Matthew Pt. 65

Are you in Matthew chapter 17? Let me get there with you.

Matthew 17 · chapter mention

Matthew 17. We're going to pick up from

verse 22 and we're going to read through verse 27.

As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, The

Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men,

and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.

And they were greatly distressed.

When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two drama tax

went to Peter and said, does your teacher not pay the tax?

He said yes. And when he came into the house,

Jesus spoke to him first, saying, What do you think,

Simon? From whom do the kings of the

earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?

And when he had said from others, Jesus said to him, Then

the sons are free. However, not to give offence to

them, go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish

that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a

shekel. Take that and give it to them

for me and for yourself. Heavenly Father, we thank you

for Your powerful word that brings light and revelation and

that brings feast and the nutrients that we need to our

souls and to our bodies and to our spirits.

Thank you for the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

God, we pray that you would bring the Scriptures to our

revelation. We, the Scriptures, are already

living and active. Lord, we pray against any

resistance in ourselves. I pray against any resistance

that would be coming against your church this morning.

So they would fully and freely receive your instruction, your

direction, and your blessing that you have intended for them.

You're the shepherd who feeds his people in Jesus name.

We receive this feast with gratitude and with joy.

Amen. Jesus again telling the

disciples, so we've said just recently we've just been going

over this, how in chapter 16 he really starts turning this

corner and now his mission is set.

As we look at all the gospels, we see that most of the gospels

spend most of their time or they spend a disproportionate amount

of time on the end of Jesus life, early life, the whole 1st

30 years. We don't get a lot.

I think we get a total of like maybe four or five chapters

between all four gospels. And then we get the three 3 1/2

years of ministry. But then the last week of his

life gets multiple chapters. It's over 10 chapters are

dedicated to it between the four gospels.

I should have got my numbers straight before I came to you,

but trust me, the end of his life gets a lot more attention

than the first. Why?

Because his mission is being fully and completely

accomplished. He came to reveal the Father,

and he's been revealing the Father.

But now as we go to the cross, everything slows down and we get

way more focused. And Jesus keeps showing and

keeps telling and keeps explaining to his disciples.

Did you ever realize that he told him that many times and

that he'd been doing it for months ahead of time before the

crucifixion? You know, we get to the

crucifixion, like, oh, man, they're really upset.

They didn't see this coming. He'd been telling them for

months, I'm going to be handed over to men.

They are going to flog me. They're going to crucify me, and

I'm going to be raised from the dead on the third day.

But the disciples still act like some guys who didn't see it

coming. They have to be told things a

few times. You ever have to be told

something more than once what's happened to me?

Yeah. One of the reasons we continue

to gather, we continue to worship, we continue to rejoice

together. So in Matthew 17, now Jesus

tells them once again in verse 22, they're gathering in

Galilee. The Son of Man is about to be

delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him and he

will be raised on the third day. And they were greatly

distressed, the Son of Man. Do you remember what prophet

talked about the Son of Man? Daniel.

Yeah. So Daniel told us who the Son of

Man was. Actually.

Let's go there. I want you to see it again.

Daniel tells us in Chapter 7. So go to Daniel Chapter 7.

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

I want you to have this spot in your Bible marked

Ezekiel. I'm almost there Daniel.

I did not sing the song in my head.

I would have gotten there faster probably if I sang the song in

my head. Chapter what?

Chapter 7 Daniel 7 In verse 13 Jesus favorite descriptor for

himself often referred to himself as the Son of Man.

He wasn't just saying I'm the son of people, I'm the son of

humans. Actually, ironically the the

statement son of man is actually a claim to divinity, which you

would think is the opposite. Here's why it's a claim to

divinity. Daniel 713 I saw in the night

visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one

like a Son of Man, and he came to the Ancient of days and was

presented before him. And to him we're given dominion

and glory and a Kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages

should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting

dominion which shall not pass away, and his Kingdom one that

shall not be destroyed. Hallelujah, this is good news.

This is who the Son of Man is. So remember Matthew's Jewish

readers. Matthew, writing to the Jews,

understood every time Jesus says Son of Man, the Jews go, he's

plainly, clearly and obviously calling himself the Messiah,

plainly, clearly and obviously making himself God.

And now the disciples hear Jesus say the Son of Man will what be

killed? What?

Those don't go together. The Son of Man can't be killed.

That's confusing, that's overwhelming to the disciples.

The Son of Man can't die. His Kingdom never ends.

The Messiah is supposed to bring in the eternal Kingdom and rule

and reign forever. Why is why is the Messiah going

to die? So what happens?

They're greatly distressed. They are exceedingly sorrowful.

I want to clarify. We should and we will be

sorrowful when we have loss, when we grieve.

It's normal, it's biblical, and it's right.

The difference for you and I, when those who are in Christ

have passed, is that we don't mourn as the world mourns.

We mourn as though there is a resurrection.

We're not greatly and exceedingly sorrowful, although

we can be and should be sorrowful.

When our loved ones die for those who died, as Christians,

we will not be overwhelmed because we know there will be a

resurrection and a restoration for all of us.

Why? Because the Son of Man has a

Kingdom that will not be destroyed.

That's why the Son of Man is going to restore everything

perfectly. But like we said, we're like the

disciples. We have to hear something

multiple times to really understand it and believe it

all. So let's keep going to verse 24.

When they came to Capernaum, remember, this is Jesus's

headquarters. So hometown is Nazareth.

It's where he spent a lot of time growing up.

But headquarters for ministry is Capernaum.

He's rebuked Capernaum before. Remember we talked about how the

King, the Master, our Lord and God lays his head in this town,

in the city, and they don't really honor him.

They don't recognize him. When they came to Capernaum, the

collectors of the two, I call it the drama tax because I can't

properly pronounce that. So I know drachma.

All right, man, I'm going to go with what Matt says because

otherwise he'll rebuke me after service and I'll cry when I go

home. So the collectors of the two

drachma tax went up to Peter and said, does your teacher not pay

the tax? He said yes.

And when he came to the house, Jesus spoke to him first saying,

what do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the

earth take toll or tax from their sons or from others?

And when he said from others, Jesus said to him, then the sons

are free, however, not to give offence to them, Go to the sea,

cast a hook, take the first fish that comes up, and when you open

its mouth, you will find a shackle.

Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.

So this tax, this drachma tax, this is something that every

Jewish man 20 years and older has to pay.

This comes from Old Testament law.

This was given. It's in Exodus where all the

details are given and how much it is.

It's roughly a day's wages. So a day's wage has to be paid

for the, for the temple at this point is for the upkeep of the

temple. Originally it was for the tent

of meeting. So we had the tent of meeting

and the Tabernacle and the temple.

So at this point, this is just for this is the maintenance tax

and every Jewish man 20 years and older has to pay this.

An interesting point. We it's very, very likely that

the disciples were very young. Just a sidebar here and Jesus

only we only see reference here to paying tax for Jesus and for

Peter and some think I tend to think in this direction.

I think that most of the disciples were probably

teenagers. That's very likely a lot of

rabbis were followed by very young men.

So they're being followed by young men wire only Jesus and

Peter paying it. Maybe they're the only two who

are over 20 years old. So interesting things, contrary

to what we may have seen in Jesus movies and Jesus TV shows,

but the every Jewish man 20 years and older has to pay this

to support the temple, the Tabernacle, the tent of meeting.

So what's going on here? Jesus comes back to Capernaum

and the collectors of the tax. So there are people who are

assigned to do this. Hey, we're going to go around.

This isn't a Roman tax. The Romans certainly had plenty

of taxes, but this is a Jewish tax to other Jews.

And these guys are going around saying, hey, have you paid?

Hey, if you paid the temple tax yet, they've got a record of it.

And they come to Peter with an accusation really against the

Lord, a negative assumption. Maybe they're going to try and

catch him in a trap. Maybe they're just insulting

people. Maybe they're just good at their

job and they know how to inflict your ego a little bit.

Does your master not pay the tax?

What are you implying there? What does your master not pay

the tax? Of course.

What should Capernaum be doing? They should be welcoming back

the Lord, but instead they're hassling him.

And not directly, of course, because they're not that bold.

But they go to Peter and now Peter answers without knowing

the answer, obviously. Apparently Peter hasn't seen

Jesus pay this tax for the past couple of years because the

lesson that Jesus is about to give him.

Maybe Peter's feeling some pressure from these guys.

You and I can remember. It's usually not wise to answer

for someone or something. We don't know the answer.

I've done that. Have you ever done that?

Have you ever spoken for the Lord because His name was being

dragged through the mud? And maybe it was an area you

didn't have clarity. Maybe it was an area where you

really didn't have the answer. But you love your Master and you

go. I might be not too bright then.

I might not know much, but I know my God is good.

So Peter knowing that his Master does all things right.

Peter knowing that his Master does all things well, Peter

knows that all Jews paid his tax to support the temple.

Does your master? My master does.

And now he's going, oh, wait, I hope he does.

I hope. Now I've come to think of it,

the past couple years, I don't know that I've been a part of

that. Maybe the guy's paid it without

me. Oh, so Peter's in an

uncomfortable situation. I love Peter because I can

relate to Peter. Then I see the love that Jesus

has for Peter. So that gives me great comfort.

But what should we do in those moments?

We should seek the Lord, and we should remember that although it

is, it is good and right to tell the truth.

If we don't know what the truth is, it's also good and right.

And it's wise to just remain quiet and go find out the truth,

and then I can come back later. Zeal is good, but wisdom is good

as well. So Peter comes in first.

Or so Peter comes in, But now Jesus speaks first knowing what

happened because the Father had revealed it to him by the Holy

Spirit. I want to bring your attention

to something like I always tell you, I listen to a lot of

sermons on the text that I'm preaching in my preparation.

I listen to probably 5 sermons in preparation to this one and

about four of the pastor's really pounded the pulpit on a

particular point that I want to bring your attention to.

The point that they pounded the pulpit on was Jesus knew what

Peter was about to say and Jesus knew what just happened with

Peter because Jesus is God. Everybody say Jesus is God,

Jesus is God, Jesus is God. That's not up for debate, that's

non negotiable. Jesus is God.

But the question really comes down to so, so Jesus definitely

knew. Obviously Jesus knew what

happened. The question that I wonder about

and that I am asking you is we know that Jesus as God is

omniscient, but the question I have is, did was Jesus

omniscient? Did he retain his omniscience?

That means I know everything all the time at any given moment.

So if we were going to stick to that, let's just be consistent

for a moment, that would have to mean right, and I'm going to be

fair and you tell me if I'm not. That would have to mean that

Jesus knows everything isn't everything.

So as Jesus was walking around Israel, he was aware of that

pine, a pine needle in Hartfield, and he had

consciousness of it like he does right now.

That's just God's stuff that's too big for you and I.

But that's, that's just his jurisdiction.

That's not a big deal because he's God.

And yet did Jesus operate? Did Jesus choose to function in

that capacity the whole time he was on the earth?

Well, opinions don't matter. What matters is what the

Scripture teaches us. Jesus certainly knows everything

before. He certainly knows everything

now. But the question I have is, did

he set any of that aside in the miracle of the incarnation?

I believe that he did and here's what I want you to say to me

right now. Say show me that from the word

Pastor. Y'all are so faithful.

That's good. That's the right response.

So a couple of things and we're still just on a sidebar here.

And I don't know how much this is going to affect your Monday

morning faithfulness to the Lord.

But again, like guys # the pulpit on this stuff.

And sometimes I'm like, man am IA heretic.

Would I be burned to the stake for this?

And then I go, well, they didn't back anything with scripture.

They just backed it with the principle of Jesus is God, which

we all agree on and know that He is.

The question I'm raising is, did Jesus set anything aside while

He functioned and operated on the earth?

Luke 252 tells us this, talking about his his young boyhood.

Luke 252 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor

with God and man What? Hang on a second.

Jesus increased in wisdom, heretic.

Burn him at the stake, right? Oh, wait, that came from the

Bible, so we got to do something with that.

What are you saying that means? I'm not saying anything.

I'm just saying it's there and we got to do something with it,

right? So if Jesus increased in wisdom,

stick with me. No fancy footwork up here today.

If Jesus increased in wisdom, how can the wisdom of God

himself increase in wisdom? Except that perhaps he somehow

by his own choosing, set something aside.

Just fair, fair thinking, right? Everything's straightforward.

How in the world did Jesus grow in favor with God?

He grew. He increased in favor with God.

There's some mystery here. I don't have the answers for

you. I'm just pointing out some

things that this is how we understand the Scriptures.

Remember, the question that we ask of the Bible and we ask of

one another is not, do you have a verse for that?

That's not the right question. The question is, what does the

Word of God teach? What does the Word of God

reveal? You got a verse for that?

Do you got a verse for that? Well, maybe I do, maybe I don't,

but really, what does the Scripture teach and what does

the Scripture reveal? That's really the question.

Jesus is God, but was he born knowing how to talk?

How do you know? I thought he was God, He knew

everything, right? So that's the thing I wanted to

ask these pastors is they were like, Jesus knows everything.

He knows everything only. Do you think he was born knowing

how to talk? I don't know what they would say

to that. Well, no, I think so.

He learned, or he just pretended not to know any.

Let Mary pretend to teach him. Which is kind of misleading,

right? Did Joseph teach him carpentry?

Or did Jesus teach Joseph carpentry?

Hey, man. Hey, this is a better way to do

that. I don't intend to make you

laugh. I'm just drawing.

I'm pulling the thread all the way out and go look at it.

If that means, then let's stay consistent with our conclusions.

Jesus increased in wisdom. He increased in stature and in

favor with God and man. Acts 1038 tells us how God

anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.

Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit and Jesus was anointed

with power. How can the omnipotent 1 be

anointed with power? Jesus has unlimited power.

He's God, he's omnipotent. Are you saying he's not pastor?

Absolutely. I'm not saying that he's not,

but I'm saying seems as though the Lord Jesus must have set

something aside in his incarnation.

He was still 100% God while walking on the earth.

That's an important Christian doctrine.

We we we emphasize, we won't allow anybody to say Jesus was

50% God, 50% man. Nope.

We call that one heresy for sure.

We say Jesus was 100% God and 100% man.

And still God anointed Jesus of Nazareth.

So that's how he accomplished the work of his ministry.

I thought he was just going around God zapping people.

How'd Jesus heal the blind man? Because he's Jesus.

I like that answer. But what does the word of God

teach and what does the word of God reveal?

How did Jesus do this? How did Jesus do that because

he's God? I like that answer, but is that

what the scripture reveals? It seems as though he

accomplished these things under the anointing and power of the

Holy Spirit. As a man anointed by the Holy

Spirit. This is good news for you and I,

who can be also anointed by the Holy Spirit and anointed with

power. What's the context there?

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit

and with power? He went about doing good and

healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with

him. Good news for Christians, we can

be anointed by the Holy Spirit and with power and we can go

about doing good and healing all who are pressed by the devil for

God will be with us. Now we should clarify, Jesus had

the spirit without measure. So there's a lot of truths here,

but I just wanted to point them out to you.

I didn't want you thinking like I thought like many children may

think and like many Christians may think, like how'd Jesus do

stuff? He's Jesus, Jesus.

Jesus. I'm just Jesus.

So I just pop things off. Well, He did all those things

because He is God, but also He did those things.

He chose to function in a particular way.

You got anything else from pastor?

I do Philippians 2 verses 6 and seven, referring to Jesus, who

Philippians 2:6

though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with

God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the

form of a servant being born in the likeness of men.

So I submit to you, church, not to fight with you or anybody

else, but I just submit to you that Jesus emptied Himself.

I didn't put that one in there that was there.

What did He empty himself of? That's the question that must be

answered. Well, I think He emptied himself

of His glory. Certainly he did.

We know that because the glory was just made manifest on the

mountain, right? So we saw it in The Who Is this

a glimpse of like you hadn't seen nothing yet?

Wait, wait till we get to fully the other side.

But yeah, you get to see a manifestation of His glory.

So we certainly know He emptied Himself of His glory.

He had to have emptied Himself of some degree of wisdom.

Because he grew in wisdom, he had to have empty himself of

some degree of power because he grew in power.

Now, it's certainly not my jurisdiction to say how all the

details of it worked, but I just wanted to point that out to you.

Jesus knew what Peter said. Why do you think he knew what he

said, Pastor? I think he knew what he said

because I think the Holy Spirit reverted, revealed it to him by

a word of knowledge. I think the gifts of the Spirit

operated in Jesus's ministry and I think they can operate in US.

And I think that's the good news that Jesus said.

Let me show you how human beings submitted to the Father can live

and function in the earth. Pastor, are you saying we can do

the works that Jesus did? I'll do you one better and I'll

quote Jesus himself. He said you'll do the works that

he did and greater works because He went to the Father.

You know, if that verse was not in the Bible and some preacher

said that we would burn him alive, we would burn him alive.

How dare you, How dare you talk about the Master?

Hey homie, the Master said it. So I'm not being prideful, nor

am I being humble. I'm just being like a dude who

knows how to read and go on. Lord, increase my faith.

Help me to see you. Trust you.

Lord, if I can operate in the anointing and under the power of

the Holy Spirit in a greater measure and a greater degree,

help me to do so. This encourages us back to

Peter. Peter comes in, Jesus speaks

first knowing what happened because the Father revealed it

to him by the Holy Spirit. And it's also just, can I just

say it's just super cool the way he does it.

I picture Jesus just reclined back.

Peter walks in, he's all nervous now.

He's like, oh, great, I just told these guys we're paying

this tax. I don't have the money for this

tax. And he walks in, got a stupid

look on his face, and he's going, Peter, tell me something.

And he just walks him right through it, walks him right

through it. What is he telling?

The kings don't tax their own sons.

Any king who's ruling over a Kingdom, he collects taxes as he

should. The Lord says that's fine to do.

He commands US. Jesus commands us to pay taxes.

We should do these things. But kings don't tax their own

children in a Kingdom. They tax everybody else.

Because to tax your own children is to tax yourself.

Where did your children get their income from you?

God doesn't tax his own son either.

Jesus should be receiving wealth.

Jesus should receiving all glory.

Jesus should be receiving all credit, not paying any.

But Jesus in His Majesty, in his goodness, in his power, in his

grace, He's gentle with Peter. Keep going in verse 27, he says,

however, so he said, I don't owe anything to anybody.

Everybody owes everything to me. In fact, Jesus owes no debt.

He owes nothing. Everything is owed to him, but

look at the kindness, look at the wisdom, look at the grace of

Jesus. However.

So what is he doing? He's about to make an exception.

He doesn't owe anything, but Jesus is not going to let his

freedom be a stumbling block for others, nor should you or I.

You are free in Christ for many things, but out of your love for

others, you will limit your freedoms rather than demand your

freedoms. It's the American thing to do to

demand my rights. Now when it comes to our

government, our overreaching government, we absolutely should

defer to the rights that God has given these these truths that we

hold to be self-evident. But in the context of my

brothers and sisters in the world around me, the people who

I'm seeking to bless and see come into the harvest, I don't

demand my freedoms. Instead, I'm willing to lay them

down because that would be better than causing them to

stumble or causing them to be hurt or air in any way.

The scripture has a lot to say about this in the New in the New

Testament, because there was so much confusion around dietary

laws after Jesus declares all foods clean.

Some people said, oh, I'm a Jew. But now I've I've all this

Messiah. So now I'm, I'm a part of the

way, but then they're saying so, but I have to eat this and I

have to eat that. And then others are saying you

don't have to. All foods are clean now and I

shouldn't eat this and I shouldn't drink that.

So there's a lot of confusion. So Paul wrote about, he said,

hey, let me clarify. You're free.

You're free to eat and you're free to drink.

However, out of your love and care for one another, if one's

faith is weaker or they have misunderstandings and they're

not there yet, you don't demand to go.

Hey, this bacon sure is delicious for you in Christ.

While the Jewish brothers are wounded and confused by it

going, I don't know what to make of this.

I'm hurt. Hey, man, we're having pork

chops tonight. Come on over.

We're Christians. We do what we want.

And the Jews are like, I'm want to be with them, but I'm.

I thought I'm honoring the Lord. Paul's going.

Set aside your pork chops for the sake of your brother.

You can have chicken. It'll be OK.

Well, I like pork chops, but don't demand your pork chop

because it harms your brother's conscience.

Won't your love for him be greater than your appetite?

Can't you find a way to move forward in grace and wisdom?

I've got freedoms. Jesus paid for him, and he also

wants more. Remember the greatest command to

love God and to love your neighbor.

So care for his tender conscience.

Well, he's ignorant. What?

Fair enough, it's true. So maybe you can get him there

over time instead of demanding your way right now.

Exactly. That's the plan.

Hey, we're going to smoke this butt in Jesus name.

So you're free to have a glass of wine with your spaghetti, but

you would rather abstain if you would.

What's going on here? But you would rather abstain if

it would tempt or trouble your brother or sister in any way.

We owe love to one another and that takes priority over all of

our freedoms. Another thing we see, another

thing we learn here in this text is that there's a time and a

place to make a point. There's a time and a place to

make a stand. Is Jesus one who is always just

going to respect and do what's socially acceptable and pleasing

to everybody? No.

So Jesus isn't exactly Mr. I'm worried about social customs and

cultural expectations. He's not exactly pinned down by

these things. But Jesus, in his infinite

wisdom, there's multiple facets. There's multiple reasons why

Jesus might have said we're going to pay this today.

We're going to, we're going to pay this thing today.

So another thing we learned is that there's a time and a place

to make a point. There's a time and a place to

make a stand. But Jesus, who I'll remind you,

grew in wisdom, which is fascinating, right?

He determined that in this moment, no one had to be

corrected, no one had to be rebuked.

Jesus, the Almighty God isn't offended.

And in this instance, he chooses not to offend others, even

though they are subjects in his Kingdom.

He would have every right to say, not only am I not paying

that tax, give me everything in the tax box.

Just bring me the treasure. It's mine.

Everything's mine. The whole world's mine.

Your mind, that's my breath that I'm letting you have right now.

Everything. I've formed you, I built you, I

hold the whole universe together by my power.

But Jesus says, you know what, to not offend anyone.

I'll move forward with gentleness.

We should pursue the wisdom of Jesus and in the same way not

seek to offend if it's not necessary.

Our message is offensive all by itself.

The message of the gospel is offensive.

The message of the gospel says you're doomed, and you're filthy

and you're a Wretch and you're going to hell.

PS You deserve it, and forever won't be enough to satisfy the

payment that you owe. But God is rich in mercy.

So our message has good news, but it implies bad news to start

with. And there's a lot of offensive

things in the Scripture. Why?

Because the world is broken and upside down, and the Lord's

Kingdom is right side up. So we say all kinds of things

that the world hates right now, and the church always is going

to be dealing with some lie with some false doctrine.

We talk often as a church about how we prioritize and we fight

where the fight is. So there are certain things that

the body of Christ needs to stand up for all the time

because they're just good, wholesome Christian doctrine.

And then there are certain things where we look around our

society and go, OK, this needs to be a priority right here,

right now. So there are certain things that

are offensive all by themselves, but we don't need to add

offensive personalities on top of it.

We don't need to add again our demands on top of what the Lord

is already required of everyone. We don't need to become

Pharisees and put a standard on top of something where the Lord

didn't put one. Obey the Lord's standard.

And beyond that, remember we have a lot of freedom.

So you got to learn along with me, especially if you're

somebody like me who tends towards, well, I'm going to tell

the truth, anybody else, just like I'm going to tell the

truth. I'm not going to be a coward.

That's a great fear of mine. So the great fear of being a

coward often pushes me to an extreme where that I'm repenting

and then I'm going, God help me to grow in wisdom.

And I've been praying and seeking the Lord for years and

continue to grow and continue to air like Peter and I continue to

say, God help me. I want to be a truth teller.

I don't want to be a coward, but I want to be wise and I want to

be compassionate. I want to be the I want to be

like Jesus, which is the right thing at the right time, the fit

word for the for the moment, what's the right thing in the

right moment? And we need the Holy Spirit for

this. So if you're like me in any of

that, then you can tell the truth.

But we can tell the truth with wisdom because it's possible to

be correct in the truth, but lacking in wisdom.

You can be. I was correct in everything I

said. That's true.

But it wasn't wise. It wasn't gracious.

It wasn't seasoned with salt. I gave them the food they

needed, but you could have seasoned it.

There was a way that you could have seasoned it and you didn't.

So this is where we want to grow.

This is where we look at the Master and see like, man, So as

much as I've pointed out to you that he goes nuclear on people

and it's only going to get worse as we get closer to the cross,

we don't miss these moments. So there's Christians who again,

they, they were tempted toward the ditches.

I just think Jesus pet barnyard animals and told everybody he

loved him and that was his whole ministry.

And then we have over here the people who think all he did was

flip over the tables of the money changers and crack whips

on people, which is it? He's the right thing at the

right time. We never did that, but but he's

the right thing at the right time.

He's gracious. But the Jesus you're going to

get depends on the way you respond to Jesus.

You come in humility. I can guarantee you what you're

going to get. You're going to get mercy.

You come with pride. God opposes the proud.

That's a dangerous place to be. Jesus is so gracious, He's so

generous, He's so long-suffering.

He's not even upset, of course, about paying a tax to his

father's house. The principal, the thing, he's

not going, what's this tax going to explain it to me.

Let's get Doge in there. I want to make sure all the

temple tax is being spent properly.

Jesus is saying this is my father's house.

It's not like he has some issue with it.

So again, even if he's free, which I think is an interesting

argument as well for for the tithe.

So the tithe tithing is 10% of our income that we bring is

worship to the Lord. I believe it is a part of our

New Testament obedience to the Lord.

But there are some Christians who disagree and they say, no,

the tithe comes from the Old Testament law, which is

incorrect because the tithe predates the Old Testament law.

The tithe comes before the Old Testament law because Abraham

gave tithe to Melchizedek, Matt's favorite Bible guy.

So the tithe is a long standing thing and it's a great starting

point. Do I have to tie?

Do I not have to tie? Do I not have to time you get to

tithe? Why are you being so weird about

having a tithe? It's like, do I have to feed my

kids? Like thought you would want to.

I thought you'd want to do I have to like take care of my

wife? Like it's a strange question,

bro. Do we have to tithe?

Like what? I just, I just think at the

tithe is a starting point like, well, of course I'm going to

tithe. Not to mention all the

protections it brings for me to continue to keep my heart free,

the love of money and always just go.

That's a great starting point. And then go, well, there's can

be offerings on top of that. Well, I'm free from it.

If you believe that, I disagree. But if you believe that, here's

a lesson from Jesus. I'm free from, I'm free from I'm

going to, I'm going to give because what, what happens?

What happens when someone gives? Are they reduced?

Are they made less when we give, when we give with a generous

heart as a cheerful giver, are we reduced somehow or are we

multiplied somehow? Did we sow seed or do we eat our

seed? No, just the opposite.

When, when I hold on to things, that's what I'm just devouring

my seed instead of planting it. So I don't want to make, I don't

want to make the point about tithing to be the benefit that

you receive, although there is much and I have much testimony

to go along with that. But again, it's the it's the

bigness of the heart of Jesus. He's not upset about paying the

tax to his father's house. He's wise enough to know also

that. Think about what would happen if

this famous rabbi refuses to pay the temple tax.

Do you think word could get out? You think the tax collectors for

the temple tax could have told some other people?

At what conclusions do you think people might have come, Rabbi,

Jesus doesn't pay the temple tax.

He says that we're free from it. Like that's not what happened

there. So Jesus again in his wisdom

going, I see it all, I recognize it all, I love my Father.

Peter, you put your foot in your mouth and I can cover for you

too. It's all right.

I'm going to solve this. I'm going to take care of this.

I like I said, I think he's also being kind to Peter and backing

what Peter has said. Does your master pay?

Does your master not pay the tax?

He does. And Jesus going, I'm paying it

today then. Thanks.

Peter. Is this the Pope?

Is this the perfect Pope? No, no, I think it's funny.

It's like we right after, you know, remember right after the

the so-called Pope verse, which of course is not the Pope verse.

You know, Peter, just like foot in mouth, foot in mouth, foot in

mouth. That's not the rock that Jesus

built on the rock he's built on is the revelation of who he is

and the confession of who he is. So he's being kind of Peter back

in what Peter said instead of making him go back and correct

his answer. But Peter loves and is faithful

to his master, like we said earlier, and now his master is

also faithful to him. So what's Jesus's instruction to

Peter to clean up Peter's mess, to pay the tax that Jesus

doesn't owe? Verse 27, however, not to give

offense to them, go to the sea, cast a hook and take the first

fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth, you'll find a

shekel. Take that and give them.

Give it to them for me and for yourself.

So your translations may have different kinds of money listed.

So there's Roman money and there's Jewish money, coin, but

this would be enough. This would take care of of both

of these guys because they owe half a shekel for each of them.

So the full shekel is going to cover both of them.

Go to the sea and cast a hook. There's a right way to interpret

this verse, and there's a wrong way to interpret this verse.

The wrong way to interpret this verse would be to say when you

owe taxes, just ignore it and go fishing.

That would be that. I owe a lot in taxes and they

just go fishing. That's what the Bible says like

that is you do have a verse for that.

I'll give you that. But is that what the Scripture

teaches? I don't think so.

I think what's going on here instead, when you owe taxes,

here's what we should do. Do your job like always, but

trust the Lord to put his super on top of your natural.

Do you have debt? Do you have something that

you're facing? Do you have something

overwhelming? What am I supposed to do?

He sent a fisherman to go do what?

To do something he knew, man, I, I owe a lot of money or I need

to provide all these things. Do what you know, do what the

Lord has given and put into your hands.

If you're welding, if you're cutting the metal, if you're, if

you're building spreadsheets, if you're building landscapes, if

you're plumbing pipe, if you're raising babies, do whatever it

is that you know and that the Lord has given to your hands.

And then say, Lord, this is what I've got.

I need you to put your super on top of my natural.

I need you to do something here. Of course the Lord will speak to

you. Of course the Lord will give you

specific directions, just like you did for Peter.

He didn't say Peter go fishing. He gave him specific

instruction. Hey, make sure you open this

fish's mouth. Look, in there, there's going to

be something that's going to take care of everything.

The Lord sent Peter to do his regular work.

Peter the fisherman being told to go fish.

He would tell me go coach husbands, he would tell you go

do your work, but trust. Don't just do your work and

think that you're the answer. Go do your work and trust.

He'll tell Mark. Go sell houses.

I don't know what, but do it in trust.

Don't rely on. Don't think it's you.

Don't think it's you. And that's the temptation, isn't

it? The arm of flesh, man, I got to

do better. I got to think because there is

this. There is this dichotomy where

the Lord wants faithfulness and diligence and at the same time,

where is the rest and where is the enough?

It's part of our Sabbath. I could work seven days a week.

Yeah, everybody could. We don't stop working because

the work was finished. We stopped working as an act of

faith. We stopped working as an act of

trust and reliance on Lord and go, the work's not done, but

there is a God and I'm not him. This is me expecting the Lord to

bring Lord you, you put your super on top of my natural.

He does that with the tithe. He does that with our week.

He does that with our margin. He does that with our worship.

Lord, I'm bringing what I got and there's a limit and I'm

going to deliberately cap myself.

I'm not working seven days. Why?

Because you're lazy? No.

No. Because my God has commanded it.

And I'm going to prioritize worship and rest and fellowship.

But because my God is my shepherd, I have a shepherd.

Praise God. That is good news.

You have a shepherd. He makes you lie down in green

pastures. He makes you lie down.

I don't want it. Lay down.

This grass is really nice. I know.

Take a nap. Besides, still waters.

Isn't that beautiful? He's bringing you beauty.

He sets a table for you in the presence of your enemies.

What's on it? Your cup overflows.

There's abundance. That means there's enough for

generosity. Whether or not you see it,

whether or not you believe it, this is how your shepherd takes

care of you. He is gentle with you, just like

he's gentle with Peter, just like he's gentle with me.

Hey, go do what you know to do, but do it in faith.

Do it with expectation. Don't keep it in the natural.

Invite, welcome and host the Lord, and He will make it

supernatural. The Lord will provide for you.

Unless the Lord builds the house anyway.

You're working for nothing, so you could stay out all night on

your own fishing and not catch a thing, remember?

But when the Lord gets in your work, you cast your network, He

tells you to, and you have more fish than you've ever seen.

I've been working this job for months and nothing's happening.

Nothing's happening. Nothing's happening.

The disciples have been there. We fished all night.

We're professional fishermen. We know this lake.

This doesn't make any sense. We don't know what we're doing

wrong. Cast your net on the other side.

Now that's a ridiculous command. That's ridiculous.

Will you obey? I worked that neighborhood.

I tried that thing. I did this kind of advertising.

But if the Holy Spirit gives direction, jump to obey.

Jump to obey because it's not natural and you don't want

natural. You want His super on top of

your natural. When the Lord cast tells you to

cast the net, obey. When the Lord tells you to drop

a line like he did with Peter, go drop the line.

We're closing. This passage isn't just about

what happened that day. There's more to it.

What's going on here? This passage is about the

atonement that Jesus provides. So I'm going to read to you from

Exodus chapter 30, the passage that describes this tax in this

Exodus 30 · chapter mention

shekel that was due from each man, each one who is numbered in

the census. I'm reading from Exodus 30,

Exodus 30:13

verse 13 if you are curious. Each one who is numbered in the

census shall give this half a shekel according to the shekel

of the sanctuary, half a shekel as an offering to the Lord

everyone who is numbered in the census.

So notice there half a shekel was like sanctuary upkeep.

The other half is is worship. Well, I thought they were both

worship. Well, everything can be worship,

but specifically the Lord named it.

This is for the sanctuary. This one is an offering.

So you could even maybe perhaps, although it's half and half, the

math isn't the same. There's the tithe, and then

there's what's the offering on top of that.

Everyone who is numbered in the census from 20 years old and

upward shall give the Lord's offering.

The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less

than half the shekel. When you give the Lord's

offering to make atonement for your lives, you shall take the

atonement money from the people of Israel and shall give it to

the service of the 10 of meeting, that it may bring the

people of Israel to remembrance before the Lord so as to make

atonement for your lives. I might have read that wrong and

the half shekel point, I think it's a half shekel total.

I got my shekels and my drachmas mixed up.

But the point is either then maybe it accomplished both.

It's the half shekel for the sanctuary and the half shekels

also. The offering under the Lord

might have just been the language around it.

But the point is, what is it? What does this do?

You shall take the atonement money from the people of Israel

atonement and you shall give it for the service of the tin of

meeting that it may bring the people of Israel to remembrance

before the Lord. So why do I why do they bring

that offering to bring them to remembrance to the Lord and so

as to make atonement for your lives.

So the shekel was again another type of Christ.

The shekel itself is another remembrance of I need atonement.

What is atonement? Atonement is to means to purge,

to cover, to reconcile. This is what Peter this is what

Peter experienced from Jesus that day and thank God, this is

what you and I experienced as well.

Notice what happened here. They they call this, we call

this moment the the Christology where I always tell you there

Jesus is always there. Plainly he's here.

But the cross and redemption What happened that day?

Jesus paid a tax that he did not owe for a man who could not pay.

That's where they say that'll preach Jesus paid a tax for a

man. Jesus paid a tax that he did not

owe for a man who could not pay. You are that man.

I am that man. Jesus paid the tax that he

didn't know. He didn't owe it, but he still

went to the cross because he loved you.

You couldn't pay it. Nothing I could do.

What do we do? We remind ourselves of this

gospel all the time. Every week we come back to the

gospel. The whole Bible points to it.

And we're getting closer to it as we March through Matthew, as

we come to the conclusion, to the moment on the cross.

It's the moment that changed everything.

It's the moment that saved us. It's the moment that gave us new

life. I can get distracted with my

day-to-day and go, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Thank you for the cross. And now let's move on, man.

I can never move on from the cross.

I got to come back to the cross. I got to come back to the empty

tomb. That is the whole message.

My gratitude is all built upon what Jesus did.

Hey, Jesus. I kind of put my foot in my

mouth how with my whole life, my whole life, I got I got myself

into debt. I just went and said, yeah, I'll

pay the tax. I'm I was born in debt.

And Jesus says you got the money for it.

I go, no, I was hoping you could help with that.

And he goes, I will. I don't owe it.

I want to clarify, I don't owe anything to anybody, but I'll

pay him. He's got the solution because He

is the solution. The wisdom of God, the Son of

man, whose Kingdom will never end.

Heavenly Father, we love you so much and we thank you so much

for loving us. Jesus, you're so perfect in all

of your ways. We pray You will continue to

open our eyes that we would see more of Your greatness, that we

would see more of your glory, that we would see more of Your

majesty and more of Your wisdom as we read Your word and all of

your perfection. I pray you will continue to

bring Your lessons to our lives, into our minds, enlighten our

hearts so that it would impact us and change our Monday morning

or we don't want to just gain information, although we do

rejoice and all of your scriptures draw us to worship or

protect us from just being becoming puffed up with

knowledge. Draw us to deeper obedience.

I pray that in our work this week that we would make room,

that you would draw us to pray and seek your super on top of

our natural. We're just fishermen.

We're doing our best, but we make mistakes.

Help us to follow you more closely.

Help us to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus. Bring direction.

I pray for those who need direction in their work.

I pray that you would bring the revelation and the light.

The thing, it might not make any sense on paper, it might not

look good on the pros and cons, but it's the thing that you

would direct that we are absolutely willing to look like

fools for you. Whatever you would say, we

submit to Him. Fill us with wisdom, God, or

make us a people who is seasoned with salt that we would have the

right word at the right time, that we would not offend

unnecessarily, that we would be truth tellers who are wise and

who are compassionate. Help us to be more like Jesus,

the right thing at the right time, full of grace and truth.

Jesus, we love you, the innocent one, the one who owes no debt,

who paid for mine. We thank you again for your

grace and your goodness. We love you in Jesus name.

Now the Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face Shinedown upon you and be gracious to you.

The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you great

peace in Jesus name, Amen.