Transcript

The Scriptures and the Power of God

Matthew 22:23-46
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Pastor Randy Smith

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Back in chapter 16 we heard Jesus Christ make a definitive statement: "I will build My church" (Mt. 16:18). From that comment we can conclude that the church belongs to Jesus Christ (it is "My church," He said) and that He will be the One responsible for its construction. Of course He is not talking about the physical building, but His spiritual body composed of born-again believers.

Now I have come across some strange Christian leaders in my day, but barring a few hyper-Calvinists, I cannot recall any who simply think this building of the church takes place irrespective of their labors. Many erroneously take it in their own hands to build the church apart from Christ, but all of them, and rightly so, believe they have a responsibility to do something. They are right. Jesus Christ builds His church though His people.

But what should His people be doing? Specifically, how does Jesus work through a Christian leader? Some have resorted to humor and story-telling from the pulpit. Some have supercharged their messages with pop-psychology or catering to people's "felt-needs." Some have depended on a false notion that God wants all His people healthy, wealthy and prosperous. Some have offered countless activities with no direct purpose other than "fun". Some have tried to be so much like the world they have lost their Christian distinctiveness. What does Jesus Christ use to build His church through us?

I believe the answer is found in chapter 22, verse 29: He uses "the Scriptures" and the "power of God."

The Scriptures are the authoritative source to reveal God's character and His will for our lives. They are sufficient to guide us in every aspect of our Christian lives. They were composed by the very breath of God under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They are how God speaks to His people. Any church desiring to be used by God must be devoted to teaching and applying the Bible.

Yet the Bible must also be combined with the power of God in order to achieve its effectiveness. We need the Holy Spirit to overcome our darkened minds to understand what it says. We need the Holy Spirit to overcome our fleshly affections to accept what it teaches. And we need the Holy Spirit to overcome our carnal wills to put the Word into action.

How does Jesus Christ build His church? Through the Scriptures and the power of God.

First Thessalonians 2:13, "For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe." The Scriptures and the power of God. The writer to the Hebrews said, "The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword" (Heb. 4:12). According to God through Jeremiah, "'Is not My word like fire?' declares the LORD, 'and like a hammer which shatters a rock?'" (Jer. 23:29). The Scriptures and the power of God. First Peter 2:2, "Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation." And Paul in Romans 1, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation" (Rom. 1:16). Literally the gospel is the "dynamite" (dunamis) of God. The dynamite is the word, and the match is the power of God.

By this point in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus has been rejected by the Jewish religious establishment. In two days they will have succeeded in His execution. And to achieve that goal their tactics were simple. They sought to discredit Him in the eyes of the people.

Last week we saw how they attempted to pit Him between the Jews and the Romans by asking a question whereby any response sought to create enemies (Mt. 22:17). Similar motives are revealed with two more questions recorded in chapter 22. At the end of the chapter Jesus turns the table and has a question for them.

We will study these three questions today. But what I want you to see this morning before we head to the Lord's Table is the emphasis on the Scriptures and the power of God.

1. QUESTION NUMBER ONE

Beginning in verse 23, "On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, asking, 'Teacher, Moses said, 'if a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise up children for his brother.' Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. Last of all, the woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her'" (Mt. 22:23-28).

You know this was a set-up when the Sadducees questioned Jesus about the resurrection. You will remember that they did not even believe in a resurrection (Mt. 22:23; cf. Ac. 23:8). They believed that once a person died, that was it. This was one of those old fashioned questions that nobody had an answer for. Again the goal was to stump Jesus, to discredit Him in the eyes of the people.

The question is fairly simple: Let's pretend a brother marries his deceased brother's wife to raise up children for his brother as prescribed in the law of Moses (Dt. 25:5-6; cf. Ruth 1:11-13; 4:1-22). Let's assume seven brothers had her as a wife at a point in time. And let's assume all went to heaven. Here is the question: whose wife will she be in the afterlife?

Here is Jesus' answer: Verse 29, "You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God."

Jesus goes right to the Scriptures. Verses 31-32, "But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?' He is not the God of the dead but of the living" (emphasis added).

Jesus is affirming that there will be a resurrection. He makes the case using Scripture, Exodus 3:6 (Exodus was one of the few books accepted by the Sadducees). In this verse, God is addressing three Old Testament figures that had already died. And if God is calling Himself the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, after they died (He uses "I am…" not "I was…"), He is declaring that while dead on earth, they are still alive with Him in heaven. What use is there in being a God of dead people? As Jesus says, "He is not the God of the dead but of the living" (Mt. 22:32).

In other words, "You are mistaken, Sadducees. According to the Scriptures there will be a resurrection (cf. Psm. 16:9; 139:8; Isa. 26:19; Dan. 12:2)." And second, you are mistaken because you are thinking in a way that undermines the power of God."

This is seen in verse 30. "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven."

The Sadducees were way too simplistic in their thinking. God is not bound to the rules and power of man. Would it be too hard for God to create a new existence - an experience in heaven whereby the closeness of our few earthly relationships is experienced by the entire population for each other? Would it be too hard for God to cease procreation since there is no need to replace or add to the names already written in the Lamb's book of life? Would it be too hard for God to do what He has already done with the angels - no marriage, all perfectly close to God and each other, clothed in radiant glory?

Verse 33, "When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching."

The Scriptures and the power of God.

2. QUESTION NUMBER TWO

Let go to "Question Number Two." Overall this is the third question in this chapter that attempted to derail Jesus. The motives of the opposition are clearly exposed.

Verses 34-35, "But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him." The question is stated in verse 36, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" In other words, "If we take all of Scripture and boil it down to the most important Commandment, which one would stand head and shoulders above the others?"

Remember: the Scriptures and the power of God.

Look where Jesus immediately goes in verse 37. Though no doubt His enemies hoped He would go elsewhere, He went right to their Bible and specifically Moses, the all-time hero of the Jewish faith. Quoting Deuteronomy 6:5, He said, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." According to Jesus, the greatest commandment is to love God above all and with every aspect of your being.

I remember about 20 years ago when I first gave my life to Jesus Christ. Friends and family saw in me a rather radical change. Few of these people had anything against a little religion, but many of them thought I had gone way overboard. A few pulled me aside with concerns, but nobody was bolder than one of my cousins. In a three-page hand-written letter she expressed her fear that I was taking this God-thing way too seriously. I still remember her using the word, "Fanatical."

So like Jesus, I took this person who claimed to love God herself to the Scriptures. I asked her point out to me where I was going wrong. She replied that her concern was not so much a wrong application of biblical principles, but rather an excessive passion and devotion toward God. My response was: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment" (Mt. 22:37-38). What could she say?

The Scriptures and the power of God.

The Scriptures are clear that the foremost of all commandments is to love God. It is all over the Bible. We love Him because He first loved us. We love Him because of what He has done for us in Christ. We love Him because He is altogether lovely. And we love Him above others because anything less would be idolatry.

And how do we love God? We love God through the power of God. Only the Holy Spirit can take selfish God-hating rebels and turn their hearts to live for their Creator. Because of our struggle with sin, we do not drift toward a consuming love for God. We run in the opposite direction. Without God's power we will never fulfill the greatest commandment - especially when we understand that the greatest way we can love God is to obey His commandments (Jn. 14:15; 21; 1 Jn. 5:2-3).

Jesus is not done. He gives a second greatest commandment again going back to the Scriptures, this time quoting Leviticus 19:18. Verse 39, "The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"

The Scriptures and the power of God.

Again, the Scriptures are filled with commandments to love one another. We know from Romans that love for others is a debt that is never paid (Rom. 13:8). We know from 1 John that an absence of love for others is an absence of love for God (1 Jn. 3:10; 4:7-8; 20-21). And we know from 1 Corinthians that without love for others we are nothing (1 Cor. 13:2-3).

So the Scriptures command it, but how do we do it? How do we love others, like Jesus said, as we love ourselves? My friends, the only way this is possible is if we are continually connected to the power of God.

Here is the process. When God opens our eyes to Himself, He fills us with the power of His Spirit. As Paul said in Romans 5:5, "The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." "The fruit of the Spirit is love" (Gal. 5:22). As we are filled with God, His love flows from Him, through us, back to Himself and out to others. God is the source of all love, and He uses His children as vessels to extend His love.

Loving God and loving others. Connected because "God is love" (1 Jn. 4:8). Connected because they both originate with the power of God. Connected because obeying God is the greatest way I can love others (1 Jn. 5:2). Connected, verse 40, because "on these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." Simply put, if you love God by obeying the Bible and care for your neighbor above yourself, you will live a life pleasing and honoring to the Lord. As Paul said in Romans 13:10, "Love is the fulfillment of the law."

3. QUESTION NUMBER THREE

Out final point, the last question in this chapter. Jesus has just heard three questions from His opponents. He responded to each one. Verse 22 says, He "amazed" the opposition. Verse 33 says, He "astonished" the opposition. Verse 34 says, He "silenced" the opposition. Soon, verse 46 Matthew says, "No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question."

So after diffusing their attacks, Jesus closes this section by asking a question of His own to them. Verse 42, "What do you think about the Christ?" Time prohibits me from a detailed explanation of this section, but I wish to leave you with those words before we go to Communion. So let me ask you, "What do you think about the Christ?"

There is no more important question you can answer. Who is Jesus? Is He a myth? Is He only a moral teacher and guide for humanity? Is He one of many religious figures, all on equal footing? Or is He something more?

The Scriptures and the power of God.

The Scriptures declare that Jesus is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. He is God in the flesh. The very One who lived a perfect life and died of the cross as a substitute for sinners. The Father vindicated His death, raising Him from the grave and seating Him at His right hand (Mt. 22:44). He will come to judge the living and the dead. In His own words He said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."

So who is Jesus? Do you agree with the Scriptures? Has the power of God opened your heart to receive Him by faith? Is He your Savior? Is He your Lord? Is He your God? Are you displaying the power of God to obey the Scriptures in your desire to love Him with all your heart and love others as much as you love yourself?