The Lord's Essential Truths about Everlasting Life
The Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 22:23-33
Sermon by Rick Crandall
(Prepared January 14, 2023)
BACKGROUND:
*Please open your Bibles to Matthew 22:23. Jesus was in Jerusalem to die on the cross for our sins. The city and surrounding villages were crowded with over 2 million Jewish pilgrims there for the annual Passover Feast. (1)
*Early that week, Jesus went into the Temple to drive out the moneychangers and dove merchants, because they had turned the Court of the Gentiles into a den of thieves by cheating the pilgrims. Then in Matthew 21:14-16, "The blind and the lame came to (Jesus) in the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, 'Hosanna to the Son of David!' they were indignant and said to Him, 'Do You hear what these are saying?' And Jesus said to them, 'Yes. Have you never read, "Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise"?'''
*The next day, Jesus went back to the Temple. Luke 20:1 tells us that Jesus was there teaching the people and preaching the gospel to them. That's when the chief priests, scribes, and elders confronted the Lord again. This time, those Temple rulers questioned the Lord about the source of His authority.
*Jesus refused to answer their question directly, because it wasn't quite time for His death on the cross. Instead, the Lord used a question and three parables that pictured the horrible ways these wicked rulers had disobeyed God and rejected His Son Jesus Christ. They were filled with raging hatred toward Jesus, and had been plotting His murder for months.
*Those evil Pharisees and Sadducees understood that the parables were about them, and they should have repented from their wicked plans. But instead, the Pharisees decided to attack the Lord from a different angle. Matthew 22:15 tells us that they "went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk." They decided to trap Jesus into taking a public stand against the Roman government. But you can't trick God, so the Lord knew exactly what to say. And when the Pharisees and Herodians heard Christ's answer, they marveled and retreated in defeat.
*Later that same day, the Sadducees tried to trap the Lord with a question about eternal life and marriage in Heaven. Of course their efforts were also futile. Nobody can outsmart God! And Jesus easily answered their question. But in His answer, the Lord gives us three essential truths about His everlasting life. That's our focus today as we read Matthew 22:23-33.
MESSAGE:
*There is much more to life than living in this physical body! D. L. Moody was one of the greatest evangelists of the 1800s. Listen to what he said about eternal life: "Some day you will read in the papers that D. L. Moody, of East Northfield, is dead. Don't you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now. I shall have gone up higher, that is all-out of this old clay tenement into a house that is immortal, a body that death cannot touch, that sin cannot taint, a body fashioned like unto His glorious body.
*I was born of the flesh in 1837. I was born of the Spirit in 1856. That which is born of the flesh may die. That which is born of the Spirit will live forever."
*Mr. Moody passed away in 1899. Having grown weaker during the night, he began to slowly speak these words: "Earth recedes, heaven opens before me!" His son Will hurried across the room to his father's side. "Father, you are dreaming," he said. "No -- This is no dream, Will. It is beautiful. It is like a trance. If this is death, it is sweet. God is calling me, and I must go. Don't call me back." (2)
*Church: There is much more to life than living in this physical body. As Jesus said in vs. 32, "God is not the God of the dead, but of the living!"
1. AND THE FIRST ESSENTIAL TRUTH OF EVERLASTING LIFE IS THAT WE MUST BELIEVE IN GOD'S WORD.
*We must accept the authority of God's Word. The problem with the Sadducees in vs. 23 is that they didn't believe God's Word. These religious rulers were wealthy aristocrats, who were happy to cooperate with their Roman conquerors, if that allowed them to keep their wealth and privilege. They were normally bitter enemies of the Pharisees, because they rejected their man-made religious rules. But the Sadducees were worse in a different way, because they also rejected essential truth in God's Word.
*They were skeptics who denied God’s involvement in everyday life. Verse 23 tells us that they denied the resurrection of the dead. They denied the spiritual dimension of life, holding that life ended at death, and there was no afterlife, no heaven or hell, no resurrection of the dead. Acts 23:8 tells us that they also denied the existence of angels. (3)
*The Sadducees rejected the clear teaching of the Scriptures. And they ignored God's Word whenever is conflicted with their misguided beliefs. They remind us that it's not enough to know the Scripture with our heads. In vs. 29 Jesus told them they were in error, because they did not know the Scriptures. But we need to understand that they did know the Scripture with their minds. Here in vs. 24, they quoted a passage from Deuteronomy 25:5, saying: "Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother."
*Those men were religious leaders. Many of them were priests. They knew the Word of God in their heads. But they were trying to play games with God's Word. And it is not enough to know the Scripture in our heads, we have to know it in our hearts. We have to believe it in our hearts. We must accept the authority of God's Word.
*WE SHOULD ALWAYS TRUST THE SCRIPTURE OVER THE SKEPTICS, AND WE CAN ALWAYS TRUST IN THE WORD OF GOD.
*In vs. 29 we can trust God's Word when it tells us we are wrong: "Jesus answered and said to them, 'You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.'" In vs. 30 we can trust His Word when it talks about the resurrection, and angels, and Heaven: "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven."
*We can always trust what Jesus says! In vs. 30-33, the multitudes were astonished at the Lord's teaching. Here Jesus said:
30. "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.
31. But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying,
32. 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.''
33. And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.
*They were astonished at what Jesus said. But the Lord Jesus can speak about Heaven with absolute authority, because Heaven is His home! Jesus can also speak with authority about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because He created them, and He knows them personally.
*We can believe every word in the Bible, because it IS the Word of God, and when we do believe the Bible, it will make an incredible difference in our lives! The best thing God's Word can do for us is save our souls! If we hear the good news about the cross of Jesus Christ, and put our trust in the Risen Savior, if we will receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, then God will forgive all of our sins, give us eternal life, and give us a home in Heaven.
*But all of these wonderful things can only come through God's Word. That's why 1 Peter 1:23-25 tells Christians that we have:
23. . . been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,
24. because "All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away,
25. but the word of the Lord endures forever.'' Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.
*Church: If saving our souls was the only thing the Bible ever did for us, that would be infinitely more than enough! But God's Word can do so much more! It can guide us in every area of life. We know this because Psalm 119:105 says: "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Then in Psalm 119:130 the writer told God, "The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple."
*One preacher explained the light of God's Word this way: "It was a sunny summer day, and our family had decided to visit the Lava River Caves in central Oregon. We paid the cost, and the ranger gave us instructions about the lanterns. He said, 'You'll need this lantern when you go down there. It's very dark. Without it you won't get far.'
*We lit the lantern; then began the path into the cave. While we were in the bright sun, the lantern seemed unnecessary, but very quickly it got much darker. The lantern, which had seemed so dim up above, shined bright and strong down in the darkness. With its help we could see the low-hanging rocks, puddles, and the turns in our path. We held it high before us.
*With that lantern, our experience was fun, not frightening. How different everything would have been if we had been in a cave with no light!"
*Then the preacher said, "All of us are on an even less familiar path that can stretch years ahead into unexpected places and perils. This is called the path of life. And wherever our pathway leads, this much is guaranteed for all of us: There will be some darkness. Troubles will come to all on the path of life. We're bound to face trouble. Not all is predictable. Not all is pleasant. Some of it is very dark indeed. You are going to need a lantern, a lamp for your feet, a light for your path when darkness descends." (4)
*Church: We will never find a better light than the Bible! We need to let it shine in the good times and the bad. God's Word will shine on our brightest days, and it will shine in the darkest night. Without it, we can never find the right way to go in life. But we can always trust in the guidance of God's Word, especially because it endures forever! As Jesus said in Matthew 24:35: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away," so keep trusting God to guide you.
*The Bible can change our nation, our world and us! The Bible can even change our lives forever, but only if we will believe it.
2. WE MUST BELIEVE IN GOD'S WORD. AND WHEN WE DO, WE WILL BE BLESSED BY GOD'S POWER.
*When we believe the gospel good news about Christ's death on the cross for our sins and His resurrection from the dead, when we receive the risen Christ as our Lord and Savior, we also receive the power of His resurrection. But the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection power of God. They did not believe in the Lord's unlimited power. That's why in vs. 29, Jesus told them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures NOR THE POWER OF GOD."
*The original word there for "power" was "dunamis," which is where we get our word "dynamite." Jesus was telling those hard-hearted skeptics, "You are going astray because you don't understand the dynamite power of God."
*And Christians: We need to know the Lord's dynamite power. We need to know that we already have the dynamite power of His resurrection at work in our lives.
*One of Paul's greatest desires in Philippians 3:10 was to better know the power of Jesus' resurrection. And in Ephesians 1:19-20, Paul prayed for all Christians to know "the exceeding greatness of (God's) power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places."
*Paul did know the power of Christ's resurrection. That why in Philippians 4:13, he could say, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." And we all need to know the power of His resurrection better! The truth is that we are not strong enough to live the Christian life in our own power. We need the Lord's resurrection power for today and forever!
*These Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection. But Jesus wanted them to know that God has more than enough power to raise the dead! And God has the power to give eternal life to anyone who will trust in His resurrected Son Jesus Christ! This is why in vs. 30, Jesus gave them a glimpse of Heaven. There the Lord said, "in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven."
*Then in vs. 31-32, Jesus gave them a guarantee of Heaven. And He used a Scripture from the only part of the Old Testament that the Sadducees recognized as divine. It was from the Pentateuch or Five Books of Moses. And the Scripture Jesus used was Exodus 3:6 where the Lord appeared to Moses as fire in a burning bush.
*Here in vs. 31-32 Jesus said, "But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."
*Jesus wanted them to know that He, the eternal Son of God, has the power to give everlasting life! Our God is able!
*James Merritt explained, "When I go all the way back to the book of Genesis. And I begin to make my way through both the Old and New Testament, I see proof after proof that God is able: The creation of the world tells me that God is able. The parting of the Red Sea tells me that God is able. The walls of Jericho tell me that God is able. The killing of Goliath tells me that God is able. The fiery furnace and the lion's den tell me that God is able. Jonah and the great fish tell me that God is able.
*The virgin birth tells me that God is able. The feeding of the 5,000 tells me that God is able. The healing of the blind, deaf, mute, and lame tells me that God is able. But more than any of these things, or all of these things, the empty tomb tells me that God is able!" (5)
*Jesus wants us to know that He has the power to give everlasting life! And we need His resurrection power! In John 11:25-26 Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" That last question is the key. We must believe in His resurrection power. We must believe in Jesus, because He is the resurrection and the life.
3. WE MUST BELIEVE IN GOD'S WORD. AND WHEN WE DO, WE WILL BE BLESSED BY GOD'S POWER. BUT WE WILL ALSO BELONG TO GOD'S FAMILY.
*Verses 31-32 point us to this truth. Again, Jesus said, "Concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."
*Notice that there was a family connection here: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: Father, son, and grandson. There was a family connection. But there is something much more important here than their human ties. These men were all part of God's family of faith.
*And Luke 20:34-36 tells us more of what Jesus said on this day:
34. . . Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.
35. But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;
36. nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and ARE SONS OF GOD, BEING SONS OF THE RESURRECTION."
*Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were all part of the family of faith. At the burning bush, the Lord God told Moses, "I am the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob." Not: "I WAS their God," but "I AM their God." So, they may not be alive here, Moses, but they are alive, and it was because they believed!
*Think of Abraham in Genesis 18, talking face to face with the Lord, when he asked the Lord to spare Sodom. Think of Isaac in Genesis 22, bound on the wood, ready to die as a sacrifice, but God provided a ram. Think of Jacob in Genesis 32, wrestling with the Lord all night, not letting go until the Lord blessed him. And limping out of that place with a new name and a new walk, Jacob became Israel. He would never be the same again.
*Christian, think of your own life in the family of faith. We have been saved by the Blood of the Lamb, sent to serve in this lost and dying world, and we are sure to spend eternity in Heaven with Jesus. And it's all because our crucified and risen Savior has put us in the family of faith.
*That's why in Galatians 3:26-29, Paul says this to all Christians:
26. You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
27. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed (or Abraham's descendants), and heirs according to the promise.
*Christians: Through Jesus Christ, we all have a family connection in the family of God. We are saved to be part of the family of faith, and that is the only way to have real life. If Jesus Christ is not your Lord and Savior, then you are truly walking dead. But if Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, then you are truly alive, even after you die. Think about the difference: The difference between real life and death, the difference between being saved, and being lost forever.
*James Moore told the story of him being lost as a little boy. It happened at the Ringling Brothers Circus. And it was very scary experience for a 7-year-old boy in a crowd of 20,000. Jim and his older brother Bob went to buy some cotton candy.
*People were crowded in together at the counter, and Bob got waited on first. Just then loud laughter came from the arena, and Bob didn't mean to leave his small brother alone, but he got caught up in the excitement. And when Jim looked around for his big brother, he was gone!
*In that panic nothing looked familiar to Jim. He was lost! And he wondered if he would ever see his family again. "I started to run," Jim recalled, "trying to fight back the tears. Everyone was laughing loudly at the clowns, but they weren't funny to me." In his fear he thought, "How can they laugh at a time like this? How can they laugh when I feel so lost?"
*Just then Jim felt a touch on his shoulder. He turned around and saw his father. "My father had come after me and had found me. He held me and reassured me. Then bought me a Coke, a hot dog, a Yo-Yo, a lizard, a little stuffed bear, and a candy apple. I learned a valuable lesson that day: Being lost is terrible. Being found is wonderful!" (6)
CONCLUSION:
*If you are lost today, there is a Heavenly Father who wants to find you. There is a Savior seeking for you: Jesus Christ. He loves you so much that He died on the cross for your sins. But three days later, Jesus rose again from the dead, because He is the resurrection and the life! Put your trust in Jesus Christ. Receive Him as your Lord and Savior. That is the only way to have real life.
*Make the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob your God, and you will live forever. Call on the Lord Jesus to save you now, as we go back to God in prayer.
(1) Sources:
-BARCLAY'S DAILY BIBLE STUDY SERIES - NEW TESTAMENT by William Barclay - Revised Edition - Copyright 1975 - First published by the Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh, Scotland - The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, PA - "A King's Welcome" - John 12:12-19
-https://bibleportal.com/commentary/section/william-barclay/a-kings-welcome-john-1212-19-7786
-https://bibleportal.com/commentary/section/william-barclay/a-kings-welcome-john-1212-19-continued-7787
-https://biosidmartin.com/how-many-people-were-in-jerusalem-for-passover-when-jesus-was-crucified/
(2) Sources:
-THE APPLAUSE OF HEAVEN by Max Lucado, p. 156-157 - Word Publishing Copyright 1996 - From "illustrator email" - 04/02/2004
-SermonCentral illustration contributed by Richard Burkey
(3) Adapted from:
-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
(4) Adapted from online sermon - "Light for the Path" (I believe it was by Pastor Michael Kasting.) - Trinity Lutheran Church - Oregon City, OR - 09/13/2009 - Psalm 119:105 - http://www.trinityoc.org
(5) Sermons.com sermon "Glory Guaranteed" by James Merritt - Jude 1:1-16
(6) YES LORD, I HAVE SINNED, BUT I HAVE SEVERAL EXCELLENT EXCUSES. James W. Moore. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1991, pp 101-103 - Source: Sermons.com sermon "Eating Cold Grits" by King Duncan - John 14:1-4 - 2005
