God Is Our Provider! Series

God Is Our Provider!

The Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 17:24-27

Sermon by Rick Crandall

(Originally Prepared September 23, 2022)

(New version November 29, 2022)

BACKGROUND:

*Please open your Bibles to Matthew 17:24, and we will take a good look at one of Jesus' countless miracles. Today's miracle happened shortly after the mountain-top transfiguration of our Lord. 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)

*Verses 24-27 tell us that:

24. . . when they (Jesus and His disciples) 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?''

26. Peter said to Him, "From strangers.'' Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free.

27. Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you.''

*Church: 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?

*And I think Jesus must have had a twinkle in His eye when He told Peter what to do. Suppose you needed 1,500 more dollars to pay the IRS. And somebody said, "Here's what you do. Go down to Caney Lake." "Where on Caney?" "It doesn't matter. Just start fishing, and when you catch the first fish, open its mouth, and you'll find an ounce of gold!''

*Sounds crazy, right? -- God surely has a sense of humor. But today's miracle is also one of my favorites because it reminds us that Jesus has full control over nature. The Lord was in full control of the huge fish that swallowed Jonah. And He was in full control of the fish that swallowed that silver coin.

*Jesus has full control over nature. But most of all, this miracle is one of my favorites, because it reminds us that God is our provider.

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.''

*Abraham said, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." And that's exactly what the Lord did in Genesis 22:9-14:

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 already done for us! He sacrificed His only Son. God provided a Lamb. And from this story we get one of the favorite names of God: He is "Jehovah-Jireh", the Lord, our Provider.