The Importance of Submission –part 1
Matthew 22:1-14 (1-7)
June 24, 2012

As you know we are studying here the passion week of Jesus.

• On Monday He entered Jerusalem
• On Tuesday He cleared the temple
• And now on Wednesday we have found Him locked in debate with the religious leaders who did not like the fact that He is doing these things.

Matthew 21:23 “When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”

And so the topic of the day is the authority of Jesus.

They wanted to know where He got it.
And of course since they would not recognize God’s authority,
As evidenced by the fact that they didn’t submit to John the Baptist,
So Jesus wouldn’t tell them.

They wanted to know where He got His authority,
But Jesus turned their question on its head and instead
Began to confront them as to why they didn’t submit to it.

And in order to do that Jesus presents 3 parables to them.

We have already seen the first 2.

The first was of a man with two sons,
Both of which were told to go work in the vineyard.

• The first said “no”, but then felt guilty and went.
• The second said “yes”, but never did.

Jesus wanted to know which one did the will of the Father.
Obviously the 2nd.

To which Jesus said:
Matthew 21:31b-32 “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. “For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.”

And so the first issue was that they did not recognize God’s authority through Him or John, and therefore would not go to heaven.

But Jesus wasn’t finished.
Last week we saw another parable.

And that was the parable of the vineyard owner who hired vine-growers
To work his vineyard and give him fruit during the harvest.

• When harvest time came he sent his slaves, but the vine growers
beat and killed them.
• Finally the vineyard owner sent his son, but the recognized him as
the heir and willfully chose to kill him and try to steal the vineyard.

When He asked them what they thought would happen
To the vine growers the priests answered:

Matthew 21:41 “They said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”

To which Jesus eventually replied:
Matthew 21:43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it.”

There Jesus confronted them with their failure submit to His authority
And therefore they would be judged because of it.

So they came asking Him about His authority,
He turned the argument around and condemned them
For failing to recognize it and submit to it.

BUT JESUS STILL ISN’T FINISHED.
This morning He comes with a third parable,
And one that follows the same manner of thought,
WHICH IS THE NECESSITY OF SUBMISSION.

And it reminds us that authority comes with an expectation.

God’s authority is not token authority.
And the authority God has given His Son is not token authority.

God has given all authority to the Son
With the distinct expectation that all would submit to the Son.

We’ve all read Philippians 2
Philippians 2:9-11 “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

God’s intention for how the world responds to the Son is obvious,
They will bow to Him.

This is also what Jesus spoke of in:
John 5:19-23 “Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. “For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel. “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”

Jesus was there speaking of the authority the Father has given to the Son,
And it is an authority that comes with an expectation.
That all will honor the Son.

In fact Jesus went so far as to say, “He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”

And that is obvious, for the Son walks with the Father’s authority.

And so it is not only necessary to recognize the Son’s authority,
But to submit to it and to submit to it fully.

And Jesus will again reveal that here in His third parable this morning.

There are three things we see here. (only 1 this morning)
#1 A REJECTED INVITATION
Matthew 22:1-7

We talked about it last week, but often times Jesus’ parables
Were meant to be stories that shocked those who listened.

We certainly saw it last week with the parable of the wicked vine-growers.
It was shocking to the hearer to think that there would ever be such wicked renters who would actually kill the son of the vineyard owner.

Well this morning we get another shocking parable.
And yet like the previous one, it also rings true.

This morning we see a wedding feast.
“Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.”

And just like the parables involving vineyards, Jesus again chooses a subject that would have been extremely familiar to His hearers.

“a wedding feast” was one of the biggest celebrations
That Jews could look forward to.

And if it was given by a wealthy person it could literally last a couple of weeks
In which all the invited guests were invited to stay at the house of the person
And enjoy all the lavish delicacies that he could afford.

In this case we are talking about the son of the king
So this feast would have been second to none.

• It would have been longer than anyone else’s…
• It would have been more extravagant than anyone else’s…
• It would have been larger than anyone else’s…

And to receive an invitation to such a prestigious event
Would have been the highlight of one’s life.

It is just not the sort of thing you miss, if you are allowed to go.
In fact missing it would run the risk of angering the king
And bringing repercussion upon yourself.

But that really wasn’t a danger, because no one would miss.

And right off the bat Jesus uses a king’s wedding feast
As a picture of heaven.

Bigger, better, longer, more extravagant than anything else.

And Jews would have been right along with Him in this story.
(3) “And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast…”

And this was also protocol.

• The king would have sent out invitations in advance,
• And the people would have been expected to prepare to attend.
• And then once the event was ready, slaves were sent out to tell everyone it was time to come.

And so the king sent out the slaves.
But the strangest thing happened.

“and they were unwilling to come.”

Listen closely and you can hear the gasp of the crowd Jesus is talking too
Someone leans over to his friend and says, “What are they crazy?”

Not only were they missing out on the event of the century,
But they also ran the risk of upsetting the king.

So already the unthinkable has happened.

But then another shocking thing happens.
(4) “Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”‘
And this is unthinkable because it makes the king appear like a beggar.
It almost challenges the dignity of the King.

So we know that this must be an extremely gracious king.
Any other would have already punished the guests for not being ready.

And then it gets even worse.
(5-6) “But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them.”

And there the crowd really begins to gasp.
This is absolutely absurd, these people must have a death wish.

Whether they did or not, I don’t know, but death is what they received.

(7) “But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire.”

And while the story is shocking it does end with justice.
No one in the crowd would have faulted the king for what He did.

It actually reminded me of an Old Testament story.
2 Samuel 10:1-5 “Now it happened afterwards that the king of the Ammonites died, and Hanun his son became king in his place. Then David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent some of his servants to console him concerning his father. But when David’s servants came to the land of the Ammonites, the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think that David is honoring your father because he has sent consolers to you? Has David not sent his servants to you in order to search the city, to spy it out and overthrow it?” So Hanun took David’s servants and shaved off half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle as far as their hips, and sent them away. When they told it to David, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly humiliated. And the king said, “Stay at Jericho until your beards grow, and then return.”

And so David’s response was obvious.
2 Samuel 11:1 “Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.”

What David did made perfect sense, and so does what this king did.

And so we see it begins with a story of a rejected invitation.
And we don’t have to guess as to what the story means.

In fact those first 7 verses nearly copy the previous parable to a “T”
It is the same story.

The king, like the vineyard owner had an expectation.
But those he was dealing with was unruly and he ended up destroying them.
And again we get it.
• The King is the Father
• The Son is Jesus
• The Wedding Feast is heaven
• The people invited are the Jews

But as people were invited through the ministry of John the Baptist, Jesus, and even the apostles they would not respond
And will end up being judged.

And so we see a group of people who were invited,
But they rejected the offer.

THE QUESTION I HAVE IS WHY?

In verse 3 we simply see that “they were unwilling”

That doesn’t explain much other than the fact that
They really didn’t care about the king’s wishes.
They were simply unresponsive to the invitation.

They weren’t concerned about the King, the Son, or the feast.
So they just said no.

BUT AGAIN, WHY?
Verse 5 however gives more insight, “But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business.”

And that is starting to clarify things.
THEY WERE DISTRACTED.

More concerned about their own “farm” and their own “business”.

Jesus tells a parable very similar to this in Luke’s gospel.
Luke 14:15-24 “When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” But He said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.’ “Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’ “Another one said, ‘ I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’ “And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ “And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ “And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled. ‘For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.'”

It was a picture of people too consumed with the things of this world,
One had property
One had livestock
One had a wife
And all of those were more important to them than the king.

And that screams volumes to us.
I would argue that it still remains the number one reason
Why people fail to enter the kingdom of heaven
And that is because they love the world more.

Why did the Rich Young Ruler not enter?
He loved his money

Why would the Pharisees not enter?
They loved their prestige and accolades

And loving this world will not put you on a path to God.
James 4:4 “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 an enemy of God.”

It is simply people who love the world,
Who are distracted by the world,
And who are unwilling to forsake this world in order to follow Christ.

And because they are so distracted by the world,
They actually neglect the things of God.

Listen to what the writer of Hebrews said: (you should turn there)
Hebrews 2:1-4 “For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.”

The writer of Hebrews begins with a nautical illustration
And nautical terms.

“pay much closer attention to” translates PROSECHO
“to moor a ship; to tie it up”

“do not drift away from it” translates PARARHEO
“refers to a ship that has been allowed to drift freely”

Here is what the writer is saying.
What are the odds that a ship left to drift in the sea will ever enter the port and tie itself to the dock?

None.
You must take this seriously.
You must take hold of the message of truth
And take deliberate steps toward making sure you grab salvation.

Now go on in that verse.
(3) “how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?”

See that word “neglect”
It translates “AMELEO”

Now look back in our text here in Matthew 22:5
“But they paid no attention”
That is the exact same word in the Greek – AMELEO

These people didn’t necessarily throw the invitation
Back in the face of the king, they just didn’t do anything with it.

They threw it on the bar or in the pile of junk mail
And just failed to act on it.

They neglected it,
They ignored it,
And as a result they were not ready to attend the feast.

They were so preoccupied with all of their worldly plans and dreams
That they never took time to consider what the King wanted.

Now let me make sure you understand this.
Do not assume that salvation
Is some thing that just automatically happens.

No one will be surprised to wake up in heaven someday and say,
“Well, what do you know, I did make it.”

Those who are in heaven will know why they are there,
Because they yielded their life to the commands of how to get there.

Listen to what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

In Luke’s gospel it says it like this:
Luke 13:22-24 “And He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”

Jesus spoke of an intentional decision to change course.
And you get the point again.
Entering the kingdom is not something that just naturally happens.

People have this view where we’re all born headed to heaven,
And as long as I don’t do something dumb then I’ll make it.

But that is not true.
Man is born headed to hell.
(We all start out as drifting ships)

Man is not born with a ticket to the wedding feast.
That was a rare, but gracious offer.

These people should have seized that offer as a rare opportunity,
But they weren’t concerned about the will of the King,
Only their own personal desires.

In fact in verse 8 look at what the king says:
(8) “Then he said to his slaves, “The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.”

That is an interesting statement.
“were not worthy.”

Matthew 10:37-39 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”

It makes the same point.
They weren’t worthy because they were committed.
They didn’t take it serious, they didn’t let it affect their life.

• They were more concerned about their parents than entering the kingdom…
• They were more concerned about their children than entering the kingdom…
• They were more concerned about their comfort than entering the kingdom…

And so when the invitation to come to the wedding feast came,
THEY WERE BUSY.

But that is not all they were, they were also bitter.
(6) “and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them.”

See, they didn’t like the slaves pushing them to make a decision.
They didn’t like the slaves telling them it was time to go.

They were so angry that they actually mistreated and killed the slaves.

And the result is they ended up being destroyed and burned.
I think it warrants us getting really honest here this morning.

What are you concerned with?

Your life is like a ship on the sea, and in the great scheme of things
That ship needs to get to port and anchor itself there.

But, many people in their ship are too distracted
To grab the rudder and make the necessary changes.

• They’ve got other stuff to do.
• They’ve got a job…
• They’ve got plans…
• They want to have fun…
• They’ve got family…

And so they aren’t concerned about the direction of their ship.
Deep down they just assume that somehow, someway
That ship will probably make it into port and tie itself up.

BUT IT WON’T

• If you neglect the call of Jesus…
• If you neglect surrendering your life to Him…
THEN YOU WON’T MAKE IT

Now listen again, I’m not talking about a little religion.
I’m not talking about a little church attendance.
(These same Jews had all that)

I’m talking about submitting to the authority of the King.
I’m talking about submitting your life to Christ.

Quit worrying about the things of this world
And start focusing on the will of Christ.

That is what Jesus meant in the Sermon on the Mount.
People were worried about this world,
What they would eat, what they would wear.

Jesus said:
Matthew 6:31-33 “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Quit focusing on yourself and what you want.
Give that up and start listening to the will of the King.

Maybe I can illustrate this another way.
Look at your life now. All you’ve achieved
• Your education
• Your job
• Your retirement plans
• Your family
• Where you live

Now supposing you had never heard of Jesus,
Do you think your life would have turned out any different?

In other words, has Jesus ever changed your plans,
Or has your life just gone according to your will the whole time?

I can tell you the changes He made in my life.
• Graduated to be an Ag teacher
• Move to A&M
• Carrie to school

But God changed that.

I can tell you the changes He made in Carries life.
• Going to UTA
• Going to be an Engineer

But God changed that.

Certainly I’m not saying your road should resemble mine.
I’m saying it has to resemble Christs.

So many people live this life only focused on this life
And their ship is just drifting to and fro out there in the ocean.

They have never let Jesus direct anything.

Oh, they got the invitation to the wedding feast,
But they’ve been far too busy with their other endeavors
To stop and get ready for it.

I read a great quote the other day.
“When it comes time to die, make sure that all you have to do is die.”
– Jim Elliot

But there are many who face death with mounds of unfinished business.
They realize they have thus far neglected their ship
And have never made provisions to steer it into the harbor.

Friend, let me encourage you to submit to Christ
And let Him control your life.
Let me encourage you to quit focusing on this world
And the things of this world and start following Jesus.

1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”

Don’t focus on this world, it is a sinking ship.
Turn control of your life over to Christ.

Get ready right now for the wedding feast.
Hebrews 2:1-4 “For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.”

• When do you intend to put your life aside and start living solely for Jesus?
• If not today, when?

Resisting Authority
Matthew 21:33-46
June 17, 2012

As you know, Jesus has just irritated
And upset the entire religious establishment of His day.

• He entered Jerusalem on Monday with His own parade.
• He entered Jerusalem on Tuesday and cleared the temple.
• He entered Jerusalem on Wednesday and began to teach the people.

None of those three things went over well
With the accepted religious establishment.

• They didn’t like the children praising Him, telling Him to make them stop.
• They certainly didn’t like Him clearing the temple.
• And they didn’t like Him teaching without having received permission from them.

To say Jesus has upset the applecart is a severe understatement.
He is doing the absolute unthinkable!

And now on Wednesday morning the religious leaders of the day
Have decided to confront Him about His perceived insurrection.

Matthew 21:23 “When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”

They wanted to know who He thinks He is.

And you will remember that before Jesus would answer
He first wanted to know if they even recognized His type of authority.

He had the same type of authority that John the Baptist had
Authority from God.

So He asked them, “The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?”

If they said from heaven He would say, that is also where My authority is from.
If they said from men, they would have to answer to the crowd.

And so they said, “We do not know.”
And Jesus wouldn’t tell them where His authority came from.

Instead He told them a parable about the danger of failing to believe.

There were two sons, both were told to go to work in the vineyard.
One said he would not, but then he did.
The other said he would, but then he didn’t.

Only one did the Father’s will, the other was all talk.

And Jesus pronounced this judgment on the religious leaders.

Matthew 21:31-32 “Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. “For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.”

And so the point of that parable was obvious.
You did not recognize My authority,
Just as you did not recognize John’s authority.

Now, not recognizing authority is a bad problem.
Failing to see Jesus for who He is, is a bad problem.

It leaves men in sin, unrepentant, and unredeemed.
Not recognizing authority is bad.

But the problem we find this morning is even worse.
They didn’t just fail to recognize Jesus’ authority, they resisted it.

To resist authority indicates not only recognition of it,
But also rebellion against it.

These people can’t claim ignorance, only obstinance.
And that is far worse.

And that is the point Jesus will make here in our text this morning.

There are those in our world who are certainly ignorant of the truth about Jesus.
Either they have never been told, or they have never understood.
And that is a serious problem, for Jesus is still the only way to be saved.

But far worse are those who have been told, who do understand
And who choose to rebel anyway,
And this is where we find Israel and her stubborn leaders.

So let’s look at our text this morning – 4 things
#1 THE PARABLE
Matthew 21:33-41

So Jesus just revealed that the religious elite failed to believe,
But that is not all He wanted them to know.

For before they get in a word edgewise, Jesus already has more to say.

“Listen to another parable.”

And this is a parable with an Old Testament origin,
But one that Jesus expounds even more on here.

(33) “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey.”

Now, the first part of that parable was familiar.
The second part was new information by Jesus.

Let’s understand the first part.

TURN TO: ISAIAH 5

(VERSES 1-2)
We understand the point, this man got a bad vineyard.

(VERSES 3-4)
This parable works just like the ones Jesus asked, He lets you deliver the verdict.

Two questions:
“What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done?”
Answer: Nothing

“Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones?”
Answer: Bad seed (nothing you did caused it)

And so the punishment:
(VERSES 5-6)
The vineyard will be destroyed

And then comes the revelation.
(VERSE 7)

Now when Jesus starts this parable,
It almost sounds like He is going to give that parable to them again.

In which case the religious leaders could have finished it for Him.

But here, Jesus reveals that bad seed wasn’t the only problem.
There was another problem.

For the vineyard owner, after preparing the vineyard
Did something else that Isaiah failed to mention.

He “rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey.”

Now that completely changes the perspective of the whole parable.
Now there could be someone else to blame.

So the first point of this parable was this:
1) THERE WAS A RENTAL (33)

This vineyard owner put His vineyard in the hands of those
Who were supposed to make sure this vineyard produced good grapes.

There were stewards placed in charge.
(We of course know this to be the religious leaders of the day)

2) THERE WAS REBELLION (34-39)

So now we have fast-forwarded through the whole growing season.
We have gone from rental to harvest.

These men were supposed to be producing the fruit of the vineyard,
Bringing forth good grapes so that when the owner returned,
They could pay Him His produce.

And so “When the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce.”

But there was a problem.
There was rebellion in the ranks.

(35-36) “The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. “Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them.”

So the Owner sent slaves to make sure the produce was,
But the vine-growers resented it and killed those who confronted them.

Certainly this was a shocking problem.

But what comes next is even worse.
(37-39) “But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ “But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ “They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.”

On this occasion the Owner sends His Son because certainly they should know better than to mess with the Son of such a powerful man.

But apparently they don’t.
They assume that if they kill the Son, they can also steal His inheritance.
And so they drive Him out of the vineyard and kill Him.
And in a purely illustrative sense we understand what happened.
These men were called to produce fruit, and they did not.
And when some came to call for an account they killed them.

We also understand clearly the point to the parable.
• The Owner is God
• The vineyard is the kingdom of God (Israel)
• The vine-growers are the religious leaders
• The fruit is righteousness
• The slaves are the prophets
• The Son is Jesus
• The inheritance is the glory He has as the Son

And these religious leaders,
Who had produced no righteousness for the kingdom of God
Killed those who called them into account,
Even the Son, thinking they could steal His glory.

There was a Rental, There was Rebellion
3) THERE WILL BE RETALIATION (40-41)

And so Jesus asks a question:
“Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?”

And they know the answer:
(41) “They said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”

They knew what would happen.
No one would put up with such a rebellion.
These men would be judged and judged severely.

IT WAS HOWEVER A VERY SHOCKING STORY
(many of Jesus’ parables were meant to be shocking)

Luke’s gospel says this:
Luke 20:16 “He will come and destroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others.” When they heard it, they said, “May it never be!”

Luke isn’t saying that the people resisted the sentence as wrong.
They clearly agreed with the sentence passed by the vineyard owner.

They are simply responding to the horror of the situation.
They are saying, “May nothing like this ever happen!”

May there never be such terrible vine-growers
That would actually kill the Son of the vineyard owner.

And I think that is an important point to reveal,
For it helps us understand the next point of Jesus.

The Parable
#2 THE PROPHECY
Matthew 21:42

They were appalled by such a disturbing story,
Thinking surely nothing like this would ever really happen.

But Jesus reveals just the opposite.
Not only will this happen,
But God Himself actually prophesied that it would happen.

(42) “Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES’?”

In other words, “What do you mean, ‘May it never be!’?”
God’s own word says this very thing will happen.

“Did you never read in the Scriptures?”

In other words, “don’t you remember this story?”

And He carries them to Psalms 118.

By now you should be familiar with Psalms 118.
It was from Psalms 118 that the children sang during the triumphal entry.
Peter quoted from this Psalm when he was on trial before the Sanhedrin.

Psalms 118 is the final stanza of the Hallel,
It was the Psalm of a champion, and several weeks ago
When we studied the triumphal entry I had you outline that Psalm.

• It speaks of a champion who is first in anguish…
• Then a champion who chooses to trust God over man…
• A champion who is then killed in battle…
• But a champion who overcomes death…
• And a champion who through his life grants deliverance to the people…

And the summation verse of that chapter is:
Psalms 118:22 “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone.”
That is to say that the least valued piece
Actually became the most important piece.

The One who was rejected as insignificant
Actually became the One who holds everything together.
And of course it was a picture of Jesus, who was de-valued by Israel,
But who is the most important person they will ever know.

But the thought that such a valuable person could actually be rejected and even killed was a shocking and horrifying thought.

It was just as absurd as the parable Jesus just gave
In which a vineyard owner’s son was killed.
It was too shocking, it was too absurd, it would never happen.

And that is why David went on and gave the next verse
After that summation verse.

Psalms 118:22-23 “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone. This is the LORD’S doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.”

David was saying the same thing.
I know this is “marvelous” another way to say “shocking”,
But it is what God is doing.

I know this is strange, but it is God’s plan
Whether you think it should be or not.

• And so Jesus gives the parable in which the unthinkable occurs,
• The people are shocked and think surely not.
• And then Jesus says, “Oh yeah, didn’t you ever read Psalms 118?”
• The Messiah Himself will be rejected in exactly that same way.

See, Jesus quoted this prophecy
To prove that the parable was not hypothetical.

• That parable was not just some “far out, tall-tale that could never happen”
• That parable was more real than the people wanted to realize.
• That parable went right along with the prophecy of God.

As shocking as it sounds that someone would kill the son of the vineyard owner in order to seize his inheritance; it shouldn’t be, for it will happen.

They said, “May it never be!”
And Jesus says, “Oh yes it will.”

People will actually kill the son of the vineyard owner.
People will actually kill the Son of God.

It will happen.
And that means that the retaliation will happen as well.

Which is the third point.
The Parable, The Prophecy
#3 THE POINT
Matthew 21:43-44

And notice the certainty with which Jesus continues to speak.
“the kingdom of God WILL BE taken away from you…”

That was not a hypothetical illustration.
That was a true story, and you are the vine-growers.

You failed to produce fruit, and you killed the prophets,
And you will kill the Son in order to steal His glory,
And you will be brought to a wretched end.

And then Jesus gives what is one of the more
Difficult statements that He ever makes.

(44) “And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

I know that is sort of a hard statement, so let me simplify it for you.

First, we see two different fates, but both are bad.
One is “broken to pieces”
The other is “scattered like dust”

Second, one fate is worse than the other.
Clearly being broken is not as bad as
Being ground into fine powder and scattered like dust.

One gets broken, the other gets absolutely pulverized.
One is cracked, the other is ground into a fine powder.

The question comes in as to what causes it.

“And he who fall on this stone will be broken to pieces;”

We already know the stone is Jesus,
And so the one who falls on Him will be broken.

The Greek word “on” translates EPI
57 times in Scripture it is translated “over”

Let’s read it that way.
“And he who falls over this stone will be broken to pieces;”

And that helps us understand it much better.

Isaiah 8:14 “Then He shall become a sanctuary; But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”

Romans 9:30-33 “What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written, “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”

It speaks of a people who couldn’t get over the fact that the Messiah
Would suffer and die, and because of this they failed to believe.

It falls in line with Isaiah 53 when people simply can’t believe
Because the Messiah had no “stately form or majesty” to help us believe.

They stumbled over Him.
And certainly a person who stumbles over His low position
Will be broken, they will be judged.

It may be rejection due to ignorance,
But it is still rejection and they will still be judged.

But the second problem is even worse.
“but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”

WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT HERE?

Well some people trip over the stone of Jesus, not willing to accept His humiliation and they never believe and are judged.

But some actually have the stone fall on them and crush them to pieces.
What does that mean?

Let me give you a few other Scriptures
To help you understand the figure of speech here.

Zechariah 12:3 “It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.”

In that passage Israel is the stone
And those who try to lift it are severely injured.
So this person tried to lift the stone and the stone ended up hurting them.

Either their back, or dropped it on a foot, or something.

Psalms 2:1-3 “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!”

Now that Psalm speaks of rebellion and rebellion against God’s anointed,
Namely Jesus.

And there they are trying to “cast away their cords”.
Literally throw Him off.

And maybe now you are getting the picture.
Jesus is referencing those who recognize the rock, they just don’t like it,
And so they are trying to throw it away.

It is not the stone overlooked by the builders,
It is the stone rejected by the builders.

But He says when they do that, the rock will actually fall on them
And crush them into a fine powder.

The first people did not recognize authority and they tripped over.
These people rebel against the authority and they will be judged.

Those vine-growers, they knew it was the son.
It was a pre-meditated attack on the Son of the Vineyard Owner.

They knew what they were doing.
They didn’t kill him thinking he was merely a slave.
And that made them in even greater danger.

And that is Jesus’ point here.

You think that story about the vineyard is shocking
And hope nothing like that ever actually happens.

I’m telling you not only will it happen,
But it is happening right before your very eyes.

• I am the Son
• You are the vine-growers.
• You have produced no fruit and I came to call you into account.

But instead of humbling yourself and listening to My message,
You have rebelled against Me and will kill Me.
And as a result of your rebellion God will bring you to a wretched end.

To try and destroy Christ is to secure one’s own destruction.

That is the point.
And a painful one.

Now, you would think that any sane person at this point would repent,
But no, Jesus was right on about them.

#4 THE PERFORMANCE
Matthew 21:45-46

The only thing that kept them from killing Him right then
Was that they were afraid of the people.

See, for this day, Jesus is charge in the temple
And there is nothing they can do about it.

Luke’s gospel says:
Luke 20:19-20 “The scribes and the chief priests tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and they feared the people; for they understood that He spoke this parable against them. So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order that they might catch Him in some statement, so that they could deliver Him to the rule and the authority of the governor.”

They were a fulfilling prophecy.
And it is a tragedy.

But the point is clearly made to us.
Those who rebel are destroyed.

You must submit to the Son of God, Jesus the Christ.

Let me take you one last place this morning.
TURN TO: PSALM 2

And there we have it all.
You can reject and rebel, but it does not end well,
Because like it or not Jesus is the Son of God the heir of the world.

The only option is to shown discernment and submit to the Son.

We are not ignorant.
We know the truth.
We are called to produce fruit, and submit to the Son who desires it.

The Authority of Jesus
Matthew 21:23-32
June 10, 2012

This morning we have the privilege of talking about one of the most relevant topics for our day and time in all of Scripture.

That topic is: SUBMISSION

Without a doubt it is a word that has become hated in our society,
And it is a practice that is all but becoming obsolete.

Let me give you some examples.

Ephesians 5:22 “Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.”
• And yet today with the women’s liberation movement, submissive wives are anything but the norm.
• That is why I praise those women in our congregation so heavily who have decided to go against the flow and be the wives God commends.

Ephesians 6:1 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.”
• And yet watch kids today, especially teenagers.
• In our society parents are seen as nincompoops and clueless.

1 Peter 2:13-14 “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.”
• But there isn’t much of that going on.
• Ask people for their opinion on police officers
• Or turn on the radio or television and listen to the attacks that take place on those who do govern our nation.

Ephesians 5:21 “and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.”
• Our society is so consumed with making sure I get my way and my rights,
• That often times the other person’s desires mean nothing.

Hebrews 13:17 “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.”
• But often self-centeredness causes people to disregard their spiritual leaders.

And then an obvious one.
James 4:7 “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

Submission is one of the most basic plans of God.
It is interwoven into the fabric of how God commands people to live.

And here is the reality of submission.

Every act of defiance, whether it be a wife or a child
Or to the government or to one another;
Every act of defiance is actually an act of defiance toward God.
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.”

• Do you know why husbands have authority in the family?
• Do you know why parents have authority over their children?
• Do you know why the government has authority over the country?
Because God, the ultimate authority, granted them that authority.

If a king passes his seal down to another,
That person acts with the authority of the king.

It doesn’t matter if you like them or not.
It doesn’t matter if you think they are qualified or not.
They have authority because the king gives them authority.
They act on His authority.

And so to refuse to submit to someone God grants authority to;
Is to refuse to submit to God.

AND THIS IS A MAJOR PROBLEM.

As long as I live I think God
Is going to have me proclaiming this same message, and that is
THAT SAVING FAITH AND SUBMISSION CANNOT BE SEPARATED.

So much has been put on the concept of “believing” in our society
That many think salvation is simply to believe something is true,
Or to give some sort of intellectual assent to something.

But when you read the Scripture you understand that
Submission is a definite part of believing.

John the Baptist preached and said this:
John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

“believes” is PISTEUO
“does not obey” is APEITHEO

And John used them interchangeably.
In his mind there was no such thing as true belief apart from submission.

You and I must realize that apart from submitting our lives
To the Lordship of Christ there is no salvation.

After all, don’t we know that in order to be saved
We must confess Christ as what? “Lord”

And not just call Him Lord, but do what He says.
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;”

John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

You can claim to believe all day long,
But if you have no submission then your belief is not valid.

It all boils down to this one thing.
DO YOU RECOGNIZE THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS?

• If you do, then as a wife you will submit to your husband.
• If you do, then as a husband you will love your wife.
• If you do, then as a citizen you will submit to the governing authorities.
• If you do, then as a child you will obey your parents.
• If you do, then as a believer you will obey your leaders.
• If you do, then as a person you will submit to your neighbor.
Simply because Jesus said to.

DO YOU RECOGNIZE THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS?

Well, that is where we are in our story
Here in Matthew’s gospel this morning.

On Monday
• Jesus entered Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey and the crowds sang Hosanna.

Monday night
• Jesus wept over Jerusalem,
• Entered the temple, looked around and went home to Bethany.

Tuesday morning
• Jesus cursed a fig tree on the way to Jerusalem
• When He arrived in Jerusalem He cleared out the temple
• He then healed the blind and lame and went home again

Now it is Wednesday morning,
• On the way, the disciples noticed the withered fig tree and Jesus explained true fruitfulness.

And now He has made it back to the temple.

And as I told you previously, this is the first time
Things have been set in their proper order.

We now have the Messiah in the temple teaching the people.
Jesus has full control of the temple and the instruction taking place.

Everything for this day was as it should be.
And what a day of instruction it is!
In your Bible Wednesday goes from Matthew 21:18 – 26:5

On this day we learn:
• The authority of Jesus (here)
• The parable of the vine-growers
• The parable of the wedding banquet
• Jesus teaching on paying taxes to Caesar
• Jesus teaching on the resurrection
• Jesus giving “The Great Commandment”
• Jesus condemnation of the Pharisees – calling them hypocrites
• Jesus again pronouncing judgment on Jerusalem
• And the entire Olivet discourse about the end times

This is a day of great instruction and authoritative teaching
Directly from the mouth of the Messiah.

And it all begins with a question regarding His authority.

3 things
#1 A CONFRONTATIONAL ATTACK
Matthew 21:23

There we have taking place exactly what we spoke of.
Jesus has “entered the temple” and “He was teaching”

Having run out all of those money changers and flee market proprietors
Jesus has full use of the temple and the courtyard and He is teaching.

While much of what He taught on this day is recorded,
We don’t know exactly what He is teaching here.

John 12 gives us some insight. Since the triumphal entry occurs in John 12:12 and John 13:1 have Jesus in the upper room,
We know that the teaching in the middle
Must have occurred either on Tuesday or Wednesday.

But in John 12:44-50 Jesus says:
John 12:44-50 “And Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. “He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. “If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. “He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. “I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”
That most certainly was an authoritative message.
I come from the Father – I speak for the Father – You must believe in Me!

This is the type of message Jesus is preaching here in the temple.
But His teaching gets interrupted.
(23) “When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”

In other words, “Who do You think You are?”

• Jesus just cancelled the flea market.
• Jesus just ran out the money changers.
• Jesus just put an end to the sacrifice sellers.
• And now He is walking around the temple telling everyone how to live.

And the religious leaders want to know
Who He thinks He is to do something like this.

Now please understand this is the main reason they hated Jesus.
They hated Him because of His authority.

They had that same un-submissive attitude we talked about earlier
And they hated the way Jesus came in
And authoritatively told them what to do.

People who reject the authority of God
Hate it when someone else tries to tell them what to do.

But before we go further, it is important that you understand
That Jesus did in fact have authority.

Jesus taught with authority.
Matthew 7:28-29 “When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.”

Jesus had authority to forgive. Remember after the healing of the paralytic:
Matthew 9:5-6 “Which is easier, to say, ‘ Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’? “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.”

Jesus had authority over demons.
Mark 1:27 “They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”

Jesus had authority over death
John 10:17-18 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

Jesus had authority to save
John 17:1-2 “Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.”
Jesus even had authority to send
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.”

Jesus had plenty of authority, it radiated off of Him
And the religious leaders hated that about Him.

Now, let me tell you why they hated His authority.
1) HE WASN’T ORDAINED BY THEM

In Jesus day a man became a rabbi by
First being trained and then ordained by the Sanhedrin.

He was then declared a Rabbi, Elder, and Judge
And was granted authority to teach, express wisdom and render verdicts.

And so all teachers came from them
And they were the ones who gave authority.

And Jesus completely bi-passed and disregarded their system.
• He wasn’t trained by them
• He didn’t cater to them
• He didn’t ask for their opinion or their permission

2) HE WAS DOGMATIC

When we talk about the “chief priests and the elders”
We are not here talking about the Pharisees.

At this time it was the Saducees who controlled the temple.
Annas had bought the priesthood and several of his sons sat as high priest as well as his son-in-law Caiaphas.

And these men were the liberals of the day.
Acts 23:8 “For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.”

They called into question even the actual truths of Scripture
And declared that one couldn’t take it literally.

And so to have Jesus show up and speak authoritatively
About things such as God, righteousness, judgment, and salvation, just irritated these men to no end.

He taught when He shouldn’t have been teaching
And He spoke confidently about things they declared to be uncertainties.

They hated His authority and so they confront Him.
“By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”

Now, in fairness sake, let me say that this is not a bad question.

If someone came in the back door this morning and started turning over pews and then teaching everyone in here, I’d have a few questions for him too.
This is not a bad question.

The problem is that these men
Didn’t recognize the authority that Jesus used.

So that leads to the second point.

A Confrontational Attack
#2 A CONFUSING ANSWER
Matthew 21:24-27

They want to know what authority and here is Jesus’ answer.
“Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.”

He wasn’t beyond telling them,
He just wants to know if they will recognize the authority that He has.

And in order to make his point He asks one question.
“The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?”

Now, we know the answer to that question,
And so did the entire crowd gathering around here.

Jesus had already taught:
Matthew 11:7-15 “As these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? “But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ palaces! “But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. “This is the one about whom it is written, ‘BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.’ “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force. “For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. “And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

It is clear who John the Baptist was.
• He was the anointed, Spirit-filled, herald and forerunner to the Messiah.
• He was a preacher of righteousness and repentance.
• And He was a preacher that had been rejected by the religious elites.

Luke 7:29-30 “When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.”

And here Jesus wants to know if God told John to come baptizing people
Or if men told John to do it.

And what a problem it sets off for the religious elite.
“And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ “But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the people; for they all regard John as a prophet.”

Now that is a problem.
If we say God told John to baptize He’ll want to know why we rejected it.
If we say men told John to do it, we’ll lose the crowd because they were all baptized.

But they knew John had God’s authority.

John 1:19-23 “This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, ” I am not the Christ.” They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

John was clear about his calling and where his authority came from,
But they did not recognize his authority.

And now they are in a dilemma because of it.
(27) “And answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know.”

One can only imagine how embarrassing that must have been for them.

And so Jesus answered.
“Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

In other words, “It doesn’t do Me any good to explain My authority to you because you don’t recognize it.”

Matthew 7:6 “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”

And Jesus wouldn’t here.

They didn’t attribute authority to God.
They didn’t submit to God’s authority.
So what God would it do for Jesus to say, “God gave me this authority”?
Now there is a lesson in that for us.
When you submit your life to Christ,
It often means you will set yourself in opposition to the world.

Because the world does not recognize God’s authority.
(That’s what makes them the world)

Romans 1:21-22 “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools,”

And so following God will often put you at odds with the world.

But listen, when we are given authority from God,
We do not need man’s permission.

Paul told Titus:
Titus 2:15 “These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.”

That is what Jesus meant in the Great Commission:
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.”

He didn’t say “Check with people, and if it’s ok make disciples”
He said, “I have all the authority you need, so go and make disciples!”

Jesus acted on God’s authority,
But He didn’t feel the need to explain that to these people
Because they didn’t recognize God as authoritative.

A Confrontational Attack, A Confusing Answer
#3 A CONDEMNING ANALOGY
Matthew 21:28-32

And it begins with a parable.
(28-29) “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ “And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went.”

Now we know what kind of son this was.
• Initially he was rebellious.
• He wasn’t always a good kid.

But he also had a conscience for “he regretted it and went.”

He didn’t start well, but he finished well.
And then there is the other son.
(30) “The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go.”

And this son is just the opposite.
He is the Eddy Haskel of the group.
When the father asked him, he answered “yes” in hypocrisy.
He was a phony.

AND TO THAT JESUS ASKED A SIMPLE QUESTION.
(31) “Which of these two did the will of his father?”

To ask it another way, “Which one submitted to his father’s authority?”

And the answer is obvious.
“They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.”

See, the “tax collectors and prostitutes” were like the first son.
They started out rebellious.
They started out wicked.

But they later felt remorse and repented and did the father’s will.

But these men were just the opposite.
(32) “For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.”

Now please notice an important change of words.

Up in verse 31 what is Jesus talking about? ACTION
“Which of the two DID the will of the father?”

But in verse 32 what is He talking about? BELIEF
“you did not believe him…the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him”

Can I remind you again that belief and action are linked?
They are all summed up in submission.

How do we know the tax collectors really believed? THEY REPENTED.
How do we know the chief priests didn’t believe? THEY DIDN’T REPENT.

O sure they talked a good game,
But talking a good game without repentance means absolutely nothing.
God is not impressed by empty chatter.
Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”

And that was the religious elite to a “T”
Matthew 23:1-3 “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.”

Luke 6:46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

DO YOU GET THE POINT?

Let me get back to where we started.
DO YOU RECOGNIZE THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS?
DO YOU SUBMIT TO THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS?

Not, “Do you believe in Jesus?”
Many say yes to that.

What I want to know is He your Lord?
Is He your Master?
Have you submitted your life to Him?

This is what Jesus is talking about here in the temple.

HE IS LOOKING FOR THE REAL DEAL.
And He is more pleased with IRS agents and hookers that repent
Than He is with church folks who never do.

Don’t try to play games with Jesus.
Recognize His authority and submit to Him.

Now this morning you notice that we are taking the Lord’s Supper.
And this is such a fitting ordinance for the church
Because it reminds of so many things.

• Through the Lord’s Supper we remember the sacrifice of Jesus.
• Through the Lord’s Supper we again examine ourselves.
• Through the Lord’s Supper we unify since we all partake of one body.

But the Lord’s Supper is also a time
That reiterates the authority of our Lord over and over.

Simply because our Lord said, “do this in remembrance of Me.”
Do it, and do it the right way!

Paul said:
1 Corinthians 11:26-32 “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.”

It isn’t just a matter of partaking,
It is a matter of partaking in a worthy manner.

To partake of the Lord’s Supper
Is a declaration of trust and submission to Christ,
Whereby I come to Him, submit to Him, and trust in His atonement.

But to fail to do it, or to fail to do it properly
Is only to go through the motions like the religious elite in Jesus’ day.

It meant nothing to Him if they strained out a gnat
Because they swallowed a camel.

And so the point is clear.
This morning we return to the table and remember the sacrifice
And remember what this sacrifice demands of us.

That Jesus Christ came not only to be savior, but Lord of the church.

Romans 14:7-9 “For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”

At this time we have our time of preparation for the Lord’s Supper.

LORD’S SUPPER

• Deacon’s come forward

John 10:17-18 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

• Give Bread to Deacons
• Deacon Prayer
• Pass out Bread

1 Corinthians 11:23-24 “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

• Take Bread

John 17:1-2 “Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.”

• Give Juice to Deacons
• Deacon Prayer
• Pass out Juice

1 Corinthians 11:25 “In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

• Deacon Prayer

 

 

 

 

Got Fruit?
Matthew 21:18-22
May 27, 2012

As you know we are now caught up in the events of
The final week of Jesus’ life.

Beginning in our text today it is now Wednesday morning.

On Monday
• Jesus rode into town on the colt of a donkey and was praised by the people as the coming conqueror.

• As soon as that event was over Jesus wept over Jerusalem for their hardness of heart and failure to recognize her time of visitation.

• He then entered the temple, looked around, and returned home to Bethany.

On Tuesday morning
• Jesus entered Jerusalem again, this time declaring war. Only He didn’t declare war on the Roman garrison, Jesus declared war on the temple.

The temple was full of hypocrisy, full of extortion, full of greed, full of deceit.
What was supposed to have been a house of prayer had become a den of robbers.

So Jesus threw over the tables of the money changers,
Made a whip and drove people out of the temple.

• He then healed the blind and lame, thus fulfilling prophecies about His true Messiahship and then He once again returned home to Bethany.

Now it is Wednesday and Jesus once again is returning to Jerusalem.

But the events we study this morning
Take place before Jesus ever makes it back to the city.
He curses a fig tree and then He explains it to the disciples.

• The fig tree is cursed for its lack of fruit.
• Jesus then explains to the disciples how to bear fruit.

The issue is fruit.
Jesus is sick and tired of the fruitless displays of Israel.

And this event is really a pre-cursor
To the preaching He is about to do in the temple.

Once Jesus hits the temple He first gets attacked by the Pharisees
Who question His authority.

And then Jesus does some questioning of His own
In the form of two parables.

“The Parable of the Two Sons” (28-32)
“The Parable of the Wicked Vine-Growers” (33-41)
Both of those parables indicate the judgment of the fruitless life.
Both of those parables indicate hypocrisy.

• The first is a man who says he will work and then doesn’t.
• The second is a group of men who say they will produce fruit from the vineyard and then don’t.

It is a lack of fruit that is irritating Jesus.

The cursing of the fig tree here is a living illustration
Of the anger Jesus has for the fruitless hypocrisy of Israel.

So let’s look at this a moment. In our text and discuss these two incidents.
#1 FRUITLESS LIFE OF HYPOCRISY
Matthew 21:18-19

Mark’s gospel records the incident a little differently.
He reveals that Jesus cursed the fig tree on the way to the temple on Tuesday
Before He cleared the temple, and that it wasn’t until Wednesday morning
That the disciples actually recognized that it was withered.

It is likely that Matthew lumped the two stories together,
And here focused on the conversation about the withered tree.

But either way we have here what many would see as another
Strange and hot-tempered event from Jesus.

I mean really, as if clearing the temple wasn’t enough,
If you were one of the twelve and on the very next day heard Jesus curse this fig tree wouldn’t you wonder what has Him in such a bad mood?

This is now two events where Jesus seems out of control, overly hostile,
And in need of just cooling down a bit.

Nothing could be further from the truth.
In fact when we witness the final days of His life as a whole
We are not discouraged by the anger He shows, nearly as much as
We are amazed at the self-control and compassion He shows.

If Jesus is able to keep His wits while
• Being tried by Pilot,
• Mocked by Herod,
• Beaten by the Romans,
• Crucified between criminals,
I think it is safe to say Jesus is not impulsive.

Self-control was obviously not an issue for Him.
Neither was anger, or else He would have certainly shown rage from the cross. Instead, He said, “Father forgive them”.
And so when you take the story of Jesus clearing the temple,
And the story of Jesus cursing the fig tree
We realize that these were not impulsive decisions,
These were calculated decisions necessary to make His point.

And again His point is clear.
HYPOCRISY IS NOT WELCOME

And during His 3 years of ministry
Jesus has witnessed enough hypocrisy to last Him a lifetime.

In chapter 9
• It was the Pharisees asking why He ate with sinners,
• Then it was John’s disciples wanting to know why His disciples didn’t fast.

In chapter 12
• It was the Pharisees accusing Him of breaking the Sabbath because His disciples were eating grain.
• Then it was them saying He was filled with a demon.
• Then it was them demanding a sign.

In chapter 15
• It was the Pharisees again wanting to know why Jesus didn’t make His disciples wash their hands.

In chapter 16
• They want a sign again.

He has had His share of hypocritical run-ins with the religious elite.
And on this day Jesus is showing what He thinks of their hypocrisy.

Let me show you what I mean.
There are four things you need to see about this tree.

1) IT’S LOCATION (18-19a)

Now we recognize that this event gets started
Because Jesus is returning to the city and He is hungry.

There is another simple reminder to us of the full humanity of Jesus.
He had normal needs like every other human being.

And when Jesus reached the point of hunger He was in luck.
(19) “Seeing a lone fig tree by the road”

If ever a tree wanted to be useful, this tree was given the opportunity.
It was planted by the road, and extremely accessible.

This tree was strategically placed in people’s path
To be able to meet their needs.
THIS ALSO APPLIES TO ISRAEL
God had given them every opportunity to minister to others
• Brought them out of Egypt into a land already occupied
• Brought them out of Babylon into a land already occupied
• Jerusalem was called by Piny, a Roman historian, “by far the most famous city in the ancient Orient.”

But really those facts are insignificant, because God had told Israel.

Genesis 18:18 “since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed?”

The Jews were to be global witnesses for God.
Exodus 19:4-6 “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself. ‘Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”

Even later when Solomon built the temple he prayed:
1 Kings 8:41-43 “Also concerning the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel, when he comes from a far country for Your name’s sake (for they will hear of Your great name and Your mighty hand, and of Your outstretched arm); when he comes and prays toward this house, hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name, to fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by Your name.”

Israel was supposed to be a nation of witnesses, a kingdom of priests.
They were to bear witness of God to the world around them.

God had strategically placed them on this earth to bear witness of Him.

They, like that tree were given every opportunity to meet others needs.

Romans 9:4-5 “who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.”

Romans 3:1-2 “Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? Great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.”

God selected them, saved them, delivered them, dwelt among them
To make sure all the world could see them.

They were like a fig tree by the road,
Extremely accessible in order to offer salvation to the world.

It’s Location
2) IT’S LEAVES (19b)
“He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only.”
We’ll get to the “found nothing” part here in a minute.

The first thing I want you to see is that this tree had “leaves”

There is a point to this.
Fig trees put on figs before they put on leaves.

That means if this tree had leaves,
Then a passer-by could be sure of something – it also has figs.

These leaves were like a sign.
It was an outward indicator that I have figs to share.

So if a person on the road is hungry, this tree is not only accessible,
But is also hanging a sign out that it can help.
This is a weary traveler’s dream!

And that was also Israel to a “T”

Remember what Paul said about the Jews?
Romans 2:17-20 “But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely upon the Law and boast in God, and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth,”

Jews just knew they had all the answer for the world
And didn’t even mind saying so.

Consider their leaders:
Matthew 23:1-3 “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.”

These were not only a people strategically placed,
But also a people who broadcasted that they had all the answers.

• They could tell you what was right…
• They could get you to God…
• They could tell you how to go to heaven…
• They could guide you into the abundant life…
• They knew how to be blessed…

They were confident that they were a guide to the blind.
And that is like this fig tree.
Sitting by the road, and putting out the sign that it can satisfy you.

It’s Location, It’s Leaves
3) IT’S LACK (19b)
“He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only;”
Now here is the problem.
It said it had figs
It said it could help

But it couldn’t.

When Jesus approached the tree ready to taste of the fruit,
He found this tree to be just like Israel, nothing but a liar.

We read a moment ago the passage of out of Romans about how Israel was confident that they were a light in darkness and a guide to the blind.

Paul goes on to say this:
Romans 2:21-24 “you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For “THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,”

The implication is that you are a phony, a liar, and a hypocrite.
And you don’t help people get to God,
You blaspheme God!

Consider what Jesus said to the Pharisees
Matthew 23:15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”

Think about what these Pharisees taught and offered people.

If a Tax Collector approached a Pharisee and said, “Sir, I see that you are a religious man who knows about the ways of God, can you please tell me how I can know God?”

Can you imagine the things that the Pharisee would tell him?
• Wash your hands before you eat…
• Fast, and let people see it…
• You need a bigger phylactery
• You need longer tassels

All a Pharisee would do is throw burdens on his head.
Matthew 23:4 “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.”

The point was that Israel claimed to have all the answers,
And they didn’t have any.
• They were like this fig tree, all talk and no substance!
• They were like the plastic fruit your grandma used to put on her table; good to look at, but that is about it.
This tree was like Israel.
A good location, and a whole lot of leaves, but absolutely no fruit.

They couldn’t help people at all.

4) IT’S LEGACY (19c)
“and He said to it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” And at once the fig tree withered.”

What happened to the tree?
Jesus cursed it and it withered.

Jesus is not ok with fruitless hypocrisy!

It is not ok for someone to claim to have all the answers
And not have all the answers.
All that person does is lead other people astray.

It is like the false prophets in Jeremiah’s day:
Jeremiah 23:32 “Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams,” declares the LORD, “and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and reckless boasting; yet I did not send them or command them, nor do they furnish this people the slightest benefit,” declares the LORD.

They don’t do anybody any good.
All they do is deceive.

And that was Israel.
She was useless, she was fruitless, and she was about to be cursed.

Now, I want you to know this is not the first time
Jesus has dealt with this notion of the tree.

Way back at the very beginning of His ministry:
In fact, even before His ministry began, when John was preaching.

Matthew 3:7-10 “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘ We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. “The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Even later in Jesus’ ministry we received this word from Him.
Luke 13:6-9 “And He began telling this parable: “A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. “And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ “And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.'”
He has told them and told them, and they would not repent.
They were an outward shame of religion, never displaying any substance,
And now their time of destruction has come.

That is why Jesus wept over Jerusalem.
Luke 19:41-44 “When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. “For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

Israel was doomed to suffer destruction,
Because they insisted upon being a fruitless and hypocritical tree.

Before we move on,
We had better learn the lesson of the fig tree as well.

It is all well and good for us to make ourselves available to the world,
And hang out our banners that say we know the truth
And we know the way to be saved.

But on those occasions when the hungry of the world come to us for fruit,
We had better not prove to be a false hope.

We had better not be like Israel
And offer the hungry of this world nothing more than empty religion.

If Jesus didn’t spare the original fig tree what makes you think He’ll spare the replacement?

Romans 11:19-21 “You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either.”

Hypocrisy wasn’t ok then and it’s not ok now,
We can’t be people of empty talk, we must be people of fruit!

But the first thing we see here is “The Fruitless Life of Hypocrisy”

#2 THE FRUITFUL LIFE OF FAITH
Matthew 21:20-22

This is really an interesting response to what just occurred.
It is apparent that, as is often the case, the disciples missed the point.

Jesus was foreshadowing the coming cursing of Israel,
And all the disciples could do was wonder how He did it.

(20) “See this, the disciples were amazed and asked, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?”

Now it is apparent they were just curious at Jesus’ power.
They didn’t have a clue what this entire scene represented.

But, in answering their question Jesus manages not only to give them their answer, but give us very important information as well.

The question they should have asked is,
“How do we make sure we aren’t fruitless?”

And I hope that is the question on your mind.
I hope there is at least a hint of fear in your mind that desires to make sure
That you do not live your life as that lying fig tree did.

Well even though that is not what the disciples ask,
In answering their question Jesus tells us how to be fruitful.

(21) “And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea, it will happen.”

Jesus is answering their question as to how things like this are possible,
But at the same time He is telling them how to live a fruitful life.

So let me ask you, based upon that verse.
How does one live a fruitful life that makes a difference?

The answer: FAITH

Remember previously when Jesus was being transfigured on the mountain He came down to find 9 of His disciples having a terrible time trying to cast out a demon.

After He did it for them, they were curious.

Matthew 17:19-20 “Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”

Here is the point.
Fruit problems are Faith problems
• Lack of fruit is directly proportional to lack of faith.
• Where faith is small, fruit is small.
• Where faith is abundant, fruit is abundant.
And Jesus reveals here that where there is faith,
Nothing is impossible.

That is what He means by “but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea, it will happen.”

He wasn’t being literal there,
No apostle is ever recorded with that type of miracle.

Jesus is being figurative.
There are no problems too big that faith can’t overcome.

In fact Jesus goes on to say, “And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

Now here is a second thing that is important.
1) Lack of Fruit = Lack of Faith
2) Lack of Faith is revealed by Lack of Prayer

A person who doesn’t pray is a person who wreaks of self-sufficiency.
They are a person who is doing things on their own,
And in their own strength.

And when you do things on your own and in your own strength, do you know what happens? NOTHING

This is what Jesus meant when He spoke to His disciples:
John 15:4-8 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”

Jesus was saying the same thing there.
Fruit comes from faith, faith is evidenced by prayer (or abiding in Me)

When you abide in Christ, when you call out to Christ,
Then you walk in His strength, not your own, and then fruit comes.

Now, let me give you another illustration of this.

TURN TO: ZECHARIAH 4
(This has become our banner for Mission Sanyati)

Zerubbabel is trying to rebuild the temple, it is an impossible task,
And he is trying to use weak people to accomplish it.
This was Zerubbabel’s mountain.
VERSES 1-5
(1) Zerubbabel is sleeping, either out of exhaustion or apathy. God startles him and wakes him up.

(2-3) Zerubbabel sees a vision. A lamp stand (because Israel was to be the light of the world). This lamp stand gets its oil directly from the bowl, which gets its oil directly from two olive trees.

(4-5) Zerubbabel wants to know who the olive trees are, the angel seems surprised that he doesn’t know and at the moment ignores his question.

AND HERE IS THE MESSAGE TO ZERUBBABEL

(6) It is not by working harder that you will accomplish anything Zerubbabel, God must do it through the power of His Spirit.

(7) The “great mountain” is Zechariah’s project of trying to rebuild the temple, it is an impossible task. And yet God promises it will be accomplished and afterwards Zerubbabel will praise God for His grace.

The point was that Zerubbabel could not accomplish this on his own,
And he had reached a point where he knew it.

If he was to accomplish anything, if he was to produce fruit,
If he was to move his mountain he must walk by faith.

WHY?
Because it is God’s Spirit that accomplishes the work, not our own flesh.

Now, here is the difference between being fruitless and fruitful.
It is whether or not you walk by the flesh or by the Spirit (by faith).

Israel walked totally by the flesh.
It was their ceremony…
It was all their religion…
It was their decrees and ordinances and traditions…

And although they looked the part and sounded the part, they couldn’t help anyone. They were fruitless and Jesus cursed them.

But Jesus was here telling the disciples to walk by faith,
Which is to walk by the Spirit, so that they can produce fruit.

They were to live by faith in Christ…
They were to live lives of prayer, trusting Christ…
They were to walk by His power and His Spirit, not their own…

And that is the lesson for us as well.
The title of this sermon is: “GOT FRUIT?”
If you don’t, it is because you are living in the flesh
And that is the life of hypocrisy.
If you do, it is because you are living by faith
And God’s Spirit is producing fruit in you.

And while the life lived in the flesh blasphemes God,
The life lived by faith glorifies Him.

Romans 8:9-14 “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh — for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”

Now we have a lot more to say about genuine fruitfulness over the next few weeks, but at the very least this morning, understand this.

Jesus is looking for fruit in your life, and it is fruit that is only obtained by trusting in Him and letting His Spirit work in you.

If your life is fruitless and barren it is because everything is external,
It is a life of outward religion, but not a life of inward faith.

Now, regardless of what you’ve done in the past,
My encouragement to you is:
• To draw near to Christ,
• To abide in Him,
• To trust in Him
• To let Him work through you.

Let Him move the mountains and be glorified in your life.

Zechariah 4:6-7 “Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”‘”

The King Declares War
Matthew 21:12-17
May 20, 2012

Last week we saw the beginning of
What is commonly called “The Passion Week”.

It is the final week of Jesus’ life and it is without a doubt
A week in which Jesus reveals the things that matter to Him.

Last week we saw the week begin with the Triumphal Entry.
• Jesus entered Jerusalem seated on the colt of a donkey and the crowed accompanying Him threw their coats on the road and shouted “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”

We talked about that being both PROPHETIC and also PATHETIC.
• It was prophetic in the sense that Jesus fulfilled the exact prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 which said that the Messiah would come seated on the back of a beast of burden.

• It was pathetic because we know the end of the story, that those who yelled “Hosanna” on Monday will yell “Crucify” on Friday.

It was a hypocritical display of worship.

But I would go a little farther and say this about their response,
While it did prove to be phony, it wasn’t necessarily intentional.

The hype about Jesus stemmed from
A complete and total misunderstanding on the part of the Jews.

Their expectation was that when they found the Messiah
He would come and declare war on the enemies of Israel.

And this is true:
Isaiah 59:15-20 “Now the LORD saw, And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice. And He saw that there was no man, And was astonished that there was no one to intercede; Then His own arm brought salvation to Him, And His righteousness upheld Him. He put on righteousness like a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle. According to their deeds, so He will repay, Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; To the coastlands He will make recompense. So they will fear the name of the LORD from the west And His glory from the rising of the sun, For He will come like a rushing stream Which the wind of the LORD drives. “A Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the LORD.”
The Jews expected the Messiah to come
And “make recompense” to their enemies.

And they were accurate in this assessment.
Where they were mistaken is in identifying the enemy.

The Jews thought that the enemy was Rome, and so they expected
The Messiah to come and lead a full-scale attack against the Roman army.

What actually happened shocked them to the core.
The Messiah appeared on the colt of a donkey
And He did in fact declare war, but not with Rome.

When the Messiah entered Jerusalem He declared war on the temple.

Not because the temple was at fault, or because He was opposed to God.
The Messiah declared war on the temple because
It had become a place of corruption, and the most vile picture
Of the real enemy the Messiah wanted to remove.

That enemy was sin, and its nucleus was found in the temple,
And so that is where He started.

This shouldn’t have surprised the Jews.
Earlier when God was angry at Israel and He sent executioners
To destroy the city, this is precisely where He started.

Ezekiel 9:5-6 “But to the others He said in my hearing, “Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity and do not spare. “Utterly slay old men, young men, maidens, little children, and women, but do not touch any man on whom is the mark; and you shall start from My sanctuary.” So they started with the elders who were before the temple.”

And this is why Peter also said later in his epistle:
1 Peter 4:17 “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

The wrath of the Messiah was not focused on Rome,
It was focused on sin, and the false religious system in Israeal.
So when He entered Jerusalem He went to the heart of the battle
And that was the temple.

And that is what we see here.

Although this is not one of the more popular stories about Jesus,
It is a vitally important one to our faith.
It reminds us that Jesus is no pushover…
It reminds us that Jesus is not tolerant of sin…

He was indeed a friend of sinners, a Savior to the outcast,
But He was never One to tolerate sin in any form.

• Even the woman at the well He confronted her adulterous past…
• He told the woman caught in adultery, “Go and sin no more”
• He told the cripple healed at the Bethesda pool, “do not sin anymore so that nothing worse happens to you.”

Jesus was compassionate but He was not tolerant.

He didn’t tolerate sin and He didn’t tolerate
A false display of religion that glorified man and not God.

And if necessary He could prove His passion with what is often seen
As an “Un-Christ-like display”

He was the King who came to declare war on the true enemy of Israel
And that was sin and those who spread it.

And to further help our understanding, let me give you a timeline
Of the events taking place here of this passion week.

On Monday
• Jesus entered Jerusalem at the Triumphal Entry
• When He entered Jerusalem Luke tells us He wept over the city
• He then entered the temple, looked around and went back to Bethany.

On Tuesday
• He comes toward Jerusalem and curses a fig tree on the way
• He then clears the temple
• He heals the sick in the temple
• And then He went back to Bethany

On Wednesday
• He comes to Jerusalem again, on the way the disciples recognize the cursed and withered fig tree
• He comes back to the temple and argues with the Pharisees about His authority
• He ends by heavily rebuking the Pharisees as hypocrites

• When He leaves the temple Wednesday the disciples comment on the buildings and it prompts the Olivet Discourse in which Jesus explains the end times.

• He then goes back home to Bethany.
• While he is there a woman with an alabaster vile of perfume anoints His feet which irritates Judas and prompts him to betray Jesus.

Thursday
• He returns again to Jerusalem where He has the disciples prepare the Passover for Him.
• He spends Thursday night in the garden and then Friday is arrested.

And that is the Passion week.
It is an obvious all out attack against sin.
• Clearing the temple…
• Confronting the Pharisees…
• And then defeating sin through His death on the cross…

And the attack begins today.
So this morning let’s look at the King’s Declaration of War

There are three things we see here this morning
#1 A PREMEDITATED CLEANSING
Matthew 21:12-13

I just love to read that verse, because if it wasn’t in the Bible
No one would believe that Jesus actually did it.

“And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.”

John’s gospel goes a little further to say:
John 2:15-17 “And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME.”

And when you put the two together it makes for quite the scene.
• Jesus throwing over tables…
• Jesus making a whip and swinging it at people…
• Jesus flinging money all over the floor…

This was a violent scene and it is impossible to miss His point.
He was angry
He hated what was going on in the temple
He came to put a stop to it

This is righteous indignation at its finest.

Now some over the years have point to this event
As a flaw in the character of Jesus.
It appears a little hot-headed…
It appears a little violent…

It looks like one of those fits of rage
That Paul talks about as being a deed of the flesh.

But that wasn’t it at all.
Mark’s gospel helps us get a much better grasp on things.

Mark 11:11 “Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.”
It was on the next day that He came back and cleared the temple.
This was not irrational…
This was premeditated…

Jesus saw what was happening, went home,
And determined what had to be done.

And He went back and declared war on the temple.
• The Son of God knew a courteous correction was not needed…
• The Son of God knew the situation demanded an attention getter…
• He did not want this left up to misinterpretation…

And we even see here why the temple needed cleansing.

Three Reasons:
1) THE MARKET (12a)

“Jesus…drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple…”

During the Passover every Jewish male was required to come
And Jerusalem would swell to 4 of 5 times her population for the week.

And everyone knows that when you have a guaranteed big crowd
One thing you need is a good flea market.

That is exactly what they had.
Annas had started it by selling booths for commission for merchants
Who would sell salt or oil or other wanted commodities.

It was actually called “The Bizarre of Annas”

They were using the temple grounds as a means of making money.

That wasn’t the only problem.
2) THE MONOPOLY (12b)

“Jesus…overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.”

Yes this was a market, but it was also a monopoly.

When you came to Jerusalem from a distant land people commonly came with their sacrifice, but there was a racket going in Jerusalem.

The high priest would declare your sacrificial animal blemished
And therefore unfit for the sacrifice, but fortunately would
Sell you a “temple certified” sacrifice at an extorted price.

This meant that you were forced to buy from these approved vendors.

Secondly there were “money changers”,
Because they had determined that all offerings to the temple must be in a certain type of currency and if you brought different currency you needed to have your money changed at a 25% inflation rate.

It was a monopoly, not only seeking to make money
But literally seeking to steal from people in the name of religious duty.

3) THE MOCKERY (13)

God’s temple was being totally and completely misused.

Jesus reveals what the true purpose of the temple was:
“It is written ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer.’”

Obviously the temple was not built to be a money making craft show
Or a twisted cattle auction.

The temple was for the purpose of drawing near to and seeking God.

Psalms 27:4 “One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.”

Psalms 84:1-4 “How lovely are Your dwelling places, O LORD of hosts! My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. The bird also has found a house, And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts, My King and my God. How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You.”

Psalms 84:10 “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”

God’s house was a place of prayer and praise and meditation.
It was a place to seek God and cry out to Him and focus on Him.

It most certainly was not a place to become more worldly,
And yet that is precisely what has occurred.

Jesus said, “you are making it a robbers’ den.”

That was a direct reference to what Jeremiah preached.
Jeremiah 7:1-11 “The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, “Stand in the gate of the LORD’S house and proclaim there this word and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah, who enter by these gates to worship the LORD!'” Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. “Do not trust in deceptive words, saying, ‘ This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’ “For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your own ruin, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. “Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail. “Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known, then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’ — that you may do all these abominations? “Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” declares the LORD.”

In Jeremiah’s day they actually thought the temple
Was some sort of a shield from the wrath of God.
As long as we go to the temple we can’t be judged!

And Jesus reveals that same thinking is continuing here.

This temple has become a den of iniquity.
It has completely missed it’s purpose
And has instead begun to promote evil and harbor wickedness.

This was the enemy that the Messiah came to deal with.

And so Jesus comes and drives out the merchants and turns over the tables of the money changers and starts driving people out of the temple.

It was violent
It was passionate
But everyone gets the point

God was far more angry at the corruption in His temple
Than He was at the Romans who surrounded it.

We most definitely should keep that in mind church.
Judgment begins at the house of God.

Hypocrisy is not welcome to Him and Jesus made that very clear here.
When He looked around in that temple
He saw what had to be done and He did it.

They didn’t need a soft correction…
They didn’t need an alternative place to get sacrificial animals…
He was angry and they needed a whipping!

The Premeditated Cleansing
#2 THE PROPHETIC DEMONSTRATION
Matthew 21:14

And this is certainly a picture of beauty.

While the priests and the merchants and the money changers
Were most certainly unwelcome in the temple,
Somehow these blind and lame beggars knew that they were.

And they come to Jesus while others are running from Him,
And He does exactly what we have come to expect.

“He healed them”

But you and I must understand that this is far more than just a coincidental healing, this healing came with a purpose.

Isaiah 34-35 are a unique two chapters in the book of Isaiah,
They speak of the punishment of Israel’s enemies
And the deliverance of Israel’s faithful.

Listen to a portion of it:
Isaiah 35:3-8 “Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble. Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you.” Then the eyes of the blind will be opened And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness And streams in the Arabah. The scorched land will become a pool And the thirsty ground springs of water; In the haunt of jackals, its resting place, Grass becomes reeds and rushes. A highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for him who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it.”

Isaiah prophesied that the coming recompense of God’s enemies
Would also be accompanied with the restoring of sight to the blind
And the lame leaping like a deer.

It would be a time when holiness was promoted
And the wicked unclean would not be welcome.

And that is exactly the scene taking place in the temple.
The recompense of the Lord has come and He has run His enemies out of the temple, but He has delivered those who were faithful to Him.

This was a picture of fulfilled prophecy.

And that leads to the third thing we see.

The Premeditated Cleansing, The Prophetic Demonstration
#3 THE PROPER RESPONSE
Matthew 21:15-17

On one hand this is the proper response,
On the other hand there is also a regrettable one.

But when Jesus started healing the blind and the lame
It is obvious what occurred.

“the children…were shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”
And of course we say, “Leave it to the children to understand what is going on far better than the religious adults.”

Jesus had already said:
Matthew 18:3 “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

That should be obvious here.
• The children understood what was going on.
• They figured it out.
• They didn’t need logic or reason to clog their thinking.

This guy clearing the temple of corruption and healing the blind and lame of their diseases was obviously the Messiah and so they are praising Him!

And this is the proper response.

BUT – “when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things He had done, and the children who were shouting…they became indignant and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?”

The idea is that they were appalled that Jesus wouldn’t correct them.

These children were praising Him as the Messiah and yet He allowed it.
They saw this as blasphemy and wanted Him to put a stop to it.

But you have to love Jesus’ response.
“have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have prepared praise for Yourself.”

In short Jesus answered, “Of course I hear them, praise ought to be the language of the temple.”

Isn’t it interesting that these scribes
Had no problem with extortion and corruption in the temple,
But they had a problem with healing and the praise of the children.

They didn’t get it at all.

And again hypocrisy rears her ugly head.
• They could act so pious as they examined the sacrificial animals and demanded offerings in the proper currency…

• They could act so pious as they walked in their long robes dropped their money in the trumpet shaped offering plates…

• They could be so dignified as they held to every man-made tradition and expected ritual…

But they were angered when cripples were healed
And they were shocked when children praised.
It was hypocrisy yet again and Jesus attacked it.

And friends let me remind you that Jesus has not changed His stance.

TURN TO: REVELATION 1

There we see Jesus glorified.
We see Jesus as He is now.

And notice how John describes Him.
VERSES 12-16

There are many things we learn about Him,
But notice the sword that comes from His mouth.
WHY THE SWORD?

Well we know at the 2nd coming when He returns
He will use that very sword to strike down His enemies.

Revelation 19:15 “From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.”

But it may surprise you to know that
That is not the first time He will use the sword.

In Revelation 2 the church at Pergamum has some there who
Hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans and to the teaching of Balaam.

They were worldly, not Godly, and a hypocritical threat to His church.

READ REVELATION 2:14-16

Judgment begins with the house of God.

I tell you this because it is important for us to understand
That when the Lord comes He will strike down the nations,
But that is not where the battle starts,
He will first destroy the pretenders in His church.

It is imperative that you and I be real,
And not just going through some sort of religious motions.

Jesus is not ok with hypocrisy, He proved that on the day He made a whip, turned over tables, and ran people out of the temple.

That was merely a foreshadow of the judgment that has yet to occur.
Be real and true and pure before God.

Isaiah 59:15-20 “Now the LORD saw, And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice. And He saw that there was no man, And was astonished that there was no one to intercede; Then His own arm brought salvation to Him, And His righteousness upheld Him. He put on righteousness like a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle. According to their deeds, so He will repay, Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; To the coastlands He will make recompense. So they will fear the name of the LORD from the west And His glory from the rising of the sun, For He will come like a rushing stream Which the wind of the LORD drives. “A Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the LORD.”