Sermon Tone Analysis

--------------------

--------------------

--------------------

--------------------

--------------------

--------------------

Here Matthew shows us that Jesus had powers that went far beyond any OT prophet, including Moses.

Jesus could heal at will, even if not present, had uncontested power over evil spirits and even nature itself obeyed him.

Jesus had unlimited power because He was God in human flesh.

He did however limit His use of His power in order to accomplish God’s ultimate will.

To die on the cross for our sins.

--------------------

That word exploited means grasped or held on to.

The image of Jesus having that equality with God but letting go of it.

Letting go of all the power and omniscience that comes with it.

It doesn’t mean that he COULDN’T have used it to his advantage, it just means that he DIDN’T use it to his advantage.

--------------------

He chose to live in this world the way he expects us to live in this world.

Completely dependent upon the Holy Spirit and God for what we need.

That’s why when we read about him being tempted in the wilderness for 40 days to represent the 40 years that Israel was tempted in the wilderness, we see that Jesus did what Israel did not.

Israel did not depend on God to provide food and water for them, but when Satan tempted Jesus to turn the stones into bread, Jesus did not.

It is obvious from the temptation that Jesus did have the Power to turn stones into bread, but he chose not to in order to depend on God to provide what he needed.

God led him into the wilderness and He would provided him with what he needed while in the wilderness.

This is also why we read in luke 2:52 that

--------------------

He increased in wisdom, meaning that he was not omniscient at that point in his life.

How was God in the flesh not omniscient?

Because Philpians 2 said that in deciding to come to earth and live as a human, he did not grasp, or hold on to, all the things that made Him God, instead he emptied himself taking on the likeness of man.

He did not come out of the womb knowing how to talk and how to solve all of life’s greatest problems.

He came out of the womb as an infant, who had to learn how to talk, and read, and write, and had to learn God’s word, and memorize it, and store it in His heart.

He had to depend on the Holy Spirit for guidance, and wisdom.

That’s also why when the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years touched him and he turned around and asked who touched me?

He really didn’t know who touched him, he only knew that power had went out from him.

--------------------

Jesus as God, had immediate access to unlimited power, but He did not use that power for his own advantage.

He did not usurp His dependency on God and the Holy Spirit.

If the Holy Spirit did not tell him something, such as who touched him, then He did not know.

If God wanted Him to know something that He could not have known otherwise, then He depended on the Holy Spirit to tell him, otherwise, he did not know.

That is why He was both able to know the future and the thoughts of people that he could not have known otherwise, but yet still be able to truthfully say near the end of his earthly life:

--------------------

Even though as God in the flesh, He could have backed out of his choice to live and die as a human at any moment, He chose not to.

He chose to empty himself, and be obedient to God, even to the point of death.

--------------------

He did not sin.

He did not dominate others.

He was completely committed to God’s kingdom.

He was completely devoted to accomplish God’s will on earth and laid down his life for God’s glory and God’s kingdom.

Matthew chapter 8 is full of Jesus’ miracles and powers and authority over sickness, evil, and nature, but in the middle of the chapter, Matthew inserted a dialog Jesus had with those who said they would follow him, but didn’t.

Do you remember that?

Matthew 8:18-20

--------------------

Now let’s look at the parallel passage in Luke:

--------------------

Robby Gallaty said: Jesus is not looking for excuses.

He is looking for disciples who will give their lives for God’s kingdom just as He did.

How committed am I to laying my life down every day and following Him?

Am I looking back at anything?

Father, help me be as committed to Your kingdom as You were, and to the role You have given me in it.