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Discouraging Superficial Discipleship

Matthew 8:18-22

April 24, 2022 • Richard Caldwell Jr. • Matthew 8:18–22

Introduction:
Which one of us cannot identify with the sadness, the concern, of having a loved one who names the name of Christ but evidences a serious misunderstanding of the Christian life?
It might be a parent, or a child, or a sibling.
It might be a friend, or a co-worker.
It might be the person to whom you are married.
BUT THEIR PROFESSION OF FAITH IN JESUS IS NOT MATCHED BY A LIFE OF GENUINE DISCIPLESHIP.
The world is full of people who proclaim their loyalty to Christ. Full of people who proclaim themselves Christians. But give serious reasons to be concerned about their true spiritual condition.
It’s important to remember that disciples were first called Christians by the world.
NAU Acts 11:25 And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
It was a label set on them by others because they were so clearly associated with Christ. They were not like their world. They were not like other people.
IT WASN’T A PECULIARITY (STRANGENESS) BASED ON A SELF-STYLED SUBCULTURE.
Sadly, in our day this is what characterizes many professing Christians, our uniqueness in the world is the product of temporal preferences. Then, those popular preferences come to characterize us.
Known for our skepticism regarding modern approaches to medicine.
Known for our willingness to get bogged down in conspiracy theories (which sometimes prove to be true!)
Known for our own version of what is on the cultural cutting edge, in food, or homespun remedies.
THAT ISN’T CHRISTIAN UNIQUENESS. THAT’S A SUBCULTURE EXPLAINED BY HUMAN NATURE.
What made the disciples different from their world was their belief in Christ and their devotion to doing His will.
What made them different was their fidelity to the truths that were known in Him and being revealed through the apostles.
What made them different was their love for each other and their zeal to make Christ known and that their loyalties and practices had changed.
We have arrived at a place where there are multitudes of people who designate themselves Christians, that apart from that self-designation, are virtually indistinguishable from their world — if we measure that difference by TRUE BIBLICAL CHRISTIAN DISTINCTIVES.
What characterizes many professing Christians are worldly pleasures, worldly philosophies, worldly priorities, worldly companions, worldly moral values — WITH JESUS ADDED.
What has contributed to this is that our approach to people wanting to join the company of disciples is often different than what we see in Jesus Himself.
WE ARE ANXIOUS TO ADD PEOPLE — HE WAS NOT.
WE ARE SOMETIMES UNWILLING TO PRESS ON THEIR CLAIMS — HE WAS NOT.
WE ARE SOMETIMES SATISFIED BY LARGER NUMBERS OF FOLLOWERS — HE WAS NOT.
CHRIST’S LOVE FOR PEOPLE WAS NEVER SUPERICIAL, THEREFORE THE EVALUATION OF PEOPLE WAS NEVER SUPERFICIAL.
NOTE: We must distinguish our ability to evaluate people from that of Jesus. But, at the same time, we must learn something from the way that HE DID EVALUATE PEOPLE.
Christ’s authority is now seen over the people themselves. He had authority over disease. He had authority over demons. And now we see that He has authority over disciples.
Jesus has the right to call people to follow Him.
Jesus has the right to evaluate the people who claim to want to follow Him.
Jesus demands that His followers come on His terms, not their own.
TWO MAIN POINTS TONIGHT.
I. GENUINE DISCIPLESHIP EMBRACES TRUE TREASURE (vs.19-20)
Jesus gives orders to go to the other side of the sea of Galilee. But, before He could leave (vs.23), there were two men who proclaimed a desire to go with Him.
In each case there was something defective in what they wanted to do. And in both cases, Jesus identified what was defective.
The first was a scribe. He is a Jewish teacher of the law. And what is plain is that he was full of enthusiasm.
Hearing the teaching of Jesus, hearing about and witnessing the miracles of Jesus, this man wanted TO BE WITH JESUS. He wanted to be with Jesus in a full-time capacity.
WHEREVER YOU GO
I WILL FOLLOW YOU
This is personal commitment. He desires to follow Jesus.
This is a profound commitment. Wherever you go.
This is professional commitment. “TEACHER.” And this one IS A TEACHER.
The Spirit of God does not tell us what was in the man’s mind.

More from Matthew

An Extraordinary Ordinary Execution Part 2

March 24, 2024 • Richard Caldwell Jr. • Matthew 27:32–44

Introduction: God accomplishes extraordinary things through ordinary means. This is the wonder of God’s providence. When we talk about the providence of God, we are talking about God’s sovereign activity through what seems ordinary to us, bringing about His purposes — a work that is greater than the simple sum of those ordinary means. God uses ordinary means to accomplish what could never be explained, merely, by those ordinary means. John Piper — “The word providence … means “to supply what is needed”; “to give sustenance or support.” So in reference to God, the noun providence has come to mean “the act of purposefully providing for, or sustaining and governing, the world.”#_ftn1 When God works a miracle, it represents an interruption of what we would call natural processes.  It is something SUPERNATURAL breaking into the world of NATURAL MEANS. This is why miracles were SIGNS for Christ and His apostles. They don’t represent what is normal. But when God does His work through ordinary means, it is no less a demonstration of His power. God’s sovereignty over EVERY detail of what we consider our ordinary lives — directing all those ordinary events to accomplish EXACTLY what He purposed from all eternity — is JUST AS AMAZING AS ANY MIRACLE. BUT BECAUSE IT IS AMAZING WORK ACCOMPLISHED IN ORDINARY WAYS, PEOPLE OFTEN MISS IT. God is doing amazing things all around the unregenerate person, but the unregenerate person is blind to that work, and even what he CAN see that something amazing has happened he refuses to ascribe to God. In fact, the lost man is even willing to ascribe it to impersonal forces — luck, chance. When we look at the crucifixion, we see the wonder of God’s amazing providence. We see God’s sovereignty on display in a way that is extraordinary in the midst of so much that was ordinary. This morning, we look at our Lord’s crucifixion, the wonder of God’s love for us, and we will consider three examples of the extraordinary work of God through what would have seemed ordinary. In fact, I think one interesting aspect of this section is that Matthew is telling us of events that were fulfillments of Scripture, and yet he never mentions that they were fulfillments of Scripture. He just tells us what happened. Do we RECOGNIZE that God was at work fulfilling Scripture? So, three examples of the extraordinary work of God through what would have seemed ordinary. I.             AN EXTRAORDINARY ORDINARY IMPOSITION (vs.32) A criminal who was to be crucified would carry his cross to the place of execution. John tells us that Jesus started out carrying His cross. ESV John 19:16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, 17 and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. But the fact that the Roman soldiers assigned to Christ’s crucifixion felt the need to compel someone to carry His cross, says that our Lord reached a state in which He was not able. Due to the enormity of the load that He was under — the physical suffering, met together with the emotional and spiritual burden that He carried — He was not able to carry that cross to the place where He would be crucified. So, as they make their way outside the gate of the city, and make their way to the place of crucifixion, they find a man whom they compelled to carry the cross. CRUCIFIXION HAD BECOME COMMONPLACE IN ROMAN SOCIETY. It was not unusual for people to be crucified. From about the 6th century BC to the time of Jesus, crucifixion had been practiced by the Persians, Seleucids, Carthaginians, and then the Romans.#_ftn2 And the Romans had taken it a step further than the cultures that taught them the practice. South African Medical Journal (2003) — “Originating in Mesopotamia and Persia, crucifixion was perfected by the Romans, who saw it as a most shameful mode of death, with Cicero once exclaiming that it was inappropriate for a Roman even to be confronted with the word ‘cross’… The Romans perfected crucifixion for 500 years until it was abolished by Constantine I in the 4th century AD. Crucifixion in Roman times was applied mostly to slaves, disgraced soldiers, Christians and foreigners — only very rarely to Roman citizens. … Under Roman occupation crucifixion became commonplace in Palestine, Varus crucifying 2 000 Jews in 4 BC and Josephus reporting on mass crucifixions during the Jewish War.”#_ftn3 John MacArthur — “It is estimated that by the time of Christ the Romans had crucified some 30,000 men in Israel alone, primarily for insurrection. The crucifixion of only three men outside Jerusalem was therefore virtually insignificant in the eyes of Rome.”#_ftn4 ROMAN SOLDIERS COMPELLING BEHAVIOR WAS ALSO COMMONPLACE. Our Lord used such a thing to teach against retaliation. ESV Matthew 5:41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Who could do that? Who could force you to go one mile (carrying something)? A Roman soldier could do that. R.T. France — “Forces you to go (angareuō) is a specific term for the Roman soldier’s practice of ‘commandeering’ civilian labour in an occupied country. (It is used similarly in 27:32.) Here enforced service as a porter is envisaged. The Jews fiercely resented such impositions, and Jesus’ choice of this example deliberately dissociates him from militant nationalists. Rather than resisting, or even resenting, the disciple should volunteer for a further mile (the Roman term for 1,000 paces, rather less than our mile).”#_ftn5 So, as they are making their way to a common place for execution, to carry out a common form of execution, Roman soldiers do something that wasn’t unusual for them to do, they COMPEL someone to do something they wanted done. The man they chose was AN ORDINARY MAN. He was a man named Simon, who was from the North African city of Cyrene. Matthew says, “they found” him, which indicates they were looking for someone who would be strong enough to do what they wanted done. Mark and Luke tell us that he just happened to be passing by at that very moment. Luk 23:26 And when they led Him away, they laid hold of one Simon of Cyrene, coming in from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus.  But Mark goes further. He doesn’t just tell us he was a passerby; he tells us the names of his sons. Mar 15:21 And they pressed into service a passer-by coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), to bear His cross.  HOW? HOW DO WE KNOW HIS NAME? HOW DO WE KNOW WHERE HE WAS FROM? WHY DOES MARK MENTION THE NAMES OF SONS LIKE WE WOULD KNOW WHO THEY ARE? #_ftnref1 John Piper, https://ref.ly/logosres/providence?ref=page.p+30&off=124&ctx=re+is+a+suggestion.%0a~the+word+providence+ (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020), 30. #_ftnref2 https://www.britannica.com/topic/crucifixion-capital-punishmenthttp://www.britannica.com/topic/crucifixion-capital-punishment   #_ftnref3 http://www.samj.org.za/index.php/samj/article/view/2462/1710   #_ftnref4John MacArthur, Matthew 24–28, https://accordance.bible/link/read/macarthur_ntc-2#10632. Accordance electronic ed. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1989), 254.   #_ftnref5 R. T. France, https://ref.ly/logosres/tntc61mtus?ref=bible.mt5.41&off=4&ctx=s+and+property.%0a41.+~forces+you+to+go+(an, vol. 1, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 132.

An Extraordinary Ordinary Execution Part 1

March 24, 2024 • Richard Caldwell Jr. • Matthew 27:32–44

Introduction: God accomplishes extraordinary things through ordinary means. This is the wonder of God’s providence. When we talk about the providence of God, we are talking about God’s sovereign activity through what seems ordinary to us, bringing about His purposes — a work that is greater than the simple sum of those ordinary means. God uses ordinary means to accomplish what could never be explained, merely, by those ordinary means. John Piper — “The word providence … means “to supply what is needed”; “to give sustenance or support.” So in reference to God, the noun providence has come to mean “the act of purposefully providing for, or sustaining and governing, the world.”#_ftn1 When God works a miracle, it represents an interruption of what we would call natural processes.  It is something SUPERNATURAL breaking into the world of NATURAL MEANS. This is why miracles were SIGNS for Christ and His apostles. They don’t represent what is normal. But when God does His work through ordinary means, it is no less a demonstration of His power. God’s sovereignty over EVERY detail of what we consider our ordinary lives — directing all those ordinary events to accomplish EXACTLY what He purposed from all eternity — is JUST AS AMAZING AS ANY MIRACLE. BUT BECAUSE IT IS AMAZING WORK ACCOMPLISHED IN ORDINARY WAYS, PEOPLE OFTEN MISS IT. God is doing amazing things all around the unregenerate person, but the unregenerate person is blind to that work, and even what he CAN see that something amazing has happened he refuses to ascribe to God. In fact, the lost man is even willing to ascribe it to impersonal forces — luck, chance. When we look at the crucifixion, we see the wonder of God’s amazing providence. We see God’s sovereignty on display in a way that is extraordinary in the midst of so much that was ordinary. This morning, we look at our Lord’s crucifixion, the wonder of God’s love for us, and we will consider three examples of the extraordinary work of God through what would have seemed ordinary. In fact, I think one interesting aspect of this section is that Matthew is telling us of events that were fulfillments of Scripture, and yet he never mentions that they were fulfillments of Scripture. He just tells us what happened. Do we RECOGNIZE that God was at work fulfilling Scripture? So, three examples of the extraordinary work of God through what would have seemed ordinary. I.             AN EXTRAORDINARY ORDINARY IMPOSITION (vs.32) A criminal who was to be crucified would carry his cross to the place of execution. John tells us that Jesus started out carrying His cross. ESV John 19:16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, 17 and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. But the fact that the Roman soldiers assigned to Christ’s crucifixion felt the need to compel someone to carry His cross, says that our Lord reached a state in which He was not able. Due to the enormity of the load that He was under — the physical suffering, met together with the emotional and spiritual burden that He carried — He was not able to carry that cross to the place where He would be crucified. So, as they make their way outside the gate of the city, and make their way to the place of crucifixion, they find a man whom they compelled to carry the cross. CRUCIFIXION HAD BECOME COMMONPLACE IN ROMAN SOCIETY. It was not unusual for people to be crucified. From about the 6th century BC to the time of Jesus, crucifixion had been practiced by the Persians, Seleucids, Carthaginians, and then the Romans.#_ftn2 And the Romans had taken it a step further than the cultures that taught them the practice. South African Medical Journal (2003) — “Originating in Mesopotamia and Persia, crucifixion was perfected by the Romans, who saw it as a most shameful mode of death, with Cicero once exclaiming that it was inappropriate for a Roman even to be confronted with the word ‘cross’… The Romans perfected crucifixion for 500 years until it was abolished by Constantine I in the 4th century AD. Crucifixion in Roman times was applied mostly to slaves, disgraced soldiers, Christians and foreigners — only very rarely to Roman citizens. … Under Roman occupation crucifixion became commonplace in Palestine, Varus crucifying 2 000 Jews in 4 BC and Josephus reporting on mass crucifixions during the Jewish War.”#_ftn3 John MacArthur — “It is estimated that by the time of Christ the Romans had crucified some 30,000 men in Israel alone, primarily for insurrection. The crucifixion of only three men outside Jerusalem was therefore virtually insignificant in the eyes of Rome.”#_ftn4 ROMAN SOLDIERS COMPELLING BEHAVIOR WAS ALSO COMMONPLACE. Our Lord used such a thing to teach against retaliation. ESV Matthew 5:41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Who could do that? Who could force you to go one mile (carrying something)? A Roman soldier could do that. R.T. France — “Forces you to go (angareuō) is a specific term for the Roman soldier’s practice of ‘commandeering’ civilian labour in an occupied country. (It is used similarly in 27:32.) Here enforced service as a porter is envisaged. The Jews fiercely resented such impositions, and Jesus’ choice of this example deliberately dissociates him from militant nationalists. Rather than resisting, or even resenting, the disciple should volunteer for a further mile (the Roman term for 1,000 paces, rather less than our mile).”#_ftn5 So, as they are making their way to a common place for execution, to carry out a common form of execution, Roman soldiers do something that wasn’t unusual for them to do, they COMPEL someone to do something they wanted done. The man they chose was AN ORDINARY MAN. He was a man named Simon, who was from the North African city of Cyrene. Matthew says, “they found” him, which indicates they were looking for someone who would be strong enough to do what they wanted done. Mark and Luke tell us that he just happened to be passing by at that very moment. Luk 23:26 And when they led Him away, they laid hold of one Simon of Cyrene, coming in from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus.  But Mark goes further. He doesn’t just tell us he was a passerby; he tells us the names of his sons. Mar 15:21 And they pressed into service a passer-by coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), to bear His cross.  #_ftnref1 John Piper, https://ref.ly/logosres/providence?ref=page.p+30&off=124&ctx=re+is+a+suggestion.%0a~the+word+providence+ (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020), 30. #_ftnref2 https://www.britannica.com/topic/crucifixion-capital-punishmenthttp://www.britannica.com/topic/crucifixion-capital-punishment   #_ftnref3 http://www.samj.org.za/index.php/samj/article/view/2462/1710   #_ftnref4John MacArthur, Matthew 24–28, https://accordance.bible/link/read/macarthur_ntc-2#10632. Accordance electronic ed. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1989), 254.   #_ftnref5 R. T. France, https://ref.ly/logosres/tntc61mtus?ref=bible.mt5.41&off=4&ctx=s+and+property.%0a41.+~forces+you+to+go+(an, vol. 1, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 132.

God & King In The Hands of Men

March 17, 2024 • Richard Caldwell Jr. • Matthew 27:27–31

Introduction: The section we look at tonight is brief, but vitally important. Why do the gospel writers tell us of the treatment of Jesus during His trials and how He was treated on the way to His crucifixion? Why do they tell us that Jesus was mocked and brutalized? Why do they record for us the questions about Jesus as King, and the terrible treatment of Jesus that included the mockery of His royalty? They tell us about these things because what Jesus endured testifies to who Jesus truly was and is — the great King promised in Scripture — and these things also testify to us about our need for Him. THE TRUE SPIRITUAL CONDITION OF MANKIND IS ON DISPLAY IN THE TREATMENT OF THE DIVINE KING. THE TRUE SAVING COMMITMENT OF THE DIVINE KING IS ON DISPLAY IN THE TREATMENT THAT GOD’S SON WILLINGLY ENDURED. BUT IF THESE TWO THINGS ARE TRUE, IF MAN KNOWS HATRED FOR GOD AND HIS KING, AND IF GOD AND HIS KING ALLOWED HATEFUL TREATMENT ON THE WAY TO CHRIST’S SAVING WORK, THEN THE END OF ALL THINGS, AND THE FINAL JUDGMENT AT THE HANDS OF THAT KING, IS ALSO PROVEN TO BE CERTAIN. If Jesus is the suffering servant and the only Savior, then He is also the sovereign judge. If you do a simple Bible search on your computer, looking for verses where God is referred to as King, you will see that this is no small theme in Scripture. God is the true king. Israel’s king is God. The world’s king is God. The church’s king is God. The believer’s king is God. You will also see that Jesus is the eternal Son of God (God in human flesh) and the promised King of Israel and of the World. God has determined to demonstrate His rule in and through His Son. GOD IS KING, AND GOD’S KING IS GOD’S SON. Psalm 2 is just one example. ESV Psalm 2:1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, 3 "Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us." 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 "As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill." 7 I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." 10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. The elements of that Psalm are instructive. Yahweh and His King (his anointed) are rebelled against and plotted against (vs.1-3) Yahweh and His King are not threatened nor defeated as a result (vs.4-9) The world and its kings are warned to serve the Lord and His King — to kiss the Son — before the day of judgment arrives (vs.10-12) THOSE THREE REALITIES WERE ON DISPLAY DURING THE EARTHLY MINISTRY OF JESUS. The humiliation of Christ was real, but the humiliation of Christ is not the end. The humiliation of Christ leads in God’s sovereign plan to the exaltation of Christ. The humiliation was necessary for salvation. The humiliation belongs to the mission of redemption. But the same one who embraced the shame will be exalted in glory. The one who suffered at the hands of human authorities did so according to the predetermined plan of God, and He will one day judge ALL MANKIND with ALL AUTHORITY in Heaven and on earth. The Holy Spirit of God, through the gospel writers, present us with the evidence of man’s guilt, Christ’s innocence, and therefore the CERTAINTY of Jesus of Nazareth as Savior and judge. ALL OF THIS IS ON DISPLAY, BUT IN OUR TEXT IT BEGINS WITH THIS RECOGNITION. HOW WOULD MANKIND TREAT GOD AND HIS KING IF GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THAT KING IN HIS HANDS? Our text tonight testifies. I.             THE MOCKING OF THE DIVINE KING The answer to that question is seen in the treatment of Jesus. If God’s King is put into the hands of sinners, they will vent their hatred upon Him. MEN ARE HATERS OF GOD. AS A RESULT, THEY ARE ALSO HATERS OF EACH OTHER. NAS Romans 1:28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ESV Titus 3:3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. ESV Colossians 1:19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, ESV Psalm 58:3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies. Put God into the hands of lost humanity and they would attempt to do what they imagine they can do — destroy God. THIS WAS DEMONSTRATED DURING BOTH PHASES OF CHRIST’S UNJUST TRIALS.