IDENTITY WARS: The King Doubted 02-02-2025

And from the very beginning of the Gospel of Matthew, we have watched as Matthew slowly identified Jesus for who he really was. First, he described Jesus as the prophesied “seed of Abraham” and the “king from the line of David” (Matthew 1). Then Matthew described his virgin conception and birth (Matthew 3). We later saw Jesus anointed by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3), and we saw him overcome the temptations of the evil one (Matthew 4). We saw him teach the truths of God more clearly and powerfully than anyone in world history (Matthew5-7) and saw his miracles on full display (Matthew 8-9). As a reader of this gospel, we already know what Matthew is saying. Jesus’ identity is clear: he is God, come to save his people.

But, not everyone knew that when Jesus was living. At least, not immediately. And, even then, they didn’t know it all. And, in Matthew chapters 11-12, we see a raging debate over “who is this guy?” “What’s his identity?” “Is he really who he says he is?” And the answer to that question is different for different groups of people. For Matthew, Jesus’ identity is clear. But in these two chapters, he pulls together numerous stories of how different people respond to Jesus claim to be God and Messiah.

And in this series, we will explore the different reactions of the people that Matthew puts before us. And we will learn how we must react to the identity of Christ by examining how they did. In some cases, we’ll see reactions we should emulate. In others, we’ll see reactions must avoid. But, one way or the other, when it comes to Jesus, we all have to pick a side in the… IDENTITY WARS.