Stewards of the Gospel
Matthew 13:51-52
June 10, 2018
Well tonight we are going to officially bring to a close
Our study of 500 Years of Reformation.
For me it’s been some of the best 14 months of my life
Examining the nuances of the gospel.
Having looked at the SOLAS, we have sought to put a little appendix on this study by making sure that we also understand the expectations of those SOLAS.
• We have said that Grace does not lead to licentiousness
• We have said that Faith does not produce laziness
• We have said that the Glory of God does not produce complacency
Each of those comes with the expectation that
We now live holy, active, passionate lives for God.
And tonight I want to close with one last vitally important reminder,
And it is namely this:
That as those who now understand the gospel,
We are those who are required to share it.
John MacArthur shared a story that he read in a Presbyterian publication in a sermon I heard recently. I shared it on Facebook, but I wanted to read it to you tonight as well.
“On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a crude little lifesaving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea. And with no thought for themselves or their safety, they went out day and night, tirelessly searching for the lost. Many lives were saved by this wonderful little lifesaving station, so it became famous.”
“Some of those who were saved, and various others in the surrounding area, wanted to become associated with the station and give of their time, money, and effort for the support of its work. New boats were bought, and new crews were trained, and the little lifesaving station grew.”
“Some of the members of the lifesaving station were unhappy that the building was so crude and poorly equipped. They felt a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea. So they replaced the emergency cots and beds and put better furniture in the enlarged building.”
“Now the lifesaving station became a popular gathering place for its members. And they decorated it beautifully and furnished it exquisitely because they used it as sort of a club. Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on lifesaving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to do that work. The lifesaving motif still prevailed in the club’s decorations, and there was a liturgical lifeboat in the room where club initiations were held.”
“About this time, a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in loads of cold, wet, half-drowned people. They were dirty and sick, and the beautiful new club was considerably messed up. So the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where the victims of shipwrecks could be cleaned up before coming inside.”
“At the next meeting, there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the lifesaving activity altogether because it was unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal social life of the club. Some members insisted upon lifesaving as their primary purpose. They pointed out that they were still called a lifesaving station. But they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save the lives of various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own lifesaving station down the coast, which they did.”
“As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that occurred in the old. It evolved into a club, and yet another lifesaving station was founded. And history continued to repeat itself. And if you visit that coast today, you’ll find a number of exclusive clubs along the shore. Shipwrecks are still frequent in those waters, and most of the people drown.”
Tonight we talk about that lifesaving mission
And the reality that as those who have the gospel,
We are under obligation to preach it.
I’ll begin by reminding you that
We have NO PROBLEM FINDING VERSES in Scripture
That reveal the believer’s responsibility to go and proclaim the gospel.
Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
1 Peter 3:13-16 “Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.”
Luke 9:60 “But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”
Matthew 10:7 “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘ The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
John 20:21 “So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
Luke 24:44-48 “Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. “You are witnesses of these things.”
Mark 16:15 “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”
And hopefully you get the picture.
Going to the lost with the message of the gospel
Is a command for every believer.
We could spend time on any one of those verses this morning and make that point.
We also have no problem citing examples of people who did this.
Woman at the Well
John 4:28-30 “So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men, “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?” They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.”
The Gaderene Demoniac
Mark 5:18-20 “As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was imploring Him that he might accompany Him. And He did not let him, but He said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.”
The Cripple from the Bethesda Pool
John 5:15 “The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.”
The Blind Man
John 9:24-34 “So a second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, “Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.” He then answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” So they said to him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?” They reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. “We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from.” The man answered and said to them, “Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. “We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. “Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. “If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.” They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?” So they put him out.”
Peter and John
Acts 4:18-20 “And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
And that list goes on and on and on
We didn’t even mention Paul or Stephen or Philip
The point to be made is simple.
As believers in Christ, WE ARE WITNESSES
Everyone who has come to Christ and been forgiven of their sin
And been filled with His Holy Spirit
Is expected to share what great things God has done for you.
But tonight I want to go even a little farther than that.
Certainly we are witnesses,
I want you to understand we are also STEWARDS
We have been ENTRUSTED with the precious truth of the gospel.
• It is ours to BELIEVE
• It is ours to DEFEND (as in protestant reformation)
• It is ours to PROCLAIM
This is the purpose of the church.
1 Timothy 3:14-15 “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”
The church is in fact “the pillar and support of the truth”
Truth has been entrusted to us.
If the rest of the world is to get it, they will get it from us.
Paul said:
1 Corinthians 9:16-17 “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me.”
Romans 1:14-15 “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.”
I want you to understand:
The world is dependent on the fact
That those with the truth will distribute it.
Romans 10:14-15 “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!”
The eternal destination of the world
Depends on our willingness to take the gospel to them.
And what I want you to understand tonight is that
Jesus expects that as His disciple you will do just that.
It is our stewardship
It is our mandate
It is our responsibility
And that is the point behind this parable we look at tonight.
This passage is only two verses so we will break it into two points.
#1 THE DISCIPLE’S BLESSING
Matthew 13:51
You don’t see the word “blessing” mentioned anywhere in that verse
And it sort of causes a person to wonder what we’re talking about.
That is because the blessing was mentioned way earlier in the chapter.
Jesus says here, “Have you understood these things?”
Well, first we would do well to ask, “WHAT THINGS?”
Jesus is referring to everything that is recorded in Matthew 13.
Matthew 13 is a powerful, powerful chapter.
It is a chapter containing 9 parables.
They all refer to the kingdom of heaven
You might not be able to list them all,
But I promise you that you are familiar with all of them.
THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER (13:18-23)
The first parable of the chapter speaks of a sower who went out to sow seed.
• Some fell on the hard soil
• Some fell on the rocky soil
• Some fell on the weedy soil
• Some fell on the good soil
Why everyone isn’t entering the kingdom.
The reason everyone isn’t entering is because ¾ of them have bad hearts.
(It’s not the fault of the seed or the sower; it is the soil)
• Some hearts are too hard (won’t listen)
• Some hearts are too shallow (won’t endure)
• Some hearts are too divided (won’t commit)
• Only one heart will accept the word, let it grow, and produce the fruit.
THE PARABLE OF THE TARES (13:24-20, 36-43)
Jesus spoke of a farmer who sowed wheat, but an enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat. When it was discovered Jesus said to let it remain for a while,
But in the judgment the tares will be removed and burned.
The parable explains why the unrighteous exist, why they remain,
And what will ultimately happen to them.
THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED (13:31-32)
Jesus said the kingdom is like a mustard seed in that it starts small,
But it grows to be the largest.
For us it explains why the kingdom appeared insignificant and small,
But how it would grow to something great.
THE PARABLE OF THE LEAVEN (13:33)
Jesus spoke of the kingdom being like leaven in that it spreads in a supernatural and almost unexplainable way.
It explains how the kingdom grows.
THE PARABLE OF THE TREASURE IN THE FIELD (13:44)
THE PARABLE OF THE PEARL OF GREAT VALUE (13:45)
Jesus spoke of a man who found a treasure and how he hid it, bought the field, and paid a price of all that he had to gain it. Jesus also spoke of a pearl merchant who sold all he had to acquire a fine pearl.
These parables spoke of the value of the kingdom.
It may indeed cost a lot to enter it, but it is worth every penny.
Even a treasure hunter and a pearl merchant knew it was worth all they had
THE PARABLE OF THE DRAGNET
Jesus spoke of a dragnet being gathered collecting all sorts of fish, but at the end the good fish being gathered and the bad fish being destroyed.
No doubt this parable mirrored that of the wheat and the tares and explained not only the judgment of those not in the kingdom, but also the urgency of the kingdom since no one knows when the net will reach the shore.
But each of these parable Jesus gave spoke about the kingdom.
Why it is small
How it grows
It’s great value
Why unbelievers exist
What will happen to them
Matthew 13:34 “All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable.”
And I hope you remember why He spoke to them in parables.
Jesus was very definitive about this.
TURN TO: MATTHEW 13:10-17
And there we have the blessing I was talking about.
Jesus was just revealing the most sought after information the world could have ever desired, and He revealed it in a way that most of the people couldn’t receive it.
In fact Jesus specifically said that the mysteries of the kingdom
Had not been granted to most of them.
(16) “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears because they hear.”
And that is the blessing Jesus is confirming here in verse 51
“Have you understood these things?” They said to Him, “Yes.”
They didn’t understand it because they were so smart
They didn’t understand it because they were so persistent
They understood it because God had chosen to reveal it to them
AND THIS IS A BLESSING!
1 Peter 1:10-12 “As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven — things into which angels long to look.”
What a statement!
This salvation that you enjoy
This salvation that you understand
IS THE MOST PRIVILEGED INFORMATION OF ALL TIME
Prophets for centuries “made careful searches and inquiries”
Peter said “angels long to look” into these matters
But all of these prophets and righteous men never fully understood everything about salvation and the kingdom of God.
And then on one day, in one chapter Jesus sat down
And just spilled it all right there for the disciples.
This group of scraggly fishermen, ex-tax collectors, and under cover terrorists just received information that had been sought for centuries.
• They now knew the Messiah
• They now knew the way of salvation
• They now knew about the kingdom of God
• What it is
• Where it is headed
• How to enter it
• The penalty for missing it
To sum it all up they had been entrusted with the gospel
Matthew 13:16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.”
You and I also have that blessing.
• NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE THOSE PARABLES
• WE HAVE BEEN PRIVILEGED TO LEARN THE GOSPEL!!!
WE ARE BLESSED AS WELL.
We have the Scripture!
• We have that special revelation from God
• We have everything pertaining to life and godliness
We know about Grace!
• We know that God has chosen us
• We know that God atones for His elect
• We know that God secures us
We know about Faith!
• We know that it is a gift from God
• We know that is all God requires for justification
We know about Christ!
• We know about His active and passive righteousness
• We know about His actual atonement
• We know about His victorious resurrection
We know about the Glory of God!
• We know that God ordains all things for His glory
And since there are many in the world who do not have this information
I would say that definitely makes you blessed.
• You could have been raised Hindu, never told about Christ.
• You could have been raised Muslim, being told Muhammad was the savior
• You could have been raised atheist, denying all truths about God
• You could have been raised in remote area…
• You could have been raised speaking a language with no Scripture available…
Do you get the point?
You are blessed, just as the disciples were.
But let me remind you:
Luke 12:48b “From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.”
And that brings me to my next point.
The Disciple’s Blessing
#2 THE DISCIPLE’S BURDEN
Matthew 13:52
Now I don’t use the word “burden” here in a negative sense
So much as I do in a serious sense.
It is a stewardship
It is a responsibility
It is a job entrusted
It is your burden in the sense that you must do it.
It is your responsibility
Your privileged information
Makes you liable for the responsibility that comes with it.
“And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”
Now first Jesus is referring to “a scribe”
What is a scribe?
A scribe was one who literally wrote and rewrote copies of the Law or the Scriptures.
And because of this, they became known as
The chief theologians and teachers of the day.
After all, who could have a better knowledge of the Scriptures
Than the people who spent their time copying it?
For an example: Ezra was a scribe.
Ezra 7:6 “This Ezra went up from Babylon, and he was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given; and the king granted him all he requested because the hand of the LORD his God was upon him.”
Ezra 7:10 “For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.”
So a scribe was both a skilled learner and a qualified teacher.
(You may not feel like one, but I promise that
You know more of the truth of the kingdom than most of the world)
But Jesus says in this verse that the scribe has become something.
“every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven”
So we are talking about a “scribe who has become a disciple”
WHAT IS A DISCIPLE?
A disciple is a learner
So Jesus is talking about a scribe who has learned something new
This scribe has actually learned about “the kingdom of heaven”
SO WE ARE OBVIOUSLY TALKING ABOUT A BLESSED SCRIBE.
Scribes were responsible for teaching the truth,
What a blessing that this scribe now knew the truth about the kingdom.
And Jesus is about to explain the RESPONSIBILITY of this scribe.
(52) “And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”
It was the responsibility of the “head of a household”
To give provisions or rations to the family.
They were the stewards.
And they divvied it out to the family as it was needed.
And Jesus here tells they twelve that they are now those stewards.
You have been taught something valuable
You now know something other people need to know
Stored in your treasure is information other people need
And what does the “head of a household” do?
He “brings out of his treasure things new and old.”
He takes what he has and dispenses it to those who need it.
I don’t have to explain to you the spiritual application here.
Because they had been entrusted with the knowledge of the kingdom,
They were now responsible to distribute that knowledge to the world.
• They knew why people weren’t entering the kingdom.
• They knew why there were tares among the wheat.
• They knew why the kingdom appeared small.
• They knew how the kingdom would grow.
• They knew how valuable the kingdom is.
• They knew what would happen to all those who did not enter it.
And they were now obligated.
Remember what Paul said?
Romans 1:14-15 “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.”
Ephesians 3:1-3, 8-10 “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles — if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief…To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.”
Paul was bound to deliver that which he knew.
And that is precisely what Jesus is saying to the disciples.
AND THAT IS ALSO TRUE WITH US – WE HAVE THIS TRUTH!
And notice EXACTLY what He said.
“every scribe who HAS BECOME a disciple of the kingdom is like a head of household WHO BRINGS OUT of his treasure things new and old.”
Jesus didn’t say every scribe “should” bring out rations.
He said every scribe that is a disciple “brings [it] out”
In other words, one of the distinguishing marks of a true disciple
Of the kingdom is that they share the treasure.
Jesus is saying if you are truly a disciple,
Then you will be a steward.
However, those who pretend to be disciples,
But who are not good stewards are frauds.
Matthew 24:45-51 “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? “Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. “Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. “But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Charles Spurgeon said, “Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter.”
That is exactly what Jesus is saying here.
Every true disciple of the kingdom
Is either a faithful steward or a lying hypocrite.
We are responsible for what we know.
Now some would say, “Wait a second preacher! Jesus Himself didn’t tell that truth to everyone. He said Himself that it wasn’t granted to everyone. I think I’ll just be like Jesus and only share it with those who have been chosen to know it, just like Jesus did.”
That would be fine and well except you don’t know who that is.
Jesus did, you don’t.
We are called to share it everywhere.
TURN TO: ISAIAH 6
VERSE 8 And obviously his answer should be our answer.
Here is the mission
VERSES 9-10
(Recognize that? It is the verse Jesus quoted earlier in Matthew 13)
Notice Isaiah’s question
VERSES 11-12
So God told him to preach until everyone is destroyed.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THAT?
VERSE 13
Because there was a remnant that would be saved.
Isaiah didn’t know who they were, and neither do we.
We know that at least 75% won’t accept it because their hearts are bad,
But we don’t know who they are until we share it.
Furthermore we know the kingdom spreads in this manner (like leaven)
And now we find that we are responsible
To share the mystery we have received.
And so we talk about GOING on mission.
• You may not be a preacher
• You may not be an evangelist
• You may not be a teacher
But that doesn’t matter.
ARE YOU A DISCIPLE?
Because those who have received are responsible to share.
You are obligated to share what you know.
And this is how I think we have to close our study of the SOLAS
Certainly they are given for our education.
• There is tremendous benefit in the Christian life in knowing these things.
But it’s not ONLY for our instruction.
• It’s also that we would share what we have been taught.
AT THE END OF THE DAY WE ARE A LIFE-SAVING STATION.
We are under obligation.
Matthew 13:52 “And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”
