Is Jesus Trustworthy?

Amen. I wonder when was the last time you had a conversation that ran along these kind of lines.

I think for me it was last week. Are you still friends with anyone from your school? Or for our children, are you still friends with some people from your nursery class perhaps?

Or are you still connected to people from your university days? We tend to have those conversations from time to time.

Maybe especially in a place like Edinburgh because a lot of people I guess move to Edinburgh for a variety of reasons and that involves leaving people behind.

But also just because life is so fast moving and we're much more mobile than we used to be.

Our lives seem to be much more busy. There's a whole world of opportunities.

So we tend to be more likely to be moving around from place to place.

And all of that we recognize has impact on friendships and relationships.

And that's really significant because it can create a challenge for us to have deep and abiding relationships

so that there are people in our lives in whom we can place our trust.

There are lots of people who live with isolation, who live in loneliness, who don't really have someone they can trust.

And perhaps it's because of social mobility for various reasons.

But then we think about our own human limitations.

That's a factor as well.

There are times when we perhaps want to be a good friend to somebody,

but we find we don't have the time or we don't have the capacity, we don't have the availability.

We have experienced our own letdowns, I'm sure, when we think about our relationships.

And we have let others down.

There are natural changes that happen in life.

There are seasons and rhythms to life that can make our availability for other people more limited.

And so the question can still stand,

is there somebody who I can trust, especially when I find myself in a time of need?

And one of the things that Matthew's gospel in this section brings to us with resounding clarity

is that we have in Jesus a friend, a savior, a Lord who is entirely trustworthy.

So he's bringing, Matthew's bringing this journey section to a close,

and he's gone really rapidly through a whole range of stories.

And all the way along, Jesus has been showing his credentials.

He truly is God's promised Messiah.

He really is bringing in the kingdom of God.

And Matthew chooses to close the journey with this two stories,

once more drawing attention to the trustworthiness of Jesus,

that he is faithful to his God-given mission,

and that he is faithful to all those who trust him.

And he's leading us towards a crucial question for all of us to consider.

It's the question that was first asked of the blind men there in verse 28,

do you believe?

And this little section highlights two very different responses to Jesus.

And so it invites us to consider and respond to Jesus for ourselves.

So two very simple, brief things to say this evening.

First, Jesus is trustworthy because he is faithful to his mission.

We're going to jump ahead just one page, a couple of chapters.

Matthew chapter 11, verses 2 to 6.

Matthew 11:2–6

You have this moment where John the Baptist is in prison,

and he sends some of his disciples to ask Jesus,

Jesus, are you the one who is to come?

Are you really God's promised Messiah, or should we expect someone else?

And what Jesus does is so helpful,

because he draws on at least a couple of passages from the prophet Isaiah,

and he gives a checklist.

This is what God said his Messiah would do.

Verse 4 of chapter 11,

go back and report to John what you hear and see.

The blind receive sight, the lame walk,

those who have leprosy are cleansed,

the deaf hear, the dead are raised,

and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.

And in Matthew chapters 8 and 9,

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

Jesus has ticked each and every one of those boxes.

And the last one to be ticked off is that Jesus then heals

these blind men in verses 27 to 29.

He is God's appointed Messiah.

There's an irony within this section as well.

And it's the fact that these men who are physically blind,

spiritually they are able to see in a way that the Pharisees,

the religious leaders, cannot.

Look at how they call out to Jesus.

Have mercy on us, son of David.

So they recognize, though they are blind,

they recognize Jesus is son of David.

Now that's a title of the Messiah.

And what do they come for?

They come for mercy,

and that's bound up with the mission of the Messiah.

And so Matthew records the words of these blind men

because they're so important to the theme of Matthew's gospel.

Jesus wants us to know,

Matthew wants us to know that Jesus is

that promised Messiah King.

He draws so much from the Old Testament,

and he actually begins his gospel with genealogy

to make just that point.

Matthew chapter 1, verse 1.

Matthew 1:1

This is the genealogy of Jesus,

the Messiah, the son of David.

Matthew begins,

you can trust Jesus.

Everything you hear about Jesus,

you can trust.

You can trust him for salvation.

And these blind men are enabled to see

that Jesus is the Savior that they need.

And Matthew goes on from there

to record further evidence

to indicate Jesus' faithfulness to his mission,

as once again, verse 32 and 33,

he drives out the demon.

A man who was demon-possessed and could not talk

was brought to Jesus.

And when the demon was driven out,

the man who had been mute spoke.

And we've seen this along the way.

Jesus drives out the forces of evil.

Here is the kingdom of God being brought in,

and God's king and God's kingdom is greater,

and darkness cannot stand against it.

And the crowd, they're able to see,

they sense the wonder.

What do they say?

End of verse 33.

Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.

God is doing a new thing

in the sending of Jesus.

But not everyone agrees.

The Pharisees certainly don't.

What's their response to Jesus?

Verse 34, to his mission,

it is by the prince of demons

that he drives out demons.

And so they will continue to reject

and to oppose and to slander Jesus.

If he controls a demon,

well, that's evidence that he's on the side of the demons.

And what's so interesting is that

as we read the Old Testament,

and as we listen to Jesus' own words,

we come to understand that this is part of his mission too.

Jesus will be the rejected one.

He will be the despised one.

He is the suffering servant,

so slander is no surprise.

Part of his faithfulness,

part of Jesus being trustworthy,

is him staying on mission

even when he is rejected.

He will remain faithful.

Now, it's important to recognize

that their conclusion is wrong.

It's not by the prince of demons

that Jesus drives out demons.

Rather, we listen to Jesus' own words

in chapter 12 and verse 28.

If it is by the Spirit of God

that I drive out demons,

then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Jesus is the Spirit-filled king

promised by God

who is establishing his kingdom.

And no one, not even demons,

will stop Jesus building his church

because he is faithful to his mission.

And do we see how this is good news for us?

Here is one whom we can trust,

the very best friend,

because he is none other than the Son of God.

And so we can trust that Jesus will be with us.

As we put our trust in him,

he will be with us always,

even when we, as his followers,

face some of that opposition

and slander and rejection that Jesus did.

It is good for us to recognize

that our faith rests in one

who is trustworthy

in the mission that he was sent to do.

Remember the words of the angel to Joseph?

Matthew chapter 1, verse 21.

Matthew 1:21

You shall call his name Jesus.

Why?

Because he is on a mission

to save his people from their sins.

And then we remember Jesus' word,

it is finished upon the cross.

He was faithful to that calling.

In Matthew chapter 18,

Matthew 18 · chapter mention

there is the same words that we hear

in Luke chapter 19, verse 10.

Luke 19:10

The Lord Jesus came to seek

and to save the lost.

And Jesus is faithful in that mission also.

Jesus will lose none of those he came to save.

And so when we come in our need,

when we feel lost,

when we acknowledge our sin,

when we come to him as Savior,

we come trusting

he will forgive.

He will grant us new life as a child of God

because he is faithful to his mission.

So that's the first thing.

The second element of Jesus' trustworthiness of this,

he is faithful to those who trust him.

And this is another aspect of Matthew 8 and 9

that's brought out in lots of different ways,

that faith comes in all shapes and sizes.

So the section begins with the centurion,

with great faith.

Jesus, you don't even need to come to my house,

just speak the word

and my servant will be healed.

I'm not worthy to have you come,

but I know you've got authority.

And Jesus says,

I've not found faith like this anywhere in Israel.

So there's that kind of faith.

But then if you remember

that the women's faith last week,

very secret,

coming quietly behind Jesus,

hoping no one, even Jesus,

wouldn't notice,

just touching the hem of his robe,

trusting there'd be healing there.

And now we have the faith of the blind men,

the faith that leads them to call out,

have mercy on us, son of David.

And then when Jesus in verse 28 asks them,

do you believe that I am able to do this?

Do you believe that I'm able to show you

the mercy you seek?

Yes, Lord.

They replied.

Then he touched their eyes and said,

according to your faith,

that it be done to you.

And their sight was restored.

And so the focus again

is on their faith.

Their faith,

which is in Jesus.

Because faith is what brings us

into contact with Jesus.

Trust in Jesus is how anyone

comes to know God's power

and God's salvation.

Now we said it last week,

but it's worth saying again,

the point is not,

and Matthew's gospel draws this out,

the point is not how strong

or how weak is my faith,

but who is the object of my faith.

And these blind men,

we don't know what they've heard,

but they've obviously heard

some of the stories of this man,

Jesus of Nazareth,

who's traveling around

and he's saying great things

and he's doing great miracles.

And they certainly know

something of the promise

that God would send a coming king

who would redeem and rescue his people.

And we certainly know

that their faith,

driven by need and desperation,

moves towards Jesus.

And isn't that how often

God works?

giving us the gift of faith

at that point of desperate need.

Isn't that often

when we come to an end of ourselves

where we recognize,

I need to go to Jesus.

He is the one who can help me

in my trouble.

And that's what they do.

And we discover as that happens

that Jesus is faithful to them

because Jesus is faithful

to all those who trust him,

to all who come to him in faith.

Because God must be faithful

to his promises.

I came across this week

an illustration

that I found really helpful

from Don Carson.

He took us back to

the night in the book of Exodus

of the Passover,

the first Passover.

So imagine with me

two Israelite dads

the night before the Passover

we're talking over the fence

to each other.

And there's one dad

and he's saying,

I've seen and I've heard

about these plagues,

the frogs and the boils

and the hail.

And I've heard the announcement

of the last plague,

the judgment on the firstborn.

And I'm really scared.

And the reply comes over the fence,

well, haven't you done

what Moses told us to do?

Haven't you sacrificed the lamb

and haven't you sprinkled

the blood on the doorposts?

Oh, of course I've done that,

but how can some blood stains

keep my son in the house safe?

I'm so afraid of what's going to happen.

To which his neighbor says,

listen, you've done all you need to.

God has promised.

Judgment will pass over every house

where blood has been sprinkled.

Don't you trust God?

They turn in for the night.

Dad one has a sleepless,

anxious night,

whereas dad two sleeps like a baby.

Next morning,

which dad has lost a firstborn son?

The answer is neither.

Why?

Because the outcome depended on God

being faithful to his promises,

not depending on whether

one person or another person's faith

is strong or weak.

That's not the point.

The point is,

who do we trust in?

And we are invited to trust in God

who is faithful to his promise to save.

We're invited to trust Jesus,

the promised Messiah,

the one who is faithful

to his mission.

And so we're invited

to come to Jesus,

to look to Jesus,

to receive and rest in the salvation

that Jesus has secured

through his death

and his resurrection.

And so Matthew closes the section

saying to us,

Jesus is trustworthy.

He continues his mission.

He fulfills his mission.

He is faithful to those who trust him.

And he'll show that

in the way the story continues.

Jesus is going to journey to the cross

in line with God's word

and God's will.

And having completed

his work of salvation,

Jesus will then journey

from the tomb

in victory

just as he promised.

And Jesus will journey again

to return to heaven

to sit on his throne.

He is faithful to his mission.

And so you and I today,

we can trust him

to forgive our sin.

You and I,

we can trust him

to restore our life with God.

We can trust him

in our needs

and in our fears.

We can trust him

to grant to us

eternal life

with our God.

Jesus is trustworthy.

Back to verse 28.

Do we believe it?

And we need to ask the question

because plenty in Jesus' day

didn't.

We see it in the Pharisees.

They were blinded

to the glory

and the goodness of Jesus.

They were blind

to his glory

and to his love,

to his power to save

as the promised king

and they rejected him

and they stayed

on the outside

and still today,

despite evidence,

many stay

on the outside.

And as we continue

in Matthew's gospel,

we hear Jesus sound,

serious,

somber warnings

about that,

the reality

of future condemnation

for those

who refuse

to acknowledge him

and turn to him

for salvation.

And so we're invited

to trust,

to respond

to Jesus' love

and to Jesus'

loving warning

and to come to him

in faith.

But we see too

throughout the gospels

and throughout the pages

of church history

that many do believe,

like the blind man,

that Jesus is trustworthy,

he is God's king,

he does show mercy,

he can restore us

and give us wholeness.

And so as Matthew

draws the section

to a close,

we're invited

to follow the faith

of the blind man,

to acknowledge Jesus

as our Lord,

as our king,

to come to him

for salvation,

to come to him

for help,

to trust him

that he is

and will always be

trustworthy

to come to him

in our need.

of the night.

of the night.

of the night.

of the night.

of the night.

of the night.