Part 46 | Reformation without Relationship

Chris May

Matthew • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

Matthew 12:38–46

Resurrection

Signs and Wonders Movement

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Jesus continues to deal with the Pharisees

Notes

Transcript

Matthew 12:38–46 (ESV)

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”

While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him.

Review

Tensions have been rising between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders and Bible teachers.

Jesus has come as Israel’s long-awaited Messiah, to inaugurate God’s Kingdom upon the earth.

He is NOT the Messiah the Jews were expecting.

They want a Messiah who will wipe out their enemies and bring military conquest.

But Jesus establishes God’s Kingdom through love and sacrifice, laying His life down for sinners.

Consequently, the religious leaders have rejected Jesus. They have no category for a Messiah who is a suffering-servant, the prophet Isaiah foretold of this very thing.

We saw earlier in chapter 12, that these religious leaders are plotting to take His life.

Just a few verses up, Jesus delivered and healed a man who was demon-possessed. The Pharisees accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Satan.

In the last passage, Jesus rebuked them, revealing that they are the ones who are—in fact—doing the bidding of the devil, not Him.

Today, the conversation continues between Jesus and the religious leaders, and there is a crowd of Jews who are witnessing all of this.

In our passage today, Jesus reveals the danger of reformation without a relationship with Jesus.

Illustration: Prison Ministry

Convicts are normally aware of their spiritual depravity and their need for a Savior

Decent, moral people are the most difficult people to evangelize.

To these first century Jews, the Bible Teachers and Pharisees seemed to be the most moral, godly people on the planet.

Their commitment to rigid standards of religion and ethics went unmatched. But their moralism blinded their hearts to their own depravity.

They looked great on the outside, but on the inside they were dead (Jesus called them white washed tombs)

The Pharisees had reformation, without a true relationship with God. That is seem most clearly in their denial of Jesus as the Messiah.

Moralism can blind us to our own depravity. It can lead to self-righteousness, which is a key element in a heart that is far from God.

I. The Question

Jesus has just made a compelling argument, testifying that He is doing the work of God by the Power of the Spirt, and that the Pharisees are corrupt to the core.

The Bible teachers and religious leaders are no doubt, fuming at this point. But crowds of people have just seen Jesus perform this undeniable miracle of deliverance and healing, so they have to be careful in their response.

Instead of berating Jesus, they put Him on the spot.

Matthew 12:38 (ESV)

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”

This may seem like an honest request, but it is a smokescreen. They have already decided in their hearts that Jesus is not the Messiah.

They are looking for some way to entrap Jesus. Who are they to demand a sign?

Christ has already healed multitudes of people who were sick, calmed the wind and the waves, cast out demons with a word, and even brought a dead girl back to life. And none of this was enough proof for them.

And now, they want Jesus to perform.

They have their own perception of what they think a Messiah should be and how He should work, and they are not willing to follow someone who does not fit that mold. And now, it’s like, “Jesus, if you want us to receive you as our Messiah, then you you need to march to the beat of our drum.”

How easy is it to fall into this trap of wanting Jesus to work according to our expectations?

Jesus,I will follow you if you do “x, y, or z” for me.

At times, we attempt to create our own versions of Jesus. Ones that fit well within our desired narratives.

That is a really dangerous place to be and it treats Jesus like a genie in a bottle.

II. Jesus’ Addresses the Scribes and Pharisees

A) An Evil Generation Seeks a Sign

Matthew 12:39 (ESV)

But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

Signs are merciful gifts from God.

Jesus never performs one on command.

In Matthew 4, when Jesus was in the wilderness, Satan tried to pressure Him into performing miracles to prove Himself. If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loafs of bread...

When the Israelites were in the wilderness, though God had worked numerous miracles in their midst, they were quarreling and demanded water from Moses.

Exodus 17:2, 7(ESV)

2Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?”… 17And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

In other words, they were requesting God prove Himself by meeting their demands.

In the NT, God uses signs and wonders to validate Jesus’ ministry.

He then used them, especially in the apostolic age, for the benefit of unbelievers, to point them to God.

I worry about Christians who always need to see signs and wonders. It’s like, “God, I need you to prove yourself to me… I need to SEE SOMETHING.

Many believe that if signs and wonders aren’t happening in our services then we haven’t had church. Really?

To be sure, I am not knocking spiritual gifts that are used to minister to one another. I am talking about those who need to continuously see some miracle. They are miracle chasers.

The problem is that for many people, the Word of God is no longer sufficient.

Lord, I just need to see something, to strengthen my faith.

Hebrews 11:1 (ESV)

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Jesus calls the generation who seeks for a sign, an adulterous and evil generation. Then He makes a perplexing statement:

B) No Sign Will Be Given

Matthew 12:39–40 (ESV)

...no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

As recorded in the book of Jonah, Jonah lived three days and three nights in the belly of a great fish and emerged alive and ready to preach in Nineveh.

The Pharisees are plotting to take Jesus’ life, and they will succeed; He will soon be crucified. And Jesus says that the only sign they will receive, is that He will emerge from the grave after three days, His resurrection will signify that He is in fact the Son of God.

The Scribes and Pharisees have been trying to convince crowds of people that Jesus is not the Son of God, that He is NOT the Messiah. But, when He is raised, they will have egg on their face, and the world will see that Jesus is who He claimed to be.

That same thing will happen on the last days. Those who mocked Christians for believing in Christ, will then realize that He is the risen King!

C) Jesus, A Greater Prophet than Jonah

Matthew 12:41 (ESV)

The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

The people of Nineveh were an especially wicked, brutal, and pagan people.

God sent Jonah to them to preach a message of impending judgement.

He performed no signs or wonders.

Yet, consider how the people of Nineveh responded:

Jonah 3:5–6 (ESV)

And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

Because of their sincere repentance and belief, God relented concerning the impending judgement that was upon Nineveh.

The people of Nineveh, were not part of God’s covenant people.

They did not have His Law.

They were pagans.

Yet, they repented at the simple words of a prophet, who performed no signs to validate his message.

In the contrary, the Israelites in our text are part of God’s covenant people.

They know God’s Law.

They have witnessed a Greater Prophet than Jonah—namely, Jesus—perform many miracles, validating His Messiahship… yet they refuse to repent. And many of them will still not repent after the resurrection.

The resurrection was and for shall-ever be a sign. But it was not the sign the Pharisees were looking for.

And for that, they will stand under the condemnation of the repentant people of Nineveh at the final judgement.

D) Jesus, a Greater King than Solomon

Matthew 12:42 (ESV)

The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

1 Kings 10 tells the story of the The Queen of Sheba, of the country of the Sabeans. She was referred to as the “Queen of the South.

The Sabeans were a wealthy people and pagan people.

The prominent Queen traveled a long, difficult journey to glean from King Solomon’s wisdom and to pay him homage.

Again, Jesus makes a comparison to the rebellious Israelites who reject Him. The Queen of Sheba went to great lengths to sit at the feet of King Solomon. Yet, the Jewish leaders now have a greater King before them, and yet they reject Him. Consequently, one day, they will stand, condemned even by the faith of a pagan Queen.

The religious leaders are so hardened by their self-righteousness, that they miss the fact that in their midst, stands the greatest Prophet and Greatest King to ever live.

It seems to me that after speaking directly to the religious leaders, that Jesus broadens His audience and begins to speak to the crowd.

III) Jesus Addresses the Crowd

Remember, many Jews have been standing around, watching this interaction between Jesus and the religious leaders.

They have just witnessed Jesus deliver and heal the blind and mute, demon oppressed man. They have been hearing His wisdom. The’ve seen His compassion. They are intrigued and amazed.

On the other hand, they see their religious leaders who they greatly respect. They’ve always followed these teachers. They see them as a pious and extremely moral group of people. And these men, whom they trust, reject and rebuke Jesus.

They have a decision to make.

Do they listen to their leaders and follow them?

Or do they embrace and follow Jesus?

A) The Warning

Jesus uses a parable to communicate a warning to His audience.

Matthew 12:43–45 (ESV)

This is a perplexing passage, but I think it helps to back up to what has just happened.

Jesus just cast a demon out of an oppressed man.

He was blind and mute. He can now speak and see. The demon is gone. The house is void of evil. He is in his right mind. He has peace for the first time in ages. His life has been reformed.

If that demon cannot find a satisfactory host, he may try and re-inhabit his old home—in other words, he would try and oppress that same man.

And if he approaches the home, and finds it “swept and clean,” but NOT filled with faith in Christ, then the end result will be worse than it was.

Think of all the people throughout the book of Matthew who have been touched by Jesus. They’ve experienced His teachings, His compassion, His healing, and His deliverance. They have been reformed. They are trying to live moral (clean) lives. But if they choose not to follow Jesus, their end will be worse than before they encountered Him.

And then consider the Pharisees: They are always striving to please God by following their legalistic traditions. They have reformation, but no relationship with God. They have rejected the Messiah, because they cannot see their own need for a Savior. Consequently, they have opened themselves up to evil.

I have worked drug addicts through the years, many of whom have prayed for God to deliver them from addiction. And many times, the Lord has graciously answered that prayer. But, if a person receives that deliverance, and thinks, “oh, I am good now,” yet fails to truly turn to Christ, the addiction often comes back even worse than before.

Some of you have experienced the grace of the Lord in your lives. The Lord has helped your marriage. Or He healed you physically. Or He brought you out of depression. Or you’ve learned from His teachings. But if you have NOT committed your life to Him, you are like the evil, unrepentant generation.

You may be a decent moral person, but if you do not have Christ, you are in a dangerous spot. Moralism does not save. Only Christ saves.

Reformation without a relationship with Jesus is way more dangerous than being a blatant sinner. Because, when you are a blatantly immoral person, you recognize your own depravity. But when you—like the Pharisees—are striving to be good, you may be blinded to your own plight. There are none righteous, no not one.

Jesus moves from the warning to the invitation:

B) The Invitation

Matthew 12:46–50 (ESV)

While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

After the resurrection, Jesus’ brothers eventually came to believe in Him. But John 7:5 tells us explicitly that before the resurrection, Jesus’ brothers did NOT believe in Him.

At this point in Matthew 12, it is likely that His family is concerned for His welfare. They want Him to stay out of the ways of the Pharisees. They don’t understand His purpose.

Jesus is not disparaging His family here. He loves them. He just will not let them get in the way of what God has called Him to do.

He essentially asks the question, “Who is family”…and then He says that His family is made up of those who do the will of His Father in Heaven.

After giving a warning about impending judgement upon the repentant, Jesus gives a universal invitation to any who would receive Him to be part of His spiritual family. To be a part of His Kingdom.

John 1:11–12 (ESV)

He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

Closing

Some of you, perhaps, have experienced the grace of Jesus at some level. You’ve experienced His love and compassion. And now, you are trying to clean yourself up, and you feel pretty good about where you’ve come.

Your house seems clean and swept, but it is void of the Lordship of Christ. You’ve not received the Lord. You’ve experienced reformation without relationship.

You have the same choice as the crowd in our text:

Will you follow the way of reformation through self-righteousness?

Or will you recognize your need for a Savior, your inability to clean yourself up, and turn wholly to Jesus Christ, depending on His righteousness, and His sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection.

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