MATTHEW 10-14 JESUS IS THE PROMISED SAVIOR2014 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Matthew 10-14 Jesus Is The Promised Savior

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2014.

And we're here this evening in Matthew. We're going to be looking at chapters 10 through 14 because these are the chapters that we read this week going through the Bible in three years. As we get started this evening in our chapters, we're looking at Matthew, which is the first of four Gospels, and we're going to be talking about the things that Matthew

you know, recorded regarding the ministry of Jesus Christ. And so we're looking at these four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, starting with Matthew, as we continue to work our way through the New Testament for this year.

The book of Matthew is written, we don't have an exact date, but somewhere between 41 and 60 AD, which means it's about 10 to 30 years after Jesus resurrected and ascended into heaven. And so it's very soon after Jesus's ministry, Matthew wrote out these things that we're reading and recorded for us the life of Jesus Christ. The

The author is Matthew, who was a tax collector. He was one of the 12 disciples, and so he had firsthand knowledge as he was there with Jesus for many of the events and things that he's describing in the book of Matthew.

Now as Matthew writes this account of the life of Jesus, he has a particular focus. Each of the gospel writers have a specific emphasis that they give in regards to the life of Jesus. And so Matthew is writing to Jewish people and he's emphasizing that Jesus is the promised Messiah. And we can see this from the content of Matthew's book.

because he went into great detail in recording many Old Testament references and quoting scriptures, pointing back to Old Testament accounts, things that the Jewish people would know, and using those to highlight, to illustrate, to make the point that Jesus is fulfilling the Old Testament because he is the Savior that was promised. And so as we go through the chapters, we'll take a moment to look at some of those references

references back to the Old Testament to get a good understanding of this emphasis that Matthew has in pointing to us that Jesus is the Messiah. Now, I don't know if you're Jewish. I'm not. So maybe you're like, well, I don't really care. But the point is that the scriptures are fulfilled in Jesus Christ, which means that he is the one and only Savior. As he said, he is the way, the truth, and the life.

Here's a quick look at the geography of Matthew. Jesus, of course, starts out there in Bethlehem. That's where he's born.

Jerusalem is a little bit north and that's of course the center of the nation of Israel, the capital in Jesus' day as it is today. But he's born in Bethlehem, a little bit outside of Jerusalem. He goes to Egypt early on with his family and then he goes back to Nazareth, which was the hometown of Mary and Joseph.

And so he grows up in Nazareth. And then later on, as he begins his ministry, we saw this in our chapters last week, he moves to Capernaum. And Capernaum becomes his new home and the base from which he ministers to that whole region. And much of the ministry of Jesus takes place around the Sea of Galilee and around his hometown, Capernaum. And we'll see that in our chapters this evening.

Well, we start out in chapter 10, and the key verse for chapter 10 is verse 1. It says, And when he called his twelve disciples to him, he gave them power over unclean spirits to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. In verses 1 through 4, we see that Jesus sets apart twelve apostles.

Now Jesus had many followers, many disciples, but he singles out these 12. He selects these 12 and they are going to have a specific role in

And so they are now called apostles. Now, as we were going through the reading this week, we did have a question that was sent in and I don't mention it enough. So I wanted to make sure to point this out. We do have it set up. So as you're reading with us chapter by chapter through the week,

We do want to encourage you, if you have questions about the chapter, to send them in to us. And then our goal is to respond to that and so give you an answer as quick as we can, but definitely within the day. And so you can send in your questions by text message.

And you can also send it in by email. So whichever is more convenient for you. But the question here in chapter 10 was, what's the difference? Is the disciples the same as the apostles? Is there a difference between the group of men or is there a difference in the definition? And so as Jesus here is calling these 12 apostles here in chapter 10 verses 1 through 4, he

The difference is these are disciples. Now, the disciple or the word disciple, it means a follower or a learner. And so it's someone, you know, who is a pupil, a learner of a teacher. And of course, Jesus had many disciples.

But apostle means one who is sent. And so what's happening here is Jesus is selecting 12 of his pupils, his followers, these 12 disciples, and he is now sending them out. And so they're now becoming apostles as Jesus sends them out to

to proclaim and preach that the kingdom of God is at hand. And so that's what's happening here. The disciples become apostles because Jesus is sending them out. And it's interesting because we ended up last week in chapter 9, and in verse 38, Jesus said, hey, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers.

And Warren Wiersbe points out, if you pray for God to send out laborers, don't be surprised if then in the next chapter he's sending you out. You know, you're the one becoming an apostle and being sent out with the message from the Lord. So we're continuing on now in chapter 10, verses 5 through 15. He gives them this instruction. As he sends them out, he says, go to the lost sheep of Israel.

This mission he's sending them on is very specific. He says, don't go to the Gentiles. Don't go to Samaria. Go specifically to the lost sheep of Israel, to the Jewish people.

He also gives them the instruction in verse 10, don't bring supplies, don't bring extra clothing, you know, don't bring food. He says, for a worker is worthy of his food, saying that as you go out and preach this message, then the people are going to meet your needs, the people that you're ministering to, it's appropriate for them to meet your needs as you share with them the good news of the kingdom of God.

He says in verse 14, And so Jesus is just giving them all the instruction that they need. And he says, when you go, if people don't receive you, then just move on. Shake the dust off. It's like, okay.

My responsibility is done. And this highlights for us an important part of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. That is that we are responsible to deliver the good news, the message that God has given to us.

Some people will receive it, some will not. Our responsibility is to deliver the message. And there will be those who reject, but we can't force people to receive it. Our responsibility though is to make sure that we deliver the message. And so in the same way the disciples had to deliver the message, some received it and some did not.

He goes on in verses 16 through 39 to encourage them, saying, you will be hated for in my name's sake. So as he sends them out, he says in verse 16, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Now, as a disciple, as an apostle now, I'm sure they were thinking,

But that's not how I want to go out. I mean, to go out as a sheep in the midst of wolves means you're going to be the prey and they're going to pick on you and maybe take a couple bites at you, you know, and try to take something from you. They're going to be attacking you. And I think you and I can relate to that. If you've ever joined with us in a Flashlight Fellowship,

you probably feel like a sheep in the midst of wolves, right? If you've ever been on an outreach or attempted to share the gospel with anybody, you probably feel like sheep in the midst of wolves. And we don't like that feeling, but listen to what Jesus is saying. That's how it's supposed to be.

We would prefer to like maybe train and then we could be like attack sheep, you know, like Lambo, you know. That's not my joke. I stole it from somebody. But we would prefer that, right? We want the advantage, you know, and that kind of thing. But that's not the way that Jesus sends us out. He sends us out as sheep in the midst of wolves. That we are to be gentle and ministering with great peace to people.

In verse 22, he says, you will be hated by all for my name's sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved. And so he's preparing them, preparing their expectations. As you go out, there's not going to be celebrations every time you go into a town. It's like, woo, the disciples, the apostles are here. Let's throw a party. Instead, no, expect to be hated. Expect animosity. Expect opposition.

And it's good as Jesus points this out because, of course, being hated is not something we enjoy. And we can go to great lengths to try not to be hated.

But we got to be careful that we don't go so far that we mess with the message of the gospel. Or the person of Jesus Christ. Or just water it down. Or I'm not going to talk about Jesus or anything like that. Just because I want to make sure I'm not hated. And so we got to be careful. The expectation that we should have is that the world will hate us as we are sent out by him or by the Lord to deliver his message.

So he says in verse 28, do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell. And so he's saying, I understand you're going to be tempted to fear the people because they're going to hate you. They're not going to be, you know, well-receiving.

But you got to fear God more. Because he's able. They could hurt your body. Sure. But God's able to cast your body and your soul into hell. So make sure you put God first. Be faithful to the message. Be faithful to his call. Because he is the one that you need to fear. Now there has to be balance in this. Okay. So we need to have our hearts prepared. And have that expectation of being hated. But.

We don't want to go out and like make people hate us. Okay. So just because someone hates you doesn't mean you're doing the right thing. If they hate you for the name of Christ, that's one thing. But if they hate you because you're a jerk or obnoxious, that's a little bit different. And so have some balance. Okay. Get some perspective and model the life of Christ to the people around you.

Well, here in chapter 10, we do have a reference back to the Old Testament. It's found in verses 35 and 36, where Jesus explains further on the same kind of train of thought. He says, I've come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's enemies will be those of his own household.

He's quoting here from the book of Micah chapter 7 verse 6. Where Micah is lamenting the sinful condition of the people. And just lamenting. He's sorrowing because people can't be trusted. And judges can't be trusted. And their leaders can't be trusted. And even their own family. You couldn't trust your own family members. And so Micah concludes in Micah 7 verse 7. He says, "...therefore I will look to the Lord."

And so Jesus here quotes back to this. He says, look, you can't trust the people around you as you are now sent out with this message because even people of your own house will hate you. And there's going to be these battles even within, you know, sons and daughters and wives and mother-in-laws and daughter-in-laws and so on and so forth. And so again, Jesus has illustrated that he must be first. Micah says, therefore, I will look to the Lord.

And in the same way, we must look to the Lord. We must trust him above all else, even if it means separation from family. We have to put God first. Well, now going on into chapter 11. Verse 11 is the key verse. It says,

In verses 1 through 6, John sends a message to Jesus and asks Jesus if he is the coming one. John the Baptist at this point is in prison. And so he's not able to just go and talk with Jesus. He sends a couple messengers. And the messengers arrive. They talk with Jesus and they say, here's what John wants to know. Are you the Messiah or what? Are you the coming one? Or is there another one that we're supposed to be looking for?

Now John the Baptist had previously declared that Jesus was the coming one. But he's starting to waver a little bit in his faith. He's starting to waver a little. He's wondering because things aren't happening the way that he's expected. Now he's in prison. And he's thinking, well, if the Messiah is here, why am I in prison? You know, if I'm right where God wants me to be, why am I going through this difficulty?

And so he sends these messengers to Jesus. Now the people had a very specific expectation of this promised savior. And that was that he would come on the scene and set up his kingdom right then.

That he would overthrow Rome and that he would begin to rule and reign in Israel at that moment. We saw this on Sunday as Jesus told the parable of the ten minas, right? That the people were expecting as Jesus went into Jerusalem that he was going to set up his kingdom on that day at that moment. That's what John the Baptist was expecting. That's what he was looking for. And so he's like, what's the deal? Are you the Messiah? Where's your kingdom?

And so Jesus responds. He sends the messengers back saying, look what I'm doing. And he shows them the miracles, the healings, the restorations, the things that are going on as an answer to John's question. Now, Jesus, of course, will set up his kingdom.

They were looking for it to happen at that time. But as we now have a fuller revelation from Jesus and the rest of the scriptures, we understand there's actually two times that Jesus comes to earth. The first coming happened. He came in humility. The second coming happens at the end of the tribulation when Jesus comes at the battle of Armageddon. And at that time, he will set up his kingdom. And he will rule and reign upon the earth for 1,000 years.

The lesson we learn from this though is that God often works differently than we expect. John's like, things aren't happening. I'm in prison. Things are hard. I thought I was in God's will. Maybe I'm not. Are you the Messiah? Are you the Savior? It's not what I expected. God often works differently than we expect.

But he is working. And that's what Jesus says. Send him back. Let him know. I am working. Look, I am doing a work. People are being delivered and set free and healed. I am at work. It's just different than what you were thinking. In verses 7 through 19, Jesus goes on to explain that John the Baptist is Elijah who is to come. He starts talking to the people after the messengers of John go back. He says, hey guys, what did you guys go out into the wilderness to see?

And he's talking about John the Baptist. Because John the Baptist came on the scene and the crowds followed him. They went out into the middle of nowhere where John the Baptist was. And he says, what did you go out there to see? It wasn't a king. It wasn't a ruler. It wasn't something fancy. It was a prophet. And he said, even more than a prophet, he was the one who is announcing the Savior. The one who announced the coming of the Messiah.

Then in verses 20 through 24. He pronounces a woe to two cities. Chorazin and Bethsaida. And he says to these two cities. Woe to you because mighty works were done in you. And you did not repent. You saw great works of God.

But you didn't turn to God, he says. In verse 24, he says, And so Jesus indicates here, there will be a severity of judgment according to how much revelation they have received. And so here's a quick look at what Jesus is talking about.

Capernaum is his base of operations. He was ministering all in the region, including the city of Chorazin, which was a little bit north, and then Bethsaida.

a little bit farther away. And so apparently in these two cities, they did not respond as Jesus was there teaching, as he was giving the messages, as he was working the miracles. They did not respond to Jesus. And so he says, woe to you because you have Jesus, the Savior, the promised one, right there in your midst and you reject him.

He says it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom. Now remember Sodom and Gomorrah. God rained down fire and brimstone. I mean it was a severe judgment because of their great wickedness. Jesus is saying it's a greater wickedness for you. Because you know much more. You had much more take place right in your midst. And you still reject it. It's a great warning.

We need to understand, you know, those who are given much are held accountable for that. Those, you know, who have the Word of God, those of us who have the scriptures in our laps, in our homes, on our devices, we have more accountability as a result. There's a greater judgment for those who reject having seen greater things, having known greater things, having seen God in action.

Well, then he closes the chapter in verses 25 through 30 saying, come to me and I will give you rest. I like verse 25. He says, well, it's Jesus speaking. He says, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and the prudent and have revealed them to babes. Maybe we don't like the idea of being sheep in the midst of wolves, but

Being babies isn't probably one of our fondest ideas either. Being simple. But that is, well, that's what we need to be. He has revealed himself. Well, remember the Apostle Paul said to the Corinthians, look around you. You don't see many who are wise or many who are noble, many who are mighty in this world. But instead God's chosen to use the foolish things of this earth to confound the wise.

Saying that we are the base. We are the foolish. We are the simple things of this world. Those who will approach Jesus by faith. And Jesus in this prayer says, I thank you God that you do it that way. That it doesn't have to be, you have to be this smart to enter into the kingdom of God. That you don't have to have this level of intellect or this IQ or this education. But that those who are willing to trust in Jesus Christ.

Get to experience the fullness of what he desires to give us. That is forgiveness, salvation, the hope of eternity. And specifically here he says, I want to give you rest. I want to give you peace. That's peace with God. Rest from religion. We can get caught up in religion just like the Jewish people were caught up in religion. And that wears you out.

When you're trying to do all these works to please God. And you're trying to work as hard as you can. It's wearisome. And they needed rest. We needed rest. We needed peace with God. Because there's that turmoil within. Without that peace with God. But for those who are like children. Who will approach God by faith in Jesus Christ. We get to experience peace with God. Rest. He says take my yoke upon you and learn from me.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Hey, we're still going to be rejected. We're still going to be hated. That hasn't changed. But a relationship with God by faith in Jesus Christ changes everything on the inside. And there's peace that passes all understanding. There's rest that is not received any other way. Well, we have a few references here in chapter 11 to the Old Testament. The first one is in verse 3. It says...

It's the message from John the Baptist. Are you the coming one or do we look for another? Now that's not a direct quotation, but I put there Genesis chapter 3 verse 15. And then you could go pretty much, you know, through every other book of the Bible and see the references, the promises throughout the whole Old Testament of the Savior that God would bring.

And so there in Genesis chapter 3 verse 15, right at the beginning, at the fall of humanity, when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, God says, I will put enmity between you, that is the serpent, and the woman, and between your seed and her seed, he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. It's a reference to...

The plan of salvation that God had already enacted the moment Adam and Eve sinned in the garden. The seed that would come, which is a reference to Jesus Christ and his destruction of the enemy as he would crush his head, or Jesus would crush the head of Satan. And so Matthew is emphasizing that Jesus is the Savior that has been promised to

From the very beginning. He is the coming one. And then we could look at all the rest of the prophecies. There's hundreds of them throughout the Old Testament. Another reference we find in verse 10. It says, This is a quotation from the book of Malachi chapter 3 verse 1.

As the children of Israel. Or the people of Israel. Were looking for the Messiah. They were delighting in the idea. But they missed him. Jesus is calling their attention. To the fact that John the Baptist. Was not just a regular prophet. But he was the one who announced.

That the promised Savior, the coming one, has arrived. And so Jesus is saying that John announced the Messiah. And also he's declaring that he is the Messiah because John the Baptist announced Jesus and declared him to be that Savior. And so over and over again we see that Jesus is the promised Savior. Well the third reference here in chapter 11 is in verse 14.

He says, if you are willing to receive it, he, that's John the Baptist, is Elijah who is to come. Here he's referring back to the book of Malachi chapter 4 verse 5 where God says, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

And so here we learn that like Jesus, Elijah comes twice. The first time he comes, Jesus says, if you're able to receive it. It's not a literal Elijah who comes, but figuratively, John the Baptist is described as coming in the spirit and power of Elijah. And so Jesus says, hey, if you can receive it, John the Baptist is the first time that Elijah comes. As he announces and prepares the way for the Savior.

And then Elijah will come a second time, which will be the actual Elijah. They're referred to in Malachi chapter 4 verse 5, which we look forward to, you know, the end times events and figure that he's probably one of the two witnesses that will be walking around during the tribulation period. And that you can read about more in the book of Revelation, those two witnesses. I think it's around chapter 11 or so, but I could be wrong. So look it up.

Alright, chapter 12, verse 30 is the key verse. It says, he who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters abroad. In verses 1 through 8, we have a situation where the disciples are plucking grain as they're walking through a field, and they eat it on the Sabbath.

And the religious leaders have a fit. They say, hey, you're not allowed to do that on the Sabbath. You can't, as you're walking through the field, grab a little bit of grain and separate it in your hand and then eat it. That's not legal. That's unlawful according to their religious law. Now, we need to understand, and Jesus will be addressing this here in this chapter, it really was not unlawful. It did not violate the law of God.

What it violated was the religious leaders traditions. They had added on to the law of God a whole bunch of traditions that God had never said. And so this violated their traditions but it did not actually violate the law of God. But Jesus goes on to make the point hey I'm

The Lord of the Sabbath. There in verse 8. Saying, I have authority over all traditions. I am the highest authority. And so, even all these things that you've built up around the Sabbath, I am Lord over all those things and have authority, the highest authority. And so, if I say the disciples can do it, the disciples can do it. Well, then in verses 9 through 21, Jesus heals on the Sabbath.

And so there's another situation with the religious leaders. And there's a guy there in their midst. He has a withered hand. And there's this discussion. Is it legal to heal somebody on the Sabbath? Now it sounds so funny in my head. But

I understand how they could get caught up in this. But just understand the question, okay? You have the power of God to heal. Is it legal to use that power, you know, on a specific day? Now here's Jesus. He is the son of God. He's able to heal. And their issue is not with the healing. Their issue is just don't do it on this day because it violates, you know, what we prefer, what we want, our traditions. And so they're trying to accuse him. They're trying to set him up.

And so they ask him, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? Well, Jesus says, yes. He says, look, you guys would help a sheep if it fell on the Sabbath. How much more? This man is important. How much more is it lawful to help him on the Sabbath day? And so he heals him. Well, then in verse 14, it tells us that the Pharisees went out and plotted against Jesus how they might destroy him.

And so they're working hard now to try to figure out how can we destroy this man? How can we destroy his ministry? Because he's going against those things that we hold to so strongly. In verses 22 through 32, he says, "...every house divided will not stand."

Now as the situation continues to unfold, Jesus is casting out demons. He casts out a demon out of a particular person and it causes the people to begin to wonder. In verse 23 they say, could this man be the son of David? They're asking, could this man be the coming one? What John the Baptist said. They're asking, could this man be the savior that God has promised all throughout the Old Testament?

Is this really the Messiah? Look what he's doing. As he's casting out demons, the people are thinking, this really could be the Messiah. And the Pharisees are upset by this. Again, they're plotting to try to destroy Jesus. They don't want people thinking that he's the Messiah. And so they say, no, no, stop thinking that way. Stop talking about that. No, he's not the Messiah. He's from Satan. By Beelzebub, he casts out demons, or they say of Jesus.

But Jesus responds. He says, you know guys, that doesn't really make a lot of sense. If I'm empowered by Satan and I'm casting out Satan's minions. I just had images of little yellow guys with big eyes. If I'm empowered by Satan, I'm fighting against Satan. My house is divided. It's not going to stand. Satan's smarter than that. He's not going to fight against himself. Your statement, your claim that I cast out demons by the power of Satan doesn't make any sense. And so he's

Letting them know it's not by Satan, but it's the power of God at work in your midst. Now, this is an interesting point that Jesus makes here. And I'd like you to consider this, okay? Jesus is saying Satan is smarter than to have his house divided. And I think, you know, he's dealing with the subject of demon possession and that kind of thing. But the statement is true. And it's something that you and I should evaluate. Because

He will work hard, that is Satan will work hard, to divide your house. Because he knows a house that's divided will not stand. And so he's going to work hard to divide your house because he wants to destroy you. He wants to destroy your family. He's smart enough to know not to have a divided house. But sometimes...

We allow him to bring that kind of division in our homes. And I want to encourage you to make sure that you don't let him bring that kind of division in your home because it will destroy your home. A house that's divided will not stand.

And so I would ask you to really consider and go, you know, Ephesians chapter 5. Look at the role of husband, the role of wife. Look at the role of the different members of the family. The places that God has given to us. The order that he has given for the family. Make sure that you fit in to the role that God has declared is yours. To make sure that your house is not divided. Because if it is divided, it will not stand. There will be destruction down the road.

Well then in verses 33 through 45, Jesus says, a tree is known by its fruit. He tells us in verse 34, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. I don't know if that causes a little bit of a shiver up your spine, but understand what Jesus is saying. What comes out of your mouth is not something that somebody else put there. It comes out of your heart. This is important because sometimes we like to blame other people for what comes out of our mouth, don't we?

Well, I don't talk that way normally, but you did this. They didn't put those words in your mouth. That was in your heart. It came out of your heart. You're revealing your heart when you say those things. Nobody else put those things there. It's your heart that's being revealed. And so he says, look, you'll know them by their fruits, by what comes out of their mouth, because what comes out of the mouth reveals the heart.

So much so that Jesus says in verse 37, for by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned. Your words are such a clear representation of your heart, Jesus says you'll be justified or condemned by your words. They reveal your heart. You can't blame anyone else for your words. It's the revelation of what's happening within. Well then we close the chapter in verses 46 through 50 and

Where Jesus' mother and his brothers are outside trying to speak with him. And so they let him know, hey, your mom's outside. She wants to talk with you. Your brothers want to talk with you. And Jesus says, you know, those who do the will of my Father in heaven, those are my brothers and sisters and mothers. He emphasizes, look, you got to put me first. Do the will of God. That comes before family relationships.

There's a few references to the Old Testament here in chapter 12. The first one is in verse 3. He says, This is going back to the disciples plucking grain on the Sabbath day. And Jesus points back to a time when David...

took bread that really wasn't supposed to be his. He took the show bread from the tabernacle. This is found in 1 Samuel chapter 21. And so Jesus is making the point that there's exceptions. When there is a need, there's exceptions to some of those laws and rules. Now,

We look back at 1 Samuel 21 and we find out that David was actually lying about the situation. That part was unlawful, but him taking the bread was not unlawful. And so Jesus here is making the point, hey, it's okay for these guys to eat the grain on the Sabbath. In verse 7 of Matthew chapter 12...

He says, if you had known what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. Here Jesus here is contending with the religious leaders again. In Hosea chapter 6 verse 6, God says, I desire mercy and not sacrifice. And Jesus is saying, you're missing the point. You're very particular about your traditions and keeping, you know, all these meticulous laws, but you're not merciful.

And God has declared, what I prefer more than some great sacrifice is mercy. Be merciful. Show compassion to the people around you. But they were not compassionate. And so Jesus is calling them out on that. Then in verses 18 through 21, I'm not going to read the entire thing, but we have a quotation here from the book of Isaiah chapter 42, which is God announcing his servant. Behold my servant whom I uphold.

And so again, he's quoting these Old Testament scriptures declaring, I am the promised Messiah. I am the Savior. I am the way, the truth, and the life. Well, he also makes a reference in chapter 12, verse 40 to the book of Jonah. Again, he was talking here about

the rejection of Jesus that was going on. He says, As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. They were asking for a sign. They were asking for, hey, you're declaring yourself to be the Savior. Prove it. And Jesus says, I'll give you the sign of Jonah. He was in the whale for three days and three nights. Jonah chapter 1 verse 17 talks about that.

And he says the son of man will be in the heart of the earth. He's going to be dead. He's going to be buried. And then he's going to be resurrected. And so he proved that later on in his ministry. In verse 42 of Matthew 12. He also gives a reference back to 1 Kings chapter 10. When the queen of Sheba. So she's from a great distance away. She hears about Solomon.

And remember Solomon had great wisdom. And he had great riches and wealth as a result. She hears about his wisdom. And she makes this great journey to go visit Solomon. To test him with questions. And find out is he really as wise as I've heard. Jesus says look she's going to rise up in judgment of you. Speaking to these religious leaders. Why? Because she heard about this wisdom of Solomon. And she went to great lengths to find out for herself.

But a greater than Solomon is here, Jesus says. I'm the Savior. But you're not going to great lengths to find out what I have to say and if there's wisdom here and if this is from God. Instead, you're just fighting against the things of God. And so she will rise up against you in judgment because a greater than Solomon is here. And as you and I read this, we can understand. Jesus has come. A greater than Solomon has come. And we need to give it our all to find out who he is.

What he said, what he's like, and what he calls us to do. Well, now we go into chapter 13 of Matthew. Verse 13 is the key verse. He says, therefore, I speak to them in parables because seeing they do not see and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Here in chapter 13, we see a lot of parables that Jesus tells to the people. In verses 1 through 23, we have the parable of the sower.

As the sower goes out to sow some seed. Now he's giving these parables or I like to refer to them as illustrations. Because they're things that the people could understand and relate to. And then better understand the spiritual truths that Jesus is seeking to communicate. Now some of them are a little bit distant from us. I don't know the last time that you've gone out to sow seed. Um.

Maybe you've planted in a little bit of a garden or maybe in a pot. But that's not quite what Jesus is talking about. He's talking about a farmer who goes out. He's got a great field and he's casting seed. He's casting seed. He's, you know, going to be surviving off of the produce. And so he wants to make sure he gets a lot of seed out there because not all of it's going to grow. Not all of it's going to produce. And so he's casting seed out.

into his field. Now some of that seed will fall in various places. Some will fall by the wayside. And Jesus later on explains, that's those who hear the words of God, but they don't understand them. Their hearts are hard, the seed doesn't penetrate, and so the birds steal it away. He casts his seed and some of it falls on the stony soil. That is, there's a little bit of soil on top of a big rock.

And so there's shallow soil. And so because it's shallow, it's warm, it sprouts up really quickly. Jesus will go on later to say, this is those who hear the word and they receive it with joy. They hear the things of Jesus. They hear a scripture. They go, wow, this is amazing. This is great. This is so incredible. But then when the heat gets turned up, when tribulation comes, they fall away because they have no root system because of that rock that's there.

Then he says there's some seed cast on the thorny soil. And he says later on, these are those who hear, they receive the word of God, but as they're growing up, the thorns come in. The cares of this world choke out that word. They choke out that seed. And so the idea is like, hey, you know, I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe he's the Savior. I'm going to walk with him. Ooh, that's a nice car.

And I begin to go the other way. Or I got to take care of my family. Or I need to achieve this goal. I need to accomplish this thing. I need to, you know, get those things. And it chokes out. It distracts. And it keeps us from following Jesus and keeping him the main priority and passion of our life. But then finally, some of the seed falls on the good soil.

And he says, that's those who hear and receive the word of God and they bear fruit. They take it, they apply it, they live it out, and there's much fruit that comes from it. This parable of the soils is a great opportunity for us to consider. What kind of soil do I have? Because it's not just the initial, you know, do you believe in Jesus seed that's being cast out, but it's the word of God as a whole.

You know, as you hear different messages, you hear different scriptures and God speaks to your heart. How do you receive it? Are you taking it and living it out with all your heart? Well, then in verses 24 through 52, we have a variety of parables all centering around the idea of the kingdom of heaven. And so there was a question that came in in chapter 13. What is the kingdom of heaven? Is it the church? What is it? Now,

There's a lot of discussion about this. And you can get into a lot of different ideas. But here's the way that I understand the kingdom of heaven. It's kind of a broad term. It's speaking of all that...

The kingdom of heaven is all that Jesus would bring. And so he begins, of course, the church. And so parts of this idea of the kingdom of heaven are fulfilled by the church. In this age, in this lifetime, there's parts of the kingdom of heaven that are fulfilled by the church.

But that's not completely all that the kingdom of heaven is. And so you could also see and take some elements and say, well, this is like spiritual life that's being talked about. And I could see, and I would agree with that. There's certain aspects that talk about the spiritual life that we have in Christ and the relationship with God.

And then all of this includes and kind of is ultimately fulfilled in heaven itself. And so it's not just heaven, you know, in eternity. In fact, it can't just be heaven in eternity because as we talk about the wheat and the tares, Jesus is talking about unrighteousness in the kingdom of heaven and there being this sifting out and separating later on. And so it's

The whole work of Christ. Beginning with the church. And then the final fulfillment. And the complete fulfillment. In eternity. In heaven that God has in store. For his followers. So in chapters 24 through 52. We have a variety of parables. The wheat and the tares. He explains this one. The wheat are the righteous. The tares are those who practice lawlessness. Those who are wicked. But they're growing up together. And sometimes it's hard to tell which one's which.

Until eternity. And then there's going to be separation. And those who don't belong. Who looked like they belonged. Will be cast into hell. That's what Jesus is talking about. With the wheat and the tares. Now the rest of these parables. Jesus does not give us an explanation. In this chapter. So.

That leaves room for, you know, different people to interpret it different ways. And there is a lot of variety in the ways that you will hear these parables taught. And so you got to, you know, seek the Lord and hear from him regarding the things that he wants to speak to you through these things. The mustard seed, talking about a small seed that grows greatly. It grows into, you know, much bigger than you would think, being that it's a very small seed.

And so some suggest, you know, that it's talking about how the kingdom starts with Jesus. It's just Jesus, you know, a small seed, but then it grows greatly. And there's a variety of other interpretations and ideas. You could think about the 12 disciples transforming the world. You could think about the gospel message. It's simple, it's small, and, you know, God brings great truth through it, and so on and so forth. He talks about the parable of the leaven.

you know, impacting the whole lump. And so the kingdom of heaven, you know, grows and impacts everything. There's some struggles with that because usually leaven is a picture of sin. And so a lot of scholars wrestle with the exact meaning of the parable of the leaven. He also talks about the hidden treasure where, you know, hey, he finds, this guy finds a treasure in a field. He goes away, he sells everything he has so that he could buy the field and obtain the treasure.

And this often is seen as a great picture of Jesus giving up everything, leaving the glory that he has in heaven to purchase the world or the field in order to get the great treasure and that is you and I. Some reverse it and say, no, Jesus is the great treasure and we give up everything to follow him. We die to ourselves to follow Christ. And so there's some discussion back and forth and maybe both are exactly what Jesus meant.

That same idea is conveyed also in the parable of the pearl. And then he concludes his parables here with the parable of the dragnet. So throwing a net off the boat and dragging it in. And what you end up with is a great variety of different kinds of fish.

And also some that are good and some that are bad. And so he's talking about the righteous and the just being separated at the end of days. And so again, like the wheat and the tares, the separation between the righteous and the wicked that will take place. Well then in verses 53 through 58...

He tells us that a prophet is not without honor except in his own country. Jesus goes back to Nazareth and he's ministering there and it's not going so well. The people are saying, wait, we know this guy. We grew up with him. That's little Jesus. You know, we played hide and seek with him. His brothers and sisters are here. How did he get this power? Where did all this wisdom come from? I don't know if we want to receive this guy. And so they're

Not receptive to Jesus and his work. And so it says because of their unbelief he did not do mighty works there. So he has honor. Think about it. You know he goes other places and like crowds you know amass around him. But he goes to his hometown and they're like

Maybe you've experienced that. It's like, hey, that's just Chico. We don't need to listen to what he has to say. But you go somewhere else, it's like, hey, Chico's here. Everybody listen up. And so Jesus experienced that as well. And he says, in your own hometown, oftentimes you don't have the honor that you deserve.

A couple references to the Old Testament in Matthew chapter 13. The first one is in verses 14 through 15. Again, it's a lengthy passage, so I'm not going to read it. But it's a reference back to Isaiah chapter 6, verse 9 and 10, in the call that God gave to Isaiah. And he said, hey, you're going to go and the people aren't going to hear. They're not going to receive your word.

Now, don't get confused. Jesus is not saying, hey, I tell parables. And actually, we can skip to the next one too and talk about this all at once. In verse 35, it says that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet saying, I will open my mouth in parables. I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world. And that's referring back to Psalm chapter 78 verse 2. And so Jesus is explaining, I'm using parables. I'm using these illustrations to

not to keep people from finding the truth, not to keep it hidden from people because I don't want them to know the truth. He's not hiding them in such a way that they cannot be found, but he's speaking in parables because those whose hearts are towards God, those who are desiring God, they will find them. Just as we've talked about in the past few weeks, if you seek, you will find. That's a promise of God.

And so he gives the truth in parables... So that those who are not interested in the things of God... Miss the point. But those who are interested in the things of God... Are intrigued. They dig further. They find God. Because they seek and they find. And then they have the truth. This is a way for the Lord to even be merciful... In the midst of judgment. Because if it was just completely clear... And everybody had everything that they could ever know about Jesus...

Remember what we talked about? He said to the cities of Chorazin and Bethsaida, it will be more severe for you in the day of judgment than Sodom and Gomorrah because you had more revelation, more things, more information, you had more knowledge. In the same way, he spoke in parables so that those who rejected, even though they rejected, he wanted to be merciful towards them. Well, let's finish it up in Matthew chapter 14, verse 29 is the key verse.

It says, so he said, come. And when Peter had come out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. In verses 1 through 12, we again pick up the story of John the Baptist. And we see that he is beheaded in prison. It explains why he's in prison. Because he spoke out against Herod and his adulterous relationship. And then how he's ultimately put to death there in verses 1 through 12.

In verses 13 through 21, we see the famous account of Jesus feeding 5,000 people, or actually 5,000 men, besides women and children. Verse 13 is interesting. It says, when Jesus heard it, that is, when he heard that John the Baptist was beheaded, it says, he departed from there by boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities.

I like this little bit of insight into, you know, what Jesus was going through and what he was experiencing. And you can see and learn some valuable lessons about ministry from this example. Here is John the Baptist is beheaded. Remember, he's, you know, the predecessor, the forerunner of Jesus. He's also the relative of Jesus. And Jesus is affected by this. He hears about it and he says, you know, I need some time alone.

And so he heads out by himself to a deserted place. He's experiencing emotions. It's weighing on him. There's a burden that he's experiencing as a result. So he says, I need to be alone for a little bit. And so he goes out. But then what happens is the people hear about it and then they follow him there. The Sea of Galilee is not that big. And so they're like looking. Hey, there's Jesus right there. And so they're like, he's going across. They're like, let's run. We can catch up with him. And so they go and they find Jesus there.

And we learn from this. Jesus, you know, he's experiencing emotions from the loss of John the Baptist. But sometimes God wants you to minister to others when you want to be alone. Sometimes when you're experiencing emotions and things are tough and you're, ah, it's not the best time. Sometimes God will bring a crowd because he wants you to minister to others. And a lot of times ministering to others is the best thing to help you get through.

Those kinds of emotions and the loss that you experience. And so that's something to keep in mind as you have opportunity to serve and minister to people, as you have things happen in your life. Sometimes God wants to use those times and to help you overcome those things by allowing you to be a blessing to others. Jesus is moved with compassion for them and so he ministers to them and then ultimately feeds the 5,000 with a few loaves of bread and a couple fish.

It's 5,000 men besides women and children it says. Well then in verses 22 through 33 we see that Jesus walks on water. He disperses the crowds. He sends the disciples away. Go across back to the other side guys. I'm going to spend some time alone in prayer. So he does get his alone time with the Lord. And then he goes to meet the disciples. And so he just walks out onto the Sea of Galilee. He just walks out in the midst of the storm. And this is a great account because Peter sees him and says...

If it's really you, Jesus, you know, call me to come out to you. I just love the faith of Peter, man, the boldness of Peter. And he says, yeah, call me out. I'll go on the water with you. And so Jesus says, yeah, come on out. And he walks on the water. Of course, he gets distracted a little bit because there's wind and waves and he gets freaked out. But for a little bit there, he was walking on the water. Great faith in Jesus Christ demonstrated by Peter.

We close the chapter in verses 34 through 36 where we see that many touch Jesus' garments and are made well. They're determined. If we could just touch his garment, we can be healed. And as we consider the different things that we've looked at in the chapters this evening, I want to encourage you to touch the garment of Jesus. Listen, Jesus is the promised Savior.

He is the one that the whole Old Testament refers to. He is the one that God has been declaring from the very beginning. He will be the one. He is the way, the truth, and the life. There's no salvation anywhere else. There's no peace anywhere else. There's no rest anywhere else. If you want to be healed spiritually, if you want to be healed physically,

Touch the garment of Jesus. Get to know Jesus. Follow Jesus. Get close to Jesus. Pursue Jesus. Put him first. Yes, that's not going to be a popular decision. The world will hate you for your devotion to Jesus. But you will have peace. You will have rest. You will have the salvation and the abundant life that he promised to his followers. And so let's remember that Jesus is the promised Savior. He's the only one.

Who can bring us right relationship with God. Let's pray. Heavenly Father we do pray that you would help us Lord. Allow these truths and all these quotations. And all these things that Jesus said. To sink deep within our hearts Lord. That we would have good soil. These things would not just bounce off and be lost. Or be choked out. Or be scorched in the midst of trouble or tribulation. But Lord I pray that you would allow this truth. To sink deep within our hearts.

that we would really know that you are the Savior and that we would devote our lives to you. Not just doing things for you, but getting to know you and walking with you. In Jesus' name we pray. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.