Daily Devotional--8/20/2010

Matthew 1:22-23

²²All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us."

Matthew 2:5-6

⁵"In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:

⁶" 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"

Matthew 2:17-18

¹⁷Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:


¹⁸"A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more."

Matthew 3:1-3

¹In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea ²and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." ³This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
"A voice of one calling in the desert,
'Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.' "

Matthew 4:12-16

¹²When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee. ¹³Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— ¹⁴to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁵"Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, along the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles—
¹⁶the people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned."

• What do each of these passages have in common?
• The primary purpose in the gospel of Matthew is to convince Jewish readers that Jesus is the Messiah. How do these verses support this concept?
• Matthew has about 50 direct quotations from the Old Testament. These would capture the attention of Jewish readers. There are over 300 Old Testament prophecies fulfilled through Jesus Christ. Take some time today to process that. How does that impact your life personally?