📖 Utangulizi wa Agano Jipya — Sehemu ya 2: Mfalme Amekuja📖 New Testament Survey — Unit 2: The King Has Come

I. Mtoza Ushuru na Mfalme WakeI. The Tax Collector and His King

Fungua Biblia yako katika Mathayo 1:1. "Kitabu cha ukoo wa Yesu Kristo, mwana wa Daudi, mwana wa Ibrahimu." Sentensi hiyo moja ni hati ya kisheria kuhusu Masihi. Ni ufunguzi wa kesi mahakamani ya kuthibitisha Ufalme wa Yesu, na hoja ya kesi imejengwa juu ya mababu wawili: Ibrahimu, ambaye Mungu alimwahidi kwamba mmoja wa wazao wake angebariki kila taifa duniani; na Daudi, ambaye Mungu alimwahidi kwamba mmoja wa wazao wake angeketi katika kiti cha enzi milele. Mathayo anaifungua Injili yake kwa kuweka ushahidi mezani: mtu huyu ndiye mrithi halali.Open your Bible to Matthew 1:1. "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham." That single sentence is a Messianic legal brief. It is the opening of a court case for the Kingship of Jesus, and the prosecution is built on two ancestors: Abraham, to whom God promised that one of his descendants would bless every nation on earth; and David, to whom God promised that one of his descendants would sit on the throne forever. Matthew opens his Gospel by laying down the evidence: this man is the rightful heir.

Mwandishi alikuwa mtoza ushuru aitwaye Lawi, ambaye Yesu alimwita kutoka forodhani pake huko Kapernaumu na kumpa jina jipya Mathayo, "Zawadi ya Mungu." Mtoza ushuru aliweka kumbukumbu kama kazi yake ya kila siku — majina, kiasi, tarehe, madeni. Yesu alipoweka kalamu mkononi mwa Mathayo na kusema andika Injili, kalamu ilijua la kufanya. Mathayo anatupa Injili iliyopangwa kwa uangalifu zaidi kati ya zile nne, iliyopangwa kuzunguka mafungu matano makuu ya mafundisho yanayofanana na vitabu vitano vya Musa. Ananukuu Agano la Kale zaidi ya mara sitini. Anasema "ili litimie neno lililonenwa na nabii" tena na tena. Mathayo ni daraja kati ya Maagano.The author was a tax collector named Levi, whom Jesus called from his tax booth in Capernaum and renamed Matthew, "Gift of God." A tax collector kept records for a living — names, amounts, dates, debts. When Jesus put a pen in Matthew's hand and said write a Gospel, the pen knew what to do. Matthew gives us the most carefully arranged of the four Gospels, organized around five great teaching blocks that echo the five books of Moses. He quotes the Old Testament more than sixty times. He says "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet" over and over again. Matthew is the bridge between the Testaments.

Hata ukisahau kila jambo jingine, shika hili moja: Mathayo ameandikiwa wasomaji Wayahudi ili kuthibitisha kwamba Yesu ndiye Mfalme aliyeahidiwa. Anaanza na ukoo wa Mfalme, anapitia hotuba tano za Mfalme, anapanda hadi msalaba wa Mfalme, na anamalizia kwa agizo la Mfalme. Tazama, Mfalme wako.If you forget every other detail, hold on to this one: Matthew is written to Jewish readers to prove that Jesus is the King who was promised. He opens with a genealogy of the King, runs through five sermons of the King, climbs to the cross of the King, and ends with the commission of the King. Behold your King.

II. Ukoo wa Mfalme (Mathayo 1–2)II. The King's Pedigree (Matthew 1–2)

Ukoo wenyewe unafanya kazi ya kitheolojia. Mathayo anaugawa katika makundi matatu ya vizazi kumi na vinne — kutoka Ibrahimu hadi Daudi, kutoka Daudi hadi uhamisho, kutoka uhamisho hadi Kristo. Anawataja wanawake wanne, na kila mmoja wao anashangaza: Tamari (aliyemdanganya Yuda), Rahabu (kahaba Mkanaani aliyewaficha wapelelezi huko Yeriko), Ruthu (Mmoabu, kutoka kwa watu waliokatazwa), na Bath-sheba (mke wa Uria). Mathayo anahubiri neema kabla hata hajamaliza kuandika mti wa ukoo. Masihi anakuja kupitia ukoo uliotiwa doa la dhambi na kashfa, kwa sababu Masihi anakuja kwa ajili ya watu waliotiwa doa la dhambi na kashfa. Yaani, anakuja kwa ajili yako na yangu.The genealogy itself is doing theological work. Matthew breaks it into three sets of fourteen — Abraham to David, David to the exile, the exile to Christ. He includes four women, every one of them surprising: Tamar (who deceived Judah), Rahab (a Canaanite prostitute who hid the spies in Jericho), Ruth (a Moabite, from a forbidden people), and Bathsheba (the wife of Uriah). Matthew is preaching grace before he ever finishes the family tree. The Messiah is coming through a line stained with sin and scandal, because the Messiah is coming for people stained with sin and scandal. That is to say, He is coming for you and me.

Kisha linakuja tangazo. "Hayo yote yamekuwa, ili litimie neno lililonenwa na Bwana kwa njia ya nabii, akisema, 'Tazama, bikira atachukua mimba, naye atazaa mwana; nao watamwita jina lake Imanueli' (yaani, 'Mungu pamoja nasi')" (Mathayo 1:22–23). Unabii huo ni Isaya 7:14, uliotamkwa miaka mia saba kabla ya Bethlehemu kwa Mfalme Ahazi asiye na imani. Isaya alikuwa amemwambia Ahazi amtumaini Bwana na asipange njama ya muungano na Misri. Ahazi alikataa. Kwa hiyo Bwana alitoa ishara hata hivyo — ishara iliyochukua karne saba kukomaa. Imanueli. Mungu pamoja nasi.Then comes the announcement. "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel' (which means 'God with us')" (Matthew 1:22–23). The prophecy is Isaiah 7:14, spoken seven hundred years before Bethlehem to a faithless King Ahaz. Isaiah had told Ahaz to trust the Lord and not scheme an alliance with Egypt. Ahaz refused. So the Lord gave a sign anyway — a sign that took seven centuries to ripen. Immanuel. God with us.

Wengine hufundisha leo kwamba Yesu alikuwa mwalimu mkuu lakini si Mungu. Litazame jina hilo kwa uaminifu. Wachungaji walilisikia kutoka kwa malaika. Yusufu alilisikia katika ndoto. Mzee Simeoni alilibeba mikononi mwake. Masadukayo na Mafarisayo na Warumi na Wagiriki — kila mmoja wao alikuwa akimtafuta mungu. Mathayo anaanza na habari kwamba Mungu waliyekuwa wakimtafuta alikuwa amezaliwa tu horini nyuma ya nyumba ya wageni ya Bethlehemu. Sura ya kwanza ya Mathayo ni sura ya kwanza ya jibu kwa miaka mia nne ya ukimya. Mungu pamoja nasi.Some teach today that Jesus was a great teacher but not God. Look honestly at the name. The shepherds heard it from the angels. Joseph heard it in a dream. Old Simeon held it in his arms. Sadducees and Pharisees and Romans and Greeks — every one of them was reaching for a god. Matthew opens with the news that the God they were reaching for had just been born in a manger behind a Bethlehem inn. The first chapter of Matthew is the first chapter of the answer to four hundred years of silence. God with us.

III. Mtangulizi wa Mfalme na Kujaribiwa Kwake (Mathayo 3–4)III. The King's Forerunner and Temptation (Matthew 3–4)

Ruka mbele miaka thelathini. Mtu mwenye sura ya porini aitwaye Yohana Mbatizaji anatokea nyikani, akila nzige na asali ya mwituni, akivaa mavazi ya singa za ngamia, akihubiri toba na kubatiza katika mto Yordani. Yeye ndiye mjumbe aliyeahidiwa katika Malaki 3:1 — sauti ya mtu aliaye nyikani, "Itengenezeni njia ya Bwana." Mafarisayo walimwendea. Masadukayo walimwendea. Askari walikuja. Makutano walikuja. Na siku moja Yule ambaye Yohana alikuwa akimtengenezea njia alikuja pia, akaomba abatizwe.Skip ahead thirty years. A wild-looking man named John the Baptist appears in the wilderness, eating locusts and wild honey, wearing camel's hair, preaching repentance and baptizing in the Jordan River. He is the messenger Malachi 3:1 had promised — the voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Prepare the way of the Lord." The Pharisees came out to him. The Sadducees came out to him. Soldiers came. Crowds came. And one day the One John was preparing the way for came too, and asked to be baptized.

Kisha Roho alimpeleka Yesu nyikani ajaribiwe na Ibilisi. Siku arobaini, usiku arobaini — arobaini ileile ambayo Israeli walitangatanga, arobaini ileile ambayo Musa alifunga huko Sinai. Na kila mara Shetani alipotoa njia ya mkato — geuza mawe haya yawe mikate, jitupe chini kutoka hekaluni, sujudu upokee falme zote — Yesu alijibu kwa Maandiko. "Imeandikwa." Adamu wa Pili alisimama pale ambapo wa kwanza alianguka. Mfalme alikuwa amefaulu mtihani wa kutawazwa kwake kabla hajawahi kuketi katika kiti chake cha enzi.Then the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Forty days, forty nights — the same forty that Israel had wandered, the same forty that Moses had fasted on Sinai. And every time Satan held out a shortcut — turn these stones to bread, throw yourself off the temple, bow down and take all the kingdoms — Jesus answered with Scripture. "It is written." The Second Adam stood where the first had fallen. The King had passed His coronation test before He had ever sat on His throne.

Ikiwa mimi na wewe hatutajifunza jambo jingine lolote kutoka katika sura hizi, tujifunze hili: hakuna jaribu maishani mwako leo ambalo Kristo hakulikabili, na hakuna andiko ambalo huwezi kuliweka ulimini mwako Shetani anaponong'ona njia ya mkato. "Imeandikwa" si msemo wa kizamani. Ni upanga wa Roho katika kinywa cha Mfalme Mwenyewe, naye ameweka upanga uleule katika kinywa chako. Uchukue.If you and I learn nothing else from these chapters, learn this: there is no temptation in your life today that Christ has not faced, and there is no Scripture you cannot put on your tongue when Satan whispers a shortcut. "It is written" is not a quaint phrase. It is the sword of the Spirit in the King's own mouth, and He has put the same sword in yours. Pick it up.

IV. Tangazo Rasmi la Mfalme (Mathayo 5–7)IV. The King's Manifesto (Matthew 5–7)

Katika Mathayo 5 Yesu anapanda mlimani huko Galilaya, anaketi, na kutoa kile ambacho huenda ndiyo hotuba maarufu kuliko zote zilizowahi kuhubiriwa duniani. Wanafunzi wanakusanyika kumzunguka. Makutano wanasongamana. Na Yesu anafumbua kinywa chake na kuupindua ulimwengu katika sura tatu.In Matthew 5 Jesus walks up a mountain in Galilee, sits down, and delivers what is probably the most famous sermon ever preached on this earth. The disciples gather around Him. The crowds press in. And Jesus opens His mouth and overturns the world in three chapters.

Anaanza na Heri — Heri walio maskini wa roho, heri wenye huzuni, heri wenye upole, heri wenye njaa na kiu ya haki. Kila baraka ni kitendawili. Kila baraka inamtaja mtu wa aina ambayo ulimwengu huipuuza lakini mbingu huweka kumbukumbu zake. Anawaita wafuasi wake chumvi ya dunia na nuru ya ulimwengu. Anaitimiza Sheria, hakuitangui. Anainua kiwango kutoka tendo la nje hadi moyo wa ndani: hasira ni uuaji, tamaa mbaya ni uzinzi. Anatufundisha jinsi ya kuomba, jinsi ya kufunga, jinsi ya kutoa, jinsi ya kusamehe, jinsi ya kuwapenda adui zetu.He starts with the Beatitudes — Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Every blessing is a paradox. Every blessing names a kind of person the world overlooks and heaven keeps records on. He calls His followers the salt of the earth and the light of the world. He fulfills the Law, not abolishes it. He raises the standard from outward act to inward heart: anger is murder, lust is adultery. He teaches us how to pray, how to fast, how to give, how to forgive, how to love our enemies.

Na kisha anasema. "Basi ninyi mtakuwa wakamilifu, kama Baba yenu wa mbinguni alivyo mkamilifu" (Mathayo 5:48). Neno hilo "mkamilifu" ni teleios — kamili, aliyekomaa, aliyefika kikamilifu kwenye lengo. Ni kiwango ambacho hakuna awezaye kukifikia. Hata hivyo Yesu anasema, kuweni wakamilifu. Jinsi gani?And then He says it. "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). That word "perfect" is teleios — complete, mature, fully arrived at the goal. It is a standard no one can reach. And yet Jesus says, be perfect. How?

Jibu ni injili. Niliwahi kusoma habari za mkimbiaji wa mbio ndefu aliyeanguka muda mfupi kabla ya mstari wa mwisho. Mkimbiaji mwingine alisimama, akamwinua asimame, na kumbeba hadi akavuka mstari. Damu yake Yesu, Mwana wake, yatusafisha na udhalimu wote (1 Yohana 1:7). Tunajitahidi kuwa watakatifu, nasi tunapungukiwa. Kristo anatubeba sehemu iliyobaki ya safari. Hotuba ya Mlimani si ngazi unayoipanda kwenda mbinguni. Ni picha ya Ufalme ambao tayari umebebwa ukaingizwa ndani yake. Jitahidi. Anguka. Amini. Ubebwe. Huo ndio mdundo wa hatua nne wa kila siku ya maisha ya Kikristo.The answer is the gospel. I once read of a marathon runner who collapsed just before the finish line. Another runner stopped, lifted him to his feet, and carried him across. The blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:7). We strive for holiness, and we fall short. Christ carries us the rest of the way. The Sermon on the Mount is not a ladder you climb to heaven. It is a portrait of the Kingdom you have already been carried into. Strive. Fall. Trust. Be carried. That is the four-beat rhythm of every day of the Christian life.

V. Uweza wa Mfalme na Mifano ya Mfalme (Mathayo 8–13)V. The King's Power and the King's Parables (Matthew 8–13)

Kwa sura tano baada ya Hotuba, Mathayo anatuonyesha Mfalme akitenda kazi. Anamtakasa mwenye ukoma kwa kumgusa. Anatuliza dhoruba kwa neno. Anatoa pepo. Anamfufua binti wa mkuu wa sinagogi kutoka kitanda cha mauti. Anawapa vipofu wawili kuona, bubu uwezo wa kusema, na watu elfu tano chakula kilimani kwa mikate mitano na samaki wawili wadogo. Miujiza ya Yesu ni hati za utambulisho za Mfalme — si mazingaombwe, bali sahihi ya Mfalme juu ya mkataba wa Ufalme.For five chapters after the Sermon, Matthew shows us the King in action. He cleanses a leper with a touch. He calms a storm with a word. He casts out demons. He raises a synagogue ruler's daughter from her deathbed. He gives sight to two blind men, speech to a mute, and food to five thousand on a hillside with five loaves and two small fish. The miracles of Jesus are credentials of the King — not magic tricks, but the King's signature on the contract of the Kingdom.

Lakini upinzani unaongezeka. Mafarisayo, waliojibu swali la jinsi ya kumtumikia Mungu kwa kujenga uzio kuzunguka Torati, hawapendi Yesu anapovuka uzio huo. Anaponya siku ya Sabato. Anakula pamoja na wenye dhambi. Anasamehe dhambi, jambo ambalo ni Mungu peke yake awezaye kulifanya. Wanaanza kupanga njama. Kufikia Mathayo 12 wanamshtaki kwamba anatoa pepo kwa mkuu wa pepo. Ugumu wa mioyo umeanza.But opposition rises. The Pharisees, who answered the question of how to serve God by building a fence around the Torah, do not like Jesus stepping over the fence. He heals on the Sabbath. He eats with sinners. He forgives sins, which only God can do. They begin to plot. By Matthew 12 they are accusing Him of casting out demons by the prince of demons. The hardening has begun.

Na kwa hiyo katika Mathayo 13 Yesu anageukia mifano — saba kati yake, yote ikihusu Ufalme wa mbinguni umefanana na. Mpanzi anatawanya mbegu katika aina nne za udongo. Mtu anaona hazina iliyofichwa shambani. Mfanyabiashara anaona lulu moja ya thamani kubwa. Juya linavuta kila aina ya samaki kutoka baharini. Mifano inafunua na pia inaficha. Kwa mwanafunzi ni milango inayofunguka kuingia katika Ufalme. Kwa moyo mgumu ni kuta. Yesu ananukuu Isaya 6 juu ya makutano: wakitazama hawaoni, na wakisikia hawasikii. Neno lilelile linalolainisha moyo mmoja linafanya mwingine kuwa mgumu. Swali kamwe si kama Neno litafanya kazi; swali ni kazi ipi Neno litafanya ndani yako.And so in Matthew 13 Jesus turns to parables — seven of them, all about the Kingdom of heaven is like. A sower scatters seed on four soils. A man finds a treasure hidden in a field. A merchant finds a pearl of great price. A dragnet pulls every kind of fish out of the sea. The parables both reveal and conceal. To the disciple they are doors that open into the Kingdom. To the hardened heart they are walls. Jesus quotes Isaiah 6 over the crowd: seeing they do not see, hearing they do not hear. The same Word that softens one heart hardens another. The question is never whether the Word will work; the question is which work the Word will do in you.

VI. Ungamo Kuu (Mathayo 16)VI. The Great Confession (Matthew 16)

Kufikia Mathayo 16 Yesu amefika ukingo wa kaskazini wa Israeli — Kaisaria Filipi, mji wa Mataifa chini ya Mlima Hermoni, uliowekwa wakfu kwa mungu wa Kigiriki Pan. Katika mazingira hayo ya kipagani, Yesu anawageukia wanafunzi wake na kuuliza maswali mawili kati ya maswali muhimu zaidi katika historia ya wanadamu.By Matthew 16 Jesus has reached the northern edge of Israel — Caesarea Philippi, a Gentile city at the foot of Mount Hermon, dedicated to the Greek god Pan. In that pagan landscape, Jesus turns to His disciples and asks two of the most important questions in human history.

La kwanza ni la utafiti. "Watu hunena Mwana wa Adamu kuwa ni nani?" Wanafunzi wanataja orodha maarufu kwa haraka. Wengine wanasema ni Yohana Mbatizaji aliyefufuka. Wengine wanasema ni Eliya aliyerudi. Wengine wanasema ni Yeremia, nabii aliyelia, amerudi kulia juu ya Israeli. Orodha hiyo ni ya kusifu; hakuna hata mmoja wao anayekosea kusema kwamba Yesu ni mkuu. Wanakosea tu kusema kwamba yeye ni mkuu tu.The first is researched. "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" The disciples rattle off the popular list. Some say John the Baptist resurrected. Some say Elijah returned. Some say Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, come back to weep over Israel. The list is complimentary; not one of them is wrong about Jesus being great. They are only wrong about Him being only great.

Swali la pili ni la ufunuo. "Nanyi mwaninena mimi kuwa ni nani?" Petro, ambaye mara nyingi alisema kwa niaba ya wanafunzi na wakati mwingine bila kufikiri, mara hii analipata jibu sawasawa kabisa. "Wewe ndiwe Kristo, Mwana wa Mungu aliye hai." Yesu anambariki — mwili na damu havikukufunulia hili, bali Baba yangu aliye mbinguni. Hili si jambo unalolifikia kwa kufikiri tu. Hili si jambo unalolisoma kitabuni. Hili ni jambo ambalo Roho Mtakatifu Mwenyewe hulipanda katika moyo wa mwanadamu.The second question is revealed. "But who do you say that I am?" Peter, who often spoke for the disciples and sometimes without reflection, this time gets it exactly right. "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus blesses him — not flesh and blood revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. This is not something you reason your way into. This is not something you read in a book. This is something the Holy Spirit Himself plants in a human heart.

Kisha unakuja mchezo mzuri mdogo wa maneno ambao tunaupoteza katika tafsiri. Yesu anasema, "Wewe ndiwe Petro (Petros — kijiwe, jiwe dogo), na juu ya mwamba huu (Petra — mwamba wa msingi) nitalijenga kanisa langu, wala milango ya kuzimu haitalishinda." Angalia kile ambacho Yesu hakusema. Hakusema kwamba Petro ndiye mwamba wa msingi. Mwamba wa msingi ni ungamo alilofanya Petro — Kristo, Mwana wa Mungu aliye hai. Kila kanisa katika kila karne limejengwa juu ya ungamo hilo, la sivyo halijajengwa juu ya kitu chochote.Then comes a beautiful little wordplay we lose in English. Jesus says, "You are Peter (Petros — a pebble, a small stone), and on this rock (Petra — the bedrock) I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." Notice what Jesus did not say. He did not say Peter was the bedrock. The bedrock is the confession Peter made — Christ, the Son of the living God. Every church in every century is built on that confession or on nothing.

VII. Mfalme Katika MashambuliziVII. The King on the Offensive

Tazama tena kile Yesu alichosema kuhusu milango ya kuzimu. "Milango ya kuzimu haitalishinda." Rafiki yangu, milango si silaha za kushambulia. Hakuna jeshi lililowahi kushambulia kwa lango. Lango ni jengo la kujihami. Kuta na malango ndivyo unavyojenga unapoogopa kile kinachokuja. Yesu anaposema milango ya kuzimu haitalishinda kanisa, hachori picha ya kanisa lililojikunyata ndani ya ngome wakati Ibilisi anapiga kuta. Anachora picha ya kanisa likienda kushambulia milango ya kuzimu na milango hiyo ikivunjika chini ya shambulio.Look once more at what Jesus said about the gates of hell. "The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." My friend, gates are not offensive weapons. No army ever attacked with a gate. A gate is a defensive structure. Walls and gates are what you put up when you are afraid of what is coming. When Jesus says the gates of hell will not prevail against the church, He is not picturing the church huddled in a fortress while the devil pounds on the walls. He is picturing the church marching against the gates of hell and the gates buckling under the assault.

Hilo linabadilisha kila kitu. Kanisa haliko katika kujihami. Kanisa liko katika kushambulia. Hatushikilii ngome tu mpaka Yesu arudi. Tunaueneza Ufalme mbele mpaka arudi. Lew Wallace, jemadari wa Vita vya wenyewe kwa wenyewe vya Marekani na mtu asiyeamini kuwepo kwa Mungu, alianza kuandika riwaya ambayo ingemfichua Yesu kama mdanganyifu. Kadiri alivyochimba zaidi katika kumbukumbu za kihistoria, ndivyo alivyolazimika zaidi kupiga magoti. Alipomaliza, riwaya hiyo ilikuwa Ben Hur, na Wallace alikuwa amesujudu kifudifudi mbele ya Yule aliyekuwa amekusudia kumkanusha. Milango ya kuzimu haikuweza kumzuia.That changes everything. The church is not on defense. The church is on offense. We are not holding the fort until Jesus returns. We are advancing the Kingdom until He returns. Lew Wallace, the Civil War general and atheist, set out to write a novel that would expose Jesus as a fraud. The deeper he dug into the historical record, the more he was forced to his knees. By the time he finished, the novel was Ben Hur, and Wallace was on his face before the One he had set out to debunk. The gates of hell did not hold against him.

Haitakuzuia wewe pia. Kila ombi unaloomba, kila nafsi unayoishuhudia, kila tendo la utii katika wiki ngumu — haya ni magogo ya kuvunjia milango ya kuzimu. "Mbele, askari wa Kristo, mkienda vitani, msalaba wa Yesu ukitangulia mbele."They will not hold against you either. Every prayer you pray, every soul you witness to, every act of obedience in a hard week — these are battering rams against the gates of hell. "Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before."

VIII. Msalaba na Agizo (Mathayo 26–28)VIII. The Cross and the Commission (Matthew 26–28)

Barabara kutoka Kaisaria Filipi inaelekea moja kwa moja Yerusalemu. Mara tatu baada ya ungamo la Petro Yesu anawaambia wanafunzi wake kwamba lazima auawe na siku ya tatu afufuke. Mara tatu wanashindwa kuelewa. Anaingia Yerusalemu akiwa amepanda punda siku ya Jumapili. Analitakasa hekalu Jumatatu. Anafundisha katika nyua za hekalu Jumanne na Jumatano. Anaishika Pasaka pamoja na wanafunzi wake Alhamisi, akiwatawadha miguu, akiumega mkate, akikiinua kikombe. Anaomba Gethsemane mpaka jasho linaanguka kama matone ya damu. Anasalitiwa na Yuda, anakanwa na Petro, anahukumiwa katika mahakama ya dhuluma ya Masadukayo, anakabidhiwa kwa Pilato, anapigwa mijeledi, anadhihakiwa, na kusulubiwa kati ya wanyang'anyi wawili saa tatu asubuhi siku ya Ijumaa. "Imekwisha." Anakufa saa tisa alasiri. Akida wa Kirumi aliyemtazama akifa anasema, "Hakika huyu alikuwa Mwana wa Mungu."The road from Caesarea Philippi runs straight to Jerusalem. Three times after Peter's confession Jesus tells His disciples that He must be killed and on the third day rise again. Three times they fail to understand. He rides into Jerusalem on a donkey on Sunday. He cleanses the temple on Monday. He teaches in the temple courts through Tuesday and Wednesday. He keeps the Passover with His disciples on Thursday, washing their feet, breaking the bread, lifting the cup. He prays in Gethsemane until the sweat falls like drops of blood. He is betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter, tried in a kangaroo court of Sadducees, handed over to Pilate, scourged, mocked, and crucified between two thieves at nine o'clock on Friday morning. "It is finished." He dies at three in the afternoon. The Roman centurion who watched Him die says, "Truly this was the Son of God."

Jumapili asubuhi, wanawake wanakuja kaburini na kukuta jiwe limevingirishwa. Malaika anasema maneno yanayobadilisha kila kitu. "Hayupo hapa; kwa maana amefufuka, kama alivyosema." Kaburi tupu ni stakabadhi ya msalaba. Ufufuo ni Amina ya Baba juu ya Imekwisha ya Mwana.Sunday morning, the women come to the tomb and find the stone rolled away. An angel says the words that change everything. "He is not here, for He is risen, as He said." The empty tomb is the receipt for the cross. The resurrection is the Father's Amen on the Son's It is finished.

Na kisha Mathayo anamalizia pale alipoanzia. Injili iliyofunguka kwa Imanueli, Mungu pamoja nasi inafunga juu ya mlima wa Galilaya Mfalme akitamka Agizo Kuu. "Nimepewa mamlaka yote mbinguni na duniani. Basi, enendeni, mkawafanye mataifa yote kuwa wanafunzi, mkiwabatiza kwa jina la Baba, na Mwana, na Roho Mtakatifu; na kuwafundisha kuyashika yote niliyowaamuru ninyi; na tazama, mimi nipo pamoja nanyi siku zote, hata ukamilifu wa dahari" (Mathayo 28:18–20).And then Matthew ends where Matthew began. The Gospel that opened with Immanuel, God with us closes on a Galilean mountain with the King speaking the Great Commission. "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:18–20).

IX. Mfalme Yuleyule, Ahadi IleileIX. The Same King, the Same Promise

Angalia vifungo vya pande mbili. Mathayo 1:23 inaanza na Imanueli — Mungu pamoja nasi. Mathayo 28:20 inamalizia na Tazama, mimi nipo pamoja nanyi siku zote. Injili nzima imefungwa ndani ya ahadi ileile. Mungu pamoja nasi horini. Mungu pamoja nasi msalabani. Mungu pamoja nasi kaburini. Mungu pamoja nasi mlimani mwishoni. Mungu pamoja nasi usiku huu mezani jikoni mwako. Mungu pamoja nasi kesho asubuhi unapoamka na kukumbuka kile chochote kilichokuumiza jana.Notice the bookends. Matthew 1:23 opens with Immanuel — God with us. Matthew 28:20 closes with Lo, I am with you always. The whole Gospel is wrapped in the same promise. God with us at the manger. God with us at the cross. God with us at the tomb. God with us on the mountain at the end. God with us tonight at your kitchen table. God with us tomorrow morning when you wake up and remember whatever it was that hurt yesterday.

Mfalme amekuja. Mfalme amekufa. Mfalme amefufuka. Mfalme ametupa agizo. Na Mfalme yuko pamoja nasi. Hiyo ndiyo Injili nzima ya Mathayo katika sentensi saba.The King has come. The King has died. The King has risen. The King has commissioned us. And the King is with us. That is the whole Gospel of Matthew in seven sentences.

Basi endelea mbele kuingia katika Marko, ambapo tutamwona Bwana huyuhuyu tena, mara hii kama Mtumishi aliyeikamilisha kazi. Lakini kabla hujageuza ukurasa, chukua muda mmoja pamoja na Mathayo 28:18. "Nimepewa mamlaka yote mbinguni na duniani." Yeye anamiliki ofisi unayoingia kesho. Anamiliki shule wanayosoma watoto wako. Anamiliki nchi unayoishi. Anamiliki wodi ya wagonjwa wa saratani na chumba cha mahakama na kitanda cha mtoto mchanga. Tazama, Mfalme wako. Na kisha, ukiisha kumtazama, enenda. Wafanye mataifa yote kuwa wanafunzi. Huendi peke yako. Yeye anakwenda pamoja nawe. Yeye ni Imanueli, asubuhi hii, mchana huu, na hata ukamilifu wa dahari. Amina.So press on into Mark, where we will see this same Lord again, this time as the Servant who got it done. But before you turn the page, take one moment with Matthew 28:18. "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me." He owns the office you walk into tomorrow. He owns the school your children attend. He owns the country you live in. He owns the cancer ward and the courtroom and the cradle. Behold your King. And then, having beheld Him, go. Make disciples of all nations. You do not go alone. He goes with you. He is Immanuel, this morning, this afternoon, and to the end of the age. Amen.

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