Healing A Murderous Heart – Part 2
James 4:1-12
January 18, 2015

The last time we met we began studying this very penetrating text.

As we have said many times over,
James is holding the church up next to Jesus
And is questioning the areas where she is inconsistent in her life.

He has addressed areas from how she handles her trials
To how she relates to the less fortunate, To how she uses her tongue.
And most recently James is dealing with her quarreling and conflicts.

He started out by asking:
(1) “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you?”

He wasn’t asking if there were quarrels and conflicts,
He had already perceived them.

He was asking why they were there.
(In reality he was revealing why they were there)

James had a real problem with the concept that
Brothers couldn’t dwell in forgiveness and unity and peace,
And yet they were still willing to call themselves Christians.

It is an issue that is worth searching out

We began this study last Sunday night.
#1 THE PAINFUL REVELATION
James 4:1-5

James laid it all out on the line and revealed why these people
Had lives characterized by quarreling and conflict.

The reason is because at their very core they were SELFISH PEOPLE.
“Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel.”

They were people with inward lusts and desires
They were people who wanted the things of the world

And when they didn’t get them, they were so outraged and so selfish
That they were actually willing to fight and quarrel and commit murder.

James could have easily been describing the life of “CAIN” to us.
A man so engulfed in his own desires and envy
That he actually rose up and killed his own brother.

But James also revealed that there is a very good possibility
That they are also LOST PEOPLE.

(4) “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself and enemy of God.”

It was bad enough that these people would fight and quarrel and murder
Because they didn’t get what they want.

The problem James mentions here is that
They even wanted those things to begin with.

How could a genuine child of God have such strong love for the world?

And so James calls them “adulteresses”
And enemies of God.

AND AS WE SAID, THAT IS A PAINFUL REVELATION.
The presences of fighting and quarreling does not reveal good things about you.

In fact, listen to what Paul told the Corinthians
1 Corinthians 11:17-19 “But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.”

Did you catch that last statement?
“For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.”

While conflicts and factions are regrettable, they are very telling.
They reveal a people in love with the wrong thing,
Who are also selfish in their human nature.

And that is James’ point.
You wouldn’t have all these conflicts and quarrels
If you weren’t selfish adulterous people.

And so we determined the need to examine ourselves.
It is in fact a painful revelation, but it is a necessary one.

A Painful Revelation
#2 A POWERFUL EXPLANATION
James 4:6

And we can agree that this verse is good news.
We may be sinful We may have lustful desires
We may be quarrelers and fighters We may even be found to be enemies of God
“BUT He gives a greater grace”

We do not wish to minimize our sin,
But we certainly do wish to magnify God’s grace.

Our sin may be extreme, but Gods’ grace is greater still.
He can and will forgive even the most depraved sinner.
He can and will forgive even the most distant enemy.

“Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
That forgiving grace of God is available
To all who will humble themselves before God.
• Do not be proud
• Don’t ignore His warning
• Don’t argue with His assessment
• Don’t dodge His confrontation
• Don’t refuse His request

Instead, be humble.
Admit that you are what God says you are.
And then be willing to do whatever God asks you to do.

Because if you will be humble,
Then this great grace that James is talking about will be yours.

And that is how a murderous heart gets healed.
God heals it, in response to humility.

And that is where we got to last Sunday night.
Tonight we want to push forward.

Verse 6 was indeed good news, but it was purely informational
It was merely an explanation of God’s grace and how it is received.

James wants you to know what to do.

A Painful Revelation, A Powerful Explanation
#3 A POINTED EXHORTATION
James 4:7-10

This section is about as pointed as it comes.
• In fact in these 4 verses you will find 10 distinct commands.
• This is as good of “what to do” section as there is in Scripture.

In fact, 14 years ago when I was asked to preach for the very first time,
This was the text I chose.

I did so because it is so pointed, so practical, and such an easy explanation of how a person lost in sin can find the amazing grace of God.
You won’t find many invitations in Scripture
That are much clearer than this one.

And what I want to do tonight is take these 10 commands
And break them down into 3 categories
To help us understand what James is requiring.

So let’s say:
• You recognize selfishness in your heart
• You see those lusts and desires James mentioned
• You know that murder has even occurred because of it
• You see that you are also at enmity with God because of a love for the world
• You understand that you need God’s grace

WHAT DO YOU DO?
Like the Jews at Pentecost “Brethren, what shall we do?”
Like the Philippians Jailor: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

Three things you need
1) A NEW MASTER (7-8a)
“Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

James wastes no time in telling you
What your problem has been up until now.

The main problem is a lack of submission.

In our world submission has become a dirty word.
And yet it has always been a beautiful word to God.

• Children are to submit to their parents
• Wives are to submit to their husbands
• Slaves are to submit to their masters
• Believers are to submit to one another
• Church members are to submit to their leaders
• People are to submit to the governing authorities

And the reason all of those areas are so important
Is because they all point back to our submission to the supreme authority.

Romans 13:1 “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.”

Now granted there Paul is referencing the governing authorities,
But the principle is a universal one.

“There is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.”
However, you must admit that none of the things on that list
Are considered important today.
• We see children out of control
• We see feminism
• We see workers complaining about their employer
• We see distrust of pastors
• We see slander of governing authorities

As James mentioned, instead of believers being subject to one another
We have conflicts and quarrels.

See, the whole issue is that people are not submitting to God.

It is not hard to spot children that are walking in submission to God
They are obeying their parents

It is not hard to spot a wife that is walking in submission to God
She is submitting to her husband

It is not hard to spot employees that are walking in submission to God
They are hard workers and great employees

It is not hard to spot a congregation walking in submission to God
They will submit to the leadership of their elders

It is not hard to spot a citizen walking in submission to God
They will obey and honor the king

AND THAT IS PRECISELY WHY THESE BELIEVERS ARE FIGHTING AND NOT SUBMITTING TO ONE ANOTHER
THEY AREN’T SUBMITTING TO GOD.

So the first command is to submit.
“Submit therefore to God.”

It’s time you determine to quit doing what you want
And start doing what God says.

And if you are really going to humble yourself before Him as James said,
Then first and foremost it’s time to stop rejecting His authority in your life.
SALVATION IS AN ISSUE OF SUBMISSION TO GOD.

Now coinciding with this command James says,
“Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

Here is what you may not have realized.
When you were living your life doing whatever you wanted,
You may have thought you were in charge – you weren’t.

You were a slave of the enemy.
2 Timothy 2:24-26 “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

It is amazing how often times lost people consider themselves to be free to do whatever they want, and yet all they ever do is sin.

The reality is they are slaves of the enemy.
• They are slaves because they have bought his lies
• They are slaves because they have taken his bait
• They are slaves because they have succumbed to his temptation

They did what James warned about back in chapter 1

James 1:14 “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.”

These people loved themselves so much
And were so intent on fulfilling their own lusts
That when Satan offered to fulfill those desires,
They actually submitted to him.

Was this not what Eve did when she took the fruit he offered?

And that is what James is saying.
If you want to fix the problem, you are going to have to get a new master.

No longer can you love yourself
And thus submit yourself to the enemy for the gratification of your flesh.

It’s time for you to resist Him and submit yourself to God’s will.

And incidentally choosing to do this will have a wonderful consequence.

First, if you resist the devil, what will he do?
“he will flee from you.”

If you resist him he will leave;
After all there are plenty of people in the world who won’t resist him.

You don’t have to bind him
You don’t have to rebuke him
You don’t have to cast him away

All you have to do is resist him and he will flee on his own.
1 Peter 5:8-9 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”
WHAT DO YOU MEAN RESIST THE DEVIL?

What that really means is – RESIST YOURSELF
Do not walk by the flesh.

If you resist your flesh, the devil will flee,
Because the only handle he has on you is your flesh.

So if you resist the devil he will flee,
And if you will submit to God, what will He do?

(8a) “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

It really is quite simple, and yet it is so effective.
If you yield up control of your life to God,
He will take control of your life.

To some people that sounds awful – “I don’t want God to take control”
That’s because they don’t realize where the ship is headed.

But if they realized they were in a plane about to crash,
They’d be more than willing for God to step into the cockpit.

If you will yield control of your life to God, He will take control of it.

And make no mistake what we are talking about here.
We are talking about SALVATION.

Romans 10:9 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;”

So if you want that grace that is only for the humble,
Then it’s time to get a new master.

Get out of the car, get away from the steering wheel,
Go get in the trunk and let Jesus drive.
You’ve made a mess of things on your own, it’s time for a new master.

That is the first exhortation of James.
2) A NEW MOTIVATION (8b-9)
“Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.”

Granted those are not pleasant commands, but they are SO necessary.

IT IS CALLED REPENTANCE.
James is asking you to quit loving the sin you formerly loved
And to begin to hate it like God does.
“Cleanse your hands” is another way of saying quit sinning.
• You’ve got bloody hands
• You’ve been murdering your brother because of your unfulfilled desires
• STOP IT!

“purify your hearts, you double-minded” is another way of saying to start being devoted to God.

God has not had sole possession of your heart and life.

It harkens back to some of the most famous exhortations in Scripture.

Elijah on Mt. Carmel:
1 Kings 18:21 “Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word.”

Joshua before Israel:
Joshua 24:14-15 “Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

It is to no longer have a heart compared to “weedy soil”
That would gladly allow the seed of God’s word to grow
Were it not for all the weeds it won’t let go of.

And the call here is to solidify who will be in charge of your heart.

Will you give your whole heart to God?
Will He receive all your love?

That has been the problem hasn’t it?
You haven’t given God your whole heart.

It’s like Amaziah
2 Chronicles 25:1-2 “Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. He did right in the sight of the LORD, yet not with a whole heart.”

Scripture says this about him
Because he later began to bow down to the gods of the Edomites.
He loved God, just not with all his heart.

And we have a word for that – ADULTERER

Which again is James’ point!
• You haven’t submitted to God
• You haven’t loved God
• You haven’t turned from sin
So not only do you need a new master, but you need a new motivation.

You’ve got to quit living according to what will please you
And start living according to what will please God.

(9) “Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.”

James is referring to the same thing Jesus referred to in the Beatitudes.

Jesus said to be “poor in spirit”
Then He said:
Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

You’ve got to hate the sin that made you poor in spirit.

And this is such a huge issue.
In fact, I fear that this has become a lost concept.

It is hard to find people these days who hate their sin.
Oh, they hate the consequences of their sin, but they don’t hate their sin.

And that is not enough.
• You can’t just hate that your sin got you in trouble
• You can’t just hate that your sin caused problems for you
• You can’t just hate that your sin brought consequences

YOU HAVE TO HATE SIN

Listen to what Paul said:
Romans 7:9-13 “I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.”

So “sin would become utterly sinful”

And that is what James is talking about.
You can’t just hate that God is angry at your quarreling,
You have to hate your selfishness that caused it.

You have to see the world and its lusts as evil and dangerous.
You have to hate what it does

Put it all together and it is CALLED REPENTANCE.
It’s not just stopping wrong behavior, but hating wrong behavior.
So if you want to partake of that grace that is big enough to forgive you,
Then you need a NEW MASTER and you a NEW MOTIVATION.

3) A NEW METHOD (10)
“Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

Instead of trying to secure your own desires by your own efforts,
It’s time to take a back seat and let God’s will be done in your life.
(As opposed to the person too proud to even pray)

Don’t try to push your way in, let God accomplish His purposes.

Jesus taught:
Luke 14:7-11 “And He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place. “But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you. “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The guy James is talking about would have been the first
To run grab the place at the table they deserved.

They might have even gotten in a fight with someone else
About how they deserved it more.

And then if they didn’t get the seat, they’d go set in a lesser place
And absolutely verbally assault the person who took their seat.

But Jesus said, instead of that method, why not try humility?

Do you see how that is exactly what James is talking about?

We have a person filled with conflicts and quarrelling, WHY?

Because they think they deserve something they don’t have
And so they try to push and bully their way into getting it.

And James is saying, you’ve got to let that method go.

You need to submit to God, resist those temptations, quit loving that sin,
And start letting God put you where He wants you
Instead of forcing your will to occur.

And I hope as we look at this you are seeing the difference
Between those who are saved and those who are lost.

James is giving here the way of salvation.
• Get a new master (God, not you)
• Get a new motivation (love God, not sin)
• Get a new method (humility instead of conflict)

It is very direct, it is very pointed,
But it is how you receive that grace James was talking about.
You must submit to, love and trust God.

If you will, He will give you His grace and fix your murderous heart.
Because “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

And once your heart is fixed, then you are able to obey James’ instruction.

Painful Revelation, Powerful Explanation, Pointed Exhortation
#4 A PRACTICAL APPLICATION
James 4:11-12

And here is where it comes full circle.
(Don’t try this if verses 7-10 aren’t in order – you’ll fail)

Now we get back to the issue.
• Once sin has been exposed
• Once grace has been explained
• Once redemption has been received

Now we get back to it
“Do not speak against one another, brethren”

It is a simple command,
But don’t slander, don’t malign, don’t accuse, don’t attack.

WHY?
“He who speaks against a brother or judges a brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it.”

That is to say that when you judge your brother or slander your brother
For doing something that you don’t like
(not for something that is sinful)

When you do that, you are inadvertently saying
That the law did not go far enough.

The law may not have said what he did was sinful,
But in your mind it should have.

By judging your brother, you are also saying the law is not good enough

This happens any time we condemn or slander our brother
For something that God’s word does not condemn him for.

Furthermore it reveals that you have forgotten your place.
(12) “There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?”

Only One gives the Law, and only One judges by it.
“but who are you..?”

I’ll answer that for you – NOT GOD
So stop speak against and judging your brother – stop quarrelling!
CHRISTIANS DON’T ACT THAT WAY!

Do you get the point?

James looks at a church that is quarreling and fighting and slandering.
• His desire is to tell these Christians to “STOP IT”
• But he realizes the fact that they do it may mean they aren’t Christians
• So first he witnesses to them
• Then he commands them what to do

BUT THE POINT IS EASILY SEEN

THERE IS NO PLACE IN THE CHURCH FOR SLANDER, QUARRELING, CONFLICTS, LUSTS, OR HEART MURDER.

If it is present, it must be healed.
And the only way it can be healed is selfish and worldly people
Stop serving their own lusts and start serving God.
(i.e. – GET SAVED!)

If they will, then God will heal their murderous heart
And mold them into those peaceful people
Who exhibit the wisdom from above that James talked about in chapter 3.

SO THERE IT IS:

James 4:7-10 “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

And beloved, if that is you, then you know what to do.
If it is not, then you know where to take a person when that is them.

Being Fellow Workers
3 John 1:1-15
January 18, 2015

As you know we are now in the middle of Missions Month and so we are taking the month of January to refocus on the purpose of the church.

Without a doubt we are left here to shine the light of Jesus Christ
To a lost and dying world.
That is our purpose for remaining.

Last week we talked about the concept of PRAYING FOR MISSIONS.
We read how Jesus lamented that the fields were ripe for harvest
But the workers were few.

We heard Jesus tell us to “beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

And we talked about why the workers weren’t being sent,
And thus how we should be praying.

But prayer is not the only way that you can be involved in missions.
Another way we have mentioned is in the area of GIVING

And you should know that these areas can in fact overlap.

Last week we talked about why workers weren’t being sent into the harvest,
One of the reasons is because THE WORKERS ARE DISTRACTED

We turned to John 4 and we saw how Jesus had sent the disciples into the Samaritan village. When they came back with bread He said to them, “I sent you to reap”

Jesus wanted them to focus on the lost
Jesus wanted them to work for the harvest
Instead they focused on their stomach and worked for food

While a missionary must be focused regardless of their situation,
We can in fact help them there.

HOW?

• If a missionary doesn’t have the money for rent, do you think he/she will be
more focused on the mission or the rent?

• If a missionary doesn’t have food, do you think he/she will be more focused on
the mission or food?

Every missionary is commanded to be focused on the mission,
But the reality is that it is much easier for them to do that
When their needs are met.

Consider Paul.
• He had been run out of Thessalonica, he fled to Berea.
• Jews from Thessalonica followed him and forced him to flee to Berea (alone)
• Paul came to Athens where he preached and none responded
• From there he went to Corinth

Let me show you the scene:
Acts 18:1-5 “After these things he left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them, and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers. And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.”

Paul was working in Corinth; he was making tents.
There is nothing wrong with hard work, but you and I can agree
Tent making is not where Paul would be most useful for the kingdom.

But “when Silas and Timothy came down…Paul began devoting himself completely to the word”

Silas and Timothy brought support
When Paul’s needs were met, he was able to devote himself
To full time preaching in Corinth.

And look at the response:
Acts 18:8 “Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized.”

There is certainly nothing wrong with making tents, but obviously it was better that Paul’s needs be met so he could be free to preach.

The giving of the Macedonians allowed Paul to serve UNDISTRACTED.

And this is one of the great ways that you can be involved in missions.

No one would ever say that the American church had fully arrived
Or was perfect in every way. Indeed we have a long way to go.

But one thing everyone could say is that
If the American church has one strength over and above every other part of the world – it is in her resources.

I can confidently say that the church in America has more resources
Than the church in any other part of the world.

And the question is:
Can you think of something better to invest our resources in?
Recently at the Strange Fire conference, John MacArthur was being interviewed and the interviewer told him he was going to give one word statements that he wanted John MacArthur to respond to. (sort of a lightning rod type of situation)

The interviewer said, “Church Planting”
MacArthur said, “I’m for it…what else would you plant?”

What else would you plant?
What else would you invest in?
What else would you support?

Jesus told us that we should be very shrewd with our resources:
Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Don’t invest in temporal things, invest in eternal things.
Well can anyone honestly say there is a better investment than to invest in the growth of God’s kingdom?

Investing in missions is an absolute “no-brainer”
What else would you plant?

And so this morning I want to focus in on this aspect of mission involvement, I want to focus on GIVING TO MISSIONS.

And to do that we are going to study the entire book of 3 John
(rest easy, it’s only 15 verses)

2 John and 3 John are books that really work well together.

• In 2 John, the apostle John is writing to the chosen lady
• And is lightly rebuking her for being a little too gullible
• And adamantly asks her not to support the wrong kind of people.

2 John 8-11 “Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.”

• 3 John is the counter side to that same argument,
• In which the apostle John writes to Gaius
• And asks him to make sure and support the right kind of people.

3 John 5-6 “Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers; and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.”

And while there is certainly a time to talk about
Not participating in the evil deeds of others,

This morning we want to talk about
Making sure you participate in the work of truth.

So we’re going to look at this book of 3 John and learn about giving to missions.

4 main divisions this morning.
#1 A SAINT EXTOLLED
3 John 1:1-4

As already mentioned “The elder” here is John the apostle.
He is the last living apostle of Jesus.

And he is writing to “the beloved Gaius”
We don’t know who he was (Gaius was a common Roman name)

But it’s what John wrote that captivates us.

You will see that John has fond feelings toward Gaius
And that with good reason.

(2-4) “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. For I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth. I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.”

We have a simple prayer for the prosperity and well-being of Gaius.

Why does John wish such good fortune on him?
Because John heard that Gaius was “walking in truth”

And nothing gave John more joy than “to hear of my children walking in the truth.”

Now we don’t know any specifics yet as to exactly what Gaius was doing,
But we can easily see that whatever Gaius was doing,
It was bringing extreme joy and satisfaction to John.

From John’s perspective and at this point in his life,
There was nothing bigger to him than to hear that
His children were walking in the truth.

So John commends Gaius
And he prays that God would prosper him.

There is certainly more we could talk about there, but mainly I just want you to see that John is pleased with whatever it is that Gaius is doing.
A Saint Extolled
#2 A SERVICE ENCOURAGED
3 John 1:5-8

When we read verses 5 and 6 we finally see specifically
What it was that had been reported about Gaius.

“Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers; and they have testified to your love before the church.”

• Apparently there were some “brethren” who had come to Gaius’ church.
• They were “strangers” to Gaius when they came, and yet Gaius showed his love to them.
• This love left such and impression on these brethren that when they returned to their home church they testified of how great Gaius had been.

Who were these men?
(7) “They went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles.”

They were traveling missionaries.
They had gone out to preach Jesus to the Gentiles
And Gaius had loved them despite the fact that he didn’t know them.

Gaius demonstration of love and hospitality
Was exactly what the apostle John was hoping for.

But even more than a commendation
John has an added encouragement for Gaius.

And in these 4 verses you’ll see that John encourages Gaius to do three things for missionaries like the ones he helped.
1) SERVE THEM (5-6a)
“Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers; and they have testified to your love before the church.”

In Gaius’ case it had been hospitality to strangers.
• No doubt he had welcomed them in
• No doubt he had housed them
• No doubt he had fed them
• No doubt he had offered them encouragement

Very simply he just served them and met their needs.

This is one of the ways that you can be involved in missions.
When you serve those who are serving on mission,
You are walking in truth and “acting faithfully”
Remember this story?
2 Kings 4:8-10 “Now there came a day when Elisha passed over to Shunem, where there was a prominent woman, and she persuaded him to eat food. And so it was, as often as he passed by, he turned in there to eat food. She said to her husband, “Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God passing by us continually. “Please, let us make a little walled upper chamber and let us set a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; and it shall be, when he comes to us, that he can turn in there.”

What a great woman, and what a great idea.
She was simply serving the servant of the Lord and God was certainly pleased.

She may have never preached a sermon,
But she was a vital part of Elisha’s mission.

For those who have participated in Mission Sanyati – think about Alice

Serving those on mission involves you in the work of service.

With this in mind, listen again to what Jesus said:
Matthew 25:34-40 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’”

Now let me ask you, what if Jesus wasn’t just talking about the poor,
But about those who had left everything to serve Him?

• Don’t we recall that those who followed Him left their houses and farms?
• Don’t we recall that those who followed Him were told not to take all their provisions, but to trust that it would be provided?
• Don’t we recall that those who followed Him were be in trouble with the rulers of the world, and even thrown in prison?

What a blessing to serve those who are serving on mission.
That is certainly one way to be a part.

John encourages Gaius to serve these missionaries
2) SEND THEM (6b-7)
“You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles.”

Once you have welcomed them in and met their needs and served them,
Then help them continue on with their mission.

Now SEND THEM on to their next destination
Granted these were in fact faithful and selfless people.
They were not like those in 2 John who were preaching a false gospel.
(We certainly don’t aid them)

But send these who are faithfully preaching Christ
And are offering the gospel at no charge.

They were like Paul in Thessalonica:
2 Thessalonians 3:7-9 “For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you; not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example.”
Paul wasn’t about to ask the people he was reaching
To meet his physical needs.

These men that were coming to Gaius had the same mindset.
BY ALL MEANS SERVE THEM AND SEND THEM TO OTHERS.

And I love how John says to send them.
“You will do well to send them on their way IN A MANNER WORTHY OF GOD.”

This is where Lance Harris would interject and say,
“Yeah, if you send us back to Africa we’d like first class seats.”

I’m not sure I’d go that far with this, but hopefully you get the point.
• You are not just sending men and women out, you are sending the gospel.
• You are sending the Holy Spirit, who dwells in them.
• You are sending Jesus Christ, whose name they are proclaiming
• You are sending God, whose kingdom they represent

Send them the right way.
Provide for them, take care of them.

If Jesus were here and needing help to go on in His mission,
What would you offer Him to go?

This is the calling.
Take your funds and send these missionaries.

Paul certainly expected it.
Romans 15:22-25 “For this reason I have often been prevented from coming to you; but now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I have had for many years a longing to come to you whenever I go to Spain — for I hope to see you in passing, and to be helped on my way there by you, when I have first enjoyed your company for a while — but now, I am going to Jerusalem serving the saints.”

Paul didn’t have enough resources to make it all the way to Spain, but he had enough to make it to Rome. Rome would have to take care of the rest.
Our church has been involved in missions enough over the past decade
That by now you are well aware that missions is not cheap.

You are also well aware that not everyone who God calls to go
Just has the money sitting in their bank account to do it.

If you want to be a part of missions,
Then serve those missionaries and send those missionaries.

3) SUPPORT THEM (8)
“Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.”

That means take care of their needs while they serve.

I already read to you about how the Macedonians sent aid to Paul in Corinth
To allow him to quit making tents and start preaching full time.

CONSIDER
Philippians 4:15-16 “You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone; for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs.”

The Philippians had it figured out.
• Serve Paul while he was there
• Send Paul on his way
• Support Paul after he was gone

MISSIONARIES ARE RIGHT TO EXPECT THIS

Luke 10:4-7 “Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. “Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ “If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. “Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house.”

Jesus told the disciples they were right to expect support.

When Paul wrote to the Corinthians he said:
1 Corinthians 9:1-7, 14 “Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. My defense to those who examine me is this: Do we not have a right to eat and drink? Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or do only Barnabas and I not have a right to refrain from working? Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock…So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.”

Missionaries are right to expect support.
And we are right to support them.
John even says we should do this “so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.”

You may never set foot outside of Dickens county,
But you can literally be a fellow worker in China or Africa or India
Or wherever else in the world.

(The last two Africa trips, Rita Harris has been our liaison to the church. She worked with us, met with us, prayed with us, and was very beneficial in sending us. Several times I heard her say, “I feel like I’m going with you”)
THAT’S HOW IT IS SUPPOSED TO WORK!

When you support those who take the gospel,
You are a fellow worker with them,
And let me remind you that YOU WILL SHARE IN THEIR REWARD.

Matthew 10:40-42 “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. “He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. “And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”

Do you remember Jim Elliot?
• The missionary speared to death in Ecuador…
• Would you suppose he received a pretty good reward for his sacrifice?
Do you know who else received that same reward?
• Those who sent and supported him.

Giving is an excellent way to be involved in missions.
And that is what John encourages Gaius with here.

A Saint Extolled, A Service Encouraged
#3 A SINNER EXPOSED
3 John 1:9-10

Now here is a strong and yet important warning.
See, even though supporting missions is right,
There will always be those who OPPOSE it.

There will always be those naysayers who voice their displeasure
And wish they could stop the mission.

In Gaius’ church it happened to be the pastor “Diotrephes”

Apparently John had first written this letter to the church,
But Diotrephes intercepted it and wouldn’t share it with the church.

“I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say.”
• Diotrephes was selfish
• Diotrephes liked to control things
• And apparently Diotrephes didn’t like all this missionary encouragement.

And Diotrephes even tried to stop it.

(10) “For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren, either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church.”

Look at what he does.

1) HE DEFAMES MISSIONARIES
“unjustly accusing us with wicked words”

He would be one who started rumors about why the missionaries were sent.
• “They’re just going on vacation”
• “They shouldn’t go all the way out there”
• “They’re not doing any good”

2) HE DISREGARDS MISSIONS
“he himself does not receive the brethren”

When mission offering time comes around, he wants no part of it.
He’s not going to serve them or support them or send them.

(I actually know of a church that took a person’s Lottie Moon offering
And instead placed it in their building fund to build a new gym)

3) HE DISCOURAGES MISSIONS
“he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church”

And if you talk to him about missions,
He’s going to tell you why you shouldn’t support it either.

That is a guy who doesn’t like missions.
• He talks bad about people on mission
• He refuses to support people on mission
• And he tries to get other people not to support them either

In verse 11 you’ll see that John calls him “evil”

My point is that we are called to support missions.
Fighting against it is nothing but sin and absolute evil.

A Saint Extolled, A Service Encouraged, A Sinner Exposed
#4 A SERVANT ENDORSED
3 John 1:11-12

Now we actually get to the other point of the letter.
• Surely John wanted to commend Gaius
• Surely John wanted to encourage Gaius to continue
• Surely John wanted to warn Gaius about Diotrephes

But there is another reason for writing.
There was a missionary headed Gaius’ way.
“Demetrius”

And John wanted to make sure that he would be cared for.
(So he wrote Gaius because he knew Diotrephes wouldn’t)

(11-12) “Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God. Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.”

Demetrius was a good missionary and he deserved to be supported.
(He had plenty of references)

He deserved to be served, sent, and supported.

So we see that in this letter
John was plugging a specific mission offering.

Now, we do this all the time.

Right now we are promoting the Lottie Moon offering.
It goes to support all of our Southern Baptist Missionaries.

People who have left their homes and committed to live in foreign countries just to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

• Some are there right now – they should be supported
• Some are preparing to go – they should be sent
• Some are home resting on furlough – they should be served

Even if they are strangers to you,
You should be a fellow worker in their mission.
You should free them up to do what God sent them to do.

We’ve had other mission focuses as well – church mission trips
At times our church has gone on mission, and people from this very congregation agree to go – they should be sent.

Some are in personal contact with missionaries on the field
It is a specific calling to be a fellow worker with them
By giving your resources to free them up
To do what God has called them to do.
And you and I should be eager to do it.
WHY?

Because as I mentioned, they are doing your job.
The Great Commission was given to the church – we are all responsible for it.
If we fail to do it, we will all answer to God.

These people are taking their part to fulfill all of our responsibility
And can I also remind you that it is HARD.

• Fulfilling? Yes
• Rewarding? Yes
• Worth it? Yes
But make no mistake missions is HARD

Listen to Paul’s experiences:
2 Corinthians 11:24-29 “Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?”

Granted Paul’s experiences were extreme,
But that doesn’t make them any less real.

There are missionaries today in dangerous countries.
• They have left their homes
• They are raising children that don’t get to eat Sunday dinner with their grandparents
• They are committed to be the stranger and outcast their whole life
• They have sacrificed much to take the gospel to some pocket of the world so that when Jesus returns, we as a church can say we obeyed His mandate.

How could you not support such people?
In many ways they are working for you.

So, if you want to be involved in missions (and you should)
• Certainly you should PRAY – pray that God will send out workers
• But also you should GIVE – serving, sending, and supporting those God does send.

3 John 6b-8 “You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.”

The Proclamation of Jesus’ Death
Matthew 28:16-20
April 21, 2013

Well, this morning we are going to conclude what has been for us
A study that began almost 3 years ago.
We are bringing this wonderful gospel of Matthew to a close.

Matthew has been unwavering in his mission to reveal Jesus
As the Messiah of God, the Savior of the world.

We have seen everything from
• His earthly lineage,
• To His virgin birth,
• To His spectacular coronation,
• To His triumphal entry,

And most recently we have been enjoying a study of the death of Jesus.

And we have broken this section on the death of Jesus
Down into 7 sections.

The Plot
The Purpose
The Participants
The Picture
The Power
The Predicament

And this morning we get to the final point,
Which is THE PROCLAMATION OF JESUS’ DEATH.

By now we know some UNDENIABLE FACTS about the death of Christ

1. We know it was all done according to “the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God.”
That is the only way to describe the fact that Jesus would die exactly at the time of the death of the first Passover Lamb, on the only day when the Jews did not want to kill Him.

2. We know that His death was for the purpose of forgiving sinners.
His death was to be a substitutionary death, taking upon Himself the sin of His people.

And that of course has been proven in many ways.
Namely we know that Jesus Christ was TOTALLY INNOCENT.
• That was seen in an arrest without a charge
• That was seen in a trial without proper legalities
• That was seen in ignored verdicts of innocent
• That was seen in false witnesses overcome with remorse

3. And we know that despite being innocent Jesus bore the full wrath of God.
• That is why He received the mocking He received.
• That is why the sky grew dark for three hours
• That is why He was forsaken of His Father

4. And we know that His substitutionary work was successful, namely because He rose from the dead.

We have clearly seen all of those truths
As we have studied the death of Jesus.

In Jesus, we have a Savior.
• One who bore our sin, took our punishment, and satisfied God’s wrath.
• One who presented to God a successful offering and atoned for our iniquity.
• One who rose from the dead and gave hope that His salvation is genuine.

Colossians 1:19-20 “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”

Colossians 2:13-14 “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

We know we have a Savior.
Those truths have been solidified to us.

But there is one more point that Matthew must make.

In fact, the only reason you know anything about the death and resurrection of Jesus is because Matthew obeyed this last point.

Had Matthew failed to practice what He is about to preach, all the glorious realities of Jesus’ substitutionary death would be foreign to you.

And that last point is that those who receive His death
Are under obligation to proclaim His death.

Paul said:
Romans 1:14-17 “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

Paul knew that He was obliged to share the gospel.
And this morning, my main hope is that everyone in this place
Who has partaken in the salvation of Jesus
Will realize that this is your obligation as well.

• Proclaiming the death of Jesus is not for a select few.
• Proclaiming the death of Jesus is no merely for vocational ministers.
• Proclaiming the death of Jesus is the required mandate for every single person who calls themselves a follower of Jesus Christ.

In short, it is impossible to be an obedient Christian
If you do not proclaim His death.

John Piper said, “Go, send, or disobey”

Charles Spurgeon went so far as to say, “Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter.”

Every believer is called to proclaim His death.

And really, after having seen the brutality that Jesus endured,
Does any of us really have the audacity to sit in our padded pews
And refuse His command?

• Do we have to go back and read about His anguish in the garden again so that we can overcome our fears to go and do what we have been called to do?

• Do we have to go back and read about His arrest so that we can remember that we must also submit ourselves to God’s plan for our lives?

• Do we have to go back to His corrupt trial so that we can remember that we are also are called to give an account before kings and rulers?

• Do we have to go back and witness all the mocking He took, so that we can remember that He deserves all the glory would can give Him?

• Do we have to go back and relive the agony and pain of being crucified, or being rejected by the Father, so that we can remember that whatever it costs us to share the gospel will be far less than it cost Him to create it?

• Do we have to go back and listen again to the testimony of the centurion, or of the women, or of Joseph of Arimathea, so that we can remember that the death of Jesus demands public confession and perceivable conviction?
• Do we have to go back and listen to the chief priests and soldiers spreading a story about how the disciples stole Jesus body so that we will realize that someone must tell the true story?

You get the idea.

How could any of us have spent the last two months studying the details involving Christ’s death and then have the audacity to sit in our pews and tell Him we won’t go?

He did what He was asked, now we must as well.
And that is where Matthew closes his gospel account.

It is commonly called “The Great Commission”
It is the command of Jesus for those on earth who claim to follow Him.

And this morning, I don’t pretend to show you any fancy word pictures,
Or give you any new deep and intriguing details.

I only wish for you to simply see the straightforward command that rests right on the pages of your Bible and then ask you to be who you say you are.

There are three things we see in this text.
#1 THE MESSENGERS
Matthew 28:16-17

Our story picks up of course with the soldiers and the chief priests
In a tremendous state of panic.

• The soldiers are panicking because they lost Jesus.
• The priests are panicking because the One they killed is alive.

And presently in our story Jesus and the disciples
Are their way to meet one another.

Meeting the disciples was very important to Jesus.

Matthew 28:7 “Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”

Matthew 28:10 “Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

Jesus wanted to make for sure
That He was able to meet with His disciples.

And that is what is about to happen.
(16) “But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated.”
I don’t want to dwell on this, but it will do you good at this point
To remember again exactly who these men were.

They are “the eleven disciples”.
• Of course it is the twelve, minus Judas who had hanged himself.

They have already been identified.
Matthew 10:2-4 “Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.”

And might I remind you who and what they were?

• Peter, Andrew, James and John were all fishermen.
• Matthew was a despised tax collector
• Simon the Zealot was a terrorist
• “Thaddaeus” was actually named Judas, “Thaddaeus” was a nickname which means “breast baby”

• James and John were hot-heads
• Peter was impulsive
• Andrew was mild mannered
• Thomas was a pessimist

The point is that these men were about ordinary as they come.

We sort of elevate them in our minds to be like scholarly saints
And the reality is they were much more like the cast of
Duck Dynasty than they were like a seminary faculty.

The Pharisees had them rightly pegged.
Acts 4:13 “Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.”

Can anyone else in here identify with those two words?
“uneducated and untrained”?

They weren’t special guys, they were ordinary men,
They would have fit right in with us.

(17) “When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.”

And this verse just further adds to the type of men they were.

They were sincere in that they “worshiped”,
But they were also human in that they doubted.

I know, everyone assumes that Matthew is talking about Thomas here.

But all of them doubted.
Luke 24:8-11 “And they remembered His words, and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them.”

NOW, WHY DO I TELL YOU THAT?
Because I want you to know the type of people
Who received this command.

Too much emphasis is placed today on the messenger.
• We think if we had big muscles like the power team, then we could be an effective witness…

• We think if we had a cool voice like Adrian Rogers, then we could be an effective witness…

• We think if we had a famous reputation like Kirk Cameron or Tim Tebow, then we could be and effective witness…

That has nothing at all to do with it.
The power is not in the messenger, it is in the message.

2 Corinthians 4:7 “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;”

1 Corinthians 1:26-28 “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are,”

The power of evangelism is the cross.
The cross does not need your help.

• You don’t have to adorn the cross…
• You don’t have to come up with new trendy ways of explaining it…
• You don’t have to be better at illustrating it…
JUST PROCLAIM IT

What Jesus did there is the good news that humanity needs to hear.
“He made Him, who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

When Jesus entrusted the message to humanity,
All He required was that they know and believe the cross.

Everyone in this room who believes in Jesus is a qualified missionary.
The messengers
#2 THE MASTER
Matthew 28:18

This verse is often omitted when the Great Commission is quoted,
But in reality is absolutely essential.

This verse provides all that we need in way of a motive.

Verse 18 is why we must do verses 19 & 20.
And that is because the Master says so.

“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”

Incidentally, “authority” is a word that Matthew is very fond of.

Matthew 7:29 “for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.”

Matthew 9:6 “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” — then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.”

Matthew 9:8 “But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.”

And those don’t really even count all the events
In which Jesus displayed His authority.

• We have Him calming the sea…
• We have Him casting out demons…
• We have Him removing sicknesses…
• Who could forget the story with Jesus and the centurion…

Beyond that no less than 48 times we hear the same phrase, “I say…”

No modern day prophet would have dare stood on his own authority.
• Over and over in the Old Testament we hear, “Thus saith the Lord”
• And yet Jesus at least 48 times in Matthew’s gospel said, “I say unto you”

The key there is authority.

Beyond that, He just rose from the dead.
I mean, if His death and resurrection
Hasn’t proven to you that He is Lord of all, then nothing will.

Romans 14:9 “For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”

 

And here is the implication now to the disciples.
• If creation obeys Him…
• If demons obey Him…
• If angels obey Him…
• If sickness obeys Him….

Then certainly His sworn followers obeying Him should be a no-brainer.

Colossians 1:17-18 “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.”

Evangelism at its core is an obedience issue.
We do it, not because we feel like it, but because He told us to do it.

If He has all authority,
Then it really doesn’t matter what the command is.
Whatever He says, you have to do.

And here is the command.

The Messengers, The Master
#3 THE MISSION
Matthew 28:18-20

And of course we must emphasize the word “therefore”.

That word is the hinge that tells us why we must do this.
Jesus is the Master, He has all authority.

And certainly this command is not new to anyone.
We have heard it over and over.
But this morning let’s make sure we understand it correctly.

• Many today think the command is to “go”
• Or that the command is to “baptize”
• Or that the command is to “teach”

But every one of those statements is secondary to the primary command.
The primary command is to “make disciples”

• Going without making disciples is a vacation.
• Baptizing without making disciples is false religion.
• Teaching without making disciples is merely outward morality.

The call is to “make disciples”

WHAT IS A DISCIPLE?

The simple definition is a learner.
But it is far more than that.

John 8:31 “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;”

There Jesus is distinguishing between a true disciple and a false one.
A true disciple is one who continues in Christ’s word,
Where as a false disciple does not.

This is not speaking about those who do and don’t read their Bible daily.
Rather this is speaking of those who do or don’t walk in obedience.

It links well to what James said:
James 1:22 “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”

Someone who considers themselves a disciple because they hear or read the word, but doesn’t do what they hear, is self-deceived.

James says they are deluded.

And so we are not going to make hearers.
No, we are trying to produce continual obedience in people’s lives.

Let me give you another statement Jesus made about true disciples.
John 15:8 “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”

So how does a person prove to be a true disciple?
By bearing fruit.

We know about fruitless vines.
John 15:2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.”

What did we learn during the parable of the soils?
Only the fruitful vine is genuine.

And this is what we are trying to produce.
We are trying to produce genuine, consistent, obedient, fruit bearing followers of Jesus.

NOW, HOW DO WE DO THAT?

• “Go”
• “Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit”
• “Teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.”
In order to make disciples we must go to them.
We are never commanded to try and draw them to us.

The church is not a place where we are supposed to attract sinners.

Look at the church in the book of Acts, sinners were terrified of it.
Acts 5:12-13 “At the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s portico. But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, the people held them in high esteem.”

That story was after Ananias and Saphira died for lying to God.
And the world wanted nothing to do with them.

We must go.

And with going it is implied that
We are taking the message of the cross with us.

Matthew 10:7 “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

We take the gospel.

And then we call them to submit their lives to the gospel.
That is where baptism comes in.

Baptism is a symbol of salvation.
It pictures the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ and by extension of the sinner.

To be baptized is to make a public profession of death to self
And new life in Christ.

So we go to them, we give them the gospel,
We call them to submit their lives to it, and we then baptize them.

We also teach them.

WHAT DO WE TEACH THEM?
The commands of Christ.

We teach them what it means to live like a Christian.

• What sort of spouse they are to be
• What sort of child they are to be
• What sort of parent they are to be
• What sort of boss they are to be
• What sort of employee they are to be
• What sort of neighbor they are to be
• What sort of citizen they are to be

We show them how a Christian lives in the world and tell them to do it.

And when that process is completed, we now have a disciple.
• Not just a hearer
• Not just someone who is baptized
• But someone who has submitted to Christ and is committed to obeying Him.

THIS IS THE GREAT COMMISSION
That is what Jesus commands, and what His death requires.

And then a tremendous promise:

“and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

The power to preach, the power to evangelize, the power to endure;
It all comes from Christ, and He is with us.

But even more than that, it insinuates that we have authority.

Remember what Jesus told Peter after Peter’s confession?
Matthew 16:18-19 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

Jesus said it again in chapter 18
After talking about the necessity of church discipline.

Matthew 18:17-18 “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

WHAT DO THOSE STATEMENTS MEAN?

It simply means that whatever we do here
Is really just a manifestation of what has already been done in heaven.

Jesus was endowing us with authority.
We deliver heaven’s judgments.
We walk with Christ’s authority.

AND THAT IS WHAT JESUS MEANS HERE.

We can tell people to repent to the gospel
Because the Lord of all creation told us we can.

THE AUTHORITATIVE ONE IS WITH US

I mean think about it.
You could even temporarily take out the specifics of the command.

• In verse 18 we have Jesus saying He has all authority.
• In verse 20 we have Jesus saying He will be with us.

Verse 19 could really say anything, and we could do it.

If He had said, “All authority is mine so go fly, and I will be with you”,
Then would could do it.

THE POINT?
• Proclaiming Jesus’ death is not a job for a select few.
• Proclaiming Jesus’ death is not an optional part of Christianity.
• Proclaiming Jesus’ death is not reserved for some who have the knack.

Proclaiming Jesus’ death is a command for every single believer. We must do it because our Lord told us to,
And we can do it because He is with us.

That is what the cross deserves.
That is what the cross demands.

And friends, if Jesus can endure the agonies of hell for you and I,
Certainly we can endure calling of missions for Him.

This is why we are here.
And this is what Christ commands.

It really doesn’t get any clearer than that.

Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

The Predicament of Jesus’ Death
Matthew 27:62-28:15
April 21, 2013

Well last week we studied what should have, by all accounts,
Been the end of Jesus.

Burials are supposed to bring closure.
At that point the family and the friends are expected to simply “move on”

Jesus was dead.

• His death was plotted by wicked men, and in reality ordained by God
to be carried out by their wicked hands.

• His death was for the purpose of forgiving sinners.

• His death was carried out through a corrupt, illegal, and deceptive
plan that saw Him not only falsely accused, but wrongly condemned
and brutally crucified.

• His death was pictured as the most shameful of events, as even those
dying with Him mocked Him.

• And in His death He suffered the full wrath of God, as God would
forsake Him and the darkness of God’s wrath would fall on Him.

It was a horrific scene.

Now it was also an inspiring one.
• His death inspired the Centurion to make a public profession.
• His death inspired the women to intensify their devotion.
• His death inspired Joseph to reveal his true convictions.

And that was supposed to be the end.
He was dead.
He was buried.

BUT IT WASN’T.

For no sooner do we see Jesus die and get buried
Then we see a truly strange event take place.

There is a meeting.
It is a meeting of those who had a hand in killing Him.

WHY?

The answer is because Jesus’ death was no ordinary death.

Here Matthew shows us another aspect of the death of Jesus,
And that is the PREDICAMENT His death made for His enemies.

Look, nothing would mess Satan’s plan up more
Than if Jesus rose from the dead.

It would have been better for Him to actually come down off of the cross
In response to their taunting than for Him to die and rise.

And that means that now that Satan has accomplished his goal of killing the Christ, he must now move on to his second goal,
Which is keeping Him dead.
Isaiah is clear when he says, “There is no peace for the wicked”

One would think that Satan and his puppets would be rejoicing greatly at this moment and yet they are as concerned and worried as ever.

Somehow they know this whole thing isn’t yet over.

And that is where we are in Matthew’s gospel.

There are three things I want you to see this morning.
#1 THE PLAN TO CONTAIN
Matthew 27:62-66

Matthew tells us that the day after Jesus was crucified
That the plotting and scheming had not yet come to an end.

Despite their supposed love of God, reverence for the Sabbath,
We find these religious leaders still at work in their scheming.

AND I WANT YOU TO SEE WHO WAS PRESENT
“the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate,”

Now first I want you to know how bizarre this is.
We read over that like this meeting is no big deal,
But this is a monumental meeting.

• The chief priests were mostly sadducees – the liberals of the day.
• The Pharisees were blue collar workers – legalists in every way.
• Pilate was of course a Roman who hated Jews.

And yet, here they are all together.
Nothing in this world could possibly have united them,
Except their unified desire to kill the Son of God.

These men had differing ideals in every sense of the word,
And the only common bond was that they all hated the truth.
And we even notice why they are meeting together.

(63) “and said, “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘ After three days I am to rise again.’”

Now at first it would just seem like
They want to keep the disciples from stealing the body,
Namely because they don’t want the people to be deceived.

But that isn’t really it at all.

So what if the disciples steal the body,
All you have to do is prove He was dead before it was stolen

HOW HARD IS THAT?
• Ask the Centurion that stabbed His side…
• Ask the Centurion that was breaking the legs…
• Ask Joseph, who buried Him…
• Ask the women who mourned for Him…

They were all willing to testify to His death.
• Remember the two on the road to Emmaus, grieving that He was dead.
• Thomas would even fight you over the fact.

There are tons of witnesses to prove that Jesus was dead, AND THEY ARE WORRIED THAT THEY WON’T BE ABLE TO PROVE IT?
Yeah right.

THAT IS NOT WHAT THEY ARE WORRIED ABOUT.

I’ll tell you what they are worried about.
“we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I am to rise again.’”

They know they killed Him, But
They must have gone to bed Friday night haunted by JAIRUS’S DAUGHTER.
They must have woken up in the night thinking of the WIDOW’S SON.
They must have awakened Saturday morning with LAZARUS on the brain.

And now, although they know they killed Him, they are worried,
And so their focus now shifts to keeping Him dead.

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF SUCH A THING?
There were many who wanted to kill Hitler, but I’ve never heard of a single person who was worried about keeping Hitler dead.

But their concern is now to keep Jesus dead.
BECAUSE COULD YOU IMAGINE IF HE AROSE?
MY GOSH, if He were to rise from the dead,
Then that would prove everything that He said was true.

If He rose from the dead that would prove He was the Son of God.
If He rose from the dead that would mean all the religious leaders were wrong.

NO IT WAS IMPERATIVE THAT THEY KEEP HIM DEAD

And in their desire to keep Him dead, they come up with a plan.
(64) “Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.”

Now is where the story gets really good.
The plot is once again underway.

“You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.”

In other words, you do whatever it takes
To make sure that Jesus stays in the grave.

And the liberals and the legalists rise to the occasion
To do all they can to keep Jesus dead.

(66) “And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.”

So they completely seal up this tomb, and just to make sure no one attempts to break this permanent seal, they post a guard at the tomb.

YOU SEE SATAN WANTED TO MAKE SURE JESUS STAYED DEAD

And while Satan’s puppets are at work outside the tomb,
Satan’s demons are at work inside the tomb.

For the Bible teaches that when Jesus died He went where our sins warranted Him go. He went to hades.

1 Peter 3:18-19 “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison,”

You see the demons had a great thought.
They thought they would encircle Him and keep Him dead.

And this was a good plan, after all, no one else had ever beaten it.
Remember the rich man?
Luke 16:22-26 “Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. “In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. “And he cried out and said, ‘ Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ “But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. ‘And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’”

One worked the outside, and the other worked the inside.
SURELY THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO KEEP A DEAD MAN DEAD

And this is what is so humorous about the whole event.
THEY CAN’T.

Psalms 2:1-4 “Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!” He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them.”

How pathetic that seal and those guards must have looked to God.
There is no way that is going to hold Him.

And that is proven true in what we see next.

They had a plot to contain Jesus.
#2 THE PREDICAMENT TO CONSIDER
Matthew 28:1-11

And all of a sudden Matthew reveals for us the one thing they feared above all others.

Let me show you their predicament, we find it in verse 11.
(11) “Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened.”

• They had woken up in the middle of the night on Friday afraid that Jesus wasn’t bluffing when He said He would rise.

• To try and calm their anxiety they actually sealed the tomb and stationed a guard with the task of keeping Him dead.

• But Sunday morning they received the worst possible piece of news.

The guards arrived with a horrifying story.

WHAT WAS IT?
1) A STORY ABOUT A TERRIFYING ANGEL (1-4)

There they were, minding their own business, guarding as they were told.
And something they had not expected occurred.

• Another earthquake.
• And when they looked up, the stone was rolled away from the tomb.

That was bad enough, for that would have indicated a failed mission.
But that was the least of their worries.

There was an angel sitting on top of the stone.
(3-4) “And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.”

This angel was glowing with the glory of God,
And these men could not handle it.

They thought they might face Peter and John,
They were in no way ready for this angel, and they were terrified.

But that isn’t all they had to say when the reported to the chief priests.
2) A STORY ABOUT EXCITED WOMEN (5-8)

The guards were literally paralyzed, but there is no reason to assume
They didn’t see and hear what was taking place.

(5-6) “The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.”

The guards had already heard what the Pharisees and Chief Priests
had said about Jesus claiming that He would rise again.

But now the angel was verifying that not only had Jesus said that,
But Jesus had done it.

He told these women that Jesus was alive,
And then showed them the place where the body used to be.

And now, we have some excited women.
(7-8) “Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.” And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples.”

These women are overcome with joy that Jesus has been risen.
(In other words, the cat is out of the bag)
But that is not all these soldiers had to report.
3) A STORY ABOUT A LIVING JESUS (9-10)

An angel wasn’t the only one these women saw.
Jesus actually appeared to them.

Verse 9 says, “Jesus met them and greeted them.”
They in turn “worshiped” Him.

And Jesus then reiterated His words to the women
To share the news with the disciples.

(10) “Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

And then according to verse 11, “some of the guard”
Came and reported that.

And trust me, they knew all that was going on.
Put yourself in those guards’ shoes.

• You were supposed to guard the tomb and make sure the body stayed inside.
• And then there is an earthquake, and open tomb, and a blinding light from an angel.

Now even if that is all they saw.

WHAT DO YOU DO NEXT?
You try to find out what is going on.

(No one goes and turns themselves in,
Unless there is nothing they can do about it)

For starters, you had better find that body,
Or else your life is forfeited.

It is not at all unreasonable to assume that these guards
Tried to figure out what was going on.

And what they found was that Jesus actually appeared to these women.

THE POINT?
The guards knew that He was alive.

If there was even a chance He was dead, but the body had just been moved,
It is far more in their best interest to keep it quiet and find that body.

But they knew better.
And that is why they immediately come clean.
• Now, they don’t come clean to Pilate, he would have executed them.
• They come clean to the chief priests because they need help.

See this whole thing reveals that they knew Jesus was alive.
They knew He had risen, just as He said.

AND THAT IS A MAJOR PREDICAMENT.
Their goal was to keep Him dead, and now He is alive.
Jesus did just what He said.

And this, by the way, is the first piece of justice
We have seen yet in the entire ordeal.

• He was wrongly arrested
• He was corruptly tried
• He was declared innocent and crucified anyway
• He was mocked undeservedly

But finally we see justice taking over.
The prison where Jesus was sentenced could not hold Him.
HE AROSE.

And please do not make light of the resurrection.
• No, the resurrection did not atone for our sin.
• No, the resurrection did not conquer death.
• No, the resurrection did not demonstrate the love of God.

The cross did all of those things.

But it is the resurrection that validates the cross.
The resurrection proves that the cross is what Scripture says it is.

Without the resurrection, Jesus is dead in the ground and we have no assurance whatsoever that His death atoned for anything.

Without the resurrection, Jesus is dead and we have no assurance that we are forgiven, or that heaven is possible, or that there is anything beyond the grave.

Paul said it like this:
1 Corinthians 15:13-19 “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.”
If Jesus stays dead you had better go back to sacrificing your sheep and oxen.
If Jesus stays dead you had better try to convert to Judaism.
Nothing validates Judaism like a dead Jesus.

On the flip-side, nothing destroys it like a living Jesus.

And this is precisely what the Jews were afraid of.
This was the predicament they faced.

That moves us to the third point.

The Plan to Contain The Predicament to Consider
#3 THE PLOT TO CONCEAL
Matthew 28:12-15

Here was the plan,
• Take the money,
• Get your story straight,
• And make sure everyone hears it.

“You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we are asleep.’”

One has to wonder,
• If they were asleep, how did they know it was the disciples?
• If they did know it was the disciples, why didn’t they go get the body back?
• And if they were asleep, how did they move that stone without waking them?

And isn’t it interesting that this was the story they preferred now.
Just yesterday that was what they were trying to protect from.
They didn’t want the disciples to come and steal the body.

And now they are pushing that story.
(14) “And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.”

Apparently they convinced the soldiers that they had Pilate right where they wanted him, and could influence all of his decisions.

Maybe they were right.
The soldiers certainly believed it.
(15) “And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day.”

Now, obviously there are many holes to this story.
Not the least of which is how the disciples could have pulled it off.

But beyond that,
The disciples would have had no interest in stealing the body.
It is clear that none of them actually expected Him to rise from the dead,
And Joseph had already given Him a far better burial than they ever could.

They had no reason to want His body.

But friends, here is the reality.
JESUS IS ALIVE.

1 Corinthians 15:3-8 “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.”

He arose from the dead.
• This indicates that He was in fact innocent.
• This indicates then that His death was only for the purpose of salvation.

When He died, He really did atone for sin.

Romans 4:25 “He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.”

And please notice the wording.
It was because of our sin that He was delivered over to death.
• He had no sin of His own.
• He had no other reason to go to the cross, but our sin.

And it was that sin that we saw Him bear on Calvary.
He bore our suffering, He bore our shame, He bore our separation.

But then He was raised.
And Paul said, He was “raised because of our justification.”

He wasn’t raised to justify us.
His death justified us.

• He was raised to prove that we were justified.
• He was raised to prove that His death was successful.
• He was raised to prove that it really was finished.

We have no doubt that Jesus did actually
Pay our sin debt before God, His resurrection proved that.

Jesus really did rise.

And I’m also here to tell you that He can change your life.
Romans 6:4-11 “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
Because Jesus rose from the dead,
EVERYTHING HE SAID IS PROVEN TO BE TRUE.

He proved He is God by stepping out of the tomb.

BUT SO MANY TODAY, FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS
OF THE PHARISEES AND CHIEF PRIESTS,
IN THAT THEY DON’T WANT TO LET JESUS OUT OF THE TOMB.

He makes for a good story,
He makes for a good sermon,
He makes for a good moral example,

But to countless thousands across our world,
Jesus might as well still be in the tomb,
Because they’ve never received the power of His resurrected life.
I’m asking you this morning to let Jesus out of the tomb!

Adrian Rogers said,
”To demons were speaking to one another, and one demon said to the other, ‘If these liberal theologians ever really let Jesus out of the tomb, hell help us, all of heaven’s going to break loose.’”

I’m asking you to believe that Jesus really is alive,
And that He really lives, and that He really can change your life.

I still remember the night that I let Jesus out of the tomb.
I remember the night I died with Him,
And how He caused me to be resurrected to new life.

I remember when Jesus became more than a story…
I remember when Jesus became more than words on a page…
I remember when Jesus arose in my heart
And set me free from sin and gave me a new nature.

HE CAN DO THE SAME FOR YOU, BUT YOU MUST BELIEVE

Romans 10:9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
You must confess Him as Lord, and believe that He is.
AND JESUS WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE

That is what the death, burial, and resurrection is all about.
It is about the day when death was forced to give way to life.

It is the day when liberals and legalists became a laughingstock.
It is the day when the demons trembled.
It is the day when Satan went down in flames.

It is the day when those who confess Jesus as Lord
Found everlasting life.

“Up from the grave He arose
With a mighty triumph o’er His foes
He arose a victor from the dark domain
And He lives forever with His saints to reign
HE AROSE!
HE AROSE!
HALLELUJAH CHIRST AROSE!

Satan wanted Jesus dead more than anything else,
And yet Satan quickly found that he couldn’t handle Jesus.

Nothing messes up the plan of Satan like the resurrection of Jesus.

And nothing proves that Jesus is in fact
The only Savior this world will ever know like the resurrection of Jesus.

 

Matthew has spent 141 verses revealing all the things that were wrong about the death of Jesus.

Everything was wrong.

But this morning Matthew finally shows
The one thing that was right.

This morning submit your life to Christ
And find that one right thing as well.

Romans 10:9 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;”

The Amazing Effects of Jesus’ Death
Matthew 27:54-61
July 14, 2013

As you know we are studying through that tremendous section of Scripture in which Matthew records for us the incident of Jesus’ death.

We have seen:
1) THE PLOT OF HIS DEATH
• God did this, through the hands of wicked men.

Acts 2:23 “this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.”

2) THE PURPOSE OF HIS DEATH
• Forgiveness

Matthew 26:27-28 “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”

3) THE PARTICIPANTS IN HIS DEATH
• Everything was wrong
• Soldiers with no charge to arrest
• An illegal Trial
• A silent witness
• A confessed false testimony
• An ignored verdict

4) THE PICTURE OF HIS DEATH
• Jesus bearing our shame

Mocked by everyone.

Matthew 27:44 “The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words.”

5) THE POWER OF HIS DEATH
• Access granted & Death defeated

Matthew 27:50-53 “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.”

And that is where we are in Matthew’s account.
This morning we can take it a step further and talk about:
THE PRODUCT OF HIS DEATH

I’ve called this sermon,
“The Amazing Effects of Jesus’ Death”
We saw last week the tearing of the veil and the resurrection of the dead.

What I want you to see this morning is
The effect that Jesus’ death had on people.

The death that Jesus died and the way He died,
had a tremendously inspiring effect on those around Him.

And I think it is important to Matthew for you to see this.

If you’ve noticed by now,
Matthew is highly concerned about how people treat Jesus.

• No gospel account depicts those mocking Jesus in a worse light than Matthew.
• At the same time, Matthew is also very conscientious to be sure and show you the positive effects as well.

And for us, this proves to be an important portion of Scripture.

The crucifixion of Jesus is a horrific event.
• The mocking He endured
• The beating He endured
• The suffering He endured
• And even the effects of sin that He endured

As we have stood here these last several weeks and witnessed all of this,
It can really be a difficult thing to know how to respond.

• On one hand we are angry and want Him released…
• On the other hand we are grateful that He is being crucified…

• On one hand we weep because of His suffering…
• On the other hand we rejoice because by His stripes we are healed…

You can literally find yourself responding in any number of ways.

Well, this morning we are given a picture of
How a person is supposed to respond.

The death of Jesus inspired several responses,
And Matthew highlights three of them for us.

I want to show them to you and encourage you to respond in the same way.

The Death of Jesus Inspired:
#1 PUBLIC CONFESSION
Matthew 27:54

This is really amazing when you think about it.
I have many times let my mind meditate for hours on this scene,
Playing out in my mind and marveling that it occurred.

For here we have “the centurion”

• The name itself indicates that he was a leader in charge of 100 men.
• This was no bottom dwelling soldier.
• This was an experienced, qualified, military man.

This particular man must have been at least in partial command of
The cohort that first mocked and then crucified Jesus.

It is definitely fair to assume that he was left in charge of the soldiers
Who were commissioned to keep watch over Jesus
As we saw back in verse (27:36)

It would have been his men (maybe even him)
Who gambled over His garments

Certainly this man had been a part of this ordeal from the beginning.
He was a part of Jesus’ beating
He was a part of Jesus’ mocking
He was a part of Jesus’ crucifixion

And now, he has settled in for the long haul
To watch Jesus suffer until He dies.

This man would have to be a cold man by nature.
Rome fought no shortage of wars
Rome spilled no shortage of blood

Furthermore Rome was no stranger to crucifixions.
Pilate himself had crucified over 300 insurrectionists
And lined the road with their crosses.

The point is, this man was hardened.
• He’d seen his share of blood
• He’d seen his share of gore
• He’d seen his share of crucifixions

Watching Jesus beaten, bleeding, and dying on the cross
Was not a new thing to him.

And yet here we have the strangest of events.

(54) “Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Here we see “the centurion” and his men.

When they began to perceive the things that were occurring
“became very frightened”

“frightened” translates PHOBEO
It is where we get our word for phobia.

It was an all consuming, deep down, enormous, overtaking fear.

THAT IS STRANGE
This was a centurion and his men, they had seen far worse,
They had faced terrible things in battle.
And yet the soldiers are terrified.

And the response of the centurion was “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Now according to Matthew it was because of
The earthquake and the darkness.

Mark gives more insight.
Mark 15:39 “When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

It was more than just the earthquake, it was the entire scene,
Including the demeanor and cries of Jesus.

Now, let me help you see what has occurred.
• Jesus was beaten, mocked, and condemned.
• At 9am He was crucified.

• And for three hours man heaped upon Him the worst that they had.
• The reviled, they mocked, they scorned, they shamed

• But then at noon darkness fell on the land and for three hours God dealt with sin.

• During that time Jesus cried out “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
• During that time Jesus cried out “It is Finished!”

At the ninth hour Jesus died,
And at the ninth hour light came back on the cross.

And the centurion was in no way ready for what he would see.
He had seen men beaten
He had seen men crucified
He had seen men die in agony on the cross
But he had never seen anything like this

Isaiah 52:14 “Just as many were astonished at you, My people, So His appearance was marred more than any man And His form more than the sons of men.”

According to Isaiah Jesus didn’t even look human any more on the cross.
He was so marred, He was so beaten

WHO DID THAT?
The centurion knew that it wasn’t him.

When light shined back on the cross he knew something was wrong.

And really it wasn’t just the centurion.
The crowd was equally shocked

Luke 23:48 “And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts.”

They weren’t appalled before the darkness,
But they most certainly were after the darkness.

It was obvious that this was more than just a normal execution.

And here we have this centurion.
• He may have never heard of Jesus before this day.
• He certainly knew that Pilate had declared Him innocent.
• He may have even been in the Praetorium when Jesus was questioned.

What is certain is that he knew what sort of things
That were being said about Jesus here at His crucifixion.

Matthew 27:41-43 “In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. “HE TRUSTS IN GOD; LET GOD RESCUE Him now, IF HE DELIGHTS IN HIM; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.'”

Just by standing around the cross,
The centurion heard a great deal about Jesus.

• He heard that Jesus saved others.
• He heard that Jesus claimed to be the King of Israel
• He heard that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God

When Pilate heard that, it terrified him.
Odds are good that it caused some concern for the centurion as well.

But those accusations coupled with the events he just saw,
Left this soldier with no doubt.

And at that moment he was compelled to do an amazing thing.

He gave a public confession of Jesus.

“Truly this was the Son of God”

Now, let me remind you that
There is only one way this man could have known that.

1 Corinthians 12:3 “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.”

Furthermore, do you remember when Peter made that same confession? What did Jesus say to Him?

Matthew 16:16-17 “Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”

The point I am making is that this man, at this moment,
Became a believer in Jesus Christ.

God, through His Holy Spirit, revealed the true identity of Jesus
To this man and he was saved.

• The crowds were afraid and appalled
• The soldiers were afraid
• But this man made a public confession of Christ

• He began as an unbeliever, lost in sin, nailing Jesus to the cross.
• 6 hours later he was a believer, and was rejoicing in his salvation.

Luke 23:47 “Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent.”

He wasn’t just confessing, he was praising.

That is one obvious effect that the cross should have on your life.
If you are lost, and have never trusted Christ,
Then the cross should inspire public confession.

There is no doubt He was innocent
There is no doubt He bore our sin
There is no doubt He successfully appeased God’s wrath

It ought to motivate you as well to stand with this centurion and confess that Jesus is in fact the innocent Son of God.

That is one of the inspired responses to the cross.

Let me show you a second one:
Public Confession
#2 PURE DEVOTION
Matthew 27:55-56

I told you that Matthew is hard on the people who mocked Jesus,
But he is also very mindful of those who stuck with Him.

Here Matthew brings up that amazing group of women
Who we find at the cross of Jesus.

The disciples had long since ran in fear
But not these women.

(55-56) “Many women were there looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while ministering to Him. Among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.”

As one woman put it:
“No woman betrayed Him, no woman denied Him, no woman deserted Him; yet it was a woman who, through act of intuition, tried to save Him.”

And that is true.

You have to love these women.
Their boys had run in fear.

In fact, one would not think poorly of these women if at this point
All they could think about was the safety of their boys.

But not these women
Through it all, they were resolute, steadfast, devoted to Jesus.
They became the chief eye witnesses of His death.

But even now, as Jesus has died, they still haven’t left.

You will see in a moment that Joseph will bury Jesus,
And notice what we see:

(VERSE 61) “And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave.”

Joseph comes to take Jesus and buries Him
And these women will not let Him out of their site.

The follow to the grave, and even after Joseph leaves, they stay put.
The only time we know that they left the grave was to go and gather the spices
To come back and anoint His body on Sunday.
Many have talked about the fact that Jesus first revealed Himself
To these women after He rose from the dead.
I for one don’t think He had any choice, they wouldn’t leave.

WE CALL THAT DEVOTION
If all they could do now was anoint His dead body,
Then they would do that.

After what Jesus had done for them,
It was the least they could do for Him.

And that is the right kind of response to the death of Jesus.

We often quote:
Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”

It is a person who is so grateful for what they have received,
That they give all that they have in response.

Here we are seeing the effect of the cross on a true believer.

• The centurion wasn’t a believer, but the cross made him one.
• These women were already believers, the cross only made them more devoted.

That is what it should do for us in here who already believe.
It should intensify our devotion.

• Look at what He endured for you!
• Look at what He took!
• Consider the price that was paid!
• Consider the debt you owed!

He didn’t stop on you, now you don’t stop on Him.
These women had pure devotion.

Public Confession Pure Devotion
#3 PERCEIVABLE CONVICTION
Matthew 27:57-60

I really like this one.

(57) “When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.”

Now, as I told you, Matthew is so grateful for those who are sticking with Jesus,
That he views them only in a positive light.
John was a little more honest.
John 19:38 “After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body.”

So John didn’t like the fact that Joseph had been a secret disciple.

And one thing you should remember is that
A secret disciple is not a saved disciple.

But Joseph was secret; until today.

Luke 23:50-51 “And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man (he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God;”

Mark says:
Mark 15:42-43 “When evening had already come, because it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.”

And so we are getting a little better idea
Of what type of guy we are dealing with.

• Joseph was a good guy
• He was just a quiet guy
• He wouldn’t come public about Jesus

He didn’t consent to kill Him, but he never spoke up to stop it either.
WHY?

Joseph was a man of high position, and a rich man.
He had much to lose.

Furthermore Joseph wasn’t the bravest of souls.
He had to gather courage to go before Pilate.

But the point is that he did.

This shy, quiet, fearful, silent follower…
ON THIS DAY LET HIS CONVICTIONS BE KNOWN

Joseph stepped up to the plate.

(58-60) “This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away.”
I want you to think about the repercussions.
YOU ARE EXPOSED AS A FOLLOWER
• Could lose place on the council
• Early believers had property seized

YOU CANNOT PARTICIPATE IN PASSOVER
• Unclean for handling a dead body

But Joseph did it anyway.

• Now the centurion was a non-believer who got saved
• The women were true believers who showed their devotion
• Joseph was a silent follower who was empowered

He let the death of Jesus empower him
To do what he never thought possible before.

He was so inspired by the death of Christ
That he went against the grain and did what was so foreign to him.

And that is the right kind of response to the cross.

When Jesus asks us to do things that may make us a little uncomfortable…
When Jesus pushes us out of our comfort zone a little bit…

We only answer, “For Jesus, it is the least that I can do”

And so if you wonder how you are supposed to respond to the cross
Just take the example of those who were there.

Jesus death deserves:
• Public Confession
• Pure Devotion
• Perceivable Conviction

Give it to Him.

Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”