Understanding the Mysteries of God
Matthew 17:9-23
Sermon by Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church - July 5, 2009
*When I was a senior in high school, I took a trip with some friends over to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We were headed east on the interstate, going up a long hill, when suddenly the cars started acting very strange on the other side. People were weaving, waving, yelling, flashing their lights and blowing their horns. We wondered what in the world was wrong with those people.
*Then we topped the hill and saw this man who was driving down the wrong side of the interstate. Thank the Lord, we happened to be in the right lane or we would have been killed for sure. That man had no idea he was on the wrong side of the road, so he was putting himself and other people in great danger.
*There are some things in life we simply must understand. And the most important things of all can only be explained by God. The most important things you will ever have to understand can only be explained by Jesus Christ. Listen to the Lord tonight, and you can understand four of the most significant mysteries of God.
1. First: Listen to the Lord and learn the mystery of God’s spokesman.
*Jesus explains this mystery to us in vs. 9-13:
9. Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.’’
10. And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?’’
11. Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Elijah truly is coming first and will restore all things.
12. But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.’’
13. Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.
*John the Baptist was a mystery to the disciples at first, because they had been confused by some misguided teaching from the scribes.
*We have to understand the background. God spoke through His Old Testament prophets until about 400 years before Jesus was born. Malachi’s short book was the last, and the Lord ended it with these words: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” (Malachi 4:5-6)
*Now, over 400 years have gone by with no word from the Lord, and the people were waiting, looking not only for the Messiah, but for His prophet who would come to restore all things. So John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah to restore all things. In God’s mind this meant ushering in a new revelation of the Messiah. It also meant a new call to repentance and righteousness.
*But over that 400 year wait, the scribes had misunderstood God’s intent. William Barclay explains:
-The Jews were agreed that, before the Messiah came, Elijah would return to be his herald and his forerunner. Bit by bit this idea of the coming of Elijah gathered detail, until the Jews came to believe that not only would Elijah come, but he would restore all things before the Messiah came. That he would, we might put it, make the world fit for the Messiah to enter into. The idea was that Elijah would be a great and terrible reformer, who would walk throughout the world destroying all evil and setting things to rights. The result was that both the forerunner and the Messiah were thought of in terms of power. The Scribes said that Elijah will come like a blast of cleansing and avenging fire. (1)
*It’s easy to see how they could misunderstand this. In 2 Kings 1, the wicked king fell from an upper room and was seriously injured. Then the king sent messengers to the false god Baal-zebub to see if he would recover. But the Lord sent Elijah to meet the messengers on the way and say: “Why are you going to Baal-zebub to ask whether the king will get well? Is there no God in Israel? Now, therefore, this is what the Lord says: You will never leave the bed on which you are lying, but you will surely die.”
*When the king heard the bad news, he sent 50 men to arrest Elijah. They found him sitting on top of a hill. The captain said to him, "Man of God, the king has commanded you to come along with us." But Elijah replied to the captain, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and destroy you and your 50 men!" And it did. Then it happened again. And it would have happened a third time, but that captain fell on his knees and pleaded for their lives.
*The scribes were looking for something like that in the new Elijah, but in vs. 12, Jesus said, “I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.”
*The lesson here for us is that we need to be very careful and prayerful when we listen to God’s message. It is easy for us to make the wrong assumption. It’s easy for us to get the wrong idea. But when we listen carefully, God will help us understand, according to His perfect will and wisdom. Listen to the Lord and learn the mystery of God’s spokesman.
2. Also learn the mystery of sickness.
*The Lord helps us understand this mystery in vs. 14-18:
14. And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying,
15. "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic. (The original says “lunatic” or “moonstruck,” because those people did not know about epilepsy.)
15. "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.
16. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.’’
17. Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.’’
18. And Jesus rebuked the demon, and he came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.
*The mystery here is that there is often a spiritual dimension to sickness. This son certainly was possessed by a demon. There is a spiritual dimension to sickness and healing. So should we stop going to the doctor? Should we stop taking medicine? Of course not! In Matt 9:12, Jesus tells us that those who are sick need a physician.
*I thank God for all of the health care professionals in our church. They do a tremendous work. I thank God for the medicine I take every day for my blood pressure and cholesterol. -- But there is also a spiritual dimension to sickness.
*Ed Davis is the principal at Lenwil. He is also a long-time member of First Baptist Church in Monroe, serving as one of their deacons. One time Ed told me about his father passing away in 1983.
*Ed said that his father’s cancer had first been diagnosed back in 1972. Dr. Sartor opened him up for surgery and just closed him right back up. The cancer had spread all over his body, and it was the fast growing kind. They only gave Mr. Davis 3 months to live, but people all over the state started praying for Ed’s dad. Nine weeks later, he went for his check-up, and they found no cancer cells.
*About 8 years later, the cancer did come back and Ed’s dad died in 1983. But Ed is so thankful for the extra time he got with his father. He told me that his dad was his best friend.
*That story of answered prayer reminds that there is a spiritual dimension to sickness. The lesson for us is that it is always important to pray and even fast when someone is sick. Listen to the Lord and learn the mystery of sickness.
3. But also learn the mystery of the strength of faith.
*The Lord helps us understand this mystery in vs. 17-20:
17. Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.’’
18. And Jesus rebuked the demon, and he came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.
19. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast him out?’’
20. So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, `Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
*“O faithless and perverse generation!” -- not what we want to hear the Lord say to us, but it does sound a lot like our generation, doesn’t it? And when it comes to faith, let me ask you this question: Do you underestimate the power of faith?
*Most of us would have to say, “Yes, I underestimate the power of faith.” This has to be true, because Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”
*Faith in the true God has amazing power! Faith in God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ has amazing power.
-Faith knows that nothing is too hard for God.
-Faith sees that God can overcome the circumstances in my life.
-Faith can bring shattered dreams to life again.
-Faith opens the door to the impossible.
-Faith plugs me in to the infinite power of God
-Faith lets you take hold of the promises of God.
-Faith writes a new end to the story of my life.
-Faith and only can save your soul.
*T.W. Hunt once served as a music professor at our Southwestern Baptist Seminary in Fort Worth. Years before, T.W. was about to become a leader at a boys’ camp in Spain, and he asked God to give him the type of biblical faith Paul, Timothy and Peter possessed.
*Years later T.W. wrote:
-"I expected to get zapped and then drive into camp with that same kind of faith they had in the New Testament. But it didn’t happen like that. God did give me faith, but it took years and years. And he did it by building five conditions into my life."
1) For Christians with faith, prayer becomes their very breath. "You cannot help praying. Many times I’ve missed meals, and I hate to tell you this, I’ve even missed classes because I was praying," he said.
2) Christians with real faith see life from a spiritual perspective. "You wake up in the mornings thinking about Jesus."
3) For Christians with biblical faith, Christ is the source of their joy. "Joy in the Bible is not happiness," Hunt said. "When the Bible talks about joy, it talks about joy in the Lord. Most people think joy is when you get credit for good things, but let me tell you, if God gets all the credit, there will be great joy."
4) Christians with real faith keep their eyes on the Lord, not just what they are praying for. “The problem with some churches today,” Hunt said, “is that members don’t let God take over. -- They don’t keep their eyes on Him. They say, ’We know what to do. We’re trained. We have methods, money and buildings.’ Some of the churches I go to, I even wonder if God is there."
5) Christians with biblical faith know Jesus is real in the present. "Most of us think of Jesus in the past or future, and that is important. But it is also important to think about what Jesus is doing right now. Jesus is real right now." We can only know this by faith... (2)
*So the lesson for us is that we must have faith in God. We must have saving faith, sustaining faith and growing faith in God. Listen to the Lord and learn the mystery of the strength of faith.
4. Also learn the mystery of our suffering Savior.
*The Lord helps us understand this mystery in vs. 9-12:
9. Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.’’
10. And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?’’
11. Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Elijah truly is coming first and will restore all things.
12. But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.’’
*In vs. 22-23, Jesus told them more about His role as a suffering Savior:
22. Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men,
23. and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.’’ And they were exceedingly sorrowful.
*Just as the disciples did not understand the suffering of John the Baptist, they did not understand the suffering of the Messiah. Jesus had to teach them the way of the cross. And this explains the secrecy the Lord commanded in vs. 9.
*As William Barclay wrote:
-“The great danger was that men should proclaim Jesus as Messiah without knowing who and what the Messiah was. -Their whole conception both of the forerunner and of the Messiah had to be radically and fundamentally changed.
*It was (very hard) for the idea of a conquering Messiah to be unlearned; it was so ingrained into the Jewish mind that it was difficult --almost impossible to alter it. The Messiah was thought of in terms of power. Jesus had to teach them that His way was the way of suffering and of sacrifice. -- The way of the cross.”
*Barclay added, “That is what the disciples had to learn; and that is why they had to be silent until they had learned. -- If they had gone out preaching a conquering Messiah there could have been nothing but tragedy.
*It has been computed that in the century previous to the Crucifixion no fewer than 200,000 Jews lost their lives in futile rebellions. Before men could preach Christ, they must know who and what Christ was. And until Jesus had taught his followers the necessity of the Cross, they had to be silent and to learn.” (1)
*They had to learn the mystery and power of the cross: Jesus died on the cross, not because He was bad, but because He was good! God made Himself a sacrificial offering for our sins! He shed His blood to take away our sins.
*Stuart Townsend wrote about this mystery in the words of one of the newer hymns:
-“How deep the Father’s love for us, How vast beyond all measure;
-That He would give His only Son, To make a wretch His treasure.
-How great the pain of searing loss, The Father turns His face away; As wounds which mar the chosen One, Bring many sons to glory.
-Behold the Man upon a cross, My guilt upon His shoulders;
-Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice, Call out among the scoffers.
-It was my sin that held Him there, Until it was accomplished; His dying breath has brought me life, I know that it is finished.
-I will not boast in anything, No gifts, no powr’s, no wisdom;
-But I will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection.
-Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer; But this I know with all my heart, His wounds have paid my ransom. (3)
*Many things will remain a mystery until we get to heaven. -But if we listen to the Lord we can learn so much right now. And we must especially learn the mystery of our suffering Savior: The mystery of the cross.
1. Adapted from: TEACHING THE WAY OF THE CROSS - Matt.17:9-13; Matt.17:22-23 - BARCLAY’S DAILY BIBLE STUDY SERIES (NT) by William Barclay, Revised Edition (C) Copyright 1975 William Barclay. First published by the Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh, Scotland. The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, PA.
2. KERUX ILLUSTRATION COLLECTION - ID Number: 7366 - SOURCE: Baptist Press, http://www.baptistpress.org/ - TITLE: Five Faith-building Conditions - AUTHOR: Terri Lackey - DATE: 4/26/02
3. “How Deep the Father’s Love” - John Mark Ministries - 1995 - Stuart Townsend
