Jesus Vs. Sinners – part 2 (Matthew 9:14-17)
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;”
