Matthew C. Mitchell's Blog, page 41

An Interview with Tim Shorey about “Respect the Image”

My new friend, Tim Shorey, has a new book out today, Respect the Image: Reflecting Human Worth in How We Listen and Talk.

I was recently introduced to Tim through our mutual friend Katie Faris who told me about his writings on healthy communication between humans, and P&R Publishing sent me an advanced copy to read.

Is there a more pressing need in society today than respectful communication between God’s image-bearers? As I’ve been reading Respect the Image , I have appreciated Tim’s pastoral approach to teaching biblical principles–gracious yet unbending, gentle and firm. He practices what he preaches by speaking the truth in love. Tim has a wry, self-deprecating sense of humor and uses it to illustrate his shortcomings (and personal growth) in this arena of the tongue.

One of the reasons I wanted to read Respect the Image was to prepare my heart for the 2020 election season especially for the coming onslaught on social media. It’s going to be a difficult year to be a Christian online. It is so easy, way too easy, to see people whom we disagree with as not just our opponents or even our enemies but as less-than-human and therefore unworthy of even basic respect. Everything Tim says in this book applies to the political arena.

As I’ve been turning the pages, however, I have been even more struck by how Respect the Image makes a great counterpart to my own book, Resisting Gossip. It explores the flipside of gossip, the “instead of” dynamic that I tried to emphasize throughout my book. We aren’t only supposed to “put off” sinful speech but “put on” the godly kind.

Earlier this week, I had a chance to connect with Tim and ask him some questions about his brand new book:

Matt: Why did you want to write a book on this? What from your own life experiences brought you to the place of writing on communication?

Tim: Respect the Image emerged from a life full of relationships—childhood with five siblings, 42 years of married life, six children, 13 grandchildren, 38 years of pastoral ministry, a church of 250 people consisting of 25 different ethnicities, and over 15,000 hours of pastoral counseling. Early on I realized that the most frequent personal,  pastoral, and counseling needs I faced were my own, and my people’s, need to learn more about God, more about the gospel, and more about communication; in that order. This all drove me to study biblical principles of communication in earnest—for my family, my flock and my world needed these truths both taught and practiced. This then gave birth to the basic structure and outline of Respect the Image . Further motivated by a desire for these principles to be called readily to mind in conflict and other situations I developed the acrostic format of the book and various other memory helps the book includes. All that said, I certainly would want my readers to know that these truths impacted me long before they ever got into book form. Now my hope is that they will leave a mark more widely than ever before.

Matt: What is the image of God and why should we be respecting it in others?

Tim: As any theologian would tell you, that’s a tough question to answer, since the answer is multi-layered. It involves  our being created to represent God’s rule on the earth—as Genesis 1 shows. While it normally might include the capacity to reason, to communicate, and to relate, it doesn't always do so, since there are some precious human beings who do not have such capacities; at least not to the same degree as others. I believe it is a deep mysterious reality in which every person has the mark and imprint of God upon him or her (along with a capacity to relate to him) —and is thereby stamped with dignity and value. I cannot define it well, but it is there for all to see whenever we look intently into each and every human face.

Matt: How does your book relate to the subject of my book? What principles in RTI would help a follower of Christ to resist gossip?

Tim: At its very core Respect the Image teaches that because each person is made in the image of God, we cannot communicate badly or sinfully or disparagingly with or about others without insulting the image they bear. Gossip is the great evil it is primarily because it demeans, disrespects, and destroys others; others who are to be held in high honor since they are made in the image, redeemed with precious blood, and destined for immortality. I dare not slander or gossip, because in so doing I slander God. This truth—and its force in countering gossip—is played out in numerous applications throughout the book. Gossip is the antithesis—the polar opposite—of the respect for, the celebration of, the attention to, the understanding of, and the charitable judgment toward, others to which the Bible calls us, and which my book tries to address. Where these truths rule in the heart a guard will stand watch over the tongue to ensure that the only words that come out are words calculated to bless, to nourish, and to honor. Gossip dies a certain—even if all-too-slow—death when respect prevails. No doubt it goes without saying that this is easier said than done. James let’s us know how hard it is. But if we ask for the wisdom from above and commit to honor the image, communication transformation can happen; and the results are wonderful!

Thank you, Tim, for your time and your labor love in producing Respect the Image. I pray that it helps many to reflect our Creator as we talk to and about those made in His likeness.

"He Is Worthy" [Matt's Messages]

“He Is Worthy”
Following Jesus - The Gospel of Matthew
February 2, 2020 :: Matthew 26:57-68

We are following Jesus through the events of that crucial last week, and now last day, just hours really, before His crucifixion.

We have slowed down to carefully consider everything that Matthew tells us about Jesus during these crucial last hours.

How He predicted His betrayal.
How He planned His Passover with His disciples.
How He made the Passover meal all about Himself.
How He sang a hymn with His disciples and went out to the Mount of Olives.
How He predicted His disciples would desert Him and Peter would deny Him.
How He prayed facedown in the Garden and pleaded to be able to reject the cup of God’s wrath.
How He said, “Not my will but yours be done.”

How He got up to face His betrayer.
How He received a traitor’s kiss.
How He refrained from calling down 72,000 angels to rescue Himself.
So the Scriptures would be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way.

How He was arrested by those who had no right.

And how His disciples fled into the night.

I’ve warned you; it only gets worse.

This is a dark story of injustice.

And the injustice has only just begun.

Because now Jesus is going to trial.

And everything about this trial is wrong.

There is no justice in this trial.

And everything about this trial is wrong.

They get everything wrong about Jesus.
They go about it the wrong way.
They gather evidence in the wrong way.
They misjudge the evidence they get.
And their verdict is all wrong.

Everything about this trial is wrong.

And yet Jesus goes through it all.

Because He is fulfilling the will of the Lord.

And because, ironically, He is worthy.

“He Is Worthy.”

I’m taking these three words for the title of this message from verse 66 in the NIV.

The Sanhedrin get it almost right, but they should have stopped right there.

“He is worthy.”

That’s not exactly what they say, is it? But it’s what they should have said.

I don’t know about you, but I love fictional stories about innocent people who are arrested for a crime they didn’t commit.

When I was growing up, it was the A-Team. They said that every week on the television show, that “in 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime the didn't commit.” And now they are fugitives.

And then I discovered “The Fugitive” itself, the TV show from the 1960's. Dr. Richard Kimble falsely accused of killing his wife when it was really a one-armed man! And so now he’s on the run.

I don’t know about you, but I love those fictional stories.

But I hate stories like that in real life.

People who are falsely accused of a crime?

People who are false convicted of a crime.

They are innocent but found guilty.

There is a movie out right now called “Just Mercy” based on a bestselling book. It’s about man named Walter McMillian, who was sentenced to die for the murder of an 18-year-old girl, despite the existence of evidence proving his innocence.

It took 7 years of hard work from an attorney named Bryan Stevenson to see McMillian’s conviction overturned and him be exonerated. I read the book last year.

Reading about those kinds of real injustice just make me sick to the stomach.

Well, this trial is not fiction. It’s the second kind. It’s real.

And there has never been a more unjust trial nor unjust conviction.

There are actually several parts to Jesus’ trial, but there are two main phases: the local Jewish phase and the imperial Roman phase. Today, we’re just going to look at the Jewish phase in verses 57 through 68.

Because it was the Jews who had Jesus arrested.

They have been conspiring for some time (26:3), but now they have found an accomplice in Judas Iscariot one of the Twelve who betrayed Him.

Judas led the armed crowd to the Garden of Gethsemane, identified their target with a kiss, and then stepped out of the way while they grabbed our Lord and bundled Him off to Caiaphas. Verse 57.

“Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.”

This is the Jewish phase of Jesus’ trial.

They hauled Jesus to the high priest and the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Supreme Court.

These are Jesus’ enemies.

They have been plotting against Him for some time.

And He has been publicly condemning them, especially this week.

Remember chapter 23?

When Jesus said to beware of these guys?
When Jesus said that they were fakes and snakes?
When Jesus said that they sat in Moses’ seat but were hypocrites who were filling up the measure of the sins of their forefathers?
When Jesus said that they were storing up judgment?
When Jesus said that their house would be left desolate?

Yeah, the same guys.

That’s who are Jesus’ judges this night.

Do you think the deck is stacked against Him?

It’s interesting that Peter has snuck along at a distance to see what’s going to happen.

He has just cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest, but here he is a few minutes later sitting with that same temple guard in the courtyard.

He obviously didn’t think he was identifiable or he wouldn’t have gone. Because we’re going to see next time that he isn’t there to stand up for Jesus.

But he does want to know what’s going to happen.

He’s hiding there in plain sight.

Now, again, everything about this trial is wrong.

For example, they shouldn’t have been meeting at night.

According to the rules of the Sanhedrin written down years later, they shouldn’t have met in the night, and they should have taken at least two days to deliberate and deliver a sentence.

But they weren’t there for justice. V.59

“The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death.”

They weren’t looking for the truth!

They were looking for an excuse to justify killing Him.

The Sanhedrin was made of 71 Jewish leaders, and it took a quorum of 23 to decide the big cases like this one.

So, when it says, “the whole Sanhedrin,” it means at least those 23 that it takes.

Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were both members of the Sanhedrin who did not go along with the rest of them. So some probably were not there.

But those who were were looking for false evidence. But it good false evidence was hard to come by. V.60

“But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.”

I think that means that they couldn’t get two false witnesses to agree.

The standard for evidence was two witnesses with corroborating testimony.

First, you cross examine one witness and then you bring out the next one and ask them questions.

Well, nobody’s stories matched. Their collusion wasn’t good enough!

And then these two came fairly close. Mark actually tells us that they didn’t quite agree either, but enough that Matthew includes it in his gospel. V.60

“Finally two came forward and declared, ‘This fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.'”

Now, did Jesus say that?

Is that quote from Jesus?

It almost sounds like one. But that’s not quite what He said.

Keep your finger there in Matthew 26 and turn over to John chapter 2, verse 19.

This is after Jesus cleaned out the temple the first time.

“Then the Jews demanded of him, ‘What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.’”

Did He say that He was going to destroy the temple?

No, He says if they do it, then He would raise it up again.

But catch this. He wasn’t even talking about the physical temple. He wasn’t talking about Herod’s temple. V.20

“The Jews replied, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?’ But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.”

I’ve got three points this morning about how worthy Jesus is.

Here is number one. Jesus is:

#1. THE TRUE TEMPLE.

Yes, He said that if the temple was destroyed, He could build it up again in 3 days, but He wasn’t talking about Herod’s temple.

He was talking about Himself as the temple.

What is a temple?

Is the place where humanity meets God.

It’s the place of connection between God and Man.

It’s the place where heaven an earth collide.

The earthly temple was just a shadow, just a picture, just a type of the temple that was to come.

Jesus, in His human body, fulfilled the temple.

God enfleshed.

God and Man together.

And the meeting place between God and Man!

The connecting point.

Jesus is the connecting point between God and Man.

But to do it, He this temple has to be torn down.

That’s the Cross.

That’s the crucifixion which is looming large before Him.

That’s the cup that He has agreed to take.

His body, this temple is going to be torn down.

But three days later, He’s going to build it back up again!

Jesus is the true temple.

And therefore He is worthy.

He is worthy of our worship!

He is worthy of our praise!

He is worthy of wonderment and amazement!

That He would do this for us and that He even could do this for us!

Jesus is the meeting point between us and God.

I’m reading a book right now called “Created to Draw Near,” and it’s about a practical theology of priesthood for us today. How we are called to live as royal priests.

It’s by my mentor, Ed Welch, and like everything he writes, it’s really good.

Because Jesus is the true temple, we can draw near to God.

Think about that!

Do you draw near to God?

Jesus is worthy.

The Sanhedrin couldn’t see it. They had a twisted testimony of His words.

He wasn’t threatening to tear down the temple. He was promising to connect people to God.

Now, of course, just that week, Jesus had pronounced woe on Jerusalem and had prophesied the destruction and desolation of the temple.

So there was a justified element of concern for these religious leaders for their precious temple.

Jesus was a threat to the temple if they were going to continue to pollute it.

Earlier this week, He had tossed the tables of the money changers.

But even then He had every right.

Jesus is not the trouble.

These men are the trouble.

And yet, He’s the one on trial?

Verse 62. “Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, ‘Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?’ But Jesus remained silent.”

Majestic, isn’t He?

I am astounded by Jesus’ self-control.

I never thought about it so much as self-control as the last couple of weeks.

If it was me, if I wasn’t crying, I’d be yelling. “This isn’t fair! This isn’t true! Leave me alone!”

And if I was justifiably angry?

He could defend Himself.

He still could call down twelve legions of angels!

With. A. Word.

“But Jesus remained silent.”

“...and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth” (Is 53:7).

What majestic self-control.

What a great example for us when we are unfairly attacked.

To not lash out.
To not live for our rights.

Peter said in his first epistle, “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”

Answering injustice with love.

Beatings with blessings.

What an example He has shown us.

But even greater, what a gift He has given us by staying silent at that moment!

Because He is not just the temple. He is the lamb.

More on that in a second.

Right now, the high priest can’t hardly contain himself. He is so rip roaring mad at Jesus that he get anything on Him.

So Caiaphas tries one last trick. He demands that Jesus answer one question under oath.

Can you guess what it is?

Hint: this is the Gospel of Matthew.

Keep your eye on the ball.

What is the question?

“Who is Jesus?”

“Who are you?”

It’s the question that Jesus asked Peter in chapter 16.

“Who do you say that I am?”

What was the right answer?

“You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”

V.63 “The high priest said to him, ‘I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.’”

Jesus decides it’s time to answer.

He doesn’t really want to.

Because these guys don’t understand what the Christ really is.

What the Son of God really is.

They think the Christ, the Messiah, is just a military ruler to bring victory over the nations.

They think from Psalm 2 that the Son of God is just another title for the Messiah to subdue the nations.

But the Christ is so much more than that.

And the Son of God is so much more than that!

So Jesus answers in the affirmative, but He makes sure to provide His own definition. V.64

“‘Yes, it is as you say,’ Jesus replied. ‘But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.’”

Jesus says, “Caiaphas, it’s so much worse than you think!”

“Yes, you’ve said it.

I am the Christ, the Son of God.

Your words, not mine.

But my words are that I am the Son of Man the one predicted in the book of Daniel chapter 7."

Remember that?

Daniel wrote, “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” (Vv.13-14).

Up to the Ancient of Days.

At His right hand.

That’s language from Psalm 110.

Remember that?

From chapter 22?

When Jesus did the mic drop over Who is the Christ?

“Whose son is he?" [The son of David. Well then...] How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him 'Lord'? For he says, 'The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.’ If then David calls him 'Lord,' how can he be his son?’” (vv.42-45).

It is no secret any longer.

This is the good confession.

Jesus says, “Yes, I am!”

And I’m not just the Messiah.

I’m the Son of God and the Son of Man who is going up sit at the right hand of God!

And one day going to come on the clouds and bring in the Kingdom.

We’ve learned a lot about that in the last few months, haven’t we?!

We don’t know when, but we know WHO, and we know what is going to happen.

The Son of Man is going to come in glory and judge all of the nations.

You know what that means?

It means that Jesus is:

#2. THE TRUE JUDGE.

They might have thought that they were judging Jesus, but in actual reality, Jesus is going to judge them.

He says, “in the future” which is more literally, “from this point on.”

In His crucifixion and ascension, Jesus’ kingship is being inaugurated.

And one day, we will all see it consummated when the King comes to judge.

In all of His awesome authority.

He could have done it right then.

He had the right.

But then we would not have been saved.

So He submitted to the Father’s will.

And just prophesied of the day to come when He will sit at the right hand of the Mighty One and come on the clouds of heaven.

Isn’t that amazing?

He is worthy!

He is worthy of our submission.
He is worthy of our submitting to His judgment.
He is worthy to judge us.

We are not worthy to judge Him.

Have you thought much about Jesus’ role as judge?

He was just teaching about it to the disciples in the last chapter. Remember the sheep and the goats?

He’ll be looking at our deeds and evaluating them.

And what He judges will be just and right.

He always does what is right.

He always sees things the right way.

And He is always going to set everything right again.

He is the true judge and His judgments are true.

He judges justly.

We sing about that future kingdom where justice reigns.

He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness (of His justice)
And wonders of his love.

He is worthy.

But that’s not what they thought.

Not at all.

They thought that Jesus had just committed the unpardonable sin. V.65

“Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?’ ‘He is worthy of death,’ they answered.”

That’s all wrong!

But that’s what they said. And that’s what they did.

The high priest tore his clothes. Leviticus 21:10 says that the high priest should never tear his clothes.

Yet another breaking of the law by the people who are supposed to be keeping the law.

But Caiaphas does it because He is so distressed by what Jesus has just claimed.

Jesus has done and said exactly what he wanted Jesus to say.

And He has basically claimed to be on par and equal to God.

Sitting up there at His right hand.

Blasphemy.

Now, of course, the Jews did not have the authority to give out the death sentence while they were under Roman rule.

They sometimes did, like with Stephen, but they weren’t supposed to.

And they sure couldn’t crucify someone.

Stone them, maybe, but not crucify them.

So they are going to have to send Jesus over to the Roman governor, for the imperial Roman phase of His trial.

But they have decided their verdict.

“He is worthy of death.”

“He is guilty and deserves to die.”

And that’s exactly what’s going to happen.

He’s going to die.

But first, they’re going to shame and hurt Him more. V.67

“Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him and said, ‘Prophesy to us, Christ. Who hit you?’”

Can you imagine?

You know He could have.

He could have told them who had hit Him.

He knew their names.

He made them.

He could have told them a lot more about them.

But He didn’t.

It was all self-control all the time.

So that Isaiah 52:14 became true: “his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness...”

They punched Him.
They struck Him.
They beat Him.
They spit on Him.

And they called Him, “Christ” like it was swear word and not His regal title.

And all that time, He was worthy.

All of that time, He was worthy, not of death. But of worship and of faith.

Jesus was:

#3. THE TRUE SAVIOR.

He was the Christ!

And the Christ was there to save us from so much more than Rome!

The Christ was there to save us from our sins.

He was the temple bring us to God by being torn down.

And He was the lamb.

By staying silent and being sacrificed.

He is worthy.

***
Previous Messages in This Series:
01. The Genealogy of Jesus
02. The Birth of Jesus Christ
03. The Search for Jesus Christ
04. The Baptism of Jesus
05. The Temptation of Jesus
06. Following Jesus
07. Jesus' Sermon on the Mount
08. The Good Life (Part One)
09. The Good Life (Part Two)
10. You Are The...
11. Jesus and the First 2/3 of the Bible
12. But I Tell You
13. But I Tell You (2)
14. But I Tell You (3)
15. In Secret
16. Choose Wisely
17. Seek First His Kingdom
18. Generous
19. These Words of Mine
20. When He Saw the Crowds
21. When He Came Down from the Mountainside
22. Follow Me
23. Our Greatest Problem
24. Who Does He Think He Is?
25. Special Agents
26. Sheep Among Wolves
27. What To Expect On Your Mission
28. Are You the One?
29. Come to Me
30. The King of Rest
31. So Thankful!
32. Overflow
33. This Wicked Generation
34. Get It?
35. What Is Really Going On Here?
36. Baptizing the Disciples
37. The Treasure of the Kingdom
38. Living the Last Beatitude
39. Five Loaves, Two Fish, and Jesus
40. It Is I.
41. Worthless Worship
42. Great Faith in a Great God
43. The Pharisees and Sadducees
44. The Question and the Promise
45. Take Up His Cross
46. Like the Sun
47. Seed-Sized Faith
48. These Little Ones
49. If Your Brother Sins Against You
50. The Lord of Marriage
51. Drop Everything
52. First and Last
53. The Suffering Serving Son of Man
54. Shouting for the Son of David
55. Expecting Fruit
56. Come to the Wedding Banquet
57. Whose Image?
58. Acing the Test
59. What Do You Think About the Christ?
60. How Not To be A Leader
61. Malignant Religion
62. Fakes and Snakes
63. Birth Pains
64. The Coming of the Son of Man
65. No One Knows
66. Keep Watch
67. Well Done!
68. When Did We See You?
69. A Beautiful Thing
70. "The Passover With My Disciples"
71. "This Very Night"
72. "It Must Happen in this Way"

“It Must Happen In This Way” [Matt's Messages]

“It Must Happen In This Way”
Following Jesus - The Gospel of Matthew
January 26, 2020 :: Matthew 26:47-56

Do you remember where we left Jesus last week?

A lot of you couldn’t be here last week because of the weather.

We left Jesus just getting up from being facedown in the garden of Gethsemane.

Jesus has eaten the Passover meal with His disciples (and He made it all about Himself!).

And He has predicted that one of the Twelve will betray Him.

And He has predicted that Peter will deny Him.

And He has predicted that all of them will abandon Him.

And then He has gotten down on His face in the garden to pray and pray and pray.

And He was so overwhelmed in prayer that He almost died.

Jesus asked His Father to take away this cup, this excruciating experience of suffering the wrath of God.

But He submitted to the Father’s will.

“Yet not as I will but as you will.”

“Your will be done.”

And then Jesus rose up from facedown and faced the onslaught of what was to come.

He said, “Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer.”

That’s where we left Jesus in verse 46.

Today, I just want to try to get to verse 56.

I know that’s little more than a paragraph, but time has slowed down and so have we.

These tragic events are so important for our lives today.

They make all of the difference, shaping our reality, so they are worthy of intense examination and concentration.

But I warn you. It just gets worse and worse.

In fact, here is where it really starts to get bad.

Because here is where the actual injustice begins to kick in and build.

Up till now, it was all coming, swirling around and on the way, but now it’s right here in the garden, in all of its ugliness, and depravity, and turpitude.

And we’re going to feel it.

We need to feel how terrible all of this is.

But we also need to see and feel how Jesus is choosing it.

We’ve seen it already. Jesus is mysteriously in charge.

He knows this is coming, and yet He doesn’t run away.

In fact, He walks right to it. Jesus walks right up to it!

And He seems, in some strange way to be orchestrating it all.

Nothing happens here without Jesus’ permission! He’s choosing it.

Today, in verse 54, Jesus says that all of this, all of this terrible stuff, has to happen.

He says, “It Must Happen In This Way.”

That’s our title for today: “It Must Happen In This Way.”

The King James Version simply says, “Thus it must be.”

Everything about this story is wrong! This story is full of darkness and evil.

And yet Jesus says it must happen.

God has willed it.

And Jesus is committed to carrying out God’s will. Carrying out God’s plan.

Jesus has gotten His answer to “Is there another way?”

And the answer is, “No. This is it. This is the plan.”

And so Jesus has bowed His head and said, “Your will be done.” And now He’s carrying it out.

Matthew 26:47.

“While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people.”

Can you imagine?

Jesus has just gotten up from prayer in the middle of the night. This is probably after midnight, so we would call it “Friday.” For them, it’s the same day because their days began at sundown. But it’s the beginning of what we call “Good Friday.”

And it’s dark.

But Judas has found Jesus in dark.

We don’t know exactly how. Perhaps they went to the upper room first and found that Jesus and His disciples had left.

Maybe the owner told Judas where they had gone.

Or maybe Judas already knew exactly where to find Jesus...because he did.

And he brought a mob with him.

A large crowd armed with swords and clubs.

They are scared. They will not take no for an answer.

They come with authority. The are sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Those men that Jesus had been sparring with all week in the temple courts.

They sent their lackeys to come collect Jesus.

There are Romans soldiers sprinkled in here, too. The Gospel of John tells us.

They are probably there to make sure that Jesus comes along quietly.

They are afraid of Him!

But the most tragic thing in this sentence is how Matthew calls Judas, “one of the Twelve.” He keeps saying that!

“One of the Twelve.”

Just like Jesus had predicted in verses 23 and 24, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

Do you see the tension there?

Judas is choosing this.

But mysteriously God is also choosing this.

It must happen in this way.

“One of the twelve!”

Jesus chose to be:

#1. HYPOCRITICALLY BETRAYED WITH A KISS. V.48

“Now the betrayer [what a word!] had arranged a signal with them: ‘The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.’”

They didn’t have facial recognition software.

They didn’t have photographs.

If you didn’t personally know which one was Jesus, He might get away!

This is how Judas was earning his money. Guiding them right to our Lord.

But how He did it?!

With a kiss. V.49

“Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, ‘Greetings, Rabbi!’ and kissed him.”

That is the height of hypocrisy, is it not?

We have said that Jesus hates fakeness.

Saying you’re one thing on the outside but inside you’re actually something completely different.

Well, how about kissing Jesus, while stabbing Him in the back?

How about calling Jesus, “Rabbi,” while doing the absolute opposite of following Him?

This is the height of hypocrisy.

And we should all stop and examine our hearts to see where we have fallen into hypocrisy ourselves.

Never just look at Judas and say, “I would never do that.”

At the least say, “There but for the grace of God go I.”

But also say, “Lord, keep me from hypocrisy.”

The worst thing in the world to be is a fake disciple.

And there was never a more fake disciple than Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve.

Is there anything in your life where you are acting all lovey towards Jesus on the outside, but you are actually masking something evil against Him on the inside?

Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.

Judas was so close to the kingdom!

He walked around with the kingdom for 3 years!

He is kissing the king!

But He was outside of the kingdom.

Don’t miss the kingdom!

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.

But what I want you to really see is that Jesus doesn’t resist Him.

Don’t focus very long on Judas.

Keep your eyes on Jesus.

What does Jesus do? V.50

“Jesus replied, ‘Friend, do what you came for.’”

Jesus is choosing this.

The Greek is very short. It basically just says, “what you came for.”

Some translations think it’s question, “Why did you come?”

But it’s probably more of just a statement. “I know why you are here. Go ahead and get it over with.”

Jesus could have stepped back and not taken that monstrous kiss!

Jesus could have walked away from the whole thing.

But instead, He leans into it. He receives the kiss.

And He says, “Okay. Let’s get on with it.”

He’s still in charge.

Because He knows that it must happen in this way.

He has predicted it. And the Bible has predicted it.

Remember Psalm 41 from last Palm Sunday? The Song of the Sick King.

David sang, “Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.”

It must happen in this way.

So Jesus chooses it.

And He chooses to be:

#2. UNJUSTLY ARRESTED WITHOUT RESISTANCE.

Listen to these terrible words in verse 50.

“Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him.”

They put. their. hands. on Jesus!

They had no right.

He has done nothing wrong.

He deserves all of their allegiance.

And He is getting all of their injustice.

They have laid their hands on Him and arrested Him.

Jesus knows what it’s like to be arrested.

And in fact, He is choosing it.

Jesus is allowing this injustice to occur.

He allowed the kiss; now He allows the arrest.

One his disciples does not allow it. Verse 51.

“With that, one of Jesus' companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.”

Guess which one it was?

John tells us that it was Peter which is not a big surprise.

Apparently, he was packing heat.

And he told Jesus he wasn’t going deny Him.

So he probably goes to chop off the guys’ head, and the guy moved out of the way an just lost an ear.

(By the way, John tells us that his name was Malchus and Luke tells us that Jesus put the ear back on him and healed it! That’d be a story to tell your wife when you got home from arresting Jesus!)

Matthew doesn’t tell us any of that. Matthew focuses us on Jesus. V.52

“‘Put your sword back in its place,’ Jesus said to him, ‘for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”

I don’t need your little sword!

That is completely unnecessary.

You don’t have to defend Jesus with violence.

Violence like that just begets more violence.

Now, I’m not saying that Jesus was teaching pacificism here.

He says to put the sword back in its place, not throw it away. There is a proper place for swords.

But Jesus doesn’t need our swords!

And once you start pulling a sword, get ready to see a lot more swords. And you know how that will probably end. Badly.

But Jesus doesn’t need our swords. Listen to Him again in verse 53.

“Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”

Do you know how many angels that is?

I used to think it was 10,000 angels.

10,000 flaming sword wielding powerful supernatural soldiers from another world.

But it’s not.

It’s more like 72,000 angels.

A legion was about 6,000 Roman soldiers.

And Jesus says that at the snap of a finger, He could have one legion for all 11 of His remaining disciples and one for Himself.

But He’s not going to ask for it.

Because He has chosen the cup, not the sword.

He isn’t bringing this kingdom our way.

He is doing it God’s way.

And God’s way at this moment was through non-resistance.

God’s way at this moment was through submission.

God’s way at this moment was through suffering.

“Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? [I could! He would! Verse 54.] But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?’”

There is one of Matthew’s favorite words right there. “Fulfill.”

Matthew loved it because Jesus loved it.

Remember the Sermon on the Mount? Matthew 5:17

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

Jesus came to fulfill the Old Testament Scriptures.

God has made some promises, and Jesus is here to see that they are kept!

God has made some predictions, and Jesus is here to see that they are fulfilled.

Psalm 41, Psalm 55, Psalm 69, Psalm 22. We’re going to hear echoes of these passages over the next several weeks as this story just gets worse and worse. Terrible and more terrible. Awful and more awful.

Nothing clearer than Isaiah 53.

“He was oppressed and afflicted [and arrested!], yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”

“It must happen in this way” so the Scriptures may be fulfilled.

Jesus is saying, “Your will be done.”

And Isaiah said, “...it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer...”

“Your will be done.”

Everything about this story is wrong, and yet it must happen in this way.

God is planning to use this injustice to make everything right in the universe.

So, Jesus does not resist.

He does point out how unjust it is. V.55

“At that time Jesus said to the crowd, ‘Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me.”

Unarmed. In plain sight. No threats. No swords.

No crimes committed.

Just sitting there teaching away.

But you slink in here at night. This is foolish and evil and wrong. V.55

“But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.”

It must happen in this way.

“Fulfilled.”

Second to last time that Matthew will use that word in his gospel.

You and I should be so glad that Jesus chose this.

We should be horrified that He had to.

There is nothing good here. This is an evil injustice, and it’s just going to get worse.

But Jesus chose it to do the Father’s will, to carry out the Father’s plan, and to keep the Father’s promises.

And that gives us great confidence that God will always keep His promises.

Because if He will go to these lengths to make sure that His promises are fulfilled, sparing not His own son? Then how much more will He do everything else He promised.

Let me say a word about boldness for 2020.

In Acts chapter 4, the early church had a prayer meeting because they were being persecuted for their faith.

And they had pray about what to do.

But they didn’t just pray that God would stop the persecution.

They prayed that God would do that and that God would enable them to share the gospel with boldness.

And listen to the reason why they prayed that way.

Acts 4:24. “‘Sovereign Lord,’ they said, ‘you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: ‘'Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? [Psalm 2] The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.' Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. [Listen.] They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. [It must happen in this way. Now listen to them pray...] Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”

They were able to be bold because they believed that God was sovereign.

And that all of these things that happened to Jesus didn’t just happen.

They were a part of God’s plan that Jesus was choosing to enact.

So we, too, can be bold because we know these things must have happened in this way.

But the disciples sure weren’t bold that day.

Instead, they fled. V.56

“Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.”

#3. PAINFULLY DESERTED TO FULFILL GOD’S WORD.

Jesus chose that, too.

He could have kept them there if He tried.

But He just said that all of this had “taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.”

Just like Zechariah 13:7, “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.”

I’m sure it hurt.

Jesus wanted them to be close to Him when He prayed.

I’m sure He would have loved some company during His trial.

But instead He is abandoned and alone.

Just like He said He would be.

But at least He knew that there was a reason for it.

In fact, He was choosing the reason.

He was choosing to fulfill the word of the Lord.

He was seeing to it that Scriptures were fulfilled that say that it must happen in this way.


***

Previous Messages in This Series:
01. The Genealogy of Jesus
02. The Birth of Jesus Christ
03. The Search for Jesus Christ
04. The Baptism of Jesus
05. The Temptation of Jesus
06. Following Jesus
07. Jesus' Sermon on the Mount
08. The Good Life (Part One)
09. The Good Life (Part Two)
10. You Are The...
11. Jesus and the First 2/3 of the Bible
12. But I Tell You
13. But I Tell You (2)
14. But I Tell You (3)
15. In Secret
16. Choose Wisely
17. Seek First His Kingdom
18. Generous
19. These Words of Mine
20. When He Saw the Crowds
21. When He Came Down from the Mountainside
22. Follow Me
23. Our Greatest Problem
24. Who Does He Think He Is?
25. Special Agents
26. Sheep Among Wolves
27. What To Expect On Your Mission
28. Are You the One?
29. Come to Me
30. The King of Rest
31. So Thankful!
32. Overflow
33. This Wicked Generation
34. Get It?
35. What Is Really Going On Here?
36. Baptizing the Disciples
37. The Treasure of the Kingdom
38. Living the Last Beatitude
39. Five Loaves, Two Fish, and Jesus
40. It Is I.
41. Worthless Worship
42. Great Faith in a Great God
43. The Pharisees and Sadducees
44. The Question and the Promise
45. Take Up His Cross
46. Like the Sun
47. Seed-Sized Faith
48. These Little Ones
49. If Your Brother Sins Against You
50. The Lord of Marriage
51. Drop Everything
52. First and Last
53. The Suffering Serving Son of Man
54. Shouting for the Son of David
55. Expecting Fruit
56. Come to the Wedding Banquet
57. Whose Image?
58. Acing the Test
59. What Do You Think About the Christ?
60. How Not To be A Leader
61. Malignant Religion
62. Fakes and Snakes
63. Birth Pains
64. The Coming of the Son of Man
65. No One Knows
66. Keep Watch
67. Well Done!
68. When Did We See You?
69. A Beautiful Thing
70. "The Passover With My Disciples"71. "This Very Night"

My 2020 Annual Report for Lanse Free Church

Lanse Evangelical Free Church exists to glorify Godby bringing people into a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christthrough worship, instruction, fellowship, evangelism, and service.
The Annual Pastoral Report
Pastor Matt Mitchell
Year in Review: 2019

Dear Church Family,

It is a high privilege and a great joy to be your pastor. As I look back over the ministry we have shared these last twelve months, I am filled with gratitude to be called to shepherd this flock, walking alongside and working with you to glorify God by bringing people into a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. We are engaged in a good work, and we can be confident that the Lord “will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).

If I had to pick one word to summarize our ministry together in 2019, I would choose the word “faithful.” Last year at this time, when I outlined my vision in my report, I encouraged us all to simply keep up the good work. I wrote, “Our church is healthy, and it's my goal to keep it that way. We are headed in the right direction, and I want to continue to shepherd us to stay on that faithful path.” I believe that’s exactly what happened in 2019, and I am grateful to the Lord for keeping us focused and on track.

Staying faithful does not mean becoming stagnant or stuck in our ways. Faithfulness actually requires change to meet new challenges as we accomplish our unchanging mission. Read what our leaders have written in the rest of this annual report to get a sense of how we’ve stayed faithful while making necessary modifications.

New in 2019

We saw many new people start attending in 2019. Several fresh families began participating in the life and worship of our church family. Attendance on Sundays increased by 4.5% with an average of 138 people per Sunday which is the highest average in the last 3 years and the first time the average has grown in the last 6 years. The highest attended Sunday (218 people) was December 22, when our Celebration Choir sang their cantata and the children offered a Christmas presentation. The lowest attended Sunday was December 1st (90 people) when there was a bad ice-storm (unless you count January 20th, when we decided to not meet at all because the roads were so bad!).

In 2019, our congregation adopted a new wedding policy that we hope will help us to bless couples who desire to honor the Lord with their marriages. We also designed and ordered some new banners to adorn the auditorium featuring Scripture passages which call our hearts to worship by reminding us who God is and what our purpose should be for gathering in His name.

I believe the most significant change in our worship in 2019 was actually a small, easy-to-make tweak that wasn’t even on my radar at this time last year. In February, we began regularly interviewing people during our worship celebrations about their work. We know that God cares about what we do the rest of the week, and now we have a practical way of highlighting that when we gather to worship Him. We have already heard from, among others, a farmer, an insurance agent, a retired teacher, a stay-at-home mom, a corrections officer, an administrative assistant, building contractors, business data professionals, hospital and home-health nurses, a cosmetologist, a highschool student, and a dental hygienist. We ask each of them the same 3 questions:

(1) What do you do and what will you be doing at work this week?
(2) What are joys and challenges in your work right now?
(3) How can we pray for you as you do your work as unto the Lord this coming week?

And then we pray for them and for all of us to envision our daily work as daily worship. I believe this new practice has pulled us together in fellowship as a worshiping community and also helped us to stay faithful as a church family, not just when we are gathered on a Sunday morning, but when we are scattered throughout the community the other six days of the week.

2019 Leaders & Prayer

I’m thankful for our 2019 Elder Team–Bob Gisewhite, Cody Crumrine, Keith Folmar, John Forcey, Joel Michaels, and Jeff Schiefer. Their faithfulness is a big reason why we have been able to stay faithful as a church this year. I appreciate all of the time, energy, and wisdom they invest in decision-making, direction-setting, people-shepherding, and especially for me, accountability-providing.

The same is true for our other church leaders and our faithful church staff, Marilynn Kristofits and Cindy Green. I am so grateful for their ministries that bring order out of chaos!

I believe that another big reason we have been able to stay faithful as a church are the faithful prayers of our people. Ministries of prayer such as Prayer Meeting, Harvest Prayer Time, Email Prayer Chain, Pastoral Prayer Team, and (the brand new!) Prayer Box help to keep us all coming before the throne of grace. In 2019, we started a Prayer Corners ministry that moved after-worship prayer support to the front of the auditorium instead of back in the Prayer Room, and more people have taken advantage of it. I am so thankful we have people who live out Romans 12:12, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

Pastoral Ministry

I believe that faithful pastoral ministry involves being steadfast in preaching, equipping, and shepherding.

Preach the Word

We continued to follow Jesus through the Gospel of Matthew for another year, progressing from chapter 13 to chapter 25. Studying for and preaching through Jesus’ eschatological teaching in the Olivet Discourse was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences I’ve had in pastoral ministry. I hope it was as helpful to the church family as it was to me. At the end of the year, there was a wonderful correspondence between what we were learning about how believers have always patiently waited for the coming of the Messiah in His first advent and how we are to expectantly watch for His return at His second advent. Come, Lord Jesus, come!

I also took us on a number of detours from the Gospel of Matthew into the Psalms as they were a special focus of study in my own devotions in 2019. The songbook at the center of our Bibles gives us words to express the deepest feelings of our hearts including unfathomable lament, unshakable faith, and unspeakable joy.

This year I made a commitment to be in the pulpit at LEFC as often as I could be. I felt that it was important this particular year to provide more consistency than ever in the preaching ministry. So, aside from speaking at the Father & Son Canoe Trip at Miracle Mountain Ranch which I attended with a group of dads and lads from our church, I didn’t speak anywhere else on a Sunday morning in 2019. The few times I was out of the pulpit, current or former missionaries that we have supported fed the congregation well from the Word of God: Jeff Powell, Donnie Rosie, Jim Panaggio, Abe Skacel, Henoc Lucien, Alex Ielase, and Kim Cone.

Equip the Saints

A big part of my ministry is working alongside our church leaders to prepare them  “for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:12). If I’m doing my job well, I do not do everyone else’s job. Sometimes that’s hard for me to do because I like getting involved in everything! But our church is at its best when everyone is utilizing their own gifts and serving the whole Body. I have tried to be faithful in 2019 in meeting with leaders, attending ministry meetings, helping to solve problems, and empowering our volunteers to make the decisions they need to keep their ministry faithful and on track.

A huge encouragement to me in the last several years has been to see a new generation of leaders rise up and take more responsibility for the church and its work of making disciples. I’m looking forward to watching them take the lead. I’m looking forward to working with younger leaders and even submitting to and following them as the Lord establishes them in this work.

Thank you for allowing me to remain engaged in an equipping ministry beyond the bounds of our local church. In 2019, I continued to stay very active in our association of churches, the EFCA. I coordinated the book reviews for the EFCA Blog, chaired the Allegheny District Constitutions and Credentials Board, coordinated the district Stay Sharp theology conference, and served on EFCA Spiritual Heritage Committee.

This was a big year for the EFCA both nationally and in our district. In June, at EFCA One, the conference completed a long process and decided together to amend our statement of faith, changing one word in Article 9 describing the return of Christ from “premillennial” to “glorious.” Fifteen years ago, when I first heard about the idea of broadening our eschatological options in the EFCA in this way, I was initially opposed to the idea, but over time I had changed my mind. In May, I published a paper that chronicled the shift in my thinking. I’m thankful to belong to a family of churches that takes orthodox theology so seriously and is able at the same time to differentiate between levels of doctrinal importance and “major on the majors.” I’m grateful for the gospel-centered faithfulness of the EFCA.

In February at the Stay Sharp conference for the Allegheny District, Superintendent Jeff Powell announced his impending retirement and EFCA President Kevin Kompelien outlined a plan for finding his successor. President Kompelien asked me to lead a search team to help him discover the Lord’s will for our next superintendent, and we’ve engaged in a comprehensive process all year long: organizing prayer, surveying the needs of the district, and interviewing qualified candidates. We hope to be able to announce the name of our new superintendent at Stay Sharp in February of this year. Please continue to pray for wisdom as the final decisions are made and thank you for allowing me to take the time out of my regular responsibilities to serve the district in this way.

Because I was so heavily involved in ministry in the EFCA, I didn’t have much time for other outside equipping opportunities, but I did get to teach once at the Miracle Mountain Ranch School of Discipleship and continued to maintain my blog with sermon manuscripts, book reviews, and updates on the progress of Resisting Gossip which also became published as an audiobook in 2019.

Shepherd the Flock

The most precious privilege of my role as pastor is to walk alongside you during some of the most important events of your lives. Thank you for inviting me into your living rooms, dining rooms, and hospital rooms. It is a high honor to sit with you in the stands at a sporting event or stand with you next to a casket. I love being your pastor.

In 2019, I got to pray for blessing on three babies and commission their parents. I had the joyful privileges of baptizing John Walter on Resurrection Sunday, officiating at the weddings of Isaac and Meili Finney as well as Josh and Katie Kerlin, and praying for Hunter and Allana Galley at theirs.

I also had the solemn privilege in 2019 of leading the funerals for Chuck O'Connor, Dorcey Nearhood, Eleanor Evans, Mary Shimmel, Emilee Burtop, Nancy Moskol, Roger English, Gary Johnson, and Norean Nearhood. “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints” (Psalm 116:15).

I also want to thank you for walking alongside me and my family. We feel blessed to be a part of this church family and so appreciate your love and support. This year was a big year for us as our daughter, Robin, “left the nest” and moved to the Pacific Northwest. We excited for her as she explores new opportunities but miss her dearly. We still have the boys at home, but it’s just a short matter of time before our life changes even more dramatically. Thank you for your prayers for us!

2020 Vision 

As we step together into a new decade of shared ministry, I’m tempted to just say again that my vision for 2020 is to “keep it up.” Simply staying faithful is a good goal for us because I do believe we are on the right track. But I also think there is an area of ministry that needs more attention for us to stay faithful and balanced, and that is bold evangelism–daring to share the gospel of Jesus with others.

Evangelism is one of those things that doesn’t do itself. Christians and churches can often find themselves worshiping, instructing, fellowshipping, and serving almost on autopilot. But rare are the Christians and churches where boldly telling unbelievers about their need for Jesus happens automatically. We need reminded. We need trained. We need motivated. Frankly, most of us need prodded.

So I hope we can heat up our evangelism quotient in 2020. We need to find ways of keeping our gospel mission in front of us. We will continue to do large scale evangelistic events like the Wild Game Dinner, Family Bible Week, and the Good News Cruise. And we will continue to share the gospel with unbelievers who come on a Sunday morning. But we all (me included!) need to also step up our game in boldly witnessing one-on-one with friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family.

When was the last time you personally talked with someone about their need for Jesus? Are you ready to have that conversation when the opportunity presents itself? What can we do to get ready and even to step out there and say something?

What can we do to stay focused on bold evangelism? This is an election year in our nation, and the competition for our attention and focus will be fierce. Years ago, I heard George Sweeting, the Chancellor of Moody Bible Institute, say, “The main thing is the keep the main thing the main thing.” The main thing is the gospel of Jesus Christ. To faithfully fulfill the great commission and make disciples of all nations, we must boldly tell people the good news about Jesus (Matthew 28:19-20)! May we keep that emphasis central to our 2020 vision! And may the Lord bless that boldness with resulting fruit.

In His Grip,
Pastor Matt

"This Very Night" [Matt's Messages]

“This Very Night”
Following Jesus - The Gospel of Matthew
January 19, 2020 :: Matthew 26:31-46

Time has slowed down.

We have reached not just that crucial last week that we often call “Holy Week” or “Passion Week,” but we’ve also reached that last crucial day. That last 24 hours before the crucifixion of our Lord.

Last week, we were up in the upper room with Jesus as He ate the Passover with His disciples.

And we saw that it was a Passover like there had never been a Passover before.

Because Jesus made this Passover all about Himself.

He took bread and broke it and passed it around and said it was His body.

He took the cup and offered it to His disciples and said it was His blood.

And He said that He wouldn’t drink from it again until He drank from it anew with His disciples in His Father’s kingdom.

And before all of that, He shocked them all by saying that one of them, one of the Twelve, was going to betray Him.

And He even knew which one.

Time has slowed down, and so will we.

We are only going to study verses 31 through 46 this morning.

Just the last part that happens before the betrayal and arrest.

Just the last few hours that Jesus is alone with His disciples.

And specifically those last few hours when Jesus prays.

And prays and prays.

Because Jesus knows what’s about to happen.

Jesus knows what’s coming.

We’ve seen that again and again.

Jesus knows what is right around the corner.

So what would you do if you knew that the authorities were coming to arrest you?

Jesus prays.

I’m going to call this message “This Very Night” because Jesus emphasizes the immediacy of these events in verse 31 and verse 34 with those words.

“This Very Night”

It’s right here, right now.

This is what Jesus’ life has been leading up to for all of these years.

From the angelic visits to His parents.
From the angels and the shepherds at Bethlehem.
From the baptism of His cousin John.
From the Sermon on the Mount to the Olivet Discourse.
From everything we’ve read so far in the Gospel of Matthew.

It’s all coming to a head right here, right now.

This very night.

Now, I often have several points of application that I try to dole out to you as a message unfolds.

Today, I have just two points of application, and I’m going to tell you up front what they both are, because they are both woven throughout this short passage.

I want you to see and feel them at every step of this very night.

Number One. We need to:

#1. RECOGNIZE OUR WEAKNESS.

As we see the weakness of the disciples, especially Peter, I am sure that we are supposed to see ourselves in them.

They don’t do so well. In fact, they fail.

And we need to see how they did that and own it as a true picture of ourselves.

And what we need saving from.

And what we need the Lord to work on in us.

But the other thing, and it’s more important really is that we need to:

#2. MARVEL AT JESUS’ STRENGTH.

Both of those things are on display in this passage.

Our weakness and His strength.

It’s amazing what Jesus goes through for us.

And how He does it.

And it should cause us to marvel and worship and give thanks that our Savior did this to save us and to glorify His Father.

This is how I’m hoping we will respond as follow Jesus through the events of this very night.

In verse 30, Matthew tells us that Jesus and His disciples sang a hymn and then left the house where they were eating the Passover and went back over the Kidron Valley to the Mount of Olives, the place where He had been teaching them about His glorious return.

And somewhere along the way, Jesus drops another shocker of a prediction on them.

Not only will one of them betray Him, but all of them will desert Him. Verse 31.

“Then Jesus told them, ‘This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.’”

We are used to this story, but it’s really quite striking, isn’t it?

They just had this intimate time together with their heads so close. Eating the Passover meal like a family. Dipping their bread or lamb in the same sauce.

Singing a hymn, wandering together up the valley.

But Jesus says, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me...”

And He says that it’s written in the Bible that this will happen!

That’s quote from Zechariah 13:7.

“I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.”

God is going to strike the Shepherd. What a scary thought!

And when the shepherd is struck, the sheep will be scattered.

The disciples will fall away.

Again, I wrote in the margin of my copy, “He knows.”

He knows what’s going to happen to Him.

And what He emphasizes is that His followers are going to stop following Him.

They are going to fall way. They are going to leave Him.

By the way, this story just keeps getting worse and worse until chapter 28.

It’s all true. And it’s all good for us.

But it was awful for Jesus.

And we need to feel that.

And marvel and wonder at what He went through for us.

Now in verse 32, there is a note of hope. There is, in fact, a prediction of resurrection!

“But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

He knows that His going to get up again on Sunday morning!

But all of this is going right over all of their heads.

What they have heard is that Jesus thinks they are going to fail Him.

And that is unthinkable for them at this moment. And who do you think is going to vocalize it?

Three guesses and the first two don’t count. It’s Peter, right? V.33

“Peter replied, ‘Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.’”

Let me translate that for you, “Jesus, you don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m much better than that.”

Which is a pretty dangerous thing to say to Jesus.

Peter thinks that he’s better than Jesus does.

He has good intentions!

But we know where that road leads.

And so does Jesus. V.34

“‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus answered, ‘this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.’ But Peter declared, ‘Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.’ And all the other disciples said the same.”

I think that’s us, don’t you?

I think we’re supposed to see ourselves there in Jesus’ protestations and over-confidence.

He’s not the only one. “All the other disciples said the same.”

And how many times have we?

Promised the Lord something that we weren’t really going to do.

Declared our strength and pledged our undying faithfulness.

Only to disappoint and be disappointing.

I love how the gospel present the disciples as being not very impressive.

I mean, Matthew was one of these disciples. If I were writing the book, I wouldn’t just make Jesus a great compelling character. I’d put in some good things about myself, too!

Or at least I’d be tempted to.

But the gospels show us not just Who Jesus really is, but who we really are, as well.

We need to recognize our weakness.

Which can actually be the start of our strength.

Remember this interaction they had with Jesus. It will become important in the next few weeks. V.36

“Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’”

The other gospels tell us that this was a place Jesus went to frequently. I think that’s how Judas knew where to find Him.

The word “Gethsemane” basically means “Olive Press,” and there was a garden there, so this was the original Olive Garden.

But there were no addictive breadsticks.

Instead, there was a praying Savior.

And what a prayer time He had! V.37

“He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.’”

Jesus has invited along His inner circle.

Peter, James, and John. The same three that saw Him on the mount of transfiguration.

Shining like the sun.

But now His face is dark.

He is sorrowful and troubled.

In fact, He is–This is astonishing, friends! He is overwhelmed.

Just think about that.

Just sit with that for a second.

The Lord Jesus Christ Whom we have followed now for 71 Sundays through the Gospel of Matthew.

When have we ever seen Jesus overwhelmed?

We’ve never seen Jesus overwhelmed.

But He is just about losing it this very night.

He doesn’t lose it! He never fails.

But He is in agony.

He is in anguish.

Jesus does not exaggerate about Himself, and He says in verse 38, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.’”

Jesus is so sad that He might almost die of it.

Why?

Because He knows.

He knows what’s coming.

He knows the horror of what is right around the corner for Him this very night.

And He wants His friends to sit up with Him and pray.

How very human of Him!

We need each other as humans.

If the Son of Man wanted His friends to pray with Him, how much more do we need it?!

Let’s be there for each other.

Let’s pray for each other.

On Sunday mornings, do you gather prayer requests from the people that sit near you?

You should do that.

Everybody here is the prayer team. You should ask the people around you how you can be praying for them. And maybe just do it right there in 10 seconds!

We need each other.

Jesus desired the company of Peter and the sons of Zebedee.

He wanted them to pray with Him.

But they failed miserably.

And He was left to pray alone. V.39

“Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.’”

And that is one of the most amazing prayers that has ever been offered to God.

First off, look at His posture.

See Him face down on the ground.

That is total submission.

Have you ever prayed like that?

Face down.

But this facedown Savior calls God His Father.

“My Father.” The Gospel of Mark says that He used the Aramaic word, “Abba.”

We might say, “Papa” or “Dad.”

And what does He ask?

“If it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.”

“If it is possible!” Maybe in His human nature, He wasn’t yet certain.

Just like He didn’t know when the Son of Man would come, maybe He didn’t know if there was possibly another way.

He sure wanted there to be!

He does not want this cup!

What is “this cup?”

A cup is an experience.

If you drink a cup, then you are choosing an experience.

And this cup, it’s not a physical cup, that’s a metaphor.

This cup is everything that’s going to happen to Him this very night and the next day.

This cup is the betrayal.
This cup is the arrest.
This cup is the farce of a trial.
This cup is the scourging.
This cup is the mocking.
This cup is the crucifying.

This cup is the Cross.

This cup is the wrath of God.

This cup was meant for us.

This is our cup.

Psalm 75, verses 7 and 8, “It is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another. In the hand of the LORD is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices; he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs.”

But here it is the pure and spotless Savior who drinks the cup reserved for the wicked.

That song we sing, “Jesus, Thank You.”

“You drank the bitter cup reserved for me.”

This is our cup.

And Jesus, looking at it, shudders.

And He asks His Father to take it from Him, “may this cup be taken from me.”

He does not want it.

But He chooses it.

“Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Marvel at Jesus’ strength.

His strength is a strength that starts with submission.

We often think that strength comes from not submitting.

But Jesus’ strength comes at the point of submission.

“Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

And He bends His will to the Father’s.

There is glorious strength in being able to bend your will to the Father’s will!

That’s what Jesus’ does.

He bends His human will to His Father’s divine will.

And chooses the cup of God’s wrath for us.

That’s amazing!

Which only highlights the disciples’ weakness. V.40

“Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. ‘Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?’ he asked Peter. [Who had just said that he would die with Jesus if necessary. But he can’t pray with Jesus when necessary.] ‘Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.’”

That’s us, right?

I know that I’ve fallen asleep during prayer meeting before!

These are just normal guys in a very unusual time and place.

They have good intentions, but their bodies don’t want to comply.

We need to recognize our weakness here and pray for help.

We are finite and limited and weak creatures who need all of the help we can get.

We need to admit that and humble ourselves.

And pray and keep watch so that we don’t fall into temptation.

But you know what?

Jesus was fully human, too. I’m sure that He was tired.

All of this anguish will wear you out. I’m sure that He was exhausted.

And He hasn’t even really started.

But He keeps on. V.42

“He went away a second time and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.’”

I think He’s getting His answer. He changes from “if it’s possible” to “I understand it may not be possible.”

And either way He’s committed.

“May your will be done.”

Just like He taught us to pray.

“Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

We need to learn to pray like that, too.

We bring God our requests, our desires.

It’s okay to bring anything to Him that you want.

Bring it!

Jesus wants this very badly, and it’s no sin to ask for it!

But He always says, “May your will be done.”

“May your will be done.”

And it’s not just words. It needs to be our heart’s pray.

“May your will be done.”
“May your will be done.”
“May your will be done.”

Do you pray like that?

With an open hand?

“May your will be done.”

The point of this passage is not so much that we need to pray like that, but that our Lord prayed like that!

He was so strong!

He didn’t want this at all, but He stayed strong.

The devil threw everything at Him that He could.

I’m sure that He was tempting Jesus right here and right now.

This very night Satan had returned and brought the same temptation to skip the Cross that he had presented to Jesus back in chapter 3.

But Jesus never faltered and never failed.

He said again and again to the Father, “May your will be done.”

And it meant our salvation!

Just imagine what would have happened if He had failed.

That’s unthinkable!

But the disciples failed again and again. They are a picture of us and our need for Savior. And thankfully, we have one. V.43

“When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. [“May your will be done.”] Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and resting? [Nap time is over!] Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!’”

And that’s where we’ll leave things this week.

The last moment they had alone together.

They failed.

But Jesus was victorious.

From now on Jesus does not weep.

He is not overwhelmed.

I’m sure that He is sad. He is a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

But He is no longer prostrate on the ground, face down.

Instead, He stands regally and faces all that comes before Him.

As the torch-lit mob climbs up to take Him away, Jesus all prayed-up, breathes out, “May your will be done this very night.”


***

Previous Messages in This Series:
01. The Genealogy of Jesus
02. The Birth of Jesus Christ
03. The Search for Jesus Christ
04. The Baptism of Jesus
05. The Temptation of Jesus
06. Following Jesus
07. Jesus' Sermon on the Mount
08. The Good Life (Part One)
09. The Good Life (Part Two)
10. You Are The...
11. Jesus and the First 2/3 of the Bible
12. But I Tell You
13. But I Tell You (2)
14. But I Tell You (3)
15. In Secret
16. Choose Wisely
17. Seek First His Kingdom
18. Generous
19. These Words of Mine
20. When He Saw the Crowds
21. When He Came Down from the Mountainside
22. Follow Me
23. Our Greatest Problem
24. Who Does He Think He Is?
25. Special Agents
26. Sheep Among Wolves
27. What To Expect On Your Mission
28. Are You the One?
29. Come to Me
30. The King of Rest
31. So Thankful!
32. Overflow
33. This Wicked Generation
34. Get It?
35. What Is Really Going On Here?
36. Baptizing the Disciples
37. The Treasure of the Kingdom
38. Living the Last Beatitude
39. Five Loaves, Two Fish, and Jesus
40. It Is I.
41. Worthless Worship
42. Great Faith in a Great God
43. The Pharisees and Sadducees
44. The Question and the Promise
45. Take Up His Cross
46. Like the Sun
47. Seed-Sized Faith
48. These Little Ones
49. If Your Brother Sins Against You
50. The Lord of Marriage
51. Drop Everything
52. First and Last
53. The Suffering Serving Son of Man
54. Shouting for the Son of David
55. Expecting Fruit
56. Come to the Wedding Banquet
57. Whose Image?
58. Acing the Test
59. What Do You Think About the Christ?
60. How Not To be A Leader
61. Malignant Religion
62. Fakes and Snakes
63. Birth Pains
64. The Coming of the Son of Man
65. No One Knows
66. Keep Watch
67. Well Done!
68. When Did We See You?
69. A Beautiful Thing
70. "The Passover With My Disciples"

“The Passover With My Disciples” [Matt's Messages]

“The Passover With My Disciples”
Following Jesus - The Gospel of Matthew
January 12, 2020 :: Matthew 26:17-30

For over two years now, we’ve been following Jesus through the Gospel of Matthew, and we’ve now followed Him right up into that crucial, holy, last week.

Last week, we read about happened on the Wednesday of Passion Week.

Today, we enter into that critical final 24 hours leading up to the crucifixion. Starting sometime on Thursday. The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

On the previous day, Wednesday, Judas, one of the Twelve, turned traitor and sold his services and his Master to the chief priests for thirty pieces of silver.

Today on Thursday, Jesus and His disciples will prepare for the Passover and keep the Passover feast. They are going to eat the Passover together.

But it will be a Passover such as there has never been before!

I’ve entitled this message from Jesus’ words in verse 18, where He says, “My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples...”

“The Passover With My Disciples”

Jesus leads His disciples into a Passover feast like no previous Passover.

There has never been anything like it.

We are almost contemptuously familiar with it because we’ve read over it and perhaps mindlessly repeated the words so many times, but this was one special Passover.

And the reason was because Jesus made it all about Him.

By now, we should not be surprised.

If we are surprised that Jesus makes something all about Himself, we have not been paying attention as we’ve read the Gospel of Matthew.

The Gospel of Matthew is a theological biography of the Lord Jesus Christ, the most compelling, the most interesting, the most important Person Who has ever lived.

Matthew is showing us and telling us Who Jesus really is.

And as we come to understand Who Jesus really is, He calls us to follow Him.

So, keep your eye on the ball.

“On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?’ He replied, ‘Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, 'The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.'’ So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.” Stop there for a second.

Did you hear the word, “Passover?”

Matthew wants to makes sure we don’t miss it.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread was about a week-long festival to remind the people of Israel of their rescue from Egypt.

God had dramatically saved His people from slavery. Remember the story from the book of Exodus?

God sent Moses to Pharaoh to say what? “Let my people go!”

And Pharaoh said, “No!”

God, “Oh yes, you will.”

And He hammered Egypt with 10 plagues. Creational warfare.

Water to blood.
Frogs everywhere.
Gnats everywhere.
Flies ruining the land.
Pestilence on the livestock.
Boils on everyone.
Hail bombing that decimated Egypt.
A locust swarm that took everything left.
And darkness that you could feel.

And then the devastating tenth plague: the LORD promised to kill every firstborn son in the land.

And after that, the people of Israel were set free.

They had to take off in a hurry. No time to let the bread rise.

So it was unleavened bread for them.

This day is actually the day of preparation for all of that.

This is the day that they went through the house cleaning out any of the leaven. Cleaning out, sweeping out, all of the yeast in the house.

And preparing the Passover meal.

Including the lamb.

The blameless pascal lambs were bought and then taken to the temple to be sacrificed.

And they poured the blood of the lambs into basins that the priests passed hand to hand to then pour out on the altar.

And they burned the fat. And then they took the lamb home and roasted it over a fire to eat as a family with some unleavened bread, some bitter herbs, a fruit sauce puree, and 4 cups of wine.

That dinner happened after sundown which in the Jewish reckoning begins a new day.

It would still be Thursday to us, but it was the beginning of their Friday when they would eat that evening.

The Jews had been doing this feast for almost 1500 years. The Exodus was about 1445BC, and this is probably 33AD? That’s 6 times longer than our nation has existed!

So the Passover is an ancient custom to them.

And do you remember why it’s called the “Passover?”

Because on the first Passover back in Exodus 12, the Jews were to paint their doorframes with the blood of these lambs. And if they did that, painted their doorframes with lamb blood, then the LORD would pass over their homes and not take the lives of their firstborn sons.

And that’s exactly what happened.

The LORD killed every single one of the firstborn sons of Egypt, but He passed over the firstborn sons of Israel when He saw the blood.

How many here are firstborn sons?

I am. ... How many have a firstborn son?

The Bible says there was loud wailing in Egypt that night.

I can only imagine. When my firstborn daughter died back in 1999, I wailed in that hospital room. I can’t imagine what it sounded like throughout Egypt when it happened in every single house!

But not in the houses of Israel where there was the blood of the lamb on the frame of the door.

The Jews have been reenacting this now for 1500 years when Jesus comes to Jerusalem to eat it the Passover with His disciples.

But there has never been a Passover like this one.

The disciples ask where Jesus wants to eat the Passover.

And Jesus has a plan. He tells them to go into the city to a certain man (the other gospels tell us that it’s a man carrying a jar of water which was unusual for a man to do) and tell this certain man that Jesus is coming over for dinner.

Look at verse 18 again. "...tell him, 'The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.'’

Here’s the first thing I want to emphasize this morning. We saw it last week, too.

#1. HE KNOWS.

I kept writing it in the margin of my Scriptures in verses 17 through 25.

“He knows.”

Obviously He knew that this man was going to be there and give them an upper room to eat the Passover. I don’t know if that is supernatural foreknowledge or something Jesus has secretly arranged so that He can do this quietly without the fuss and the crowds.

Either way, He knows.

But He knows a lot more than that. He knows it’s His time.

Don’t miss that phrase in verse 19, “My appointed time is near.”

He’s knows what’s going to happen.

And He’s knows that it’s close.

He’s told them that. We saw it last week in verse 2.

Matthew wants us to get the drift. Jesus knows what’s up this week. Tomorrow!

It’s His time.

His disciples probably thought He meant it was time for Him to kick out the Roman occupiers. Maybe send some more plagues their way!

No. It’s time for Jesus to...you know.

And He knows.

And He is choosing it.

He’s clearly in charge here. He’s the one calling the shots. He’s the one ordering the steps. V.19

“So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.”

And what a Passover it was!

Verse 20.

“When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. [Remember what we said last week about how they laid on their sides or tummies towards a low central table. I read this week that it wasn’t so much a wheel with spokes like I said last week as a U-shaped sort of thing, more box-like than a circle but with an open side for the food to get served on. But heads towards one another. Still very intimate. V.21] And while they were eating, he said, ‘I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.’”

He knows!

He knows that He’s going to be betrayed.

He knows that there is a traitor in their midst.

And He tells them so.

And they are shocked. V.22

“They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, ‘Surely not I, Lord?’  Jesus replied, ‘The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me.”

That could be any of them!

They’ve all been putting their breadsticks in the marinara sauce!

Or their unleavened breadsticks in the bitter herbs.

He knows it’s one of them.

And He also knows just how bad it is. Verse 24

“The Son of Man [there’s that title again] will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.’”

What a devastating sentence!

What great theology! You see the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man in the exact same verse. I don’t know exactly how those two things work together, but I am sure they do!

God’s plan will be enacted, but that doesn’t mean that we are not responsible when we sin.

“Woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

Jesus knows.

It’s amazing that Jesus calls Himself the Son of Man here.

The Son of Man who is going to come in glory at a time known only the Father?! He just got done teaching about that a few days ago.

But this same Son of Man is going to (v.24) “go just as it was written about him.”

I think that’s talking about Scriptures like Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53.

“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.  Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter [Passover!], and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away.”

The Son of Man is going to “go just as it was written about him.”

And He knows it.

And He chooses it.

And He knows who is going to betray Him. V.25

“Then Judas, the one who would betray him [thirty pieces of silver], said, ‘Surely not I, Rabbi?’ [Doesn’t call Him ‘Lord.’] Jesus answered, ‘Yes, it is you.’ [Literally He says, “You have said it.” I don’t think everybody got it at the time, but I’m sure Judas did. “He knows!”]

He knows!

And still He goes forward.

This should make us so grateful.

It should cause us to wonder and marvel and worship.

That God would have such a plan and that Jesus would know that plan and enact that plan. It’s just too much to take in!

It should also give us great confidence as we walk through this life.

Because we know that He knows.

There is so much we don’t know! But not Jesus. He knows.

He knows and still He gives.

#2. HE GIVES.

Now, pretend you don’t know what’s coming next.

I know that you’ve come prepared to eat the Lord’s Supper.

I know that you know that this is what we call the Last Super.

Or from the Greek for “give thanks,” the Eucharist. “The He Gave Thanks Meal.”

Or we often call this, “Communion” because of the fellowship aspect of it. Fellowship with God and fellowship with the Church.

But humor me and pretend for a second that you don’t know what’s coming next.

Because the disciples didn’t.

They thought they were just eating the Passover with Jesus.

Like Jews had for 1500 years.

But all of a sudden, Jesus is going to do something NEW with it.

He’s going to make this meal all about Him.

Keep your eye on the ball. V.26

“While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’”

That has never happened before at a Passover meal.

For 1500 years, there has been food (roasted lamb, bitter herbs, unleavened bread) and drink (customarily 4 glasses of wine per participant, four rounds to go with the four promises that God made to Israel in Exodus 6 when He said that He would rescue them from Egypt.)

And there have been speeches made for the last 1500 years.

A youngster is supposed to ask, “What does all of this mean?”

And the head of the household is supposed to explain what the symbolism all stands for.

But this has never happened in 1500 years.

This man takes the bread and breaks it, and He calls it, “My body.” He makes it all about Himself. And what do you call a broken body, broken into pieces?

A dead man.

He is saying “This is my death.”

And then He passes it around! He gives it to His disciples at the Passover meal in little pieces.

And He says, “Take a little piece of my death.”

I can just imagine the disciples’ look of puzzlement on their faces.

“What did He say?”

“Take and eat; this is my body.”

I think that’s obviously symbolic. He couldn’t have meant it literally at that point. He’s standing there in His body.

It’s obviously symbolic, but it’s a powerful symbol!

“This is what’s going to happen to me. I’m going to be broken.

I am giving my life.

Now, here, take some.

Take some of my death to get my life.”

He gives!

Don’t miss the symbolism of His distribution of this bread.

He gives it out to them because He’s giving His life for them. [GRAB THE CUP]

V.27  “Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them [see that?], saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

Can you believe how many people have focused on the cup? Making it a holy grail?

The point is not the cup!

The point is not what’s in the cup!

The point is what what’s in the cup stands for.

“This is MY BLOOD, and I’m giving it up for you.”

That has never happened before at any Passover meal. I guarantee.

Do you see how Jesus is tying everything back to Him?

He’s actually the Lamb, too, isn’t He? Paul knew that. He says in 1 Corinthians 5:7 that Christ is our Passover Lamb. He fulfills Exodus 12 and Isaiah 53.

But Jesus takes it even further by transforming the Passover bread and the Passover drink to stand for His sacrificial death on the Cross.

He knows what’s coming in just a few hours.

And He chooses it.

He chooses to give Himself.

“Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant.”

This is the required sacrifice to enact the New Covenant.

What Jesus is about to do will unleash the power of the New Covenant on the New Covenant People.

It will make all of the difference for all of our lives and for all of eternity!

And it will mean the forgiveness of our sins.

That is unbelievably good news!

Because the Lord knows we are sinners in need of forgiveness.

I’m sure that the disciples didn’t know what to make of what they just heard. But it’s clear that they thought a lot about it in the years to come.

And the church has rehearsed this new kind of Passover meal for the last 2000 years.

We do it here monthly.

Lots of churches do it every week.

It’s a deeply symbolic way of reminding ourselves just what Jesus gave for us.

He gave His body and He gave us blood.

For the forgiveness of our sins.

Do you know that?

Have you received that?

Have you received that gift of forgiveness through His blood?

This is the meaning of His death.

Jesus was saying in advance what the Cross was going to mean and do.

This is why Jesus is allowing Judas to betray Him.

This is why Jesus is going to go through every other awful thing in chapters 26 and 27.

And He knows that this all is coming.

And He chooses it because He’s choosing to give.

Have you received that gift?

If not, why not?

I know that some people say, “I don’t deserve.”

You’re absolutely right. You don’t!

This is scandalous grace.

Jesus does this for people who do not deserve it.

This is for the forgiveness of SINS!

Take in His death and gain His life.

And don’t you dare say that Jesus’ body and blood aren’t powerful enough for your sins!

Don’t devalue what He did on that Cross. Don’t you dare.

This is the New Exodus. The New Rescue.

Not from slavery to Egypt, but slavery to sin.

What’s in this cup stands for freedom.

“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

Are you in that "many?"

You can be if you repent and come in.

He knows and He foreknows.
He gives, and He forgives.
He tells and He foretells.

#3. HE PROMISES.

He promises His return and His kingdom. V.29

“I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom.’ When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”

Some people think that Jesus held up the third of four cups of wine to institute the Lord’s Supper, and He left the last cup on the table as they walked out singing to the Mount of Olives.

And that’s possible. I don’t know. That would be pretty dramatic. All of those cups left behind.

What I do know is that He said that He wouldn’t be drinking from the fruit of the vine again (again He knows) until “that day.”

A day in the future.

A great eschatological day.

A day when the Son of Man comes in all of His glory and sets up Messianic Banquet!

Jesus promises to return and to drink again one day “anew with you in...” [Don’t miss it!] “...MY Father’s kingdom.”

Jesus’ favorite thing to talk about. He’s talking about it again just hours before the Cross.

His Father has a kingdom, and it’s coming for sure.

We don’t know when! Right? We don’t know when.

But we know that the kingdom is coming for sure.

Because the King is coming back, and when He does, there will be a great celebration forever.

The apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:26 “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.”

We don’t know when that will be, but we know that He promised it, and that He always keeps His promises.

And what a day that will be!

Isaiah says, “The ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”

And we’ll drink from the fruit of the vine anew with Jesus in His Father’s Kingdom.


***
Previous Messages in This Series:
01. The Genealogy of Jesus
02. The Birth of Jesus Christ
03. The Search for Jesus Christ
04. The Baptism of Jesus
05. The Temptation of Jesus
06. Following Jesus
07. Jesus' Sermon on the Mount
08. The Good Life (Part One)
09. The Good Life (Part Two)
10. You Are The...
11. Jesus and the First 2/3 of the Bible
12. But I Tell You
13. But I Tell You (2)
14. But I Tell You (3)
15. In Secret
16. Choose Wisely
17. Seek First His Kingdom
18. Generous
19. These Words of Mine
20. When He Saw the Crowds
21. When He Came Down from the Mountainside
22. Follow Me
23. Our Greatest Problem
24. Who Does He Think He Is?
25. Special Agents
26. Sheep Among Wolves
27. What To Expect On Your Mission
28. Are You the One?
29. Come to Me
30. The King of Rest
31. So Thankful!
32. Overflow
33. This Wicked Generation
34. Get It?
35. What Is Really Going On Here?
36. Baptizing the Disciples
37. The Treasure of the Kingdom
38. Living the Last Beatitude
39. Five Loaves, Two Fish, and Jesus
40. It Is I.
41. Worthless Worship
42. Great Faith in a Great God
43. The Pharisees and Sadducees
44. The Question and the Promise
45. Take Up His Cross
46. Like the Sun
47. Seed-Sized Faith
48. These Little Ones
49. If Your Brother Sins Against You
50. The Lord of Marriage
51. Drop Everything
52. First and Last
53. The Suffering Serving Son of Man
54. Shouting for the Son of David
55. Expecting Fruit
56. Come to the Wedding Banquet
57. Whose Image?
58. Acing the Test
59. What Do You Think About the Christ?
60. How Not To be A Leader
61. Malignant Religion
62. Fakes and Snakes
63. Birth Pains
64. The Coming of the Son of Man
65. No One Knows
66. Keep Watch
67. Well Done!
68. When Did We See You?
69. A Beautiful Thing

"A Beautiful Thing" [Matt's Messages]

“A Beautiful Thing”
Following Jesus - The Gospel of Matthew
January 5, 2020 :: Matthew 26:1-16

Last week (last year, last decade!), we concluded our study of the Olivet Discourse Matthew 24 and 25, that great big final teaching on eschatology, the doctrine of Last Things, Jesus’ teaching on Jesus’ own return.

And now in chapter 26, we turn the corner back into the crucial events of that crucial week that we often call Passion Week or Holy Week.

We’ve actually been slowly walking together through the events of this crucial week in Matthew since the month of July.

These events are worthy of our close study and careful consideration especially for application, for what they mean for our lives today. These crucial events are at the center of the gospel that we believe.

Now, here’s the title for today’s message:

I’ve stolen it from verse 10. It’s called, “A Beautiful Thing.”

Because in today’s passage a woman does to Jesus what Jesus calls “a beautiful thing.”

That’s not how everybody sees it, but it’s how Jesus sees it, and how Jesus sees something is the right way to see a thing!

“A Beautiful Thing.”

You know, there are really two beautiful things in this passage, and there are at least 2 really ugly things in our story, as well.

And there are also two major prophecies by the Lord Jesus.

One that has already come to pass, and one that is going to come to pass in this very room on this very day!

How’s that for a prediction?

How do you feel about fulfilling a prophecy of Jesus this very morning in this very room? Want to do that?

Now, remember, Matthew did not put these verse numbers in his book.

The great big 26 is there to help us find it, but Matthew didn’t put it there.

Matthew flows right from chapter 25 right into chapter 26.

He flows right from the Son of Man judging all the nations like a Shepherd separating the sheep from the goats right into these words. Matthew 26, verse 1.

“When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, ‘As you know, the Passover is two days away–and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.’”
What an amazing ending to this End Times Teaching!

Jesus just said that the Son of Man [same words] was going to come in all of His glory with all of His angels and sit on His glorious throne.

In almost the next breath He says that the Son of Man is going to be handed over to be crucified, this week!

The judge of all of the nations is going to be judged Himself!

And He’s going to be executed on a Cross!

I know that we know this already, but this is utterly incredible!

The crucial events of this week are incredibly strange.

They are incredibly ironic.

They are incredibly upside-down.

Nobody would ever come up with this story if it weren’t true!

The Son of Man is going to be handed over to be crucified.

Here’s the first strangely beautiful thing I want to point out to you:

Jesus knows this, and Jesus is choosing it.

It’s one thing that we all know it in hindsight.

It’s a whole other thing that Jesus knew it with foresight.

What day is this? I think it’s Tuesday of Passion Week.

It seems that Jesus taught this Eschatological Olivet Discourse on the Tuesday of this Crucial Week.

And Passover is going to happen on Thursday. It’s two days away.

If you knew that you were scheduled to be executed in State College in two days, what would you do today?

I don’t know about you, but I would get in my mini-van and head towards Chicago!

But Jesus hangs around town.

Jesus knows what’s going on, and Jesus is choosing it.

That’s a beautiful thing.

In just a few minutes, we’re going to remember Jesus’ crucifixion at His Table.

And we need to remember that He chose it.

Not only did it not take Him by surprise, He walked right up to it.

And He told His disciples that it was coming.

And, for us, that’s a beautiful thing.

Now here’s the first ugly thing in today’s story. I think it happened on the next day, on Wednesday. It’s a conspiracy, a devious plot, and it’s in verse 3.

“Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they plotted to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill him.”

I love that Matthew tells us that it’s Jesus’ plan before he tells us about these bad leaders’ plan.

So we don’t get the idea that they are truly in charge. They can’t do a thing (even such an evil thing) that doesn’t somehow conform to the grand plan of God.

But it is an evil thing they plan.

They plan a murder.

They plan the assassination of an innocent man.

This is the first time in a long time in the Gospel of Matthew that Jesus is not center stage. Jesus isn’t in this scene. This conspiracy takes place at Caiaphas’ house (the son of the last high priest who was named high priest by Rome by that Governor Quirinius that we always hear about on Christmas Eve). Interestingly, in 1990, archaeologists uncovered what they think may be Caiaphas’ house and maybe even discovered the box (the ossuary) that his bones were buried in.

Caiaphas is the high priest, and with him mare are the chief priests and the elders, but they are not leading the nation for God and for good.

They are doing evil.

They are plotting to arrest and secretly kill Jesus.

Just let that sink in.

These religious people planned to kill Jesus.

Verse 5. “‘But not during the Feast,’ they said, ‘or there may be a riot among the people.’”

They want to wait a week.

They want to wait until the big holiday crowds go home. Jesus has been too popular, and they don’t want to stir something up.

Question: Do they get their wish?

Well, they do get to kill Jesus.

But they don’t get to do it when they wanted.

I think that’s so ironic!

When do they get to kill Jesus?

On the day that Jesus said they would.

I wonder who is really in charge here?!

Now, here’s the story of the beautiful thing.

It’s actually a flashback a few days in time. If you track this event in the other gospels, John tells us that it actually happened before the Triumphal Entry.

But I think Matthew places it here in his book to juxtapose it with what Judas does in the next story.

Regardless, it happened, and it was a beautiful thing. V.6

“While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.”

Now, it’s really something that Jesus is in the home of a guy named “Simon the Leper.” I mean if he’s still leper, Jesus was disobeying the Mosaic Law, but it probably means that Simon used to be a leper. That Simon is now healed.

I wonder who did that?

And at this home in Bethany, this woman comes to Jesus with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, and she pours it on the head of Jesus as he is reclining at the table.

This is an amazing thing.

They don’t have tall tables with chairs like ours.

They have low tables in the center and like cots or low benches or mats that they lay on like spokes on a wheel coming out from the food. They reclined at the table.

And this woman (John’s gospel tells us that this is actually Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. I wonder if Simon the Former Leper was their father? This woman...) steps past Jesus’ feet and probably breaks the head off of the alabaster stone jar and begins pouring this stuff on Jesus’ head. The rest of the gospels say that she proceeded to pour it on His whole body down to feet.

The whole jar of perfume is poured out.

Can you imagine the smell?

Have you ever poured out a whole bottle of perfume? I haven’t!

I don’t think we can get the sense of what this must have been like.

We don’t really have anything like this in our culture.

It’s not like pouring the gatorade on your coach after a win.

This is an act of anointing.

Like Psalm 23, “You anoint my head with oil.”

Or more like Psalm 133, “like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down upon the collar of his robes.”

Full immersion in fragrant liquid.

And it is costly.

Matthew tells us that it was “very expensive perfume.”

How expensive?

Mark tell us that it was worth more than a year’s wages.

More than a year’s wages?!!!

How much do you make in a year?

How much are you scheduled to make in 2020?

Imagine having that much money saved up in a saving account at the bank.

And on a Saturday morning, right after the bank opens, you walk in the door. And you ask for the whole thing. The teller on the other side of the counter winces at the thought of just handing you your big lump sum, a year’s wages saved in their account.

And they talk with the Branch manager, and they come back to you and they say, "Would you come into my office, uhhm I understand that you want a cashier's check for your whole savings account.  Do you understand that that totals about a whole year’s wages?"
 
You indicate that you do.

So she says, "Uhh, I don't want to pry, and it's your money and you can have it any time you want, so I'll print out the check, but I am curious. Are you taking your business somewhere else? Because if you are, I would like to know if there's something about our service or our rates that is causing you to go elsewhere.  And I'd like a chance to talk with you about getting you a better deal here.”
 
Now imagine, that you look her square in the eye and say this: "Oh no, I have been more than pleased with the service here. You have a great bank. But today I'm going to use my one year’s wages."

"Oh, I see. Are you buying a house with cash? Or two Sport Utility Vehicle with cash?"
 
"No, I'm going to buy a vial of perfume."

"Perfume? You're going to buy a vat of expensive perfume?"
 
"No, a small amount, I'm guessing around ½ a liter, 11 ounces."
 
"You are going to buy a year’s salary worth of perfume today?  Just 11 ounces?"
 
"That's right. Is my check ready?"
 
"Uh, just a second. I just have a couple more questions. Uhhmm, what are you going to do with that perfume? Is this some kind of an investment?"
 
"Oh, I guess you could call it that. I plan to break the top of the bottle and pour it out on someone today."

"What? .... Who could be worth that?"

Do you see?

Now, she probably didn’t buy it this day. It was probably a family heirloom. It might have represented the family fortune. We don’t know.

What we do know is that she poured it all out on Jesus that day.

What a woman!

By the way, the women in Matthew’s gospel are the best disciples. They are often overlooked, but they are consistently the most faithful and greatest role models for our discipleship today.

Never underestimate a woman who is a true disciple of Jesus Christ!

But that’s exactly what the male disciples do at this moment.

And, I think, they underestimate Jesus at the same time. V.8

“When the disciples saw this [pouring out of this expensive perfume on Jesus], they were indignant. ‘Why this waste?’ they asked.‘This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.’”

Now, of course, they have a point.

She could have sold this stuff and given it the money to the poor.

And that would have been a good thing.

Not a bad thing to do.

We should take stock of what we have and ask if we’re leveraging it in the right ways especially in regards to the poor.

Matthew just finished narrating Jesus’ story about the King who said that when we do generous things for the least of these his brothers, we are doing it for Him, including feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless.

Let’s be doing that!

But the disciples were missing something here.

“Why this waste?” they asked?

They do not see what has truly happened.

But Jesus did. Sopping wet with redolent scent, verse 10.

“Aware of this, Jesus said to them, ‘Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. [CSB “a noble thing.”] The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me.”

This act is not a waste.

This is worship!

That’s what worship is, you know.

It’s “worth-ship.” Worship is an act that shows the value you place on something.

If you put all of your money or all of your time into something, you can probably say that you are worshiping it.

If you do nothing but work, especially when you don’t have to, your can be worshiping your work (instead of worshiping with your work).

If you spend all of your time on sports or hunting or reading books or whatever is your hobby, it could be properly said that you worship your hobby.

Some people worship their families.

Worship is whatever you do to indicate the ultimate worth of something to you.

This woman with her lavish act was saying that Jesus was worth everything to her.

So this is a great question to start a new year and a new decade with.

What is Jesus worth to you?

And how do you show it?

What is Jesus worth to you in 2020 and how can you demonstrate it?

Are you surprised that Jesus makes this all about Him?

This is the Gospel of Matthew, after all. So we need to keep our eyes on the ball.

The disciples had their eyes on the perfume. And their eyes on the money.

The other gospels tell us that Judas was the primary one who objected here. No wonder. He was the treasurer. And he was the traitor. But they all agreed.

"This was a waste!"

But Jesus says that it isn’t a waste.

Yes, we should serve the poor. But they will always be here.

But you have a limited window here and an unique opportunity here because Jesus Himself is here!

“The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me.”

So this is a beautiful thing!

This is costly worship.

This is extravagant worship.

And catch this: Jesus believes that He is worth it!

What’s amazing here is that Jesus doesn’t stop her.

Jesus doesn’t demur.

Jesus doesn’t say, “Oh, no, no. Let’s not do that. Let’s save our perfume. Let’s sell it and give to the poor. Or keep that money for your savings.”

No, Jesus basically says, “Thank you. I deserve that.”

This is not a waste. This appropriate worship.

What is Jesus worth to you in 2020 and how are you planning to show it?

What are you planning to do with your money, your time, your treasures, your relationships, everything that is of value to you, to show that Jesus is your ultimate treasure?

I think we all ought to spend some time today answering that question for ourselves.

Jesus is not expecting us to get out our life savings at the bank and buy a jar of perfume and pour it out on Him.

We can’t. He’s not here physically.

But He does expect and deserve our worship.

What beautiful things might we do as a church family in 2020 to show the world that Jesus is worthy?

Here’s a good way to get at this.

What are you doing or planning to do that others might say, “Why this waste?” if they don’t see how worthy Jesus is?

If there is nothing in your life that an unbeliever would shake their head at, then you need new priorities for a new year.

Because Jesus should be our number one priority.

“The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me.”

And yet we do always have Him spiritually. V.12

“When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.”

She might not have known that was coming, but Jesus does.

Jesus knows that He is the Messiah which means the Anointed One.

And this anointing was not to do battle like King David with His slingshot and sword.

This anointing was to do battle by dying on the Cross.

“She did it to prepare me for burial.”

Jesus’ victory begins with His death.

Verse 13.

“I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.’”

Do you see it?

It just happened.

This prophecy of Jesus was just fulfilled in this very room!

We are preaching the gospel and we are telling the story of this woman and what she did.

It was the opposite of a waste.

It was a timeless act of worship.

Worthy of retelling and retelling and retelling so that all generations know that Jesus is worth it all.

Here we are doing it right now.

Her act of extravagant worship is a blessing on the world. And that’s a beautiful thing.

What acts of beautiful, extravagant worship might you and I do to be a blessing to this world in 2020?

This woman valued Jesus highly.

Sadly, Judas valued Jesus lowly. What an ugly thing! V.14

“Then one of the Twelve [what a phrase]–the one called Judas Iscariot–went to the chief priests [from verses 3-5] and asked, ‘What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?’ [Same root word for “handed over” in Jesus’ prediction of v.2] So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.”

This will move things up on the timetable from what they originally wanted. But now they have an inside man.

An inside man, a traitor, who has just valued Jesus at 30 silver coins. Perhaps a 120 days’ wages. The cost of replacing an ox.

And this was not what Judas thought he would spend on Jesus.

This is what Judas thought he could get for selling out Jesus.

What is Jesus worth to you?

The contrast between these two valuations of Jesus could not be more stark.

Judas devaluing Jesus to thirty silver coins.

The woman valuing Jesus at the greatest worth.

You and I, today, are probably somewhere in between those two.

If you have been like Judas, I invite you to repent and come to trust in Jesus and worship Him as your highest treasure.

Amazingly, Jesus’ blood is precious enough to cover all of our sinful devaluing of Him, bringing us forgiveness and new life.

Repent and receive Him today.

And all of us should take time right now and today to take stock of our lives and ask what in our life shows how much we value Jesus.

What in our life does the world say, “Why this waste?”

“Who could be worth that?”

Because, amazingly, Jesus who is worth all of this, counted it joy to go to the Cross for us.

“For the joy set before Him, He endured the Cross.”

Remember, He knew.

He knew this in advance.

And He chose it.

He knew even when she didn’t know.

He said, “When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.”

“This is my body broken for you.

This is my blood poured out for you.”

Not just perfume but blood.

And that is a beautiful thing.


***

Previous Messages in This Series:
01. The Genealogy of Jesus
02. The Birth of Jesus Christ
03. The Search for Jesus Christ
04. The Baptism of Jesus
05. The Temptation of Jesus
06. Following Jesus
07. Jesus' Sermon on the Mount
08. The Good Life (Part One)
09. The Good Life (Part Two)
10. You Are The...
11. Jesus and the First 2/3 of the Bible
12. But I Tell You
13. But I Tell You (2)
14. But I Tell You (3)
15. In Secret
16. Choose Wisely
17. Seek First His Kingdom
18. Generous
19. These Words of Mine
20. When He Saw the Crowds
21. When He Came Down from the Mountainside
22. Follow Me
23. Our Greatest Problem
24. Who Does He Think He Is?
25. Special Agents
26. Sheep Among Wolves
27. What To Expect On Your Mission
28. Are You the One?
29. Come to Me
30. The King of Rest
31. So Thankful!
32. Overflow
33. This Wicked Generation
34. Get It?
35. What Is Really Going On Here?
36. Baptizing the Disciples
37. The Treasure of the Kingdom
38. Living the Last Beatitude
39. Five Loaves, Two Fish, and Jesus
40. It Is I.
41. Worthless Worship
42. Great Faith in a Great God
43. The Pharisees and Sadducees
44. The Question and the Promise
45. Take Up His Cross
46. Like the Sun
47. Seed-Sized Faith
48. These Little Ones
49. If Your Brother Sins Against You
50. The Lord of Marriage
51. Drop Everything
52. First and Last
53. The Suffering Serving Son of Man
54. Shouting for the Son of David
55. Expecting Fruit
56. Come to the Wedding Banquet
57. Whose Image?
58. Acing the Test
59. What Do You Think About the Christ?
60. How Not To be A Leader
61. Malignant Religion
62. Fakes and Snakes
63. Birth Pains
64. The Coming of the Son of Man
65. No One Knows
66. Keep Watch
67. Well Done!68. When Did We See You?

Books I Read in 2019

I've had a tremendous year for reading books.
If I get a chance (no time this week!), I'll write more about the good stuff I got to read, list my "top books of 2019," and share some of the things I've been learning, but here's the full list and a few links to short reviews I produced along the way.

Matt’s Books Completed* in 2019: 1. Palace Council by Stephen L. Carter2. The Civil War As a Theological Crisis by Mark Noll3. Creation and Doxology edited by Gerald Hiestand and Todd Wilson 4. The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie5. Don’t Just Send a Resume by Benjamin Vrbicek [my review]6. The Way of the Righteous in the Muck of Life by Dale Ralph Davis7. The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby8. Have His Carcase by Dorothy L. Sayers9. Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges10. Slogging Along in the Paths of Righteousness by Dale Ralph Davis [my review]11. The Reckoning by John Grisham12. The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson 13. Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie14. Jesus and the Future by Andreas Kostenberger, Alexander Stewart, and Apollo Makara15. Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson16. The Souls of Black Folk of W.E.B. Du Bois17. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler18. The Grass Widow’s Tale by Ellis Peters19. Contemporary Theology by Kirk MacGregor [my review]20. Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler21. Point Man by Steve Farrar22. Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy by Mark Vroegop [a sremon this year inspired by reading this book]23. Unstuck by Tim Lane [my review]24. The High Window by Raymond Chandler25. So Brave, Young, and Handsome by Leif Enger26. Black City by Boris Akunin27. Anger: Calming Your Heart by Robert D. Jones [my review]28. None Greater: The Undomesticated Attributes of God by Matthew Barrett29. The House of Green Turf by Ellis Peters30. Feels Like Home by Lee Eclov31. Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers32. Psalms 1-72 by Derek Kidner33. Mourning Raga by Ellis Peters34. Confronting Christianity by Rebecca McLaughlin35. Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammet36. God Is by Mark Jones37. Gay Girl, Good God by Jackie Hill Perry38. 7 Myths About Singleness by Sam Allberry [a big help with this sermon]39. Interpreting Scripture with the Great Tradition by Craig Carter40. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon41. God and the Transgender Debate by Andrew Walker42. A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh43. Death in a Strange Country by Donna Leon44. The Pacific and Other Stories by Mark Helprin45. Quietly While They Sleep by Donna Leon46. In Sunlight and Shadow by Mark Helprin47. A Sea of Troubles by Donna Leon48. The Nursing Home Murder by Ngaio Marsh49. Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories by Agatha Christie50. Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson51. J-Curve: Rising and Dying with Jesus in Everyday Life by Paul E. Miller [my initial thoughts, my final evaluation]52. Fearing Others: Putting God First by Zach Schlegel53. Death and Judgment by Donna Leon54. Anxiety: Knowing God’s Peace by Paul Tautges [my review]55. The Eighteen-Carat Kid and Other Stories by P.G. Wodehouse56. Acqua Alta by Donna Leon57. The Knocker on Death’s Door by Ellis Peters58. A Noble Radiance by Donna Leon59. Safe and Sound: Standing Firm in Spiritual Battles by David Powlison60. Welcoming the Stranger by Matthew Soerens and Jenny Yang61. God, Greed, and the (Prosperity) Gospel by Costi Hinn62. Fatal Remedies by Donna Leon63. Beyond Authority and Submission by Rachel Green Miller64. God Without Measure: Working Papers in Christian Theology (Vol 1. God and the Works of God) by John Webster65. Radically Different by Champ Thornton [my review]66. Friends in High Places by Donna Leon67. The Mating Season by P.G. Wodehouse68. Psalm 119 for Life by Hwyel R. Jones69. Openness Unhindered by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield70. The Blessed Hope by George Ladd71. The Supper of the Lamb by Robert Farrar Capon72. Pornography: Fighting for Purity by Deepak Reju73. Suffering and the Heart of God by Diane Langberg74. Open Season by C.J. Box75. The Art of Rest by Adam Mabry [pungent quote and evaluation]76. Wesley on the Christian Life by Fred Sanders77. The Best Gift Ever by Ronnie Martin78. The Triune God by Fred Sanders [second reading, one of my top books of 2017]79. Uniform Justice by Donna Leon80. The Notting Hill Mystery by Charles Warren Adams81. The Songs of Jesus by Timothy Keller82. Psalms 73-150 by Derek Kidner83. Psalms (Tyndale Old Testatment Commentaries) by Tremper Longman

***

* As in previous years, these are books I finished reading (or had read to me in Audible) in 2019, not the ones I started or the ones I didn't get done. That list would be a LOT longer! I read a bunch of them for escapist fun, a few for/with my family, and a lot of them just to learn and grow. They aren't listed (perfectly) in the order I read them. Some of them I am reading for a second or third time (or more!).

As I say each and every year--I'm not endorsing these books just because they are listed here. Some of them are really good and some are really bad. Most are somewhere in between. Read with discernment.

Here's the article where I explain why I post these.

Lists from previous years:

2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008 (first half, second half)
2007 (first half, second half)
2006 (first half, second half)
2005 (first half, second half)

"When Did We See You?" [Matt's Messages]

“When Did We See You?”
Following Jesus - The Gospel of Matthew
December 29, 2019 :: Matthew 25:31-46

For the last month and a half, we’ve been following Jesus up to the Mount of Olives where He has been teaching His disciples about His return. Chapters 24 and 25 are often called “The Olivet Discourse” because of the location of this teaching, and they are all about Eschatology or the doctrine of Last Things. We often call them the “End Times.” This is Jesus’ most concentrated teaching on the End of the World.

And today we’ve reached the end of that. The end of Jesus’ teaching on the End.

Starting next week, we will continue through the remainder of the crucial events of this Passover Week in the first century when Jesus was crucified.

So what have you learned these last several Sundays as we’ve listened to the Lord Jesus teach about His return?

There has been a lot to it, hasn’t there? There are a lot of facets to this teaching, too many details to repeat this morning.

But all along we have noticed two main things.

One is the identity of Jesus. This is the Gospel of Matthew, after all, so we have to keep our eyes on the ball.

Who is Jesus? He is the Son of Man from the book of Daniel. And the Son of Man is going to come in glory and receive His kingdom at a time known only to the Father.

That’s been important, hasn’t it?

When is Jesus coming back? We don’t know!

Jesus said that we will not know until it happens.

The Son of Man will come at a time when we do not expect it.

He may come earlier than we expect.
He may come later than we expect.

So we have to stay ready.

That’s the second major thing we’ve seen. That Jesus’ focus on eschatology is always a focus mainly on application.

How we are to live in light of His sure and soon but unpredictable return.

We don’t know when, but we sure know Who and because of that we know How to live while we wait.

Jesus has been hammering this point for more than half of this teaching.

He’s been telling us how to live while we wait.

How to, as He says, “Keep watch.”

And He’s told several stories to teach us how to keep watch.

Several parables that feature a group of people who have to be ready for something to happen at an unspecified time.

A thief surprising a homeowner in the night.
A boss returning to check on some employees.
A delayed bridegroom picking up the wedding party to go to the wedding feast.
A master returning from a long journey to reward His good and faithful servants and punish the wicked and lazy ones.

All at time that they did not know.

And so they had to be prepared.
And they had to be patient.
And they had to be busy doing what the master had left for them to do.

Well, Jesus has one more story to tell.

But there aren’t as many story-telling features in this one. It’s not as much of a parable. It’s much more straightforward.

This is basically how it’s going to be.

And this isn’t a story so much about how we don’t know when.

That’s presupposed. Jesus assumes that we’ve gotten that part of this teaching by now. We don’t know when the Son is going to return.

But it is about how we are to live while we wait.

We are to live lives of love in light of the Lord’s return.

Jesus tells one more story. And it’s a story about what happens next.

After the Son of Man comes.

He is coming. Jesus is coming back!

And when He does, this is going to happen:

Like most of Jesus’ stories, this story has a twist. It has a big surprise in it.

In fact, it has two very similar big surprises that you don’t see coming.

But the surprise in this story is not about the timing of Jesus’ return; it is that there have been a number of “Jesus sightings” that the characters in the story didn’t know were “Jesus sightings!”

The whole story turns on this question, “When Did We See You?”

“Lord, when did we see you?”

“Because we didn’t realize we did.”

Matthew 25:31.

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.” Stop there for just a second.

Do you see how this advances the story? How this is what happens next?

This is not about WHEN will it happen. It’s about what will happen WHEN it happens.

And it’s quite a picture, isn’t it?

All of that glory?  Don’t miss all of this glory!

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and [how many of the angels?] all the angels with him [heaven is going to be emptied, and they will all be there, we can’t imagine this glory!], he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.”

See that glory? Heavenly glory on earth.

This is the “most public event of all time” (O’Donnell).

This is what is sure to happen after the events of chapter 24, verses 29 through 31.

The coming of the Son of Man.

We don’t know when it’s going to happen.

But that it’s going to happen is unquestionable.

The Son of Man will come in (whose glory?) HIS glory.

And what’s He going to sit on? HIS throne. Do you see how this is all about Jesus?

Keep your eye on the ball! Don’t just look for yourself in Jesus’ stories. Look for Jesus. Look at Jesus!

The Son of Man from Daniel 7 has approached the Ancient of Days and has received His kingdom, and now He’s come to bring His Kingdom.

And that involves judgment.

Verse 32 says that some of the nations will be gathered before Him.

No. It says, “All of the nations.” No one escapes. No one gets passed over. It’s not just Israel that will face judgment.

“All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.”

Jesus is going to sort out everybody.

He’s said that before, earlier in the Gospel of Matthew. We’ve seen it again and again.

There will be a complete and total sorting. And people will either go on His left or on His right.

Like (this is a simile) a shepherd separating the sheep from the goats.

They might look the same from a distance, but they are not the same. And they go to different places. Perhaps a shepherd separates them to keep them straight or to care for them differently at nighttime. Goats apparently need more warmth because of thinner coats. I think it’s likely that in this story, he is pulling off the sheep to go to pasture and culling off the goats to go to slaughter.

I don’t think we need to read too much into the two different kinds of animals except to note that there are only two.

There are only two kinds of people in the end.

Just like there were two kinds of virgins at the midnight cry, wise and foolish.

And there were two kinds of servants when the master returned, faithful and wicked.

In the end, there are only two kinds of people. The sheep and the goats.

And Jesus knows which is which.

They’ve been together all of this time, but now there is a reckoning, and there is a separating before the Shepherd King.

In the story, the King begins with the people on his right.

And listen to the glorious thing He says to them! V.34

“Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”

Oh! Doesn’t that sound wonderful?

It’s like the last two stories. Those wise bridesmaids entering into the wedding feast.

Or those two faithful servants being given more responsibility and invited to come enjoy the master’s happiness!

We can’t imagine how good this is.

“Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”

That’s what’s coming!

For the sheep.

Now, the sheep did not earn this.

This was done for them long before they even came into existence. “Since the creation of the world!”

It’s an inheritance. That’s something that is given to you based on what family you are in, not something you’ve done. This is a gift from the King’s Father.

The sheep did not earn this.

But it’s only for the sheep. The people who are like the sheep, placed on the Shepherd King’s favored right hand.

But the King knows which ones were to go on the right.

How does the King know? He knows from how they lived. He knows from what He observed in their lives. He knows from the evidence of His eyes. V.35

“For I [the King] was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

He knows who they are because of what He saw them do.

They fed Him when He was starving.
They gave Him water when He was dying of thirst.
They gave Him shelter when He was lost.
They gave Him clothes when He was destitute.
They gave Him medical care when He was sick.
They went to see Him when He was in prison.

He knows who they are because of what He saw them do.

So here’s where they ask the question. Because they are surprised by what they have just heard. V.37

“Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?”

We don’t remember that part!

They aren’t surprised to be welcomed so much as they are surprised at why.

When did this happen?

When did we see you?

Verse 40. “The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'”

So, who are these brothers of the king?

That’s an important question, isn’t it?

Because when these people cared for these brothers of the King, they were caring for the King Himself.

Let me tell you who I think they are.

I think they are simply other Christians who were in real need.

Good Bible scholars have had various takes on this in the history of the church.

Some people think that these brothers of Jesus are Jews, Jesus’ brothers according to the flesh. And that’s possible.

And some people think that these brothers of the King are just anybody in need. And that makes some sense, too. I don’t think we’re supposed to narrow this down and say, “We are only supposed to help Christians who are in need. Nobody else need apply!”

But in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus has said again and again that His true family are His disciples (ex.12:47-50). And He’s said that His disciples, as they go out on their mission to make more disciples, are going to encounter trouble.

Remember the Birth Pains in the last chapter?

“You will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophet swill appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and the end will come” (24:9-14)

Sounds like trouble to me.

And if you help someone like that in their trouble...you are helping Jesus.

Notice that it doesn’t just say, “These brothers of mine.”

The King says, “the least of these brothers of mine.”

The people who are the least glorious.
The least powerful.
The least attractive.
The least able to pay you back.

The least able to scratch your back.

If you help them, you are helping Jesus.

That doesn’t mean that those people are literally Jesus in disguise.

It means that they belong to Jesus in such a way that if you hurt them, you are basically hurting Him. And if you help them, then you are basically helping Him.

We are His Body, are we not?

So when you love Jesus’ Body, you are loving Jesus.

That’s quite a thought, isn’t it?

By the way, there is a hidden message here about how much Jesus loves us.

Jesus loves you and me so much that He identifies with us.

So that when you or I are hungry, or thirsty, or lost, or destitute, or locked up, Jesus is right there with us.

So that if anyone helps you or me, they are helping Jesus.

We often think about ourselves as a sheep or a goat in this story (and we should), but sometimes we need also to realize that we could be the least of the King’s family.

And the King loves us so much that when we hurt, it hurts Him so to speak.

And when we are helped, He says, “Thanks for helping Me!” 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'”

That’s how the King can tell who goes on the right.

They acted like a person who goes on the right.

They acted sheep-like! Not sheep-ish but sheep-like.

And they weren’t play-acting. They weren’t doing this to get brownie points.

This folks are not trying to impress the Lord with their good works.

They are just doing good works because of the people they have become.

They are given the kingdom because they are obviously kingdom citizens!

They were not earning the kingdom, because you cannot earn the kingdom (unless you are the King).

They weren’t even trying. They were just living out the values of the kingdom, and the King couldn’t help but notice.

These actions were the genuine evidence of a genuinely transformed life.

And we know that because of how unselfconscious they were about it.

“When did we see you? When did we do that?”

“Well, you didn’t see Me, but I was there. And I saw you.”

But the opposite was also true. And these are scary and sobering words. Verse 41.

“Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' They also will answer [same question], 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Same story but the opposite way around.

These people saw the same followers of Christ in the same desperate situations, and they didn’t lift a finger to help.

They claimed to love Jesus or at least to call Him, “Lord,” but they had nothing of the sheep about them. They were actually goats.

They were fakes, weren’t they?

If they had known that these actions were the ones that would open the door of the kingdom to them, then they would have done those actions and those alone.

They failed the hypocrisy test. They were fakes. And we know how Jesus feels about fakes!

Jesus already taught on this at the end of His Sermon on the Mount.

He said, “[B]y their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'”

You didn’t help my family when you weren’t getting any publicity for it.

You might have racked up some public “ministry,” but your sins of omission told the real story.

“Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire that [wasn’t originally made for humans, but humans have insisted on getting into it, the eternal fire] prepared for the devil and his angels.” To eternal punishment.

No second chances. The door is shut. The decision is final. And it is forever.

So that’s how Jesus ends His teaching on His return.

What should we make of it?

How should we apply it to our lives in the last few days of 2019?

I thought of three:

#1. REJOICE! THE LORD IS COMING!

We can’t miss this glorious fact, that the Son of Man is coming in His glory and is going to set everything right.

Everything in the world is going to be set aright.

He will judge justly!

Everything will be returned to the way it should be.

And He shall reign.

“He will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.”

That should thrill our hearts.

We’ve been singing it the last several weeks for its 300rd birthday:

Joy to the world! The Lord is come; Let earth receive her King;
let every heart prepare Him room, and heav’n and nature sing!

No more like sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found.

Rejoice! The Lord is coming in His glory with all of His angels!

And for His people, He says, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”

That’s every reason to rejoice!

I can’t hardly wait.

Jesus tells us His disciples all of this to whet the longings of our hearts for His return and His kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven.

Rejoice! The Lord is coming!

#2. REPENT. THE LORD IS COMING!

The second half of this prophetic story is scary.

And it invites all who hear it to repent of their lovelessness.

To repent of selfishness.

To repent of fakeness and hypocrisy.

To turn away from sin and trust in the Savior.

Because you don’t become a sheep by doing sheep things.

You become a sheep by turning from being a goat and being transformed into a sheep.

You become a sheep by the Lord changing your heart.

The passage doesn’t say how to change. The rest of the Bible does.

In fact, the very next chapter of Matthew is going to show us what it took for us to be saved. The New Covenant in Jesus’ blood.

But this story shows us our need for change. Our need for repentance.

Our need for a transformation from the inside out all the way to our actions.

And if we don’t, then we can see what happens next.

“Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels...Then they will go away to eternal punishment.”

Repent. The Lord is coming!

#3. RESPOND. THE LORD IS COMING!

And by this, I mean respond in love to the needs of struggling Christians around you.

Show mercy, show compassion.

Care, help, serve, love.

Feed them.
Give them water.
Invite them in.
Clothe them.
Nurse them.
Visit them.

This list in verses 35 and 36 is not exhaustive. These are examples of ways that genuine loving Christians can help genuine hurting Christians.

See a need and respond in love.

Because the point of this story is not to see Jesus in needy people, but to serve Jesus as you serve needy people, especially Christians because we are Jesus’ family.

Galatians 6:10 says, “[A]s we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Not to earn our salvation, but to live it out.

This is what faith looks like in action.

It looks like love.

That’s the last thing that Jesus wants to share with His disciples in His teaching on eschatology.

The Lord is coming.

The Son of Man is coming at a time when we do not expect Him.

And so we need to keep watch.

Expectantly.
Patiently.
Busily.

Doing the things that He left for us to do.

And here He names them.

Feed them.
Give them water.
Invite them in.
Clothe them.
Nurse them.
Visit them.

Show mercy, show compassion.

Care, help, serve, love.

Respond in love to the needs of struggling Christians.

Serve in love while you wait for the return of Christ.

Because He’s coming in all of His glory and He will invite us to come and enjoy that glory, that blessing, the blessing of His father, His inheritance, the kingdom prepared for us since the creation of the world...eternal life!


***

Previous Messages in This Series:
01. The Genealogy of Jesus
02. The Birth of Jesus Christ
03. The Search for Jesus Christ
04. The Baptism of Jesus
05. The Temptation of Jesus
06. Following Jesus
07. Jesus' Sermon on the Mount
08. The Good Life (Part One)
09. The Good Life (Part Two)
10. You Are The...
11. Jesus and the First 2/3 of the Bible
12. But I Tell You
13. But I Tell You (2)
14. But I Tell You (3)
15. In Secret
16. Choose Wisely
17. Seek First His Kingdom
18. Generous
19. These Words of Mine
20. When He Saw the Crowds
21. When He Came Down from the Mountainside
22. Follow Me
23. Our Greatest Problem
24. Who Does He Think He Is?
25. Special Agents
26. Sheep Among Wolves
27. What To Expect On Your Mission
28. Are You the One?
29. Come to Me
30. The King of Rest
31. So Thankful!
32. Overflow
33. This Wicked Generation
34. Get It?
35. What Is Really Going On Here?
36. Baptizing the Disciples
37. The Treasure of the Kingdom
38. Living the Last Beatitude
39. Five Loaves, Two Fish, and Jesus
40. It Is I.
41. Worthless Worship
42. Great Faith in a Great God
43. The Pharisees and Sadducees
44. The Question and the Promise
45. Take Up His Cross
46. Like the Sun
47. Seed-Sized Faith
48. These Little Ones
49. If Your Brother Sins Against You
50. The Lord of Marriage
51. Drop Everything
52. First and Last
53. The Suffering Serving Son of Man
54. Shouting for the Son of David
55. Expecting Fruit
56. Come to the Wedding Banquet
57. Whose Image?
58. Acing the Test
59. What Do You Think About the Christ?
60. How Not To be A Leader
61. Malignant Religion
62. Fakes and Snakes
63. Birth Pains
64. The Coming of the Son of Man
65. No One Knows
66. Keep Watch
67. Well Done!

Merry Christmas from the Mitchells!

All together in Victoria, B.C., August 2019