This morning we returned to our study in Matthew.
We took a few weeks break. We had Palm Sunday
and then Easter Sunday. So it's been about three
weeks. So what I decided to do today, I'm reading
verses 1 to 3 and I'm going to skip down to verses
10 to 17 and Lord willing, next Sunday, I'll
go back and I'll preach 1 through 9. And I think
it will make sense. I hope it does. Because we're
going to understand something today. It's a question
that the disciples posed to Jesus. Jesus, why
are you only speaking in parables to these people
and you don't give them the instruction? You're
not giving them the interpretation. Why are you
doing that? So there's a lot of parables in chapter
13. There's seven of them. So I thought it would
be interesting to see what Jesus said. And then
we'll go back and start looking at the parables.
So let's look at verses 1 to 3, sets up the text,
verses 10 to 17. On the same day, Jesus went
out of the house, and he sat by the sea, he had
been teaching, and great multitudes were gathered
together to him, so that he got in a boat and
sat, and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
Then he spoke many things to them in parables.
There are seven, as I said. And the disciples
came and said to him, Why do you speak to them
in parables? He answered and said to them, Because
it has been given to you to know the mysteries
of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has
not been given. For whoever has, to him more
will be given, and he will have abundance. But
whoever does not have, even what he has will
be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to
them in parables, because seeing they don't see,
and hearing They don't understand. Or hearing
they do not hear. Nor do they understand. And
in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled.
But what prophecy? The one that says hearing
you will hear and shall not understand. And seeing
you will see and not perceive. For the hearts
of this people have grown dull. Their ears are
hard of hearing. And their eyes they have closed.
Lest they should see with their eyes. And hear
with their ears. lest they should understand
with their hearts in turn, so that I should heal
them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see,
and your ears, for they hear. For assuredly I
say to you that many prophets and righteous men
desired to see what you see and did not see it,
and to hear what you hear and did not hear it.
Let's ask God for his help this morning. Father,
we understand the weakness of our own flesh,
Lord, the inability that we have to understand
rightly the spiritual things that are only revealed.
So this morning, Lord, I'm asking, God, that
you would help me to be clear that, Lord, I would
be not only arrogant but foolish to think that
I could come in here, Lord, and affect change
in the lives of your people. God, I'm asking,
Lord, for the help of the Holy Spirit of God
that you promised to give when we ask. And Father,
I'm asking for you to do what only you can do.
There are some, perhaps, who've grown dull of
hearing. They see, but they don't really see,
and they hear, but they don't understand. Lord,
there are some whose heart is cold and indifferent.
Lord, I pray that you'd wake them up. God, do
effect change in their hearts. And then, Father,
I pray for your saints this morning, Lord, those
whose eyes have been opened and ears have been
opened to understand the glorious gospel. Father,
I pray that they would glory in your grace and
exalt your Son. And it's in his name we pray.
Amen. Our text this morning raises a very profound
question. It's one that throughout history theologians
have debated and spoken about. Why do some people
respond to God, others don't? The Apostle Paul
said this, he said, that for some, there's the
fragrance of the gospel. The gospel has a smell,
if you will. He's using that analogy. And he
said, for some, the gospel is compelling. It's
attractive. And yet for others, they find that
same smell repugnant. It's obnoxious. It's off
-putting. He said that in 2 Corinthians 2. He
said, for we are to God, speaking of the apostles,
the fragrance of Christ. And among those who
are being saved and among those who are perishing.
To the one where the aroma of death, leading
to death. But to the other, the aroma of life,
leading to life. Who is sufficient for these
things? Paul said the gospel is like a fragrance,
a perfume. And it smells wonderful to some. For
to them it smells like life. Yet it's repulsive
to others. For some, to them, it smells like
the stench of death, like an old rotting corpse.
They would never want to go toward it. But the
question we are asking, why do some love the
fragrance and others find that very same fragrance
repulsive? Well, in verse 11 of Matthew 13, he
says, because it's been given to you to know
the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to
them it's not been given. To some, the mystery
of the kingdom is revealed, and to others it
remains concealed. Now on the surface, some think,
well this sounds harsh, as though God is being
arbitrary and capricious. I mean, is God purposely
trying to keep people in the dark and away from
the light? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. In
1 Timothy chapter 2, Paul writing to Timothy,
he said, For this is good and acceptable in the
sight of God our Savior, who desires all men
to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the
truth. Now some will try to explain away. We
don't need to. God desires men to be saved. He
is light. He wants people to come to the truth.
Ezekiel, the old covenant, we see the same thing.
As I live, says the Lord God, Yahweh speaking,
I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked.
But what do you take pleasure in? That the wicked
turn from his way and live. Turn. Turn from your
evil ways. For why should you die, O house of
Israel? The Lord desires that people be saved.
And he says he does not take pleasure in those
who perish. We all know John 3 .16, but I think
John 3 .17 is equally as glorious. For God did
not send his son. Into the world to condemn the
world. It's not why he came. But rather that
the world through him might be saved. So God
has sent his son on a mission. But the mission
was not one of condemnation. His son was sent
on a rescue mission. He's come to seek and to
save the lost. So now as we go back to our text
in Matthew 13. Jesus is revealing a spiritual
principle. Those whose hearts were open to the
truth. received more truth but those whose hearts
were hardened to the truth lost what little bit
they even had so the takeaway this is if we don't
want to over diagnose anything but the takeaway
is this you must respond to the truth while the
light is shining here's what jesus would say
to us do not harden your heart it is possible
to hear the truth to see the light and harden
your heart against them. Look at Israel. It always
amazes me as we look back at Old Covenant Israel.
They had the light of God's revelation, but they
didn't act upon it. In Hebrews chapter 3, this
is incredible. The writer says, therefore, as
the Holy Spirit says, today if you will hear
his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the
rebellion. So it must be possible for you to
harden your heart. In the day of trial in the
wilderness, where your fathers tested me, they
tried me, they saw my works forty years. Therefore
I was angry with that generation. Why was God
angry? Keep reading. And I said, they always
go astray in their heart, and they have not known
my ways. So I swore in my wrath, they shall not
enter into my rest. We skip down to verse 19.
So the bottom line, here's why God was angry.
They could not enter in because of unbelief.
Every time I read that, I think it is incredible
to me to think how that generation who came out
of Egypt died in unbelief. That's what the Bible
says. Very clear. That generation. They died
in unbelief. How is that possible? I mean, think
of all that they witnessed firsthand. First of
all, the great deliverance out of Egypt itself
with the death of the firstborn. The crossing
of the Red Sea. Then daily they had manna given
to them from heaven. They're wandering in a wilderness,
a desert wilderness. For 40 years, their shoes
and their clothes never wore out. They saw Moses
bring, God through Moses, bring water from a
rock. They had the cloud by day leading them,
the pillar of fire by night. And the Bible says
that generation hardened their hearts. But it
is equally incredible to me to think about the
generation who heard Jesus teach firsthand, saw
his miracles firsthand, and remained in unbelief.
With their very own eyes, they saw his miracles.
And the Bible says they hardened their hearts.
Now, it's been a few weeks since we've been in
Matthew, so let's look at the context. So starting
in chapter 12, the Lord began to have conflicts
with the religious leaders, particularly the
Pharisees. It all began one day in a grain field
with a dispute over what was appropriate to do
on the Sabbath day. Well, that conflict continued
that day where Jesus goes into the synagogue
and he heals a man who had a deformed hand that
says withered hand. And he healed him. He made
the man whole, but it was on the Sabbath day.
Now at that point, the Pharisees who had just
seen this great miracle, they assembled, they
convened an assembly. and they determined to
have Jesus put to death formally. That's chapter
12. Their minds were made up. There's no way
that Jesus could be the Messiah in their minds
because he was a Sabbath breaker. Later, in the
same context, Jesus heals another man. It's a
demon -possessed man, but this man was both blind
and mute. The Pharisees saw it. They didn't dispute
that the man was healed, but they said that Jesus
did this miracle by the power of Beelzebub, by
the power of Satan. Their hearts were already
hardened. No amount of evidence was going to
change their minds. Now chapter 12 continues
in the words teaching the people and he enters
into a house. Large crowds are there. Many inside
but many outside had gathered to hear and teach.
Which leads naturally into our text of chapter
13. On the same day, verse 1, Jesus went out
of the house. And he sat by the sea. He's going
to teach them. And it says great multitudes were
gathered to him, so much so that he got into
a boat and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
Okay, so get the picture here. The Lord leaves
the house where he'd been teaching. He heads
to the shore of the Sea of Galilee. But the massive
crowds who were there at the house, both inside
and outside, they keep following him. Because
of Jesus' miracles, wherever he went, large crowds.
He always attracted a large crowd. Now, it wasn't
conducive for Jesus to stay on the shore because
he had too many people around him and no one
could hear him or see him. So what does he do?
He gets into a boat with his disciples. They
go out a little bit and then everyone is standing
on the shore and Jesus is seated in the boat
teaching because that's how a rabbi would have
taught, seated. Verse 3, it says, and he spoke
many things to them in parables. Okay, many things.
There's seven of them in chapter 13. From this
point forward, you're going to notice something
in Matthew's gospel. Whenever Jesus is speaking
to the crowds, he will speak to them in parables.
Before chapters 1 through 12, when Jesus was
speaking to the crowds, he spoke to them in plain,
straightforward language. Look at the Sermon
on the Mount, Matthew 5, 6, and 7. But now, beginning
in verse 13, there's a break. He's going to use
veiled language. He's going to use parables.
Now the word parable, it's interesting, it's
a compound word and it literally means to throw
alongside or to place side by side. It's a juxtaposition.
So when we think about a parable, which the Lord
often used, it was a juxtaposition of an earthly
story with divine truth. Now Lord willing, we'll
look at this parable next week, but most are
familiar with the parable of the soil or the
sower, we call it. There are four types of soil
in the parable of the sower and the seed. But
what do those four soils represent? It's not
about agriculture. That's the earthly illustration
representing divine truth that the four soils
represent four different types of hearts and
their reception or response to the gospel. Now
today, Jesus is being asked a question. Why do
you only speak to them in parables? That confused
the disciples. I mean, what's going on? You're
speaking to them, but you're using cryptic speech.
Why don't you just speak plainly to the crowds?
Or, better yet, why don't you give them the interpretation
just like you give to us? Verse 10. The disciples
said to him, why? Why are you doing this? Now,
Jesus had just given a parable, right? Verses
1 through 9. The parable of the sower. But he
stopped. He never gave the explanation to them.
He never gives them any meanings. They don't
know what it means at that point. They know that
it's probably more than agriculture, but they
don't know what it means. And the disciples,
they're confused. They're bewildered. And they
say, well, Jesus, why are you doing that? Isn't
the point of communication so that you speak
so that your audience understands? I mean, don't
you want them to know? Well, that was a good
question. I mean, usually a speaker is not going
to use veiled language. He doesn't want to confuse
his audience. So why are you doing that? Well,
Jesus answered in verse 11. He said to them,
because it has been given, didomi, it's been
granted to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom.
But to them it's not been granted. He spoke to
the crowds in parables because it wasn't given
to them to understand the mystery. Why not? Well,
first of all, they were being judged for their
unbelief. Week after week, month after month,
Jesus had plainly taught these people about him
and the nature of his kingdom. But they rejected
the truth. They hardened it. They remained in
unbelief after so much revelation had been given
to them. You say, well, they were following him.
Yeah, that's absolutely true. They were following
him. But as John 6 tells us, they were following
him because of the miracles and how they may
personally benefit. They saw Jesus as a meal
ticket or they could ride on his coattails, if
you will. So yeah, Jesus had already spoken plainly
to these people about the nature of his kingdom
and he backed up his teaching with powerful signs
and miracles. These people had seen him with
their eyes, heal the sick, give sight to the
blind, hearing to the deaf, cleanse lepers. multiply
fish and bread, cast out demons, raise the dead.
But in spite of all of the evidence, these people
remained in unbelief. And now they're being judged.
The light of the gospel had shone brightly. They
didn't receive it. So the light was taken away.
expects a response to the truth. Because regardless
of what preachers may tell you, the light does
not always shine. Now listen to the words of
Jesus in John 12. While you have the light, believe
in the light that you may become sons of light.
These things Jesus spoke and departed and was
hidden from them. But though he had done so many
signs before them, They didn't believe in him.
That's the parallel passage in John's Gospel
about Matthew 13, by the way. Wow. Friends, God
will not be trifled with. He is the Almighty.
You are to diligently seek after him as if you
were seeking for a hidden treasure. That ought
to be how diligent you're seeking after God.
Proverbs 2 speaks about this in the beginning
of verse 3. Yes, if you cry out for discernment
and lift up your voice for understanding, if
you seek her as silver and search for her as
hidden treasures, then you'll understand the
fear of the Lord. Then you'll find the knowledge
of God. Indifference toward the things of God
is a grave sin. Jesus, look down, we'll get there
in a few weeks, but in verse 44 of Matthew 13,
he tells another parable, and he says, the kingdom
of heaven is like, it's like a treasure that's
hidden in a field, which a man found, and he
hid it. And for joy over it, he goes and he sells
all that he has and buys that one field. When
you understand the value of God's kingdom and
the value of the king, you become willing to
give up everything and pursue it. The people
to whom Jesus had spoken, they were indifferent.
They closed their hearts. John 12 says they did
not believe. They were apathetic, apathos, no
feeling. So they're not searching, they're not
seeking, they're not responding. Instead, they're
indifferent, but they want Jesus, but they want
Jesus how they can personally benefit. That's
it. It's selfish. Chris Miller, in his commentary,
he says, Jesus speaks in parables concerning
revelation because they have squandered what
they've already received. He now refuses more
revelation to people. Who have ignored what he's
already taught. Jesus said, don't cast your pearls
before swine. They don't get it. So stop trying.
Now whose fault was this? It's their fault. They
brought this upon themselves. Verse 12. For whoever
has, has what? Faith. To him more will be given,
and he will have an abundance. You get the king
and the kingdom and the whole caboodle. But whoever
does not have, does not have what? Does not have
faith. Even what he has will be taken away from
him. So you look at the disciples. They were
committed to Jesus as Messiah. Faith. Now we
know Judas, handpicked by God for a purpose,
was not a faith. But this resulted in their receiving
more knowledge of the kingdom. So the secrets
or the mysteries, the mysterion, it's kind of
like secret here, that would be revealed, it
would be granted to them. But to the crowds,
they rejected Jesus as Messiah. And as a result,
no more knowledge is going to be given to them.
The truth is now hidden from them, which Jesus
said is why I'm speaking to them in parables
and not telling them the meaning. So the crowds
lost their opportunity to hear the truth of God
plainly taught, and that was God's judgment because
they should have believed already. And from this
point, Matthew 13 on, Jesus will speak to the
crowds in parables. Now let me just say, this
is incredible wisdom on the part of Jesus as
well. Because the parable is going to serve as
a test. What if there were someone in the crowd
who was open to the truth, and they hear this
parable, Well, they're going to seek and to search
for the meaning until they find it. But if anyone
was too lazy to seek for the meaning, well, that
showed they didn't have any real interest in
the truth. Just spoon -feeding. Parables reveal
truth to those who are seeking it sincerely,
but parables conceal truth to those who are lazy,
hostile, or indifferent to it. You don't get
to be indifferent toward God. St. John Chrysostom,
he said this, that parables were given so that
those who desire to learn may learn. But those
who are careless may remain ignorant. It's a
test. Because some people are like, no big deal.
So the crowds are being judged for their unbelief.
But now we have the disciples. Verse 11. He said,
to you it's been given. Now the crowds, think
of all they've seen, all they've heard, they
should have fallen down on their faces before
Jesus, acknowledging him as their Messiah, their
King, their Lord. But they didn't. And they're
going to bear consequences. But, so they're responsible.
On the other hand, Jesus gives a gift. He gives
a gift to the disciples. He granted them, gifted
them. Again, dido me in Greek. He granted them
the privilege of knowing the mysteries or secrets
of the kingdom. To understand the mysteries of
the kingdom of God is a gift from heaven. Jesus
clearly said so. He said, to you it has been
given, to you it has been granted. Now let me
just say this, because sometimes I get asked
these questions often. There is a lot, much I
can't understand and I can't explain. The Bible
teaches twin truths, and you have to understand
this. God is absolutely free and sovereign, and
man is absolutely responsible for his decisions
and not believing. Clearly, the crowds are being
judged because they didn't believe when they
should have believed. That's why they're getting
judged. They should, with all the overwhelming
evidence, they should have repented and placed
their faith in Christ. But the evidence was overwhelming.
There was massive evidence for that. None of
those people on that day will ever stand before
the judgment of God and say, Lord, I didn't believe
because you didn't reveal it. That will not hold
water. The text is clear. They're responsible.
They're responsible to believe and they will
be judged for not doing so. But at the very same
time, Jesus said the disciples understand some
things because God granted them the knowledge
to understand some things. See, the disciples
were not particularly clever or insightful. They
were blessed. They were given a gift. I know,
I know with all that I have that the only reason
any of us are here today sitting in this church
on this Lord's Day worshiping Jesus Christ is
because the truth, Was revealed to us by the
spirit of God. Absolutely that's true. The ability
to see Jesus. As the all glorious king. Sent
from God. That's a gift from heaven. You're like
proven. Three chapters later. Jesus will ask
the disciples. Who do men say that I am? And
they start answering. But Peter makes that great
confession in Matthew 16. Verse 16. Simon Peter.
He answered and said, You are the Christ, the
Son of the living God. Now it looks like Peter
is perceptive. I mean, is it really surprising
that Peter understood who Jesus was? I mean,
after all, Peter had spent considerable time
with Jesus. Peter had witnessed the miracles
of Jesus up close and personal. And in fact,
Peter was granted by Jesus the ability to perform
miracles themselves when they went out on their
first preaching journey. So I'm thinking, or
we think, of course Peter knew Jesus was the
Christ, the son of the living God. How could
he not have known? But that's not what Jesus
said. Notice what Jesus said in verse 17. Jesus
answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon,
son of Bar -Jonah, for flesh and blood has not
revealed this to you, but my Father who is in
heaven. Good answer, Peter. You answered well.
But you didn't figure that out. Well, how does
Peter know? You've been blessed, Peter. Because
you understand who I am. Because my Father revealed
that truth to you. Now you say, how did the Father
do it? God did not whisper into Peter's ear the
truth of Jesus' identity. No. Rather... In indiscernible,
inscrutable ways, the Spirit of God worked in
the heart of Peter to reveal that truth to him.
And that's a saying that happens to us today.
God took away the blindness that was over Peter's
heart and granted him knowledge of Christ. And
had he not done so, Peter would have stayed in
the dark. Look at Judas. It's the same thing.
And this is the way that any of us, the only
way that any of us ever come to understand who
Jesus is, is the truth must be revealed to us.
Now, yes, I can teach my children who Jesus is,
and they can answer in an orthodox manner, Jesus
is the son of the living God, he's the Christ,
he's the Messiah, but that won't resonate with
truth in their hearts unless the spirit of God
works in their heart. We are followers of Christ.
Because God in his grace opened the hearts that
were once dark and hard, and he showed us the
truth. So man is responsible. These people should
have believed. That's why they're being judged.
The God of sovereign. Now remember the original
question. They're like, why are you speaking
in parables? And Jesus said, well, first, it's
not given to them. It's a sign of judgment. But
he said, secondly, it's also a fulfillment of
prophecy. And this is incredible here. He said,
the reason I'm speaking to these people in parables
is to fulfill Isaiah 6. Now, Isaiah, look at
verses 13 to 15. He said, and he quotes Isaiah
6 here. I'm not going to take the time to read
it. So he's quoting Isaiah chapter 6, verses
9 and 10. Now, Isaiah 6 ought to be going ding,
ding, ding in your mind right now because that's
probably the most famous chapter in Isaiah outside
of 53. In Isaiah 6, that's when the prophet Isaiah,
he sees the Lord high and lifted up. We sang
about it with holy, holy, holy. So let's turn
to Isaiah 6. This is what Jesus is referencing.
In the year that King Uzziah died, I, Isaiah,
saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted
up, and the train of his robe filled the temple.
Above it stood seraphim, seraphim. Each one had
six wings. With two he covered his face, and
with two his feet, and with two he flew. And
one cried to another and said, Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord, is Yahweh of hosts. The whole earth
is full of his glory. And the post of the door
was shaken by the voice of him who cried out,
and the house was filled with smoke. So now in
the blazing light of God's glory, Isaiah understood
something about himself. He understood that he
was unclean. He understood that he was defiled.
And he was unraveling at the seams is the picture.
And he pronounces a woe upon himself. Look at
verse 5. So I said, woe is me. I'm undone. Because
I am a man of unclean lips. And I dwell in the
midst of a people of unclean lips. For mine eyes
have seen the king, the Lord Yahweh of hosts.
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in
his hand a live coal, which he had taken with
tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth.
And he said, behold, this has touched your lips.
Your iniquity has taken away. Your sin, Isaiah,
is purged. Isaiah's a new man. He's forgiven.
He's cleansed of his sin. And he wants to give
himself completely to the Lord. Look at verse
8. So I also heard the voice of the Lord saying,
Whom shall I send and who will go for us? That's
that famous missionary verse that we have at
mission conferences. And I said, Here am I. Send
me. I mean, it's great ingratitude. Isaiah wants
to dedicate himself, consecrate himself to the
Lord's use. So when God asks for someone, go.
preach to the people. Isaiah said, I'll go. Now
we come to the text. Great, Isaiah. I'm going
to send you. What am I going to preach, Lord?
Look at verses 9 and 10. Go and tell this people.
Keep on hearing, but don't understand. Keep on
seeing, but don't perceive. Make the heart of
this people dull and their ears heavy and shut
their eyes. So that they don't see with their
eyes and hear with their ears and understand
with their heart and return and be healed. What?
Go preach a message that they're not going to
understand that they won't have any interest
in whatsoever. Why? This is a judgment on the
people of Isaiah's time. Their hearts had grown
hard toward the Lord. And he said, Isaiah, I
want you to go preach to them and make their
hearts even harder. He said, go preach a message,
but make sure it's dull enough. So that their
hearts will become more hard, their eyes will
become so heavy, and their ears will not hear.
Well, why don't you want them to see or hear?
Why don't you want them to understand, Lord?
So they don't return and get healed. So they
don't repent. Look at the text. And Jesus said
that prophecy is fulfilled in him. John 12, I
quoted earlier, but notice the full context.
This is the parallel passage, and I hope this
makes sense to you. But although he had done
so many signs before him, before them, excuse
me, they didn't believe in him. Therefore, get
this, they could not believe because Isaiah said
again, verse 40, He has blinded their eyes and
hardened their hearts, lest they should see with
their eyes, lest they should understand with
their hearts and turn, so that I should heal
them. They couldn't believe. God decided to bring
judgment upon the people, and he hardened their
hearts to the truth. So now, God in human form,
Jesus, the God incarnate, he will only speak
in parables because he's fulfilling the prophecy
of Isaiah 6, 9, and 10. And he said, but the
people had already hardened their hearts. Yeah,
and this is your judgment. They won't believe.
They had heard Jesus' teaching. They had heard
or seen the miracles that he had, but they didn't
believe. So God says, I'm going to speak to them
in language they won't understand. So you're
saying, well, what kept people from embracing
the truth? Was God keeping them at bay? Was God
stiff -arming them? No, not at all. These people
were blessed. They had tremendous light and tremendous
revelation. So what kept them from the truth?
Their cold, hard, unbelieving hearts. Don't miss
it. We're closing here in a minute. Man's deepest
problem lies within him. Where? In his heart.
Because of our sin nature, because of our sin,
our hearts, listen, are naturally unresponsive
to God's truth. So we need new hearts. Jesus
said in John 3, we need to be born again. Your
heart and mine are so hard that unless the Spirit
of God grants us understanding, we will just
stay in the dark. And like it that way, by the
way. And then lastly, our Lord reminded the disciples
of how blessed they really were. The final two
verses there, he said, But blessed are your eyes,
why, they do see, and your hearts, for they hear.
For I tell you, many prophets and righteous men
desired to see what you see and hear, but they
weren't able to do it. Man, these disciples enjoyed
an incredible position, incredible clarity and
understanding far beyond anything the Old Testament
prophets ever had. So the Old Testament prophets,
they foretold of Christ. They knew something
about it. But these 12 men, they walked with
Christ. They ate with Christ. And they worshipped
him. You have great patriarchs, men like Abraham
and Isaac and Jacob, Moses and David and Isaiah.
They all looked by faith to the future. When
are these promises going to be fulfilled? And
they all died in faith, never seeing them fulfilled.
But these 12 men were blessed because God privileged
them to learn from the promised one himself,
and they also saw the promises of God come to
fruition. Yes, they were blessed. They had seen
what many righteous men and prophets waited to
see for so long and were never able to see. So
now we close. Now what? I close as I begin. Two
people can smell the same fragrance and one will
find it intoxicating, the other will find it
revolting. Two people can hear the same message
on a Sunday morning. One will walk away changed,
the other will walk away the same as he came
in. Jesus said some people can see, but they
don't really perceive. He said they hear, but
they don't really understand. So the danger that
I feel today is there is danger that you can
be exposed to the truth and not be changed by
the truth. So I leave you with the words of Jesus
and not mine. Jesus said in John 12, verse 36,
while you have the light, believe in the light
that you may become sons of light. Today, if
you want the truth, you pray. Seek after God.
If you're serious, you'll do it. Ask him to open
your eyes. Ask him to open your heart to the
gospel. He who has ears to hear, Jesus said,
let him hear. Pray that you are numbered among
those who have ears to hear and understand the
mysteries of his kingdom. God is gracious and
he will save if you will repent of your sin and
place your faith in his son. Let's pray as we
prepare to go to the table of the Lord. Father,
I thank you for your word, Lord. I realize some
things that are said are hard. We don't understand
them. In our minds, we want to try to reason
everything out. It's impossible. We don't know
the mind of the Lord. Father, I know that we're
responsible. We're responsible for our actions.
We're responsible for our sin. We're responsible
to believe upon Christ. And Lord, I pray that
today, by your grace and through the working
of your spirit, you will do just that. Awaken
some who are in a stupor, Lord, who don't see.
Awaken those who are even hostile to your gospel.
Awaken them, Lord, to their dreadful condition
of judgment and wrath. And show them the sweet
Savior and salvation that belongs to all who
will come to him. Lord, I pray for your saints
today as we prepare to go to the table of the
Lord. Lord, we rejoice in your grace because
you have shown us the truth. You revealed Christ
to us. And Lord, we get to commune with each
other and with our risen Lord in the special
manner that you have prescribed. All glory, all
honor, all praise be to you, our gracious God
and King. And we pray all these things in Jesus'
name. Amen. Deacons, would you come and prepare
the table?