{there are 28 chapters in Matthew - Its a sign!}
The last few days have been spent in the prophets, and the parts of the Bible with which I am least familiar (Jonah excepting). Matthew, on the other hand…
After paying particular attention to the passages in the Old Testament concerning “the day of the Lord” and the time when Israel would be restored to the Land, Jesus’ actions gain new potency. Jesus announces the Kingdom, for sure - but he also enacts it: everwhere he goes life and redemption and restoration follows behind. People are restored to community: leppers, the unclean, the lame - all those excluded are brought back in by Jesus. All the while he speaks against those who would exclude the same “sinners” from fellowship.
Jesus’ life is an emphatic “no” to a world drenched in sin - even death could not keep him.
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