WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.600 Well, today we are continuing our study in the Gospel of Matthew, and we've come to 00:00:06.600 --> 00:00:11.279 chapter 21, and we're going to look at that chapter quite broadly, but we can just read 00:00:11.279 --> 00:00:14.560 again, verses 9 and 10. 00:00:14.560 --> 00:00:19.519 The crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, Hosanna to the Son of 00:00:19.519 --> 00:00:25.560 David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest. 00:00:25.559 --> 00:00:33.280 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up saying, who is this? 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:38.759 And those three words that you can see at the end of verse 10, in many ways form one 00:00:38.759 --> 00:00:45.200 of the most important questions that humanity can ever ask, who is this man Jesus? 00:00:45.200 --> 00:00:49.000 And of course there's loads of things that we can say in response to that, and even this 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:53.879 chapter alone teaches us many things about Jesus. 00:00:53.880 --> 00:00:59.560 Today, I want us to pick out four of these things that we learn about Jesus. 00:00:59.560 --> 00:01:04.120 And for those of you who are Christians, I hope this will reinforce to you why Jesus 00:01:04.120 --> 00:01:06.760 is worth following and worshiping. 00:01:06.760 --> 00:01:11.159 For those of you who are seeking, I hope it will help you to see more clearly that Jesus 00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:12.439 has what you're looking for. 00:01:12.439 --> 00:01:16.719 In fact, Jesus is what you're looking for. 00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:21.719 And for those of you who are maybe not that fast, perhaps it's a good thing that you learn 00:01:21.719 --> 00:01:27.760 a little bit more about the person that you are rejecting. 00:01:27.760 --> 00:01:30.560 The four things I want us to learn are these. 00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:39.480 Jesus is humble, Jesus is courageous, Jesus is intelligent, and Jesus is no-nonsense. 00:01:39.480 --> 00:01:42.039 And let's look at these together in turn. 00:01:42.039 --> 00:01:46.120 So first of all, we're going to say that Jesus is humble. 00:01:46.120 --> 00:01:50.599 The first section of the chapter, verses 1 to 11, is commonly described as the triumphal 00:01:50.599 --> 00:01:51.599 entry. 00:01:51.599 --> 00:01:56.640 Jesus comes into Jerusalem on the back of a young donkey, and the crowds around him 00:01:56.640 --> 00:02:02.839 lay their coats out and wave branches shouting, Hosanna to the Son of David. 00:02:02.839 --> 00:02:05.079 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 00:02:05.079 --> 00:02:08.079 And in many ways, it is very triumphant. 00:02:08.079 --> 00:02:14.079 It's perhaps the occasion when we see the most prominent expression of public support 00:02:14.079 --> 00:02:15.079 towards Jesus. 00:02:15.080 --> 00:02:21.760 And of course, this stands in really almost, well, definitely tragic contrast to the crowds 00:02:21.760 --> 00:02:27.160 later in this week who are shouting, crucify him. 00:02:27.160 --> 00:02:31.880 But alongside all the triumph of this moment where Jesus is recognized as king as the Son 00:02:31.880 --> 00:02:36.960 of David, Matthew also emphasizes something very important. 00:02:36.960 --> 00:02:41.280 He emphasizes that Jesus is humble. 00:02:41.280 --> 00:02:43.320 And we see that in verses four and five. 00:02:43.319 --> 00:02:46.919 It says, Matthew, deliberately tells us this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the 00:02:46.919 --> 00:02:52.439 prophet saying, Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you humble and 00:02:52.439 --> 00:02:59.239 mounted on a donkey on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden. 00:02:59.239 --> 00:03:05.680 So instead of coming into Jerusalem on a chariot or with soldiers, with weapons or with trumpets, 00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:08.479 Jesus comes in on a donkey. 00:03:08.479 --> 00:03:13.240 And so although we call it the triumphal entry and it's good to do so, I think we could 00:03:13.240 --> 00:03:17.680 also be justified in calling it the humble entry. 00:03:17.680 --> 00:03:20.439 There's no display of pump and power. 00:03:20.439 --> 00:03:26.560 Instead, it's a demonstration of meekness and peace. 00:03:26.560 --> 00:03:30.520 And it's also important to remember that Jesus didn't ask for the branches and the cloaks 00:03:30.520 --> 00:03:33.040 and for people to shout. 00:03:33.040 --> 00:03:37.400 All he asked for was the young donkey. 00:03:37.400 --> 00:03:40.760 It's a very high profile moment for Jesus. 00:03:40.759 --> 00:03:46.120 But in it all, there's a very strong emphasis on humility. 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:49.159 And we've seen that pattern throughout Jesus' ministry. 00:03:49.159 --> 00:03:52.120 He doesn't draw attention to himself. 00:03:52.120 --> 00:04:00.359 And even when the crowds came and wanted to make him king by force, he had no interest. 00:04:00.359 --> 00:04:07.239 His focus was on completing the mission that God had given to him. 00:04:07.240 --> 00:04:13.520 It's a reminder that humility doesn't mean never getting attention. 00:04:13.520 --> 00:04:19.319 It means that when you do get attention, you don't let it go to your head. 00:04:19.319 --> 00:04:23.319 Jesus is an outstanding example of that. 00:04:23.319 --> 00:04:27.120 And perhaps the most astonishing thing is that even though there were crowds shouting 00:04:27.120 --> 00:04:32.000 and waving branches, in truth, they didn't know the half of the majesty and honor and 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:34.960 glory that rightfully belonged to Jesus. 00:04:34.959 --> 00:04:37.439 But he didn't go bragging about his status. 00:04:37.439 --> 00:04:44.560 He just humbly rides in on a donkey in order to fulfill what the Old Testament had prophesied. 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:48.479 Jesus is humble. 00:04:48.479 --> 00:04:52.120 Number two, we see that Jesus is courageous. 00:04:52.120 --> 00:04:55.000 Verses 12 and 13 describe a very different scene. 00:04:55.000 --> 00:05:01.399 Jesus went into the temple and he overturned the tables of the money changers. 00:05:01.399 --> 00:05:04.000 This is actually the second time that Jesus has done this. 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:07.079 Jesus once gospel tells us that he did this early in his ministry. 00:05:07.079 --> 00:05:10.120 It shows that so often people will just go back to doing the same thing that they've 00:05:10.120 --> 00:05:12.680 been doing. 00:05:12.680 --> 00:05:18.360 The scene in the temple was really quite a busy one. 00:05:18.360 --> 00:05:24.040 The worship activities of the Jews involved the sacrifice of animals and many people 00:05:24.040 --> 00:05:27.959 would come to worship, traveling from a long distance. 00:05:27.959 --> 00:05:32.120 And so instead of bringing their animals from a long distance, they would just buy one when 00:05:32.120 --> 00:05:36.639 they got to the temple and there was various animals they could buy depending on how much 00:05:36.639 --> 00:05:38.959 they could afford. 00:05:38.959 --> 00:05:44.639 Basically the scene before us here is a big commercialization of the worship of God. 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:50.079 And worst of all, it was an opportunity to exploit people who had traveled to worship, 00:05:50.079 --> 00:05:52.560 especially those who were poor. 00:05:52.560 --> 00:05:57.600 Jesus describes them as rubbish because they did all they can to get as much money out 00:05:57.600 --> 00:06:00.800 of as many people as they could. 00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:06.199 Jesus goes in and he throws the lot of them out. 00:06:06.199 --> 00:06:11.840 And it's showing us that even though Jesus is humble, he is no coward. 00:06:11.840 --> 00:06:15.240 And we must never underestimate how controversial this would have been. 00:06:15.240 --> 00:06:17.120 It's the start of Passover week. 00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:18.960 It's right in the middle of Jerusalem. 00:06:18.960 --> 00:06:23.720 It's at the temple where everyone was going and Jesus goes in and he turns the whole 00:06:23.720 --> 00:06:27.199 thing upside down. 00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:30.000 Why did he do that? 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:34.920 Because he saw something that was totally wrong. 00:06:34.920 --> 00:06:38.800 And here he is standing up against corruption and exploitation. 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:43.879 He's defending the honor of God and he is protecting the vulnerable. 00:06:43.879 --> 00:06:51.040 People were supposed to go to the temple to pray and to pour out their hearts to God. 00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:56.600 Instead they were being forced to go there to pay and pour out their purses to a bunch 00:06:56.600 --> 00:06:58.600 of crooks. 00:06:58.600 --> 00:07:05.000 When Jesus sees that, he goes straight in and he calls it out. 00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:08.600 And in doing so, I think he put himself at huge risk. 00:07:08.600 --> 00:07:14.520 But despite the risk, despite the controversy, the threat of arrest or public uproar, it 00:07:14.520 --> 00:07:22.960 does not stop him from doing it because Jesus is always, always courageous. 00:07:22.960 --> 00:07:28.160 And it's a reminder that courage doesn't mean never feeling afraid. 00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:35.040 Which means standing up for what's right, no matter what the dangers might be. 00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:38.080 That's exactly what we see here in Jesus. 00:07:38.080 --> 00:07:42.360 Jesus is courageous. 00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:46.480 Number three we see in this passage in this chapter that Jesus is intelligent. 00:07:46.480 --> 00:07:51.080 The chapter records extensive dialogue between Jesus and the religious leaders. 00:07:51.080 --> 00:07:54.480 You can see an example of that in verses 23 to 27. 00:07:54.480 --> 00:07:56.320 I won't read it all out. 00:07:56.319 --> 00:08:02.079 Maybe they came to Jesus with a question saying, by what authority do you do this? 00:08:02.079 --> 00:08:04.319 Do you do the things that you do? 00:08:04.319 --> 00:08:06.439 And Jesus responds and says, well, I'll ask you a question. 00:08:06.439 --> 00:08:09.240 If you answer my question, I will answer yours. 00:08:09.240 --> 00:08:14.800 And of course, as we read, they refused to give him an answer. 00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:20.159 One of the key things that we see here is that Jesus is intelligent. 00:08:20.159 --> 00:08:24.639 He straight away recognizes that the religious leaders are trying to catch him out. 00:08:24.639 --> 00:08:27.279 So the question was a trap. 00:08:27.279 --> 00:08:31.759 Because if he had said, well, it's by God's authority, they would have condemned him for 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:33.120 being blasphemous. 00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:38.039 If he had said it's by my own authority, they would have condemned him for being blasphemous. 00:08:38.039 --> 00:08:42.799 Jesus confronted by this trap is able to think very quickly, and he responds with a question 00:08:42.799 --> 00:08:48.360 which does exactly to them what they were trying to do to him so they don't answer. 00:08:48.360 --> 00:08:55.680 And in just a simple response, Jesus silences these schemers who no doubt thought that their 00:08:55.680 --> 00:08:58.960 clever plan was going to catch him out. 00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:05.000 And again and again throughout his ministry, we see that Jesus is able to enter into debate 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:06.000 and discussion. 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:11.080 He's able to answer questions or even trick questions that are put to him. 00:09:11.080 --> 00:09:14.360 And in doing that, he never had to shout his way out of a corner. 00:09:14.360 --> 00:09:15.759 He never spun the truth. 00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:18.320 He never had to wriggle. 00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:25.120 He just thought clearly and he articulated his points robustly. 00:09:25.120 --> 00:09:29.879 And again and again, people were amazed by what he said. 00:09:29.879 --> 00:09:33.879 It's a powerful reminder that Jesus is intelligent. 00:09:33.879 --> 00:09:37.200 And that of course is one of the reasons why he's such an effective teacher. 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:38.680 He thinks rationally. 00:09:38.680 --> 00:09:40.480 He reads people accurately. 00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:42.160 He communicates clearly. 00:09:42.160 --> 00:09:43.800 He debates effectively. 00:09:43.799 --> 00:09:50.000 He speaks persuasively and he is able to convey some of the most profound truths simply by 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:54.079 telling stories from everyday life. 00:09:54.079 --> 00:09:58.279 Here in these verses, you have the smartest men in Jerusalem trying to publicly undermine 00:09:58.279 --> 00:10:03.719 Jesus and he silences them with one question. 00:10:03.719 --> 00:10:07.679 Jesus is intelligent. 00:10:07.679 --> 00:10:12.000 And that's an important reminder that the Christian faith is not and has never been 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:14.639 mindless. 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:18.679 Jesus emphasizes that in the very next verse when he opens it by asking one of the most 00:10:18.679 --> 00:10:22.879 important questions that humanity can ever consider. 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:25.639 What do you think? 00:10:25.639 --> 00:10:31.559 Far too often when it comes to religion, the question we ask is, what do you feel? 00:10:31.559 --> 00:10:35.960 And sometimes that can be an appropriate question, especially in pastoral struggles. 00:10:35.960 --> 00:10:41.080 But in terms of whether you're going to follow Jesus or not, the crucial question is, what 00:10:41.080 --> 00:10:43.920 do you think? 00:10:43.920 --> 00:10:47.680 What do you think about origins? 00:10:47.680 --> 00:10:50.720 What do you think about purpose? 00:10:50.720 --> 00:10:53.080 What do you think about morality? 00:10:53.080 --> 00:10:54.639 What do you think about life? 00:10:54.639 --> 00:10:57.920 What do you think about death? 00:10:57.920 --> 00:11:05.520 And this is why one of the most common ways that people avoid Christianity is to say, 00:11:05.520 --> 00:11:09.920 I'm just not going to think about it. 00:11:09.919 --> 00:11:13.319 Don't forget, intelligence doesn't mean knowing everything. 00:11:13.319 --> 00:11:15.879 It means being ready to think. 00:11:15.879 --> 00:11:18.360 And Jesus wants us to do that. 00:11:18.360 --> 00:11:23.439 He engages with us as rational thinking beings. 00:11:23.439 --> 00:11:27.839 Jesus is intelligent. 00:11:27.839 --> 00:11:33.039 And then the fourth thing we see is that Jesus is no nonsense. 00:11:33.039 --> 00:11:36.079 We see that in at least two places in this chapter. 00:11:36.079 --> 00:11:37.079 First is with the fig tree. 00:11:37.080 --> 00:11:40.400 It said, in the morning as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. 00:11:40.400 --> 00:11:44.920 And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it, but only leaves. 00:11:44.920 --> 00:11:48.240 And he said to it, may no fruit ever come from you again. 00:11:48.240 --> 00:11:51.840 And the fig tree withered at once. 00:11:51.840 --> 00:11:58.560 The key point here is that the tree had leaves, but no fruit. 00:11:58.560 --> 00:12:02.280 In other words, from a distance, it looked great. 00:12:02.280 --> 00:12:04.360 But actually it wasn't healthy. 00:12:04.360 --> 00:12:06.960 And it wasn't producing what it should. 00:12:06.960 --> 00:12:12.840 And this is an example of an outward action displaying a prophetic message. 00:12:12.840 --> 00:12:14.560 This is something we see in the Old Testament. 00:12:14.560 --> 00:12:21.120 Jeremiah, for example, God told him to go and buy a clay jug from a potter in order to 00:12:21.120 --> 00:12:23.960 break it in front of people to make a point. 00:12:23.960 --> 00:12:25.639 Jesus is doing the same thing here. 00:12:25.639 --> 00:12:31.200 And with the fig tree, he is showing the true state of the religious elite. 00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:34.600 They were all leaves and no fruit. 00:12:34.600 --> 00:12:39.320 In other words, they were great at putting on an outward show. 00:12:39.320 --> 00:12:48.440 But ultimately it was of no use to anyone because their lives bore no fruit. 00:12:48.440 --> 00:12:52.480 The second place we see that Jesus is no nonsense is in the two parables that he told of the 00:12:52.480 --> 00:12:54.560 two sons and of the tenants. 00:12:54.560 --> 00:13:00.320 In the first parable, Jesus is emphasizing that empty words are of no use to God. 00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:04.640 And in fact, somebody who maybe once said, no, I'm not interested, but then changes their 00:13:04.640 --> 00:13:09.960 mind and actually follows him is far, far better. 00:13:09.960 --> 00:13:13.680 Empty words are of no interest to him. 00:13:13.680 --> 00:13:19.800 And in the second parable, Jesus is just totally direct with these religious leaders. 00:13:19.800 --> 00:13:22.960 They are the ones who are rejecting God's son. 00:13:22.960 --> 00:13:27.640 And they knew fine that he was talking about them. 00:13:27.639 --> 00:13:37.519 In all of these ways, Jesus is making it absolutely clear that he is completely no nonsense. 00:13:37.519 --> 00:13:39.600 He has no time for outward show. 00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:41.679 He's got no interest in empty words. 00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:47.360 And he is not going to beat around the bush with the way that these leaders are behaving. 00:13:47.360 --> 00:13:52.439 And it's all a powerful reminder that Jesus is not looking for people who are perfect. 00:13:52.439 --> 00:13:54.399 He's not looking for people who are important. 00:13:54.399 --> 00:14:00.120 He's not looking for people who are impressive, but he is most definitely looking for people 00:14:00.120 --> 00:14:04.159 who are genuine. 00:14:04.159 --> 00:14:08.199 Being no nonsense doesn't mean saying, I have no problems. 00:14:08.199 --> 00:14:15.360 In fact, it means to stop pretending that we have none. 00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:21.720 So Jesus is humble, he's courageous, he's intelligent, and he is no nonsense. 00:14:21.720 --> 00:14:27.399 But we have to ask the question, well, what has any of that got to do with our lives today? 00:14:27.399 --> 00:14:34.160 Well, I think there's two main ways in which we can apply this. 00:14:34.160 --> 00:14:39.800 The first is that all these things are teaching us some very important lessons about living 00:14:39.800 --> 00:14:42.960 out our lives as Christians. 00:14:42.960 --> 00:14:45.759 And there's four key issues that arise. 00:14:45.759 --> 00:14:51.919 So first of all, the fact that Jesus is humble makes us think about Christian leadership. 00:14:51.919 --> 00:14:55.759 Now, by saying that, I don't just mean being a minister or an elder. 00:14:55.759 --> 00:14:58.840 You are all leaders in different ways. 00:14:58.840 --> 00:15:02.639 At work, at home, maybe in your hobbies, maybe in your social life. 00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:07.000 Even the children here are leaders because your friends will watch you and will see what 00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:10.319 you're doing and at times will follow you. 00:15:10.319 --> 00:15:14.240 And as we all go through life, it's likely that we're going to be placed in more and 00:15:14.240 --> 00:15:17.440 more leadership positions in different ways. 00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:22.919 And the brilliant lesson that Jesus is teaching us is that at the heart of Christian leadership 00:15:22.919 --> 00:15:25.480 is humility. 00:15:25.480 --> 00:15:31.480 And that means that for every one of us, whether we are a supervisor at work, whether we are 00:15:31.480 --> 00:15:36.480 in amongst a group of friends who will maybe be shaped by our behavior, whether we're involved 00:15:36.480 --> 00:15:44.039 in a committee or whatever it may be, we want our leadership to constantly display humility. 00:15:44.039 --> 00:15:46.759 Christian leadership is about serving others. 00:15:46.759 --> 00:15:49.839 It's about putting their needs before ours. 00:15:49.839 --> 00:15:54.480 It's about valuing their success more than ours. 00:15:54.480 --> 00:16:00.919 So often in our leadership, we can be tempted to do the things that make ourselves feel 00:16:00.919 --> 00:16:05.480 big or that will make others feel small. 00:16:05.480 --> 00:16:10.919 And maybe you have fallen into that trap or maybe you've been on the receiving end of 00:16:10.919 --> 00:16:11.919 that trap. 00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:13.839 It's a horrible thing to experience. 00:16:13.840 --> 00:16:16.360 Jesus never did it. 00:16:16.360 --> 00:16:20.879 He never inflated his own importance, and he constantly showed the people who followed 00:16:20.879 --> 00:16:24.040 him how much he cared about them. 00:16:24.040 --> 00:16:29.080 And that's emphasized so powerfully in these verses because while Jesus is sitting on a 00:16:29.080 --> 00:16:35.840 donkey without any pump or ceremony, at the same time, the crowd are shouting, Hosanna, 00:16:35.840 --> 00:16:41.120 which means save us because they are recognizing that the whole reason this king was coming 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:43.800 was for them. 00:16:43.799 --> 00:16:46.879 May our leadership always display that humility. 00:16:46.879 --> 00:16:52.599 And may the people we lead always be made to know that in our leadership, we are serving 00:16:52.599 --> 00:16:57.120 them, we want to protect them, and we want to help them. 00:16:57.120 --> 00:17:04.119 Every Christian leader has an amazing opportunity every Monday morning to show that there is 00:17:04.119 --> 00:17:11.399 a better way to be a boss. 00:17:11.400 --> 00:17:15.560 Jesus' courage makes us think about Christian activism. 00:17:15.560 --> 00:17:20.680 There's something that we don't often talk about that often, and it can sometimes seem 00:17:20.680 --> 00:17:23.160 like a bit of a controversial area. 00:17:23.160 --> 00:17:25.560 Should Christians be involved in social action? 00:17:25.560 --> 00:17:27.800 What sort of things should we speak up about? 00:17:27.800 --> 00:17:31.400 What kind of things should we get involved in? 00:17:31.400 --> 00:17:36.280 And sometimes it can be even more complicated because good causes can very often get tangled 00:17:36.280 --> 00:17:41.240 up in all sorts of controversial or maybe even aggressive ideologies. 00:17:41.240 --> 00:17:45.279 And there's also many things that Christianity is neutral about, and that can often apply 00:17:45.279 --> 00:17:48.519 to political parties and movements. 00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:52.000 And the result of all that is we can often conclude that it's far better to just keep 00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:53.880 our heads down. 00:17:53.880 --> 00:17:56.839 And sometimes it is. 00:17:56.839 --> 00:18:06.440 But God forbid that we ever, ever forget that the Christian church should never stop speaking 00:18:06.440 --> 00:18:14.000 out in defense of the poor, the exploited, and the vulnerable. 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:19.039 In other words, we are to speak out for those who have hardly any voice of their own. 00:18:19.039 --> 00:18:23.720 James was not exaggerating when he said, religion that is pure and undefiled before 00:18:23.720 --> 00:18:29.880 God the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in the reflection and to keep oneself 00:18:29.880 --> 00:18:32.080 unstained from the world. 00:18:32.079 --> 00:18:38.279 Like the whole Bible, there is a relentless emphasis on the fact that God wants us to 00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:44.199 help the helpless, to speak for the voiceless, and to protect the defenseless. 00:18:44.199 --> 00:18:49.000 That's why the work of charities like Bethany here in Scotland or Tierfront or International 00:18:49.000 --> 00:18:55.039 Justice Mission, all that work is so brilliant and so important. 00:18:55.039 --> 00:19:04.799 Today in Scotland, when the Christian church feels persecuted, very often we get annoyed 00:19:04.799 --> 00:19:07.079 and then we react. 00:19:07.079 --> 00:19:12.559 And there are ways in which that is important. 00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:18.359 But the thing that should really stir us up into action is when we see precious people 00:19:18.359 --> 00:19:25.639 made in the image of God who are exploited, degraded, and left to suffer. 00:19:25.639 --> 00:19:30.199 That's what should really stir up our action. 00:19:30.199 --> 00:19:38.359 And as for persecution, well, when that comes, the Bible doesn't actually tell us to get 00:19:38.359 --> 00:19:40.959 annoyed. 00:19:40.959 --> 00:19:45.519 It tells us to do something else. 00:19:45.519 --> 00:19:49.559 It tells us to rejoice. 00:19:49.559 --> 00:19:57.480 Thirdly, Jesus' intelligence makes us think about Christian intellectualism. 00:19:57.480 --> 00:20:02.920 Now, by that, I don't mean just learning as much as you can about Christianity. 00:20:02.920 --> 00:20:07.920 I mean learning as much as you can about everything. 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:14.160 The fact that Jesus is intelligent is reminding us that as Christians, we want to be and to 00:20:14.160 --> 00:20:16.519 grow in our intelligence as well. 00:20:16.519 --> 00:20:20.040 Now, I don't mean getting straight A's or doing PhD's. 00:20:20.040 --> 00:20:29.680 I mean that in whatever profession you have or whatever role you have in life, be a thinker. 00:20:29.680 --> 00:20:34.560 Learn what you can, stretch your mind, grow in understanding, develop your skills and 00:20:34.560 --> 00:20:37.279 never, ever stop thinking. 00:20:37.279 --> 00:20:40.560 For many of you, that will be in your studies at the moment. 00:20:40.559 --> 00:20:44.799 But for some of you, it's in terms of your job, for others, it's understanding your children, 00:20:44.799 --> 00:20:51.639 for others, it's developing a skill or an interest or an involvement that you may have. 00:20:51.639 --> 00:20:57.960 And the reason that I am saying that is because so many people think that becoming a Christian 00:20:57.960 --> 00:21:02.839 means abandoning your intelligence. 00:21:02.839 --> 00:21:07.720 People have this idea that Christianity is a kind of crutch for insecure people or a kind 00:21:07.720 --> 00:21:13.960 of nostalgic connection to days gone by or a kind of hope for the best but don't think 00:21:13.960 --> 00:21:16.839 about it too much, kind of approach to life. 00:21:16.839 --> 00:21:21.160 All of that is complete and utter nonsense. 00:21:21.160 --> 00:21:24.960 It's untrue and that's proved by history. 00:21:24.960 --> 00:21:28.960 You look back over history, you look at many of the greatest inventions, achievements and 00:21:28.960 --> 00:21:32.559 discoveries of humanity and they were all achieved by Christians. 00:21:32.559 --> 00:21:38.159 In fact, Christianity is the whole reason why science and technology flourished in Europe 00:21:38.159 --> 00:21:40.119 ahead of the rest of the world. 00:21:40.119 --> 00:21:45.759 This whole kind of science versus religion or technology versus Christianity conflict 00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:48.279 is a figment of recent imagination. 00:21:48.279 --> 00:21:54.200 For the last 500 years, Europe was full of people whose faith in God motivated them to 00:21:54.200 --> 00:21:58.519 discover more and more about the world that he'd made. 00:21:58.519 --> 00:22:03.480 But we don't want to just prove that from history, we want to prove it ourselves. 00:22:03.480 --> 00:22:07.879 We want people to see it in us that we keep thinking, keep learning and keep doing the 00:22:07.879 --> 00:22:10.200 best that we can in our work. 00:22:10.200 --> 00:22:15.400 So as you go into this week, go and learn something new and go into your job or into 00:22:15.400 --> 00:22:20.079 the responsibilities that you have and do them really well. 00:22:20.079 --> 00:22:28.240 And always remember that if we encounter people who disagree with us, if we just say to them, 00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:31.680 shut up, you're wrong. 00:22:31.680 --> 00:22:37.960 Is that really displaying our God-given intelligence? 00:22:37.960 --> 00:22:41.680 I don't think it is. 00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:46.200 And then, fourthly, the fact that Jesus is no nonsense makes us think about Christian 00:22:46.200 --> 00:22:48.200 integrity. 00:22:48.200 --> 00:22:52.799 Again and again, Jesus' teaching and his example shows us that one of the most important aspects 00:22:52.799 --> 00:22:56.720 of Christian discipleship is our integrity. 00:22:56.720 --> 00:23:02.680 The religious leaders in Jerusalem were constantly putting on an outward show to mask an inner 00:23:02.680 --> 00:23:11.039 condition that was selfish, cold and hard-hearted and that it's such an easy trap to fall into. 00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:16.240 There are so many today who will say one thing, do another, behave one way here, behave another 00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:17.440 way there. 00:23:17.440 --> 00:23:22.880 And throughout her history, the Christian church has been plagued with hypocrisy. 00:23:22.880 --> 00:23:30.400 And it's such a strange thing because one of the most basic truths that we believe about 00:23:30.400 --> 00:23:35.080 God is that he can see everything. 00:23:35.080 --> 00:23:41.040 And that's why integrity is fundamental to our discipleship because in every part of 00:23:41.040 --> 00:23:45.000 our lives, whether everyone's watching us or no one can see us, whether we're speaking 00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:50.800 out loud or thinking in our hearts, the one thing that we know about God is that he sees 00:23:50.799 --> 00:23:58.399 that and our concern should be that in all these parts of our lives, we are living for 00:23:58.399 --> 00:24:03.159 him as integrated followers of Jesus. 00:24:03.159 --> 00:24:11.639 Now, in all of these areas that I've highlighted, I have made tons of mistakes in my life and 00:24:11.639 --> 00:24:14.359 I'm sure that you have as well. 00:24:14.359 --> 00:24:20.240 And I really hope that saying all that doesn't sound like a kind of thing to make you all 00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:22.599 feel guilty. 00:24:22.599 --> 00:24:24.440 It's not about feeling guilty. 00:24:24.440 --> 00:24:33.120 It's about reminding ourselves that Jesus sets us an absolutely brilliant example. 00:24:33.120 --> 00:24:37.759 And boy do we want that to shape the way we live in the week ahead. 00:24:37.759 --> 00:24:45.160 And it's also crucial that we keep all four of these things together. 00:24:45.160 --> 00:24:52.279 If you've got intelligence without humility, that's not a very nice combination. 00:24:52.279 --> 00:24:59.880 If you've got humility without courage, then it might cripple you from achieving anything. 00:24:59.880 --> 00:25:06.320 If you've got courage without intelligence, you might go barging into things in an unhelpful 00:25:06.320 --> 00:25:14.440 way and in all of these things, we want them to be grounded on consistent Christian integrity. 00:25:14.440 --> 00:25:17.600 Need it be brilliant? 00:25:17.600 --> 00:25:25.200 If everyone in Scotland could look at the Christian church and say, they are humble, 00:25:25.200 --> 00:25:36.320 they stand up for what's right, they are not idiots, and what you see is what you get. 00:25:36.320 --> 00:25:41.920 There's so much for us to learn in terms of how we live out our Christian lives. 00:25:41.920 --> 00:25:50.640 But the second key area of application is that in the week ahead, it is probably likely 00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:59.400 that you will come across the precise opposite of everything that we see in Jesus. 00:25:59.400 --> 00:26:03.240 So it might be that you're going to have to deal with somebody who instead of being humble 00:26:03.240 --> 00:26:08.680 is arrogant, someone who's just out to benefit themselves, someone who thinks that the world 00:26:08.680 --> 00:26:14.240 revolves around them and who maybe even gets a kick out of making your life difficult. 00:26:14.240 --> 00:26:17.039 You might have to deal with that. 00:26:17.039 --> 00:26:20.519 You might meet someone who instead of being courageous is cowardly. 00:26:20.519 --> 00:26:23.000 Now, by that I don't mean nervous. 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:25.039 Everyone gets nervous, even Jesus did. 00:26:25.039 --> 00:26:29.720 By cowardly, I mean someone who will gladly leave you to take the hit. 00:26:29.720 --> 00:26:34.519 And you might be on the receiving end of that as well. 00:26:34.519 --> 00:26:38.920 You might have to deal with people who instead of being intelligent are ignorant. 00:26:38.920 --> 00:26:41.559 Now, I don't mean that in an insulting way. 00:26:41.559 --> 00:26:43.119 I'm not saying that people are idiots. 00:26:43.119 --> 00:26:50.000 I mean it in the technical sense of the word ignorant whereby people willfully ignore what 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:52.400 they need to hear. 00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:57.639 So you might be with someone who just refuses to listen to you or who misrepresents you or 00:26:57.639 --> 00:27:02.599 who just bats every problem into the long grass or who judges you without actually knowing 00:27:02.599 --> 00:27:06.039 anything about you. 00:27:06.039 --> 00:27:14.480 Or you might have to deal with someone who instead of being no nonsense is superficial. 00:27:14.480 --> 00:27:19.879 Where everything is a bit of an act, where it all seems a bit false and very empty and 00:27:19.879 --> 00:27:24.799 who maybe picks you up and puts you down depending on their mood. 00:27:24.799 --> 00:27:32.240 These kinds of behavior are all very common and it's very, very hard to be on the receiving 00:27:32.240 --> 00:27:34.160 end of that. 00:27:34.160 --> 00:27:41.640 And it's a reminder that nothing can hurt us as much as people. 00:27:41.640 --> 00:27:45.960 And what I want to say is this. 00:27:45.960 --> 00:27:53.039 Jesus is the complete opposite of all of these things. 00:27:53.039 --> 00:27:55.960 He is the complete opposite of arrogant. 00:27:55.960 --> 00:27:58.319 He is the complete opposite of cowardly. 00:27:58.319 --> 00:28:05.200 He's the complete opposite of ignorant and he is the complete opposite of superficial. 00:28:05.200 --> 00:28:10.519 And what proves that more powerfully than anything else is what happens in the next 00:28:10.519 --> 00:28:13.359 few chapters of Matthew's Gospel. 00:28:13.359 --> 00:28:19.639 Because Matthew 21 is describing the beginning of the week running up to the crucifixion. 00:28:19.639 --> 00:28:23.759 And this is the last few days before the cross. 00:28:23.759 --> 00:28:29.240 And in all of these things we see Jesus demonstrating so powerfully that he is the opposite of all 00:28:29.240 --> 00:28:33.680 the horrible behavior we often find ourselves on the receiving end. 00:28:33.680 --> 00:28:35.960 So people around us might be arrogant. 00:28:35.960 --> 00:28:38.799 Jesus is the complete opposite. 00:28:38.799 --> 00:28:48.559 Jesus left the glory of heaven to humble himself, to become one of us, to come alongside you, 00:28:48.559 --> 00:28:53.700 to suffer and to go all the way to the point of death. 00:28:53.700 --> 00:28:57.480 And even now he is exalted at the right hand of God the Father. 00:28:57.480 --> 00:28:58.480 What's he doing? 00:28:58.480 --> 00:29:03.600 Is he basking in that glory and wanting to lap up all that attention for himself? 00:29:03.600 --> 00:29:14.720 No, at the right hand of God, Jesus right now is interceding for you. 00:29:14.720 --> 00:29:17.559 Some people are cowardly. 00:29:17.559 --> 00:29:21.960 Jesus is the complete opposite. 00:29:21.960 --> 00:29:26.240 And so he knew what he was going to face. 00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:31.200 And as that reality became more and more clear as he went through Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:40.360 into Thursday and Friday of this week, he was overwhelmed, utterly overwhelmed by all 00:29:40.360 --> 00:29:44.039 that was involved in the cross. 00:29:44.039 --> 00:29:53.399 But he kept going and he did it. 00:29:53.399 --> 00:29:58.000 Some people want to ignore what's going on. 00:29:58.000 --> 00:30:00.319 They'll be willfully ignorant. 00:30:00.319 --> 00:30:02.440 Jesus is the complete opposite. 00:30:02.440 --> 00:30:05.720 He knew exactly what was happening. 00:30:05.720 --> 00:30:08.659 He knew exactly what was needed. 00:30:08.660 --> 00:30:14.400 He knew exactly what it would cost. 00:30:14.400 --> 00:30:18.440 But he did it. 00:30:18.440 --> 00:30:20.040 And some people are superficial. 00:30:20.040 --> 00:30:24.600 Jesus is the complete opposite. 00:30:24.600 --> 00:30:32.800 If someone is superficial, if you strip away the layers from that person, then you will 00:30:32.800 --> 00:30:36.600 find the real truth. 00:30:36.599 --> 00:30:43.039 In this week that began in Matthew 21, everything was stripped away from Jesus. 00:30:43.039 --> 00:30:51.519 So the crowds that waved and shouted in support of him, they disappeared. 00:30:51.519 --> 00:30:58.879 Even his closest friends who had followed him, they began to fall away. 00:30:58.879 --> 00:31:03.159 He was arrested. 00:31:03.160 --> 00:31:08.000 His freedom was taken away from him. 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:14.259 He was stripped literally of his clothes. 00:31:14.259 --> 00:31:19.000 He was taken and nailed to the cross. 00:31:19.000 --> 00:31:29.800 And he was even stripped away from him was even his awareness of God's love and presence 00:31:29.800 --> 00:31:32.480 with him. 00:31:32.480 --> 00:31:37.599 And he felt forsaken and alone. 00:31:37.599 --> 00:31:48.120 Everything around Jesus in Matthew 21 was stripped away from him as the week went on, 00:31:48.120 --> 00:31:51.880 except for one thing. 00:31:51.880 --> 00:32:04.920 The one thing that no one could pull off him was his determination to save you. 00:32:04.920 --> 00:32:09.520 And that's because the thing that Jesus is most no nonsense about is the fact that he 00:32:09.520 --> 00:32:18.240 loves you and that he's come to save you. 00:32:18.240 --> 00:32:19.240 Jesus is humble. 00:32:19.240 --> 00:32:20.240 He is courageous. 00:32:20.240 --> 00:32:21.240 He's intelligent. 00:32:21.240 --> 00:32:23.680 He is no nonsense. 00:32:23.680 --> 00:32:26.200 That's why he's the perfect savior. 00:32:26.200 --> 00:32:28.920 That's why he is the greatest leader. 00:32:28.920 --> 00:32:36.880 And that's why he is the most wonderful friend you can ever know. 00:32:36.880 --> 00:32:42.839 If you're a Christian, may that encourage you going into the week ahead. 00:32:42.839 --> 00:32:48.359 If you are seeking Jesus, may that encourage you to just go for it. 00:32:48.359 --> 00:32:57.039 And if you started off this sermon not that fast, I really, really hope that all these 00:32:57.039 --> 00:33:01.039 things about Jesus will make you think. 00:33:01.039 --> 00:33:02.039 Amen. 00:33:02.039 --> 00:33:08.959 Let us pray. 00:33:08.959 --> 00:33:16.919 Dear Lord Jesus, we thank you that you are humble, courageous, intelligent and that with 00:33:16.920 --> 00:33:22.200 you there is no nonsense. 00:33:22.200 --> 00:33:30.000 We pray for your forgiveness for all the times that we've not been like that. 00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:40.160 But we thank you that in you, in you we have the perfect leader, the perfect savior, the 00:33:40.160 --> 00:33:42.680 most wonderful friend. 00:33:42.680 --> 00:33:48.279 And may we all just go into this week with our eyes fixed on you. 00:33:48.279 --> 00:34:16.360 Amen.