WEBVTT 00:00:00.780 --> 00:00:04.940 Beginning at verse 14, bear with my voice this 00:00:04.940 --> 00:00:06.620 morning, I'm not feeling the greatest, a little 00:00:06.620 --> 00:00:09.460 under the weather, but trust that the Lord will 00:00:09.460 --> 00:00:22.120 help me. We'll be looking at verses 14 through 00:00:22.120 --> 00:00:28.809 22. Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, 00:00:28.949 --> 00:00:31.609 he saw his wife, that is Peter's mother -in -law, 00:00:31.769 --> 00:00:37.189 lying sick with a fever. So he touched her hand, 00:00:37.329 --> 00:00:40.310 and the fever left her. And she arose and served 00:00:40.310 --> 00:00:42.890 them. And when evening had come, they brought 00:00:42.890 --> 00:00:45.789 to him many who were demon -possessed. And he 00:00:45.789 --> 00:00:48.189 cast out the spirits with a word and healed all 00:00:48.189 --> 00:00:50.929 who were sick, so that it might be fulfilled 00:00:50.929 --> 00:00:53.109 which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, 00:00:53.369 --> 00:00:57.189 He himself... took our infirmities and bore our 00:00:57.189 --> 00:01:01.109 sicknesses. And when Jesus saw great multitudes 00:01:01.109 --> 00:01:04.310 about him, he gave a command to depart to the 00:01:04.310 --> 00:01:05.950 other side. That's the other side of the Sea 00:01:05.950 --> 00:01:09.989 of Galilee. Then a certain scribe came and said 00:01:09.989 --> 00:01:12.590 to him, Teacher, I will follow you wherever you 00:01:12.590 --> 00:01:17.129 go. And Jesus said to him, Foxes have holes and 00:01:17.129 --> 00:01:20.469 birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man 00:01:20.469 --> 00:01:24.290 has nowhere to lay his head. Then another of 00:01:24.290 --> 00:01:26.870 his disciples said to him, Lord, let me first 00:01:26.870 --> 00:01:30.890 go and bury my father. But Jesus said to him, 00:01:31.010 --> 00:01:35.849 follow me and let the dead bury their own dead. 00:01:36.310 --> 00:01:39.609 Let's pray. Father, would you give grace this 00:01:39.609 --> 00:01:42.590 morning, Lord, to see the all -surpassing worth 00:01:42.590 --> 00:01:47.569 of Jesus Christ, your son. Lord, he is a true 00:01:47.569 --> 00:01:50.530 treasure. Open our eyes to see that, we pray 00:01:50.530 --> 00:01:54.299 in Christ's name. Amen. As we're studying Matthew, 00:01:54.400 --> 00:01:56.260 I said this before, but it bears repeating, that 00:01:56.260 --> 00:01:59.900 Matthew is the gospel of all four that is primarily 00:01:59.900 --> 00:02:02.420 written for a Jewish audience. And there are 00:02:02.420 --> 00:02:04.340 several reasons why I would say that. First of 00:02:04.340 --> 00:02:08.159 all, you find Matthew often quoting prophecies 00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:10.280 from the Hebrew Scriptures, which is the Old 00:02:10.280 --> 00:02:12.919 Testament. Those would have been familiar to 00:02:12.919 --> 00:02:16.120 a Jewish audience and not to a Gentile audience. 00:02:16.900 --> 00:02:19.120 Secondly, you also find him, he'll use terms 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:21.680 and customs that the Jews would have been very 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:23.939 familiar with, but he never bothers to explain 00:02:23.939 --> 00:02:26.780 them. He just assumes that those who are reading 00:02:26.780 --> 00:02:29.699 this gospel would understand them. There's also 00:02:29.699 --> 00:02:33.419 a very strong emphasis on how Jesus relates to 00:02:33.419 --> 00:02:36.900 the Torah. Again, that's the Jewish law. And 00:02:36.900 --> 00:02:40.620 finally, Matthew opened his gospel with the genealogy 00:02:40.620 --> 00:02:44.590 of Jesus, not going back to Adam. but going back 00:02:44.590 --> 00:02:48.110 to David and then further back to Abraham. Both 00:02:48.110 --> 00:02:50.629 of those men are Jewish patriarchs. And Matthew 00:02:50.629 --> 00:02:53.110 did that because he's seeking to show that Jesus 00:02:53.110 --> 00:02:56.590 is the fulfillment of the promises or the covenants 00:02:56.590 --> 00:03:00.030 that were given to both of those men. So Matthew 00:03:00.030 --> 00:03:02.409 is written with a very specific intention of 00:03:02.409 --> 00:03:06.310 showing any Jewish readers that Jesus of Nazareth 00:03:06.310 --> 00:03:11.069 is the Messiah sent from God. Now, if you read 00:03:11.069 --> 00:03:12.930 Matthew, I think it's interesting how he structures 00:03:12.930 --> 00:03:16.370 his gospel. He did not write a theological essay 00:03:16.370 --> 00:03:19.770 explaining that Jesus is Messiah. He doesn't 00:03:19.770 --> 00:03:23.229 go back and go word for word in a prophecy. Instead, 00:03:23.349 --> 00:03:26.469 he chooses to tell a story. He starts with his 00:03:26.469 --> 00:03:28.250 birth, and he's going to go through his death. 00:03:28.530 --> 00:03:31.210 So this gospel is actually painting a picture 00:03:31.210 --> 00:03:35.110 of who Jesus is, rather than simply telling us 00:03:35.110 --> 00:03:38.919 who he is. He's letting you be... kind of key 00:03:38.919 --> 00:03:41.020 in on certain elements. He's letting you be clued 00:03:41.020 --> 00:03:43.439 in, but he's not always explicit. He doesn't 00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:45.979 start out his gospel saying, Jesus of Nazareth, 00:03:46.039 --> 00:03:48.819 the Messiah, sent from God. Well, how's he going 00:03:48.819 --> 00:03:52.099 to do this? Well, he's highlighting various scenes 00:03:52.099 --> 00:03:54.599 from Jesus' life and ministry, and these were 00:03:54.599 --> 00:03:58.680 chosen specifically to prove, to authenticate, 00:03:58.879 --> 00:04:01.740 that yes, Jesus is the Messiah you've been looking 00:04:01.740 --> 00:04:04.819 for. So these events, some of them include Jesus 00:04:04.819 --> 00:04:08.759 healing the sick. Others will be Jesus casting 00:04:08.759 --> 00:04:12.099 out demons. You will find Jesus doing miraculous 00:04:12.099 --> 00:04:15.280 events like even raising the dead. And all those 00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:18.300 are pointing to the liberation that Jesus came 00:04:18.300 --> 00:04:21.839 to set his people free from their bondage. Now 00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:23.399 in our passage today, we're going to see a couple 00:04:23.399 --> 00:04:26.420 things. We'll see Jesus has the authority and 00:04:26.420 --> 00:04:28.860 power to heal. He has the authority to cast out 00:04:28.860 --> 00:04:32.360 demons. But he will end this section with a radical 00:04:32.360 --> 00:04:36.040 call to discipleship. But before we ever look 00:04:36.040 --> 00:04:37.899 at his call to discipleship, I want you to notice 00:04:37.899 --> 00:04:41.060 his compassion. He goes to the Apostle Peter's 00:04:41.060 --> 00:04:43.980 mother -in -law and he heals her. You see that 00:04:43.980 --> 00:04:47.220 in verses 14 and 15, which we just read. Now, 00:04:47.240 --> 00:04:50.160 Matthew simply writes when Jesus had come into 00:04:50.160 --> 00:04:54.199 Peter's house. But Matthew is not writing a chronological 00:04:54.199 --> 00:04:57.439 story of Jesus' life. You'd be wrong if that's 00:04:57.439 --> 00:04:59.920 what you're expecting. Instead, Matthew is taking 00:04:59.920 --> 00:05:01.779 certain events and he's stacking them together. 00:05:01.980 --> 00:05:04.829 It's a highlight reel, if you will. But when 00:05:04.829 --> 00:05:07.709 we go over to Mark's gospel, and we can see the 00:05:07.709 --> 00:05:10.089 synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, they're 00:05:10.089 --> 00:05:12.529 seen together. We get a little bit more information. 00:05:12.790 --> 00:05:15.790 We see that Jesus and Peter were actually coming 00:05:15.790 --> 00:05:18.230 back from the synagogue when they came into Peter's 00:05:18.230 --> 00:05:21.089 house. So if they were returning from the synagogue, 00:05:21.209 --> 00:05:23.829 that means this is the Sabbath. And they would 00:05:23.829 --> 00:05:26.350 have been returning that home to Peter's house 00:05:26.350 --> 00:05:28.310 because they would have been awaiting a festive 00:05:28.310 --> 00:05:50.580 Sabbath dinner. We read about it in Mark. Notice 00:05:50.580 --> 00:05:53.720 that last phrase, at once. Now we're not told 00:05:53.720 --> 00:05:56.660 the nature of her sickness. We are never told 00:05:56.660 --> 00:05:59.660 if it's serious or not. We're not given a time 00:05:59.660 --> 00:06:02.740 frame, how long she may have had the fever. But 00:06:02.740 --> 00:06:05.139 I'm looking at this at Mark, and I'm saying they 00:06:05.139 --> 00:06:07.620 must have been concerned for her because they 00:06:07.620 --> 00:06:11.759 specifically told Jesus about her at once. Mark 00:06:11.759 --> 00:06:14.000 seems to make, and I would not be dogmatic here, 00:06:14.139 --> 00:06:16.199 but he seems to make the situation a little more 00:06:16.199 --> 00:06:18.420 serious, a little more urgent than Matthew does, 00:06:18.620 --> 00:06:21.040 because as soon as Jesus gets into the house, 00:06:21.180 --> 00:06:24.339 they took him to see this sick woman, who happened 00:06:24.339 --> 00:06:27.360 to be the Apostle Peter's mother -in -law. Had 00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:29.939 she suddenly fallen ill? Maybe when they were 00:06:29.939 --> 00:06:33.120 at the synagogue? Was she getting worse? We're 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:36.360 not told. But since this was a Sabbath and a 00:06:36.360 --> 00:06:38.720 Sabbath meal was being prepared, no doubt there 00:06:38.720 --> 00:06:40.439 would have been other women in the house getting 00:06:40.439 --> 00:06:42.660 everything ready, much like might happen here 00:06:42.660 --> 00:06:45.500 on a Sunday afternoon. You know, families get 00:06:45.500 --> 00:06:48.860 together for Sunday meals. But it appears as 00:06:48.860 --> 00:06:51.779 though the work probably stopped because of how 00:06:51.779 --> 00:06:55.290 ill she was. So Jesus leaves the synagogue. He 00:06:55.290 --> 00:06:58.790 gets to Peter's house. And it says immediately 00:06:58.790 --> 00:07:03.769 they took him to see her at once. And there we 00:07:03.769 --> 00:07:07.509 read that Jesus showed great compassion. He touches 00:07:07.509 --> 00:07:11.089 her. Here's a very sick woman with a fever. And 00:07:11.089 --> 00:07:14.769 he touches her hand. And she is instantaneously 00:07:14.769 --> 00:07:18.569 healed. The fever left her the very moment he 00:07:18.569 --> 00:07:22.980 touched her. Matthew. is highlighting that Jesus 00:07:22.980 --> 00:07:27.379 of Nazareth has the authority to heal the sick. 00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:30.259 Now why is he doing that? Who's he writing to? 00:07:31.199 --> 00:07:34.339 Primarily Jewish audience. The Hebrew scripture 00:07:34.339 --> 00:07:36.660 said that when the Messiah would come, he would 00:07:36.660 --> 00:07:40.379 come with healing. So he has, in chapter 8, he 00:07:40.379 --> 00:07:42.279 healed the leprous man, we looked at last week. 00:07:42.600 --> 00:07:45.259 He healed the centurion's servant, we saw last 00:07:45.259 --> 00:07:48.939 week. Now he's healing Peter's sick mother -in 00:07:48.939 --> 00:07:52.220 -law. this is coming together to show that, yes, 00:07:52.300 --> 00:07:54.720 the one you've been waiting for, it is him. He's 00:07:54.720 --> 00:07:58.800 among us. In Isaiah 35, we read this. Behold, 00:07:58.839 --> 00:08:01.879 your God will come with vengeance. With the recompense 00:08:01.879 --> 00:08:04.259 of God, he will come and save you. Now notice 00:08:04.259 --> 00:08:08.399 the words. Then, so when God has come, the eyes 00:08:08.399 --> 00:08:10.560 of the blind will be opened. You'll see Jesus 00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:13.600 do that. The ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 00:08:13.939 --> 00:08:16.879 You'll read about that. The lame shall leap like 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:19.910 a deer. We will see that. and the tongue of the 00:08:19.910 --> 00:08:22.709 dumb shall sing. All of these things we will 00:08:22.709 --> 00:08:25.970 see Jesus do. But Malachi, the very last prophet 00:08:25.970 --> 00:08:28.649 in the Old Testament canon, he writes, but to 00:08:28.649 --> 00:08:31.689 you who fear my name, the son of righteousness 00:08:31.689 --> 00:08:36.370 shall arise with healing in his wings. And here 00:08:36.370 --> 00:08:39.129 we have Matthew. Matthew knows these prophecies. 00:08:39.470 --> 00:08:41.490 His Jewish readers would have been aware of them. 00:08:42.480 --> 00:08:44.740 And he's highlighting, he's showing, he's proving, 00:08:44.860 --> 00:08:47.279 he's demonstrating, authenticating that Jesus 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:52.320 is the Messiah and it's proven by his ability 00:08:52.320 --> 00:08:55.580 to perform these acts of healing. In fact, Peter's 00:08:55.580 --> 00:08:58.000 mother -in -law was so thoroughly healed that 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:02.159 she immediately got up, made whole, and what 00:09:02.159 --> 00:09:05.440 did she do? She began to serve them. That's what 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:08.659 the text says. She served them. Isn't that the 00:09:08.659 --> 00:09:12.570 proper response? The Lord had healed her. I don't 00:09:12.570 --> 00:09:14.110 care if it wasn't serious. Even if you just had 00:09:14.110 --> 00:09:16.509 the flu and you get instantaneously healed from 00:09:16.509 --> 00:09:19.090 the flu, man, you're happy. You have this fever. 00:09:19.110 --> 00:09:20.970 You know how a fever, a high fever feels awful. 00:09:21.490 --> 00:09:23.570 It's one moment she feels like she's at death's 00:09:23.570 --> 00:09:26.149 door. Next moment she's made whole. So she wanted 00:09:26.149 --> 00:09:27.789 to show her gratitude. What'd she do? She gets 00:09:27.789 --> 00:09:32.370 up and she starts serving. Gratitude is the natural, 00:09:32.470 --> 00:09:35.309 it is also the appropriate response to receiving 00:09:35.309 --> 00:09:38.870 an undeserved gift of grace. She was thankful 00:09:38.870 --> 00:09:41.539 for the Lord's mercy. She was thankful for his 00:09:41.539 --> 00:09:43.720 compassion. And friends, it was mercy because 00:09:43.720 --> 00:09:48.059 she knew the Lord did not have to do this. He 00:09:48.059 --> 00:09:51.519 was not compelled. He was not forced to heal 00:09:51.519 --> 00:09:55.779 her. But he chose to do so. And that filled her 00:09:55.779 --> 00:09:59.779 with this renewed desire to serve. Now she was 00:09:59.779 --> 00:10:03.299 healed physically. And she got up and she wanted 00:10:03.299 --> 00:10:07.240 to serve him. And you and I, who have also experienced 00:10:07.240 --> 00:10:09.980 a greater healing, We have been healed from our 00:10:09.980 --> 00:10:12.519 sickness of sin. And friends, I would suggest 00:10:12.519 --> 00:10:14.200 to you that our response ought to be the same 00:10:14.200 --> 00:10:16.200 as this dear woman. It ought to be gratitude 00:10:16.200 --> 00:10:20.860 that leads to service. Gratitude and service 00:10:20.860 --> 00:10:27.220 are the proper response to grace. You find so 00:10:27.220 --> 00:10:30.460 many who will name the name of Christ, but they're 00:10:30.460 --> 00:10:34.179 not grateful. They don't serve him. They're content 00:10:34.179 --> 00:10:36.320 to live their lives with Jesus on the periphery 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:38.200 if he's even there at all. There's no desire 00:10:38.200 --> 00:10:40.019 to serve him. And I would suggest to you that 00:10:40.019 --> 00:10:42.360 one who's not grateful and has no desire to serve 00:10:42.360 --> 00:10:45.340 does not understand grace. He doesn't get it. 00:10:45.639 --> 00:10:49.779 Because joyful response, joyful service to Christ 00:10:49.779 --> 00:10:52.799 is what responds, is the only proper response 00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:55.639 to grace. In fact, the psalmist in Psalm 100 00:10:55.639 --> 00:10:59.440 says, serve the Lord. And then there's a caveat 00:10:59.440 --> 00:11:02.590 here. With gladness. Serve the Lord with gladness. 00:11:02.669 --> 00:11:04.509 So what the psalmist is saying, hey friends, 00:11:04.610 --> 00:11:07.029 don't just serve God out of duty. Don't wake 00:11:07.029 --> 00:11:10.350 up Sunday and say, oh, I guess I better go. Serve 00:11:10.350 --> 00:11:12.629 him out of heart gladness because you recall 00:11:12.629 --> 00:11:15.889 all his benefits. You recall what he has done 00:11:15.889 --> 00:11:18.570 for you. We serve him with gladness. We ought 00:11:18.570 --> 00:11:22.049 to give with gladness. What does Paul say? God 00:11:22.049 --> 00:11:27.019 loves a cheerful giver. Those, we, the people 00:11:27.019 --> 00:11:29.519 of God, if your life is invaded by God's grace, 00:11:29.700 --> 00:11:32.379 then you ought to, and I don't understand if 00:11:32.379 --> 00:11:34.360 you don't, there ought to be a desire to gladly 00:11:34.360 --> 00:11:37.299 follow him. You should want to follow Christ 00:11:37.299 --> 00:11:40.240 and obey him. Not perfectly, but that's our goal. 00:11:40.659 --> 00:11:43.220 Serve him. Peter's mother -in -law, she did. 00:11:43.299 --> 00:11:45.899 She got up. She had been healed of this sickness 00:11:45.899 --> 00:11:47.559 that had caused her so much grief, I'm sure. 00:11:47.799 --> 00:11:50.779 And you and I have been healed. We've been healed 00:11:50.779 --> 00:11:54.759 of our sin. And so what Jesus is doing here, 00:11:54.820 --> 00:11:58.220 it's a foreshadowing showing that the kingdom 00:11:58.220 --> 00:12:01.759 of God was in breaking into the world. Think 00:12:01.759 --> 00:12:04.799 about Adam's sin, right? It brought disease, 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:09.639 despair, demon oppression, brokenness, corruption, 00:12:09.980 --> 00:12:12.399 even death. All of those came as a result of 00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:14.259 one man's sin. We read about that in Romans 5. 00:12:15.600 --> 00:12:20.179 John tells us that Jesus came, and he says, to 00:12:20.179 --> 00:12:23.960 destroy the works of the devil. What does John 00:12:23.960 --> 00:12:28.039 mean there? All that our sin brought, Christ 00:12:28.039 --> 00:12:31.960 came to eradicate. He's going to be the new Adam. 00:12:32.120 --> 00:12:34.740 Instead of introducing the fall, he's going to 00:12:34.740 --> 00:12:38.320 reverse the effects of the fall. So we have corruption 00:12:38.320 --> 00:12:40.919 right now in this age. There's corruption. There's 00:12:40.919 --> 00:12:43.679 disease. There's brokenness. And of course we 00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:47.340 know there's death. And one day, it will be no 00:12:47.340 --> 00:12:50.710 more. Well, how do you know? We start to get 00:12:50.710 --> 00:12:52.549 a glimpse here. Look at the miracles Jesus did. 00:12:52.649 --> 00:12:55.110 They were not done superfluously. They're done 00:12:55.110 --> 00:12:58.429 with a purpose. He's showing what life in his 00:12:58.429 --> 00:13:00.190 kingdom is going to look like when it arrives 00:13:00.190 --> 00:13:02.870 in its fullness. That means there will be a day 00:13:02.870 --> 00:13:06.289 when sickness will be behind us. No more oppression. 00:13:07.269 --> 00:13:10.850 No more broken relationships, broken governments. 00:13:11.889 --> 00:13:15.250 No more death. And that night that Jesus healed 00:13:15.250 --> 00:13:16.909 Peter's mother -in -law, he was really just getting 00:13:16.909 --> 00:13:18.950 started because at the evening, which is when 00:13:18.950 --> 00:13:21.269 Sabbath would have ended, right? Guess what the 00:13:21.269 --> 00:13:24.309 people do? Crowds of people start gathering and 00:13:24.309 --> 00:13:26.870 they're looking for him again. Why? Because what 00:13:26.870 --> 00:13:29.690 he did earlier. They know what he has the ability 00:13:29.690 --> 00:13:31.950 to do. So what they do, they get anyone they 00:13:31.950 --> 00:13:34.070 knew who was sick and they're like, come on, 00:13:34.090 --> 00:13:36.070 let's go find Jesus. And then there were many 00:13:36.070 --> 00:13:38.049 in that day who were possessed by an evil spirit. 00:13:38.190 --> 00:13:39.830 They're like, come on, let's go find Jesus. And 00:13:39.830 --> 00:13:43.159 you read about that in verse 16 to 17. When evening 00:13:43.159 --> 00:13:45.279 had come, they brought to him many who were demon 00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:47.720 -possessed. And he cast out the spirits with 00:13:47.720 --> 00:13:52.440 a word. And he healed all who were sick. The 00:13:52.440 --> 00:13:53.879 people were desperate. And by the way, that's 00:13:53.879 --> 00:13:56.399 the proper response as well. You're desperate. 00:13:56.580 --> 00:13:58.740 And they saw Jesus as the one who could help 00:13:58.740 --> 00:14:02.580 them. Amen. So what did they do? Hey, demon possession. 00:14:02.799 --> 00:14:05.259 Let's go. Let's get him out. And when they brought 00:14:05.259 --> 00:14:07.679 those guys who were possessed by the evil spirits, 00:14:07.940 --> 00:14:13.519 Jesus cast them out with just a word. His word 00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:16.500 had authority. So much authority that not even 00:14:16.500 --> 00:14:19.620 evil spirits could resist him. They had to submit. 00:14:19.700 --> 00:14:22.600 They were forced to submit to him. But there 00:14:22.600 --> 00:14:24.980 were many of them who were sick. So many who 00:14:24.980 --> 00:14:28.220 were sick. And notice what Matthew says in verse 00:14:28.220 --> 00:14:32.559 16. He healed all who were sick. Now, he doesn't 00:14:32.559 --> 00:14:35.919 always do that. But he healed them all. Now, 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:37.259 we know in the case of Peter's mother -in -law, 00:14:37.340 --> 00:14:40.039 what did he do? He touched her. Many times Jesus 00:14:40.039 --> 00:14:42.340 touched the one who was ill. He cast out demons 00:14:42.340 --> 00:14:45.059 with the word and he touches the ill. He doesn't 00:14:45.059 --> 00:14:47.620 have to touch them. Why? What's his touch showing? 00:14:48.879 --> 00:14:51.139 No one wants to be around a sick person. Everyone's 00:14:51.139 --> 00:14:53.379 afraid of him, but not Jesus. He touched the 00:14:53.379 --> 00:14:57.759 leper. So his touch is showing compassion. He's 00:14:57.759 --> 00:14:59.759 not afraid. He's showing compassion, but his 00:14:59.759 --> 00:15:03.860 word shows authority. Everything that Jesus is 00:15:03.860 --> 00:15:06.200 doing and Matthew is highlighting is pointing 00:15:06.200 --> 00:15:08.639 to a greater truth. They're revealing something. 00:15:08.820 --> 00:15:10.799 Matthew is wanting you and I to be clued into 00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:14.039 something. Jesus is the Messiah. He is the one 00:15:14.039 --> 00:15:17.919 sent from God to set us free. But he also says, 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:20.720 hey, all that you're seeing, it's a fulfillment 00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:24.159 of a prophecy. And the prophecy said this, he 00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:28.220 himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses. 00:15:29.139 --> 00:15:33.159 Matthew is quoting Isaiah 53, verse 4, and he 00:15:33.159 --> 00:15:36.220 applied it to Jesus. Now, I know most of you 00:15:36.220 --> 00:15:39.139 know this, but it bears again repeating. Isaiah 00:15:39.139 --> 00:15:42.440 53 is one of the four servant songs found in 00:15:42.440 --> 00:15:45.500 Isaiah. You're like, big deal. No, it is a big 00:15:45.500 --> 00:15:48.980 deal. All four of those servant songs are written 00:15:48.980 --> 00:15:53.740 about God's servant, the Messiah. Matthew takes 00:15:53.740 --> 00:15:58.679 Isaiah 53, and he applies it to Jesus. To show, 00:15:58.899 --> 00:16:00.919 again, Jewish readers, they would have caught 00:16:00.919 --> 00:16:04.299 this. This is the one you're looking for. This 00:16:04.299 --> 00:16:06.500 is the Messiah. If you look at Isaiah 53, it 00:16:06.500 --> 00:16:08.419 is without a doubt the most explicit passage 00:16:08.419 --> 00:16:11.639 found in the Old Testament detailing the suffering 00:16:11.639 --> 00:16:15.000 and death of Christ for his people. Go back and 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:17.700 read it. It's fascinating. So fascinating, rabbis 00:16:17.700 --> 00:16:19.200 don't even know what to do with it. Many Jewish 00:16:19.200 --> 00:16:21.440 scholars will just skip over it. Those who don't, 00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:22.940 I even looked it up again this week to check 00:16:22.940 --> 00:16:27.429 myself. rabbis will say that Isaiah 53 refers 00:16:27.429 --> 00:16:30.990 to Israel as a nation. The problem with that, 00:16:31.049 --> 00:16:32.830 it can't. Because you can go down, and I think 00:16:32.830 --> 00:16:34.809 it's around verse 8, and this is a side note 00:16:34.809 --> 00:16:37.809 here, and he says, for my people he suffered. 00:16:37.889 --> 00:16:41.429 For my people. So it can't be talking about Israel, 00:16:41.509 --> 00:16:43.769 because Israel's suffering was laid upon this 00:16:43.769 --> 00:16:47.889 servant. So we see that God the Father, he takes 00:16:47.889 --> 00:16:52.090 the sin of his people, he lays them on this servant, 00:16:52.230 --> 00:16:55.820 who would serve as the Messiah, And this Messiah 00:16:55.820 --> 00:16:58.639 figure, this servant Isaiah 53, would give his 00:16:58.639 --> 00:17:03.039 life as a sacrificial lamb. God's servant dies 00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:05.740 in place of God's people. The servant dies as 00:17:05.740 --> 00:17:09.200 a substitute. Now Matthew's making a point here. 00:17:09.380 --> 00:17:11.759 When we talk about Jesus' death on the cross, 00:17:11.900 --> 00:17:15.200 we almost tend to focus exclusively on the redemption 00:17:15.200 --> 00:17:18.059 from sin and the rescue from God's wrath. And 00:17:18.059 --> 00:17:21.220 by the way, we ought to. That's good. But the 00:17:21.220 --> 00:17:24.660 Lord did not only die to save us from God's wrath. 00:17:25.559 --> 00:17:29.539 He also came to deliver us from all the consequences 00:17:29.539 --> 00:17:33.660 of sin. Now the ultimate consequence of sin is 00:17:33.660 --> 00:17:36.019 being judged by God and cast away from him forever, 00:17:36.220 --> 00:17:40.680 but that's not the only consequence, right? So 00:17:40.680 --> 00:17:43.339 in this fallen world right now, in this veil 00:17:43.339 --> 00:17:47.240 of tears we could call it, there is brokenness. 00:17:48.539 --> 00:17:51.619 Did Jesus die for brokenness? He did. You're 00:17:51.619 --> 00:17:52.819 going to see in the coming kingdom it will not 00:17:52.819 --> 00:17:56.720 be broken. Sickness. Did Jesus die for sickness? 00:17:57.299 --> 00:17:59.480 Yeah. And his healing is showing in the kingdom 00:17:59.480 --> 00:18:03.240 there will be no sickness. Corruption. His kingdom 00:18:03.240 --> 00:18:06.200 is one of peace and righteousness. Death. His 00:18:06.200 --> 00:18:08.759 one is where there's only resurrection. All the 00:18:08.759 --> 00:18:10.960 consequences that were flowed from our rebellion 00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:15.569 against God, Jesus took upon himself. Isaiah 00:18:15.569 --> 00:18:19.250 53, Matthew says here, our infirmities and sicknesses. 00:18:19.349 --> 00:18:22.690 Now, our infirmities and sicknesses are related 00:18:22.690 --> 00:18:26.089 to sin. Listen carefully. Because sin is at the 00:18:26.089 --> 00:18:29.210 root. But you and I must be very careful that 00:18:29.210 --> 00:18:31.930 we do not equate someone's particular sin or 00:18:31.930 --> 00:18:36.170 particular sickness with a particular sin. In 00:18:36.170 --> 00:18:38.349 other words, we must not say, oh, I know why 00:18:38.349 --> 00:18:40.809 they are ill. They are ill because they did X, 00:18:40.829 --> 00:18:45.359 Y, Z. Job's friends. mistakenly thought that 00:18:45.359 --> 00:18:47.619 Job's suffering must have come because of some 00:18:47.619 --> 00:18:51.279 secret sin hidden to Job. They were dead wrong. 00:18:52.019 --> 00:18:57.019 But we can say, ultimately, all sickness is related 00:18:57.019 --> 00:19:00.019 to sin. Because had sin not entered the world, 00:19:00.140 --> 00:19:02.140 there never would have been sickness or suffering 00:19:02.140 --> 00:19:05.519 of any kind. So what can we say? Yeah, there's 00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:08.119 sickness because of our sin. Did Jesus come to 00:19:08.119 --> 00:19:10.119 die for that? He did. Now how do you know that? 00:19:10.240 --> 00:19:13.420 Well, Matthew tells us explicitly that. He dies 00:19:13.420 --> 00:19:16.279 for our brokenness. He dies for all the consequences 00:19:16.279 --> 00:19:17.759 because they're not going to be in the coming 00:19:17.759 --> 00:19:22.339 kingdom. So that means he also died to heal all 00:19:22.339 --> 00:19:26.940 that sin caused. R .C. Sproul wrote this. And 00:19:26.940 --> 00:19:28.680 some of you, throw stones at him if you want 00:19:28.680 --> 00:19:31.869 instead of me. Not only was our sin laid on Jesus, 00:19:31.970 --> 00:19:35.690 so were all of our illnesses. God put cancer 00:19:35.690 --> 00:19:39.130 on him. He put heart disease on him. He put diabetes 00:19:39.130 --> 00:19:42.369 on him. He put leprosy on him. He put every disease 00:19:42.369 --> 00:19:45.130 that has been painful to the human race on Jesus. 00:19:46.589 --> 00:19:48.670 And he quotes, he has borne our griefs and carried 00:19:48.670 --> 00:19:51.430 our sorrows. Matthew uses the term sicknesses. 00:19:52.250 --> 00:19:55.130 It was not just our sin that was removed, but 00:19:55.130 --> 00:19:58.670 all the consequences of our sin. Now you're saying, 00:19:58.730 --> 00:20:01.990 okay, pastor, if that is true, then why do we 00:20:01.990 --> 00:20:05.349 still get sick? It's the same reason you still 00:20:05.349 --> 00:20:08.609 sin. He died for your sin. He took it away. And 00:20:08.609 --> 00:20:10.910 yet you still commit sin, right? Christ finished 00:20:10.910 --> 00:20:13.910 his work. There at the cross, he cried out, it 00:20:13.910 --> 00:20:17.269 is finished. But God's work of redemption is 00:20:17.269 --> 00:20:21.910 not yet complete. And when it is completed, there 00:20:21.910 --> 00:20:24.490 won't be any sickness. There won't be any sin. 00:20:24.609 --> 00:20:26.589 There won't be any corruption. There won't be 00:20:26.589 --> 00:20:29.569 any death. On that day, every consequence that 00:20:29.569 --> 00:20:32.210 had flowed from sin will forever be a distant 00:20:32.210 --> 00:20:35.829 memory. So what am I saying? In the coming kingdom, 00:20:35.930 --> 00:20:37.390 that you're getting a preview right now in his 00:20:37.390 --> 00:20:40.829 miracles. In the coming of kingdom of God, brokenness 00:20:40.829 --> 00:20:44.410 is gone. Grief is gone. Why? Because all those 00:20:44.410 --> 00:20:48.069 are foreshadowing of what is to come. The apostle 00:20:48.069 --> 00:20:50.089 John got a vision of it and he wrote it down. 00:20:50.210 --> 00:20:52.069 And this is to help you and me in this journey. 00:20:52.619 --> 00:20:55.720 Because we grow weary. Life is hard. And we do 00:20:55.720 --> 00:20:57.940 suffer brokenness. We do see corruption. The 00:20:57.940 --> 00:21:00.559 righteous suffer and the unjust seem to prosper. 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:05.720 It's not fair, we say. Yeah, the writers aren't 00:21:05.720 --> 00:21:08.660 ignorant of that. This is not Pollyanna world 00:21:08.660 --> 00:21:13.079 where everything is ice cream and rainbows. But 00:21:13.079 --> 00:21:16.160 there's coming a day when it's all going to be 00:21:16.160 --> 00:21:18.039 gone. And if you believe that, that's going to 00:21:18.039 --> 00:21:19.940 give you the motivation to persevere in this. 00:21:21.390 --> 00:21:25.789 Revelation 21, John wrote. He said, now I saw, 00:21:26.069 --> 00:21:28.650 I saw it, I saw it with my own eyes, a new heaven, 00:21:28.690 --> 00:21:30.470 a new earth. For the first one, the one you and 00:21:30.470 --> 00:21:33.329 I currently live in, has passed away, and there's 00:21:33.329 --> 00:21:36.170 no more sea. I don't have time to tell you why. 00:21:36.789 --> 00:21:38.890 Sea usually was a metaphor for all the evil that 00:21:38.890 --> 00:21:41.529 would come out of it. Then I, John, saw the holy 00:21:41.529 --> 00:21:45.309 city, new Jerusalem, coming down of heaven from 00:21:45.309 --> 00:21:48.509 God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 00:21:49.269 --> 00:21:51.069 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, 00:21:51.230 --> 00:21:55.650 behold, and I look forward to this day, the tabernacle, 00:21:55.670 --> 00:22:00.250 the dwelling of God, it's with men. And he will 00:22:00.250 --> 00:22:03.069 dwell with them. Amen. And they shall be his 00:22:03.069 --> 00:22:06.029 people. Amen. That's the greatest hope we have 00:22:06.029 --> 00:22:08.910 right there. And God himself will be with them. 00:22:08.970 --> 00:22:10.710 He'll be there. God, can you imagine? We're going 00:22:10.710 --> 00:22:13.390 to live with God in unhindered fellowship. And 00:22:13.390 --> 00:22:16.069 God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. 00:22:16.279 --> 00:22:19.000 There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor 00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:20.759 crying. And you're starting to see this in Jesus' 00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:24.019 miracles. There shall be no more pain. Why? Why 00:22:24.019 --> 00:22:27.200 no more pain? For the former things have passed 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:30.380 away. As I said, in this age, it is known as 00:22:30.380 --> 00:22:32.619 the veil of tears. We still live here. But in 00:22:32.619 --> 00:22:35.720 the age to come, God will forever wipe away tears. 00:22:36.079 --> 00:22:38.480 I think about my own kids. When they get hurt, 00:22:38.720 --> 00:22:40.880 you know, they fall off their bike or they do 00:22:40.880 --> 00:22:42.920 something crazy, they will either run to Sandy 00:22:42.920 --> 00:22:46.329 or me for comfort. And many times, she or I, 00:22:46.390 --> 00:22:48.250 we will just take our hands and gently wipe away 00:22:48.250 --> 00:22:52.049 their tears. But the truth is, they're going 00:22:52.049 --> 00:22:54.349 to get hurt again. And they're going to shed 00:22:54.349 --> 00:23:00.329 more tears. But when God wipes away tears, there 00:23:00.329 --> 00:23:05.470 won't ever be another tear shed. Death is gone. 00:23:06.410 --> 00:23:09.490 Sorrow has been defeated. You say goodbye to 00:23:09.490 --> 00:23:16.910 it. Crying. will never be heard again. I have 00:23:16.910 --> 00:23:19.230 been with people when they have found the unexpected 00:23:19.230 --> 00:23:21.130 news that a loved one had suddenly passed away 00:23:21.130 --> 00:23:22.569 through a car wreck. I've been with them, and 00:23:22.569 --> 00:23:26.109 I've heard a wailing that is so sorrowful, just 00:23:26.109 --> 00:23:29.869 guttural, visceral. It's never going to be heard 00:23:29.869 --> 00:23:33.410 again, ever. The former things are gone. Why? 00:23:34.769 --> 00:23:39.519 Because Christ suffered on that cross. And every 00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:43.680 detail of sin was laid upon him. The former things, 00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:46.299 which is right now the present age, it's going 00:23:46.299 --> 00:23:48.299 to pass away. It's going to be made new. This 00:23:48.299 --> 00:23:50.579 is what you and I have to look forward to. As 00:23:50.579 --> 00:23:52.240 you look, and you're looking at the mighty acts 00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:54.839 of Jesus, understand they're a preview. They're 00:23:54.839 --> 00:23:57.299 meant to highlight. Matthew is showing you something 00:23:57.299 --> 00:24:00.180 here. This is life in his kingdom. Death is going 00:24:00.180 --> 00:24:02.420 to be gone. Sickness is going to be gone. No 00:24:02.420 --> 00:24:04.839 one will know anything of an evil spirit possessing 00:24:04.839 --> 00:24:08.990 them. Amen. Now, that's all compassion, right? 00:24:10.329 --> 00:24:12.809 Is that meek, mild Jesus? Yeah, it's compassion, 00:24:12.950 --> 00:24:16.710 love. And we go to a radical call to discipleship. 00:24:17.269 --> 00:24:20.269 If you see him, this will make sense to you. 00:24:20.269 --> 00:24:24.589 Verses 18 -22. Let's just look at 18 -20. And 00:24:24.589 --> 00:24:28.710 when Jesus saw great multitudes, megas, huge 00:24:28.710 --> 00:24:32.130 crowds, he gave a command to depart to the other 00:24:32.130 --> 00:24:35.109 side. And a certain scribe came and said to him, 00:24:35.150 --> 00:24:38.400 Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go. And 00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:40.720 I think Jesus just very kindly but incredulously 00:24:40.720 --> 00:24:42.579 looked at him and said, really, foxes have holes 00:24:42.579 --> 00:24:46.000 and birds of the air have nests. Son of Man has 00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:48.640 nowhere to even lay his head. Crowds were getting 00:24:48.640 --> 00:24:51.059 large, really large, and perhaps Jesus' disciples 00:24:51.059 --> 00:24:54.140 were just getting tired. They ministered to people. 00:24:54.299 --> 00:24:56.019 It's been a long day. They've had Sabbath worship. 00:24:56.220 --> 00:24:58.039 They've had Sabbath meal. He's healed all the 00:24:58.039 --> 00:25:01.180 sick people. He's cast out demons. And now there's 00:25:01.180 --> 00:25:03.480 just no insight. It seems like we've got to get 00:25:03.480 --> 00:25:05.839 out of here. They need a place to rest. So he 00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:07.960 tells his disciples, let's go to the other side. 00:25:08.160 --> 00:25:09.680 Let's get in the boat and go to the other side 00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:11.559 of the Sea of Galilee. But as they're preparing 00:25:11.559 --> 00:25:13.759 to leave, something very unusual happened. What? 00:25:13.880 --> 00:25:15.599 You have a scribe. Now that's interesting. It's 00:25:15.599 --> 00:25:18.460 a scribe that approached Jesus and said, Jesus, 00:25:18.579 --> 00:25:21.140 I want to go with you. I want to be one of those 00:25:21.140 --> 00:25:25.519 disciples. Now why do I say it's unusual? Well, 00:25:25.539 --> 00:25:27.279 who's a scribe? He's one of the religious leaders. 00:25:27.420 --> 00:25:30.440 Scribes and Pharisees, they are overwhelmingly 00:25:30.440 --> 00:25:34.039 antagonistic to Christ. But here we find someone 00:25:34.039 --> 00:25:37.259 who seems to get it. He wants to be one of Jesus' 00:25:37.480 --> 00:25:40.259 disciples. Teacher, I will follow you wherever 00:25:40.259 --> 00:25:43.519 you go. Now it's interesting. He did not call 00:25:43.519 --> 00:25:46.700 him Lord. Literally, it's like the teacher. It's 00:25:46.700 --> 00:25:48.839 the one who is didactic in nature. It's the Greek 00:25:48.839 --> 00:25:51.799 word there. Not kurios, not Lord. So he called 00:25:51.799 --> 00:25:55.259 him teacher. That's respectful, but he doesn't 00:25:55.259 --> 00:25:58.240 quite get it. And he makes this grandiose claim. 00:25:58.980 --> 00:26:03.339 I will follow you wherever you go. I would always 00:26:03.339 --> 00:26:05.859 say be careful. Because in the scriptures, when 00:26:05.859 --> 00:26:07.819 you see these boastful claims made by people, 00:26:07.960 --> 00:26:11.400 it normally does not bode well for them. I think 00:26:11.400 --> 00:26:14.940 of Peter. Jesus said, tonight the shepherd will 00:26:14.940 --> 00:26:16.460 be struck and all the sheep will scatter. And 00:26:16.460 --> 00:26:19.460 Peter said, uh -uh, not I. Everyone else may 00:26:19.460 --> 00:26:21.319 forsake you, Lord, but I will hang with you to 00:26:21.319 --> 00:26:26.099 the very bitter end. That same night, Peter, 00:26:26.279 --> 00:26:29.619 the boastful one, out of cowardice, denied even 00:26:29.619 --> 00:26:31.910 knowing Christ three different times. So now 00:26:31.910 --> 00:26:33.509 this man comes, I will follow you wherever you 00:26:33.509 --> 00:26:36.809 go. And I think Jesus very kindly said, really? 00:26:37.349 --> 00:26:40.789 Is that true? He's not denying the man's request 00:26:40.789 --> 00:26:43.130 at all, but he did make him rethink what he was 00:26:43.130 --> 00:26:45.890 asking and saying. See, the Lord is going to 00:26:45.890 --> 00:26:48.170 show something. Following him, it's not a matter 00:26:48.170 --> 00:26:50.710 of comfort. It's not a matter of convenience. 00:26:51.730 --> 00:26:54.950 Foxes have holes, dens. Birds there have nests. 00:26:56.029 --> 00:26:57.569 Friends, this is one of the greatest ironies. 00:26:58.339 --> 00:27:01.019 The one who created the world does not even have 00:27:01.019 --> 00:27:04.480 a home in the world. You want to follow me, Jesus 00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:08.299 said. Do you know what you're asking? See, to 00:27:08.299 --> 00:27:10.779 follow Jesus is not a casual decision. Jesus 00:27:10.779 --> 00:27:13.339 encourages people to count the cost. Are you 00:27:13.339 --> 00:27:15.660 willing to follow me even if it means homelessness? 00:27:16.500 --> 00:27:18.500 That's what he's saying right there. I don't 00:27:18.500 --> 00:27:21.259 have any place. Even animals have a place to 00:27:21.259 --> 00:27:24.299 call their own, but I don't. I have no place 00:27:24.299 --> 00:27:28.079 here. You still want to follow me, scribe? What 00:27:28.079 --> 00:27:29.799 if it costs you comfort? And by the way, scribes 00:27:29.799 --> 00:27:31.920 were the ruling elite class, the aristocracy, 00:27:32.079 --> 00:27:35.039 usually men of wealth. Comfort, convenience. 00:27:36.160 --> 00:27:38.599 Because Jesus knew many are seeing the miraculous 00:27:38.599 --> 00:27:41.119 and they're so very curious and they want to 00:27:41.119 --> 00:27:43.259 be around the popular teacher. He knows they're 00:27:43.259 --> 00:27:45.519 following out of curiosity because of miracles, 00:27:45.640 --> 00:27:48.400 not necessarily because of the truth he is teaching. 00:27:50.500 --> 00:27:52.599 Today, we see so many men, they want to make 00:27:52.599 --> 00:27:55.000 men disciples of Christ, good motives, but they 00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:58.740 offer, they do it in such a terrible way. You 00:27:58.740 --> 00:28:01.319 don't ever find Jesus doing this. You want to 00:28:01.319 --> 00:28:03.099 be a disciple of Jesus? Today, you want to go 00:28:03.099 --> 00:28:04.859 to heaven, pray, and then we're done, and let's 00:28:04.859 --> 00:28:10.400 go on to the next one. I fear that. I think terribly. 00:28:10.400 --> 00:28:12.319 Now, there are many God saves whom he will save, 00:28:12.339 --> 00:28:14.779 and he does it through many means. But many of 00:28:14.779 --> 00:28:19.710 those who pray don't understand Christ. Many, 00:28:19.750 --> 00:28:21.789 much less, are ever talked about the cost of 00:28:21.789 --> 00:28:23.650 following him. But read through the scriptures. 00:28:24.569 --> 00:28:26.589 Jesus wasn't trying to bring crowds around him. 00:28:27.170 --> 00:28:29.490 In fact, he said this, I want you to make sure 00:28:29.490 --> 00:28:33.029 you know what you're signing up for. In Luke 00:28:33.029 --> 00:28:36.769 14, we hear Jesus say this. He says, now great 00:28:36.769 --> 00:28:41.230 multitudes, same word there, went with him. This 00:28:41.230 --> 00:28:44.049 is Jesus. He turned and looked at him. He said, 00:28:44.109 --> 00:28:47.680 okay, great crowds, wonderful. If anyone comes 00:28:47.680 --> 00:28:49.279 to me and does not hate his father and mother, 00:28:49.400 --> 00:28:51.920 wife and children, brothers and sisters, yea, 00:28:52.019 --> 00:28:53.980 and his own life also, he cannot, not he will 00:28:53.980 --> 00:28:56.759 not, he cannot be my disciple. And whoever does 00:28:56.759 --> 00:28:58.660 not bear his cross and come after me cannot be 00:28:58.660 --> 00:29:01.440 my disciple. And then he gives a little parable 00:29:01.440 --> 00:29:04.079 here. For which of you intending to build a tower 00:29:04.079 --> 00:29:06.319 does not sit down first and count the cost whether 00:29:06.319 --> 00:29:08.259 you're enough to finish it? Before you embark 00:29:08.259 --> 00:29:09.779 upon a building program, you ought to make sure 00:29:09.779 --> 00:29:12.089 you have the funds to finish it out. Lest after 00:29:12.089 --> 00:29:13.950 he's laid the foundation, he's not able to finish 00:29:13.950 --> 00:29:16.190 it, and all who see it begin to mock him. Because 00:29:16.190 --> 00:29:18.130 so many start well, but they don't finish well. 00:29:19.230 --> 00:29:21.549 It got too hard. They didn't sign up for this. 00:29:22.289 --> 00:29:24.289 And they lacked the mock and said, this man began 00:29:24.289 --> 00:29:26.910 to build, but he couldn't finish. He's making 00:29:26.910 --> 00:29:28.410 a parable saying the same thing happens in the 00:29:28.410 --> 00:29:32.009 Christian life. By today's standards, Jesus would 00:29:32.009 --> 00:29:34.549 have been a lousy evangelist. He really would 00:29:34.549 --> 00:29:37.990 have. He's not interested in crowds. He's really 00:29:37.990 --> 00:29:40.910 not interested in converts. He's interested in 00:29:40.910 --> 00:29:44.730 disciples. But if following Christ proves to 00:29:44.730 --> 00:29:46.529 be so difficult, then why would anyone do it? 00:29:47.809 --> 00:29:51.509 There is only one reason. Because your eyes have 00:29:51.509 --> 00:29:53.609 been opened to the worth and glory of Christ. 00:29:53.890 --> 00:29:58.390 That's it. You know that any cost involved in 00:29:58.390 --> 00:30:04.450 following him pales in comparison to him. John 00:30:04.450 --> 00:30:09.579 6. John 6, Jesus issued a lot of hard words. 00:30:09.660 --> 00:30:11.019 It's a very hard saying. He talks about eating 00:30:11.019 --> 00:30:13.220 his flesh and drinking his blood. No one can 00:30:13.220 --> 00:30:16.019 come to me unless the Father draws him. And many 00:30:16.019 --> 00:30:17.539 of the people who were following, many of his 00:30:17.539 --> 00:30:18.819 disciples, you can go back and look at verse 00:30:18.819 --> 00:30:21.880 66, could not accept that. And as a result, many 00:30:21.880 --> 00:30:23.859 of those crowds who were following him suddenly 00:30:23.859 --> 00:30:25.680 turned away from him. Like there's these crowds 00:30:25.680 --> 00:30:29.200 and they're like, eh, not so much. Now look at 00:30:29.200 --> 00:30:33.200 John 6. From that time, many of his disciples 00:30:33.200 --> 00:30:36.700 went back and walked with him no more. They're 00:30:36.700 --> 00:30:38.880 not disciples. They started well, they didn't 00:30:38.880 --> 00:30:41.720 finish. Jesus said, well, do you also want to 00:30:41.720 --> 00:30:45.299 go away? I love this is one of the places where 00:30:45.299 --> 00:30:49.799 Simon Peter answers brilliantly. He said, Lord, 00:30:49.920 --> 00:30:54.680 to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal 00:30:54.680 --> 00:30:57.640 life. Also, additionally, by the way, Lord, we've 00:30:57.640 --> 00:30:59.740 come to believe and know that you are the Christ, 00:30:59.980 --> 00:31:05.859 the son of the living God. Peter got it. Well, 00:31:05.900 --> 00:31:08.480 where else do we go? To whom? I mean, Jesus, 00:31:08.599 --> 00:31:10.140 if we're going to ever have eternal life, it's 00:31:10.140 --> 00:31:13.539 only through you. Yes, Lord, you do demand everything. 00:31:14.720 --> 00:31:18.319 But we know that you are the Christ, the Son 00:31:18.319 --> 00:31:21.339 of the living God. And because he is the Christ, 00:31:21.440 --> 00:31:23.640 the Son of the living God, that means nothing 00:31:23.640 --> 00:31:26.740 else at all can ever come before him, not even 00:31:26.740 --> 00:31:29.660 family. Now look at 21 and 22 as we close it 00:31:29.660 --> 00:31:34.279 out. Then another of his disciples said to him, 00:31:34.299 --> 00:31:38.400 Lord, Let me first go and bury my father. But 00:31:38.400 --> 00:31:40.240 Jesus said to him, follow me and let the dead 00:31:40.240 --> 00:31:44.880 bury their own dead. So Jesus, again, issued 00:31:44.880 --> 00:31:47.180 a call to follow him, but this man balked, right? 00:31:48.039 --> 00:31:49.619 He said, I'll follow the Lord, but I'm going 00:31:49.619 --> 00:31:51.480 to follow you later because I have something 00:31:51.480 --> 00:31:55.539 more pressing to do. In this case, I've got to 00:31:55.539 --> 00:31:59.019 make sure my father gets a proper funeral. Understand, 00:31:59.220 --> 00:32:01.519 in that day, Jewish culture demanded that the 00:32:01.519 --> 00:32:04.789 oldest son, see to it that the father, would 00:32:04.789 --> 00:32:07.470 have had a proper burial. So there was a custom 00:32:07.470 --> 00:32:10.069 that the eldest son would be excused from all 00:32:10.069 --> 00:32:12.730 duties, all obligations, including religious 00:32:12.730 --> 00:32:18.190 duties, until he buried his father. But not Jesus. 00:32:18.849 --> 00:32:22.309 He doesn't even allow that to be an excuse. This 00:32:22.309 --> 00:32:25.349 is meant to be a hard saying, folks. Nothing 00:32:25.349 --> 00:32:28.569 can come before him, not even strong cultural 00:32:28.569 --> 00:32:33.009 expectations or even family obligations. Does 00:32:33.009 --> 00:32:34.930 that mean that we never take care of our family? 00:32:34.990 --> 00:32:38.509 No, you're missing the point. Do you see his 00:32:38.509 --> 00:32:42.210 worth? In that day, loyalty to one's parents 00:32:42.210 --> 00:32:45.349 was second only to loyalty to God. And Jesus 00:32:45.349 --> 00:32:48.470 comes and he demands a loyalty to himself greater 00:32:48.470 --> 00:32:51.670 than one would even give to his parents. Do you 00:32:51.670 --> 00:32:55.509 get what Jesus was saying? The only greater loyalty 00:32:55.509 --> 00:32:58.769 would be to God. And Jesus said, that's the loyalty 00:32:58.769 --> 00:33:04.039 that I demand. How was that possible? Because 00:33:04.039 --> 00:33:07.000 he is of greater worth than even one's parents. 00:33:08.079 --> 00:33:10.299 Lawrence Farley writes, he said, the man, this 00:33:10.299 --> 00:33:12.940 man, claims to be his disciple, but he puts other 00:33:12.940 --> 00:33:15.079 obligations before his commitment to the kingdom. 00:33:15.599 --> 00:33:17.619 He must leave the dead to bury their own dead 00:33:17.619 --> 00:33:20.059 and carry out such duties. The one whom Christ 00:33:20.059 --> 00:33:23.079 has called is like one alive from the dead. He 00:33:23.079 --> 00:33:25.680 belongs no longer to this age. Amen. We don't. 00:33:25.680 --> 00:33:31.460 We're not of this age anymore. earthly duties, 00:33:31.519 --> 00:33:33.960 however sacred and important they seem to be. 00:33:35.079 --> 00:33:38.500 Christ takes a back seat to no one and no thing. 00:33:39.180 --> 00:33:42.500 Now Jesus is not being harsh. He's not showing 00:33:42.500 --> 00:33:44.880 a lack of compassion, but he was showing that 00:33:44.880 --> 00:33:47.900 loyalty to him, friends, loyalty to him must 00:33:47.900 --> 00:33:51.400 be absolute and it must be immediate. Nothing 00:33:51.400 --> 00:33:54.680 else matters. And he closes with that obscure 00:33:54.680 --> 00:33:59.660 phrase, let the dead bury their own dead. The 00:33:59.660 --> 00:34:02.819 masses of people are dead in their sins. They 00:34:02.819 --> 00:34:06.259 are people of this age. He says, let them see 00:34:06.259 --> 00:34:09.639 to these earthly matters and concerns. Friends, 00:34:09.679 --> 00:34:12.920 discipleship only allows for one master. Only 00:34:12.920 --> 00:34:17.059 one. One Lord. And even family ties must take 00:34:17.059 --> 00:34:19.780 a back seat to our loyalty to Christ and his 00:34:19.780 --> 00:34:23.369 kingdom. He was not seeking discouraged discipleship. 00:34:23.369 --> 00:34:25.429 It seems like that, but no. He wanted to make 00:34:25.429 --> 00:34:27.650 sure. He wanted to ensure you know what you're 00:34:27.650 --> 00:34:29.269 signing up for. If you're coming and calling 00:34:29.269 --> 00:34:33.010 him Lord, he's Lord. Do you desire to follow 00:34:33.010 --> 00:34:38.050 him? Have you counted the costs? But friends, 00:34:38.070 --> 00:34:39.610 if your eyes have been opened and you see who 00:34:39.610 --> 00:34:42.690 he really is, like Peter confessed, it's the 00:34:42.690 --> 00:34:45.820 wisest choice we could ever make. Yes, Jesus 00:34:45.820 --> 00:34:48.639 demands supreme honor, supreme honor. He demands 00:34:48.639 --> 00:34:51.340 supreme loyalty. He demands supreme attention, 00:34:51.679 --> 00:34:57.039 but only because he is of supreme worth. If you 00:34:57.039 --> 00:34:59.260 understand it, if you really understand it, then 00:34:59.260 --> 00:35:01.340 giving up everything or whatever would stand 00:35:01.340 --> 00:35:05.559 in the way only makes sense. So in this parable, 00:35:05.559 --> 00:35:07.800 in this passage today, not a parable, we've seen 00:35:07.800 --> 00:35:09.880 Jesus, we've seen his compassion to heal, but 00:35:09.880 --> 00:35:12.800 we've also seen his uncompromising demand for 00:35:12.800 --> 00:35:15.960 a wholehearted... commitment. So it's meant, 00:35:16.000 --> 00:35:19.059 I think, as a contrast here. Jesus brings restoration. 00:35:19.119 --> 00:35:22.460 He heals. He brings life. Amen. But he calls 00:35:22.460 --> 00:35:26.340 his followers to radical loyalty. He doesn't 00:35:26.340 --> 00:35:29.219 let us off the hook here. So you're saying the 00:35:29.219 --> 00:35:32.579 cost of following him is high. Yes. That's the 00:35:32.579 --> 00:35:35.059 path to true life. So you're saying, well, what 00:35:35.059 --> 00:35:39.420 should respond? How should respond? With a readiness 00:35:39.420 --> 00:35:42.940 to follow him wherever he leads. Trusting, friends, 00:35:43.039 --> 00:35:45.539 get this, that his presence, his presence in 00:35:45.539 --> 00:35:48.119 your life and in my life is worth every sacrifice 00:35:48.119 --> 00:35:52.599 along the way. Do you believe it? Let's pray. 00:35:53.440 --> 00:35:55.440 Father, thank you this morning for your word. 00:35:55.500 --> 00:35:58.780 Lord, it cuts us open. It lays us bare. Lord, 00:35:58.820 --> 00:36:00.519 you don't allow for wiggle room. You don't allow 00:36:00.519 --> 00:36:03.139 for excuses. Lord, you're the one who we get 00:36:03.139 --> 00:36:05.139 painted into a corner and we have to make the 00:36:05.139 --> 00:36:10.590 decision if Christ is Lord to follow you. We 00:36:10.590 --> 00:36:12.349 think about that Old Testament injunction, if 00:36:12.349 --> 00:36:14.909 Baal be God, serve him, but if the Lord be God, 00:36:15.070 --> 00:36:18.150 serve him. The Lord is saying, Lord, what will 00:36:18.150 --> 00:36:20.349 we do? Who will rule over us? For someone will, 00:36:20.510 --> 00:36:26.050 Lord. Jesus is the gentle shepherd. He's the 00:36:26.050 --> 00:36:29.610 one who gives his life for the sheep. And although 00:36:29.610 --> 00:36:33.429 he is a gentle shepherd, he deserves absolute 00:36:33.429 --> 00:36:37.150 and demands absolute loyalty. Father, would you 00:36:37.150 --> 00:36:39.809 forgive us? Lord, I stand here today convicted 00:36:39.809 --> 00:36:42.869 in my own heart. Lord, to say that absolute loyalty 00:36:42.869 --> 00:36:45.070 and absolute commitment and absolute following 00:36:45.070 --> 00:36:47.210 has been true of my life would be a lie that 00:36:47.210 --> 00:36:50.530 you know and these people would know. Father, 00:36:50.769 --> 00:36:55.130 how do we reconcile this? Lord, our desire is 00:36:55.130 --> 00:36:58.050 to follow Christ truly. The heart of the regenerate 00:36:58.050 --> 00:37:00.889 is to follow you, to follow him wherever he leads. 00:37:01.710 --> 00:37:03.969 But we also understand we are great sinners, 00:37:04.110 --> 00:37:07.760 deep, grievous. afflicted, tortured sinners at 00:37:07.760 --> 00:37:11.239 times, Lord. But our forgiveness has come through 00:37:11.239 --> 00:37:14.539 the broken body and the blood shed at Calvary. 00:37:14.940 --> 00:37:17.280 And today we're reminded of that, that yes, indeed, 00:37:17.420 --> 00:37:20.039 we are failures, but Christ is not. He has given 00:37:20.039 --> 00:37:22.500 his life for us. We are no longer servants, but 00:37:22.500 --> 00:37:25.679 we are sons. And today we fellowship with Jesus 00:37:25.679 --> 00:37:27.880 and we ask for grace and strength and help from 00:37:27.880 --> 00:37:29.860 the Holy Spirit. We are taught in the scriptures 00:37:29.860 --> 00:37:31.599 to pray for the help and the aid of the Holy 00:37:31.599 --> 00:37:33.880 Spirit. So that's what we do. Father, I pray 00:37:33.880 --> 00:37:36.199 for those listening. There may be some who, Lord 00:37:36.199 --> 00:37:39.300 God, their eyes have been closed to the glory 00:37:39.300 --> 00:37:42.480 and honor and worth of Christ. Maybe they had 00:37:42.480 --> 00:37:44.699 not seen him. Lord, I pray today in your mercy, 00:37:44.820 --> 00:37:48.019 God, would you open their eyes and may their 00:37:48.019 --> 00:37:51.239 hearts start to pulsate with divine life that 00:37:51.239 --> 00:37:53.079 they see Jesus and desire to follow him. Lord, 00:37:53.119 --> 00:37:56.079 you'll receive them. You'll receive them. Father, 00:37:56.159 --> 00:37:58.280 I pray for those who are wayward, Lord, who are 00:37:58.280 --> 00:38:01.280 apathetic in the relationship with Jesus. Lord, 00:38:01.320 --> 00:38:04.019 it just rolls off their back. It no longer warms 00:38:04.019 --> 00:38:06.099 their heart. Father, bring them back. Let them 00:38:06.099 --> 00:38:08.260 see the peril of their own soul. Father, help 00:38:08.260 --> 00:38:10.420 them, Lord, I pray this morning. Bring them to 00:38:10.420 --> 00:38:12.639 a place of absolute surrender before you. And 00:38:12.639 --> 00:38:14.239 Lord, we'll thank you for that because you alone 00:38:14.239 --> 00:38:16.840 are worthy. It's in the name of Jesus, our Savior, 00:38:16.940 --> 00:38:17.880 we pray. Amen.