Psalm 44:1-8, Isaiah 11:1-10, Philippians 3:17-21, Matthew 22:15-22.
A). OUR BOAST IN GOD.
Psalm 44:1-8.
It is well if we base our appeals and cries for help to God not upon ourselves (our own good name, what we imagine we have achieved, and what we have done or not done); but rather upon His good name (PSALM 44:5; PSALM 44:8), what He has done in the past (cf. 1 Samuel 7:12), and upon the relationship which He has with us through the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ (cf. John 19:30; 2 Corinthians 5:18). Then, and only then might we make our humble complaint (cf. Psalm 142:2) and bold appeal unto Him (cf. Hebrews 4:16).
PSALM 44:1. This verse teaches us not only of the faithful teaching of godly fathers (cf. Exodus 10:2), but also of the attentive listening of their sons (cf. Matthew 13:9; Revelation 3:22).
PSALM 44:2. It is all about what God has done (cf. Exodus 15:17; Psalm 80:8)!
PSALM 44:3. Not them, but Him (cf. Joshua 24:11-12). And all because He had a “favour unto them” (cf. Deuteronomy 4:37-38).
PSALM 44:4. Literally, “He that is King, O God.” The petition is for “deliverances for Jacob.” Deliverance for God’s ancient people, Israel; deliverance for the church; deliverance for individual Christians. Deliver us from evil, deliver us from hard testing; ‘save to the uttermost’ those who come unto thee through our Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Hebrews 7:25).
PSALM 44:5. There is no self-reliance here: it is only “through thee” that we will push down our enemies. The image is of a bullock, pushing with his horns (cf. Deuteronomy 33:17) and trampling underfoot (Romans 16:20).
PSALM 44:6. An individual speaks here: “I will not trust” in anything or anyone but you to “save me.” I will not trust in my own righteousness, nor my own strength, but the righteousness of God through our Lord Jesus Christ (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21). My only weapon is ‘the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God’ (cf. Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12).
PSALM 44:7. “Thou hast saved us,” and dost save us. Our hope is in the LORD (cf. Psalm 33:22; Titus 2:13).
“And hast put them to shame that hated us.” Through the shame of the Cross, Christ has put to shame all His enemies (cf. Colossians 2:15).
PSALM 44:8. So our “boast” is not in ourselves, but in our God (cf. Jeremiah 9:24). It is God who has planted the church in this world, and God who will sustain it. Our boast is that we are ‘in Christ Jesus, who is God over all, and who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption: that according as it is written, let him that glories glory in the Lord’ (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:30-31).
"Selah." Think on these things.
B). A SHOOT FROM THE ROOT.
Isaiah 11:1-10.
The reference to “the stem of Jesse” (Isaiah 11:1) sends us back to the origins of Messiah’s dynasty. Not just to David: but to his father, Jesse. David was the youngest son of Jesse, and probably the last person anybody expected to be anointed king (1 Samuel 16:6-13).
However, with the passage of time the house of David became so decimated as to be left with just a stump. Yet out of this root there would spring a shoot which would grow up into the expected righteous Branch (cf. Jeremiah 23:5). The reference to the coming of the Spirit of the LORD upon “Him” (Isaiah 11:2) points us to Jesus, the Messiah.
This anticipates His baptism, when the heavens were opened, and the Holy Ghost descended upon Him ‘like a dove’ (Luke 3:22). It is also indicative of the opening of His ministry (Luke 4:18-19), in which He took Isaiah 61:1 as the text of His sermon: ‘the Spirit of the LORD is upon me…’
Isaiah 11:2 speaks of the manifestation of “the Spirit of the LORD” in Jesus’ life in several different ways. Of these, wisdom and understanding together touch upon the intellect. Counsel and might pertain to practical ability. Knowledge and the fear of the LORD are gifts of piety.
1. The Spirit of the LORD is the source of all God’s thoughts.
2. The Spirit of Wisdom enables us to think God’s thoughts after Him.
3. The Spirit of Understanding helps us to understand His thoughts.
4. The Spirit of Counsel helps us choose the right course for godliness.
5. The Spirit of Strength empowers us to do God’s will in our lives.
6. The Spirit of Knowledge sees God’s thoughts manifested in our lives.
7. The Spirit of the Fear of the LORD is a reverent walking in His way.
The Syriac reads, “He shall be resplendent in the fear of the LORD” (Isaiah 11:3). The fear of the LORD is the very air that Jesus breathes. There is possibly a play on words between Spirit and breath, which are both the same word in Hebrew. He breathes in the sweet savour of – or takes delight in – the fear of the LORD.
Furthermore, as God (Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11), Messiah shall not judge with partiality (cf. John 7:24). He knows what is in the heart of man (John 2:24-25), and nobody will be able to moan, ‘not fair’ at His judgment. “He will judge the poor with righteousness” (Isaiah 11:4; cf. Psalm 72:2) - with justice and impartiality.
A sharp two-edged sword proceeds from His mouth (cf. Revelation 19:15) with which to “smite the earth” (Isaiah 11:4). This is the ‘rod of iron’ with which the Son dashes in pieces those who oppose Him (Psalm 2:9). It is the power of His word to slay, as well as to make alive (cf. Hosea 6:5).
In fact, we see Jesus here girded about with righteousness and truth (Isaiah 11:5). This is perhaps synonymous with the ‘judgment and justice’ upon which Messiah’s kingdom is founded (cf. Isaiah 9:7).
There follows the most wonderful illustration of the peaceable kingdom of Christ (Isaiah 11:6-8). This image has been fixed in the popular imagination as, ‘the lion shall lie down with the lamb’ – although this is slightly inexact. It is a beautiful picture of creation in harmony with itself, a return to Eden, an odyssey into the idyllic. Nothing could be more desirable than an earth in which our children – even our little children - can live in safety!
There are echoes, too, of the holy mountain of the LORD as the place where swords are beaten into ploughshares, and wars are brought to an end (Isaiah 2:4). No more hurt, no more destruction: but rather, through the gospel emanating from Jerusalem, the whole earth becomes “filled with the knowledge of the LORD” (Isaiah 11:9).
All this arises from the stem of Jesse (Isaiah 11:10). His name is Jesus, and He stands as a rallying point for the nations of the earth, the focal point through which we are able to enter into a right relationship with the true and living God. Those who find their rest in Him find peace with God through Him (Romans 5:1), and shall enter into His glory hereafter (cf. John 14:2).
C). OUR CITIZENSHIP IN HEAVEN.
Philippians 3:17-21.
The Apostle Paul had been telling of the forward motion in his own Christian life (cf. Philippians 3:13-14), and encouraged his readers to be like-minded with him (cf. Philippians 3:15-16). The writer even went so far as to set himself up as an example to follow (cf. Philippians 4:9) – one example among many (PHILIPPIANS 3:17).
This is not the only place where Paul encourages people to ‘be followers of me’ (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:15-16). Yet that following is qualified: ‘even as I also am of Christ’ (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:1). If we are going to emulate anybody, we must emulate Jesus.
Paul held up the humility of Christ Jesus as the supreme model to imitate (cf. Philippians 2:5-11). Other lesser examples to follow include Timothy (cf. Philippians 2:19-22), and Epaphroditus (cf. Philippians 2:25; Philippians 2:29-30).
Yet, sadly, not everybody in the church will walk this way. There are some whom Paul describes as “enemies of the cross of Christ” (PHILIPPIANS 3:18), for whom he weeps with the love of a Pastor for those who fall by the wayside in his own ministry. Whoever they are, and whatever they have done, there can be only one result: their destruction (PHILIPPIANS 3:19).
This contrasts with the attitude of yearning expectation which marks out the true brothers and sisters in Christ. Our conversation is in heaven, where our citizenship lies, and we earnestly look for and await the coming of the risen conquering Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ (PHILIPPIANS 3:20). The enemies of the cross have no such hope: but for blood-bought friends of the cross it is a sure hope, based in the promises of God.
One result of the coming of our Lord will be that (literally) “the body of our humiliation” (PHILIPPIANS 3:21) will be fashioned to be like His glorious body. In other words, if we have been made conformable to His death (cf. Philippians 3:10), then we will be made conformable also to His resurrection (PHILIPPIANS 3:21). There’s imitation for you!
This will be the culmination of the change which has been taking place in our lives since the day we first believed (cf. Philippians 1:6). No longer will the willing spirit be hampered by the weak flesh (cf. Matthew 26:41). Then we shall be like the Lord, for we shall see Him as He is (cf. 1 John 3:2).
All this is accomplished according to the power whereby He subdues all things to Himself (PHILIPPIANS 3:21). ‘For it is God who is working in you both to will and to do according to His good pleasure’ (cf. Philippians 2:13).
What will heaven be like? In concession to the limits of human language and understanding, Jesus speaks of it as a place (cf. John 14:2-3); yet it is the place of His presence (cf. John 17:24). For Paul, it is something which has not yet been clearly seen, heard, or imagined (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:9; quoting Isaiah 64:4). For John, it is the place where we shall see the Lord ‘face to face’ (cf. Revelation 22:4).
D). FULFILLING OBLIGATIONS TO GOD AND STATE.
Matthew 22:15-22.
1. Wickedness finds strange bedfellows. The Pharisees denied the Emperor any right to demand tribute money - and whilst they no doubt used the common money for common purposes, they questioned the validity of the coinage (which attributed to Caesar the status of a god). The Herodians were fawning collaborators. A desire to “entangle Jesus in His talk” (Matthew 22:15) led to an unprecedented alliance between these two parties.
2. Flattery sometimes speaks truth. On another occasion a man had come to Jesus saying, ‘Good Master…’ to which Jesus retorted, ‘There is none good but God’ (Matthew 19:16-17). In other words, if you are going to use expressions like, ‘Good Lord!’ - at least consider the gravity of the saying…
The flattering words which fell from the lips of the disciples of the Pharisees, and the Herodians, were nevertheless true (Matthew 22:16).
a) “You are true.” (cf. John 1:17).
b) You “teach the way of God in truth” (cf. John 14:6).
c) Literally, “You do not look at (regard) the face of men” i.e. Jesus, as God, is no respecter of persons (cf. Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11).
3. “What do you think?” (Matthew 22:17). For some people, their religion consists in nothing more than men’s opinions, rather than in a living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” (Matthew 22:17) was a question designed to trip Jesus up. If he said, ‘no’ - the Herodians would denounce Him to the Romans as a seditionist. If He answered, ‘yes’ - the Pharisees would discredit Him before the people as a collaborator.
4. Jesus perceived their wickedness, and exposed their hypocrisy (Matthew 22:18). He answered their question with a game of ‘show and tell’ (Matthew 22:19).
5. There is a touch of irony between their flattering, “You do not regard the face of men” (Matthew 22:16); and Jesus’ question, “Whose image (icon) and superscription is this?” (Matthew 22:20). They replied, “Caesar’s” (Matthew 22:21).
6. To “render” is to ‘give back’ - to ‘give what is due by obligation’ (Matthew 22:21). Tertullian summarises: ‘render to Caesar Caesar’s image, which is on the coin; and to God God’s image, which is on man.’
Jesus’ answer is valid also for ourselves, as we seek to strike a balance between our relationship to the Lord, and our civil obligations. The problem comes when we seek to drive a wedge between our ‘spiritual’ life, and our secular responsibilities. It is better if we realise that ‘the powers that be’ are ordained of God (Romans 13:1; Romans 13:6-7).
7. The Master’s masterful answer left both sides bewildered. Let us be wary ourselves of putting the Lord to the test (Matthew 4:7). Jesus’ interlocutors marvelled at His words - and like the devil before them (Matthew 4:11) - they retreated, ashamed (Matthew 22:22).
