Exodus 20:1-4, Exodus 20:7-9, Exodus 20:12-20, Psalm 19:1-14, Isaiah 5:1-7, Psalm 80:7-15, Philippians 3:4-14, Matthew 21:33-46
A). WRONG FEAR AND RIGHT FEAR OF GOD.
Exodus 20:1-4, Exodus 20:7-9, Exodus 20:12-20.
The first thing that we notice about the Ten Commandments is that they are the words of God (EXODUS 20:1). Secondly we notice that the LORD is the God who has redeemed us (EXODUS 20:2). It is not the keeping of the Ten Commandments which saves us: salvation is a gift of God.
1. As the LORD is the one true and living God, He will not tolerate any competition (EXODUS 20:3). There are no other gods, so we must put nothing before Him in our lives. Neither may we place anything alongside Him, before His face, as if on an equal par with Him.
2. Equally, we are not to make likenesses of anything, real or imagined, in order to worship them or place them alongside the worship of the true God (EXODUS 20:4).
3. God’s name is sacred: it describes who He is. To call down His name in imprecation of another, or to use His name lightly or flippantly is to show great disrespect (EXODUS 20:7). Our great Redeemer will not be mocked!
4. The Sabbath is to be “remembered” - which implies that it was already known about prior to the giving of the Ten Commandments (EXODUS 20:8). It is first a Creation ordinance (cf. Genesis 2:1-3), but is now also revealed as a Redemption ordinance (cf. Deuteronomy 5:14-15). It is to be kept holy, and is symbolic of our entrance into the “rest” of God (cf. Hebrews 4:3).
Work is also a Creation ordinance, and implicit in the command to rest is the command to work (EXODUS 20:9).
5. The land is mentioned as an incentive to honouring our parents (EXODUS 20:12). This is the first commandment with promise (cf. Ephesians 6:1-3). The children of believing parents have responsibilities towards God in ratio to the privileges that they receive from God.
6. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount gets into the spirit of the familiar prohibition against murder (EXODUS 20:13). An unkind thought or unkind words are as murderous as a fatal wound with a lethal weapon (cf. Matthew 5:21-22). Gossip and slander are as malicious as conspiracy to kill (cf. James 3:8-9).
7. According to Jesus, the prohibition on adultery (EXODUS 20:14) includes not only the act itself, but also the thought of it (cf. Matthew 5:27-28). This includes participation by proxy (cf. Romans 1:32). It also reflects our relationship with God, as apostasy and idolatry are viewed in the Bible as spiritual infidelity (cf. Jeremiah 31:32).
8. The right to private property is upheld in Scripture (EXODUS 20:15). This includes everything from the moving of our neighbour’s landmark (cf. Deuteronomy 19:14) and the stealing of our neighbour’s vineyard (cf. 1 Kings 21:1-22) - to kidnap and slave trading (cf. 1 Timothy 1:10 - “men stealers”). This includes everything from stealing pens from the office, adjusting timesheets, falsifying accounts, and writing dud cheques - to bank heists and the Great Train Robbery.
9. False witness is perjury (EXODUS 20:16). It also includes gossip and tale bearing. If we are living in the image of the God who cannot lie (cf. Titus 1:2) then we know that even so-called ‘white lies’ are anything but harmless!
10. At the root of all these sins is the hidden matter of our own hearts (EXODUS 20:17). When the devil came to Jesus, he found nothing in Him into which he might grip with his evil claws (cf. John 14:30). When he comes to us, alas, he finds us all too ready to contemplate sin (cf. James 1:14).
The very attempt to keep these commandments alerts us to our inability to do anything to please God outside of our Redeemer, and drives us to Him for mercy (cf. Galatians 3:24).
When the people perceived “the thunder and flashing, the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking,” this made them fearful, causing them to withdraw from God (EXODUS 20:18). Did they not realise that the sound of the trumpet was calling them to draw near (cf. Exodus 19:13)? Surely this was the God who wanted to help them, not destroy them.
They craved a Mediator “lest we die” (EXODUS 20:19). Yet God had already given them a Mediator in the person of Moses, a type of Christ. And why would we have this same craven fear who now know ‘the one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus’ (cf. 1 Timothy 2:5)? READ Hebrews 12:18-24.
Moses told them “FEAR NOT for God is come to prove you that His FEAR may be before your faces, THAT YE SIN NOT” (EXODUS 20:20). There is a wrong kind of fear of God; but there is also a right kind of fear, an awe and respect, a ‘reverence and godly fear’ (cf. Hebrews 12:28) by which we may have boldness to approach God ‘by the blood of Jesus’ (cf. Hebrews 10:19).
B). A HEART FOR GOD.
Psalm 19:1-14.
In July 1994, Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 (formerly D/1993 F2) broke apart and collided with the far side of Jupiter. On that occasion I preached on “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1), and wondered at the perfection of God’s creation. God placed the earth in the ‘Goldilocks zone’, I taught, in the ‘just right’ place to sustain human life. He placed the gas-giant Jupiter exactly where it is in order to absorb the debris of deep space before it can damage our habitat.
Psalm 19 has been called the most majestic of David’s Psalms. It falls into two main sections dealing respectively with Creation (Psalm 19:1-6) and Covenant (Psalm 19:7-10), with an application to follow (Psalm 19:11-14). These seemingly distinct parts form one unified, progressive whole.
The first main section deals with Creation. This falls into two subsections, the first of which speaks of the ‘voice’ of Creation (Psalm 19:1-3): Creation’s witness to the existence of God. We are standing upon the earth admiring the results of God’s handiwork from Day 4 of Creation (Genesis 1:14-19). We share this pleasing view, this vista, with the whole of mankind: so there is no excuse for the ungodly (Romans 1:20).
Psalm 19:4-6 forms a second subsection, dealing with God’s sustenance of His Creation. We cannot live on sunshine alone, but we cannot live without it! We are not worshipping the sun or any other created object: but rather rejoicing in the hand that created all these things.
Yet Creation, general revelation, does not stand alone in its testimony to God. The LORD God has entered into a covenant relationship with mankind, and spoken to us Himself. This ‘special revelation’ is explored in the second main section of this Psalm, under at least six different synonyms for His Word to us (Psalm 19:7-10).
At this point we might recognize that God’s Word is not limited to Torah, to the Law alone. God’s Word is revealed in the unfolding of His special revelation throughout the Bible, from Genesis to the book of Revelation. This includes the historical books, the wisdom books (including the book of Psalms), and the prophetic books of the Old Testament; and the Gospels and Epistles of the New Testament. Ultimately, God’s Word is recognized in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:1-5; John 1:14; Hebrews 1:1-3).
‘Now these things are written,’ writes John, ‘that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life through His name’ (John 20:31). Paul concurs: ‘Now all these things… are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come’ (1 Corinthians 10:11). “By them is thy servant warned,” acknowledges the sweet Psalmist of Israel, the man after God’s own heart (Psalm 19:11).
Thus the application (Psalm 19:11-14) begins with a recognition of the need to heed the warnings of Scripture, and to acknowledge the value of keeping God’s law (Psalm 19:11). The heart of man is desperately wicked, and deceitful with it (Jeremiah 17:9): so the Psalmist searches his own heart, and asks to be cleansed from secret sins – those which have been committed in ignorance, and which he has not yet discovered to be sins in his life (Psalm 19:12). A thoughtful reflection on God’s Word will lead us in the same direction, teaching us new things every day, but leaving us also with a deep impression of how poorly we know and apply that Word.
The Psalmist prays also to be kept from presumptuous sins (Psalm 19:13). It is a cry for the grace of God. ‘The temptation is strong Lord, and only you can keep me from the great transgression.’
The other side of that coin is our responsibility: having escaped the dominion of sin and death, how can we live any longer therein? (Romans 6:2). Without holiness shall no man see God (Hebrews 12:14). The imputed righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ is that which makes us “upright” (Psalm 19:13) – but if we are thus righteous, we will also conduct ourselves in an upright manner.
I have called this Sermon ‘A Heart for God’, based on the last verse of the Psalm. As with other preachers, sometimes I use these words, or words very like them, to open my sermons. “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).
Paul puts it this way: ‘If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved’ (Romans 10:9). This is not only head belief, but heart belief, even as the LORD has promised (Hebrews 10:16-17). In the end, after all, the witness of Creation and Providence, and the words of Law and Gospel, are of no value at all to us unless they are allowed to take residence in our hearts.
C). THE SONG OF THE VINEYARD.
Isaiah 5:1-7.
The first thing that we may notice about this passage, is Isaiah’s relationship with the LORD (Isaiah 5:1). The prophet is speaking for the remnant of Israel, and calls the LORD his Beloved. This echoes the language of Song of Solomon 2:16, where the Shulamite speaks for the Church: ‘My Beloved is mine, and I am His.’ To which the contemporary hymn adds, ‘and His banner over me is love’ (Song of Solomon 2:4).
This is, in fact, the relationship that all believers have with their Lord. ‘We love Him because He first loved us’ (1 John 4:19). Jesus is our Beloved.
Now the prophet is standing, in this parable, as the friend of the Bridegroom - like the role of John the Baptist towards Jesus (John 3:28-30). Instead of a speech, he offers a love song: and he sings of a vineyard (cf. Song of Solomon 8:11-12). However, the ballad, before it is through, turns into a dirge: a fact that might have been anticipated in Isaiah 3:14.
The LORD put a lot of effort into preparing His vineyard: He built the fence, cleared the stones, planted the choicest vine; built a tower, and made a winepress. Not unreasonably, the LORD expected a return for His efforts: but when He looked for good grapes, He found nothing but rotting grapes (Isaiah 5:2).
The vineyard is a well-known motif for Israel (Isaiah 5:7a). We find it echoed in Jesus’ parable of the labourers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16), and in the example of the two sons whose father asked them to go to work in his vineyard (Matthew 21:28-32). After these, Jesus offered ‘another parable’ (Matthew 21:33-46) - and started speaking in terms which are strongly reminiscent of Isaiah 5:2.
The voice now changes from that of Isaiah to that of the LORD Himself, challenging His hearers to write their own indictment (Isaiah 5:3). In Jesus’ parallel parable, it was the chief priests and elders of the people who first brought up the subject of vengeance: blindly suggesting that the vineyard be taken from themselves; and given to other, worthier, custodians (Matthew 21:40-41).
The LORD’s answer follows (Isaiah 5:5-6). Disappointed, He would take away the hedge that He has put around His people (cf. Job 1:10), and allow others to trample His vineyard. If they wanted bad grapes, rotting grapes they would have! Exile was slowly becoming inevitable.
That was the Old Testament: but let us not be complacent, for even in the New Testament, ‘whom He loves, He chastens’ (Hebrews 12:6; cf. Proverbs 3:12). A church which has lost its first love, needs to be wary lest the Lord removes its candlestick (Revelation 2:4-5). The individual who thinks he is standing firm, should take heed in case he falls (1 Corinthians 10:12).
We are left, finally with the question of Isaiah 5:4 - “What more could have been done for my vineyard?” For the LORD “looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry” (Isaiah 5:7b). Had Israel forgotten the time when the LORD had heard their own cry, and delivered them from Egypt, and planted them as a vine in the land of promise (Psalm 80:8-10)?
The amazing thing for the New Testament church, is that the LORD has done more for His vineyard! ‘God commended His LOVE towards us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us’ (Romans 5:8). ‘By GRACE are you saved through faith’ (Ephesians 2:8).
D). ISRAEL AS VINE.
Psalm 80:7-15.
The Psalmist bemoans the plight of the divided tribes of Israel, and boldly expresses his perplexity at God’s dealings with them. Belief in the God of Israel is not blind faith, but an informed trust. One expression of our confidence that the LORD is in control of all things is to make our complaints known to Him.
There is a refrain throughout the Psalm, growing in intensity and boldness. The appeal for our restoration is first addressed to ‘God’ (Psalm 80:3), then to “God of hosts” (Psalm 80:7), and finally to the ‘LORD God of hosts’ (Psalm 80:19).
The prayer that God’s face would shine upon us reminds us of the Aaronic blessing (Numbers 6:24-26), and of the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ transfiguration. It is echoed in Psalm 67:1.
A change in metaphor from ‘God as Shepherd’ to ‘Israel as Vine’ occurs in Psalm 80:8. This begins with the exodus: “You have brought a vine out of Egypt” (cf. Exodus 12:51); continues through the conquest: “You cast out the heathen” (cf. Joshua 24:18); and ends with the settlement of the land: “and planted it” (cf. Psalm 78:55). This is celebrated in Psalm 44:2.
From there the plant grew, eventually filling the land (Psalm 80:9-10; cf. Joshua 24:12). Until, at the height of David’s Empire, it stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the River Euphrates (Psalm 80:11).
The complaint of the Psalmist, that the God who has so carefully planted and cared for this vine has “broken down her hedges” (Psalm 80:12-13; cf. Psalm 89:40-41) is answered by other prophets. They envision a time when the vine will have gone wild (Jeremiah 2:21) and will yield only wild grapes (Isaiah 5:4-5). Jesus has a curious story about a fig tree planted in a vineyard, which makes the same point to His generation (Read Luke 13:6-9).
The petitioner calls for the LORD to “Return” (Psalm 80:14). He also asks the LORD to “look down and see” (cf. Exodus 3:7); and to “visit” this vine (cf. Exodus 3:16).
“The vineyard that your right hand has planted” (Psalm 80:15) is clearly Israel; but a second clause reads “and the Branch that you made strong for Yourself” and may introduce Messiah. This becomes more explicit in Psalm 80:17.
The only hope for Israel - and by extension for the Church (cf. John 15:5); the only hope for anyone is in the finished work of their Messiah, Jesus. ‘Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved’ (Acts 4:12).
‘Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved’ (Psalm 80:19).
E). PURSUING THE MARK.
Philippians 3:4-14.
The starter’s line for this passage is the Apostle Paul’s polemic against false teachers, whose confidence lies in the flesh (Philippians 3:2-4). “The flesh” here represents self-help religion, which stands contrary to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul uses his own testimony to demonstrate the futility of trusting in things which, prior to his conversion, he would have sworn by (Philippians 3:4-6).
The turning point came on the Damascus Road, when Saul of Tarsus (as he was then known) was suddenly confronted with the risen Lord Jesus (Acts 9:5-6). From then onwards, all his former gains were counted (past tense) as loss to him (Philippians 3:7): and now he counts (present tense) all else as loss in comparison to “the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8). Indeed, he suffers the loss of all his privileges, advantages and achievements, and counts them as the worst kind of rubbish in comparison to gaining Christ!
Paul then began to be “found in Him” (Philippians 3:9).
The contrasts continue:
“not having my own righteousness” (by keeping the law) -
but the righteousness which is
*from God,
*comes through the faith (or faithfulness) of Christ,
*and which we in turn apprehend by the exercise of faith in Him (cf. Romans 3:21-22).
What is it to “know” (Philippians 3:10) Christ? Evidently this is more than knowing Him ‘according to the flesh’ - or from a worldly point of view (2 Corinthians 5:16). It is rather the knowledge that arises from intimacy: to be in union with Him, absorbed in Him, conformed to his image. Jesus became what He was not (Philippians 2:5-8), in order that we might become what He is (sons of God) (1 John 3:1).
To “know” Him is also to know “the power of His resurrection” (Philippians 3:10) - an empowering for the inevitability of suffering in this life. We are to be “conformed to His death” - taking up the cross, and following Him (Luke 9:23) - but always with the reassurance that arises from His fellowship in our sufferings. He is not dead, but risen!
I think the use of “if” at the beginning of Philippians 3:11 can be misleading. Paul does not intend thereby to imply doubt. On the contrary, the goal is sure (2 Corinthians 5:1): but the specific path along which the Lord is leading each one of us, individually, still remains unclear (cf. Philippians 1:23). “If by any means” or “if possible” or “if somehow” may better be understood as “by whatever route I am going to attain the resurrection from the dead.”
The Apostle considers himself as ‘not yet’ having attained and ‘not yet’ already perfected (Philippians 3:12). I “press on,” he says - (the word is the same as that translated as “persecuting” in Philippians 3:6 - ‘I am pursuing.’) The Christian life is not static, but vigorously active.
Conversion is only the beginning of the journey. Having become “the righteousness of God” in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21), we now live out the righteousness which our life has become. Having entered into a relationship with Him, He having already “made me His own” (Philippians 3:12), I have a responsibility to discover ‘the works which He has before prepared for me to do’ (Ephesians 2:10).
Even a seasoned warrior like the Apostle Paul did not consider himself to have ‘arrived’ (as we might say), but he was casting the past into oblivion and stretching forward to whatever lay in store in the future (Philippians 3:13). He was pursuing the mark, dashing for the goal-line, running towards the tape at the end of the race. He was pursuing the prize - ever onward, ever upward - the heavenly reward of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14).
All believers are partakers of the heavenly calling (Hebrews 3:1). Having been called to belong to Jesus, we press on towards the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. We seek to match up to the standard of holiness which He has set.
Alone or together, we press onward toward that goal, all but oblivious to the various suffering and trials which seek to hinder us: until at last we reach the mark, enter into glory, and receive the prize (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
F). ANOTHER SAD SONG OF THE VINEYARD.
Matthew 21:33-46.
The vineyard is a well-known motif for Israel (cf. Isaiah 5:7). We saw it in the parable of the labourers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16), and in the example of the two sons whose father asked them to go and work in his vineyard (Matthew 21:28-32). Jesus begins our present passage, “Hear another parable” (Matthew 21:33) - and starts talking in terms which are strongly reminiscent of Isaiah 5:2.
‘What could have been done more for my vineyard?’ the LORD had asked in Isaiah 5:4. For the LORD ‘looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry’ (Isaiah 5:7). Had Israel forgotten the time when the LORD had heard their own cry, and delivered them from Egypt, and planted them as a vine in the land of promise (Psalm 80:8-10)?
The first thing we might notice about the householder in Jesus’ parable, is that having done all that he could for his vineyard, He “went into a far country” (Matthew 21:33). When it seems to us that God is far off, it is not for us to shirk our duties. The time of harvest must come (Matthew 21:34) - and will we be ready?
The way the householder’s workmen treated his servants is appalling. “They beat one, and killed another, and stoned another” (Matthew 21:35) - and to others likewise (Matthew 21:36). This stands for the reaction of the religious leaders to the prophets of old.
Then their successors, instead of reverencing the Son (Matthew 21:37), sought to wrest the inheritance from His hands (Matthew 21:38). They cast Him out of His own vineyard, and slew Him (Matthew 21:39). They did so ‘by the hands of wicked men’ (Acts 2:23), we are told.
Jesus’ line of questioning (Matthew 21:40) brought the condemnation out of their own mouths (Matthew 21:41). Notice that it is not Jesus who introduced the subject of vengeance on this occasion. It was the chief priests and elders of the people (Matthew 21:23) who suggested that the vineyard be taken from themselves; and given to other, more worthy, custodians.
“Have you ever read this?” (Matthew 21:42), asked Jesus. He quoted Psalm 118:22-23, with possible allusions in Matthew 21:44 to Isaiah 8:13-15, and in Matthew 21:42 to Isaiah 28:16. Were they about to reject the Rock of our salvation?
Then came the punch line, and it came from what they had already said concerning the unworthy keepers of the vineyard. The kingdom of God would be taken from them, and given to a people already bringing forth the fruits thereof (Matthew 21:43). This speaks of God’s new people in Christ (1 Peter 2:6-10): both Jews and Gentiles (1 Corinthians 1:21-24).
Sadly the chief priests and the Pharisees - recognising themselves in Jesus’ parables (Matthew 21:45) - failed to take the warning. Their collective conscience was no doubt crying out in the words of Nathan of old: ‘Thou art the man’ (2 Samuel 12:7). Yet they still sought to lay malicious hands on the Son (Matthew 21:46).
Perhaps we are doing this all over again every time the church - or even the individual Christian - compromises with the world? Thus doing, ‘they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame’ (Hebrews 6:6).
