March 3

The dictionary definition of fulfillment is when something is desired, promised or predicted. When the scripture speaks of fulfillment, it is referring to achievement of what God has promised or predicted for His people. In the New Testament, Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a savior to His people to lead them and bring them out of sin. God says “When Israel was a child I loved him, out of Egypt I called my son. The more I called them, the farther they went from me” (Hos 11:1-2). In both Hosea and Matthew it says, “Out of Egypt I call my son.” God demonstrates to His people that he is present and gives His only son to die and resurrect to save His people from sin. Jesus seems to be a parallel to Moses from the Old Testament. God is bringing in a new leader by sending Jesus to save the people and and fulfilling the law and covenant. Both Jesus and Moses speak to the people on a hill, and this demonstrates their reign over the people and their direct connection to and communication with God. Because Jesus is connected to David, which is listed in the long lineage given in the beginning of Matthew, he is directly related to the elect, which is important for a leader of God’s people, and able to be considered King. Jesus’s connection to David gives him merit among the people and gives them hope of a great leader. Through sending Jesus, God restores the covenant and brings hope to His people. By making parallels between the Old and New Testament figures, specifically Jesus, God communicates to His people that they are and always have been under good leadership and he is trustworthy because He fulfills what he has promised over time.