Theological term
Fulfillment Formula
3 sermons · All terms
The Crucifixion of Jesus, Part 1
Matthew 27:32–38 records the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ with studied brevity, and this expository sermon works through each verse to show that every detail — from the place called Golgotha to the division of garments and the charge above his head — is the deliberate fulfillment of Old Testament Scripture, not an accident or afterthought in the plan of God. The sermon traces the thread from the proto-gospel of Genesis 3:15 through the typological head-wounds of Israel's enemies to Christ's death blow against the devil at the place of the skull. Three concluding applications draw out the pastoral weight: the unwitting testimony of Pilate, the triumph of the skull-crushing seed of the woman, and the immeasurable love of the Savior who was stripped naked, numbered with transgressors, and crucified so that his people might be clothed with his righteousness, received in glory, and given everlasting life.
The Use of the Blood Money
Matthew 27:6–10 records the chief priests' disposal of the thirty pieces of silver used to betray Jesus — and Matthew's citation of this event as the fulfillment of prophecy attributed to Jeremiah. This sermon examines the rank hypocrisy of the religious leaders who scrupled over depositing blood money into the treasury while simultaneously orchestrating the judicial murder of an innocent man, exposing the self-condemning logic of ceremonial fastidiousness divorced from the weightier demands of the law. The sermon then defends the inerrancy of Matthew's composite citation of Zechariah 11 and Jeremiah 18–19, 32, showing how Matthew functions as a biblical theologian weaving together prophetic themes of rejection, judgment, exile, and restoration to demonstrate that the passion of Christ was the fulfillment of the entire prophetic witness. The application calls hearers to recognize their own guilt before a holy God and to flee to the imputed righteousness and atoning blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Servant Song of Matthew
Matthew 12:15–21 records Jesus withdrawing from the murderous rage of the Pharisees while multitudes — including Gentiles — follow Him for healing, and Matthew interprets this through the first Servant Song of Isaiah 42:1–7. The sermon works through six characteristics of the Servant of Yahweh as Matthew presents them: His excellence as the Father's chosen and beloved, His empowerment by the Holy Spirit, His message of justice to the Gentiles, His character and commitment as one who does not quarrel or cry out, His mercy toward bruised reeds and smoking flax, and His worldwide mission culminating in the Great Commission. Throughout, the preacher presses the comfort that weak faith — however small — is true faith, and that Christ as the great Savior of great sinners is the hermeneutical center of all Scripture.