by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. As we saw last week, Caesarea Philippi, Panias/Banias, Bashan and Mt. Hermon individually and together represented demonic forces against the God of Israel. Furthermore, in Second Temple period Jewish thought, 1 Enoch points to the origin of demons connected to these locations: the illicit sexual cohabitation between divine beings (“sons…
Author: UPCRL
Caesarea Philippi and the Gates of Hades – Part 1
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. The passage about our Lord’s visit to Caesarea Philippi in the northernmost extent of ancient, unified Israel’s territory under King Solomon moves us closer to the fourth of the five (5) major discourses contained in the Gospel according to Matthew. It also marks the turning point after which the Lord…
The Parable of the Sower and the 4 Soils
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. We now explore another passage in the Gospel according to Matthew that is also the third of the five (5) major discourses of this Gospel. This 3rd discourse reveals more about the Kingdom of God and discipleship via the technique of using Hebraic parables. A parable (Greek παραβολή, “parabole”) or…
The Servant Messiah – Part 7
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. Our study of the Isaiah Servant Songs seems to indicate that 2 different servants are really spoken of. The nation of Israel is one servant. The other servant is identified as the (preserved) faithful remnant of Israel; or the prophet Jeremiah; or Zerubbabel; or the Teacher of Righteousness written about…
The Servant Messiah – Part 6
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. The 4th and last Isaiah Servant Song which identifies the chosen servant of the LORD as the messiah (who also suffers), continues this theme from the verses found in Isaiah 49:7b and 50:6. As we have seen last week, this “suffering messiah” or “suffering servant” figure was also found in…
The Servant Messiah – Part 5
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. As mentioned last week, the theme of a suffering servant/messiah was not a strange new thing to the Second Temple Judaism of the Lord’s time. Aside from the 4 Isaiah Servant Songs, there were other extant ancient writings on this, as shown in some manuscripts of the Dead Sea Scrolls…
The Servant Messiah – Part 4
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. As we saw last week, Matthew 12:18-21 and its Isaiah 42 source have parallels and resonates with Isaiah 49:1-9, the 2nd Isaiah Servant Song. The Isaiah messianic prophecies, the themes of redemption and salvation for both Israel and for the Gentiles/nations, and in particular, the “servant” nature of the Messiah…
The Servant Messiah – Part 3
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. As mentioned last week, the second of the 4 Isaiah Servant Songs where the Messiah is presented as the chosen Servant of the LORD is Isaiah 49:1-7 (or 1-13). Here are the first 7 verses of Isaiah 49 (from the ESV): 1Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you…
The Servant Messiah – Part 2
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. In the first part of our study, I mentioned that Matthew 12:18-21 and Isaiah 42:1-4 and the different English Bible versions are essentially conveying the same ideas even if the Isaiah text is not exactly quoted. We saw that for the most part, Matthew seemed to have used a source…
The Servant Messiah – Part 1
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. The Gospel of Matthew 12:15-21 contains the longest Old Testament (OT) quotation in this Gospel. This particular quotation, from the Prophet Isaiah is unique to Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew 12:18-21 are the actual verses that quote from Isaiah. Before we look at these verses in the Gospel and in Isaiah, we…