Sermon # 23 Series: Matthew
Title: A SERMON BY THE MASTER
Text: Matthew 11:1-30
Subject: A Vindication, A Warning, and An
Invitation
Scripture Reading:
Office – Mark Henson Aud. – B.
Daughterty
Date: Tuesday Evening – December 20, 1994
Tape: # Q-80
Introduction:
“And it
came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples,
“after he had commissioned them and sent them out to the various cities in
Jerusalem and Judea, to preach the gospel of his grace, “he departed thence to
teach and to preach in their cities” (v. 1). Our Master sent his original
preachers out in pairs of two, to preach in all the cities of Israel. Then, it
seems, he followed them in person, to confirm their message by his own
word of instruction. Thus, in the mouth of two and three witnesses, every word
was established – (Matt. 18:16; Deut. 17:5).
Notice
the words “their cities!” That is an unusual expression. It appears that
wherever the Lord sent a pair of gospel preachers, he gave the city to them. That
city became their responsibility and their possession, in a strictly spiritual
sense, as the peculiar and particular domain of their labors. As the
Lord Jesus entrusted Jerusalem to the hands of Peter and James, so he entrusts
to each of his servants the care of his church wherever he places them – (Acts
20:28; I Peter 5:1-4). Then, at the time appointed, Christ will come to take
his sheep from the hands of his servants into his own hands. What a
privilege that man has, to whom the Son of God entrusts the care of his people,
and what a responsibility!
Tonight, I
want us to go through this entire chapter. In it we will hear the Lord Jesus
speaking to a great, mixed multitude of genuine believers, curious, questioning
people, religious hypocrites, unconcerned unbelievers, and weary sinners in
need of his mercy and grace. The title of my message is A Sermon By The
Master.
Proposition:
In these
thirty verses our Lord Jesus vindicates the ministry of John the
Baptist, warns men against despising the gospel, and graciously
invites weary, heavy-laden sinners to come to him for rest.
Hold your
Bibles open on your laps and let me show you six things in this chapter.
I. In verses 2-6 the
message begins with A Word For A Troubled Disciple.
John the Baptist was in person. He
must have realized, perhaps by special revelation from God, that he would never
be released. He was soon to be executed. Because of his testimony for Christ,
the greatest preacher the world has ever known, except for the Lord Jesus himself,
was beheaded.
A. Perhaps, in
his low condition, when his heart was heavy, John began to doubt, everything he
had believed and preached.
I know some would be very angry if
they heard me say that. They think, “He who doubts is damned.” But that just is
not so. Many of God’s dear saints have a weak faith that is often troubled with
doubts and fears. And many who are very strong in faith are sometimes weak.
Illus: Gideon
– “Show me a sign.”
Elijah
– Fleeing from Jezebel!
David
– “My feet had almost slipped!”
Paul
– “Lest I become a castaway!”
Peter
– “I go fishing!”
H.
Graham
It is not our faith that saves us, but Christ, the Object of our faith.
Weak faith is not necessarily false faith. And strong faith is
not necessarily true faith. What, or rather, Who is The Object of your
faith? That is the question! If your faith is pitched upon the Lord Jesus
Christ alone, be it weak or strong, it is true faith.
Illus: Passengers on a Plane!
The
woman with an issue of blood and Peter walking on the water!
NOTE: God says, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” He does
not say, “When you see the blood.” He saw the blood before I did. He saw the
blood when I did. He sees the blood now. He sees the blood better than I ever
can. And he will see the blood, when I cannot, for the life of me, see it!
Illus: The trembling child in the house was
just as safe and the most confident father.
B. To give John
the assurance that he sought, he pointed this troubled heart to three things.
1. First, the Lord Jesus pointed John and his disciples to himself and to his works – (vv. 4-5).
Those who endure to the end, who follow Christ unto death,
who are not offended at him, with him, or in him, have evidence of grace in
them.
C. It may be that
John’s question was intended, not for himself, but for the benefit of his
disciples.
Perhaps he sent his disciples to the
Lord Jesus because he wanted to…
II. In verses 7-15,
our Lord Jesus gives A Word of Vindication for His Prophet.
People are always curious about a
preacher who is a bit unusual, who does not fit the mold of what men think a
preacher should be, or who creates a stir among men. The same thing was true
back there. People were curious about John the Baptist.
A. When they went
out to hear him, they expected to see and hear a preacher just like the others
they knew, who could perhaps preach a little better than the others.
1.
They
expected to see a
timid, unstable, vacillating “reed shaken with the wind.” (v. 7).
2.
They
went out to hear John, expecting to see a worldly, pampered, easy living
man (v. 8).
3.
But
when they met and heard John the Baptist, for the first time in their lives, they
met and heard a prophet of God!
a.
John
was a bold preacher of repentance. (Herod).
b.
He was
a self-denying prophet of God. (Camel’s Hair).
c.
More
than a prophet, John was the forerunner of Christ – Elijah – (vv. 9-15).
NOTE: All God’s prophet’s are the forerunners
of Christ!
B. As the Lord
Jesus vindicated John, so he will vindicate and honor all who serve his
interests in this world. - I Samuel 2:30
1. He may honor you in time, by honoring your labors.
2. He will certainly
vindicate and honor you in the day of judgment! (Matt. 15:34).
3. Let no servant of
God despise “The day of small things!”
III. Now look at
verses 16-19 – Here the Master gives A Word About Canting Preacher Critics.
A. Lost religious men and women are like peevish, pouting children playing games – (16-17).
“If you won’t dance when I play my music, I won’t pretend to cry when you act sad!”
B. Lost religious people will always find an excuse not to hear God’s messengers – (18-19).
· “John’s too strict.”
· “Jesus is too loose.”
Illus: The Church at Corinth
IV. In verses
20-24 The Savior speaks A Word To Those Who Hear The Gospel.
Every time I read these verses of Holy Scripture, two striking facts are forcibly driven home to my heart by the Spirit of God.
A. God Almighty is totally sovereign in providence and grace – He sends the gospel to whom he will!
B. The most heinous wickedness in this world is the sin of unbelief!
You who hear the gospel and yet believe it not are guilty of the greatest evil in the world. You may be moral, descent, and respectable in behavior before men, but before God you are guilty of crimes far more abominable than the idolatries of Tyre and Siden, and more vile than the homosexuality of Sodom! – Willful Unbelief!
V. Verses 25-26
contain A Word of Praise and Thanksgiving To God The Father.
A. Salvation comes by Divine Revelation.
B. This revelation of grace never comes to any but those who receive the Word of God by faith as a humble child.
NOTE: God will never lift you up by his grace until he has brought you down to need his grace – He will never teach you until you see that you need to learn of him.
VI. In verses
27-30 The Lord Jesus has A Word For Needy Souls.
We usually think of these words as being a gospel invitation addressed to the lost. But we must not place such a limitation upon them. They are gospel words of grace addressed to needy souls, both you who are lost and us who are saved.
A. A Declaration of Christ’s Greatness (v. 27). “All in All.”
B. A Call to All Who Labor and Are Heavy-Laden (v. 28).
C. A Call for Surrender (v. 29).
D. A Promise of Rest (vv. 28-29).
· A Rest Given to Faith.
· A Rest Found in Submission.
E. An Encouragement to obedience – “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Christ’s yoke, to a believer, is no more of a burden than feathers are to a bird. His commandments are not grievous. His ways are the ways of pleasantness. And all his paths are peace.
· I John 5:3
· Proverbs 3:17
Application:
Here is the Savior’s Invitation – “Come unto me!”
· Whatever your circumstance!
· Whatever your need!