Unshaken: Chapter a Day
Pastor Chris Plekenpol and his guests explore the Bible together one chapter at a time. They offer practical insights, theological depth, and real-life applications. Dive in for engaging discussions that bring God’s Word to life, one chapter at a time!
Unshaken: Chapter a Day
Matthew 2 Discussion
Have you ever wondered how to extract deeper meaning from familiar Bible stories? Pastors Plek and Holland dive into Matthew Chapter 2, revealing layers of significance through an ancient four-lens approach to scripture that transforms how we understand the Christmas narrative.
The conversation begins with Pastor Holland introducing the medieval "quadriga" method of Bible study, cleverly reframed as reading glasses (observation), microscope (allegorical/Jesus focus), mirror (moral application), and telescope (future hope). This practical framework unlocks fresh insights about Jesus as the true and greater Israel, fulfilling what the nation was always meant to be.
Through the "mirror" lens, we confront a sobering pattern: Herod's murderous rage against innocent children reflects how anti-God movements throughout history often target the vulnerable. Meanwhile, the "telescope" perspective reveals how the Magi's worship foreshadows Revelation's glorious vision of all nations bringing tribute to Christ.
Perhaps most striking is the practical wisdom about God's provision. The Magi's expensive gifts weren't just symbolic—they funded the holy family's refugee journey to Egypt. As Pastor Plek summarizes: "If it's God's will, it's God's bill." Joseph's trust in divine dreams demonstrates extraordinary faith, knowing God had already arranged resources through foreign visitors.
The episode concludes with a powerful challenge: Just as the star guided the Magi to Jesus, we too can be "stars" in our world—guides who help others find and worship the true King. Who will you lead to Jesus today?
Ready to see familiar Bible stories with fresh eyes? Join us daily as we journey through scripture one chapter at a time, uncovering treasures both ancient and new.
And welcome back to A Chapter. A Day Keeps the devil away. I'm Pastor Plek, along with Pastor Holland, and we are talking Matthew, Chapter 2. Pastor Holland, let's talk about some observations you are making in the text.
Pastor Holland:Okay, so I was going to, you know, introduce the Bible study method of the quadriga. Oh, I can't wait. I brought it up in the intro episode and so it's. You know, this kind of like a fourfold method of looking at four different perspectives of the literal, the allegorical, and then the tropological which is a really weird word that nobody uses, but it means like the moral and then the anagogical, looking ahead to like the return of Christ and new heavens and new earth, and so this is like a medieval method of Bible study.
Pastor Plek:I liked your reading glasses.
Pastor Holland:Yeah, okay. So I was going to say maybe a simpler way to think about this, though, is reading glasses microscope, mirror and telescope Way better. So you know, if that sticks better, reading glasses is kind of like the observation. So you're just looking at, you're reading it. What does it say? So you know, this says Jesus is born. We see the virgin birth, we see them flee, you know, and then we see them return and kind of settle in Nazareth, and so that's like an observation of just like here's what's happening.
Pastor Holland:Microscope would be okay, you know, let's zero in on what does this say about Jesus? And you know, the allegorical is the microscope. What does this teach about Jesus and who he is? And you can see, you know, for example, verse 15, where it says this was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet out of Egypt. I called my son, and so you know Jesus being called out of Egypt, pointing back to him being like the true and greater Israel. So he's the fulfillment. This verse is saying that Jesus is the. You know, he's the son of God, the true son of God. He's the true Israel, everything Israel was supposed to be.
Pastor Plek:He is.
Pastor Holland:He is, he's perfectly, fulfills the law. Boom, and then you have the mirror, the tropological, the moral. The mirror is kind of like, you know, looking at yourself, and you know. So what's the moral principle here? You could draw out, for instance, herod's decision to kill all the male children two years and under.
Pastor Holland:Oh yeah and just go. You know, those who hate God also hate children, and wherever anti-God movements are, there's also the murder of children, the sacrifice of children, abortion. All of that tends to go hand in hand with rejecting God, rejecting Jesus, and so a moral principle is being pro-children, pro-life, right. That's a moral principle you can draw out of this, looking at this as a mirror for morality. And then, finally, the anagogical looking ahead. This is a telescope one. So how does this point us ahead to the future? And for me, looking at these wise men coming from all over, bringing gifts, foreigners, bringing gifts to worship Jesus points us to. You know what Revelation talks about, with the kings of the nations coming in, you know, and worshiping Jesus, people from every tribe, tongue and nation, you know, worshiping around the throne, and we get to see a little glimpse of that, with these wise men coming at the birth of Jesus.
Pastor Plek:Yeah, one of the things I love that, just from my observational standpoint, I really appreciate how the Magi bring these gifts, which represent like this crazy, like he's a King and like maybe pretty into looking to the future, towards his burial, but like it's a lot of wealth. They delivered to him, and we don't know if there was three wise men or if there's 300 wise men. All we know is that there are three gifts, and I don't know if it was like one bar of gold or like a whole chest of gold, but what I do know is, if you're going to live as a refugee in Egypt for two years, you're going to have to pay a lot of money, or for several years, you are going to need some money. And so Jesus is provided for. God knows what he needs, even before he asks of it. And so he, he, God warns Joseph in a dream.
Pastor Plek:He collects all the the money, all the loot from the Magi. He heads down to Egypt, lives there for a season. Not really, I don't think he's thinking I'm fulfilling prophecy. I think he's just doing what God called him to do. And so, god, if it's God's will, it's God's bill.
Pastor Holland:That's the there you go. Where he gods, he provides.
Pastor Plek:Where he gods, he provides, and so if you're at a crossroads and you're like, what should I do? I think you need to go like if God is calling me to it, he'll see me through it. Bam man, that's three, three in a row right there. So I think really those are the interpretations, so like maybe so interpretation as a reminder.
Pastor Holland:what does this teach about God? What does this teach about people?
Pastor Plek:What's the teaching here? Yeah, the teaching here would be if God will see it, if God has guided you to it, he'll see you through it. And then I think the example to follow for me would be the Magi's seeking and worship. Like they came seeking God, they followed God, they went all in with their worship of how they knew.
Pastor Holland:Yeah, I love that.
Pastor Plek:With the revelation that was given them and they gave. I mean it wasn't like a small gift. I mean they're traveling maybe a thousand miles, really far, treacherous terrain, like through, you know, they could have gotten robbed at any point. Yeah, they're trusting God the whole way. And then the trust that Joseph had to have in God that that dream was legit and that that taking the you know, when these guys are worshiping his kid or you know, mary's son, and it truly was divine taking that like, oh, I'm going to protect this kid, god's mission and vision and I know God's going to provide for us and I'm not going to go outside of his word, which I thought was kind of interesting.
Pastor Plek:He waits for his word, I think at some point wouldn't you think that Joseph would have missed family? How long is long enough? How long do I, or maybe you're? Why don't I just stay down here in Egypt for forever? He probably had a lot of, he had a probably good life down there and he had a lot of money, and now he's going to move the whole family back up to Nazareth so he could be a Nazarene.
Pastor Holland:Oh wow, it's good For me example to follow. Going a little abstract here.
Pastor Plek:Okay, you are a little abstract.
Pastor Holland:The star, nice. The star led them to Jesus. You know you're talking about the magi and their commitment to follow, but you know the star is abstract, it's not like a person. But what was the role of the star was to lead people to Jesus. And you know an example to follow, example to follow lead people to Jesus, be like the star and guide people to worship Jesus.
Pastor Plek:Yeah. So who are you going to be a star to? There you go, hey, thanks so much for watching. We'll see you tomorrow on A Chapter A Day.
