A contrasted kingdom | Matthew 12:15-21

Michael's been going through the book of Matthew with us and teaching us what God

has to say there. I'm just going to read verse 14 as well just so you have a bit

of context I guess. So verse 14 reads, but the Pharisees went out and plotted how

they might kill Jesus and our text starts from verse 15. Aware of this, Jesus

withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him and he healed all who were

ill. He warned them not to tell others about him. This was to fulfill what was

spoken through the prophet Isaiah. Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one

who I love, in whom I delight. I will put my spirit on him and he will proclaim

justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out. No one will hear his

voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break and a smoldering wick he

will not snuff out. Till he has brought justice through to victory. In his name

the nations will put their hope.

Good morning again. Well before we come before the Lord's word together why don't

we ask him for his help this morning. Would you please pray with me? Father

indeed we are so thankful to be in this country so privileged only because of

your sovereign blessing. This morning we ask Lord in agreeance with the prayer

that we heard from this pulpit this morning that we would never take for

granted what we are doing this morning. So publicly reading from a Bible in our

own language we asked this morning that as we peer into these things that your

Holy Spirit would hold Christ high among us that we would see the task of what it

is to be a disciple to be an ambassador of yours in this nation. We ask for these

things in Jesus name. Amen. Contrasts are really powerful things that usually help

us to see and understand things more clearly. For example we can see how

bright a torch is only when there's darkness. We can see how big a building

is only when we see someone standing next to it. We can really appreciate how

good a whopper really is if you've just had a Big Mac. Contrasts help us to see

and understand things more clearly. And I'm mentioning this to you this morning

because our evangelist Matthew he does this very thing for us. He contrasts the

heart and character of our Lord Jesus Christ against the backdrop of the

legalistic hearts of the Pharisees by placing them together in this one scene

so that we might see just how wonderful our Lord Jesus really is and worth

following with all that we are. The context in which we find ourselves this

morning is off the back of Jesus defending his disciples actions for

rubbing some grain in their hands and eating it and also for his healing

of a man. Now you might be wondering why would anyone need to defend themselves

against that? Well that's because Jesus did these things on the Sabbath and a

strict legalistic group called the Pharisees wanted to put Jesus and his

ministry away for good because he broke with their traditions around what they

defined work as on the seventh day which was strictly forbidden in the fourth

commandment. And to add insult to injury as we saw last week Jesus then told these

men that he was the right and true interpreter of the law because the

Sabbath was in fact his day as he is the Lord over it. That's where we were last

week we looked at how Jesus defended his actions and the actions of his

disciples against the accusations of the Pharisees and as we see there in verse

14 they were so offended by Jesus's ministry the interpretation of the

Sabbath law and revelation of himself that they plotted and schemed to have

him killed. As I said before we're gonna see somewhat of a contrast of hearts

bubble to the surface in our text this morning and we see this in the way in

which Matthew has structured this whole section. In verses 15 to 16 Matthew shows

us the character of Jesus in the way that he acts in the face of real and

intense malicious opposition and then in verses 17 to 21 Matthew will show us

that Christ's character isn't random but a fulfillment of what God spoke long

ago through the prophet Isaiah. So two parts that I want to explore with you

this morning in our passage verses 15 to 16 we'll have a look at Christ's

character in his actions and then in verses 17 to 21 we'll have a look at

Christ's character in prophecy and see how our Lord is contrasted with that of

the pharistitical legalists so that we might assess ourselves in light of it

all and find hope in the gospel. And so if you have your Bibles with you this

morning have a look with me at verses 14 through to 16 I'll start with verse 14

but the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. Aware of this

Jesus withdrew from that place and a large crowd followed him and he healed

all who were ill. Right so going back to our context here the Pharisees were

completely opposed to Jesus and they were willing to do anything to bring him

down and so it begs the question why on earth did the Pharisees want to get rid

of Jesus? Well as we've seen through this series the message that Jesus was

proclaiming and the claims that he was making about himself were in stark

contrast to what the Pharisees had developed in their traditions and so to

put it plainly Jesus exposed these guys as completely missing the point of the

law and people in mass were paying attention to Jesus not only to what

he said but also to the amazing miracles that he was performing in their

midst so much so that they were leaving their religious leaders and synagogues

to follow Jesus wherever he went and so the the Pharisees were becoming more

and more and more indignant with Jesus because at the end of the day they were

losing power and prestige among the people and this is the really sad thing

that we've seen in our series so far. Instead of seeing the error of their

ways and repenting in light of all that Jesus was doing in their midst their

pride caused them to become even more hard-hearted towards the move of God

in their midst so much so that they wanted to destroy Jesus by any means

necessary and so as we see here in verse 15 Jesus he withdraws himself from

their presence. Now I do think it needs to be said this morning that with Jesus

leaving the context in which he found himself in well it was in no way an act

of spinelessness. No it wasn't like Jesus was scared of these guys and then ran away

in fear of them. No he withdraw because there was great wisdom in not forcing

their hands in attacking and killing him. As Jesus knew it wasn't his time to be

delivered up just yet on behalf of his people. Judge we have to remember Jesus

started his entire earthly ministry knowing full well that he was the Lamb

of God sent into the world to die for the sin of his people but he also knew

when that was going to happen and he knew that that time wasn't yet and so

using great wisdom our Lord he tactfully withdraws himself from a situation

that he knew was going to get quickly out of hand. But I actually

think there's a little bit more going on here that I want to explore with you as

well. You see in light of the whole counsel of scripture when the presence

of God is withdrawn from a people which Jesus claimed to be greater than the

temple in their midst if you might remember well it's an act of judgment.

See by Jesus removing himself from the Pharisees he was essentially removing

them from hearing continually hearing the good news of the kingdom of heaven

and this is what God did with his own people in the times of the prophets. You

see there does come a time when people and nations are so hard-hearted and

offended by God's Word that God actually withdraws his presence and his

preachers from them so that nations and people might discover and learn from

experience that you should be very very careful for what you wish for and by that

act of judgment things come undone things unravel. I might also say that

Jesus he could have absolutely pulverized these guys in a public debate.

I mean here's the Word of God made flesh but as we see here he doesn't do that and

I think that goes to show us something of his humility which Matthew shows us to

be something that is in stark contrast with that of the Pharisees who desired

praise and prestige and power from the people. In fact it's one of the things

that Jesus will challenge all of his disciples on in his ministry he tells

us not to chase after people's praise and admiration. He tells us not to stand on

the street corners making big prayers so that everybody might come and praise us

for our religious deeds. Now Jesus wisely he removes himself from this

situation because his goal his goal here is to continue doing the ministry that

he was sent to do and so as we see in just these first few words our Lord

removes himself from immediate danger so that he can continue to minister from

the sidelines so to speak and maybe just maybe you're in a context where you find

opposition to the ministry that our Lord has called you to do. You see we're all

commissioned each and every single disciple is commissioned by the Lord

Jesus Christ to take the gospel into the context in which we find ourselves.

We're all commissioned to the Great Commission not just the elders and the

deacons here at Grace Christen Church and right across this room that will

look different but each and every single one of you each and every single one of

you in the family and the French group the universities the communities and the

jobs that you find yourself in. Perhaps you've witnessed you felt the vibe of

opposition in that context just because people know that you're a Christian.

My Lord he gives us a wonderful example here. He sees danger he knows danger is

there but he doesn't withdraw himself to do absolutely nothing at all. No he

wisely changes method and tact so as to continue to serve our heavenly Father

faithfully. He just does it in a different way. And notice in verses 15 and 16 here

that as Jesus does this people do continue to follow him. I mean even

though he changes tactic from the synagogue to the fields we might say

the crowds they're still wanting to follow him and this is great because the

Pharisees probably thought to themselves as he goes away finally we've got rid of

the guy. But all they've done here as Matthew tells us is that they've just

given Jesus another opportunity in which to do his ministry another context to

put it simply where one door had shut another had opened. So going back to us

here this morning in 21st century Australia maybe doing a one-to-one Bible

study or a prayer meeting hasn't worked in your context but what else has God

opened the door for you to do? What door has been opened for you when that other

one was shut? Okay one thing hasn't worked but what hasn't worked doesn't just

mean you give up. Ministry opportunity it's all around you. Maybe you could ask

God today to help see what that thing is. Jesus he wonderfully shows us his

disciples that though his course of ministry was altered it didn't stop him.

He kept going just with a different approach and scenery. Now admittedly

this is where things get quite interesting in the passage we have here.

You see in verse 16 though many people follow Jesus and he healed them all we

read here that he commands them not to tell anybody about him. He tells them

not to make him known. Now you might be here this morning and thinking why on

earth is that happening here? Why wouldn't Jesus want all of these people to go

out and tell them who he is? Well I want to put a few things to you this morning.

First Matthew he actually explains to this to us that this is a

fulfillment of something that came by the mouth of Isaiah about the Messiah

and we'll have a think about that in just a moment. Second as we've seen in this

series so far Jesus has been very slowly revealing himself to his disciples. I

mean even Jesus is in a circle really weren't fast in understanding who he

was and so it seems that with the crowds that happen to be following Jesus

here well he wanted to make sure that people had the right understanding of

who he was before they got the wrong idea and then went out and started to

spread misinformation about him. Which third as we see from the other gospel

accounts just because you've seen Jesus just because you've heard him preach

just because you've witnessed miracles well it doesn't mean that you're a

disciple and then authorised to go and speak on behalf of our Lord as his

ambassador. I mean one of the very first entities to recognize Jesus was an

unclean spirit as we see in the book of Mark and so it seems that Jesus wants

those who are submitted to his lordship who are his trained disciples to be the

ones who are out there in the harvest sharing the good news of the kingdom and

its king. I think there's still real application of what we see here for us

now. I mean there's been such damage done in this world because people call

themselves Christians but then go and act like the world or even worse. There's

been so much heinous things done in the name of Jesus throughout history that

has had absolutely nothing to do with Jesus at all and it's here that we see

that our Lord wants his disciples who have been transformed by the gospel

through the power of the Holy Spirit to be the ones out there witnessing in

this world. Brothers and sisters some of the worst witnesses of Jesus have been

those who have played lip service to our Lord who claim to know him but have in

no way submitted to him as their master. I mean some of the biggest scandals in

the history of the church have happened because people who call themselves

Christians haven't taken the gospel, holiness or the word of God, the Bible

seriously and because of that have marred the name of our Lord. Discipleship,

holiness, a gospel-centered life, one of picking up one's cross, following hard

after the Lord, staying on the straight and narrow, it's important in

effective witnessing in this world. We won't do it perfectly but our obedience

is effective and Jesus wants his true disciples to be the ones who are out

there witnessing and testifying to his goodness and mercy. Not those who just

pay lip service and have absolutely no interest in his way, the truth he spoke or

his life. Church these verses that Matthew's reported to us on show us

something of the hearts in this scene. On the one hand you have the Pharisees who

desire to be the center of attention and because they've lost favor with the

people they desire to tear Jesus down and have him killed and then on the other

hand you have Jesus who desires every step of the way to be obedient to the

work that his heavenly Father has entrusted to him. He trusts that as one

door has shut another has opened and though people want him dead he continues

to minister to those in need. His heart of compassion, of sympathy, of kindness it

bubbles to the surface here and it is contrasted with the heart of the legalist

that values self above neighbor, that values prestige above others to the

point that they're willing to sin just to maintain their status. And so in line of

all that we see here what does your actions reveal about your heart? Would

you say that your actions are in line with one who is seeking first the

kingdom of God or would your actions testify to you that you really are out

to serve your own desires and build your own empire? Well brothers and sisters I

think all of us in this room this morning have something of our hearts

revealed by the only one with the perfect character as revealed by his actions.

And this leads us to the next section of our passage this morning. Our Lord's

perfect character is in just shown in his actions but also in prophecy. We see

this here in verses 17 through to 21 which we heard read out for us just

before by Kayla. Matthew is drawing on one of the prophecies of Isaiah in the

42nd chapter of his book. It's actually one of four prophecies that he's going

to make about God's perfect servant and Matthew gets this and he says that

everything that Isaiah is saying here about this perfect servant can only be

understood in the light and in the revelation of who Jesus Christ is. In

verse 18 we read that our Lord was the chosen servant of God for the great work

of redemption. We read here is my servant whom I've chosen the one I love and whom I

delight. I'll put my spirit on him and he'll proclaim justice to the nations.

Now notice it that though God the Son is the second person of the blessed

Trinity equal in power glory and eternity with the Father and the Spirit he

humbled himself by taking on flesh and then the role of a servant. This is

amazing if you think about it God Almighty Himself became human and then

dwelt among us not to be served but to serve. No more clearly do we see this

than in the cross at Calvary and that's why our Father calls the servant here

beloved which as you might know Jesus was called throughout his ministry by God

himself. We see this twice in the book of Matthew once at the baptism of Jesus

and once at the Mount of Transfiguration. From eternity past the Father and the

Son they've had this perfect unbroken relationship. Jesus has always eternally

been the beloved and he has always been the chosen instrument by which God would

redeem his people. Jesus is God's perfect servant that Isaiah is speaking about

here and it is with him that the Father is well pleased with his perfect service.

Now the fact that God is well pleased with Jesus tells us something again of

the character of our Lord. Everything he did was pleasing to the Father. Every

action, every thought, every word was in line with the perfect will of God and

this is hugely significant for every single person who is called upon the

name of the Lord and put their trust in Jesus because it is only on the basis of

the perfect work of God's chosen servant Jesus Christ that we are accepted in the

sight of God. Church we're accepted by God for all eternity only because God

accepts the perfect work of his chosen servant with whom he is well pleased.

That is the significance of Christ's service on behalf of his people. He

served perfectly so that we might be accepted eternally by God Almighty

himself and then we read here in verses 19 to 21 he won't quarrel or cry out no

one will hear his voice in the streets a bruised reed he won't break a smoldering

wick he won't snuff out till he's bought justice through to victory. In his name

the nations will put their hope. Now notice it the servant will be successful

in his mission. He won't fail he will bring justice which he'll proclaim to

the nations as we see there in verse 20 to victory which is to say that Jesus's

mission of bringing the good news of the kingdom of heaven and the reality of

people actually being able to enter it was never going to be something that

would ever fail. Now God had his beloved servant planned from eternity past to be

victorious. He would be empowered by the Holy Spirit of God and his gospel

mission would be successful. And notice it here in verse 21 the people that would

put their trust in Jesus and enter his kingdom well it was never designed to

just be contained to the nation of Israel. Now our Lord's kingdom was always

designed to bring all types of people from all over the face of the planet into

his kingdom. That was always the plan from eternity past. Jesus was always

coming to be the beloved serving saviour of the nations and he won't fail to

bring his kingdom to manifest to bear in fullness one day. The Puritan preacher

Thomas Watson he puts it like this Christ's name is the hope of all. His

gentleness and mercy break down all barriers offering salvation freely to

all who put their trust in him. Church Matthew was showing us something made by

the prophecy of Isaiah. Something of a contrast between the Pharisees and Jesus

who is God's perfect servant. I mean the Pharisees all throughout the ministry of

Jesus have been hell bent on destroying the ministry of Jesus. We're gonna see

next week just how far they'll go so next time we're in this passage. But what's

been the ministry of Jesus? What have we seen from him? Well he's been going

around healing people setting people free. He's been proclaiming the good news of

the kingdom and bringing God's justice to bear. He's been personally getting

involved in the lives of sinners and showing compassion on the fragile and

on the weak. And that's exactly what God designed and said his servant would be.

He wouldn't break a bruised reed or snuff out a smoldering wick as we see here.

Which is to say he would go about his ministry with great gentleness and tender

care. Matthew wants us to see that that's exactly what Jesus is like. That's

exactly what he's like. He didn't quarrel or shout in the streets but was

humbly obedient to the mission of his father and a friend to the outcast. Yet

the Pharisees, well they were quick to judge, they were cruel to people, they put

their own traditions before the Word of God and followed those things. They had no

empathy for those who were in great need. Church as we end our time in this very

important part of Scripture Matthew points out to us that Jesus loves the

downtrodden and will treat all those who come to him with profound compassion

and tender care. The very people that the legalists, that the Pharisees despised

were loved and cared for by our Lord and nothing has changed. Jesus still comforts

the mourners. He still helps the fearful, he still cares for the outcasts, he still

saves the humble. Jesus is the eternal Son of God and the perfect, sinless,

beloved servant who will in no way cast out anyone, no one who comes to him.

Church every single one of us who has put our trust in Jesus and calls on him as

Savior and Lord is at the end of the day a disciple and a disciple is meant to

walk like the one we proclaim to follow. That's what being a Christian, a disciple

is all about and Matthew makes this contrast in this passage for us for a

couple of reasons. First he wants us to be like not the Pharisees in pride and

prejudice but like Jesus to have the same heart for those who are the outcasts,

who are the downtrodden, who are the broken. The world doesn't need a whole

bunch of people out there picking fights and making Christianity a brutal,

heartless, unforgiving political movement all the while saying that we follow

Jesus and then ignoring all that he has to say about loving our neighbors. No the

world doesn't need people who have hijacked the name of Jesus for our own

personal pet projects. It needs to see both the gospel in action and hear the

good news of Jesus Christ being proclaimed from those who were genuinely

being led and transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit. We are called to have

the same type of tender compassion as the one that we claim to follow. Our Lord

Jesus Christ as he models for us here not the Pharisees as they model

throughout the book of Matthew. And so second if you'll hear this morning and

you don't know Jesus, if you don't know him then the passage that we have before

us this morning clearly holds out that Jesus wants all people to come to him.

No matter who you are, what you've done or where you've come from and though you

might feel weak and useless and broken and defiled, the Lord Jesus promises not

to break you anymore. No he promises not to crumple you up and throw you out

because he's compassionate, he's tender and full of mercy to those that will

come to him. And more than anyone, more than anyone in this world, anything in

this world you can trust him at his word. We're all called to commit ourselves to

Jesus Christ, the saviour of the world. He isn't like the Pharisees who's gonna

say one thing to you but then do another. No Jesus invites all of us, you and me

to come and follow him whoever we are and God promises that his victory over

this world is sure. Why don't we pray to him now before we come to his table? Would

you please pray with me? Father God we plead with you week after week that the

gospel would be proclaimed from this pulpit, that Jesus would be held high in

our midst, that we would be people transformed by your word, by the work of

the Holy Spirit, that we would be a light on a hill, that we would be the salt of

the earth. Lord we ask that we would be disciples that are faithful to you. Lord

we desperately want to see your good news go out into the city of Armadale and

beyond and we thank you Lord that we don't labor by ourselves, we don't labor

in vain knowing that you're the one who has called us to do this and you want us

to be successful even more than we do and so this morning Lord as we've heard

your gospel we ask that we would be changed by it, that Lord you would show

us even this week, you would show us opportunities that we might not be seeing

where one door is shut you're opened another door for us to share good news

with those around us. Lord we ask for this for your glory for the sake of your

bride and in Jesus' name. Amen.