Matthew 12

This sermon was first preached at CHBC, June 2006

Matthew 12 Sermon.

When they can’t think of what else to do, radio stations in the UK will have a phone-in to discover the best songs of all time. About half of the best songs are always written in the last year. But of those whose popularity outlasts the passing fads, John Lennon’s song is always somewhere near the top.

Imagine there's no Heaven It's easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people Living for today Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the people Living life in peace You may say that I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will be as one

John Lennon was neither the first nor the last person to suggest that we would all just get along a whole lot better if it wasn’t for religion.

Is Lennon right? Do we just have to look at the middle east today to see that religion leads to war. When religious differences make for such hostility in this world, should we lay them aside? Should we work at what really matters… peace?

Is it that simple?

Well, only if it what we believe has no serious or lasting consequences.
Jesus doesn’t allow us to think that.
For Jesus has established his kingdom, and, he insists that we are all either citizens of that kingdom – or we are enemies of his kingdom – there is no middle ground. “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters,” he says.

Just as we saw growing confusion about Jesus in chapter 11, here we see rising opposition. All religions are not one, for there is a kind of religion that is against everything that Jesus is and everything that he stands for.
We all have one form of religion or another, because none of us is neutral towards Jesus. Either we honor him, or we oppose him.
Either we live for him, or for ourselves.

The rising opposition to Jesus was self-righteous, self-sufficient, and ultimately self-centered.
We need to ask ourselves: is this our religion. Are we for Jesus, or against him?
Who is on the throne? Jesus or self?


1-14 Self-Righteous Religion Disputes Jesus’ Compassion (1166)

PAGE NUMBERS…


Read 1-8

1At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath."
3He answered, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4He 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. 5Or haven't you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? 6I tell you that one[a] greater than the temple is here. 7If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,'[b] you would not have condemned the innocent. 8For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
It was perfectly legal for people to eat food from farmers’ fields. (Deuteronomy 23). It was one of the ways in which God had set up the nation of Israel to demonstrate his extraordinary generosity. The Promised Land was to be one where there would be nobody so poor as to have no food.

The Pharisees knew this would have been permissible 6 days a week, but the Pharisees insisted not on the Sabbath. (V.2) You’ll notice how often the phrase, “on the Sabbath” comes.
That was actually disputable. But, as Jesus does so often, he doesn’t reply according to the terms laid out by his opponents.
Jesus turns their question into an opportunity to teach further about himself, for far more important than a dispute about the minutiae of the law (literally a few grains) was what they were doing with Jesus. He exposes that they were not really interested in following God’s law, but merely in proving themselves righteous.
Jesus had said, “Come to me and I will give you rest.” They thought that they were quite capable of receiving God’s rest without Jesus.

So, Jesus turns to 3 passages of the Old Testament to show that they were abusing Scripture: history, law, prophets.

He turns to 1 Samuel and to Leviticus to show that the ceremonial laws such as the Sabbath were not quite so strict as they suggested. Their were exceptions in times of need, or for the service of greater laws. David and the priests show that.
But as well as showing the flexibility of the law for the sake of compassion, Jesus has also shown that he is more important either than King David, or than the temple…
Well, Jesus says… v.6 “I tell you, one greater than the temple is here.”
Of course Jesus’ disciples must work in their service of Jesus on the Sabbath – for he is the locus of worship – he’s the real thing of which the temple was only a model. Jesus is the greater king than David
Then he turns to Hosea to show that the law wasn’t and end in itself, but an expression of people’s devotion to the Lord. So to obey the externals of the law, yet to have a hard heart was to miss the point of it.

But ultimately they missed the point of it because it was to point to Jesus. The son of man is Lord of the Sabbath.

This didn’t mean that Jesus could ignore Sabbath. No, he is saying that he keeps it with a pure heart and he fulfils it. The Sabbath is a picture of the rest that God brings his people. As we saw in chapter 11, Jesus brings the reality of that rest.
Jesus in effect is saying, you cannot claim to have any knowledge of God’s word, if, when you see Jesus you don’t even recognize him as the God who wrote it!

Both their lack of compassion, and their blindness to Jesus’ more compassionate reading of the law becomes even clearer.

Read 9-14

9Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"
11He 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? 12How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."
13Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other
Jesus’ asks questions that show that the Pharisees aren’t as consistent about working on the Sabbath as they claimed.
They wouldn’t leave a sheep in a pit for 24 hours, though it would take rather more work than picking corn, or than it took Jesus to heal a man.

The way in which the Pharisees were applying Sabbath laws spoke of their bitterness and capriciousness. They will show more mercy to a sheep than to a man.

Whereas Jesus heals the man. He will not have him suffer for another minute.
Why? 12 because “It is law to do good on the Sabbath.”

[Yet, he’s also showing that God approves of his’ view of the Sabbath. How would he be able to perform miracles on the Sabbath unless God is at work in him on the Sabbath, thus approving of his actions?]

The section closes with biting irony: those who saw themselves as the protectors of the Sabbath. Those who would not even do good if it mean doing work. How do they spend their Sabbath… in the worship of God!?

. 14But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
They strain out a gnat and swallow a camel, forbidding a grain of wheat and planning the murder of the Son of God.

Self-righteous religion will always end up bitter. Because we know that we are not good enough to be righteous in ourselves, and the only way we can make ourselves feel that good is by pointing out the tiny visible flaws of others.
How tragic. For the very God who gave them the law they depended upon is a God of mercy. And they did not know his mercy. He desires mercy not sacrifice, because he offers us mercy. If we have received mercy from him, how can we not show mercy to others?

What is our reaction when we discover other people’s sin in this church? Are we saddened but compassionate, or does it secretly make us feel just a little bit better about ourselves. My brothers and sisters, we all need God’s mercy. Our tendencies towards self-righteous religion will blind us to Jesus’ compasson, and stop us from being compassionate to others.

Self-Rigtheous religion is like the person shipwrecked in the middle of the Atlantic refusing to be rescues help because they would rather swim, proud that they are the best swimmer they know.

15-37 Self-sufficient Religion Demonizes Jesus’ Spirituality. (2282)

Read 15-21
15Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. Many followed him, and he healed all their sick, 16warning them not to tell who he was. 17This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: 18"Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. 19He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. 20A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory. 21In his name the nations will put their hope."[c]


Wouldn’t it have been extraordinary to be one of Jesus’ disciples watching Jesus heal so many? God has occasionally performed miracles in Israel’s history, but the sheer number of miracles Jesus is performing is unprecedented. “Many followed him. He healed all their sick.”
It was a clear demonstration of the power of God’s Spirit.
His kingdom might be encountering growing opposition. But it is spiritual kingdom that is not hostile by nature. It is a kingdom that is offered to all from every nation. It is a kingdom that gently woes people into it.
There is a growing spiritual battle, yes, but it is not the kind of battle where there is collateral damage. Jesus does not see human life as being cheap. The kingdom will not advance with the sword, but with the gentle invitation.

There is a growing fear today of any beliefs that are held to be un-negotiable, because the fear is that if people think that a truth is worth dying for, then it is a small step to think that it is worth killing for. Those who follow Christ must never take that step, for Jesus didn’t.
We can take up arms as citizens of our nations – but the church is never to take up arms or use any other coercive means – that would suggest that Jesus’ kingdom was of this world.

To follow Christ means to be willing to be persecuted, never to persecute.
Justice is not yet meted our… But Jesus will bring justice to the nations…
Is your hope somehow that Jesus will ultimately compromise in his justice? It is a false hope. His justice is delayed but will be final and total.
But the opposition grows.

22Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23All the people were astonished and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"
24But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by Beelzebub,[d] the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons."
25Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out?
So then, they will be your judges. 28But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
29"Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house.
The Pharisees can’t deny the miracles; they’ve seen them
Yet so determined are they to reject Jesus that they attribute them to supernatural evil. Beelzebub literally meaning ‘Lord of the flies’ was a name given to the God of Ekron. (2 Kings 1) The point they are making is this: Jesus may claim to be a king – but he insn’t like king David as he claims – the king after God’s own heart – he is like the evil king Ahaziah who worshipped foreign gods rather than the Lord.” He’s leading the people astray with miracles.

Jesus again doesn’t answer their question directly, but uses two more arguments that point to who he is, and the pharisees’ hypocrisy.

1) A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.

Jesus is not saying here that there could never be any spirit driven out by a magician using demonic power. Rather, Jesus hasn’t just performed one or two miracles to lull people into a false sense of security. He is performing hundreds of miracles. Whenever he comes across a demon, it runs from him. Whever he comes across someone inflicted with an illness, they are healed. This cannot merely be some strategic giving of ground, because Jesus is taking over all of Satan’s ground. Satan is in massive retreat.
To suggest that this is Satan’s strategy would be like saying that D. Day was Hitler’s cunning ploy to lure the allies into Europe.


No demon would give up the person they possess without a fight. That’s the point of verse 29 – so would Satan really be all-out-battle against himself like this?

No, even the Pharisees admitted that demons are usually driven out by God’s power – and this number of exorcisms must be by God’s power.

And the very fact that Satan is in full-scale retreat can mean only one thing.
v.28.
“If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
It is possible, like the Pharisees, to study the bible for years, and yet to resist Jesus, to whom the whole thing is pointing.

In our times reading the Bible each day, more than anything else, are we delighted with the opportunity to meet with our Lord Jesus?
John Owen: “Unto them that believe unto the saving of the soul, he is, he always has been, precious--the sun, the rock, the life, the bread of their souls--every thing that is good, useful, amiable, desirable, here or unto eternity. In, from, and by him, is all their spiritual and eternal life, light, power, growth, consolation, and joy here; with everlasting salvation hereafter….
Is Jesus this precious to you?
Jesus warns them what a precarious situation their indiffernce puts them in.
30"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. 31And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
Our reaction to Jesus is an electric fence which cannot be sat upon. To sit on the fence is to be opposed to Jesus’ rule.
And this is a dangerous situation to be in – for there is such a thing as unforgiven sin.
Misunderstanding what Jesus is saying here about the ‘unforgivable sin’ can be very damaging. It is not that if you on a single occasion slander the Holy Spirit that you cannot be forgiven. It is not that somehow the Holy Spirit is more important than Jesus, and so it is a more heinous sin to blaspheme against Jesus than against the Holy Spirit.

Rather, it is the Holy Spirit who opens blind eyes. It is he who grants faith. Thus if the Holy Spirit is treated as a demon rather than welcomed then there would be no repentance. Without the work of the Holy Spirit we will always reject Jesus.

The bible is clear that we are born spiritually dead. We may be religious. We have spirits – but those spirits have no relationship with our Lord the life-giver.
33"Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him”

You may not consider yourself as evil. You might think of the human race as largely good. But, the evidence is against you. If we were good, says jesus, we would only bear good fruit. But nobody does. Have you ever wondered why every single person in the human race but Jesus is selfish. Doesn’t that seem more than a bit of a coincidence!!?

Without the transforming work of he Holy Spirit not one of us could possibly believe in Jesus – that’s not the kind of fruit that self-sufficient people bare.

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Cor 2:14)

This is one of the ways in which many people often misunderstand Christianity – even some who call themselves Christians. It is not just that Christians are encouraged by their Lord not to be manipulative in trying to win converts. It’s that manipulation cannot possibly win any converts at all. Without the Holy spirit changing our natures we will all reject Jesus.
A nineteenth century English preacher called Joseph Denham Smith put it like this:

'I believe in free will; but then it is a will only free to act according to its nature. A dove has no will to eat carrion; a raven has no will to eat the clean food of the dove. Put the nature of the dove into the raven and it will eat the food of the dove. ... The sinner in his sinful nature could never have a will according to God. For this he must be born again’

Jesus is very clear – if you repent of your sin, and trust in Jesus, you will be forgiven.
If you are terrified that you have committed the unforgivable sin, then you have not yet committed it. The unforgivable sin is precisely a complacent refusal to trust in Jesus. It demonises Jesus spirituality. It says that his promises are lies and his kingdom evil. The person who commits the unforgiveable sin is not worried about it at all, because, despite the Holy Spirit’s evidence, they consider Jesus an evil worth avoiding.

If you do are not a Christian, but you are beginning to realize that the claims of Jesus are true, Jesus is warning you this morning that there are sins that will not be forgiven either in this age, or in the age to come: the sin of beginning to see who he is and then determinedly walking away from him rather than fleeing to him. If you are convinced of who Jesus is, it is a dangerous thing to delay – God has been gracious in giving you today to consider Jesus. He doesn’t promise you tomorrow. Do speak to someone at the door if you are unsure of what it would mean to repent of your sin and trust in Jesus. Pretty much anyone here would love to speak about that to you! For those who do not gather scatter.
If you are as yet unconvinced, then God has given you today to consider Jesus.

Perhaps you are not following Jesus right now – perhaps you grew up believing the gospel to be true and then walked away – and you wonder if you have committed the unforgiveable sin by wandering away from what you know to be true.
If you will turn back to Jesus he will not turn you away. If you will repent, then you have not committed the unforgivable sin. Peter denied three times that he even knew Jesus, yet he was forgiven, and used mightily to be one who gathered and did not scatter.
The bruised reed Jesus will not break, and the smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
The very fact that you know your need of repentance right now if a gracious sign that God hasn’t finished with you yet.
Richard Sibbes wrote a whole book on “the bruised reed”, an excellent book if you struggle with questions of assurance of salvation. In it he writes “If there be any holy fire in us, it is kindled from heaven by the Father of lights, who “commanded the light to shine out of darkness”

Jesus makes it clear how desperately we need the work of the Spirit that will enable us to lay hold of God’s mercy.
36But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."
You see, none of us is in a fit state to meet God. The Lord’s standards are perfect. He has promised to punish every sin that you or I have ever committed. Even every careless word spoken will be punished.

What can we do to escape God’ anger…? The Pharisees thought that they could depend upon themselves and upon their stringent efforts to keep the law. But they couldn’t. they might as well depend on the devil himself to help them.

So how then can we be saved…? V37 By your words you will be acquitted – not by being really polite to people… no but by calling out in repentance and faith to Jesus Christ,.

For he is the only one who can take God’s anger away from us. When he died on the cross he bore God’s own personal anger towards me for my sin, and towards everyone else who will ever trust in Christ.

Have you committed the unforgiveable sin – in the end your words will show where your heart is – whether your heart still belongs to yourself, or whether you know Jesus as your Lord. If you have Jesus as your Lord then all your sins have been forgiven.

Self –dependent religion demonizes Jesus’ spirituality and thus cuts itself off from the only hope of forgiveness –the work of the Holy spirit enabling us to trust Jesus.

38-50 Self-Centred Religion Defies Jesus’ Authority (1466)

38-42
38Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you."
39He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
The Pharisees ask for a miraculous sign. A man has a shriveled hand completely restored. Another was blind and mute, but now sees and talks. How many miraculous signs do they want!? They want one that is when they ask, rather than when Jesus decides.
Do you find this incomprehensibly obtuse?
But don’t we do the same thing?

I wonder if you are tempted to make demands of God. “Lord, if only you will get me through this week, then I’ll find you trustworthy.” “Lord, if only you’ll get me a job, or a spouse, or a home, or better health, then I will trust you.”

Do we realize what we are doing when we say this to God.
We are telling him that we have a standard by which we have the right to judge God.
No, we will judge Jesus by whether he will give what we want. Effectively we are saying that Jesus is to be judged by whether or not he will obey us.

Is that what you want from God? Do you really want a God, who though powerful is effectively tame, like the genie in Alladin’s lamp! A god who is bound by our tiny ideas of what would be good for us?
Praise God that he will not pander to such self-centred religion, for he knows that he is the only proper and secure centre.
When we share the gospel do we present God as the one who is there and must be worshipped, and had graciously made a way for us to worship him, sinners though we are.
Or do we present god as the one who will give people what they want? “Jesus will give you purpose in life. Following Jesus is the best possible way to live your life now. Jesus will meet all your needs.”
To worship Jesus is to know the true and living God. But it is also to be hated like Jesus was hated.
To turn and follow Jesus is to forsake your allegiance to this desperately attractive world and to submit to Jesus’ Lordship.
Christian faith is not about demanding things of Jesus. It is about depending upon Jesus. That is why Christians pray – because we know we depend upon him. But we know also that he is far wiser than we realize. We may ask him for a job or a spouse or health, but if he doesn’t give them to us, he is no less trustworthy.
Time and again we can look back on the times when Jesus did not give us what we asked of him, and see that it was a part of his mercy to us.
William Cowper suffered from terrible depression. I’m sure that he asked the Lord to lift it 1000 times.
Yet, through that darkness the lord brought wonderful testimony to his faithfulness.
God moves in a mysterious wayHis wonders to perform;He plants His footsteps in the seaAnd rides upon the storm.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;The clouds ye so much dreadAre big with mercy and shall breakIn blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,But trust Him for His grace;Behind a frowning providenceHe hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast,Unfolding every hour;The bud may have a bitter taste,But sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to errAnd scan His work in vain;God is His own interpreter,And He will make it plain.
If we doubt his goodness to us when he doesn’t give us what we ask, we are to look to the one great sign that he has given us.
The sign of Jonah.
It is an unusual sign.
40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one[e] greater than Jonah is here. 42The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.

Many people take this to refer to the resurrection, and it certainly alludes to it. But the focus is not on the resurrection, but on the death and burial of Jesus. It is the days before the resurrection, not the resurrection itself.
The sign that Jesus will give them is the sign of the Messiah who will suffer and die before he is eventually vindicated by God three days later (if you count inclusively as Jew did)

Is this not the sign that we need?


The sign not that Jesus is at our beck and call like Alladin’s Geenie – but that the sovereign Lord who will sometimes say ‘No” to us is the one who has died for us. When Jesus doesn’t do what we want it is not for lack of love.
His miracles may prove his power. But in the end it is Jesus’ sacrificial love that is the most compelling sign that here is an authority to which we must submit. What can we do when we see the cross but bow in awe, and in thanks, and throw off all our stupid self-serving religion. We are not the Lord. Christ Jesus, who died for us is the Lord.
“God, to show his love to us, showed himself God in this, that he could be God and go so low as to die.”
Will we like the People of Nineveh turn in repentance to the one whose death and resurrection show that his authority is so much greater than Jonah’s?
Will we like the queen of Sheeba sit at Jesus’ feet acknowledging that his wisdom if far greater than king Solomon’s.
Or we remain content following our own wisdom, which is rather less than Solomon’s, and nothing compared to Jesus?
Will we settle for worldly wisdom. Or will we embrace the wisdom of God and the power of God - the cross of Jesus Christ?
Where would we be without the cross?
We would be left without God and without hope in the world. We would face God’s anger for ever. But with the cross we are forgiven; we are God’s children; we have the certain hope of heaven. Praise God for the one sign we needed – the sign that God would take upon himself the punishment we deserve so that we might have know the love that only he derserves.
43"When an evil[f] spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation."
Where would we be without the cross?
We would be left without God and without hope in the world. We would face God’s anger for ever.

Without the cross, even if Jesus performed a thousand miracles at our request, what good would it do us? For he could get rid of all evil I our lives. He could make them temporarily perfect. Our lives would seem swept clean and put in order. But we would still be separated from God. We would still not be able to know Jesus as our Lord.

That would be our state.

But with the cross we are forgiven; we are God’s children; we have the certain hope of heaven. Praise God for the one sign we needed – the sign that God would take upon himself the punishment we deserve so that we might have know the love that only he derserves.

And that is the state of many – many are without the cross of Jesus.
If you don’t know Jesus today, what do you have your hopes set on? That you would have your life straightened out and secure. My friend there is no security outside of Jesus reign over you life. If God in his kindness to you gives you all your wishes today, what protection do you have from evil tomorrow?

I don’t think that Jesus is just referring to those who are demon-possesed here.
It is the whole generation that Jesus says will be like this.
The point is, that if you don’t have jesus, you may think yourself wise and in control. But you are just as much in the delusion of the devil as if you had seven demons. Unless you are owned by Christ, jesus insists that you belong to the devil.
The point is that there is nothing that gives you security outside of Christ’s Lordship over your life.
There are two major mistakes that we can make concerning demons, as C.S. Lewis ironically points out in Screwtape letters.
One is to act as if they don’t exist. The other to be utterly fascinated or terrified by them.
To act as if they don’t exist will have two results. We won’t be equipped for the spiritual warfare that Jesus wants us to engage in in Ephesians. That is, we will be open to temptation and prayerless in evangelism.
Secondly, we will begin to think that we have some other enemy, and will imagine that other human beings are to be demonized, rather than evangelized.
To become terrified by demons is to suggest that they are an undefeated enemy. We will be terrified of demon possession.
If we have Jesus as our Lord, then we belong to the one from whom demons flee. We cannot belong to Jesus and to demons.
And that’s the question he’s forcing us to answer. Do we, or do we not belong to Jesus? Are we members of his kingdom, or enemies, as yet resisting his invitation to enter his rest.

46While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you."[g]
48He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" 49Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. 50For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."
Do you call yourself a Christian today. In the end you will not be saved by that label. You’ll not be saved by being baptized, or by being a member of Capitol Hill Baptist Church. Even Jesus mother wasn’t saved by being his mother, but by trusting in him.
By recognizing that her son was also the Son of God, and by recognizing that his death was for her sins, and by entrusting her life to his rule.

Is religion divisive? Well, some kingdoms are divided against themselves… the devil is happy to have those in his kingdom fight against each other, so long as his grip upon them deepens. For he is happy to do anything to distract the world from the reality of who will judge it – and who has died to save it.

The devil is happy to have the materialists fight against the Muslims so long as they both think that what they have is worth fighting for, and don’t realize that there is a king whom both of them are ignoring at their peril.
Or he’d be happy for materialists and Moslems to embrace each other, so long as it made them feel that peace on earth was a sufficient goal, without realizing that they are in a cold war with King Jesus.
But he is desparately unhappy when people begin to realize who Jesus is. Our battle is against him, and the hold he has on people’s lives. We will do battle with, prayer, righteousness, faith, and holding out the sword of the spirit which is the word of God, the gospel.

Conclusion (215)

Is religion divisive?

Yes, it is.

For Jesus Christ is calling people out of the world that hates him, and faces his judgement into his family. He is calling people to join him in being hated, for we have come to know that he is worth loving.

Thus, there are two kinds of religion… everyone has one of those two kinds – there is religion that brings us into the kingdom, and religion that keeps us from Jesus’ kingdom.

To act as if this were an insignificant detail that can be overlooked is to imagine that there is no difference between Jesus and those who crucified him – its to imagine that there’s no heaven

Imagine there's no Heaven It's easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky
But every such imagination will one day wake up to stark reality. And that day it will be too late.

But there is hope for the nations in Jesus - a bruised reed he will not break. For he himself would be bruised for all such reeds. A smoldering wick he will not snuff out. Rather, he allowed his own life to be taken, so that we might become his mother, his brother, his sister – members of his family for ever.

Matthew 11

This sermon was preached in June 2006 at Capitol Hill Baptist Church

Matthew 11:2-30. Mike Gilbart-Smith

“Lord Darlington wasn’t a bad man. He wasn’t a bad man at all. At least he had the privilege of being able to say at the end of his life that he made his own mistakes. His lordship was a courageous man. He chose a certain path in life, it proved to be a misguided one, but there, he chose it, he can say that at least. As for myself, I cannot even claim that. You see, I trusted. I trusted in his lordship’s wisdom. All those years I served him, I trusted I was doing something worthwhile. I can’t even say I made my own mistakes. Really, one has to ask oneself, what dignity is there in that.”

So said Lord Darlington’s butler at the end of his career serving his misguided employer in Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel, “The Remains of the Day”. You may have seen the movie starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thomson. You see, it turned out that Lord Darlington whom he had served for 30 years, had been a traitor.

We are used to disappointment. Like the restaurant I came across as a child that advertised on a huge sign outside, “T-bone, 50c” Only when you’ve parked up and got out of the car can you read the small print: “With meat, $10”
But the greater the investment the greater the disappointment.
The automobile that wasn’t quite as reliable as the salesman implied.
But when one has entrusted one’s entire life in another, and that trust is misplaced, then one is left with bitterness.
Better, says Lord Darlington’s butler, to make your own mistakes than to entrust yourself to someone else who takes the direction of your out of your hands.
I wonder if you have ever had such thoughts about Jesus.
Have you wondered whether you can really place your entire life in his hands? Whether you can submit your entire life to his service?

There is nobody who calls for a more total investment of our lives than Jesus. How can we be sure that serving him is not just another exercise of false expectations and of false trust that will lead us at the end of our lives to look back with bitterness and disappointment?
How can we know whether Jesus is really worth following?

Well, over the next three weeks we will, Lord willing, be looking at three chapters in Matthew’s gospel.

And they are taken up with the nature of Jesus and his kingdom. Here we shall find people whose expectations have not been met. We will find others who become increasingly hostile to his kingdom. We find all but Jesus confused as to why the kingdom seems in so unimpressive. Yet in the first of these three chapters, Chapter 11, we will find material that will help us to see that Jesus is indeed trustworthy.

Turn to Read Matthew 11
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2When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"
4Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy[b]are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 6Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
7As John's disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: "What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 8If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings' palaces. 9Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10This is the one about whom it is written: " 'I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.'[c] 11I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. 13For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. 15He who has ears, let him hear.
16"To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: 17" 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge and you did not mourn.' 18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' 19The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." ' But wisdom is proved right by her actions."
20Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. 21"Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths.[d] If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. 24But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you."

25At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.
27"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
So, how can we be sure that Jesus is worth following?
Well, Matthew invites us to open our eyes to the real Jesus. There are five things that we are going to open our eyes to look at together to encourage us that this Jesus is indeed deserving of our full allegiance.

11:1-6 Look at Jesus’ miracles!
§ Don’t let false expectations blind you.

It seems that even John the Baptist, who had already pointed out to his disciples that Jesus was the promised Messiah, was at least a little confused.

Read 2-3

2When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"

It wasn’t just that John’s spirits were dampened by his imprisonment by Herod. It was that John knew his Old Testament. He was perplexed, because had he read that when the Christ, that is the Messiah came, there would not only be miracles and good news. There would be justice. And here John was, wrongly imprisoned precisely because he was speaking out against the injustice of Herod stealing his brother’s wife.
John doesn’t understand how the Messiah would allow such injustice to continue.
The messiah was long awaited, but this was an unexpected set back. Should he expect someone else, or was this really all there was to the Messiah?

Read 4-6
Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
Jesus does not merely answer John’s question. He goes back to scripture to prove his answer. All that Jesus said resonates with the prophecies of the coming Messiah in the book of Isaiah.
He is doing two things here.
1) Look at the evidence
The things that Jesus is doing are all signs of the coming Messiah. If you have doubts about who Jesus is, then keep reading the eye-witness accounts of him found in the gospels. Nobody could do the things that he does but God himself. Who makes blind people see? Who makes the lame walk, the leprous cured, the deaf hear – all by a mere word. Who can raise the dead – it was so extraordinary that nobody could deny it was happening. Even those opposed to Jesus could deny that what he was doing was utterly supernatural – and so we see them in chapter 9 attributing the miracles to demons rather than God.

But Jesus is doing more than merely listing the miracles he’d done to prove his identity. He’s alluding to the very passages that are getting John confused that speak both of good news and judgment. He alludes to at least four passages in Isaiah that you could look up this afternoon. 26,29,35,61.
Listen as Isaiah 61 to see just how Jesus is using the Old testament.

1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, [a]
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
John was right to expect that the Messiah would establish justice by bringing about the day of God’s vengeance. But Jesus stops short of quoting that part of the verse.
Rather, there is to be a gap. A time dedicated to the preaching of good news to the poor, before God’s ultimate judgment. A time that would allow for people coming to repentance and faith in Jesus before it was too late.
This gap is great news, for if Jesus brought about God’s vengeance when he came then there would have been no time for any one of us to turn away from our lives of selfish independence, and entrust ourselves to him.

We too need to be sure that we have right expectations of what it means to follow Jesus. We do not yet live in the time when Jesus has righted all wrongs. We too will be called to suffer for Jesus’ sake.
When we speak of the good news about Jesus we need to make that clear. If we suggest that all will be well in this life if people follow Jesus it will raise false expectations that will lead only to disillusionment.


If you are not a Christian, I wonder what it is that is stopping you from entrusting yourself to Jesus. Is your reluctance to serve him due to an unconvincing life that he lived – why would such a miraculous life be unconvincing? Might it be because you want to live a life making your own mistakes, rather than living for someone else, however great He is?
Christian, what if you are meaning to follow Jesus, but the Christian life isn’t quite what you expected. Perhaps you are struggling with the fact that the church you have joined is just full of sinful people. Perhaps you didn’t realize how wearing it would be to face continual ridicule from family members, and you wonder, is it really worth following Jesus? Is he really who he said he is if he will let me suffer like this?
John gives us a good model of how to deal with our doubts. Jesus does not ask us to brush our doubts under the carpet, nor to unthinkingly embrace them. If we come to Jesus trustingly, we will find that he can stand up to our questions – he may correct our misapprehension of him, but our faith in him will emerge the stronger. Jesus does not rebuke honest questions. He speaks God’s word into them.
When we are tempted to think that Jesus is not worth living for, we should be realistic about the cost of following Jesus. But we should ask whether his miracles show that he deserves our allegiance.
Secondly,

2) 11:7-15 Look at his witnesses!
§ Don’t let popularity blind you.

Jesus turns from addressing John’s doubts to addressing the crowds who had heard him and now knew of his imprisonment.

Read 7-10

7As John's disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: "What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind?
8If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings' palaces. 9Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10This is the one about whom it is written: " 'I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.'[c] 11I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist;

Why did people listen to John in the first place? “You didn’t go and see John because he was saying what everyone wanted to hear, blowing about with the crowd like a reed swayed by the wind. You didn’t go to hear John because he had political clout…” No, you listened to him because he told you the truth, however uncomfortable that truth was.
He’s a prophet, and prophets have always been unpopular, because God’s truth is unpopular. Of course he isn’t in the palace, but in the dungeon!

In fact John was the greatest of the prophets, not because his words were more eloquent, or his teaching any more inspired than the others.
He is the greatest of the prophets because he didn’t just say ‘The Messiah is coming’ he said “behold the Lamb of God”. He identified the messiah.
And stunningly Jesus says that those living this side of the cross, once the kingdom has been inaugurated, are greater even than John the Baptist. Again, he is not saying that we have greater faithfulness. But we know not just that Jesus came to save his people, we know how he has done it.

We know that we have all rebelled against our maker, preferring to live for ourselves than to entrust ourselves to him. We know that God is rightly angry with us for this, for we owe him everything, and that he is intent on punishing all such rebellion with a punishment we could not bear in all eternity.
But this side of the cross of Jesus we know how Jesus has saved people from that punishment. For he went to the cross taking the punishment of all those who would ever trust in him – and yet God raised him from the dead, and calls us all to turn from our rebellion, and put our trust in his Son who has died and is risen.
Thus there is a massive difference between the Christian and the Non-Christian. We are all rebels. But the Christian is someone who has received forgiveness for their rebellion, and so has entered Jesus kingdom. The rest of the world is still rebelling and still faces God’s judgment.
That message will never appeal to those who remain committed to serving themselves. Only those who have worldly appeal will win worldly success. And the good news about Jesus tells us to stop living for this world for there is a better one to come for those who will trust in Jesus.
Christians, we need to be very careful that we don’t become most excited when we feel that we have political influence or worldly appeal. We will have misunderstood the nature of Jesus’ kingdom.
Jesus was not here to bring political justice, but to bring sinners to repentance. Now, it is a good thing for Christians to be concerned about justice in this world – we serve a just God. But that is never to be a primary aim. We are living for another kingdom, where full justice will reign – but not until Jesus returns.
In the meantime, the normal state between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world will be one of conflict. That I think is the meaning of verse 12.
12From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.
The kingdom of God keeps growing by the power of God. But those who will not submit to Jesus’ rule will keep fighting against it.
Why is it that of all people in the world Christians are the most despised? There is no rational reason for it, unless it be that our attempts to follow Jesus highlight the world’s rebellion against him.
John had recognized that the kingdom was forcefully advancing – but he failed to see that it would not immediately overcome all forceful opposition. Rather the opposition will grow, until we find crowds crying out “crucify him.”
But this conflict is not an unforeseen strength that Jesus hadn’t anticipated, as John fears – rather this conflict is the very way in which Jesus will establish his kingdom. For Jesus is the king who establishes his kingdom by laying down his life for his people. And by his death he will populate his kingdom entirely with those who had been his enemies.
But that will not be the end of the story.
13For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. 15He who has ears, let him hear.
John’s expectation of coming Judgment was right. He is the Elijah who was prophesied in Malachi to herald the great and terrible day of the Lord. There will come a time when it is too late to change allegiance and join submit to Jesus.
John was not popular, but he spoke the truth – in fact he thought it worth giving his life to remain faithful.
When you are facing doubts about whether Jesus is worth living for, have you considered those who through history have been persecuted for the sake of Jesus? The millions of people who known Jesus well enough to know that he is worth following even if that means being hated, or even being killed.
One such martyr in the 2nd century was the aged Polycarp – before he was burned alive he was told that he could save his life if he reproached Christ. Polycarp replied, "Eighty six years have I served Him, and He never did me any harm: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?"
When you doubt, speak to those who have followed longer than you. Speak to those who have suffered for Christ and found him trustworthy still. Read Christian biographies. Look at the integrity of those witnesses.
3) when you are doubting that Jesus is worth following,
3) 11:16-19 watch out for dishonest arguments
16"To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: 17" 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge and you did not mourn.'
You know the kind of games that children play – the ones that aren’t really games but traps. Like when the boy in the youth-group came up to me and said, “how do you keep an idiot waiting?” “I’ll tell you tomorrow.”
That’s the kind of game these children were playing in the market place. Sitting down until an unsuspecting victim comes along. They ask them to join in with the game. They play a tune. “We’ll provide the music, you do the actions,” they say. But when the child starts to dance to the music, they say, “Why are you dancing! It’s funeral music, you’ve really embarrassed everyone at the funeral now.” Or if in fact the victim pretends to mourn at the funeral music they say, “What are you being so miserable for, this is dancing music – it’s a wedding feast!”
Well, that’s a bit of fun for a children’s game. But it is tragic when people write Jesus off with childish games rather than honestly examining him.
The questions that you have about Jesus: are they questions that you have because you really want to know the answers – are they real hurdles to trusting Jesus more deeply? Or are they merely convenient excuses?
You will always be able to come up with another question.
One way to note whether your questions are genuine is whether they are consistent.
Those who were against Jesus we hugely inconsistent.
18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' 19The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." ' But wisdom is proved right by her actions."
We should mourn with John over our rebellion that would incur God’s anger. But Jesus’ ministry is one of great joy and celebration, because in Jesus alone is there a place of God’s anger to be averted.

But those opposed to Jesus did the opposite. They had no intention of mourning over their sin, and no intention of celebrating the coming of the king.
I hear the same criticism about Christians today. One the one hand people say – “the problem with Christians is that they are so nauseatingly joyful.” And the next thing is that the problem is that they are too serious about sin, and therefore make everyone miserable. Well, you can’t have it both ways! Yet, in almost all extended conversations with non-believers about the gospel, this kind of inconsistency comes to the surface very quickly.
Look out for convenient arguments designed to protect yourself from the reality of who Jesus is. Be aware that we will have a sinful bias to protect ourselves from the truth. We want to believe the lie that we are designed to live for ourselves.
In a rare moment of honesty Aldous Huxley looked back on his motivation for his nihilistic philosophy.
“I had motives for not wanting the world to have a meaning; consequently assumed that it had none, and was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption. Most ignorance is vincible ignorance. We don't know because we don't want to know. It is our will that decides how and upon what subjects we shall use our intelligence. Those who detect no meaning in the world generally do so because, for one reason or another, it suits their books that the world should be meaningless.”
Huxley knew that if he could convince himself that life was meaningless he could adopt whatever sexual and political freedom he wanted.
We should recognize that this bias doesn’t stop as soon as we start to follow Jesus.
As we discuss with Christians who disagree with us, are we more concerned about winning an argument, and so will use any argument that seems appealing, or are we more concerned about knowing and loving the real Jesus, and so we will ensure that we are handling the Scriptures carefully and faithfully.
Wisdom is not founded on convenience, but on truth – it is not proved right by the opinion polls. It is not proved right by the ability to win an argument. It is not proved right by making other opinions look stupid. It is not proved right by sounding attractive.
Wisdom is proved right by her actions.
In the end it will become clear whether we are following the real Jesus by whether or not we live a life in submission to his rule.
Perhaps you feel that you are beyond fooling yourself to that degree – perhaps you feel you are more balanced and more objective.
Perhaps you are tempted to think that even your doubts about Jesus are not only honest – they are rational.
Forthly, we must
11:20-24 Look at the blindness of unbelief!
§ Don’t let unbelief blind you
20Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. 21"Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths.[d] If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. 24But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you."

There is the world of difference between honest questions, like those that John had, and the committed unbelief of the cities that had seen Jesus’ miracles.
It is the difference between saying, “I just don’t understand!” and saying “I just don’t want to know!”
When you are doubting whether Jesus is worth following, ask honest questions.
An honest question is a question that is looking for an answer. Unbelief asks questions too: but has already decided that there can be no satisfying answer. People have often said that faith is blind. But it is unbelief that is blind. Thus unbelief is to embrace blindness.
The majority of Jesus miracles were performed in towns that rejected him. Why would people be so blind in the face of such overwhelming evidence?
Because knowledge of Jesus is not merely intellectual. It is moral.
Read 21
"Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
To recognize Jesus as the Messiah is to turn away from our own pretensions to belong to ourselves. It is to repent of them, and to submit to his Lordship.
Jesus warns us. We are in a terrible situation. John’s beliefs about impending judgement were correct. He was the one who was preparing the way for the coming Messiah, who will judge the world.
As we read earlier in the service, “But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears?”
We may not have seen the miracles that Jesus performed. But we are even more privileged. We have heard eye witness reports of jesus’ death and resurrection. Thus it will be more bearable for Sodom on that day than it is for those who hear the gospel and in the face of such great news, walk away.
Jesus’ warnings of impending judgment are real. He warns us because he does not want us to be blind to the eternal realities that we face.
When facing doubts about Jesus, look out for the blindness of unbelief. It will keep you from thinking about the infinite difference between heaven and hell. Don’t embrace such blindness.
Rather then look up. For Jesus does not speak of judgment without speaking of a way to escape. Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears?
Jesus invites us to be those who will stand, if only we will come to him in faith.





11:25-30 Look to Jesus’ invitation!
§ Don’t let pride blind you!

25At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.
27"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Some people have suggested that a belief in the sovereignty of God in saving people is a demotivator for evangelism. Jesus didn’t think so. In fact, God’s sovereign action in salvation is the only thing that gives us any confidence that anyone might possibly accept the message of the gospel.
We’ve just seen in our passage that human nature is so radically committed to rebelling against the Lordship of Jesus that even if he performed thousands of irrefutable miracles on Capitol Hill still people would find reasons not to believe. If even physical miracles cannot overcome unbelief then what hope do we have by loving persuasion in evangelism! We clearly have no ability to making God known to anybody.
Yet we can have confidence because God himself is committed to making himself known. He is able and willing to open people’s eyes and remove their unbelief.



Jesus rejoices both that God hides, and that he reveals himself.
He rejoices that God hides himself from some because it shows up human wisdom for what it is. It shows that the most learned person has learned nothing if he has learned nothing of God’s kingdom.
- We live in an age that values education but has no idea of what wisdom is. I’ve spoken to people with PhD’s from the greatest university on earth who had never thought about how they might be ontologically different from apes. It wasn’t that they had come to the conclusion that they were the same, it was that they had never even thought of the question. They had never even considered the possibility that they are spiritual beings.
My friend, unless you know how you can be in a right relationship with God, you know nothing.
Yet Jesus also rejoices that God has seen fit to bring those who, in the terms of this world are utterly unimpressive into his kingdom. He has revealed how they can be joyful and cherished members of God’s kingdom, rather than rebels against it.
How?
Only through Jesus.
27"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God. He is not just like the prophets who spoke God’s word, or like John the Baptist who identified the Messiah, or like Christians who preach the gospel. He has a unique knowledge of God, that only he can have, because of all men only he shares his life with God. And the whole reason Jesus came was so that he could bring people into the knowledge of God. He has done everything necessary to do that by his life, death and resurrection.
If you do not receive your wisdom from Jesus, then, however streetwise you are, the bible insists that you have no significant wisdom at all.
Yet there is good news.
Jesus offers a right relationship with God to you.

Perhaps our doubts about whether Jesus is worth following no longer spring from doubts about who he is. Perhaps we have been reassured that he is the Son of God.
But do we believe that it is really a joy and a privilege to serve him? We know that without him we will end up facing God’s judgment. But do we still have niggling doubts that somehow serving him is the necessary price we need to pay in order to escape judgment, but that it is a chore – that it would somehow be even better if we could live for ourselves and still escape judgment?
Every temptation we will face this week is a temptation to embrace the lie that it is no joy to serve Jesus.
But listen to Jesus’ words.
28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
The rest is not, as I heard someone suggest recently, a chance to get away from the stress of life and relax. It is rest from the weariness of the burden of our commitment to sin. When God took Israel from slavery in Egypt and brought them into the rest of the freedom of the Promised Land, it was just to be a small picture of this greater freedom that Jesus offers. It is not the freedom of an easy life. It is not freedom from all opposition and persecution – not yet at least. It is the freedom from living as if we were God. It is freedom from believing the very first lie – that God’s rule is malicious and we’d be better of making our own mistakes. It is the freedom to enjoy being the creatures God made us to be. Creatures whose capacity to know, love and obey God is brought to life and enjoyed.
When you are tempted to doubt that it is a joy to follow Jesus, will you hear Jesus’ words. His yoke is easy. His burden is light, not because he will make no demands of us, but because his demands have become a joy and a privilege, and at every point he will help to carry the load. For the great load of the guilt of our sin he has already taken to the cross.
Pilgrim’s progress

Now I saw in my dream, that the highway up which Christian was to go, was fenced on either side with a wall, and that wall was called Salvation. Isaiah 26:1. Up this way, therefore, did burdened Christian run, but not without great difficulty, because of the load on his back.
He ran thus till he came at a place somewhat ascending; and upon that place stood a cross, and a little below, in the bottom, a sepulchre. So I saw in my dream, that just as Christian came up with the cross, his burden loosed from off his shoulders, and fell from off his back, and began to tumble, and so continued to do till it came to the mouth of the sepulchre, where it fell in, and I saw it no more.
Then was Christian glad and lightsome, and said with a merry heart, “He hath given me rest by his sorrow, and life by his death.” Then he stood still a while, to look and wonder; for it was very surprising to him that the sight of the cross should thus ease him of his burden. He looked, therefore, and looked again, even till the springs that were in his head sent the waters down his cheeks. Zech. 12:10. Now as he stood looking and weeping, behold, three Shining Ones came to him, and saluted him with, “Peace be to thee.” So the first said to him, “Thy sins be forgiven thee,” Mark 2:5; the second stripped him of his rags, and clothed him with change of raiment, Zech. 3:4; the third also set a mark on his forehead, Eph. 1:13, and gave him a roll with a seal upon it, which he bid him look on as he ran, and that he should give it in at the celestial gate: so they went their way. Then Christian gave three leaps for joy, and went on singing,
“Thus far did I come laden with my sin,
Nor could aught ease the grief that I was in,
Till I came hither. What a place is this!
Must here be the beginning of my bliss?
Must here the burden fall from off my back?
Must here the strings that bound it to me crack?
Blest cross! blest sepulchre! blest rather be
The Man that there was put to shame for me!”


My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! My sin, not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul.

Matthew 13: The Unimpressive yet infinitiely Valuable Kingdom

This Sermon was orinally preached at Capitol Hill Baptist Church on July 4th Weekend last Year

Even as they met, they were deeply uncertain if the bold claims they were making would ever be recognized by the people. And even if the people rallied – what about those whom the claims attacked? Would the people have the ability or the will to establish their claims?

Even as they signed, some of them jested about the likely failure of their endeavour.

Mr. Harrison said to Mr. Gerry, “I shall have a great advantage over you Mr. Gerry, when we are all hung for what we are now doing. From the size and weight of my body I shall die in a few minutes, but from the lightness of your body you will dance in the air an hour or two before you are dead.”

Yet as the men gathered, 230 years ago this coming Tuesday, each believed that there are some kings whose rule one might successfully and appropriately resist.

And so, even Benjamin Harrison and Elbridge Gerry signed the Declaration that would set this country towards Independence from Great Britain.

After all, if a king has a debatable claim upon them, and what’s more is abusing the claim he makes, then do not men have the right to rebel?

Perhaps such a question would best not be answered by an Englishman on July 4th weekend on Capitol Hill.

And in fact, the reason that a loyal subject of the crown can even be asked to preach on July 4th weekend in Capitol Hill, is because there is a greater crown to which all Christians pledge their allegiance. The only unqualified pledge of allegiance that any Christian can make is to Jesus Christ.

Whatever think about rebellion against a harsh ruler, as we look at the emergence of the United States, history tells us at least that some kingdoms can be successfully resisted, [with a bit of help from the French]

And Britain? Well, we can’t even beat anyone in the sports we’ve invented any more.

But, more seriously, what about Jesus’ kingdom? This is a Christian church, so we would expect there to be allegiance to Jesus here… but one of the freedoms for which Christians themselves are so rightly grateful in this country is the freedom of religion. Does this mean that we have such religious freedom that Jesus’ rule can be successfully resisted?

To many ears it would seem to be a ludicrous question.
“Of course it can!” they would answer. “Jesus is the one, who when talking about his kingdom insisted that because of the very nature of the kingdom his followers would not attack those who resisted. ‘My kingdom is not of this world’ said Jesus – and within a few hour he was dead.”

And if the nature of the kingdom itself doesn’t argue that it is an utterly resistible kingdom, doesn’t history show that Jesus’ kingdom, rather like Great Britain, is a power in decline. It once held sway, but now is marginalized – like Britain, it might try and have influence beyond it’s size, but, isn’t it a largely spent force?

If Jesus’ kingdom is really important, then why does it seem to be so unimpressive?

Does that dishearten you?

We have seen already in Matthew 11-12 that Jesus’ kingdom caused confusion and faced opposition.

This morning in Matthew Chapter 13 Jesus reveals to his disciples why such confusion and opposition was not a failure, but an inevitable result of the nature of the kingdom.

Turn with me to Matthew Chapter 13.

Main Hall: 1021

West Hall: 968

We’ll see in this passage 3 major areas in which a clear understanding of Jesus kingdom will enable us to recognize that things are not always what they seem. Yet Jesus encourages us to see his kingdom with His eyes, not by the measure of temporary success or worldly expectations.

Firstly in 1-23.
Therefore don’t be disillusioned by temporary commitment
Then in 24-43
Don’t be distracted towards temporary success
And then finally, we’ll see in verses 44-52
Don’t be deterred by a temporary cost.

So firstly verses 1-23:

Don’t be disillusioned by temporary commitment. (2970)

Let’s hear what The Lord is saying to us this morning.

1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9He who has ears, let him hear."
10The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?"
11He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. 14In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: " 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'[a] 16But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
18"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. 22The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
It is deeply sad when people we thought were Christians walk away.

It is of great comfort to notice that Jesus himself was aware both that there would be those who profess faith and then fall away, but also that this might cause confusion for many – and he addresses this confusion in the verses we’ve just read.

He’s very clear that there will be differing reactions to Jesus –some which seem so promising.

Firstly there is the hard heart.

: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
19When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.

This isn’t the person who never hears – but the person who hears the gospel and doesn’t understand: again, this doesn’t mean necessarily that they don’t understand the meaning of the good news – rather that they don’t respond with any kind of understanding of the truthfulness of the gospel.

Like the well trodden path at the edge of the field, their heart is hard.

There are some people for whom the gospel seems nonsensical. It is not because the gospel is nonsense, but because the gospel is uncomfortable and therefore not given a serious hearing.

I love the description of when Aslan first speaks in the Magician’s Nephew. But the magician himself cannot hear Aslan’s voice who sings the world into existence and then speaks to his creatures.

“The longer and more beautifully the Lion sang, the harder Uncle Andrew tried to make himself believe that he could hear nothing but roaring. Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed. Uncle Andrew did. He soon did hear nothing but roaring in Aslan's song. Soon he couldn't have heard anything else even if he had wanted to. And when at last the Lion spoke and said, "Narnians, awake," he didn't hear any words: he heard only a snarl.”

So it is with the hardened heart. It starts by hearing only what it wants to hear from God’s word, and ends up hearing nothing at all.
Scripture makes it clear that the only reason why we do not submit to Jesus’ kingship is not because his voice is unclear, but that we do not want to hear.
If you are not a Christian, then I wonder how often there have been moments when you have felt compelled to wake up to the reality of God. Yet the moment passes, and you do nothing about it.
This morning the seed of the word of God is falling upon your ears. Will you permit Satan to snatch it away before you have deeply considered Jesus and his claim upon your life?
Do you find Jesus uncomfortable – and whenever you hear about him, something in you just wants to get out of the room. My friend, have you considered that he may be an uncomfortable truth that you would be foolish to flee from? If you flee to him he will not turn you away.

Or perhaps you are a young person with Christian parents. You’ve heard the good news about Jesus a thousand times. Yet you remain secretly determined not to live for yourself.
Do not be hardened soil. Allow God’s word to take deep root into your life. Don’t just let it affect your mind – let it affect your heart –where all your desires and decisions are rooted.

The hardened heart rejects the gospel before it has really ever understood it.

- The shallow heart

5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.

Jesus explains

20The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.

The shallow heart comes to know the truth of the gospel. This is the person who is looking for something that will make their life complete – and they begin to understand who Jesus is, and they profess faith in him. But they never really change their allegience. In the end they never fear God more than they fear man – and so when man threatens them, they walk away from Jesus.

To follow Jesus means to be hated like Jesus is hated. We all love to be loved. But the question we must ask ourselves is this: in the end is the love of God sufficient for me – or if I am not widely loved by others, will I find the love of God lacking something?

Thirdly Jesus describes a divided heart.

- The divided heart
7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.

Jesus explains

22The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.

These again recognize the truthfulness of God’s word. But in the end they decide that they would rather live for this world than the next. They would not describe their action as choosing this life over the next. Because they are choked by the thorns – they don’t rationally sit down and think about it. Rather the thorns are so present in the soil that whatever sustenance they receive from the word is overshadowed by other desires.

They are not convinced by arguments, but by appealing things – the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth.

When we live in an extraordinary affluent society like this one, we can so easily be deceived into mistaking luxury for necessity.

We are constantly being bombarded by the media telling us that we ‘need’ various things.
We need a faster car, a bigger house, a more beautiful body, a more disciplined national soccer team, a more loving spouse, a more obedient child.

We can kid ourselves that these things are actually what we need in order to follow Jesus. When I have a bigger house, then I can start obeying Jesus’ commands to practice hospitality. When I have a spouse, then I’ll have the encouragement I need to obey Jesus in sharing the gospel with my married relatives. When I am more beautiful, then I can love my spouse.

My friends: in order to obey Jesus, all we need is Jesus and his word and His Spirit! As soon as we say that external circumstances will enable us to obey Jesus, then we have said that Jesus is not enough.

It is so easy to find oneself running after the same kind of things as those who think that this life is all there is. Remember Job’s words: 'naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart! John stott reflects. “Thus life on earth as “ a pilgrimage between two moments of nakedness. So we will be wise to travel light.”

Whatever we have in this world will only be of use if we invest it in the next. Do you believe that? Or are you deceived by the fact that this world can look so beautiful and so permanent?
Be careful about what you would desiret. And, if Jesus sees fit to give you your desires, understand that it will not make it easier for you to follow him. Everything that we have is one more temptation to use that to invest in this world rather than the next.

Many will find the truth of the gospel compelling, but in the temptation will be too much. Things they can feel and taste and see now seem more appealing.

Do you find this discouraging, that so many who seem to be responding so positively to the gospel end up walking away from Jesus?

- When others fall away, don’t be discouraged into thinking that your salvation may be insecure: take warning yes… but if you have repented and trusted in Jesus you will be saved. You never got to see into the heart of the one who wandered away. If their wandering away is permanent, then they were never good soil.
- In fact the point of throwing the seed everywhere was not to somehow turn bad soil into good soil, but to show up where the good soil is. You don’t want to miss the good soil, so you throw seed everywhere. Preaching the gospel has a dividing & revealing role, that Jesus intends it to have.

The gospel age when the king has arrived is a strange mixture of the best and the worst times of Israel’s history. It is like the best time when David ruled on the throne. But it is also like the worst time, under the ministry of Isaiah, when Isaiah faithfully spoke the word of God, but it served only to harden people against the Lord.

13This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. 14In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: " 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'[a]

Jesus intends that his word should produce different responses, dividing between those he is calling to himself and those whom he hardens against him.
Recognising this should not make us proud – but humble and faithful.

Doesn’t this humble you?

16But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

In Jesus’ wisdom he has not given everybody spiritual sight. When we see others hardened, we should not be complacent, “How could you be so stupid!” but humbled “Lord, I know that I am just as foolish – Why have you granted faith to me?”

Don’t be discouraged. Be humbled.

and Rejoice!

For the success of Jesus kingdom isn’t measured by the proportion of people who acknowledge his rule – it is measured by the fruit that he bears in their hearts.

- Fruitful heart.

8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

23But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown

Note how this harvest is brought in.

Three things must happen.
- Hear
- Understand
- Bear fruit.

We need to realize that we can only really help with the first. We can’t grant spiritual understanding. We can’t produce fruit in others’ lives. But we can sow liberally.

Gospel…

If you are discouraged by the way in which people you’ve shared the gospel with have responded – then just keep on sowing. It is only by persistence in sharing the gospel that the good soil will be revealed. And that harvest will be a joy that will make up for all the rejection, and all the disappointment.
The joy of the harvest is greater than the disappointment of the apostate. 100 60 30 times what was sown.
Perhaps you find even this discouraging – you look at other Christians, and they seem to be more fruitful that you. “I’m definitely a 30 times person” you say.
But understand that the harvest Jesus is talking about here is an incredible harvest. In the ancient near east you were happy if a harvest yielded 7 times what you sowed. But even the least fruitful yields 30 times.
Jesus is saying that the fruit from a world with divided responses is somehow in God’s strange providence greater than if the whole field had been comprised of good soil.
There is greater glory brought to Jesus because the subjects of his kingdom still love him even when they are tempted, hated and deserted.
When you see even those you love wandering away from Jesus, you are rightly saddened. But take heart: your faithfulness in the face of such discouragement will bring great glory to Jesus. He is yet worth following. The joy of his kingdom will not diminish. Your eyes are yet blessed because they see – your ears yet blessed because they hear.
Don’t be disillusioned by mixed responses & temporary commitment. Rejoice that the glory brought to the Lord by those who do respond will be all the greater.

Don’t be distracted by temporary success (1649)

24Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
27"The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'
28" 'An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
29" 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' "
31He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."
33He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount[b] of flour until it worked all through the dough."
34Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. 35So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world."[c]
36Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."
37He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
40"As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
I wonder if you’ve seen “Men In Black.” The plot centers on the search for a galaxy that is in great danger. The Men in Black are told that the galaxy will be found in the centre of Orion’s belt. Telescopes all point towards the Orion Constellation trying to locate the missing galaxy.
But, in fact they are looking in the wrong place. The galaxy is fond on Orion’s belt. But Orion is a cat, who carries the belt around his neck.
The special effects zoom into the ball dangling from the cat’s collar, and there, is a galaxy just as complex and beautiful as our own, sustaining just as much life.
An alien comments, “That’s the problem with you humans, you think that just because something is small, it is unimportant.”

Such was the thoughts of the kingdom of heaven in first century Palestine. Nobody thought of it coming almost imperceptibly. There would be a great battle with the Romans, surely.

But Jesus says that the kingdom will and must grow from imperceptible beginnings, without a massive world crisis.

In fact if we have any other view of the kingdom, we will be distracted. For if we try and manufacture the kingdom into something that is irresistible today, then we will have built a kingdom that is very much of this world.

Well, don’t be distracted, says Jesus.
Don’t be like those who think their primary job as Christians is to exercise God’s judgment upon those who are not Christians. That seems to be the meaning of the parable of the weeds. 28

"The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
29" 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest.
Don’t be distracted into trying to clear away the weeds.

The job of the church is not the purification of the world, but the purification of the church and the evangelism of the world.
Purification of the world, is both a distraction and an impossibility.

We show the world its impurity not by judging it or by trying to reform it, but by holding out Jesus to it. As the light shines the darkness will be revealed.
Strategize how you could build more friendships with Non-Christians and deepen the ones you have already. It is worth the investment of time for what may seem like slow progress.
Strategize how you could spend your time with them in ways so they’ll meet other Christians and hear the gospel.

The parable of the soils showed that there are those who look like they follow Jesus who will turn out not to, this parable shows that there are those who look like weeds – who look like they are bound for judgment. If we had to judge now we’d write them off. But they will be saved.

Who are the people you know who seem furthest from knowing the rule of the Lord. Who seems most confident in their rebellion against him? Is it too hard for our Lord to grant them understanding and fruitful obedience, if they will hear the gospel. Will we share the gospel with them?


The parables of the mustard seed and the yeast show us that things are not what they seem. Small is not necessarily unimportant. The Lord can grow that which is small. If the kingdom seems weak today – imagine how it felt 2000 years ago.
Yet Jesus has been steadily growing his church. People from all nations have been recognizing His loving rule, and have taken shelter under his branches. The message of the kingdom is everywhere – it can’t be kept out of communist China, or Islamic Saudi Arabia. It surely cannot be kept out of materialist America.

He wants growth that is produced by his word – and therefore is genuinely kingdom growth. That may well be less impressive – but in the end it will be more glorious.

Jesus grows oak trees not mushrooms.

For the kingdom will only ever grow. Jesus’ rule will only ever be submitted to by more and more people. It will only ever reach more nations. It will only ever fill more of the field. For Jesus is committed to growing his kingdom.
That is why he preaches – he doesn’t just preach to harden some hearts – his greatest joy in getting out the message is to reveal himself to other hearts. 34-35

34Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. 35So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world."[c]

The kingdom might look unimpressive. But from the time that Jesus walked into history the kingdom has been walking on earth. And ever since then it has been growing.

Don’t be distracted by the desire for temporary success. Be faithful. Jesus rule cannot fail in what he intends. Are our intentions the same as his?

Don’t be deterred by the temporary cost. (1202)

44"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
45"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
What will it cost to embrace Jesus’ rule!?

Well, it will cost everything. Notice the two parables. The one who finds treasure hidden in the field sells everything he has. The one who finds a pearl that is of great value sells everything else in order to lay hold of it.

Do we recognize that following Jesus costs everything? Not necessarily that we will sell all our possessions – though we might be called to and must be willing to. No, it’s far more radical than that. It is that everything we have no longer belongs to ourselves, but belongs to Jesus.
Whatever it was that we were investing our lives into we see as utterly worthless compared to the extraordinary privilege that we now have to invest in Jesus’ kingdom.

Is this where your life is invested?
It is enormously encouraging to see people in this congregation who have invested their lives this way.

People who give up successful careers, to become preachers.
People have decided to remain in this city to serve the church who would love to have a few acres of land for their children to run around.
People who stay late into the night to prayerfully lead this church even when they must be at work early the next morning.
People who work hard to earn good money, and count it a privilege to give so sacrificially that they live in a house half the size they could have afforded.
People who would give up their Saturday evening with other young people in order to go and sing to the house-bound.
People who changed their plans from having a retirement home on the beach to having a retirement home nearer God’s people.
People who give up half of their annual vacation to look after missionaries’ children whilst their parents are at a conference.
People who move to a tiny island to serve a church there, when they don’t even like the sea!
People who leave comfort and familiarity behind to raise their first child in an Islamic city where few have heard the good news.

Are they all crazy! No – they have found the pearl of great price. They have found that Jesus is king, and that whatever resources he’s given them they are determined to use them in His service. They count it a privilege and a joy, that his loving rule may be better known and honored.
NO! They are privileged.

What does it cost to Submit to Jesus rule? Everything! Praise God for everything that he has given us, that we might spend more on our Savior Jesus Christ.

What will it cost to reject Jesus’ rule?

47"Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51"Have you understood all these things?" Jesus asked. "Yes," they replied.
52He said to them, "Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old."
In the end, there will be no successful resistance of Jesus’ rule.
Jesus is not like the king of England. His rule is perfect. And in the end his rule will prevail. We might arrogantly declare our independence from this king, but it is to believe a tragic lie. For the weeds will one day be separated from the wheat. The good soil will be separated from the bad, the good fish from the bad. It will one day be shown where we have invested our lives – and if we’ve invested them in a world that will not last the worthlessness of our investment will be displayed for ever, to our shame.

Do not mistake God’s patience for an unwillingness to execute judgment.

He will.

The old treasure remains true: that God will execute full and righteous judgment. Jesus does not mince his words when it comes to talking about hell. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The cost of rejecting Jesus’ rule is no joy – it makes people miserable now, and will be an eternal and unbearable misery.

Do not assume that hell is a fiction. How could it be – God is just and will punish every evil deed, so I know that I deserve to be there yesterday – no it must be easier to believe that heaven is a fiction than that hell is, for heaven is the place that not one of us deserves.
But there is new treasure as well as old. There is the treasure of the kingdom that has citizens and not just executions. There is the treasure that we were not all given over to hell the day that Jesus arrived. There is the treasure that the God who holds us over the flames of hell, in love has not yet let us go. Instead he holds out to us another place where our sin can be punished.
God is committed to punishing every sin. But as we are about to remember in the Lord’s supper together, Jesus was committed to taking the punishment for every sin committed by every person who would ever put their trust in him. That’s what Jesus did upon the cross.
Will we invest everything that we have in the honor of this wonderful king?
What would you hold back from the one who took your hell so that you might join his kingdom?
What would you hold back from the one who calls you to bear fruit in his kingdom – fruit that will be used so that his kingdom will continue to grow, so that more might take shelter in its branches, so that more might find eternal treasure?