Sitting At The Feet Of Jesus | Matthew 4:23-5:2

How beautiful.

On the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness.

Who announces salvation and says to Zion, your God reigns.

We're getting ready to sit at the feet of Jesus for the rest of this year in a series of lessons from the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 5, 6, and 7 are chalked full of the teachings of Jesus that were certainly indicative of his day, indicative of the message of what he presented.

They are rich, they are powerful.

Our theme this year has been purpose.

And each week through the end of the year, as we begin to uh wind down this calendar year, as we're kicking off a new school year, welcome if you're visiting among us, especially those of you who are in college, families of those who are in college, bringing students who are starting classes.

We are so glad that you are here today.

And if you haven't yet taken a moment to fill out a visitor's card or there's a QR code on the back of the seat nearby you to give us a record of your attendance.

We would love for you to be a part of this church family.

And those who are visiting among us who are heading back home, who are leaving loved ones here, uh, we uh do not take it lightly that you are potentially entrusting uh your loved ones with us, and we uh certainly do not uh take that, as I mentioned already, do not take that responsibility lightly.

It is our goal, as we have these studies together, to be more thoughtful, to grow our relationships to be stronger.

These studies from Matthew 5 through 7 will make our homes more peaceful.

Our roadmap this morning, as we look at the lesson, uh, is here before you on the screen.

We'll start out with who are the listeners of Jesus' message in this day?

Who is Jesus?

And what is his backstory?

And then finally, who are we and what are we going to do with the things that we hear about and read this morning?

So if you're there already with me, Matthew chapter 5.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

And uh if you're using the Pew Bible, that's on page approximately 962.

I say approximately, because I forget if that's uh the page before or the page after, but Matthew chapter 5.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

And verse 1, we're told when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him, and he opened his mouth and he began to teach them.

Who are these men and women and children who would have been sitting around him?

Chapter 4 and verse 12, let's back up for a moment and read about some of the times that led up to this moment.

Chapter 4 and verse 12.

Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, he withdrew into Galilee.

And leaving Nazareth, he came and settled in Capernaum.

I have on the screen behind me there a map that is likely too small for you to read as we get uh too much further away.

But if you notice there in the middle of the screen, there's a purple shaded area.

That was in the old days of the tribes of Israel, that was Napdali.

And just to the left of it and uh to the south a little bit is that kind of more pinkish, orangish area, Zebulun.

Matthew 4 and verse 13 says, and leaving Nazareth he came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, and in the region of Zebulun and Napdali.

The beginning of Jesus' teachings are right here, right now, what we see on the map, and then according to his day, it was known as the region of Galilee.

Keep reading with me.

This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, the land of Zebulun and the land of Napdali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.

The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light, and those who were sitting in the land and the shadow of death upon them, the light dawned.

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Skip down with me in verse 23.

Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease, every kind of sickness among the people.

The news about him spread throughout all Syria and the surround.

And they brought to him all who were ill, those who were suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics, and he healed them.

Large crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

And then we continue into chapter 5.

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went on to the mountain.

The people of this region who were sick, who were dispirited, who were downtrodden, they were the first ones to get to hear the message of Jesus.

Matthew quotes to us from the book of Isaiah.

If you would turn with me to Isaiah, and if you're using the Pew Bible there, it is page 680.

Isaiah chapter 9.

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

Matthew quotes this prophecy for us.

I only have the first uh two verses there on the screen for you.

Uh we're going to read all the way through verse 4.

Isaiah 9, beginning in verse 1.

There will be no more gloom for her who is in anguish.

In earlier times he treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt.

But later on he shall make it glorious by the way of the sea.

On the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who walk in darkness will see a great light.

Those who live in a dark land, the light will shine upon them.

You shall multiply the nation, you shall increase their gladness.

They will be glad in your presence, as with the gladness of harvest, as men rejoice with the divide when they divide the spoil, for you shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.

Who were these men and women that Jesus was first preaching the gospel message to?

They were those who had been in gloom.

They were those who had been in distress.

They were those who had been humbled.

Those who were walking in darkness, those who lived in a land of deep darkness.

And as I read in verse 4, they were ones who had been burdened.

They were ones who had been oppressed.

But Jesus, verse 5, Isaiah of Isaiah chapter 9, for every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult and cloak rolled in blood will be for burning, fuel for the fire.

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

How come?

Why?

Verse 6, a verse that many of us are familiar with.

A child will be born to us.

A son will be given to us, and the government will rest on his shoulders, and his name will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

There will be no end of the increase of his government or a peace on the throne of David and over his kingdom.

To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

A light would be dawning.

And because of that, there would be no more gloom.

Instead of humility, there would be honor.

Instead of darkness, the people would see a great light.

Instead of living in a land of darkness, the light would dawn.

Because a child would be born.

And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

There's a parallel passage to our scripture in Matthew chapter 4, found in Luke chapter 4.

Matthew 4 · chapter mention Luke 4 · chapter mention

And I guess I should have warned you to keep your finger there in Isaiah because we're coming back in just a minute.

But in Luke chapter 4, Jesus is in his hometown.

Luke 4 · chapter mention

He's in the synagogue.

And the scroll, Isaiah, is brought to him.

In Luke chapter 4 and verse 14, it says, And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread throughout all the surrounding district, very similar language to what we've already read in Matthew 4.

Luke 4 · chapter mention

Parallel account.

And he began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.

And a particular town in the region of Galilee was Nazareth, which is where Jesus grew up.

Verse 16, and he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and as was his custom, he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and he stood up to read.

And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him, and he opened the book and found the place where it was written.

Isaiah 61 is where we'll be headed back to in just a moment.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.

And he closed the book, he gave it back to the attendant, and he sat down.

And the eyes of all in the synagogue were upon him.

And Jesus clues us in.

Who is this passage about?

Jesus lets everyone know today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.

Let's go back to Isaiah 61 and read the full section.

Isaiah 61, that's page 737, if you were using that chair Bible there for you.

Isaiah 61.

Page 737.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of fainting.

So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord that he may be glorified.

Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins, they will raise up the former devastations, they will repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations, strangers will stand and pasture your flocks, and not strangers who have taken them, but servants.

Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks, foreigners will be your farmers and your vine dressers, but you will be called the priests of the Lord.

You will be spoken of as ministers of our God.

You will eat the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.

Instead of your shame, you will have a double portion.

Instead of humiliation, they will shout for joy over their portion.

Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land.

Everlasting joy will be theirs.

We're going to keep reading.

But can you imagine what's in the hearts and the minds of the people of Jesus' day?

They had been downtrodden, but something good was coming.

And they were waiting for this something good.

And Jesus was the one who was there, and he was not what they were expecting.

They were expecting very physical blessings that were going to come back to them.

Like the days of the kings of old.

King David and King Solomon.

Let's keep reading together.

Verse 8 For I love the Lord, love justice, I hate robbery and the burnt offering, and I will faithfully give them their recompense and make an everlasting covenant with them.

Then their offspring will be known among the nations, their descendants in the midst of the peoples.

All who see them will recognize them, because they are the offspring whom the Lord has blessed.

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord.

My soul exults in my God, for he has clothed me with garments of salvation, he has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness.

As a bridegroom decks himself with garland, and as a bride adorns herself with jewels, for as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes the thing in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all of the nations.

Good news would be coming to the poor.

Good news would be coming to the brokenhearted.

All of those who were bound and captive would be set free, and all of those who mourn would have gladness.

So who is this Jesus?

Already alluded to the fact they weren't expecting the person of Jesus.

They were looking for the Messiah.

They were looking for the Christ.

They were looking for the anointed one, the glorious one of David.

And Matthew starts his gospel just that way.

Right off the pages of Matthew 1, verse 1, as we turn from the Old Testament into the New Testament, we have the record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Matthew 1:1

Matthew would have instantly connected with a Jewish audience in this opening statement.

The prophecies of Abraham and David about the seed that would come from them would have flooded their minds.

Like a warm blanket or a cool breeze, depending on the need of the moment.

Matthew reminds his audience later in chapter 1 of the virgin birth.

That was a fulfillment of a prophecy from Isaiah chapter 7.

Isaiah 7 · chapter mention

Various prophets like Micah and Hosea are quoted in Matthew 1 and Matthew 2 as he is hitting home his point of the readers of his day of just who Jesus was.

Then we get to Matthew chapter 3, and we see the adult version of John the Baptizer.

Matthew 3 · chapter mention

We see his story in Luke 1 of his prophetic birth and then the miraculous nature of his birth.

And now we see him all grown up, and he is this forerunner, Matthew tells us.

Preparing the way for Christ directly from Isaiah chapter 40.

Isaiah 40 · chapter mention

And while we're not turning to Isaiah 40, it continues on in that section talking about how this forerunner would lower the mountains, would raise the valleys, would make the rough patch smooth, so that when the Messiah came, the way would be ready for him.

God was preparing the way for Jesus to walk this earth, and John proclaimed to him that everyone, complained to everyone, proclaimed to everyone that he was coming.

Also in Matthew 3, we see the baptism of Jesus.

Jesus comes to John, wants it to be wanting to be baptized.

John refuses, and Jesus says in verse chapter 3, verse 15, permit it at this time.

I'm in Matthew chapter 3, verse 15, permit it at this time.

Matthew 3:15

For in this way it is for fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.

Verse 16, after being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Son of God descending as a dove and lighting upon him, and a voice calling out from the heavens, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Then we go to Matthew 4, and we see Jesus in the desert, fasting for 40 days, being tempted by the devil.

And Matthew is calling to the Jewish mind some interesting parallels.

Jesus is baptized.

He's taken to the wilderness for 40 days.

1 Corinthians 10 tells us that when Israel crossed the Red Sea, they were baptized.

They go into the wilderness.

And where does Moses disappear to for 40 days?

He goes up on the mountain of Sinai.

And what do the Israelites do during those 40 days?

One of their worst moments in history.

Just after coming out of slavery, they build an idol.

They are tempted and fail.

But Jesus is tempted and he does not fail.

Jesus comes out of this wilderness and he begins his public ministry.

Then coming back to where we were a moment ago in Luke chapter 4, I didn't keep reading, but if you're familiar with the story, the people in Nazareth take offense at Jesus.

Luke 4 · chapter mention

They say, Isn't this Joseph's son?

In Mark chapter 3, his kinsmen were trying to silence him, saying he was insane.

Mark 3 · chapter mention

Many times in the Gospels we see the rulers saying that Jesus had a demon.

Later in Matthew 13, he's in Nazareth again, and they say, Isn't this the carpenter's son?

Are not his siblings with us?

And while I certainly wouldn't want to claim any fault upon Jesus, he lived perfectly under the old law.

Every single tenant of the old law, which would have included his birthright as firstborn, which would have included him taking care of his family.

But the people of Jesus' day wouldn't have allowed these facts to get in the way of a good story.

That's the guy who left his mom and didn't take care of her.

That's the guy who shirked the family business while he went off gallivanting around the country.

Now scriptures don't tell us that's what they thought, but if people of Jesus' day are just like people of our day, we love to point fingers in self-righteousness.

By Matthew 16, Jesus asks his disciples, Who do men say that I am?

Some said, well, he's John the Baptizer, some say he's Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the prophets of old.

And then Jesus asks a question, Who do you say that I am?

And Peter answers with that bold proclamation.

You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

How beautiful on the mountain are the feet of those that bring good news.

So we all we circle all the way back to us as we come to a close.

The people of Jesus' day had been downtrodden.

A light was dawning.

Many of them missed it.

We have the benefit of scriptures and this side of the cross to understand what they didn't understand that Jesus was there to be the light, to take away their diseases, physically, mental issues, problems that took place, to show spiritually what he was going to be doing for his people.

And many of us this morning, sitting here today, find ourselves in exactly the same spot as these people on a mountaintop getting ready to listen to the words of life.

George, next week, we'll dive into the Beatitudes and start with that very first one.

The poor in spirit.

Who was attracted to Jesus at the first?

It was these sick, these paralyzed, these demon-possessed, these downtrodden, these outcasts, these captives, these mourners.

It was the curious, it was the empty.

It was the humble.

Those are the spirits that still ring true today.

All of us have a hole in our heart that can only be filled by one person.

By Jesus of Nazareth and the beautiful proclamations that he had of the kingdom.

We must recognize our own emptiness because selfish pride will not bring us to the feet of Jesus.

Selfish pride will not bring us to the feet of Jesus.

If you're here this morning and you are not yet a child of God, we want you to fix that problem today.

We want you to put Jesus on in baptism, to humbly submit to his will, to kick out Satan and the sin and the darkness of the land that you are living in.

If you're among us this morning and you've already put on Christ in baptism, but you have something in your way that you need to, the prayers of the brethren, we ask you now to come forward as we stand and as we sing.