"I desire mercy" - Nigel Beynon 2/2

Matthew 9 v9-13 (2/2 of a series)

Nigel Beynon

Matthew 9v9-13

Part two of a mini Series by Nigel Beynon on Matthew 9.

This week: “I desire mercy” (mercy for us, mercy for others)

—

A while ago I heard about someone who wanted to break the stereotype of ‘church goers’, so they said at the front of church – they knew people in the congregation who had committed adultery, lived in a lesbian relationship, had abortions, been addicted to porn etc. They didn’t name them – they just wanted to say – these are the sorts of people in our church.

I wonder how we react to that. 

I think in our society today there are two common reactions. Some people react by saying “what are people like that – moral failures - doing in church. Such hypocrisy.”  

It’s the voice of traditional morality. It’s the right wing tabloids – there is right and wrong – and of all people, the church should be a model of right living.

However others react by saying - what do you mean ‘moral failure’? How dare you judge someone else?  People can live as they like.

This is the voice of the post-modern, liberal, relativist – how you live is up to you - all that matters is that you accept everyone’s choices - and of all people the church should be a model of acceptance and welcome.  

Our question tonight is – as we look at Jesus in this passage - which one of those is the right reaction? Which gives us the right picture of church? 

Let’s start with the central point of this passage, 

1) Jesus came for sinners

Let’s start in v9 - READ.

Now to get this we have to understand that being a tax collector meant you were a moral and spiritual disaster.  

Matthew was a Jew but worked for the Romans, so he was a traitor – not only of his nation, but his God because he was working for Gentiles, the enemies of God. Worse still tax-collectors over charged their own people – to line their pockets.

If we could imagine a member of the Taliban in Afghanistan, working for the Americans, who then ripped off his fellow Afghans – we’d begin to get an idea of Matthew. He was a moral and spiritual disaster.

But Jesus says to him – follow me. 

And it’s not just Matthew. V10 READ.  

The term ‘sinners’ is being used in a particular way here. The Bible is clear that we are all sinners – we have all rejected God. But here it’s referring to those like tax collectors - prostitutes, cheats, drunkards. The out and out, obvious moral and spiritual failures. 

I suppose today it would be the obviously bad people in our society – the ostracised - the paedophile, the sexual harasser, the greedy dodgy banker.

But those are the people Jesus has supper with - and in his day, eating meant acceptance and relationship.  

So the Pharisees say v11 READ.

But Jesus says v12, 13 READ.

There is the point - Jesus has come for sinners. 

This fits with what we saw last week - he’s come to offer us forgiveness - our greatest need.

So now – who is Jesus interested in? 

Well obviously people who need forgiveness. People who have mucked up, people who have made a mess of things. Sinners. 

He illustrates it by saying he’s like a doctor – obviously doctors are interested in the sick. That’s what they are all about. Well Jesus is interested in the spiritually and morally sick. That’s what he’s about. 

And if Jesus is a doctor - that makes church a hospital. Full of sick people. Full of moral and spiritual failures.

You get the point - Jesus came for sinners.

Now that really is the main point here – that’s pretty much all I’m going to say. But I want to chew this over a bit – by asking two questions of ourselves. First question,

2) Do we come to Jesus - as sinners needing mercy?

V11 READ.

Now the Pharisees worked very hard at being good. They were respectable, religious and upright. Morally and spiritually they were A*, or grade 9 students.

So when they say v11, it’s not really a question – why is he with them - but an accusation - he shouldn’t be with them. He ought to be with good people, religious people, like us.  

I don’t know if you are someone who goes to the gym. I’ve always found them rather intimidating places because there is always an in-crowd. Do you know what I mean – they are the people who whenever you go, they are always there. They call the staff by the first names. They even know how the machines work. They don’t spend ten minutes pressing the buttons randomly. Most of all of course they are fit – strong and impressive.  

And when someone turns up – unfit, overweight, weak – you can imagine them smirking. What are they doing here? Get off my urg or what ever. The attitude is – this is my place. I topped the performance chart last month.

Well the Pharisees were like that. They worked hard at being good – they looked good. I guess they wouldn’t say they weren’t perfect but compared to these tax-collectors they were very good. 

This reminds me of my parent’s generation – maybe your parents. Traditional morality – there’s right and wrong. And while we’re not perfect - we’re not bad. 

If someone thinks like that – they won’t get Jesus. They think Jesus is about being good. So they’re confused - why is Jesus with these bad people? What are people like that doing in church? Jesus should be with decent people like us.   

Now, to be clear, when Jesus says “I haven’t come for the righteous”, he’s just making a contrast with sinners. He doesn’t mean there is a group who are righteous and good. He’s made that clear earlier on in Matthew – back in the sermon on the mount Jesus talks about how we should live – and he makes it very clear - no one is righteous.  

So when Jesus talks about not coming for the righteous but sinners – he isn’t saying - there are good people and there bad people. No, we’re all bad. The only difference is there are bad people - who know they are bad. And there are bad people who think they are good. That’s the Pharisees or the moralist today, who think they are OK.

That is a terrible position to be in. It’s like a person with a life threatening disease but thinks they are healthy. And thinking they are healthy won’t go to the doctor for help. They think they are good – so won’t go to Jesus – not as a sinner needing mercy. 

That’s why with friends or family – who are like this – I pray for conviction of sin. I pray they might realise they are sinners – in trouble – sick. In some ways it’s not a nice prayer – I’m praying they’ll feel terrible – because they see how bad their sin is. How wrong it is. How serious it is. But that’s what they need - to grasp their true state – because then they will get Jesus. And how good he is. 

Because when we do realise we’re sinners – as I’m sure most of us have - then Jesus becomes wonderful news – because he has come for sinners – he’s come precisely for someone like us. To give us what we desperately need - mercy. 

Mind you as well as bad people who think they are good. You also get bad people who think they are bad – but they also think Jesus is about being good. Rather than mercy.

I remember talking with someone who said they didn’t want to come to church, or do God stuff.  I asked, why not? Because I’m not that sort of person, I’m not good enough.  

They thought coming to God was like a job interview – you dress up smart, and then try and impress them with how great you are. But they knew they weren’t great so thought they shouldn’t bother trying.

If I had thought of this passage I would have said to them – do ever do that with the doctor? Try and look really healthy – and impress him with how well you were?

Of course not. I remember a while ago not being well – and called for an appointment but the person said, I’m not sure if we can fit you in today.  I said, “Oh, I would really – cough, cough, ohh, really appreciate it, cough.”

Now that is me being silly – but the point is to see the doctor – you just need to be ill.  

It’s the same with Jesus. The only qualification we need for him is to be sinner – and we all qualify. We don’t have to clean up our lives before we can come to him. We can come to him as we are – he came for sinners. He came to give them mercy – to accept and to forgive. 

Now at this point the liberal ‘anything goes’ relativist – I mentioned at the start - they will be happy because this sounds like Jesus accepts everybody – doesn’t matter what you’ve done – you’re welcome. 

Well it’s certainly true Jesus will accept everyone. But there is a big difference. Liberalism says we should accept everyone because it doesn’t matter how we live – anything goes. Don’t judge - just accept. 

Saying – live as you like – is like a doctor who says to the chain smoker on 40 a day – you’re doing fine. Don’t worry about the cough, you carry on as you are and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It is an unprincipled acceptance.  

But Jesus has principle – he says it does matter how we live. And he’s straight with us – he says we’ve done wrong and we’re in trouble. And so he offers us – not unprincipled acceptance - but mercy. He says, you’re not fine – but I’ll deal with your wrong, I’ll win your forgiveness and put you right with God. 

That means this acceptance for sinners is no excuse for sin. By accepting sinners Jesus isn’t saying sin doesn’t matter. Far from it – he had to die for our sin. 

And we could add, while Jesus accepts as we are, he doesn’t leave us as we are. He calls Matthew to follow me – following Jesus will lead to change. Hospitals are there to help you change – to make you better. And Jesus’ mercy – accepts us – forgives – and then works in us to change us, make us more like him. 

So our question is – do we come to Jesus as sinners for mercy. Not as good people but sinners. Not coming for easy free acceptance. But mercy – that says our wrong matters, and leads us to follow Jesus.

Second question,

3) Do we welcome sinners – with mercy?

Let’s go back to the Pharisees for a moment – you know I don’t imagine they went around saying, I deserve a place with God because I’m so great. But when they see Jesus welcome these sinners – they think - what are you doing with them? Their reaction to out and out sinners shows their true attitude. 

And Jesus says v13 READ. 

It’s a quote from the OT, where God is saying - it’s not saying that sacrifice, or other religious performance is wrong, but he’s all about mercy. And he desires mercy in his people. As we’ve just been saying we need mercy from God to us – and should then lead to mercy from us to others.  

But of course that is exactly what we don’t see in the Pharisees. Stick a moral and spiritual failure in front of them and they react not with mercy – but morality and judgement.

Well what about us? How do we react to sinners?

If someone says to us – I’ve really mucked up. I got drunk at the weekend. This week I’ve been consumed by envy and greed. I had sex before marriage. Whatever it is. How do we react?

I remember talking to someone about admitting sin to each other and how we react. And they said – I suppose the problem is – if someone says, I’ve mucked up and we say to them – it’s OK - it sounds like sin doesn’t matter. But if we say sin isn’t OK then sounds like morality and judgement.

As we’ve said, often those feel like the only two options. Morality - say there is right and wrong – but that leads to judgement. Or free acceptance but that leads to accepting sin. 

I hope we’re seeing how wonderful different Jesus is. He offers mercy. 

And as we just said - mercy means sin matters. If you need mercy then you must be in trouble – you must have done something wrong. So when Jesus says to the sinner – there is mercy for you – he’s not condoning sin. He’s not saying it doesn’t matter – they need mercy for it.

But at the same time Jesus is saying there is mercy. Saying sin is wrong doesn’t lead Jesus to then condemn us. No in his mercy – he offers us acceptance and forgiveness.  

The challenge for us as a church is to model that reaction. To be a community of mercy. Not a gym where we work hard to impress and look down on those who fail. But not a free for all where everyone is accepted because it doesn’t matter how you live - you can do what you like. 

But a hospital for the sick – a hospital of mercy. 

So a friend says – I’ve really mucked up. We don’t think – how awful – I’d never do that. We don’t think – you can do what you want. 

We think - here is someone just like me. Here is the patient in the hospital bed next to mine. Maybe I’ve been in the hospital a bit longer – I might have recovered from some of my symptoms – but really at heart I’m just the same as them. A sick person needing mercy. 

So we say to them – great you’ve come to church and you’re with us. Sorry it’s been a bad weekend. 

I struggle too – but I hope you know God forgives. 

I’m sad to hear it’s not been good – but Jesus is full of mercy. Is there anything I can do to help?

Jesus came for sinners - to give us mercy. Mercy that recognises sin as sin, but overcomes sin with forgiveness and grace and acceptance. 

So let’s come to him – come to him this week - as sinners – and receive mercy.

And let’s accept sinners with that mercy.

"Your sins are forgiven" - Nigel Beynon 1/2

Matthew 9 v1-8 (1/2 of a series)

Nigel Beynon

Matthew 9v1-8

Part one of a mini Series by Nigel Beynon on Matthew 9.

This week v1-8. "Your sins are forgiven."

—

You could sum up this sermon – or the take home message - in four words – your sins are forgiven. If you trust in Jesus – your sins are forgiven. 

As you hear those words – as you hear the conclusion of where we’re going – what you think?

Some of us might think – I know. I’ve heard those words often. Grown up with them maybe. They are part of the furniture of my life. And with that there is the danger of assuming them to be true - taking them for granted. 

Some might think - what sins? – why do I need forgiveness? 

Others might think – if only. I’d love to know, to feel I’m forgiven. But I don’t, I feel guilty. 

I hope by the end of this sermon those four words will be the most precious words we could hear. Or if not the most precious – more precious to us. More prized and valued. Words that - whatever else is happening in life - bring joy to us & put a smile on our face or on our heart.

We’re going to start by thinking about 

The priority of forgiveness

V1, 2a READ.

Up until this moment in the gospel Jesus has been healing people of everything and anything – so if you have a friend who’s paralysed it’s pretty obvious what to do. You pick him up and take him to Jesus to be healed. 

Only then Jesus says, v2 READ.

It’s not hard to imagine the friends thinking – what? We didn’t bring him here for that. Or Jesus’ disciples rather embarrassed – whispering to Jesus – legs, look at his legs.

But of course this is no mistake by Jesus – rather he’s showing us he has a different set of priorities. For Jesus – forgiveness takes priority over healing.

That’s not to do this man’s situation down - Jesus would have been well aware of how terrible paralysis was – no welfare state to help – a constant burden on his family. The emotional and mental turmoil.

But as he lies in front of Jesus – maybe the pain on this man’s face summing up all his need and anguish – Jesus looks at him sees something more important. Forgiveness. 

Now why is that? 

I think it helps to see how this fits with what comes before. In Matthew 8 we’ve seen Jesus deal with the different elements of this broken world – he’s overcome sickness, natural disaster, demons – and in doing that he’s been giving us a picture of heaven – a trailer of how he’ll put this world right one day and establish his perfect world.

And he could do that again here - but it’s as though Jesus thinks – we’ve done enough demonstration now - now it’s time to move from the symptoms of this broken world – to the heart of the problem in this world. And that is our sin.

When my sister was a student she rented a room in a house which was pretty rough. On one wall of her room the paint was cracked and peeling off. Hope this isn’t sounding too familiar. She told the landlord – he had a simple solution – repaint the wall. The new coat of paint looked good – for a while. But then it started peeling again.  

Imagine my sister got round a builder & surveyor - he examines the house and says – what you need is to get a plumber. Plumber – but what about the wall?  Exactly he says, behind that wall is a leaking pipe – causing damp – making the paint peel. And if you don’t fix that you’ll have far bigger problem than peeling paint – the whole wall is going to come down.

Well we face many problems in this world - but they are actually symptoms of a deeper problem – and here Jesus comes to the heart of it – it’s our sin.  

Now when I say sin we’re in danger of thinking of wicked acts – immoral actions. But we must remember fundamentally sin is how we have treated God – how we have ignored and rejected him.  

And that is the heart of the problems in our world. Sin is what has thrown our world into it’s fallen mess. And more than that – sin will destroy us. Ignore the leaking pipe and eventually it will bring the wall down. Well sin eventually will bring us down.  We will face God – and will face his judgement.

And that means Jesus can look at a paralysed man – and in the face of all his suffering say – there is a deeper problem here – there is something you need more than healing. There is something more important than walking. You need forgiveness. 

Now, that is quite a challenging thought. 

There are all sorts of things that compete for our attention aren’t there. From global issues – destruction of the Amazon – spread of ebolla – Brexit chaos. Or personal needs - problems in relationships, bereavement, health, loneliness, stress, depression, pressure at work, a place to live, and we could go on and on. And understandably, they are very often the priorities we have.

But Jesus is showing us here – in the face of all those needs, there is a bigger need – a higher priority – forgiveness.

Now - I’m aware that if I say - forgiveness is what really matters – that’s easily is heard as – as forgiveness is the only thing that matters. As though those other needs don’t get a look in. 

So let me be clear I’m not saying that. Those other needs in our world and our lives – do matter. And God cares about them and thinks they are important. Jesus has just been healing people and solving problems in like that. And he cares about the problems in our lives and helps us with them. 

But - imagine if you could ask this paralysed man what was more important – healing or forgiveness. What would he say? Well surely he’d say something like - 

Being healed was great – I could walk, run, work, play with my kids. Life changing. But being forgiven. To be accepted by God – accepted into heaven. To be with him – enjoy him – serve him. That’s eternity changing – that’s in a different league. What’s more important – are you joking?!

There’s the challenge to us. Issues in our lives and the world are important – forgiveness is more important. While those other issues do matter – forgiveness matters more. 

So we need to ask will we see forgiveness of sins – as Jesus does? In our what we value and care about, in what we pray for and long for, in what we dream about, in what gives us joy - will we make forgiveness the priority. Jesus says it is.

Secondly we need to think about. 

The authority to forgive

v2, 3 READ.

They see a man in front of them claiming to forgive sin – but they think that is something only God can do. And they are right. 

I guess some of us drove here this evening and parked on the street. Imagine if Al was late and so he screamed round the corner and crashed into your car. This didn’t happen by the way – it’s OK.

Then Al comes in and explains to you what’s happened – and I overhear it and then interrupt and say - that’s OK Al, I forgive you.

How are you feeling? Well you’d be outraged wouldn’t you? How can I forgive something against you? Only the person offended can forgive.

Well we’ve said sin is fundamentally a rejection of God. So only God can forgive sin.

But here is Jesus – forgiving.  

That means he’s either blaspheming – he is a man pretending to be God - acting as only God can. Or, he isn’t just a man, he’s God. 

Those are the two alternatives aren’t they? I say that because often people think of Jesus as a nice man, with some good ideas but they wouldn’t accept him as God. Might be you’ve thought that – or have friends who think that.  

But what we see here rules that option out. He doesn’t say, I’m a prophet sent by God to let you know he forgives you. Or – let me share my insight into how God forgives. He says – I’m forgiving you now. He talks like he’s God.

So you can’t say he’s a nice bloke with some good ideas. His idea is that he’s God. So he’s either a blasphemer – a fake. Or he’s not just a man. He’s God.

Let me sum up this point by quoting the writer CS Lewis who puts this so well. 

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

Jesus claims to be God – and so claims to have the authority – the right – the power – to forgive our sins. 

Again, I think it might help us to set this into the context of what’s been happening. Do you remember we talked about Jesus coming early. Back in 8v29 the demons say – READ. They know there is a future time – judgement when the world will be put right and they will be destroyed. But they say – why are you here now? Why have you come early?

Well answer one – he’s come to show us he’s the king who will bring about a perfect world – gives us a demon – a trailer – of that future. 

But now – answer two - he has come early to offer us forgiveness. 

That gives us just a sense of what is happening here. Jesus is the king of the world, he’s the one we’ve rejected and offended, he’s the one who would rightly judge us as he puts this world right. 

But he has come early - in advance - not to tell us off, or give us a hard time, but to say “Take heart, my son, your sins are forgiven.”    

It’s very loving isn’t it – very tender – “take heart, my son.”  I know you’re guilty, I know you deserve judgement – judgement from me in fact - but I’ve come early to forgive you.

Jesus is the one, the only one, who has the authority to give us what we really need – the forgiveness of our sins.  

Let’s finish by thinking about, 

The proof of forgiveness

v4-7 READ.

Jesus’ purpose is clear – v6 READ. 

Jesus wants to prove to us – to demonstrate - he does have the authority to forgive sins.

However, the logic of how he proves that isn’t quite so clear. Actually this is something I’ve changed my mind on. I used to understand it by emphasising the word “say” in v5 – Jesus asks, which is easier to say? I thought it’s easier to say ‘your sins are forgiven’ because no one can tell if it’s happened. It’s harder to say ‘get up and walk’ because it’s obvious if that happens or not. 

However, I think that puts too much weight on taking ‘say’ in that particular way. And it’s not obvious Jesus uses it with that sense.

I think a more natural reading is that Jesus is simply asking – which is easier - to forgive or heal?  Answer is simple – both are impossible. Both are things only God can do.  

But it’s true that forgiveness is a hidden thing and healing a visible thing – and so Jesus says – in order for you to know I can do an impossible hidden thing – I’ll do an impossible visible thing. I’ll heal so you know I can forgive.

In fact remember illness and sin are connected – we’ve said illness is a symptom of sin – in a general way. So Jesus here says – I’ll prove I can sort out sin – by sorting out the symptom of sin – illness. 

It’s like with that leaking pipe – the plumber says – I’ve sorted the leak out. You think – all plumbers are cowboys – how do I know? But then he says - I know you can’t see the mended pipe – but look the damp has gone. The symptoms going – prove he’s sorted the problem.

That is what Jesus does here.

Now we’ve got to be clear – while Jesus offers us forgiveness today – that doesn’t mean we’re healed from all illness. He doesn’t promise to overcome all the symptoms of sin today. He promises he will in the future but not today. But he does it here to show us – to prove to us – he really can forgive sin.  

That’s his aim – he wants us to know – to be sure – he has authority on earth to forgive. 

I wonder how confident we feel about being forgiven. 

Some years ago when the evangelist Billy Graham was interviewed he was asked, 'Dr Graham, what do you believe will happen to you when you die?' And Billy Graham replied, 'I'm quite certain that I will go to be with the Lord Jesus in heaven.' To which the interviewer said, 'Isn't that a very arrogant thing to say?'

In our culture being confident about something is often taken as arrogant. Maybe we think being confident about forgiveness – a place in heaven – is arrogant.

And it would be arrogant if we were sure because of anything to do with us – because we’d lived well enough, were good enough for God, better than others etc. But if you think you get to heaven through being forgiven by Jesus – question is simply – can I trust Jesus?

Here is Jesus saying – let me show you I can forgive sins. Let me demonstrate to you I have the authority to forgive sins. I want you to know, I want you to be sure – I can forgive your sins. 

So it’s not arrogant to be confident – actually you could say it’s arrogant to think, no, you’re wrong Jesus, you can’t forgive my sin. I’ve sinned too much, too often, too badly. So I have to go round with a nagging doubt, and sense of being a failure. 

That sounds humble – to be down on yourself - but actually it’s a weird form of arrogance – because you’re saying you know better than Jesus. Won’t accept what he says.

Humility – means we believe what Jesus is showing us – we’re humble enough to accept what he is saying to us. 

And Jesus is saying to us tonight – if we have faith in him – he’s saying - take heart, your sins are forgiven. He’s saying that to us individually and personally - take heart April, your sins are forgiven. Take heart Dave, your sins are forgiven. Take heart – put your name in – take heart – your sins are forgiven.

It’s your greatest need – your highest priority – I’m God, and I’ve got the authority to forgive you.

Are you sure Jesus? Is that really true? 

Oh yes – look at this man walk – I did that so you might know this is true. True for you. 

Four words. Precious, valuable, joy giving, eternity changing words. 

Your sins are forgiven.   

Everyday Evangelism 2/3 (Matt 9 v35 to 10 v20) - Andrew Baughen

Everyday evangelism 2/3 (Matt ch9 v35 - ch10 v20)

Andrew Baughen

Please note: The audio begins about 1 minute into the talk - apologies!

[Transcript to follow…]

Matthew 8 v28-34 - Nigel Beynon 4/4

Matthew 8 v28-34 (4/4 of a series)

Nigel Beynon

Matthew 8v28-34 SBD 30 June 2019

Transcript

At end of this sermon I’m going to ask what we want in our lives – which direction we want to take - Jesus or evil?  

I realise that question is very bald and stark and might not make much sense. I hope by the time we get to it you understand a bit more what I mean.

But how you react to that stark version – Jesus or evil?  

We might think – what do you mean – evil? Or course I don’t want evil – that’s evil. That’s bad. Who wants that?!

 I hope we’ll see while that’s right – evil is evil – terrible – but at the same time what the Bible calls evil can masquerade as something appealing – something we find attractive. And so something we want.

 Or maybe we think – well I’m a Christian – so of course I want Jesus. That’s what I’m about.

 Again – that’s right. Jesus is very good - wonderful to have in our lives. But he’s also disturbing – he changes things – so it’s not as simple as of course I want him. We’ll see there are times we don’t want him. 

Maybe we thought – I don’t really want either Jesus or evil. I just want to do my thing. Well, fair enough, but I hope we see – as we talk about what we mean by those terms – actually we can’t avoid that question. Every choice this week – will take us in one direction or the other. 

But before we get to our question - we need to go on a bit of journey with these men we meet in our passage.

1) An Evil World

So let’s start with v28

 Now we’ve immediately got a problem here because for us, today, the idea of demon possession is a joke. It’s conjures up images of films like “The Exorcist” or “The Omen”, with Damien as the child of the devil. It’s just not something we take seriously. 

It’s true that in these men we get a very extreme case of the devil’s influence – we’ll see later that usually the devil works in much more subtle ways – much more behind the scenes. But here it’s full on - so it looks very unusual and bizarre to us.

In fact some people say these two men were suffering from epilepsy and Matthew mistakes that for demons. Actually in chapter 4 Matthew distinguishes epilepsy from demon possession. So he knows the difference – and he takes demons seriously.

More than when the demons speak through these men Jesus doesn’t say – you have a psychiatric complaint I will cure – he talks back to the demons as demons. So Jesus takes demons seriously.

The rest of the Bible is the same – while not telling us that much about him – it is clear the devil is real, personal, evil.

So while it may feel a bit odd to us – and go against our culture – we should take demons, the devil, the reality of the force of evil – seriously. 

In particular I want us to see what the devil is seeking to do. And because these men are such an extreme case – they show us pretty clearly what he’s trying to do. In word – he’s out to destroy us. 

These two men have clearly lost their self-control and reason – their humanity is being destroyed.

We’re told they are so violent no one can pass that way – they seek to destroy others.

They live among the tombs – the place of death.  And when Jesus casts them into the pigs they kill them – showing us that is what they are about – they want to kill us.

The devil’s aim is destruction – the destruction of us in ourselves, the destruction of relationships with others, and ultimately the destruction of a relationship with God.

And that is what he’s working at today. This plays out a bit differently for those who are Christians – those who are not. We’ll come to that. But in simple terms the devil is active today – seeking to destroy us. Destroy us as people, with each other and with God.

I saw a Robbie Williams documentary some years ago, with him talking about alcohol and drug abuse – think things are better now – but he said, “I ingest things that aren’t good for me, I bend the rules on my sobriety, which isn’t good for me.”

He does things that destroy him. That can be true of all of us - it might be the obvious visible things like drugs, pornography, self-harming. Or it might be more hidden – critical thought patterns, lust, lack of discipline, laziness, indulgent habits. Things which aren’t good for us.

The same goes for relationships with others. Being over sensitive, proud, selfish, taking someone for granted, taking offence, getting your own back – it destroys relationships.

And the same with God. We can ignore God. Don’t listen to what he says. Do our own thing.

Now if we’re Christians, we would usually just call all that – sin. Or doing things wrong. And that’s right.

But actually the devil is involved in this. He wants to destroy us – so he encourages all of that. He whispers in the ear – have another drink, did they really do that to you – take offense. You deserve better. Don’t bother with praying, you’re too tired to go to church.

He encourages – evil. It’s not what we’d call evil. It’s not murder or abuse. In many ways it might be very acceptable or attractive. It’s just living for ourselves, doing what we want. But it’s actually destructive to us – breaks relationships – most of all it’s against God – and so the Bible calls it evil.

Now this doesn’t mean we’re helpless victims. We’re responsible for what we do. And quite how our responsibility and the devil’s temptation interact is difficult. But while there is some mystery here – the Bible is clear - as well as sin being a reality, the devil and his temptations are a reality – suggesting - encouraging – destruction.

So what we see here in these men – while it looks very far away from our lives. Actually it’s an extreme version of what the devil is seeking to do to all of us.

Destructive behaviour – breaking relationships - ignoring God – what the Bible calls evil. It’s a reality for all of us.

So having said that much – let’s see what happens. V29.  Two things we should see from this – first of all,    

2) Jesus will end all evil

The demons say – have you come to torture us before the appointed time – in other words they’re expecting a future time – when they are going to face Jesus.  

They’re right. The Bible is clear there is an appointed time when Jesus will return and put this world right.

We’ve referred to this over the last few weeks. God’s promise to put the world right – that party from Isaiah – what we often call heaven. Or a new creation, a perfect world.

But of course to make heaven – to make things perfect - you’ve got to get rid of what is wrong in the world. Get rid of evil. That’s what the demons are talking about – the time God has appointed to end evil.

And notice Matthew wants us to know it’s certain.

The demons are in no doubt about it. “Have you come before the appointed time” - they know there is a date in God’s diary – marked – judgement – end evil. They are sure about it.

And there’s no doubt Jesus can do it. V31-32

Jesus speaks one word – the demons obey. There is no effort on Jesus’ part. He doesn’t raise a sweat – as he destroys evil. 

In previous weeks we’ve seen him end disease and death. We’ve seen him overcome natural disaster. We said they were pictures of the future – a trailer – a promo of his perfect world. This time he overcomes evil. So we can be certain - one day Jesus will speak and violence, murder, hatred, prejudice, injustice - everything that spoils this world will end – as Jesus ends all evil.

But there is a second thing to notice here. V29.

Jesus is going to end evil in the future - they know that – their question is – what are you doing here now? Why have you turned up early?

The answer to that is – he’s come to rescue from evil.

3) Jesus wants to rescue from evil

Let me try and illustrate this – I’m afraid I can only think of a rather contrived and unrealistic scenario – I apologise for that – but you’ll get the idea.

Imagine a company accused of gross negligence. The court date is set – and the judge announced.  Everybody gets ready for the trial.

And then one day the judge walks into the accused company head office. Everyone looks up from their desk – what he’s doing here – the trial is months away yet. 

Then the judge spreads out his papers – showing the evidence. And it’s obvious – they are grossly at fault – and are going to lose. The company is over.  

But then the judge says – if you admit your negligence – if leave this firm today – then when we get to court nothing will be brought against you. You won’t even be in the dock – you’ll be acquitted.

Now obviously that wouldn’t happen – but that gives us a sense of what Jesus is doing here. He is the judge of his world – and the court room date has been – when he will judge all evil. 

But the judge has come to his world early – what’s he doing here ask the demons. Answer one - he’s showing us he will end all evil. You can be certain of that.

But more than that – answer 2 – he come early to rescue from evil. That’s what he does with these two men – hopelessly in the grip of evil – he rescues them. He puts them right – so they can live as they were made to live. Be what they are meant to be. Know others again – have relationships. Know God. And on the future day - not in the dock on the side of evil – but standing with Jesus, and part his new world.

That is Jesus’ offer to us – to rescue us from evil.

That rescue happens when you become a Christian. The devil encourages you to ignore God, say no to Jesus – and then you are rescued from that – enabled – freed – to turn to God – put your trust in Jesus. So if we’re Christians – we’ve been rescued from evil.

And then the devil can’t posses us like these men. He can’t be in charge of us – Jesus is now in charge.

But as I was hinting earlier – the devil is still active – tempting us. And so there is a sense that we go on being rescued from evil by Jesus.

Say we’re struggling with jealousy. Porn. Pride. Ambition. Gossip. Bitterness. It’s our responsibility to fight that. But in that fight - the devil is encouraging us – whispering in our ear – lying to us, making evil seem attractive.

So we should pray – Jesus – rescue me. Help me with this struggle. Empower me. Strengthen me. Help me see through the devil’s lies. Help me know evil will one day end. Help me see your way is better and to live for you.

That doesn’t mean life is magically transformed and it’s easy to do the right thing. But it is possible to do the right thing. It’s possible to overcome those destructive habits. It’s possible to treat others better. It’s possible to relate well to God. Because Jesus can rescue us.

However the question we must finish with is, what do we really want?

4) What do we really value?

V33-34 – well what would you expect it to say? 

They pleaded with him to stay so they could thank him for overcoming evil? They pleaded with him to rescue them from the evil in their lives? 

No - v33-34 - they say – “Jesus – please – we beg you - go away and leave us alone.”

Why do they say that?

Well one reason is the pigs. There were a lot of pigs – worth a lot of money – probably owned by people from the town.

So while two guys rescued are from evil – for them pigs are more important than people. 

It can be the same today. Imagine if the message of Jesus spread so thoroughly through the London that there were no dodgy bank deals, no one was addicted to instagram and binge drinking stopped. Wouldn’t many bankers, advertisers, pub owners - say – Jesus please go away. Stop mucking things up for us.

Never mind that people are stopping destructive habits and evil is being defeated. They value money more than people.

Mind you – I think it’s a bit broader than that.

I think these people would have realised that having Jesus around means change. As they heard what had happened to these two men – how Jesus changed them – rescued them from evil – they must have thought to themselves – what will he do in my life? If he’s that powerful to change them - if he’s turning lives around – how will he change me?

So they say - look Jesus – push off will you? Because they are happy as they are. Happy with this world and their lives with it’s – evil. They wouldn’t call it evil – that’s a bit black and white – but happy with living for themselves and ignoring God.  

I heard the other day of a student who heard the Christian message, and then said that he couldn't find fault with the reasons or evidence. 'But,' he said, 'I'm not going to do anything about it. Because I want to keep sleeping with my girlfriend and drinking too much.' He was a student. In 20 years he could have said – I want to keep spending my money as I choose, and putting my career first.

In essence saying - please go away Jesus – I prefer things how they are, thanks.

So we come to our question. What do we really want? Jesus or evil?

That’s the question for someone thinking about following Jesus. Do we want Jesus – rescue – change? Or do we prefer how things are – us in charge.

And it’s the same question for Christians.

I remember when I was praying to God about something – I asked for his forgiveness and then said – please help me change. As I said it the question came into my head – do you really want to change? Do you really want to give up that sin? And it was a real question and issue.

So let me ask, are there sins that are precious to us – habits – comforts - reactions – so that we are in danger of saying to Jesus – about that part of our life – please leave, I like it the way it is.

The devil and evil is real – it sometimes appears to be attractive – but in these men we see evil for what it really is – it brings destruction. 

The devil and evil is real – and can seem strong – but here we see Jesus will end it forever. 

The devil and evil is real – but wonderfully Jesus has come early - to rescue us from evil. He can do that today.

Question is - what do we want?

Communion – remember the heart of how Jesus rescues us – be dying for us. So come and be reminded of his rescue. Be reminded of how good he is, how for us he is.

As we take bread and wine – let’s use it as a way of saying – I want you Jesus. Or if we can’t say that – can we say - I want to want you. As I remember your rescue, how you’ve loved me – please help me choose you.

Matthew 8 v23-27 - Nigel Beynon 3/4

Matthew 8 v23-27 (3/4 of a series)

Nigel Beynon

Matthew 8v23-27

SBD 23rd June 2019

A few years ago I read an article in the Guardian with the title: “Are we having more natural disasters?”

It went on to talk about hurricanes, floods, earthquakes – we might think of Hurricane Florence in the US last year – the wildfires in Greece last summer – or the tsunami in Indonesia.

The article said in one year there were 128 major floods, 121 hurricanes and 42 earthquakes and tsunamis. If you add avalanches, forest fires and locust plagues then there were 360 official natural disasters that year.

The article comments – “Watch television a lot, and you would think that the world is lurching from one disaster to another.”

Now in this country natural disasters are thankfully rare. And so they can feel rather distant and removed from us.

But it can happen - the falling tree, black ice on the road, fire at home.

I remember reading about Abbie Livingstone – who died when she was 3 years old – digging a hole on a beach with her brother - when a hole collapsed and they couldn’t get her out. Strangely - I read about that when I was on a beach and Jacob was a toddler – and it immediately look up – where is he? Is he safe?

It’s rare but this is our world – and it could be us who are hit by disaster.

So tonight we are going to look at Jesus and see what he has to say about disasters.

The storm

V23-24 READ.

This is like a scene from “The Perfect Storm” – have you seen that film? George Clooney as a fisherman – goes fishing – they hit a storm. It’s pretty simple plot line. But it’s got terrifying scenes of the power of the sea - waves swamping the boat. That’s the sort of thing we’ve talking about here – look at v25 READ.

I remember being taken sailing years ago – the wind blew, the boat started to lean really far over – so I leant over the side - trying to balance the boat – getting really worried - meanwhile the others were just chatting – relaxed – seemingly unaware that I was saving us all from drowning.

My point is I’d never been sailing before – I scared very easily. But some of these guys were professional fisherman – their experienced opinion was – the boat was going down and they were going to die. So we’ve got a serious storm here.

Now I want to pause for a moment and do something a bit different – and reflect on how we talk about and understand our world and disasters like this?

Jo and I have just been to the Wye valley for a night. Beautiful area. As we walked I was thinking about this sermon – and made me think – why is I’m enjoying this view – the hill, the sunlight, the trees? How is it I find a flower beautiful. Or water and reflections, and wood and forests and all that.

Similarly – why is it we call this storm a disaster? What story of the world have we got which explains why we find some things a delight, or some things a disaster?

I was talking to a friend of mine a while ago – he’s an atheist – believes in evolution, science, but there’s no bigger story of the world than that. I asked – I’ve forgotten exactly what it was but it was something like – why do we find someone attractive – or why do we enjoy the Wye valley?

He said – I suppose it must give us evolutionary advantage.

I thought – wow – your story of the world can only give a sort of functional – utilitarian - explanation of things. Aside from whether there is any evidence for that evolutionary explanation – I was struck by that was the only terms he had on offer.

For him life is an accident. Time passes, science does its thing and some adapt and survive. That’s the story.

So when it comes to a disaster – or a delight – you can’t really use those terms – or not with any deep meaning – because what really matters is the affect on evolution.

I find the Christian story much more compelling. We don’t have time to get into this very much – but a creator who makes us – via evolution – but he creates us like him – so we have his values, appreciate his creation, we are creative ourselves. That explains why we enjoyed the Wye valley. It’s not just a functional advantage – the way we’re made means we love the world and how it reflects something of our creator.

And then in the Bible’s story we get rebellion against God – so that the world is thrown out of synch – and you get storms – disasters. Which we can then describe as disastrous – not how things were meant to be.

Now – that also raises big questions – why does God allow these disasters – which we certainly don’t have time for tonight. My point is – the Christian story much more compelling in how it enables us to talk about the world – and talk about things being a delight or a disaster.

Now was a pause. Back to the story – we left it when a huge wave was about to hit the boat and the disciples think they are going to die – v25-26 READ.

2) Evidence of the king of the world

Jesus speaks to the wind and waves like he’s telling off a child. Only when we say ‘stop it’ to a child doesn’t always do much - but here Jesus says ‘stop it’ – and the wind and waves stop.

Imagine what it must have been like for the disciples. One moment they are terrified as a huge wave charges towards them – then a voice speaks – and the wave goes flat and the sun comes out.

And so they turn from the wave – ex-wave – and look at the person next to them and say – v27.

And if you know the Bible the answer is clear. Psalm 89 says “O Lord God Almighty, who is like you? You rule over the surging sea, when its waves mount up, you still them”

The only one who can control creation – is the one who made it. Only God can do this.

Some people are cynical about Jesus’ miracles – they talk about David Blaine or Dynamo doing some tricks and Jesus’ miracles being a bit like that. Well with respect to those magicians – they didn’t turn up in Florida and stop hurricane Florence. I don’t blame him for that.

My point being - this is of a different order. This is no clever trick. This is authority over creation itself – this is giving the elements orders – and very simply it is evidence this man Jesus is God himself.

If you’re not sure about Jesus – what to make of him – I’d start here. Here’s a man acting like God – showing us he’s God. I know we probably want to ask how can trust this account and that sort of thing – and there’s lots to say about that. But I hope you can see there’s no one like Jesus – acting like God – giving us evidence he is the creator – your creator. And so I’d urge you to look into him more – do ask me if you want some more on that.

However, Jesus isn’t just showing us he’s the king of the world – he is also giving us,

3) A picture of a world put right

The disciples are about to die – Jesus speaks – the sea goes flat, wind stops. Jesus rescues them from disaster – rescues them from this gone wrong world – and for a brief moment they enjoy the world as it was meant to be.

After this the storms carry on – but for a moment we get a picture of a world put right.

We’ve said over the last two weeks God has promised a perfect new world – remember the party from Isaiah – where everything is put right. A perfect world with no death.

Here Jesus is giving us a picture of that future - a glimpse, a proof – he can make that happen.

For a while I lived down in Borough and there was a huge amount of flats being built. They always follow the same pattern. The building site starts – it’s a mess – cranes, and mud everywhere. And then while it’s still chaos – a sign appears – show home open. And you can walk through the scaffolding, and the mess, and there is a flat – finished. And it looks fabulous – and you really like it – mainly because they’ve filled with stuff you could never afford.

The point is - you can see what the whole place is going to be like - from the show-home. It’s chaos at the moment but here in the middle is an example of how what it will be.

Well Jesus has promised he will put this world right – it will be wonderful.

But he doesn’t just promise – he then gives us a picture.

We’ve seen that picture in the healings as Jesus defeats disease and death. Now he does the same with a disaster - as he calms the storm - it’s like a show-world. The rest of the world is messy and chaotic, but here in the middle we get a taste of the future. A picture of what Jesus will do when he puts this world right.

I was thinking about disaster movies this week – and rescue scenes. I don’t know if you’ve seen Volcano – if you haven’t I wouldn’t bother. It stars Tommy Lee Jones, and a volcano just outside LA. At the end of the film the volcano has erupted and Tommy Lee Jones is trapped with the lava flowing towards him – in a matter of moments he will die. But they lower a ladder from a fire truck – and he is hoisted to safety just in time – as the lava flows on.

That is typical of rescue films isn’t it – someone pulled to safety just in time.

It made me think how different Jesus’ rescue is. So often rescues are about escaping disaster. Getting out of the way of disaster. But Jesus doesn’t air-lift the disciples out of the storm. He doesn’t ride ahead of the storm to safety.

No - he stands up and tells the storm to stop. So he doesn’t just escape from disaster – he overcomes disaster. He reverses disaster. He speaks and changes this world – and makes it what it was meant to be.

And that is what he will do one day - he will speak and storms never take lives. He will speak and there will be no earthquakes or hurricanes. There’ll be no need for disaster appeals, of food parcels. The phone will never ring in the middle of the night and you find out your loved one isn’t coming home. His rescue is complete – he will create a world where the accident, the disaster – never happens.

It’s a lot to believe isn’t it? But here is the evidence – here is the show-world. “Stop it” and “it was completely calm.”

Let’s finish by thinking how we should respond to this?

4) Is there evidence we trust the king?

V26 READ

Here are the two possibilities for the disciples – fear or faith. And they flow from whatever is more real to them – the threat of nature – disaster. Or Jesus – the king – who will bring a perfect new world.

Now the disciples do have some faith - they do go to Jesus for help. But their faith is little – they are afraid of disaster. The storm is more real than Jesus.

Jesus calms the storm, shows them he’s the king – he’s in charge. Shows them what he’s going to do – gives them a tour of the show-world.

And so - v27 READ. They are amazed at him – Jesus gets bigger in their minds – he’s bigger than the storm - Jesus as king gets more real to them. As he gets bigger their fears get smaller.

So what do we see in us – faith in Jesus or fear of this world?

As we ask that we have to be clear what we’re trusting Jesus to do for us. Because this isn’t promising that Jesus will save us from all natural disasters today. I imagine there were Christians killed in the hurricane Florence or in fires in Greece. Jesus doesn’t promise to rescue us from all disaster today.

As we’ve said this shows us Jesus is king of this world – in charge. And it shows us Jesus will one day put this world right.

So do we trust as that – the king now – who will put things right.

Say we read about natural disasters around the world do we just feel depressed at the relentless horror of this world? Or do we think – this is terrible but I know Jesus is bigger – and one day he will speak and it will all end.

If our friend, loved one, is late coming home one night and we wonder what has happened to them – as we feel the fear of that – can we say - I know someone who is bigger than this – I know someone who is king – and I know a new world is coming.

If the phone rings in the middle of the night do you feel nothing but terror – or do you think whatever this is – I know Jesus is king now – and will one day overcome it.

In other words which is more real to us – this world’s disasters? Or Jesus – and his future perfect world?

If you’re anything like me it’s often this world – we have little faith.

So let’s look at Jesus tonight with the disciples and marvel at him. Let’s dwell on him so that Jesus being king isn’t an abstract idea, or concept, but we feel he really is the king of this world – bigger than all we can see.

And so we know that one day he will speak and every storm will stop and this world will be right.

Let’s not be afraid, let’s have faith.

Matthew 8 v14-22 - Nigel Beynon 2/4

Matthew 8v14-22

SBD June 2019

I read an article this week that said extreme poverty in the world could be ended with £175 billion dollars. Other experts challenge that figure and it certainly got complicated – how you defined extreme poverty – what level of income would end it – how many people were in that situation etc.

But with that much money you could do something about changing poverty – changing the world.

When you think about it, a lot of people, spend their time changing things in the world: medics, social workers, politicians, charities, NGO’s, law enforcers, counselors, educationalists, lawyers. All dealing with problems in the world – and solving them make this world a better place.

I say that because we’re going to look at Jesus making the world a better place.

And in particular – I want us to think about - what does it take to make the world better in radical and foundational way – what do we need to truly change how things are?

So let’s look at our passage and first of all we get a picture of a truly changed world. A world put right.

1) God’s king – who will put this world right, 8v15-16

We read in v14 READ. Fever in her day almost certainly meant death.

But v15 READ.

There’s no convalescence - she immediately gets up and starts cooking dinner.

And then we read v16 READ.

It’s not surprising is it? Once you hear what Jesus is doing – if you know someone who is ill - you get them to Jesus. And he healed all them.

So for a moment in Capernaum – the GP surgery was closed. The hospital was empty. The crematorium was silent. For a moment it really was a changed world – a radically different world.

We said last week this is a demonstration. It demonstrates Jesus is the king - the one in control of this world. And it demonstrates – one day Jesus will put this world right.

We saw that in Isaiah God has promised a perfect world – a party – where death is swallowed up. Here Jesus gives us a picture of that – it’s a like trailer for it – showing us he can change this world and put everything right.

Now I said last week I’d say something about Jesus healing today. But as I prepared something on that I was aware it’s a big topic and a sensitive one – it really deserves a whole sermon. And I decided my comments were too brief to be very helpful. So I’m going to leave that for another day – feel free to ask me about it if you like.

The big point here is – here is the king who will put the world right. Jesus is demonstrating he’s the one in charge and that one day he really will change the world – and put it right.

The question is – what will that take? How can you change the world like that?

2) The king puts this world right by taking our wrong

Well - having said v16 – Jesus healed everyone – Matthew says – v17 READ - that is a verse from Isaiah 53.

So I’d like us to turn there if you don’t mind - and see what is happening in Isaiah 53.

• God’s suffering servant, Isaiah 53

Just to put this into context, Isaiah talks about two characters. He talks a lot about God’s king or ruler – the one that will rescue God’s people and put this world right – it’s the promise of Isaiah 25 of the party where death is swallowed up.

But then Isaiah starts talking about God’s servant – and he is a rather different character. V2 READ – he’s unimpressive.

V3 READ - he is someone who suffers so terribly – people can’t watch.

But the heart of this is – why he suffers. V4-6 READ.

Transgressions, iniquities – that is how we have rejected God, and lived our own way. And so we are in trouble with God – we face his judgement.

But I hope you picked up – this servant has taken our trouble for us. V4 – he took our infirmities. V5 he was pierced for our transgressions. V6 the Lord has laid on him our iniquity.

The suffering servant – takes our wrong – v5 says he takes our punishment and so brings us peace.

Let me try and illustrate this. I remember sitting with my brother watching a Cowboy and Indian film once – and half way through it he decided he wanted to join in. He was on the side of the cowboy’s of course – this was well before the days of political correctness – so the cowboys were the goodies, and the Indians were baddies. And so to join in – he got out his marbles – and every time an Indian appeared – he threw the marble at him – and tried to hit him. It was great. Pelting the TV – got another Indian.

Wasn’t so good for the TV. Small craters in the screen. Became rather like the surface of the moon….

Imagine my parents hear the noise – coming into the room – seeing the cratered screen – marbles – and they are rightly furious.

Then I say, ‘It was me – I did it.’

So my parent’s anger then falls on me. Go to your room, no pocket money for a month, no TV for a year.

Actually, I didn’t say that. I’m not that nice. In fact, what actually happened was – I was throwing marbles too.

But if I had been, innocent and very loving – I could have taken by brother’s place. I could have put things right for him – by – taking his wrong for him.

Well, that is what Jesus has done. He is innocent and very loving – and so he comes to earth as one of us and says to God, about all we’ve done wrong – it was me, or rather, let it be me. He takes our place – takes our wrong.

Upon him was the punishment that brought us peace – he’s the suffering servant – fulfilling Isaiah 53.

And what I really want us to get is – that is what will bring about a perfect world.

We see that in Isaiah actually – do you know what comes after Isaiah 53? Well unsurprisingly it’s Isaiah 54 – but Isaiah 54 is another description of that perfect world. Another description of God’s party – the world put right.

And it’s happened because of Isaiah 53 - the suffering servant taking our place. That leads to this perfect world.

We’ve said - Jesus is the king who will put this world right.

But Jesus is the servant – who puts this world right – by taking our wrong.

Let’s pause for a moment and ask – why is this? Why is it Jesus’ death – that brings God’s perfect world?

We said last week the ultimate cause of what is wrong in our world is our rejection of God. That’s not the immediate cause – we don’t get ill or things go wrong for us - because of a specific wrong we did. But in general terms the brokenness of the world flows from humankind rejecting God.

So to put the world right – you’ve got to deal with us and God. You’ve got to deal with our wrong before God. That’s the heart of it issue.

If you like – to really deal with the effects of sin – you’ve got to deal with sin itself.

That’s why saying it will take £175 billion to end poverty is only a start. To actually end poverty as well as the money we need to overcome selfishness and greed.

Or to change the world - we not only need better laws – we need to change people’s hearts so they don’t steal. We not only need better education so we know what’s right – we need to be changed so we want what is right. We not only need to make people better but for illness and disease to end.

Now we’re right to work at these things – better laws, education, medicine – they are good things. We should work at them and encourage them and celebrate the change they bring.

But we could say – they are only dealing with the symptoms. If you want to really change the world in a fundamental way – you have to deal with the cause – the heart of the problem - sin and rebellion against God.

And to do that you need someone to take our place. Someone to take our sin and all that that deserves.

That is what Jesus does - ‘It was me, I did it’. ‘He was pierced for our transgressions, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him.’

That is how he brings about God’s new world. He puts this world right by taking our wrong.

3) Following God’s servant king

We’re going to finish by looking at two people who want to follow Jesus. And so show us what following him is like - and I want us to see that what following him is like – flows from who he is – that he is a king but he is also a servant.

Let’s start with second bloke here – where we see that following Jesus means putting him first.

• Putting Jesus first, 8v21-22

V21 READ.

Now it’s probably not that his father has died and is waiting for burial. He’s probably saying – I want to follow you Jesus - but let me wait until my father dies – so I can fulfil my responsibilities to him.

Jesus says – v22 READ.

Which is pretty strong isn’t it.

Jesus isn’t saying we shouldn’t ever go to funerals. Rather it’s an overstated contrast.

It’s like when he says – you can’t follow me unless you hate your father and mother. But elsewhere he says love your parents. So when he says you must hate them – he’s saying – in an over the top way - I come first.

And it’s the same here – you want to follow me but your father comes first. No – I’ve got to come first.

And that’s because of who he is – he’s the king – in charge – absolute control and authority - so he comes before anything and anyone.

But following Jesus means putting yourself out to serve others.

• Putting yourself out to serve others, v18-20

V18-19 READ.

Maybe this guy has been watching the healings – impressed by Jesus power – and he wants in – I’ll follow you.

But Jesus says v20 READ.

You want to follow me. Do you know what that means – because I don’t have anywhere to sleep tonight. Even animals have homes. But I’ve given up my rights. Because I’ve come to serve – to suffer - to die.

So following me – well I’m the suffering servant – and so following me means the same for you – it means copying that - putting yourself out – giving up your rights – to serve others.

Jesus says the same to us today if we want to follow him. I’m the king – so it means putting me first. And I’m the suffering servant – so it means serving others.

So if we believe in this Jesus – if we follow him - the question for us – the challenge – is how are we doing on putting him first and putting ourselves out serving others?

I want to say what that looks like in practice – rather than just a general statement like put him first – I want to talk about our time and energy and values and money and hobbies – because this affects everything. But if I start to say this means doing this with your time – come to church every week or whatever - or doing that with your money – it’s starts to sound like rules. And it’s not rules. It’s about a relationship with Jesus.

But it’s a relationship that effects us – it’s a relationship with a king – who has served us. And that shapes us. So let me put it like this.

Imagine someone examined your life - looked at your diary - looked at your bank statement. How you spent your time and energy. Listened to your conversations and read your messages. What would they think?

Would they say – I’ve got a weird one here. I’m mean, it’s normal enough life – they go to work see friends and all that – but it’s like someone else in their life. I look at other people’s lives and they are all about their relationship, or they are after popularity, or driven by career, or looking good, or being comfortable. Those things control them. But this one – last week they gave some money to a missionary – then they told the truth even though it didn’t go well for them – why do that – it’s like they are living for something else – someone else. Someone else is in control.

And sometimes they say no to things which would be really nice for them – last week they didn’t stay in with Netflix but travelled across town to see a friend who was down – and was no fun at all. They keep putting themselves out – for other people. There is a servant thing about them.

Now nothing wrong with Netflix sometimes. Or having fun. And the truth is our lives will be very mixed at best.

But my point is - would they see something of the shape of Jesus. See the shape of a king who is in charge. See the shape of a servant – where you put yourself out for others?

Years ago I worked with a guy who was football mad. Gary. He loved football – Fulham was his team – there every week. Just to give you an idea - once I said – I remember Southampton winning FA cup and seeing the parade. He said – 1976 – Southampton vs. Manchester United – 1-0 – goal scored by Bobby Stokes. He loved football.

One world cup - he went to every England game in their group. And that got you the right to a ticket to the final. And it was 1966. Which if you don’t know – was when England won the world cup.

But he didn’t go – because he went on a children’s summer camp, to tell kids about Jesus.

I love that. Don’t get me wrong – he could have gone to the game – no rules. Good to enjoy football. But for him, in that situation, it was him putting Jesus first. And he put himself out to serve those kids. That’s a Jesus shaped life – there’s someone who knows a king, and a king who choose to serve him.

Jesus is the king who will make the world right one day. Jesus is the servant king – who dies – takes our wrong to make the world right.

Following him means your life has got a king in it, and it’s got a servant in it.

Matthew 8 v1-13 - Nigel Beynon 1/4

Matthew 8:1-13

Over next few weeks we’re going to be looking at different problems in our world – and Jesus’ answer to them. Today – we have a leper whose body is decomposing. And a servant paralyzed suffering terribly. Death won’t be far away for them. So today is the problem of disease and death. In future weeks we have natural disasters and the problem of evil. 

I realise that doesn’t sound a very cheery series. So let me say – we are looking at answers Jesus gives. And we need answers – because while not cheery, these problems are real. 

Many of us here will be well aware of that. We’ve experienced first hand, or second hand – the awful reality of disease and dearth. Or we’re facing it now in some way. 

I want to start by asking how we react to this reality of illness and death? What emotions does it bring?

There’s obviously a spread. At one end there can be a sort of acceptance. I get a chest infection – it’s annoying but it’s just how things are. You hear on the news about an incident where people died – but it feels far away and you hear so many stories like that. Someone old dies – and get phrases like – they had a good inning. It’s a sort of acceptance – this is the way things are in this world.

It’s very different though when it’s not a small illness nor a distant reality. When it’s close and personal - serious illness – someone we love - someone who dies young. 

Do you know that poem by WH Auden: 

“Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum. Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

He was my North, my South, my East and West, My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one; Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood. For nothing now can ever come to any good.”

Death can bring that sense nothing can come to any good. It’s absolute despair. 

Acceptance – despair. We could add anger and hurt – and questions of why and why me and why now. As we said it’s a huge and awful reality in our world.

So let’s turn to the Bible and see what difference Jesus might make to all of that. 

First of all I want us to step back from our passage and see how the Bible views disease and death. Then we can see what’s going on here more clearly. 

1) We live in a not right world – because the world isn’t right with God.

For instance take this leper. 

God said to his people in the OT, live in relationship with me and enjoy my blessing, but if you turn against me – it’s like I’ll turn against you and your enemies will defeat you, crops won’t grow – and leprosy. 

So at this time - one of God’s people suffering leprosy isn’t just a physical condition - his body isn’t well. It actually points to a spiritual condition of things not being well with God.  

Actually if we stand further back in the Bible’s story – we find in a general sense - that is true of all sickness and death. 

Back in Genesis God made this world perfect. But then Adam and Eve say to God, I want to be in charge - run my life, my world, my way. 

And that rebellion – brings disaster into our world.

Imagine a goldfish in its bowl on top of the TV. It’s bored. Checked out most corners of this bowl – Thinks - I want to get out more – I want to live out there in lounge, and watch the TV for once.  

So it takes a running jump – or waggle – and up – on to the lounge carpet. Where it discovers it’s not going to live at all.

Its natural environment was water – that is foundational to its existence. Change that and it’s a disaster. 

Well our natural environment is living under God’s loving rule. That is foundational to our existence – and as it’s rejected – its disaster - every part of life is affected and spoilt. Relationships, marriage, work – and our health – sickness and death.  

We could sum it by saying – we live in a world that isn’t right – because the world isn’t right with God. 

You may have experienced someone dying – and feeling – it shouldn’t be like this. This is so wrong. 

The Bible agrees – God didn’t make us for this. We live in a not right world. The Bible calls it a fallen world, a cursed world. A gone wrong world. And it’s all because humanity as a whole – rejected God. 

Now let me be clear. I’m not saying that if particular person falls ill – that’s because they’ve done some specific thing wrong against God. It’s not directly causal like that. Rather sickness and death are the result of sin in general, not my personal sin in particular.  

And that is part of the difficulty of it all – we don’t know why this person, why this illness. It’s because we’re caught up in this not right world. 

And if we’re Christians, while we’re forgiven and right with God through Jesus – we’re still live in this not right world. And suffer the falleness of it. 

We live in a not right world – because the world isn’t right with God. 

I said at the start in certain circumstances we can be accepting of disease and death - that’s the way things are. And in one sense that is right – that is the world we live in. But we should never forget – this isn’t how things were meant to be. 

So if I get a chest infection, while I’m feeling terrible and drinking lemsip - I should be reminded – this shows the world that isn’t right. This week we drive past a hospital – a GP surgery – we see an ambulance on the street – it should remind us – this is all because the world isn’t right with God. It’s a sign – evidence – of this dislocation with God. 

Now at this point you might be thinking – looks like despair is the only reaction to death.  But then we read - v3 READ. Or v13 READ.  

When it comes to disease and death clearly Jesus has answers. 

But it also raises more questions – does this mean Jesus will always heal illness? Should we expect him to heal like this today?

I want to come to that question – Jesus healing now - next week. For now I want to give a big picture answer as to what is going on here. It’s a big picture of this whole chapter actually so hope it will help us to see it. 

To see that big picture – we’ve got to get one more thing clear - and that is -

2) God has promised a perfect world – where everything is right

• A perfect world, Isaiah 25v6-9

When Jesus talks to the centurion here he talks about a future day – 8v11 READ.

When Jesus talks about a meal in the kingdom of heaven – he’s referring back to promises in the OT – of a perfect world.

Let’s me read one from Isaiah 25 

On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples,

A banquet of aged wine – the best of meats and the finest of wines. 

In other words God is going to throw a party – and it’s going to be fantastic.

Years ago I went to the wedding of an old university friend. Since university he had made lots of money in the city – and this wedding was extraordinary.  

When we went into the hall to eat – people were gasping at the forest of flowers. During the 5 course meal – my neighbour took pictures of the food – because it was so beautiful. Fantastic wine for each course.

We didn’t have time for the petit four and coffee – because we had to go to our boat that was taking us dancing down the Thames – he’d got in Carol Decker from Tai Pau – China in your hands, and Howard Jones – what is love - anyway. Which if you were a teenager in the eighties was a treat. If you weren’t you thought who’s this!

On top of all that – it was lovely to see friends, talk and laugh and celebrate together. 

But I did think – half way through – God is going to throw a much better party. This is just a taste – a glimpse of the heavenly party.

Food – wine – enjoying each another, celebration. 

And the best thing – Isaiah goes on:

On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations, he will swallow up death forever. 

My friend’s wedding was a lovely celebration of a marriage. But one day sickness and death will come. 

But in God’s party that is swallowed up. So nothing will spoil it, there will be no tears. It will be perfect.  

It’s a promise of what Jesus calls the kingdom of heaven – or what I’ve called God’s perfect world.

It’s an amazing promise isn’t it? Unbelievable. 

In fact that is just problem – the idea that one day we’ll rise with new perfect bodies that will never die and enjoy God and his people in an eternal party – frankly is a lot to believe. 

Most people would laugh at that. If we are Christians we may believe it to some degree - but it’s easily not that real to us. It can be a rather vague dream – a distant hope. 

Only then we read v3 READ. And v13 READ. 

A man claiming to be God’s king – is healing in the most amazing way. There is no examination, no prescriptions, no surgery, no drugs, no physio, no out patients visits.  

With just a touch or a word – it’s like the sickness is banished. Swallowed up.   

It’s like a little taste of that perfect world. 

3) A picture of that perfect world

In fact – that’s just the point. In this healing Jesus is giving us a picture – a foretaste – a trailer - of that perfect future from Isaiah. That’s the big point here – this is a picture of that perfect world. 

The other day I came across a promo video from a holiday company. The blurb went like this:

“A paradise of tropical sea, the fragrance of pine trees. Undefiled paths surrounded by a thousand flowers. Colourful countryside, an unreachable dream. Magical and beguiling, that’s IBIZA.”

Well – I didn’t know – but if you don’t believe it – you can watch the promo video. The strapline was: 

“See where you are going before you arrive.”

That is the sense of what Jesus is doing here. He comes into our world as God’s king - the one who will bring God’s perfect kingdom. And so he gives us a picture of it.  

As he touches the leper and the sickness is banished. As he speaks the word – and the servant is healed – it’s a glimpse of the future. It’s a moment of heaven now. It’s proof to us that one day Jesus will speak – and will bring about Isaiah 25 – and the dream will be reality. 

In the face of death despair can feel like the only option – as the poem says “nothing now can ever come to any good.” Feeling like that isn’t wrong – that’s what it can feel like in the middle of grief.

But there is an ultimate answer to sickness and death – there is a king – who will bring about God’s perfect kingdom. And here is a picture – here is proof. See where you’re going before you arrive.

Let’s finish by thinking about how we should react. 

• Entry & exclusion to God’s perfect world, 8v8-11

V10 READ. 

When Jesus says many will come from east and west he’s saying many people will be at God’s party who you wouldn’t expect – like this centurion.  While – those who would expect to be there – the subjects of the kingdom – are thrown outside. 

So this sounds serious – there is entry to the party and there is exclusion from the party. 

And the difference – the reason you get in - in a word is – faith. V10 READ. 

This centurion shows us the heart of faith is trusting Jesus above what you can see – which in his case is disease and death. 

V8b-9 READ. 

In the Roman army they had a system of delegated authority. Emperor at the top with supreme authority – then his authority is delegated down various layers - down to the centurion. That meant when the centurion spoke – he spoke with the authority of the emperor. 

He sees that Jesus is like that. He realises Jesus is from God – he’s God’s king - so he speaks with God’s authority. 

So while he can see his servant is desperately ill, there’s no hope - he can say to Jesus ‘only say the word and my servant will be healed.’ He trusts in Jesus as God’s king – in his power – in the face of disease and death. 

Same goes for us. Will we trust Jesus – beyond what we can see. 

It’s like we’ve got two things to weigh up. On one hand we’ve got the reality of disease and death. So often an overwhelming reality. Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood. For nothing now can ever come to any good.”

On the other side we’ve got God’s promise of a world made right. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, he will swallow up death forever. 

Which of those is bigger to us – which is more real? So often it’s disease and death isn’t it – that’s what we see and experience. 

But in the middle there is Jesus. God’s king – God’s authority – the one who will put this world right. It’s as though he’s saying to us tonight, you’re struggling to believe that amazing future. Death feels too big and real. Let me help you. Be clean – go it will done.

Look at me. See what I can do. See where you’re going before you arrive. Have faith.