Signing Off (Matthew 12v38-50)

I’m sure you are aware of the sign-language snafu at Nelson Mandela’s funeral.  But did you follow the story to its conclusion to hear the reason the interpreter gave that he was signing gibberish?

Following the event, he said that he had “a history of violent schizophrenic episodes and may have hallucinated that angels were flying into the stadium.”

Our text today in the Gospel of Matthew involves a problem with signs.  In this case, the signs were perfectly clear, but the crowd was acting like they did not understand them.

The Jewish Scriptures indicated that when their Messiah came, the miracles He performed would be signs to them by which they would recognize Him.  He would do things like heal lepers; exorcise demons; give hearing to the deaf and sight to the blind; and raise the dead.

Jesus had done all that and more.  Nevertheless the religious leaders had the audacity to say to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”

Asking for a further sign when Jesus had given them so many was evidence of their settled unbelief.

Their insincere request was a game changer.  Jesus told them He would give them a sign – but when you understand what it was, you see it would be too late for them to stop the national consequences of their unbelief.

Their unbelief would put on hold God’s program of establishing the kingdom of Heaven on earth that had been promised to the physical descendants of Abraham.  Meanwhile Jesus would build a new, spiritual family by calling-out to whosoever would believe – Gentiles as well as Jews.

We will see how all this unfolded as we finish-up chapter twelve.  As we do, we’ll see ourselves in relation to the sign Jesus spoke of – His resurrection from the dead on the third day.

I’ll organize my thoughts around two points: #1 The Third Day Is All The Sign You Need, and #2 Everyday, Jesus Is All The Savior You Need.

#1    The Third Day Is All The Sign You Need
    (v38-45)

Our text is a significant turning point, not just for Israel as a nation, but for the whole world.  It sets the stage for the age in which we live, the church age – the time between the first and the second comings of Jesus.

Mat 12:38    Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”

Comedian Seth Meyers, announced as the new host of TV’s Late Night, developed a recurring skit in which he mentions something outrageous from the news and then says, “Really?”

This verse would make for a great “Really?” segment.  Pharisees – after Jesus healed lepers, cast out legions of demons, made the deaf hear and the blind see – you wanted to see a sign.  Really???

Mat 12:39    But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

If there was any doubt about their sincerity in asking to see a sign, Jesus dispels it by labeling them “evil and adulterous.”

To emphasize how tragic unfaithfulness to God was, it was compared to adultery.  It was spiritual adultery.
Since it was against God and His pure love, it was particularly bad, so it was further labeled “evil.”

Notice, in passing, Jesus referred to Jonah and the incident with him being swallowed by a great fish as a true story.  It resolves once-and-for-all any questions about whether it really happened.

What was “the sign of the prophet Jonah?”

Mat 12:40    For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

In the next verse Jesus describes the results of Jonah emerging from the “great fish.”  The “sign” of Jonah was his resuscitation after three days and three nights which enabled him to complete his mission.

Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the great fish, then resuscitated, so Jesus would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, then resurrected.

Jesus knew He was going to the Cross.  He knew He was born to die as the Substitute for every human being.  By His death and resurrection He would save us from our sins.

A quick word about “three days and three nights.”  Although a Wednesday crucifixion has been suggested by some scholars, we believe Jesus was crucified on Friday, then raised on Sunday.  He was in the tomb for a portion of three days; it is most accurate to say He rose “on the third day.”

The Jews reckoned a portion of a day as a day.  It shouldn’t surprise us; we do it, too.  If you make a hotel reservation for three days and two nights, you don’t really spend a full seventy-two hours in the room.  You’re there a portion of three days.

For the Jews, the description “three days and three nights” could be as short a period as twenty-six hours, or as long as seventy-two hours.

Mat 12:41    The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.

The full impact of this statement can be lost on us since we are not Jews.  You’ll recall that Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh because he didn’t want God to save them.  Jewish attitudes towards Gentiles had not changed all that much by the first century.  For Jesus to indicate that the Gospel was going to go outside of Israel, to Gentiles who would be saved, was an incredible statement.

To further predict that the “men of Nineveh” were saved while the Jews hearing Jesus were lost and would be condemned, and that the Ninevites would be among those sitting in judgment over them, was heavy.

Jesus was “greater” than Jonah in every way.  The thing I want to concentrate on is His greater compassion.  Jonah was forced by God to complete his mission of taking the Gospel to people he hated.  Jesus, moved with compassion, willingly left Heaven and came to earth, then died voluntarily to save people who were the enemies of God.

Mat 12:42    The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

The “queen of the south” is the Queen of Sheba, who travelled about a thousand miles to visit King Solomon just to hear his wisdom.

Solomon was a son of David, but Jesus was the greater Son of David, the Messiah.  The Jews would not come to Him even though He travelled so much farther than a thousand miles to share the ultimate wisdom of God’s plan to save sinners.

Once again a Gentile received the Gospel, through Solomon, while the Jews rejected it in Jesus Christ.  These examples are setting us up for the coming chapters in Matthew in which we will see the shift in God’s program on the earth between the two comings of Jesus.

Jesus followed with an illustration:

Mat 12:43    “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.
Mat 12:44    Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.
Mat 12:45    Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

There may be insights here into the psychology and activity of demons – but that is not the point of the illustration.  Demons may feel uncomfortable in “dry places” and be unable to “rest” wandering through them; but that doesn’t mean we’d all be better off in Arizona.

Jesus was illustrating the state of Israel as a nation.  Earlier in this same chapter He claimed to be able to “bind the strong man” and “plunder his goods” and take over his “house.”  The strong man was Satan, and by extension all his nefarious, dry-place hating demons.

Jesus had, in effect, cleaned house in Israel.  The nation was empty of demons in the sense that Jesus defeated them.  The house was ready to be occupied by The Lord, their Messiah.  He was ready to establish His reign of righteousness on the earth with Jerusalem as His headquarters.

But the leaders of the nation would reject Jesus.  He wasn’t welcome in His own house.  They would hand Him over to Rome to be crucified.

He would rise from the dead, but instead of setting up the kingdom, He would ascend into Heaven to await His Second Coming.

The word for “empty,” describing the house in the story, can be translated “unoccupied.”  When the nation of Israel said “No” to Jesus, it left the house He would have established unoccupied.

It was a limited time offer, this offer to establish the kingdom.  That’s why you read at the end of the Book of Acts,

Act 28:28    “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!”

In other passages we are told that Israel’s kingdom will be delayed until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in.

In the void left after the nation refused their King and His kingdom, the devil remains unbound and, in one sense, he continues to occupy the house, and even be a worse occupant than ever.

Fewer than forty years after Jesus ascended into Heaven, in 70AD, Titus and the Roman legions sacked and burned Jerusalem and the Temple.  The Jews were scattered all over the earth, and persecuted, for the next almost two thousand years before miraculously returning to their land.

The whole world became a much worse place than ever as Satan, who could have been bound, instead continues to roam about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

The Pharisees asked for a sign.  Jesus would give them a sign.  His death, burial, and resurrection was the sign.  It would, however, be too late to avoid the national consequences that would come upon Israel for having rejected their Messiah in the face of overwhelming testimony and evidence, the signs, of Who He was.

Pause for a moment to realize something precious.  Everyone after Jesus rose from the dead is able to ‘see’ that great sign.  It is the physical, historic evidence and proof that Jesus is Who He says He is and that He finished what He was sent to do.

I think it was Christian recording artist Don Francisco who had a song that proclaimed, He’s alive!  He’s alive!  He’s alive and I’m forgiven; Heavens gates are opened wide.

Nonbelievers have their objections to the Gospel; they have their questions.  But, end of the day, we have the ultimate proof.
The third day is all the sign you need to know Jesus is the God-man, the Savior of all men – especially those who believe.

#2    Everyday, Jesus Is All The Savior You Need
    (v46-50)

Chapter twelve closes with an incident in which Jesus might be seen to be disrespecting His mother and brothers.

He wasn’t.  He simply took advantage of their arrival to finish His thoughts about this new age that was beginning in which the kingdom on earth was being delayed.  It wouldn’t be so much about the physical descendants of Abraham by birth as it would be about the spiritual descendants of Abraham – both Jews and Gentiles – who experience the new birth.

Mat 12:46    While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.
Mat 12:47    Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.”

Another Gospel (I believe it’s Mark) tells us that Jesus’ earthly family thought He was over-stressed.  It’s been suggested that the Pharisees sent for them and exaggerated the situation.

If you were saved later in life, and have family members who are nonbelievers, it’s not uncommon for them to think you’ve gone too far into this Jesus-thing; that you are a Jesus freak.

I don’t want to get distracted from the main message, but let me say a word about Jesus’ mother and brothers.  There is a false teaching that Mary remained a virgin after Jesus was born; it’s called the perpetual virginity of Mary.

There’s a companion teaching – just as false – that Mary was herself conceived immaculately in her mother’s womb.

If that’s the case, who were these “brothers?”  Two possibilities have been suggested by those who worship Mary:

The first is that they were sons of Joseph from a previous marriage.  That cannot be true, or Jesus would not be the rightful, legal heir to the throne of David.  Joseph’s firstborn son must be the rightful, legal heir.  If there were previous sons, it would disqualify Jesus.

The second possibility is that the word for “brothers” simply means “relatives,” and that these guys could be cousins.  Possible, but very unlikely.  While the word can refer to other relatives, its normal and literal meaning is a physical brother. There was a Greek word for “cousin,” and it was not used. Further, if they were Jesus’ cousins, why would they so often be described as being with Mary, Jesus’ mother?  There is nothing in the context of His mother and brothers coming to see Him that even hints that they were anyone other than His literal, blood-related, half-brothers.

The simple, obvious explanation is that after Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary had other children.  She was not immaculately conceived and she did not remain a virgin.

More important to notice is that Mary had no special access to Jesus.  In the words that follow we will see that Jesus didn’t drop what He was doing to listen to her.  If you’re trying to approach Jesus through Mary, she won’t be any help.

Mat 12:48    But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?”
Mat 12:49    And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!

This was not disrespectful; not at all.  It was powerful – a powerful illustration of a shift in God’s dealings with Israel, with Gentiles, and with the Gospel.

Jesus came to His own – to the Jews.  They rejected Him.  The kingdom would have to wait.  In the mean time, the Gospel would go out beyond Israel to the whole world.  Jesus would establish a spiritual family based on faith in Him that knows no racial or ethnic distinctions.  It will be distinct from Israel.  He will call it, in chapter sixteen, the church.

Mat 12:50    For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

This doesn’t mean you earn or maintain a spot in the spiritual family by working hard to do God’s will.  You enter the family by believing in Jesus:

Joh 6:29    Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

Once you are a believer, once you’ve been born-again, born from above, born spiritually, you are enabled by God the Holy Spirit to “do God’s will.”

In context, this is the perfect close to the events of this chapter.  It ties it all up.  Rejected by the nation, Jesus would return to Heaven, to await His Second Coming; and in the mean time, the Gospel would go out to “whosoever will believe,” and “whoever” does believe will be indwelt by God the Holy Spirit to be enabled to do the will of God.

If you are a Jew by physical descent from Abraham, everyday Jesus is all the Savior you need.  You shouldn’t be looking for your Messiah anywhere else because He’s already come and is coming again.  You get saved just like we Gentiles get saved – by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, receiving the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Tragically, Israel will continue to reject Jesus into the Great Tribulation.  They will welcome and receive, instead, a political and military leader who will turn out to be the antichrist and their nemesis.

In the end the Bible says “all Israel will be saved.”  A remnant will survive and they will look upon Jesus and receive Him as their Messiah as He returns to the earth.

In the mean time… in-between time… We ain’t got fun!  By that I mean to highlight once again that we live in a war zone – a spiritual war zone.  The strong man is not bound, nor are his demon followers.  The unoccupied house that is our world has a squatter living in it and ruling over it.

In this conflict we are described as “more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”  Let me read the entire Bible passage in which our status as conquerors is highlighted:

Rom 8:35    Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36    As it is written: “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE KILLED ALL DAY LONG; WE ARE ACCOUNTED AS SHEEP FOR THE SLAUGHTER.”
Rom 8:37    Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
Rom 8:38    For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
Rom 8:39    nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

These things can and do all occur and yet they cannot in any way alter Jesus Christʼs love for you.  You may not ʻfeelʼ the love, but it is always just as present, just as powerful, as ever.

Absolute confidence in His great love is how you conquer.

Charles Spurgeon spoke of the confidence great men and women of God had in God’s love in ages past:

They did not speak of Christ’s love as though it were a myth to be respected, a tradition to be reverenced; they viewed it as a blessed reality, and they cast their whole confidence upon it, being persuaded that it would bear them up as upon eagles’ wings, and carry them all their days; resting assured that it would be to them a foundation of rock, against which the waves might beat, and the winds blow, but their soul’s habitation would stand securely if founded upon it.

Everyday, with Jesus, you are more than conquerors.  So much more.

For one thing, you have His sweet fellowship 24/7.
For another thing, He has prepared good works for you to discover as you follow Him.
For another thing, He has given you the promised Holy Spirit to indwell you, to give you the enabling to obey God and deny the flesh.
For another thing, Jesus has promised you that He will complete in you the work He has begun.
For another thing, He is preparing for you a glorious entrance into Heaven, where He’s been building you a custom mansion.

The United States Army has had several slogans over the years.  You probably remember Army of One, and the current slogan, Army Strong.

From 1980 until 2001 their slogan was Be All that You Can Be.

A good slogan for us, as the Lord’s army, would be More than Conquerors.  Look any of the troubles and afflictions listed in that passage in the face and say, “I am more than a conqueror through Jesus Who loves me.”

Tying Up Loose Fiends (Matthew 12v22-37)

Notorious serial killer Ted Bundy escaped from custody twice in 1977 – the second time with horrifying consequences.  He killed three more women before being re-apprehended.

His first escape was facilitated by the judge ordering the jailers to remove Bundy’s shackles while he was acting as his own attorney.

If only he could have remained bound, at least some of the evil he perpetrated would never have happened.

What if I told you that the world’s most heinous murderer and notorious perpetrator of evil was once bound but that he was allowed to, in a sense, escape to continue his reign of terror?

Jesus said, “how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?  And then he will plunder his house.”

The “strong man” Jesus was referencing was Satan.  We’ll see in a moment that this statement was to show the leaders of Israel that Jesus had both the power and the authority to “bind” Satan – to overthrow him and his kingdom of darkness and establish His own kingdom on the earth.

Sadly, the leaders of Israel would reject both their King and His kingdom.  In doing so, as collateral damage, Satan remained unbound to roam free to go on murdering, robbing, and destroying all over the earth.

Jesus is coming back a second time and in His Second Coming He will “bind” Satan:

Rev 20:1    Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2    He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;
Rev 20:3    and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him…

In-between the first and second comings of Jesus we’re warned, “be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (First Peter 5:8).
As Jesus and the leaders of Israel reach a watershed moment, in which The Lord says there can be no neutrality – you’re either with Him or against Him – we can find comfort in knowing that the currently unbound devil will one day be bound.

In the mean time – and they seem to be extremely ‘mean’ times – we want to be conquerors, not casualties.  I’ll organize my thoughts around two points: #1 You Are A Conqueror If You Are With Jesus, and #2 You’ll Be A Casualty If You Are Against Jesus.

#1    You Are A Conqueror
    If You Are With Jesus
    (22-30)

When something particularly awful occurs, it’s common for someone to say that the people involved “look like they’ve been through a war,” or that the landscape “looked like a war zone.”

Our entire planet, and even the atmosphere around it, IS a war zone.  It is a war zone because Satan is unbound.

The devil is called “the god of this world” (Second Corinthians 4:4).  He is called “the prince of this world” (John 12:31).  He is called “the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2).

He’s not alone.  He rules over fallen angels we call demons who are organized in military hierarchies for battle; “principalities… powers… the rulers of the darkness of this world… spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).

They’re out to rob, to kill and to destroy.

Jesus was and is our only hope, our only help, against these fierce foes.  With Him, we are more than conquerors.

Keep all that in mind as we study this turning point not just in the history of Israel but in the history of the world.

Mat 12:22    Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.

Not all disease or illness is the direct result of the devil or of demonic possession.  But some conditions can be caused by demons; and that was the case with this poor blind mute.

Note the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in healing him.  He could not see to find Jesus, nor speak to ask for mercy, yet by grace The Lord met him in his need.

Mat 12:23    And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”

The word for “amazed” is a fun one.  It could be translated, “the crowds were going wild.”

Some were starting to wonder if Jesus might not be the Messiah promised to Israel in their Scriptures.  It was this wild interest in Jesus that prompted the Pharisees to issue an official response.

Mat 12:24    Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”

There are two fascinating insights here:

First we would note that they did not refute the fact that a genuine exorcism had occurred.  Their worldview included angels and demons.  They knew God was at war with supernatural enemies and that the conflict was being waged on the earth, affecting the human race.

Second we notice that the Jews understood that the demons were under the leadership of one particular individual.

We sometimes miss the obvious because we have a wrong, or an incomplete, worldview.  When looking at the world, and the events in it, we must take into account the entire ‘world’ God created, including the angels and the fallen angels, who are at war with God.

For example people are stressed over UFO’s and alien abductions.  It’s demons messin’ with us.

On the other hand, we can get too interested in demons and start blaming everything on the devil.  It’s not always easy, but we need to maintain a balance, and the Bible can help us.

The Pharisees accused Jesus of being in cahoots with “Beelzebub.”  It was the name of a Canaanite deity which had come in Judaism to stand for the leader of the demonic realm.

Mat 12:25    But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
Mat 12:26    If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?

Jesus identifies the leader of the demons as none other than Satan.

This was a nice way of saying that their reasoning was stupid.

Truth is, you might be willing to sacrifice some of your own forces on a limited basis if it could fool your enemies and gain you an advantage.

What the Pharisees were missing here, and what we want to emphasize, is that Jesus wasn’t just going around casting out a few demons here-and-there.  He had declared war on Satan and on his kingdom and was destroying his strongholds left and right.  He was casting out demons legions at a time.

Jesus was offering to set-up a rival kingdom, not trying to take over Satan’s.

This was no strategy of the devil’s;  Jesus was crushing his head.  He had Satan cornered.  The devil could hear the rattling of the chains that would bind him.

Jesus had a second argument:

Mat 12:27    And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.

Their “sons,” meaning followers of the Pharisees, also went about trying to exorcise demons.  There’s no indication whether they were successful or not – only that the Pharisees approved of it.  Their “sons” would think the Pharisee’s conclusion a terrible accusation and a false, offensive argument.

Jesus next made a declaration:

Mat 12:28    But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.

“If” here means “since.”  Since Jesus was casting out demons by the Spirit of God, it was proof that He was their King and that He could establish the kingdom.

This was it; the moment Jewish history had been moving towards for centuries.

Mat 12:29    Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

Jesus pictured the world as Satan’s “house” and Satan as the “strong man” guarding his house.  The exorcisms Jesus had been performing on such a massive scale showed that He was capable of binding the strong man and taking back everything he had stolen.  What Adam forfeited to Satan in Eden was about to be reclaimed by the Second Adam.

Jesus was going to destroy the works of the devil, overthrow his kingdom of darkness, and set up His own reign of righteousness.

Mat 12:30    He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.

There is a lot of disagreement on exactly what Jesus was referring to – whether He was using an illustration of sheep or of a harvest or both.

Doesn’t really matter; you get the point.  It was Go-time.  This was it; decide.  Receive King and kingdom as a conqueror or reject King and kingdom and suffer enormous casualties.

Tragically, the Jews would choose door #2.

The devil got away, so to speak.  He avoided being bound. Instead he roams – he and his forces.  He will be bound, make no mistake.  But today he is free to wreak havoc.

God remains in charge of the universe but instead of the literal, physical kingdom of God on the earth, our planet is a war zone.

The outcome of the conflict was settled once-for-all on the Cross when Jesus defeated Satan.  But the battles rage on until the devil is bound at the Second Coming.

I won’t go into it in detail, because I have previously in our studies in Matthew, but a good illustration of the spiritual battles that rage on despite Christ’s decisive victory is the D-Day invasion of World War Two.  It essentially ended the war, but battles raged on for another year, racking-up casualties.

The age in which we live is like that.  The Cross was D-Day; the devil was defeated.  But he rages on until The Lord returns.

Our confidence and hope is in knowing two things:

One is that someday the victory over Satan and the cessation of all evil that flows from him shall be realized.
The other is that whatever evil might befall us we are already “more than conquerors through Jesus Christ” and His love, and He will redeem for good all things we must endure.

#2    You’ll Be A Casualty
    If You Are Against Jesus
    (v31-37)

Jesus lets them know just how serious their choice to receive or reject Him would be.  We should pay close attention, because the choice is no less serious for us.

Mat 12:31    “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.
Mat 12:32    Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

I don’t know any Christian who isn’t terrified the first time they hear about an ‘unpardonable sin.’  Rest assured: if you’re worried you might commit it, it is evidence you can’t commit it.

Here is what I mean.  God the Holy Spirit is with everyone in the world to convict them of sin, of righteousness, and of the judgment to come.  He points them to Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins and to receive eternal life.  You “blaspheme” the Holy Spirit when you reject the truth He is revealing to you through the Gospel about Who Jesus is and what Jesus has done to save you.  If you’ve received The Lord, you’ve believed, not blasphemed, the Holy Spirit and you cannot commit this sin.

The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit isn’t one specific sin.  You blaspheme the Holy Spirit by fully, finally rejecting Jesus Christ, refusing His forgiveness of your sins, and dying in them.

God does not forgive us one sin at a time.  At the Cross you receive forgiveness of all sins – past, present and future.  Therefore every sinner is a candidate for conversion until death ends his or her opportunity to receive the forgiveness of the Cross.

Here’s another quick assurance: there is no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit (Romans 8:1).

The point Jesus was making was that the Holy Spirit was revealing to Israel that Her King was on the earth to establish their kingdom.  But they must receive Him to realize its establishment.

Mat 12:33    “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.

Please note the either/or quality of what Jesus was saying.  There was, there is, no room for neutrality; there can be no sitting on the fence.

He was comparing Israel to a fruit tree – perhaps the fig tree? They would either receive Him and thereby produce good fruit as He established the kingdom, or bad fruit as they rejected it and let Satan go free.

Mat 12:34    Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

A “brood of vipers” are the offspring of a viper.  Jesus was letting them know pretty directly that they were of the devil.

Their accusations against Him, their blaspheming the Holy Spirit, proved they were “evil” like Satan.  Their words revealed their essential nature.

Mat 12:35    A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.

This is another way of saying the same thing only using “treasure” to speak more about actions.  In this case, the Pharisees, by their actions, were revealing they were evil.

Mat 12:36    But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
Mat 12:37    For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Before we get too overwhelmed by this, realize that Jesus was talking to, and that these verses apply to, nonbelievers.  A believer is under no threat of “condemnation” by virtue of Jesus having taken everything upon Himself at the Cross.

Our words are important, for sure; we are told to season our speech with grace, and to speak as the oracles of God.  Our words will either earn us rewards at the Reward Seat of Jesus, or they will be burned away.  But we face no future condemnation.

A nonbeliever has no such protection.  If you are not saved before you die, after death you face a judgment.  Your own words will judge you – especially those spoken either in your heart or aloud that rejected the forgiveness of your sins through Jesus Christ.

Have you seen those commercials for State Farm insurance?  Those insured by State Farm only need to sing, “like a good neighbor, State Farm is there,” and their agent appears to take care of everything on their behalf.  Those with insurance other than State Farm have no such representation and face disaster on their own.

After you die, you need representation.  You need the Father to see you in Jesus Christ, declared righteous by grace through faith in Him.  Otherwise, you’ll be on your own to face the disaster of sin.

These Pharisees, these leaders of Israel, were not just rejecting their King and the kingdom, as terrible as that was.  They weren’t just letting Satan go unbound, as heinous and negligent as that was.  They were rejecting personal salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

They were choosing to blaspheme the Holy Spirit and spend eternity in Hell that was created for the devil and his angels.

Nonbelievers condemn themselves and God confirms what they have chosen.  Take the Pharisees, for example.  By the time of this confrontation, they had rejected the witness of John the Baptist; the witness of God the Father speaking from Heaven; the prophecies of their own Scriptures; and Jesus’ own testimony about Who He was.

Now they were rejecting and blaspheming God the Holy Spirit.

Nonbeliever – you are rejecting the witness of creation, which declares the glory of a Creator.  You are rejecting the witness of your own conscience, which tells you there is eternity in your heart.  And you are rejecting the direct presentation of the Gospel.

If you die rejecting, you will be judged and condemned.

Crusin’ For A Bruised Reed (Matthew 12v14-21)

If you are on Facebook, you probably saw a post with the following quotation: “Don’t believe everything you read on the internet just because there’s a picture with a quote next to it.”

Great advice – except that it was attributed to Abraham Lincoln with his picture next to it.

Every now and then you do come across a remarkable quote.  One that you know is true but that nevertheless makes you wonder.
You may be familiar with the writings of F.B. Meyer.  He’s a pastor and evangelist from the early 1900’s who wrote over forty commentaries and devotionals.  Good ones, I might add.

Meyer said,

When our Lord took on Himself the form of a servant, girded Himself and began to wash the feet of His disciples, it was no new office that He performed; for the life of God is ever one of service, of ministry.  He rules all because He serves all.

I of course think of Jesus as a servant in His incarnation, when He  became the God-man.  But to say that “the life of God is ever one of service,” that He was a servant before the incarnation and remains a servant still, isn’t something I tend to dwell upon.

Dwell upon it or not, it’s true.  Jesus did not become a servant by coming to earth.  He has always been, and will always be, a servant.

We know Jesus washed His disciples feet before their last supper.   According to the Gospel of Luke Jesus will in the future wait upon us, His weary servants, at the marriage supper in Heaven (Luke 12:35-37).  He remains a servant.

I’m talking about Jesus being a servant because that is how He is portrayed in these astonishing verses in chapter twelve of Matthew’s Gospel.  We will see He was sent to serve, but also that He still serves.

Seeing Him as servant should inspire us to replicate His serving as we yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit as He did.

I’ll organize my thoughts around two points: #1 The God You Serve Came To Serve, and #2 The God You Serve Continues To Serve.

#1    The God You Serve Came To Serve
    (v14-15)

I feel it necessary to say that I believe God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.  That He exercises sovereignty, knows the end of all things, and rules the world by His divine providence.

I feel it necessary to say that because, when you say God has always been, and will always be, a servant, it can sound as though we are demoting Him or demeaning Him.

Not at all.  Jesus is the fullest expression of, and the clearest representation of, the character and nature of God.  He said of Himself, “anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).  He said that to His disciples in the upper room shortly after washing their feet.

Seeing God as servant takes nothing away from Him.  It adds to our wonderment as to His glory.

Mat 12:14    Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.

Jesus had healed a man’s withered hand on the Sabbath.  Yes, the Pharisees were upset that He had violated their Sabbath rules.  But what elevated it to wanting to “destroy” Jesus was the fact that He claimed to be greater than the Temple and to be Lord over the Sabbath.
Although greater… Although Lord… Jesus had come to serve.

Mat 12:15    But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.

In the Gospel of Mark we read that the multitudes were from Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and from beyond Jordan; and that were joined by another multitude of people, who came from Tyre and Sidon.

I mention that because it lets us know there were lots of Gentiles in that crowd as well as Jews.

We are in an important transitional section of the Gospel of Matthew.  Jesus’ offer to establish the kingdom of Heaven on earth that was promised the Jews was being rejected by the religious leaders of Israel.  He was being rejected as the promised Messiah.  Chapters twelve through fifteen will discuss the change in God’s program for Israel in response to their rejection of King and kingdom.

His withdrawal from the synagogue to minister to a mixed group of Jews and Gentiles is symbolic of the fact that God, in response to Israel’s rejection, would temporarily postpone establishing the kingdom on earth while calling out a people made up of Jews and Gentiles.  In chapter sixteen Jesus will reveal that this new group is the church.

There were “multitudes” and Jesus “healed them all.”  Do you think of Jesus’ healings as effortless?  They weren’t.  He seems to have dealt with each person individually.  Occasionally He may have encountered ten lepers at a time and healed them all at once.  But even then there was personal interaction.

If you’ve ever been in need, and gone to an agency for help, you probably filled out forms rather than talking to someone about your unique situation.  That’s because it takes so much time to really interview someone; and it taxes the interviewers emotions.  So the organization comes up with a way to quickly assess and meet needs.  Otherwise its workers would get overwhelmed.

Jesus embodied what F.B. Meyer said; His life “was ever one of service.”  Whether it was serving His Father in the relative obscurity of growing up and learning obedience in Nazareth, or going about preaching and healing for three and one half years, or dying on the Cross – Jesus was servant.

I’m going to quote Meyer again.  “Oh that He would so incarnate Himself in us that we, in our measure, may repeat those features of His earthly ministry.”

Pause for a moment and in your heart sing, “Make me a servant… Make me a servant… Make me a servant today.”  When we serve, in humility, people see Jesus; they see God stooping to save them.

#2    The God You Serve Continues To Serve
    (v16-21)

Matthew next does something that would be quite unmistakeable to the Jews.  He quotes from Isaiah 42.  It is the first of a series of passages in Isaiah that are sometimes called the Servant Songs.  The others are in chapters 49, 50, and 52-53.

Matthew applies those verses, those songs, to Jesus Christ.  Jesus was and is the Servant being described.  He was and is God’s Savior to Israel and to the whole world.

Mat 12:16    Yet He warned them not to make Him known,
Mat 12:17    that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
Mat 12:18    “BEHOLD! MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN, MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL IS WELL PLEASED! I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE WILL DECLARE JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES.
Mat 12:19    HE WILL NOT QUARREL NOR CRY OUT, NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS.
Mat 12:20    A BRUISED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK, AND SMOKING FLAX HE WILL NOT QUENCH, TILL HE SENDS FORTH JUSTICE TO VICTORY;
Mat 12:21    AND IN HIS NAME GENTILES WILL TRUST.”

Before we talk about each verse, a point I want to make is that what we read here is still ongoing.  This is what Jesus is about “till He sends forth justice to victory.”

When is that?  Another translation says, “till He has made righteousness overcome all” (BBE).  Whether that refers to His Second Coming to establish the delayed kingdom on earth, or to His final judgment and the creation of new heavens and a new earth – it’s clearly still in the future.

And that is why we can say that Jesus continues to serve in the ways these verses reveal; and He does it through you and I.  He does it incarnate, as it were, in you and I, by the indwelling of the Spirit.

In verse sixteen “He warned them not to make Him known.”  They always did, despite His warning, so I think the text is telling us something more than Jesus was trying to avoid confrontation with the religious leaders before it was time for His crucifixion.
His admonition to not tell is typical of a servant who is not looking for any glory, but only for God to receive praise.

It’s hard for us to remain anonymous, isn’t it?  As much as we know we should remain anonymous, remain unknown behind the scenes, we can become offended when our name isn’t listed or read, or when no one encourages us.

Hey, that’s coming at the end, and it’s coming from Jesus at His judgement seat.  Wait for it.

Another insight we might do well to glean from this idea of being “chosen” is that we ought not to appoint ourselves to any position, but rather let The Lord place us as He sees fit.

Mat 12:18    “BEHOLD! MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN, MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL IS WELL PLEASED! I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE WILL DECLARE JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES.

“Behold!” directs your attention where it should be – on Jesus.  Whatever I learn from God’s Word should enhance my understanding of The Lord – Who He is and what He did, is doing, and will do.

Mankind’s greatest need was for a “servant.”  Someone who would take your place in death, paying the penalty for your sins, so that God could declare you righteous.

But to be that servant you’d have to be a man to identify with mankind, AND you’d have to be God in order for your substitutionary sacrifice to be effective.

Jesus took the form of that servant, the God-man, leaving Heaven and humbling Himself by dying on the Cross.

Jesus was “chosen” by God.  There is a lot of doctrine packaged in that idea of being “chosen,” but the thing I get, in this context, is that God chose to do something in response to mankind’s rebellion against Him.  Something wonderful.

He chose to send His only begotten Son into our story as a man to serve us on the Cross and thereby save us.

Jesus was always God’s “beloved” in that He was one with God and God Himself.

In the incarnation, as Jesus grew and lived upon the earth as a man, God was “well pleased.”  That means, among other things, that Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life, only always doing His Father’s will and work.

The Father “put [His] Spirit upon” Jesus.  At His baptism, the Holy Spirit came upon The Lord to empower Him in His serving.  It becomes an example to us of how to be baptized by, filled with, and led by the Holy Spirit, because He is just as available to us as He was to Jesus.

His “declaring justice to the Gentiles” is ongoing, is it not?  It’s a phrase that describes the entire time between the Lord’s ascension into Heaven and the resurrection and rapture of the church, a time in which the Gospel is going out beyond just an offer of the kingdom to Israel.

God gave Jesus the Spirit for His mission and ministry and, after He ascended, God gave His church – gave us – the Spirit to continue His mission and ministry until He returns.

Mat 12:19    HE WILL NOT QUARREL NOR CRY OUT, NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS.

It is often said that the Jews expected and were looking for a powerful political and military leader as their Messiah.  It made sense, on one level, in that they were a subjugated people, subject to the Roman government.

The Servant Songs of Isaiah make it clear that their Messiah would not be a political or military man.  Verse nineteen sort of sums that up nicely.  He would lead no public revolution but, instead, offer personal transformation.

He would not shed Roman blood, but would shed His own blood to save Israel and us.

In passing we might note that one day the Jews will think they have a political and military Messiah, but he will be revealed as antichrist, not Jesus Christ.

Mat 12:20    A BRUISED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK, AND SMOKING FLAX HE WILL NOT QUENCH, TILL HE SENDS FORTH JUSTICE TO VICTORY;
Mat 12:21    AND IN HIS NAME GENTILES WILL TRUST.”

Jesus had been followed by multitudes, including Gentiles.  Twice in this Isaiah passage Gentiles are named.  It’s signaling a major change in God’s prophetic program.

We’ll see it more clearly in chapter thirteen where, in a series of parables, The Lord outlines how the Gospel will spread to the whole world during the time between His ascension and Second Coming.

Eventually, in chapter sixteen, Jesus will reveal that He is going to begin building His church – something brand new, not revealed in the Old Testament.

In that ‘mean time,’ during this church age in which we are empowered by God’s indwelling Holy Spirit to be servants, it would do well for us to see and to serve people the way Jesus did.

Although not a complete description of Him as God’s servant, two things are mentioned: “a bruised reed He will not break,” and “smoking flax He will not quench.”

For lack of a better word, this captures the attitude we ought to have as servants.

Obviously “reeds” and “flax” are meant to represent people – both ourselves and those we are sent by Jesus to serve.  The Holy Spirit is here describing people whose grace is at present weak, whose repentance is feeble, and whose faith is small.  Towards such persons the Lord Jesus Christ is very tender and compassionate.

“Reeds” were stems of a variety of species of plants.  They were carved into ink pens or walking sticks, or their fibers were used for weaving or making into parchment for writing on.

Because of their abundance reeds were not very valuable.  Bruised reeds, ones that were damaged in any way, were useless and worthless and wouldn’t be given a second look.

Have you ever felt bruised – emotionally and spiritually?  Another way of asking it is, Have you ever been hurt?

I’m happy for you if you can honestly answer “No,” but most of us go through life bruised and hurting on many levels.

God looks upon us as bruised reeds that are valuable and that can be made useful.  Our bruising isn’t allowed by Him to ‘break’ us but to make us a people of compassion who have passion to minister to others the grace of God that is sufficient in every circumstance.

“Flax” is what was used as the wick in an oil lamp.  A wick on an oil lamp might smolder because it was low on oil or trimmed improperly.  Usually a smoldering wick would be put out, because it would produce smoke but no light.

Have you ever felt that you were in a place that you could not see your way out of?  As if you were in the dark, groping?  Then, just when you thought it couldn’t possibly get any worse, you felt as if you were choking on smoke, suffocating emotionally and spiritually?

Again – if you’ve never been in a place like that, I’m thrilled for you.  Most of us have found ourselves groping in the dark, gasping for breath.  Some of us are in a place like that currently.

The psalmist referred to it as “walking through the valley of the shadow of death.”  I know Psalm 23 is a favorite at funerals, but the valley of the shadow of death isn’t describing you after you die.  It’s describing how life feels, not death.

The Lord isn’t allowing it to “quench” us, but rather that we would yield to His Spirit to rekindle our flame.  That we might realize He alone lights our path and is the lamp unto our feet.

You know that in the new heavens and the new earth, all the light comes from God Himself?

Rev 22:5    There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

God is just as much our light now as He will be then.  It’s not Him who leads us into the dark, but He can and will lead us out from it.

TILL HE SENDS FORTH JUSTICE TO VICTORY; AND IN HIS NAME GENTILES WILL TRUST.”

“Till” The Lord comes to claim His victory and establishes righteousness, the Gospel is being sent out to the Gentiles.

It’s being sent out by us being sent out with it.  Wherever we are, wherever we go, we have this treasure in earthen vessels.

At times we will be like bruised reeds and smoking flax.  God is sufficient for us.

Other times the folks we encounter will be like bruised reeds and smoking flax.  We are to serve them as The Lord serves us.

One commentary put it like this:

There are some in every congregation hearing the Gospel who are ready to despair of their own salvation because their strength seems so small.  They are full of fears and despondency because their knowledge, faith, hope and love appear so dwarfish and diminutive. 

Let them drink comfort out of this text; let them know that weak faith gives a man as real and true an interest in Christ as strong faith, though it may not give him the same joy.  There is life in an infant as truly as in an adult; there is fire in a spark as truly as in a burning flame.  The least degree of grace is an everlasting possession.  It comes down from Heaven; it is precious in our Lord’s eyes.  It will never be overthrown.

Maybe you are bruised and smoldering today.  The Lord wants to bind you up, and to fan your flame.

Even while you are waiting for Him to serve you, you can serve others – come alongside to bind them up, to fan their smoldering wick into flame.

Jesus was God’s Suffering Servant.  So are you after Him, until the end of the age, when He will serve us at the marriage supper.

Back In The Sabbath Again (Matthew 12v1-14)

How do unchurched Americans view contemporary Christianity?

The latest research I could find was a 2008 Pew Research Poll.  The summary said, “A full 72% of the people interviewed said they think the church [quote] ‘is full of hypocrites.’ ”

Our usual response to the accusation that the church “is full of hypocrites” is to say something sarcastic, like, “Don’t let that stop you from coming; there’s always room for one more.”

Before we too quickly dismiss every accusation of hypocrisy, it’s instructive to realize that Jesus used the “H” word.  In fact, if my search engine in e-Sword is accurate, Jesus is the only person in the New Testament to call certain people hypocrites, and He does so seventeen times in the Gospels.

Here’s the kicker: He didn’t accuse just anyone of hypocrisy.  He accused the men who thought themselves, and who were thought of by others, to be the most spiritual.

Men like the some 6,000 Pharisees who were straining to keep the very extreme letter of God’s Law.

They were definitely trying hard to keep God’s Law, and they started well, but they ended up going about it all wrong.

I, for one, don’t want to think I am trying hard to “keep” God’s Word, having started well, only to end up going about it all wrong.

We encounter some of those Pharisees in our text today and, as we do, we get a glimpse at their going about it all wrong with regard to the keeping of the Sabbath.

Jesus gives us two markers – two characteristics – by which to gauge whether or not our version of obedience to God is right or wrong.  They are mercy and kindness.

I’ll organize my thoughts around two points: #1 Keeping God’s Word Will Increase, Not Decrease, Your Showing Mercy, and #2 Keeping God’s Word Will Encourage, Not Discourage, Your Showing Kindness.

#1    Keeping God’s Word Will
    Increase, Not Decrease, Your Showing Mercy
    (v1-8)

The apostle Paul asked the Christians in Galatia, “having begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect in the flesh?”  The Pharisees had done just that and it should serve to warn anyone who wants to keep God’s Word to be careful to not do the same.

The origin of the Pharisees is uncertain.  Some scholars suggest they go back as far as the Book of Malachi when you read of those obedient Jews whom God eavesdrops upon because He is pleased with their spiritual conversations about Him.

Other scholars say they began in the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Greek ruler Antiochus IV, also known as Antiochus Epiphanes, around 165BC, in an effort to protect Judaism from contamination by Greek influences.

The name Pharisee in its Hebrew form means separatists, or the separated ones.  They were also known as chasidim, which means loyal to God, or loved of God.

They meant to radically obey God and remain separate from the world but became so extreme, so narrow, in their focus on the letter of the Law that they lost the spirit of the Law.

When their Savior and Messiah, Jesus Christ, was among them, they not only didn’t acknowledge Him, they accused Him of being a Law breaker.

Let’s watch it play-out in our text.

Mat 12:1    At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.
Mat 12:2    And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”

God nowhere in His Word ever stated that it was wrong to pluck heads of grain to eat on the Sabbath.  In their attempt to define what constituted work, the Pharisees had determined that plucking grain was a form of harvesting and, therefore, violated the command to do no work on the Sabbath.

In passing I should mention that there were groups even more extreme than the Pharisees, e.g., the Essenes of Qumran whom we have to thank for the Dead Sea Scrolls.

It’s no different today among the various groups who say you must “keep” the Sabbath.  There is no agreement on what constitutes “work.”  Just a lot of speculation and accusations.

Notice that they blamed Jesus for what His disciples were doing.  Like it or not, the impression folks have of who Jesus is and of what He is like comes from how we act and react, from what we say and do.

I can’t fault a nonbeliever for thinking that knowing The Lord should affect radical, positive changes in our lives.  Jesus doesn’t only save us; He goes on saving us – changing us from glory-to-glory into His own image.

Or at least that’s His plan.

Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees will mention a king, the priests, and a prophet.

Mat 12:3    But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:
Mat 12:4    how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?

David, on the run from King Saul, definitely violated the letter of the Law when he and his men ate the holy bread.  God did not rebuke him, and even the Pharisees would not be so bold as to condemn David for his violation of the Law.  Yet here they were, rebuking Jesus for something that was their own interpretation of what constituted work.

When Jesus said, “Have you not read?”, it was quite a slap in the face, so to speak.  It indicated that they were not familiar enough with God’s Word.  They certainly knew the passage; they did not apply it properly.

In other words, they were reading and studying God’s Word the wrong way – trying to nail down the letter but missing the spirit.

Look for Jesus in every text and you will avoid missing the spirit of the words.

Jesus had appealed to David.  He was he rightful king of Israel but was not recognized and was exiled.  Similarly, Jesus was the rightful King of Israel, but was not recognized and would be rejected.

Mat 12:5    Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?

While others rested on the Sabbath, the on-duty priests in the Temple worked twice as hard.  There were double sacrifices to offer; there was fresh shewbread to make and old shewbread to change out; and if a male child’s eighth day of life fell on a Sabbath, the priest must nevertheless perform his circumcision.

The priests, then, show that work done for God on the Sabbath is not “work” in God’s eye.

Mat 12:6    Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.

The argument Jesus was putting forward was that in God’s economy the ministry of the Temple took priority over the Sabbath rules.  It thus followed that if Someone greater than the Temple was there, He, too, would take priority over any man-made Sabbath rules.

The tragedy in all this is that the Pharisees, in their zeal to be spiritual, did not recognize that One greater than the Temple was in their midst.

The Lord next appealed to a prophet – Hosea.

Mat 12:7    But if you had known what this means, ‘I DESIRE MERCY AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.

The quote is from the sixth chapter of Hosea.  The entire verse reads like this:
Hos 6:6    For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Again The Lord reprimands them for misapplying God’s Word.  Moral duties always outweigh ceremonial regulations.  God doesn’t set rules and rituals ahead of showing mercy, which reveals a true “knowledge of God” because mercy is one of His attributes.

Mat 12:8    For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Jesus didn’t abolish the Sabbath for the Jews.  Clearly He observed it; He was, after all, on His way to synagogue when this episode took place.

But He claimed the right to properly interpret the Sabbath over the traditions of the Pharisees.  He claimed the greater authority.

In fact, He was claiming to be the One Who instigated the Sabbath in the first place, and Who was its fulfillment.

If Jesus didn’t abolish the Sabbath, why don’t we ‘keep’ it as Christians?  William MacDonald, in his very excellent Believers Bible Commentary, has a great perspective on the Sabbath and I’m going to borrow from him.

The Sabbath day was, and always will be, the seventh day of the week (Saturday).  God rested on the seventh day, after the six days of creation (Genesis 2:2).

He did not command man to keep the Sabbath day at that time, although He may have intended the principle – one day of rest in every seven – to be followed.
The nation of Israel was commanded to keep the Sabbath when the Ten Commandments were given (Exodus 20:8-11).  In fact, in several places Israel is told it is a special covenant between them and God – not between Gentiles and God.

The law of the Sabbath was different from the other nine commandments; it was a ceremonial law while the others were moral.  The only reason it was wrong to work on the Sabbath was because God said so.  The other commandments had to do with things that were intrinsically wrong.

Nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the New Testament, not as law but as instructions for Christians living under grace.  The only commandment Christians are never told to keep is that of the Sabbath.  Rather, the apostle Paul teaches that the Christian cannot be judged or condemned for failing to keep it (Colossians 2:16).

The distinctive day of Christianity is Sunday, the first day of the week.  The Lord Jesus rose from the dead on that day (John 20:1), a proof that the work of redemption had been completed and divinely approved.  On the next two Lord’s Days, He met with His disciples (John 20:19, John 20:26).

The Holy Spirit was given on the first day of the week (Act 2:1). The early disciples met on that day to break bread, showing forth the Lord’s death (Act 20:7).  It is the day appointed by God on which Christians should set aside funds for the work of the Lord (1Corinthians 16:1-2).

It is not right to say that the Sabbath was changed to the Lord’s Day.  The Sabbath is Saturday and the Lord’s Day is Sunday.

The Sabbath was a shadow; the substance is Christ (Colossians 2:16-17).  The resurrection of Christ marked a new beginning, and the Lord’s day signifies that beginning.

Jesus is our Sabbath – and by that I mean that it is in a relationship with Him that we find rest.  He said so Himself at the end of chapter eleven.  The Sabbath is therefore no longer a ritual; it is a relationship.

Listen –  When we tell people they must ‘keep’ the Sabbath on any level, we are telling them that salvation is by grace through faith PLUS works.  We are adding to the Gospel.

Back to the text… Jesus, by His appeal to Scripture, shows that His disciples were guiltless.  Nevertheless the Pharisees condemned them based on their own interpretation of God’s Law.

Don’t overlook the statement in verse one, “the disciples were hungry.”  I’m not saying they were starving, but their picking grain to eat was more than just a snack along the way.

If they had truly been reading God’s Word for the spirit of it, the Pharisees would have shown the disciples mercy by offering them food.

They would have looked upon them to see how they might minster to them – show them mercy – in order that they come to know God as merciful.

What about us?  I don’t want to mention anything specific; these issues can be complex.  But, in general, are we more prone to declare a boycott?  Or to offer a barbecue?

In whatever we choose, we must be showing mercy, because nonbelievers need to know God desires mercy over sacrifice.

#2    Keeping God’s Word Will
    Encourage, Not Discourage, Your Showing Kindness
    (v9-14)

The word “kindness” isn’t used in this next episode, but it is implied by Jesus’ use of a trapped animal.  In Proverbs 12:10 you read, “A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel” (NIV).

The Pharisees version of the Law led them to show more kindness to animals than to people – and that’s a poor representation of God’s character.

Mat 12:9    Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.
Mat 12:10    And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” – that they might accuse Him.

The Pharisees challenged Jesus right in the midst of their synagogue service.

It’s sad when believers bring petty accusations against one another in the church.  We should be serious Christians, but also those who err on the side of showing kindness and mercy and grace.

The Pharisees had determined that you could act to save a life on the Sabbath, but that you could do nothing proactive to effect healing.

If a person was cut, and bleeding, you could act to stop the bleeding, but that is all you could do until the sun went down on Saturday evening.

Mat 12:11    Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?
Mat 12:12    Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

The Israelites dug pits as traps against wild animals that attacked their flocks.  Occasionally a sheep would wander off and fall into a pit.

Regardless it was the Sabbath or not, an Israelite was expected to save his sheep, and no Pharisee would think of accusing him of breaking any law – God’s or mans.

I hate to harp on it, but straining to figure out how to properly ‘keep’ the letter of the Sabbath leads to bizarre conclusions that make Christians seem like hypocrites.  Or actual hypocrites.

Whatever a person does think about the Sabbath must be qualified by the principle, “it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”  If you conclude that something “good” is work that should be avoided – you’re just wrong according to The Lord of the Sabbath.

Mat 12:13    Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.

Technically, neither Jesus nor the man did any work.  No physical therapy was performed; no manipulation.  Jesus simply spoke the word.  The man simply stretched out his hand, acting by faith – which is not a work.

So even though Jesus did not really violate the Pharisee’s very limited interpretation of ‘work,’ we read in verse fourteen,

Mat 12:14    Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.

Jesus used the example of a trapped animal to establish that the Pharisees were way off base in their understanding of God’s heart.

I wonder if they got the subtle suggestion that here they were seeking to trap Jesus; that they were actively setting traps for Him.

In their zeal to obey the letter of God’s Law, they ended up treating their fellow Jews worse than they treated their animals, and anyone who opposed them was treated as a wild animal that needed to be destroyed.

You would therefore never know from looking at these so-called spiritual men that God was kind.  In fact, He seemed cruel.

I submit to you that any interpretation of God that makes Him seem cruel is wrong, because He is not cruel.  We can’t, therefore, look at things like suffering and eternal torment in Hell and say, “O well, He’s God and can do whatever He wants.”  We can’t say that something cruel isn’t simply because God does it.

No, we must frame our answers from the perspective of the immutable character and attributes of God – especially that He is love.  Any talk of suffering or Hell or other things like that must be understood within the context of God as love.

God’s kindness towards His own people is sometimes called lovingkindness.  It can be defined as faithful love that takes action.  It is God’s persistent and unconditional tenderness, kindness, and mercy, a relationship in which He seeks after man with love and mercy.

An early example of lovingkindness, and a very powerful one, is God’s actions in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve sinned.  He acted immediately, seeking them out to  cover their shame and promising to redeem them by coming into the world to die as their substitute.

God’s lovingkindness seeks after you to save and sanctify you; it doesn’t set out to trap you to destroy you.

The Pharisees started out right but ended up all wrong.  The apostle Paul warned the Galatians they could do the same – having begun in the Spirit, they could try to be made perfect in the flesh.  The majority of nonbelievers in our country think that the majority of Christians are the modern-day Pharisees who are trying to be made perfect by the flesh.

Rather than immediately dismiss their accusation, let’s examine ourselves.  As serious students of the Bible, we want to know what the Word says, and understand why it says what it says.

We want to be; no, we must be separate from the world.

We need, however, to do all that, to be all that, while maintaining the spirit of the Word.

And one way to gauge how we’re doing is to check our lives for showing mercy and kindness so that folks know our God, and their Savior, is seeking them out to save them.

The Pew Research poll I cited went on to say,

At the same time, 71% of the respondents said they believe Jesus ‘makes a positive difference in a person’s life’ and 78% said they would ‘be willing to listen’ to someone who wanted to share what they believed about Christianity.

They sound open to the Gospel.  Let’s go on showing them Jesus and not some mean-spirited, bigoted caricature.

Different Yokes For Different Folks (Matthew 11v25-30)

I was looking at the instruction book that came with my Fridgedaire oven so I could be sure I had the temperature calibrated just right for Thanksgiving.

I discovered that my oven has a Sabbath mode.  If your oven isn’t too old, it probably has one, too.

What is Sabbath mode?  I’d heard of it before, and assumed it was something that would keep you from using your oven during the hours of the Sabbath.  Just the opposite!

Listen to this description:

While raw food may not be cooked on the Sabbath, food that was already cooked beforehand may be kept warm until mealtime [and] food may be cooked fresh – but turning the heat on is prohibited [because it is considered kindling a fire, one of the ‘works’ you may not do on the Sabbath].  In the past, the problem could be solved simply by lighting a stove or oven before the Sabbath began, and leaving it on.  In recent decades, however, appliance manufacturers have instituted a safety feature that automatically shuts off the heat after a number of hours.  This renders the appliance useless for those who observe these religious laws.

When an oven is in Sabbath mode, the standard six- or twelve-hour automatic shutoff is overridden [and the consumer may thereby use the oven without technically kindling a fire].

Refrigerators also pose Sabbath problems.  Those who try to ‘keep’ the Sabbath (called Sabbatarians) are not supposed to open the refrigerator door from sundown Friday through sundown Saturday.  If they do, the door switch completes an electrical current, turning on the light – and completing an electrical current is considered kindling a fire.

Modern technology has again come to the rescue:

[In Sabbath mode] the consumer does not have to worry about lights, digits, icons, tones, alarms, solenoids or fans being activated or deactivated when opening or closing the [refrigerator] door.  A built-in delay prevents [these] from turning on immediately after the door is opened.
Appliance manufacturers had to work hard so Sabbatarians could ‘rest.’

Truth is, anyone trying to ‘rest’ on the Sabbath according to these kinds of religious rules will find it exhaustingly hard work.

The work it took to rest on the Sabbath was an unbearable burden for the Jews in the first century as well.  The scribes and the Pharisees kept heaping more-and-more rules and regulations upon the people, offering them no help bearing them.

To those Sabbath-weary, worn-out people, Jesus said,

Mat 11:28    Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Mat 11:29    Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Mat 11:30    For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Jesus takes us out of the realm of exhausting religious practices and into the reality of an endearing relationship with Himself.

These are among the most compassionate, the most powerful, the most merciful and wonderful words ever to fall from the lips of our Lord.

Listen to Him carefully as I organize my thoughts around two points: #1 Jesus Shows You How Rest Works, and #2 Jesus Saves You To Rest From Works.

#1    Jesus Shows You
    How Rest Works
    (v25-26)

By “how rest works” I mean that before Jesus defines rest for you in verses twenty-seven through thirty, He demonstrates rest for you in verses twenty-five and twenty-six.

In the preceding verses Matthew began to tell us that Jesus’ offer to establish the kingdom of Heaven on the earth, as its King, is going to be rejected by the vast majority of the Jews.  Although announced by John the Baptist in the Spirit and power of Elijah, and although Jesus displayed all the miraculous credentials of the “Coming One,” no kingdom would come.

It still hasn’t come.

How do you react when everything you’ve been doing for God seems to result in failure?

Jesus rested in the ultimate will and plan of God.

Mat 11:25    At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.

Jesus wasn’t thankful that “the wise and the prudent” were rejecting the Gospel.  He was thankful that God was not to be thwarted in His promise to eventually establish the kingdom.  If some rejected Jesus, others would receive Him.

Before we further analyze what Jesus said, listen to how He said it.  He said, “I thank You” to His Father.  The words translated “I thank You” mean “I acknowledge You.”  A language scholar said, “the person praying “acknowledges” who God is, the propriety of his ways, and the excellence of His character.  At that point acknowledgment is scarcely distinguishable from praise.”

“Propriety” means God always acts according to His excellent character, which is pure and perfect.

Jesus acknowledged His Father.  Even though seemingly things were not going according to plan, Jesus was confident that God had not changed.  He would keep His Word – fulfill His promises.

It’s a pretty big deal to acknowledge God.  Instead of blaming God when things seem to be going wrong, I can acknowledge He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that He remains pure and perfect and is at work and will redeem all things for the good.

There was, indeed, a change in plan for Jesus’ ministry.  This is the moment in Jesus’ ministry where we see that the Gospel will extend beyond Israel, beyond the Jews, to the Gentiles, to the whole world.  In a moment He will invite “all” men to Himself.

The Jews to whom Jesus had been sent (and especially the leaders) considered themselves “wise and prudent.”  We would say they were self-righteous and, therefore, self-sufficient.  They were only interested in the kingdom of Heaven if they did not need to repent to enter it.  They thought they deserved it.

In contrast to the self-righteous, self-sufficient Jews who refused to repent, there were others who would eagerly welcome the Gospel.  They saw their need.
Jesus said of God the Father that He had “hidden these things from the wise and prudent.”  Some people read “hidden” as if they never had any hope of receiving The Lord because God was somehow hiding the truth from them.

There is no good reason to read the words that way.

Jesus and His twelve disciples had gone around preaching the Gospel giving everyone who heard them the opportunity to repent and believe.  No one would read about their evangelistic campaign and not think it was a sincere offer of salvation to whosoever would believe.

It was only “hidden” in the sense that they refused to respond to the grace of God.  Thus they could not see what God was showing them.

There is no teaching here, or to my understanding, anywhere, in the Bible that some people cannot believe and be saved; only that they will not believe and be saved.

Salvation is all of grace.  By His grace, God frees the will of a man to be able to respond to His offer of salvation.

Why do some respond positively while others do not?  The mystery of human responsiveness to the Gospel is known only to God and the persons making their choices.  One commentator did make this observation:

It is not for us to attempt to explain why some receive and believe the Gospel, while others do not… But one thing… stands out in Scripture as a great practical truth to be remembered always.  Those from whom the Gospel is hidden are generally “the wise in their own eyes.”

It is an after-the-fact observation, but the self-righteous who feel self-sufficient are often those who reject salvation by grace through faith, refusing to humble themselves.

Mat 11:26    Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.

By “sight” I think The Lord was referring to His Father’s oversight.  No matter the obstacles, and the apparent change of course, God was exercising His oversight, ruling the universe by His providence, working all things together for the “good.”

This is pretty deep stuff, really.  John the Baptist had announced that the kingdom of Heaven was at hand and that Jesus was the “Coming One” in fulfillment of the prophecies.  The Lord went about offering to establish the kingdom on the earth and proving His right to its throne by performing so many signs, wonders and miracles that if they were all written down, the world could not contain the books.

The Jewish leaders, and ultimately the vast majority of Jews, rejected all that.  Jesus reacted by resting in God – knowing that because of God’s pure and perfect character He would redeem it, working all things out to the ultimate good.

Before Jesus described spiritual rest, He demonstrated it.  It is, at least in part, the acknowledgement that God’s plans and purposes will not and cannot ultimately fail because God’s character is perfect and pure and He always acts accordingly.

Furthermore, it is not a reluctant or sorrowful acknowledgement.  It is a joyful one, a thankful one.

That’s the part I struggle with, and that keeps me from truly resting in God.  Nevertheless His rest is there for me, and for you, at all times.

#2    Jesus Saves You
    To Rest From Works
    (v27-30)

The Jews were spiritually weary.  They struggled under an enormous load of religious legalities that were laid upon them by their spiritual leaders.  The rules for the Sabbath alone were an incredible burden that they were called upon to bear.

Today there are thirty-nine categories of activities that cannot occur from sundown Friday through sundown Saturday.

Not thirty-nine activities; thirty-nine categories, each with many activities.  Let me give you one more example.  So that you do not have to push a button, which would complete an electrical circuit violating a Sabbath rule, there are Sabbath elevators that stop at every floor.

I don’t want to be totally insensitive to folks who think they should ‘keep’ the Sabbath, but I’ve got to say this.
Do we really think that keeping the refrigerator door closed from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday is what God had in mind when He told us to rest?  Or not turning on the oven?  Or using an elevator that stops at every floor?

Isn’t it just a little deceptive and disingenuous to then figure out a way in which we can open the door or cook or ride the elevator without violating the Sabbath?

All those rules and regulations are works laid upon you by which you think you are obeying God.  Jesus establishes that He saves you and then you rest from works in an empowered relationship with Him.

Mat 11:27    All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

This is strong language saying that Jesus is the only way to know God.  There is no other religion, and no other relationship, by which you can be saved.  God the Father and Jesus are one and the only way to know God is to have Him revealed to you by Jesus.

I like the way one commentator expanded this verse when he said,

“All things have been committed to” Him.  He carries the keys: to Him we must go for admission into heaven.  He is the door: through Him we must enter.  He is the Shepherd: we must hear His voice and follow Him if we do not want to perish in the wilderness.  He is the Physician: we must apply to Him if we want to be healed of the plague of sin.  He is the bread of life: we must feed on Him if we want to have our souls satisfied.
He is the light: we must follow Him if we do not want to wander in darkness.  He is the fountain: we must wash in His blood if we want to be cleansed and made ready for the great day of account.

Who does the “Son” will “to reveal [God the Father]?”  While it is clear from this verse that no person on his or her own has the ability to know God unless God acts to reveal Himself, it does not follow that He only reveals Himself to a chosen few.

We learn elsewhere in the Bible He wills to reveal Him to “whosoever” will believe in Him (John 3:16).  We are told Jesus is the Savior of all men, especially those who believe (First Timothy 4:10).

These next three verses tell us the same thing as Jesus extends His invitation to “all” men everywhere.

Mat 11:28    Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Mat 11:29    Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Do you feel burdened?  Overwhelmed?  Defeated?  Do you ever say things like, “I can’t take it anymore?”

When you do, this is what Jesus says to you.

One thing we need to understand from the beginning is that He does not promise to remove burdens.  He promises to carry them with you.  Spiritual rest will allude you if your idea of rest is that your trials or troubles or tragedies must be removed.

Theologians notice a progression here as Jesus says “come,” then “take,” then “learn.”
“Come” is the general, universal invitation to all men.  The human race is burdened by sin and its guilt and is laboring to merit acceptance with God.  We must quit our own works and rest in His work on the Cross on our behalf.
“Take” tells us that salvation is a gift but, like any gift, it must be received in order to become effective.  No one can come to God unless God reveals Himself to them, but by grace that is exactly what Jesus does for all men.  This is that mysterious moment when the grace-freed will must decide.
“Learn” encourages us that once we have responded to the grace of God and received The Lord He will lead us moment-by-moment and day-by-day until the work He has begun is completed.

In describing Himself as “gentle and lowly in heart,” The Lord is saying that His leading is never religious; it is always relational.  Even when there are precepts and principles that must be followed, it is because of your relationship with The Lord, not because you are under a set of rules.

Notice the double use of the word “rest:”

Jesus says “I will give you rest” – that is the peace with God that accompanies salvation.
Then He says “you will find rest” – that is the peace of God, available in any and every situation and circumstance as you acknowledge God.

So that we can make application of His words, Jesus provides an illustration:

Mat 11:30    For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

A “yoke” was a wooden frame placed on the backs of oxen to make them pull in tandem.  The simple yokes consisted of a bar with two loops either of rope or wood that went around the animals’ necks.  More elaborate yokes had shafts connected to the middle with which the animals pulled plows or other implements.

The yoke was designed to fit smoothly so long as the pair was heading in the same direction and moving at the same speed.  If one slowed or stopped or started in another direction, the yoke would chaff and pinch.

One paraphrase of this verse reads, “Become My yokefellow, and learn how to pull the load by working beside Me and watching how I do it.  The heavy labor will seem lighter when you allow Me to help.”

If you are saved, Jesus is your yokefellow.  He did all the heavy lifting at the Cross and now He wants to guide you as you plow forward through the field that is your particular, unique life.

He guides you by His Word.  The Bible reveals God’s heart and gives you the freedom to behave within His loving boundaries.

Yoked with Jesus you will find at certain points the application of His Word is more lenient than you might be used to.  At other points, Jesus’ application of God’s Word can be more stringent than you might be used to.

For example – the Jews labored under ridiculous Sabbath rules.  Jesus went about doing good on the Sabbath, healing folks and the like, demonstrating that you ‘keep’ the Sabbath in a spiritual sense, not in a strict legal sense.
But Jesus could also be even more stringent than the Jews were used to.  In His day the Pharisees had grown liberal with regards to divorce and remarriage – allowing it for almost any reason.  Jesus brought them back to God’s original intent for marriage and a more restrictive grounds for divorce.

The yoke, then, represents your entire walk with The Lord, guided by His Word, and I might add, empowered by His Holy Spirit.

Whether it seems lenient or stringent, it’s not a burden because we enjoy fellowship with Him.

One commentator put it this way:

The yoke Jesus asks us to take upon ourselves [is] the whole Christian life and hope.  Once we have assumed that yoke, God’s commandments are no longer a heavy burden that weighs us down and destroys us.  Instead, they are the expressions of God’s will in which we delight, for we look for ways to express our thanks to God for the blessings of His grace.

“Easy” has a range of meanings, e.g., good, helpful, kind, and profitable.  As a Christian I understand that obeying God is good and profitable; that God’s commands are helpful and kind.  So, if a command seems stringent, like Jesus’ teaching on marriage, divorce, and remarriage, it really isn’t.  It’s good and profitable to me and to the church and to society; and it is helpful and kind of Him to so guide me.

“Easy” can also mean well-fitting.  Jesus has a particular yoke for you that is well-fitted to your walk, to your unique field.

“[His] burden is light.”  If it sometimes seems crushing, it’s not.  The apostle Paul, for example, endured many trials, much suffering, as he plowed the field of his life.  But he could say of them, “my light affliction is but for a moment,” and that it was working for him to God’s glory (Second Corinthians 4:17).

If something is “heavy,” then I guess I’m carrying the load all by myself.  Or perhaps I’m not looking to the hope of glory set before me at the end of my field, when my plowing is finished.

Notice that the “rest” you will find is “for your souls.”  Always we must be reminded that God is working on us looking forward to the day we will appear before Him.  The ultimate “rest” will come in that day when I see I have been made perfect having been conformed into the likeness of Jesus.

It’s not insignificant to remember that Jesus was a carpenter by trade.  He would have fashioned many yokes in His career.  I don’t think it’s going too far to suggest they were the best fitted yokes anywhere on earth!

Your “yoke” is fitted for you in exactly the way Jesus can best walk with you to demonstrate His help and kindness, and that you might experience things that are good and profitable.

If you don’t feel that way… I guess I should say “when” you don’t feel that way – you might be trying to plow in a way that will leave a crooked furrow, having taken your eyes off of eternity and the Reward Seat of Jesus.

You may want to be in another field altogether.  Or you may slow down or simply stop plowing for one reason or another.

Acknowledge God – that He is pure and perfect and will always act accordingly, to bring forth your good and His glory.  Own your field; get up and plow straight, letting The Lord do the heavy lifting.

Violence Of The Lambs (Matthew 11v1-24)

Movies from the 1980s like Terminator or Die Hard were rated R at the time of their release – but if they were released today, they’d probably be rated PG-13.

That’s because PG-13 movies today contain more violence than the R-rated films of the 1980s, according to a report recently published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

Television and the gaming industry have their own ratings systems.  TV shows, for example, can carry letter ratings of D (for suggestive dialog), L (for coarse or crude language), S (for sexual content), or V (for violence).

As we read our text this morning, we’re going to see that the world we live in as Christians has a rating.  Jesus rates it SV, for Spiritual Violence.

Look with me at verse twelve:

Mat 11:12    And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

I’ll explain the verse more fully in a moment, but it means that there are sinister spiritual foes and forces at work, both human and demonic, to oppose the message and the messengers of the Gospel.

Most of the time we call this opposition “spiritual warfare,” and while that is an accurate, biblical term, it doesn’t go far enough in describing the effect this opposition has on us as believers.

Spiritual warfare sounds almost romantic as we imagine ourselves locked in combat with the devil and his forces, wearing the full armor of God, wielding the sword of the Spirit.

Spiritual violence – well that sounds more like I got ambushed and assaulted when I least expected it and am left victimized, wounded, and confused.

We will see in the imprisonment of John the Baptist that spiritual violence can cause us to doubt, to stumble – even to be offended with God.

If you are honest, you’ll admit you’ve felt like that.  If you haven’t ever felt you were the victim of spiritual violence, just wait.  Your ambush is being planned.

I’ll organize my thoughts around two points: #1 Don’t Allow Spiritual Violence To Stumble You, and #2 Don’t Allow Spiritual Violence To Silence You.

#1    Don’t Allow Spiritual Violence To Stumble You
    (v1-15)

Our key verse, verse twelve, is by no means easy to interpret.  Some teach that it means that the kingdom of Heaven is forcefully advancing as godly believers press forward boldly sharing the Gospel.  One example is the New International Revised Version where it reads, “Since the days of John the Baptist, the kingdom of heaven has been advancing with force. And forceful people are taking hold of it.”

While that is a possible interpretation of the words, it seems more likely that Jesus was describing violent opposition to the kingdom of Heaven.  For one thing, it describes to a ‘T’ the situation of John the Baptist.  He was currently suffering violence from those who opposed the Gospel.  He was in prison and would shortly be beheaded.

Besides that, we will see that John’s question at the beginning of the chapter suggests he thought the kingdom of Heaven somehow had been halted by violence rather than it being forcefully advanced.

John was definitely a victim of spiritual violence and, as such, he can minister to each of us in this SV rated world.

Mat 11:1    Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.

At first this verse seems like it should have been the last verse of the previous chapter.  But when we read verse two, we see that it sets up the question of John the Baptist.

Mat 11:2    And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples
Mat 11:3    and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

John heard about this most recent campaign of Jesus’ during which He and His disciples did many miraculous “works.”  Thinking about those works, he wondered if Jesus were “the Coming One,” which was an official title of the long awaited Jewish Messiah.

John had predicted that Jesus would perform a work of judgment.  His exact words were, “His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will clean out His threshing floor” (Matthew 3:12).  Jesus, however, was only going around doing works of compassion.  After many of those works He told folks to keep quiet about Him.  He seemed anything but the “Coming One” John had prophesied.

Before we say anything else, we need to ask and answer the question, “Did John really have doubts about Jesus?”

Some say no, he did not, and that this question was more for his disciples, to encourage them to look to Jesus.

John really did have doubts.  We know that he did  because, when John’s disciples get to Jesus and ask Him the question, The Lord says to them,

Mat 11:4    Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:

The Lord answered John – not the disciples of John.

As godly a man as was John the Baptist, he had come to a place of doubt.  Why?

John had identified Jesus as the “Coming One,” and that the kingdom of Heaven was at hand, but now some time had passed and the kingdom had not come.  Instead, John was in prison, shortly to have his head cut off for speaking out publicly against the adulterous relationship between Herod Antipas and his brothers wife, Herodias.

Things were not working out the way he might of anticipated.  He was a victim of spiritual violence by those who opposed the message and the messengers of the Gospel.

Mat 11:4    Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:
Mat 11:5    The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

These phrases are almost exact quotes of passages in the Book of Isaiah that describe the works that will identify to Israel her “Coming One.”  They are the credentials of the Messiah of Israel.

One quick note: Isn’t it fascinating that The Lord equates preaching the Gospel to raising the dead?  It’s because preaching the Gospel does raise those who are spiritually dead to newness of life.

Jesus answered John, but I have to ask, why didn’t The Lord just say “Yes, I’m Him”?

I’ve found God’s answers like that to me over the years.  There is an element of faith involved.  Why give an easy “Yes” or “No” answer that would satisfy our curiosity but do nothing to help us both grow and grow closer to Him?

Mat 11:6    And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

This is where it gets real.  Jesus recognizes that when His followers are victims of spiritual violence by the enemies of the Gospel, there is a tendency to become “offended” because of Him.  Another word would be “stumbled.”

That is the sinister intent of the spiritual violence.  The devil, and those taken captive by him to do his will, assault you, attack you, in order that you will blame God, be offended with Him that things didn’t work out the way that you planned and that He promised.

And please note – things weren’t going to get any better for John.  Yet Jesus said he would be “blessed” if he endured rather than becoming offended and stumbling.

I’m 58 now.  There are a lot of things in my life that didn’t, or aren’t, working out the way we planned and the way we think God promised.  Over the years, and up to today, violent spiritual forces have assailed us.

We can be offended with God; we can be stumbled.  Or we can be “blessed” by looking at The Lord and His wonderful works, knowing that we are in a war with violent enemies but that our God always, ultimately, redeems – working all things together for the good.

Mat 11:7    As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?
Mat 11:8    But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.
Mat 11:9    But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.

The crowd who heard the exchange between Jesus and John’s disciples may have thought John was being rebuked by The Lord.  Not at all.  Turning to the crowd, Jesus reminded them of John’s impact on the kingdom of Heaven.

John wasn’t given to vacillating.  He wasn’t one to quit when things got rough.  No, he was God’s prophet – and a mighty one at that.

When you’ve suffered spiritual violence, you feel anything but mighty.  You need to forget your own appraisal of your life and service and let The Lord speak to you.

John’s sole purpose in life, his entire ministry, was to announce that the kingdom of Heaven was at hand, and that Jesus was the “Coming One.”  He did that – and he did it faithfully.

It would not come to pass in his lifetime.  In fact, everything he had lived for would seem a dismal failure  when Jesus was crucified; and John would not even live long enough to see Jesus on the cross.  Some forerunner; some Messiah.

God  saw – and always sees – further.  John was faithful and that is what God requires of His servants.  We can affect, but cannot control, the outcomes of our serving Jesus.  There are too many variables – like the violent opposition of our enemies.

Mat 11:10    For this is he of whom it is written: ‘BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER BEFORE YOUR FACE, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.’

The Lord draws from the Old Testament to establish that John was the forerunner, and that He (Jesus) was the Messiah.

I’m sure more people than just John were trying to reconcile the promises of God with the reality of the situation.  Jesus was letting them know that for all the violence being done against both John and Himself, God would redeem it for His glory.

Mat 11:11    “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
There are a lot of reasons John was “greater.”  He was the last of the Old Testament prophets, and the only one who saw Jesus – who announced Jesus to the world.  In that sense alone he was “greater” than all of his predecessors.

But for all that, even the least citizen of the kingdom is greater than the one who announces its coming.  From this point on even the least among believers would know more than any of the prophets who had come before – including John.

We are greater in privilege.

Mat 11:12    And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

John and his message started something.  His message was to repent because the kingdom of Heaven was at hand.  It was an attack on the kingdom of this world and upon the ruler of this world, Satan.  It was like a declaration of war.

One author put it like this: “Jesus is saying that His bringing of the kingdom of Heaven has activated the kingdom of darkness into violent warfare on an unprecedented scale.  What John was experiencing… is one small fallout of this violent activity from the demonic kingdom against the kingdom of Heaven.”

It’s a spiritual violence that is ongoing and reaching into all our lives.

Mat 11:13    For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

The “prophets and the law” summarizes everything contained in the Hebrew Scriptures we call the Old Testament.  This is Jesus’ way of saying things were about to change.  Either the prophesied kingdom would be established or, if rejected, He would build His church.  It was the end of a spiritual era.

Mat 11:14    And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.
Mat 11:15    He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

The Old Testament, in the Book of Malachi, said that Elijah would precede the coming of The Lord.  John came in the spirit and in the power of Elijah and, if the Jews would have received Jesus as their King, John would have fulfilled that prophecy in a spiritual sense.

As it is, we believe, from reading the Revelation of Jesus Christ, that Elijah himself will physically return during the Great Tribulation to precede the Second Coming of Jesus Christ back to the earth.  He will be one of the two witnesses, the other being Moses.

Have you been the victim of spiritual violence?  Are you being victimized right now?  Expect it.  Endure it.  Do not stumble, do not become offended with your Savior.

We live in an age of spiritual warfare and it isn’t pretty.

#2    Don’t Allow Spiritual Violence To Silence You
    (v16-24)

Jesus turns His attention to the generation of people He was seeking to reach with the offer of the kingdom of Heaven.  They didn’t want to hear what He was saying.  They refused to go along with His message of repentance and faith.

Mat 11:16    “But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions,
Mat 11:17    and saying: ‘We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not lament.’
Mat 11:18    For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’
Mat 11:19    The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.”

Jesus compares the generation of Jews He was among to spoiled children.

If someone wanted to play a wedding game, with flutes and dancing, they refused.
If someone wanted to do just the opposite, and play funeral, they still refused.  There was no pleasing them.

John the Baptist came along and lived a simple, strict life, out in the wilderness; listening to him was like attending a funeral.  The Jews said he had a demon in order to ignore his message.

Jesus was just the opposite.  He attended dinners and parties with sinners.  They called Him a drunkard and a glutton and a friend of sinners.  That way they didn’t have to ‘play along’ with His message, either.

God’s “wisdom” was on display in the very different ministry styles of John and Jesus.  They were both His “children” in the sense that they belonged to Him and were sent out by Him.  They preached the same message – but they did it differently.

By any and every style possible God was seeking men, not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to eternal life.

There are a lot of ministry styles – all the way from the strict John-style to the spontaneous Jesus-style and everything in between.  As long as we remain true to the Word of God, style is not important.  As long as a person holds to the essential doctrines of biblical Christianity, and realizes its truths are non-negotiable, the way they present the Gospel is wide open.

The Jews were like spoiled children who would not listen, who would not play along, with God’s program for them.  Nevertheless Jesus went about their cities and towns and villages preaching the Gospel and doing the mighty works of the “Coming One.”  He was not silenced by their opposition.

Mat 11:20    Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent:
Mat 11:21    “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
Mat 11:22    But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.
Mat 11:23    And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
Mat 11:24    But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”

The Gentile cities of Tyre and Sidon, and the godless cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, would have repented had they seen the miracles that Jesus and His disciples performed.

Capernaum had been “exalted to heaven” by being privileged to have the Messiah live there.  Five of the ten miracles recorded in Matthew eight and nine were performed in Capernaum.  Yet her greater privileges only brought greater responsibilities and greater judgment.

Jesus understood that there was a “day of judgment” coming and that there was Heaven to gain and Hades to avoid.

Hades is described by Jesus  in the Gospel of Luke as the temporary abode of dead nonbelievers who are awaiting resurrection to stand before the Great White Throne Judgment of God and be cast alive into Hell.

In light of the incredibly serious eternal consequences for nonbelievers, we cannot allow spiritual violence against us to silence us.  We are the messengers who are to take the message of the Gospel as we are going throughout the world.

Eternal destinies hang in the balance.  We need to press on despite the violence.

When you suffer violence, be encouraged by this declaration by the apostle Paul:

2Co 4:7    But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
2Co 4:8    We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
2Co 4:9    persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed –
2Co 4:10    always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.2Co 4:11    For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

Paul was no stranger to spiritual violence, and you see that in these words.  You also see him rising above his circumstances, trusting God for an ultimate outcome.

At the cross, Jesus vanquished the enemy.  But what He has achieved has not yet been manifested.  The devil and his demons fight on.  The outcome of the war is settled, but there are battles to be fought for the souls of men who are perishing.

One author said, “as sure as The Lord came the first time to defeat His cosmic enemy and our oppressor in principle, just as certainly He shall return again to defeat him in fact.”

A parting thought. John doubted Jesus. Jesus defended John; or we might say He acted as an advocate for John.
The Lord is your advocate, too.  He knows all about spiritual violence and it’s effects.

As your Advocate He is in Heaven defending you to the Father from Satan’s accusations.

Life In The Feast Lane (Matthew 9v9-17)

The headline read, “With this onion ring, I thee wed.”

A couple in England held their wedding reception at the local McDonalds where they had first met.  The groom had a chicken sandwich with a strawberry milkshake while the bride went for the McNuggets and a Coke.

Total cost for them and their thirty-three guests was $245.00.

We’ll be looking at a feast in our text.  Matthew gets called away from his career as a tax collector to follow The Lord and he throws Jesus a feast.  Those who fancy themselves more religious, more spiritual, complain:

The first complaint is about the guest list.  All of those around the table are sinners, notorious sinners by occupation and character, who the more religious would exclude from the feast.

The second complaint is about the feast itself as the critics argue that fasting is more spiritual.

Jesus explains to them, and to us, that a relationship with Him is more like a feast than a fast – more like a wedding feast, in fact.

Are you feasting with Jesus?  I’ll explore that question, organizing my thoughts around two points: #1 Your Life Without Jesus Is A Farce; Come To The Feast, and #2 Your Life With Jesus Is A Feast; Don’t Succumb To The Fast.

#1    Your Life Without Jesus Is A Farce;
    Come To The Feast
    (v9-13)

Brian Sumner is a world famous skater that lived an angry, empty life.  He wanted to kill himself and he was out to prove that God did not exist.

He said of himself, “While making money, while traveling the world, while living the so called dream with skateboards and gear with your name on I had no clue about anything really.  The thing that mattered most [my marriage and family] had failed, and I was frustrated.”

Sumner came to Christ and now testifies of God’s grace in saving him.

Testimonies abound of the emptiness of life despite worldly wealth, success and fame.  I’m calling life without Jesus a farce in the sense that you are seeking to fill a longing, to satisfy a deep spiritual hunger with things that are all insufficient in the end.  What you are seeking is to fill is the eternity God has placed in your heart – and that requires a personal relationship with Him.

King Solomon called it vanity as he searched for meaning outside of a relationship with God.

The apostle Paul called his life and accomplishments prior to meeting Jesus a pile of garbage.

Perhaps Rob Evans put it best.  You probably know him better by his stage name, The Donut Man.  His signature song goes like this:

Life without Jesus is like a donut… Like a donut… Like a donut;
Life without Jesus is like a donut… There’s a hole in the middle of your heart.

Matthew’s life was a farce, it was vanity, a pile of garbage, until the hole in the middle of his heart was filled by Jesus.  This passage is his testimony and its immediate aftermath.

Mat 9:9    As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.

Tax collectors were even more despised in the first century than they are today.  For one thing, they were Jews in the employ of the Roman government, and thus considered traitors.

Besides that, tax collectors worked on the Sabbath and had close associations with Gentiles – rendering them defiled law breakers in the eyes of their countrymen.

The tax business was a franchise and tax collectors made their profit by exacting as much tax as they could beyond what Rome required.

In Capernaum Matthew would probably have set up a booth, not unlike a modern toll booth, either along the main drag or at the port.  Posted there he and his associates would tax the goods being imported and exported.

It’s safe to assume Matthew already knew who Jesus was.  But that takes away nothing from his immediate obedience to The Lord.  He got up, not just from his job, but from his entire life, and joined the Jesus followers.  Nothing would ever be the same for Matthew.

Many of us had a crisis experience like that with Jesus.  We heard the Gospel and responded to it.  Our sins were forgiven; our heavenly account was filled with the righteousness of Jesus; God the Holy Spirit came to live within us.  Our lives were transformed in a moment as we were transferred from darkness to light, from death to eternal life.

Mat 9:10    Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.

From the Gospel’s of Mark and Luke we learn that this was, in fact, Matthew’s house.  Luke describes it as “a great feast,” indicating what we already know about Matthew as a tax collector – that he was wealthy.
We don’t know if this feast was thrown that same day or some time afterwards.  It may well be that there was a constant feast at Matthew’s house.  It’s not unusual for the rich to have guests constantly in their home partying.  What else do they have to do but divert themselves from the aching in their hearts that there must be more to life?

Matthew’s guests were fellow tax collectors and “sinners.”  We are all sinners; the use of the word in this verse means the guests were considered by those who seemed to be spiritual to be sinners who were outside of the scope of God’s concern.

We ought never to think of anyone as too far gone, or too great a sinner, to be affected by God’s saving grace.  And, simultaneously, we must fight the natural tendency to think of ourselves as more spiritual than other sinners.

Mat 9:11    And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

This feast was going on in a courtyard that could be seen by bystanders.  Think of it like the food court at the mall – only with decent food.

The accusation was that if Jesus really were a “teacher” sent from God, He would know better than to associate with such people.

We are to be separate from the world and pursue holiness.  But separation is not isolation.  Just be sure that, among sinners, your holiness is contagious rather than you being stumbled by sin.

Mat 9:12    When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
Besides being a great mission statement, this was a dig at the Pharisees.  They were the spiritual Ph.D.’s of their day – the doctors of religion – but refused to be of any help to those in need.  They instead put greater burdens on people, then carefully but critically kept their distance.

They were like plastic surgeons in Beverly Hills when the world needed triage doctors in field hospitals.

Mat 9:13    But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE MERCY AND NOT SACRIFICE.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Zing!  “Go and learn what this means” was an expression teachers used to correct their students when they misunderstood or misinterpreted Scripture.  Theses experts were being directed to Hosea 6:6, to study it for its true meaning – which they had obviously not grasped.

Further, by directing them to Hosea Jesus was putting them in the same category as the apostates Hosea was rebuking in his prophecy.

Under the Jewish law – the Law of Moses – God did require sacrifice.  But sacrifices laid on the altar were no substitute for godly behavior.  In any dispensation God desires heart righteousness and not mere religious ritual.

Go ahead, Pharisees, and make you sacrifices, follow your rituals – but never to the exclusion of things like mercy which expresses itself in compassion, empathy, and help for sinners.

The “righteous” in verse thirteen refers to those, like the Pharisees, who believed themselves to be right with God on account of their keeping of both required sacrifices and traditional rituals they had added to the Scriptures in order to appear even more spiritual.

One of the great evangelistic texts of the New Testament is Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”

The feast Matthew held for Jesus is a physical representation of that spiritual truth.  Jesus had called to Matthew –  inviting him to salvation.  Matthew responded to the gracious invitation, was saved, and found himself feasting with The Lord.

The feast extended to others as Matthew was transformed and desired to give testimony of the love of God in Jesus forgiving his sins and giving his life purpose and meaning.  Someone pointed out that the unsaved are more likely to come to supper than a sermon.

Matthew’s life had been a farce… it had been vanity… it was garbage.  He was wealthy, he was worldly; the party never stopped.  But he lived in a donut hole – having eternity in his heart that could only be filled in a relationship with God.

The spiritual doctors of his generation were all plastic surgeons who made themselves look better on the outside.  They had nothing to offer Matthew except condemnation.

Jesus knocked, Matthew opened, and his heart was satisfied.  Life had become the feast God intended it to be all along.

#2    Your Life With Jesus Is A Feast;
    Don’t Succumb To The Fast
    (v14-17)

Just when you are enjoying your relationship with The Lord, someone will come along and suggest that the honeymoon is over.  It’s time to grow-up and get spiritual by adding certain religious traditions or rituals to your walk with Jesus.  It’s time to push away from the table and get down to more serious business.

In Matthew’s case that push came from the disciples of John the Baptist.

Mat 9:14    Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?”

In the Law of Moses the Jews were commanded to fast once a year, on the Day of Atonement.  There were other times in their history when a fast was called, usually times of extreme spiritual stress when they were seeking the presence of God to deliver them from some danger.

By the first century, those who considered themselves more spiritual had adopted a twice-weekly fasting.  Some who fasted made a big show of it – letting others know they were fasting in order to seem more spiritual.

I want to think that the disciples of John were sincere in their question.  They had adopted the modern tradition, as had the Pharisees, but with more honest motives.

At any rate, they were troubled that Jesus and His disciples “[did] not fast.”  Now we know that both Jesus and His disciples did fast.

The Lord fasted forty days in the wilderness.

He would instruct His disciples that certain demons could only be exorcised “by prayer and fasting.”

What they did not do is observe the ritual of twice-weekly fasting.  It made them seem less spiritual in the eyes of the religious elite.

We seem obsessed with figuring out who is more spiritual by using external measurements.  Nothing you see externally can really reveal what is in the heart.  As is said in churches all the time, you can go through the motions without having the emotions.

Mat 9:15    And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

I love it that Jesus met people right where they were at.  John the Baptist had announced to the world, including his disciples, that Jesus Christ was like a Bridegroom and that he (John) was merely a friend of the Bridegroom.  Jesus used John’s own illustration to answer the disciples – a show of respect for John, but one that drew the logical conclusion of his teaching.

As long as Jesus was among them, they were like a wedding party and ought to be feasting – not fasting.  I mean, who goes to a wedding reception and fasts?

The Bridegroom illustration is pretty powerful in that the Jews would have understood Jesus to be pointing to a verse in Isaiah:

Isa 61:10    I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

It’s a passage that is describing the coming Jewish Messiah by comparing Him to a Bridegroom – and Jesus was claiming to be the Bridegroom.

Something else to notice is that normally fasting is a discipline intended to in some way renew the sense of God’s presence among us.  By insisting that there was no real need for ritual fasting while He was on the earth Jesus was indicating that He was, in fact, God in human flesh.

Jesus anticipated that the Jews would reject His offer of the kingdom and that He would, for a time, “be taken away from them.”

We live in that time, so “then [we] will fast” means fasting endures as a spiritual discipline.  We do see the disciples fasting in the Book of Acts on a few occasions.

So, then, why are we saying that walking with The Lord ought to be a feast and not a fast?  Because of what Jesus said next to clarify what He meant.

Mat 9:16    No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.

Mat 9:17    Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

First, bear in mind Jesus has been talking about a bridegroom and a wedding feast.  When He mentions the “garment” and the “wine,” it is in the context of that feast.

Here is what I mean.  In one of His parables Jesus describes a wedding feast whose guests are all given a new garment – a robe – to wear.

Then remember that His first miracle was turning water into new wine at a wedding in Cana.

It appears, then, that Jesus is saying that while fasting will continue as a spiritual discipline in His absence, the overall theme of our lives ought to be that of feasting with Him as our heavenly Bridegroom.

The illustrations are obvious enough.  If you patch an old garment with a new piece of cloth, when that patch shrinks it will pull away and make the tear worse.

Likewise if you pour unfermented wine into an old, brittle wineskin, as it emits gases it will cause the wineskin to expand and burst.

Jesus had just predicted He would be rejected by the Jews.  In a little while in the Gospel of Matthew, in chapter sixteen, He will predict the church – a new, called-out people that was a mystery until revealed by Him and the writers of the New Testament.

What The Lord was telling the disciples of John was that the life He was offering in relationship with Him was not a reformation of Judaism but a whole new way of living and of approaching life.

One commentator put it like this:

The patch and the new wine are images of a powerful, effervescent new relationship with God which bursts out of the dried-up confines of formal religion.

What I get out of all this is that, even though absent, Jesus wants us to be robed and filled, ready for His return.  Our time on earth waiting may include spiritual disciplines like fasting but, overall, it is to be more feast-like – even when we must endure tribulations and sufferings and afflictions.

Keeping with the Jewish wedding customs, in other passages we learn we are betrothed to Jesus and are awaiting His any-moment return to whisk us away to the marriage.

When you are engaged, waiting for the big day, are you mourning and morose?  Or are you excited with anticipation?

Well, if you’re not excited with anticipation, you’d better call off the wedding.

If you are a believer, your life is to be more a feast than a fast.  Don’t succumb to those who would seek to burden you with disciplines claiming it will make you more spiritual.

Now I’m not suggesting we live undisciplined lives.  Not at all.  I am saying that walking around as if you were attending a funeral rather than waiting for your wedding is not what The Lord intends for you.  It is not spiritual; it is carnal.

Maybe this will help.  The disciples of John were, in one sense, following the fasting Pharisees instead of the feasting Bridegroom.

The habits and practices and disciplines of your life: Are you following fasting Pharisees or the feasting Bridegroom?

Bed, Faith And Beyond (Matthew 9v1-8)

I ran across a list of the five most commonly misdiagnosed medical conditions.  They are:

Lupus
Parkinson’s Disease
Fibromyalgia
Lyme’s Disease
Multiple Sclerosis

While it is super frustrating to be misdiagnosed, I can understand that the conditions on that list are indeed hard to determine.  Some medical problems are just more obvious than others.

In our text today a man is brought to Jesus being carried on his bed by his friends.  It’s pretty obvious to everyone in the crowded room of the house in Capernaum that he is a paralytic.

Jesus looks at Him, and in His best Great Physician voice, says,  “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”

Hmm.  Did Jesus miss the diagnosis?

Of course not.  Whether or not it was the direct cause of his paralysis, sin was the root cause of this man’s real problems.

There is something else we will discover as we read the text.  There was more than one paralytic in the room with Jesus.  The scribes who had come to hear Jesus were also severely paralyzed:

For one thing, they never moved a muscle to help bring the paralytic to Jesus.

For another, their heart-muscle was so hardened that they get upset Jesus forgives the sins of the paralytic.

Outwardly and physically they seemed fine and in good health.  But inwardly and spiritually they suffered from the same spiritual malady as the paralytic.

Everyone in the room (with the exception of Jesus) suffered from it.  They were all born with inherited sin – born with what we call a sin nature.  Then, throughout their lives, they had all committed individual acts of sin.

The physical condition of the paralytic is a picture of the true spiritual condition of the human race – we are all paralyzed by sin.

There is only one cure: You need to have your sins forgiven.  God alone has the power to forgive you your sins.  Jesus was and is God.  He was present then, and is present now, with the power to forgive you and thereby heal your spiritual paralysis.

Most of us are former paralytics who have been forgiven at the Cross.  We identify most strongly with the paralytic.  But that doesn’t mean we can’t learn something from the reaction of the scribes.  We can learn never to regress in our walk with The Lord and be found thinking or acting like them.

I’ll organize my thoughts around two points: #1 Being A Forgiven Former Paralytic, You Should Be Cheerful and Rejoice, and #2 Being A Forgiven Former Paralytic, You Should Be Careful Not To Regress.

#1    Being A Forgiven Former Paralytic,
    You Should Be Cheerful And Rejoice
    (v1-2)

We last saw Jesus casting out a legion of demons from two men in a cemetery.  The demons entered a herd of swine who then stampeded over a cliff to their death in the Sea of Galilee.

The pigs killed themselves.  It was a case of pig (wait for it) sooee-cide…

The townspeople of that region, as one, asked Jesus to depart.  He humbled Himself and left them.

Who could calculate the wonders He would have done in their midst?  The souls that would have been saved?  It’s tragic to send Jesus away when He is knocking at your door.

Mat 9:1    So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city.

His “own city” was Capernaum, where He had been based for about eighteen months.  Specifically, Jesus bunked in a home Peter had something to do with – either his home or someone in his family.

You might note, in passing, they had an uneventful trip back.  No satanic storm.  When you are with The Lord you can’t expect certain experiences to always be repeated.

Mat 9:2    Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”

This would be an extreme case.  He could do nothing for himself.  In all likelihood the paralytic could not even speak.  He lay around all day on his bed, drooling and having care-givers help him with his bodily functions.

The physical condition of the paralytic is a picture of the true spiritual condition of the human race – we are all paralyzed by sin.  He will become a dramatic visual aid for Jesus to show His authority to forgive sin.

In typical Matthew minimalist fashion, he leaves out one of the funniest details.
Finding the house packed and unable to get in, the four friends carrying the paralytic go up on to the flat roof, make a hole in it, and lower the paralytic down on ropes right in front of Jesus.  It’s an usher’s worst nightmare.

It helps us understand His statement, “when Jesus saw their faith.”  These guys were certain that The Lord could and would deal with their friend – they just had to get him in front of Him.  Their extreme efforts spoke of their faith.

Here was a man in the greatest physical need possible.  A paralytic, unable to move, undoubtedly unable to speak; all of his bodily processes had to be cared for by others.  Yet Jesus spoke to his deeper need: The spiritual healing that can only come by having your sins forgiven.

What sins can a paralyzed man commit, anyway?  It speaks of your sin nature that pervades every part of your life.  Whether or not this man was born a physical paralytic, he was definitely born a spiritual paralytic.

It is one of many illustrations the Bible suggests by which we may understand our sin and need for a Savior.  Another is to say we are all born dead in trespasses and sins; another is to say we owe a debt we cannot pay.

The point of all of them is to show we are helpless unless God by His grace intervenes.

How could Jesus forgive his sins? In order to forgive sins, God sent his one and only Son to this world.  John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
In order to give us the grace of forgiveness, the Son of God became the Lamb of God.  In John 1:29, John the Baptist said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

The Son of God shed His blood as our Substitute.  In Revelation 5:12 John saw angels singing of Jesus, “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”

Jesus has the authority to forgive men’s sins.

The crowd surrounding him, or his friends up on the roof, or the paralytic himself, may have been wanting to hear Jesus say, “Man, your paralysis is gone!”  But when the Lord said to him, “Your sins are forgiven,” spiritual life would have so filled his heart as to render his paralysis meaningless.

Do you agree with that?  I was watching a video several years ago, a Christian video about AIDS.  It was when AIDS was pretty much first becoming known; it was a scary time.  Those being interviewed were dying of AIDS, but had become Christians.  I’ll never forget the words of one of those terminal individuals: He said he would rather have AIDS and know Jesus than not have AIDS but not know Jesus.  The forgiveness of his sins had rendered his physical condition meaningless because he was headed for Heaven.

Jesus even said, “Be of good cheer.”  He said it before the guy was healed, when he had only been forgiven his sins.

There is no guarantee Jesus will heal you physically.  Spiritually you can nevertheless “be of good cheer” knowing that He will heal your physical body ultimately either by resurrection or at the rapture.

This man was carried along to Jesus when he could do nothing for himself.  Faith carries us along into the presence of Jesus when we can do nothing for ourselves, when we are spiritual paralytics.

God uses means for faith to carry us to Jesus.  His Word, anointed by His Spirit, carries us to Jesus.  “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

God’s Spirit anointed Word comes to you in many ways.  In this case it was by friends who recognized the paralytics helpless condition.

If you are saved, a former paralytic, you are now the friend of some spiritual paralytic.  Get them to Jesus.

#2    Being A Forgiven Former Paralytic,
    You Should Be Careful Not To Regress
    (v3-8)

Let’s describe scribes.  The root meaning of the name “scribe” is “one who writes” (compare to “scribble” or “inscribe”).  The original occupation of a scribe was to make copies of official documents in the age before printing.  They would also write letters, decrees and other documents.

The New Testament scribes traced their origin back to Ezra who is called “a ready scribe in the law of Moses” (Ezra 7:6).

They had a good, solid start under Ezra; but their movement eventually became legalistic.  They developed an elaborate system of interpreting God’s law, a strict set of practices, so that you knew what to do at all times in order to please God.

These rules and regulations, rites and rituals, became a source of self-righteousness.  They did nothing to affect the heart.

Their interpretations and teachings had the effect of putting religious burdens on the common people but not helping to bear them.  Nevertheless, the people saw them as spiritual and respected them.

In the context of our story, they were seen as the most spiritually healthy Jews.

Mat 9:3    And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!”

Here is a great, simple definition of blasphemy: Claiming either to be God or to do what only God can do.

Sooner or later you are going to hear someone say that Jesus never claimed to be God.  Well, the scribes certainly thought He was claiming to be God.  You can only accuse someone of blasphemy if they are claiming to be God and doing what only God can do.

Mat 9:4    But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?

Yes, Jesus was God, but He had set aside the prerogatives of deity in order to live as a man filled with the Holy Spirit.  So this wasn’t Jesus acting omnisciently.  It was probably the Holy Spirit giving Him a supernatural word of knowledge.

It’s a good case study in the exercise of the word of knowledge – which is a gift still bestowed by the Holy Spirit today.

This was a pretty heavy accusation – saying that the guys who were recognized as the most spiritual in the room were all thinking “evil” in their hearts.

Certainly to accuse Jesus of blasphemy was evil.  But, really, all their thoughts were evil.  They sat there, smug, thinking to judge The Lord in order to find fault.  All the while they did nothing for a poor paralytic.  They didn’t even get out of his way so Jesus could minister to him when his friends brought him.

These guys sat there listening to the Word of God but with a critical, what’s-in-it-for-me spirit.  They didn’t come to be ministered to or to minister to others.  Let’s be careful to never act that way.

Mat 9:5    For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’?

No one could ask better questions than Jesus.  No one.

He put them in a no-win situation.  Obviously only God could say, “Your sins are forgiven you.”  But if The Lord could say, “Arise and walk,” wouldn’t the miracle validate His authority to forgive sins?

These guys never move, never speak, in Matthew’s account.  They come across even more paralyzed than the paralytic.

Mat 9:6    But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins” – then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”
Mat 9:7    And he arose and departed to his house.

Quick observation.  He says, “power on earth to forgive sins.”  On earth, i.e., during your lifetime, is when sins can be forgiven.  Not after.  There is no second chance after death to hear the Gospel preached and be saved.  There is no place of further punishment by which you can earn your way into Heaven.  This life – this is it.

I’ve been mentioning this a little more frequently in our studies lately because there is a movement within Christianity towards universalism of some sort.  It’s the teaching that eventually everyone ill somehow be saved.

I wish it were true.  It is not.

Jesus called Himself “the Son of Man.”  It was a phrase familiar to the Jews, especially the scribes who spent time researching their Scriptures.  The prophet Daniel used the phrase to describe the promised Messiah.

More than just claiming to be both God and their Messiah, Jesus was challenging these students of Scripture.  If the Messiah was One Who had power to heal… And if Jesus was performing these healings that only their Messiah could do… Well, you do the math.

The scribes had a saying: “A sick man does not recover from his sickness until all his sins are forgiven him.”  It’s not true, by the way; but since it was what they believed, God was willing to meet them on their level.

There is a sub-theme in these verses regarding faith and works.  We’ve seen that the paralytic’s friends had a faith that showed itself in their works.

Now the formerly paralyzed man shows his faith by his works: He picks-up his mat, as ordered, and goes home, as ordered.

Mat 9:8    Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

God’s glory is the physical, visible demonstration of His nature and character.  The people saw God as ready to forgive, willing to heal, wanting to save.  It was not the representation of God they got from the scribes.

The scribes in that house were not saved.  They were spiritual paralytics.  Most of us are saved.  We need to be careful comparing ourselves to them.

It is possible for us to use them as an example.  They had a great start under Ezra, but they regressed into legalism and self-righteousness.  Sadly so can Christians if we are not careful.

Let me just throw out some random thoughts.

First, we see that these guys were not evangelical.  By that I mean they weren’t bringing anyone to see Jesus.  It’s important for each of us, for our own spiritual vitality, to remember that we are commissioned to share Christ with paralytics and the spiritually dead who owe a debt they cannot pay.  We are not all evangelists but we can, at some level, do the work of an evangelist.

Second, we already noted that they came to hear Jesus with a critical spirit.  There’s a difference between discernment and criticism.

We want to be discerning – like the Bereans who are described in the Book of Acts checking-out the apostle Paul’s teachings by comparing it to the Word of God.

While we certainly do not want to be drawn aside by error, we can become so narrow in our thinking that almost no one can meet our standards of orthodoxy.  Let’s be discerning and not critical.

Third, the scribes should have given-up their seats to make way for the paralytic.  Maybe I’m reading into this, but I think sometimes we don’t see more of the Lord’s power because we are not sensitive to our surroundings.  Be aware of what is happening around you – especially when believers have gathered around the Word.

This also means we should have a big view of the world in which we live.  There are needs to be met all around us and all over the world.  If we are prospering, it is so we can help others.

I love the fact we sponsor missionaries and support kids through Gospel for Asia… That we helped build a church in India and built more than a dozen Jesus wells and hat we have money again to send to GFA this year.

I love the fact our body is ministering to the homeless community in Hanford.

Let’s do more with what God has blessed us with.

Here’s a suggestion: If you are stirred-up to start something, or to do something, think about outreach before you think about anything else.  Christians certainly need to learn how to walk, but nonbelievers are still paralyzed and need to be reached.

You might recall the story Jesus told about the Pharisee and the tax collector who both were praying.  The Pharisee went on-and-on about how spiritual he was, prefacing it by saying, “I thank God I am not like… this tax collector.”

We ought to, with real humility, pray that we never regress to become like that Pharisee or like the scribes in this story.

Well Here’s Another Swine Mess You’ve Gotten Us Into (Matthew 8v28-34)

Hollywood has ruined me.  I can never think of an exorcism without flashing back in my mind to the 1973 feature film, The Exorcist.

Moviephone.com lists a few weird facts surrounding its production:

Mercedes McCambridge provided the demonic voice of Regan, the demon-possessed girl.  She achieved the gravelly tone by chain-smoking and forcing herself to vomit up a mixture of raw eggs and mushed apples. Theaters screening the movie came equipped with “Exorcist barf bags.” Post-production for the film was done at 666 Fifth Avenue in New York City.

There are several other weird facts but one in particular captured my attention:  The sounds that are made when the demon leaves Regan’s body come from an audio clip of pigs being herded to slaughter.

In our text Jesus encounters a legion of demons possessing two men.  He ends up sending them into a herd of two-thousand pigs who promptly stampede over a cliff into the sea and to their death.

The Exorcist is fiction and not at all a proper representation of God’s authority over demons.  In the biblical account we will read today all Jesus had to do was say “Go!” and the demons were cast out.

What is more amazing, and at the same time baffling, about this story is that once these men are made whole, their neighbors confront Jesus and tell Him to “Go!” and He leaves.

We’re going to talk about Jesus’ authority over demons but also His humility among men.  I’ll organize my thoughts around two points: #1 Jesus Has The Authority To Tell Demons To “Go!”, and #2 Jesus Has The Humility To Be Told By Men To “Go!”

#1    Jesus Has The Authority
    To Tell Demons To “Go!”
    (v28-32)

Matthew has previously reported Jesus casting out demons, but this is the first detailed account.  It is what we might call a classic possession in which demons are inhabiting people causing them to do weird things.  It’s the kind of account that makes us wonder why we don’t see more of this today.

Truth is, classic demon possession doesn’t give the devil the attention it used to.  We are prone to label everything as mental illness or some syndrome and the effect is that any actual cases of demon possession go unnoticed.

When the devil does get mentioned as the source of some tragedy, e.g., a mother murdering her children, people don’t believe for a minute that “the devil made her do it.”

While demon possession may be down, there is an absolute explosion all over the globe of occult and supernatural activities that are sourced by Satan.  I would add to that the UFO phenomena – most of which is certainly demonic.

Mat 8:28    When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.

You also find this account in the gospels written by Luke and Mark.  As usual, Matthew’s is the shortest.  He left out a lot of details.
Since he was presenting Jesus to the Jews as their promised Messiah, he concentrated on the Lord’s authority over demons.  It was one of the expected credentials of the Messiah.

In the other gospels only one man is mentioned, but that’s no contradiction.  Pam might ask me later today if I saw a particular person at church.  If I say “Yes,” it doesn’t mean that I didn’t see a lot of others, too.

There is a dispute among Bible scholars as to whether “the country of the Gergesenes” was Jewish or Gentile.  It’s sort of important in a secondary way because, if it was Jewish territory, they were raising pigs against the Levitical law.

The message of the story isn’t about Jews breaking the law, and there are reasons to think this was a predominately Gentile region in which a few Jews lived.  We’ll go with that conclusion.

These two “demon possessed men” had been driven out of town and took up residence in “the tombs,” meaning the caves in which people were buried.  They possessed supernatural strength and if you were smart you avoided travel near the cemetery.

Let me give you one more fact from the Gospel of Mark.  In that account the demons give their name as “Legion” for there were many of them possessing these two guys.

How many?  Well, a Roman legion was six thousand men.  Maybe there were fewer demons than that, but there were a lot because in a minute they are going to be sent into a herd of two thousand pigs.

Jesus landed and, when He had come ashore, it says, “there met Him” these two demon possessed men.

One aspect of this story easy to overlook is that this was an attack by a legion of demons upon Jesus and His followers.  Demon activity is often described in military terms and here we see a legion of them going to confront Jesus as He lands on their shore, in their territory.

The devil knew Jesus was coming.  The unusually extreme storm as Jesus was traveling by boat seems to have been Satanic.  Having failed to kill Jesus by the storm, the devil sends a legion of demons against Him.

Or perhaps this was an attack by Jesus upon demons.  He landed on the beach – much like an invading army would land in order to secure a beachhead and press on into enemy territory.

By the way, if you were following Jesus, you were mind-blown.  He landed in Gentile territory and was doing battle with two notoriously demon possessed men. Never a dull moment.

Where do demons come from, anyway?  The Bible explains that Satan, whose name is Lucifer, is a created angel who rebelled against God, wanting to be God.  A third of the created angels in Heaven followed him in his rebellion.

These fallen angels are the demons.

The devil went into the Garden of Eden, disguised as the serpent, to tempt Eve.  Adam and Eve sinned by believing they, too, could be as God.  God’s creation was subjected to sin and corruption and death.

The devil is called the god of this world and the prince of the power of the air.  He rules over the demons as principalities and powers, as the rulers of the darkness of this world.

Together they desire to rob, to kill, and to destroy human beings.  They certainly can do it by possessing someone, but they have many other sinister strategies by which they may destroy lives.

The Bible makes it clear that God is victorious over the devil in this cosmic conflict.  Not just that He will be victorious, but that He already is.

In the Garden of Eden God told Adam and Eve He would Himself enter the human race to destroy the devil by His own death and resurrection.  He did just that in the Person of Jesus Christ, the God-man, who died on the Cross and rose again.

In many human conflicts, the war can be over but many individuals fight on anyway.  It should not surprise us that the devil won’t go quietly.

The devil and his demons fight on but it is clear that they know they are defeated and have a limited time to rob, kill, and destroy.

Mat 8:29    And suddenly they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”

Demons know that Jesus is the God-man.  They know prophecy, including future prophecy.  They have good theology.

The demons reveal two incredible things:

First, they know they are absolutely and unavoidably headed for eternal “torment.”
Second, they know they have a limited period of time before The Lord sends them to their torment.

The “time” they are referencing is at the end of the thousand year kingdom of Heaven on the earth, after Jesus’ Second Coming and before the creation of the new earth.  The devil and his demons will once-for-all and forever be thrown alive into the Lake of Fire that was created for their eternal punishment.

There will be no partying in Hell.  The devil is not the ruler of a kingdom in Hell; nor are his demons tormentors in Hell but, rather, they are tormented.

Mat 8:30    Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding.
Mat 8:31    So the demons begged Him, saying, “If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine.”

The demons knew Jesus was going to cast them out of the two men.  It’s what happens whenever Jesus is in the presence of the demon possessed.  They asked permission to be sent into a herd of pigs.

A lot of speculation surrounds this request.  For example people speculate that demons don’t like to be disembodied and desire a host.  I can’t see that from this; and we should be careful drawing conclusions about why demons do what they do – except that they do it in rebellion against God in order to rob, kill, and destroy.

More likely they feared that Jesus might incarcerate them in a demonic prison to await their final torment.
The apostle Peter, in his letters, as well as Jude and the Revelation, indicate some demons are currently held in prison.

They knew The Lord wouldn’t allow them to go into other people; the closest living creatures were “a herd of swine” “a good way off,” so it was their only play.

Plus they may have thought they could sneak-in one final blow to the people in the region by destroying their source of livelihood.  Remember, all demons want to do is cause harm of any kind.

Why did Jesus answer their demon-prayer?  Not sure if it is why He did, but because He did we will see something incredible in the reaction of the town.

Mat 8:32    And He said to them, “Go.” So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.

Demons might like bacon, but bacon doesn’t like them.  The pigs perished.

Not the demons; they can’t drown.  In fact we have to say that it seems from Scripture that neither angels nor demons can be killed.  In Luke 20:36 Jesus references the fact that angels do not die.  They are eternal beings.

Jesus had and has total authority over demons.  He didn’t need to speak the word, “Go!”  He spoke it so the witnesses could see what was going on – that He was exercising authority.

Going into the herd of pigs also benefited the witnesses.  They could ‘see’ that the demons left their human hosts to enter the animal hosts.  They could give testimony a genuine exorcism had taken place.

You and I, as believers in Jesus and His ambassadors on the earth, have His delegated authority.  We, too, can say, “Go!” if we are ever confronted by demons.

We don’t need a crucifix or holy water or special prayers and incantations.

Apparently there are some demons who are more difficult than others.  In those cases Jesus said we must be fasting and praying – not learning Latin spells.

Don’t be drawn to ritual exorcisms or special prayers or the identifying of territorial spirits or demanding their names.  It’s not biblical.

You confront demons with simple, but powerful and effective, delegated authority, not ritual.

As powerful as this exorcism was, the real impact of this story is what comes next.

#2    Jesus Has The Humility
    To Be Told By Men To “Go!”
    (v33-34)

Two men, presumably citizens of the region who had led normal lives, had become seriously demon possessed.  They were undoubtedly someone’s fathers, or sons, or husbands; someone must have loved them and felt their loss.

But they were incurably possessed and were forced away from others, forced to haunt the tombs.

Jesus stormed the beachhead and set them free from possession.  The only price was two thousand pigs.

It proved too big a price to pay.

Mat 8:33    Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.
Mat 8:34    And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.

What???  It’s incredulous – a word that I can’t really define but expresses perfectly how messed-up this was.

Think about the people of that “whole city.”  There must have been among them many who were suffering from diseases and infirmities.  In other words, there were among them many who needed healing.

Then, too, as far as they knew, two- to six-thousand demons were still in the area, on the loose, presumably looking for human hosts.

But for all that, and for a reason or reasons not made clear, they asked Jesus to “Go!”

It’s assumed that if they were Jewish, then this episode exposed their illegal herding of swine.  Maybe; but everyone already knew there were two thousand pigs there.  You can’t hide two thousand pigs!  There was nothing to expose.

It’s assumed that if they were Gentile, then they had just lost their livelihood.  This was a huge herd, worth a lot of money.  The area would probably be hit by a recession.

Still, why ask Jesus to “Go!” when there would be even more needs than ever?

Those might be the reasons, or among the reasons, for them acting the way they did.  But they are not the point.  At least, not the point I want to develop.

The point is this: In a world of spiritual conflict, where God is already victorious but the devil fights on, when The Lord can bring help and healing, men prefer, for whatever reason or reasons, to remain in their sin and in darkness rather than submit to the authority of God.

They’d rather take their chances without God so as not to yield their lives to the Savior.  If a few of them are casualties – demon possessed or diseased or infirm – well, that’s the price you pay for being successful in ‘pig business.’

I want you to expand this thought because I think it is an illustration of a greater, global truth.

We’ve been talking a lot, lately, about the presence of evil, the problem of pain, wondering why, since there is an almighty God who is love, bad things still happen.

It’s a huge argument nonbelievers appeal to in order to debunk the notion that there is a God Who cares for them.

I suggest to you that one reason evil seems to have such free reign is that most men tell God to “Go!” so they can continue to live without Him.

Of course, when something bad does happen, when some evil befalls them, they blame God.  They refuse to acknowledge that they banished Him, refusing His help.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, very God of very God, who has all authority given to Him, is nevertheless humble and will not force Himself upon those who refuse Him.

Evangelists say it all the time.  Jesus is standing at the door of human hearts, knocking.  But He won’t break down the door; you must open it, letting Him in.

If you’ve ever seen that famous painting that depicts The Lord standing at a door, knocking, you’ve probably noticed that there is no door handle on the outside.  It’s the artists interpretation of the humility of Jesus, needing to be invited in.

Even though rejected and humble to retreat, Jesus still has compassion on those who tell Him to “Go!”
In the Gospel of Mark the story ends this way:

Mar 5:17    Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.
Mar 5:18    And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him.
Mar 5:19    However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.”
Mar 5:20    And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.

They refused Him, told Him to “Go!”  He told the delivered, saved man to “Go!” to them.

Jesus left them a missionary!  It was an early version of the Great Commission we all have been given as believers.

Our world is fallen.  It is temporarily subject to the prince of the power of the air, the god of this world, and his legions of demons seeking to rob, to kill, and to destroy.  They fight on, causing all manner of mischief and terror.

God already owns the victory.  The devil acknowledges his defeat and knows he has but a short time until his eternal torment.  As he goes about seeking whom he may devour, Christians “Go!” into all the world with the presence of Jesus Christ.

Jesus can still destroy the works of the devil, deliver men and women from his grip, save and heal.

But all too often those He reaches out to in compassion prefer their sin and the darkness to His incredible salvation.

Want to blame someone for the presence of evil, the problem of pain?  Look no further than nonbelievers who have told Jesus to “Go!”

We must therefore keep going to them right up until the time Jesus comes for us.

Riders On The Storm (Matthew 8v18-27)

I’ve just recently discovered there are a few shops in America that are dedicated to what are being called ‘extreme donuts.’

Forget toppings like sprinkles.  Now there’s Habanero pepper jelly with cream cheese (called the Slow Burn at Gourdoughs in Austin) and peanut butter glaze with bacon and banana (called the Elvis at Ike & Jane in Atlanta).

Voodoo Doughnuts, in Portland, invited controversy after adding Nyquil and Pepto Bismol doughnuts to its menu.  The potent pastries were immediately discontinued after a scolding by the FDA for putting medicine in food.

San Jose’s Pyscho Donuts celebrated National Donut Day in 2012 by releasing two donuts that included edible insects:

The Chirp Derp was a chocolate donut topped with bacon bits, bacon-cheddar crickets, and a drizzle of milk chocolate.
The Worm Hole took a jalapêno and tequila donut and covered it with salted lime icing, a key lime drizzle, and a spiced moth larvae.

The word “extreme” is what comes to mind, at least to me, reading our text:

Jesus makes extreme claims upon the lives of two of His followers, explaining to one that he will be homeless, and to the other that as a disciple he doesn’t have the luxury of staying around to bury his own father.
Then Jesus remains totally calm while He and His closest disciples are caught in an extreme storm at sea.

There may be a connection between His claims and His calm, i.e., if you will submit yourself to His claims upon your life you can experience His calm in your life.

I’ll try to develop that theme by organizing my thoughts around two points: #1 When You Follow Jesus Expect Him To Make Extreme Claims Upon Your Life, and #2 When You Follow Jesus Expect Him To Instill Extreme Calm Into Your Life.

#1    When You Follow Jesus Expect Him
    To Make Extreme Claims Upon Your Life
    (v18-22)

Let’s eavesdrop on both of these conversations before we begin to comment.

Mat 8:18    And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side.
Mat 8:19    Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”
Mat 8:20    And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
Mat 8:21    Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
Mat 8:22    But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

If you are a sincere believer, you must be asking yourself, “Is Jesus calling me to homelessness and poverty?  Is He demanding I abandon my responsibilities to my family?”

The answer to those questions is both “Yes” and “No.”  Let’s start with the “No” first.

There are plenty of passage in the Bible that establish we are not called to homelessness and poverty.  There are also abundant Scriptures on family roles and responsibilities.

So, “No,” we are not all called to homelessness, poverty, and the abandonment of family responsibilities.

But, “Yes,” Jesus said those words, and He meant them.  Throughout the history of the church there have been disciples whose lives were either temporarily or totally touched by those extremes.

The solution is pretty simple, really.  Because of Who He is, and on account of what He has done for us, Jesus reserves the right to make extreme claims upon our lives.

You should understand He is The Lord Who bought you with His blood and has the right to guide and direct your discipleship and service as He sees fit.

If your entire life isn’t extreme in its discipleship and service, then moments in it will be.  They have to be if you are really His.

Now we can go back and see the story unfold.

Mat 8:18    And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side.

Jesus was led perfectly by God the Holy Spirit.  In this case He was led to leave the multitudes.

We can suggest at least one reason He was led away.  In the verses immediately preceding these, Jesus had healed everyone in the region.  He was needed elsewhere.

Too often when people feel ‘called’ to ministry, they don’t go very far, and they don’t go where there is really a need.  They move a few blocks down the street and minister to folks who are already being ministered to.  It’s not really godly.

In fact, it has a name among church planters.  It’s called ‘splanting,’ a combination of the words split and planting because these guys are only establish a new church by splitting an existing one.

Make a mental note, if you would, that Jesus “gave a command to depart to the other side.”  It will be an important detail during the upcoming storm at sea.

Mat 8:19    Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”
Mat 8:20    And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

Today we might call this a buzz-kill.  Here was a guy ready to totally sell-out for God, and Jesus immediately puts him on notice just how costly following Him might be.

I think what The Lord was trying to get across was that following Him required an absolute commitment to whatever He had in store and wherever He might lead.  As we said earlier, not everyone is called to homelessness and poverty.  But if you follow Jesus, it is a distinct possibility.  Throughout history following Jesus has come at great cost to multitudes of disciples.  In most of the world, certainly the Third World, it is a reality today.

Jesus may keep you on the same path you were on – in the same job or in the same city.  He may not.  It’s now up to Him whether you will prosper or know poverty, whether you will build a home or become homeless.

He has every right to make extreme claims upon you.  In First Corinthians 6:20 it says, “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

You were “bought” and belong to God.  The “price” He paid was that of His blood shed on the Cross for your sins.

Almost everyone assumes that this Scribe refused to follow Jesus once presented with this information.  Where does it say he refused to follow Jesus?

It doesn’t – so I choose to think that he did follow Jesus.  I choose to think of him as a Nicodemus or a Joseph of Arimathea.  Someone who understood the cost of discipleship and chose to follow anyway.

Mat 8:21    Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
Mat 8:22    But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

The Scribe was not yet a disciple when he first approached Jesus.  We could say his encounter with Jesus was a call to discipleship.

This second individual was already a “disciple.”  Jesus had given the command to leave the region and he was letting The Lord know he had other pressing business and, therefore, couldn’t participate.

He had to bury his father.  It’s almost certain that his father was not yet dead; probably not even sick.  For one thing, in Jewish culture in the first century, the dead were buried within hours of dying.

The expression “bury my father” was a common one used to indicate that a person had obligations to fulfill in his family.  He was letting The Lord know that his priorities were to his family and he wanted to therefore postpone following The Lord.

If we are not careful, we can develop an attitude of postponement.  It seems there are always pressing issues that compete with serving The Lord.  Many of them involve family responsibilities – or at least family activities.  We like to prioritize by saying, “God first, family second, then job.”  In actual practice we can think we are putting God first by putting family and job first.  Pretty soon we’ve talked ourselves out of serving God entirely.

And by “serving God,” I’m not talking about being a missionary to unreached cannibals.  I’m talking about attending church and serving once or twice a month.

What this disciple said was commendable… But not to The Lord and not at that moment.

“Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”  How can the dead bury the dead?  He meant that they were spiritually dead, not physically dead.  No one was physically dead or even dying.

This disciple’s spiritual work at home was done.  At least for now.  It was time to take the Gospel elsewhere so that others who were spiritually dead could be made alive by its power.

Notice something interesting.  The disciple said, “let me first…”  Me first isn’t a good philosophy for serving Jesus, and it certainly is antagonistic to His command “seek ye first the kingdom of God…”

You may never be called upon to leave home and family to serve The Lord.  Or you may be called to do exactly that.  Jesus has the right to make those claims.

Ask yourself, “Am I postponing serving God on account of a ‘me first’ attitude?”

Again we are left to wonder as to this disciple’s response.  Again I choose to think he received Jesus’ words, left home, and went with The Lord on His mission.

Another thing we might say about the fact that we do not know how either of these guys answered is that by leaving it open-ended, it causes us to consider how we might answer.  You and I could be told these same things by The Lord, at any time.

When was the last time you seriously thought God could shake-up your life in a way that would promote a deeper discipleship and a more serious service?

To me, that is the impact of these verses.  They are a challenge to us as average, everyday Christians who definitely love Jesus, and who live in relative comfort, to recognize His right to make extreme claims upon our lives.

#2    When You Follow Jesus Expect Him
    To Instill Extreme Calm Into Your Life
    (v23-27)

We can assume that the disciples on the boat with Jesus, crossing over to the other side, were OK with the extreme claims The Lord was making.  They had made the full commitment He required and were going with Him on the journey.

The Lord would now use the journey to develop their faith, to grow them, to mature them.

This boat ride would show them where they were in their spiritual growth and show them where The Lord could take them over time.

Mat 8:23    Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.
Mat 8:24    And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep.

The word “followed” ties this story together with the verses on discipleship we’ve just read.  The boat ride is a parable to illustrate what it is like for a disciple to follow Jesus.

There arose “a great tempest… on the sea.”  It was an unusually violent storm – perhaps even satanic in its empowering.  For one thing, think of the timing of the storm.  Is it really a coincidence it came just when Jesus and His boys were crossing over?

“Waves” were swamping the boat.  All hands would be on deck bailing water and fighting the storm.

Mat 8:25    Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

At some point the disciples, some of them experienced boatmen, realized they were going to perish.  This tells us we, as disciples, can expect that at some point or points along our journey with Jesus we will be in situations that have no natural resolution.  There will be nothing we can do, no one who can help us.  Without The Lord, we will perish.

Jesus was asleep.  He must have been exhausted from the previous days ministry.  There are going to be times when serving The Lord makes extreme physical demands upon you.  There’s nothing wrong becoming exhausted serving God.

On the one hand we can commend the disciples for going to Jesus and also for believing He could do something to save them.  At the same time, their faith was mingled with fear because they thought they were perishing.

They could have believed they would not perish because Jesus had clearly indicated they were going to the other side.  As Bible teachers like to say, they were going over, not under.

What should they have done?  Hard to say, but maybe they, too, should have gone to sleep.  It’s the example Jesus set for them.

They could have rested in the storm – gotten caught up on their sleep.

It’s so hard to rest in the storm.  I want to do something; I want to bail out the boat.  I want The Lord to do something.  All the while He is trying to get me to rest in the very midst of it.

Mat 8:26    But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

It is instructive that Jesus took time to address the disciples first.  At least, that’s the order Matthew chose to emphasize that the storm was of secondary importance.

If I’m on the boat, I want the storm stopped, THEN the lesson.  The storm often is the lesson – or, at least, it is the context for the lesson.

We suggested earlier that the storm was of satanic origin because of the way it was described.  In a very real sense, all storms are satanic in that they speak of God’s original creation having been tainted by sin in the Garden of Eden.

God isn’t the source of them, but He is your resource in them.

The over-arching lesson is that faith conquers fear.  There is a sense in which, as a Christian, you need never be afraid.

Realize, however, that fearlessness is something that you grow into as you walk with The Lord.  The heroes of the faith grew in fearlessness.

In the Old Testament, the father of our faith, Abraham, was told by God to “fear not” after he’d been walking with The Lord for some time.
In the New Testament, the veteran apostle Paul – thought of as the greatest biblical example of what it means to follow Jesus – had to be visited by Jesus in a vision in Corinth to be told “fear not.”

This episode on the sea, this great tempest, was to show the disciples where they were at and where Jesus was taking them.  He was taking them to the place of spiritual rest in Him.  Even in the most extreme storms of life they could know the most extreme calm of heart.

They weren’t there yet; they hadn’t arrived.  It would take many days, many years, of walking with Jesus and seeing Him care for them.  But they could grow and mature in their faith.

Jesus “rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.”  Not a ripple; immediately the sea was glass.  It was a miracle.

Stopping the storm is easy for The Lord.  Developing your faith so that you no longer fear, so that you know His extreme calm – that is what is really difficult.  So He uses the storms of life; He takes advantage of them.

I’ve told you the story about a friend of mine who I was visiting in San Clemente.  One stormy Saturday morning his phone rang and he grabbed a go-bag of gear and headed out.  I asked him where he was going.  He had enrolled in a sailing class and one of the units was foul-weather sailing.

They needed a storm in order to learn the techniques to survive a storm at sea.  They took advantage of the storm.

Here’s a thought.  If this terrible, violent storm was satanic in origin, which do you think would defeat the devil more – Jesus ordering it to cease or the disciples remaining calm in it, trusting in The Lord by faith?

Mat 8:27    So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Who were these random “men?”  The Gospel of Mark says “other little boats followed” Jesus.

Think of the effect of the disciples on these other men.  Frantically bailing water, they seemed no better off than nonbelievers.  Ah, but then they went to The Lord for help – and that was indeed a great example.  I mean, if you were a nonbeliever you’d think, “What can Jesus do in this situation?”

Even the little faith of the disciples was a witness.  Let’s not discount that too fast.

Had they been sleeping as Jesus was – well, that would have been a great witness.  But they weren’t quite there yet.  They were still growing.

What I’m saying, by way of encouragement, is that while Jesus is growing you, He is still using you along the way.  Don’t beat yourself up too much when situations reveal fears instead of faith.  You’re right there with Abraham and Paul.

One final observation.  It was the disciples who submitted themselves to Jesus’ extreme claims who experienced His extreme calm.

He has the right to make those claims – either upon your entire life or at certain key moments in it.

You seem to have a certain right of refusal.  The Scribe and the son could have stayed behind.
But then you’ll always be a Christian who wants Jesus to calm the storm when He wants to calm you.