Radical Obedience 5/7/2023
Introduction: Famous Last Words?
Has anybody ever heard the phrase Famous Last Words? I had a famous last words moment the other day, I gone into a guitar shop, because I needed to get new strings on my guitar. And I had my daughter charlote with me.—Paying for Strings, famous lasts words.
But my favorite famous last words is the famous last words of the husband who went to couple’s therapy with his wife, because their relationship was in bad sorts. And the therapist recommends to the husband to go do something nice for his wife.
He says you should go buy her flowers. Bob do you know what your wife’s favorite flower is?
And the husband smiles and says pillsbury.
-I want to look at the famous last words of the Bible
-If you have your Bible, go ahead and turn to the book of matthew. and then go back about 2 pages. You should be in the book of Malachi.
Malachi was the last prophet to speak to israel before the coming of Jesus
-So in a sense this is the last thing that the people had heard from God for over 500 years.
Malachi 1:7–8 NET 2nd ed.
You are offering improper sacrifices on my altar, yet you ask, ‘How have we offended you?’ By treating the table of the Lord as if it is of no importance.
For when you offer blind animals as a sacrifice, is that not wrong? And when you offer the lame and sick, is that not wrong as well? Indeed, try offering them to your governor! Will he be pleased with you or show you favor?” asks the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
Malachi 1:10 NET 2nd ed.
“I wish that one of you would close the temple doors, so that you no longer would light useless fires on my altar. I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and I will no longer accept an offering from you.
-God’s upset with their disobedience
-He’s upset about their sacrifices, he’s upset about their disobedience.
-He’s upset about the fact that they’re being “Barely” obedient. -They’re kind of obedient, in the sense that they’re not turning to idolatry, they’re not being willfully disobedient
-But they’re also just kind of going through the motions
-And so in the book of Malachi, the last book of the Old testament, the last prophet before almost 500 years of silence
-He calls the israelites from a life of “going through the motions” to a life of Radical obedience.
-And he says you would never treat your governor this way.
-You would never treat an earthly king with this much disrespect
Malachi 1:14 NET 2nd ed.
“There will be harsh condemnation for the hypocrite who has a valuable male animal in his flock but vows and sacrifices something inferior to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and my name is awesome among the nations.”
And then Malachi says this, in chapter 3, he says
Malachi 3:1 NET 2nd ed.
“I am about to send my messenger, who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
God is a king, god has promised he is going to send his messenger. And then you get into chapter 4
Malachi 4:5 NET 2nd ed.
Look, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord arrives.
Malachi 4:6 NET 2nd ed.
He will encourage fathers and their children to return to me, so that I will not come and strike the earth with judgment.”
-And that’s the last thing God ever said through the prophets.
-Was God completely absent? of course not. Was he still involved in the lives of the individual people who had faith, I would have to assume yes. But as far as the corperate “nation of israel” as far as speaking to them through a proper Prophet, He was gone.
-The last thing he said was, I’m coming. And you’re gonna know it’s me because I’m gonna send elijiah.
-Remember Elijiah was the prophet who was taken up in a whirlwind into heaven in
2 Kings 2:11 .
-Elijiah Never died.
-and then you turn the page.
-And you read about this Child who is decended from david, born of a virgin, worshipped by travelers from distant lands. And you’re thinking, I think this might be the king. I think this might be the messiah.
And then you get introduced to this fellow named John,
Matthew 3:1–2 NET 2nd ed.
In those days John the Baptist came into the wilderness of Judea proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
Matthew 3:3 NET 2nd ed.
For he is the one about whom the prophet Isaiah had spoken: “The voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make his paths straight.’ ”
Matthew 3:4 NET 2nd ed.
Now John wore clothing made from camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his diet consisted of locusts and wild honey.
Matthew 3:5–6 NET 2nd ed.
Then people from Jerusalem, as well as all Judea and all the region around the Jordan, were going out to him, and he was baptizing them in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.
Who is John and what was he doing?
To really understand what’s going on here, we have to look at who John the baptist was, and what everyone said about him.
John was this fellow who had a very large following during the time of Jesus. He was a big deal. And there was a lot of mystery going around about him, and who he was, and what his role was. He was the kind of person that even if you weren’t a Christian, you knew about John.
One of the things that really sticks out about him is how his appearance is described.
Matthew 3:4 NET 2nd ed.
Now John wore clothing made from camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his diet consisted of locusts and wild honey.
Elijiah
To you and I that might just seem weird. OK, so he’s going around wearing hairy clothes and eating bugs. That’s strange. But as weird as it sound to us, it’s absolutely on purpose.
There’s an account in 2 Kings where King Ahab is injured, and wants to know whether or not he is going to survive. so he sends messengers to seek advice not from the priests, not from the Lord. But from Baal. the idol of the caananites. The prophet Elijah gets word of this and goes and finds the messengers and tells the king, you are going to die from these injuries because you sought after Baal instead of the Lord. The king is disturbed and says “who said this to you, what did he look like?”
2 Kings 1:8 NET 2nd ed.
They replied, “He was a hairy man and had a leather belt tied around his waist.” The king said, “He is Elijah the Tishbite.”
So Now all of a sudden you’re matthew’s original readers and that messiah thing is starting to look more and more likely.
You start wondering, do you think maybe john is the Elijiah that God promised?
And what’s fascinating is the fact that matthew here at first just hints at it. He just drops a little hint
He leaves you with this little subtle hint where you’re thinking I think he might be elijiah from malachi 4.
And in fact later on in Matthew Jesus Doubles down and says
Matthew 11:13–14 NET 2nd ed.
For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John appeared. And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, who is to come.
Caveat
Now here’s the deal, Matthew is absolutely making the point that John the baptist is the Elijiah to come from Malachi 4. We’re going to see it here, we’re going to see it
I don’t know if the Bible is talking about a physical coming, or a metaphorical coming, or if it’s some sort of spiritual thing. You’re guess is as good as mine.
At the bare minimum I can say that Malachi told us that Elijiah would come back to prepare the way of the Lord. And Matthew makes it pretty clear that there’s some sort of connection between Elijiah and John.
Let me tell you something about John.
John’s baptism.
And the thing that John was doing, baptising, Was for all account completely unique. There was no such thing as “baptism” in the way that john did it before john did it.
The Jews had a thing called the Mikvah—which came about around 200 years before Jesus, which was a way of becoming ritually cleansed. If you touched a dead body, if you touched something unclean, you would go to the Mikvah, and be cleansed. It was something used by those who are unclean. And it was used by Gentiles who wanted to convert to judaism
If you wanted to convert to Judaism, one of the first things you would do is go to the Mikvah for your initial cleansing. It’s clear that what John is doing in the wilderness is similar to that. But it also has some very important differences
John’s baptism was a one time event. He calls it a baptism for repentantce
That word is synonymous with conversion. it means you were doing one thing and you change to start doing something different
John is not talking about a ritual cleasnsing baptism—something you would do again and again to keep in line with the purity laws—he is talking about a conversion. He’s talking about being in a state of condemnation, of seperation from God, and then through immersion, now you are united with God.
Matthew 3:7–8 NET 2nd ed.
But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
Therefore produce fruit that proves your repentance,
How do you think those religious leaders felt when John said that? The Pharisees and Sadducees, the ones who were the most righteous, the most religious. And john is telling them that yes, even they need to change.
John’s baptism is always passive
The mikvah, the ritual cleansing, that was something you did to yourself. They had little pools dug into the ground with steps, they looked a lot like a baptistry if it was dug into the ground and made out of stone. And you went and you walked into the mikvah, and you immersed yourself. You didn’t need anybody to facilitate
Matthew 3:13–15 NET 2nd ed.
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John to be baptized by him in the Jordan River.
But John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?”
So Jesus replied to him, “Let it happen now, for it is right for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John yielded to him.
The immersion process in Jesus day that was practiced by the Jews, based on those rules, Jesus could have just taken himself into the river and did it himself.
Nobody would have batted an eye if he would have just walked out there and baptized himself, but Jesus says no. This baptism must be passive.
By the way if anybody ever tries to tell you that baptism is a work, something you do to earn your salvation, Jesus denies that. Jesus sets the example that Baptism is a passive event.
He’s setting the standard right there that for someone to fulfill all righteousness, they need to allow baptism to happen to them.
What Jesus is doing here is displaying what it means to be a kingdom citizen. He’s displaying radical obedience. Radical obedience means repenting and being baptized even if you don’t think you need to be. Jesus certainly didn’t needto be baptized. He certainly didn’t need to repent. He had absolutely nothing he needed to change, but he went through with it to set the standard.
Jesus Led out into the wilderness
Matthew 4:1 NET 2nd ed.
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Notice two things about that verse. First is the word “led” by the spirit.
God does not tempt us. James makes that clear
James 1:13 NET 2nd ed.
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil,15 and he himself tempts no one.
That doesn’t mean that God doesn’t allow you to be tested. In fact just the opposite is true
James 1:2–4 NET 2nd ed.
My brothers and sisters,4 consider it nothing but joy5 when you fall into all sorts of trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything.
Another way of saying that, is that your testing your trials are what produces the fruit worthy of repentance. It’s what makes your faith not just talking the talk, but walking the walk.
So again, even by allowing the spirit to lead him out to a place where he can be tempted is an act of radical obedience.
Satan gives Jesus 3 different tests
Matthew 4:3-10
Matthew 4:3–10 NET 2nd ed.
The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.”3 But he answered,4 “It is written, ‘Man5 does not live6 by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”7 Then the devil took him to the holy city,8 had him stand9 on the highest point10 of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you’11 and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ ”12 Jesus said to him, “Once again it is written: ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”13 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their grandeur.14 And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you throw yourself to the ground and worship15 me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go away,16 Satan! For it is written: ‘You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’ ”17
I’ve heard a lot of people talking about those three different temptations, and comparing them to the different ways that Satan can tempt us. But when I read that, I see Jesus being tempted with the exact same thing in three different ways
Command these stones to become bread: Jesus is tempting Jesus to use his power and authority for his own gain. Why be hungry when you can just summon food at a whim. He’s tempting Jesus with power
Throw yourself off: Again he’s tempting Jesus to overcome the power of death. Ironically that’s exactly what he does at the end of the book. But the difference is that he does it at the will of his Father, not at the whim of satan. But absolutely Jesus is being tempted to use and abuse his power
See all the kingdoms of the world. I will give them you you. He’s tempting Jesus with worldly power
We talked last week about spiritual warfare. One of the ways Satan tempts his leaders is by trying to get them to succumb to power. If anybody has the authority to Jump off of buildings, to break the laws of time and space for his own benefit, to be proclaimed as ruler of all the kingdoms of the world it’s jesus. And yet he rejects his own authority
Philippians 2:6–8 NET 2nd ed.
who, though he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death —even death on a cross!
Radical obedience is submitting and repenting even when you don’t need to. Radical obedience is rejecting authority and power and living in humility
Radical obedience of his disciples
Matthew 4:17 NET 2nd ed.
From that time Jesus began to preach this message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near!.”
Matthew 4:18 NET 2nd ed.
As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishermen).
Jesus goes out after being tempted, he moves to galilee, and he begins his ministry. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near
And the first thing he does is start to bring people into his kingdom. Notice who he doesn’t call. It’s not the religious leaders. It’s not the scribes and pharisees. He goes out to the lake and calls fishermen. Why does he do that? There are a couple of things Jesus is trying to show us
First, our initiation into the kingdom has absolutely nothing to do with our religious standing, what school we went to, how much bible we know. Jesus didn’t go to the people who were already biblical experts. He went to the people who were most likely not bible experts at all
That comes after. you don’t become righteous and become an expert in the bible and THEN become a christian. God saves you while you are still a sinner, and then he changes you.
second, their profession is very important.
One of the big misconceptions I hear about the fishermen of the first century is that they were poor. That Jesus is trying to show that he goes after the lower-class citizens, the poor, the disenfranchised.
I don’t think that’s what we’re looking at here. Fishermen at that time made a pretty comfortable living. They weren’t royalty, they weren’t living in mansions or anything, but they made a good living. Think about railroaders. If you hired on at BNSF what’s your hourly rate going to be? Depending on your experience and how many certifications you have, you can expect to start out at what, 25, 28 bucks an hour. That’s nothing to sneeze at. 28 bucks an hour in Alliance nebraska is going to allow you to live a pretty comfortable living
At the very least, they had enough revenue to be able to afford their own boats and to hire men to help
But the big downside, of course is that fishing in the first century was hard work!
Fishing in the first century isn’t like what you and I think of. When we think of fishing we think of a leisurely activity. We think of something passive, where you go out and you cast out a line, and then you just wait. That’s not what simon and andrew and James and john were. They were net fishermen
Source: Facundo D. Troche (2016) Ancient Fishing Methods and Fishing Grounds in the Lake of Galilee, Palestine Exploration Quarterly
Source: Facundo D. Troche (2016) Ancient Fishing Methods and Fishing Grounds in the Lake of Galilee, Palestine Exploration Quarterly
Source: Facundo D. Troche (2016) Ancient Fishing Methods and Fishing Grounds in the Lake of Galilee, Palestine Exploration Quarterly
Being a fisher of people, or “fishers of men” is not a passive activity. It requires work. Hard work. It requires us to get up and go out and seek after people. Long hours, very little results. Sometimes you have to dive in and get dirty.
Jesus specifically calls them because he knows that they have the work-ethic that is needed to grow the kingdom (BRING KIDS BACK UP)
Conclusion
Matthew 3 and 4 gives us our first glimpse into what it means to be a citizen of the kingdom of Heaven
Matthew 4:17 NET 2nd ed.
From that time Jesus began to preach this message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near!.”
the big point that he is getting across to us before he talks about righteousness, before he talks about religious practices, before he talks about any of that is the radical obedience that is required. Jesus asks us not just to talk the talk, but to walk the walk. And he goes above and beyond by not just asking us to do it, but also by showing it to us.
have you ever worked a job where the boss asks you to do something, and you know good and well that he wouldn’t be willing to do it himself? “I need you to come in on saturday” and then you show up to work on saturday, and where’s the boss? He’s not at work. He’s at home with his family. He’s on a picnic. He’s enjoying the day off. How likely is it that you’re going to respect that boss?
Jesus is the king. He’s the one who is commanding us to repent, to display obedience, to put in the work. And you know what he does? He is the first one in line to do it.
he shows us that radical obedience means showing repentance even when he absolutely has nothing to repent for. He’s not going to ask us to do it if he’s not willing to do it himself.
He shows us that radical obedience means living a life of humility. That producing fruit worthy of repentance means rejecting your own authority. And living not by your standards, not by the standards of the world, but by the standards of the king
And he show us that radical obedience means being willing to go out and become a fisher for people
Being willing to spend long hours hauling heavy nets. getting dirty. Going on even though you’re exhausted.
-I think that we as Christians can take the lead from Jesus example here. We can display that kind of radical obedience.
-And that’s going to be a theme as we go through matthew. You want to know what it looks like to be a part of the kingdom? How do you get into the kingdom? how do you stay in the kingdom?
-It’s all about radical obedience. Going above and beyond. When they tell you to walk a mile, walk 2.
-We are subjects of the the king. and he deserves the best.
-If you haven’t made a commitment to follow Christ, and you’re ready to display that radical obedience, the first step is to follow the example of Chris in being baptized
Confess, repent, be baptized