Good morning, everyone.
For those of you who don't know, my name is Andrew Rimm.
! I am one of the pastoral interns here at Trinity Cambridge Church.
! If you guys could please turn with me now to Matthew chapter 12.
Matthew chapter 12, verse 38 to 50.
Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.
Lord, more than ever, in our time and culture, in this generation, we need you.
We need your word to be permeating throughout our lives.
We need your word to be dictating how we can live a faithful life to you
in the face of all the darkness and unbelief around us, Lord.
So we ask you, God, by the power of your Holy Spirit, won't you illuminate this passage to us, Lord?
Give us eyes to see, ears to hear, hearts to know.
That even amongst this generation of evil that we live in, you are still good.
You are greater than all, and you are worthy to be praised.
Won't you be glorified?
Won't you be magnified in the preaching of your word?
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Would you please stand with me for the reading?
That does remind me, if any of you don't have a Bible and would like one,
please raise your hand and we'll try to get a copy for you, for your keeping.
Matthew chapter 12, verse 38 to 50.
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying,
Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.
But he answered them,
An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign,
but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish,
so will the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it,
for they repented at the preaching of Jonah.
And behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it,
for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon.
And behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person,
it passes through waterless places seeking rest but finds none.
And then it says,
I will return to my house from which I came.
And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order.
Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits, more evil than itself,
and they enter and dwell there,
and the last state of that person is worse than the first.
So also will it be with this evil generation.
While he was still speaking to the people,
behold, his mother and his brother stood outside asking to speak to him.
But he replied to the man who told him,
Who is my mother?
And who are my brothers?
And stretching out his hand toward his disciples,
he said,
Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven
is my brother and sister and mother.
This is God's holy and authoritative word.
You may be seated.
Amen.
Growing up, my brothers and I,
my younger brothers and I,
were all classically trained in music.
I played the cello.
My younger brother plays the violin.
And his twin brother plays the viola.
And throughout my childhood,
my mom would schedule practice time during the day.
And we would go into our respective rooms
and for two hours practice our instruments.
My mom would be around the house taking care of chores.
And every once in a while,
like a prison guard,
she would open our doors
and check to make sure that we were practicing.
But my brothers and I had a little secret.
While we were practicing,
we would have our phones or our iPods
on our music stands.
And we would watch cartoons
and YouTube videos while we were practicing
or when we were taking a break.
My brothers and I had another little secret.
We had unspoken understanding,
a code,
that we would send signs to one another,
some sort of signal,
if we sensed that our mom
was coming to check in on us.
We confessed this on my wedding day to my parents.
And my mom was flabbergasted.
Sometimes it would be a quick text.
Yo, mom.
Quickly, put away the phone.
Start playing through my Suzuki book.
Other times,
a sharp cough
from the next room over.
Away goes my phone
and I wear my Measure 24 box suite.
You know?
And other times,
I'd hear the hurried clatter of bows.
And my brothers would quickly start playing.
And that would be a clear indication.
Mom's right around the corner.
And so my last resort move,
in that hurriedness,
I'd pretend to tune my cello
with a face of clear concentration
of such a difficult task
of tuning a cello.
But over time,
I started to get cocky.
I started to get overconfident
in my own ability.
I felt like I didn't need
my brother's signs and signals anymore.
And like a Jedi using the Force,
I could sense my mom's presence
and know when to start back up
with my cello practice.
But then one day,
my mom went out of the house
to go buy some groceries
while we were supposed to be
in practice time.
The house was dead silent
because all three boys
were lounging in their respective rooms
on their phones.
An hour passed,
and suddenly,
I got a message on my phone
from one of my brothers.
Yo,
I think I saw mom's car with Pullen.
I glanced out the window.
I thought I saw a flash of white,
but maybe that was just my imagination.
Then another text popped up.
I heard the garage door opening.
I listen,
and I hear a low rumbling.
Eh,
must be the laundry machine.
In my mind,
I thought,
there had better be
a legit sign,
a legitimate sign
that mom was home
that I can see
or tangibly hear.
Else,
I'm not believing my brothers.
I got this.
I can get away with this.
Suddenly,
I hear the clattering
of my brother's bows,
and they start playing
their instruments again.
And in my hubris,
I thought to myself,
they're just being paranoid.
Suddenly,
my mom opens the door,
and she finds her eldest son
lounging on the bed
with a cello on the ground
and an iPhone in hand,
busted.
In the end,
my pride and my unbelief
made me overlook
the obvious
and abundant signs
that my mom
was indeed home,
and I paid dearly.
What I share with you
here, church,
is a much sillier anecdote.
But many of you guys
probably have stories
of your own,
of similar circumstances
of unbelief.
Whether it's you
or someone that you know
who has felt skepticism,
even when all the signs
seem to point
to the truth of the matter.
But in our stubbornness,
we refuse to admit the truth,
and even when the evidence
and signs stack up against us,
we continue to be in denial.
In our passage this morning,
we encounter
a more serious case
of unbelief,
even when the signs
seem to overwhelmingly
point to the truth.
And that is the Pharisees
and their contemporaries'
denial of Jesus
as the promised Messiah
and the Son of God.
Their measure of unbelief
leads Jesus to call them
an evil and adulterous generation,
and one that continues
to become worse and worse
in their spiritual condition.
Church,
the evil generation,
that streak of unbelief
that Jesus calls out
in our passage,
is prevalent in our age now.
More than ever,
we're surrounded by a culture
of skepticism,
skepticism of the gospel,
and the culture demands
signs from the Christian faith.
Prove,
prove it to us
that Jesus is real,
that he's the way,
the truth,
and the life,
as you guys say,
that he really did die
and rise from the grave.
But this generation,
they often demand
to see these signs
not because they want
to believe,
but because they want
to confirm
their unbelief.
I was right along,
all along,
it's not true.
As Christians
and as bearers
of the gospel,
church,
we need to be aware
of this evil generation
of unbelief,
and we need to rely
on the power
of the Holy Spirit
to guide us
in not falling into
that temptation
of unbelief
and reminding ourselves
that there is a generation
that is far better
than this evil one,
and that's the generation
that Jesus calls
his family.
And so this is my main point
this morning.
As brothers and sisters
of Christ,
be set apart
from this evil generation
of unbelief.
I'll touch on three points
this morning.
First,
the sign for an evil generation.
Second,
the worsened state
of the evil generation.
And third,
the family of Jesus.
Throughout the gospel
of Matthew,
Matthew's been recording
various miracles
Jesus performed
since he began
this ministry
in chapter 4.
Already,
he's healed diseases
and afflictions
and cast out demons
several times
within his ministry.
Even within our chapter,
chapter 12,
Jesus has healed
a man with a withered hand
and healed
a demon-oppressed man
of his blindness
and muteness
with great authority,
causing many to wonder,
is this the Messiah,
the Son of God?
But the scribes
and Pharisees,
out of selfish ambition
and jealousy,
continued to scorn Jesus
and criticize his ministry.
They accused Jesus
of operating in his miracles
of healing and exorcism
by the power of Beelzebul,
the prince of demons,
as we saw in our previous passage.
Jesus proceeded
to rebuke them
of blaspheming
the Holy Spirit
in their words,
showing the wickedness
and unbelief
in their hearts.
And this sets the stage
for where we are now.
Verse 38,
the Pharisees replied
to Jesus by telling him,
Teacher,
we wish to see
a sign from you.
The Pharisees wanted
to see another sign
from Jesus
as if everything
that happened before,
all those healings,
all those exorcisms,
meant nothing to them.
Fine, teacher,
if you say
that you're not
of Beelzebul
and you say
that you are of God,
show us a sign.
Our own people
have performed exorcisms.
Our own people
have been able
to heal people
in the past.
Show us something different.
Prove your worth.
Their skepticism
was as much
as if we were to
ambush a magician
after the magic show,
demanding him
to show us real magic
now that all the setups,
now that all the lights,
now that all the smoke
has died away.
But Jesus isn't having that.
He wasn't going
to pull off a miracle
like some cheap party trick
in front of the Pharisees
at their whim
in their bidding.
And his response
to them
is sharp and clear.
Verse 39,
an evil and adulterous
generation
seeks for a sign,
but no sign
will be given to it
except the sign
of the prophet Jonah.
Let's focus
on the first part
of Jesus' reply.
An evil and adulterous
generation
seeks for a sign.
It's interesting
who Jesus addresses
as a whole.
He could have just said,
you evil and adulterous
scribes and Pharisees
seek a sign.
But instead,
he expands the scope
of his rebuke
to the whole generation.
An evil and adulterous
generation.
Jesus calls this generation
evil because they seek
a sign out of malicious intent.
They don't ask for a sign
so that they can believe
in the Messiah,
but rather to destroy him.
Jesus calls this generation
adulterous because
they're seeking a sign
shows their faithlessness
in the Lord God.
That they desire
to put their trust
in what they see
with their own eyes
and not in what
the Lord had promised.
It's spiritual adultery.
As an aside,
what Jesus is not saying here
is that it's evil
or adulterous
to seek for a sign
from the Lord.
All throughout the Bible,
God gave signs to people
like Moses and Gideon
to stir them in their faith
amidst doubt and fear.
In our own context,
we pray to God
to show us a sign,
whether that's through
answering our prayer requests,
placing supernatural peace
in our hearts
about a decision to be made,
or comfort amidst
our sorrows
or supernatural gifts
of the Spirit
such as healing or prophecy.
What sets us,
Moses and Gideon,
apart from these Pharisees
and scribes
is that we ask for God
to show his power
to stir up our faith
rather than to fuel
our biased unbelief
to ultimately scorn
and reject Jesus
like the Pharisees did.
That is what this generation
that Jesus condemns
chooses to do.
This isn't Jesus'
first condemnation
of this generation,
nor will it be his last
throughout the Gospel of Matthew.
In Matthew chapter 11,
Jesus calls out
this generation
as being like children
who play the flute
and sing a dirge,
forcing their playmates
to play along
by their rules
of their games.
The Pharisees in Matthew 11
were rebuked
for being like these children,
moving the goalposts
of righteousness
to fit their own agendas
and desires.
They called John the Baptist
demonized for fasting,
and yet they called Jesus
a glutton and drunkard
for eating and drinking
out of their unbelief
and hypocrisy.
Later in Matthew chapter 23,
Jesus again condemns
the Pharisees and scribes
with seven woes
for their hypocrisy
and unbelief,
for imposing laws
which they themselves
were not following,
for neglecting weightier matters
of the law
like mercy and justice,
and instead focusing
on external cleanliness
when deep inside
they were stained
with idolatry of the self
and lawlessness.
All these things,
Jesus pronounces,
will incur great judgment
upon this generation.
Matthew 23, 36.
Jesus is directly addressing
the Pharisees
who confront him,
but he's also saying
that there are more
beyond this group
of conspirators
who participate
in the same wrongdoings
of unbelief
and unfaithfulness.
The Pharisees and scribes
are simply
the chief representatives
of a whole generation.
An evil and adulterous generation
that refuses to believe
in Jesus
as the promised Messiah.
And spoiler alert,
Jesus is very worried
about this whole generation
is fulfilled.
Because of this generation's
unbelief and wickedness,
Jesus was turned over
to Pontius Pilate.
He was demanded
to be crucified
by the Jewish leaders
and the crowds of people.
This whole generation
rejected Jesus
by scorning his words,
spurning his miracles,
and crucifying him
and putting him to death.
And so Jesus condemns
this generation
and declares
no sign
will be given
to this evil generation
except
the sign
of the prophet Jonah.
What then
is the sign
of the prophet Jonah?
Let's look at
Jesus' explanation
of the sign.
Verse 40.
For just as Jonah
was three days
and three nights
in the belly
of the great fish,
so will the Son of Man
be three days
and three nights
in the heart
of the earth.
The prophet Jonah
in the Old Testament
was appointed by God
to warn the city
of Nineveh
that judgment
was coming upon them
from their Lord
for their wickedness.
But Jonah instead
fled from God's presence.
God caused
a great storm
to torment Jonah's ship
and appointed
a great fish
to swallow up Jonah
for three days
and three nights
before God caused
a fish
to spit Jonah
onto dry land.
Jonah then
heeded God's command
and proclaimed
God's judgment
to the Ninevites
and these Gentile
Ninevites believed
and feared the Lord
and repented
of their wickedness
and they were saved.
The sign of Jonah
that Jesus refers to
is a symbol
of Jesus'
own death
and resurrection.
Like Jonah's
deliverance
from the fish's belly
after three days
and three nights,
Jesus will be
crucified
and buried
for three days
and three nights
before doing
something no one else,
no other Jewish
healer or exorcist
could have done.
He resurrected
from death
to life.
And this
would be
that unmistakable sign
given to the generation
that proves
Jesus' authority
as the Son of God
and the promised Messiah.
We have a very smart
congregation here
and you may have heard
three days
and three nights
and you may be
doing the math
and there may be
a little bit
of confusion now.
If we hold the view
that Jesus died
on what we call
Good Friday,
a full three days
and three nights,
72 hours,
would not get us
to Resurrection Sunday,
more of a Resurrection Monday.
Or going the other way,
if Jesus resurrected
on what we call
Resurrection Sunday,
a full three days
and three nights
prior would bring us
to a good Thursday.
What we see here
is that Jesus
is using three days
and three nights
as an example
of a Hebraic idiom,
a figure of speech,
where a day
and a night
can refer to just
part of a full day
and not necessarily
a full 24-hour
time frame.
In the Resurrection account,
what we call
Good Friday,
Holy Saturday,
and Resurrection Sunday
would count as
three days
and three nights,
even if this time frame
does not span
that full 72 hours.
It's similar to
the way we say things like,
I was at work all day,
without actually meaning
that we were in the office
for a full 24-hour period.
And so Jesus uses
this Hebraic idiom,
this figure of speech,
as a typological representation.
Just as Jonah
was in the belly
of the fish
for three days
and three nights
before being spit up,
so was Jesus
in the realm of the dead
for three days
and three nights
before He resurrected
to life.
Jesus' resurrection,
then,
would be that sign
to the Pharisees
and to the rest
of the generation
that Jesus is indeed
the promised Messiah,
the Son of David,
and the Savior
of the world
to both Jews
and Gentiles.
And yet,
even though Jesus
has been proclaiming
of God's kingdom to come
and how this generation
needs to repent
and prepare
for the kingdom at hand,
the generation continues
to not believe.
And it's for this reason
Jesus tells the Pharisees,
the men of Nineveh
will rise up
at the judgment
with this generation
and condemn it,
for they repented
at the preaching of Jonah
and behold,
something greater
than Jonah is here.
If the Ninevites
were able to receive
the warnings
of the prophet Jonah
and reach the conclusion
that they had to repent
to the Lord,
the Pharisees
and their contemporaries
should be even more
cognizant of their sin
and even more repentant
toward the warnings
of Jesus,
who is far greater
than Jonah.
Jonah's proclamation
was toward the salvation
of one city,
the one city of Nineveh,
and yet Jesus' proclamation
was toward the salvation
of the whole world.
But as we've seen
over and over in Matthew,
the Pharisees
in this generation
instead continue
to be hardened
in their hearts
and continue
in their unbelief,
rejecting Jesus
as that promised Messiah.
Their lack of faith
and unwillingness
to receive Jesus
is shameful
compared to the response
of repentance
from the Ninevites.
Nineveh,
a city of Gentiles,
repented to
a mere mortal man's preaching.
While the Pharisees
and Jews,
God's own covenant people,
scoffed at the preaching
of the Son of God,
the one who is far greater
than the prophet Jonah.
Jesus presents his rebuke
in another example
in verse 42,
the queen of the south,
the queen of the kingdom
of Sheba
from 1 Kings chapter 10.
She was Gentile royalty,
and yet when she heard
of the great God-given wisdom
that King Solomon possessed,
she came from the ends
of the earth
to hear the wisdom
of Solomon.
The kingdom of Sheba
is believed
to have been located
in what is today
between Yemen
and Ethiopia.
The queen of the south,
the queen of Sheba,
would have had to travel
up to 1,500 miles
to arrive at Jerusalem
to test Solomon
with hard questions,
and after questioning Solomon,
the queen left,
marveling at his display
of godly wisdom,
as 1 Kings 10 says.
If the queen of Sheba
was willing to go
such great lengths,
literally great lengths,
over 1,000 miles,
to consult the God-given
wisdom of Solomon,
the Pharisees
and their contemporaries
should all be
all the more willing
to heed the teachings
and admonishments
of Jesus,
who is greater than Solomon,
because he is the very wisdom
of God,
as proclaimed in
1 Corinthians 1,21,4.
And yet again,
the Pharisees
in this generation
are shameful
and worthy
to be condemned
in their response
to Jesus' teachings
and his wisdom.
Church,
Jesus' warnings
of this evil generation
is not just limited
to the Pharisees
of Jesus' time.
Here and now,
this evil
and adulterous generation
is still in our midst.
We're surrounded
by many people
who do not believe
in the proclamation
and wisdom of Jesus
and many who are hostile
towards the gospel
and seek to quelch
and destroy those
who do believe in it,
just as the Pharisees
plotted
for Jesus' destruction.
We look at our time
in culture today.
With the rise of secularism
and post-modern thought,
more and more people
see the Christian faith
as oppressive
and offensive
to their current
cultural sensibilities
and they hurl insults
and vitriol
at those
who still adhere
to the teachings
of God's word.
All around the world,
persecution of Christians
continues to run rampant.
I think of Nigeria
where in this past year,
thousands of Christians
have been harassed,
kidnapped,
or martyred
by extremist terrorist groups.
And these persecutions
have ramped up
all the more
in recent weeks.
This past month in China,
many pastors and leaders
of the largest house church
in China
were arrested
for illegally gathering
for the sake
of the gospel,
including dear friends
of some of my fellow
seminary students.
As Ed had mentioned
last week,
anti-conversion laws
and Gar-Wafi,
return home campaigns
in India
forcibly put Christians
in societal disadvantages.
Authorities don't bat an eye
when churches
and church members
are beaten,
ransacked,
and taken advantage of.
But even the smallest
of gestures
from a Christian
will land them
in prison.
Jesus promised
to the Pharisees
that this evil generation
that seeks for a sign
will not receive anything
except the sign
of Jonah.
We live amongst
this generation today.
And this generation
has received
that sign of Jonah
in the death
and resurrection
of Jesus.
Jesus has given
this generation
that sign
proving his authority
as the son of God.
But people today,
like the Pharisees,
still don't believe.
If anything,
the evil generation
is in a worse state
than ever before
because they've received
the good news
of the gospel,
of Jesus' death
and resurrection,
and yet they continue
in their unbelief
and faithlessness.
Church,
we're in the midst
of this evil generation
all around us,
but this generation
still desperately needs
to hear the gospel
and have the Holy Spirit
soften their hardened hearts
to believe.
Jesus then returns
to the issue
that triggered
his rebuke
towards the Pharisees,
his exorcism
of the demon-possessed man
earlier in Matthew 12.
Jesus now presents
a parable
of an unclean spirit,
a demon
that has gone
out of a person.
He says in verses
43 to 45
that the unclean spirit
wanders around
through waterless places,
places that are barren
and lifeless,
but is unable
to find a resting place
before it concludes,
I'll return to my house
from which I came.
The evil spirit
is referring
to the person
it had once demonized
as my house.
I'll just go back
to my house,
the person
who I used to torment.
Pastor Charles Spurgeon
remarks about this
in his commentary.
His audacity,
Satan's audacity
is amazing.
Evidently,
he considers
that he has
the freehold
of man's nature
and can go
and come at his pleasure
if Satan
quits a man
of his own will,
he is sure to return
just when it suits
his purpose.
Only the divine force
which ejects him
can secure
his non-return.
When a house
is built,
when a house
is established,
it requires
an occupant.
A house
needs the Lord.
And in the case
of the human being,
that Lord
and occupant
is either
the Holy Spirit
or Satan.
There is no
neutral ground,
no empty house
that will remain
empty for long.
It's only by
the indwelling
of the Holy Spirit
in a person
that an evil spirit
that is cast out
cannot enter
to demonize
the person again.
And here lies
the problem
in Jesus' parable.
The demon
returns to the person
that it had once
resided in
and it finds
the house
empty,
swept,
and put
in order.
The house
or the person
is made empty
because the evil
spirit was cast out.
It's been cleaned up
while the unclean
spirit has been away.
Maybe the person
has reformed
their ways
from sin,
tidied their life
back in order,
but the house
remains
empty.
The house
has evicted
the evil spirit,
but it has not
been replaced
with the presence
of the Holy Spirit.
And as a result,
the evil spirit
is able to return
into this house
and not only
on its own,
but with seven
other spirits
more evil
than itself.
It invites
its friends
also to enter
so that they
may have
an even stronger
hold on their
victim,
so that it's
even more
difficult to cast
out these demons
from the person.
Without the Holy
Spirit residing
in the person
to prevent
re-entry of evil,
they're in a
worse state
than the first.
Through this
parable,
Jesus is referring
to the Pharisees
who claimed
to be able
to cast out
demons.
However,
these Pharisees
were merely
removing the
evil spirits
from the person
by legalistic
ritual,
and not by
the name
of Jesus
and the power
of the Holy
Spirit.
They were
leaving people
emptied and
cleansed
of the evil
spirit,
but only
for a little
while.
After a bit,
because the
Holy Spirit
is not the
present active
force dwelling
in and working
in the person's
life,
the person
will be filled
with an even
more evil
force and be
in an even
worse state.
The Pharisees'
work then
is futile,
and it's
perhaps even
more detrimental
to this person.
But Jesus'
parable is
also pointing
to an even
deeper heart
issue beneath
the matters
of exorcism,
and that is
the Pharisees
and this
generation's
persistent and
progressively
worsening state
of spiritual
unbelief.
This is why
Jesus applies
this parable
to them by
saying in
verse 45,
so also
will it be
with this
evil generation.
The Pharisees
and their
contemporaries
had witnessed
and heard
Jesus'
proclamation
of the
gospel.
They heard
Jesus pronounce
himself as
the fulfillment
of the law
and the prophets,
the same law
that bound
the Pharisees
and Jews
to sin and
death.
They saw
and witnessed
Jesus perform
miracles of
healing and
exorcism with
great authority.
They witnessed
the power of
the Holy Spirit
through Jesus,
and they were
invited by Jesus
to come to
him and to
believe in
the gospel
that grants
them true
rest.
And yet,
this evil
generation
persisted in
unbelief.
Though they
presented the
gospel by
Jesus,
the Pharisees
refused to
accept Jesus
as their
Messiah and
blasphemed
the Holy Spirit
by their
malicious
rejection of
Jesus as
the Son of
God.
Their rejection
of Jesus
means that
they reject
the Holy Spirit
from entering
into their
own hearts,
giving way
to Satan
to enter
and dwell
inside them.
And it's
for this
reason this
evil generation
will be in
a worse
state than
ever before,
because they
heard the
gospel and
had a chance
to receive
Jesus into
their hearts,
but they
actively chose
not to.
Instead,
letting the
sinister spirits
of unbelief
and self-righteousness
creep into and
take root into
their hearts,
hearts,
and they
will become
more and
more spiritually
corrupt.
Brothers and
sisters,
we need to
be filled
with the
Holy Spirit
in our lives.
We need the
Holy Spirit
in our lives
to be truly
set apart
from the
evil generation.
Satan is
sinister
in tricking us
into thinking
we can work
out our own
salvation apart
from the Holy
Spirit.
And Satan
is going to
use any
measure of
unbelief,
any measure
of self-righteousness,
any sense
of self-sufficiency
to take root
into our hearts
to influence us
away from
God's grace.
Look at the
Pharisees.
They thought
that they were
righteous by
pursuing
cleanliness
and moralism
and following
the law
scrupulously.
However,
when the
gospel was
presented before
them in the
person of
Jesus Christ,
they did
not receive
him out
of their
external
self-righteousness
and their
hearts were
hardened.
Their
cleansing
rituals,
their external
piety,
and their
strivings to
follow God's
commandments
by their
own efforts
was merely
their playing
the role
of a
housekeeper,
sweeping
and organizing
that empty
room in their
hearts,
unwittingly
preparing them
for the return
of the evil
spirits.
It's only
by confessing
our great
need for
Jesus,
our Lord
and Savior
and receiving
the Holy
Spirit in
our hearts
that we
can be
truly saved
from the
bondage of
sin and
sanctified toward
God rather
than being a
part of this
evil generation
that persists
in their sin
and their
unbelief.
for those of
you this
morning who
feel the
burden of
sin,
who feel
the temptation
of our
fleshly
desires,
take heart
and repent
to Jesus
confessing
that you
need not
your own
power but
the power
of the
Holy Spirit
in your
hearts.
It's only
by the
power of
the Holy
Spirit that
we can
overcome
sin.
I think
of Ed's
sermon last
week,
of that
terrifying
point of
no return
that denying
and blaspheming
the work of
the Holy
Spirit can
culminate
to.
Just as
the final
stage of
frostbite
brings
irreparable
damage to
the body,
the final
stage of
unbelief is
the irreversible
spiritual death
that will lead
to eternal
separation from
God.
God,
this is no
trifling matter
but for those
of you who
feel that
burden,
for those
of you who
feel those
pangs of
regret and
remorse over
your sins and
your unbelief,
if you feel
the burden and
hopelessness of
not being able
to save
yourself by
your own
strength,
this means
that you're
not too
late.
You're not
at that final
point of
frostbite.
You're not
at that final
point of
unbelief.
there's still
warmth remaining
in your soul
and there's
still an
opportunity for
your heart to
receive the
Holy Spirit and
be set apart
from this evil
generation by
declaring your
allegiance and
need for
Jesus Christ.
As the
apostle Paul
writes in
Romans chapter
8,
you,
however,
are not in
the flesh but
in the spirit.
If in fact the
spirit of God
dwells in you,
anyone who
does not have
the spirit of
Christ does
not belong to
him.
But if Christ
is in you,
although the
body is dead
because of
sin,
the spirit is
life because of
righteousness.
If the spirit
of him who
raised Jesus
from the dead
dwells in you,
he who raised
Christ Jesus
from the dead
will also give
life to your
mortal bodies
through the
spirit,
his spirit,
who dwells
in you.
Praise God
that the Holy
Spirit is the
seal and guarantee
of our salvation
and that we
don't have to
work out our
salvation on
our own strength,
but we can
receive such
grace through
faith in our
Lord Jesus
Christ.
So who
then is
set apart
from this
evil generation?
Jesus gives
us the answer
in a very
surprising way.
We see in
verse 46,
in the midst
of Jesus
teaching and
rebuking these
Pharisees.
His mother
and his
brothers stood
outside asking
to speak to
him.
While we
don't know
exactly in
the text what
they wanted to
talk to him
about, we
have several
accounts in
the Gospel of
John and the
Gospel of
Mark that
attest to
Jesus' biological
brothers and
family not
believing in
him and his
ministry.
We can imagine
in this case
too, they
wanted to speak
to Jesus either
out of concern
from him or
wanting to
pull him away
from any
confrontation or
conflict with
the Pharisees.
Jesus, you're
causing a scene.
Jesus, this is
too much.
Get out of
this place.
But Jesus
replies to
their pleas,
who is my
mother and
who are my
brothers?
Now, I
don't know
about you
guys, but
if my mother
and my
brothers wanted
to talk to
me,
and if I
were to
say to
them,
who is
my mom?
Who are
my brothers?
I'd be in
some pretty
big trouble.
But Jesus
asked this
question, and
then he
stretches out
his hand
toward his
disciples and
declares in
verse 50,
here are my
mother and
my brothers.
For whoever
does the will
of my Father
in heaven is
my brother
sister and
mother.
Jesus isn't
saying all
this to
outright reject
his biological
family.
He's not
doing all
this to
coldly diss
his mother
and brothers.
However, what
he is saying
is that his
biological tie to
his family is
secondary to
his relationship
with those who
claim allegiance
to God.
God.
Those who
follow Jesus
and believe in
his word and
ministry are
closer to
Jesus than
are his
actual mother
and brothers.
Jesus' claim
here is
reminiscent of
his earlier
statement in
Matthew chapter
10, verse
34 to 38,
where he says,
whoever loves
father or
mother more
than me is
not worthy
of me.
and whoever
loves son or
daughter more
than me is
not worthy
of me.
Whoever does
not take his
cross and
follow me is
not worthy
of me.
If family
relationships or
any earthly
relationship,
father,
mother,
child,
sibling,
friend,
lover,
boss,
whoever,
if any of
these relationships
takes priority
over loving
and treasuring
God first,
then Jesus
says that they
are not
worthy of
him.
There is
no compromise
of this.
There's no
secondary or
tertiary option.
Either we
give Jesus
our undivided
allegiance and
priority in
our hearts
and in our
lives,
or we are
not for
him.
And giving
him only
half-hearted,
partial
attention.
But amidst
this hard
truth,
there's also
something so
loving and
gracious in
what Jesus
says.
Won't you
read verse
50 with me
again?
For
whoever,
whoever does
the will of
my Father in
heaven is my
brother and
sister and
mother.
Jesus could
have placed
all sorts of
criteria for
those who can
be called
worthy to be
called his
family.
He could
have said,
only the Jews
can be called
my family because
we share the
same bloodline.
He could have
looked at the
Pharisees and
said, thank you
for your piety
and your zeal.
You are who I
call family.
or he could
have placed a
whole sequence
of requirements.
Whoever has
kept all of the
commandments,
whoever has
gave at least
10% of their
earnings to the
temple, has
pilgrimed to
Jerusalem for
all the Jewish
feasts and
festivals, whoever
has recited the
Torah from memory
is worthy to be
called my family.
He could have
placed all of
these requirements
and criteria to
have family.
But he doesn't
do that.
Instead, he
stretches his
hand out to
his disciples and
calls out, these
are my brothers.
Whoever does
the will of my
father is my
family.
Look at Jesus'
disciples.
We have
fishermen.
We have a
tax collector.
We have a
political radical
zealot who
made the
ragtag group
of men that
followed Jesus.
The 12
stooges, if I
may.
Some of
them were
illiterate.
Some were
stereotyped as
dishonest and
greedy.
Some were
revolutionaries
trying to
overthrow the
Roman government.
It's the
strangest
combination of
folks congregated
together.
The Pharisees
would have seen
this group of
guys and thought
to themselves,
what the heck
is this?
How does
Jesus call
these guys
his brothers?
Jesus calls
these men
these whoever's,
his brothers,
his family,
because they
were willing
to leave
everything they
knew and
had.
Their
occupations,
their family,
the comforts of
their homes,
to follow
Jesus and
to do the
will of the
Father in
heaven.
these men
were able to
be set apart
from the evil
generation
because they
believed,
because they
followed Jesus.
Church,
Jesus'
declaration of
his family
is also an
invitation.
It's an
invitation for
us today.
Whoever
does the
will of my
Father,
it's my
brother and
sister and
mother,
they are
my family.
This
invitation
still remains
for us
today.
Whoever is
willing to
sacrifice their
worldly lives,
their idols,
their self-righteousness
to follow Jesus
will be set
aside from
the evil
generation of
unbelief and
instead be part
of the family
of Jesus,
the chosen
generation.
And that's
whoever
does the
will of
the Father
in heaven.
And Jesus
is only
able to
declare that
by
accomplishing
the prophesied
sign of
Jonah,
his death
and
resurrection.
The
gospel of
John,
chapter 1,
testifies the
true light
which gives
light to
everyone was
coming into
the world.
God,
he was in
the world
and the
world was
made through
him,
yet the
world did
not know
him.
He came to
his own
and his own
people did
not receive
him.
But to all
who did
receive him,
who believed
in his name,
he gave the
right to
become
children of
God,
who are born
not of blood,
nor of the
will of the
flesh,
nor of the
will of man,
but of
God.
brothers and
sisters,
we too were
once part of
the evil
generation.
We too at
one point did
not believe in
Jesus as our
Lord and Savior
and thought that
we could save
ourselves,
our own
self-righteousness,
our self-sufficiency,
our own
strivings.
And in our
unbelief,
we idolized the
world and
idolized ourselves
and in our
sin,
we with the
Pharisees and
the Jews and
the rest of the
world crucified
Jesus on that
cross.
But Jesus,
the Son of
God,
the fulfillment
of the law
and prophets
after three
days and
three nights
in the place
of the dead,
rose again
from the
grave.
And in
resurrecting,
he defeated
sin and
death to
resurrection
life.
Jesus
displayed the
Son of
Jonah to
show his
authority as
the Son of
God,
his authority
over life
and death.
And it's
through this
death and
resurrection,
Jesus declares
that whoever
believes in
him,
whoever follows
him,
whoever does
the will of
the Father
in heaven
will not
perish,
but have
eternal life
forever a
member of the
family of
Jesus.
It's through
his death and
resurrection that
we have the
opportunity to
believe and
follow Jesus
and forever be
adopted into
his family to
be able to
call God
our Father
and to
call Jesus
our brother.
It's through
his death and
resurrection that
Jesus is able to
stretch his hands
out to us and
testify,
here are my
brothers,
here are my
sisters,
here is my
family.
If any of you
here are new to
the church,
to our church,
and this is your
first time hearing
the gospel of
Jesus Christ,
please listen to
Jesus' invitation.
Whoever does the
will of my Father
in heaven is my
brother and sister
and mother.
Look around you.
None of us have
the qualifications
to be called
Jesus' family.
I don't know if
we have any
ethnic Jews here.
I don't know,
I know for sure
that we all have
not followed God's
commandments to the
perfect T.
This is a house,
a hospital of
broken souls and
broken people,
and yet God in
his infinite
kindness sent
his son Jesus to
die for our
sins, that we
can be grafted
into the body
of Christ,
the family of
Jesus.
So for those of
you who don't
believe yet,
we're in the
midst of an evil
generation, but
the invitation is
still here.
If you feel that
conviction in your
heart to consider
following Jesus as
your Lord and
Savior, following
Jesus as your
brother, please
don't hesitate.
please don't
hesitate to talk
to me, any of
our pastoral team,
any of our
church members,
about what it
means and what
it takes to
believe in the
gospel and to
be a part of
the family of
God.
And for those
of us who do
believe in the
gospel, who are
part of the
family of Jesus,
Jesus is still
calling.
He's still
inviting those
who are still in
the darkness of
this generation to
step out in
faith.
And so as
brothers and
sisters to
Jesus and as
bearers of the
gospel in this
broken world, let
us do the will of
our Father in
heaven and extend
that invitation of
faith to those
around us, that
they may believe and
become part of the
family of Jesus, that
we can call them our
brothers and our
sisters.
Because one day
we will see for
sure.
We will all know
for sure whether
we are a believer
or not, every
knee will bow and
every tongue will
confess that Jesus
is Lord and we'll
be judged before the
Lord of whether we
truly believed and
lived out the
gospel or not.
What great love
that we should be
called children of
God, that we should
be called brothers
and sisters to
Jesus.
May the God of
hope fill you with
all joy and peace
and believing so
that by the power of
the Holy Spirit you
may abound in hope.
Let's pray.
Lord, we confess
that we often are so
discouraged when we
look out to this evil
generation, all the
darkness around us.
we confess that there
are moments where we
do doubt, where doubt
does creep in and
Satan does try to
tempt us to draw us
away from you.
But Lord, we thank
you so much that you
give us your Holy
Spirit as a sure
guarantee and seal of
our salvation.
We thank you that
through the blood of
Jesus, through his
death on the cross and
his resurrection from
the grave, we can be
called your children,
that we can be called
brothers and sisters to
Jesus, his family.
And thank you that you
extend that invitation
out, not just to
righteous people, not
just to Jews, but to
the whole world.
Lord, we pray that your
word convicts our
hearts, draws us nearer
to us and reminds us
that though we are in
the midst of an evil
generation, your way is
better.
that you are our great
father.
We thank you, Lord.
We love you.
We pray all this in Jesus'
name.
Amen.