ENOREE BAPTIST CHURCH
“The Story” Series through the Bible
Sunday, March 11, 2012 - “Something to Talk About” - Jesus’ Ministry Begins
by Pastor Michael R. Hodge
Introduction to the Message
This message is the continuation of our journey through the story of God’s Word. We first began this series in the early fall of last year and have walked through 22 of 31 stories that make up the story of the Bible. It has been a great journey for our church family. I hope that this message concerning the beginning of Jesus’ ministry will challenge you to share the good news of Christ’s coming as “Something to Talk About”.
In our face paced culture, news magazines and shows know that they have only a small window of time to grab your attention. The headline has to be short and it has to be catchy. In the same way, as the ministry of Jesus begins, this is the headline story of the ages. It’s not only the front page story. It’s the talk of the town! It’s the greatest news story of all time! In fact, if we were to try to sum up the buzz about Jesus if His arrival would have taken place in 2012…news reports would say that Jesus is trending – He would be the talk of Facebook and other social media!
Well in the sequence of our “Story” through God’s Word, everything has pointed to this moment where Jesus is the talk of the town! And in this message, as we study God’s Word together, I want us to consider WHY JESUS is WORTH TALKING ABOUT! And it all began with an announcement, another preparing the way.
Apple iPAD News: In the technology world, this was a big week for computer giant Apple. They announced the latest iPAD (with a host of upgrades/features). But what’s equally impressive about Apple is how they are able to create suspense and anticipation with their releases. While other computer companies fight for ad space… Apple only has to offer a rumor of a new product and news agencies line up for sneak peak filled with free coverage!
Well, in the same way that Apple has mastered the announcement of a product, Jesus didn’t arrive on the scene without His OWN announcement… and it was a job given to a fellow named “John” – known as the baptizer. And the one who would prepare the way for Jesus…he sets this theme in motion because he was definitely “Something to Talk About”. Camel hair and a questionable diet program of locusts and honey…John the Baptist set the stage for the arrival of the Messiah.
I. Something to Talk About: The Word - Matthew 3:13-17
The Word clearly spoken that day confirmed that Jesus is truly the Messiah, Immanuel – God with us!
And yet the one that was drawing all of the attention in this time period wasn’t Jesus…it was John. You see, at this point…John was the headline!
In Matthew 3:5, we discover that people were coming from all over Jerusalem, Judea, and all of the regions surrounding the Jordan in order to be baptized by the man of the moment…John.
The Baptism of Jesus
And as Jesus came out among the crowds to be baptized by Jesus, it was a request that blew the mind of John.
This week Peyton Manning, former quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts has been in the news. He was released by the team and is now the much sought after next player for several NFL teams. And as we consider this request of Jesus, it would be like Peyton Manning approaching one of us saying, “Would you throw me some passes so I can catch some footballs.” You would say, “Wait a minute! You’re the expert. you should throw to me and show me how to throw!” Or it would be like a star vocalist passing you the microphone and you refuse…saying THEY should be the one singing!
Well in the same way, John recognized Jesus as One who didn’t need repentance or forgiveness in baptism. John knew that Jesus was much greater than he was, and that he wasn’t even fit to tie Jesus’ sandals. But now Jesus wants to be baptized by him? John is thinking, “This is backwards! This shouldn’t be happening this way!”
But Jesus’ response to John was this, “Permit it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’”
In the baptism of Jesus we witness not the inauguration of a new life in salvation, but God chose to use this external witness as the inauguration of how NEW LIFE would be made possible!
The Bible says in 2 Cor. 5:21, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
So Christ was not baptized that day to demonstrate he had been forgiven of any sin. He was baptized that day to begin walking the journey of mankind – Christ in the flesh…born so that we might live! Jesus Christ was the offer on the table for redeeming mankind.
Car Sale/House Sale: Some of you might enjoy the process of purchasing a car or a home. You might enjoy that back and forth negotiating of how much you can pay and how little they can take! But there comes a point in the conversation of a big purchase where the negotiating reaches a breaking point. The offer is on the table…no more talk…take it or leave it! And for a window of time in the Gospel story…the offer was on the table. Jesus stepped forward in obedience to the plan from eternity and THE WORD that gives us “something to talk about” is when God the Father spoke clearly that He received Jesus as the offer for redeeming mankind.
Matthew 3:16-17, “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
The Work of a Perfectionist
You or someone in your family may be a genuine perfectionist! Maybe it’s in projects you work on or maybe it’s in how you keep your home. Whatever the case, is it tough for you to finally step back and say, “Now that’s perfect!”?
Well at this point in our story…the words that echoed from Heaven that day lets us know the perspective of God on the person of Jesus Christ! Jesus was the perfect sacrifice to a perfect storm.
THE WORD confirmed that He is the perfect sacrifice for sins!
In essence, God stood back in the timeline of eternity and inaugurated the ministry of Jesus Christ – as the culmination of His plan from eternity – “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”
And God demonstrated His acceptance first in the Holy Spirit. What was prophesied from the ministry of Isaiah forward, God “put His spirit on him”. But not only did God’s Holy Spirit reveal the affirmation of Jesus Christ as the perfect and fitting sacrifice for our sins. God demonstrated this in His spoken word that shook the heavens. God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit sealing this moment! The beginning point of this story of all stories is in God’s WORD.
II. Something to Talk About: The Test - Matthew 4:1-6a, 7-11
Our children are still in elementary school, filled with imaginations, and always looking for the next thing to get into! As I am writing this message, they are out on our porch wrestling around with our dog. And as I share about simple moments like that, so often others will say, “Enjoy the moment!” Often these are words of advice coming from those that now have grown children. They remember the wonderful memories and encourage us to make the most of the moments!
In the same way, if you’ve ever said, “Enjoy the good days while they last”…then you know that all too often…after the highest of highs…we experience the lowest of lows! In our faith, maybe God stirs our heart and we experience His presence in a fresh new way only to hit a wall of temptation or trials.
Well in the story of the temptation of Jesus, God has just revealed Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It was truly the pinnacle moment of God’s Word up to this point! Kings, prophets, and the Promised Land couldn’t measure up to this moment. God had just revealed Himself in an amazing display. And yet immediately following this pinnacle moment, Jesus is led into a trial!
(Source for 3 categories of trials/temptations: Rev. Chuck Williams, Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, Jackson, TN)
a. Testing His Senses - In this scene we can imagine that Satan was saying to Jesus, "Here are some fresh bagels, Jesus. You are so hungry; go ahead and eat. You are starving. Why not go ahead and help yourself!”
And the reality is, this is so often where Satan begins his line of attack in our lives. He appeals to our weaknesses and our sense of deserving something – “I deserve this…I need this…God would want this for me…” And we justify our sin…as we’re tempted by our senses! And yet we see in our text…
Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone.”
In other words, living by our senses alone…pleasing our eyes, our ears, our mind…living by that alone as the measure of our lives is a slippery slope!
And so as we study God’s Word and make the statement that Jesus knows what we are enduring, these examples of Jesus’ temptations/trials clearly demonstrate this truth. Just as our flesh is at war with us to keep us from living a life honoring to God…so Satan tried to tempt Jesus…to pull Him away from God’s plan of redemption. But his attack didn’t stop there.
b. Testing the Supernatural. Read vs. 5-6a.
Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down.
Satan challenged Jesus to put God the Father to the test! “Throw yourself down from this place and see if God will catch you! Do you trust Him?” As we imagine this scene, some historians say that the pinnacle could have been as high as 450 to 500ft. off the ground! And Satan said, “Jump…God’s your insurance policy …He’ll catch you!”
In other words, Satan said jump first, and seek God later! And as we apply this to our lives, it’s when we never pause to ask God His will for our lives and yet we take a leap challenging Him to catch us when we fall!
To that lifestyle Jesus said, “Don’t tempt God”. Instead we “Trust God”.
We trust that God’s plan for our lives is better than our own. We don’t leap ahead of God expecting Him to clean up our messes. Instead, we live in a daily relationship with God asking Him to guide us through the ups and downs of life!
Satan tested Jesus in trusting in the Supernatural work of God.
c. Testing the Shortcuts - Satan tested Jesus’ resolve to take the shortcut!
Vs. 9, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
It was a temptation to skip the pain of redeeming mankind, to take the shortcut of the riches of this world!
A couple was walking home late one evening and decided to take a shortcut through the cemetery. The husband tried to scare the wife for a few good laughs…she wasn’t amused. But as they were about midway through the cemetery…the laughing stopped. Off in the distance both of them heard a tap-tap-tapping noise coming from the darkness. No longer the macho man…the husband gingerly stepped forward…until he finally could see an old man with a hammer and chisel, chipping away at one of the headstones. - "Oh my…sir you scared us to death, we thought there was a ghost out here. What are you doing working here so late at night?"
The old man grumbled, "Those sorry workers! They misspelled my name!"
Well just as that couple decided SHORTCUTS were not a good option that night, so Jesus points out that shortcuts in faith don’t exist!
- We can’t know God’s Word without being IN God’s Word.
- We can’t develop a deeper faith with discipline in our walk with Christ.
- And we can’t overcome the temptations that lure us in if we’re not willing to yield our lives to the Lord on a daily basis.
When it comes to our growth in Christ, I wish there was an “EASY” button. “Want to grow in faith? Well just push that button…done!” And yet that’s exactly what Satan was tempting Jesus to accept – power, recognition, possessions…if He would simply take the shortcut! And in the culmination of Jesus’ testing…Jesus commanded Satan to flee and His time of testing came to a close. When we allow Satan an inch in our lives…before long that “Something to Talk About” isn’t our growth in Christ, but our failure to follow.
But thanks be to God that the invitation of Christ is extended to all of us.
III. Something to Talk About: The Call - Matthew 4:17-20
In the 1890 hymn, “Where He Leads Me”…the lyrics state, “Where He leads me I will follow, I’ll go with Him, with Him all the way”. But as we contemplate this passage, the question comes to mind, “Did these early disciples have any idea just how far He was about to lead them…how far their obedience would take them?”
- Did they know that it would take them from city to city as Jesus taught and healed?
- Did they know that it would take them from being common workers to being empowered servants?
- Did they know that it would take them to a Cross and to the scorn of the crowd?
They simply heard “The Call” and they chose to follow Him.
Along those lines, when our family first came to the church where we are serving now, my wife’s parents were following us to our house just after we moved into it. But as I watched in my rearview mirror…they kept getting farther and farther away and I thought, “What is HE doing?” We called them on their cell phone and they said, “Oh my…I’m following the wrong car!”
Well in the story of Jesus Christ…we have reason to believe we’re following the right person.
- First we know it’s the right person because the spoken Word of God confirmed it.
- Second, the resolve of Jesus in the face of temptation confirmed it.
- Third, the call of Christ initiated it. As Jesus began his earthly ministry, there was definitely “Something to Talk about”. This man from Nazareth…walking the shores of Capernaum…He came with an invitation…a call to follow!
And as we consider this call of Christ…it was a call to two very clear decisions.
a. A Call to Turn Away.
Vs. 17 says, “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Jesus continued the preaching message of John…the theme of repentance!
b. A Call to Turn Towards…to “turn towards” a Savior…Jesus Christ!
And yet what we realize throughout God’s Word is that it’s an invitation that comes with a cost.
(John Piper, “What Jesus Demands from the World” quote)
“Jesus has no desire to trick you into following him with a kind of bait and switch. He is utterly up front about the cost. In fact, he urges you to count the cost. “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? . . . Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?” (Luke 14:28, 31). Let the call to follow Jesus be clear and honest. “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). It is costly, and it is worth it.”
And as we accept the call to follow, we get to join in the call concerning…
IV. Something to Talk About: The News - Matthew 4:23-25
Christian artist Chris Tomlin has a song entitled, “The Famous One” and it says, “You are the Lord, the famous one…Great is your name in all the earth. The heavens declare You
