Matthew 12

December 16, 2024

O Come, All Ye Faithful (Love)

Matthew 2.1-12

A tale of two kings…a tale of two loves. Herod, an earthly king, living in Jerusalem, seeks to build a name and a kingdom for himself. Jesus, the true King, has already been given a Name and a kingdom.

Herod’s love is a very worldly love…love for his own kingdom, love of power, prestige, position, pleasure. A love that was very selfish and self-serving. A love that did not save him because it could not. Jesus was a real threat to Herod because he knew what was at stake. If Herod didn’t think Jesus might indeed be a king…the King…if he didn’t think Jesus, though now just a Child, could in fact dethrone him, rule over him, take allegiance from him, he would not have felt threatened. But Jesus is a real threat to anyone who thinks seriously about Him. If Jesus is King…you’re not. It means your dethronement. It means your submission. It means you can’t lead your life any longer, as Herod did, according to your worldly loves. If Jesus is who He says He is, you either love Him or you hate Him! Herod represents King Me…his response to the true King, to King Jesus is hatred and rejection.

The Magi’s love is other-worldly…it’s clear where their loyalties lie. The Magi give their allegiance to Someone far greater than any earthly king…their King’s arrival was announced by the heavens. A star pointed the way. The Magi’s love led them to go to incredible lengths to see Jesus, and seeing Him, they couldn’t help but worship Him, expressing their love for Him for what He would do and God’s love already demonstrated in sending Him. They brought costly gifts…another natural expression of their love. In Him, they found an Object worthy of great pursuit…chasing after Him with all they had…their love for Jesus is clear…Jesus, the long-awaited Jewish Messiah, the Warrior-King from the line of David, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Hero of the Story and the only One who could rescue them, the Savior of the nations. The Magi recognize Jesus as King, and their response to Him is worship and adoration.

Where are your affections this Christmas? Who or what do you love? Is it causing you to be selfish and self-serving? Is it causing you to want to protect your stuff? If so, you may be giving your affections to people or things that are destined to disappoint. Or are you loving Jesus, the only One who can save and deliver and rescue…not just in an eternal sense, but also here and now? Is He the Object of your affections…your devotion every day? Do you live that way…going to great lengths to be in His presence, to worship Him, to serve Him with the same passion and diligence that the Magi did? Are you living as one who has realized their hope in Jesus, who’s experienced God’s amazing love? Are we as God’s people making much of Jesus this Christmas, or are we caught up in the hustle and bustle of building our own little kingdoms?

If you don’t know Jesus as Savior today…if He is not the King you adore, make today the day. To do so starts with acknowledging that you are a sinner in need of a Savior and then believing that Jesus is the Savior that God promised would come. He lived a perfect life. He died a sacrificial death on your behalf. He was raised the third day showing that He had conquered both sin and death, so that by believing in Him you could have forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

O Come All Ye Faithful…Christmas is a busy season, and we have a thousand things on our minds and a thousand things to do. But through it all, let us remember to come and adore Jesus who loves us and proved that love by coming into the world to bring us light for our darkness…and joy…and life eternal.

pro rege

This post is based on a sermon from our Advent series: Songs of the Season. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X or Threads: @ccclancaster. You can also download our Central Christian app in the iTunes App Store.

September 15, 2014

#DontBeAPharisee

Matthew 12:1-14

During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He often conversed and rubbed shoulders with stubborn, hard-hearted people. He preached sermons and gave talks to people who had no intention of listening. He often found Himself ministering to people who wanted nothing to do with His way of life or the salvation that He offered. The sad thing is that those who were most opposed to Jesus should have been His biggest supporters. Jesus’ opposition came primarily from men who knew the Bible inside and out but failed to really hear and understand what it meant.

The Jews since antiquity have had three sects of philosophy: the Essenes, the Sadducees, and the Pharisees.(1) Our passage of interest records two hostile encounters with the most prominent group, the Pharisees.

Much of what we know about the Pharisees comes from Josephus, the Gospels, and the Rabbinic tradition after AD 70.(2)  While the gospels describe the Pharisees negatively, Josephus is prejudiced in favor of them. Josephus records this: “The Pharisees simplify their way of life and give in to no sort of softness; and they follow the guidance of what their doctrine has handed down and prescribes as good… Because of these doctrines they hold great influence among the populace, and all divine worship, prayers, and sacrifices are performed according to their direction. In doing so the cities bear witness to all their virtuous conduct, both in their way of life and in their words.”(3)

The Pharisees were respected in their communities because they were whole-heartedly committed to God’s Law. Yet the Pharisees, as religious separatists, prided themselves in their own righteousness.(4) Their way of life bred pride, legalism, and self-righteousness. R. T. France describes it this way, “Pharisaic concern for the detailed regulation of religious duty was in danger of putting the rules before the good purpose for which they were given.”

In other words, the Pharisees’ zeal for the law had turned them into self-righteous hypocrites who “followed the law” at the expense of hurting themselves and others. Their approach to keeping the law actually resulted in their own breaking of the law. They had lost sight of the fact that God desires mercy and not sacrifice (Hosea 6:6). Jesus points out that the law was created to serve people, instead of people being created to serve the law.

What About Us?

The question must now be raised; “What about us?” How can we protect ourselves from being heartless rule followers? How can we be men and women who follow Jesus from the heart and minister to others out of a desire to be like Christ? It would be foolish to think that we couldn’t possibly turn into the Pharisees that Jesus criticized in Matthew 12.

We are just as capable of reading but not understanding, hearing but not doing, and seeing but failing to perceive. We are just as capable of living the hypocritical lifestyles that Jesus accused the Pharisees of living.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon pointed out that it is possible to read the Bible, know the Bible, and be passionate about the Bible, but completely misunderstand what the Bible is really teaching. He warns that, “Much apparent Bible reading is not Bible reading at all. The verses pass under the eye, and the sentences glide over the mind, but there is no true reading. An old preacher used to say, the Word has mighty free course among many nowadays, for it goes in at one of their ears and out at the other; so it seems to be with some readers—they can read a very great deal, because they do not read anything… Now, beloved, unless we understand what we read we have not read it; the heart of the reading is absent.”(5)

My hope is that Matthew 12 would inspire people to be continually transformed by God’s Word instead of hardened by it. This passage serves as a good reminder that it is only those who come into God’s presence with humility and brokenness that will leave changed by Him. It’s a reminder to check our hearts and ask why we even read and study the Bible in the first place.

Why do we attend church? Serve? I would suggest that if everything we do is not motivated by a heart of worship, it is a great offense to God. Even our rule following can be disgusting in God’s sight.

Let us be men and women who exalt God first and foremost and live out the demands of Scripture because of our love for Jesus and others, rather than out of a love for the applause of men.

Ricky

(1) Josephus. Antiquities 18.1.2-3 11-13

(2) Green, Michael. (1988). Matthew. The Bible Speaks Today: The Message of Matthew. Pg. 144-147

(3) Josephus. Antiquities 18.1.2-3 11-13

(4) Augsburger, Myron S. (1982). Matthew. The Communicators Commentary. Pg. 121-122

(5) Charles H. Spurgeon, sermon