2.2.6 1.5.2025 Matthew Matthew 4 The Nearness of the Kingdom

Start:

Entice:

Because of His divinity,

Jesus was very different from us.

Because of His humanity,

Jesus was very similar to us.

In coming to understand Him and to know Him we need to learn to maintain the balance we find in Scripture.

If we focus too much on His divinity it will impact our discipleship, impacting our capacity to follow Him.

If we focus too much on His humanity it will impact our devotion, impacting our capacity to worship Him.

Consequently, many of us have as simple and un-theological approach to our faith as possible. Not because we doubt the truthfulness of scripture but because we doubt our ability to meet what we think of as impossible standards.

Engage: Our individual lives teach us every day that

you don’t have to be the Son of God to be tempted.

You don’t have to be the Lord to be a leader.

You don’t have to be divine to make a difference.

One of my jobs as preacher is to provide tools to simplify your experience of reading and hearing scripture. Here’s one. We need to learn how to see whether events in Jesus’ life are different in kind from what we experience or different in degree. Sometimes…as with temptation both kinds of difference are in play…because Jesus—God with us is both human and divine.

Expand: Jesus is the focus of the stories we read in Matthew. The devil tempts Jesus…but it is Jesus’ story. The Kingdom Jesus proclaims is His kingdom. When He calls disciples, we focus on His voice and purpose not their personal backgrounds. There are many minor characters. There are many exciting and memorable stories. All of them are told because they help us focus on the story of Jesus, the

Gospel of God with Us.

Excite: The lessons we learn, the conclusions we draw, the outcomes we seek are a matter of seeing our lives in light of His, and connecting His circumstances and  context with our own. To a great extent that is what the whole life of faith is about. Whether rebuking the tempter, preaching His kingdom, or calling disciples Jesus remains relentlessly focused on His Kingdom purpose and mandate. Discipleship means following His pattern.

Explore:

Discipleship means following Jesus, always acting according to His Kingdom Purpose and Mandate.

Expand: Whether acting or reacting we must learn to follow Jesus amid life’s changing contexts.

Body of Sermon: We might call the first context…

1 The Contest.

Matthew 4:1–11 ESV

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 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,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ” 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

In the book/movie, The Last Temptation of Christ, Greek author Nicos Kazantzakis stimulated people to differentiate between the temptation of Jesus to abandon His mission which is found later in the Gospel, and these preliminary temptations at the beginning of His ministry. I think it is best to think of the circumstances of Jesus incarnation as confronting Him with only one temptation. To achieve His mission without obedience. That should be a reminder of how every temptation works for every human. In the contest we find that

1.1 Temptation is always Personal.

Questions our integrity.

In the contest we find that

1.2 Temptation is always Institutional.

Questions our Loyalty

In the contest we find that

1.3 Temptation is always Spiritual.

Questions our devotion.

The next context is

2 The Communication.

Matthew 4:12–17 ESV

12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— 16 the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” 17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Jesus’ message was the kingdom. Whether we describe it as sermon, lesson, message, speech, motivating lecture Jesus will always point to some essential concepts at the heart of God’s reign…

2.1 God’s reign is always Personal.

2.2 God’s reign is always Institutional.

2.3 God’s reign is always Spiritual.

The final context in which Jesus acts is

3 The Call.

Matthew 4:18–22 ESV

18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

3.1 Jesus’ call is always Personal.

3.2 Jesus’ call is always Institutional.

3.3 Jesus’ call is always Spiritual.

Shut Down

Jesus uses words to teach us.

Jesus uses His example to teach us.

Jesus allows His story to teach us.

There always something to learn

about Jesus,

from Jesus.

Two thousand summers have domesticated His story quite a bit. We know it so well that our eyes and ears assume the same outcomes we have always expected.

Every encounter we have with God With Us should reveal something about His nature, or His purpose, or His peculiar voice, and singular authority. Matthew will

show us howJesus ramps up His teaching ministry from here. We will also be told stories about specific miracles. Today we have examined kind of an overview. He

passed His test. He began to speak. He invited people to follow Him. There will be greater detail to come but in Matthew 4 we have the story in broad strokes.

Broad or specific we must make decisions about how we will follow Him, submit to Him, and flee temptation. Do you hear His voice? Do you clearly discern His

invitation? Are you following Him?