Treasuring Scripture Like Jesus

Lord God, we come together to praise you, to lift

our voices. We want you to hear the praises of

your people. And we want your people to hear your word.

So we ask that you would do your work by

your word in your people through your spirit. What you

have said is that Your word is sharper than any

two-edged sword.

It's living and active.

It can divide between soul and spirit and thoughts and

in the intentions of the heart, Lord. We ask that

you would wield that scalpel in us. Would you feed us,

encourage us, nourish us, confront us by your spirit through

your word this morning. So as we open up the scriptures,

would you open up.

Our own hearts? Sanctify us with your truth. Your word

is truth. In Jesus' name. Amen. Let's grab our Bibles.

Let's grab our Bibles and turn to Matthew 22. Thank you, bro.

Matthew chapter 22. If you don't have a Bible with you,

Matthew 22 · chapter mention

just raise your hand. We're passing those out. If you

need a Bible or a bulletin or a pen or

anything like that, we can get you what you need.

Just raise your hand and Keep it up, catch the

eye of one of our ushers. While we're turning to

Matthew 22, let me give you a few reminders. One

is guys, or let me do this, men.

Yeah, you've been there, you know.

But if you haven't, let me just tell you, today

is the last day to register for man camp.

It's the last day. If you have procrastination tendencies, I'm

not going to.

Say who else does, but today's the day. So I

signed up for Man Camp. And also this, I want

to invite everybody who's in here to Vision Night on

October the 7th.

It's Wednesday. It's Wednesday. Yes, it's exciting.

This Wednesday, sorry, not this Wednesday, next Wednesday, October the 7th,

from 6 to 7.30, Vision Night is going to be

a time where we're going to be talking about kind

of what is this inflection point for Crossway Bible Church?

What's the corner that God is taking us on as

a church?

What's involved?

And I want you to just kind of get the

whole big picture together. We're All of us are going

to gather in one gathering from 6 to 7.30, and.

It's important for you to be here. So I want

to invite you to come to that.

Also this, hey, please fill out a connection card. We

ask everybody to do that every week, whether you're a

guest or a member, whatever the case may be, that

you're here by name is an important pastoral tool for us.

That's really helpful.

So just scan the QR code. You get the whole

worship service to do that. Leave a prayer request. We've

got a whole team of men and women praying for

those prayer requests. You might even get an email from

them to encourage you as they pray for you.

So please do that as well.

Let me read our sermon text for us.

Matthew 22. We're going to be.

In verses 23 through 33, as well as a few

other scriptures this morning.

But we're going to start here.

As I read this, I would encourage you to listen

for how Jesus handles Scripture. How Jesus handles Scripture. Does

he undercut it? Does he minimize it? Does he treasure it?

Let's take a look.

Same day, Sadducees came to him who say that there

is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, saying, Teacher,

Moses said, if a man dies having no children, his

brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for

his brother. Now there were seven brothers among us. The

first married and died, having no offspring, left his wife

to his brother. So to the second and the third,

down to the seventh. After them, the woman died. So

in the resurrection.

Therefore of the seven, whose wife will she be? For

they all had her. Jesus answered them, you are wrong

because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God.

For in the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given

in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as

for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read

what was said to you by God? I am the

God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and and

the God of Jacob. He is not God of the dead,

but of the living. When the crowd heard it, they

were astonished at his teaching. This is the word of

the Lord. Passage that I just read from this section

in Matthew is about the unassailable wisdom of Christ. In fact,

the whole section in Matthew is about the unassailable wisdom

of Christ.

The account just prior to this one is about Christ's

unassailable wisdom about this life. And then this one is

about Christ's unassailable wisdom about the next life. And then

he goes on to demonstrate his unassailable wisdom about the

scriptures and his unassailable wisdom about his own identity. And

this morning, I want to address sort of an aspect

of that wisdom. I'm coming at this at an angle.

Because the aspect that I want to address about the

unassailable wisdom of Christ is his relationship to the scriptures.

How he regards scripture. And here's why.

When I came to faith, I had grown up in

a Christian home. I was solidly taught the word of God.

I knew who Jesus is, what he'd done. I rejected

all of it. But somehow, through the mysterious workings of God,

and you know, The gospel is the same for everyone,

but the process isn't always the same for everyone. Through

the mysterious providence of God, in.

My late 20s, I.

Came to believe what I had always been taught. And

that was frankly obvious to everyone. I don't know how

I missed it.

I was a sinner.

I was a sinner who, in need of the mercy

of God. And I knew where I could find it.

I knew that I could go to Christ and receive mercy.

And so I did. I placed my faith in Jesus.

Christ and his work on the cross on my behalf,

dying for my sin. And lo and behold, to the

surprise of myself and everyone else, I became a Jesus person.

But when I became a Jesus person, I still remained

pretty skeptical about the Bible. And frankly, I remained pretty

skeptical about the church. So I was a Jesus person.

But I didn't know if I was a Bible person.

And I was pretty sure I wasn't a church person.

And God changed that.

In fact, if you were here two weeks ago, you

probably heard in our message, right?

How to not be a pile of rocks.

That God has in fact used our completely renovated understanding

of the people of God and his work through his

church to completely change my life.

If there's if there's one accelerant to my spiritual growth,

it's a renovated understanding of the people of God. Praise

the Lord.

But not just a renovated understanding of the people of God,

also a renovated understanding of the word of God. You see,

I had been a Christian for a few years. At

this point, having come to faith and I hadn't grown

very much because I really wasn't sure how to take

this book. And I came to realize that I was

going to have to settle that.

I was going to have to.

Figure out what I believed about this and how I

was going to.

Regard, interact with.

Scripture.

So here's what I did. And I, I, to this day,

I couldn't tell you why.

I don't know if someone suggested this to me, if

I read about this, just came to me. But what

I did was I got an orange highlighter and I

took a Bible and And I read through the four

gospels and I highlighted.

Everywhere that Jesus quoted scripture or talked about scripture. And

when I got to the end, I.

Had a lot of orange. And I came to realize

it was staring me in the face. If I really

was a Jesus person, and I was a Bible person too,

because Jesus treasured Scripture.

It was just plain. And this morning, you may be

here in a similar.

Situation as I was, just a little unsure about your

convictions about Scripture, its authorities, Understanding it.

It's a place in your life. And I would do

everything I could this morning to persuade you to treasure

Scripture like Jesus treasures Scripture. Maybe you're here this morning

and your convictions theoretically are already that, but they don't

really have legs. Like, theoretically... I believe that this is

the word of God, but practically treasuring it like gold,

like much pure gold. It's just not how I interact.

I would do everything this morning to persuade you to

be transformed by a renovated practical valuing of scripture.

And this morning you also may be here and you're like,

I'm not even.

A Jesus person. I'm like a Jesus adjacent person. Because

I'm here. And for you, I would do anything to

persuade you.

To regard what scripture is presents to you in the

Son of God. And by treasuring what is presented there

and being compelled and pierced by what is there about Jesus,

they become both a Jesus person and a Bible person.

All at once. So, how should we regard Scripture? Here's

my argument.

Treasure it like Jesus. And I wanna look at three

ways in which we do that. Three ways to treasure

scripture like Jesus treasures scripture. The first one is trust it.

Trust it like Jesus trusts it. The second one is

know it. Know it like Jesus knows it. And the

third one is read it like Jesus reads it, which

is to say interpret it, right?

How do we do a reading of scripture?

So we'll look at those three ways how to trust, know,

read scripture like Jesus.

Let's look at the first one, trust.

Trusting scripture like Jesus was essentially the result that I

came away with from my orange highlighter.

Exercise.

I came to see plainly in the pages of the Gospels.

And if we consider our example here again, like Matthew 22,

23 through 33, this is just an example text.

Of the way Christ regards Scripture. He doesn't say, for example,

when the Sadducees come to him and say, hey, you know,

Moses taught this. He doesn't say, oh yeah, Deuteronomy 25. No.

Don't take that too seriously. He doesn't say that at all.

In fact, what he says about their understanding is, you're

wrong because you don't understand the scriptures.

In fact, he goes on to prove his point then.

By quoting another scripture from Exodus 3 and reasoning from it.

And in fact, when he does then quote Exodus 3,

notice what he says.

He says in verse 31, He says, have you not read.

What was said to you by God? I am the

God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the

God of Jacob. And then he reasons from that scripture.

He is not the God of the dead, but of

the living.

You are quite wrong. He goes on in the next passage.

To explain the spiritual priorities of the scriptures. And in

the following passage after that, Christ argues from the precise

words of the Old Testament and refers to them as

in David's psalm, he says, and David.

In the spirit, and then he quotes the psalm. Do

you see How Christ regards the word?

I mean, other examples of John chapter 10. Again, he's

John 10 · chapter mention

arguing with these guys. He does a lot of arguing

with these guys. And as he defends his identity as

the son of God, he quotes Psalm 82. And he says,

before he quotes it, he's like, and the scripture, which

cannot be broken. Or he goes on in Matthew chapter 15,

Matthew 15 · chapter mention

as he says, why do you break the commandment of

God for the sake of your tradition, right? So Jesus

is directly equating what is written in the scriptural text.

When he says, and for God commanded, honor your father

and mother. There it is in the scriptural text. And

he's saying, this is equated to the direct spoken authority

of God. Jesus is just backing up what scripture continues

to say about itself.

Every word of God proves true. It's like gold. Much

pure gold.

And if you are like I was, the objection that

comes to your mind is, Well, that's a fine thing

for scripture to say about itself. That every word of

God proves true. I mean, if you've read much of

the scriptures, you would notice what it claims for itself

continually and throughout as the final authority, as truth. And

you think, well, that's kind of circular.

Yes, it is kind of circular. That threw me off

for a long, long time.

Because with that comment, it felt like I could just

wave my hand and say, well, that's a circular argument.

I could ignore everything that's in there.

And I did. But do you realize.

That any claim, any claim to final authority must and

has to be circular in some sense? There is no

way to claim a final authority and appeal to another authority.

To prove it out. This is true no.

Matter the final authority that you seize upon. And there

are three main ones. One being scripture, which does claim

final authority for itself. The other authority that you might

look to is the authority of.

An influential person. Right?

Right? Some leader or guru who says, hey, trust me because.

I'm trustworthy. You should listen to what I have to

say because I know what I'm talking about.

Or, if not scripture and not some influential person, then third,

the authority most likely to be latched onto in Western

secular society is my own thinking and intuitions. My own

thinking and intuition is the final authority in my life.

I think.

That sounds right to me. I'm going to go with

my gut because it feels right. It's always, in some sense,

circular when you're making a claim of final authority. There's

no way around it. Now, that's not to say that

these things can't influence each other. I mean, here I

am hoping.

To influence you.

But influence you in so much as I'm pointing to

the final authority of God's word. I would love to

help and lead you, but the final authority is here.

Of course, you will need to use your own thinking

and intuition as you interpret scripture, as you read it,

as you come to understand it, as you try to

piece it together. Of course, these things are related to

each other. The question is, what's the final authority? Will

my thinking and my intuition be submitted to God's word

or will I be try to make God's word submit

to my thinking and my intuition. And the best way

to do that, the best way to make God's word

submit to my thinking and my intuition is just to

spend very little time with it. Because then this authority

can run this life. But if we look at the

example of Christ, we see the way in which he

treasured scripture. He trusted scripture. He reasoned from the scripture.

He argued from the scripture. He was gently and sometimes

less than gently interrogating everyone around them with this question

in the air, what from the scriptures makes you think

that's right? It's one of the most helpful questions in

my life. As I gently interrogate myself with what from

the scriptures, Josh, makes you think that's right? What from

the scriptures makes you think that's important? What from the

scriptures makes you think that's true? It's a helpful question

in small group too. all right, here we are talking

about what's the manner of our life in regards to

these things. And anybody can throw anything out, but they

should know the question's coming. All right, what from scripture

makes you think that's right? Trust the scriptures. They will

never mislead you. properly interpreted what it says God says.

They are like gold, much pure gold. Now, if we're

going to trust the scriptures, if we're going to trust

the scriptures, we can say that we trust them as

our authority, but if we don't actually know them, then

something's off. So that leads us to the next point

regarding scripture and how Christ treasures the scripture.

He doesn't just trust them. He also knows them.

And what I want to advocate for us this morning

is that we would know the scriptures like Christ.

Knows the scriptures. And you're like, well, that's not fair.

He wrote them. What I'm saying.

Is that we should move in the direction of the

example of Christ. That if we are going to treasure

the scriptures and we're going to trust the scriptures, then

we have to study and learn and know the scriptures.

Or else they really won't guide our life.

We really won't be able to answer.

The question at any turn, what from the scriptures makes

me think this is true or right or good or important.

So why don't we Why don't we seek to know them?

I think in many ways, there are a handful of reasons.

One of them is this. Deep down, we don't think

it's worth it.

Deep down, we don't think they are more precious than gold,

than much pure gold.

The valuing isn't there. The appetite isn't there either.

Because deep down, possibly in our pride, we think we

know better than God what we really need. I feel

like I need this kind of encouragement. I feel like

I need this kind of instruction. I feel like I

need this kind of insight. And so off we go

to the internet or the self-help section or wherever or

some other person because we feel like we know better

what it is we need when God says, what you

need is what I've given you in my word. It

truly is more precious than gold, than much pure gold.

It is sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.

You just need to keep eating. The nourishment is there.

Sometimes we think it's not worth it. We think we

know better. Sometimes we think, here's another reason, we think

it's too hard. We think it's too hard. But Psalm

19 says that God's word makes wise the simple. You

can take a simple-minded guy, you can take a simple-minded

community of people, and God's word will make us wise.

I'm not trying to insult you. Just encourage you. It's

not too hard. Just wade in. Get your feet wet.

Come up to your ankles, maybe. Maybe your waist. You

can wade into the Word. You think, well, it's just

too hard because, you know, here's why it's too hard.

There's so many interpretations.

It all just seems to be a matter of interpretation.

You can learn to evaluate interpretations.

It is not too hard to take someone's interpretation of scripture,

a weak interpretation and lay it next to a strong

interpretation and evaluate how it is that that is a

weaker interpretation than this one as you compare it to

other scripture. Like you can learn to do that. It's

not too hard. But I think we also sometimes don't

learn God's word because we.

Think It's too easy. It's too easy. All I really

need from God's word, I don't need to understand it.

I just need to get a shot of it. I

just need to get my daily bread slip. Read a

half a verse.

For the kind of encouragement that I'm fishing for that

day and then I'm off for the rest of my day.

I'm surviving on that.

Like drinking a shot glass full of orange juice in

the morning for my nourishment for the day and then

again the next day and then again the next day

and you get to the end of the week and

you're like, why am I a wreck? Because you're meant

to eat more than that. You're meant to know more

than that. It's not too hard to wade in But

it is not so easy that just a shot glass

of biblical inspiration will actually nourish you when you're meant

to understand what God's word is communicating in its context,

with its connections. You can wade in no matter how

simple you are, but it will take a lifetime of submarining.

As you grow, learn to meditate on his word day

and night. We think, I think sometimes we think we

know the Bible. Kids, they graduate from Awana and they

think they know the Bible or Bible B or something

like that. And you're just like, okay, well, what's the

context of the verse that you're quoting? What is it

even teaching?

I don't know, but chapter and verse. Keep going. Here's

my challenge to you.

If you would take seriously this prayer and then put

into place the kinds of things that it would take,

pray that you would understand Scripture ten times better than

you do now in three or five years. Three to

five years that you would understand Scripture 10 times better

than you do now.

That would take a change. That would take a worthwhile change. Ladies,

it's not too late to join the course study this afternoon,

Growing in God's Word. We're gonna learn about.

Reading scripture in context, in historical context, in literary context,

in understanding the connections between scriptures. Let me encourage you

to read your Bible with a literal magnifying glass.

You know why? A literal magnifying glass. Does your copy

of God's word have these teeny tiny numbers and letters

down here in the corners? Those are the cross references.

You have to have a magnifying glass in order to

read them if you're 53. And what that's doing is

showing you how the passage that you're reading now is

in conversation with dozens of other passages all over these

66 books. You start understanding how these authors are talking

to the other biblical authors about the same types of things,

and you understand the way in which they're conversing about

those things, it will blow your mind. Talking about 10X-ing

your understanding of scripture, just use the magnifying glass. And

then hunt it down. We think it's not worth it sometimes.

We think it's too hard. We think it's too easy.

And sometimes we think, here's what's mine. Here's what's mine.

We think it might make our relationship with Jesus academic.

We think it might make our relationship with Jesus academic.

That's where I was at. Like, man, I don't want to.

get all dried out reading the Bible. I want to

abide in Christ. It's just me and Jesus. Coffee.

But do you know what Jesus has to say about abiding?

If you abide in me and my words abide in you.

The fact of the matter is when you come to

God's word, and let it search you while you're searching it,

your relationship with God doesn't become academic, it becomes real.

It reminds me of the illustration that Tim Keller used

regarding this sort of thing.

You know the movie, Stepford Wives? You know the movie,

Stepford Wives? I'm working with about 30% here, I think.

Here's the premise.

There's a group of husbands in Stepford, Connecticut, and they're

irritated by the relationship with their wives, and so they

come up with a way to lobotomize their wives and

insert a computer chip so that all they do is

agree with their husbands. This service is wiser than the

ameners in the first service. Naturally, you can understand how

the premise of this movie continues. These men now have cooperation.

They have compliance. They have zero relationship. They have a

marriage with no relationship. And when you have a relationship

with God in which he doesn't push back at all

through his word, it's just you and him and the

way that you can take his truth and suppress it

and convince yourself of this or that. You have a compliant, cooperative,

Stepford God, not a real relationship. To know his word

will not make your relationship with him academic. It will

make it real. It will deepen it. It will change you. Lastly, this,

regarding faith. knowing scripture. Sometimes I think we don't learn, study,

know scripture like Jesus and follow his example because we're

afraid we might miss the point.

This is legit. We're afraid we might miss the point.

It may be, it may be that we see examples

of guys like these Sadducees.

Or those Pharisees.

Who did study God's word but missed the point and

have Christ say to us, you don't know the scriptures

or the power of God. Or for him to say

to us, as he said to the Pharisees in John

chapter five, you search the scriptures because you think that

in them you have eternal life and it is they

that bear witness about me yet you refuse to come

to me.

That you may have life.

That would be a tragedy That we, any one of us, you,

might study God's word and.

Miss the God of the word.

So much so that that really deserves its own point

in this message. Not just trusting scripture like Jesus, not

just knowing scripture like Jesus, but reading scripture like Jesus,

which is to say interpreting scripture like as Christ taught

us to. You see, what Jesus says to the Sadducees here,

you're like, you don't know the scriptures. It's similar to

what Christ says to the Pharisees in John 5.

You don't know how to read them. You don't know

what they're pointing to.

You don't know who they're pointing to, because I'm standing

right in front of you.

And it is so dangerous.

To come to the scriptures and think that.

We are reading a book about righteous living.

And miss the fact that we're reading a book about

the one who died for your unrighteous living and calls

you to a righteousness in him This is how Jesus

taught us to.

Read the word.

You can look at this in when we flip over

to Luke chapter 24.

Luke 24 · chapter mention

Let's flip over to Luke chapter 24.

Luke 24 · chapter mention

We've looked at this example of Christ's regard for the scriptures.

Let's look at his instruction about how to read it.

Luke 24, the The account starts in verse 13, Luke 24, 13.

Here's what's happening. Christ has been crucified. He's risen. People

don't know.

And he goes and he meets some of his followers

on the road to Emmaus. He disguises himself from them.

And he asks, what's going on? And they're like, you've

got to be the only one who doesn't know. There

was a man who was powerful in the scriptures and

able to do signs and wonders. And we hope that

he was the one to redeem Israel. But obviously not

because he died.

Jesus says, starting in verse 25. Oh, foolish ones.

And slow of heart to believe all that the prophets

have spoken? Was it not necessary that the Christ should

suffer these things and enter into his glory?

This is what the prophets have spoken.

And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted

to them all the scriptures, in all the scriptures, the

things concerning himself. And then later on in verse 17, 32,

they said, didn't our hearts burn in us while he,

what did he say? Opened up the scriptures to us.

And then he goes on and he meets with his disciples,

his apostles. And he says in verse 44, then he

said to them, these are my words that I spoke with.

You while I was still with you.

That everything written about me in the law of Moses

and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. It's

about me, you guys. It's about me and my work

and my sufferings and my glory. This isn't just a

book about how to live a righteous life.

It is, but you can't do it without me. And

he opened, what does it say?

He opened their minds to, to understand the scriptures. Thus

it is written that Christ should suffer and on the

third day rise from the dead. And that repentance for

the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name

to all the nations, which is how we got the

New Testament. It's repentance from sins and forgiveness in his name.

proclaimed to all the nations like the nation that we're

sitting in right now. You're holding the proclamation. What a

tragedy to think, to study, to And come away with

a veil still over our face thinking that this is

merely a book about taking righteous steps when it's mostly

a book about the righteous one who died for.

Our unrighteous steps.

And so as we read Scripture like Jesus reads Scripture,

when we interpret, when we understand like Jesus understands, we

learn about the sacrifices of the Old Testament and the

Passover and Exodus, and then we come to treasure the

Lamb of God who died for the sins of the world.

We learn about God's plan to bless all the nations

through the seed of Abraham, and we come to treasure

the seed of Abraham who is.

The Son of God.

We learn about the plan of God through the tabernacle

and the temple and the new heavens and the new

earth to dwell with his people and we come to

treasure Emmanuel, God with us. Treasuring scripture like Jesus is

actually the key to treasuring Jesus.

He's called us to be the opposite. of these Sadducees

in Matthew 22. And to.

Know the scriptures and the power of God because we

know the Son of God. And to know the Son

of God because we know the scriptures and the power

of God. We treasure scripture because we treasure Jesus. And

we treasure scripture the way Jesus does.

Trusting it, knowing it, understanding it. And we treasure Scripture

as we do that. We treasure Jesus the way Scripture does.

As Lord, as Lamb, as King, as Shepherd. May it

be so, church. May it be so. Would you stand

and pray? Lord, we ask for that. Lord, we ask

for that in this community. We ask for that as individuals.

Lord, even right now, there are many who join me

in this prayer that we would know your word 10

times better five years from now than we do today.

Not as an academic exercise, not as a matter of pride, certainly,

but that we would treasure who you are and what

you've done more than we ever have because it is

conveyed to us in the pages of your word. Lord,

we ask that as we search scripture, you would turn

the flashlight around And search us.

Change us. Grow us. Put our eyes on Jesus. In

his name. Amen. Let's sing.

I sought the Lord. And he answered me. And delivered me.

From every fear. Those who look on him.

That are radiant.

They'll never be ashamed. They'll never be ashamed. And this

poor man cried.

And the Lord heard me.

And save me from.

My enemies.

The Son of God surround His saints. He will deliver them.

He will deliver them. Magnify it.

Magnify the Lord with me.

Come exalt his name together glorify the Lord.

With me.

Come exalt his name for That the Lord is good Oh,

blessed is he Who hides in him Oh, fear the

Lord Oh, all your sins He'll give you everything.

Sing it out.

Come exalt His name together.

Glorify His name.

Come exalt His name together.

Let us bless the Lord.

Every day and night, never ending grace.

May our incense rise.

Let us bless the Lord every.

Day and night.

May our empty praise.

May our incense rise.

Let us bless the Lord.

Glorify the Lord with me Come exalt His name together

Glorify the Lord with me.

Come exalt His name.

I saw the Lord and He answered.

I saw the Lord and He answered. I saw the

Lord and He answered. I saw the Lord and He answered.

I saw the Lord and He answered.

That the Lord is good. Oh, blessed is he who

hides in him. Oh, fear the Lord.

Oh, all who sing.

He'll give you everything. He'll give you everything.

Amen.