Matthew 52
Jesus Vs Religion (Part 3)
Our greatest example!
Matthew 12:15–21 (ESV)
15 Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all
16 and ordered them not to make him known.
17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:
18 “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
19 He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;
20 a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench until he brings justice to victory;
21 and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”
For the last two weeks, we have been talking about how the religious right, and their need to hold on to un-needed tradition and rules, get in the way of the mission of Jesus. And just like in Jesus' day, we do the same.
We are, (the religious, the churched) bad about creating the “I am right”, “you're wrong” scenario with the world.
· We pick the few sins we think we can defend
· The ones we don’t do
· And we point our fingers and we hold up signs
· And, while well-meaning, we drive people away, not closer to Jesus
· So, in the next part to the series Jesus Vs Religion Matthew lays out who Jesus is and what He is about!
He avoids the drama
15 Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all
· Jesus was not ready to deal with them head on
· There will be a time and a place for it
· This day was not the day
· And what a great example He gives us
· As believers fighting and arguing with the world, the religious, or each other is not productive!
o Be careful, we can get caught up in the fight and miss the mission
o Jesus does not stray, He keeps the focus on people, on mercy, on grace.
And it shows because they follow
15b And many followed him, and he healed them all
· They aren’t worried about rules
· They aren’t worried about big churches and fancy hats
· They are concerned with needing healing
· And that’s what the world is interested in
o They are looking for restoration
o They are looking for honesty
o They are looking for compassion
o And they are not looking for drama
o For judgment
He didn’t want to stir the pot
16 and ordered them not to make him known.
· Jesus did not want the attention
· He did not want the notoriety
· He just wanted to show people the love of God
· And we should be doing the same thing
· Loving and helping people
· He might get around, but we don’t blow our own horn
· Let God get the glory, give God the credit
Everything in God's Time!
17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:
· God has laid out His plan
· And He will do it in His time
· And we should not be concerned with it
· Our job is to simply spread the “Good News”
· Jesus laid it out!
Matthew 28:19–20 (ESV)
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
John 13:34–35 (ESV)
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
35 By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.”
· Nowhere does it say to judge people
· Or protest people
· Or condemn people
· Just share the Love and kindness of Jesus with them
· Help them along the way
· Teach them
· Walk with them, as they walk with you
· Become the body of Jesus
The meat of it all!
18 “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
19 He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;
20 a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench until he brings justice to victory;
21and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”
· This is where Jesus really begins to show us who we are and how we are to live out our individual ministry
· No matter what that ministry is
· God wants you to reach a lost and dying world
· And he gives Jesus as our example to follow
Beginning with the end in mind!
18“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
· The beginning of Jesus ministry, when Jesus was baptized
Matthew 3:16–17 (ESV)
16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;
17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
· This was foretold in the OT, and it is now time for God to reveal His son to the world
· And it is time for Him to start the reconciliation process!
And that’s what He did, and in this God reveals His end game!
· Jesus' goal is to bring the world, the entire world, both Jew and Gentile alike, into a personal relationship with the Father
· To bring righteousness to all
· Through the cross
· And that is His sole mission
· All the healing, all the preaching
· Everything is to accomplish that one goal
· And He gives us a wonderful example of how we are to accomplish it as well!
· You are a sent Christian
· And it's time we get on mission
· And be the light that God calls us to be
· Let’s forget about the rules and traditions and let’s get to our Father's business!
The cross must proceed the crown!
19 He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;
· Jesus will not force Himself upon anyone
· He won’t argue with anyone
· He won’t demand they listen
· He will not shout from the streets or rooftops
· He simply lets His actions speak for themselves
· And that’s the greatest example He could give us!
o We don’t have to demand people listen
o We definitely shouldn't argue about it
o Just live it out, day in and day out!
Nor anyone will hear His voice
· Few hear it
· Even few respond to it
· And it’s not because He didn’t speak
· And we should expect the same response
· But we never stop talking about it!
Gentle, humble and kind!
20 a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench until he brings justice to victory;
· This is a description of the character of Jesus
· How He will act and how He will interact with the lost world
· He is not about tearing folks down
· Or humiliation
· Or being threatening
· He is about building up, not tearing down
· He is about restoring not destroying
· He wants us all to stand up for the
o Marginalized
o The forgotten
o The poor and the helpless
· The ones that society throws away
· We need to stop trying to win arguments
· And be always about winning souls
Jesus had no regard for the religious, or the self-righteous
· He didn’t put a lot of time in it
· It didn’t matter to Him
· And it certainly didn’t impress Him
What did impress Him, were followers who had a heart for people
· I will say it again it always has been and always will be a heart issue!!
· I know a lot of folks that are rough around the edges that have amazing hearts
· And I know a lot of very well spoken, polished people that have no compassion!
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