Lord, We Need Your Help!
The Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 16:1-12
Sermon by Rick Crandall
(Prepared August 23, 2022)
BACKGROUND:
*Please open your Bibles to Matthew 16. This chapter begins with Jesus in the region of Magdala, and there the Pharisees and Sadducees showed up to harass our Savior.
*Up to this point Matthew had mentioned the Pharisees 11 times, but he only mentioned the Sadducees once. That was in Matthew 3:7 where John the Baptist "saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism," and he rightly called them out by saying, "Brood of vipers! Who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come?"
*For the most part, both groups were a horrible brood of vipers. And it's important for us to understand how evil these Pharisees and Sadducees were. Jesus was now in the third year of His ministry. And though the Lord had already worked countless miracles to prove that He was the promised Messiah, these Pharisees and Sadducees had totally rejected Him with murderous hatred.
*In Jesus' day there were only a few thousand Pharisees, but they held power far greater than their numbers. For over a hundred years they had basically been in charge of telling all of the other Jews what was right and wrong. By Matthew 12, the Pharisees were stalking Jesus, looking for any opportunity to accuse Him of breaking their man-made laws. In that chapter Jesus went into a synagogue and healed a man with a withered hand. But it was on the Sabbath day, and that was against their man-made laws.
*Luke 6:11 tells us that on that day, the Pharisees were filled with rage to the point of madness. And Mark 3:6 says they "went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him." The Herodians were followers of Herod the Tetrarch, and normally they were the Pharisees' arch enemies. But the Pharisees hated Jesus so much, they were working with their enemies to plot His death.
*You see, Jesus rejected all of the petty rules the Pharisees had added to God's Law. There were thousands of these regulations, like their ungodly law against healing on the Sabbath Day.
*About fourteen hundred years earlier, just before the Children of Israel entered the Promised Land, Moses spoke to them, and in Deuteronomy 10:12-13 Moses asked them: "What does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?"
*God gave His Law to the Children of Israel FOR THEIR GOOD. But the Pharisees had corrupted God's Law by turning it into a terrible burden on His people. William Barclay gave this example: In Jeremiah 17:21, "Thus says the Lord: 'Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day.'" But a "burden" had to be defined, so the scribes and Pharisees defined it as "food equal in weight to a dried fig, enough wine for mixing in a goblet, milk enough for one swallow, honey enough to put upon a wound, water enough to moisten an eye-salve," and so on.
*Then they had to settle questions like this: "Could a chair or even a child be lifted on the Sabbath Day?" Or would it be carrying a burden to do so? On and on the regulations went. Then this random, unschooled carpenter from Nazareth showed up and rejected all of their ridiculous rules. Jesus also publicly criticized them for those laying heavy legal burdens on God's people. (1)
*Now here in Matthew 16, the Sadducees came back into view. And Barclay explained how strange it was for them to join ranks with the Pharisees. The two groups were normally bitter enemies. The Sadducees were a small group of wealthy aristocrats, who were happy to cooperate with their Roman conquerors, -- if that allowed them to keep their wealth and privilege.
*The Sadducees rejected the legal burdens the Pharisees had added to God's Law. But they also rejected basically everything miraculous in God's Word. GotQuestions.org gave this list of their beliefs that radically contradicted Scripture:
-The Sadducees denied God’s involvement in everyday life.
-They denied any resurrection of the dead (Matthew 22:23; Mark 12:18–27; Acts 23:8).
-They denied the afterlife, holding that the soul perished at death and therefore denying any penalty or reward after the earthly life.
-They denied the existence of angels and demons (Acts 23:8).
*Barclay said it would be almost impossible to find two more opposite groups, but they came together for one reason: their hate-filled desire to eliminate Jesus. (2)
*The biggest reason why these elite Jews hated Jesus was because He rightly claimed to be God. We can find the Lord's claim many times in the New Testament. For example, in John 6:37-40, Jesus said:
37. "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.
38. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
39. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.
40. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.''
*There Jesus said, "I have come down from Heaven." Who could say that? -- No one but the eternal Son of God, who humbled Himself to become a man and die on the cross for our sins. Our crucified and risen Savior is the King of all Kings, and our only hope of salvation! Jesus had already backed up this truth by working thousands of miracles. But instead of falling down before the Lord with humble faith and worship, the Pharisees and Sadducees went to Him with arrogant self-righteousness and murderous hatred.
*Let's see what happened next, as we read Matthew 16:1-12, and as we read please think about the spiritual help we all need in life.
MESSAGE:
*In 1993, the famous country singer, Willie Nelson, was 60 years old, and he had some unusual advice for his 23-year-old daughter. Willie said, "Paula, look at everything I do closely, -- and do exactly the opposite." (3)
*That was probably the best advice Willie ever gave anybody. And it's the same kind of thing we need to do as we go through today's Scripture. The Pharisees, Sadducees, and even the Lord's own disciples will show us what not to do, as we seek to follow Jesus Christ. And God's Word will help us see how to get the spiritual help we need in life.
*Do you ever feel like you need spiritual help? I surely do, -- especially when I am struggling, or see people I love struggling with faults, failures, and weaknesses. I also need spiritual help when I see people I love trying to cope with the unfair things that can happen in life.
*If you have never felt like you need spiritual help, let me tell you: You need a lot of spiritual help! You may even be lost. But all of us can cry out to the Lord for the help we need. And in this sermon, you will hear four prayer requests, four cries to God for the spiritual help we need.
1. THE FIRST PRAYER REQUEST IS: LORD, HELP US TO SEE YOUR SIGNS.
*In vs. 1-4 the hard-hearted Jewish elites could not see the Lord's signs:
1. Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.
2. He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red';
3. and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.
4. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.'' And He left them and departed.
*Some of the scribes and Pharisees had already asked Jesus for a sign like this. In Matthew 12:38 they said, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.'' And in Matthew 12:39-40 Jesus:
39. . . answered and said, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
40. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
*God surely gives signs. He still leads and guides His people. He still speaks to all who will listen. God speaks through the quiet, calm voice of His Holy Spirit, urging us to do the right thing at the right time. God speaks through our circumstances. Sometimes He speaks to people through their dreams, but most of all, God speaks to us through His Word.
*God gives signs. But here in vs. 4, Jesus said, "A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."
*Why did the Lord say that? If God gives signs, then why did Jesus say that? The reason why is because there were never enough signs for those hard-hearted, unbelieving people. No generation has ever seen as many signs as that generation saw. Those Pharisees and Sadducees had heard the reports. Some of them had seen the miracles firsthand.
*Up to this point in Matthew, there are at least 18 reports of miracles. I'm talking about reports of miracles that involved thousands of people. In Matthew 8 Jesus healed a leper. Then with just a word He healed a Roman soldier's servant who had some kind of paralyzing disease. Jesus also healed Peter's mother-in-law of a fever by touching her hand. He cast out demons with His word, calmed the wind and the raging sea, then cast out a whole legion of demons from two men.
*In Matthew 9, Jesus healed another paralyzed man and forgave his sins. Then He healed a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years, and He raised Jairus' daughter from the dead! Jesus also healed two blind men by touching their eyes. And He cast out a demon, enabling the possessed man to begin speaking.
*In Matthew 12 Jesus healed a man who was both blind and mute. In Matthew 14 Jesus fed 5,000 men plus thousands more women and children with five loaves and two fish. Jesus also walked on the water of a raging sea, and He made it possible for Peter to walk on the water.
*I like the story Ken Davis told about a 4-year-old boy. His name was Jonathan. One summer day, Jonathan's mom came out on the patio with his lunch. And she found him taking the water out of his little pool. With great determination, Jonathan was draining that pool one small bucket at a time.
*Mom put his food on the picnic table and asked what he was doing. Her frustrated 4-year-old replied, "I was trying to do like Jesus and walk on the water. -- But this water doesn't work." (4)
*Church: It would have worked for Jesus! He can walk on any water!
*Then in Matthew 15 Jesus cast a demon out of a Canaanite woman's daughter. He healed many people who were lame, blind, dumb, and maimed. He also fed 4,000 men plus women and children with seven loaves and a few fish. John 21:25 tells us, "There are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." But all of those miracles were not enough for people like the hard-hearted unbelievers we see here.
*John 12:35-38 speaks about Christ-rejecting leaders like these. There God's Word says:
35. Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.
36. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.'' These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.
37. But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him,
38. that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: "Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?''
*In Matthew 27:42, Jesus hung on the cross, dying for our sins, and men like these unbelievers gleefully mocked the Lord with these words: "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him."
*There were never enough signs for those hard-hearted, Jewish leaders. Paul explained it this way in 1 Corinthians 1:21-24:
21. For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
22. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
23. But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
24. But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
*The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest sign of all! This was the Lord's message when He talked about the sign of the prophet Jonah here in vs. 4. And again, back in Matthew 12:40 Jesus had already said, "As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
*The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest sign the world will ever see! And if you will not receive this sign, then you will never be saved. We must believe in our crucified and risen Savior Jesus Christ! So, John 20:30-31 says, "Truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name."
2. LORD, WE NEED YOUR HELP! PLEASE HELP US TO SEE YOUR SIGNS. AND HELP US GO AGAINST THE FLOW OF EVIL IN OUR DAY.
*This is the second prayer request for us today: God, please help us go against the flow of evil we see all around us today. Verse 4 points us to this request, because there Jesus said, "A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign. . ."
*Truly we are also part of a wicked and adulterous generation. The words that Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 certainly describe our society today. Paul told Timothy:
1. But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
2. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3. unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,
4. traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5. having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
*That sure sounds a lot like the United States in 2022. It's bad, and it's been getting worse for 60 years or more. But God will help us to go against the flow of evil in our day, by the words we say, by the way we live, and especially by the way we love.
*Verse 4 ends with these somber words: "He left them and departed." Jesus left them and departed. In Genesis 6:3 the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh." The Holy Spirit will not always strive with people. Now is the time for us to go against the flow of evil.
3. LORD, WE NEED YOUR HELP! PLEASE HELP US GO AGAINST THE FLOW OF EVIL IN OUR DAY. AND HELP US TRUST YOU MORE THAN EVER BEFORE.
*Jesus, please help us to trust in You more than ever! Help us trust in Your greatness and Your goodness.
*In vs. 5-8 the disciples were not trusting the Lord to provide for them.
5. And when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.
6. Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.''
7. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread.''
8. But when Jesus perceived it, He said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?"
*In other words: "O you of little faith, why are you worrying about bread? Why are you so focused on something you know I can provide?" Jesus said, "O you of little faith." Johnny Dean wrote a book called OH ME OF LITTLE FAITH, and that shoe fits better than I want to admit. (5)
*Next in vs. 9-10, Jesus asked them and us: "Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?"
*It's as if Jesus was saying, "Don't you understand and remember My greatness? All bread comes from Me. I can turn a little crumb into a mountain of bread. And I can surely provide you with all the bread you will ever need. Don't you understand and remember My greatness? And what about My goodness? Don't you understand and remember my goodness? I had compassion on those thousands of hungry people out in the wilderness. I have compassion on all people. And I surely will have compassion on you."
*Have you ever seen the greatness and goodness of God in your own life? Of course, we have! Over and over, we have seen how great and good our God is! God is just as great as He was 2,000 years ago. God is just as good as He was 2,000 years ago. But just like the first disciples, we need to understand and remember these things.
4. LORD, WE NEED YOUR HELP! PLEASE HELP US TRUST YOU MORE THAN EVER BEFORE! AND HELP US LEARN TO LIVE BY YOUR WORD.
*This is the fourth prayer request for us today: God, help us learn to live by Your Word.
*In vs. 6 Jesus was trying to teach His disciples something very important. There the Lord said, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." Leaven is the yeast that makes bread rise. And God often uses leaven as a symbol of sin, because it grows and tends to affect every part of the dough. When the disciples did not understand, the Lord strongly corrected them.
*Then in vs. 11 Jesus asked them, "How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? but you should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.'' And in vs. 12, "They understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
*Again, let me stress that the Pharisees and Sadducees were two very different groups of people, united by only one thing: Their hatred of Jesus Christ.
*The Pharisees were supreme legalists. Many of them had fanatical, angry, murderous devotion, not just to God's law, but also to the multitude of traditions they had added over the years. They proudly thought they could please God with their radical devotion.
*The Apostle Paul was one of these fanatics, before he got saved. Here is part of his testimony from Acts 22:
3. "I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers' law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today.
4. I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women."
*Then in Acts 26, Paul said:
9. "Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
10. This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.
11. And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities."
*Here in vs. 11, when the Lord warned us about the leaven or doctrine of the Pharisees. Jesus was in effect saying, "Beware of the proud, legalistic teachings of the Pharisees. Watch out for spiritual pride. Don't put man's traditions over the truth of God. Don't ever think that your religious zeal is a substitute for God's mercy and grace."
*On the other hand, the Sadducees were that small group of wealthy, worldly aristocrats who collaborated with Rome. The Sadducees were mainly concerned with keeping their wealth and their privileges.
*Acts 23:8 tells us that the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection or angels or spirits. In Matthew 22:29 Jesus explained that their great error was they did not know "the Scriptures or the power of God."
*Here in vs. 11, when the Lord warned us about the leaven or doctrine of the Sadducees, Jesus was in effect saying, "Beware of worldly teachings that deny the power of God. Don't doubt God's Word! And don't let the things of this world become more important to you than the things of God!"
*We may be living 2,000 years later, but we still have to beware of "the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees," especially the leaven of rejecting Jesus Christ! And beware of anything that weakens the importance of Christ in your life.
*After Jesus chastised His disciples, and challenged them with the truth, vs. 12 says, "Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
*"Then they understood." May the Lord, help us to understand, because so often we don't. Help us to understand and apply your Word in our lives.
*And why did the disciples understand? -- Mainly because they were staying close to Jesus. They were listening to Him. They were trying to learn and understand. They accepted His correction, and they tried their best to follow Jesus, (all but Judas of course). All of the other disciples were becoming more and more like Jesus. -- How about us?
*I love the story Pastor Sarah Sarchet told about a 10-year-old boy named Cameron. One day, he walked into Sarah's office and said he needed to talk. Fresh from soccer practice, and wearing his Cincinnati Reds baseball cap, Cameron had a request.
*"I'd like to be baptized," he said. "We were learning about Jesus' baptism in Sunday School. The teacher asked the class who was baptized, and all the other kids raised their hands. I want to be baptized too."
*Pastor Sarah asked, "Cameron, do you really want to be baptized because everyone else is?" He looked up and replied, "No. -- I want to be baptized because it means I belong to God." -- Great answer!
*The pastor was touched and said, "How about this Sunday?" Cameron's smile turned to concern, and he asked, "Do I have to be baptized in front of all those people in the church? Can't I just have a friend baptize me in the river?"
*"Where'd you come up with that idea?" the pastor asked. Cameron replied, "Well, Jesus was baptized by his cousin John in a river, wasn't he?" Caught off guard, Pastor Sarah said, "You have a point. But, if a friend baptized you in the river, how would the church recognize it?"
*Good question: How would the church recognize it? Cameron thought about it as the pastor got on a footstool to reach high for a book. Then Cameron wisely answered: "I guess by my new way of living." When Sarah heard that profound answer, she almost fell off the stool! (6)
CONCLUSION:
*Cameron got it just right. Everybody ought to be able to tell that we belong to Jesus by the way we live! And God's greatest goal is for us to be like Jesus, but we desperately need His help.
*Let's ask God for it now. "Lord, we need Your help! Please help us to see Your signs, especially the sign of the cross. Help us go against the flow of evil in our day. Help us trust You more than ever before. And help us learn to live by Your Word, so that people will see Jesus in us. In Your holy name we pray. Amen."
(1) Sources:
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharisees
-BibleVerseStudy.com - "Who Were the Pharisees?" - https://www.bibleversestudy.com/johngospel/john7-pharisees.htm
-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, Pennsylvania - "The Man Who Came by Night" - John 3:1-6 - https://bibleportal.com/commentary/chapter/william-barclay/john/3
(2) Sources:
-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, Pennsylvania - William Barclay - "Blind to the Signs" - Matthew 16:1-4 - https://bibleportal.com/commentary/chapter/william-barclay/matthew/16
-GotQuestions.org - "Who were the Sadducees?" - https://www.gotquestions.org/Sadducees.html
(3) Houston Chronicle, May 20, 1993, p. 2A - Source: "McHenry's Quips, Quotes, and Other Notes" by Raymond McHenry - Published by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. - p. 215
(4) Adapted from Ken Davis, Lighten Up, 10/20/6, KLBT 88.1, Beaumont, Texas - Source: "In Other Words" - October 2006 #3 - produced by Dr. Raymond McHenry - www.iows.net
(5) OH ME OF LITTLE FAITH by Johnny Dean - Source: Sermonillustrations.com email 08/11/2002
(6) From a sermon by Sarah Jo Sarchet at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago - Source: Sermonillustrations.com email - 01/12/2003
