WEBVTT 00:00:05.219 --> 00:00:08.000 Matthew chapter 10 will begin reading at verse 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:10.720 5 and will take us our text today and end at 00:00:10.720 --> 00:00:25.199 verse 15. Matthew writing, he said, These twelve, 00:00:25.480 --> 00:00:28.440 the apostles, Jesus sent out and He commanded 00:00:28.440 --> 00:00:33.070 them saying, Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, 00:00:33.350 --> 00:00:36.969 and do not enter a city of the Samaritans, but 00:00:36.969 --> 00:00:40.450 go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 00:00:41.149 --> 00:00:44.990 And as you go, preach, saying, the kingdom of 00:00:44.990 --> 00:00:49.229 heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the 00:00:49.229 --> 00:00:53.850 lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely 00:00:53.850 --> 00:00:57.649 you have received, freely give. Provide neither 00:00:57.649 --> 00:01:01.159 gold nor silver, nor copper in your money belts, 00:01:01.820 --> 00:01:05.379 nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor 00:01:05.379 --> 00:01:09.659 sandals, nor staffs, for a worker is worthy of 00:01:09.659 --> 00:01:12.680 his food. Now whatever city or town you enter, 00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:16.299 inquire who in it is worthy and stay there until 00:01:16.299 --> 00:01:19.319 you go out. And when you go into a household, 00:01:19.700 --> 00:01:22.260 greet it. And if the household is worthy, let 00:01:22.260 --> 00:01:25.540 your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, 00:01:25.769 --> 00:01:30.750 let your peace return to you. And whoever will 00:01:30.750 --> 00:01:34.790 not receive you nor hear your words when you 00:01:34.790 --> 00:01:37.950 depart from that house or city, shake off the 00:01:37.950 --> 00:01:41.849 dust from your feet. Assuredly, I say to you, 00:01:42.349 --> 00:01:45.989 it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom 00:01:45.989 --> 00:01:49.129 and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for 00:01:49.129 --> 00:01:54.989 that city. Let's pray. Father these are very 00:01:54.989 --> 00:01:58.430 sobering words when we consider what Jesus had 00:01:58.430 --> 00:02:02.310 just said about the final judgment Those to whom 00:02:02.310 --> 00:02:05.989 much is given Lord you require much at their 00:02:05.989 --> 00:02:10.569 hand We who have been given the gospel and given 00:02:10.569 --> 00:02:14.210 great revelation Father our duty is to receive 00:02:14.210 --> 00:02:17.889 it and act upon it Lord would you help me this 00:02:17.889 --> 00:02:21.090 morning to preach Lord exactly what this text 00:02:21.090 --> 00:02:24.319 says And Father, I pray that as it's being preached, 00:02:24.419 --> 00:02:27.340 Lord, your spirit will work in the lives of the 00:02:27.340 --> 00:02:31.699 saints and the lives of sinners. Awaken the sinners 00:02:31.699 --> 00:02:34.479 to their own peril, Lord. Awaken them to their 00:02:34.479 --> 00:02:37.719 own just condemnation. And Father, Lord, I pray 00:02:37.719 --> 00:02:41.199 that they would flee to Christ. But to the saints 00:02:41.199 --> 00:02:44.300 who have been brought into this covenant family, 00:02:45.180 --> 00:02:47.379 Lord, would you help us to see a little bit better, 00:02:48.020 --> 00:02:51.330 a little bit more deeply? little bit more richly 00:02:51.330 --> 00:02:54.229 what Christ has done for us. Lord, we need your 00:02:54.229 --> 00:02:56.870 help. We confess that we can do nothing apart 00:02:56.870 --> 00:02:59.590 from you said Lord this morning would you use 00:02:59.590 --> 00:03:02.610 the preaching of your word to mature us in our 00:03:02.610 --> 00:03:07.569 faith we pray in Jesus name amen. I believe that 00:03:07.569 --> 00:03:10.990 probably many maybe most but certainly not all 00:03:10.990 --> 00:03:14.129 of you might be familiar with the popular Lord 00:03:14.129 --> 00:03:17.090 liar or lunatic argument that was put forth by 00:03:17.090 --> 00:03:21.069 CS Lewis. It's often called Lewis's trilemma 00:03:21.069 --> 00:03:24.289 So here's what CS Lewis said when it comes to 00:03:24.289 --> 00:03:27.129 the claim of Christ of being the divine son the 00:03:27.129 --> 00:03:29.669 Messiah He said you really only have three options. 00:03:29.969 --> 00:03:32.930 That's it. He said here are the three first of 00:03:32.930 --> 00:03:36.389 all Jesus would be a liar Okay, that means he 00:03:36.389 --> 00:03:39.150 intentionally deceived people He wanted them 00:03:39.150 --> 00:03:41.990 to believe something about himself that he knew 00:03:41.990 --> 00:03:44.870 was not true. He was trying to he was a con artist 00:03:44.860 --> 00:03:48.080 trying to pass himself off as the Messiah, yet 00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:51.740 wasn't. That's one option. Secondly, you can 00:03:51.740 --> 00:03:54.819 believe he was a lunatic. That means Jesus truly 00:03:54.819 --> 00:03:57.740 believed he was divine. He believed he was the 00:03:57.740 --> 00:04:01.680 divine son, the Messiah, but yet he wasn't. So 00:04:01.680 --> 00:04:05.800 he was just a deluded man. Or thirdly, you can 00:04:05.800 --> 00:04:08.900 believe that Jesus is Lord. You believe he was 00:04:08.900 --> 00:04:11.659 telling the truth that he really is the divine 00:04:11.659 --> 00:04:14.400 one. Now there are some today, if you read this, 00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:15.900 there are some who try to thread that needle 00:04:15.900 --> 00:04:18.779 just a little bit. So there are so many people 00:04:18.779 --> 00:04:21.699 today, they will reject the claim of deity. They 00:04:21.699 --> 00:04:25.319 will say Jesus is not God, but they do espouse 00:04:25.319 --> 00:04:29.600 that he was a good moral teacher. He was a great 00:04:29.600 --> 00:04:32.240 philosopher, or perhaps they might even say he 00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:35.319 was an enlightened rabbi, but he was not God. 00:04:36.060 --> 00:04:38.060 But think about Lewis, what he's saying here. 00:04:38.459 --> 00:04:42.910 If Jesus claimed to be God, and yet knew that 00:04:42.910 --> 00:04:45.589 he wasn't, well you could not call him a good 00:04:45.589 --> 00:04:49.870 moral teacher. He would be a liar. Or if you 00:04:49.870 --> 00:04:52.550 say, well he truly believed he was God, but he 00:04:52.550 --> 00:04:55.389 wasn't, well we wouldn't call someone like that 00:04:55.389 --> 00:05:00.389 a wise, noble teacher. That's a crazy man. He's 00:05:00.389 --> 00:05:04.209 a lunatic. And Lewis said the best evidence after 00:05:04.209 --> 00:05:06.550 studying the life and teachings of Jesus, and 00:05:06.550 --> 00:05:09.269 after you weigh all the evidence, you must conclude, 00:05:09.290 --> 00:05:12.569 he says the best argument is that Jesus was telling 00:05:12.569 --> 00:05:16.709 the truth and he indeed is Lord. Now there's 00:05:16.709 --> 00:05:19.430 really only one choice. There's really just one 00:05:19.430 --> 00:05:21.250 decision that you must make when it comes to 00:05:21.250 --> 00:05:24.709 Christ. And this is the decision. You either 00:05:24.709 --> 00:05:29.740 reject him or you bow down before him. remaining 00:05:29.740 --> 00:05:32.139 neutral is never an option given to us in the 00:05:32.139 --> 00:05:34.399 scriptures and we're going to see that in our 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:37.639 text today. That neutrality is not an option. 00:05:37.939 --> 00:05:40.360 So when the gospel is proclaimed, when the claims 00:05:40.360 --> 00:05:43.480 of Christ are preached, someone has to make a 00:05:43.480 --> 00:05:46.740 decision about these claims. Is Jesus who he 00:05:46.740 --> 00:05:52.120 said he is? Is he Lord or is he not? Now last 00:05:52.120 --> 00:05:54.500 week we looked at our Lord. He was beginning 00:05:54.500 --> 00:05:57.819 to build his church and he called out 12 men. 00:05:57.949 --> 00:06:00.529 whom he commissioned, whom he sent. They became 00:06:00.529 --> 00:06:03.110 the apostles. And we looked at that in depth 00:06:03.110 --> 00:06:05.850 last week. Now remember, apostle simply means 00:06:05.850 --> 00:06:09.410 sent one. It's a Greek word, apostolos, one who 00:06:09.410 --> 00:06:12.389 is sent. But today we're gonna see their commission. 00:06:13.449 --> 00:06:16.490 We will see where they were sent, to whom they 00:06:16.490 --> 00:06:19.029 were sent, and what was the message they were 00:06:19.029 --> 00:06:21.870 to preach while being sent. So let's pick up 00:06:21.870 --> 00:06:25.069 our text in verse five. These 12, the 12 he picked, 00:06:25.149 --> 00:06:28.480 we saw last week. Jesus sent out and he commanded 00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:31.519 them saying, don't, do not go into the way of 00:06:31.519 --> 00:06:33.939 the Gentiles and do not enter the city of the 00:06:33.939 --> 00:06:37.160 Samaritans. Here's what you're to do. Go rather 00:06:37.160 --> 00:06:40.220 only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 00:06:41.139 --> 00:06:43.519 So what you find here, Jesus is sending these 00:06:43.519 --> 00:06:47.279 men out on an itinerant preaching mission, but 00:06:47.279 --> 00:06:49.500 it's going to be restricted. It's restricted 00:06:49.500 --> 00:06:52.379 to the bounds of Israel, particularly though, 00:06:52.439 --> 00:06:56.889 in this case, to Galilee. Remember, Jesus primarily 00:06:56.889 --> 00:06:59.889 in his earthly ministry was located in Galilee. 00:06:59.949 --> 00:07:03.009 That's north Israel. And if you've been to Israel 00:07:03.009 --> 00:07:05.350 or you know anything about Galilee, on the north 00:07:05.350 --> 00:07:07.589 is Gentiles, on the east is Gentiles, on the 00:07:07.589 --> 00:07:10.689 west is Gentiles, and to the south is Samaritan 00:07:10.689 --> 00:07:14.490 territory. So it's surrounded by foreigners all 00:07:14.490 --> 00:07:16.629 about. And the Lord told these 12 men, because 00:07:16.629 --> 00:07:20.230 they're there in Capernaum, Galilee. He said, 00:07:20.329 --> 00:07:24.079 you do not go anywhere outside of Israel. stay 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:27.600 in Israel. And this is very fitting because we 00:07:27.600 --> 00:07:30.720 have to consider Israel's priority in salvation 00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:36.379 history. The apostles went only to Israel because 00:07:36.379 --> 00:07:39.600 God's saving plan was to bring the message of 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:42.720 the kingdom to His chosen people first, to this 00:07:42.720 --> 00:07:46.259 chosen nation. That would fulfill promises and 00:07:46.259 --> 00:07:49.800 it would also fulfill prophecy. Jesus sent them, 00:07:49.800 --> 00:07:53.250 notice the text here, to the lost sheep. of the 00:07:53.250 --> 00:07:57.730 house of Israel. Why? Their mission was actually 00:07:57.730 --> 00:08:00.850 an extension of his mission. That meant their 00:08:00.850 --> 00:08:04.129 audience was the same as his audience. In chapter 00:08:04.129 --> 00:08:09.389 15, Jesus said about his own mission, I was not 00:08:09.389 --> 00:08:13.709 sent except to the lost sheep of the house of 00:08:13.709 --> 00:08:16.670 Israel. Whom are the twelve sent to? To whom? 00:08:17.449 --> 00:08:20.100 The lost sheep of the house of Israel. So Christ 00:08:20.100 --> 00:08:22.800 sends these 12 men out to preach, but we've already 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:25.339 seen there's glimpses. We start to get a little 00:08:25.339 --> 00:08:28.839 bit of an inkling that the Gentiles will be included. 00:08:29.560 --> 00:08:33.039 We can go back to the beginning. In chapter 2, 00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:35.799 we see it was the Magi, what we call the wise 00:08:35.799 --> 00:08:39.259 men. These were probably Persian people. These 00:08:39.259 --> 00:08:41.879 were Gentiles. So you have these Gentile Magi. 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:45.179 They came in when Jesus was born, bringing gifts 00:08:45.179 --> 00:08:48.159 and bowing down before him. Somehow they got 00:08:48.159 --> 00:08:51.690 it. probably from Daniel. Earlier in Matthew, 00:08:51.929 --> 00:08:55.029 though, we also saw Jesus, he performed healings, 00:08:55.269 --> 00:08:59.049 and one of the healings is he healed a Roman 00:08:59.049 --> 00:09:02.750 soldier's servant. Later on, we see him heal 00:09:02.750 --> 00:09:06.990 a Gentile who had been demon -possessed. We also 00:09:06.990 --> 00:09:10.149 know that Jesus spoke explicitly about Gentiles 00:09:10.149 --> 00:09:13.830 being brought in in chapter 8. Notice the text 00:09:13.830 --> 00:09:17.620 in chapter 8. I say to you that many will come 00:09:17.620 --> 00:09:20.659 from east and west, that's Gentiles, sit down 00:09:20.659 --> 00:09:22.799 with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom 00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:26.320 of heaven, but the sons of the kingdom, that's 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:29.779 the Jews, they will be cast out into outer darkness, 00:09:29.940 --> 00:09:32.399 there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 00:09:33.259 --> 00:09:35.220 But what we see right now, Israel is going to 00:09:35.220 --> 00:09:39.240 be the focus until Jesus finishes his own ministry, 00:09:39.460 --> 00:09:41.740 which will culminate in his death and resurrection. 00:09:42.659 --> 00:09:45.019 And after that is accomplished, after Jesus dies, 00:09:45.129 --> 00:09:47.230 after he is resurrected, you're going to find 00:09:47.230 --> 00:09:50.610 the gospel will begin to expand beyond the borders 00:09:50.610 --> 00:09:53.750 of Israel. In fact, by the time we get to the 00:09:53.750 --> 00:09:57.210 end of Matthew's gospel in chapter 28 at verse 00:09:57.210 --> 00:10:01.289 19, Jesus commands these same men. He then says, 00:10:01.549 --> 00:10:05.049 go into all the nations preaching the gospel. 00:10:05.669 --> 00:10:09.250 But first, salvation had to be offered to Israel. 00:10:09.950 --> 00:10:14.000 Salvation first goes to the Jews. and then later 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:16.500 to the Gentiles. But isn't that what Paul said 00:10:16.500 --> 00:10:18.940 about his own ministry in Romans 1 -16? For I 00:10:18.940 --> 00:10:21.139 am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power 00:10:21.139 --> 00:10:24.759 of God to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, 00:10:25.059 --> 00:10:28.419 and also to the Greek. Now, so that's to whom 00:10:28.419 --> 00:10:31.580 they were sent, just to Israel right now. But 00:10:31.580 --> 00:10:34.500 what were they commissioned to preach? What was 00:10:34.500 --> 00:10:38.799 their message? Look at verse 7. As you go, preach 00:10:38.799 --> 00:10:43.190 saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Ah, 00:10:43.190 --> 00:10:45.210 we've been studying Matthew. We know that sounds 00:10:45.210 --> 00:10:48.009 eerily familiar. That's the same message that 00:10:48.009 --> 00:10:50.509 John the Baptist preached in chapter three, repent 00:10:50.509 --> 00:10:52.750 for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. That's 00:10:52.750 --> 00:10:54.870 the same message that Jesus himself preached 00:10:54.870 --> 00:10:57.830 in chapter four, repent for the kingdom of heaven 00:10:57.830 --> 00:11:00.769 is at hand. Do you start to see what's going 00:11:00.769 --> 00:11:03.570 on here? The apostles have the same audience 00:11:03.570 --> 00:11:06.710 and the same message because their mission is 00:11:06.710 --> 00:11:10.450 an extension of his mission. They are his ambassadors 00:11:10.450 --> 00:11:13.710 sent out with his authority. So their message 00:11:13.710 --> 00:11:18.690 will be the same as his. Now there are some who 00:11:18.690 --> 00:11:20.909 say, well you have to understand at this time 00:11:20.909 --> 00:11:25.370 an earthly messianic kingdom was offered to Israel 00:11:25.370 --> 00:11:29.549 first and only after they rejected it did that 00:11:29.549 --> 00:11:33.049 gospel, the kingdom, they say changed to the 00:11:33.049 --> 00:11:35.690 gospel of salvation and then it was preached 00:11:35.690 --> 00:11:39.649 and offered to the nations. I have a great problem 00:11:39.649 --> 00:11:42.570 with that. Matthew knows nothing of two different 00:11:42.570 --> 00:11:46.029 gospels because there are not two different gospels. 00:11:46.210 --> 00:11:49.870 There's only one gospel of God's saving reign, 00:11:50.190 --> 00:11:53.090 one gospel of the kingdom, and it is located, 00:11:53.129 --> 00:11:55.610 it is found in Jesus Christ. Now here's how I 00:11:55.610 --> 00:11:59.450 can show this. In chapter 24 of this same book, 00:11:59.929 --> 00:12:03.870 the Lord tells us in chapter 24 verse 14, this 00:12:03.870 --> 00:12:08.110 same gospel of the kingdom will be preached, 00:12:08.110 --> 00:12:11.320 the same gospel. that the apostles preached, 00:12:11.679 --> 00:12:14.220 that John the Baptist preached, that Jesus preached, 00:12:14.360 --> 00:12:17.279 it's going to be the same gospel 24 -14. It'll 00:12:17.279 --> 00:12:20.399 be preached in all the world as a witness to 00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:24.360 the nations and then the end will come. So the 00:12:24.360 --> 00:12:27.159 same message, the same gospel that we're preaching 00:12:27.159 --> 00:12:30.279 today, this gospel of the kingdom, you may have 00:12:30.279 --> 00:12:32.779 heard it as the gospel of Christ. There is no 00:12:32.779 --> 00:12:35.539 difference. It is being preached on in the nations 00:12:35.539 --> 00:12:39.899 even today. Now, There is a slight nuance here, 00:12:40.120 --> 00:12:42.720 a slight difference. The apostles went out and 00:12:42.720 --> 00:12:45.620 they were preaching, the kingdom of heaven is 00:12:45.620 --> 00:12:49.440 at hand. It is near. Why were they preaching 00:12:49.440 --> 00:12:52.720 that? Because at that time the king, Jesus, was 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:55.740 still on the earth. He had yet not died, risen 00:12:55.740 --> 00:12:59.679 again, and ascended to his father. Today we preach 00:12:59.679 --> 00:13:03.940 the kingdom of God has come in Christ. It is 00:13:03.940 --> 00:13:06.899 inaugurated. Now listen carefully, I've said 00:13:06.899 --> 00:13:08.539 this so many times that I don't know that we 00:13:08.539 --> 00:13:11.419 get it. The kingdom is here in seed form, but 00:13:11.419 --> 00:13:15.500 it's not yet here in its full fruition. The kingdom 00:13:15.500 --> 00:13:19.700 on earth today is in the church. Why do I say 00:13:19.700 --> 00:13:21.759 that? Because he's building his kingdom. That's 00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:25.519 what he's doing. In the church, Christ is confessed 00:13:25.519 --> 00:13:28.100 as king. What is our confession as Christians? 00:13:28.519 --> 00:13:32.450 Christ is the Lord. And he is ruling over his 00:13:32.450 --> 00:13:36.409 people today by word and sacrament. The kingdom 00:13:36.409 --> 00:13:39.169 of God has come, yes. But we're still praying, 00:13:39.590 --> 00:13:43.250 your kingdom come. Why? Because it's not yet 00:13:43.250 --> 00:13:45.750 come in its consummation form. It's not yet come 00:13:45.750 --> 00:13:49.029 in its fullness. That awaits when Christ comes 00:13:49.029 --> 00:13:52.570 again. But the kingdom is here. And right now 00:13:52.570 --> 00:13:54.470 we're still proclaiming, and this is what people 00:13:54.470 --> 00:13:57.529 have to understand, we go out preaching Christ 00:13:57.529 --> 00:14:01.399 is king. He is the crucified risen and returning 00:14:01.399 --> 00:14:06.820 king. So if the gospel is the good news about 00:14:06.820 --> 00:14:10.860 the kingly rule of Christ, then the question 00:14:10.860 --> 00:14:14.299 we must answer is, how do you get into that kingdom? 00:14:15.620 --> 00:14:17.519 If the kingdom, the gospel of the kingdom's good 00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:19.480 news, you want to be in that kingdom, how do 00:14:19.480 --> 00:14:24.320 you get in there? Repent of your sins and believe 00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:27.909 on the Lord Jesus Christ. In Acts 20, the apostles 00:14:27.909 --> 00:14:30.409 were preaching. Notice what they said, testifying 00:14:30.409 --> 00:14:33.250 to the Jews and also to the Greeks, that's Gentiles. 00:14:33.789 --> 00:14:36.669 What were they preaching? Repentance toward God 00:14:36.669 --> 00:14:40.429 and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 00:14:40.429 --> 00:14:44.490 2 38, the day of Pentecost. Peter said, repent 00:14:44.490 --> 00:14:47.429 and let every one of you be baptized in the name 00:14:47.429 --> 00:14:50.049 of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and 00:14:50.049 --> 00:14:52.009 you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 00:14:54.260 --> 00:14:58.899 Mark 16, verses 15 to 16. He says, go into all 00:14:58.899 --> 00:15:02.759 the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:07.000 He who believes and is baptized will be saved 00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:10.220 and he who does not believe will be condemned. 00:15:11.240 --> 00:15:14.259 And finally in Acts 16, this is the Philippian 00:15:14.259 --> 00:15:17.179 jailer. Do you remember he said, sirs, what must 00:15:17.179 --> 00:15:19.500 I do to be saved? And what did Paul and Silas 00:15:19.500 --> 00:15:22.580 tell him? They said, sir, believe on the Lord 00:15:22.580 --> 00:15:25.799 Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your 00:15:25.799 --> 00:15:28.580 entire household. So when we're preaching this 00:15:28.580 --> 00:15:32.899 gospel, it calls for a response, repentance of 00:15:32.899 --> 00:15:37.799 your sin, turning from your sin and faith turning 00:15:37.799 --> 00:15:41.840 to and placing your trust in Jesus Christ. Now 00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:44.139 as we go back to our text in Matthew, we're going 00:15:44.139 --> 00:15:46.340 to see that the Lord sent these men out with 00:15:46.340 --> 00:15:49.480 miraculous authority. Look at verse 8. He told 00:15:49.480 --> 00:15:53.840 him, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise 00:15:53.840 --> 00:15:58.259 the dead, cast out demons. That's amazing stuff 00:15:58.259 --> 00:16:01.799 right there. So Jesus gave these men authority 00:16:01.799 --> 00:16:07.100 to do what? Exactly what he had been doing. They 00:16:07.100 --> 00:16:09.960 are his, they're doing everything he did. They're 00:16:09.960 --> 00:16:11.639 preaching like he did, they're going to the same 00:16:11.639 --> 00:16:13.320 people he did, and they're performing the same 00:16:13.320 --> 00:16:16.320 signs and wonders that he did. There would have 00:16:16.320 --> 00:16:19.840 been an expectation if these men truly were Jesus' 00:16:20.059 --> 00:16:23.059 ambassadors, and everyone in Galilee knew about 00:16:23.059 --> 00:16:26.120 Jesus by this time. If you're going to go into 00:16:26.120 --> 00:16:28.639 town and you're saying, I represent Jesus, then 00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:31.279 there would have been some expectation. Well, 00:16:31.279 --> 00:16:34.710 where's the evidence? I mean, we know about Jesus, 00:16:34.710 --> 00:16:37.730 and if you're sent by Him, prove it. Give some 00:16:37.730 --> 00:16:41.610 evidence. But even more importantly than that, 00:16:42.509 --> 00:16:45.009 their message was that the kingdom of heaven 00:16:45.009 --> 00:16:48.809 was at hand. I mean, if I come in and I'm preaching, 00:16:48.970 --> 00:16:52.110 the kingdom of heaven is here. It's near. What 00:16:52.110 --> 00:16:55.490 proof, what evidence is there to my claim? Well, 00:16:55.490 --> 00:17:00.029 this is evidence. The sick are healed. Lepers 00:17:00.029 --> 00:17:03.500 are now cleansed. Dead people are being raised 00:17:03.500 --> 00:17:07.079 to life, and all those who are bound by demons 00:17:07.079 --> 00:17:09.180 and have been troubled and afflicted by demons 00:17:09.180 --> 00:17:12.160 are being set free. I mean, those are miraculous 00:17:12.160 --> 00:17:14.960 signs, and they all point to what life in the 00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:18.339 kingdom of God will be like. So what they're 00:17:18.339 --> 00:17:20.180 going out saying, what they're going out preaching, 00:17:20.299 --> 00:17:22.079 here's what they're saying. The kingdom you've 00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:24.160 been waiting for, to the Jews, it's here, it's 00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:26.680 here right now, if you will receive Jesus as 00:17:26.680 --> 00:17:30.670 your king. Do you recognize him? Do you remember 00:17:30.670 --> 00:17:33.069 what John said about Jesus? He had come to destroy 00:17:33.069 --> 00:17:36.509 the works of the devil. Well, if Jesus had come 00:17:36.509 --> 00:17:38.730 to destroy the works of the devil, John clearly 00:17:38.730 --> 00:17:41.529 tells us that, then that means when the kingdom 00:17:41.529 --> 00:17:44.890 comes in its fullness, in its consummate form, 00:17:45.930 --> 00:17:48.190 you'll not find disease there. There will be 00:17:48.190 --> 00:17:50.730 no death there, and certainly there'll be no 00:17:50.730 --> 00:17:54.690 demons there. So these apostles, not only did 00:17:54.690 --> 00:17:58.250 they confirm their message, but these were signs. 00:17:58.680 --> 00:18:01.259 They were signs, they were hints, if you will, 00:18:01.640 --> 00:18:04.740 showing what life in the kingdom of God will 00:18:04.740 --> 00:18:09.140 truly be like. In the kingdom, everything that 00:18:09.140 --> 00:18:12.400 was messed up is now restored. It's restoration. 00:18:13.259 --> 00:18:15.460 There is life where there was once death. There's 00:18:15.460 --> 00:18:17.539 wholeness where there was once sickness. In fact, 00:18:17.579 --> 00:18:21.240 there is what we would call shalom, peace. And 00:18:21.240 --> 00:18:23.119 I've told you many times, shalom doesn't simply 00:18:23.119 --> 00:18:26.059 mean absence of conflict. Shalom means life as 00:18:26.059 --> 00:18:29.700 God intended. It's human flourishing. It's life 00:18:29.700 --> 00:18:32.640 before sin entered. This is what they were to 00:18:32.640 --> 00:18:35.160 do. Then Jesus gave another thing though. He 00:18:35.160 --> 00:18:36.539 said, hey, by the way, don't charge for your 00:18:36.539 --> 00:18:38.880 services. Look at the latter part of verse eight. 00:18:39.180 --> 00:18:41.119 Freely you have received, now you give freely. 00:18:42.259 --> 00:18:45.240 Don't take money with you and don't take more 00:18:45.240 --> 00:18:46.900 than what you need. It's basically verses eight 00:18:46.900 --> 00:18:50.500 through 10. Now, notice here, the apostles were 00:18:50.500 --> 00:18:53.279 forbidden from charging a fee. They couldn't 00:18:53.279 --> 00:18:56.480 do it. Their ministry was to be characterized 00:18:56.480 --> 00:19:01.359 by generosity, not by profiteering. The authority 00:19:01.359 --> 00:19:05.259 had been given to them freely. It was a gift 00:19:05.259 --> 00:19:07.660 to them, and Jesus said, you're not going to 00:19:07.660 --> 00:19:10.759 profit off the use of that gift. I've given to 00:19:10.759 --> 00:19:12.579 you freely, now you go out and give to people 00:19:12.579 --> 00:19:15.099 freely. So now they come, they're preaching about 00:19:15.099 --> 00:19:18.119 the kingdom and life in the kingdom, not about 00:19:18.119 --> 00:19:22.799 enriching oneself, but about service. That's 00:19:22.799 --> 00:19:25.160 what life in the kingdom is about. Who sent these 00:19:25.160 --> 00:19:29.839 guys? Jesus. Do you remember what was written 00:19:29.839 --> 00:19:33.839 of Jesus? Though he were rich, yet he made himself 00:19:33.839 --> 00:19:38.500 poor for your sake, that you and I, by his poverty, 00:19:38.980 --> 00:19:41.980 might be enriched. So Jesus comes and he made 00:19:41.980 --> 00:19:45.039 himself poor so that we his people might be enriched 00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:47.480 by him and he tells his apostles, you're going 00:19:47.480 --> 00:19:50.559 to go out and do the very same thing. You will 00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:54.279 not profit off of this ability. You go out and 00:19:54.279 --> 00:19:56.279 teach the people and you perform these mighty 00:19:56.279 --> 00:19:58.799 acts of healing and you don't take a dime from 00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:02.339 anyone. Now that's important as well because 00:20:02.339 --> 00:20:04.359 that's going to safeguard the gospel message. 00:20:04.980 --> 00:20:07.400 Because if you start charging or people start 00:20:07.400 --> 00:20:10.029 paying you, There's going to be accusations of 00:20:10.029 --> 00:20:13.390 greed. Think about this. Had these guys come 00:20:13.390 --> 00:20:14.950 and they had these big money bags with them, 00:20:14.970 --> 00:20:16.769 which is what they would have received offerings 00:20:16.769 --> 00:20:20.289 in, or had they taken honorariums for speaking 00:20:20.289 --> 00:20:24.950 fees, for preaching or performing miracles, there 00:20:24.950 --> 00:20:27.710 would have been an accusation, no doubt there 00:20:27.710 --> 00:20:29.349 would have been an accusation, made by others, 00:20:29.630 --> 00:20:33.029 that these men were simply getting rich off the 00:20:33.029 --> 00:20:36.869 backs of poor, gullible Jews. So Jesus said, 00:20:36.930 --> 00:20:40.549 don't do it. You don't charge anyone. But he 00:20:40.549 --> 00:20:44.569 did say it is okay to receive food and lodging. 00:20:44.849 --> 00:20:49.650 Why? A worker is worthy of his hire, or his food, 00:20:49.950 --> 00:20:52.490 as it says in our text. And that's an important 00:20:52.490 --> 00:20:55.670 point as well. If you go back to ancient Israeli 00:20:55.670 --> 00:20:58.369 culture, or really ancient Mediterranean culture, 00:20:58.890 --> 00:21:03.000 you see that hospitality was highly valued. Highly 00:21:03.000 --> 00:21:05.599 valued. It was a godly responsibility, and it 00:21:05.599 --> 00:21:07.400 was commonly practiced. So you would have people 00:21:07.400 --> 00:21:09.160 traveling. They didn't have a lot of hotels. 00:21:09.740 --> 00:21:11.359 They didn't have a lot of places of lodging. 00:21:11.539 --> 00:21:14.019 So people just took strangers into their home. 00:21:14.180 --> 00:21:16.859 It was very common. It was well respected. It 00:21:16.859 --> 00:21:20.599 was well practiced. This is how these men, even 00:21:20.599 --> 00:21:23.079 though they're strangers, they could depend upon 00:21:23.079 --> 00:21:26.079 the gracious hospitality of others to give them 00:21:26.079 --> 00:21:29.299 food and to put them up for the night. So not 00:21:29.299 --> 00:21:32.029 only can you not charge a fee, guys, Jesus said 00:21:32.029 --> 00:21:33.789 you're going to travel light. Notice the text. 00:21:34.289 --> 00:21:36.869 He doesn't want them to be hindered by possessions. 00:21:37.250 --> 00:21:41.049 Instead, he wants them to trust him for their 00:21:41.049 --> 00:21:44.589 provision. So don't take two tunics. You got 00:21:44.589 --> 00:21:48.369 the one. Don't take two pairs of sandals. Don't 00:21:48.369 --> 00:21:51.779 take with you two staffs in your hand. So this 00:21:51.779 --> 00:21:53.880 is a bare bones ministry, right? So our Lord 00:21:53.880 --> 00:21:55.900 is sending out these men with almost nothing, 00:21:56.119 --> 00:21:58.460 and they're gonna have to trust God to supply 00:21:58.460 --> 00:22:01.140 for their needs. This would be a great test of 00:22:01.140 --> 00:22:04.400 faith for these men. It's a great test of faith. 00:22:05.160 --> 00:22:06.900 Now, sometimes you're looking at this and you're 00:22:06.900 --> 00:22:08.519 like, well, why don't you guys do that today? 00:22:08.640 --> 00:22:12.160 Why don't people do that anymore? Notice this 00:22:12.160 --> 00:22:15.799 is not a command to us today. This passage is 00:22:15.799 --> 00:22:19.640 descriptive. It's not prescriptive. So what I 00:22:19.640 --> 00:22:23.000 mean by that, it describes the first apostolic 00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:26.440 mission. This is not a recipe, it's not a prescription 00:22:26.440 --> 00:22:30.119 for all future missionary endeavors or how missions 00:22:30.119 --> 00:22:34.859 must work today. In fact, Jesus later, after 00:22:34.859 --> 00:22:38.180 he dies and rises again, he changes this provision. 00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:40.400 If you look in Luke 22, I think I put up there, 00:22:40.900 --> 00:22:44.259 yeah. When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, 00:22:44.299 --> 00:22:48.250 and sandals, did you lack anything? No, their 00:22:48.250 --> 00:22:50.329 mission was a success. No, Lord we didn't lack 00:22:50.329 --> 00:22:54.549 anything. Now he said to them, but now things 00:22:54.549 --> 00:22:57.410 are different. If you have a money bag, take 00:22:57.410 --> 00:23:00.190 it. And likewise a knapsack. And if you don't 00:23:00.190 --> 00:23:02.470 have a sword, well sell your clothes and go buy 00:23:02.470 --> 00:23:08.190 a sword. The conditions after the crucifixion. 00:23:08.619 --> 00:23:10.920 We're different from those in the early ministry. 00:23:11.220 --> 00:23:13.220 See, in Matthew 10, we're in his early ministry. 00:23:13.500 --> 00:23:15.420 And so now with the changing conditions, you 00:23:15.420 --> 00:23:17.819 have a change in ministry. Now they are to take 00:23:17.819 --> 00:23:20.400 money. Now they are to provide. Back here, they 00:23:20.400 --> 00:23:23.339 aren't. But I want us to focus on these last 00:23:23.339 --> 00:23:25.519 few minutes, verses 11 through 15. This is what 00:23:25.519 --> 00:23:29.539 I think is the crux of the passage here. Whatever 00:23:29.539 --> 00:23:32.700 city or town you enter, find out who's the worthy 00:23:32.700 --> 00:23:35.240 one and go in. And once you go into house, you 00:23:35.240 --> 00:23:37.359 stay there. I'm paraphrasing. And by the way, 00:23:37.400 --> 00:23:39.099 when you go into this house, I want you to greet 00:23:39.099 --> 00:23:42.400 it. Give a blessing, all right? And if it's worthy, 00:23:42.799 --> 00:23:44.400 let your blessing stay. But if the household 00:23:44.400 --> 00:23:47.319 is not worthy, take your blessing back. And whoever 00:23:47.319 --> 00:23:49.099 doesn't hear you and whoever doesn't receive 00:23:49.099 --> 00:23:51.759 your message, he said basically, once you preach, 00:23:51.900 --> 00:23:53.599 I want you to get up, shake the dust from off 00:23:53.599 --> 00:23:55.579 your clothing, shake the dust from off your feet, 00:23:55.720 --> 00:23:58.000 and it's gonna be worse for those people than 00:23:58.000 --> 00:23:59.839 it will be for Sodom and Gomorrah in the final 00:23:59.839 --> 00:24:03.140 judgment. Now that's a paraphrase there. Now 00:24:03.140 --> 00:24:05.099 the Apostles, they went out by pairs. You can 00:24:05.099 --> 00:24:06.460 see that in the beginning part of chapter 10. 00:24:06.460 --> 00:24:09.359 They were all teared up. All right. So you have 00:24:09.359 --> 00:24:11.980 12 men, each going out with two. So there are 00:24:11.980 --> 00:24:15.000 six teams sent out to preach in the various towns 00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:17.539 and villages throughout Galilee. Why would they 00:24:17.539 --> 00:24:19.700 divide and conquer like that? Well, there are 00:24:19.700 --> 00:24:21.680 six teams. They're going to quickly cover more 00:24:21.680 --> 00:24:24.619 area. Galilee's not very big. And they're also 00:24:24.619 --> 00:24:27.099 going to reach more people that way. So you have, 00:24:27.160 --> 00:24:29.539 let's say, two men walk into a town or a village. 00:24:30.180 --> 00:24:32.950 They were to find out who was worthy. and we're 00:24:32.950 --> 00:24:35.190 going to stay there. Now what does it mean for 00:24:35.190 --> 00:24:39.029 someone to be worthy? We think worthy means noble 00:24:39.029 --> 00:24:41.609 or morally perfect. That's not what the word 00:24:41.609 --> 00:24:45.509 is here at all. Keep in mind the context. The 00:24:45.509 --> 00:24:47.910 worthy person was the one who was willing to 00:24:47.910 --> 00:24:50.829 receive them and show them hospitality. That's 00:24:50.829 --> 00:24:54.089 who was worthy in the town. And Jesus said, now, 00:24:54.109 --> 00:24:57.289 once you enter a house, stay there. You don't 00:24:57.289 --> 00:24:59.910 leave. Don't leave that house until you leave 00:24:59.910 --> 00:25:03.880 that area. Now, why was that important? Why can't 00:25:03.880 --> 00:25:08.460 they change homes? Don't upgrade. Don't look 00:25:08.460 --> 00:25:10.480 for better or more comfortable accommodations. 00:25:11.440 --> 00:25:14.000 That's going to compromise your message. He said, 00:25:14.119 --> 00:25:16.140 stay where you are. You don't want to look like 00:25:16.140 --> 00:25:18.019 you're showing favoritism. You don't want to 00:25:18.019 --> 00:25:20.019 have to look like anything's inappropriate because 00:25:20.019 --> 00:25:22.299 you might go into this one house and you stay 00:25:22.299 --> 00:25:24.019 there that night, but this other brother, man, 00:25:24.039 --> 00:25:26.380 he's really got an opulent place. Let's move 00:25:26.380 --> 00:25:29.119 over there. Jesus said, no. Wherever you go, 00:25:29.140 --> 00:25:33.160 you stay. until you leave that area. Verse 12. 00:25:33.859 --> 00:25:35.460 And when you go into household, you need to greet 00:25:35.460 --> 00:25:39.039 it. In Jewish culture, the greeting, many of 00:25:39.039 --> 00:25:41.000 you have been to Israel, you know, the greeting 00:25:41.000 --> 00:25:45.960 is the word shalom, peace. But again, peace is 00:25:45.960 --> 00:25:50.069 not the right word, it's wholeness. It's God's 00:25:50.069 --> 00:25:52.490 favor. Now this greeting is more than just saying 00:25:52.490 --> 00:25:54.809 hi like we would to today. If I say greet someone, 00:25:54.849 --> 00:25:56.609 you'll say, hi, what's your name? That's not 00:25:56.609 --> 00:25:58.930 what we're talking about. This greeting was an 00:25:58.930 --> 00:26:02.970 actual blessing from God. The apostles carried 00:26:02.970 --> 00:26:06.150 with them the authority to bless others in the 00:26:06.150 --> 00:26:09.509 name of God. And he says if it's worthy, verse 00:26:09.509 --> 00:26:12.869 13, if the household is worthy, will you let 00:26:12.869 --> 00:26:18.190 your shalom come upon it? But if it's not, Take 00:26:18.190 --> 00:26:21.009 your shalom back. Now, what's going on here? 00:26:21.549 --> 00:26:24.509 How were the apostles to determine if that household 00:26:24.509 --> 00:26:29.809 was worthy or not? They were worthy if and only 00:26:29.809 --> 00:26:33.890 if they received the message that they were preaching 00:26:33.890 --> 00:26:37.470 about Christ and his kingdom. That's it. See, 00:26:37.690 --> 00:26:40.309 Jewish people, just by nature being Jews, they 00:26:40.309 --> 00:26:42.809 would have naturally practiced hospitality. They 00:26:42.809 --> 00:26:45.150 would have welcomed Jewish men into their homes 00:26:45.150 --> 00:26:47.730 simply because they were fellow Jews traveling, 00:26:48.250 --> 00:26:50.670 not because they believed the Apostles' message. 00:26:51.930 --> 00:26:56.009 But the Apostles' blessing, God's favor, was 00:26:56.009 --> 00:26:59.789 tied to something. It was tied to how this household 00:26:59.789 --> 00:27:04.450 received that message. If the home in which they 00:27:04.450 --> 00:27:08.430 were staying received the gospel, then the blessing 00:27:08.430 --> 00:27:11.069 that the apostles brought with them was to stay 00:27:11.069 --> 00:27:15.390 up on that house. But if, let's say, that household 00:27:15.390 --> 00:27:18.809 heard the apostles preach and they rejected the 00:27:18.809 --> 00:27:22.529 message, then the shalom, the blessing they brought 00:27:22.529 --> 00:27:28.109 is to be rescinded. Take it back. God's favor, 00:27:28.690 --> 00:27:32.769 His blessing will never... rest upon a home, 00:27:33.170 --> 00:27:37.009 a town, or a person who rejects his son. Never. 00:27:37.690 --> 00:27:41.230 Not a nation, by the way, either. If the people 00:27:41.230 --> 00:27:45.089 were to receive the Apostle's message, they received 00:27:45.089 --> 00:27:49.869 Christ himself. And if they receive Christ, then 00:27:49.869 --> 00:27:53.109 they receive the peace or the shalom of the kingdom 00:27:53.109 --> 00:27:56.900 of Christ. God's favorite, still true today, 00:27:57.180 --> 00:28:00.660 His blessing, His salvation is directly tied 00:28:00.660 --> 00:28:03.779 to how you or anyone receives the good news, 00:28:03.799 --> 00:28:06.640 the gospel of His Son. That's what determines 00:28:06.640 --> 00:28:09.920 the blessing of God. But there are going to be 00:28:09.920 --> 00:28:12.519 people who reject it. We see that in the last 00:28:12.519 --> 00:28:17.140 two verses, verses 14 and 15. Whoever will not 00:28:17.140 --> 00:28:21.759 hear you, if they don't, shake off the dust from 00:28:21.759 --> 00:28:25.369 your feet. So we see here, obviously, Jesus knows 00:28:25.369 --> 00:28:27.089 they're going to go preaching throughout Galilee, 00:28:27.109 --> 00:28:29.329 but not everyone's going to listen to them. Not 00:28:29.329 --> 00:28:32.329 everyone's going to welcome their message. Many 00:28:32.329 --> 00:28:36.710 will hear that message and reject it. And I think 00:28:36.710 --> 00:28:39.289 it's instructive for us today as well. Friends, 00:28:39.349 --> 00:28:41.250 so many of us, we want to make sure that people 00:28:41.250 --> 00:28:43.930 enter into the kingdom. But I want you to understand, 00:28:43.970 --> 00:28:46.769 look at the apostles. They were only responsible 00:28:46.769 --> 00:28:50.869 to preach. They were never responsible for how 00:28:50.869 --> 00:28:55.069 others responded to their preaching. We today, 00:28:55.230 --> 00:28:59.150 we preach Christ crucified and risen for the 00:28:59.150 --> 00:29:01.650 salvation of sinners. But whether people receive 00:29:01.650 --> 00:29:03.809 that gospel message, whether they reject that 00:29:03.809 --> 00:29:07.049 gospel message, is not dependent upon me or you. 00:29:07.569 --> 00:29:10.210 It can never be. And that's the same with the 00:29:10.210 --> 00:29:12.289 apostles. They didn't try to twist or strong 00:29:12.289 --> 00:29:14.809 -arm anyone. They preached Christ and the people 00:29:14.809 --> 00:29:18.259 either rejected it or they received Him. But 00:29:18.259 --> 00:29:21.480 if they rejected this message, to reject what 00:29:21.480 --> 00:29:24.140 the apostles were preaching is to reject Christ. 00:29:24.420 --> 00:29:28.240 And if you reject Christ, you rejected God. Luke 00:29:28.240 --> 00:29:32.099 10 -16, Jesus said to the apostles, he who hears 00:29:32.099 --> 00:29:35.720 you hears me. And he who rejects you rejects 00:29:35.720 --> 00:29:40.319 me. And the one who rejects me rejects him who 00:29:40.319 --> 00:29:44.900 sent me. Do you see the importance of this? To 00:29:44.900 --> 00:29:50.380 reject the apostolic message. This gospel is 00:29:50.380 --> 00:29:53.859 to invite judgment. When anyone rejected the 00:29:53.859 --> 00:29:56.500 message, the apostles were to do something, shake 00:29:56.500 --> 00:29:59.279 off the dust from their feet. Now, this would 00:29:59.279 --> 00:30:01.819 have been a very obvious sign to any Jew of that 00:30:01.819 --> 00:30:03.880 day, because many Jews, when they would travel, 00:30:04.059 --> 00:30:06.079 especially in Galilee, they would travel outside 00:30:06.079 --> 00:30:08.740 of Israel into Gentile territory, sometimes having 00:30:08.740 --> 00:30:10.619 to do business or just walking through Samaria 00:30:10.619 --> 00:30:13.220 even. But anytime they would come back into the 00:30:13.220 --> 00:30:15.079 land of Israel, they would leave Gentile land 00:30:15.079 --> 00:30:17.279 or Samaritan land, they came back into Israel. 00:30:17.339 --> 00:30:19.220 they would shake the dust from their clothes 00:30:19.220 --> 00:30:22.460 and shake the dust off their feet. Why? They 00:30:22.460 --> 00:30:25.539 were showing separation from those unclean Gentiles. 00:30:26.460 --> 00:30:30.240 They're making the distinction there. The apostles 00:30:30.240 --> 00:30:34.420 shaking the dust off their sandals from a Jew 00:30:34.420 --> 00:30:37.519 who rejected the message was essentially saying 00:30:37.519 --> 00:30:41.140 to that Jew, you are no different than a pagan 00:30:41.140 --> 00:30:46.720 Gentile. The Jew who rejected Christ was just 00:30:46.720 --> 00:30:49.839 as outside the covenant as Gentiles were and 00:30:49.839 --> 00:30:52.460 are, regardless of what John Hagee preaches today. 00:30:52.819 --> 00:30:56.720 There is no two covenants, friends. This is an 00:30:56.720 --> 00:31:01.980 astounding claim. If you reject Christ, if you 00:31:01.980 --> 00:31:06.019 were a Jew, it placed you outside of God's covenant 00:31:06.019 --> 00:31:09.720 as if you were a pagan. That's what they're saying 00:31:09.720 --> 00:31:14.490 here. how one responded to the Apostles' message, 00:31:14.650 --> 00:31:17.309 determined whether one received God's blessing 00:31:17.309 --> 00:31:21.549 or received God's judgment. Look at the final 00:31:21.549 --> 00:31:25.829 verse. This ought to make us fear. This verse 00:31:25.829 --> 00:31:29.910 here. We ought to ponder it, meditate upon it. 00:31:30.569 --> 00:31:34.329 Jesus said, assuredly, mark it down. I say to 00:31:34.329 --> 00:31:36.569 you, it will be more tolerable, it will be more 00:31:36.569 --> 00:31:40.460 bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah. in the final 00:31:40.460 --> 00:31:43.319 day of judgment than for those who reject what 00:31:43.319 --> 00:31:46.259 the apostles were preaching. And you all know 00:31:46.259 --> 00:31:49.420 Sodom and Gomorrah, right? They're the two most 00:31:49.420 --> 00:31:52.220 infamous cities that God overthrew because of 00:31:52.220 --> 00:31:55.380 their extreme wickedness. They were the two most 00:31:55.380 --> 00:31:58.819 wicked cities in biblical history. And we know 00:31:58.819 --> 00:32:01.700 both of those cities, they incurred God's severe 00:32:01.700 --> 00:32:05.220 judgment. And Jesus invokes the name of these 00:32:05.220 --> 00:32:08.480 two cities to make a comparison. He said, it 00:32:08.480 --> 00:32:12.940 will be better for Sodom and Gomorrah in judgment, 00:32:13.720 --> 00:32:16.519 although through their extreme wickedness, than 00:32:16.519 --> 00:32:19.299 it will be for those who rejected the gospel 00:32:19.299 --> 00:32:22.700 of Christ and his kingdom. Now listen, when Sodom 00:32:22.700 --> 00:32:26.119 and Gomorrah were guilty of great sin, tremendous 00:32:26.119 --> 00:32:30.700 wickedness, but they did not have Israel's privilege. 00:32:31.660 --> 00:32:36.490 They did not have all of that revelation. Israel 00:32:36.490 --> 00:32:40.049 was tremendously gifted. They had, the folks 00:32:40.049 --> 00:32:42.609 of this, they had the opportunity to witness 00:32:42.609 --> 00:32:46.329 not only the apostles preaching, but performing 00:32:46.329 --> 00:32:49.910 extraordinary miracles. Remember, they're doing 00:32:49.910 --> 00:32:52.130 cleansing lepers and raising the dead and healing 00:32:52.130 --> 00:32:56.789 the sick, casting out demons. There is no excuse 00:32:56.789 --> 00:33:00.750 or there was no excuse for unbelief. So their 00:33:00.750 --> 00:33:05.440 rejection of that revelation brought a greater 00:33:05.440 --> 00:33:08.119 responsibility and it brings a greater judgment 00:33:08.119 --> 00:33:11.480 as well. Now some people don't believe this, 00:33:11.519 --> 00:33:14.099 but the Bible teaches us there will be degrees 00:33:14.099 --> 00:33:17.859 of punishment. Not all judgment is uniform, if 00:33:17.859 --> 00:33:20.940 you want to say it that way. Jesus said on various 00:33:20.940 --> 00:33:23.000 occasions it's going to be more tolerable for 00:33:23.000 --> 00:33:25.799 some than others. Now that doesn't mean that 00:33:25.799 --> 00:33:28.460 he's getting like a 70 degree hell, I'm not saying 00:33:28.460 --> 00:33:31.019 that. But he's saying it's going to be more tolerable 00:33:31.019 --> 00:33:33.740 for others depending on the light that was either 00:33:33.740 --> 00:33:38.480 received or rejected. It will be. Great revelation 00:33:38.480 --> 00:33:42.859 brings great responsibility. To whom much is 00:33:42.859 --> 00:33:46.859 given, much will be required. If you've heard 00:33:46.859 --> 00:33:48.759 the truth, and think about these people, they 00:33:48.759 --> 00:33:50.980 heard the truth, they saw the miracles, they 00:33:50.980 --> 00:33:54.339 had access to that great revelation, they looked 00:33:54.339 --> 00:33:58.220 at it, and they rejected it. They're like, no, 00:33:58.220 --> 00:34:02.880 Jesus is not king. That's not him. God says that 00:34:02.880 --> 00:34:07.539 will bring a severe judgment. Paul, in the book 00:34:07.539 --> 00:34:09.699 of Romans, he said, look at how Israel was gifted. 00:34:09.940 --> 00:34:13.000 They had the covenants. They had the scriptures. 00:34:13.460 --> 00:34:16.400 They had the prophecies. They had all the prophets. 00:34:17.019 --> 00:34:20.300 They also had the direct preaching of the kingdom. 00:34:21.719 --> 00:34:27.130 They had Jesus. And they rejected it. And to 00:34:27.130 --> 00:34:30.489 reject all that is fundamentally worse than all 00:34:30.489 --> 00:34:33.250 of the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah. It's 00:34:33.250 --> 00:34:38.050 what it says. The more clearly one has heard 00:34:38.050 --> 00:34:41.949 the message of Christ, the greater the accountability 00:34:41.949 --> 00:34:46.030 one has before God. It's a terrible thing for 00:34:46.030 --> 00:34:49.849 you today. What that means is if you heard Christ 00:34:49.849 --> 00:34:51.710 and you heard it clearly and you continue to 00:34:51.710 --> 00:34:54.130 reject it and you die in your sins, there will 00:34:54.130 --> 00:34:57.760 be an unbearable judgment. You don't get to reject 00:34:57.760 --> 00:35:01.500 Christ and have God's blessing. To reject Christ 00:35:01.500 --> 00:35:03.800 with the full revelation knowing that Christ 00:35:03.800 --> 00:35:07.880 died, He rose again, He ascended, it is to bring 00:35:07.880 --> 00:35:10.840 God's severe judgment down upon your own head. 00:35:11.719 --> 00:35:14.360 That's what the Lord's saying. R .T. France in 00:35:14.360 --> 00:35:16.480 his commentary speaking of the Jews, he said 00:35:16.480 --> 00:35:19.360 their fate will be worse because the fuller light 00:35:19.360 --> 00:35:21.579 of the dawning of kingdom is now being rejected. 00:35:22.269 --> 00:35:24.730 To reject Jesus' messengers, that is the apostles, 00:35:25.130 --> 00:35:29.489 is to reject God, and it is to incur his final 00:35:29.489 --> 00:35:33.489 judgment. It's terrible if we think about that. 00:35:34.429 --> 00:35:36.449 There is nothing worse than the prospect of hell. 00:35:38.110 --> 00:35:40.289 To stand before God and to have him say, depart 00:35:40.289 --> 00:35:42.449 from me, I never knew you, and to cast you into 00:35:42.449 --> 00:35:47.250 the abyss. Modern people mock it. They mock the 00:35:47.250 --> 00:35:50.289 idea of a final judgment. They say there's no 00:35:50.289 --> 00:35:52.210 way that's going to happen. That's just left 00:35:52.210 --> 00:35:56.110 over from an ancient religion in a crude time. 00:35:57.889 --> 00:35:59.590 But if you look clearly, you can see that Jesus 00:35:59.590 --> 00:36:02.690 took the idea of final judgment very seriously. 00:36:04.670 --> 00:36:09.030 There's nothing ambiguous about this. Jesus says 00:36:09.030 --> 00:36:11.469 the matter of final judgment is a settled truth. 00:36:12.650 --> 00:36:14.409 We will all stand before the judgment seat of 00:36:14.409 --> 00:36:17.210 Christ. Everyone's going to stand before God 00:36:17.210 --> 00:36:21.989 one day. You're like, well, now what, then? There 00:36:21.989 --> 00:36:26.429 is one Savior, one Lord, one King. And that is 00:36:26.429 --> 00:36:30.789 Christ Himself. So you've got to decide. Is He 00:36:30.789 --> 00:36:34.030 a Lord? Is He Lord? Or is He a liar? Is He a 00:36:34.030 --> 00:36:36.849 lunatic? You're saying, well, He's Lord. Well, 00:36:36.909 --> 00:36:39.389 is He? If He's Lord, then you receive Him by 00:36:39.389 --> 00:36:41.510 repenting of your sin and placing your faith 00:36:41.510 --> 00:36:44.590 in Christ. And if He is your Lord, if He's your 00:36:44.590 --> 00:36:48.679 Lord, you must bow before Him. recognizing His 00:36:48.679 --> 00:36:52.159 sovereign authority over all of us. See, friends, 00:36:52.300 --> 00:36:54.960 to be a Christian is to no longer be our own 00:36:54.960 --> 00:36:58.460 master. We have been bought with a price, and 00:36:58.460 --> 00:37:02.019 we are to glorify God in our bodies. So many 00:37:02.019 --> 00:37:03.699 people think, well, Jesus is standing there. 00:37:03.719 --> 00:37:06.340 He's inviting. God is just inviting sinners to 00:37:06.340 --> 00:37:08.320 come to Jesus. That's not what the Bible declares 00:37:08.320 --> 00:37:11.219 at all. God's not inviting anyone. He's commanding 00:37:11.219 --> 00:37:13.900 you. The Bible commands you to come to Christ. 00:37:14.260 --> 00:37:17.829 Look at Acts 17. Truly, these times of ignorance 00:37:17.829 --> 00:37:22.389 God overlooked, but now He commands all men everywhere 00:37:22.389 --> 00:37:26.869 to repent. Why? Why must they repent? Because 00:37:26.869 --> 00:37:29.030 He has appointed a day on which He will judge 00:37:29.030 --> 00:37:31.590 the world in righteousness by the man, that's 00:37:31.590 --> 00:37:34.090 Christ, whom He has ordained, and He has given 00:37:34.090 --> 00:37:36.969 assurance of this. He's given you proof to all. 00:37:37.070 --> 00:37:38.530 What's the proof that He's really going to judge 00:37:38.530 --> 00:37:43.630 the world? By raising Him from the dead. If you 00:37:43.630 --> 00:37:48.210 disobey this command to repent, then in great 00:37:48.210 --> 00:37:51.269 horror, you will find yourself on the receiving 00:37:51.269 --> 00:37:54.550 end one day of God's unbridled judgment for all 00:37:54.550 --> 00:37:58.050 eternity. It's a dreadful thing, it's a fearful 00:37:58.050 --> 00:38:00.110 thing, it's a terrible thing to fall into the 00:38:00.110 --> 00:38:03.170 hands of the living God. Can you imagine anything 00:38:03.170 --> 00:38:07.670 worse? Is there anything truly, anything more 00:38:07.670 --> 00:38:11.219 dreadful than the prospect of hell? Have you 00:38:11.219 --> 00:38:12.840 ever thought about it and just gripped your heart 00:38:12.840 --> 00:38:16.280 and panic set in? I mean, it has me. There's 00:38:16.280 --> 00:38:18.440 before like, Lord, do I truly know you? I've 00:38:18.440 --> 00:38:20.219 thought about that. I'm like, it's just gripped 00:38:20.219 --> 00:38:22.559 me because you think about time and we think 00:38:22.559 --> 00:38:26.340 time will end. There is no time. It's eternity. 00:38:27.719 --> 00:38:32.739 To reject God's King is to do the unthinkable. 00:38:33.699 --> 00:38:38.860 So I tell you today, flee to Christ and be saved. 00:38:39.670 --> 00:38:42.849 All those who come to him, he says, I won't reject 00:38:42.849 --> 00:38:46.250 anyone. I receive every single sinner who comes 00:38:46.250 --> 00:38:51.030 to me. All those who bow before him, he receives. 00:38:51.610 --> 00:38:53.909 Today, friend, it is not a laughing matter. It 00:38:53.909 --> 00:38:58.250 is not a small prospect. It is the most important 00:38:58.250 --> 00:39:02.489 business transaction of the soul. What will you 00:39:02.489 --> 00:39:08.340 do with Jesus called Christ? Let's pray. Father, 00:39:08.460 --> 00:39:11.260 I pray that, Lord, you would use feeble words 00:39:11.260 --> 00:39:17.679 from a very feeble man to do what only you can 00:39:17.679 --> 00:39:20.900 through the foolishness of what I just did save 00:39:20.900 --> 00:39:24.380 those who believe. Lord, may you open eyes, may 00:39:24.380 --> 00:39:25.920 they believe that, that yes, there's the final 00:39:25.920 --> 00:39:28.840 judgment, and yes, they indeed are great sinners 00:39:28.840 --> 00:39:32.300 and they need to repent and trust Christ. Oh, 00:39:32.300 --> 00:39:34.659 Father, by your Spirit, awaken them to that truth. 00:39:35.050 --> 00:39:39.769 God, bring sinners into your kingdom. Save church 00:39:39.769 --> 00:39:41.789 members, Lord, who perhaps are just nominal, 00:39:41.949 --> 00:39:45.949 Lord, just cold and dead inside, and yet their 00:39:45.949 --> 00:39:49.550 name is on a roll. God, awaken them to righteousness, 00:39:49.889 --> 00:39:52.630 awaken them to judgment, and awaken them to salvation, 00:39:53.230 --> 00:39:57.590 Lord. The true gift, the true gift is Christ. 00:39:58.710 --> 00:40:00.469 Lord, this is what we celebrate, Lord, in this 00:40:00.469 --> 00:40:05.039 meal. God, that Lord, we truly commune with him. 00:40:05.559 --> 00:40:07.880 We share with him. We participate in his body 00:40:07.880 --> 00:40:09.599 and his blood because there is no other means 00:40:09.599 --> 00:40:11.460 of salvation than the body and blood of Christ. 00:40:12.840 --> 00:40:14.599 What is our only hope? It is that Christ has 00:40:14.599 --> 00:40:17.739 died for us and risen again. Lord, everything. 00:40:17.820 --> 00:40:20.440 Lord, we put all our eggs in that one basket 00:40:20.440 --> 00:40:24.039 named Jesus. Lord, for the saints today, Lord, 00:40:24.039 --> 00:40:25.739 who are struggling, Lord, God, would you help 00:40:25.739 --> 00:40:28.119 them see anew, get a glimpse, Lord, of the glory 00:40:28.119 --> 00:40:31.079 of Christ, encourage them, mature them, grow 00:40:31.079 --> 00:40:33.969 them up into Christ, Lord, we pray. Help us now, 00:40:34.010 --> 00:40:36.809 Lord, as we come to the table in a very serious 00:40:36.809 --> 00:40:39.849 way, Lord, but also in a very joyful way, knowing 00:40:39.849 --> 00:40:42.690 that we have been brought in because Christ has 00:40:42.690 --> 00:40:44.829 died for us. And we thank you for that truth. 00:40:44.929 --> 00:40:48.210 In Jesus' blessed name we pray. Amen. Deacons, 00:40:48.289 --> 00:40:49.329 if you'd come, prepare the table.