Tag Archives: King David

Christian Living, Devotion, Religion and Spirituality

From a Skilled Sculptor’s Hands

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I have a friend who is a very skilled sculptor. He has mastered the skill by putting a lot of painful hours into work. With all the patience and courage he can muster, he grabs his hammer and chisels in his hands. He takes a painstaking look at the rock he is going to work on. Caressing it gently and carefully as if the rock before him were fragile, he puts his chisel on the spot that he thinks is better, to begin with. He raises the hammer just above the level of his eyebrows and strikes it with the right amount of pressure to cut the rock. It is a very measured and well-calculated strike. He knows his hammer and his chisel far better than anyone.

We are not a byproduct of random chance. Nor are we left as a matter in motion in the vast universe. We have created beings. Even more so, we are made and formed with a purpose in his likeness.

The unrelenting process must continue in order to bring the rock into its intended shape. The work of the skilled sculptor’s hands is coming to a shape that doesn’t look anything like it was before. He has transformed it into something marvelous and meaningful. That masterpiece is unmatched by anything that we have seen before. A finished work depicts his creator’s skill and reflects his maker’s heart.

spermatozoid

Similarly, the Creator God made us fearfully and wonderfully in our mother’s womb. The life-forming elements of a man and a woman do not look like anything, at least a human being. He oversaw us from the very moment when we were conceived. All the complexities of our human body systems and parts only confirm how he wove us as skilled workmanship weave elegant jewels. We are the work of his hands. No one could have said any better than King David in his Psalm 139:13-14:

For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.

We are not a byproduct of random chance. Nor are we left as a matter in motion in the vast universe. We are created beings. Even more so, we are made and formed with a purpose in His likeness. Prophets from the ancient console that we are called to be his children. We are his masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10).

Bible, Gospel, New Testament, Old Testament, Prophets, Religion and Spirituality

Three Major Themes in the Gospel of Matthew

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In the previous post, I mentioned that the Gospel of Matthew has a special Jewish flavor in its contents and characteristics, since it was written especially for Jews in mind. It’s Matthew’s effort to tell the story of Jesus in the backyards and alleys of Jerusalem and the hills and plains of Galilee and beyond that Jesus was the Promised One, a true deliverer – Messiah – who came to establish the Kingdom of God. Let’s review briefly three major themes that run throughout the gospel account here.

1. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament.

a. Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecy.

Matthew quotes prophet Isaiah (7:14) to point out how Jesus fulfilled the prophecy through virgin birth (Matthew 1:23). Micah 5:2 is fulfilled by being born in Bethlehem. The prophecies in Hosea 11:9, Micah 7:9 were also affirming that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies. Isaiah 40:1,2; 52 Psalm 118:12, Zechariah 12:10, and the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 52, all these are testifying Jesus as the Coming Messiah.

b. New Moses

Moses in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament have significant similarities. Both were priests and teachers of the Laws. Their birth caused uproar and disruption in society. Moses received the Law in the Sinai, and Jesus gave the Golden Rules (first sermon) on Mount Olive. Moses is the mediator of the Old Covenant through animal sacrifice, whereas Jesus is the Mediator of the New Covenant through his blood.

c. Jesus as the King from the line of David.

The genealogy of Jesus clearly shows that he is from the line of David. A significant number of passages in the Scripture tell us that he is from the Davidic line. People in Israel addressed him as the “Son of David” during his earthly ministry (Matthew 12:21; 21:42). Therefore, He is the rightful heir to the throne of David.

d. Jesus is the Seed of Abraham

Jesus is attributed as the hope of nations, whereas Abraham is known as the blessing for the nations.

2. God (the Father/King) is the God of both Grace and Judgment

This theme also plays out throughout the book. The Parable of Weeds (13:24-42), the Parable of Talents (25:14-30), and the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (20:1-16) show how gracious God is. At the same time, the Parables of the Great Banquet (22:1-14), the passage of the Seven Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees (22-25), and the signs of the end time and judgment day chapters show how strictly judgmental he is.
3. The Kingdom of God does not Belong to One Particular Ethnic Group.

It is extended to all people from all nations and tribes. Matthew 28:16-20 explicitly talks about people from the ends of the earth; the book of Revelation (7:9) also gives us the heavenly glimpse that a great multitude of people beyond our capacity to count come from every nation, and all tribes and people and tongues and worship the Lamb.