2014 Sermon Notes. 5-01/12/14 Heavenly Relationships Matthew 22: /12/14 Man of Sorrows Isaiah 53; LD 15

Transcription

1 2014 Sermon Notes 5-01/12/14 Heavenly Relationships Matthew 22: /12/14 Man of Sorrows Isaiah 53; LD /19/14 The Greatest Commandment Matthew 22: /19/14 - The Purpose & Significance of the Death & Burial... Rom 6:5-14, LD /26/14 What Do You Think About the Christ? Matthew 22: /02/14 Whitewashed Tombs Matthew 23: /02/14 Since Christ Died.. Why Do We Need to Die? Psalm 49, Q&A /09/14 Signs of the End of the Age Matthew 24: /09/14 Jesus Died... But Did He Descend Into Hell? LK 23; Q&A /16/14 Keeping Watch Matthew 24: /16/14 Of First Importance 1 Corinthians 15:1-28; HC Q&A /23/14 The Sheep and the Goats Matthew 25: /23/14 In Heaven, Yet Always With Us Acts 1:1-11; Lord s Day /02/14 Handed Over to Be Crucified Matthew 26: /02/14 At the Right Hand of God the Father Almighty Psa 110; Q&A 50, /09/14 The Sacrament s Picture Matthew 26: /16/14 The Flock Scattered Matthew 26: /16/14 Comforted By Christ s Return 2 Thess. 1:1-12; H.C. Q&A /23/14 It Must Happen This Way Matthew 26: /23/14 I Believe in the Holy Spirit John 14:15-27; Lord s Day /13/14 The King Must Die Matthew 26: /13/14 I Believe a Holy Catholic Church Psalm 87, Q&A /18/14 The Torn Temple Curtain Matthew 27: /20/14 Come, See, Go, Tell Matthew 28: /20/14 The Communion of Saints Romans 12:1-8; HC Q&A /27/14 The Great Commission Matthew 28: /27/14 The Forgiveness of Sins Psalm 103:1-22; HC Q&A God s Abounding Love to All Who Call on Him Psalm 86; (Nat l Day of Prayer)

2 114 05/04/14 God s Book of Wisdom Proverbs 1: /04/14 The Resurrection of the Body 1 Cor. 15:35-58; HC Q&A /11/14 Do Not Forsake Your Mother s Teaching Prov. 1:8-9; 2 Tim 1: /11/14 Life Everlasting Revelation 5:6-14; Q&A /18/14 Using God s Means for Gaining Wisdom Proverbs 2: /18/14 Heirs of Life Everlasting Romans 4:18-5:11; HC Q&A /25/14 Our Help and Shield - Psalm 33: /25/14 Right With God Ephesians 2:1-10; HC Q&A 60, /29/14 Taken to Heaven Luke 24: /01/14 What Your Hands Say About Your Heart Proverbs 6: /01/14 Faith, Works and Grace John 15:1-17; Lord s Day /15/14 The Father s Greatest Gift John 3:1-21, /15/14 The Spirit, the Word, & Sacraments 1 Cor. 1:18-2:5; LD /22/14 Invitations of Wisdom and Folly Proverbs 9: /22/14 Baptism s Picture Romans 6:1-14; Lord s Day /29/14 Righteousness Exalts a Nation - Probers 14:34; Amos 1:1-2:6a /29/14 God s Work in Baptism Acts 16:11-15; Lord s Day /06/14 Characteristics of A True Friend John 15:9-17; Selected Proverbs /06/14 Sharing in Christ s Sacrifice.. Lord s Supper MT 26:17-29; LD /13/14 What Does God Say About Your Paycheck? 1 TM 6:6-19; PR 3: /13/14 Who Can Accept This Hard Teaching? - JN 6:47-71; HC Q&A /27/14 Lips of Honey; Bitter as Gall Proverbs 5: /27/14 The Keys to Heaven s Door John 3:31-36; Q&A /03/14 Finding and Being a Noble, Godly Wife; Proverbs 31: /10/14 Giving & Receiving Advice & Admonishment Prov 25:12, 28: /10/14 The Key of Discipline & the Doorway to Heaven 1 Cor. 5:1-3; /17/14 Patience? Or Quick-Tempered Folly? Proverbs 14: /17/14 Good Works and Gratitude 1 Peter 2:4-12; Lord s Day /24/14 Biblical Instruction on Raising Children Proverbs 22: /24/14 Conversion: Genuine Sorrow & Wholehearted Joy Eph 4:22-24; Q&A 88-90

3 237 08/31/14 Labor Day Lessons From the Ant Proverbs 6: /31/14 Motives and Good Works 1 Corinthians 4:1-5; HC Q&A /07/14 Who Should Take the Lord s Supper? 1 Cor 11:17-32; Q 81, /07/14 Two Tablets of Stone Deuteronomy 10:1-5; HC Q&A /14/14 Wash and Be Cleansed 2 Kings 5:1-19a /14/14 Serving the One True God Exodus 32:1-14; HC Q&A 94, /28/14 Worshipping in Spirit & Truth Exod 20:4-6; John 4:21-26; LD /05/14 Jonah and the Great Commission Jonah 1: /05/14 God s Great and Awesome Name! Exodus 20:7; Psalm 99:1-9; LD /12/14 Jonah s Song of Thanksgiving Jonah 2: /12/14 Joyful Sabbaths! Isaiah 56:1-8, 58:13-14; Lord s Day /19/14 Ingredients of Revival Jonah 3: /19/14 Those in Authority & the Fifth Commandment Eph. 6:1-9; LD /26/14 Our Anger and God s Sovereignty Jonah 3:10-4: /26/14 Jonah & the 6th Commandment Jonah 3:10-4:11; Lord s Day /02/14 Baptism in the Light of Both Testaments Gen. 17:1-4; Col. 8-12; BC /02/14 The Media, Your Mind & the 7th Commandment 1 Cor. 6:12-20; LD /16/14 The Power and Weakness of Words Proverbs 26: /16/14 Heavenly Praise for the Incomparable God Psalm 89: /23/14 God s Discipline Hebrews 12: /23/14 What God Forbids & Requires in the 8 th Command EX 20:15; LD /27/14 David s Psalm of Thankful Praise! 1 Chronicles 16: /30/14 The True Identity of Jesus Christ Hebrews 1:1-2: /30/14 God s Will for Us in the 9 th Command Psa 15; Lord s Day /14/14 Jesus Came to Save Sinners 1 Timothy 1: /14/14 The First Commandment to be Broken Psalm 19:1-14; HC /21/14 God s Eternal Grace Revealed in Christ Jesus 2 Timothy 1: /21/14 What Will You Bring to Jesus? Matthew 2: /25/14 My Eyes Have Seen Your Salvation! Luke 2:21-35

4 358 12/28/14 Keep Your Lamps Burning! Luke 12: /28/14 Hand in Hand: The Law and the Gospel Romans 3:19-26; LD /31/14 Eternity and the Evening Shadow Psalm 102

5 Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her? Matthew 22:28 Heavenly Relationships Matthew 22:23-33 I. The Sadducees were testing Jesus, just as the Pharisees did (15, 35). Their question, and the answer Jesus gave them, teaches us: 1) Those who opposed Jesus did all they could to discredit Him (28) Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her? Matthew 22:28 Heavenly Relationships Matthew 22:23-33 I. The Sadducees were testing Jesus, just as the Pharisees did (15, 35). Their question, and the answer Jesus gave them, teaches us: 1) Those who opposed Jesus did all they could to discredit Him (28) 2) Ignorance of God s Word and doubt in His power always leads to the wrong conclusion (29) 2) Ignorance of God s Word and doubt in His power always leads to the wrong conclusion (29) 3) In heaven we won t be married (30): a) Since there will be no death, there will be no need for birth (Genesis 1:28; 9:1) 3) In heaven we won t be married (30): a) Since there will be no death, there will be no need for birth (Genesis 1:28; 9:1) b) The relationships God will provide will exceed even the beauty and closeness of Christian marriage (1 Cor. 1:29; Eph. 3:20) b) The relationships God will provide will exceed even the beauty and closeness of Christian marriage (1 Cor. 1:29; Eph. 3:20) c) Deceased loved ones who believed in Jesus, whether spouses or others, are alive with the Lord now and always will be (31-32) c) Deceased loved ones who believed in Jesus, whether spouses or others, are alive with the Lord now and always will be (31-32) II. We will be like angels in heaven, not in the way we look, for our bodies will be raised, but in our obedience (Psalm 103:20-22) II. We will be like angels in heaven, not in the way we look, for our bodies will be raised, but in our obedience (Psalm 103:20-22) 01/12/2014 a.m. 01/12/2014 a.m.

6 Heavenly Relationships Matthew 22: /05/14 a.m. In the political realm we see where repeated efforts are made to trip up any given candidate. Every effort is made in the media and by opposing political parties to ridicule the view of another. We even have a name for that; it s called mudslinging. Political candidates love to sling mud on their opponents, to make their opponents look foolish and weak because then they believe they will look better than their opponent who is, after all, covered with mud. - That is exactly what the opponents of Jesus wanted to do with Him back in the first century. They made every effort to trip Him up, to make Him look bad, to sling mud on Him. We saw it last week with the test that the disciples of the Pharisees and Herodians brought to Jesus as they asked Him whether or not it was lawful to pay taxes. We will see it again in the next passage in this chapter as the Pharisees will send one of their leaders, a lawyer, to test Jesus (35) by asking Him which is the greatest commandment. - And this morning we see from vs 23 that the Sadducees came to test Him that same day as He had been tested by the Pharisees. - The day would be Tuesday. It is the Passion week. By Friday Jesus would be crucified. But now, as the Passover nears, His opponents use every tactic they can to discredit Jesus, to trip Him up, to sling mud at Him. And we see that in this passage which tells how the Sadducees came to Jesus with a question. By way of background, the Sadducees and Pharisees were on the opposite side of most issues. The Sadducees would be the equivalent of theological liberals today. They did not believe in the resurrection of the body, nor did they believe in the existence of angels. They based most of their teaching on the first five books of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch. - Consequently they came to Jesus with a story that was based on the principle outlined in Deuteronomy 25:5-6 as known as Levirate marriage. It says, If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her. The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel. - The reason God made this command was at least two fold. One reason would be so that a young widow would be cared for. There was no provision for widows; there was no such thing as social security and women were hard pressed to survive on their own. So if a woman was widowed, having her brother in law take her as his wife would give her a roof over her head and meals to eat. Secondly, this levirate marriage where a brother would marry his sister in law would provide a way for the family name to continue. That was important because the family name was tied to the acquisition of property. One of the great promises that God gave to Abraham, and later to all Israel, was that they would possess the land. God brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey the land of Canaan. - But to posses the land one needed the family name. That was part of the importance of having the first son carry on the name of the dead brother. * Based on that principle, the Sadducees now come to Jesus with a story, most likely a fabricated story, about a woman who has the unfortunate experience of having 7 husbands, all brothers, die. In Vs they say: Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. Finally, the woman died. - And then comes the got-cha question vs 28, - Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?" * Many commentators point out that the Sadducees made the story as elaborate as possible, with 7 dead husbands, because they wanted to make the whole idea of the resurrection sound ludicrous. They wanted the crowd who was listening in to see their point that there isn t any resurrection. 2) However, Jesus responded to their question, by pointing out in vs 29, You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. In His response we see that ignorance of God s Word and doubt in His power always leads to the wrong conclusion. That was true in the first century, and it is true in the twenty-first. - There is no more accurate guide in life than the Holy Scriptures. As we look ahead to the new year the only sure guide that we have to truly show us how to live out the remaining days is the Word of God. We frequently sing, How Shall the Young Directs Their Way, but the question of course isn t just for the young, but for all of us of every age. If we did not have God s Word, and if we do not study it and take to heart its truths, then we are truly lost. - That was the case with the Sadducees. They accepted part of God s Word, the first five books, the Pentateuch. But the rest of God s revealed will, the rest of Scripture, they neglected. And because of that, their belief in the Pentateuch did them no good. Jesus pointed out in vs 31 and vs 32 that they did not understand the Scriptures not even the first five books which they supposedly lived by. He said: But about the resurrection of the dead - have you not read what God said to you, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead but of the living. The quote that Jesus used is from Exodus 3:6. Moses had seen a burning bush and approached it and there heard the Word of God. God identified Himself to Moses as the great I am. He pointed out that He is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.

7 Yet hundreds of years had passed by since the patriarchs had died. Moses might have expected God to say, I was the God... But no, He says, I am the God... He has a living, eternal relationship with His people. Death doesn t separate His people from God, but brings their soul into His presence. - And when Jesus returns bodies will be resurrected and joined with the soul to be with the Lord forever, - for those who have placed their faith in Him. That is why Jesus adds to Exodus 3:6, there in vs 32 these words: He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. - Jesus pointed out to the Sadducees that they erred, not only in their understanding of Scripture, but also in their inability to grasp the power of God. Is the God who created the universe unable to raise the body from the grave? Nothing is impossible for Him! The Sadducees, with their story about a woman losing 7 husbands, were far from trapping Jesus. - Instead they were showing their ignorance of the Word of God and their inability to comprehend His power, including His ability to raise the dead. - Still today errors arise when people don t know the Scriptures or the power of God. When we look at the root of any given problem, whether on a personal level or political level; it invariably goes back to either a lack of knowledge concerning God s Word, or to a refusal to obey the Word that people do know. Ignorance of God s Word and doubt in His power always leads to the wrong conclusion. 3) A third truth we are taught in this passage is that in heaven we won t be married. In vs 30 (a) Jesus says: At the resurrection that is, at His second coming when all bodies will be raised and joined with their souls - people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. > Last Sunday my wife and I celebrated our 32nd wedding anniversary. The 32 years I have been married have been the best 32 years of my life. And on quite a few occasions over the 32 years Karen and I have talked about how strange it seems that in heaven we won t be married. - We will both be there, by God s grace through faith in Christ. We will both have our mansion so to speak, as Jesus explained in John 14 how He was going to prepare a place for all who believe in Him, - yet we won t be married. - Why is that? We don t know, nor do we need to know all the answers as to why we won t be married in heaven. Some commentators point out that - a) Since there will be no death in heaven, there will be no need for birth. Part of marriage, certainly not the only part of marriage, but part of marriage is for the multiplication of the human race. Genesis 1:28, God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground. After the flood, to Noah, Genesis 9:1, Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. That multiplication won t be needed. Marriage is the only proper source for the birth of children, so the need for marriage won t be in heaven as it is on earth. b) Other commentators point out that the relationships that we have in heaven will exceed even the beauty and closeness of a Christian marriage. - That is hard for those of us who have had good, Christian marriages to imagine. Yet Scripture tells us that No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Cor. 2:9). And in Eph. 3:20-21: Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. c) Third, deceased loved ones who believed in Jesus, whether spouses or others, are alive with the Lord and we will have wonderful fellowship with all the redeemed of all the ages.. Jesus clearly teaches that in vs And there are other instances in the Bible that teach that we will recognize our loved ones in heaven. > For instance, on the Mount of Transfiguration Peter, James and John were able to recognize Moses and Elijah. They had never seen them before. It was long before the days of digital cameras and pictorial Bibles. But God who is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine gave them the ability to recognize Moses and Elijah there with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. - Jesus will be our focal point in heaven. But we will also enjoy perfect fellowship with all the believers of all the ages. And it appears from Scripture that we will recognize them and recognize our loved ones even as we bask in the glory of our Lord. > Whenever I m on Cicero Ave, stopped at the light at 63rd Street and a Southwest Airplane lands, almost on the roof of the car I wonder if its the pilot we met on the Ligonier Mediterranean cruise last March. He and his wife were from San Diego and we spent hours talking. It s like we had known them all our lives. But the same was true for a dairy farmer from Ontario and his wife. It was like we had known them all our lives. The same was true for so many others whom we met. That fellowship of believers, which is so precious here on earth will be even more precious and sweet in heaven. And I m sure you have experienced that, both in the church where we are a family of believers sharing that common bond of faith, and with other Christians outside of our local church. The blessings of heaven and the relationship we will have with the Lord and all the redeemed truly is beyond what we can ask or imagine.

8 By way of application: We will be like angels in heaven, not in the way we look, for our bodies will be raised; we will be truly human, but we will be like angels in our obedience. * It is common in our culture to think two things about heaven. First: all you need to do is die and then you go to heaven. God will accept you no matter what. He understands that you are not perfect, but if you tried to do what is right, if you tried to live by the Golden Rule, to do unto others as you would have them do unto you, then you will be in heaven. All roads lead to heaven, not just the road of Christianity. That s one common misconception in our culture. Unless you are a mass murderer or someone else terribly evil, you die and you go to heaven. That s just how it is. - And then there is a second common misconception linked to it, - and that is at death we all become angels. Perhaps you have seen on the news where there has been a tragic death, and the grieving family says, At least God has another angel. Our dear loved one is now an angel in heaven looking down on us - When our sanctification is perfected in heaven, we will have an angelic obedience to the will and the word of our God. Our obedience will be a joyful obedience, no longer stained by sin or divided by the sinful nature struggling against the Spirit within us. When Jesus was on earth His enemies did everything they could to discredit Him. They did more mud slinging on Jesus than politicians do today. They tried to trap Him in innumerable ways. But they showed their ignorance. Jesus pointed out to them, You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. - By contrast, in the new year before us, and always, may we know, study and inwardly digest the Word of God, seeking to live by it, seeking to obey God a and to do His bidding as faithfully as the angels in heaven. Amen. - That is not at all what Jesus says. In the last part of Vs 30 He says, They those of us who by grace through faith are saved will be like the angels in heaven. But there will always be a great difference between angels and humanity. We who believe in the Lord have far more blessings than the angels in heaven. > There is plan of salvation for us, there is none for fallen angels... > God has revealed Himself to us in Scripture, and there are many things concerning our salvation which 1 Peter 1:12 says angels long to look into. > When Jesus came into this world He came not to help the angels, but believers. Hebrews 2:16, For surely it is not angels He helps, but Abraham s descendants i.e. those who like Abraham have placed their faith in God. - Do you see what a privilege it is to be created in the image of God? To be human? God has given us even more blessing and honor and shared glory with Him than what the angels have. * Consequently, the answer to that question, Why then does Jesus say that at the resurrection we will be like angels? is that we will be as obedient in heaven as the angels are. - Elect angels for there are elect and fallen angels - perfectly obey God s Word and do His bidding. And in heaven we will have that same perfect obedience that Psalm 103 describes the angels as having. Psalm 103 closes by saying, vs 19-22: The LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all. Praise the LORD, you His angels, you mighty ones who do His bidding, who obey His word. Praise the LORD, all His heavenly hosts, you His servants who do His will. Praise the LORD, all His works everywhere in His dominion. Praise the LORD, O my soul.

9 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Isaiah 53:3 Man of Sorrows Isaiah 53:1-12; Lord s Day 15 I. Jesus was a man of sorrows, familiar with suffering because: 1) During His whole life He suffered (3) He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Isaiah 53:3 Man of Sorrows Isaiah 53:1-12; Lord s Day 15 I. Jesus was a man of sorrows, familiar with suffering because: 1) During His whole life He suffered (3) 2) He suffered body and soul (3-6, 11) 2) He suffered body and soul (3-6, 11) 3) He suffered the anger of God s wrath for humanity s sin (10) 3) He suffered the anger of God s wrath for humanity s sin (10) II. The result of Jesus bearing the curse of our sin: 1) The righteous wrath of God is propitiated, atoned for (Rom. 3:25) II. The result of Jesus bearing the curse of our sin: 1) The righteous wrath of God is propitiated, atoned for (Rom. 3:25) 2) We who believe in Him are set free from eternal condemnation (Romans 8:1-4) 2) We who believe in Him are set free from eternal condemnation (Romans 8:1-4) 3) We are granted, through Him, God s grace, righteousness and eternal life (Romans 3:24-26) 3) We are granted, through Him, God s grace, righteousness and eternal life (Romans 3:24-26) 01/12/2014 p.m. 01/12/2014 p.m.

10 Man of Sorrows Isaiah 53:1-12; Lord s Day 15 01/05/14 p.m. Many people, I m sure, reflect on the birth of Jesus in a sentimental way. We still see a few nativity scenes in yards, and the picture they portray is one of peace and joy, often presented in a picturesque, sentimental way. To be sure, the birth of Jesus brings the only true peace and joy that can be found in this world. He is the Prince of Peace and the source of eternal joy. Our only true comfort in life and in death is knowing that by saving faith we belong to Jesus Christ, body and soul. - But His birth, far from being the picturesque, sentimental, Christmas nativity scene that is often presented, was anything but that. His birth was the beginning of His suffering. There was no room in the Inn. The stable had a stench, a barnyard smell that sticks in the nostrils. His parents were impoverished. He had no new baby toys. - Beginning from His lowly, humble birth, Jesus suffered. That is part of what the catechism brings up in Lord s Day 15. Q What do you understand by the word suffered? That during His whole life on earth, but especially at the end, Christ sustained in body and soul the anger of God against the sin of the whole human race.... Often we think of the suffering of Jesus only at the end of His life. Part of the reason we focus on the sufferings at the end of His life is because they were the most severe, and they are the focus of Scripture. All four gospels spend a substantial amount of time describing the suffering of Jesus in what we know as His passion week, - that week of intense trial, testing and suffering that led to His crucifixion. - Because the Scripture is silent on the life of Jesus as He grew up we don t have specific instances of His suffering in younger years. But we can deduce from Scripture the truth of the catechism that during His whole life on earth Jesus sustained the anger of God against the sin of the whole human race. > Teenagers, have people ever ridiculed you for doing what is right...? Imagine how Jesus was ridiculed for being holy, righteous, perfectly obedient when His peers were anything but that. - While we don t have all the instances of His sufferings in younger years, we know them to be excruciatingly painful. Isaiah 53:3 gives an overview of His life this way: He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. 2) As Jesus suffered, He suffered body and soul. * Isaiah mentions both types of suffering. Vs 5: But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. Vs 11: After the suffering of His soul, He will see the light [of life] and be satisfied; by His knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities... * While a distinction can be made between suffering body and soul, usually the two go hand in hand. The person who suffers from a terminal disease, or injuries from a serious accident, suffers not only in their body, but in their soul. The physical trauma invariably leads to suffering in one s thoughts, in the questions, the perplexities that come to mind as we face physical suffering. - By the same token, when we suffer emotionally, in our soul, it often transfers to our body. I know a man whose wife left him. He is a faithful, loving Christian man. He has provided for his wife and his children. Yet his wife left him for another man. She says she doesn t love him anymore and the marriage is headed for divorce. - This man has lost weight. Not because he was trying to, but the suffering of his soul affected his physique. We are knit together, body and soul, until the separation that comes at death. Then our soul goes to its eternal home and our body rests in the grave until the Lord returns and there is the resurrection of all people. All people are again joined, body and soul for eternity, either in the joys of heaven or in the agony of hell. Either way we will again be people of body and soul in eternity. As Jesus suffered in his body and His soul we see again His true humanity. That He really is like us in every way except for sin. He knows not only the suffering of the soul, as He was repeatedly rejected, but He also knows the suffering of the body. The churning of the stomach. The aching of one s bones. The pain of a wound. He knows the relation between suffering in both body and soul. 3) However, the suffering in body and soul that Jesus underwent was unique. The catechism says, Christ sustained in body and soul the anger of God against the sin of the whole human race. > When the catechism describes how Jesus bore the anger of God against the sin of the whole human race, it isn t teaching a universal salvation. Nor is it teaching Arminianism, the view that Jesus died for everyone and then gives prevenient grace which allows everyone to choose for them self whether to believe in God or not. - Scripture is clear in many places that Jesus died for the sins of His people, the sheep, God s elect. Matt 1:21; John Acts 13:40 Pisidian Antioch...Paul Barnabas... * But the catechism, as it follows Scripture, recognizes that the sacrifice of Jesus was sufficient to bear the anger of God against the whole human race, even though it was efficient for the lives of God s elect.

11 - He suffered the anger of God s wrath for our sin As Isaiah 53:10 (a-b) puts it... Yet it was the LORD s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and... the LORD makes his life a guilt offering... In order to be our guilt offering Jesus had to become a curse for us. Q&A 39 points that out as it asks, Is it significant that He was crucified instead of dying some other way? Yes. This death convinces me that He shouldered the curse which lay on me, since death by crucifixion was accursed by God * None of us can fully comprehend the incredible agony of being crucified. To be crucified was an offensive thing even to the Romans. Even though the Roman government executed criminals by crucifixion, they would never dream of executing a Roman citizen - one of their own - by crucifixion. - The Roman statesman, Cicero, who lived from BC, called crucifixion a most cruel and disgusting punishment. He said, It is a crime to put a Roman citizen in chains, it is an enormity to flog one, sheer murder to slay one; - what then can I say of crucifixion? - It is impossible to find the word for such an abomination. (as qu. by Boice, Matthew, V-2, pg. 614) * The Jews also hated crucifixion. They knew, from Deut. 21:22-23 that anyone who was hung on a tree was under the curse of God. If a man guilty of a capitol offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God s curse. In Gal. 3, Paul quotes that text to drive home the reality that Jesus, on the cross, bore the curse of your sin and mine. - That is also, incidentally, why Jesus was crucified outside of Jerusalem, and not within the city itself. The Jews considered crucifixion way too cruel to allow it within the city limits of Jerusalem. - It was truly a horrible punishment to be crucified. It was abhorred by the people of that day, the Romans and the Jews. Yet Jesus allowed Himself to be crucified in order to bear the curse that all humanity deserves for their sin. _ The catechism describes the reason Jesus suffered, - and also the results: 1) The righteous wrath of God was propitiated, atoned for. The catechism cites Romans 3:25, God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood. (25a). * Since He is pure, holy and righteous, Gods hates sin. He cannot look the other way and pretend that your sin and mine isn t there. But by sustaining God s wrath against humanity for their sin, Jesus covered our sin. That is the idea behind the word propitiation; it is behind the concept of Christ being an atoning sacrifice. It is the covering of our sin with the blood of Christ to appease the proper, righteous proper wrath of God against sin. * Propitiating the righteous and proper wrath of God required both the active and passive obedience of Jesus Christ. His active obedience required Him to keep every jot and title of the law, every nuance, every aspect of it. When you or I believe in Jesus with a saving faith, that perfect obedience of Jesus Christ is credited to us. But it also entailed what is called His passive obedience, meaning that He passively, like a sheep led to its slaughter allowed Himself to be crucified. By that passive obedience Jesus shed His blood and thus covered our sins. - The proper and righteous wrath of God at your sin and mine was atoned for, propitiated, through the perfect life and sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. 2) The catechism goes on to explain that by His suffering we who believe in Him are set free from eternal condemnation. The catechism cites Romans 8, which begins by assuring us, Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. - But in order for their to be no condemnation for us, the Innocent One, Christ, had to be declared guilty. He had to be condemned in our place. > Q&A 38 gets to the heart of why Jesus was condemned in a public trial, and how His condemnation relates to you and to me. It asks, Why did He suffer under Pontius Pilate as judge? So that He, though innocent, might be condemned by a civil judge, and so free us from the severe judgment of God that was to fall on us. - All of us can picture, in our mind s eye, Pilate going before the massive crowd and washing his hands. He publicly admitted that he found no basis for a charge against Jesus. Yet Jesus, although found innocent, was pronounced guilty. > In his trilogy on the catechism, Herman Hoeksema writes: What was historically, as men view the events of this world, the trial and condemnation of Jesus by the world, was in reality, and according to the purpose of God, the trial and judgment of the world. (Triple Knowledge, Vol. 1, pg. 647) - That is what Jesus referred to in John 12:31. Jesus was predicting His death, and said, Now is the time for judgment on this world. - How can that be...? Although

12 in the eyes of the people, Jesus was being judged as guilty, in reality He, the only innocent human to ever live, being truly God, truly man, took our place, took upon Himself our guilt. - And although the self righteous Pharisees and other people scoffed and mocked the suffering Savior, they by their actions were proving their guilt, - guilt that all of us share because of our sin. - Yet because He was willing to be condemned by God the Father in our place, we who believe in Him are now judged righteous and holy, as the passive obedience of the shed blood of Jesus covers our sin and the active obedience He maintained to every nuance of the law is imputed - credited - to us by the gift of saving faith. 3) Thus, the answer to Q. 15 concludes by reassuring us that Christ has gain(ed) for us God s grace, righteousness and eternal life. {Rom 3:24-26} - The catechism is very devotional. I served a church once where they asked me not to preach from the catechism... Later they changed their mind. They realized that the catechism is both doctrinal and devotional, that is it has a pastoral and practical, very comforting, application to our lives. It gives us the assurance that we need in our sin-stained lives that we are indeed recipients of God s grace, clothed in the righteousness of His Son and heirs of eternal life. * As we enter a new year there are so many uncertainties, - regarding our country our church, health, finances, employment, there are a whole long list of uncertainties. - But because Jesus sustained the wrath of God for humanity s sin upon Himself, we also enter the new year with these great certainties: That Christ, by His suffering as the only atoning sacrifice, has set us free, body and soul, from eternal condemnation, and gained for us God's grace, righteousness, and eternal life. - May those great certainties grant you a peace that surpasses understanding and joy in all the sorrows of life, throughout this year, and always. Amen

13 One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with this question: Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? - Matthew 22:35-36 The Greatest Commandment Matthew 22:34-40 I. This passages teaches: 1) Jesus was constantly tested by all groups of people (34-35) One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with this question: Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? - Matthew 22:35-36 The Greatest Commandment Matthew 22:34-40 I. This passages teaches: 1) Jesus was constantly tested by all groups of people (34-35) 2) God brings good out of evil: The attempts to test and trap Jesus result in teaching which edifies the church eternally (35, 37-40) 2) God brings good out of evil: The attempts to test and trap Jesus result in teaching which edifies the church eternally (35, 37-40) 3) Love is the fulfillment of the law (40; Romans 13:8-10) and encompasses all other blessed attributes (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) 3) Love is the fulfillment of the law (40; Romans 13:8-10) and encompasses all other blessed attributes (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) II Applications: 1) We are to love God and our neighbor with all we have: heart, soul, mind (37) and strength (Mark 12:30) II Applications: 1) We are to love God and our neighbor with all we have: heart, soul, mind (37) and strength (Mark 12:30) 2) It is possible to be close to the kingdom of God, but not be in it (Mark 12:34). 2) It is possible to be close to the kingdom of God, but not be in it (Mark 12:34). 3) Love that fulfills the law only comes through faith in Christ (John 15:9-13; 1 John 4:19-21) 3) Love that fulfills the law only comes through faith in Christ (John 15:9-13; 1 John 4:19-21) 01/19/ a.m. 01/19/ a.m.

14 The Greatest Commandment Matthew 22: /19/14 a.m. Last week we read how the Sadducees had tried to trap Jesus with their story of a woman who had 7 husbands, all brothers, all who died, and so they had asked, At the resurrection whose wife will she be? - It was a foolish question because it was based on the view of the Sadducees that there is no resurrection of the body. The Sadducees were the theological liberals of their day; they did not believe in the resurrection of the body or in the reality of the angelic world. - But Jesus silenced them effectively, By pointing out (v. 29), You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. Seeing that the Sadducees were unable to trap Jesus, we read in vs 34 how the Pharisees got together. They were probably delighted on the one hand that their enemies, the Sadducees, had been silenced; but on the other hand was this great concern: The One who had silenced the Sadducees was an even greater threat to the Pharisees than the Sadducees were. The Pharisees saw themselves as the ultimate religious authorities. And now here comes Jesus, a teacher who could do miraculous works and gain the attention of the people, all the while exposing the Pharisees sinful hypocrisy. - They came out of the huddle they had huddled together, just like a football team, trying to map out the next step, - the best strategy to trap Jesus, and coming out of the huddle they sent an expert in the law, a lawyer another name for scribe, - to test Jesus. The Pharisees had this lawyer test Jesus on a subject that was near and dear to them, the subject of the law and which law was most important. The Pharisees weren t just thinking about the 10 commandments here, - as we use the summary of the 10 commandments, but rather they were thinking of 613 commandment which they had categorized into positive and negative commandments. * Of the 613 commandments that the Pharisees prided themselves for keeping, 248 were positive and 365 were negative. Because they had so many laws, both negative laws about what you could not do and positive laws about what you must do, there was extensive discussion about which law was more important. > As an example they had a number of laws concerning the Sabbath Day and how to keep it. One law said that it was OK to eat the egg from a chicken that had been hatched on the Sabbath a fresh egg so long as you put that chicken to death the next day, - because it had broken the Sabbath by working in hatching that egg. Another Sabbath law, if you had a sore throat, - like what I had last week you could gargle a mixture of water and vinegar to relieve the pain, but if you swallowed any of that mixture you sinned because that constituted work. - So the question might be, Which is the most important law, to kill the chicken that hatched the egg on the Sabbath, or to make atonement for swallowing some vinegar and water by mistake? - The Pharisees loved to split hairs especially over anything related to the law, so naturally they figured they could trap Jesus by asking, Which is the greatest commandment in the law? (36). And again, they had in mind 613 commandments. (2) However, in this passage we not only see that Jesus was constantly tested, we also see how God brings good out of evil. The attempts to test and trap Jesus result in teaching which edifies the church eternally. - Think of how many generations of Christians, - all the generations from the first century on, have known that the supreme commandment, above all others, is love. Wholehearted love for God and wholehearted love for others, - for one s neighbor. Jesus points out that love is the peg upon which all the law and all the prophets hang. - Now had the Pharisees not huddled together and sent this expert in the law to trap Jesus, He may have taught us this crucial truth in another setting. But this setting was ideal, because out of a plot to do evil, - a plot that was hatched and motivated by hatred, Jesus teaches the greatest good, - love. - And isn t that how God works in so many situations? He is able to bring good out of evil, working all things for the good of those who love Him who are called according to His purpose. > This past Tuesday some of you may have heard Rev. Nathan Brummel being interviewed on Moody Radio. Rev. Brummel is the United Reformed pastor from De Motte, IN who is the director of Divine Hope Reformed Seminary in the Danville Prison. From the darkest of places, the greatest good comes, as hatred is replaced by Christ-like love, as lives are transformed by God s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. - God is able and indeed does on a regular basis bring good out of evil. The hateful attempts to test and trap Jesus result in teaching which edifies the church eternally. 3) Third, as we see the Lord turning an evil plot into an opportunity to show the importance of love, we also see that love is the fulfillment of the law. - Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the law, as He had stated in Matthew 5:17. But in vs 40 we clearly see that love fulfills the law, because all the law and the prophets depend on those two great commandments summarized by love. - As an example, if you and I truly loved the Lord our God with all that we have -

15 heart, soul, mind and strength, - would we - > worship false gods? > run after idols? > take the name of the God whom we love with heart, soul, mind and strength, in vain, - as a common curse? > if we truly loved Him with all we have, would we not keep His day as a joyful, wholly separate day? Likewise, if we truly loved our neighbor as our self would we - > murder our neighbor with words, looks or harmful intents if not the actual deed of murder? > would we commit adultery with our neighbor s wife or husband...? > Would we steal from our neighbor or give false testimony against our neighbor, or covet our neighbor s possessions if we truly loved our neighbor as our self? * In that way love is the fulfillment of the law. In that way, all the law and the Prophets hang, or depend, on love. This is clearly taught in other Scriptures as well, including Romans 13:8-10, where Paul writes: Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet, and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. (Romans 13:8-10) Love also fulfills the law in the sense that love encompasses all other good attributes. > If you were to go out to the mall some Saturday afternoon and ask shoppers there to define love, imagine all the unusual responses you would get: You would hear of romantic love, of holding hands, candle lit dinners, a rose, - I m sure you would get a wide range of answers as to what people in our world picture love as being. - And you would probably get a fair number of people who would define love as a mirage, as a heartless joke that gets you pumped up with anticipated joy and then leaves you flat and empty. - But the biblical definition of love encompasses all the other good attributes that bring blessing into our lives and the lives of others. 1 Corinthians 13 contains the biblical definition of what true love is: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. - It is that type of love that is a fulfillment of the law. That type of love with which we are to love our neighbor, our spouse, our children all those around us even the stranger whom the Lord brings across our path, for he too, in the definition of neighbor given in the parable of the Good Samaritan, is indeed our neighbor to whom we are to show patience, kindness, goodness and all the other attributes in the biblical definition of love. - Jesus, in John 14:13, defined the greatest love as laying down one s life for another. That is what Jesus did for us, and there is no greater love that that. And while we might not lay down our life literally, as He did on the cross, we lay down our life figuratively when we sacrifice of ourselves for the good of others. True biblical love involves self sacrifice. And loving sacrificially rather than robbing us of joy, gives us true biblical joy as we love, not (only) in words or tongue but with actions and in truth (1 John 3:18). By way of application, Jesus tells us to love God with all we have within us. Here in Matthew 22:37 Jesus says: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And in the parallel account in Mark 12:30 He is also recorded as saying to love with all your strength. - Jesus is not teaching a compartmentalized love that when you love with your mind or soul its different than loving with your heart. Rather He uses heart, soul, mind, and strength to emphasize the totality of how we are to love, - with all that we have. Not a partial giving of ourselves in love to the Lord and others, but the wholehearted love that encompasses all that we have within us. > One of my favorite Old Testament characters is Caleb. When he and Joshua, along with ten other men were sent to spy out the land of Canaan, Caleb and Joshua were the only ones who trusted that the Lord would give them victory over the giants, - the Nephilim who were living in the land. Caleb had faith that the One who was within him was far greater than him who is in the world. - He and Joshua, because of their faith, entered the promised land while so many others perished in the desert. And then when they received the land, Caleb described how he felt at 85 as strong and vigorous as he did at 40. If God grants me 85 years I hope I could say the same thing! - But what really impresses me about Caleb, and causes him to be a role model for us all, is that 6 times over, in three different books, - Numbers, Deuteronomy and Joshua, - he is given this description: It says six times over that Caleb served the Lord wholeheartedly. He didn t just serve the Lord by thinking good thoughts in his mind; he served the Lord with all his heart, soul mind and strength. And that s the point that Jesus makes to us as to how we are to love Him and love others: We are to love wholeheartedly with everything we have: soul, mind, heart and strength.

16 2nd application: It is possible to be close to the kingdom of God, but not be in it. In Mark s account of this occasion he writes: When Jesus saw that (the man) had answered wisely, He said to him, You are not far from the kingdom of God. (Mark 12:34). * He didn t say, You are in the Kingdom... but, You are not far from it. - That s a terrible place to be in, if you think about it: - to be so close, yet not saved. To have knowledge in your head, but emptiness in your heart. To be in the visible church, but not in the invisible the true church, the body of Christ on earth. - And this Pharisee, this scribe, was not the only one who was close, yet not in the kingdom. How many covenant young people have grown up in the church, been so close to the kingdom, have heard the proclamation of the gospel time after time, have been catechized, encouraged and motivated to follow the Lord, - yet have wandered off on their own and take the broad road of the world which leads to destruction? he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. (1 John 4:20-21). - In those verses John emphasizes what Jesus taught in John 15:9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love....my command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. (John 15:9, 12) _ The scribe who asked the question was so close, yet so far. By grace, through saving faith in Christ Jesus, may we not only be close to the Kingdom of God, but in the Kingdom, - striving to love God and love our neighbor wholeheartedly, with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, looking forward to the day when our love will be perfect in the glory of the life yet to be revealed. Amen. - How many older folks are so close to the kingdom, yet not in it? They have heard the Word, read the Word, perhaps memorized portions of the Word, but it has stayed in the mind as head knowledge and never sunk with all its beauty and life-transforming power into their hearts, - to cause change that is evident by a life of genuine love for God and for others. JC Ryle, in his Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, writes: Let us learn from this brief exposition of the true standard of duty, how great is the need in which we all naturally stand of the atonement and mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Where are the men and women who can say with truth, that they have perfectly loved God or loved man? Where is the person on earth who must not plead guilty when tried by such a law as this? No wonder the Scripture says, there is no one righteous, no not one (Roman. 3:10, 20). - It is only gross ignorance of the requirements of God s law which makes people undervalue the Gospel. The man who has the clearest view of the moral law will always be the man who has the highest sense of the value of Christ s atoning blood. (Vol. 1, pg. 263). - Which leads to the 3rd application: (3) Love that fulfills the law only comes through faith in Christ. * 1 John 4:19 is a short verse with only seven words, - yet they speak a great truth: We love because He first loved us. Unless, by God s sovereign grace we know His love through saving faith in Jesus Christ we cannot love either God or our neighbor. - And if by grace we do know God s love through saving faith, then we must love others as we have been loved by God, - with that wholehearted, unconditional, sacrificial love. John writes: If anyone says, I love God, yet hates his brother,