Following Jesus (part 1)
Matthew 16:21-27
January 15, 2012

Last week when we met we began a new era in the ministry of Jesus.
He had left the crowds and had begun to invest His time into the twelve.

He took them alone to Caesarea Philippi
In order to get away and give some much needed instruction.

And the first order of business
Was Jesus inaugural teaching on “The Church”

And we learned some very important
And insightful things about Christ’s church.

IT’S FOUNDATION
Is Christ. If anyone enters the church they do so on the foundation that Jesus is Lord, the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

It is the distinction that separates the church from the world.
The world thinks Jesus could be the forerunner,
The Church knows Him to be the Christ.

There is no way to be a part of Christ’s church
Aside from confessing the Lordship of Jesus.

IT’S BUILDER
Is Christ. We don’t build the church, we don’t grow the church, Christ does.

Man can’t even recognize Christ as Lord apart from a revelation from the Father
And so it is absolutely arrogant to assume
That we can bring men into the church apart from Him.

Christ builds – He adds bricks – He determines its design

IT’S OWNER
Is Christ. He said it is “My church”.
He purchased it with His own blood, it belongs to Him.

And consequently every person who is called into the church is those who “have been bought with a price”.

Christ owns the church and therefore
Our one objective is to be pleasing to Him.

IT’S VICTORY
Over death. “and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”

The church is a supernatural organization whose builder and owner is Christ, and has victory even over the grave.

Christ came and suffered death that He might free us from death
And give us victory over the grave.

IT’S STEWARDS
This is us. Having been given the keys of the kingdom, we are those who bring heaven’s realities to light here on earth.

Under the sovereign hand of God, those who have been bound and those who are loosed are all mysteriously determined by God.

We merely hold the keys and try the locks,
Seeking to reveal who the chosen are.

It is very parallel to the parable of the sower.
We simply sow the seed, the type of heart will reveal what happens to it.

And so Jesus gave great insight into the church.

But then He gave an interesting statement.
(20) “Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.”

And obviously that seems to be strange timing for such a command.
But as I told you last week, it isn’t.

Jesus told the disciples what the church would be,
And everything was given in future tense.

“I will build…”
“…the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”
“I will give you the keys…”

Jesus spoke of the things that were coming in the future.

Christ was not presently building.
The gates were not presently overpowered.
And Peter did not presently have the keys.
WHY?

BECAUSE CHRIST HAD NOT DIED.
• He had not atoned for sin.
• He had not descended into hell.
• He had not stolen the keys.
• He had not given them to Peter.

All that was coming, and then the church would be a reality,
But it was not yet at hand.
So Jesus merely pointed out what was coming.
So there was the first teaching.
It is the future glory of the church.

Here comes the second point of teaching from Jesus,
And that is how it all comes about.

• How the church will go from non-existent to a reality.
• How the church will come to have victory over death.
• How the church will come to hold the keys to the kingdom.

Now Jesus reveals how that will happen.

(21) “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.”

Jesus started by revealing the end result of His church.
Loosing the prisoners and defeating death.
But now He backs up to reveal how the church gets that type of victory.

And very simply, THE CHURCH’S VICTORY
IS OBTAINED THROUGH THE SAVIOR’S SUFFERING.

What you notice is Jesus using the word “must”
These are not potential requirements, these are not one plan of many.

If the church is to achieve victory and authority over death,
Then this is what “must” happen.

Now that is a key word, because after using it of Himself here,
Jesus will use it of you and I later in verse 24.
Saying what we “must” do to enter the church.

So Christ is merely revealing the means
By which the church will ascend to victory over death.

And there are actually four musts that must happen.
1) “He must go to Jerusalem”

WHY JERUSALEM?
Luke 13:31-35 “Just at that time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, “Go away, leave here, for Herod wants to kill You.” And He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach My goal.’ “Nevertheless I must journey on today and tomorrow and the next day; for it cannot be that a prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! “Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!'”

But why?

Because Jerusalem was the litmus test.
The final verdict of the Messiah could only be rendered in Jerusalem.

You may even remember from studying John, that Jesus began by doing some miracles in Galilee, but His skeptic brothers insisted that if He wanted to be taken seriously He had to go to Jerusalem.

John 7:1-5 “After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him. Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near. Therefore His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. “For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” For not even His brothers were believing in Him.”

You see Jerusalem was the voice of the nation.
If Jesus was to be worshiped it would have to be Jerusalem,
And if He was to be condemned it would have to be Jerusalem.

It had to be a total, national acceptance or rejection
And so “He must go to Jerusalem”

Furthermore, the work of Christ could not be done in secret.
He had to manifest Himself to the world.

2) “He must…suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes,”

Not only must Jesus go to the public figure head of Jerusalem,
But He must also suffer there at the hands of the religious elite.

WHY MUST HE SUFFER?
Hebrews 2:10 “For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.”

We talked about this Christmas morning.
The suffering of the Christ was a “fitting” thing.

If He was to become a perfect Savior full of mercy
Then He had to suffer as the rest of humanity does.

Hebrews 5:8 “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.”

And so He learned why obedience is so difficult for humanity.
So Jesus walked through the garden, He endured mocking and scorn,
So that when we do it too, He can be merciful to our difficulty.

Hebrews 2:17 “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”

And so while suffering is certainly not a pleasant thing,
Jesus obviously had to do it.

He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things…
3) “He must…be killed”

And so we learn that His suffering must be severe enough to end in death.

WHY DEATH?
Certainly we understand,
Because death was the requirement to atone for sin.

Hebrews 9:22 “And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

Sin is a serious issue, and it is sin that brings about death
And death that keeps man bound.

The only way for death to be defeated is if sin is defeated.
And the only way for sin to be defeated is if blood is shed.

That was the essence of what Paul meant when he said:
1 Corinthians 15:56-57 “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

And so Christ had to die if He was to pay the penalty for sin.

Romans 8:3 “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,”

And so you and I fully understand that if Christ didn’t die,
Then we could not be saved.

He must go to Jerusalem and suffer and be killed
4) “He must…be raised up on the third day.”

And again this is obvious to us as well.

The whole point of His death was to atone for sin, but how will we know if it worked, if He stays dead?

That is why Paul wrote:
Romans 4:25 “He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.”
Beyond that, death is the enemy.
Death is what keeps men bound.

If He doesn’t defeat death then all of the other things are really pointless.
It doesn’t matter if He goes to Jerusalem…
It doesn’t matter if He suffers…
It doesn’t matter if He is killed…

If He doesn’t conquer the grave the other stuff is really insignificant.

This is what had to happen in order for the church to receive victory.
If Christ was going to give the keys to the church,
Then He first had to get the keys from death.

Revelation 1:17-18 “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”

So if the church is truly to be victorious over death,
Then Christ had to suffer and suffer publicly.
He had to die and then conquer the grave.

There really is no other way around it.
This was the only way His plan for the church could be fulfilled.
It “must” happen this way.

Which, by the way, is the same thing Jesus had to remind Peter of in the garden while being arrested.
Matthew 26:51-54 “And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? “How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”

This is the sovereign plan of God in order for the church to be redeemed.
This is how it had to happen.

And really that should have been the end of the conversation.
That should have been it, but it wasn’t.

It actually set off a chain of events that revealed to Jesus
That the twelve did not yet fully understand what following Him meant.

And so let’s work our way through the remainder of this text.
(I understand we won’t make it the whole way through this morning,
But let’s see how far we get)

After Jesus gives this necessary teaching, it leads to a series of responses, let’s look at them.
#1 A SELFISH INTERRUPTION
Matthew 16:22

It is apparent that Peter got a little full of himself after that great commendation.

• Peter heard how he was “blessed”
• Peter heard how he was the rock
• Peter heard about getting the keys to the kingdom…

It obviously went to his head, for Peter does the absolute unthinkable.

“Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him…”

Can you believe that?

That fallen man would actually think highly enough of himself
To have the audacity to tell Jesus He was wrong
Peter not only thought Jesus was wrong, but actually rebuked Him.

Look at his rebuke:
“God forbid it Lord! This shall never happen to You.”

So it is obvious that Peter didn’t like all this suffering and death talk.

Now, if you are familiar with Peter, you know he didn’t have much trouble
Arguing with Jesus over His plans.

He argued here.
He argued about his feet being washed.
He argued about if he would deny or not.

Here Jesus says He will suffer and die and Peter says, NO WAY!

Obviously Peter was IGNORANT
• He did not understand the gravity of sin or the means of redemption.
• He did not understand the necessity of suffering and death.

Peter reveals his Jewish ignorance in full force.
Remember the Jews had no place of a suffering Messiah, they only wanted the Messiah who would come and conquer Rome and rule with an iron fist.

WHY?
Because they didn’t understand the sin issue.

Remember Isaiah?
Isaiah 53:1-3 “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”

When Christ was hanged on the cross, suffering for sin, they didn’t see it,
Because they didn’t recognize their need for a sacrifice.

Peter is in that same boat.
He was ignorant of the sin problem,
And so he saw no need for the Messiah to suffer death.

But ignorance wasn’t Peter’s only problem.

Peter was also SELFISH
And that is what Jesus will reveal next.

A Selfish Interruption
#2 A STERN REBUKE
Matthew 16:23

This is beyond a doubt the sternest rebuke any disciple ever received.
“Get behind Me, Satan!”

In a matter of minutes Peter went from being blessed to being Satan.

WHY WOULD JESUS CALL PETER SATAN?
Because Peter was manifesting Satan’s chief attribute.

Isaiah 14:12-15 “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ “Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.”

Remember it was Satan who tried to put himself above God.
It was Satan who put his plans above God’s plans.
And as a result he was cast out of heaven.

Well, in this incident Peter looks exactly like Satan.

Furthermore in the wilderness, Jesus remembered Satan pulling Him aside and offering the kingdom without the suffering.
And that is what Peter is doing here.

Jesus has seen this type of arrogant selfishness before.
He saw it in Satan, and now He sees it in Peter.

And so Jesus says, “Get behind Me, Satan!”

But it also indicates to us the main problem of Peter.
He had gotten ahead of the Lord.
He had put his agenda before Jesus’ agenda.
Jesus had to remind him to get in his proper place.

That is a good reminder for us.
If at any time we begin to put our plans before the Lord’s we are merely looking like Satan.

“You are a stumbling block to Me”

Jesus just told Peter that if he had his way
Then the atonement and the church would never occur.

Peter would only cause Jesus to fail at His mission.

“You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”

And there it is.
Peter was selfish.

Peter only wanted what he wanted, and obviously Peter had never envisioned following Jesus to suffering and death.

And at this moment Peter was more concerned about his own comfort and plans than he was God’s plan of redemption.

SOUND FAMILIAR?
We’ve all heard the song: “Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.”

Peter was at this moment promoting Satan’s gospel.
He was standing at the wide gate and doing everything he could
To get Jesus to walk through it.

Peter was filling the role of false prophets all over the world
Who bid men to enter through the wide gate onto the broad road.

“Come as you are, no suffering, no death, no hardship, no repentance. Just come receive a life of blessing and comfort and financial bliss. Come, go to heaven and receive all God has for you.”

And men have been buying that ticket for centuries,
But Jesus taught us it is a faulty ticket.

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.”

But Peter is here preaching Satan’s gospel to Jesus.
Peter was preaching Eternal life without death.
BUT THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE.

Remember Jesus “must” go to Jerusalem
And suffer and die and be raised.

And so Jesus rebuked Peter.
This plan won’t save anyone.

A Selfish Interruption, A Stern Rebuke
#3 A SIMPLE FACT
Matthew 16:24-25

You see Peter’s interruption revealed to Jesus that His disciples
Did not yet fully understand what they were in for.

They liked all this talk of a church and victory over death,
But they did not understand the necessary suffering.

And after Jesus revealed what He must do, and they didn’t like it,
He now changes course to what they “must” do.

Just as Jesus had a “must” so do we.

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”

He is simply saying, “Peter if you are unwilling to let Me embrace My suffering, how will you ever embrace yours?”

And this is so important.
Our world is saturated with Satan’s gospel of life with no cost.
But that is a false gospel.

Jesus never said it would be easy, He always said it would be hard.

If you or I are walking on some road of ease and comfort, assuming we are headed for heaven, then you had better check your map
And make sure you didn’t somehow begin to travel on the wide road.

Jesus is clear here.
This is what “must” happen for a man to enter Christ’s church.

1) “he must deny himself”

In other words, you have to turn your back on you.
You have to give up control of your life.
You have to push your own decision making aside.

• Your dreams…
• Your goals…
• Your possessions…
• Your family…
• Your everything…

It must be denied, it must be forsaken.
Matthew 13:44-46 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

People want to go to heaven without denying themselves.
They want to keep their old way of life and go to heaven too.
But you can’t.

Jesus was saying that you will never follow Him in selfishness.
Self must be denied.

You must make decisions based upon His will, not your own.

2) “he must…take up his cross”

“Oh, it’s the cross I have to bear” NO

In Jesus day the cross was the symbol of public execution.
Pilate had lined the streets of Galilee
With crosses after stopping an insurrection.

It was the cruelest, slowest, most humiliating death imaginable.

And Jesus was telling the twelve that is what you must embrace.

3) “he must…follow Me”

And that is to calvary to be nailed to that cross.

We’ll talk more about this next week,
But it is simple to see that Jesus is calling those who will enter His church
To let go of this life and embrace suffering.

(25) “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

It gets pretty clear doesn’t it?

• If you have these notions of just walking to the front of an air-conditioned church and signing your name to some card.
• And then getting in some heated baptistery.
• And then simply attending that church for a couple of hours a week.
And somehow you convince yourself that you are following Jesus, Then you are gravely mistaken!

To follow Christ is to follow Him.
It is to deny self.
It is to take up His cross.
It is to follow Him.

And we have a lot more to say about this next week when we finish this text, but let me pause here for just a second now and ask:

WHAT ABOUT MISSIONS?
We are full of excuses as to why we can’t share the gospel.
We are full of excuses as to why we can’t go on mission.

And really all it boils down to is that when given the choice
Most choose self over Christ.

I don’t want to go to China…
I don’t want to go to Africa…
I don’t want to talk to my neighbor…

Well, that’s all fine and good.
• Just keep refusing to deny self.
• Just keep refusing to take up the cross.
• Just keep refusing to follow.

But answer me this.
HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO FOLLOW CHRIST TO HEAVEN WHEN YOU REFUSE TO DO THE THINGS HE SAID YOU MUST DO TO FOLLOW HERE ON EARTH?

We all sit in hearty agreement about what Jesus “must” do.
He “must” suffer.
He “must” die.
He “must” rise.

And we are in agreement with that.
It is our MUSTS that we disregard.

“If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”

SO, THE CHOICE IS YOURS; THIS LIFE OR THE NEXT?
Matthew 16:25-27 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”

The Church
Matthew 16:13-20
January 8, 2012

Well this morning we enter a relatively new section in Matthew’s gospel.

Generally speaking the public ministry of Jesus is over.
That does not mean He won’t ever be seen in public again,
For indeed the Passion Week is certainly a public event.

But as far as His own personal ministry is concerned
Jesus is now leaving the crowds and will begin to devote most of His time
To the training of the 12.

We actually saw this division in the text we studied last week.

Matthew 16:4 “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” And He left them and went away.”

The fact that Jesus went away is not insignificant.

It is a statement that coincides with John’s gospel.
John 12:36 “While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.” These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and hid Himself from them.”

He came to His own and His own would not receive Him
And now they are rapidly losing their opportunity.

The ministry of Jesus will now be focused on the twelve.
He is only a few months away from His crucifixion at this point
And it is time to prepare these men who will shepherd His flock.

And the first subject of teaching
That Jesus brings to the table is His Church.

“church” comes from ECCLESIA
It literally means “the called out ones”.

It refers to any official group of people
Who have been called out into an assembly.

Stephen used the term (translated “congregation” in Acts 7:38
To talk of the people Moses called out of Egypt.

The term is used three times in Acts 19 (translated “assembly”)
To speak of the mob gathered together by the Ephesian silversmiths against Paul.

And obviously Christ used it to refer to those
Who have been called by God into a relationship with His Son.

So we are talking about the church.

And this is a fascinating text.
Over the years there have been thousands of books written on the church.
In our day the books tend mostly to deal with the growth of the church.

But I am convinced that if we would stop and really soak in
What Jesus tells us here about His church,
It would do more for us than all of those books combined.

This is directly from our Lord about His church – it is priceless.

4 things
#1 THE CONSENSUS
Matthew 16:13-14

It begins, with Jesus going to a private retreat.
“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi”

This was a remote, mountainous region.
The idea here was that there were no crowds.

If you need a visual, Jesus just took the twelve to Glorietta

And Jesus begins the lesson by asking for the General Consensus.
“He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
(and by “people” Jesus is referring to those not in our assembly)
But He asks the disciples what the most recent poll says about Him.
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

And that could be a worthwhile question for us.
In our day, “Who do people say Jesus is?”

“A Moral Teacher”
“A Prophet”
“A Good Man”
“The Guy Tim Tebo follows”

One commentator wrote:
“Since Jesus day, much of the world has similarly wanted to speak highly of Him without recognizing His deity and lordship. Pilate said, “I find no guilt in this man” (Luke 23:4). Napoleon said, “I know men, and Jesus was no mere man.” Diderot referred to Jesus as “the unsurpassed,” Strauss, the German rationalist, as “the highest model of religion,” John Stuart Mill as “the guide of humanity,” the French atheist Renan as “the greatest among the sons of men,” Theodore Parker as “a youth with god in His heart,” and Robert Owens as “the irreproachable one.” Some in our own day have called Him the ultimate Superstar.” (MacArthur, John, “The MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 16-23; Moody Press, Chicago, Ill. 1985, pg. 20)
Everyone has an opinion about Jesus, as to who He is.
They did in Jesus’ day as well.

(14) “And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”

Now none of us can deny that that are flattering guesses.

And we can see how they could have confused Jesus with them.
• John was a bold man who forsook worldly comforts.
• Elijah was a great miracle worker.
• Jeremiah was the weeping prophet.

Beyond that all of these that are listed have something in common.
They were all considered by the Jews to be forerunners to the Messiah.

John was obvious.
As was Elijah.
Matthew 17:10 “And His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

Even Jeremiah:
Jewish tradition said that before Babylon destroyed the temple that Jeremiah hid the Ark of the Covenant in a safe place. Many Jews waited for Jeremiah to bring the ark back before Messiah arrived.

Or He could have been any other prophet preparing the way.

The point is the people all thought Jesus could be the forerunner
But none thought He was actually the Messiah.

So there is the consensus.
#2 THE CONFESSION
Matthew 16:15-16

Now Jesus is about to reveal the difference.

“He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

In other words, we know what the world thinks of Me,
What do you think of Me?

And just for a moment let me highlight the importance of this question.
It doesn’t really matter what other people think of Jesus,
But it matters a great deal what you think of Him.

It doesn’t matter what your friends or even your family think of Jesus,
It matters what you think.

YOU MUST DECIDE PERSONALLY
Do you remember what John said:
John 1:12-13 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

You aren’t born into the kingdom, it doesn’t matter who your dad says Jesus is, it matters who you say He is.

(16) “Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

There is an incident when Peter’s zeal worked for him.
“They all think you are the forerunner to the Messiah, I think You are actually Him!”

And there is Peter’s confession.
• It doesn’t matter what the world says…
• It doesn’t matter what my parents say…
• It doesn’t even matter what the rest of the 12 say…

I say, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

And so the obvious point here is that the world has
A different view of Jesus than the church does.

• The world sees Him as a good example…
• The world sees Him as a potential leader…
• The world sees Him as a possible forerunner…

But the church sees Him different.
• The church sees Him as King.
• The church sees Him as Messiah.
• The church sees Him as Lord.
• The church sees Him as God.

NOTICE THE DIFFERENCE?
Submission.

The difference between Peter’s confession and that of the world
Is that Peter’s confession requires obedience.

And that is the difference.
We don’t just see Christ as someone to pattern our lives after,
But as someone to submit our lives to.

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

Oh, you can come to the meetings. You can collect the bulletins.
You can give money. You might even figure out a way to make decisions.
But apart from a confession of Christ as Lord in your life
You cannot be a part of the assembly that Christ calls the church.

So Jesus points out that there is a great distinction.

The Consensus, The Confession
#3 THE COMMENDATION
Matthew 16:17

Now we notice right off the bat that Jesus starts this out with a blessing.
“Blessed are you Simon Barjona”

So after Jesus gets the answer from Peter,
He then tells Peter he is blessed.

The question at this point is WHY IS PETER BLESSED?

Most people would say, “Because he got the answer right”
Today if you ask a question and someone gets it right, you tell them good job.

THAT IS NOT WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE,
NOR IS IT WHY PETER IS BLESSED.

“Blessed are you Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”

This is so important, for it again lends to the difference
Between the world and the church.

Peter wasn’t blessed because he knew the right answer.
Indeed there are many in the world today who know the right answer.
There are many who attend church every week who know the right answer.

There will even be many who are judged
And sent to hell who know the right answer.
We are all familiar with the “Lord, Lord” passage.

Peter is blessed because of where he got the answer.
• Not from “flesh and blood” (they don’t know who He is)
• But from “My Father who is in heaven.”

This, by the way, is not the first time Jesus has revealed this.
Remember back in chapter 13?

Matthew 13:11 “Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.”

Jesus went on to say later:
Matthew 13:16-17 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. “For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

That is the same thing Jesus says here.
You are blessed because God has allowed you to see
What He has not allowed others to see.

Men don’t join Christ’s church, they are called into it.
Christ is sovereign, even over salvation and His church.

John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”

In the parable of the wedding banquet we find a man
Who tried to enter on his own, and in his own clothes.

Matthew 22:13-14 “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Even to His own disciples Jesus said:
John 15:16 “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.”

Unlike any other club, organization, shrine, lodge, group, or team,
The church has the sole distinction of being God’s selected assembly.

If you are a part of it, take a moment and tell God thank you
For allowing you to be a part.

It is not about getting the answer right.

If that were the case, the kingdom of heaven
Would belong to the smart people.
(The smarter you are, the better chance you have of getting to heaven)

But it doesn’t.
It belongs to those whom God has chosen.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”

That is why Jesus didn’t tell Peter he was smart,
Jesus told Peter he was blessed!
So again, if you are fortunate enough to be a part of Christ’s church,
Stop and tell God thank you for including you.

SO THE ONLY WAY TO ENTER CHRIST’S CHURCH
IS IF GOD CHOOSES TO REVEAL CHRIST TO YOU.

And if He has, you are blessed.
(hang on to that)

The Consensus, The Confession, The Commendation
#4 THE COMMISSION
Matthew 16:18-20

Now is where the teaching on the church begins.

“I also say to you that you are Peter”

Peter certainly had to like that.
Jesus changed his name to PETROS, which means rock.

“I also say to you that you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church;”

Now what Jesus does here is make a play on words.

“Peter” translates PETROS and it means little stone.
“rock” translates PETRA and it means large mountain rock.

Jesus is revealing that Peter is a little part of something much bigger.

The question over the years has been, what is “this rock”

1) THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH

The Catholics have maintained that it is Peter, the first pope of the church.
(Obviously not, Christ is the high priest)

But really, it isn’t that difficult.

Back in Matthew 7 Jesus gave a parable of two men who built houses. Both built strong houses, but only one house survived the storm. The house tied to the rock.

Obviously there the rock was Jesus.

1 Corinthians 3:11 “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

Now some have contended it is the apostles:
Ephesians 2:20 “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,”

But Paul only reveals there that it is the apostle’s foundation,
Not that the apostles are the foundation. The foundation is always Christ.

Jesus told Peter that God had revealed to him the secret of it all.

The very foundation of the church is Christ and the fact that
He is the Messiah, the Son of the living God.

The church stands upon the person of Christ.
Submission to Jesus as Lord is the sole factor determining
If you are part of the church or not.

“The churches one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord; She is His new creation, By Spirit and the Word; From heaven He came and sought her to be His holy bride, with His own blood He bought her, and for her life He died.”

Jesus is Lord of the church.
Those who do not obey Him, do not know Him.

1 John 2:3-6 “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”

So the church is built upon the rock of Christ.

The Foundation of the Church
2) THE BUILDER OF THE CHURCH

“and upon this rock I will build My church”

Who is the builder?
Christ.

So much is made today about church growth and growing the church,
But there has always only been one builder.

Only One can add to His church and that is Christ.
John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”

It is not now, nor has it ever been,
Our responsibility to grow God’s church, that is Christ’s job.

We spread the seed, but God makes it grow.

Christ builds the church.
That means He is both architect, designer, and builder.
Not only does He pick the color of the bricks,
But He determines where they go.

The church is on dangerous ground when they start thinking
They have the right to design the church of God.
He is the builder, not us.

The Foundation, The Builder
3) THE OWNER OF THE CHURCH

“I will build My church”

Acts 20:28 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”

1 Peter 1:17-19 “If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”

And that means that the church is His possession.
It is not for men, it is for Christ.

The church exists to please Him as we are His possession.
It is not about what we want, it is about what He wants.

And He presently washes the church
To make her into something desirable to Him.

Ephesians 5:25-27 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”

Christ is the Foundation, Christ is the Builder, Christ is the Owner
4) THE VICTORY OF THE CHURCH

“and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”

He did not say the sword of Hades will not overpower it.

Jesus referred to the “gates”.
Gates are defensive weapon.

More specifically Jesus has in mind her prison gates.
“gates of Hades” is a euphemism for death.

Remember why Jesus came?
Hebrews 2:14-15 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”

Jesus was here revealing an astounding fact about His church.
His church will have victory over death.

Remember Revelation?
Revelation 1:17-18 “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”

Jesus is building a spiritual assembly that even death can’t handle.

And then we get to the point we have been waiting for: our role.
5) THE STEWARDS OF THE CHURCH

(19) “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

More than one person has read that verse and scratched their head.
But let’s look at it in an objective light
And you will see it makes perfect sense.

The first thing you have to notice is that whatever it is that Peter is doing,
It is something that has already been done in heaven.
It doesn’t matter if he is binding, or loosing,
Whatever he does is already done in heaven.

That means that in reality, Peter isn’t actually doing anything,
He is only revealing on earth what is already done in heaven.

The next question is, what is binding and loosing.

The Lord has just talked about “the gates of Hades”
Which is a euphemism for death and hell.

Those who are bound are obviously condemned,
And those who are loosed are obviously set free or forgiven.

So Jesus is telling Peter he has the ability to reveal
Who is condemned and who is forgiven.

John 20:21-23
“So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”

That is the same thing here.
Not necessarily to forgive or condemn,
But to reveal who is forgiven and who is condemned.

Remember Peter with Simon the magician?
Acts 8:20-23 “But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! “You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. “Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. “For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.”

Peter didn’t condemn him, Peter only revealed that he was condemned.

So Peter will have the ability
To make heaven’s realities revealed on earth.

But it is more than that,
Peter actually has the responsibility to do it, for he has “the keys”.

What are “the keys”

WELL, WHAT IS IT THAT HAS THE POWER TO LOOSE OR KEEP BOUND?
The gospel.

Men are either bound because they reject it,
Or loosed because they accept it.

Peter’s job (as well as that of the church)
Is merely to take the gospel and present it to men.

If they are bound in heaven, they will remain bound on earth,
If they have been loosed in heaven, they will be loosed on earth.

It is all tied to the sovereignty of God.
• He chooses.
• He builds.
• He owns.

So again, if you have been loosed from sin and invited into the kingdom,
Then one more time tell God thank you for doing that.

And so we understand the church’s mission.
• We don’t know who is bound or who is loosed.
• The only way we find out is by trying the keys on their lock.

That is the stewardship of the church, to seek out the chosen.

And the church knew this.

Listen to Paul:
2 Timothy 2:10 “For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.”

Acts 13:48 “When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.”

Acts 18:9-10 “And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”

Or remember Pentecost?
Acts 2:38-39 “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

We are all Isaiah’s merely rendering the hearts of the people hard,
Their eyes blind, their ears deaf.

We take the gospel and reveal what heaven already knows.
We call out the called.

Now all that being said, notice the last verse.
(20) “Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.”

WHY?
1) The Final Sign hasn’t been given (sign of Jonah)
2) The Holy Spirit hasn’t come

But Jesus was revealing their future role.

BUT THE BEAUTY IS CHRIST’S CHURCH.
It is a spiritual assembly, chosen of God, built by Christ,
Purchased by His blood, sovereignly selected in heaven,
And victorious over death forever.

And those of us who are a part are blessed to be those
Who have been shown that Jesus is the Messiah,
And have confessed Him as such, knowing that now we go
And seek to set free those who still belong.

NOW WE DO OUR PART AND SHARE THE GOSPEL

Matthew 16:18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”

The Concern of Jesus
Matthew 16:1-12
January 1, 2012

This morning we continue with the gospel of Matthew,
And talking about something that I find very interesting.

And that is “The Concern of Jesus”
To say it another way: What was it that caused Jesus concern?

We all understand the concept,
For we have many things that cause us concern every day.

• We’re concerned about our children…
• We’re concerned about our finances…
• We’re concerned about our health…
• We’re concerned about our safety…

And if you were to tell your children, “Watch out for ______________”
The list really could be endless.

Well I hope I have your mind going just a bit this morning,
Because I want to show you Jesus’ concern for His children.

Ten times in the New Testament we find the statement
“Beware” from Jesus’ mouth.

He was concerned to warn us about something.
He saw a definite threat.
He saw a definite danger.

The interesting thing is that of the ten times He made the phrase,
Nine of those ten times all refer to the same thing.

And that is the deceptive nature of humanity.

The one exception is found in Luke’s gospel.

Luke 12:15 “Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”

But all of the other nine all consist of a warning
Regarding the deceptive nature of men.

Matthew 6:1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.”

(There the warning is actually about ourselves, but men none the same)

Matthew 7:15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”
Matthew 10:17 “But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues;”

Mark 12:38 “In His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places,”

Luke 12:1 “Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”

Luke 20:46 “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets,”

And the other three times Jesus says to “Beware”
Are found here in our text this morning.

As He tells us to “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

And what we begin to realize when we see it that way is that
Jesus perceived a very real and definite threat to His church

• It wasn’t the threat of persecution…
• It wasn’t the threat of economic struggles…
• It wasn’t the threat of political instability…
• It wasn’t the threat of changing culture…

The threat Jesus saw as the most dangerous
Was the threat that men would deceive His children.

• It could be those who would pretend to be your friend,
only to hand you over to governors and kings…

• It could be those who would pretend to speak truth,
only to push you through the wide gate onto the wide road…

• It could be those who would pretend to model truth,
only to lead you in to the blind man’s pit…

And this, above all other dangers is what Jesus warned His children about.

As I pondered this, it became apparent to me that
Jesus had a definite cynical side.

A cynic is defined as: “A person who has little faith in human sincerity and goodness.”

John 2:23-25 “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”
John 8:31-32 “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

It is obvious that Jesus didn’t put a lot of faith
In the devotion or sincerity of men.

When they said they believed, He took it with a grain of salt…
When they promised devotion, He said, “We’ll see”…

And just because He saw people wrapped in religious garb
And committed to religious ceremony,
He never assumed they were truly devoted to God.

Jesus always looked much deeper.
He always looked for evidence.
He always looked for fruit.

That is why He always hammered the Pharisees so much.
One of the most blatant is found in Matthew 23
As Jesus exposes them quite easily.

Matthew 23:23-24 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!”

Jesus looked right past their outward religious pretense
To the true fruit of their lives and found them desperately lacking.

They tithed (outward religion)
But they neglected “justice and mercy and faithfulness”
They were all external.

Which is why Jesus went on to say:
Matthew 23:25-26 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.”

And so it was obvious that Jesus wasn’t about to buy it just at face value.
• He knew what was in man.
• He knew that man is wicked and evil.
• He knew that men would rather fake religion than be truly faithful to God.
• He knew that man would rather pretend than be sincere.

That is why He was so impressed by people like the centurion,
Or the Canaanite woman, because although they didn’t look the part,
They actually did have great faith.

And He went to great lengths to make sure His disciples saw the difference.
He wanted His church to be true and genuine and pure,
Not just all for show.

So He applauded great faith and He exposed hypocrisy.
AND HE WANTED HIS CHURCH TO SHARE HIS PASSION.

And that is what we see here.

3 things I want you to see.
#1 THE CONFRONTATION
Matthew 16:1-4

Well, it isn’t hard to spot the confrontation.

“The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.”

This is actually quite an interesting event.

Not that these men tested Jesus, but that they came together.
(These men were enemies, not allies)

And so just the fact that they are together is a huge indicator to Jesus
That something is up.

The second clue is that they want to see a “sign”.

And not just any sign, but “a sign from heaven”

They didn’t just want to see a healing, or even a miracle of nature,
They wanted to see a cataclysmic event in the heavens.

The moon turned to blood, or the sky rolled back,
Something unmistakable and huge.

And of course they asked for this under pretense that
If Jesus could produce one, then they would believe in Him.

They try to paint themselves as thorough and generally interested,
But Jesus sees through their hypocrisy.

And notice His answer:
(2-3) “But He replied to them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ “And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?”

It was very similar to what He told Nicodemus:
John 3:10 “Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?”
“You guys aren’t dumb men, nor are you undiscerning men. You men know how to look at the evidence and come to a logical conclusion. You know how to read the facts.”

The problem here isn’t that they facts done add up,
The problem is that you don’t want to see what they reveal.

You aren’t dumb, you are wicked.

(4) “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign”

And we have heard that before.
Back in chapter 12 Jesus rebuked the Pharisees not for their failure to see, but for their failure to believe.

You come pretending to be curious.
You come pretending to want truth.
You come pretending to be discerning.
But in reality you are only seeking to spread your wickedness

And so the verdict?
“a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” And He left them and went away.”

Jesus was not interested in playing their games.
Jesus was not interested in their outward hypocrisy.
He didn’t have time to sit there and wrangle about who He was.

That is the confrontation.
But you will notice, it leads to another one of those teaching moments
We have recently talked about.

#2 THE CONFUSION
Matthew 16:5-7

Now Matthew actually gives us a little help here to allow us to see
Why the disciples got confused.

“and the disciples came to the other side of the sea, but they had forgotten to bring any bread.”

This certainly is not a big deal, but it is important to understanding
Where some of the confusion comes from.

Because as Jesus meets the disciples,
They have two different things on their mind.

Jesus is still fuming over His encounter with the hypocrites,
The disciples are kicking themselves for forgetting the bread.
And then Jesus gives this warning.
“Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

There is the concern of Jesus.

There is a deadly and dangerous deception that will affect the church.
There is a problem that must be detected.

And that problem is that men would rather clean up the outside than the inside, and they will teach others to do the same.

It is far less painful to take a bath than it is to repent.
It is much easier to go to church than it is to live holy.

And so a hypocritical influence is a dangerous one to have.
And Jesus knew that would wreck His church.

And you and I know that in many regards it has.

What is the number one complaint about the church from those outside of it?
“They aren’t nothing but a bunch of hypocrites up there.”

NOW WHY DO THEY SAY THAT?
Because they see us dress up and go to church on Sunday morning,
But they know what we live like the other 6 days of the week.

So He warned His disciples here not to get sucked in
To the outward religion of the Pharisees.

But, the disciples completely missed the point.
(7) “They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “He said that because we did not bring any bread.”

WHY DID THEY MISS THE POINT?
Because to them a lack of bread was a bigger problem
Than the presence of hypocrisy.

And we struggle there as well.
Churches today are easily more concerned about budgets than holiness.

Certainly the disciples missed the point.
They didn’t think there was anything wrong with the Pharisees.

Remember when Jesus rebuked them for following tradition over the word of God?
Remember the disciple’s response?

Matthew 15:12 “Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?”
They didn’t see that the Pharisees were the problem.

And so when Jesus gives the warning, they are confused.

So we see the Confrontation, The Confusion
#3 THE CORRECTION
Matthew 16:8-12

And here Jesus straightens them out.

“You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread?”

In today’s terms Jesus would say, “Seriously?”
“Is that what you are concerned about?”

“Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets fully you picked up? Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets fully you picked up? How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

In other words, the church’s biggest problems
Are not physical but spiritual.

The greatest dangers threatening the church are not a lack of money,
But a lack of true genuine righteousness.

You don’t have to worry about having poor people in your church,
You have to worry about having phony people in your church.
WATCH OUT FOR HYPOCRISY!

• See, it is the hypocrites that lead men to destruction.
• It is the hypocrites who pervert true worship.
• It is the hypocrites who offend God.

Matthew 23:13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.”

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.”

Such hypocrisy destroys men.

Matthew 23:27-28 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”
They actually made men unclean and defiled
And those around them didn’t even know it.
They tricked men into not being pleasing to God.

But not only that, they also pervert true worship.
We all remember Jesus getting angry at the Pharisees
For breaking the commands of God for the sake of their tradition.

And Jesus said to watch out for them.
• They look the part…
• They act the part…
• But they are not real, and they will destroy the church.

In fact Jesus likened them to leaven.

They spread, they influence, and they are virtually impossible to remove
Once they have taken hold.

Paul used leaven as an illustration as well, in regard to the man having an affair with his father’s wife.

1 Corinthians 5:6-8 “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”

It is danger to leave it around,
And that is what Jesus says about the Pharisees.

THE DANGER FACING THE CHURCH ISN’T POVERTY
OR EVEN PERSECUTION, IT IS HYPOCRISY!
Watch out for it!

(12) “Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

Now they get it.
And so do we

We are pushed so hard to be accepting and to have an open door policy
That it almost sounds “unchristian” to think about being leery of anyone.

Now certainly in some regards that open door policy is correct.
Jesus taught us to welcome strangers…
Jesus taught us to eat with the poor and even honor them…
Jesus Himself ate with tax collectors and sinners…

Certainly we don’t turn people away based upon their income or race
Or status or even their past.
But just as sure as we are open and accepting
Jesus called us to be a little bit cynical too.

• He called us to watch out.
• He called us to discern what we see.
• He called us to examine fruit.

He told us not to just believe everything we see,
But to watch out because hypocrisy is a real threat to the church.

Just because a person knows how to dress and knows how to talk
And can quote a reasonable amount of Scripture, does not make them real.
They may just be wearing a great costume and playing a great part.

We must watch out and look for fruit.

And this is a warning that the church must continue to heed.

Even later in the epistles to the churches
We see this warning sounded again and again.

Listen to Peter.
2 Peter 2:1-3 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”

Listen to Jude
Jude 3-4 “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Listen to John
1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

2 John 7-11 “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.”

Listen to Paul
2 Corinthians 11:12-15 “But what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.”

And if you read the pastoral epistles there is warning after warning
About false brethren, Paul even calls many of them by name.

Men like Hymenaeus and Philetus and Alexander.

The point is that this is what concerned Jesus.
AND SO IT SHOULD CONCERN US.

WATCH OUT FOR HYPOCRISY
• Watch out that you are not walking in hypocrisy.
• Watch out that hypocrisy is not being proclaimed.
• Watch out that hypocrisy is not being modeled.

Don’t fret over finances…
Don’t worry about having bread…
If you want to worry, worry about the spread of hypocrisy.

Worry that men are not genuine in their faith.
Worry that the church is losing her holiness in the world.
Worry that your own personal testimony is hypocritical.

It isn’t a lack of bread that wrecks the church,
It is a lack of genuine devotion.

So learn to be a little cynical, just as Jesus was.
Learn to be a little discerning.
Don’t be naïve about the coming deception.

1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 “Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.”

The Passion of Ministry
Matthew 15:29-39
December 18, 2011

As you know we have been studying through Matthew’s gospel
And recently have seen Matthew give several examples
Of how people respond to Jesus.

We’ve seen examples of weedy hearts, rocky hearts, hardened hearts,
And even fertile hearts.

But one thing that also seems evident as we have studied
Is that Jesus has really been doing some very important
Instructing on the disciples.

In the great commission that Jesus gave, we read:
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.”

We know all about the call to missions and the command of our Lord
To take the gospel to the ends of the earth.

But aside from the call of evangelism is also the call of discipleship.
We are called to make full blown disciples of Jesus.

This is done by “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you”

And the best role model for doing that is of course Himself.

No one was a better teacher than Jesus.
During those moments when He sat down to teach
Our minds are literally blown away at the depth of truth.

We literally marvel over and over at the Sermon on the Mount,
Or the Olivet Discourse, or the Upper Room discourse.

But the times that marvel me even greater than those
Are the little every day teaching moments that Jesus gave.

When you read through the gospels,
It is obvious that Jesus was always teaching.
Every moment was a teaching moment.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.”

Jesus was the Master at that.
He constantly found teaching points in the daily lives of the disciples.

There was always something to address,
There was always something to correct.

And that has also been going on in Matthew’s gospel.
Let me back track with you a moment and show you what I mean.

FIRST Jesus taught the disciples the PRIORITY OF MINISTRY

Remember the feeding of the 5,000?
• John had just died, Jesus wanted to be alone and so He departed.
• The disciples expected a nice little getaway.
• But the crowd found them.

After healing their diseases, the disciples had a great solution.

Matthew 14:15 “When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

Jesus saw a teaching opportunity.
Matthew 14:16 “But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!”

And there Jesus taught the priority of ministry.
WHY ELSE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE HERE?

You can’t schedule time to witness or minister or teach or encourage,
You must be willing and ready when the opportunity presents itself.

That is why you must take up your cross daily.
You must be ready at all times.

And so that great miracle was also a valuable lesson for the disciples.

SECOND they learned the PREDICAMENTS OF MINISTRY

Jesus sent them out in a boat.
• He purposely sent them out into a storm; alone.
• After He let them strain at the oars a while He came to them, and the sermon was simple.

Matthew 14:27 “But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”

There are times when ministry is not only inconvenient, but even scary.
We are called to take the gospel to the corners of the world,
And that includes the dark and scary places.
We can’t just be committed to reaching
Young to middle age couples
With middle to upper class incomes.

The truth is sometimes ministry puts you in danger and in scary situations, but it is then YOU HAVE TO TRUST GOD.

Jesus used a storm to teach the disciples not to fear.

THIRD they learned the PURPOSE OF MINISTRY

The Pharisees
Remember there was a little confrontation with the Pharisees
Because Jesus’ disciples didn’t wash their hands before they ate.

This led to a rebuke by Jesus in regard to their legalistic
And tradition oriented religion that actually offended God.

But remember the disciples were shocked by Jesus’ rebuke.
Matthew 15:12-14 “Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?” But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. “Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

Jesus message to the disciples was to
Stay away from those legalistic Pharisees.

And then came yet another teaching point.
Matthew 15:15-20 “Peter said to Him, “Explain the parable to us.” Jesus said, “Are you still lacking in understanding also? “Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? “But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. “These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

Jesus taught the purpose of ministry,
And that is to effect the heart, not the hands.

As ministers of the gospel we aren’t just trying to
Make dirty people clean or bad people good.

We are trying to make sinful people righteous.
We are concerned about the heart,
Because God is concerned about the heart.

The purpose of ministry is to make men right before God.

Jesus taught that to the disciples there.

FOURTH they learned the POWER OF MINISTRY

The Canaanite Woman
• Her daughter was cruelly demon-possessed
• She came to Jesus for help.

When Jesus ignored her, the disciples actually begged Him to
Send her away so she would quit shouting at them.

But after a brief dialogue Jesus simply revealed that this woman had “great faith” and that her great faith was extremely powerful.

Matthew 15:28 “Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.”

We must believe and have faith that endures.

And so you can see that Jesus isn’t just reaching people
He is also training the 12.

This morning we see another teaching point.

This morning we learn THE PASSION OF MINISTRY

We learn about the driving force in our ministry
That keeps us going when we are tired or scared or discouraged.
And that driving force is COMPASSION

You and I are well aware that God is extremely compassionate.
Psalms 103:13 “Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.”

Lamentations 3:22 “The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail.”

And who can forget the great lesson that God taught to Jonah?
Jonah 4:10-11 “Then the LORD said, “You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. “Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”

God is extremely compassionate.
He is not willing that any should perish.
It is His desire that all me be saved.

That is why Peter wrote:
1 Peter 5:6-7 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

We know God cares for us.
We know He is compassionate.

And we know that Jesus is extremely compassionate as well.
Matthew 9:36 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.”

And even know in His High Priestly role He maintains great compassion.

Hebrews 2:17-18 “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”

Hebrews 4:15-16 “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

We know God is compassionate.

And this morning we see that God wishes for us to join Him
In His great compassionate work.

So let’s look at our text this morning.

There are three things I want you to see.
#1 THE SCENE
Matthew 15:29-31

Now first we notice that Jesus is leaving the region of Tyre and Sidon
Where the woman dwelt.

“Departing from there, Jesus went along by the Sea of Galilee, and having gone up on the mountain, He was sitting there.”

So Jesus is heading back towards Israel.

Mark indicates where He went.
Mark 7:31 “Again He went out from the region of Tyre, and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of Decapolis.”

This was a Greek pagan area known for idolatry and paganism.
It was known for its ten cities (Decapolis)

And this means that He is about to show compassion to people
That His disciples would deem less than worthy to receive it.

So Jesus is still in a Gentile region, and because He has just climbed a mountain, He is sitting down, presumably to rest.

(30) “And large crowds came to Him, bringing with them those were lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet;”
So again, Jesus can’t get away.
He is swamped by Jews, He is swamped by Sidonians,
He is swamped by Greeks.

And they have come and laid their sick down at His feet.

And, because Jesus is compassionate, “He healed them.”

And because Matthew was specific about the illnesses
We know what kind of healings occurred.

The lame began to walk.
The crippled had their missing limbs restored.
The blind began to see.
The mute began to speak.
And many other things occurred.

And that only makes the next statement obvious.
(31) “So the crowd marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.”

So we could quickly point out the obvious compassion of Jesus there.
He was moved by their sick and broken bodies and He healed them.

And His compassion was well-received for these pagan Greeks
Determined to start worshiping Israel’s God.

Now certainly that is compassion, but it is not yet the teaching point.

That was all Jesus.
Here comes the part where the disciples are included.
(Jesus didn’t ask the disciples to do it all, nor does He ask that of us)

There are still some things that only He can do.
But there are some things He has allotted to us,
And that is where our compassion steps in.

First, The Scene
#2 THE SERMON
Matthew 15:32-34

Now, there is no doubt that Jesus preached to this crowd.

HOW DO I KNOW?
They stayed with Him for three days.
But nothing of what He said to the crowd is recorded here.
The only words recorded are the words that Jesus spoke to the twelve.

“And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.”

There is the compassion.

We could probably say a little about the resilience of this crowd
That was willing to endure three days without food
Just to hear the preaching and teaching of Jesus.
(Very similar to the faith of the Canaanite woman)

But the focal point of Matthew
Is that Jesus seeks to be compassionate to the people.

• He wants to feed them.
• He wants to do more than they asked.
• He is not only concerned about their illness, but also their stomach.

But notice HOW Jesus made the statement.
He did not tell the disciples what to do,
Rather He presented the dilemma to them.

WHY?
Should they not have already learned this lesson?
Matthew 14:15-16 “When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!”

This is an opportunity for the disciples
To apply truths they have already been taught.

Jesus said, “I sure would like to feed them”
And then left it for the disciples to ponder.

But, as you will notice the disciples still missed it.
(33-34) “The disciples said to Him, “Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?” And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”

We learned earlier that the disciples did not gain any insight from the incident of the feeding the 5,000, that is obviously true here.

They still aren’t sure about feeding the crowd.
That is too much, it is impossible.
It’s fine that You want to help Jesus, but it can’t be done.

BUT YOU SEE TRUE COMPASSION DOESN’T JUST WANT TO HELP A NEED, TRUE COMPASSION HELPS IT.

James 2:14-17 “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”

Compassion must take the next step.
And so Jesus is about to re-teach a lesson
They failed to fully grasp the first time.

The Scene The Sermon
#3 THE SATISFACTION
Matthew 15:35-39

So Jesus has the people to sit and once again He blesses the food.

(36) “and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.”

And again this is so important.

The compassion we are to have is God’s compassion,
And God fully supplies for His compassion.

Jesus was teaching the disciples about compassion.
He didn’t give the food to the people,
He gave it to the disciples so they could give it to the people.

2 Corinthians 9:8-11 “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; as it is written, “HE SCATTERED ABROAD, HE GAVE TO THE POOR, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS ENDURES FOREVER.” Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God.”

And so Jesus is allowing the disciples to exercise His compassion.

(37) “And they all ate and were satisfied”

This is the sufficiency of God’s compassion.

He meets people’s needs.
And think about this for a moment.
This was 4,000 men, not counting women and children
And they hadn’t eaten for 3 days.

And yet with just seven loaves and a few fish
Jesus fully satisfied their hunger.

In fact notice the surplus.
“and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large baskets full.”

Now this is important.

When Jesus fed the 5,000 Matthew said there were 12 baskets left over.

But the word Matthew used there was KOPHINOS
That was small Jewish container, similar to a lunch box.
It was a private basket for personal use.

But that is not the word Matthew uses here for these 7 baskets.
The word he uses here is SPURIDAS
This was a Gentile basket and it was big.

Acts 9:23-25 “When many days had elapsed, the Jews plotted together to do away with him, but their plot became known to Saul. They were also watching the gates day and night so that they might put him to death; but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a large basket.”

The baskets the disciples filled here were big enough to hold a man.

In our language today:
• After feeding the 5,000 they filled 12 lunch boxes with crumbs.
• After feeding the 4,000 they filled 7 barrels with leftovers.

WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT?
Because Jesus was teaching the disciples about compassion.

When He tells you to give, then give.
And don’t fret that if you give there won’t be any left for you.

Not only did the crowd and the disciples eat,
But they had 7 barrels of leftovers.

There was so much left the disciples
Couldn’t even have eaten all the leftovers.

Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure — pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

You don’t have to fret being compassionate.

My sister used to get money from my parents and then give it to people in need, then she would go back for more money.

People would say, “That Alaina sure is generous.”
You would be too with someone else’s money.

BUT THAT’S POINT
IT IS SOMEONE ELSE’S MONEY

God is actually telling us to go and share,
He’ll provide, but BE COMPASSIONATE!

(38-39) “And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. And sending away the crowds, Jesus got into the boat and came to the region of Magadan.”

This is another teaching lesson by Jesus.
And it quickly applies to us.

• We must learn the PRIORITY of ministry, that people never need help at opportune times, we must be ready at all times.
• We must learn the PREDICAMENTS of ministry and know that hardships and scary times will arise, but even then we must trust Christ and go forward.
• We must learn the PURPOSE of ministry, that while we help with external things, it is still all about the heart.
• We must learn the POWER of ministry, which is the faith which motivates God to respond.
• We must learn the PASSION of ministry, which is of course the great compassion of God.

God loves people.
God cares about people.
And He has sent us into the world to care about them too.

I’ll leave you with one illustration this morning.
TURN TO: LUKE 10:25-37

Be compassionate.
Help people.
Give and give again.

An Example of Great Faith
Matthew 15:21-28
December 11, 2011

As you know we are in sort of an “Example section” of Matthew’s gospel.

Back in chapter 13
Matthew lumped together for us Jesus’ teaching on the kingdom.

And part of that teaching was to illustrate for us that not everyone who hears the gospel rightly responds to it.

Some are too hard.
Some are too shallow.
Some are too selfish.

And since that time Matthew has been giving us examples
Of those types of people.

We first saw an example of the ROCKY SOIL
Jesus went to His hometown and those people did initially receive Him with great joy, but the second He confronted them, they tried to throw Him off a cliff.

Then we saw an example of WEEDY SOIL
We looked at Herod and how fear of losing the pleasures of life actually caused him to reject the gospel and behead John the Baptist.

Then we saw more ROCKY SOIL
We saw the 5,000 who came to Jesus for healing and bread, but according to John 6 fell away the very next day because they couldn’t tolerate Jesus’ teaching on Him being from heaven.

From there we had an example of GOOD SOIL
The disciples were in the boat, and when Jesus walked to them on water, they worshiped Him. Their faith was little, but it was real.

And then came an example of HARD SOIL
We have spent the last two weeks examining the truth of Jesus versus the tradition of the Pharisees.

And so Matthew has been illustrating for us
Exactly what Jesus was talking about.

That when we go out spreading the seed of the gospel,
Everyone doesn’t always respond favorably.

They didn’t for Jesus, and they won’t for us.

Well, this morning Matthew gives us another positive example. Here we get a picture of GOOD SOIL.
We are allowed to see a woman with “Great Faith”

You will probably remember that this is actually the second example
Of great faith we have seen thus far in Matthew’s gospel.

The first time we learned of “Great Faith” was the Roman centurion,
Who had a sick slave, and when he came to Jesus,
He asked Jesus to heal his slave.

Matthew 8:8-10 “But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.”

That Roman centurion was the first to exhibit “Great faith”.

Here we see ANOTHER GENTILE exhibiting “Great faith”.
Canaanite woman

And we will learn, this woman’s faith is great,
Because she was willing to endure to the end.

WE TALK ABOUT TRUE FAITH A LOT.
The Bible makes very clear distinctions between true faith and phony faith.

The Bible is not short on examples of people who say they believe,
But who really don’t.

And so it is important to distinguish the difference between
True faith and phony faith.

And many times we have talked about the difference.

True faith obeys and true faith endures.
If our faith does not possess obedience and endurance,
Then it is not true faith.

And this morning, this woman shows us
The endurance side of true faith.

You will remember one of the main problems with bad soil
Was its lack of endurance.

Matthew 13:20-21 “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.”

That false faith was actually revealed,
Not because it didn’t accept the truth,
But because it didn’t hold on to the truth.

Endurance is necessary!
And if our faith is to prove genuine, it must have that as well.

Matthew 13:23 “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

So this morning let me show you an example of great faith.

So we will see four characteristics of this woman’s experience with Jesus,
#1 SHE WAS IGNORED BUT NOT DISCOURAGED
Matthew 15:21-23

“Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon.”

So Jesus is leaving those tradition oriented Pharisees behind.

“And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.”

So first we recognize this woman was not a Jew,
She wasn’t raised under Jewish Law,

Her entire religious history would have consisted of nothing more
Than worship to idols and false gods.

We can only imagine what it would be like
To worship a god that has the power to do nothing,

Isaiah taught – Worshiping false gods puts the burden on the worshiper

Isaiah 46:5-7 “To whom would you liken Me and make Me equal and compare Me, that we would be alike? Those who lavish gold from the purse and weigh silver on the scale hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; they bow down, indeed they worship it. They lift it upon the shoulder and carry it; they set it in its place and it stands there. It does not move from its place. Though one may cry to it, it cannot answer; it cannot deliver him from his distress.”

You have to work to build it.
You have to work to move it.
It can’t do anything on its own.
All it can do is stand there.

Basically false gods are about the equivalent of a paper weight.
All the burden of a false religion falls to the worshiper.

That is nothing like Christianity, were our God lives.
We don’t make Him, He made us.
We don’t move Him, He moves us.
We don’t bare the burdens, He bares the burdens.

This woman has grown up in a pagan Canaanite culture,
All she has ever known is that of the worship of false gods,
I’m sure it has literally tired her out.

Perhaps she had spent time asking those false deities for help,
But of course it was to no avail. They could do nothing.

BUT THEN SHE HEARD OF JESUS.
• He had power to heal all diseases.
• He even had the power to cast out demons.
• He never turned anyone away.

He was the One she needed.
So when she notices Jesus in her region,
She takes full advantage of the situation.

She “came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.”

FIRST SEE HER HUMILITY AND REPENTANCE
“Have mercy on me”
She reveals the repentance that must accompany true faith.

She knew she was not worthy to receive the touch of the Master,
But she appealed to His mercy.

She cried out for mercy, and healing for her daughter.
But little did she know, she was about to become an example.

The Lord was about to use her to show us something special.

You see, we know Jesus knows people before they ever come to Him.
John 2:24-25 “But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”

And so Jesus certainly knew the type of faith that was in this woman,
And He is about to us her to show just how enduring true faith can be.

But it starts with her asking for mercy.

Now Jesus, saw people like that every single day.
He has seen His fair share of people who would cry for mercy,
Who would call Him the Son of David,
Who do whatever He wanted if He would work a miracle.

BUT MOST FAITH HE SAW WASN’T SINCERE.
SO THIS WOMAN WAS SELECTED, TO HAVE HER FAITH REVEALED.

So when she comes crying out for mercy and healing,
Jesus does a most remarkable thing.
HE IGNORES HER.

(23) “But He did not answer her a word.”

She came to Jesus, and begged Him,
But He didn’t even acknowledge her presence.

LET ME ASK WHAT YOU WOULD DO IN THAT SITUATION?

What Jesus just did for her,
Was what every false god she had ever prayed to did for her.

HE DIDN’T RESPOND.

Every time she prayed to one of her pagan gods,
She got the same result that Jesus had just given her.
He didn’t do anything. He just sat there, like she wasn’t there.

What is to keep this woman from saying,
“Well, You are just like all the rest.
You aren’t any different from all those other gods people told me could help me.
If I wanted a “do nothing” god, I could have stayed at home.
I guess you don’t have the power, thanks for nothing.”

It would have been very easy to say those words to Jesus.

But that is not what this woman did.
When Jesus didn’t respond, what did she do?
SHE KEPT ON SHOUTING.

(23) “But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.”

He wasn’t listening, so she just kept on shouting.
Why would she do that?
She had FAITH in Jesus.
She knew that Jesus was the only One who could help her,
So what good would it do to go somewhere else?

Had she thought He couldn’t do it, she would have left.
Had she thought someone else could, she would have left.

This woman had faith to continue to call on God,
Even when it seemed as though God wasn’t listening.

Have you ever been there in your life?
When you didn’t get an immediate response to your prayer?

I bet you have. God doesn’t always answer right away,

At those moments we find out if we really believe God can help us,
And if we really believe He is the only One who can help us.

WHAT DO YOU DO?
Do you continue to trust God, or do you give up on Him?

This woman had found the only One who could help,
She had no place else to go.

Peter said it best in one of his responses to Christ.

John 6:60-69 “Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? “What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. “But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”

Some didn’t like what they heard, and quit.
So Jesus asked if the rest wanted to leave too.
Peter said, “Yeah, and go where? Who else could save us?”

That is the same type of thinking that this woman had.
She could leave, but go where?
Who else could heal her daughter? That is a great faith.

She was ignored but not discouraged.
#2 SHE WAS REJECTED BUT ENDURED
Matthew 15:24-25
So Jesus was at first silent, but the woman wouldn’t accept silence.
She hounded Him until He had to answer.

But look at His answer.
“But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

As if the silence wasn’t bad enough,
Now Jesus put into words what His silence had implied.

He looks at her, and says, “I wasn’t sent to help you, I was only sent to help the lost sheep of Israel.”

(This, by the way, was the Jewish mindset)
That is why the disciples told Jesus in verse 23, “Send her away”
Instead of “Help her already”

He basically told her, I don’t have to help you,
Because it is not My mission.
I am the Messiah of the Jews.

Now, think about this for a second.

You’ve come to grips with the fact that only Jesus can help.
He is the only one who can do it, Him and no one else.

So even though He ignores you, you keep on asking,

But what happens when He looks at you
Acknowledges the fact that He can help,
But says, He doesn’t have to help you?

Now do you leave?
Now do you say, “Well, I’m not worthy to be helped, I’ve spent my life worshiping false gods, I deserve to be rejected by Israel’s God.

“Sorry to take up your time Jesus, I guess I’ll be going.”

But that isn’t what she did. Look at what she did.
(25) “But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”

Earlier when Jesus responded like all her false gods.
She maintained faith in His power.

This time she reveals her faith in His compassion.
The first time she believed He COULD help her.
This time she believed He WOULD help her.
So instead of leaving, she just cries out harder.

Do we have faith like that?
Do we believe God and God alone can help us,
Do we believe God will help us?

This woman exercised that tremendous faith.

There is another Canaanite woman like that in the Bible.
Hebrews 11:31 “By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.”

SHE WAS A PROSTITUTE IN A PAGAN CITY.
What in the world would make her think that God would spare her?
SHE BELIEVED GOD TO BE MERCIFUL

That was faith in the mercy of God, just as this woman had here.

We must be the same way.
Not just faith in God’s POWER, But faith in God’s MERCY.

Psalm 84:11 “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

Romans 10:13 “for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Matthew 11:28-29 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.”

1 Peter 5:6-7 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

We must believe that God is merciful,
And that if I cry out to Him, He will come.

Now, I know we are those who believe in God’s sovereign plan,
And we understand that sometimes God allows
Bad things to happen to His children.
But don’t let that throw you into some doubt about God’s mercy.

I’m talking about trusting the promises He makes.
He promises that if you call on Him He will be merciful.
BELIEVE THAT!
This woman had faced down two barriers,
And we see that her faith was great.

She was ignored but not discouraged
She was rejected but endured
#3 SHE WAS INSULTED YET HUMBLE
Matthew 15:26-27

So the woman has endured great struggles already.
And now she has humbled herself to the point
Of coming and bowing before Jesus.

Picture the scene.
She is prostrating herself before Him.

And look at what He says:
(26) “And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

OUCH!
It was common that Jews believed Gentiles were unclean.
It was no doubt that the disciples even smirked at such a statement.
(No doubt Jesus was teaching His disciples a lesson here too. i.e. Good Samaritan)

Jesus apparently insults this woman.

If you are this woman, what would you have done?

Jumped up and said, “You don’t have the right to talk to me that way.
I’m a human being. I don’t have to take this from you.”
“Who do you think you are?”

But that woman didn’t do that.
You see, she knew who He was, and she believed in His goodness.

(27) “But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their master’s table.”

TALK ABOUT HUMILITY!

Would we be willing to exhibit that kind of faith, even if it meant taking a dose of humility?

Many never come to Jesus,
Because they are never willing to realize who they really are before Him.
Some never come in humility to the Master.

AND YET HUMILITY IS REQUIRED.
God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
James 4:10 “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

This woman had learned that.

She had come to a conviction in her own mind
Jesus was the only One who could help,
And nothing could turn her away.

Faith that is real, is faith that endures.
Silence can’t stop it. Rejection can’t stop it. Pride can’t stop it.

Ignored but not discouraged
Rejected but endured.
Insulted yet humble, and because of that.
#4 SHE WAS EXALTED AND REWARDED
Matthew 15:28

Her great endurance proved her great faith.

It is our endurance that not only perfects our faith,
But it is endurance that proves our faith.

Romans 5:3-5 “And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

When we persevere, it produces hope,
Because it proves that our faith is real.

UNLIKE PETER (“little faith”) – nothing could stop her. “GREAT FAITH”

How is your faith?
Do you trust Jesus?

Hebrews 11:6a “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is…”

Do you believe that God is?
Do you believe that He is the Savior?
Do you believe that He is the Deliverer?
Do you believe that He is the Protector, and Provider?

Goes on to say
Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

Do you believe that God is a rewarder?
Do you believe that He will Save you?
Do you believe that He will Deliver you?
Do you believe that He will Protect you and Provide for you?

That is what great faith is, and that is what this woman has.

Charles Spurgeon summed up this story like this.
“The Lord of glory surrendered to the faith of the woman.”

He will surrender to your faith as well.

Remember this story?
Luke 18:1-8 “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. “There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘ Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ “For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.'” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

It is no different.
Give God faith like this woman.

Matthew 13:23 “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”