Daily Question 3/3

Fulfillment is defined as the achievement of something desired, promised or predicted. In the particular scripture we are examining fulfillment is spoken of in relation to Jesus and God. It is through Jesus that God’s desires for communion with Israel to be fulfilled. For example, Hosea states “that what the Lord said through the prophet might be fulfilled: ‘Out of Egypt I called my son” (Mt 2:15). God seeks to embrace Israel with his presence and seeks to do this through the death of his son, Jesus, who rescues us from our sins. God is working to fulfill the Garden of Eden that was initially destroyed by sin. 

Matthew begins with the birth of Jesus. The angel of the Lord said Jesus “will save his people from their sins.” I think this relates to the return of a King for the Israelites. The birth of Jesus establishes a new elect who will be seen as a leader in Israel. Jesus will be able to lead the Israelites just as Moses and David did before him. Israel will see the return of a great king they have been awaiting. Also, God made a promise to David that his descendants would sit on the throne. Joseph, the father of Jesus, is a descendant of David; therefore, God is upholding his promise to David with Jesus. 

Luke begins with the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus. An angel of the Lord describes John as one who “will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.” I think this can be seen as the ingathering of Israel, as they are drawn closer together with each other and with God. Also, I think both John and Jesus usher the restoration of God’s covenant relation with Israel. They will work to establish communion between God and the Israelites, while guiding Israel in their faith and worship of God. 

5 thoughts on “Daily Question 3/3

  1. I agree with your references of the Old Testament shown in Luke and Matthew where Matthew brings up the point of Jesus coming from the line of David and Luke talks about the restoration and communion of Israelites and God. I also liked how you said God is trying to bring the world back to life like in the Garden of Eden before it was destroyed by sin.

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  2. Love the reference back to correcting for the Garden of Eden. I also agree with your reference to the return of the elect through Jesus and how this relates to fulfillment and the prophets.

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  3. I liked that you related the birth of Jesus in Matthew 1 to the return of the king for the Israelites. That point evoked memories of the phrase, “Jesus, King of the Jews”, which was of course a mocking phrase from the Romans but a real title that Jesus took on.

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  4. I like that you brought these readings back to the Garden of Eden and the original sin, and how God is working for unity once more. I also thinks its important you highlighted the lineage of David and Jesus and the larger context of that ongoing history.

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  5. I like how you incorporated the actual definition of fulfillment in your explanation of it. In addition, I agree that the opening chapters of Luke talk about the ingathering of Israel and that this will be a story of how Israel is brought back into covenant with God.

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