Looking for the heart of God to the entire world through Matthew 1-5...
The case can be made fairly easily that God's heart for the world is evident in Matthew, because Matthew lays out the story of the salvation of man coming to earth in the form of the God/man Jesus. In verse 21 of the first chapter, the angel tells Joseph that Jesus will save his people from their sins. With an understanding that Jesus is the creator of all things, we know that "his people" has more far-reaching implications than simply the nation of Israel. Not only does this refer to the Jewish people, but to all peoples of the world. We see this truth written out at the beginning of chapter two when we find out that God has called upon Gentile wise men to come and worship the king of the Jews and the savior of the world. This is a perfect example of God's heart for the world and active participation int he world outside of Israel. In chapter four the devil takes Jesus to the top of a mythical mountain that looks down upon every kingdom int he world and offers to give them all over to Jesus. We see first hand a spiritual war that is being fought for the sake of the world. Though Jesus would be the perfect and just earthly king over these kingdoms, he knows that to truly bring salvation for these peoples he must die. He rejects the offer of Satan and sticks to the true salvation plan. We see at the end of chapter four that Jesus calls uneducated fishermen to be his disciples, which highlights his heart for reaching out the marginalized. That same heart carries love and compassion for the marginalized and downtrodden of every people group. Finally, when Jesus speaks of salt and light during the sermon on the mount he is calling the nation of Israel to be a change agent to the nations. If God didn't have a heart for all of humanity, why would Jesus hold up his followers as a light to the world?
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