Challenges to Our King - Seen In Various Rejections
Notes
Transcript
Scenes in Passage
Mt 13:53-58 Rejection at Nazareth
Mt 14:1-12 Death of John the Baptist
Mt 14:13-21 Jesus, hearing of John’s death withdraws to grieve and pray but is followed by the crowd, whom he has compassion on, and 4000 need to be feed.
Mt 14:22-Jesus again withdraws to pray but has to rescure the disciples from the storm as he walks across the lake, this is a test of faith for all of them, especially Peter and once they land he again heals the crowds.
Mt 15:1-20 The Pharisees challenge Jesus and he teaches the crowd and the disciples about inner purity
Mt 15:21-28 A Gentile woman engages with jesus in conversation, demonstrates her faith by her response to Jesus’ challenging answer and receives healing for her demon possed daughter
Mt 15:29-39 Jesus teaches the crowd on a mountainside next to the Sea of Galillee and feeds 5000
Mt 16:1-12 The Pharisees and Sadducees demand a miraculous sign from Jesus, but he rebukes them leaves and then has to teach his disciples the deceptive teaching of the Religious leaders
Main Theme of Passage:
The Religious Teachers and people wanted something from Jesus but most weren’t willing to really hear what he was offering
Main Preaching Intention:
The congregation will see the contrast in their own lives between what they want from Jesus and the community of the church and what he really wants for them
Scenes in Sermon
Illustration, Have you experienced someone who doesn’t get it, Perhaps they don’t have context, knowledge or you are not very good at explaining it.
Some people don’t get it because they don’t want to because they don’t like the implications. The people of Nazareth - Don’t push us Jesus Mt 13:53-58,
Some people don’t get it because they can’t see past the popular attraction of what is in it for them. The Crowds – Chase after Jesus if he can do something for you Mt 14:13 & 35; Mt 15:29
Some people don’t get it because they want their control affirmed not challenged. The Religious Leaders Mt 15:1-2, Mt 16:1
Jesus wants his disciples to see what he really wants. Faith Mt 14:16 & Mt 15:32-39 to expect the miraculous, Faith Mt 14:29-31 to do the miraculous, Trust to have purity of heart Mt 15:1-20, Faith to keep at God for a result Mt 15:21-28, Faith to know and follow true teaching Mt 16:11-12
Matthew 13:53-16:12
Scene 1/ Illustration, Have you experienced someone who doesn’t get it, Perhaps they don’t have context, knowledge or you are not very good at explaining it.
You might spend ages trying to explain something to someone and you get frustrated, believing them to be either stupid or obstanent.
Now it might be that your explination is no good, but you can’t admit that.
Perhaps they simply don’t have the background to grasp what it is you are tryng to explain.
Quantum physics requires certain undertandings to make any sense at all.
Electirical theory has certain technical terms and background knowledge, which is essential to its understanding.
Philosophy requires a certain level of understanding of concepts to follow the conversation, although the best philosphers are those who sit with and live in God’s creation.
It seems fancy theroies have no meaning when confronted by the simple understanding of how God made things to be.
Scene 2/ Some people don’t get it because they don’t want to because they don’t like the implications. The people of Nazareth - Don’t push us Jesus Mt 13:53-58,
The people of Nazareth couldn’t accept who Jesus was.
They didn’t like the implication that someone who had grown up amoung them, could be someone so special.
Talk about tall poppy syndrome!
You have to ask what was it that they rejected.
Not just on this occassion but previously when Jesus had visited.
Luke 4 tells us on that occassion they had tried to throw him off a cliff.
Jesus had grown up among them.
He had carried on the family trade learnt from Josepth.
His brothers and sisters were well known to them.
They saw him as one of them and any hint that he might be someone special was simply offensive.
He was a carpenter, a skilled worker yes but someone more than that?
We understand that this occassion in Matthew 13 was the last time Jesus taught in a Synagogue.
Oppossition was growing.
The towns people at Nazareth did not want to make the conclusion that was before them.
We have heard his teaching, we have seen a handful of miracles and heard of many more.
But this man who grew up amongst us.
There is very definatly a tall poppy syndrone going on in this town.
Jesus is not even able to do many miraculous works in the town.
Not because of a lack of power on his part.
But because of his mission.
His mission requires morally directed faith, otherwise he would reduce himself to acting like the pagan magicians.
The people of Nazareth didn’t get it because, they didn’t like the implications.
To accept Jesus was the Messiah would be to proclaim him King
One of them couldn’t be more than them.
Scene 3/ Some people don’t get it because they can’t see past the popular attraction of what is in it for them. The Crowds – Chase after Jesus if he can do something for you Mt 14:13 & 35; Mt 15:29
Those who were desperate for healing were often very genuine.
Their family and friends who loved them and carried the weight of their care were genuine.
But Jesus was mostly a source of relief from their suffering.
He was the last option in a world where illness, disease, and injury often left a person destitute, rejected and in many cases alone.
Some genuinely put theri faith in him and became disciples.
Pretty much all were genuinely thankful.
But Jesus was the Messiah figure.
The one who would do these sort of miraculour things and make everything good.
Personal sacrifical discipleship wasn’t on the agenda for most.
The crowds were fickle.
Jesus was the latest show.
John the Baptist had come before calling for repentance.
Jesus came working miracles and challenging the religious teachers.
His teachings were interesting, but asked something most weren’t really understanding.
It was exciting, certainly.
Entertaining and amazing, definately.
But like any popular movement the crowd is always looking for the next great thing.
The fulfillment of the prophecies about the Messiah was right in front of them.
BUT, their interest only remained whilst their expectations were being met.
Whilst this Messianic figure kept on giving them miracles and food and teaching they liked, the crowds stayed.
But when the teachings became hard.
When the expectation of kicking the Romans out and giving them the “good life” didn’t eventuate.
The fickle crowds moved on.
Scene 4/ Some people don’t get it because they want their control affirmed not challenged. The Religious Leaders Mt 15:1-2, Mt 16:1
News of Jesus’ miracles and teaching had spread across the whole land and it was really unsettling the religious leaders in Jerusalem.
So much so that they sent a delegation from Jerusalem to challenge Jesus on what he was teachig and doing.
Their attack was directed against Jesus’ disciples, who were accused of failing to observe the elders’ tradition of the ceremonial washing of hands before eating.
This tradition, which is explained in more detail in Mark 7:3-4 was an elaborate washing ritual involving not only one’s hands but also cups, pitchers, and kettles. (The Bible Knowledge Commentary)
They saw that Jesus, as a supposed Rabbi, was failing to keep his disciples in line as any good teacher should do.
If they weren’t following this tradition then he was responsible.
The problem was their tradition was man made and some commentators even think it had only come into practice in recent times.
They were trying to impose it on Jesus and his disciples as a sign of their authority, and by extension onto the common people of Galilee a region a bit further out from their seat of power in Jerusalem.
Jesus immediately took the offensive against the religious leaders and asked why they continued to break the direct command of God.
In Matthew 15:4 he cites the fifth commandment about honouring ones father and mother (Ex. 20:12).
The Jews considered honoring of parents so important that anyone who cursed his parents was to be put to death (Ex. 21:17; Lev. 20:9).
Jesus showed how these religious leaders had in effect nullified this commandment (Matt. 15:6).
They could simply affirm that a particular item had been a gift devoted to God.
Then the item could not be used by an individual but was kept separate.
This was simply a clever way of keeping things from passing to one’s parents.
The person would of course continue to keep those things in his own home where they had been supposedly set aside for God.
Such action was condemned by Jesus as being hypocritical (v. 7), for while it appeared to be spiritual, it actually was done to keep one’s possessions for himself.
Thus this failure to help one’s parents deliberately violated the fifth commandment.
Centuries before the prophet Isaiah had called out the people of Israel for this very same sin of nullifying the word of God Isa. 29:13
13 And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.
Their religion had become nothing more than man-made rules.
Jesus quotes directly from Isaiah 29:13 in Matthew 15:8-9 where he tells us that their hearts were far from God and consequently their worship was in vain.
The adjective vain used at the beginning of Matthew 15:9 carries the sense of being futile, fruitless, without results.
In Matthew 16:1 we see the religious teachers of the Pharisees and the Sadducees getting together to challenge Jesus.
These two groups didn’t agree on many things.
There was in fact significant rivalry between them.
The fact they get together against Jesus is telling.
He is a challenge to their authority.
So they ask for a sign.
A specific sign which they know from what has happened previously that he will refuse to give.
He has already performed countless miracles.
Their own representatives had witnessed them.
There was plenty of evidence.
But they wanted something greater.
Some sign directly from heaven.
In effect work a sign because we desire it for you to prove yourself.
As the The Bible Knowledge Commentary says, “He was not a puppet on strings to perform at their command”
Jesus’ response is immediate and blunt in Matthew 16:2-4
2 He replied, “You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; 3 red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times! 4 Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.” Then Jesus left them and went away.
He was having none of their games.
They could tell the weather by the clouds in the sky.
But they couldn’t see the signs he was performing right in front of them.
The only sign they will receive is that of the prophet Jonah just as he had said back in Matthew 12:38-42.
A clear foretelling thatjust as Jonah spent three days in the belly of the whale he will rise from the dead after three days.
Scene 5/ Jesus wants his disciples to see what he really wants.
Faith to expect the miraculous Mt 14:16 & Mt 15:32-39 ,
Jesus wants us to live expectantly with faith in him.
He challenged the disciples to feed the crowd.
To step out in faith to believe that he could do the impossible through them.
Not just once but on both occassions when the crowd was there with nothing to eat.
Impossible by human standards.
Today we would order in the catering company.
Months of planning would be required.
Risk management plans, crowd control, licencing and insurance.
Jesus just said, feed the crowd.
Throughout the history of the Bible and into the times of Christian missionaries.
Jesus just said, “feed the crowd” and they did.
The famous missionary George Muller in the mid to late 1800s in England had an approach of only letting God know of his financial needs.
George started many orphanages in England and other places.
Abandoned children were fed, housed, educated, given an opportunity that in those days they otherwise would not have had.
George didn’t go around raising funds, seeking out generous donours.
Whatever need he had for the orphans he would pray.
Only God knew and God provided.
But what he did do was go around teaching others to do the same.
Jesus wants us to live expectantly, that what is needed for the growth of his Kingdon he can and will provide.
The next thing he wants us to do is to have Faith to actually do the miraculous, Mt 14:29-31
It is one thing to live expectantly.
It is another to actually leap out of the boat and walk on water.
Anyone tried that recently?
Jesus actually expects that we will have faith to do the miraculous.
Not just confess that he can, if it is his will.
Not to just expect he will.
But to actually have the faith that he will and then take the leap of faith relying on him to.
Peter didn’t start walking on the water before he actually did.
You have to get out of the boat.
Now that is easier to do when you are younger.
Taking risks goes with being young.
And taking risks isn’t something you tend to do so much as you get older.
But here is the truth.
That which you practice when you are younger is easier to keep doing when you are older.
As individuals we need to get out of the boat.
As a church we need to encourage people to get out of the boat.
We need to actually encourage people to take risks for God relying on him to come through.
This is especially true for our children and youth and young adults.
Tell them, if God is telling you to have a go, go for it.
Otherwise we pass on the sort of safe, predictable and dead faith of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
He wants us to trust in him and have purity of heart Mt 15:15-20
Again and again Jesus kept returning to the same theme.
A pure heart is what determines your relationship with God, not outwards religious rituals.
The things you do come from the person you are.
Put your faith in Jesus, fill your life with his presence.
Live as he called us to live.
Not out of ritual or being outwardly showy.
But because your heart is focused on him.
Then your outward actions will demonstrate the person you actually are.
The things that actually offend God and cause harm to yourself and others will not be your actions.
Instead your actions, motivated, driven, and sustained by the focus of your heart, will be the things that please God, love others and build up your relationship with Christ and your neighbour.
He wants us to have Faith to keep at God for a result Mt 15:21-28,
Jesus encouraged people to keep on seeking after God for the things that are important.
He praised those who were faithful in prayer for healing.
He praised those who faithfully pursued justice.
In many of the times he encountered those who were not from the people of Israel he pushed them.
He tested their faith to see if it was from a true heart.
The Centurian, the Samaritian woman, the Gentile woman here in Matthew 15:21
Jesus wanted to know that their request came from a place of genuine faith or were they just after him because he was a famous Jewish miracle worker.
His mission was firstly to the Jewish people, he was focussed on fulfilling the mission as the Jews were meant to bring the message of God to the nations.
He could have gone to areas that were entirely Gentile, but God’s plan was for the Jews first.
So those from outside were tested.
There is a lesson for us here.
Throughout the Scriptures we see that on many occassions, for Jews and Gentiles alike, those who persist in seeking after God for a result are rewarded.
The Lord is not a genie in a bottle granting wishes left , right and centre.
Jesus requires of us a faith that will keep on seeking a result.
A faith that does not give up.
A faith that is willing to be tested by God.
He wants us to have Faith in him to know and follow true teaching Mt 16:11-12
‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’
Throughout the history of the church deceptive teaching has brought ruin and great harm to the witness of the Gospel.
Wether it be the empty self righeousness of outward appearance over a true heart.
The worship of celebrity preachers and teachers and their message instead of the worship of Christ.
The lip service of nominalism.
Or the slavery of fanaticism.
The result is always destruction of faith and relationship with others.
Instead Jesus said
“ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
