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God Is Our Provider!
The Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 17:24-27
Sermon by Rick Crandall
(Prepared September 23, 2022)
BACKGROUND:
*Please open your Bibles to Matthew 17:24, and we will study another of Jesus' countless miracles.
Today's miracle happened a little after the mountain-top transfiguration of our Lord.
Most of you know that by this time Jesus was in the 3rd year of His ministry, and J. Vernon McGee estimated that the Lord was only six months away from the cross.
(1)
*This miracle is only reported here in Matthew's Gospel.
And this isn't one of the Lord's most fantastic miracles, but it's one of my favorites.
One reason why is because it reminds me that God has a sense of humor.
Think about it.
If God didn't have a sense of humor, would He have created anything that looked like a duck billed platypus?
Or a zebra, or a giraffe, or a penguin?
*Also think about Jesus walking on the water.
This happened just after Jesus miraculously fed 5,000 men plus women and children.
John 6:19 tells us that Jesus walked 3 or 4 miles on the water to catch up with His disciples out on the Sea of Galilee.
Matthew and Mark also reported this miracle, but Mark 6:48 gives us a remarkable detail.
There God's Word says, "Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them.
And about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, AND WOULD HAVE PASSED THEM BY."
*Of course, Jesus calmed their fears, got in the boat, calmed the storm, and got them safely to shore.
But I can picture Jesus smiling and waving as He was about to pass them by.
God surely has a sense of humor.
*This miracle is also one of my favorites because it reminds us that the Lord has full control over nature.
But most importantly, this miracle reminds us that God is our provider.
Please focus on this great truth as we read Matthew 17:24-27.
MESSAGE:
*In Genesis 22:1-14, God tested Abraham in a way that would stretch our faith to the limit.
God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, the only son that had ever been promised to this very old man.
God told Abraham exactly where to go.
And Abraham got up early the next morning to go and offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering to the Lord.
*Three days later, they got close to the place, and in Genesis 22:7-8, Isaac spoke to his father and said, "My father!''
And he said, "Here I am, my son.''
And he said, "Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?''
And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.''
*And in Genesis 22:9-14, that's exactly what the Lord did:
9. Then they came to the place of which God had told him.
And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.
10.
And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
11.
But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!''
And he said, "Here I am.''
12.
And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.''
13.
Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns.
So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.
14.
And Abraham called the name of the place, Jehovah-jireh; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of The LORD it shall be provided.''
*In this story, skeptics only see cruelty from God.
But believers see the cross, because what Abraham was asked to do, God has done for us: He sacrificed His only Son.
The Lord provided a Lamb.
And from this story we get one of the favorite names of God: He is "Jehovah-Jireh", the Lord, our Provider.
*Our God is the greatest Provider of all!
There are a million examples we could share today, but the greatest thing God ever provided was salvation through the cross of Jesus Christ!
And the Lord wants to provide us with everything else we will ever need.
*In today's Scripture Jesus miraculously provided Peter with a piece of money.
It was a silver "stater" or "shekel," exactly enough for two people to pay the Temple tax.
*William Barclay explained that the Temple in Jerusalem was an expensive place to run.
There were the daily morning and evening sacrifices which each involved the offering of a year-old lamb.
Along with the lamb were offered wine and flour and oil.
The incense which was burned every day had to be bought and prepared.
The costly hangings and robes of the priests wore out, and the High Priest's robe alone was worth a fortune.
The actual Temple building itself could have fit in a baseball infield.
But the large structures all around the Temple, like the storerooms, porticos and courts built by King Herod filled an area the size of 24 football fields!
*Think of the cost to keep up a facility like that.
Plus, there was a force of Temple police officers who protected the Temple grounds, and carried out judgments of the Temple Court of Law.
*All of these things took money, so based on Exodus 30:13, every male Jew over 20 years of age had to pay an annual Temple tax of one half-shekel.
The value of the tax was equivalent to two day's pay for a working man.
And the Temple authorities had power to seize a man's belongings if he failed to pay.
*The collection was highly organized every year, and carried out in the month of Adar that overlaps our March.
They announced in all the towns and villages that it was time to pay the tax.
On the 15th of the month, booths were set up in each town and village, and the tax was paid at the booths.
If the tax wasn't paid by the 25th, it could only be paid directly at the Temple in Jerusalem.
(2)
*This was the money that Jesus provided for both Himself and Peter.
But as we look at this Scripture, we can see how Jesus provides for us.
1. FIRST: JESUS INVOLVES HIMSELF IN OUR LIVES.
*Jesus wants to be deeply involved in the lives of His followers.
Think about this as we listen again to vs. 24-25:
24.
And when they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, "Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?''
25.
He said, "Yes.''
And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, "What do you think, Simon?
From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their own sons or from strangers?''
*In these verses it's easy to see the Lord's involvement in Peter's life.
But I want you to notice that the Lord was involved in Peter's life, EVEN WHEN PETER COULDN'T SEE IT.
Jesus didn't have to ask Peter where he had been, or what had happened, or how the tax collectors had quizzed him.
Jesus already knew what was on Peter's mind when he walked in the door.
*God's involvement in our lives may not be seen, but it is going on behind the scenes!
The Lord's involvement is supernatural, steady, and sure.
Jesus is never selfish or unconcerned like we can be.
And the Lord never gets too busy for us.
He never gets distracted.
He always has His eye on us.
And He anticipates our every need.
*Jesus knew that Peter was going to need that money before Peter did! Remember what the Lord said about prayer in Matthew 6:7-8?
"But when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do.
For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
Therefore do not be like them.
For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him." God knows our needs before we do!
And He is able to meet every single one of them.
*And never think that God has forgotten you!
He is always involved in your life, even when you can't see it.
But sometimes He does let us see it in big and small ways.
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