← Back to sermon library

Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Matthew chapter 13. Matthew 13, as we end this particular 
chapter this morning. We saw in chapters 11 and 12 
varying responses to our Lord Jesus with specific emphasis 
on rising opposition to Him. And then Jesus gives the parables 
of the kingdom in chapter 13. And in that, He highlights or 
gives explanation as to why some do receive the message of Christ 
and others reject. And here at the end of chapter 
13, we have another illustration or another demonstration of those 
who reject those who oppose. This carries over into chapter 
14 with the episode concerning John the Baptist as well. But 
I do want to read beginning in chapter 13 at verse 36. To set 
the larger context, I'll read to the end of chapter 13. Then 
Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And 
his disciples came to him, saying, Explain to us the parable of 
the tares of the field. He answered and said to them, 
he who sows the good seed is the son of man, the field is 
the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but 
the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed 
them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the 
reapers are the angels. Therefore, as the tares are gathered 
and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 
The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather 
out of his kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice 
lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There 
will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous 
will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. 
He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Again, the kingdom 
of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found 
and hid, and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he 
has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven 
is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who when he had found 
one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and 
bought it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that 
was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when 
it was full, they drew to shore. And they sat down and gathered 
the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. So it will be at 
the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate 
the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace 
of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing 
of teeth. Jesus said to them, have you 
understood all these things? They said to him, yes, Lord. 
And he said to them, therefore, every scribe instructed concerning 
the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out 
of his treasure things new and old. Now it came to pass, when 
Jesus had finished these parables, that he departed from there. 
When he had come to his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, 
so that they were astonished and said, Where did this man 
get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter's 
son? Is not his mother called Mary, 
and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, 
are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all 
these things? So they were offended at him. 
But Jesus said to them, a prophet is not without honor except in 
his own country and in his own house. Now he did not do many 
mighty works there because of their unbelief. Amen. Well, let 
us pray. Our Father, we come to you now 
and we pray for the ministry and the aid of your Holy Spirit. 
We confess to you our sin. We confess to you our transgression 
against your holy law. We confess that our conduct is 
not always worthy of your gospel. And we praise you and we thank 
you that we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ 
the righteous. And even now we pray for cleansing, 
that You would just purify our hearts and our minds and cause 
us to receive with great seriousness and with great joy the things 
that are set before us in the Word of God. For those outside 
of Christ, we pray that You'd give them eyes to see and ears 
to hear and a heart that would receive the truth. We pray that 
in all of this you would be glorified, and that you would be honored, 
that you would strengthen us with the knowledge of Scripture, 
as Pastor Cam reminds us, we need to employ the mind, we need 
to understand, we need to grow in the grace and in the knowledge 
of our Lord and Savior. And our Father, we come to you 
as the giver of all truth, and the one who gives knowledge, 
and the one who is able to illumine our hearts and our minds, and 
we pray that even now you would do this, God Almighty, We ask 
that you would just bless this time together. I pray that you 
would indeed be glorified, and we ask this through Christ our 
Lord. Amen. As I said, we see opposition 
to our Lord Jesus Christ. I think one of the very vivid 
displays of this prior to this particular instance is in chapter 
12. Remember that our Lord Jesus 
goes into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and He heals a man 
with a withered hand. And the response from the Pharisees 
is that they plotted together, according to Luke's Gospel, and 
here in Matthew it says, "...the Pharisees went out..." I'm sorry, 
in Luke's Gospel it says, "...they raged against him." And here 
in Matthew it says, "...then the Pharisees went out and plotted 
against him how they might destroy him." And so what is true of 
the Pharisees in this sinful or evil adulterous generation 
is also true and extends to the city of Nazareth, to Christ's 
hometown. And as we see in this particular 
narrative, even to those within His immediate family. So we're 
going to look at this section in chapter 13, verses 54 to 58, under two broad considerations. First, the rejection at Nazareth, 
and then secondly, the explanation of this particular situation. But notice first the rejection 
at Nazareth. Jesus Christ's ministry. Verse 
54, When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their 
synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, Where did 
this man get this wisdom and these mighty words? Though it's 
not named here, we know this to be Nazareth. Of course, in 
Matthew chapter 2, it's recorded that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. To escape the murderous rage 
of Herod, Joseph took his family to Egypt. In fulfillment of the 
prophet Hosea, it's out of Egypt that God calls His firstborn. 
And after that, they end up in Nazareth. And according to Matthew 
chapter 2 verse 13, that is where Jesus settled and that is where 
He was reared. At the beginning of His public 
ministry, He leaves Nazareth to go see John the Baptist, according 
to Matthew chapter 3. After that, he returns to Nazareth 
and then embarks upon his public ministry in Galilee, in that 
particular region prophesied by Isaiah. All throughout Matthew's 
Gospel, remember that one of the particular things that he 
wants to do is highlight for us how Christ does fulfill all 
that was written in the Old Testament Scriptures. So Nazareth is his 
home place. Nazareth is the town in which 
he lived. It is the place in which he grew 
up. And the connection, as I said, is best expressed by Carson. He says, placing this narrative 
immediately after the discourse on parables extends the hostility 
and rejection of the scribes and Pharisees even to Jesus' 
own hometown. It's actually a very sad situation, 
the way that the people that should have responded favorably 
actually oppose him and reject him. There's a parallel passage 
in Mark chapter 6, which is strictly parallel. It's the same specific 
narrative. There's also a passage in Luke 
14, Luke 4 rather, commentators are divided on whether it's the 
very same one, or it's one either prior or after this particular 
record of events. But nevertheless, in Luke 4, 
Jesus is ministering in Nazareth. And immediately the people respond 
favorably to the Word as it's preached. But then something 
happens, something turns, and it gets to the point where they 
want to throw Him off of a hill and destroy Him. On the one hand, 
they're marveling at the words that drip from his lips, and 
then on the other hand, this murderous rage, they want to 
exterminate, they want to eliminate, they want to get rid of him. 
And I want you to consider this theme as we look at this passage 
this morning. Very often, people are astonished 
by Christ. Very often people are curious 
about Christ. Very often people are interested 
about Christ. But if Christ is not believed 
on, if Christ is not received, if we don't close with Him by 
the grace of God, if we do not come to Him, that curiosity, 
that interest, that astonishment will flesh itself out in full-on 
opposition to the Lord of glory. That's what we find here. And 
so I want to submit to you this morning, if you've not believed 
the gospel, listen to what we say this morning. If you find 
yourself in this particular camp where you're interested in the 
things of God, you're in a house of worship on the Sabbath day, 
these are good things. But you need to close. You need 
to believe. You need to come to the Savior. 
The underlying problem in Nazareth was not little faith, it was 
the absence of faith, it was lack of faith. There are times 
in Jesus' ministry where He upbraids His disciples for having little 
faith. I agree with Machen. Little faith 
may not move mountains, but there's one thing that little faith will 
do. It will save a soul from the 
eternal wrath of Almighty God. It is not little faith that is 
condemned here. It is the absence of faith. It 
is unbelief. It is a rejection and an opposition 
to the Lord of glory. So please listen today. Listen 
to what the Scriptures say concerning the Savior in this particular 
situation. So He comes to His own country. 
This is Nazareth. Notice His activity. He goes 
to the synagogue. Mark tells us it's on the Sabbath 
day. Luke tells us this was His custom. 
Notice what Christ's custom was. Everybody wants to be like Jesus, 
but we don't want to do what He does. Right? As Ronnie Coleman said, everybody 
wants to be Mr. Olympia, but no one wants to 
lift heavy weights. We all want to know, what would 
Jesus do? Jesus would go to the synagogue 
on the Sabbath day. What would Jesus do? He would 
faithfully attend the public means of grace. What would Jesus 
do? He would be numbered among God's 
people on the Sabbath where He's supposed to be. This is precisely 
what His custom was. Isn't that wonderful? Could somebody 
describe you that way? Could your neighbor see that 
your custom is attendance to the public means on the Lord's 
Day Sabbath? Could your neighbor say of you, 
that's his custom, he gets up in the morning on Sunday, I'm 
having my morning coffee and I see him and his family going 
to the place of worship. They come home, they go again. 
I think it's odd, I think it's wacky, I think it's nutty, but 
that's what his custom is. Christ goes to the synagogue, 
which incidentally, this is the last time in Matthew's Gospel 
that He does. There's becoming a bigger breach 
between Himself and the nation of Israel, and we see that He 
no longer frequents their synagogues. But He does go there. And as 
His custom was, He taught the Scriptures. As I mentioned in 
Luke 4, we get a sample of what it is He taught in Luke's Gospel. You can turn there for just a 
moment. Luke chapter 4. Again, remember Matthew's purpose 
is to highlight for us that Jesus fulfills the prophets. And while 
Matthew doesn't indicate that Jesus read and taught on Isaiah 
the prophet chapter 61, I think nevertheless our message in Matthew's 
gospel highlights affinity with the prophet. Isaiah, and we'll 
see that as we move along. But notice in Luke 4.16, "...So 
he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as his 
custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day 
and stood up to read. And he was handed the book of 
the prophet Isaiah, and when he had opened the book, he found 
the place where it was written. The Spirit of the Lord is upon 
me, because He has anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor. 
He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, 
and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those 
who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. 
Then he closed the book and gave it back to the attendant and 
sat down. And the eyes of all who were 
in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, 
today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. You can see 
why unbelievers would despise that. He's saying that what the 
prophet Isaiah wrote of is fulfilled in your hearing. In other words, 
he's the embodiment of the prophetic testimony. It's interesting, 
if you continue on in the prophet Isaiah 61, it's not only what 
Messiah does in terms of healing, it's not only in terms of Messiah 
helping, but it's in terms of vengeance and judgment to be 
brought upon the nation. Maybe it's that thought, reality 
that caused them to bring him to the brink of a hill, or want 
to, and cast him off and destroy him. But as we see, Jesus went 
to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the Sabbath day, and 
he teaches the Word of God. This is what Matthew says. It 
says that he taught them in their synagogues. And then they highlight, 
or they see, or they wonder about his wisdom and his mighty works. Now, the idea probably isn't 
that he was doing a lot of mighty works in their particular observation, 
but they had heard. They had known. They had received 
the report. They didn't have email, they 
didn't have Google, but certainly word of mouth would have spread 
that this young man, who was reared in Nazareth, who was the 
son of Joseph, who was the son of Mary, who was brother to these 
four men and brother to these sisters, has gone about doing 
good. He's gone about healing people. 
He's gone about raising the dead, that little girl, Jairus' daughter. They would have heard these things. 
And so you see what they're saying in this particular instance as 
we move to the response of the people. Where did this man get 
this wisdom and these mighty works? It's not a question of 
location. Where did this man get this wisdom 
and these mighty works? Did he go to Southern Seminary? 
Did he go to Ted's? Did he go to Westminster, California? That's not the point. It's not 
a matter of location. It's a matter of authority. Where 
does he get this? By their own words. They condemn 
themselves, but they cannot neglect the reality that he has a wisdom 
and that he does mighty works. The issue isn't, does he do these 
things? The issue is, by what authority? And those who have been working 
their way through Matthew's gospel will hear some affinity with 
the Pharisees in Matthew 12. Remember when Jesus casts out 
the demon from that particular man that was blind and that was 
mute. The people say, the multitude 
say, could this be the son of David? But what do the Pharisees 
say? No, he's not the son of David. 
Rather, he casts out demons by Beelzebub. You see, the question 
posed in their minds is not, does he do these things, but 
by what authority does he do these things? We can't neglect 
the reality that he's got wisdom and mighty works, but how? Where? Who's behind it? And when they 
make this statement, they're already showing their hand. They're 
already letting us see their whole car. They're already letting 
us see that they are opposed. They are rejecters. They are 
despisers. They do not even entertain for 
the moment that this could be the son of David, but rather 
they've already made their decision. Notice, the people are astonished 
at his teaching and the report of his works. It's the same verb 
used in Matthew 7. Remember after the Sermon on 
the Mount? What did the people do? They marveled. They were 
astonished. They were amazed because he taught 
them. Not like the scribes, but he 
taught them as one having authority. There's an astonishment here. 
You see, I say these things and I hope that you'll understand 
it. People come into contact with preaching. People come into 
contact with Christians. People come into contact with 
those who display or explain for them the person of the Lord 
Jesus Christ. And there is an initial curiosity. Wow, tell me about this particular 
one. There may be some astonishment. 
You'll hear people at times say, I'm astonished or I'm amazed 
at what a good teacher the Lord Jesus Christ was. Well, you see, 
that's not the issue. It's not a matter of being amazed 
at what a good teacher the Lord Jesus Christ is. Paul says, we 
preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness 
to Greeks, but to those who are being saved, Christ, the wisdom 
and power of God. You need to believe, you need 
to forsake sin, you need to come to the Lord Jesus Christ alone. So they are astonished at his 
teaching, but their astonishment quickly turns to suspicion. Is 
that the question? Isn't that the nature of it? 
Where did he get these things? Who does he think he is? Small-town 
boy makes good. Remember, Nazareth isn't Vancouver. When they say, isn't this the 
carpenter's son? Everybody knew the carpenter 
because it's a town of about 400 people. We're not talking 
about a thriving metropolis of millions and millions and millions 
of people. Everybody knew everybody. And interestingly enough, no 
one ever saw anything suspicious, awkward, or odd about the Lord 
Jesus Christ. This particular narrative puts 
to rest the ideas of some of the pseudepigraphy. The word is pseudepigraphy. Those 
gospels, the infancy narrative, or the infancy gospel of Thomas 
says that when Jesus was a baby, or when Jesus was a little boy, 
he made clay pigeons and he brought them to life. Now, do you think 
these people in Nazareth thought that? No! They don't say, where 
did he get this wisdom and these mighty words? Oh yeah, we remember, 
he made those clay pigeons and he brought them to life. Those 
are false! We have Matthew, Mark, Luke, 
and John. Those are the gospel records 
that God the Lord gave us by inspiration and has preserved 
for us. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John 
early distinguished themselves to the early church as the Word 
of God. But they are suspicious of this 
man, and then notice, The people then ask a series of questions 
to underscore this reality. Note their questions. They're 
not looking for answers. They know the answers. As I said, 
these questions underscore their problem. They're telling us, 
they oppose, they're telling us, they reject. The questions 
evidence that their astonishment has turned to curiosity, which 
turns to suspicion and a critical spirit, which ultimately leads 
to a rejection of Christ. Isn't this the carpenter's son? 
That Joseph is not named might indicate that he was dead by 
this particular time. When you compare Mark's gospel, 
they say, is this not the carpenter? It was typical for a young man 
to follow in his father's footsteps. If his father was a carpenter, 
he would have been a carpenter. And the idea isn't necessarily 
building pianos, but building houses. It wasn't just wood that 
he was probably skilled in, but other building materials as well. 
There wasn't a lot of wood in Palestine. So Jesus was a builder. Jesus was a construction worker. 
Jesus had, as L. Martin said, knurled hands. He 
wasn't somebody that we looked upon. There was nothing endearing 
about His person. In the last several months, there 
have been movies coming out, and movies depicting the Son 
of God. The second commandment says, 
don't depict the Son of God. You can't put on a screen the 
person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. But how do we typically 
depict Him? On the one hand, He's this effeminate-looking 
fellow that we want to drink tea with, or go antiquing with. Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 
however, presents Jesus coming up out of the water with rippling 
muscles, guns, and glistening water beating off of Him. He 
didn't have that. He didn't walk around with a 
halo on His head. When you saw Him, there was nothing 
about Him that would evidence who He was in terms of His deity. He worked a job for probably 
20 plus years in the town of Nazareth. You want to do a study 
in faithful living? We always want to be more, don't 
we? We always want to make our mark 
upon society. We're not satisfied with obscurity. We've got to blog, Facebook and 
Twitter about how awesome we are so that everybody can see 
us. Here you've got the one in whom all of the fullness of the 
Godhead dwells bodily for 20 years, working with tools, fashioning 
things together, and living as an ordinary man, never saying, 
but I feel there's more for me. There must be other ventures 
for me." Now, he knew his time frame, he knew the particular 
divine plan, and he was consistent with that. The point is, when 
you looked at the life of Jesus Christ in that 20-year period, 
he was a regular, normal, ordinary, everyday man. We ought to be 
content likewise. Once in a generation, once in 
several generations, God sends forth a Calvin. Once in several 
generations, God raises up a Spurgeon. Once in several generations, 
God sends to the church a Luther. It is the most part that we will 
be normal, regular people. Be content with that. I know 
that the books today tell you you have to be radical. You have 
to be sold out. You have to burn for Jesus. Burn for Jesus as a faithful 
husband to your wife. Burn for Jesus as a faithful 
wife to your husband. Don't raise your eyebrows when 
he asks for waffles and bacon. Make them for him. Do you know what radical Christianity 
looks like? Faithfulness! That's radical! Isn't it interesting that post-resurrection, 
Christ comes to the disciples, and where does He find them? 
They're sitting in their fishing boat, fishing. Does Jesus say, 
how in the world, in light of my ministry, could you sit in 
a fishing boat and return to your nets? Go be radical! He says, throw your net on the 
other side of the boat and you'll catch more fish. There is nobility 
and dignity in fishing. There is nobility and dignity 
in plumbing, in electrical work, in farming, in academic pursuits, 
in being a housewife. All of these are noble and dignified 
under God the Lord. Where did this man get this wisdom 
and these mighty works? Is he not the carpenter's son? He didn't go to rabbinic school. 
He didn't go to seminary. He swung a hammer. He used a 
plane. He used a level. We noted the 
other day, he probably would have been helpful to have a level 
at that screen. It's a little bit unlevel that 
we have hanging in the fellowship hall. Well, as a carpenter and 
as a builder, he would fix those sorts of things. Isn't this the 
carpenter's son? Isn't his mother called Mary? She was nothing special in the 
town. She wasn't Councilwoman Mary. She wasn't Mayor Mary. She wasn't the ruler of Nazareth. 
She was Mary. Isn't this his mother? And aren't 
his brothers these particular men? Perhaps at the time these 
particular men weren't even believers themselves. Seems to be that 
James' conversion is spoken of post-resurrection. Now we know 
that James and Jude are the brothers that would ultimately write James 
and Jude. John 7 indicates that his brothers 
were not believers during the life and ministry of the Lord 
Jesus Christ. So beware of this idea. Well, 
if only I could see him with my own eyes. Only I could actually 
hear him with my own ears. If I could only actually sit 
under his preaching, well, then maybe I'd believe. No, you wouldn't. 
You're dead in your trespasses and sins. The supernatural power 
of God Most High must come upon your heart. As John 3 tells us, 
Jesus says you must be born again. You must be born from above. 
Proximity to the Lord doesn't necessarily mean faith in the 
Lord. Doesn't Jesus upgrade the cities 
of His day in 11, 20 to 24? Woe to you, Chorazin. Woe to 
you, Bethsaida. Woe to you, Capernaum. Why? Because 
if Sodom and Gomorrah had seen the things that you saw, they 
would have repented in sackcloth and ashes. He says, it will be 
more tolerable for you who saw the works of the Son of God and 
did not repent. So beware of this mindset. This 
is the scientific mind today. This is the analytical thinker 
today. Well, if I could just see Him, 
if I could just touch Him, if I could just hear Him, then I 
would believe. What does Jesus say in that situation 
in Luke 16? When the rich man says, Father 
Abraham, will you go and tell my brothers? If they don't listen 
to Moses and they don't listen to the prophets, they're not 
going to listen to someone who comes back from the dead. It's 
another thing we're seeing. Movies and books written about 
people who've had experiences going to heaven or hell and then 
writing to tell about it. That is not true stuff. I don't 
care what the guy at the water cooler in your shop says. It's 
not true. You don't come back. You don't 
tell people from the other side. But the point in Luke 16 is if 
you reject and resist the Word of God, you're done. So beware of saying, well, if 
I only could have seen him, if I only could have heard him, 
well, then my scientific mind would dive in. There's a whole 
host of ways men try to explain unbelief, and that's the popular 
one today. Well, I'm a scientist, and I 
know I have to proceed based on empirical observation and 
proof, and there's not been enough proof to satisfy me. Ask Paul 
about that. You can't escape the proof. Your 
problem with the proof is not that it's there, but that you 
suppress it in unrighteousness. You hide it. You try to cover 
it up. You run from it. You're that man in Psalm 14, 
the fool has said in his heart, there is no God. It's a presuppositional 
commitment. It is not based on the evidence. According to the Apostle Paul, 
the evidence screams the existence, the power, the glory, and the 
attributes of God Most High. Just see these people here, his 
own family members. Calvin said it this way when 
they mentioned the brothers and the sisters. Probably the thought 
is the brothers found work elsewhere. They say, aren't his sisters 
here with us? They probably married Nazareth 
men and they're standing in the synagogues listening to their 
brother Jesus at this particular instance. Again, the other men 
might have been present, but they underscore or highlight 
and are not his sisters with us, physically present in Nazareth, 
in the synagogue, listening to the works and the wisdom of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. Calvin makes this perceptive 
statement concerning these people in Nazareth. He says, they see 
God working in Christ. Again, that's settled. You can't 
deny that. Where did he get this wisdom 
and these mighty works? They see God working in Christ 
and intentionally turn away their eyes from this sight, to behold 
Joseph and Mary and all his relatives, thus interposing a veil to shut 
out the clearest light. You see, it's easier for them 
to write him off. It's easier for them to marginalize 
him. It's easier for them to say, 
he's a simple man from simple beginnings. We're not going to 
listen to what he has to say. We're not going to give heed 
to his wisdom and his mighty works, powerful as it may be, 
and as wondrous a display of glory as it may manifest. We 
don't want anything to do with this. And again, They return 
to that question of authority. The very end of verse 56. Where 
then did this man get all these things? And as I've already said, 
those who've been working their way through Matthew's gospel 
can't help but fear that there's something of a Matthew 12, 24 
scenario going on here. It's from Beelzebub. It's from 
the devil. It's from Satan. Because you 
see, as good Jews, if they admit that it's of God, then they should 
do what Christ says. It displays for us that principle 
in Matthew 12.30 as well. He who is not with me is against 
me. Whether they be the closest kin, 
whether they be my own countrymen, whether they be this evil and 
adulterous generation, represented by the Pharisaic religion itself, 
he who is not with me is against me. He who does not gather with 
me scatters And again, every one of us needs to reckon with 
that thought. We need to take in that reality. 
And you need to ask yourselves this morning, am I with Christ? Am I in Him? Can I say what the 
Apostle Paul in Philippians chapter 3, and be found in Him? Not having my own righteousness 
which is from the law, but that righteousness which is from God 
through faith in Christ. And then boasting, not in himself, 
but in his privilege, the apostle says, that I may know him. This was a religious man. This 
was a pious man who counted all that stuff as dung and rubbish 
and worthy for the dogs. And now he says, I have Christ. I have Jesus. I have everything. Where are you at this morning? 
Is Christ everything? Most of the faces here, I see 
every Lord's Day, every Sunday. Most of the children and the 
young people, every Lord's Day and every Sunday, and I have 
good suspicion that in the home, family worship is being conducted. 
Have you closed with Him? Have you believed on Him? Do 
not forget where this passage is located. It comes on the heels 
of the explanation of the parable of the tares and the parable 
of the dragnet. The stakes are high. It is crucial. What you do with Christ is everything. Where you go tomorrow and what 
you study in school, those are important to be sure. But what 
thinking of Christ is everything. Jesus will hone in on the disciples 
in Matthew 16. He'll say, who do men say that 
I, the Son of Man, am? And they give some reports about 
the common parlance in the day. But then He brings it to bear. 
He says, who do you say that I am? You see, the issue this 
morning isn't what's happening among the Muslim community, what's 
happening among the Roman Catholic community, what's happening among 
the atheistic community, what's happening among this particular 
community. Are you with Christ or against 
Him? That's it. Those are the two 
places. Doesn't matter if you're a Pharisee, 
mad at Jesus because He healed a man with a withered hand on 
the Sabbath day. Look how foolish unbelief is. They get upset because Jesus 
healed a man with a withered hand. Talk about petty, wretched, 
wicked men. Or, it's people in Nazareth. 
that had seen this man grow up, they marvel at the wisdom that 
he has, they marvel at the mighty works that he has, but they will 
not receive his teaching and quite possibly ascribe this to 
the devil himself. Notice what it says at the end 
of verse 57. So they were offended at him. Notice in Matthew 11 at verse 
6, Jesus pronounces a beatitude, and blessed is he who is not 
offended because of me. Chapter 13, verse 21, Yet he 
has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation 
or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. It's the same word. He's offended 
when hardships come and difficulties deliver themselves at his doorstep. 
Christ is no longer a worthy Lord and Master. He might say 
something like, Jesus, what's a bad thing like this happening 
to such a nice guy like me? If you can't snap your fingers 
and deliver me from all evil and from all turmoil and from 
all trial, well, then I'm going to be offended with you and not 
follow you. That's the point there in the soil. Unfortunately, 
this is being preached as gospel. Jesus is always there to snap 
His fingers and deliver you from every trial and every woe. Jesus 
is always there to deliver you from the least amount of opposition 
and persecution. Jesus is your servant that functions 
at your bidding, and His only task day and night is to sit 
by that phone, and when you call out on prayer, to come and vindicate 
and deliver you. If that is your conception of 
the Christian life, you have not read your Bible. There are 
times when we go through trials, and tribulations, and difficulties, 
and pressure, and hardship, and loss, and deprivation, and suffering 
because He's sovereign and He wants us to be conformed to His 
image. Why are we short-changing the 
gospel in our day? There's more to life than health, 
wealth, and prosperity. As I've said before, in our studies 
in these parables, there's more to life than copulating. There's more to life than eating. 
There's more to life than working. There's more to life than you. 
You were created to reflect the glory of God Most High. You are 
an image-bearer. Even in our personal salvation, 
there are things much larger and much grander in view. We 
looked at this passage yesterday in Ephesians chapter 3. Why does 
God pour grace upon the church? So that the church will function 
as a trophy case. So that the principalities and 
powers who might be looking down right now upon this wretched 
group of hell-deserving people are going to say, praise God 
that they're going to heaven. Remember the analogy yesterday? 
You don't walk into your friend's house and see his trophy on the 
wall or trophy on the shelf for bowling and praise the trophy. Boy, you're a great trophy. No, 
you praise your friend because he's a great bowler. You see 
your function in the life and context of the church? I don't 
want to go to church. Why not? The principalities and 
the powers look down upon you like you're a trophy case. And 
they return glory and praise to God. You see, I read recently 
a criticism of church as we know it, church as we tend to function, 
that it's all about one man standing up there and just giving his 
thoughts on a particular thing. If that's your conception of 
the church, you're wrong. The church gathered corporately 
is a manifestation to the principalities and powers of the glory of God 
Most High in the salvation of wretched sinners. Isn't it wonderful 
that one of those principalities and powers sees you? They say, 
wow, God, you are gracious. Wow, God, you are amazing. Wow, God, you are marvelous, 
because I used to see that guy doing X, Y, and Z. I always speculate, 
and I don't have Bible verse for this, so don't quote me. 
You might still. Pastor Butler said this. I'll 
be on a blog somewhere, my face. When we get to heaven and we 
start bumping shoulders with other inhabitants, I suspect 
there's going to be a few that say, you're here? And what do 
we say in return? Jesus paid it all. It's about Christ. It's about 
blood. It's about atonement. It's about 
the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and then 
takes that righteous robe and puts it upon us. Filthy little 
whores, as Luther calls us. It's the great exchange. Our 
sin heaped upon the Savior. Punishment. His righteousness 
heaped upon the sinner. Grace. That's why we are in heaven. They're offended. They're offended 
by Christ. Interesting word. Same idea. Scandal. This is what Paul quotes. 
Paul uses the same word. 1 Corinthians 1, 22 and 23. Remember 
the statement in 21. For since in the wisdom of God, 
the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God 
through what? Through the foolishness of the 
message preached to save those who believe. He then highlights 
the purpose for Christ. We don't preach Christ as a hippie. 
We don't preach Christ as a revolutionary. We don't preach Christ as one 
who only lives to deliver you from your earthly woes. We preach 
Christ crucified. To the Jews, an offense. A stumbling block. A scandal. A crucified Messiah to a Jew? Are you crazy? The opposition 
was fully against Him. This is what it says in Nazareth. So they were offended at him. Davies and Allison say, following 
the preceding parables, the parables of the kingdom, verses 53 to 
58 illustrates that the failure to understand, remember that's 
the point in the soils, Pastor Porter mentioned that from Ephesians 
chapter 1. Knowledge, understanding, mind. 
Now, don't get us wrong. That doesn't mean you've got 
to go to seminary. It doesn't mean you've got to have a PhD. 
It doesn't mean you've got to have an MDiv. It doesn't matter 
if you have an associate's degree. The point is, the law of the 
Lord makes wise the simple. What's the complaint about the 
apostles? They were untrained men, but 
they had spent time with Jesus. The knowledge that we advocate, 
the intellectual pursuit that we are prescribing, is not reading 
the largest tome on justification that's been recently published. 
Read your Bibles. The law of the Lord makes wise 
the simple. Isn't that an encouragement to 
you? Does that make you happy? What does the psalmist say elsewhere 
in Psalm 119? Your precepts, your ordinances, 
your statutes, your wisdom has made me wiser than all my teachers. 
I dare say one of the children in our church that can say creation 
or God's work of creation is making all things out of nothing 
by the word of his power in the space of six days and all very 
good. That little child is far wiser than the God-hating atheistic 
PhD that's teaching evolutionary thought. Who's wise in that equation? It's the four-year-old that lists 
the doctrine of creation. 13, 53 to 58 illustrates that the failure 
to understand leads not to indifference, but to hostility. Those who do 
not grasp the secrets of the kingdom of heaven necessarily 
find Jesus offensive. It's not indifference that you 
find in Nazareth. They're not a just, well, we 
don't want to follow you, or we just don't like you. They're 
offended by Christ. And if Luke 4 is the same particular 
situation, they want to kill Him, and destroy Him, and remove 
the offending party from their midst. That's what happens to 
you the longer you go in unbelief. I think I shared with you all 
one time, when we were younger and the kids were younger, we 
had family devotions and we were going through the book of Exodus. 
And to illustrate Pharaoh's hardened heart, we took a piece of bread 
and we put it on the kitchen counter. And I don't know if 
it was every night, it was probably a few nights, we went and we 
looked at that bread and you know what happened? It got moist 
and savory and good. No. It got harder and harder 
and harder to the point where all you got to do is bash it 
down on the counter and it explodes. That's what happens to you every 
time you come into contact with the evangel, with the gospel, 
with the preaching of truth. Every time you draw the line 
in the sand and say, I resist, I reject, I oppose, I'm going 
to continue in my sin. Don't do that. Believe the gospel. I know there's a lot of conceptions, 
there's a lot of puzzle, there's a lot of issues in a community 
like this, where there is reform doctrine, where there is Calvinism, 
where there is an emphasis on predestination and election. 
You'll hear that emphasis here. We believe in a firm predestination. We believe in a firm double predestination. We believe in a firm election 
unto life and reprobation unto damnation. Do you know what we 
also affirm? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 
and you shall be saved. That's what the Bible says. Now, notice the explanation of 
the situation, verses 57 and 58. We'll close here. Note the 
principle. The saying is Christ's. The saying 
is found in Mark's gospel in the parallel. It's found in Luke's 
gospel. That same narrative, whether it's the exact parallel 
or not. And then it's found also in John 4. What does he say there? He says, a prophet is not without 
honor except in his own country and in his own house. The fact 
that he mentions his own house, as I've said, indicates that 
those in his own house are still in opposition to him. They still 
reject him. They still find offense with 
him. The statement originates with the Lord Jesus Christ, but 
it's kind of one of those obvious maxims, isn't it? Jeremiah the 
prophet was from Anathoth. How did his kinsmen, how did 
his countrymen, how did his folks respond to him? They despised 
him as well. And interestingly enough, note 
what Christ says, a prophet is not without honor. I mentioned 
earlier, for those who were paying attention, that I think Matthew 
has Isaiah in mind specifically here. The Greek translation of 
the Old Testament scriptures use the same word in Isaiah 53, 
3. There it's not translated as 
without honor, it is translated as despised. And I wonder if 
Matthew the evangelist, Matthew the theologian, isn't telling 
us that what the prophet Isaiah wrote of concerning this man 
of sorrows, concerning this one who was acquainted with grief, 
is being fleshed out in his own country among people in his own 
house. In other words, the suffering 
servant is suffering right here in Nazareth. The prophet writes, 
he is despised, here's our word, and rejected by men. A man of 
sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces 
from him. He was despised and we did not 
esteem him. Isn't that commentary on what's 
going on in Nazareth? Isn't that fulfillment? Isn't 
that application of this very principle? He was despised. He didn't have 
honor. Where he should have had honor, humanly speaking. And interestingly enough, note 
what this passage teaches us. Jesus owns his prophetic office. 
We teach that Jesus was a prophet, priest, and king. He affirms 
that very thing. He's a prophet. As well, the 
Lord Jesus is rejected even by those in His own household. Doesn't 
this play in the missionary discourse in Matthew 10, when He's equipping 
His disciples for service? And He talks about division within 
a household. Jesus knew something about this. 
Jesus spoke to this. So the next time you say, you 
don't know what it's like, God, to have an unbelieving mother. 
You don't know what it's like, God, to have an unbelieving sister. You don't know what it's like, 
God, to have an unbelieving wife. Jesus knows precisely what it's 
like. But then as well, I'm just going 
to ask you to project a little bit. This narrative connects 
with what follows in Matthew 14. John is identified as a prophet. What happens to John? He preaches 
the sermon that cost him his head. Is there some foreshadowing 
here? Is this the lot of our prophet 
in Nazareth? Is this what awaits him? They 
have the same message, repent for the kingdom of heaven is 
at hand. They upset the same type of godless leadership. When 
we read and study Matthew 14, verses 1 to 12, we ought to appreciate 
John the Baptist and redemptive history to be sure, but we also 
ought to be thinking concerning our Savior. If this is what they 
do to His servant, if this is what they do to His prophet, 
if this is what they do to the forerunner, by the time we get 
to the passion narratives, we're prepared. When they say, away 
with him, away with him, crucify him, we're ready for it. We understand. There's been mounting tension. 
There's been mounting opposition. There's been varying responses. 
And we see that the leadership, we see that the nation, we see 
that his own hometown despises him and rejects him and forsakes 
him. Notice the implication. Verse 
58, now, he did not do many mighty works there because of their 
unbelief. Some say Matthew softens Mark. Mark says he could not do many 
mighty works there because of their unbelief. Our faith or the lack of it is 
not determinative of the power of Jesus Christ. Our faith or 
the lack thereof is not causal." Again, those health, wealth, 
prosperity fools teach this. He would not or he could not 
because he would not. This is not a sign of the impotence 
of Jesus Christ. Even Mark, who says he could 
not, nevertheless tells us that he did lay his hands on a few 
people and heal them. It's not causal. It's not the 
condition. You pour in faith, you get out 
the miracle. You put in the quarter, pull 
down the arm, and out comes the money. God's not a mercenary. God's not a bartering chip. The 
transactions we affect with Him are not formulaic. It's not according 
to an algorithm. Well, I put in so much faith, 
Lord, where's my healing? I put in so much faith, Lord, 
where's my bank account increase? He could not because He would 
not, not because He's impotent, but because He's righteous. This 
is a mark of his justice. It is a mark of his judgment. 
The reality is that he does not pander to and cater to unbelief 
and jump through hoops as if to try and garner their support. 
Christ is sovereign in His entirety. Christ is in absolute control 
of the situation. It is not a mark of impotence, 
but rather it is a mark of omnipotence, and He is withholding these things 
from men who reject, men who find Him offensive, men who find 
Him scandalous. You see, He's not going to come 
and just give you things so that you'll be His friend. Not like 
us. I always used to say to my kids, 
here's something. Do I get credit? Don't you love me now? I was 
joking. I think I was joking. I'm pretty insecure, so maybe 
I wasn't. Josh is over there going, I don't know. He's pretty 
insecure. Now will you love me for today, 
please? I gave you this cookie. That's 
not our God. He's not affected by us. It's 
not emotional turmoil in God. He doesn't have, you know, fingers 
and thumbs that look like mine. He's not chewing them up to the 
elbow. That's not our God. He's impassable. He's immutable. 
He's in absolute control. So when it says that He did not 
do many mighty works there because of their unbelief, don't be a 
health, wealth, prosperity guy and say, well, I need to have 
belief so that God will give me the things that I want. That's 
not the teaching of the text. The teaching of the text is that 
Nazareth rejected him, and that he in turn is rejecting them. Well, what do we learn from this? First, the opposition to Christ 
during his ministry. We cannot forget the redemptive 
historical setting that we find ourselves in. The religious leaders 
are opposed to Christ. As we have seen, the generation 
is described by Jesus as evil and adulterous. We see what happens 
in the academy, what happens among the Pharisees, what happens 
among the nation, does not find its way into the hearts and lives 
of the men and women in Nazareth. little place that was insignificant. In fact, it was sort of a diss. Remember when the disciples said, 
can anything good come out of Nazareth? You expect me to believe 
on this one? He comes from Nazareth. No one 
comes from Nazareth. Nobody of any significance or 
import. So you see that the opposition 
to Christ is pandemic. Davies and Allison word. Again, 
I think this is a very important quote. He says, or they say, 
Jesus is rejected in the north as well as the south, in his 
hometown as well as in the capital. Thus there is no safe haven, 
no sacred space uncontaminated by hostility. There is no one 
group of people that will as a unit embrace Jesus. Opposition is truly pandemic. It's widespread. It's whole-souled. It's massive. Second application, 
the opposition to Christ today. What does the parable, or the 
statement rather, the saying, the maxim of verse 57 indicate? A prophet is not without honor 
except in his own country and in his own house. Maybe it's 
because it's too long and too hard to commit to memory. We 
have narrowed it down to three words. Familiarity breeds contempt. Right? Familiarity breeds contempt. You may have heard that family 
visiting are like fish. They're good for about three 
days and then they smell. Familiarity breeds contempt. 
Isn't that what they're expressing here? Is this not the carpenter's 
son? Is this not Mary as his mother? This is the brother of these 
men, the brother of these sisters. Familiarity with holy things 
breeds contempt. This is a scary situation for 
people that live in a Bible-saturated world. We're not in Timbuktu. I would imagine that everybody 
in here has at least two Bibles in their home. Everybody in here 
has an iPhone or whatever and has an app that has every Bible 
version you could get. You have the Bible in Swahili 
on your phone today. Familiarity breeds contempt. We're so used to it. We've heard 
it so much. We go every Sunday. Some of us 
go twice. Our parents read scripture to 
us every night. They tell us about Jesus all 
the time. What happens? Familiarity breeds 
contempt. A prophet is not without honor 
except in his own country, except in his own house. Listen to Ryle. He says, let us see in this history 
a melancholy page of human nature unfolded to our view. We are 
all apt to despise mercies if we are accustomed to that. So one of the things that concerns 
me, when we're not thrilled by the Bible, When we just run through 
the passion narrative, not you messed up people, me. How can 
we read some of these things and not be affected? Familiarity 
breeds content. He says, we are all apt to despise 
mercies if we are accustomed to them and have them cheap. 
The Bibles and religious books, which are so plentiful in England, 
the means of grace, which we have so abundant to supply, the 
preaching of the gospel, which we hear every week, all are liable 
to be undervalued. He says, it is mournfully true 
that in religion, more than in anything else, familiarity breeds 
contempt. Men forget that truth is truth, 
however old and hackneyed it may sound, and despise it because 
it is old. And this is the statement I think 
we need to reckon with. Alas! By so doing, they provoke 
God to take it away. Perhaps you've read Ian Murray's 
Puritan Hope. He gives the account of a famous 
preacher. And in the preaching, this man 
personifies God to the people. And he says, on behalf of God, 
because you've despised my word, because you've treated it lightly, 
because you don't read it, because you don't attend to the preaching 
of it, because you have no regard, I'm giving the paraphrase, I 
am going to take my word from you. The Puritan pastor then 
personifies the people to God. He says, Lord, Do not take your 
word. We're sorry. We repent. We have 
esteemed it lightly. We have regarded it little. He 
goes on, on behalf of the people, and says, take our houses, take 
our children, but take not thy word. That's what we need to embrace. 
I'm not saying go home today and pray, God, kill my kids so 
I have more of a desire for the Scripture. Don't be foolish. But does familiarity breed contempt? Oh, we've heard it all before. 
I find this with gospel preaching. I've heard there's churches that 
don't preach the gospel. We're not talking about the health, 
wealth, and prosperity guys that are telling you how to get rich. 
We're talking about evangelical and Reformed churches. Why isn't 
the gospel being preached? Oh, because they're already believers. 
I'm a believer, and I need the gospel all the time. I don't 
think I'm unique. I don't think I'm an odd duck. I'm sure that all of you, as 
believers, love to hear the gospel. Don't you? Don't let familiarity 
breed contempt. Oh, we're going to listen to 
that theme again? Now, that's not to let lazy preachers off 
the hook. You got a preacher that's a one-note 
Johnny and all he ever does is say the very same thing over 
and over and over again. It's not necessarily the mark 
of impiety and ungodliness and wretchedness and disgusting whatever 
to say, you know brother, maybe you could go to John's Gospel 
next time. I love you and that would just 
be a good thing. There's nothing wrong with that. But beware of 
letting familiarity with holy things breed contempt in your 
heart. Don't we act like that sometimes? Somebody comes to 
us, a wife, a husband, somebody faithful says, you know, brother, 
I've noticed this. Well, I already know that. Wow! Why don't you just stab them? 
Because they're doing something that's very difficult and instead 
of receiving it with humility and with grace the way you ought 
to, you already know it. Well, then why aren't you doing 
what you're supposed to do? Brethren, we need to receive 
often the Word of God. You know that repetition is a 
tool employed in the Scripture? Why is that? Because these are 
thick. These are cold. What's the point 
in Psalm 136? The mercy of the Lord endures 
forever. What do you think the psalmist 
wants you to get? The mercy of the Lord endures forever. Why 
do we think that? Because he keeps saying, the 
mercy of the Lord endures forever. How many times in the New Testament 
epistles are husbands told to love their wives as Christ loved 
the church? How many times are wives told to submit to their 
own husbands? You know what the response is not supposed to be? 
An eye-rolling, well I already know that, but God help me to 
appropriate it, help me to do what I'm supposed to do and quit 
being a fool. And then note the characteristics of a sinful opposition 
to Christ. I've said there may be an initial 
rather astonishment or at least a curiosity at his wisdom and 
works. This is interesting. Tell me 
more. Then there is a suspicion about 
his person and work. Then there is a critical spirit 
about his person and work. Then there is an excuse-making 
as to why I don't need his person and work. And then there's this 
full-scale opposition that vents itself as if we could say, or 
if it was the case that he was in our midst, we'd throw him 
off a hill as well. Stop. Come to Christ. Believe the gospel. Look and 
live. You need to remember, this is 
the underlying problem in Nazareth. He did not do many mighty works 
there because of what? Because of their unbelief. Don't 
forget the parable of the tares. Don't forget the parable of the 
dragnet. What happens to unbelief? What happens to bad fish? What 
happens to tares? They're cast into the furnace 
of fire, where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 
What's Matthew telling us? The people that knew him intimately, 
the people that watched him grow up, the people that saw him carpenter, 
the people that saw him with Mother Mary, the people that 
saw him with his brothers and sisters are going to be cast 
into the furnace of fire where there is wailing and gnashing 
of teeth. That's it. That's the point. Lay down your 
resistance. Lay down your arms. Lay down 
your weapons. Wave the white flag. Come to 
the Lord Jesus Christ. Learn from the people of Nazareth 
that resistance is futile. that Christ will deal justly 
and righteously on that day of judgment, casting people into 
the furnace of fire. Praise God that now is a day 
of grace and mercy, and as Paul says, today is the day of salvation. Believe on Him and you will be 
saved. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in Heaven, we thank you and we praise you for the clarity of 
Holy Scripture. We praise you for the clarity 
of your grace and your mercy in our hearts and lives. Thank 
you for giving us eyes to see this prophet, priest, and king. 
Thank you, Father, for giving us the graces of faith and repentance 
to come to Christ. God, our heart's desire is that 
wherever this Gospel is preached today, that word would run swiftly 
and be glorified, and that a multitude would turn from their idols to 
the true and living God. We don't appeal to the multitude. 
We don't appeal to wisdom. We don't appeal to good works. We appeal to a sovereign God 
who's able to make men willing in the day of His power. Do this 
for your glory. Do this for your honor. Do this 
for the coming of the kingdom and the exaltation of the King 
Himself. And we pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen.