Open Eyes & Closed Hearts

Matthew 9:27-34

May 15, 2011 am

 

Matthew is in the midst of a section in which he is presenting to you

The undeniable power that Jesus has over sin.

 

• It started with the cleansing of a leper.

• From there he healed the centurion’s slave.

• He cast a fever out of Peter’s mother-in-law.

• He calmed the storm on the see

• He removed a legion of demons from a man

• He healed a paralytic

• He healed a hemorrhaging woman

• He raised a little girl back to life

 

It has obviously been one miraculous proof after another.

Each of these were meant to show that Jesus has power over sin,

Because He systematically reversed the effects of sin in people’s lives.

 

We have seen His power, but something else we have seen

Is that He is in very high demand.

 

Just consider this one day.

 

It started by preaching in a home

That was so crowded no one could get in.

 

It was then that four men tore a hole in the roof

And lowered their paralytic friend down to Jesus.

 

(9:9) “As Jesus went on from there…”

He saw Matthew

Banquet in Matthew’s home

Interrupted by debate with Pharisees and John’s disciples

 

(9:18) “While He was saying these things…”

The debate was cut short by Jairus who wanted his daughter raised

(Even a woman interrupted this while He was on the way)

Eventually He did make it to Jairus’ house and raise his daughter

 

(9:27) “As Jesus went on from there…”

These two blind men follow Him back to the house.

Jesus heals them.

 

(9:32) “As they were going out…”

They show up with a mute demon possessed man.

 

It is obvious that Jesus has had quite an exhausting day.

 

Of course we have seen this before.

 

Back in chapter 8

• The day started by preaching in the synagogue and casting out a demon.

• He then came to Peter’s house where He healed his mother-in-law

• He was then bombarded by a crowd He sought to escape

• That night He calmed the see

• The next day He healed the demoniac

• Then He was pushed back across the see

 

It has literally been non-stop for Jesus.

One need right after another, and often times several needs at once.

 

It sort of makes sense what we see next from Jesus.

Matthew 9:36-38 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

 

Is it any wonder that Jesus asks for help?

Furthermore it makes perfect sense to us why in chapter 10

He will send out the 12 to seek out the lost sheep of Israel.

 

Not only has Jesus been powerful,

But He has also in high demand.

 

The bizarre thing is out of all the people that flocked to Him,

True followers are shockingly few.

 

And think about it for a moment.

Of all the responses that Matthew has shown you in this section, how many positive ones has Jesus received?

 

Answer: 1 (Matthew)

 

Aside from him

We have the scribe who loved comfort

We have the disciple who wanted his inheritance

We have the town of the demoniac who wanted Jesus to leave

We have the arrogant Pharisees who don’t understand compassion

We have John’s disciples who love legalism

We have the crowd at Jairus’ house who laughed at Him

 

Everyone else is completely missing the point.

And this final set of miracles only reiterates that sad truth.

 

And this morning we see the final proof in this section.

 

(Not the last miracles Matthew will show you, but the last ones in this section).

 

These seem to be the miracles that Matthew has been waiting for.

WHY?

 

While to you and I, overcoming death looked like the pinnacle miracle,

It really wasn’t to the Jews.

 

Matthew saved his biggest proof for last,

And that was the healing of the blind men and the mute man.

 

WHAT MADE THESE SO GREAT?

 

These are direct fulfillments of Messianic prophecy.

 

Isaiah 29:17-19 “Is it not yet just a little while Before Lebanon will be turned into a fertile field, And the fertile field will be considered as a forest? On that day the deaf will hear words of a book, And out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the LORD, And the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.”

 

Isaiah 35:3-6a “Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble. Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you.” Then the eyes of the blind will be opened And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy.”

 

Isaiah 42:5-7 “Thus says God the LORD, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath to the people on it And spirit to those who walk in it, “I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations, To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.”

 

A man might come and do many amazing things,

But they knew they would spot the Messiah

When He gave sight to the blind and speech to the mute.

 

Remember when John was doubting?

Matthew 11:2-6 “Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. “And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”

 

It is clear that Matthew saw these miracles

As the undeniable proofs of Jesus Messiahship.

 

And so Matthew places them as sort of the icing on the cake

For us here in this chapter.

 

THE TRAGEDY IS THAT IT DOESN’T SEEM TO BE ENOUGH.

 

#1 JESUS HEALS THE BLIND MEN

Matthew 9:27-31

 

Now as we study each of these miracles, you will notice that

They are very similar in the way Matthew presents them.

 

Matthew shows us the same four things about each of them.

 

The blind men

1) MESSIANIC RECOGNITION (27)

 

“As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

 

It is obvious that even though these men were blind

They knew what was going on around them.

 

It is possible they were even listening to the debate

Jesus was having with the Pharisees and John’s disciples.

 

And certainly they were aware of what Jairus did

In coming to get Jesus and the desperate act of the hemorrhaging woman.

 

These men had spotted Jesus as someone special.

And so the second Jesus leaves Jairus’ house, these men are after Him.

 

And what is obvious to us is that they are after Him

Because they have recognized Him to be the Messiah,

And therefore the One who can restore their sight.

 

Notice what they say to Him, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

 

“Son of David” is a Messianic title,

Clearly linking Jesus to the throne of David.

 

2) EXPRESSION OF FAITH (28)

 

“When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”

 

Jesus “entered the house” presumably He went back to Matthew’s house,

And these blind men just follow Him right inside.

 

They have the same type of desperation

That the leper, the centurion, the four friends, Jairus,

And the hemorrhaging woman all had.

 

They were not being turned away from Jesus.

 

And then Jesus asks a bizarre question.

“Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

Does that seem strange?

 

At this point we should think it was obvious what they believed,

And yet Jesus asks anyway.

 

What Jesus does is unequivocally reveal

That these men knew He could heal them.

 

Whatever questions we have about these men in a moment,

We know that they came to Jesus believing He could make them see.

 

“They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”

 

And so we see and expression of faith.

3) MIRACULOUS HEALING (29-30a)

 

“Then He touched their eyes, saying, “It shall be done to you according to your faith.” And their eyes were opened.”

 

And there we have the miracle.

 

And once again we marvel at what Jesus can do.

 

Even in our world of technology,

Restoring sight to the blind is an impossibility.

 

I spent no less than 5 trips to an optometrist just trying to get contacts to work,

Let alone restoring sight to the blind.

 

And yet all Jesus does is touch their eyes

And instantly these men can see.

We can definitely declare that Jesus is the prophesied Messiah.

 

And only if the story had ended there.

4) BLATANT DISREGARD (30b-31)

 

“And Jesus sternly warned them: “See that no one knows about this!” But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout all that land.”

 

Now we don’t know why Jesus told them not to tell anyone.

 

But He did and He was stern about it.

This was no insignificant command from Him.

He was serious.

 

And therefore regardless of His reasons, He expected these men to obey.

 

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.”

But these men didn’t.

“they went out and spread the news about Him throughout all that land.”

 

Now look, we can all sugar coat this if we want.

We can all offer them a pass if we want.

“Oh, but these guys were just so excited that they couldn’t keep it in.”

 

Listen, Jesus always had a way of going after the heart of a man.

Jesus always has a way of testing our love and true devotion.

 

And obviously for these men

Jesus wanted that love proven by their silence.

 

Now Jesus didn’t tell everyone to keep quiet.

Remember the demoniac?

Luke 8:38-39 “But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might accompany Him; but He sent him away, saying, “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.”

 

Obviously Jesus’ command to these men

Had as much to do with their heart condition as it did anything.

 

As a sign of love, as a sign of commitment, He wanted silence from them.

But they wouldn’t give it.

 

They delighted too much in telling their story,

And so their story ends in disobedience.

 

#2 JESUS CASTS OUT A MUTE DEMON

Matthew 9:32-34

 

“As they were going out, a mute, demon-possessed man was brought to Him.”

 

If you read in the King James it says, “they brought to Him a dumb man”

And it has led many to assume that it was in fact

The blind men who brought him.

 

No, they clearly went out to spread the word,

This was someone else who brought this man.

 

No sooner does Jesus finish that miracle than here comes another one.

 

And again we see the same four aspects.

1) EXPRESSION OF FAITH (32)

 

Now this expression of faith is different than the first.

 

There the blind men came to Jesus openly declaring their belief in Him,

But this miracle is more like the centurion’s slave,

The paralytic with four friends, or even Jairus’ daughter.

 

All of those received Jesus’ healing benefit

Based upon the faith of someone else.

 

And so did this man.

 

We don’t know who believed, but someone obviously did.

 

2) MIRACULOUS HEALING (33a)

 

“After the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke;”

 

Apparently it was the demon who was mute,

And when he left the man could speak.

 

And yet again we have a miracle.

 

No fight is recorded, no major battle, it doesn’t even appear difficult.

 

“the demon was cast out”

 

Again Jesus did what was utterly impossible for man to do.

It was a miracle.

And there is no doubt Jesus is the Messiah.

 

And this miracle sparked a reaction.

3) MESSIANIC RECOGNITION (33b)

 

“and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”

 

The crowd was blown away by what Jesus did.

And it is obvious that they spotted Jesus for what He was.

They recognized that He was no ordinary man.

They recognized that He was no ordinary doctor.

 

This man did what no human could do.

 

He was obviously the One that Isaiah wrote about.

He is obviously the King of Israel.

The crowd could see that quickly.

 

And again if only the story ended here.

4) BLATANT DISREGARD (34)

 

“But the Pharisees were saying, “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”

It is amazing how extremely hard-hearted

Man can be towards the truth of God.

 

These Pharisees were confronted with absolute truth

And yet willfully and blatantly disregarded it.

 

They actually give credit for His power to Satan the ruler of the demons.

 

You see, there was no denying His power,

The only thing they could do was deny His source.

 

And so we conclude this section on Jesus’ power with two undeniable miracles,

And yet two accounts of those who blatantly disregard Him anyway.

 

One disregarded the command he was given

One walked in outright defiance of the proof he had seen

One abused His mercy

One attacked it

 

And once again we are struck with that sobering reality,

That despite the truths of Jesus,

Mankind seems to want to cling to his sin.

 

While Leo, Michael, and I were traveling back this weekend

We had a conversation about the free will of man.

 

And there is much we could talk about,

But one thing I would remind you of, that whatever you want to call

The will of man, you cannot call it “free”.

Mankind has never had “free will”.

 

The will of man is most certainly and undeniably bent toward sin.

 

HE IS NOT FREE HE IS A SLAVE TO SIN.

John 8:34 “Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.”

 

And this concept is seen all the way back to the beginning.

 

Genesis 6:5 “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

 

And even to the times of the New Testament.

Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”

 

Man was anything but free,

And his will was anything but for the things of God.

 

The point is that if given a choice man has chosen sin

And will choose sin every single time.

 

The masses clung to Him for healing, and removal of demons,

And for a free meal,

Yet when He asked of them in return

They almost all of them turned and walked away.

 

WHY IS THAT?

Because they had a refusal to leave their sin.

 

They all came to Jesus in selfishness, and that will never work.

You must come to Jesus in submission.

 

Matthew 16:21-24 “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”

 

And that is one of the things that Matthew

Has been showing us here in his gospel.

 

Masses were flocking to Jesus.

They were flocking at such a rate that He could literally get no rest.

 

You would think that His following would be huge.

But that wasn’t the case.

 

DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY THERE WERE?

Acts 1:15 “At this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together)…”

 

So out of all these crowds that bombarded Him everywhere He went,

Only 120 truly chose to die to themselves and follow Him.

 

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

 

 

 

And if those facts do nothing for us,

They should remind us that there is a great difference

Between one who flocks to Jesus out of selfish reasons

And one who desires to submit to Jesus under any circumstance.

 

It is very easy in this life to be attracted to Jesus.

Especially when we want to be healed…

Or when we want to be provided for…

Or when we want to be protected…

Or when we want to escape hell…

 

Jesus becomes very popular at those moments.

And that is fine, for Jesus can do all those things.

 

But the danger we must resist

Is the danger of only coming to Him to get something from Him,

Just so we can return to our former way of life

With a little less difficulty than before.

 

After finishing this section on the power of Jesus,

There is no way that anyone in here can deny that Jesus is the Messiah.

 

But the purpose is not just to convince you of who Jesus is.

The purpose of this section

Is to push you to submit your life to the King.

 

And we must leave our sin behind in order to do it.

 

 

This morning let me remind you again that Jesus is the Messiah,

And that because He is the Messiah,

You and I must submit our lives to Him.

 

Psalms 95 “O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD, Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God And a great King above all gods, In whose hand are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you would hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, As in the day of Massah in the wilderness, “When your fathers tested Me, They tried Me, though they had seen My work. “For forty years I loathed that generation, And said they are a people who err in their heart, And they do not know My ways. “Therefore I swore in My anger, Truly they shall not enter into My rest.”

 

Multitudes came for healing, but found no rest.

Submit your life to Christ, and find the rest of God.

 

18-26)

Jesus Vs. Death

Matthew 9:18-26

May 8, 2011 (am)

 

I don’t suppose it is any mystery

What man has perceived as his greatest threat in life.

On a whole there is nothing that mankind fears worse than death.

 

One man said:

“Despite all our medical advances and great steps in technology death remains our nation’s number one killer.”

 

Now certainly there are other words that scare us.

“Cancer” or “He’s been in an accident” or “Heart Attack” or “Tornado” or “Fire”

 

But those words really only scare us because of what they represent.

They each represent the possibility of death.

 

BUT I SUPPOSE WE SHOULD ASK WHY DO PEOPLE HATE DEATH SO MUCH?

 

Some might say because of how it occurs; the pain of death.

But really there are some who live with much more pain than they will ever

die with.

 

Some might say it is the uncertainty of death,

Yet most still have a belief in some sort of afterlife or eternal reward.

 

The thing that makes death so awful to us is its finality.

As long as a person is sick there is hope,

But once death moves in, there is a finality involved.

 

It is after death that you hear terms like

“It’s over” or “Closure”

 

Because one thing we know of death is that once it enters,

There is no reversal.

 

And this reality has grieved more than one person in history.

 

Solomon wrote:

Ecclesiastes 2:12-17 “So I turned to consider wisdom, madness and folly; for what will the man do who will come after the king except what has already been done? And I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that one fate befalls them both. Then I said to myself, “As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. Why then have I been extremely wise?” So I said to myself, “This too is vanity.” For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And how the wise man and the fool alike die! So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.”

Ecclesiastes 9:2-6 “It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who is afraid to swear. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all men. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead. For whoever is joined with all the living, there is hope; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten. Indeed their love, their hate and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun.”

 

But he certainly wasn’t alone in his hatred and despair in light of death.

Even people in Jesus day saw death as a final thing.

 

Remember when Jesus allowed Lazarus to die?

Martha

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

 

Notice she didn’t say, “O good You are here, because Lazarus has died.”

She thought death to be final.

 

Of course she proves that later.

John 11:39 “Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.”

 

Remember Mary?

John 11:32 “Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

 

Remember the Crowd?

John 11:37 “But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?”

 

And even in the story we read here,

Mark records that while Jesus is on the way to this man’s house

He receives messengers.

 

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?”

 

You see they all thought death was final.

There is really no need to try anything else.

 

Even after Jesus ascended and the church began to grow,

There was one church that was grieving over believers

Who were dying before Jesus returned.

 

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.”

DEATH IS HATED ENEMY

 

Now, in a theological sense

We understand that death is merely a consequence of sin.

 

Romans 5:12-14 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned — for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.”

 

Death accompanied sin.

And now people die because of sin.

 

And that is what makes Jesus so wonderful.

 

Scripture clearly declares

That Christ came to defeat sin and ultimately death.

 

1 Corinthians 15:20-26 “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death.”

 

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

 

And thanks to the work of Jesus one day death will be no more.

 

Revelation 21:1-4 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

 

And to prove the reality of that promise

Jesus displayed His power over death while on earth.

 

No, He didn’t stop everyone from dying or even raise everyone from the dead.

The full benefit of His redemption is yet to be fully realized.

(We still have sickness and death)

 

But while on earth

Jesus unequivocally proved Himself to be the Messiah by overcoming it.

And that is why Matthew includes this story here.

 

Matthew doesn’t give you as much detail as the other gospel writers, But Matthew does drive home his main point with absolute clarity

And that is that death was present and Jesus defeated it.

 

What we have here in Matthew’s gospel is a compound miracle.

• We have one person whose life was stolen after 12 years.

• We have another whose life has been stole for 12 years.

 

Jesus comes to deliver both.

 

And with that being said, let’s look at Jesus’ power over death

As we see these two miracles this morning.

 

4 points.

#1 THE HUMBLE DECLARATION

Matthew 9:18-19

 

Now we do know that the point of this miracle

Is to prove Jesus’ power over death,

But that does not mean that is the only point which Matthew makes.

 

We have just learned in previous weeks what Jesus expects from sinners.

Jesus expects sinners to leave their sin and follow Him.

 

And it didn’t matter if that sin was

The greed of Matthew,

The arrogance of the Pharisees,

The self-made religion of John’s disciples.

 

They all had to deny themselves in order to come to Christ.

 

I say that because not only does this incident prove Jesus power,

But it also serves as a wonderful example

Of another man coming to Jesus the right way.

 

“While He was saying these things to them, a synagogue official came and bowed down before Him,”

 

Now this is no little incident.

Jesus is still in the middle of the conversation with John’s disciples

About their legalism and the importance of leaving the old garment behind

In order to embrace the new one.

 

And they get a living illustration of man doing just that.

 

Here comes “a synagogue official”

The word Matthew uses is ARCHONE which is an official.

Mark goes a little farther and calls him the

(ar-khee-soon-ag-o-gos)

 

And that phrase doesn’t make him just any old official,

But the actual head honcho and premier ruler of the synagogue.

 

One commentator writes:

“It was his duty to select the readers or teachers in the synagogue, to examine the discourses of the public speakers, and to see that all things were done with decency and in accordance with ancestral usage.”

 

Another writes:

“He supervised the worship services and oversaw the work of the other elders, which included teaching, adjudicating disputes, and other such leadership duties.”

 

And that is amazing since Jesus is in the middle of a conversation

With Pharisees and legalistic followers of John.

 

• But this man didn’t come at night.

• He didn’t come under false pretense.

• He didn’t come trying to save face.

 

He came exactly how Jesus said a man should come.

He came in humility and total self-denial.

 

“came and bowed down before Him”

 

There would have been no way for him to explain this away

To all the other religious elite that were standing around.

 

This man fully humbled himself.

 

And we know why he did.

“and said, “My daughter has just died;”

 

Mark and Luke both say that she was at the point of death,

But Matthew sort of quick telling the story

Gets to the point and that is that the girl is dead.

 

This man is driven to Jesus because death has struck his immediate family and like the rest of us, he has no answer for it.

 

But he does have faith.

“but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.”

 

No doubt as Jesus has worked miracles all over this man’s area,

There has been more than one person give testimony to him

About what Jesus has done.

 

Some probably came to ask his opinion on the matter

But however he came to know about Jesus,

He was certain Jesus could help his daughter.

 

(19) “Jesus got up and began to follow him, and so did His disciples.”

 

And yet again we see that Jesus responds to faith.

 

The Humble Declaration

#2 THE ACT OF DESPERATION

Matthew 9:20-22

 

What happens here is interesting.

 

It really happens as somewhat of an interruption in the story.

This woman almost slips in unannounced.

It almost reads like it wasn’t part of the script.

 

But we have here another woman desperate

For what could only be found in Jesus.

This woman wanted her life back as well.

 

“And a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak;”

 

There again we know that Matthew isn’t giving the whole story.

He seems much more interested on the outcome than the details.

 

But the other gospels do help us fill in the gaps.

 

Mark tells us just how bad it was for this lady.

Mark 5:26 “and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse”

 

Luke is similar only Luke doesn’t paint the doctors so badly as Mark.

Luke 8:43 “And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone,”

 

This woman was in bad shape, and nothing was helping her.

 

She had been bleeding for 12 years.

And of course that alone would be a nuisance,

But you know it was far much more than that.

 

Leviticus 15:25-27 “Now if a woman has a discharge of her blood many days, not at the period of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond that period, all the days of her impure discharge she shall continue as though in her menstrual impurity; she is unclean. ‘Any bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her like her bed at menstruation; and every thing on which she sits shall be unclean, like her uncleanness at that time. ‘Likewise, whoever touches them shall be unclean and shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening.”

This woman was like a leper – She was walking defilement.

You couldn’t touch her.

You couldn’t sit where she had sat.

You couldn’t sleep where she had slept.

 

She was unclean and therefore an outcast.

The only difference between her and a leper is that she was not contagious

And so she did not have to cut herself off from society.

 

She may not have been dead,

But you can hardly call what she experienced “life”.

 

And here again we see great faith.

 

She “came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak; for she was saying to herself, “If I only touch His garment, I will get well.”

 

And this is amazing to me.

HOW DID SHE KNOW THAT?

 

She obviously had accredited Jesus with more power than most people.

Even the synagogue official asked for Jesus

To “lay Your hand on” his daughter.

 

But this woman believed that she could just touch His coat and be healed.

And bearing in mind all the medical procedures she had had done,

This is some kind of faith to think this will work.

 

No we don’t know where she got this, but we do know her faith caught on.

Matthew 14:35-36 “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; and they implored Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were cured.”

 

Mark 3:9-10 “And He told His disciples that a boat should stand ready for Him because of the crowd, so that they would not crowd Him; for He had healed many, with the result that all those who had afflictions pressed around Him in order to touch Him.”

 

That woman started something.

 

(22) “But Jesus turning and seeing her said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.” At once the woman was made well.”

 

Now you have seen that before haven’t you?

Matthew 9:2 “And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”

 

Remember the phrase the word Jesus uses here for “courage”

Meant that which you are afraid of is gone.

 

And he told the woman the same thing.

“take courage; your faith has made you well.”

 

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

 

Jesus didn’t just heal her body, Jesus forgave her soul.

Mark 5:34 “And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.”

 

That woman was well and healed.

She was forgiven and she stopped bleeding.

 

JESUS RAISED HER FROM SPIRITUAL DEATH INTO SPIRITUAL LIFE

The fact that she stopped bleeding was simply the proof.

 

And this just for a woman that interrupted another miracle.

 

The Humble Declaration, The Act of Desperation

#3 THE NOISY DISORDER

Matthew 9:23-24

 

Now I separate this part out of the story because

I want you to realize that the faith of this synagogue ruler

And the faith of this woman are NOT THE NORM.

 

Their faith stands in stark contrast

To the normal response of humanity and that is seen here.

 

(23-24) “When Jesus came into the official’s house, and saw the flute-players and the crowd in noisy disorder, He said, “Leave; for the girl has not died, but is asleep.” And they began laughing at Him.”

 

These were more of those professional mourners.

 

In those days they actually had professional mourners who came

And helped you have a horrible time in regard to death.

These were people who made their living off the finality of death.

 

Now it is easy to spot that they were not genuine,

For when Jesus says, “the girl has not died, but is asleep.”

This crowd instantly goes from heart wrenching sobbing, to “laughing”.

 

And this, by the way, is the normal response of the world to Christ.

 

It is faith that denies self and believes in Christ anyway.

 

And Without faith you miss a miracle.

(25) “But when the crowd had been sent out”

 

I’ve often wondered if that was a moment similar to the temple clearing.

 

Regardless of how they were sent out, we do know that

Because of their lack of faith they missed a miracle.

 

The Humble Declaration, The Act of Desperation, The Noisy Disorder

#4 THE AMAZING DELIVERANCE

Matthew 9:25-26

 

Here Matthew is just amazingly simplistic in what he writes.

 

“He entered and took her by the hand, and the girl got up.”

 

Do you know what is amazing about that?

Nothing. – I do that to Hannah every morning for school.

 

I mean, come on, this is death.

• Shouldn’t you at least have to wave your arms or rebuke the demons or lay on top of her like Elisha did?

 

• Shouldn’t there be some special prayer, or incantation, shouldn’t there be at least some loud shouting or something like that?

 

And the answer is “no”.

 

Jesus power was so much superior to the power of death

That it didn’t even require a struggle.

 

He reached into death, grabbed this girls hand,

And pulled her right out of it.

 

(And He didn’t even break a sweat doing it.)

 

But that is nothing new for Him.

He just told Lazarus to come out, and He did.

He just told the widow’s son to get up, and He did.

 

Death was no match for Jesus.

 

• This enemy that so torments and so mocks humanity…

• This enemy that is known worldwide for its ability not to surrender its prey…

• This enemy that has a reputation of finality…

 

This powerful taunting enemy comes up against Jesus

And doesn’t offer any more resistance than a common cold.

 

THE POINT?

Jesus has power over death.

 

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

 

Now days death can still mock us. (and it does)

Now days death can still visit us. (and it does; taking loved ones)

Now days death can still grab us. (and it will)

 

But because of Jesus death cannot hold us.

Jesus has the keys.

Jesus conquered death.

 

And as you know this isn’t really even about death.

This is really about Jesus conquering sin.

 

Death is just a consequence of sin.

And what Matthew continues to show us is that Jesus can conquer sin.

 

We know that because He is systematically undoing all of sins effects.

• Sickness (the leper, the paralytic, the fever)

• Fallen creation (the storm)

• Demons (the Gadarene demoniac)

• And even death (like we see here)

 

There is no doubt that Jesus is the Messiah.

Jesus is the Savior.

Jesus is the One to follow.

 

And if you want your sin forgiven, then do what the synagogue ruler did and bow before Him.

 

If you want your sin forgiven, then do what the woman did and fight the crowd to get to Him.

 

BUT RUN TO JESUS AND TRUST HIM.

HE RESPONDS TO FAITH.

 

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

 

Jesus vs. Sinners – part 2

Matthew 9:9-17 (14-17)

 

I know it has been a couple of weeks since we last talked about this verse,

So let me sort of refresh you a little as to what is going on.

 

As you know, we are in this section of Matthew’s gospel

In which Matthew is revealing to us the power of Jesus.

 

Certainly this is to demonstrate the validity to His claim to be the Messiah.

Power over sickness

Power over fallen nature

Power over demons and the devil

Power over sin

 

And then squeezed in between these miraculous events

Matthew also reveals how the people are responding to Jesus.

 

You will remember the first that we saw was back in (8:18-22) when Jesus was approached by a scribe and another man who wanted to follow.

 

Jesus revealed that following Him would not be without sacrifice.

One man would have to leave his comfort.

The other would have to leave his inheritance.

 

And so while the two chapters are predominantly about Jesus power, Matthew has taken opportunity to also reveal how people are responding.

 

And that is also what we are seeing in our text here.

 

We have called this portion, “Jesus vs. Sinners”

It reminds us that while Jesus handled sin with relative ease,

Sinners often gave Jesus greater difficulty.

 

And we learned that the reason sinners can be so difficult to reach

Is because in order to come to Christ they must leave their sin.

 

This was something the scribe and other disciple back in chapter 8

Were not willing to do.

 

BUT LEAVING SIN IS REQUIRED

And we saw that last time as we discussed the first two encounters.

 

#1 THE PROVEN SINNERS (9-10)

 

And of course this was the tax collectors

And the types of people who associate with tax collectors.

 

These were the traitors the obviously greedy.

These were the worldly and those without scruples.

No one doubted that they were sinners,

Not even the tax collectors themselves doubted it.

 

But we learned that Jesus seemed to be quite successful reaching them.

 

After putting His ability to forgive sin on display by healing the paralytic

It is obvious that Matthew wanted the forgiveness that Jesus offered.

 

And so the only invitation given to Matthew was “Follow Me”.

And Matthew did.

 

He left his tax booth (leaving his greed) and followed Jesus.

 

If only it were that easy with every sinner.

But you will remember that it wasn’t.

 

The Proven Sinners

#2 THE PAPER SAINTS (11-13)

 

And of course this was a reference to the Pharisees

Who were only good on paper.

 

These were those of whom Jesus spoke as

Cleaning the outside of the cup and of the dish,

But inside were full of lawlessness and self-indulgence.

 

They of course revealed their ignorance by asking:

(11) “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?”

 

And of course it was not that the Pharisees weren’t sinners, they were. They just didn’t know it.

 

And so the invitation to them was quite different.

They were not told to follow Jesus.

They were told “go and learn”.

 

And so while the proven sinners readily came to Jesus,

It was the paper saints who refused to come.

 

And now we get to the third group that Jesus deals with.

 

The Proven Sinners, The Paper Saints

#3 THE PROGRAMMED STUDENTS

Matthew 9:14-17

 

Now this is a really interesting group of people.

 

And many people, because of their association with John the Baptist

Assume them to be on the up and up.

They are indeed “the disciples of John”

 

That means when John came preaching in the wilderness

They were mesmerized by him and couldn’t get enough.

 

They decided to stick with John.

It is probably fair to assume that they also gave up the luxury of life

And to a degree copied John’s lifestyle.

 

But there is one glaring problem with these men.

 

And that is that the ministry of John the Baptist is now over.

Matthew 4:12 “Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee;”

 

Furthermore before John was imprisoned he was quite clear

With his disciples about what they should do.

 

John 1:35-37 “Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.”

 

Even later:

John 3:25-30 “Therefore there arose a discussion on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about purification. And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him.” John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. “You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘ I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

 

And so John was clear that his disciples needed now

To latch on to the One John had been pointing to.

 

What is obvious is that these disciples hadn’t.

So while they were identified as disciples of John, that really wasn’t true,

Because they actually failed to do what John told them to do.

 

What we do realize is that

These men had obviously found a comfortable spot in religion.

They had found a routine that was working for them,

And one that maybe even made sense to them.

 

It was a lifestyle of self-abasement and worldly rejection.

The problem is that it had turned into a legalistic lifestyle.

 

NOW LET’S TALK ABOUT LEGALISM FOR JUST A MOMENT

What is legalism?

The dictionary: “The doctrine of justification by works”

 

It is a picture of a person who seeks to make themselves pleasing to God

On the basis of deeds that they do.

 

John’s disciples legalism was revealed through self-abasement.

They thought to make themselves pleasing to God

By doing without the things of the world.

 

And this of course is not the only example in Scripture.

 

Take the Galatian churches.

They had been taught that in order to please God they must be circumcised.

 

But Paul adamantly called that teaching “a different gospel”

 

Galatians 1:6-7 “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.”

 

Furthermore Paul heavily rebuked the Galatians for believing it.

Galatians 3:1-3 “You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”

 

But they are also not alone.

 

A similar deception was occurring at Colossae.

Colossians 2:16-23 “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day — things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God. If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (which all refer to things destined to perish with use) — in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”

 

And there again someone was adding “self-abasement and severe treatment of the body” as ways of making yourself pleasing to God.

 

Again, the Colossians could trust in Christ if they wanted,

But in order to be pleasing to God

They needed to live a life of physical abandon.

 

Now I hope you recognize the deceptive quality here,

And why it is so prevalent.

 

Legalism appeals to the human nature.

HOW?

 

Because it feeds the ego.

No, going without food is not necessarily pleasant, nor is self-abasement,

But to complete such a task is an extreme ego boost.

 

It provides opportunity for self-glorification and judgment of others.

 

Furthermore legalism embraces Biblical concepts.

 

The Galatians were being circumcised.

But isn’t circumcision actually commanded by God?

 

The Colossians were doing without luxury.

But doesn’t God tell us to forsake the world?

 

And so the argument can be very tricky.

(Keep in mind that the best lies are 90% truth)

 

The problem is the motive behind the deed.

 

Works of are NEVER a means to make oneself pleasing to God.

Works ARE the natural choice of one who has been made pleasing.

 

Romans 4:11 “and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them,”

 

There we clearly see that Abraham’s circumcision did not justify him.

It was a sign (a picture of what God had done in his heart)

It was a seal (an evidence that Abraham would obey God)

 

But it did not make him right before God.

 

But none the less you see what legalism looks like,

And this is where John’s disciples were.

They thought they were pleasing based upon their self-abasement.

 

Furthermore as Jesus will reveal in a moment,

They didn’t really even know why they were doing what they were doing.

They were simply “Programmed Students”

 

And they also are confronted with Jesus.

 

 

Now their point of concern is different from the Pharisees.

They probably understood why Jesus associated with the sinners,

What they didn’t understand is why He ate with them.

 

John associated with sinners, but John never joined in their actions.

They didn’t see how the Son of God could enjoy the “finer things”

 

And so they also come to Jesus with questions.

(14) “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”

 

Well first I suppose it would do us some good

To reiterate why they and the Pharisees fast.

 

The Pharisees fast to be noticed by men.

Matthew 6:16 “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.”

 

And we also have a pretty good idea as to why the disciples of John fast.

John’s Disciples fast to be noticed by God.

 

They were monks.

They were using their fasting as a tool

To make themselves pleasing to God.

 

AND SO THEY THOUGHT JESUS TO BE A CONTRADICTION

 

Matthew 11:19 “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

 

John’s disciples had a man-made condition placed on righteousness

That God’s word had never enforced.

 

They thought that being a follower of God required going without food.

(At least good food)

 

That message didn’t come from God,

That message came from demons.

 

1 Timothy 4:1-5 “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.”

 

And so we have here in John’s disciples an example of legalism.

 

NOW WHY IS LEGALISM SO WRONG?

1) It Perverts the Gospel

 

As Paul said, this is another gospel.

This is a distorted gospel.

And that of course means it really isn’t the gospel at all.

 

And when you lose the true gospel

You lose any and all opportunity for salvation.

 

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

 

How can men be led to trust in Christ if they are persuaded to earn salvation themselves?

 

In fact this is so dangerous that Paul pronounced a curse

On any who would promote legalism.

 

Galatians 1:8-9 “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!”

 

2) It Steals Christ’s Glory

 

Christ alone gets the glory for redemption.

If you add to His work one of your own,

Then you steal a piece of the glory that is only His.

 

That is why Paul wrote:

Galatians 6:14 “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

 

Those who are legalistic may trust in Christ a lot,

But they do not trust in Christ alone,

And that is less than He deserves.

 

“Love so amazing, so divine, demands my heart, my soul, my all”

 

3) It Ends in Condemnation

 

If men are persuaded to trust in their own works,

Then they have a problem.

 

For no man can do enough to justify himself in the sight of God.

Romans 3:20 “because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”

 

Galatians 2:16 “nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”

Those who seek to work themselves pleasing to God

Will only find their labor unsuccessful at the day of judgment.

 

For Christ and Christ alone can save.

“no man comes unto the Father but by Me.”

 

Legalism ends in condemnation.

 

And this is what Jesus is about to reveal to John’s disciples

Who are caught in this legalism.

 

They are convinced they are pleasing because of their self-abasement,

And can’t understand why Jesus doesn’t join them.

 

And so let’s look at Jesus response to their legalistic religion.

1) RELIGION CAN BE DUMB (15)

 

They came to Jesus and asked why do You not fast.

Jesus countered by saying, “Well why do you fast?”

 

The time for fasting will be when I am gone and they are in mourning

And want to seek Me out.

 

But it seems dumb to fast when I am standing right here in front of them.

 

Remember, fasting occurs any time

The spiritual takes precedent over the physical.

 

Fasting is not a means by which to get God’s attention,

Fasting is evidence that God has your attention.

 

John’s disciples were fasting and they didn’t even know why.

 

And that fact should lead us all to an honest evaluation.

 

WHY DO WE DO THE THINGS WE DO?

Is it because it is Biblically warranted?

Is it because it is pleasing to God?

Or do we just do it because we have always done it this way?

 

(I got in trouble for not putting the linen over the Lord’s Supper)

 

Isaiah 29:13 “Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,”

 

It is an absolute shame when we only do things

Because we have always done them.

 

John’s disciples were fasting and didn’t even know why.

That is kind of dumb.

2) RELIGION CAN BE DEFILING (16)

 

Here is a simple modern day illustration.

 

When you were patching clothes you knew better

Than to put unshrunk cloth on an old garment.

 

Not only would the patch not work,

But you ran the risk of actually causing more harm than good.

 

The point, if you do something dumb (like religion for no reason)

You run the risk not only of it not working,

But even of it actually causing more harm than good.

 

Jesus was revealing here that the Old Covenant

And the New Covenant cannot be joined together.

 

You cannot have them both at the same time.

You cannot earn salvation and have it given at the same time.

 

Hebrews 8:7 “For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second.”

 

The old garment doesn’t need to be patched,

It needs to be thrown away.

 

If you try to patch it and combine the two, you will ruin both of them.

 

Your religion is not only dumb, but it can even be defiling.

3) RELIGION CAN BE DESTRUCTIVE (17)

 

A very similar illustration.

If you put new wine into old dry skins,

The new wine will burst them and you will lose everything.

 

And here the results are even more drastic

It will all be “ruined”

 

And religion can actually go this far

To ruin the freedom and salvation of Christ.

 

I can give you an illustration of this happening.

A few years ago we had a local minister who liked writing articles in the paper

About how baptism was necessary for salvation.

 

He quoted half a verse.

Mark 16:16a “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved…”

 

He took that and ran with it as the absolute and total doctrine of Scripture

In regard to salvation.

 

Had he quoted the rest of the verse he would have realized that

Scripture was not promoting baptism as a pre-requisite for salvation,

But merely as a genuine fruit of it.

 

Mark 16:16 “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”

 

We know that because Mark said nothing

About the absence of baptism being grounds for condemnation.

 

Only the absence of belief is grounds for condemnation.

 

The end result of such heresy however is that

Men begin to trust in their baptism as the reason they are saved.

 

Paul told the Galatians who wanted to trust in circumcision

This sobering reality:

Galatians 5:4 “You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.”

 

Meaning if you try to earn salvation through works,

Then you are in effect throwing grace out the window.

 

And that was the same danger John’s disciples were in.

They not only had a dumb religion…

They not only had a defiling religion…

They had a destructive religion…

 

They had a religion that would eventually condemn their souls.

These legalistic students were way off.

 

And so Jesus has an invitation for them as well.

 

The Proven sinners had to “Follow Me”

The Paper saints had to “go and learn”

 

Here is the invitation for the Programmed students

“put new wine into fresh wineskins”

 

Jesus was telling them to let go of the old garment.

Jesus was telling them to let go of the old wineskin.

 

They must choose to trust Christ and quit leaning

On their works of the law as a means of justification.

 

They had to let go of their traditions and religious practices.

DOES THAT SEEM STRANGE?

(that Jesus would ask a man to let go of his religion?)

 

The Jews had to do it in gobs.

One of the hardest things about a Jew becoming a Christian

Was his decision to let go of the religious traditions of his parents.

 

In fact if they confessed Christ they were cut off from the synagogue

And excluded from the feasts.

 

That is why the writer of Hebrews said:

Hebrews 13:9-14 “Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited. We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.”

 

They would have to let go of their old covenant…

They would have to leave their old traditions…

They would have to follow Christ alone.

 

THE POINT IS THIS

When Jesus confronts sinners

They must leave their sin and follow Him.

 

It doesn’t matter if that sin is Greed like Matthew had.

It doesn’t matter if that sin is Arrogance like the Pharisees had.

It doesn’t matter if that sin is Legalism like John’s disciples had.

 

All sin must go and Christ must be followed.

 

And friend that is precisely what He asks of each of us.

Let go of your sin and trust in Christ.

 

Acts 3:19 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;”

 

Jesus Vs Sinners – Part 1

Matthew 9:9-17 (9-13)

 

Thus far we have seen Jesus take on a host of problems.

• Everything from full blown leprosy

• To Paralysis (twice)

• To a Fever

• To a Tsunami

• He even defeated an entire army of demons

 

Thus far nothing has been much of an obstacle for Jesus.

He has systematically reversed the effects of sin over and over and over.

 

But this morning Jesus is up against His biggest challenge.

This is not Jesus vs. Sin

This is Jesus vs. Sinners

 

And while Jesus defeats sin every time He encounters it,

It is well documented that sinners gave Jesus all sorts of trouble.

 

I’m reminded of the visit back to His hometown.

Mark 6:1-6 “Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.” And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief.”

 

And of course we are familiar with Jesus weeping over Jerusalem.

Matthew 23:37-39 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. “Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! “For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!'”

 

And how many more instances like this do we see in the Scriptures.

• The scribe who loved comfort?

• The disciple who wanted his inheritance?

• The entire mob of John 6 who only wanted bread to eat?

• The rich young ruler who loved his money?

• Or even Judas who knew Him personally and still refused to believe?

 

It is clear that Jesus had no problem dealing with sin,

But it was sinners who gave Him trouble.

 

That is of course not to say that Jesus could not have flexed His muscle

And forced any and all of them to instantly bow to His will.

He could have. (Ask the soldiers who tried to arrest Him)

 

The problem was that when given the opportunity

Men repeatedly did not want the freedom that Jesus offered.

 

And this is really the problem of humanity.

 

One could almost say that sin is not man’s biggest problem.

(For we are well aware by now that Jesus can deal with sin)

Man’s biggest problem is love of sin.

 

The problem with most people that we find

Is not that they don’t know what to do with their sin.

 

The church has had that answer for 2,000 years.

 

The person we have had no answer for is

The person who recognizes sin yet wants to keep it anyway.

There is nothing you can do for that person.

 

This morning we see Jesus in action as He deals with sinful men.

 

And what we get here are three different scenarios.

Three different confrontations.

 

In this text Jesus deals with three types of people.

THE PROVEN SINNERS (9-10)

Matthew and his tax collector friends. Those everyone recognizes as

sinners.

 

THE PAPER SAINTS (11-13)

The Pharisees. These are those who look good on paper, but in reality

aren’t as good as they suppose. God is not nearly as pleased with these

people as they are with themselves.

 

THE PROGRAMMED STUDENTS (14-17)

John’s disciples. These are those who are confused. They see religion as

an acceptable substitute for a relationship with God. They are legalistic and

are having difficulty trusting Christ.

 

Let’s look at how Jesus deals with them.

(we won’t make it all the way through, but we will finish it later)

 

#1 THE PROVEN SINNERS

Matthew 9:9-10

 

We have in this group Matthew who according to verse 9

Was “sitting in a tax collector’s booth”

 

And that really says all that you need to know

About Matthew’s choice in life.

 

Becoming a tax collector in Matthew’s day

Was sort of like buying into a franchise today.

 

You simply saw the investment as an opportunity to make money,

And so you bought into the business.

 

And while the business was extremely lucrative, it was also despised.

 

For a Roman tax collector was not like today’s IRS agent.

Matthew was taking money from Jews and giving it to Rome.

 

And that would have been bad enough, but Matthew

(as did all tax collectors) was going even further.

 

A tax collector made income by taking more than was required,

And even to tax things that did not require it.

 

For Example: Rome may have required a tax on every fishing boat of $5.

• So a tax collector would charge him a tax of $7

• Then the tax collector would charge him a tax on the fish he caught.

• Then the tax collector would charge him an income tax on the fish he sold.

• Then the tax collector would charge him a tax to dock his boat.

 

And really the tax collector could tax him any other way he wanted.

 

You might be wondering how he got away with it.

He did so because he was an employ of the Roman government

And therefore had the Roman army to enforce his rulings.

 

THE TAX COLLECTOR WAS WORSE THAN A ROMAN.

He sold out his own countrymen and took money dishonestly

Just to pad his own pockets.

 

It was greed, extortion, terrorism, deceit, bullying, and oppression

All rolled into one job.

And we know that is what Matthew was.

 

Of course in verse 10 we are confronted with even more of them.

“behold many tax collectors and sinners came”

 

So now we have many tax collectors and beyond that

We have also added “sinners”

 

In the church we sort of use the word “sinners” to speak of everyone. Romans 3:23 has taught us that we are all sinners.

But in Jesus day the term “sinners” was a term

Reserved only for the most vile of society.

 

This was the prostitutes, the drunkards, the immoral, the scum of Israel.

 

It is because they are so vile that we are amazed at what happens here.

• Jesus has just forgiven the paralytic

• The crowd was amazed that He could forgive sin

• Obviously the tax collector knew what was going on

• And obviously Matthew was intrigued

 

And as Jesus walked by the Scripture says, “He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth;”

 

I love it when the Scripture says that Jesus “saw” someone.

 

You’ll see it again at the end of the chapter.

Matthew 9:36 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.”

 

And what is clear on this day is that when Jesus “saw…Matthew” He obviously saw that Matthew wanted what He had to offer.

 

Matthew had heard about Jesus ability to forgive sin,

And he wanted that forgiveness.

 

Jesus saw that in this man, and that is why the sermon is so short.

• There was no conviction of sin (Matthew was already convicted)

• There was no threat of judgment (Matthew was already afraid)

• There was no thesis on Jesus ability (Matthew was already convinced)

 

Jesus just said, “Follow Me!”

 

And please note this was Jesus invitation.

It wasn’t to simply believe…

It wasn’t to be willing to go to heaven…

It wasn’t even to have life abundant…

 

Jesus simple invitation was “Follow Me!”

 

Because we are familiar with the conversation with the scribe in chapter 8

This was a following that promised a man to be homeless

Possibly even to leave his family and never collect his inheritance.

 

Jesus was asking Matthew to leave his life.

(And by the way if Matthew left that booth, he would never be allowed to return)

 

It was repentance, it was faith, it was commitment all rolled up into one.

We call it saving faith.

And Matthew “got up and followed Him”

 

And then Matthew threw a party for Him in his house.

(10) “Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples.”

 

(Both Mark and Luke reveal that this was Matthew’s house were the party was.)

 

So not only does Matthew leave his job as a tax collector

But he instantly gathers everyone else he knows

That would like forgiveness and introduces them to Jesus as well.

And the sheer fact that they all come indicates that they are interested.

 

And so to many people’s surprise

Jesus didn’t have any difficulty at all with the Proven Sinners.

 

Those people who were aware of their guilt flocked to Jesus.

Those people who were aware of their sin ran to Jesus.

 

And the only invitation they received was “Follow Me!”

 

So friend if you are at a point

Where you have made more mistakes than you care to admit.

 

If you are in such a way where everyone is aware of your sin,

And all you want is forgiveness.

 

Let me give you the good news.

Jesus can forgive you. Jesus will forgive you.

 

And His invitation is “Follow Me!”

 

Let go of your old lifestyle of sin.

Leave your tax booth

And commit your life to Christ.

 

It is that simple and the proven sinners were doing it in groves.

 

Well goodness if Jesus was that successful with the proven sinners

One might assume that the other two groups will be a piece of cake.

Not so!

 

#2 THE PAPER SAINTS

Matthew 9:11-13

 

To see this group I really only have to give you one word.

“Pharisees”

 

(11) “When the Pharisees saw this”

 

If you aren’t familiar with the Pharisees just understand that

No one was prouder of themselves than the Pharisees.

 

• Originated during struggle for independence from Greece

• Stood against Greek influence in Israel

• Actually helped Israel win her independence

 

The problem of course was their passion took them way too far

And they considered themselves as more important than everyone else.

 

Of course Jesus never pulled any punches.

Matthew 23:1-7 “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. “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. “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. “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.”

 

So you know the Pharisees to have been very religious in all respects.

 

They appeared (on the outside at least)

To be the exact opposite to the sinners of verses 9 & 10.

 

These men loved Israel, these men detested those filthy sins,

They would have never committed those vile acts.

 

And that is why I call them “Paper Saints”

Because on paper no one looked better than a Pharisee.

 

Here one would expect that if Jesus can reach the vilest of sinners

Surely the religious would pose no threat, but that isn’t the case.

 

(11) “When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with tax collectors and sinners?”

 

Now that is interesting on a number of levels.

 

First, they don’t go to Jesus with their question.

• They don’t want the truth

• They want to destroy Jesus

• This is an underhanded, back door, gossip manuever

 

Secondly, it gives us great insight into the spiritual condition of Israel.

 

These were the spiritual leaders of Israel, and they couldn’t even figure out why Jesus would associate with these people.

It is no wonder that at the end of the chapter Jesus sees the people as “distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd”

 

The shepherds of Israel could care less about the lost sheep.

 

AND SO JESUS CONFRONTS THESE COWARDLY SHEEP KILLERS

(12-13) “But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. “But go and learn what this means: ‘ I DESIRE COMPASSION,AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

 

Here Jesus exposes them in three ways.

1) YOU DON’T GRASP GOD’S MINISTRY (12)

 

“It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.”

And it really couldn’t get any clearer than that.

Healthy people don’t call for a doctor.

 

No one takes chemo unless they have to.

 

And that is Jesus’ point.

WHO WOULD YOU HAVE ME GO TO?

 

You see among other things the Pharisees are probably a little jealous

That instead of choosing to dine with them,

Jesus chose to dine with the tax collectors and sinners.

But Jesus responds that that only makes sense.

 

You don’t think you are sick, so you wouldn’t listen to a doctor.

They know they are sick, and so I must go to them.

 

So they didn’t grasp God’s ministry.

 

2) YOU DON’T GRASP GOD’S MESSAGE (13a)

 

“But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’”

 

Jesus here quotes from Hosea, reminding the Pharisees that

Of all their religion, none of it was what God really wanted.

 

If you could ever make one accurate statement about the Pharisees

It is that they always missed the point.

 

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!”

DID THEY REALLY SUPPOSE THEY WERE LIKE GOD BECAUSE OF ALL THEIR RELIGION, WHEN THEY SHOWED NOTHING OF THE COMPASSION OF GOD IN THEIR LIVES?

 

Despite all their study of the Old Testament,

They had obviously failed to ever understand God’s message.

 

God’s message is all about redemption, not destruction.

 

Even when you read those difficult passages of judgment in Scripture

You are quickly aware that the only reason God gives them is because

He is trying to persuade men into repentance so that they won’t be judged.

 

God is a God of great compassion.

And yet the Pharisees didn’t get that at all.

 

3) YOU DON’T GRASP GOD’S MISSION (13b)

 

“for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

 

• It wasn’t for the righteous that Christ relinquished His glory and stepped out of heaven.

• It wasn’t for the righteous that Christ suffered the temptation of Satan.

• It wasn’t for the righteous that Christ endured the hostility of man.

• It wasn’t for the righteous that Christ submitted to death on a cross.

 

The righteous didn’t need it.

 

Christ came for sinners.

Christ suffered for sinners.

Christ endured for sinners.

Christ died for sinners.

 

1 Timothy 1:15 “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.”

 

SO WHY WOULD THEY EXPECT JESUS TO COME AND HANG OUT WITH THEM?

 

They already thought themselves to be righteous.

 

That is like preparing to go on a mission trip to reach the Lozi people

And when you get in Africa the missionary over there upset because

You spent so much time with the Lozi and not enough time with them.

 

It would be to fully misunderstand God’s mission.

And the Pharisees obviously did.

 

AND SO THESE MEN OBVIOUSLY HAD A PROBLEM.

 

• These men didn’t understand the message of God.

• These men didn’t understand the mission of God.

• These men didn’t understand true ministry.

• And in fact all they really wanted to do was stand in the way of it.

 

They were convinced that they were already pleasing to God

And so they saw no need for a savior.

 

And there we learn a valuable lesson.

A man doesn’t come to Christ unless he fully understands

The gravity of his sin and his desperate need for forgiveness.

 

If you are here today and you are not the least bit concerned or convicted about your sin, then Jesus has absolutely no appeal to you.

 

And that is why the invitation that Jesus gives these Paper Saints

Differs greatly from the one He gave the Proven Sinners.

 

• He told the Proven Sinners “Follow Me!”

• But look at what He told the Paper Saints, “Go and learn”

 

You see, they needed to go and spend time in God’s word

And get convicted of their sin, because in their present state

They were in no way ready for a savior.

 

And even though there is a third group to deal with later,

Take just a moment here and understand the point.

 

We know beyond a shadow of a doubt who Jesus is.

He can undo sickness

He can undo fallen creation

He can undo demonic possession

He can forgive sin

 

He is everything we are looking for.

BUT WHO IS HE LOOKING FOR?

 

Jesus is looking, not for the perfect,

But rather for those who know they are not.

 

Luke 18:9-14 “And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Psalms 34:18 “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

 

Psalms 51:17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”

 

God is looking for the broken.

God is looking for those who recognize their sin.

 

Now don’t let that translate into some sort of theology

That makes you believe your sin is ok.

 

Jesus will call everyone of those sinners out of that sin

And begin to work sanctification out in them.

 

But He looked initially for sinners

Because they were the ones who knew they needed Him.

 

If you think for one minute that you are able

To make yourself attractive to Jesus through all your

Religious ordinances and churchy garb you are mistaken.

 

No one looked better on the outside than a Pharisee

And Jesus all but ignored them.

 

It is not about how attractive you are to Jesus.

It is about how attractive Jesus is to you.

 

And no one is more attracted to Jesus

Than a sinner who can’t seem to get out of their sin.

 

So this morning if you are stuck in sin, then look to Jesus.

Simply leave your life of sin and follow Him.

 

But this morning if you are completely unaware of your sin.

Then go and immerse yourself in Scripture, see your sin, and then come to Jesus.

 

Because while Jesus willfully saves sinners,

He also adamantly rejects the righteous.

 

So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God

That He may exalt you at the proper time.

 

Matthew 9:12 “But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.”