INTRODUCTION
Mt 5:6,7 Sermon on the Mount – we have King Jesus setting out
the character & the required lifestyle of his subjects (his subjects are
“BLESSED”). Jesus the King –the one
who has authority to determine who will and who will not enter the Kingdom of
Heaven.
New Creation, New People
Matthew 1v1
Genealogy: Gk
Genesis – Matthew wrote to remind hearers & readers of Genesis the first
book of the Bible: how God created the
whole world, how God brought about the beginning of God’s People. Matthew is
saying Jesus’ coming is like a whole new creation started for a whole new
people of God.
MAJOR Theme of Gospel of Matthew:
Kingdom of God
expanding & the part God’s people have to play in that expansion as we bring
the message of Jesus to the ends of the earth.
Only if a
church understands God’s plan will we be able to set our course in the light of
it. If a church fails to understand God’s plan for the world, the church won’t
have a clue what we it is supposed to be doing. The church will follow all the
latest trends.
Intent of Matthew 8:
Bringing
together the idea of Jesus the Conquering King who will hold back God’s
judgment and presents us with his glorious future free from everything that spoils
& wrecks our world (Sin, Sickness,
Suffering) TOGETHER with the idea of Jesus the Suffering Servant who rolls
back God’s judgment by bearing God’s judgment in his own body on the tree, the
Cross
Matthew v18-22 WHAT’S THE COST?
What price would you pay for your place in heaven?
QUALIFIED DISCIPLESHIP – Do something first, then
only follow Christ
v18-22 Teacher
of law promised/offered too much, too
soon THEN offered too little, too
late
by being focused
on this world (aspirations, expectations, attention – to achieve heaven on
earth (dream relationship, car, bonus,
promotion, status, raised income, secure pension) which Jesus did not promised
What price do you think God puts on our place in
heaven (perfect existence)?
·
Price is God’s Son – he alone can pay the debt: a huge debt mounting up
day by day, year by year;
8:20 Son of Man from Dan 7:13,14 (Eternal ruler)
- All authority, all glory, all sovereign power, all peoples, nations & men of every language for all time
- Relinquish heavenly & earthly, human rights to pay debt we deserve > demonstrates immense value of place in heaven
v23-34 CREATOR OF THE WORLD
Enormous,
furious storm - disciples terrified & wakes Jesus
v26 What does Jesus do?
First, Jesus rebukes their lack of faith while still lying
down
Second, he got up & rebuked waves – obey &
completely calm
v27 What kind of man is this? (What is Jesus like?
His nature?)
Incident makes the point that Jesus Christ has all
power, all authority over his creation when he walks on earth (Psalm 33:6-9;
89:8,9)
Purpose: focus not on disciples but Jesus
Aim: Show us what kind of man is Jesus –
Eyewitness
account very clear:
- All authority, power – Lord, Ruler
- Therefore, demands we put him at centre of our lives: No 1 priority, Right to demand central place
8:28-34 Two Demoniacs
Have you come to torture us before the appointed
time?
Key phrase
unique to Matthew’s account: the
appointed time
Demons
recognize who Jesus is – God’s one & only Son with all authority &
power; know what kind of man he is BUT recognizes he’s come early – expected
him to come later at appointed time when he comes to judge & rule over all
people & destroy all wickedness.
Demons know
they have a shelf life – days numbered & will face God one day in judgment
and that God will destroy them.
Unexpected
Jesus, coming
to his creation when he did, is altogether unexpected.
He’s come for
a different purpose (Matt 9:1-8)
Uncomfortable
When the Judge
comes in advance of the final day, the thing Matthew wants us to notice is that
it is extremely uncomfortable (8:33,34).
Jesus comes,
finds situation out of control, exercises his divine authority over the wind
& the wave, then meets the enemies – the demons – and with a word, restores
situation.
Yet, local
population begged him to leave: cannot handle this Divine Authority – awkward,
uncomfortable because disturbed status quo:
§ His authority is challenging
§ He exposes inconsistencies
& hypocrisies
§ He will want to change our
lives
§ He is Creator & Lord
& has authority over all creation
§ He has come early,
unexpectedly
§ He makes us uncomfortable
because he asks us to recognize his authority
§ He will change our
priorities, our thinking, our agendas, our language, the way we treat our work
colleagues, the way we treat our competitors
Q: What will we do with him?
Beg him to
leave? Look at 9:1 don’t know the next time the people meets Jesus again, they
may never meet him again. If they didn’t, the next time meet him will be in
judgment.
ETERNAL & EVERYONE
(Matthew 1:1)
Jesus as the
very centre of God’s plan for the world:
The 2 big
baskets of promise in the Hebrew scripture are:
- Promise to David of a Son who would be a King forever
- Promise to Abraham of a Seed who would be a blessing for everyone
Jesus is the
King forever and he is the King for everyone. The eternal King through whom
God’s blessing will extend to the nations.
Applications: Talk about it
in LG & with one another
1 Discuss
the following:
Only if a
church understands God’s plan will we be able to set our course in the light of
it. If a church fails to understand God’s plan for the world, the church won’t
have a clue what it is supposed to be doing. The church will follow all the
latest trends.
2 Discuss
the following Equation:
Equation:
If make much
of Jesus as a church > will do a lot of speaking about him;
If we are not
talking about Jesus much > you can be sure we are not much in love with
Jesus
If the church
is in keeping with God’s purpose for the world, it will be transparently
Jesus-centered (FBC ethos, FBC profile).
3 How big do
you think God is? Do you think any political leader or devil can thwart the
plans of God who put the stars in the sky?
- Be confident: God’s plan will triumph! God will reach all the peoples of the world.
Easy to be swamped by
negativity & easily lose heart (restriction of freedom of Christians &
our right to tell people about Jesus, specifically targeting Christians in
Syria & Iraq for kidnap, torture & execution, people hostile & not
interested in Jesus)
- Be focused: First, God’s plan is to reach all the peoples of the world. Second, his plan is to do it through Jesus.
The great evangelist is not
apostle Paul, not Billy Graham, etc. The great evangelist is God himself.
4 What is it
that will make a man willing to go anywhere, and do anything and lose
everything like that? (Example: Henry Martyn, missionary to India)
Whether life
or death be mine, may Christ be glorified in me.
5 With the gifts and personality that God has
given each of you, how can you be deliberate and intentional in playing your
part in God’s plans to reach the nations with the Good News of Jesus Christ?
You’ve only
got one LIFE and it will soon be past and only what’s done for Christ will
last.
