Ministering in a Perverted World
Matthew 17:14-23
February 5, 2012
We have recently been talking about the reality that
The call to follow Christ is in fact a call to suffer.
The reason we have been talking about it is not because we delight in the subject, but because that is what Jesus has been talking about.
He is trying to prepare His disciples for the inevitable fact
That following Him won’t be easy.
And this morning we learn yet again why suffering is inevitable,
And that is because we minister IN A PERVERTED WORLD.
Jesus has already taught that it is a world filled with wolves
Among which we are merely sheep.
Matthew 10:16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.”
It is a world that continually reverses light and darkness
And good and evil.
A world that twists and maligns what is good and pure and decent
And supplants it with what is gross and detestable and defiled.
Casting Crowns put it in their song, “They save the trees and kill the children.”
• We live in a world that fights to go green and save the environment, but fights equally strong to keep abortions running smoothly and frequently.
• We live in a world that attacks the family and promotes homosexuality.
• We live in a world that defies the true creator and promotes a pathetic myth called evolution.
Any amount of common sense and perspective will tell you
That our world continually turns things upside down.
It is perverted, it is twisted.
It seeks the wrong things, it loves the wrong things,
It promotes the wrong things.
And this is seen throughout the Scriptures.
When Paul ministered he encountered obstacles from such men, remember Elymas the magician?
Acts 13:8-10 “But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?”
Such confrontations prompted Paul to ask for prayer in those regards.
2 Thessalonians 3:1-2 “Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you; and that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith.”
The world is a backward and perverse system.
Certainly we are to stand against such a system:
Philippians 2:14-15 “Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,”
But we are also called as Christians
To save men out of that perverse system.
Acts 2:40 “And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!”
And so it is clear that we are to stand against the backward
And perverse ways of the world and seek to save men out of it.
The tragedy is, however, that at times just the opposite happens.
And instead of us rescuing men from a perverse world,
The world actually infiltrates God’s church.
Paul spoke of them:
Titus 3:10-11 “Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned.”
He even warned the Ephesian elders that such perversity
Could even reach them as shepherds of the flock.
Acts 20:29-30 “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.”
The point is that perversion is everywhere,
And at times can even be present in the church.
But make no mistake about it, we minister in a backward world.
• We speak truth in a world that loves falsehood.
• We shine light in a world that loves darkness.
• We demand holiness in a world that loves sin.
And that means that the very core of things we do
Sets us in direct opposition to the world.
Now that shouldn’t be shocking, in fact that is what Jesus has been trying to tell us for the last few weeks.
He would be hated… He would suffer… He would be killed…
He has told us that twice now.
First in Caesarea Philippi “began to show His disciples that He must…”
Next coming down from the mountain “So also the Son of Man…”
But it is clear this morning that the disciples
Still hadn’t full grasped that.
We find them in the midst of a crowd trying to work a miracle.
What they don’t understand is that
• Some in the crowd don’t want the miracle,
• And those that do only want the miracle and not salvation.
It is a perverted world.
And Jesus will use this to remind the disciples of
Exactly what we are up against,
And how we are to minister in the midst of it.
.
So let’s look at what happens.
4 things
#1 A TWISTED REQUEST
Matthew 17:14-16
Now I know when we read what Matthew’s gospel says
It can easily be taken as a heart-felt plea from a concerned father.
“a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him”
That looks an awful lot like humility.
“saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.”
And that sounds like genuine submission as he calls Jesus “Lord”
And again humility as he asks for “mercy”
He even reveals the problem with his son.
“he is a lunatic”
The Greek word here (like the English word) has direct ties to the moon, where we get our word for lunar.
It means “moon-struck”
Luke’s gospel (because he was a doctor) gets even more descriptive.
Luke 9:38-39 “And a man from the crowd shouted, saying, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only boy, and a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams, and it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth; and only with difficulty does it leave him, mauling him as it leaves.”
Matthew calls him a lunatic, Luke gets more specific, speaking of seizures, convulsions, foaming at the mouth, and screaming.
(difference between a tax collector and a doctor)
According to Luke this man even knew
It was a demon that caused these seizures.
And this demon often caused the boy to be burned or nearly drowned.
Furthermore that father seemed hopeless
Since even Jesus’ disciples could not help.
(16) “I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.”
And this man seems really sincere, and heart-broken,
And humble and submissive.
And where it not for the severe rebuke he gets from Jesus in a moment, we would think nothing of it.
But that is not what is going on.
THERE ARE ACTUALLY TWO THINGS HAPPENING HERE
1) A man who thinks Jesus is only there to make his life easier.
2) A crowd who is actually hoping the disciples fail so they will be discredited.
TURN TO: MARK 9:14-23
Now in Mark’s gospel we get an entirely different picture.
When Jesus comes off of the mountain there is a crowd gathered,
And the crowd is gathered around an argument.
(14) “When they came back to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them.”
So the disciples are in the midst of a fight with the scribes.
In verse 16 Jesus asked, “What are you discussing with them?”
And before the disciples can answer, the argument reveals itself.
(17) “And one of the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.”
Do you see what is going on?
This man brought his son to the disciples and “told [them] to cast it out”
And when they couldn’t, it started an argument with the scribes
As to the certain ineffectiveness of the disciples.
Can’t you hear it?
“Oh, I thought your Master had authority over demons?”
“I thought you guys were miracle workers?”
And then the man takes the test to Jesus.
After the boy is brought to Jesus and is thrown into another convulsion.
(21-22) “And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. “It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!”
Did you catch the “if You can…”?
Jesus did. (23) “If You can?” All things are possible to him who believes.”
And at that point the father changes his tune.
(24) “Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.”
From Mark’s gospel we see why Jesus gets so upset.
There is something about this that just doesn’t feel right.
This was a twisted request.
We have one man who wants a miracle.
We have a crowd who delights that there wasn’t one.
AND NEITHER ARE INTERESTED IN REPENTANCE & SALVATION
A Twisted Request
#2 A TERRIBLE REBUKE
Matthew 17:17-18
Now that we understand what was going on,
It makes a little more sense why Jesus was so passionate.
“And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you?”
OUCH!
He saw right through them.
He knew their manipulation…
He knew their trickery…
He knew their motives…
And He was sick of it!
These people were not the least bit interested
In the salvation that Jesus came to offer.
They were only focused on the surface, on temporal issues,
With no spiritual value.
And Jesus said they were not only “unbelieving”,
But they were also “perverted”
“perverted” translates DIASTREPHO
(dia = “through” strephos = “to turn”)
They twisted things, they turned them through
They perverted what was right,
They magnified the unimportant and ignored the truly significant.
And I promise if you have been involved in ministry very long,
You have felt His frustration.
(Benevolence ministry will do this to you)
Jesus was frustrated here.
He was sick and tired of people whose main motivation was comfort and pleasure for this life, but who would give no thought to eternity.
He was sick and tired of people who wanted nothing to do with the message or repentance, but sought ways to discredit it at every turn.
And He wondered how much longer He had to put up with it.
The notice a sad reality.
“Bring him here to Me. And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once.”
Now again, that looks like a good thing.
And to a degree it was.
The demon left.
But notice the word used.
“the boy was cured at once”
“cured” translates THERAPEUO
It means “to cure”
It is way different from previous words.
Remember the woman with the hemorrhage?
Matthew 9:22 “But Jesus turning and seeing her said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.” At once the woman was made well.”
The word there was SOZO, which means “saved”
This boy wasn’t saved, he was cured.
That means in reality, he was actually no better off.
You say, “Sure he was, the demon was gone.”
Have we forgotten?
Matthew 12:43-45 “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. “Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. “Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”
That is where this boy was.
He was about to be in worse shape than when he started.
Jesus would have saved his sole and forgiven his sin.
Jesus would have granted him eternal life.
But as it was they only wanted momentary relief, and that is all they got.
A Twisted Request, A Terrible Rebuke
#3 A TIMELY REMINDER
Matthew 17:19-21
Here we come to the teaching lesson,
And this is pretty revealing to us as well.
(19) “Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?”
And this is an understandable question.
If you remember when Jesus first sent them out He said:
Matthew 10:7-8 “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.”
Later when He sent out the 70 they returned and said:
Luke 10:17 “The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”
And so this incident caught them completely off guard.
Here a crowd had arrived, scribes had dared them,
The challenge was presented and the fell flat on their face.
“We looked like idiots!”
And they wanted to know why.
(20) “And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”
So the quick answer to the disciples as to why they failed
Is because their faith is too small.
The reason they cast out demons before, and not this time
Is because before they exercised faith, here they did not.
But let’s talk about this a second.
Jesus said their faith was too little and then He said, “if you have faith the size of a mustard seed…”
Now thanks to His parables on the kingdom,
We know the symbolism of the mustard seed.
It was the smallest of all garden seeds.
So hear what Jesus is saying.
“Your faith isn’t even as big as a mustard seed,
For if it was, you could move a mountain.”
What does it mean to move a mountain?
Jesus is only speaking in illustrative terms here.
There is no record in Scripture that Jesus or His apostles
Ever actually moved a mountain.
It means to accomplish something very difficult.
And if the disciples faith had been as big as a mustard seed
They could have accomplished this difficult task.
SO WHAT WERE THE DISCIPLES DOING?
(we know what they weren’t doing)
If you are reading the NIV, your bible does not contain verse 21,
Except in a note on the bottom of the page.
It is a bracketed verses indicating that in the oldest manuscripts of Matthew, this verse was not included (indicating it must have been added later)
There are several like this incidentally. (The angel stirring the water in John 5:4; the woman caught in adultery in John 8, the entire end of Mark’s gospel)
But here is what verse 21 says, “But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
So we are inclined to be careful about giving too much weight to this verse
Since it is proven that Matthew did not initially write it.
However Mark’s gospel does say this:
Mark 9:29 “And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.”
So we know the disciples weren’t praying.
They were trying to cast out a demon without seeking God.
That means they were doing it on their own strength,
And ultimately for their own glory.
I don’t know if they were waiving their hands or shouting, or hitting the boy on the forehead or what, but they weren’t seeking God.
And since God doesn’t honor those types of self-glorifying displays
The disciples fell flat on their face.
The disciples wanted to accomplish their ministry,
But they wanted to do it in a way that earned them some respect
Among the religious community.
They were trying to be effective followers of Jesus
And yet be admired by the world at the same time.
But that isn’t possible because the world is perverted.
On this day the disciples had been presented with a problem,
And most of the people actually hoped they would fail.
And that is why we see the next point.
#5 THE TOUGH REALITY
Matthew 17:22-23
Here Jesus reminded them a third time.
It is not possible to follow Me and be loved by the world.
• This world is perverted, and they don’t love Me.
• Those religious leaders are unbelieving, and they don’t love Me.
They hate me because they are unbelieving and perverted,
And rest assured they are going to kill Me.
“The Son of Man IS going to be delivered into the hands of men; and they WILL kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.”
Luke’s gospel says it like this:
Luke 9:41-44 “And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” While he was still approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.
But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”
According to Luke Jesus said, “Let these words sink into your ears;”
It was clear that the disciples did not fully grasp
That Jesus would be hated by the world.
So Jesus uses the example of this crowd mocking them as added proof.
“See! I’m tell you the world does not love Me, and they will kill Me!”
Matthew’s gospel says, “And they were deeply grieved.”
(Wasn’t all grief for Jesus)
Their grief also came from the realization
That they cannot follow Jesus and be loved by the world.
So friends we remind ourselves of this truth yet again.
We must let it sink into our ears as well.
The call to follow Jesus is not a call to gain credibility in the world,
It is call to forsake the world and follow Jesus.
When we try to prove ourselves to the world,
Then we fail miserably in our mission, just as the disciples did.
But when we trust God, not worrying about what the world thinks,
They may hate us, but the mission is a success.
We must come to grips with the fact that this world is perverted
And if we are to follow Jesus, then they will hate us.
John 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.”
John 16:1-4 “These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. “They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. “These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. “But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.”
John 17:14-15 “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.”
1 John 3:13 “Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you.”
1 Peter 4:12 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;”
I know it is a tough reality, but it is a reality none the less.
And the reason why we have tribulation in this world
Is not because we hate the people in the world,
It is because this world is perverted and hates Jesus.
And so if you set yourself up as a follower of Jesus,
Then know they will hate you to.
So when you minister here,
Minister in discernment, and minister in faith.
Ephesians 5:6-11 “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;”
And above all choose to follow Christ anyway.
Matthew 16:24-25 “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. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
