Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
Good morning and welcome back.
Well, I may have been a little too ambitious last Sunday trying to finish out chapter 12.
Needless to say, it didn’t happen so this morning, if you will turn back in your Bibles to .
This morning we are going to be looking at verses 38-50, and we are going to be looking at three different topics that Jesus is covering.
First, he is going to be talking about the “Sign of Jonah” and repentance.
Second his is going to be talking about the “unclean man” and deliverance.
And third he is going to be talking about family and dedication.
And if time allows we are going to try to get to all three this morning.
And if we don’t then, we will just finish up tonight.
But, if you were here last Sunday night, you may recall that we talked at length on what I called the “Hodgepodge of Truth.”
And I called it that because it seemed as if Jesus was really throwing everything at the Jews.
You got the sense that he was pretty much fed up with their behavior and their attitudes and he was calling them out on it once and for all.
They had already began to plot to kill him and instead of backing down, Jesus actually began to double-down on them.
And if you remember, before we quit Sunday night, Jesus had called them a bunch of snakes with evil hearts.
And pretty much told them that they were not really fooling anyone, that their true nature would eventually be revealed.
Which further angered the Pharisees.
But, even though they were angry, they really had nothing to come back with and nothing they could accuse Jesus of, so they fall back on the same old arguments.
Which is exactly where we are going this morning.
So, as I mentioned we are going to be reading verses 38-50 this morning from chapter 12.
Stand with me if you are able.
Matthew writes . . .
Scripture Focus
Repentance (vs 38-42)
So, in this first section we find the Pharisees right back at their old tricks.
Jesus had already performed countless miracles in front of them.
And for every miracle Jesus performed, they came back with some sort of excuse as to why it wasn’t “good enough.”
Now, I am sure that the people who the miracle was performed on, thought that they were just fine, but the Pharisees did not.
It was always something with them.
And right after Jesus heals this man with the shriveled hand and calls them out, they come right back at him . . .
I mean, really?
What did they just witness happen?
What had they been witnessing all along?
Were these not miracles?
In their eyes, these things Jesus was doing was just not good enough.
See, Jesus wasn’t healing the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the leaders, the ones who were important.
Jesus was healing the everyday ordinary people.
People like you and me.
And since the religious people’s opinion of the everyday ordinary people was that the everyday people were below them.
Many just one step above dogs, then the miracles Jesus was performing was just not “good enough.”
They were not cutting the mustard because they were not glorifying the religious elite.
And after all 10,000 angels hadn’t come down yet and wiped out the Roman Empire.
A castle hadn’t magically appeared from the ground with Jesus sitting on a throne inside of it.
No, Jesus was just casting out demons, restoring people’s site, giving people the ability to talk, walk, and live their lives back.
Just those ordinary, everyday miracles.
So, that’s why they tell him, teacher we want to see a miraculous sign from you, one that lives up to our standards, one that makes us look good.
And I think in the back of their minds, they know Jesus isn’t going to do it but they felt like by the putting it out there they could show Jesus up for once.
But again Jesus wasn’t having nothing of it.
Matthew 12:39-
And Jesus’ point here is that only people who do not really believe have to have signs and miracles.
Only people who have no faith have to be shown every single thing.
We are called to be people of faith and not people of signs and wonders.
Basing our beliefs simply on what we see and witness.
We place our faith in God, simply because we know what God says is true.
We accept Jesus for who Jesus is, nothing more-nothing less.
But sadly even today we have a lot of people who’s faith is so shallow that if there are not all kinds of signs and wonders going on around them they move on to something else.
Honestly, if we want to see a sign and wonder all we have to do is think just for a minute how the human body is put together and how it operates in unison.
How did that happen?
Look outside at the balance of nature and how the universe is put together.
How did that happen?
The fact is, we have all the proof, all the signs, all the wonders we need.
The problem is, we are give a choice as to whether we believe or do not believe.
It is clear as day and the choice is ours to make.
But Jesus tells them, “look the only sign you are going to get is the sign of Jonah,” and he explains to them . . .
Matthew 12:
So, the first part of Jesus’ explanation was a comparison between himself and Jonah being in the belly of the fish.
Jonah suffered for three days inside the fish for his own sins.
Jesus would suffer for three days in the belly of the earth, not for his sins-because he had none, but for our sins.
However, when Jonah did emerge from the belly of the fish, he emerged with a message.
That message was to repent for the judgment of God is coming.
And, Jesus’ entire message on earth was repent for the kingdom of God is at hand.
And when Jesus emerged from the tomb, irrefutable proof that Jesus is the Messiah, the source of hope and salvation was provided.
Jonah was a messenger.
His message came from the source.
Jesus gave the same message, the only difference was Jesus IS the source.
And when the message is delivered, we then have a choice to make.
Will we accept the message and repent, or will we reject the message and burn?
The Ninevites listened to the message and they repented.
The Pharisees, rejected the message and Jesus concluded that the men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it.
The reason being, the Ninevites were hearing the message from someone far less superior than Jesus, but yet they believed.
The Jews were hearing the message from Jesus himself.
And then Jesus gives them one more example . . .
Same concept, Solomon was much less superior than Jesus, but even the Queen of Sheeba came and listened to what he had to say about God.
But these people refused to hear it from Jesus himself.
And here today, I am far less superior than even Jonah or Solomon, but the message is the same, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
The question is will you listen and be saved?
Or, will you rejected it and be condemned?
Deliverance (vs 43-45)
And some will say, “that’s too hard, we can’t do it.”
“We’ve tried before, but we always come back to the same things.”
Well, Jesus next explains what is going on with that.
Matthew writes . . .
And what Jesus is getting to here, is the lack of true transformation that was taking place.
See, a lot of these people who were following Jesus were following him looking for the next sign, the next miracle.
Jesus would say repent, they would feel guilty, tell God they were sorry and try to do good.
The problem is, they never turned their life over to God.
They never allowed the Holy Spirit full and unrestricted access to their soul.
They always held something back.
Always held on to something.
And what Jesus is saying is, “you gained a little victory, by driving the thief out of your home, but you never installed any locks or security system.”
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