Hope is for Everyone
Notes
Transcript
1 Jacob is my child, I will help him; Israel is my chosen one, my soul has accepted him. I have given my spirit upon him; he will bring forth judgment upon the nations. 2 He will not cry out or lift up his voice, nor will his voice be heard outside. 3 He will not crush a bruised reed, and he will not extinguish a smoking flax, but he will bring forth justice to truth.
4 He will blaze forth and will not be shattered until he brings justice upon the earth, and the nations will hope in his name. 5 This is what the Lord God says, who made heaven and pitched it like a tent, who established the earth and the things in it and gave breath to the people who are upon it and spirit to those who walk upon it.
6 I, the Lord God, have called you in righteousness, and I will hold fast onto your hand and strengthen you and make you a covenant for the nation 7 to open the eyes of the blind, to lead those who are bound out from their chains, and those seated in darkness out of prison. 8 I am the Lord God; this is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praises to graven images.
9 Look! The things which were from the beginning have come, and I have made new things known to you, which I reveal even before they are announced.
Hope is for Everyone
Hope is for Everyone
The reason I read from the Septuagint this morning is it gives us a clearer understanding of what is being says in Matthew 12 jk
Jesus has been rustlin’ up some pharisaical feathers by picking some grain on the Sabbath and then entering the synagogue where he heals a man with a withered hand
And so…
14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
And, so we pick up with Jesus fleeing for His life
15 Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill.
When I first read this I actually just glossed over verse 15 until I got down to verse 21, but don’t read ahead, you will ruin my punch line!
and then it got me thinking…who is the crowd following Him here?
Jesus has ticked off the Pharisees and they have gone to conspire against Him, he’s running from them so it’s not them! It’s not the religious elite..
It would possibly not be hard-core Jews either as He has probably upset them as well!
It could be a couple different people
It could be curious, or shall we call them, “popcorn Jews,” you know, the Jews who are just watching and eating popcorn? To see what happens…
Or, the non-jews…
So, they are following Jesus and he heals all those who are sick!
16 He warned them not to tell others about him. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
Why does Jesus say not to tell others about Him?
There are a few possible answers:
It wasn’t time for Jesus to die yet
But the problem here is, the cat is out of the bag! The Pharisees are already conspiring how to kill Him!
So, I am not sure that’s exactly why Jesus would say not to tell anyone…
2. He wasn’t ready for the message to be widespread yet
I lean towards this one, but maybe not as some would think. I don’t think it’s just because Jesus is concerned about the message of who He is to spread
I don’t think the gospel of who He is is the concern here
I think Jesus says this because of who is following Him.
So, now Matthew makes this connection between what the Prophet Isaiah writes and who Jesus is
18 “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
Who is He proclaiming justice to? The gentile nations. The non-jews! Often, when we think of justice or judgment, we jump to a negative connotation, that they are found guilty!
When we say “the judgment of God will come upon you” when almost always assume that is negative!
Often times it is! However, I don’t think this is the case in this context! I think this justice is good!
19 He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. 20 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he has brought justice through to victory.
Here’s the first indication that justice is good here.
He, whoever this servant is, Jesus, will proclaim justice to the gentiles and this justice will be brought to victory!
The justice of God on those who don’t believe doesn’t bring victory for them! It brings death!
But the justice of God on those who believe in Him, brings victory!
21 and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”
All throughout the old testament, the gentiles were judged negatively for not receiving God.
The jews were God’s chosen people. Not chosen in the sense that He chose them and neglected the rest.
No, they were chosen for a purpose, a mission.
They were chosen to bring the message of the coming Christ to all the nations!
This is really the point of Romans 9. It is not that God chose some for individual salvation and others for destruction.
It is that He chose the israelite people to be the people who would deliver His message to the nations.
And here we see the prophet Isaiah saying that when Jesus comes, He too, will proclaim the message of hope to the gentiles!
So, when we asked who is following Jesus at the beginning, I believe it is mostly gentiles, non-jews.
And, Jesus heals them all! And says, don’t go tell anyone.
I think the reason is if the gentiles begin talking about what Jesus did for them, it could cause major unrest almost like a civil war between the Jews and the gentiles…and that would be contrary to the message that Jesus is getting across!
I think that once Christ dies, we will see the culmination of the two, becoming one in Christ!
So, Matthew is linking what Isaiah prophesies with what Christ has just done.
Jesus literally brings the message to the Gentiles.
Let’s zoom out a bit and look at what has happened.
What Jesus has done here is absolutely brilliant!
Jesus picks grain on the Sabbath and makes some Pharisees mad and says:
3 He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests.
5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? 6 I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.
7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Something is greater than the temple…something is greater than than your laws….In fact if you knew the importance of mercy, you wouldn’t condemn the innocent.
I think He’s referring to His own death here. That they will condemn Him, because they are missing the point!
And then He goes into the synagogue to heal a man on the sabbath!
11 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
and He heals the man…
How much more important is people than your rules and regulations?
And, the leaders want to kill Him…
But who follows Him?
The ones not even allowed in the synagogue…
It’s not the religious elite…probably not many serious Jews…
No, the neglected, the ones not privy to the knowledge of God!
And He heals them all! To show that justice has come to the outsiders…
This justice is not the condemnation destruction that the Jewish leaders would hope for…..it’s a justice of liberation…freedom!
That now, in Christ Jesus, even though you are not a jew, you too, can receive healing freedom and…
21 and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”
As we wrap up this morning, we are coming to a moment of communion!
In our church, you don’t have to be a member…you don’t have to regularly tithe, you don’t have to dress a certain way…have so many hymns or scriptures memorized…you simply believe and put your hope in Jesus Christ.
This table is open to all who will receive Jesus!
This morning, if you think you are not good enough! The good news is, it’s not about performance, it’s about relationship, with the one who is perfect!
If you think you have blown it, the hope in Christ coming is that He heals and restores!
And, Jesus wants to do that this morning for you!
So, come to Jesus! Come to the guy who is not about achievement through a perfect system…but who is about people…He is about you!
Let Him heal you!
Christmas is for everyone! Hope is for everyone!
So, come to Jesus this morning! And sit at the table with the rest of us misfits, and the perfect king!
Deacons/worship team
