri had done, they made Omri their king. When Omri came against him, Zimri burned down the palace and died in the fire:

I Kings 16:16: “And the people that were encamped heard say, Zimri hath conspired, and hath also slain the king: wherefore all Israel made Omri, the captain of the host, king over Israel that day in the camp.
17 And Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah.
18 And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the palace of the king’s house, and burnt the king’s house over him with fire, and died.”

After his death, Omri ruled over Israel.

Matthew 1:18: “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.”

Matthew focuses on Joseph’s part of the story, whereas Luke focus on Mary’s part. Together we get both perspectives.

Matthew 1:20: “But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”

I don’t know what Mary told Joseph, but he obviously believed that she had been sleeping around; hence his decision to divorce her. (Although they weren’t married, the engagements they had in those days were quite strict, and one essentially had to get divorced in order to get out of the relationship.) However, God intervened and sent an angel to explain to Joseph what was going on. God actually used angels quite a bit throughout the life of Christ; they seem to crop up fairly often. It’s interesting to note that at this point in history, instead of speaking through prophets (as was usually done in the Old Testament), He spoke through angels and visions instead.

Matthew 1:23: “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.”

People have argued about whether the word “virgin” in Isaiah actually meant virgin or just meant young woman. However, there can be no doubt that the word here, in Greek, really does mean virgin and cannot possibly mean anything else. The Virgin Birth is critical to the gospel, because that is how Christ was able to be born without sin. It is a vital doctrine. You cannot discard it without discarding the entire gospel as well. If Christ was not born of a virgin then He was born in sin, and if He was born in sin then His death could not save anyone. His death could only pay the ransom for our sins if He had no sins of His own – and that requires the virgin birth.

Matthew 1:24: “Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:”

Joseph did exactly as God told him to do, even though he surely knew what people would think and say. He really was a just man. It took a lot of guts to do this, but he did it.

Matthew 1:25: “And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.”

Notice that the passage says that Jospeh knew her not until Jesus was born. That clearly implies that he did consummate his marriage with her after Jesus was born. We know this is the case because later verses speak of other brothers of Jesus, such as James. Catholics may try to argue that Mary stayed a virgin all her life and never had any other children, but the Bible does not support that idea at all.

Here is today’s lesson, which I have uploaded to this blog as a PDF:

Remarriage After Divorce Is Usually A Sin

During Vacation Bible School I taught a series of lessons that focused on apologetics. I have now taken those lessons and compiled them into this book. The lessons cover the following subjects:

• The Case for the Bible
• The Case for Jesus
• Who Was Jesus?
• The Case for the Resurrection

You can download the book from my blog right here, free of charge:

The Case for Christianity (PDF file; 140 pages)

Printed copies are also available here.

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

For the record, this is the genealogy of Christ through Joseph. The other one in Luke 3 is the genealogy through Mary.

Matthew 1:2: “Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;”

As we can see, Matthew skips a great many generations. He focuses on the Jewish lineage of Christ, starting with Abraham and working on from there. His focus is on Jesus as a Jew.

Matthew 1:3: “And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;”

Notice “of Thamar”, referring to the Old Testament story about Judah and Tamar. Judah impregnated his own daughter-in-law because he thought she was a prostitute. It’s a complicated story. Yet it is mentioned here, because Christ is in that lineage.

Matthew 1:6: “And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;”

Here is something else that is perhaps unexpected: while she is not named, there can be no doubt that this is talking about Bathsheba. By calling her “her that had been the wife of Urias” the author is reminding everyone exactly how David had acquired her as his wife. The fact that one of their children were included in the lineage of Christ is quite extraordinary.

Matthew 1:11: “And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:”

This is why some Jews believe that there can be no Messiah, because the line of Jechonias was cursed, and God said that none of his offspring would sit on the throne.

The answer to this puzzle is that Christ was the adopted son of Joseph. Since He was adopted into this line, and not born into it, the curse does not apply to Him. On top of that, Mary – His real mother, not adopted like His father – was also of the line of David, through Nathan. That is why Isaiah says “unto us a child is born / unto us a son is given”. Christ was born through Mary, and given/adopted through Joseph.

Matthew 1:17: “So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.”

Some have said that in order to get this a few people were skipped. I do not know if that is the case or not, and I’m also not sure if it actually matters. What we can see is that Christ is a Jew, the son of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, of the tribe of Judah, and of the offspring of David – just as the prophecies foretold.