The Coming King Mt 21:1-22

The Coming King

Matthew 21:1-22

Joe Fauth

Three observations 

1) The Declaration of Kingship

  • By the People
  • By the Prophecy
  • By the Priests 

2) The Demonstration of Kingship

  • Cleansing the Temple
  • Curing the Traumatized
  • Cursing the Tress

3) The Demands of Kingship

  • Your Allegiance 
  • Your Adoration


A Ransom for Many – Mt 20:17-28

A Ransom for Many

Matthew 20:17-28

Joe Fauth

The Revelation of the Cross (20:17-19)

  • Wil be delivered
  • Will be condemned to death
  • Will be handed to the Gentiles
  • Will be mocked
  • Will be flogged
  • Will be crucified
  • Will be raised on the third day

The Reaction to the Cross (20:20-24)

Matthew wants us to see these things side-by-side. Mother (aunt of Jesus) comes with her two boys, apart from the others and makes a request.

It’s an inconsiderate reaction

It’s an ignorant reaction (“you do not know what you are asking”)

It’s an instigating reaction

  • “and when the ten heard it, they were indignant”

This request shows us, incidentally, something about the nature of Christian living or sanctification. Here are these men who believed Jesus. They actually believed His words from back in 19:28. And you see, that’s what true Christians do—they believe the words of Jesus. But I want you to understand that there is a growing in that belief. There is a depth to it that comes as a result of staying with Christ. That is the Christian life, it’s a life of growing in understanding the meaning and depth of the cross of Christ.

The Revolution of the Cross (20: 25-27)

  • The cross changes everything! The work of Jesus Christ on the cross changes how we think about 

Ourselves

  • Servants (diakonos)- a word that in its basic form gives the idea of raising the dust by hurry…to minister
  • Slaves (doulos)

This is an utter reversal of popular thought. Totally different from this present world.

Our situation

  • It revolutionizes our thoughts about and attitude in and actions because of our situation…the present situation in which we find ourselves. 

Our sufferings

Please don’t think that suffering and death is the tool of Satan, it is not. In these years of pastoral ministry I’ve often heard the approach to suffering, sickness, and death that says that Satan is the one who brings it and uses it…that it is his tool to somehow terrify us…but look at Heb 2!!!

The Result of the Cross (20:28)

  • He Came- idea that He existed before
  • He Gave- He voluntarily gave Himself as a 
  • A ransom for many…many slaves of sin were bought back. Not a price paid to Satan, not a price 

Points to ponder:

 


Who Can Be Saved? Mt 19:16-20:16

Who Can be Saved?

Matthew 19:16-20:16

Joe Fauth

The Presumption of Salvation

  • Just look at the way that Matthew tells the story, this man came with an assumption…a presumption even. What was that? 
  • That Jesus was just a good teacher
  • That he was a good man. 
  • You know why He had a wrong and insufficient and unsatisfying view of salvation? Because He had a wrong view of and hence use of the Law. The Law condemns it doesn’t justify. But this man was trying to use the Law in a way that it was never intended to be used! Like me using tools wrongly. 
  • “The Law drives us to the Gospel to learn how to be saved, and the Gospel drives us to the Law to learn how to live” (John Owen).

The Prevention of Salvation

  • Here is the “big reveal”. He had “great possessions”. Here is a man who had lots of possessions. He was a leader probably in a local area synagogue. 

Jesus identifies for him what he was missing. He’s identifying the unsatisfying part of this man…it was his love for his riches. He loved this more than he loved the Lord. This is what he really loved most. Your God is the person or thing for which you would rather lose everything else and hold on to that than lose. But salvation is for people who despair of their own efforts, who realize that, in themselves and by themselves, they are hopelessly sinful and incapable of improving. Salvation is for those who see themselves as living violations of His holiness and who confess and turn from their sin and throw themselves on God’s mercy. It is for those who recognize they have absolutely nothing good to give God, that anything good they receive or accomplish can be only by His sovereign, gracious provision in Jesus Christ (MacArthur, p. 192).

The Power of Salvation

  • How can this be? With man it is impossible but it is possible with God.

The Principles of Salvation

Principle of Equity

  • This parable is not a parable about the differences in rewards, rather this parable is about one primary truth: the equality of salvation. In other words, a genuinely redeemed person will always receive the same quality and blessing of eternal life. There are no second-class Christians.

Believing tax collectors, prostitutes, criminals, and social outcast will have the same heavenly residence as Paul, Augustine, Luther, and Wesley (MacArthur, p. 215). 

Principle of Justice

Principle of Sufficiency

Principle of Sovereignty

Reflection and Application

 


Family Life in the Kingdom

“Family Life in the Kingdom”

Matthew 19:1-15

Joe Fauth

We will divide the text up into four parts corresponding to four actions of Jesus as He is moving toward Jerusalem and His Divinely ordained appointment on the cross.

1. He Cares for the Crowds (19:1-2)

Note the word for “healed” is the word from which we get “therapy”…this is a fulfillment of the prophecy of Isa 9…He is the WONDERFUL COUNSELOR!

2. He Corrects the Pharisees (19:3-9)

1). Their Trap

They were trying to trap Jesus…but this is really a sinister ploy of Satan to take Jesus away from the cross and thus away from God’s plan of redemption.

2). His Teaching

  • Marriage is Created By God
  • Marriage is Protected By God

3). The Truth

Why is divorce a reality? Because God commanded it? No, because heart-hardness demands it. Jesus clearly and definitively takes us right back to God’s original creation before the Fall and demonstrates that this issue of divorce is a post-fall issue. Which is exactly why He was going to Jerusalem.

3. He Consecrates Singleness (19:10-12)

The ideal of marriage set out in vv. 4-9 remains God’s standard for his people, but it is not, as many in Jesus’ day would have assumed, the only way of faithfulness to the Creator’s purpose. God’s people are not all the same, and are not all called to the same path of obedience (NICNT, p. 726). Thus singleness is not a failure or social stigma but a calling with which to glorify God.

4. He Comforts Children (19:13-15)

Even as so many women had been cast aside by the religious leaders to assuage their lusts, so children were often treated as a less-than-person. They weren’t really all the important in the big scheme of things…except to their parents. And here we have parents bringing their little children (babies, cf. 18:15) to Jesus. The disciples thought He didn’t have time for them…oh but He does! Why? “because of such is the kingdom of heaven”. He’s just showing tender mercy toward these little ones. He will not refuse them. Many, including myself, take these words to mean that God graciously extends His love and mercy towards those children who are not culpable. For He is going to the cross to purchase redemption for all that He would choose…and He chooses even these little ones to redeem. 

Application

2 Important Take-aways

  • God is very serious about the institution of Marriage, and we should be too.
  • God is very serious about the redemption of sinners, and we should be too.
 


A Great Church

A Great Church

Matthew 18:1-14

Joe Fauth

Great Christians (18:1-4)

  • Repentant 
  • Obedient
  • Humble

“Humility is not simply feeling small and useless – like an inferiority complex. It is sensing how great and glorious God is and seeing myself in that light.” (Ligon Duncan)

Who treat each other as they would treat Christ (18:5-6)

The Twelve not only were sinning because of their own pride and boasting but also because they were inciting each other to envy, jealousy, and anger (John MacArthur).

By protecting each other from spiritual dangers (18:7-9)

  • Stumbling blocks are inevitable in the world
  • Stumbling blocks are inexcusable in the world
  • Stumbling blocks are intolerable in your life

Why not despise?

  • Because doing so would set you against the watch of God
  • Because doing so would set you against the work of God
  • Because doing so would set you against the will of God

And genuinely care for one another for the glory of God (18:10-14)

 


Kingdom Chronicles Mt 13:1-23

Kingdom Chronicles

Matthew 13:1-23; Joe Fauth

Introduction

  • In the previous chapter we saw a general rejection of Jesus

  • This naturally leads to the question: Why do some reject the good news of the Kingdom and some accept?

The Parable (13:1-9)

  • a Parable is a story used to teach spiritual truth

When He Taught

  • the same day that Jesus addressed the unbelief of many who rejected Him

Where He Taught

  • by the sea of Galilee

Who He Taught

  • teaching the crowds-cf. Luke 8:4

  • specifically teaching His disciples

How He Taught

  • seated in a boat

What He Taught

  • He was teaching about the Kingdrom of heaven (13:11)

The Purpose (13:10-17)

  • Matthew inserts an important question which was asked after the crowds had gone home (Mark 4:10)

  • The disciples could not but notice a change in the way that Jesus was teaching

  • Jesus then teaches them about the nature of parables

To Reveal Truth

  • Jesus taught in parables with those of faith in mind To you it has been given to know

To Conceal the Truth

  • The teaching in parables was also an act of judgment on those who had hearts of unbelief

The Point (13:18-23)

  • The first parable was foundational to all the other parables ()

  • In the parable of the soils Jesus discusses the various ways people respond to the message of the kingdom. One group responds with understanding the others do not understand

The Hard-Hearted Hearer

The Shallow-Hearted Hearer

The Worldly-Hearted Hearer

The Humble-Hearted Hearer

3 Clear Implications

  1. You must hear and understand.

  2. You must use care in how you hear

  3. You must sow-spread the word of the kingdom–Tell others!



The Cross at the Center of Your Life – Galatians 6:11-18

The Cross at the Center of Your Life

Joe Fauth  Galatians 6:11-18
 

Introduction

  • Paul sees something as so important that he writes in his own words rather than use a secretary to take dictation
  • Paul contrasts between those who despise the cross and those who delight in the cross those who despise the cross
 

Those Who Despise the Cross

What are the reasons that people despise the cross?
 
1. Because of pride
  • “As many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh, they would compel you to be circumcised.”
  • The cross is a blow to pride (1 Corinthians 2:18 seen as foolishness)
  • These false teachers, like many today were concerned with making a good showing.  They wanted to show off their religion. 
 
2. Fear
  • “that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.”
  • Fear the persecution
 
3. Hypocrisy
  • Want to present themselves as something other than they really are those who delight in the cross

We cherish the cross because

  1. It gives us freedom
  2. The foundation for a new life
  3. Favor with God
  • The Israel of God, those who have earned favor with God

  • To speak of the cross is to speak of the person of Jesus Christ

  • In the cross God persuades us too his love for us

 

How to delight in the cross

“But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

  •   What this means is believing that Jesus Christ died for your sins in your place on the cross. 
  • That is boasting in the cross–glorying in the cross. 
  • Every true Christian relies not on his own goodness or self-righteousness or merit or worth but every Christian looks back on the cross of Christ and finds the greatest blessing the world has ever known. 
  • Because it is in the cross of Christ that every Christian finds:
  1. Freedom from bondage to the world (6:14)
  2. Foundation for a new life (6:15)
  3. Favor with God (6:16)
 

How to Cultivate Delight in the Cross?

  1. Embrace it! (that is to come to trust in Christ alone)
  2. Make use of the gifts God has given you;
  • the bible,
  • prayer,
  • God’s People (church),
  • sacraments


Real Religion Matthew 12:38-50

Real Religion

Matthew 12:38-50
We will make note of three dangers that we must avoid (outline from Eric Alexander):

(1) Religion without Repentance (12:38-42)
(2) Religion without Regeneration (12:43-45)
(3) Religion without Relationship (12:46-50)

(1) Religion without Repentance (12:38-42)

  • The Scribes come with what seems to be a very polite request but it is really the epitome of arrogance and hypocrisy.
  • This request for a sign is not indicative of religious fervor or zeal, but actually of a sinful heart
  • They weren’t lacking the Truth or proof of the truth, they were lacking repentance
  • The people of Ninevah repented
  • The Queen of Sheba with humble heart sought God’s wisdom
  • Self-righteousness has no room for repentance and so the consequence is judgment

(2) Religion without Regeneration (12:43-45)

  • Moral renovation does not lead to salvation, only regeneration
(3) Religion without Relationship (12:46-50)
  • In contrast to the unbelief of the religious leaders, Jesus addresses His true disciples
  • Those who have truly repented and submitted themselves before Jesus are ones who love God and love His Son.
  • The natural consequence of love is obedience
  • Notice that Jesus talks of obedience as what will happen rather than giving a command as to what should happen.
Reflection & Application
1. In what ways are you tempted to demand something of God without having a heart of repentance before Him?
2. Consider areas of disobedience in your life. How do these areas reflect your lack of submission and trust in Christ?


When Sin Can’t Be Forgiven (3-6-16)

When Sin Can’t Be Forgiven
Matthew 12:22-37
Pastor Joe Fauth

In Matthew 12 we have an instance in the life of Jesus that brings the subject of God’s forgiveness to the front of our minds. However, it does this in a way we might not expect. The essential thrust of Matthew 12:22-37 is to lead us to understand when sin cannot be forgiven.

The incident before us consists of 4 segments that will lead us to understand the vital answer to the question: when can’t sin be forgiven? Those four segments are:

A Gracious Work (12:22)
A Great Wonder (12:23)
A Glaring Wickedness (12:24-29)
A Grave Warning (12:30-37)

A Gracious Work (12:22)

  • Now let’s look at this gracious work. We have here a “demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute”. I really want us to moved with pity for this man. He is under the control of demons…he is demonized. His life is one of continual torment and in this case he can’t see or speak (presumably he is deaf). Here is one who is led by a demon.
  • Please don’t miss this! “was brought to him”- That is, someone brought him to Jesus. This is not the main point of the text, but let’s not pass this by. Someone brought this man to Jesus.

A Great Wonder (12:23)

  • The next segment that comes is found in verse 23. We move from looking at that man to now looking at the crowd around him. They are ‘amazed”. This word is a word that means to be totally astounded. I mean, these people are beside themselves in amazement. Someone even said that the word means to be so amazed that one is knocked out of his senses…out of mind with amazement. We might say that their minds were blown!
  • But this amazement was not one of conviction. It was more like disbelief among the people. “This can’t be, can it?!” That’s the sense of the question, “Can this be the Son of David”? In fact, the way that it is written emphasizes the expected negative answer. They didn’t have any category for what they had just seen.

    A Glaring Wickedness (12:24-29)

  • Somehow the word got to the Pharisees (and Scribes, cf. Mark 3:22-23) about what had taken place as well as what the people were saying.
    They are now forced to give an answer…perhaps they are feeling some momentum shift here.
  • Now these religious leaders have got to put a stop to this and keep the people from turning away from their teaching and submitting to this One.
    “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters” (12:30). It is abundantly clear that these men were actually opposing the Son of God. There is no middle ground; no position of neutrality. There are NO INACTIVE PARTICIPANTS IN THE KINGDOM. He just nails the door right shut. The case is closed. These men are wicked rebels against the King.

    A Grave Warning (12:30-37)

  • Notice the word “Therefore” that begins verse 31. It is very important to realize that this means “on the basis of what’s just been said”. He has just condemned them as being against the Messiah—the Christ. And so He’s going to warn them.
  • So they need to know that ‘every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven”. God is a God of forgiveness. That cannot be denied. He willingly and freely and fully forgives.
    Yet we must also say that there is a time when sin cannot be forgiven. There is a time when one can become fixed in a state of unforgiveness.
  • The sin that cannot be forgiven is the sinner who will not be forgiven. It is the one who has the evidence of the Deity of Christ made plain before them and yet will not respond and embrace Jesus as the Savior.
  • In verses 33-37 He goes to the root of the issue. The problem that the Pharisees have is not that there is an absence of evidence but rather that their heart is evil. You can’t speak good if your heart is evil.

    Reflection, Discussion & Application
    Sin can’t be forgiven when your heart is hard, so don’t harden it and it won’t be hardened. Be very careful friends. Be careful that you don’t become one of those who become fixed in a state of unforgiveness by virtue of opposing the work of the Holy Spirit. How do you know that? The Holy Spirit is active in the Word of God (cf. Heb. 3:7; Heb. 10:15). Whenever you come face-to-face with the Bible you are hearing the very voice of God Himself! So “today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion” (Heb. 3:7-8, cf. Ps. 95:7-11). When you hear God speak in the Word and you discount it saying, “Oh, that is not enough.” Or you say, “Well, that really isn’t God speaking but just some invention of man.” You are really dishonoring the Lord Himself and speaking against the Holy Spirit.

    1. How regular are you in reading God’s Word which is to seek for the Holy Spirit’s work through the Word?
    2. As you read God’s word, what are some ways you might cultivate a heart of humility and submission to God and what He says? (This is the necessary step of obeying the command in Hebrew 3:7 “do not harden your hearts”)
    3. How important are relationships with other believers who know you and can so speak candidly to you? (Hebrew 3:7ff)
    4. What are some ways you might further cultivate those relationships?



The Sabbath or the Savior (2-28-16)

The Sabbath or the Savior

Matthew 12:1-21

 The Sabbath According to the Law

  • 16:23; Ex. 16:25; Ex. 16:29; Ex. 20:8; Ex. 20:10; Ex. 31:13; Ex. 35:2

But as you can see from these texts, the OT/Jewish Sabbath was not simply a day of rest…it was a day to rest from your labor BECAUSE you know that it is the LORD Himself who sets you apart, not you or your labor (Exodus 31:13).  It was a day to remember that the Lord was the One who brought you out of the land of Egypt when you were there in slavery (Deut. 5:15).  In other words, we might say that working on the Sabbath was a dishonoring of the LORD.  It was essentially denying the redemptive intervention of God in the nation.

In Matthew 12, Jesus together with His disciples were walking through the grain fields. They were hungry.  So as they were walking along they were grabbing a few kernels of grain and rubbing it between their hands and popping it in their mouths.

The problem, however was that it was on the Sabbath Day.  The disciples of Christ (and presumably) Christ Himself were violating the traditions of the Rabbi’s.  And this was anathema to the Pharisees who were following them.  Now, make no mistake about it, this was a major issue for these people.  It was so much of an issue that they were ready to plot the death of Jesus over this issue! 

In Matthew 12:1-21 we will make three observations.

 

  • Notice that He calls attention to their Misunderstanding of the Law (12:1-8)
  • Notice second that He exposes their Misapplication of the Law (12:9-14)
  • Notice third that He fulfills the True purpose of the Law (12:15-21).

 

  1. Notice that He calls attention to their misunderstanding of the Law (12:1-8)
    • They misunderstood the law and they thought the Sabbath law as ultimate

 

  1. Notice second that He exposes their Misapplication of the Law (12:9-14)
They failed to see the suffering of the man
The misapplication of the law led to self righteous and unloving behavior

 

  1. Notice third that He fulfills the True purpose of the Law (12:15-21)
Jesus is the Sabbath-our rest
The Sabbath was not given as a way for man to earn favor with God
But to remember the God who has saved
It is not about a day but a person

This passage is essentially quoting Isaiah 42:1-4.  This is the first of four passages in the book of Isaiah that refers to the servant of the Lord who will come to deliver Israel.  He is the One who fulfills the Sabbath law…He comes as our Sabbath… He Himself is our rest.  It was NEVER the purpose of God to give the Sabbath to man as a way for man to earn favor with God.  It was given as a way for man to celebrate the favor that was already his. 

            It’s not about a day but it’s about a Person!  And that person is the Lord Jesus Christ.   In what ways?  Four ways…

 

  1. The One Who Pleases God
  1. The One Who Preaches Good News
  1. The One Who Promises Grace
  1. The One Who Provides Hope

Conclusion

  • There is no Christian Sabbath day but there is a Sabbath and he is Jesus
  • Nothing wrong with standards but 2 potential dangers
  1. When it’s more about the rule than it is about the Savior
  2. When it’s more about saving face than about the needs of people

 

Reflection, Discussion & Application

  1. If the OT law on the Sabbath was still in effect, and you were living in accordance with it, how would things change with your week?
  2. Read Hebrews 3:7-4:16. Observe the how this passage reflects the theme of this message in Matthew. How are we to live in light of this “Sabbath Rest” in Christ? How are we to speak to one another? Why should we seek the input of fellow believers?
  3. Jesus said in v. 7 “and if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.” What are the places in your life where you tend to be more focused on the rule than the Savior or the needs of others. (c.f. Mt 22:32-40 Deut 6:5 ;Lev 19:18).