A King Like No Other

The scripture reading comes from the book of Matthew, chapter 12.

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

Please follow along on the bulletin or your own Bible.

Starting in verse 9, we read,

He went on from there and entered their synagogue,

and a man was there with a withered hand.

And they asked him,

Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath,

so that they might accuse him?

He said to them,

Which one of you who has a sheep,

if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath,

will not take hold of it and lift it out?

Of how many more value is a man than a sheep?

So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.

Then he said to the man,

Stretch out your hand.

And the man stretched it out,

and it was restored,

healthy like the other.

But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him.

How to destroy him?

Jesus, aware of this,

withdrew from there.

And many followed him,

and he healed them all,

and ordered them not to make him known.

This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah.

Behold my servant,

whom I have chosen,

my beloved,

with whom my soul is well policed.

I will put my spirit upon him,

and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

He will not quarrel or cry aloud,

nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.

A bruised reed he will not break,

and a moldering wick he will not quench,

until he brings justice to the victory.

And in his name,

the Gentiles will hope.

This is the word of God.

Thank you so much, Echo.

Bring this up here.

Great.

So we're continuing in the series

that we have been looking at.

In Matthew,

we had a pause last week

as we stopped to really reflect

on some of what I think God has really been saying to us

as a church,

about slowing down

and really making Christ the center.

And so we're going to come back to Matthew.

But let me just pray for us

as we get into God's word together.

Amen.

Father, I pray that this morning

we would hear you speak to us.

And I pray that you'd help us to respond to you.

Thank you that you're God who loves to speak to us.

And Lord, I pray that you would show us

that you're better than we think you are.

Lord, you'd show us that you are everything we need.

That the things that we chase after,

that the communities we want to be part of,

the things that we think will give us life,

show us that actually life is found in you.

And I pray that this would not just be a head knowledge thing,

but I pray it would be a deep heart knowledge.

And I pray we'd go out of here changed.

I pray that we'd be a community,

which is so different in this city

where there is so much that bruises us

and bruises people.

I pray that we'd come and find you

as a gracious, gentle savior.

Lord, we give you this morning.

Please open our ears to hear your voice.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Great.

I don't know about you,

but when you think about relationships,

one of the key things in relationships

is when someone speaks,

what should happen?

Well, they should listen first,

but then you actually need a response.

Okay?

Because my wife will actually sometimes

say something or ask me something,

and I may be a little bit in my own world,

and then she will say to me,

and I won't say anything,

and she will say to me,

can I get a response, please?

Because relationships require

communication and responses.

And when God speaks in his word,

and when God speaks in the book of Matthew

through this gospel,

or through a sermon,

or through any area of scripture,

he doesn't just say things

so we kind of think about it.

He doesn't just say things

to just kind of inspire us,

like a good TED talk.

He says things because he's looking

for a response from us.

And so the question that the passage

we've just read is actually asking us

is how are we responding to Jesus today?

Because Matthew chapter 11 to 12

Matthew 11 · chapter mention

is actually a whole section

which is all about how the religious leaders,

the Pharisees,

are responding to Jesus.

And we've looked at this a couple of weeks ago,

but the Pharisees aren't the bad guys

in the first century.

They're the good guys.

They're the guys who want God's kingdom to come.

They're the guys who are praying

that the oppressive Roman invaders

who are occupying them

will get kicked out

and God's kingdom will come.

And they think that if they just obey

and believe the Bible,

God's kingdom will come.

That's not bad, right?

That's a good thing.

And so the Sabbath was the sign,

the greatest sign,

of actually obedience

in this relationship of trust,

of worship,

of rest,

in this relationship

between God and his people.

And so they went to that.

They went,

we need to obey this rule of the Sabbath.

And so they go,

okay,

we mustn't work on the Sabbath.

So what does that mean?

Well, what's work?

And so they then began

to create all these categories

for what work constituted.

And people love to debate this.

And they came up

with this whole system of rules

which were all about

defining what work was

and what it wasn't.

So you couldn't climb a tree

because if you broke a twig,

that might constitute

reaping,

like it's similar to reaping a field

which could be work.

Okay?

You could only carry

a thimble full of ink

because if you carried more than that,

then that would be work.

Okay?

And they had a whole load of stuff

and this heart

that was actually

wanting to obey God

had drifted

into a system of rules

which had become

a system of righteousness

which then became a system

of who is in,

who is out,

who are the righteous,

who are the wicked.

Do you remember that?

We looked at that

a couple of weeks ago.

And we saw how Jesus comes along

and he starts challenging

their whole system.

Do you know if somebody

actually challenges

your most deeply held beliefs,

how do you normally respond?

Do you like it?

No.

No.

The Pharisees didn't either.

And so the Pharisees,

like prosecutors

in a law court,

have their notebooks out

trying to find

any evidence

to accuse

and condemn Jesus

so they can get rid of him.

In fact,

the word accuse,

which is here

in verse 10,

is actually the word

categorize

in Greek.

In other words,

they want to put Jesus

in the category

of junk box

so that they can

just delete him

and they can carry on

just as they are.

And then any evidence

they find

to see Jesus

supporting work

on the Sabbath,

they're going to use

to delete him.

That's the idea.

And so Jesus,

in this passage,

comes right into

the religious

and social center

of the Pharisees.

He's on their territory.

It's their synagogue,

it says,

on a Sabbath

to do some teaching.

And people are

mingling around

everywhere

and the Pharisees

plant this man,

we'll call him Will,

okay,

for the sake of it,

with a withered hand

on the front row

visible for everyone

to see.

And they sit back

and watch

and wait to see

what's going to happen.

And they,

do you remember

in the previous story,

we had the disciples

picking grain

on the Sabbath.

And actually,

that issue

was a debatable issue

for rabbis

about whether you could,

that was work or not.

But the issue

about healing

on the Sabbath,

there was complete consensus

amongst rabbis

about this.

So,

you could only heal

on the Sabbath

if it was a life

or death situation,

okay,

only if it's life or death,

that's fine.

You know,

they're not unreasonable,

okay.

But this man

has got a withered hand.

And withered

is actually

the word dried up,

which actually implies

it's not a genetic issue,

it's actually

he may have had an accident

or something's happened

to him

to affect his arm.

So,

and Luke actually tells us

it's his right hand,

which would have been

his working hand.

So,

this actually

has seriously

impaired his life.

But it's not an emergency.

And so,

Jesus could kind of

heal him tomorrow

if he wanted to.

And so,

this works perfectly.

The trap is laid.

Is Jesus

totally dismissive

of God's law

about the Sabbath

by healing this guy

who it's not even

an emergency?

Do you see the idea

of what's going on?

And so,

the Pharisees

then go,

with Will

on the front row.

They say,

Jesus,

Jesus,

we've just got a question

we'd like to ask

very innocently.

Is it lawful

to heal on the Sabbath?

And they stop

and they wait

to see what Jesus

will do.

I want you to see

two things here.

And during this talk

we're going to look at

two big things.

One is a self-righteous

community.

And the other

is a Christ-centered

community.

And what Christ

is like

versus this.

And so,

in this self-righteous

community,

here are two things

for you to see.

Self-righteous people

are blind

to their own hypocrisy.

Let's have a look

at this.

when he comes

into the Sabbath,

sorry,

I've just lost

my notes.

Okay.

So,

he comes in

and they're concerned

about obedience,

the Pharisees,

their own and others.

And Jesus then,

he doesn't just directly

answer their question,

he asks the question back.

Jesus always likes

doing that.

And he says,

which of you,

excuse me,

which of you

who has a sheep,

if it falls into a pit

on the Sabbath,

will not take hold of it

and lift it out?

Of how much more value

is a man

than a sheep?

And then he actually

answers the question,

Jesus doesn't do this

very often,

but he says,

it is lawful

to do good

on the Sabbath.

What's he saying?

He's saying,

you guys are so worried

about the Sabbath,

yet you only keep

the rules

when it's convenient

for you.

He says,

when it's something

that you really care about,

like your property,

a sheep,

then you're quite happy

to break the rules.

But when there is someone

that you don't really

care about,

like this man

with a withered hand

who's hurting

and vulnerable,

you're going to be

really strict

on the rules.

And he says,

well,

that actually shows you

the second thing

about what self-righteous

people are like.

They don't see

their own hypocrisy,

but also they're blind

to the value

of other people.

Do you notice something?

In the passage,

the Pharisees

completely ignore Will.

They don't actually

address him at all.

But they've planted him there.

And in fact,

they're using him.

He's a prop.

He's a pawn

in their own agenda

for what they're trying

to do.

They don't see him

at all.

In fact,

when Jesus heals

the man later on,

instead of rejoicing,

Will,

you can get your career

back again.

What are they doing?

They're not rejoicing.

They're fuming.

Because they don't care

about him at all.

They don't see him.

All they see

is their own agenda

and what they think

is right

and what they think

is wrong.

Now,

I think we actually

all know

what this is like.

We see this outside

in the world around.

You know,

there's the boss

who starts promoting

strongly like,

we've got to value people,

equal opportunities,

diversity.

They promote it.

You've got to be

on board with it

in this company.

And then,

if profit is at stake,

they'll mercilessly

fire people,

trample over people

without a second thought

because people

were actually props

for their own agenda.

Don't we know that?

That's actually

self-righteousness

and hypocrisy.

But before we get

all kind of,

yeah,

those guys are like

that out there,

isn't,

can't we be like that too?

You know,

here's a scriptural command

that is very precious

to me.

Let your yes be yes

and your no be no.

Okay?

CG leaders,

you can thank me

for this later.

But,

if,

if you say

that you are coming

to an event

or to your CG,

don't,

that means

back out

at the last minute

just because

you feel a little tired

or you've got

a better offer

somewhere else.

Let your yes be yes

and no be no.

That's a scriptural command

and don't wait

to the last minute

to commit either.

Okay?

Love people,

love your leaders.

but,

and by the way,

some of us

do need to hear that.

But can I make

a confession?

I'm not sure

whether I should say this,

but,

when someone

is constantly flaky,

always backing out

at the last minute,

in my heart,

I can categorize people

in the junk box,

just kind of dismissing,

oh,

they're just like that.

And instead of thinking

how to love them,

maybe by having

a conversation,

just gently actually

pointing stuff out,

inside,

your heart can just

end up withdrawing

from them

and judging them.

Anyone else like me?

Three people,

great.

Okay.

Let's just get together

afterwards.

But the really

interesting thing is,

when it comes to

people in my

extended family

that actually

I'm not so keen

on meeting up with,

I can quite easily

luck die,

very easily.

I can break a commitment

really easily

because I don't care

about it as much.

And so,

here,

a good command,

that's a good

scriptural command,

yes be yes,

yes be no,

it's important,

can become a rule

which can blind us

to ourselves

and can blind us

to other people.

And we become

accidental Pharisees.

And you know,

the church of Jesus

can actually end up

looking exactly

like the world

even though

its moral rules

can be even better

than the world

because

we have not let

Jesus walk

into the synagogue

of our system

and our rules

and our righteousness.

To confront it.

And so actually

over the last couple of weeks

I think Jesus

has been doing that

with us.

I think he's been trying

to come into us

as a church

where we're distracted

and busy

and he's trying to say

let's not miss Jesus

because we're

justifying ourselves.

But when Jesus

walks into your synagogue

two things will happen.

One,

either

you'll seek

to junk box him

from your life

like the Pharisees

and we can do that

subtly or obviously

either by

absenting him

and his word

from your life

from your schedule

from your timing

from your decisions

about your kids

about everything else

because you're too busy

for that.

That's actually

junk boxing Jesus.

because actually

if you bring Jesus

into that

he may disturb you

you know

and we don't want

to be disturbed

that much.

And either we stay

like that

and we'll stay

self-righteous

or we'll respond

to him

in faith

and like

will does

and he will receive

healing

and restoration

and that's what

God is wanting

for each one of us

this morning.

And that's whether

you're a Christian

or whether you're a seeker

or whether somebody

just dragged you along

this morning.

You see

God is calling us

to respond to him

and no response

is a response.

That's the self-righteous

community

that God is calling us

not to be like.

But I want to move on

to look at Christ

and what a Christ-centered

community looks like

by looking at

who Jesus really is.

Okay?

So let's have a look

at the next part

of the passage

because what you see

excuse me

is

sorry let me step back

and just say

I'm going to show you

three things

that I think you're going

to see about Jesus here.

The first thing

I want you to see

about Jesus

is that Jesus

dies to himself

for the sake of others

whereas the Pharisees

are blind to themselves

and blind to others

Jesus dies to himself

for the sake of others.

you know

if you look here

in the passage

what you see is

the Pharisees

know that Jesus

has the power to heal.

You know

in a time

where there are

no antibiotics

there's no surgery

you see

in verse 15

many people

Jesus can pull a crowd

of people

desperate for healing.

You notice that?

And yet

if you look back

further

in the passage

you see

how Jesus

responds

in this

and I love this

about Jesus

because if you know

that you're walking

into a trap

okay

where your life

and your ministry

could be on the line

you'd probably

want to play it

politically

kind of cool

wouldn't you?

Like

is it

lawful

to heal

on the Sabbath?

You go

well guys

that's a complex question.

I prefer to talk

about the need

for harmony

in our synagogue.

That would be

much better.

You know

Jesus could save

his own skin

get on with

his ministry

for far more years.

He could have

a far bigger impact

on cost benefit

analysis

it doesn't make

sense for Jesus

to actually go

and heal

Will

at that moment.

But Jesus

isn't like us.

Look at what

Jesus does.

While everyone

else had ignored

Will

he ignores

the others

and he focuses

on Will.

He looks him

right in the eye

and he says

to the man

stretch out

your hand

and the man

stretched it out

and it was

restored

healthy

like the other.

You see

what happens?

Will

gets

the blessing

because he

responds to

Jesus

Jesus

takes

the consequences

and he has

to run

for his life.

Do you see that?

Because the Pharisees

then start

plotting

how to

destroy him

and this is a

pivotal part

in the gospel

of Matthew.

Now I want us

to see this

because as Christians

I think we often

forget this.

Jesus

lays down

his life

for us

as sinners

on the cross

doesn't he?

He takes the hit

so that we go free.

We know that

if you're a Christian

but I think

what we often

fail to see

is that wasn't

just the cross

that was the pattern

of the entire life

and ministry

of Jesus.

This was his

very heart

this was the way

that he operated

all the time.

This is who

he is.

You see

his heart

is the very

nature of love

and his heart

is still that

same heart

for you

this morning.

You see

self-righteous

people are

fair weather

lovers.

That means

they will love

people

until it bites

them back

and then they go

why should I

keep loving them?

I don't deserve

what I'm getting

back

but Jesus

isn't like that

and neither

is his followers

because if you

think about it

we've bitten

Jesus plenty

by our coldness

by our distraction

by just

forgetting about him

and just focusing

on so many other

things

our sinfulness

but you know

Jesus hasn't

moved on from you.

Jesus isn't

too busy for you.

He hasn't

written you off.

He's not going

hey there's so many

other people in the

universe that I

could deal with

I don't want to

bother with them.

He's not like that

and so this morning

as he looks at you

in the eye

he says

stretch out your

hand to me

because I want

to restore you

I want to heal you

stop going

everywhere else

because I am

willing to take

the consequences

so that you can

get the blessing.

Jesus dies to

himself for the

sake of others.

secondly

under this point

Jesus is also

strong in

weakness.

Do you know

Jesus

he withdraws

and tells those

he's healed

don't tell

anybody about

this.

That's not

great PR

if you're trying

to kind of

build a kingdom

but actually

we see this

in the gospel

of Mark

he only says

this to Jews

because they

have an image

of who they

think the

Messiah

the king

should be

and he doesn't

want them

to project

their ideas

onto him

he wants to

show you

who he really

is.

And so

what you see

is self-righteous

people

like the Pharisees

they like

what is strong

they wanted

someone to

beat the Romans

self-righteous

people like

getting their own

way

we like power

and we're okay

with putting

others down

because it

makes us feel

better about

ourselves.

we want

strong leaders

to make up

for our own

sense of

weakness

but Matthew

quotes Isaiah

42

which is an

incredible

prophecy

about what

God's servant

will be like

and here's

what he says

behold

this is

God's king

behold

my servant

whom I have

chosen

my beloved

with whom

my soul

is well

pleased

so he's

saying

this is

the one

who literally

delights

the soul

of God

this is

what makes

the father's

face light

up

when he

sees his

name

on his

news feed

what's he

like

he says

I'll put

my spirit

on him

he'll

proclaim

justice

to the

gentiles

that means

he is

a spirit

empowered

judge

who will

bring

justice

to bear

both

judgment

and

restoration

he's

the one

who calls

the shots

he has

power

you know

like if you

see a

crocodile

with these

huge teeth

a crocodile

can just

one snap

of his teeth

he can just

tear people

apart

have you seen

that

and so

what the

what the

pharisees

are wanting

they're wanting

Jesus to be

a crocodile

who's going to

come to the

gentiles

and gentiles

are romans

and to just

snap him

and eat him

up

that's what

he wants

because Jesus

can delete

who he likes

but here's

the surprising

part

what does

Jesus

actually

like to do

what delights

the father

he says

he will not

quarrel

or cry aloud

nor will

anyone hear

his voice

in the streets

huh

that's weird

he's saying

with his

sovereign power

he's not

pushy

he's not

insisting

on his own

way

he's not

big on

self-promotion

in fact

all the other

shouters

and hawkers

on the streets

who are

peddling

their own

voices

seem to

drown out

his voice

sometimes

and people

might want

miracles

from him

but they

don't want

to listen

to him

I don't know

if you've

ever felt

ignored

you know

there's the

cool kids

that everyone

loves in the

school

and listens

to them

but they

don't listen

to you

you know

adults

we have

that as

well

right

and

Jesus

knows

exactly

what that's

like

but he's

not flustered

by it

he's not

trying to

be strong

and kind

of dress

cool

and kind

of get

great photos

on Instagram

to get likes

from people

he's not

like that

because he

knows that

his victory

is brought

through weakness

so though he

will bring

justice

he doesn't

need to

trample on

people

he doesn't

need to

push his

own way

to get

past people

or be

in the

in crowd

why

because he's

utterly secure

he knows

that he's

pleasing to

his father

and that's

more important

to him

than being

in the

cool crowd

I wonder

whether that's

more important

for you

than being

in the

cool crowd

because he's

so secure

in his

father's

delight

for him

his power

can be

seen

in hiddenness

and weakness

Jesus is

willing to

die

to himself

for the

sake of

others

he's

willing to

be strong

but actually

in weakness

and here's

the third

thing

Jesus is

tender

to the

weak

and I

love this

part

because you

see

self-righteous

people like

the Pharisees

when they

see weak

people

they

junk box

them

they use

them

they walk

over them

but Jesus

isn't like

that

he says

a bruised

reed

he will

not break

and a

smoldering

wick he

will not

quench

until he

brings

justice

to victory

and in

his name

the

gentiles

will

hope

I

went to

the

flower

market

and all

I could

find

I didn't

want to

buy

anything

so I

just

went to

the

scraps

on the

side

this

is a

bruised

reed

it's a

common

grass

well I

mean just

use your

imagination

it's a

common

grass

on the

side

of

river

banks

something

knocks

into

it

and

just

breaks

it

do

you

know

what

they

used

to

use

it

for

making

pens

and

flutes

and

even

tape

measures

things

like

that

but

once

it's

like

this

it's

so

common

you

just

throw

it

away

it's

not

worth

anything

you

can

get

another

one

quite

easily

a

smoldering

wick

what is

that

it's

when the

candle

is

dying

and

you

know

you

start

getting

that

smoke

just

when

it's

kind

of

leaving

and

you

just

put

it

out

and

just

oh

that's

better

that's

what

self

righteous

communities

do

and

do

you

know

what

our

society

is

full

of

bruised

reeds

joy

shared

beautifully

about

what

the

experience

of

a

bruised

reed

is

like

and

by

the

way

I'm

not

talking

about

modern

culture's

victimhood

mentality

okay

you know

where

suddenly

bruised

reed

becomes

a badge

of

honour

and

like

everyone's

suffering

from

burnout

even

though

you've

been

for

like

three

holidays

in

the

last

six

weeks

or

you know

your boss

says to

you

hey

your

work

hasn't

been

up to

standard

recently

and

you go

I'm

being

oppressed

at

work

that's

not

what

we're

talking

about

that's

not

a

bruised

reed

that's

a

reed

that needs

to get

over

itself

but

bruised

reeds

are those

who've

been

knocked

by

life

with

all

those

expectations

on

you

maybe

by

others

maybe

even

by

your

own

sinfulness

and

your

doubts

and

your

struggles

bruised

reeds

are those

who

others

just

treat

and go

yeah

you can

throw it

away

maybe

like

you

think

of

the way

sometimes

our

society

treats

domestic

helpers

or the

person

that I

spoke

to

recently

says

whenever

I do

anything

I hear

my dad's

voice

at the

back

of my

man

saying

why

can't

you

do

anything

right

bruised

reeds

just as

joy

shared

keep

bruising

themselves

you know

bruised

reeds

we're

often

hard

on

ourselves

going

oh

why

am I

so

stupid

oh

why

did

I

do

that

again

why

am I

not

as

successful

as

them

why

am I

not

as

disciplined

as

them

why

am

I

not

as

as

them

and

that

self

righteous

community

leaves

behind

a trail

of

bruised

reeds

and

you

know

what

we

often

try

and

do

we

often

try

and

compensate

because

actually

each

one

of

us

knows

deep

down

that

we

are

bruised

in

some

way

and

those

of

us

who

don't

God

will

bruise

you

but

often

what

we

try

and

do

is

we

try

and

go

hey

I'm

not

a

bruised

reed

I'm

a

really

cool

reed

and

we

want

to

get

sucked

into

the

system

of

the

people

around

us

so

that

we

all

look

and

when

we

start

filtering

we

go

oh

no

I'm

fine

and

we

try

and

put

up

these

images

and

try

and

be

successful

like

everybody

else

try

and

compare

ourselves

to

everyone

else

so

that

we

don't

actually

end

up

being

seen

or

feeling

like

a

bruised

reed

because

who

wants

to

feel

like

that

you

know

I

spoke

to

a

youth

who

said

to

me

I

know

getting

good

grades

lots

of

money

dressing

cool

and

had

everyone

like

you

isn't

ultimately

satisfying

but

I

just

want

to

know

what

it

feels

like

anyone

like

that

do

you

know

what

he's

saying

is

I'll

do

what

I

know

is

not

good

because

I'm

driven

by

the

desire

to

feel

even

for

a

second

not

like

a

bruised

reed

but

the

amazing

thing

about

Jesus

is

this

the

world

outside

will

try

and

crush

you

or

try

and

pretend

to

be

better

than

we

are

but

Jesus

is

in

some

ways

like

a

crocodile

oh

he

has

huge

teeth

he

can

snap

and

break

his

enemies

like

that

but

have

you

seen

a

crocodile

with

its

newborn

eggs

which

it