1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,740 Michael's been going through the book of Matthew with us and teaching us what God 2 00:00:06,740 --> 00:00:13,340 has to say there. I'm just going to read verse 14 as well just so you have a bit 3 00:00:13,340 --> 00:00:20,040 of context I guess. So verse 14 reads, but the Pharisees went out and plotted how 4 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:28,020 they might kill Jesus and our text starts from verse 15. Aware of this, Jesus 5 00:00:28,020 --> 00:00:32,800 withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him and he healed all who were 6 00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:38,040 ill. He warned them not to tell others about him. This was to fulfill what was 7 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:43,120 spoken through the prophet Isaiah. Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one 8 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:48,000 who I love, in whom I delight. I will put my spirit on him and he will proclaim 9 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:53,360 justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out. No one will hear his 10 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:58,560 voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break and a smoldering wick he 11 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:04,520 will not snuff out. Till he has brought justice through to victory. In his name 12 00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:08,160 the nations will put their hope. 13 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:19,640 Good morning again. Well before we come before the Lord's word together why don't 14 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:25,360 we ask him for his help this morning. Would you please pray with me? Father 15 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:31,480 indeed we are so thankful to be in this country so privileged only because of 16 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:38,160 your sovereign blessing. This morning we ask Lord in agreeance with the prayer 17 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:42,480 that we heard from this pulpit this morning that we would never take for 18 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:47,920 granted what we are doing this morning. So publicly reading from a Bible in our 19 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:53,640 own language we asked this morning that as we peer into these things that your 20 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:59,480 Holy Spirit would hold Christ high among us that we would see the task of what it 21 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:04,120 is to be a disciple to be an ambassador of yours in this nation. We ask for these 22 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:13,880 things in Jesus name. Amen. Contrasts are really powerful things that usually help 23 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:20,440 us to see and understand things more clearly. For example we can see how 24 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:27,520 bright a torch is only when there's darkness. We can see how big a building 25 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:34,360 is only when we see someone standing next to it. We can really appreciate how 26 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:43,760 good a whopper really is if you've just had a Big Mac. Contrasts help us to see 27 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:50,760 and understand things more clearly. And I'm mentioning this to you this morning 28 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:57,120 because our evangelist Matthew he does this very thing for us. He contrasts the 29 00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:02,680 heart and character of our Lord Jesus Christ against the backdrop of the 30 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:09,480 legalistic hearts of the Pharisees by placing them together in this one scene 31 00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:16,040 so that we might see just how wonderful our Lord Jesus really is and worth 32 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:21,720 following with all that we are. The context in which we find ourselves this 33 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:27,120 morning is off the back of Jesus defending his disciples actions for 34 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:34,360 rubbing some grain in their hands and eating it and also for his healing 35 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:40,800 of a man. Now you might be wondering why would anyone need to defend themselves 36 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:47,440 against that? Well that's because Jesus did these things on the Sabbath and a 37 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:53,560 strict legalistic group called the Pharisees wanted to put Jesus and his 38 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:59,600 ministry away for good because he broke with their traditions around what they 39 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:06,640 defined work as on the seventh day which was strictly forbidden in the fourth 40 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:13,680 commandment. And to add insult to injury as we saw last week Jesus then told these 41 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:19,440 men that he was the right and true interpreter of the law because the 42 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:27,840 Sabbath was in fact his day as he is the Lord over it. That's where we were last 43 00:04:27,840 --> 00:04:32,760 week we looked at how Jesus defended his actions and the actions of his 44 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:40,480 disciples against the accusations of the Pharisees and as we see there in verse 45 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:48,400 14 they were so offended by Jesus's ministry the interpretation of the 46 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:54,800 Sabbath law and revelation of himself that they plotted and schemed to have 47 00:04:54,800 --> 00:05:00,760 him killed. As I said before we're gonna see somewhat of a contrast of hearts 48 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:07,760 bubble to the surface in our text this morning and we see this in the way in 49 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:14,320 which Matthew has structured this whole section. In verses 15 to 16 Matthew shows 50 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:20,720 us the character of Jesus in the way that he acts in the face of real and 51 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:28,160 intense malicious opposition and then in verses 17 to 21 Matthew will show us 52 00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:34,960 that Christ's character isn't random but a fulfillment of what God spoke long 53 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:41,200 ago through the prophet Isaiah. So two parts that I want to explore with you 54 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:47,200 this morning in our passage verses 15 to 16 we'll have a look at Christ's 55 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:53,240 character in his actions and then in verses 17 to 21 we'll have a look at 56 00:05:53,240 --> 00:06:00,560 Christ's character in prophecy and see how our Lord is contrasted with that of 57 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:05,840 the pharistitical legalists so that we might assess ourselves in light of it 58 00:06:05,840 --> 00:06:12,480 all and find hope in the gospel. And so if you have your Bibles with you this 59 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:20,160 morning have a look with me at verses 14 through to 16 I'll start with verse 14 60 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:28,520 but the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. Aware of this 61 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:34,320 Jesus withdrew from that place and a large crowd followed him and he healed 62 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:43,960 all who were ill. Right so going back to our context here the Pharisees were 63 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:50,000 completely opposed to Jesus and they were willing to do anything to bring him 64 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:57,680 down and so it begs the question why on earth did the Pharisees want to get rid 65 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:04,240 of Jesus? Well as we've seen through this series the message that Jesus was 66 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:10,360 proclaiming and the claims that he was making about himself were in stark 67 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:16,960 contrast to what the Pharisees had developed in their traditions and so to 68 00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:24,080 put it plainly Jesus exposed these guys as completely missing the point of the 69 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:30,520 law and people in mass were paying attention to Jesus not only to what 70 00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:36,280 he said but also to the amazing miracles that he was performing in their 71 00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:41,520 midst so much so that they were leaving their religious leaders and synagogues 72 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:47,840 to follow Jesus wherever he went and so the the Pharisees were becoming more 73 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:53,840 and more and more indignant with Jesus because at the end of the day they were 74 00:07:53,840 --> 00:08:02,360 losing power and prestige among the people and this is the really sad thing 75 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:10,240 that we've seen in our series so far. Instead of seeing the error of their 76 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:17,160 ways and repenting in light of all that Jesus was doing in their midst their 77 00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:23,720 pride caused them to become even more hard-hearted towards the move of God 78 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:30,240 in their midst so much so that they wanted to destroy Jesus by any means 79 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:38,840 necessary and so as we see here in verse 15 Jesus he withdraws himself from 80 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:45,680 their presence. Now I do think it needs to be said this morning that with Jesus 81 00:08:45,680 --> 00:08:52,920 leaving the context in which he found himself in well it was in no way an act 82 00:08:52,920 --> 00:09:00,200 of spinelessness. No it wasn't like Jesus was scared of these guys and then ran away 83 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:06,880 in fear of them. No he withdraw because there was great wisdom in not forcing 84 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:14,200 their hands in attacking and killing him. As Jesus knew it wasn't his time to be 85 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:21,480 delivered up just yet on behalf of his people. Judge we have to remember Jesus 86 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:26,960 started his entire earthly ministry knowing full well that he was the Lamb 87 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:33,480 of God sent into the world to die for the sin of his people but he also knew 88 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:40,800 when that was going to happen and he knew that that time wasn't yet and so 89 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:47,920 using great wisdom our Lord he tactfully withdraws himself from a situation 90 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:55,640 that he knew was going to get quickly out of hand. But I actually 91 00:09:55,640 --> 00:10:00,040 think there's a little bit more going on here that I want to explore with you as 92 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:06,320 well. You see in light of the whole counsel of scripture when the presence 93 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:12,440 of God is withdrawn from a people which Jesus claimed to be greater than the 94 00:10:12,440 --> 00:10:19,000 temple in their midst if you might remember well it's an act of judgment. 95 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:25,920 See by Jesus removing himself from the Pharisees he was essentially removing 96 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:32,760 them from hearing continually hearing the good news of the kingdom of heaven 97 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:40,320 and this is what God did with his own people in the times of the prophets. You 98 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:46,040 see there does come a time when people and nations are so hard-hearted and 99 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:52,160 offended by God's Word that God actually withdraws his presence and his 100 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:58,640 preachers from them so that nations and people might discover and learn from 101 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:07,280 experience that you should be very very careful for what you wish for and by that 102 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:16,920 act of judgment things come undone things unravel. I might also say that 103 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:24,160 Jesus he could have absolutely pulverized these guys in a public debate. 104 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:33,840 I mean here's the Word of God made flesh but as we see here he doesn't do that and 105 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:40,800 I think that goes to show us something of his humility which Matthew shows us to 106 00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:46,440 be something that is in stark contrast with that of the Pharisees who desired 107 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:53,200 praise and prestige and power from the people. In fact it's one of the things 108 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:58,600 that Jesus will challenge all of his disciples on in his ministry he tells 109 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:05,160 us not to chase after people's praise and admiration. He tells us not to stand on 110 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:10,280 the street corners making big prayers so that everybody might come and praise us 111 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:16,920 for our religious deeds. Now Jesus wisely he removes himself from this 112 00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:24,280 situation because his goal his goal here is to continue doing the ministry that 113 00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:30,240 he was sent to do and so as we see in just these first few words our Lord 114 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:36,520 removes himself from immediate danger so that he can continue to minister from 115 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:43,640 the sidelines so to speak and maybe just maybe you're in a context where you find 116 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:51,920 opposition to the ministry that our Lord has called you to do. You see we're all 117 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:57,320 commissioned each and every single disciple is commissioned by the Lord 118 00:12:57,320 --> 00:13:03,400 Jesus Christ to take the gospel into the context in which we find ourselves. 119 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:09,400 We're all commissioned to the Great Commission not just the elders and the 120 00:13:09,400 --> 00:13:14,200 deacons here at Grace Christen Church and right across this room that will 121 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:19,400 look different but each and every single one of you each and every single one of 122 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:24,520 you in the family and the French group the universities the communities and the 123 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:31,760 jobs that you find yourself in. Perhaps you've witnessed you felt the vibe of 124 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:39,000 opposition in that context just because people know that you're a Christian. 125 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:48,680 My Lord he gives us a wonderful example here. He sees danger he knows danger is 126 00:13:48,680 --> 00:13:56,960 there but he doesn't withdraw himself to do absolutely nothing at all. No he 127 00:13:56,960 --> 00:14:04,920 wisely changes method and tact so as to continue to serve our heavenly Father 128 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:14,520 faithfully. He just does it in a different way. And notice in verses 15 and 16 here 129 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:21,120 that as Jesus does this people do continue to follow him. I mean even 130 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:26,320 though he changes tactic from the synagogue to the fields we might say 131 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:32,720 the crowds they're still wanting to follow him and this is great because the 132 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:38,640 Pharisees probably thought to themselves as he goes away finally we've got rid of 133 00:14:38,640 --> 00:14:45,120 the guy. But all they've done here as Matthew tells us is that they've just 134 00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:53,840 given Jesus another opportunity in which to do his ministry another context to 135 00:14:53,840 --> 00:15:02,400 put it simply where one door had shut another had opened. So going back to us 136 00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:08,480 here this morning in 21st century Australia maybe doing a one-to-one Bible 137 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:16,120 study or a prayer meeting hasn't worked in your context but what else has God 138 00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:22,960 opened the door for you to do? What door has been opened for you when that other 139 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:31,000 one was shut? Okay one thing hasn't worked but what hasn't worked doesn't just 140 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:39,480 mean you give up. Ministry opportunity it's all around you. Maybe you could ask 141 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:48,760 God today to help see what that thing is. Jesus he wonderfully shows us his 142 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:56,080 disciples that though his course of ministry was altered it didn't stop him. 143 00:15:56,080 --> 00:16:04,160 He kept going just with a different approach and scenery. Now admittedly 144 00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:10,360 this is where things get quite interesting in the passage we have here. 145 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:16,520 You see in verse 16 though many people follow Jesus and he healed them all we 146 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:24,760 read here that he commands them not to tell anybody about him. He tells them 147 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:30,160 not to make him known. Now you might be here this morning and thinking why on 148 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:36,280 earth is that happening here? Why wouldn't Jesus want all of these people to go 149 00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:43,160 out and tell them who he is? Well I want to put a few things to you this morning. 150 00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:49,440 First Matthew he actually explains to this to us that this is a 151 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:55,800 fulfillment of something that came by the mouth of Isaiah about the Messiah 152 00:16:55,800 --> 00:17:01,520 and we'll have a think about that in just a moment. Second as we've seen in this 153 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:10,320 series so far Jesus has been very slowly revealing himself to his disciples. I 154 00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:16,720 mean even Jesus is in a circle really weren't fast in understanding who he 155 00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:22,920 was and so it seems that with the crowds that happen to be following Jesus 156 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:28,760 here well he wanted to make sure that people had the right understanding of 157 00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:35,600 who he was before they got the wrong idea and then went out and started to 158 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:41,600 spread misinformation about him. Which third as we see from the other gospel 159 00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:47,400 accounts just because you've seen Jesus just because you've heard him preach 160 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:53,680 just because you've witnessed miracles well it doesn't mean that you're a 161 00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:59,720 disciple and then authorised to go and speak on behalf of our Lord as his 162 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:07,560 ambassador. I mean one of the very first entities to recognize Jesus was an 163 00:18:07,560 --> 00:18:13,240 unclean spirit as we see in the book of Mark and so it seems that Jesus wants 164 00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:20,280 those who are submitted to his lordship who are his trained disciples to be the 165 00:18:20,280 --> 00:18:26,680 ones who are out there in the harvest sharing the good news of the kingdom and 166 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:37,240 its king. I think there's still real application of what we see here for us 167 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:44,600 now. I mean there's been such damage done in this world because people call 168 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:52,320 themselves Christians but then go and act like the world or even worse. There's 169 00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:58,280 been so much heinous things done in the name of Jesus throughout history that 170 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:06,000 has had absolutely nothing to do with Jesus at all and it's here that we see 171 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:11,400 that our Lord wants his disciples who have been transformed by the gospel 172 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:16,680 through the power of the Holy Spirit to be the ones out there witnessing in 173 00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:23,360 this world. Brothers and sisters some of the worst witnesses of Jesus have been 174 00:19:23,360 --> 00:19:29,480 those who have played lip service to our Lord who claim to know him but have in 175 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:36,520 no way submitted to him as their master. I mean some of the biggest scandals in 176 00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:40,800 the history of the church have happened because people who call themselves 177 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:47,040 Christians haven't taken the gospel, holiness or the word of God, the Bible 178 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:55,160 seriously and because of that have marred the name of our Lord. Discipleship, 179 00:19:55,160 --> 00:20:02,440 holiness, a gospel-centered life, one of picking up one's cross, following hard 180 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:08,120 after the Lord, staying on the straight and narrow, it's important in 181 00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:16,560 effective witnessing in this world. We won't do it perfectly but our obedience 182 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:22,160 is effective and Jesus wants his true disciples to be the ones who are out 183 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:27,240 there witnessing and testifying to his goodness and mercy. Not those who just 184 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:35,400 pay lip service and have absolutely no interest in his way, the truth he spoke or 185 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:42,360 his life. Church these verses that Matthew's reported to us on show us 186 00:20:42,360 --> 00:20:48,120 something of the hearts in this scene. On the one hand you have the Pharisees who 187 00:20:48,120 --> 00:20:53,520 desire to be the center of attention and because they've lost favor with the 188 00:20:53,520 --> 00:21:00,720 people they desire to tear Jesus down and have him killed and then on the other 189 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:06,240 hand you have Jesus who desires every step of the way to be obedient to the 190 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:12,680 work that his heavenly Father has entrusted to him. He trusts that as one 191 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:18,680 door has shut another has opened and though people want him dead he continues 192 00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:25,840 to minister to those in need. His heart of compassion, of sympathy, of kindness it 193 00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:33,520 bubbles to the surface here and it is contrasted with the heart of the legalist 194 00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:41,800 that values self above neighbor, that values prestige above others to the 195 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:50,840 point that they're willing to sin just to maintain their status. And so in line of 196 00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:57,360 all that we see here what does your actions reveal about your heart? Would 197 00:21:57,360 --> 00:22:02,040 you say that your actions are in line with one who is seeking first the 198 00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:07,560 kingdom of God or would your actions testify to you that you really are out 199 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:14,920 to serve your own desires and build your own empire? Well brothers and sisters I 200 00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:19,560 think all of us in this room this morning have something of our hearts 201 00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:26,600 revealed by the only one with the perfect character as revealed by his actions. 202 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:33,000 And this leads us to the next section of our passage this morning. Our Lord's 203 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:40,080 perfect character is in just shown in his actions but also in prophecy. We see 204 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:46,160 this here in verses 17 through to 21 which we heard read out for us just 205 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:52,160 before by Kayla. Matthew is drawing on one of the prophecies of Isaiah in the 206 00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:57,840 42nd chapter of his book. It's actually one of four prophecies that he's going 207 00:22:57,840 --> 00:23:05,440 to make about God's perfect servant and Matthew gets this and he says that 208 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:11,160 everything that Isaiah is saying here about this perfect servant can only be 209 00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:20,040 understood in the light and in the revelation of who Jesus Christ is. In 210 00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:27,120 verse 18 we read that our Lord was the chosen servant of God for the great work 211 00:23:27,120 --> 00:23:35,480 of redemption. We read here is my servant whom I've chosen the one I love and whom I 212 00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:42,760 delight. I'll put my spirit on him and he'll proclaim justice to the nations. 213 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:51,560 Now notice it that though God the Son is the second person of the blessed 214 00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:58,240 Trinity equal in power glory and eternity with the Father and the Spirit he 215 00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:04,840 humbled himself by taking on flesh and then the role of a servant. This is 216 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:11,160 amazing if you think about it God Almighty Himself became human and then 217 00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:19,960 dwelt among us not to be served but to serve. No more clearly do we see this 218 00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:27,880 than in the cross at Calvary and that's why our Father calls the servant here 219 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:33,760 beloved which as you might know Jesus was called throughout his ministry by God 220 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:39,480 himself. We see this twice in the book of Matthew once at the baptism of Jesus 221 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:46,200 and once at the Mount of Transfiguration. From eternity past the Father and the 222 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:53,000 Son they've had this perfect unbroken relationship. Jesus has always eternally 223 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:58,520 been the beloved and he has always been the chosen instrument by which God would 224 00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:06,720 redeem his people. Jesus is God's perfect servant that Isaiah is speaking about 225 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:14,760 here and it is with him that the Father is well pleased with his perfect service. 226 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:20,280 Now the fact that God is well pleased with Jesus tells us something again of 227 00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:28,320 the character of our Lord. Everything he did was pleasing to the Father. Every 228 00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:34,040 action, every thought, every word was in line with the perfect will of God and 229 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:40,720 this is hugely significant for every single person who is called upon the 230 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:47,320 name of the Lord and put their trust in Jesus because it is only on the basis of 231 00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:55,240 the perfect work of God's chosen servant Jesus Christ that we are accepted in the 232 00:25:55,240 --> 00:26:05,360 sight of God. Church we're accepted by God for all eternity only because God 233 00:26:05,360 --> 00:26:12,440 accepts the perfect work of his chosen servant with whom he is well pleased. 234 00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:20,560 That is the significance of Christ's service on behalf of his people. He 235 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:28,280 served perfectly so that we might be accepted eternally by God Almighty 236 00:26:28,280 --> 00:26:36,560 himself and then we read here in verses 19 to 21 he won't quarrel or cry out no 237 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:41,120 one will hear his voice in the streets a bruised reed he won't break a smoldering 238 00:26:41,120 --> 00:26:47,200 wick he won't snuff out till he's bought justice through to victory. In his name 239 00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:58,080 the nations will put their hope. Now notice it the servant will be successful 240 00:26:58,080 --> 00:27:05,320 in his mission. He won't fail he will bring justice which he'll proclaim to 241 00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:12,160 the nations as we see there in verse 20 to victory which is to say that Jesus's 242 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:16,880 mission of bringing the good news of the kingdom of heaven and the reality of 243 00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:22,880 people actually being able to enter it was never going to be something that 244 00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:30,560 would ever fail. Now God had his beloved servant planned from eternity past to be 245 00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:36,440 victorious. He would be empowered by the Holy Spirit of God and his gospel 246 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:43,000 mission would be successful. And notice it here in verse 21 the people that would 247 00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:49,600 put their trust in Jesus and enter his kingdom well it was never designed to 248 00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:55,560 just be contained to the nation of Israel. Now our Lord's kingdom was always 249 00:27:55,560 --> 00:28:01,960 designed to bring all types of people from all over the face of the planet into 250 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:08,760 his kingdom. That was always the plan from eternity past. Jesus was always 251 00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:18,120 coming to be the beloved serving saviour of the nations and he won't fail to 252 00:28:18,120 --> 00:28:26,160 bring his kingdom to manifest to bear in fullness one day. The Puritan preacher 253 00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:31,560 Thomas Watson he puts it like this Christ's name is the hope of all. His 254 00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:37,880 gentleness and mercy break down all barriers offering salvation freely to 255 00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:46,720 all who put their trust in him. Church Matthew was showing us something made by 256 00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:53,840 the prophecy of Isaiah. Something of a contrast between the Pharisees and Jesus 257 00:28:53,840 --> 00:29:00,080 who is God's perfect servant. I mean the Pharisees all throughout the ministry of 258 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:05,520 Jesus have been hell bent on destroying the ministry of Jesus. We're gonna see 259 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:11,080 next week just how far they'll go so next time we're in this passage. But what's 260 00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:15,400 been the ministry of Jesus? What have we seen from him? Well he's been going 261 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:22,440 around healing people setting people free. He's been proclaiming the good news of 262 00:29:22,440 --> 00:29:28,000 the kingdom and bringing God's justice to bear. He's been personally getting 263 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:33,360 involved in the lives of sinners and showing compassion on the fragile and 264 00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:38,760 on the weak. And that's exactly what God designed and said his servant would be. 265 00:29:38,760 --> 00:29:44,800 He wouldn't break a bruised reed or snuff out a smoldering wick as we see here. 266 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:50,680 Which is to say he would go about his ministry with great gentleness and tender 267 00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:59,120 care. Matthew wants us to see that that's exactly what Jesus is like. That's 268 00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:03,760 exactly what he's like. He didn't quarrel or shout in the streets but was 269 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:09,520 humbly obedient to the mission of his father and a friend to the outcast. Yet 270 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:15,560 the Pharisees, well they were quick to judge, they were cruel to people, they put 271 00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:22,840 their own traditions before the Word of God and followed those things. They had no 272 00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:31,320 empathy for those who were in great need. Church as we end our time in this very 273 00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:39,280 important part of Scripture Matthew points out to us that Jesus loves the 274 00:30:39,280 --> 00:30:46,280 downtrodden and will treat all those who come to him with profound compassion 275 00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:54,080 and tender care. The very people that the legalists, that the Pharisees despised 276 00:30:54,080 --> 00:31:02,640 were loved and cared for by our Lord and nothing has changed. Jesus still comforts 277 00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:09,680 the mourners. He still helps the fearful, he still cares for the outcasts, he still 278 00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:16,840 saves the humble. Jesus is the eternal Son of God and the perfect, sinless, 279 00:31:16,840 --> 00:31:27,160 beloved servant who will in no way cast out anyone, no one who comes to him. 280 00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:34,040 Church every single one of us who has put our trust in Jesus and calls on him as 281 00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:44,160 Savior and Lord is at the end of the day a disciple and a disciple is meant to 282 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:53,200 walk like the one we proclaim to follow. That's what being a Christian, a disciple 283 00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:58,880 is all about and Matthew makes this contrast in this passage for us for a 284 00:31:58,880 --> 00:32:08,400 couple of reasons. First he wants us to be like not the Pharisees in pride and 285 00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:15,360 prejudice but like Jesus to have the same heart for those who are the outcasts, 286 00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:21,360 who are the downtrodden, who are the broken. The world doesn't need a whole 287 00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:27,400 bunch of people out there picking fights and making Christianity a brutal, 288 00:32:27,400 --> 00:32:33,520 heartless, unforgiving political movement all the while saying that we follow 289 00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:39,840 Jesus and then ignoring all that he has to say about loving our neighbors. No the 290 00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:44,640 world doesn't need people who have hijacked the name of Jesus for our own 291 00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:52,840 personal pet projects. It needs to see both the gospel in action and hear the 292 00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:58,800 good news of Jesus Christ being proclaimed from those who were genuinely 293 00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:05,960 being led and transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit. We are called to have 294 00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:13,080 the same type of tender compassion as the one that we claim to follow. Our Lord 295 00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:19,800 Jesus Christ as he models for us here not the Pharisees as they model 296 00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:25,400 throughout the book of Matthew. And so second if you'll hear this morning and 297 00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:31,000 you don't know Jesus, if you don't know him then the passage that we have before 298 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:38,320 us this morning clearly holds out that Jesus wants all people to come to him. 299 00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:43,160 No matter who you are, what you've done or where you've come from and though you 300 00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:52,880 might feel weak and useless and broken and defiled, the Lord Jesus promises not 301 00:33:52,880 --> 00:34:02,520 to break you anymore. No he promises not to crumple you up and throw you out 302 00:34:02,520 --> 00:34:10,200 because he's compassionate, he's tender and full of mercy to those that will 303 00:34:10,200 --> 00:34:18,360 come to him. And more than anyone, more than anyone in this world, anything in 304 00:34:18,360 --> 00:34:24,680 this world you can trust him at his word. We're all called to commit ourselves to 305 00:34:24,680 --> 00:34:31,080 Jesus Christ, the saviour of the world. He isn't like the Pharisees who's gonna 306 00:34:31,080 --> 00:34:38,360 say one thing to you but then do another. No Jesus invites all of us, you and me 307 00:34:38,360 --> 00:34:45,800 to come and follow him whoever we are and God promises that his victory over 308 00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:52,080 this world is sure. Why don't we pray to him now before we come to his table? Would 309 00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:59,440 you please pray with me? Father God we plead with you week after week that the 310 00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:04,120 gospel would be proclaimed from this pulpit, that Jesus would be held high in 311 00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:09,240 our midst, that we would be people transformed by your word, by the work of 312 00:35:09,240 --> 00:35:15,160 the Holy Spirit, that we would be a light on a hill, that we would be the salt of 313 00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:22,000 the earth. Lord we ask that we would be disciples that are faithful to you. Lord 314 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:28,680 we desperately want to see your good news go out into the city of Armadale and 315 00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:34,160 beyond and we thank you Lord that we don't labor by ourselves, we don't labor 316 00:35:34,160 --> 00:35:39,480 in vain knowing that you're the one who has called us to do this and you want us 317 00:35:39,480 --> 00:35:45,240 to be successful even more than we do and so this morning Lord as we've heard 318 00:35:45,240 --> 00:35:50,040 your gospel we ask that we would be changed by it, that Lord you would show 319 00:35:50,040 --> 00:35:55,040 us even this week, you would show us opportunities that we might not be seeing 320 00:35:55,040 --> 00:36:00,680 where one door is shut you're opened another door for us to share good news 321 00:36:00,680 --> 00:36:08,960 with those around us. Lord we ask for this for your glory for the sake of your 322 00:36:08,960 --> 00:36:28,880 bride and in Jesus' name. Amen.