Let us take the Gospel of Matthew as an example and consider how Matthew served as a minister of God’s word.
The Holy Spirit took full control of Matthew when he related the story of the Lord Jesus. Matthew 1:23 is a quotation of Isaiah 7: “‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel.’” While Matthew was writing his Gospel, the Holy Spirit was enlightening him. It was not a matter of how much time Matthew had spent studying. Of course, I do not mean that Matthew did not study the Old Testament. He had been a tax collector, but he probably spent much time later studying the Old Testament. This is the reason that the Holy Spirit could remind him of quotations. This is why he could quote, “‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel.’” But what does this word mean? The Holy Spirit had to explain and interpret this word to Matthew. He had to show Matthew that it referred to the birth of the Lord Jesus. Up to a certain point, God was with us. Prior to that day, God was not with us in quite the same way. Now God is with us through the Lord’s appearance on earth. This is an interpretation by the Holy Spirit. We must be familiar with God’s past speaking, but we also must have the interpretation of the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can ascertain the meaning of God’s word for us.
Matthew 2:15 speaks of the Lord Jesus coming out of Egypt. Here Matthew quotes Hosea 11:1. If we read Hosea 11:1 by ourselves, we might not realize that this passage refers to the Lord Jesus. But through the Holy Spirit’s interpretation, Matthew realized that these words refer to the Lord Jesus.
Matthew 2:18 says, “‘A voice in Ramah was heard, weeping and great lamentation: Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be comforted, because they are no more.’” This is a quotation of Jeremiah 31:15. In reading Jeremiah 31:15 we would not have the thought that this refers to Herod’s intention to kill the Lord Jesus. But through the interpretation of the Holy Spirit, we find the meaning of this passage.
Matthew 3:3 says, “For this is he who was spoken of through Isaiah the prophet, saying, ‘A voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight His paths.’” In reading Isaiah 40:3 we would not have the thought that this refers to John the Baptist. The Holy Spirit had to interpret this for Matthew and show him that this refers to John the Baptist.
Matthew 4:13 speaks of the Lord Jesus in Capernaum, which is within the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali. In verses 15 and 16 Matthew quotes the word of Isaiah 9:1-2: “In order that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, ‘Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: The people sitting in darkness have seen a great light; and to those sitting in the region and shadow of death, to them light has risen.’” In reading Isaiah 9, we would not have the thought that this referred to the Lord Jesus. It takes the Holy Spirit’s interpretation to show us that this refers to the Lord Jesus. This shows us that it is not enough for God’s minister of the word to just have His word; the Holy Spirit must interpret His word to us. When we have the interpretation of the Holy Spirit, we can claim God’s Word as our basis. Without the interpretation of the Holy Spirit, the Word is closed to us and, as such, can never become the basis of our speaking.
In Matthew 8 the Lord Jesus healed many who were sick and cast out many demons. Verse 17 quotes Isaiah 53:4, saying, “So that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, ‘He Himself took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.’” The word of Isaiah 53 was opened to Matthew. This opened word served as the basis of his speaking. The ministry of God’s word is based on God’s past speaking. Yet this speaking has to be opened to the ministers before they can use it as the basis of their speaking. Without such an opening, the use of any quotation is a kind of artificial application. It is a misfit at best; it is not the ministry of the word. The opened word affords a person the ministry of the word. Hence, there is the need for not only a foundation but also the proper interpretation.
In Matthew 12:10-16, the Lord Jesus healed a man with a withered hand, saying to him, “Stretch out your hand.” The man stretched out his hand, and it was healed. When the Lord left that place, many followed Him, and He healed them all, charging them not to make Him known. At this point Matthew quotes Isaiah 42:1-4: “In order that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, ‘Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul has found delight. I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will announce justice to the Gentiles. He will not strive nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench until He brings forth justice unto victory. And in His name will the Gentiles hope’” (Matt. 12:17-21). It was the Holy Spirit’s interpretation that linked Isaiah 42 with Matthew 12. Such an interpretation afforded Matthew the ministry of the word.
Ministry of the word requires the Holy Spirit’s interpretation of God’s Word. Such interpretation is veiled from ordinary men as it was from the scribes and Pharisees. God has to explain this Word to us before we can speak His word. Matthew did not serve as a minister of the word capriciously; his speaking was based on the writings of the Old Testament. How could he base his speaking on the Old Testament? First, he must have studied the words of the Old Testament well, and then the Holy Spirit must have explained and opened these words to him before he could take them as the basis of his speaking. This is what ministry of the word means. Ministry of the word is based on the Spirit’s interpretation of God’s Word. Without this there is no ministry of the word. There are many quotations from the Old Testament in the book of Matthew, not a few of which were made by the Lord Jesus Himself. The above examples, however, were quoted by Matthew. He told us that what was happening was a fulfillment of what Isaiah or other prophets had said. We know that Matthew was a tax collector. Yet it is precious to find that he was able to quote from the Old Testament. He was not a scribe or a Pharisee like Paul, yet he had the ministry of the word. He had the words of the Old Testament as his basis, and the Holy Spirit had interpreted these words to him. He needed the Spirit’s interpretation before he could have the ministry of the word. Without the Spirit’s interpretation, there could not have been the ministry of the word. With this interpretation, he was able to use the Old Testament words as his basis. Without this interpretation, he could not have used such words as his basis. It is not enough to just have the Scripture; the Scripture must be opened to us by the Holy Spirit.
In chapter twenty-seven Matthew said something more. The Lord Jesus was about to leave the world, Judas had hung himself, and the high priest and the elders had taken the money which Judas received to betray the Lord and bought a field. In verse 8 Matthew said, “Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.” We have to pay attention to the fact that this statement was made by Matthew himself. Then he continued to say, “At that time what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying, ‘And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of Him that had been priced, whom they of the sons of Israel had priced, and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me’” (vv. 9-10). Matthew pointed out that this was a fulfillment of Jeremiah’s word. When we read Jeremiah’s word, it is not easy to see that it refers to the above instance. Yet God’s Spirit explained this verse to Matthew, and he was able to make such an association. In him we see the ministry of the word.