Tradition vs. Truth – part 2
Matthew 14:34 – 15:20 (15:10-20)
December 4, 2011

Last time we met we began studying this confrontation
Between Jesus and the Pharisees.

He spoke of their tradition, and this proves to be an offense truth.
(Any time you talk about tradition it is offensive to someone)

This entire confrontation started
Because the Pharisees were jealous of Jesus.

As we saw back in chapter 14, it all started with a CRISIS.
• The crowds were flocking to Jesus.
• They were enamored with Him.

That isn’t a crisis for us, but it was for the Pharisees.
The Pharisees were quickly losing their clout.

They are the ones who loved the best seats at the banquets
And the respectful greetings in the marketplace.

And they most certainly did not love Jesus cutting in on their popularity.

And this led to a CONFRONTATION

Now, they had tried many times before to condemn Him.
The only problem was they used the Law, and that couldn’t work,
For Jesus was perfectly righteous.

This time they attacked Him in regard to breaking tradition.

(1-2) “The some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”

And so Jesus hadn’t broken the Law…
Jesus hadn’t offended God…
Jesus had simply failed to play their games.

And we talked about tradition a little last week.
1) We all have traditions we follow and live by.
2) Tradition in and of itself is not a bad thing.

But the issue is if the tradition is good,
But how much authority does it carry?

WE LEARNED OUR TRADITIONS MAY BE WELL AND GOOD,
BUT THEY DO NOT CARRY AS MUCH AUTHORITY AS SCRIPTURE.
That is why Jesus instantly flipped the argument back on the Pharisees.

(3) “And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?”

Jesus didn’t answer why He allowed the disciples to eat without washing, AND THE REASON IS BECAUSE IT DOESN’T MATTER.

Traditions are man-made and therefore carry no divine authority.
They may be good, they may be smart, they may be logical,
But they still have no authority.

And certainly they do not have the authority
To cause someone to break God’s Law.

Yet, that is what the Pharisees had done.
They used their tradition as an excuse to disobey God.

(4-6) “For God said, ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,’ and, ‘HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH.’ “But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God,” he is not to honor his father or his mother.’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition.”

The Pharisees had a tradition of “vowing” their money to God
And this tradition gave them a loophole, not to help their parents.

Their tradition actually caused them to disobey.
And while tradition may be fine, no tradition justifies disobedience.

And that is why Jesus confronted them.
In fact, Jesus called them hypocrites.

(7-9) “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'”

He actually called their worship “vain”.
Their worship was worthless.

WHY?
Because they esteemed the teachings of man
As important as the teachings of God.

This of course found no favor with Christ.

And so we saw the CRISIS, and we saw the CONFRONTATION.
#3 THE CORRECTION
Matthew 15:10-11

And I love this about Jesus.

Not only does He rebuke the Pharisees for enforcing tradition,
But here He sets out to free the crowd from those traditions.

The Pharisees had oppressed these people with their traditions.
Matthew 23:4 “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.”

The Pharisees would pick their own ox out of a ditch,
But didn’t want a man healed on the Sabbath.

And the people were oppressed by this legalism and tradition.

So Jesus turns to correct their theology and set them free.
(10-11) “After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand. “It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”

The Pharisees had held the defilement card over the people for years.

If you read the Old Testament you continually see the word “unclean”.
It was a picture of defilement.

And the Pharisees had effectively taught the people that
If they didn’t wash their hands the proper way before eating
Then somehow they were unclean before God.

And the people lived in fear and bondage.

AND THIS IS THE SECOND DANGER OF TRADITION.
1) It might cause you to disobey God’s Law
2) It can cause people to live in bondage.

Imagine living with the guilt that if you failed to wash your hands
You were displeasing to God!

TRADITION CAN BOG YOU DOWN CAN’T IT?

Think about Homecoming. (No, I’m not dogging homecoming, I’m no fool)

But if I had a dollar for every time I heard someone involved in the work say something like, “Oh, if I can just get this week behind me”

Because trying to keep all the traditions going is WORK.

Now imagine if your being pleasing to God
Depended upon how well the class meeting went.

Or imagine God was judging the parade to see
If your float was good enough to get your class into heaven.

And yet the Pharisees had used tradition to do that to people.

And today some religion does that to people.
You can see that we are taking the Lord’s Supper this morning.

I had a roommate in college who had been told that if he didn’t take the Lord’s Supper every Sunday then he would be under the judgment of God.

Even on the weekends that he went home with me, he had to find a church where he could take it, because he was afraid of judgment.

And that is a tragedy.
If you want to get technical about the Lord’s Supper
One could easily argue that it should be done once a year.

WHY?
Because Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of Me”
DO WHAT?
The Passover.

He was teaching His disciples that when you come to take the Passover,
Don’t take it thinking about Moses, take it thinking about Me.
And so you could argue for once a year.

Now, it is also clear that the early church did it far more often than that,
It was called “The Love Feast” and they may have done it every week.

But certainly a person’s acceptance before God doesn’t hinge upon it.
And yet my friend lived a life of fear that if he missed it one Sunday,
God was going to strike Him.

That was the type of bondage the crowd was under,
And so Jesus turns to set them free.

“It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”

Jesus says, if you want to guard something,
Don’t guard what goes in your mouth, guard what comes out of it.

We already learned this:
Matthew 12:33-37 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. “The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Jesus clearly taught us that the tongue is a gage of the heart.

On the day of judgment,
You won’t give account for what you put in your mouth,
But you will give an accounting for what came out of it.

“For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

And Jesus wanted the crowd to “Hear and understand.”

Don’t live your life under the bondage of tradition.
Don’t let man’s laws burden you down.

Jesus chose to set them free.

The Crisis, The Confrontation, The Correction
#4 THE CAUTION
Matthew 15:12-14

Now this is mind boggling,
But it greatly illustrates just how powerful tradition can be.

“Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?”

WOW!

The disciples couldn’t believe that Jesus would offend the Pharisees.
They didn’t seem to have any problem with the Pharisees offending Jesus,
But they were concerned about Jesus offending them.

It just illustrates how deep this tradition had run in their lives.

But it also reveals the truth about hypocrisy and tradition.

Three things here.
1) HYPOCRITES ARE CONVICTED BY TRUTH (12)

“the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement”

Of course they were.
They were wrong.
They were sinning.
That is why I told you last week that tradition is a touchy subject.
People don’t like you messing with them.

But if your worship merely consists of tradition
It likely will convict you to find that it is worthless.

So it was no surprise to Jesus that the Pharisees were offended.

2) HYPOCRITES ARE CONDEMNED BY GOD (13)

“But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted.”

DO YOU RECOGNIZE THE REFERENCE?
Matthew 13:37-42 “And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. “So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

This is a direct reference by Jesus to the parable of the tares of the field.
• They exist sure enough.
• But they weren’t planted here by God.
• And when the judgment comes, they won’t last.

First Jesus called their worship “vain”
And now He calls their judgment “sure”.

And the point is, there is no possible chance
That a hypocrite will inherit eternal life.

A person can keep every church tradition there is,
And be the most faithful little Baptist the world had ever seen
And still split the gates of hell wide open.

Because God is not interested in traditional worship.

WHAT KIND OF WORSHIP DOES GOD WANT?
John 4:23-24 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

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

God isn’t looking for people who will keep tradition.
God is looking for people who will die to self and worship Him.
It was tradition that kept the Jews coming back and offering sacrifice after sacrifice, and yet Paul says, “You don’t get it!”

God doesn’t want you here offering sacrifices.
YOU ARE THE SACRIFICE!

Present YOUR bodies!

Micah 6:6-8 “With what shall I come to the LORD And bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, With yearling calves? Does the LORD take delight in thousands of rams, In ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?

Psalms 50:13-15 “Shall I eat the flesh of bulls Or drink the blood of male goats? “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving And pay your vows to the Most High; Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.”

Isaiah 1:11, 16-17 “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats…”Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.”

TRADITION DOESN’T CUT IT!
God wants true worship.

All of those hypocrites who only got good at tradition
Will someday be condemned when they are plucked out of God’s field.

Hypocrites are Convicted by Truth Hypocrites are Condemned by God
3) HYPOCRITES ARE CONTAGIOUS TO OTHERS (14)

“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.”

Wow, what a statement!
Jesus says, “Stay away from them!”

These men are headed for destruction and they will take you there too.
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.”

These men are dangerous.
They promote tradition and men love tradition.

And if you fall into their trap, they will leave you worshiping
Your whole life and never pleasing God at all.

What a tragedy and so Jesus says, to stay away.

AND THAT IS THE CAUTION TO THE DISCIPLES.

They couldn’t believe
Jesus would say those things to the Pharisees,
That only indicates that to at least some degree
The Pharisees had convinced the disciples.

IT RUNS DEEP.
Sometime read the book of Acts
And see how hard it was to break their traditions.

Remember when Peter went to Cornelius and saw him saved?
When Peter got back he got in trouble for eating with a Gentile.

There was a long debate and finally the church agreed that God would save Gentiles (there’s a tradition I’m glad got broken)

But notice how hard it was to fully let go of it.
Acts 11:18-19 “When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.” So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone.”

Remember Peter later?
Galatians 2:11-13 “But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.”

The point is that tradition can become so deep rooted,
That Jesus told the disciples to stay away from the Pharisees.

It Corrupts worship,
It is Convicted by truth,
It is Condemned by God,
It is Contagious to others.

The Crisis, The Confrontation, The Correction, The Caution
#5 THE CLARIFICATION
Matthew 15:15-20

Again, leave it to Peter.
“Peter said to Him, “Explain the parable to us.”

To which Jesus responded:
“Are you still lacking in understanding also?”

YOU SEE, WHAT JESUS TAUGHT WASN’T A PARABLE.

BUT LISTEN:
The tradition of washing your hands was so deeply engrained
That Peter could never imagine Jesus saying they didn’t have to.

That’s like Jesus telling a Baptist it’s ok to dance.
Or telling someone from the church of Christ to play a song on the piano.

Folks it just reiterates how deep tradition can run.

And we have them too.
Traditions so deep it might shock you to know
It was never commanded in Scripture.

• Try to find where God outlined the qualifications for committees.
• Try to find where God said that parliamentary procedure should be used in a
business meeting.
• In fact try to find a business meeting.

And yet many would be shocked if those things disappeared.

The point is tradition can get deeply engrained
And it is even possible to assume that tradition is doctrine,
But it is not.

Peter was so convinced he thought Jesus was giving a parable.

“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?”

Jesus there points out the holes in this revered tradition.
Food can’t defile you!

The food in your mouth does not go to your heart, where does it go?
The stomach

And from the stomach it still doesn’t go to the heart, it is eliminated.

IS GOD CONCERNED ABOUT THE STOMACH?

1 Corinthians 6:13a “Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them.”
WHAT IS GOD CONCERNED ABOUT?
The heart

1 Samuel 16:7 “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Jeremiah 17:10 “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.”

And if we have learned nothing from Jesus,
We have learned that the heart is what matters.

Anyone remember the Sermon on the Mount?
Murder = hatred in the heart
Adultery = lust in the heart

And so God isn’t concerned about what goes into the stomach,
He is concerned about what comes out of the heart.

“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.”

If you are really concerned about being defiled,
THEN CONCERN YOURSELVES WITH SIN, NOT SOAP.

This is where the Pharisees continually missed it.
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!”

It was a massive problem.
And one that had clearly affected even the disciples.

But Jesus tells them to shift their focus.

SO – “TRUTH VS. TRADITION”
TRADITION ISN’T BAD – UNLESS:
• It is followed more than Scripture.
• It enslaves others to bind them in legalism.

AND JESUS SAID TO STAY AWAY FROM PEOPLE WHO ENFORCE IT.

DO YOU WANT TO BE PLEASING TO GOD?
It isn’t through tradition, it is through the truth.
Worship God in Spirit and in Truth

THAT IS A GREAT SEGWAY INTO THE LORD’S SUPPER.

We aren’t made pleasing to God
Because we partake on a certain schedule.
No tradition does that.

We are made pleasing through the blood of Jesus,
And so when partake of the Lord’s Supper,
We do so in a spirit of humility and worship.

That is why Scripture warns us to examine ourselves before we partake.

1 Corinthians 11:27-32 “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.”

We make sure that we are worshiping God from the heart,
And not expecting to please God because we kept some tradition.

If our worship doesn’t come from the heart, God is not interested.

We will have a time of preparation; a time of self-examination.

 

And the question of the day is

• Why do I worship?
• Do I do it out of tradition, or out of love for God?
• Am I determined to give God what He wants, or what I’ve always given Him before?

Will I worship in truth or do I worship in tradition?

I will pray and we will have a time
To examine our hearts before God.

LORD’S SUPPER

Deacon’s Come

Isaiah 53:1-6 “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. Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”

Give bread to deacons
Deacon prayer
Pass out bread

Matthew 26:26 “While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

Take Bread

Isaiah 53:7-12 “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.”

Give juice to deacons
Deacon prayer
Pass out juice

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

Take Juice

Prayer
Parting Chorus

Truth Vs. Tradition – part 1
Matthew 14:34 – 15:20 (14:34 – 15:9)
November 27, 2011

As you know, we are studying through Matthew’s gospel,
And most recently we are getting an up close and personal view
Of what real ministry is like.

You’ll remember that this all started back with a crowd approaching Jesus

But instead of seeing massive conversion, the disciples heard Jesus
Give a farming illustration and then dismiss the crowd.

The disciples wanted to know why.

Jesus said, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted…because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”

In short Jesus revealed a startling truth to His disciples.
Not everyone who hears the gospel wants the gospel.

Jesus even gave us parables to help us understand.
The first of which was the parable of the sower in which He explained
That not everyone who gets the seed accepts the seed.

Some hearts are too hard.
Some hearts are too shallow.
Some hearts are too cluttered.

And Jesus didn’t tell us that parable so that we would invent strategies
For reaching all those types of people.

The whole point of the parable is that
(apart from a miraculous work done by Him on their hearts)
They cannot be reached.

He told us that parable to encourage us when we feel like failures
Because our preaching is not obeyed.

We know, it is not the fault of the seed, nor is it the fault of the sower,
It is the fault of the soil.

But not only does Matthew record that parable for us,
But he is also illustrating it.

We have seen an illustration of a SHALLOW HEART
As Jesus came to His hometown and at first they were all excited about Him, only to reject Him when His preaching became too direct.

We have seen an illustration of a CLUTTERED HEART
As we looked at Herod, a man who feared the loss of the world too much to repent of his sin and trust in Christ.

We have even seen an illustration of GOOD HEART
As we saw the disciples worship Jesus after He got in the boat after walking on water.

Well this morning we see an example of
That old fashioned hardened heart.
In every sense of the word it is a “clueless” heart.
Those with hardened hearts don’t get it at all.

And that is who we see here,
Matthew even lets us see what prevents them from seeing the truth.
That is their tradition.

Jesus goes straight to the heart of the problem in Matthew 15:8

Matthew 15:8-9 “THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'”

Jesus is speaking a mouthful there to say the least.
He saw a people who had a good outward appearance.
They knew the lingo, they knew the game.

And yet He saw a people with bad hearts who didn’t love Him at all.

In fact Jesus called their worship “vain”.
Their worship was useless, their worship was futile.
They might as well have skipped church.

Malachi 1:10 “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD of hosts, “nor will I accept an offering from you.”

That is the same thing God says here.
Your worship is useless.

WHY?
“Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.”

The answer as to why their worship was futile…
Because they put men’s words on the same level as God’s.

They followed tradition more than they followed the truth.
And God was not the least bit impressed.

And Jesus said their worship was “vain”.
If after all has been said and God’s word has been preached,
If you are still just going to do it your own way, then why bother?

And yet it was their love of tradition over truth
That kept their hearts hard and their souls lost.

And Matthew uses them as an illustration this morning
About hardened hearts.

We certainly learn about them, and we certainly examine our own hearts
to make sure we do not allow hardness to remain.

Now, the story doesn’t start there,
Let me show you what leads up to the moment.

Matthew actually starts our story back in chapter 14.
#1 THE CRISIS
Matthew 14:34-36

Now I will admit that these verses alone don’t look like much of a crisis.
And really, if they stand alone, they aren’t.

All Matthew does here is undeniably chronicle
The extreme popularity of Jesus.

“When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent word into all that surrounding district and brought to Him all who were sick;”

SAFE TO SAY THAT JESUS WAS POPULAR?
The Guy cannot get away.
Fame has taken over.

They spot Him, they know Him, they are on the lookout for Him.

Now certainly we could spend some time studying John 6
And see what happened over on the other side of the sea
And we could learn that this crowd was just as fickle as the rest.
But Matthew doesn’t record any of that.

It is clear that he simply wants you and me to see that Jesus ministry
Is at a pinnacle of popularity.
Right now, the people love Him!

But popularity is not the only thing Matthew wants you to see.
He also wants you to see His popularity is warranted, for He has POWER

“and they implored Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were cured.”
The crowds had heard what Jesus did for the hemorrhaging woman
And wanted the same for themselves.

Again we could talk a while about how the crowd was missing the point.
Jesus came to save, and from Him they could have had forgiveness,
They instead settled for healing.

The crowd is no role model here.

But again the point Matthew is clearly making is that
Jesus is popular and Jesus is powerful.

WHY IS THAT A CRISIS?
It isn’t for you or me, and it isn’t for Jesus.

But it is a major problem for the religious leaders of the day.

Remember the religious leaders?
Matthew 23:6-7 “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.”

And of course this made them extremely jealous of Jesus.

Their jealousy is expressed in John’s gospel.
John 12:19 “So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.”

Jesus threatened the religious leaders…
Jesus made them jealous…

He was a problem to the little gold mine they had going,
And that is what Matthew wants you to see.

There is more he could have shown you,
But he just wants you to see how popular Jesus has become.

And that leads him right into the next point.

The Crisis
#2 THE CONFRONTATION
Matthew 15:1-9

Notice the word “Then”

Sometimes, because of the chapter break,
We fail to let the story continue to flow.

But remember Matthew didn’t put that chapter break there, men did later.

Matthew is clearly tying this confrontation back to the popularity of Jesus.

Crowds are flocking to Jesus and they aren’t being disappointed.
He is spiraling out of control.

“Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”

Now please notice a few important distinctions about that verse.

The accusation isn’t directed towards a flaw of Jesus.
“Why do Your disciples…”

Nor is their accusation directed at a violation to the Law of God.
“break the tradition of the elders?”

The reason of course is that they haven’t had much luck
Condemning Jesus with the Law of God.

• They tried to nail Him for to eating with sinners but that didn’t work.
• They tried to nail Him in regard to not fasting, but that didn’t work.
• They tried to accuse Him of breaking the Sabbath, but that didn’t work.

This is a new strategy and it addresses
Him allowing His disciples to break tradition.

SO THE ISSUE IS TRADITION
And I don’t mind telling you friend that tradition is a “hot button” word.

People love tradition.
It builds a sense of pride…
It builds a sense of community…
It builds a sense of comfort…
People unify around it…
People fight to protect it…

And if you want to find yourself in a pan of hot water,
Just go messing with someone’s traditions.

We can laugh and scoff at how out of hand it can get,
But you and I still know that that famous line:
“We’ve never done it that way before”
Still holds an enormous amount of power.

The other funny thing about tradition is that
It is only the tradition of others that bother us.

Our traditions make sense, it is other people’s that are dumb.
The point is we all have them.
• We have family traditions. (Thanksgiving)
• We have community traditions. (Turn Around at the end of town)
• We have school traditions. (Homecoming)
• We have church traditions. (Music style; Observance of Lord’s Supper)
• We have Baptist traditions. (Baptist’s don’t dance; in public)

And you and I know that if anyone tries to change ours,
Or if we try to change someone else’s then the fight is on.

NOW, PLEASE DON’T MISUNDERSTAND.
Tradition is not all bad.

1 Corinthians 11:2 “Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you.”

2 Thessalonians 2:15 “So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.”

And so obviously the issue here is not
Whether traditions are good or bad.

In fact, look at “the tradition of the elders” here.

It was that men should “wash their hands when they eat bread.”

Boy there’s a horrible idea isn’t it?
Everyone does that today.
(not so much as tradition as good sense)

My wife keeps hand-sanitizer in the car
To make sure the kids hands are clean when we go in to eat.

What is so wrong with washing your hands?
NOTHING

The issue here is not if the tradition is good or bad.
The issue is HOW MUCH WEIGHT DOES THE TRADITION HAVE?

How much authority does a tradition carry?

Well, to the Pharisees it carried quite a lot.
They thought it mattered to great extent.

To them it wasn’t just an issue of cleanliness,
But an issue of godliness.
If you didn’t wash your hands, you were defiled and unclean.

And apparently it was an issue of such magnitude
That it warranted a visit from the Jerusalem Sanhedrin.
The Pharisees and Scribes come to attack Jesus
And they do so based on the fact that He breaks tradition,
Or at least willingly allows it to be broken.

And I don’t mind telling you that Jesus is up for the argument.

Notice how He counters.
(3) “And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?”

Now first we recognize that Jesus did not answer the question.
They wanted to know why the disciples didn’t wash their hands.
(And to this day, we don’t know the answer)

Maybe the water was too dirty…
Maybe the water was too cold…
Maybe there was no water…
Maybe the disciples were too hungry…
Maybe the disciples were pigs who were never taught manners…

We don’t know.
But Jesus doesn’t tell us, because it doesn’t matter.

IS THERE ANY LAW AGAINST BREAKING TRADITION?

No, so really any reason for breaking it is good enough.
It doesn’t matter.

But Jesus here turns their argument back at them.

Before I answer what reason justifies the disciples breaking a tradition.
Let Me ask you if you have a reason that justifies you
Breaking “the commandment of God”?

“Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?”

WHAT DO YOU MEAN?
(4-6) “For God said, ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,’ and, ‘HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH.’ “But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God,” he is not to honor his father or his mother.’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition.”

Here we have a COMMAND verses a TRADITION.

Here is the COMMAND, “Honor your father and mother” and “He who speaks evil of father or mother is to be put to death.”
Here is the TRADITION
“Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God.”

The tradition was instead of giving money to help their parents,
The Pharisees would vow their money to God.

Now please understand they did not GIVE their money to God
(Luke 16:14 “lovers of money”), they only PLEDGED it to God.

They said, “God, this is Your money, I am only a steward, and I vow not to give it to anyone else in case You ever want it.”

But since God never sent them a bill in the mail,
They got to keep their money.

“And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition”

They followed a tradition of vowing their money,
And they broke the command to give it to their parents.

Now any reason may be good enough for breaking a tradition, but is there any reason good enough for breaking a commandment?
And of course the answer is NO.

And the point thus far is this:
Traditions may be fine and well and good,
But they do not even come close
To carrying the same authority as Scripture.
Amen?

Ten thousand years of doing something one way
Does not equate with 2 seconds of God’s spoken word.

If God says “Do it” or “Don’t do it”
No revered tradition has the clout to reverse it.

But that is not what the Pharisees believed.

You see, they believed their traditions mattered every bit as much,
If not more than the word of God.

They were not followers of God, they were followers of tradition.

And that is bad enough.

BUT TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE:
They said they were followers of God.
And so not only were they foolish, but they were also hypocrites,
Which is why Jesus goes on:

(7-9) “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'”

And if there were ever a statement that cut deep, this is it.

Jesus knew they were religious.
“This people honors Me with their lips”

Oh, they knew how to spout their love for God.
They knew how to pray in public.
They knew how to pretend love for His people.

But that means nothing.
We know that “many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord…”

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

The hypocrites were all talk.

“But their heart is far away from Me”

WHAT IS THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT?
Matthew 22:37 “And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’”

Notice Jesus didn’t say to love Him with all your mouth.
He said to love Him with all your heart.

Well these people got it wrong.
They loved God with their speech, but not with their heart.

HOW DO WE KNOW THAT?

Because they transgressed the commandment of God
For the sake of their tradition.

They forced God to adhere to their tradition
Instead of forcing their tradition to adhere to God.
And because of that Jesus said their worship was vanity.
“But in vain do they worship Me”

In other words, their worship means nothing.
Their worship accounts for nothing.
God could care less.

DID YOU KNOW IT IS POSSIBLE
TO GO THROUGH THE RITUAL OF CHURCH EVERY SINGLE SUNDAY
AND NEVER PLEASE GOD?

The Jews did it for a lifetime.
They didn’t care about God’s will.
They didn’t care about God’s way.
They cared about doing it their own way.

Their worship was vain.

And listen to this statement.
“Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.”

In today’s language it would say, “Enforcing what men say”

The New Living Translation says:
“they replace God’s commands with their own man-made teachings.”

Their worship is vain because
They regard what men say over what God says.
They regard man-made traditions over God-given commands.

In fact the Pharisees wouldn’t even listen to what God had to say
Because of their traditions.

WE CALL THAT A HARDENED HEART.
It won’t even listen to God.

And now we see what a hardened heart looks like.
These men’s hearts were far away from God.

We often think of hard hearted people as being atheists,
But that isn’t the only kind.

Here we find people who spout the right kind of lingo,
But obviously have no interest in the truth of God’s word.
That is a hardened heart.

The first thing I would do is encourage you.
At times in your ministry you are going to come across people like this.

Regardless of how hard you try, they aren’t going to listen.

They wouldn’t listen to Jesus, why should they listen to you.
So don’t get discouraged when they don’t respond, it isn’t your fault.

The second thing I would do is warn us all.
Let’s make sure that we don’t have hearts like that.

WHAT MATTERS MOST TO US?
Our traditions, or the revealed Word of God?

Charles Spurgeon asked his congregation, “If there were no Sunday morning service at eleven, how many of you would be Christians?”

And that is a question that deserves an answer.
We can’t do this just because we’ve always done this.

That type of worship never pleases God.

Let us commit to seek out the truth of God,
And if at any point we find that our traditions
Are in contrast to God’s will, let us throw them out.

Tradition isn’t bad, and tradition isn’t uncommon.
But tradition can never carry as much authority
As God’s revealed Word!

Let us keep things in their proper place.
Matthew 15:3 “And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?”

Developing an Unsinkable Faith
Matthew 14:22-33
November 20, 2011

Here we are in the middle of Matthew’s gospel and at the same time
In the middle of one of the busiest days in all of Jesus’ ministry.

Not only has Jesus received word about the death of John the Baptist,
But He has also been bombarded by a crowd.

• He has healed their diseases…
• He has preached about the kingdom…
• He has fed all of them with two fish and five loaves…
• And now He is walking on water…
(Only to debate with the crowd on the other side)
It is a busy day.

What we also have begun to understand is that this day
Had far less to do with proving Himself to the crowds
And far more to do with teaching the twelve.

We learned this very clearly last week
As Jesus pulled the ultimate teaching lesson on His disciples.

John’s gospel even told us that Jesus was testing His disciples.

Jesus pushed them to the brink of their physical rationale
To reveal to them that ministry must be done according to His will
And in His strength.

On our own ministry is impossible.
• We will be too tired…
• We will be too busy…
• Our task will be too large…
• Our resources will be too small…
And more times than not our ministry will be less than spectacular.

And this was true of the disciples.
They simply wanted to send the crowd away (we’ve been there)

But then came the rebuke.
Matthew 14:16 “But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!”

In other words, “What do you think you are here for?”

Now, as we noted the circumstances
Seemed to make this command impossible.

Matthew 14:17 “They said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”

Based upon their own ability, the command of Jesus would never work.

But that is where Jesus stepped in.
He took the food, blessed it and gave it back to the disciples
To then give it to the crowd.

And the rest is history.
They never ran out, and there were 12 baskets left over.

So while it was an impressive miracle that the crowed should have recognized, Matthew makes it clear that the miracle was really for them.

It was a hands on problem meant to teach them that God provides the means for our ministry, and if He tells us to do it, we can.

This morning we get another hands on ministry learning session.
And to a large part it is the same lesson.

You see Mark tells us that the disciples
Didn’t learn a thing from the first one.

Mark 6:52 “for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened.”

So: Take Two

Jesus is still out to teach them that where He guides them,
He can provide for them.

He is still out to grow their faith.

And of course you know that growing our faith is very important to Jesus.
And one of the ways He does that is through difficult circumstances.

James 1:2-4 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Romans 5:3-4 “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;”

Jesus loves to use difficult circumstances to grow our faith.

But even at that, “grow our faith” is a little bit of a misnomer.
What we should really talk about is learning to use our faith.

When we talk about being of “little faith”,
It doesn’t mean that there is something wrong with faith,
It means we don’t use it enough.

You see faith does not come from you.
Faith is a gift from God.

Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;”

The faith we have is supernatural.
It comes from God.
It is given to us.

And so we really aren’t trying to grow it,
We are really just trying to learn to use it.

So the faith we have is supernatural and unless it is tested
You and I never know how strong it actually is.

And so the Lord puts us in difficult circumstances
So that we can see how strong faith actually is.

Listen to what Peter said:
TURN TO: 1 Peter 1:3-9

Look at what Peter says about faith.
• It is what God uses it to protect us for salvation. (3-5)
• Its strength is proven through trials. (6-7)
• It results in the salvation of our souls (8-9)

And so it really isn’t about growing our faith,
But rather learning to use it.

And because of that difficult circumstances are necessary.

We saw the first last week when Jesus told the 12
To feed 5,000 men and their families with only 5 loaves and 2 fish.
But the disciples learned nothing from that,

So it is time for yet another problematic circumstance.
You and I know it as the day Jesus walked on water.

Now again this is not a new miracle to us.
It, like the feeding of the 5,000, suffers from our familiarity.
We are so familiar with it that we fail to be astonished any more by it.

But what Jesus did here is so amazing it is almost unreal.
He truly is the Lord of all creation.

Now this miracle is not mentioned by all four gospel writers.
Luke does not include it in his gospel.
(Largely due to the fact that he was not there, where as the others were.)

But in Matthew’s gospel we have the only account
Of Peter getting out of the boat.

That teaches us that Matthew is making a point through Peter’s stepping out of the boat, and so we will sort of focus in on that this morning.

But let’s look at this dilemma the disciples find themselves in
And learn a little bit about developing an unsinkable faith.

5 things.
#1 A SIMPLE COMMAND
Matthew 14:22-23

These verses really stress the authority of Jesus.

“Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side”

The disciples had wanted the ministry to be over sooner, but Jesus wasn’t ready.
Now He is ready and the disciples are told to leave.

“while He sent the crowds away.”

This is what the disciples were rebuked for wanting earlier,
But the teaching lesson had been given and now the crowds could leave.

Jesus wasn’t going to feed them forever.
(In fact John 6 reveals that this is what they wanted and He was unwilling to do that.)

This ministry event is over.
And it is breaking up fast.
John tells us why.
John 6:15 “So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.”

The crowd missed the point.
They wanted a leader that would fix the hunger problem once and for all,
But they had no interest in true faith. (Read John 6 and you will see that)

And so Jesus is leaving.
He sends the 12 away, dismisses the crowd, and He gets back to doing
What He intended to do before the crowd arrived.

(23) “After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.”

But here is what is interesting.
We know Jesus is omniscient, He knows what is coming.
He knows a storm is brewing.
WHAT DID HE DO?
He sent His disciples out into it, ALONE.

When you read verse 22, it doesn’t even appear He gave them an option.
“Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat…”

It is apparent He wanted them out there on the water before the storm hit
So they wouldn’t be able to delay the trip on account of it.

Understand that some of life’s trials certainly intended by the Lord.

Jesus certainly sent the disciples into a storm.
(and they had no clue)

To them, it was just a simple command.

A Simple Command
#2 A SCARY CIRCUMSTANCE
Matthew 14:24

And now we get the other side of the story.
While Jesus is praying the disciples are paddling.

“But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary.”

Mark and John give a little more insight.
Mark 6:47-48a “When it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. Seeing them straining at the oars, for the wind was against them…”

John 6:19a “Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles…”

I think at this point we have a pretty good idea
As to what Jesus was praying about.

We know He is a great and merciful high priest who intercedes for us.
I don’t think it is far-fetched at all to assume
Jesus was on the mountain praying for the disciples.

And by the looks of things, they needed it.
They were three or four miles out, and straining at the oars.

That is what we call a difficult circumstance,
And the Lord intentionally sent them in to it.

A Simple Command, A Scary Circumstance
#3 A SPOKEN COMFORT
Matthew 14:25-27
Now we catch another glimpse as to the struggle these men were facing.

Matthew didn’t record how far they had rowed…
Nor did he understand the concept of straining at the oars…

But this tax collector turned boat traveler knew one thing.
They had been there a long time.

(25) “And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea.”

“the fourth watch” was between 3:00am and 6:00am.

Now look back at verse 23.
“After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.”

So understand the time table.
• Jesus sent 12 away first.
• Then He sent away 5,000 families
• Then evening came (6:00pm)

So we are talking at least 9 hours on the water,
And at least half of that was spent fighting the waves on this storm.
The point is this went on forever, and they were exhausted.

Can you imagine the grumbling?
• Why did He send us out here?
• Why didn’t He come with us?
• Why doesn’t He do something?

This has been a long, dark, difficult night.

(25) “And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea.”
Now there is a thing of beauty!
“He came to them”

HOW DID HE COME?

FIRST: He came later than they wanted.
“in the fourth watch of the night”

But that is not uncommon.
Ask Martha about that:
John 11:21 “Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Ask Jairus about that:
Mark 5:35 “While He was still speaking, they came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the Teacher anymore?”
SECOND: He came in a way they could never have expected.
“walking on the sea”

The point is He has ways of deliverance
That never even enter the human logic.

Naaman thought bathing in the Jordan was a foolish idea…
Filling the wine barrels with water seemed strange…
Putting mud on a blind man’s eyes isn’t what you’d expect…

But Jesus isn’t required to deliver in ways that make sense to us.
His timing is never too late and His tactics are never impossible.

So He comes later than expected and different than they ever thought,
But the beauty is He came.

The initial result was terror.
(26) “When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear.”

The waves were scary, but at least the waves were familiar.
They had never seen anything like this, and now they were doubly afraid.

BUT HAVE WE NOT LEARNED THAT FEAR IS THE OPPOSITE OF FAITH?

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

Now there is command number two.
• First was the command to go.
• Now is the command “do not be afraid.”

THIS IS A FAITH LESSON.
Faith is hard to learn in a classroom.
Faith is hard to learn in a pew.

God seems to prefer hands on teaching times.

And even in the midst of this storm,
Jesus tells the disciples that they have nothing to fear.

That is the spoken comfort.

#4 A STERN CORRECTION
Matthew 14:28-31

Now this is part of the story that only Matthew shares with us.
(Not sure if Peter was happy about him doing that or not)

“Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”

I don’t mind telling you that this is a difficult statement to process.
It almost sounds like Peter is asking Jesus
To prove that He is real and not a ghost.

But if that is what he is asking,
He has picked a really foolish way to make Jesus prove it.

If he were trying to get Jesus to prove Himself he would have said something like, “If it is You, calm the storm like You did before.”

But Peter isn’t looking for proof here.

And this is the beauty of Peter.
• He sees what the Lord is doing.
• He understands that Jesus is asking for faith.

And so Peter is the first to try and offer it.

We may give Peter grief sometimes for the impulsive moments in his life and the failures he has.

But at least Peter failed at full speed.
You can say a lot of things about Peter, but faithless is not one of them.

Peter is here doing the unthinkable.
“Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”

In other words, it is better to be with You on the water
Than without You in the boat.

I’m sure the rest of the disciples saw it as,
“Peter’s just tired of having to row”

But Peter asks to come out.
He is trying to exercise the faith He senses that Jesus wants.

(29) “And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.”

Let’s just say, “Well-done Peter!”

And let me bring this illustration a little closer to home.

Many in this room have prayed prayers similar to Peter’s.
“Lord if you want me to, You can call me on a mission trip…”

That is very similar to what Peter was doing.
I’m not going to jump out on my own…
I’m not even asking permission to go…
I’m just saying that if You want to call me, I’ll go…

Many have prayed that way in regard to things like missions,
They have heard the Lord say, “Come”
And they have stepped out of the boat.

Well done.

Then comes the problem.
(30) “But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Obviously he didn’t see the wind.
He saw the effects of the wind, which was the waves.

And “he became frightened”

And all of a sudden, all he wanted was deliverance.
“Lord, put me back in the boat!”

Some have gone on mission and had similar moments.
They hit scary circumstances and say, “That’s it, send me home!”

This was Peter.
He tried, but he faltered.

(31) “Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Can you see Jesus’ eyes?
Can you hear the disappointment in His voice?

I can, because I have seen those eyes
And heard that voice in my own life before.

I can’t get down on Peter,
And certainly those still sitting in the boat having nothing to say.

But it doesn’t change the fact that the Lord rebuked Peter here.

And again the message: DO NOT DOUBT

Is it not obvious what Jesus has been trying to teach them
Over the course of the last two miracles?
• So you don’t have enough food, trust Me.
• So you’re in the midst of storm, trust Me.
• So the waves threaten to sink you, trust Me.

The disciples would never be able to minister in this world
Unless they learned to trust Jesus, and neither will you and I.

And sometimes the very purpose of the storms He sends us in to
Is so that we will learn not to fear, not to doubt, and not to let problems
Deter us from what He has commanded us to do.

With Him, we can do it.
With Him we can feed the multitude…
With Him we can survive the storm…
With Him we can face the waves…

We simply have to learn that we can.
And that is what the Lord was teaching the twelve.

He used a storm to teach them that they are safe in the midst of His will,
And there is no need to fear the circumstances so long as He is with us.

Let’s see if the disciples learned this.

#5 A SPIRITUAL CONVICTION
Matthew 14:32-33

So Jesus and Peter get into the boat and “the wind stopped”

Was this a miracle? Yes.

But the reason the wind stopped is because the lesson had been learned.
Jesus had made the point, and the storm was no longer needed.

In fact John’s gospel takes it even further.
John 6:21 “So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.”

Not only was the storm over, but apparently the boat ride was over too.
That storm was not meant to harm them.
That storm was meant to show them how to use their faith.

DID THEY LEARN ANYTHING?
(33) “And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!”

Matthew DOESN’T say “They thanked Him saying, “We would have died without You.”

Matthew says “they worshiped Him”
They didn’t learn anything from the feeding the 5,000,
But they did from this.

They learned that in Jesus, they had an ally
That made impossible circumstances possible.

In Jesus
They had an ally that could do all things through them.
They had an ally that if He was for them, who could be against them.

And so Jesus took a simple storm and used it to solidify the faith of His disciples, and I want you to know He does the same today.

He doesn’t just ALLOW storms, at times He SENDS you in to them,
So that you will see what He already knows.

That you are not as easily defeated as you think…
You are not as helpless as it appears…
You are not as weak as it seems…

He is with you.
He is on your side.
He has commanded you and you can trust Him.

Let me give you one more example of unsinkable faith.
TURN TO: ACTS 27:9-44

Believe God, cut the ropes, and develop an unsinkable faith.

The Dedicated Minister
Matthew 14:13-21
November 13, 2011

Well this morning as we continue our study through Matthew’s gospel,
We come across what may indeed be
The most famous miracle Jesus ever worked.

This is the one miracle that every gospel writer felt the need to include.
We really have to take a second to realize the magnitude of this miracle.

If there is a downside to being raised in church.
It is that the miracles of Jesus can seem to become “OLD HAT”.

We have a tendency to read miracles like this and say:
“Yeah, Yeah, I got it all.”

I wish we could read it again for the first time.
Instead of familiarity, there would be excitement.
Instead of skimming, our eyes would be glued to the page

Think about what He did for just a second.
He fed 5,000 men, not counting their wives and children,
With only 2 fish, and five loaves of bread.
That’s not enough to feed Leo, let alone a crowd of that size.

This is an amazing miracle that our Lord worked.
He supernaturally multiplied food and fed a crowd.

And there really is no shortage of angles
From which we could talk about this miracle.

We could see it from the perspective of the boy
Who gave a small meal and received a buffet.

We could see it from the perspective of the crowd
Who partook in an amazing miracle.

We could see it from the perspective of the disciples
Who actually took part in the miracle being worked.

Or we could even take the different emphasis
That comes with each gospel account.

When you read Mark
It is evident that Mark wants to demonstrate the compassion of Jesus.

Mark 6:34 “When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.”
When you read Luke
Luke uses this miracle as a great apologetic proof of the deity of Jesus, for he uses this miracle to set up the great question of Jesus.

Luke 9:17-18 “And they all ate and were satisfied; and the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve baskets full. And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the people say that I am?”

When you read John
John uses this miracle as a platform to declare the deity of Jesus.

John 6:32-35 “Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. “For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”

And so we could talk about this miracle from many different perspectives.

But since we are studying Matthew’s gospel,
Let’s look at it from Matthew’s angle.

And when you read this miracle in Matthew’s gospel,
One thing begins to really jump out at you,
And that is the DEDICATION of Jesus.

Jesus aim was always to do exactly what God wanted Him to do.

John 5:19 “Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.”

His goal was His mission.
He never allowed anything to stop Him, or to slow Him down.
He was focused on ministry.

(Jesus was exactly the opposite of the rocky soil)
SO TODAY LET’S SEE THE DEDICATION OF JESUS.
This is something that is sorely needed in the Church today.

I truly believe that our churches have
• Many compassionate people.
• Many loving people.
• Many visionary people

We need more DEDICATED people.
Too often today, we see people who start off “hot” in ministry,
But when it doesn’t go quite like they planned, they are ready to quit.
And you know this cannot be how we do it.

WE NEED DEDICATION.

I’ve also told you that Matthew is using this section
To emphasize the parables of the kingdom that Jesus just gave us.

(This crowd will prove to be “rocky soil” just read John 6)

But I believe there is another parable Matthew is reinforcing here.
The last parable spoke of faithfulness.
Matthew 13:51-52 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes.” And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

And obviously if we are to be faithful in our kingdom work
It will require dedication.

That is the example that Jesus gives us here.
Once He heard the Father’s will,
Nothing could stop Him, except the Father.

He was focused, and He was dedicated.

And it is clear that Jesus uses this miracle as a way
To pass that dedication on to His disciples.

So this morning, as Jesus shows His disciples what dedication looks like, let’s see if we can’t learn a thing or two as well.
#1 THE EXAMPLE
Matthew 14:13-14

“Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself;”

Think about that just for a moment.
WHO WAS JOHN?
• The cousin of Jesus.
• The forerunner of Jesus.
• The greatest man born of woman.
• A faithful witness.

There is no doubt in our minds that Jesus loved John.

Even beyond the loss of a relative…
Even beyond the loss of a ministry partner…

This must have produced a certain sting for Jesus,
Knowing that His death wasn’t too far away either.

Can we safely say this was a hard day?

And so we know why Jesus “withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself;”
He wanted to grieve.
He wanted to reflect.
He wanted to rest.

Even after the disciples find Him, notice what He says according to Mark:
Mark 6:30-32 “The apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.”

So Jesus wants and needs to get away.
This is “me time”.
This is the time when ministry “guru’s” tell you to protect yourself from burnout.
And Jesus departs.

“and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities.”
Jesus can’t escape.
The crowd is impatient.
Grieving or not, they want Jesus now.
(I’ve got a bicycling friend just like this)

AND BEFORE WE GET TOO DOWN ON THE CROWD
We are all like this.

EVER GO TO A DOCTOR’S OFFICE?
• I’m sorry your friend died, but we’re trying to keep me from dying.
• I’m sorry you missed your daughter’s basketball game, but this is about me
being able to play basketball.

The fact is that when we are hurting
We can be just as inconsiderate as this crowd.
What they did was selfish,
But it is the exact same thing we would have done.

And so here we are.
An exhausted Savior and a pushy crowd.
WHAT GIVES?

And you know the answer.
Jesus determined to be faithful to His ministry.
WHAT WAS HIS MINISTRY?
Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

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.”

We know that God sent Jesus to this world on a divine mission.
The people of His creation were lost, they had been separated from Him.
Jesus came in order to seek them out, and to reunite them with the Father.
He came to seek and to save that which was lost.

His ministry tactics certainly varied.
MIRACLES
Meant to draw attention.
Meant to meet peoples needs.
Meant to give proof

PREACHING
Clearly and accurately portrayed the truth of:
Righteousness, Heaven, and Hell

DISCIPLESHIP
Prepared others to work the same mission.
Discipled by teaching and example

He ministered in many different ways,
But His aim was always to seek and to save the lost,
Nothing could stop Him from doing that.

So when the crowd approaches Jesus,
It would have been real easy to say, “Hey folks, the clinic is closed today, I just don’t have it in Me at the present time.”

But He didn’t, He stayed the course,
And remained dedicated to His calling.
He “felt compassion for them and healed their sick.”

Luke 9:11 “But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.”

That is what dedication to ministry is all about.
His personal desires, His personal needs, His personal pleasures,
All came secondary to fulfilling the mission of God.

We are called to the same dedication.
Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others”
My how our ministry would change,
If we were more concerned about other people’s needs than our own.
If our neighbors happiness and comfort,
Was more important to us than our own.

That was the way Jesus did ministry.
His own Personal needs couldn’t delay Him.

He proved to be a great example to the disciples about dedication.

The Example
#2 THE EXHORTATION
Matthew 14:15-16

So thus far, Jesus has done it again.
And this isn’t shocking, no one is surprised at His compassion.

But, there is a problem:
“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.”

What you may not realize is in Jesus day, the Piggly Wiggly closed at 5:00. Supermarkets didn’t stay open late to accommodate people.

And that posed a problem.

In fact the disciples saw four problems
1) This was a large crowd
2) They were hungry
3) The place where they were was desolate
4) The markets were about to close.

Now, I know how it appears.
It appears like the disciples are just super concerned
About the well-being of the people.

Don’t they sound sympathetic?

That isn’t it.
In fact, look at what happens the next time a crowd forms. (feeding 4,000)

Matthew 15:32 “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 the disciples let the people go three days without caring for their food.

Don’t assume that the disciples
Are here concerned about the people’s hunger.
WHAT ARE THEY CONCERNED ABOUT?
Themselves!

The disciples are tired.
Their retreat away with Jesus got intruded upon.
And they want the crowd to leave.

So they come to Jesus, pretending to be concerned about their hunger thinking He will agree that the crowd needs to go.

WE KNOW WE’VE BEEN THERE.
(too selfish and too tired to care about ministry)

We’ve all had times when we just wanted people
To go bother someone else with their problem.
That is what the disciples wanted.

And that is why they received a rebuke from Jesus.
(16) “But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!”

Mark’s gospel adds that they argued even with this.
Mark 6:37 “But He answered them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?”

So it is obvious here that we have 12 people who are sick of the crowd
And one who cares about them.

One other thing you should know about this is that
Jesus used this event to test His disciples.

John 6:5-6 “Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do.”

You see Jesus knew that the disciples
Still did not have the proper ministry mindset, and so this event
Was to provide a teaching point. (Or and Exhortation)

WHAT WAS THE TEACHING POINT?
The ministry of serving God
Is more important than your own personal desires.

There is no room for selfishness in the ministry.
People are needy.
People are rude.
People are pushy.

They never need help when it is convenient.
But if you think about it,
When in your life is helping someone convenient?

When do you want to see a person broke down on the side of the road?
On the way to work?
During your lunch hour?
On your way home from work?
While you are headed out to eat?
On the way to the basketball game?

Or would you rather them just call you from a cell phone
While you are watching television in your recliner?

MINISTRY IS NEVER CONVENIENT!
If you wait until you aren’t tired…
If you wait until you have extra money…
If you wait until you have too much time…
YOU WILL NEVER HELP!

The disciples needed to learn to be ministry minded, and so do we.
Hebrews 13:1-2 “Let love of the brethren continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.”

Hebrews 13:15-16 “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”

We understand the point.

DO WE NEED NOW TO GO AND STUDY THE GOOD SAMARITAN?
“Which one proved to be a neighbor to this man?…Go and do likewise”

The disciples were selfish, and so Jesus exhorted them.

The Example, The Exhortation
#3 THE EXCUSE
Matthew 14:17-18

And so the disciples are still making excuses.
Only this time it isn’t out of selfishness, but genuine confusion.

They understand that they needed to minister to the crowd.
What they didn’t know is how they could possibly do it.

Now stay with me here for a minute,
Because we can real easily identify with the disciples on this one.

We already got caught wanting the crowd to leave.
And Jesus told US to feed them.

WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU DO?
You go through the crowd and find out who has their own food.
You find out exactly how many you have to feed.

The disciples did this, and what did they find?
“They said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”

Now they are stumped.
WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THIS?

Would you have allowed this tiny little roadblock to stop you?
The disciples would have.
Jesus didn’t.

He could have said, “Oh, I wanted to feed these people, but we don’t have enough food, I guess I really wasn’t supposed to feed them after all.”

BUT THAT ISN’T JESUS.
• Personal Needs Couldn’t Delay Him.
• Private Influence couldn’t Distract Him.
• PROBLEMATIC CIRCUMSTANCES COULDN’T DISCOURAGE HIM.

So there was a crowd of 5,000 plus…
So it was getting late…
So they had no money…
So only one person packed a lunch…

THAT WAS NO BIG DEAL TO JESUS.
WHY?

BECAUSE HE IS GOD!

He is not asking the disciples to minister in their own strength.
He is not asking them to supply from their own riches.

HE MERELY WANTS THEM TO UNDERSTAND THAT IF
THEY WILL COMMIT THEMSELVES TO MINISTERING TO PEOPLE,
HE WILL PROVIDE THE MEANS.

He already taught them that in regard to their preaching:
Matthew 10:19 “But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say.”

Now He teaches them that in regard to their ministry.

Are we not taught the same?
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.”

I wish everyone had the opportunity to be in charge of benevolence ministry for a time here at the church.
• For one it will teach you patience.
• But it will also teach you about God’s provision.

If you give of yourself, God will give what is needed.

Jesus wanted the twelve to know that.
So their excuses are really no excuses at all.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO MAKE EXCUSES FOR GOD

The Example, The Exhortation, The Excuse
#4 THE ENLIGHTENMENT
Matthew 14:19-21

And what a display!
Jesus fed the whole multitude with just “five loaves and the two fish”

But notice HOW He did it.
“He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds”

Jesus didn’t give it to the crowds, He gave it to the disciples.
THIS WAS FOR THE DISCIPLES!

He wanted them to know He can provide,
And He can provide through them!

“and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets.”

That is what we call a miracle!
And it was all meant to increase the disciples’ faith.

Now, go back to that final parable on the kingdom.
Matthew 13:51-52 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes.” And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

Jesus wanted the disciples to be faithful ministers of the gospel.
And that meant:
• Ministering the gospel even when you are tired.
• Ministering the gospel even when others try to discourage you.
• Ministering the gospel even when circumstances are against you.

Jesus was a great example here.
• Personal Needs couldn’t Delay Him.
• Private Influence couldn’t Distract Him.
• Problematic Circumstances couldn’t Discourage Him.
• Pleasing His Father couldn’t Disappoint Him.

WE CALL IT DEDICATION.

John 4:34 “Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.”

John 17:4 “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.”

And so Jesus didn’t quit, no matter what.

Let me encourage you church to minister like Jesus.
Put yourself on the back burner
And consider others as more important than yourself.

Understand the mission God has for you and put that mission first.
You just might find God doing something amazing!

1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”

Herod’s Weedy Heart
Matthew 14:1-12
November 6, 2011

As you know, we recently finished talking about
The mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.

And now we have entered a section where Matthew, more or less,
Vindicates those miracles.

Most specifically Matthew is proving right the parable of the sower.

You remember that parable.
The sower sows the seed and it lands on four types of soil
(each representing a different response to the gospel)

Some are hard, Some are rocky, Some are weedy, Some are fertile

Last week we saw an example of a “Rocky Soil Heart”
Or what we have called, “The Shallow Hearted”

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.”

And that was certainly Nazareth.
They were initially amazed at Jesus.
Luke 4:22 “And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, ” Is this not Joseph’s son?”

They were enamored to say the least.
But it was evident that they simply wanted all the miracles of Jesus.
They wanted the show.

Luke 4:23 “And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’”

But when Jesus exposed their carnal heart, obviously requiring repentance, they tried to throw Him off a cliff.
Their amazement was temporary.
Their hearts were shallow and rocky.

This morning we get yet another example.
This time we see a man named Herod.

But Herod is not rocky soil, Herod is weedy soil.

Matthew 13:22 “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”
Luke said it like this:
Luke 8:14 “The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.”

And so we are dealing with one who is too in love with sin
To ever turn from it and enter the kingdom.

That is why we see words like “worry” and “pleasures”

You see the issue of the weedy soiled heart
Can be summed up with one word: FEAR

They are afraid of losing what they crave.
Either pleasure or money or security or whatever.

And they don’t think the Kingdom can adequately restore
What it might cause them to lose.

They walk in fear and thus never come to faith in Christ.

FEAR IS THE OPPOSITE OF FAITH
That doesn’t mean if you are ever afraid, that you don’t have faith.
But fear surfaces when faith is weak.

AND THEY ARE OPPOSITES.
People of faith make their decisions based upon faith,
While people of fear make their decisions based upon fear.

And this morning Herod is an example of this fearful weedy heart.

Now you notice how it begins.
(1-2) “At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

This is what is presently happening,
But to help us understand the man better, Matthew gives us a flashback.
He takes us back to a previous date to understand Herod’s emotion better.

Let’s start in verse 3 so as to look at Herod’s life in chronological order.

So let’s look at the fear in Herod’s life
And see what a weedy heart looks like.
#1 HE FEARED THE LOSS OF PLEASURE
Matthew 14:3-4

Here we can clearly see how Herod’s love of worldly pleasure,
And his fear of losing it, controlled his life.
WHO WAS HEROD?

He is referred to as a king in verse 9.
That was more or less a title he took upon himself.
Herod was kind of like a governor over the province.

His father was Herod the Great – (Tried to kill baby Jesus)

This Herod was also known as Herod Antipas.
He is the one who questioned Jesus before His crucifixion.
He became friends with Pilate over that whole affair.

We also know he was an immoral man.
He was having an affair with his sister-in-law who was named Herodias,

Luke 3:18-20 “So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people. But when Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the wicked things which Herod had done, Herod also added this to them all: he locked John up in prison.”

And that is precisely what our text reveals here.
“For when Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. For John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

And thank God for John the Baptist and men like him.
Men who aren’t afraid to stand for truth.
Men who aren’t afraid to confront sin.
Men who aren’t influenced by worldly power.
John was obviously not a man of fear, but of faith.

But “Herod had John arrested”

Now we know it all has to do with being confronted with immorality,
But let me show you his motivation a little more clearly.

Mark 6:17-20 “For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death and could not do so; for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him.”

Now there is the first time the word arises.
“Herod was afraid of John.”

So Herod didn’t like the message John preached,
But he wasn’t about to mess with him either.

In fact at times Herod even enjoyed listening to him.
Now that alone seems like a good start for Herod.
Sure he is a sinner, sure he needs repentance,
But at least he is listening to God’s messenger with a degree of interest.

The problem was Herodias.
She hated John, and wanted him to die.

But Herod was too afraid to kill John.
Yet he was too afraid of Herodias to do nothing.

And so Herod makes a decision based upon fear.
He “had John arrested”

WHAT KIND OF FEAR WAS THIS?
It was a fear of losing pleasure.

If he makes Herodias too mad, then he no longer
Gets to continue in his adulterous relationship with her.
To follow John will cost him his sin, and he doesn’t want to lose it.

This fear is also seen later in verses 6-7.
“But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked.”

At Herod’s birthday, his stepdaughter was sent to dance for him.

“danced before them” Doesn’t mean, “TAP DANCED”

It was a gross act of incest, and it was obvious that Herod liked it,
Which is why he was willing to give the girl whatever she asked for.

He loved pleasure, and feared losing it,
So much that he was willing to pay a high price in order to keep it.

Herod was not a man driven by faith, he was a man driven by fear.

We see people in the world today driven by the same fears.
They won’t come to Christ,
Because they’re afraid it will mean the end of the sinful lifestyle they love.

This was the Rich Young Ruler wasn’t it?

They don’t want to give up immorality, or some other type of sin.
They have come to believe that sin is where the fun is,
And they aren’t willing to sacrifice it even for eternity.

Their fear of losing pleasure is greater than their faith in God.

Paul spoke of people like that.
1 Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

Some fail to come to Christ,
Because they fear they will lose the things of this world,
And the pleasures that they bring.

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

Herod didn’t live by faith; he lived by fear.
He feared the loss of pleasure.
#2 HE FEARED THE LOSS OF HIS JOB
Matthew 14:5

Now of course, this doesn’t refer to Herod rejecting God,
But it does again reveal the motivation that ruled his life.

You can very easily contrast him with John the Baptist,
John feared no one, Herod fears everyone.

“Although Herod wanted to put him to death”

I thought Herod was intrigued by John?
He was, he wanted to put him to death because that is what Herodias wanted, and Herod feared the loss of pleasure.

However, we see here he has another fear.
“Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded John as prophet.”

Even though he was gravely mistaken in his desire to kill John,
It was because of fear that he couldn’t follow his convictions.

He wanted to kill John the Baptist, but he didn’t,
Because he was afraid the people would hate him,
And he might lose his position of power.

We have seen this very same type of reaction before.
Luke 20:1-8 “On one of the days while He was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders confronted Him, and they spoke, saying to Him, “Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?” Jesus answered and said to them, “I will also ask you a question, and you tell Me: “Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?” They reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ “But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know where it came from. And Jesus said to them, “Nor will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

What a bunch of cowards!
They didn’t have the faith to stand for the truth,
They didn’t even have the guts to stand by their false convictions.

That is the same as Herod.
His life was motivated by fear,
Fear of losing pleasure, Fear of losing his job.

HOW COULD THIS CAUSE HIM TO LOSE HIS JOB?

Because a mob out of control is enough to convince Rome
That you can’t handle your position.

Remember Pilate?
Matthew 27:24 “When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves.”

HEROD HAD A FEAR OF LOSING HIS JOB OR POSITION OF POWER

We could call this a financial fear.
• For some to confess Christ they immediately have to look for a new line of work.
(If employed by a sinful industry)
• Some can’t find work if they confess him.
(like those in Hollywood)
• And some simply face fears in regard to God’s requirements to give and be generous to those in need.

We can’t put our finger exactly on Herod’s fear,
But we understand the fears associated with losing a job or a position.

Walking by faith while facing the potential of unemployment
Is a tough decision to face.
You have to determine if you will make that decision
Based upon fear or faith.

Herod chose fear.

He feared loss of pleasure. He feared loss of his job.
#3 HE FEARED PUBLIC OPINION
Matthew 14:6-10

So after this girl came and pleased Herod,
He told her she could have whatever she wanted,
And being prompted by her mother, she asked for John’s head.
And at this point, his fears collide.
• He fears the crowd who thinks John is a prophet.
• He fears John who seems to speak truth.
• He fears Herodias who wants John dead.
• Now he fears his guests who wonder if he will keep his word.

That is a lot of fear to have to deal with.

And so we see that added to the mix is the fact that
Herod is afraid that he will now lose his reputation.

How many today, are driven by this fear!
The fear of what people might think.

What will people think, if I walk that aisle and admit that I am a sinner?
What will people think, if I tell them I follow Jesus?
What if they call me a Jesus Freak?
How will it look when I quit hanging out with my buddies at the bar?

There are many motivated by fear in the world today.
They are motivated by the exact same things that motivated Herod.

We see it in Scripture:
John 12:42-43 “Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.”

So it is clear that Fear ruled Herod’s life.
All he knew and wanted were the things of this world,
And it was the fear of losing them that guided his steps.

AND WE SEE THIS SAME FEAR RULE PEOPLE TODAY.

“Greed” is a fear of poverty
“Lust” is a fear losing pleasure
“False Religion” is a fear of offending God
“Lying” is a fear of people knowing the truth about you

That is why Scripture says things like “Do not worry” or “Be anxious for nothing” or “Trust in the Lord with all your heart”

We must not let fear motivate us.

Are you afraid to trust God with your finances,
with your love life,
with your daily routine,

Or do you by faith trust God with all those things?

You see Herod’s were motivated by fear,
So there was one more thing he had to fear.

#4 HE FEARED FOR HIS FUTURE
Matthew 14:1-2

Boy, talk about a man with a guilty conscience.
You can hear the worry in his voice.

He now is afraid for his future,
Because he doesn’t know what kind of trouble
The events of his past have gotten him into.

This almost has the reading like that of a ghost story.

Boy that describes a life of fear.
Fear makes their decisions and they spend the rest of their lives
Wondering if that decision will catch up with them.

DECISIONS MADE IN FEAR ONLY PRODUCE MORE FEAR.

Look at Herod.
Everything he did was done in fear,
And now all he can do is fear what is coming.

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW HEROD ENDED?

He did not accept Jesus.
Luke 13:31 “Just at that time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, “Go away, leave here, for Herod wants to kill You.”

Luke 23:8-12 “Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him. And he questioned Him at some length; but He answered him nothing. And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there, accusing Him vehemently. And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate. Now Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for before they had been enemies with each other.”

Eventually Herod opposed the church.
Acts 12:1-3 “Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them. And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword. When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also.”

And finally Herod died a death of pride and judgment.
Acts 12:21-23 “On an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them. The people kept crying out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.”

He made decisions in fear that eventually led him to eternal destruction.
And now we know what Jesus meant when He said:
Mark 4:18-19 “And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”

The worries of this life will keep you from entering the kingdom.
They will choke out the seed and keep a soul unsaved.

If you ever watched the movie “Facing the Giants” you remember that the football coach is living a life in fear of everything. A mentor of his says to him. “In God’s Word He says 365 times, ‘Do not fear’ now if He says it that many times you know He’s serious about it don’t you.”

I don’t know if your life is motivated by fear or by faith,
But just in the case that it is,
I want to share with you how to break that cycle.

Let me tell you a very worthwhile, and interesting fact.
“Faith overcomes Fear”

FEAR PRODUCES FEAR,
BUT FAITH PRODUCES FAITH AND FREEDOM.

If you are living in fear,
And you wish you weren’t but you don’t know how to stop,
The answer is easy, exercise faith.

TURN TO: Psalm 54:1-7

1) FEAR Vs. 1-3
Different kind of fear than Herod, but it is still fear.
He’s afraid for his life.
He is scared, and doesn’t know what to do.

I’m sure we’ve all been there at one point or another in our lives.
A time when we were afraid that something might happen.

There’s our chance to change what we allow to motivate us.

If this man’s life were motivated by fear, what might he have done?
Given them what they wanted.
Fled the scene for safety.

BUT HE DETERMINED NO TO ALLOW FEAR TO RULE HIM.
2) FAITH Vs. 4-5
He decided to turn to God, and trust God with the outcome.
He made his decision based on faith, not fear.
Imagine if Herod had done the same.
Repented instead of arresting John.
Saved John instead of killing him.

My what a difference that would have made, but he chose fear over faith.
Here our psalmist chose faith, and we will see the outcome.

3) FREEDOM Vs. 6-7

Did you see the change in tense there?

Verse 5 the psalmist said, “He will recompense…”
Verse 7 “He has delivered” & “my eye has looked”

FOLKS THE DANGER MAY STILL BE THERE.
THE DIFFERENCE IS, he was once bound with fear,
Now faith has given him freedom.

Faith overcomes fear.
When you trust in God, the fear is taken away.

When you begin to trust God for finances,
The fear of not making it will mysteriously be gone.
When you begin to trust God for your future,
The fear of failure.
When you begin to trust God for your salvation,
The fear of not having it will be gone.
When you begin to trust God for your reputation.
The fear of what others think is gone.

Faith overcomes fear, and leads to freedom.

1 John 4:17-19 “By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us.”

I don’t know what is the chief motivator in your life,
BUT DON’T LET IT BE FEAR.

Take your fears, and cast them on God.
Trust Christ, and allow Him to bear your burden.

Faith will lead you from fear to freedom.
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.”