WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.380 I'm going to read the Bible, so take out your devices or your Bibles and turn to Matthew 00:00:09.380 --> 00:00:12.359 chapter 13 verse 53. 00:00:13.259 --> 00:00:17.719 If you haven't had a chance to see the visual summary by the Bible Project that we posted 00:00:17.719 --> 00:00:20.539 on Facebook this week, I encourage you to watch it. 00:00:20.539 --> 00:00:28.980 It's really great to get an overview of the first half of Matthew and the big themes there. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:33.859 And now we've come to the middle of Matthew and Jesus has been teaching about the kingdom 00:00:33.859 --> 00:00:37.659 of God and he's been teaching in parables and also in miracles. 00:00:39.060 --> 00:00:41.259 So reading from verse 53. 00:00:42.659 --> 00:00:47.539 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there. 00:00:47.539 --> 00:00:53.019 And coming to his hometown, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished 00:00:53.019 --> 00:00:58.719 and said, where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 00:00:58.719 --> 00:01:01.439 Is this not the carpenter's son? 00:01:02.359 --> 00:01:03.960 Is his mother not called Mary? 00:01:04.920 --> 00:01:10.000 And are his brothers not James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 00:01:11.079 --> 00:01:13.299 And are not all his sisters with us? 00:01:14.700 --> 00:01:18.960 When then, where then did this man get all these things? 00:01:19.239 --> 00:01:20.560 And they took offence at him. 00:01:20.560 --> 00:01:30.840 But Jesus said to them, a prophet is not without honour except in his hometown and in his own 00:01:30.840 --> 00:01:31.560 household. 00:01:32.560 --> 00:01:37.280 And he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. 00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:45.140 At that time, Herod the Tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus and he said to his servants, 00:01:46.099 --> 00:01:47.359 this is John the Baptist. 00:01:47.719 --> 00:01:49.180 He's been raised from the dead. 00:01:49.599 --> 00:01:52.400 That's why these miraculous powers are at work with him. 00:01:53.460 --> 00:01:57.960 For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, 00:01:58.340 --> 00:01:59.960 his brother Philip's wife. 00:01:59.959 --> 00:02:04.839 Because John had been saying to him, it's not lawful for you to have her. 00:02:05.919 --> 00:02:10.939 And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people because they held him 00:02:10.939 --> 00:02:11.539 to be a prophet. 00:02:12.759 --> 00:02:18.359 But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased 00:02:18.359 --> 00:02:18.699 Herod. 00:02:19.159 --> 00:02:23.519 So he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 00:02:24.299 --> 00:02:29.579 Prompted by her mother, she said, give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter. 00:02:29.960 --> 00:02:37.219 And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests, he commanded it to be 00:02:37.219 --> 00:02:37.480 given. 00:02:38.480 --> 00:02:43.640 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a platter and given 00:02:43.640 --> 00:02:46.560 to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 00:02:47.920 --> 00:02:54.939 And the disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus. 00:02:57.900 --> 00:02:59.020 Well, good morning, everyone. 00:02:59.960 --> 00:03:07.020 Yeah, a few years ago at Youth Group, we played a game that made me realise that I was officially 00:03:07.020 --> 00:03:07.520 old. 00:03:09.120 --> 00:03:13.439 Some of you may not think so, but the youth certainly think so. 00:03:15.020 --> 00:03:18.879 I've handed over the old title to Matt Hand now, who's the youth claim. 00:03:18.980 --> 00:03:20.520 He's definitely in his late 30s. 00:03:20.520 --> 00:03:24.180 Anyway, we played this game where we had to identify these memes. 00:03:25.460 --> 00:03:30.600 I can't even describe a meme, because it's pictures and it's got a caption to it. 00:03:31.040 --> 00:03:31.780 I was useless. 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:33.120 I was absolutely useless. 00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:40.500 And I knew in that moment that I no longer fitted in, if I ever did, into cool, young society. 00:03:40.500 --> 00:03:43.979 I didn't fit in. 00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:45.620 I can live with that. 00:03:45.620 --> 00:03:55.180 But then there's been another moment where I've realised that I don't think I fit into 00:03:55.180 --> 00:03:56.159 society at all. 00:03:56.159 --> 00:04:01.620 Well, not just cool, young society, but society generally. 00:04:02.219 --> 00:04:07.539 I read or listened to this book recently, and I know some of you have been reading it as 00:04:07.539 --> 00:04:07.759 well. 00:04:07.759 --> 00:04:13.479 And I'm going to just read a few paragraphs from it and see if you have the sickening feeling 00:04:13.479 --> 00:04:16.500 that I experienced listening to this book. 00:04:17.579 --> 00:04:24.699 Because up until a couple of weeks ago, reading this book, I thought, as long as I live, I'm 00:04:24.699 --> 00:04:31.019 a respectable person in society, I live a respectable Christian life, okay, maybe people will find 00:04:31.019 --> 00:04:32.159 me weird, a bit odd. 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:37.960 Maybe they'll find me a bit rude if I bring up Jesus and God in conversation every so often. 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:40.420 But overall, I'll fit in. 00:04:40.600 --> 00:04:41.560 Maybe a bit odd. 00:04:41.800 --> 00:04:42.520 Maybe a bit rude. 00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:53.680 But then reading this book, A Strange New World by Carl Truman, our society thinks very differently 00:04:53.680 --> 00:04:55.500 to Christian belief. 00:04:56.120 --> 00:05:02.040 Now, it's talking, I think the transgender debate going on in sport. 00:05:02.439 --> 00:05:03.600 So think about that. 00:05:03.780 --> 00:05:05.400 That's in the media at the moment. 00:05:06.260 --> 00:05:13.240 So although it talks here about sexuality, please hear this quote saying the problem is 00:05:13.240 --> 00:05:14.780 a lot deeper than that. 00:05:15.260 --> 00:05:17.020 So please, please understand that. 00:05:17.960 --> 00:05:18.920 So let me quote. 00:05:19.060 --> 00:05:26.420 So to tolerate somebody is by definition to disapprove of them, albeit in a rather passive 00:05:26.420 --> 00:05:26.800 way. 00:05:26.980 --> 00:05:29.340 But it is also not to recognise them. 00:05:29.339 --> 00:05:35.419 It is not to affirm their identities as they wish to be affirmed. 00:05:36.359 --> 00:05:40.399 At best, it is to keep them in place as second class members of society. 00:05:41.159 --> 00:05:46.519 This in turn explains why such things as cake baking has become so contentious. 00:05:46.519 --> 00:05:53.319 A Christian baker who refuses to bake a cake for a gay marriage celebration is doing so because 00:05:53.319 --> 00:05:58.459 her conscience would regard such an act as supporting a relationship that she regards 00:05:58.459 --> 00:05:59.680 as fundamentally immoral. 00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:08.300 The gay couple, however, regard her refusal as a denial of their fundamental and constitutionally 00:06:08.300 --> 00:06:09.639 protected identities. 00:06:10.660 --> 00:06:17.300 Equality requires equal recognition of a kind that tolerance just doesn't provide. 00:06:17.300 --> 00:06:26.079 If we are, above all, what we think and what we feel and what we desire, then anything that 00:06:26.079 --> 00:06:32.840 interferes, that obstructs these thoughts and feelings and desires, it inhibits us as people. 00:06:34.060 --> 00:06:38.780 It prevents us from being ourselves who we are convinced we are. 00:06:38.779 --> 00:06:46.459 A person who objects to homosexuality, he may think he is objecting to a set of sexual desires 00:06:46.459 --> 00:06:50.359 or sexual practices, but the gay man sees these desires as a part of who he is. 00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:51.899 It is his very essence. 00:06:52.479 --> 00:06:58.479 So the old chestnut of love the sinner, but hate the sin simply does not work in a world 00:06:58.479 --> 00:07:02.959 where the sin is the identity of the sinner and the two can't be separated. 00:07:03.899 --> 00:07:05.479 To hate the sin is to hate the sinner. 00:07:05.480 --> 00:07:11.700 But Christians who fail to note this are going to find themselves very confused by the incomprehension 00:07:11.700 --> 00:07:16.460 and indeed the easy offence taken by the world around them. 00:07:18.420 --> 00:07:19.180 End quote. 00:07:22.060 --> 00:07:25.300 That was the moment I realised all my words of going, 00:07:25.520 --> 00:07:27.420 I believe you're made in the image of God. 00:07:27.600 --> 00:07:29.420 I just don't agree with what you're doing. 00:07:30.180 --> 00:07:32.319 That just, it won't be enough. 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:36.139 They won't hear me loving if I say that. 00:07:38.620 --> 00:07:42.500 It will be deeply offensive to not affirm a person's identity. 00:07:44.819 --> 00:07:47.800 So putting, in one sense this is nothing new, is it? 00:07:49.100 --> 00:07:54.779 It's a new cultural expression, but there's nothing new in a sense 00:07:54.779 --> 00:08:00.860 because when we say Jesus is Lord, that moves the centre of reality from ourselves. 00:08:00.860 --> 00:08:02.699 So that's always been threatening. 00:08:03.520 --> 00:08:05.340 We've just got a new expression of it today. 00:08:08.120 --> 00:08:13.560 We can't be safe and accepted in this society. 00:08:13.560 --> 00:08:20.139 So we're entering a new section of Matthew. 00:08:21.839 --> 00:08:25.980 The bulk of Matthew is made up of these five sections. 00:08:26.480 --> 00:08:32.679 So you get this block of story or narrative and then it concludes with a block of teaching. 00:08:32.679 --> 00:08:36.359 So we're entering the narrative section again. 00:08:36.699 --> 00:08:38.379 And Matthew wants us to see something. 00:08:38.539 --> 00:08:40.620 I think there's lots of themes going on in this section, 00:08:40.719 --> 00:08:45.719 but I think he wants us to focus primarily on the goal of Jesus' mission. 00:08:47.099 --> 00:08:49.759 And I think these two stories that we're going to look at today 00:08:49.759 --> 00:08:53.279 are starting to prepare us for understanding why Jesus came. 00:08:55.159 --> 00:08:56.339 We've got the two stories. 00:08:56.340 --> 00:09:01.639 Even those who knew him best took deep offence in him. 00:09:04.580 --> 00:09:06.759 He was rejected by his own. 00:09:08.820 --> 00:09:15.040 And John's death is a foretaste of him dying at the hands of his own people. 00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:18.780 So I think these two stories are meant to kind of shock us 00:09:18.780 --> 00:09:22.740 and prepare us for understanding the goal of why Jesus came, 00:09:22.740 --> 00:09:25.180 to be rejected by his own. 00:09:27.100 --> 00:09:28.779 So let's get into the first story. 00:09:28.779 --> 00:09:31.700 He comes to his hometown, Nazareth. 00:09:32.299 --> 00:09:33.680 Think Dungok. 00:09:34.120 --> 00:09:35.820 Like pretty small. 00:09:36.600 --> 00:09:39.399 That's probably offensive to speaking of offence, 00:09:39.519 --> 00:09:42.240 but if you come from Dungok, it's just... 00:09:42.240 --> 00:09:43.000 Think Townworth. 00:09:43.060 --> 00:09:43.379 There you go. 00:09:43.399 --> 00:09:44.180 I can offend myself. 00:09:45.500 --> 00:09:49.379 This community grew up, a small community, 00:09:49.379 --> 00:09:52.840 and they didn't move around like we do today. 00:09:53.519 --> 00:09:55.059 Nowhere near to the same extent. 00:09:55.519 --> 00:09:59.360 They grew up with this young, prepubescent and then adolescent 00:09:59.360 --> 00:10:04.700 and then young adult Jesus up until he's 30 years old. 00:10:05.720 --> 00:10:08.860 And now the famous son comes home. 00:10:09.620 --> 00:10:11.279 Now they could have celebrated him. 00:10:12.059 --> 00:10:15.059 Like sports stars, when they play in their hometown, 00:10:15.059 --> 00:10:18.739 the town rallies around them. 00:10:19.319 --> 00:10:20.779 They celebrate them. 00:10:21.659 --> 00:10:24.419 So if Jesus was just claiming to be another rabbi, 00:10:24.839 --> 00:10:27.119 even if he was claiming to be the top rabbi, 00:10:27.679 --> 00:10:29.439 I reckon they would have celebrated him. 00:10:30.679 --> 00:10:32.679 He would have put Nazareth on the map. 00:10:34.919 --> 00:10:39.239 At first they are astonished by what they see and what they hear, 00:10:39.319 --> 00:10:39.919 verse 44. 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:45.819 Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works from? 00:10:47.219 --> 00:10:49.379 They are astonished by... 00:10:49.379 --> 00:10:52.360 They're seeing, struggling to comprehend. 00:10:53.360 --> 00:10:54.259 What's the source? 00:10:54.879 --> 00:10:57.079 Who is the authority empowering this guy? 00:10:57.500 --> 00:10:58.519 And it's a very good question. 00:10:58.679 --> 00:10:59.979 It's not a wrong question to ask. 00:11:01.000 --> 00:11:04.079 It should have led them to faith, asking that question. 00:11:04.080 --> 00:11:10.200 They ask five rhetorical questions, 00:11:10.360 --> 00:11:11.740 all presuming the answer is yes. 00:11:11.960 --> 00:11:13.320 Is not this the carpenter's son? 00:11:14.040 --> 00:11:14.440 Yes. 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:16.600 Is not his mother called Mary? 00:11:17.500 --> 00:11:17.780 Yep. 00:11:18.440 --> 00:11:21.400 His brothers James and Joseph, Simon, Judas, his sisters with us? 00:11:21.680 --> 00:11:23.620 Where does this man get his authority from? 00:11:25.780 --> 00:11:28.000 Some people today will use the excuse, 00:11:28.259 --> 00:11:30.200 we can't even know if Jesus really existed. 00:11:30.740 --> 00:11:33.100 These people back then, they lived with him. 00:11:33.100 --> 00:11:35.560 They lived with his brothers and sisters. 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:38.940 They knew personally his mum and dad. 00:11:40.340 --> 00:11:44.480 But Jesus sat in that very synagogue listening to the teaching. 00:11:46.279 --> 00:11:47.899 They didn't throw up that excuse. 00:11:51.139 --> 00:11:55.759 Others today, they use the excuse that Jesus adopted teaching 00:11:55.759 --> 00:11:57.700 from other people, other religions. 00:11:59.460 --> 00:12:02.899 These people, they knew Jesus had no education. 00:12:03.659 --> 00:12:04.700 He was a carpenter's son. 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:08.940 He did not have formal training like the Apostle Paul under Gamaliel. 00:12:09.560 --> 00:12:11.519 He did not have any education. 00:12:12.600 --> 00:12:13.340 They knew. 00:12:14.600 --> 00:12:15.820 He had no education. 00:12:16.080 --> 00:12:19.379 He was from a poor family, not royal family. 00:12:20.340 --> 00:12:21.300 His parents were ordinary. 00:12:21.659 --> 00:12:22.540 His brothers were ordinary. 00:12:22.659 --> 00:12:23.379 His sisters were ordinary. 00:12:23.379 --> 00:12:30.379 And yet, this incredible teaching and these powerful works, 00:12:31.179 --> 00:12:34.100 where did they come from? 00:12:34.759 --> 00:12:35.740 Now, what's their choice? 00:12:35.980 --> 00:12:37.799 I think it's the same choice for us today. 00:12:38.799 --> 00:12:42.740 Believe that he is unique and that he is sent by God as he claims 00:12:42.740 --> 00:12:44.360 or throw up some excuse. 00:12:46.320 --> 00:12:48.259 Find something about him to object to. 00:12:48.259 --> 00:12:55.580 I can't see why familiarity with Jesus leads to their unbelief. 00:12:55.720 --> 00:12:59.059 I don't think it's the knowing him that leads to unbelief. 00:12:59.860 --> 00:13:04.360 They know more than anyone else how ordinary his upbringing was. 00:13:05.139 --> 00:13:05.819 They know that. 00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:10.139 They were in a great place to realise if he's got this authority, 00:13:10.139 --> 00:13:14.720 it must have come from outside of him, somewhere from above. 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:19.040 And I reckon their first-hand knowledge of him and his family 00:13:19.040 --> 00:13:22.480 would be a great starting point for trust in him. 00:13:22.620 --> 00:13:26.860 So I don't see how knowing him leads to unbelief. 00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:34.879 This rejection must have been, from a humour point of view, 00:13:36.019 --> 00:13:39.279 just incredibly painful for Jesus. 00:13:39.279 --> 00:13:44.939 I heard this week of Christians who had to flee the Taliban in Afghanistan. 00:13:46.139 --> 00:13:50.179 Imagine your own family reporting you to the Taliban 00:13:50.179 --> 00:13:52.639 because they found a Christian app on your phone. 00:13:54.259 --> 00:13:57.699 They would rather you imprisoned, maybe die, 00:13:57.839 --> 00:14:01.279 than keep owning you as part of the family, 00:14:01.559 --> 00:14:05.559 putting you outside, knowing that you might be hunted down. 00:14:05.559 --> 00:14:10.159 That is pretty deep rejection. 00:14:10.359 --> 00:14:13.699 This must have been really painful. 00:14:15.119 --> 00:14:17.099 He knows firsthand this rejection. 00:14:22.739 --> 00:14:30.079 And Jesus, he exposes why they are slow to trust him. 00:14:30.219 --> 00:14:32.159 So we've got that response. 00:14:32.159 --> 00:14:38.620 A prophet is not without honour except in his hometown and in his own household. 00:14:39.740 --> 00:14:43.519 We've got this same phrase in John's Gospel in Chapter 4, 00:14:43.620 --> 00:14:47.480 and I think it's interesting there that the context there is about the Samaritans. 00:14:48.019 --> 00:14:52.240 The Samaritans rally to Jesus, and yet the Jews don't. 00:14:52.620 --> 00:14:55.500 And here in Matthew's Gospel, in this section that we're coming into, 00:14:56.360 --> 00:14:58.959 even the disciples are pretty slow to believe. 00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:01.400 Like, they confess Jesus to be Messiah. 00:15:01.920 --> 00:15:03.540 Next minute Jesus says, I'm going to die. 00:15:03.700 --> 00:15:04.860 Peter goes, no way. 00:15:06.560 --> 00:15:07.920 They're slow to believe. 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:12.660 There's one person who understands Jesus properly in this section, 00:15:13.240 --> 00:15:15.780 and it's a foreign Canaanite woman. 00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:19.879 That is the highlight of this section in Matthew. 00:15:19.879 --> 00:15:25.840 So why did Jesus say this to them? 00:15:25.899 --> 00:15:30.179 A prophet is not without honour except in his hometown, his own household. 00:15:30.519 --> 00:15:33.399 At first, I've always thought it's to console himself. 00:15:34.679 --> 00:15:36.840 It's kind of like, it's okay, Jesus. 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:39.519 You're rejected here. 00:15:39.899 --> 00:15:40.820 Incredibly painful. 00:15:41.080 --> 00:15:41.759 But don't worry. 00:15:42.500 --> 00:15:43.439 Others will accept you. 00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:47.640 But that just, like, another thought. 00:15:48.160 --> 00:15:50.580 You think about that, that can't be right. 00:15:51.520 --> 00:15:56.880 An insecure person has to justify themselves saying to other people, 00:15:58.060 --> 00:15:59.440 he's not consoling himself. 00:15:59.560 --> 00:16:00.840 So why did he say it to them? 00:16:02.440 --> 00:16:04.120 It must be for their sake. 00:16:04.420 --> 00:16:05.940 I think he's answering their question. 00:16:06.160 --> 00:16:08.900 Where did I get my wisdom and mighty works from? 00:16:10.480 --> 00:16:12.480 Can't you see I'm sent by God? 00:16:13.880 --> 00:16:16.000 The obvious answer is I'm a prophet. 00:16:17.100 --> 00:16:18.300 Not just any prophet. 00:16:18.420 --> 00:16:20.820 A prophet like Moses, who was promised to come. 00:16:22.620 --> 00:16:27.200 I think the cause of their offence was they've always known him as this ordinary guy, 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:33.820 but now his authority is demanding that they come under his authority. 00:16:34.780 --> 00:16:38.240 They've got to treat him completely differently, submitting to his authority. 00:16:39.240 --> 00:16:40.640 I think that's where the offence is. 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:44.720 It's not because he's familiar to them, but he's now saying, 00:16:45.159 --> 00:16:46.439 you need to come under my authority. 00:16:48.500 --> 00:16:54.399 He had come to give them eternal life, but only, we've got in verse 58, 00:16:54.759 --> 00:16:58.439 he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. 00:16:58.639 --> 00:17:03.439 He had come to give them eternal life, and only a few people accepted him. 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:11.759 So him not being able to do many mighty works, I'm going to quote Carson here just to explain that. 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:15.660 The could not is related to Jesus' mission. 00:17:15.660 --> 00:17:20.440 Just as Jesus could not turn stones into bread when he was being tempted in the wilderness, 00:17:21.019 --> 00:17:22.540 that would be violating his mission. 00:17:23.380 --> 00:17:28.100 So he could not do miracles indiscriminately without turning his mission into a sideshow. 00:17:29.100 --> 00:17:34.779 The lack of faith of the people was doubtless a source of profound grief and frustration for Jesus, 00:17:35.300 --> 00:17:38.120 rather than something that stripped him of power. 00:17:38.119 --> 00:17:46.859 So I think what's going on, if Jesus had just done miracles without people depending on him, 00:17:46.959 --> 00:17:52.739 coming to him in faith, that would be suggesting that you can have life outside of coming to Jesus, 00:17:52.859 --> 00:17:55.639 and that would not be a loving thing to do, because it's just not true. 00:17:57.579 --> 00:18:03.039 Another thought is, maybe he didn't do the miracles so he didn't add guilt to their unbelief. 00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:06.139 It would have made them more guilty. 00:18:10.539 --> 00:18:18.639 So, I can't think of a more devastating story of rejection than his own people, his own family. 00:18:19.299 --> 00:18:23.759 Now, James comes to believe after the resurrection, but his own family at this point, 00:18:24.359 --> 00:18:27.220 his own community, don't believe. 00:18:29.759 --> 00:18:32.599 Isn't it the people closest who can hurt us the most? 00:18:33.039 --> 00:18:40.579 They saw God with their eyes, they heard him with their ears, with Jesus in front of them. 00:18:40.759 --> 00:18:42.799 His power, his word, his character. 00:18:44.200 --> 00:18:48.899 They got a foretaste of him, but they didn't embrace him. 00:18:51.740 --> 00:18:57.339 I think Matthew is preparing us for what Jesus came to do, to be rejected by his own people. 00:18:58.099 --> 00:19:00.980 God came to his own, and his own didn't receive him. 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:10.899 I find it super encouraging that Jesus actually went to Nazareth. 00:19:12.420 --> 00:19:15.240 He would have known the rejection that was awaiting him. 00:19:16.539 --> 00:19:20.420 He would have entered it willingly, as painful as it was. 00:19:20.839 --> 00:19:21.779 And why did he do it? 00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:23.980 To give them eternal life. 00:19:23.980 --> 00:19:31.299 He entered that town knowing he would be rejected, but he did it out of compassion. 00:19:31.299 --> 00:19:41.599 Then we're shown this next story, this gruesome end to John the Baptist. 00:19:44.359 --> 00:19:47.039 King Herod offers his opinion about who Jesus is. 00:19:47.659 --> 00:19:51.259 John risen from the dead, which just seems to be this superstitious belief. 00:19:51.259 --> 00:19:59.259 And then verse 3, we're kind of like, the camera fades, the tone of the scene changes. 00:20:00.440 --> 00:20:02.279 We're going back in time a few months. 00:20:02.279 --> 00:20:12.000 I'm wondering why verses 3 to 12, why do we have this long description of John's death? 00:20:12.279 --> 00:20:16.420 It seems to be taking the spotlight off of Jesus for a time. 00:20:16.879 --> 00:20:18.720 It seems to wreck the flow. 00:20:20.200 --> 00:20:22.359 It could have been summed up in one sentence. 00:20:23.799 --> 00:20:27.859 But we've already seen in Matthew's Gospel how closely John and Jesus are tied. 00:20:27.859 --> 00:20:33.339 John was the forerunner of Jesus, pronouncing that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 00:20:34.079 --> 00:20:34.859 You need to repent. 00:20:35.259 --> 00:20:41.099 And then Jesus himself comes under his baptism, identifying with sinful Israel, taking on their sin. 00:20:42.159 --> 00:20:45.000 So these guys are linked. 00:20:45.259 --> 00:20:46.419 Their ministry is linked. 00:20:47.859 --> 00:20:54.879 Jesus has already said in Matthew's Gospel that John is the Elijah that was promised to come before the great day of the Lord. 00:20:54.880 --> 00:21:03.120 And it's interesting because here we've got someone who's very similar in character to King Ahab and Jezebel. 00:21:03.700 --> 00:21:09.980 You've got a weak leader and you've got this ruthless wife. 00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:11.460 Both wicked. 00:21:13.360 --> 00:21:19.620 I'm not sure what the implication of that is, but it's interesting that they had similar experiences. 00:21:19.619 --> 00:21:28.579 So John is at the end of this long line of prophets who have died at the hands of God's people. 00:21:29.599 --> 00:21:31.039 He's at the end of a long line. 00:21:31.299 --> 00:21:33.839 But it's not the end of the line. 00:21:34.859 --> 00:21:37.679 He is the bridge into Jesus' ministry. 00:21:38.239 --> 00:21:41.119 He is the forerunner of the suffering of Christ. 00:21:42.219 --> 00:21:46.279 And then Christ tells his disciples, follow me, take up your cross. 00:21:46.279 --> 00:21:57.720 There's this long line of suffering prophets and then it prepares us for Christ's own suffering, his own mission to come and suffer and die. 00:22:00.440 --> 00:22:03.639 So getting into the story a bit, Herod was a tetrarch. 00:22:03.819 --> 00:22:07.019 So there was four kings in that region. 00:22:07.160 --> 00:22:07.899 That's what that means. 00:22:08.180 --> 00:22:09.519 So Rome split up the power. 00:22:09.519 --> 00:22:13.019 Now, Galilee and Perea was his jurisdiction. 00:22:13.180 --> 00:22:17.099 So John and Jeze's ministry was under Herod's jurisdiction. 00:22:17.339 --> 00:22:25.379 And apparently his court was known for just being wild and lawless, like not trying to follow God's law. 00:22:26.619 --> 00:22:34.220 And then he does something just incredibly politically and morally, religiously scandalous. 00:22:34.220 --> 00:22:39.039 He takes his own brother, who is still living, as his wife. 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:44.259 So divorce, not just the divorce, but taking that wife. 00:22:44.519 --> 00:22:53.000 And that wife came from the neighbouring, she was the daughter of the neighbouring official. 00:22:53.380 --> 00:22:54.720 I should probably read my notes. 00:22:54.960 --> 00:22:57.100 The king of the Nebuchadnezzar. 00:22:57.099 --> 00:23:05.099 It eventually led to war, but the Romans came and saved Herod's... 00:23:05.099 --> 00:23:06.500 Saved Herod. 00:23:09.139 --> 00:23:12.359 So John was crying out like the prophets of old. 00:23:12.459 --> 00:23:16.159 The prophets were above the kings in terms of authority. 00:23:18.439 --> 00:23:20.859 And then Herod puts him in prison because of it. 00:23:21.019 --> 00:23:23.659 He wants to continue his lawless living. 00:23:23.660 --> 00:23:28.880 Let's not be confused here. 00:23:29.700 --> 00:23:32.800 Verse 5 tells us plainly what Herod wanted to do with John. 00:23:33.400 --> 00:23:35.000 He wanted to put John to death. 00:23:36.279 --> 00:23:39.480 But he feared the people because they held him to be a prophet. 00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:45.840 And then in a drunken, probably drunken, birthday party in front of his important guests, 00:23:46.580 --> 00:23:51.980 Herodias' daughter, probably 12 to 14 years old, danced and pleased Herod in the crowd. 00:23:53.660 --> 00:24:00.300 And pretending to be some great monarch, he publicly promises up to half the kingdom. 00:24:02.060 --> 00:24:06.259 He shouldn't have given the oath and he shouldn't have followed through on the oath even more. 00:24:07.279 --> 00:24:10.759 But he feared those important people in front of him. 00:24:12.060 --> 00:24:15.759 He feared the crowd because the crowd held John to be a prophet. 00:24:15.759 --> 00:24:19.539 But in that moment, he feared his guests even more. 00:24:20.299 --> 00:24:27.039 He didn't want to come across as some weak ruler, not coming through with his oath. 00:24:28.960 --> 00:24:30.819 I think we've watched too many movies. 00:24:31.720 --> 00:24:36.200 And this whole idea of beheading is not gruesome enough, I thought. 00:24:36.200 --> 00:24:43.920 But as John serves coffee this morning, just imagine my head next to those coffees. 00:24:44.840 --> 00:24:46.420 Someone's not liking what I'm saying. 00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:51.940 And so they cut off my head and put it on a silver platter. 00:24:55.660 --> 00:24:56.900 It's a gruesome picture. 00:24:56.900 --> 00:25:01.680 This is the greatest prophet, Jesus has said. 00:25:02.600 --> 00:25:06.920 And Herod has just cut off the mouthpiece of God's head. 00:25:12.960 --> 00:25:15.900 Like Jesus, there's no legal trial here. 00:25:16.460 --> 00:25:17.440 There is no justice. 00:25:17.440 --> 00:25:25.160 And like John, Jesus' execution comes from a leader who gives in to the crowds. 00:25:26.660 --> 00:25:33.440 I think we're just being painted here that John is a forerunner for Jesus' suffering 00:25:33.440 --> 00:25:35.820 so that we can understand his suffering when we see it. 00:25:37.299 --> 00:25:42.400 I think the most disturbing detail in this story is what isn't said. 00:25:42.400 --> 00:25:48.940 God could have struck down Herod like he does in Acts. 00:25:49.620 --> 00:25:53.440 He could have struck him down before he had the chance to do this and save his prophet. 00:25:53.620 --> 00:25:56.600 He could have opened the prison cell doors like he does in Acts. 00:25:57.240 --> 00:25:57.800 But he doesn't. 00:25:58.560 --> 00:25:59.740 What is Jesus doing? 00:25:59.900 --> 00:26:00.620 We're not told. 00:26:03.380 --> 00:26:07.220 I think what we're not told is some of the most disturbing part of this. 00:26:09.680 --> 00:26:12.060 This was no mere accident on God's watch. 00:26:12.940 --> 00:26:19.900 It must have grieved God's heart and yet it was God's will for John to die like this. 00:26:20.440 --> 00:26:24.440 It prepares us for that greater injustice, that greater will of God, 00:26:25.180 --> 00:26:29.320 that he sent his son to experience this same kind of fate. 00:26:30.940 --> 00:26:35.940 It was God's will, God's plan for his son to be rejected by his own people, 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:37.080 even at the point of death. 00:26:38.920 --> 00:26:40.340 Why would God do that? 00:26:42.400 --> 00:26:52.100 Well, with Herod, we get an insight into his motives for why he did it. 00:26:52.600 --> 00:27:00.200 And I think that helps us examine our motives and how we can be reluctant to put our trust in Jesus. 00:27:00.200 --> 00:27:08.539 We're told he feared the crowd, he feared the people, and he wanted to avoid being ashamed before his guests. 00:27:10.340 --> 00:27:18.019 Herod believed that people could give him the respect and the admiration and the love and acceptance he craved. 00:27:18.019 --> 00:27:29.180 And I think the great irony is that as lawless as Herod was, the Pharisees who were obsessed with keeping the law 00:27:29.180 --> 00:27:33.039 had more in common with Herod than they did with the prophets. 00:27:33.039 --> 00:27:41.139 We get later in the Gospel, in chapter 22, they're attacking Jesus and they're questioning where his authority has come from. 00:27:41.899 --> 00:27:43.119 And listen to what happens. 00:27:43.859 --> 00:27:45.920 Jesus goes, or answered this question first. 00:27:46.240 --> 00:27:48.039 The baptism of John, where did it come from? 00:27:48.099 --> 00:27:49.579 From heaven or from man? 00:27:50.220 --> 00:27:52.180 And they discussed it among themselves, saying, 00:27:52.279 --> 00:27:54.019 If we say from heaven, he will say to us, 00:27:54.079 --> 00:27:55.200 Then why didn't you believe in him? 00:27:55.200 --> 00:27:59.059 But if we say from man, we are afraid of the crowd. 00:27:59.779 --> 00:28:02.039 For they all hold that John was a prophet. 00:28:02.160 --> 00:28:03.019 So they answered Jesus, 00:28:03.340 --> 00:28:03.920 We don't know. 00:28:07.980 --> 00:28:11.420 For as much as they think they're obeying the law of God, 00:28:11.519 --> 00:28:14.100 really they're acting in fear of people. 00:28:15.120 --> 00:28:16.539 Wanting the praise of people. 00:28:18.319 --> 00:28:19.940 Like we heard in the Sermon on the Mount, 00:28:20.059 --> 00:28:23.380 they practice their religion for the audience of others. 00:28:23.380 --> 00:28:28.440 Whether someone is lawless or trying to be law-keeping, 00:28:28.560 --> 00:28:30.900 if they're doing that for the praise of people, 00:28:32.140 --> 00:28:34.340 they're not serving God. 00:28:34.500 --> 00:28:40.300 And it's actually that seeking that praise from people is a huge barrier to putting our trust in Jesus. 00:28:40.960 --> 00:28:43.600 It's a huge barrier to living a faithful life, 00:28:43.960 --> 00:28:45.980 wanting to please God the Father. 00:28:45.980 --> 00:28:53.900 Jesus points this out pointedly in John chapter 5. 00:28:54.880 --> 00:28:55.240 He says, 00:28:55.360 --> 00:28:59.740 How can you believe when you receive glory from one another 00:28:59.740 --> 00:29:03.519 and do not seek the glory that comes only from God? 00:29:03.519 --> 00:29:12.859 We might think that this is a problem for timid people, 00:29:13.539 --> 00:29:14.599 being people pleasers, 00:29:14.859 --> 00:29:16.579 but this was a problem for Peter. 00:29:16.839 --> 00:29:18.160 He was a bold person. 00:29:18.680 --> 00:29:20.960 And what do we see him doing at the end of the Gospel? 00:29:21.480 --> 00:29:22.799 Before a servant girl, 00:29:23.500 --> 00:29:24.639 he's denying Christ. 00:29:24.819 --> 00:29:26.000 He's saying an oath. 00:29:26.079 --> 00:29:27.759 He's calling curses down on himself. 00:29:27.900 --> 00:29:29.240 I do not know Jesus. 00:29:30.099 --> 00:29:30.980 This is Peter, 00:29:30.980 --> 00:29:33.180 the one who speaks before he thinks. 00:29:34.059 --> 00:29:35.819 This is all of our problem. 00:29:36.819 --> 00:29:39.940 Whether we're people pleasers or really bold and rash, 00:29:40.960 --> 00:29:44.360 we can all be seeking the praise of others. 00:29:48.380 --> 00:29:53.779 So can I pause and let us reflect on where in your life you are seeking the acceptance of people? 00:29:53.900 --> 00:29:59.660 And remember, I'm asking this because it can be a huge barrier to us putting our trust in Jesus. 00:30:00.980 --> 00:30:05.960 I think we should look for where we feel compelled to act in a certain way. 00:30:08.360 --> 00:30:14.299 Look at areas of our life where we don't even ask the question whether it pleases God or not, 00:30:14.620 --> 00:30:16.279 because it's going well for us. 00:30:17.000 --> 00:30:18.120 We don't even ask the question. 00:30:18.220 --> 00:30:18.759 We don't care. 00:30:18.759 --> 00:30:25.759 I think we should look for areas in our life where we feel trapped by the opinion of a person, 00:30:26.759 --> 00:30:31.640 as if somehow that person is making us respond in a certain way. 00:30:32.819 --> 00:30:37.680 I think all those things are indicators that we actually think those people can give us 00:30:37.680 --> 00:30:41.660 the praise and glory we seek. 00:30:41.660 --> 00:30:46.860 So to use a book titled by Edward Welch, 00:30:47.100 --> 00:30:50.800 When People Are Big, God Is Small, 00:30:52.120 --> 00:30:57.779 which makes it a massive barrier to trust in Christ 00:30:57.779 --> 00:31:02.000 and a massive barrier of living for Christ and stepping out in risk. 00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:07.700 I'm going to share a few things that Welch says in his book to help us understand 00:31:07.700 --> 00:31:10.039 just a little bit more how this works. 00:31:11.059 --> 00:31:11.640 He says this, 00:31:11.700 --> 00:31:14.700 We fear people because they can expose and humiliate us. 00:31:15.480 --> 00:31:17.859 They can reject and ridicule or despise us. 00:31:18.420 --> 00:31:20.119 They can hunt, attack or threaten us. 00:31:21.799 --> 00:31:22.500 And then he says this. 00:31:22.619 --> 00:31:23.920 I think this is the key. 00:31:24.980 --> 00:31:27.640 People are our idol of choice. 00:31:27.640 --> 00:31:31.100 So when we think idolatry, we often think money. 00:31:31.960 --> 00:31:34.640 He's claiming people are our idol of choice. 00:31:34.759 --> 00:31:40.220 We worship them as ones who have God-like exposing gazes. 00:31:40.340 --> 00:31:47.100 We worship them as having God-like ability to fill us with esteem and love and admiration 00:31:47.100 --> 00:31:48.840 and acceptance and respect. 00:31:49.920 --> 00:31:51.340 Other psychological desires. 00:31:52.640 --> 00:31:54.360 And the whole strategy backfires. 00:31:54.359 --> 00:32:00.459 We never expect that using people to meet our desires leaves us enslaved to them. 00:32:00.939 --> 00:32:04.240 In the biblical sense, what we fear shows our allegiance. 00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:06.539 It shows where we put our trust. 00:32:06.679 --> 00:32:09.899 It shows who is big in our lives. 00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:18.559 So how do we fix this? 00:32:18.699 --> 00:32:19.740 What's the remedy for this? 00:32:19.740 --> 00:32:24.740 How do we make Jesus big and put people's opinions in their proper place? 00:32:28.319 --> 00:32:34.180 I think it's by looking for our safety and acceptance, not in other people, not even in our own people, 00:32:34.319 --> 00:32:36.900 whether that's family or our own community. 00:32:38.680 --> 00:32:41.579 Not looking for our safety and acceptance in people, 00:32:42.500 --> 00:32:46.559 but looking for it in the one who is rejected by the whole world. 00:32:46.559 --> 00:32:48.799 It seems counterintuitive. 00:32:49.519 --> 00:32:53.179 The one who is rejected, that is the one we will find. 00:32:54.139 --> 00:32:55.119 Our acceptance. 00:32:58.220 --> 00:33:05.159 If you knew everything about me, you would probably find reasons to avoid me. 00:33:05.419 --> 00:33:08.359 You'd find reasons to cut me off. 00:33:09.859 --> 00:33:10.960 I wouldn't blame you. 00:33:11.099 --> 00:33:12.519 But that's not the case with Jesus. 00:33:12.519 --> 00:33:19.559 His character, his truthfulness, the gracious words out of his mouth, 00:33:19.660 --> 00:33:21.680 the fact that he puts his life on the line, 00:33:22.500 --> 00:33:26.680 he knowingly moves towards our rejection so that he can give us life. 00:33:28.319 --> 00:33:30.639 Everyone should accept this man. 00:33:33.879 --> 00:33:35.480 He deserves full acceptance. 00:33:35.480 --> 00:33:38.400 I think we read this story of being rejected at Nazareth and like, 00:33:38.460 --> 00:33:40.079 okay, other people who reject Jesus. 00:33:41.640 --> 00:33:43.819 How are they rejecting this man? 00:33:45.700 --> 00:33:47.099 He's God in the flesh. 00:33:51.839 --> 00:33:54.220 We need to look for our acceptance in him. 00:33:54.720 --> 00:33:58.620 And I think key to it is owning our rejection of him. 00:34:00.360 --> 00:34:02.839 Owning the fact that we can be hesitant to trust him. 00:34:02.839 --> 00:34:09.199 Owning and confessing the fact that we can fail to see him as big as he is. 00:34:10.380 --> 00:34:13.119 Owning the fact that we seek praise from others instead. 00:34:15.219 --> 00:34:19.039 But then we need to see his great compassion. 00:34:19.779 --> 00:34:22.900 He doesn't cut us off for that like other people would. 00:34:23.279 --> 00:34:24.739 He moves towards us. 00:34:25.980 --> 00:34:27.980 He moves towards our rejection of him. 00:34:27.980 --> 00:34:32.539 Willingly being cut off, not only by his own people, 00:34:32.960 --> 00:34:36.079 but as we learn later on, even cut off by God the Father. 00:34:36.900 --> 00:34:38.820 He moves towards our rejection. 00:34:40.400 --> 00:34:46.059 And he gets cut off so that we might come to share the acceptance he has by God the Father. 00:34:47.199 --> 00:34:53.039 Fully filled with total love, total acceptance, total safety, 00:34:53.039 --> 00:34:55.880 that he enjoys for eternity. 00:34:59.380 --> 00:35:03.440 If we see Jesus like that, then we see him as big as he is. 00:35:03.440 --> 00:35:05.440 And people will be put in their place. 00:35:09.019 --> 00:35:13.380 Then we can follow him as he calls us to take up our cross 00:35:13.380 --> 00:35:16.480 and willingly risk rejection by our own people 00:35:16.480 --> 00:35:22.599 so that they might know the acceptance that we have found in God and Christ. 00:35:23.780 --> 00:35:26.699 We'll only do that if we see Jesus as big. 00:35:28.639 --> 00:35:34.260 We'll only do it if we feel how fully and permanently we are safe in him. 00:35:35.360 --> 00:35:40.940 We'll only do it if we don't actually see it as shameful to be rejected by people. 00:35:41.559 --> 00:35:45.940 That's actually sharing in our Messiah's suffering. 00:35:45.940 --> 00:35:49.119 It's not shameful if we're seeking their eternal good. 00:35:52.500 --> 00:35:58.679 So I don't think I belong in this society that rejects God. 00:35:59.500 --> 00:36:00.800 And I don't think we're meant to. 00:36:01.639 --> 00:36:03.300 The Bible is very clear on it, isn't it? 00:36:04.059 --> 00:36:08.159 There is no safe haven on earth if you're a follower of Christ. 00:36:08.860 --> 00:36:13.220 With everyone backing their own opinion rather than submitting to Jesus' wisdom, 00:36:13.219 --> 00:36:16.879 with everyone seeking affirmation from people rather than from God, 00:36:17.399 --> 00:36:23.599 you cannot live a godly life in Christ Jesus and expect to be safe and belong. 00:36:23.599 --> 00:36:31.380 But in Jesus' rejection, we have full acceptance. 00:36:31.719 --> 00:36:33.319 In him, we have full safety. 00:36:33.719 --> 00:36:39.519 And that's when we can have the resources to risk our lives for the sake of others and follow him. 00:36:40.619 --> 00:36:45.880 We need to find in him, in his rejection, full acceptance by God. 00:36:45.880 --> 00:36:56.000 So let's see God as big and people as needing to see God and Jesus as big. 00:36:57.440 --> 00:36:58.380 Will you pray with me? 00:36:58.480 --> 00:36:58.800 Let's pray. 00:36:58.800 --> 00:37:16.980 Father, I pray that your words would sink deep into our hearts, 00:37:16.980 --> 00:37:25.560 that you would help us to celebrate just how loving you are, 00:37:25.559 --> 00:37:33.099 that you have moved towards us, that you sent your son knowing that he would be rejected by the entire world, 00:37:33.639 --> 00:37:34.739 ourselves included. 00:37:36.059 --> 00:37:37.119 But you did it. 00:37:37.440 --> 00:37:38.119 You did it. 00:37:39.219 --> 00:37:44.400 Because you are that kind of God who loves out of your freedom to love. 00:37:44.980 --> 00:37:48.759 Help us to see just how incredible you are that you have loved us in this way. 00:37:48.760 --> 00:37:56.800 And I pray, Lord, that you would help us to be satisfied in the safety that we have in Jesus, 00:37:57.100 --> 00:38:01.340 that we are fully accepted by you, our Father in heaven. 00:38:02.100 --> 00:38:11.340 Please help us to know we belong to you so that we might risk our lives for the sake of others 00:38:11.340 --> 00:38:13.740 who need to come and see you for who you are. 00:38:14.820 --> 00:38:15.800 In Jesus' name I pray. 00:38:16.000 --> 00:38:16.260 Amen. 00:38:16.260 --> 00:38:16.360 Amen. 00:38:18.760 --> 00:38:20.760 Amen.