WEBVTT

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 Amen. I wonder when was the last time you had a conversation that ran along these kind of lines.

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 I think for me it was last week. Are you still friends with anyone from your school? Or for our children, are you still friends with some people from your nursery class perhaps?

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 Or are you still connected to people from your university days? We tend to have those conversations from time to time.

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 Maybe especially in a place like Edinburgh because a lot of people I guess move to Edinburgh for a variety of reasons and that involves leaving people behind.

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 But also just because life is so fast moving and we're much more mobile than we used to be.

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 Our lives seem to be much more busy. There's a whole world of opportunities.

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 So we tend to be more likely to be moving around from place to place.

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 And all of that we recognize has impact on friendships and relationships.

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 And that's really significant because it can create a challenge for us to have deep and abiding relationships

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 so that there are people in our lives in whom we can place our trust.

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 There are lots of people who live with isolation, who live in loneliness, who don't really have someone they can trust.

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 And perhaps it's because of social mobility for various reasons.

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 But then we think about our own human limitations.

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 That's a factor as well.

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 There are times when we perhaps want to be a good friend to somebody,

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 but we find we don't have the time or we don't have the capacity, we don't have the availability.

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 We have experienced our own letdowns, I'm sure, when we think about our relationships.

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 And we have let others down.

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 There are natural changes that happen in life.

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 There are seasons and rhythms to life that can make our availability for other people more limited.

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 And so the question can still stand,

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 is there somebody who I can trust, especially when I find myself in a time of need?

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 And one of the things that Matthew's gospel in this section brings to us with resounding clarity

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 is that we have in Jesus a friend, a savior, a Lord who is entirely trustworthy.

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 So he's bringing, Matthew's bringing this journey section to a close,

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 and he's gone really rapidly through a whole range of stories.

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 And all the way along, Jesus has been showing his credentials.

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 He truly is God's promised Messiah.

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 He really is bringing in the kingdom of God.

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 And Matthew chooses to close the journey with this two stories,

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 once more drawing attention to the trustworthiness of Jesus,

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 that he is faithful to his God-given mission,

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 and that he is faithful to all those who trust him.

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 And he's leading us towards a crucial question for all of us to consider.

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 It's the question that was first asked of the blind men there in verse 28,

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 do you believe?

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 And this little section highlights two very different responses to Jesus.

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 And so it invites us to consider and respond to Jesus for ourselves.

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 So two very simple, brief things to say this evening.

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 First, Jesus is trustworthy because he is faithful to his mission.

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 We're going to jump ahead just one page, a couple of chapters.

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 Matthew chapter 11, verses 2 to 6.

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 You have this moment where John the Baptist is in prison,

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 and he sends some of his disciples to ask Jesus,

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 Jesus, are you the one who is to come?

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 Are you really God's promised Messiah, or should we expect someone else?

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 And what Jesus does is so helpful,

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 because he draws on at least a couple of passages from the prophet Isaiah,

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 and he gives a checklist.

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 This is what God said his Messiah would do.

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 Verse 4 of chapter 11,

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 go back and report to John what you hear and see.

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 The blind receive sight, the lame walk,

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 those who have leprosy are cleansed,

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 the deaf hear, the dead are raised,

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 and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.

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 And in Matthew chapters 8 and 9,

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 Jesus has ticked each and every one of those boxes.

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 And the last one to be ticked off is that Jesus then heals

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 these blind men in verses 27 to 29.

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 He is God's appointed Messiah.

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 There's an irony within this section as well.

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 And it's the fact that these men who are physically blind,

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 spiritually they are able to see in a way that the Pharisees,

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 the religious leaders, cannot.

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 Look at how they call out to Jesus.

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 Have mercy on us, son of David.

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 So they recognize, though they are blind,

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 they recognize Jesus is son of David.

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 Now that's a title of the Messiah.

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 And what do they come for?

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 They come for mercy,

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 and that's bound up with the mission of the Messiah.

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 And so Matthew records the words of these blind men

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 because they're so important to the theme of Matthew's gospel.

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 Jesus wants us to know,

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 Matthew wants us to know that Jesus is

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 that promised Messiah King.

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 He draws so much from the Old Testament,

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 and he actually begins his gospel with genealogy

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 to make just that point.

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 Matthew chapter 1, verse 1.

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 This is the genealogy of Jesus,

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 the Messiah, the son of David.

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 Matthew begins,

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 you can trust Jesus.

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 Everything you hear about Jesus,

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 you can trust.

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 You can trust him for salvation.

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 And these blind men are enabled to see

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 that Jesus is the Savior that they need.

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 And Matthew goes on from there

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 to record further evidence

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 to indicate Jesus' faithfulness to his mission,

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 as once again, verse 32 and 33,

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 he drives out the demon.

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 A man who was demon-possessed and could not talk

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 was brought to Jesus.

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 And when the demon was driven out,

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 the man who had been mute spoke.

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 And we've seen this along the way.

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 Jesus drives out the forces of evil.

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 Here is the kingdom of God being brought in,

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 and God's king and God's kingdom is greater,

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 and darkness cannot stand against it.

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 And the crowd, they're able to see,

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 they sense the wonder.

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 What do they say?

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 End of verse 33.

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 Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.

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 God is doing a new thing

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 in the sending of Jesus.

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 But not everyone agrees.

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 The Pharisees certainly don't.

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 What's their response to Jesus?

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 Verse 34, to his mission,

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 it is by the prince of demons

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 that he drives out demons.

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 And so they will continue to reject

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 and to oppose and to slander Jesus.

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 If he controls a demon,

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 well, that's evidence that he's on the side of the demons.

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 And what's so interesting is that

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 as we read the Old Testament,

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 and as we listen to Jesus' own words,

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 we come to understand that this is part of his mission too.

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 Jesus will be the rejected one.

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 He will be the despised one.

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 He is the suffering servant,

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 so slander is no surprise.

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 Part of his faithfulness,

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 part of Jesus being trustworthy,

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 is him staying on mission

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 even when he is rejected.

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 He will remain faithful.

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 Now, it's important to recognize

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 that their conclusion is wrong.

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 It's not by the prince of demons

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 that Jesus drives out demons.

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 Rather, we listen to Jesus' own words

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 in chapter 12 and verse 28.

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 If it is by the Spirit of God

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 that I drive out demons,

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 then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

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 Jesus is the Spirit-filled king

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 promised by God

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 who is establishing his kingdom.

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 And no one, not even demons,

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 will stop Jesus building his church

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 because he is faithful to his mission.

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 And do we see how this is good news for us?

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 Here is one whom we can trust,

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 the very best friend,

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 because he is none other than the Son of God.

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 And so we can trust that Jesus will be with us.

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 As we put our trust in him,

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 he will be with us always,

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 even when we, as his followers,

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 face some of that opposition

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 and slander and rejection that Jesus did.

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 It is good for us to recognize

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 that our faith rests in one

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 who is trustworthy

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 in the mission that he was sent to do.

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 Remember the words of the angel to Joseph?

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 Matthew chapter 1, verse 21.

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 You shall call his name Jesus.

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 Why?

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 Because he is on a mission

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 to save his people from their sins.

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 And then we remember Jesus' word,

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 it is finished upon the cross.

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 He was faithful to that calling.

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 In Matthew chapter 18,

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 there is the same words that we hear

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 in Luke chapter 19, verse 10.

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 The Lord Jesus came to seek

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 and to save the lost.

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 And Jesus is faithful in that mission also.

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 Jesus will lose none of those he came to save.

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 And so when we come in our need,

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 when we feel lost,

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 when we acknowledge our sin,

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 when we come to him as Savior,

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 we come trusting

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 he will forgive.

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 He will grant us new life as a child of God

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 because he is faithful to his mission.

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 So that's the first thing.

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 The second element of Jesus' trustworthiness of this,

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 he is faithful to those who trust him.

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 And this is another aspect of Matthew 8 and 9

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 that's brought out in lots of different ways,

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 that faith comes in all shapes and sizes.

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 So the section begins with the centurion,

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 with great faith.

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 Jesus, you don't even need to come to my house,

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 just speak the word

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 and my servant will be healed.

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 I'm not worthy to have you come,

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 but I know you've got authority.

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 And Jesus says,

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 I've not found faith like this anywhere in Israel.

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 So there's that kind of faith.

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 But then if you remember

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 that the women's faith last week,

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 very secret,

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 coming quietly behind Jesus,

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 hoping no one, even Jesus,

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 wouldn't notice,

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 just touching the hem of his robe,

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 trusting there'd be healing there.

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 And now we have the faith of the blind men,

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 the faith that leads them to call out,

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 have mercy on us, son of David.

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 And then when Jesus in verse 28 asks them,

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 do you believe that I am able to do this?

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 Do you believe that I'm able to show you

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 the mercy you seek?

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 Yes, Lord.

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 They replied.

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 Then he touched their eyes and said,

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 according to your faith,

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 that it be done to you.

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 And their sight was restored.

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 And so the focus again

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 is on their faith.

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 Their faith,

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 which is in Jesus.

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 Because faith is what brings us

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 into contact with Jesus.

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 Trust in Jesus is how anyone

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 comes to know God's power

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 and God's salvation.

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 Now we said it last week,

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 but it's worth saying again,

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 the point is not,

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 and Matthew's gospel draws this out,

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 the point is not how strong

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 or how weak is my faith,

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 but who is the object of my faith.

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 And these blind men,

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 we don't know what they've heard,

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 but they've obviously heard

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 some of the stories of this man,

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 Jesus of Nazareth,

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 who's traveling around

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 and he's saying great things

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 and he's doing great miracles.

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 And they certainly know

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 something of the promise

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 that God would send a coming king

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 who would redeem and rescue his people.

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 And we certainly know

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 that their faith,

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 driven by need and desperation,

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 moves towards Jesus.

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 And isn't that how often

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 God works?

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 giving us the gift of faith

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 at that point of desperate need.

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 Isn't that often

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 when we come to an end of ourselves

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 where we recognize,

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 I need to go to Jesus.

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 He is the one who can help me

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 in my trouble.

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 And that's what they do.

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 And we discover as that happens

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 that Jesus is faithful to them

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 because Jesus is faithful

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 to all those who trust him,

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 to all who come to him in faith.

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 Because God must be faithful

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 to his promises.

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 I came across this week

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 an illustration

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 that I found really helpful

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 from Don Carson.

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 He took us back to

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 the night in the book of Exodus

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 of the Passover,

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 the first Passover.

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 So imagine with me

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 two Israelite dads

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 the night before the Passover

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 we're talking over the fence

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 to each other.

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 And there's one dad

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 and he's saying,

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 I've seen and I've heard

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 about these plagues,

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 the frogs and the boils

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 and the hail.

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 And I've heard the announcement

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 of the last plague,

00:13:47.059 --> 00:13:48.579
 the judgment on the firstborn.

00:13:49.480 --> 00:13:50.720
 And I'm really scared.

00:13:52.620 --> 00:13:54.139
 And the reply comes over the fence,

00:13:54.199 --> 00:13:55.259
 well, haven't you done

00:13:55.259 --> 00:13:56.759
 what Moses told us to do?

00:13:57.019 --> 00:13:58.480
 Haven't you sacrificed the lamb

00:13:58.480 --> 00:13:59.500
 and haven't you sprinkled

00:13:59.500 --> 00:14:01.399
 the blood on the doorposts?

00:14:02.220 --> 00:14:03.519
 Oh, of course I've done that,

00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:06.220
 but how can some blood stains

00:14:06.220 --> 00:14:09.019
 keep my son in the house safe?

00:14:10.420 --> 00:14:12.480
 I'm so afraid of what's going to happen.

00:14:14.440 --> 00:14:15.420
 To which his neighbor says,

00:14:15.500 --> 00:14:17.340
 listen, you've done all you need to.

00:14:18.100 --> 00:14:19.560
 God has promised.

00:14:20.420 --> 00:14:22.720
 Judgment will pass over every house

00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:24.840
 where blood has been sprinkled.

00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:26.960
 Don't you trust God?

00:14:26.960 --> 00:14:30.960
 They turn in for the night.

00:14:31.060 --> 00:14:33.280
 Dad one has a sleepless,

00:14:33.740 --> 00:14:34.540
 anxious night,

00:14:34.680 --> 00:14:36.840
 whereas dad two sleeps like a baby.

00:14:38.259 --> 00:14:39.400
 Next morning,

00:14:40.780 --> 00:14:43.840
 which dad has lost a firstborn son?

00:14:47.060 --> 00:14:48.379
 The answer is neither.

00:14:49.440 --> 00:14:49.920
 Why?

00:14:50.620 --> 00:14:52.660
 Because the outcome depended on God

00:14:52.660 --> 00:14:54.300
 being faithful to his promises,

00:14:54.440 --> 00:14:55.560
 not depending on whether

00:14:55.559 --> 00:14:57.899
 one person or another person's faith

00:14:57.899 --> 00:14:58.719
 is strong or weak.

00:14:58.779 --> 00:14:59.659
 That's not the point.

00:14:59.719 --> 00:15:00.179
 The point is,

00:15:00.599 --> 00:15:01.699
 who do we trust in?

00:15:02.459 --> 00:15:04.759
 And we are invited to trust in God

00:15:04.759 --> 00:15:06.879
 who is faithful to his promise to save.

00:15:07.699 --> 00:15:09.339
 We're invited to trust Jesus,

00:15:09.479 --> 00:15:10.479
 the promised Messiah,

00:15:10.579 --> 00:15:12.059
 the one who is faithful

00:15:12.059 --> 00:15:13.659
 to his mission.

00:15:14.679 --> 00:15:15.719
 And so we're invited

00:15:15.719 --> 00:15:17.379
 to come to Jesus,

00:15:18.079 --> 00:15:19.459
 to look to Jesus,

00:15:19.460 --> 00:15:23.100
 to receive and rest in the salvation

00:15:23.100 --> 00:15:24.900
 that Jesus has secured

00:15:24.900 --> 00:15:25.840
 through his death

00:15:25.840 --> 00:15:27.660
 and his resurrection.

00:15:28.660 --> 00:15:30.420
 And so Matthew closes the section

00:15:30.420 --> 00:15:31.440
 saying to us,

00:15:31.560 --> 00:15:33.000
 Jesus is trustworthy.

00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:35.519
 He continues his mission.

00:15:35.620 --> 00:15:36.740
 He fulfills his mission.

00:15:37.080 --> 00:15:39.180
 He is faithful to those who trust him.

00:15:40.639 --> 00:15:41.879
 And he'll show that

00:15:41.879 --> 00:15:43.180
 in the way the story continues.

00:15:43.340 --> 00:15:45.139
 Jesus is going to journey to the cross

00:15:45.139 --> 00:15:46.259
 in line with God's word

00:15:46.259 --> 00:15:47.080
 and God's will.

00:15:47.080 --> 00:15:49.160
 And having completed

00:15:49.160 --> 00:15:50.340
 his work of salvation,

00:15:50.520 --> 00:15:51.500
 Jesus will then journey

00:15:51.500 --> 00:15:52.280
 from the tomb

00:15:52.280 --> 00:15:53.440
 in victory

00:15:53.440 --> 00:15:54.400
 just as he promised.

00:15:54.840 --> 00:15:56.160
 And Jesus will journey again

00:15:56.160 --> 00:15:57.360
 to return to heaven

00:15:57.360 --> 00:15:58.500
 to sit on his throne.

00:15:59.540 --> 00:16:01.160
 He is faithful to his mission.

00:16:02.920 --> 00:16:03.860
 And so you and I today,

00:16:03.960 --> 00:16:04.620
 we can trust him

00:16:04.620 --> 00:16:05.540
 to forgive our sin.

00:16:06.980 --> 00:16:07.379
 You and I,

00:16:07.540 --> 00:16:08.160
 we can trust him

00:16:08.160 --> 00:16:09.920
 to restore our life with God.

00:16:10.220 --> 00:16:11.379
 We can trust him

00:16:11.379 --> 00:16:12.180
 in our needs

00:16:12.180 --> 00:16:13.660
 and in our fears.

00:16:13.660 --> 00:16:15.360
 We can trust him

00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:16.639
 to grant to us

00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:17.700
 eternal life

00:16:17.700 --> 00:16:19.080
 with our God.

00:16:20.659 --> 00:16:22.879
 Jesus is trustworthy.

00:16:25.220 --> 00:16:26.740
 Back to verse 28.

00:16:27.580 --> 00:16:28.820
 Do we believe it?

00:16:31.480 --> 00:16:32.460
 And we need to ask the question

00:16:32.460 --> 00:16:33.720
 because plenty in Jesus' day

00:16:33.720 --> 00:16:34.000
 didn't.

00:16:34.080 --> 00:16:35.259
 We see it in the Pharisees.

00:16:35.740 --> 00:16:36.519
 They were blinded

00:16:36.519 --> 00:16:37.039
 to the glory

00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:38.139
 and the goodness of Jesus.

00:16:39.100 --> 00:16:39.860
 They were blind

00:16:39.860 --> 00:16:40.539
 to his glory

00:16:40.539 --> 00:16:41.360
 and to his love,

00:16:41.460 --> 00:16:42.639
 to his power to save

00:16:42.639 --> 00:16:44.639
 as the promised king

00:16:44.639 --> 00:16:46.699
 and they rejected him

00:16:46.699 --> 00:16:48.360
 and they stayed

00:16:48.360 --> 00:16:49.080
 on the outside

00:16:49.080 --> 00:16:50.059
 and still today,

00:16:50.659 --> 00:16:51.419
 despite evidence,

00:16:51.559 --> 00:16:52.519
 many stay

00:16:52.519 --> 00:16:53.699
 on the outside.

00:16:55.659 --> 00:16:56.759
 And as we continue

00:16:56.759 --> 00:16:57.799
 in Matthew's gospel,

00:16:57.939 --> 00:16:59.259
 we hear Jesus sound,

00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:00.259
 serious,

00:17:00.539 --> 00:17:02.019
 somber warnings

00:17:02.019 --> 00:17:03.379
 about that,

00:17:03.480 --> 00:17:04.519
 the reality

00:17:04.519 --> 00:17:05.960
 of future condemnation

00:17:05.960 --> 00:17:06.500
 for those

00:17:06.500 --> 00:17:07.400
 who refuse

00:17:07.400 --> 00:17:08.299
 to acknowledge him

00:17:08.299 --> 00:17:09.099
 and turn to him

00:17:09.099 --> 00:17:09.859
 for salvation.

00:17:09.859 --> 00:17:13.419
 And so we're invited

00:17:13.419 --> 00:17:14.159
 to trust,

00:17:14.599 --> 00:17:15.459
 to respond

00:17:15.459 --> 00:17:16.519
 to Jesus' love

00:17:16.519 --> 00:17:17.379
 and to Jesus'

00:17:17.559 --> 00:17:18.159
 loving warning

00:17:18.159 --> 00:17:19.000
 and to come to him

00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:19.439
 in faith.

00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:21.839
 But we see too

00:17:21.839 --> 00:17:22.779
 throughout the gospels

00:17:22.779 --> 00:17:23.759
 and throughout the pages

00:17:23.759 --> 00:17:24.519
 of church history

00:17:24.519 --> 00:17:26.139
 that many do believe,

00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:27.079
 like the blind man,

00:17:27.719 --> 00:17:29.059
 that Jesus is trustworthy,

00:17:29.939 --> 00:17:31.099
 he is God's king,

00:17:31.459 --> 00:17:32.599
 he does show mercy,

00:17:32.959 --> 00:17:34.259
 he can restore us

00:17:34.259 --> 00:17:35.240
 and give us wholeness.

00:17:36.859 --> 00:17:37.740
 And so as Matthew

00:17:37.740 --> 00:17:38.659
 draws the section

00:17:38.660 --> 00:17:39.519
 to a close,

00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:40.900
 we're invited

00:17:40.900 --> 00:17:42.060
 to follow the faith

00:17:42.060 --> 00:17:42.920
 of the blind man,

00:17:43.620 --> 00:17:44.700
 to acknowledge Jesus

00:17:44.700 --> 00:17:45.880
 as our Lord,

00:17:46.019 --> 00:17:46.940
 as our king,

00:17:47.480 --> 00:17:48.540
 to come to him

00:17:48.540 --> 00:17:49.320
 for salvation,

00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:50.460
 to come to him

00:17:50.460 --> 00:17:51.100
 for help,

00:17:51.580 --> 00:17:52.700
 to trust him

00:17:52.700 --> 00:17:53.940
 that he is

00:17:53.940 --> 00:17:55.220
 and will always be

00:17:55.220 --> 00:17:56.320
 trustworthy

00:17:56.320 --> 00:17:58.259
 to come to him

00:17:58.259 --> 00:17:58.820
 in our need.

00:17:59.259 --> 00:17:59.399
 of the night.

00:17:59.399 --> 00:18:00.319
 of the night.

00:18:00.319 --> 00:18:00.319


00:18:00.319 --> 00:18:00.939
 of the night.

00:18:00.939 --> 00:18:00.939


00:18:00.939 --> 00:18:00.939


00:18:00.939 --> 00:18:01.339
 of the night.

00:18:01.339 --> 00:18:01.779
 of the night.

00:18:01.779 --> 00:18:02.059
 of the night.

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