style="font-size:15px;"> The suggestion is that Archippus’s task was the freeing of Onesimus and that Paul did not spell it out in Colossians because Archippus knew well enough what it was already from reading the letter to Philemon (Phlm 1–2). Explicit mention of such an assignment in a letter to be read publicly would be unnecessary. Archippus knew the assignment. It was crunch time for him.
More to the point, what is “the task that you have received in the Lord”? Whatever it might be, you may be confident knowing that Christ is all in all and that you live in the hope that is solidly laid up as your inheritance with God.
Prayer: Lord, grant me wisdom and strength to know and to do the tasks you have assigned to me. Amen.
Matthew
Jesus the Teacher, Up Close and Personal
It is no surprise that Matthew is the first writing in the New Testament. Matthew provided what the early Christian church most needed—instruction for the church and its members as they formed themselves as Christians in the hostile environment of the Roman Empire. In that situation, the early believers needed resources to help them understand what it meant to be a Christian, how to live with Jesus as their Lord, and how to do all of that in a world that was run by people and institutions who had conspired to kill Jesus and did not like his followers.
Therefore, the Gospel According to Matthew is a document about Jesus, the one who teaches the church what it means to be people of faith. It is the story of help for the helpless and hope for the hopeless; a series of glimpses into a world that the creator intended it to be; and the assurance of salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Son of God.
From that brief introduction, it should not be difficult to see what the first Gospel offers to college students: a Lord and Savior who is also a Teacher! When you get to college you expect to meet many teachers. But here is a reminder that—as a Christian—you will have your very own Teacher, accessible and eager to help you understand what is going on and to accompany you in meeting the challenges of the college experience.
But you don’t read Matthew just because Jesus was a great teacher. You read it because Jesus is the Lord, the Messiah, the Son of God, and the Son of Man, and you want to know what all of those dimensions of Jesus—the christological titles that pepper the biblical texts—have to do with you and how they can help you become the person God intended you to be. Not only will you see who this Teacher is, how he taught, and what he taught. In some important ways you will be just like the disciples whose stories you will also follow as you follow Jesus through this text.
And you will be reading a great story—the greatest story ever told—that you can embrace and be embraced by, day by day. College may even help you write your own story in a more faithful way.
1 – Introducing Jesus
Matthew 1:1–17 — (1) An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (2) Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, (3) and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, (4) and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, (5) and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, (6) and Jesse the father of King David. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, (7) and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, (8) and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, (9) and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, (10) and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, (11) and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. (12) And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, (13) and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, (14) and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, (15) and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, (16) and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah. (17) So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.
Jesus may be new on the scene, like you, but his “story” goes way back. We discover sorrows, “interesting” female relatives, and political catastrophes. You can see how Jesus is positively, but selectively, shaped by that past. Will you build on the positive in your past, and leave the other baggage behind? This is a new day, a fresh start, with new opportunities. Can you pick out someone in your past who might be an asset as you move on in your college career?
Prayer: Lord, help me to know Jesus Christ who is the best teacher in helping me know myself. Amen.
2 – The Best-Laid Plans
Matthew 1:18–25 — (18) Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. (19) Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. (20) But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. (21) She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (22) All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: (23) “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” (24) When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, (25) but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.
Joseph has just found out that his fianceé, Mary, is pregnant. That was not part of Joseph’s original plan. So, he develops a new plan; Matthew says it was “to dismiss her quietly.” Apparently, in those days, that would have been an appropriate plan. He knew, of course, that he had not gotten her pregnant, so his plan seems designed to provide the best outcome for them both.
But Joseph’s own plan was changed—overruled by God. He was to go ahead and marry her and they would have the baby as a family. As they say, the rest is history.
As a student, you know that having a plan can be a good idea. But, they also say, life is what happens when you are doing something else. With four or five classes, different assignments and deadlines in each class, other activities, a job, unplanned and spontaneous bull sessions, family crises, or a flat tire, you never know when you will need to flex. Joseph’s story teaches that God has a safety net for when your plans fail. You need to have your plans, but don’t think that they are the last word.
Prayer: Thank you God for being my safety net—even under my best-laid plans. Amen.
3 – Where is the King?
Matthew 2:1–12 — (1) In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, (2) asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” (3) When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; (4) and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. (5) They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: (6)
