The word ‘fulfill’ in Matthew 5:17 has generated significant discussion among New Testament scholars, and rightly so, because it carries tremendous theological weight. Blomberg notes that Jesus likely intended the term to do multiple things at once: he...
There is something significant buried in the very first words Jesus speaks in this passage: ‘Do not think.’ He is addressing a conclusion people were already drawing about him and his ministry. His teaching was so different, so authoritative, so unlike...
This week, we have walked through one of the most searching passages in all the Minor Prophets. We have seen priests who maintained every outward form of worship while their hearts were cold and their offerings were contemptible. We have seen God’s response, not...
After four days in the dark terrain of Malachi’s rebuke, we arrive at the great turning point. Everything God demanded of Israel’s priests, Jesus fulfilled perfectly. Where they were careless, he was meticulous. Where they were indifferent, he was wholly...
By verses 12 and 13, the rebuke has shifted from behavior to attitude. Earlier, God confronted the priests on what they were doing. Now he confronts them on what they are feeling and saying while they do it. They have been at this long enough that they have grown...
