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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Matthew chapter 9. Matthew 9, I'll read verses 1 
to 17. Our focus this morning will be 
verses 14 to 17. beginning in chapter nine at 
verse one. So he got into a boat, crossed over and came to his 
own city. Then behold, they brought to 
him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he 
said to the paralytic, son, be of good cheer. Your sins are 
forgiven you. And at once some of the scribes 
said within themselves, this man blasphemes. But Jesus, knowing 
their thoughts, said, why do you think evil in your hearts? 
For which is easier, to say your sins are forgiven you, or to 
say, arise and walk? But that you may know that the 
Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. Then he said 
to the paralytic, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house. 
And he arose and departed to his house. Now when the multitude 
saw it, they marveled and glorified God who had given such power 
to men. As Jesus passed on from there, 
he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And he said 
to him, follow me. So he rose and followed him. 
Now it happened as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that 
behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with 
him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, 
they said to his disciples, Why does your teacher eat with tax 
collectors and sinners? When Jesus heard that, he said 
to them, those who are well have no need of a physician, but those 
who are sick. But go and learn what this means. 
I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I did not come to call the 
righteous, but sinners to repentance. Then the disciples of John came 
to him saying, why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but 
your disciples do not fast? And Jesus said to them, can the 
friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is 
with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will 
be taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one puts 
a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch 
pulls away from the garment and the tear is made worse. Nor do 
they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, 
the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined, but they 
put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved. Amen. Let us pray. Our gracious God 
and our Holy Father, we thank you for the scriptures. We know 
that in the proclamation of your truth, you are glorified, and 
we pray that that would be the case this morning. We ask as 
well, Father, that you would be pleased to save sinners. I 
pray for those, God, who are outside of Christ. I pray that 
you would send your spirit to break their hearts, to show them 
their sin, and to show them this one that is altogether lovely 
and chief among 10,000. We ask as well, God, that you 
would sanctify your people, that you would strengthen each and 
every one here with might in the inner man, that your spirit 
may dwell in our hearts through faith and that Christ may be 
all the more glorious and all the more beautiful to us each 
and every day. And may we be marked with joy. 
May we be marked with joy that is consistent with being a son 
of the bridegroom. And God, we pray now that you 
would forgive us for all of our sins and all of our transgressions. 
We pray that you would wash us that you would purify us, that 
you would cleanse us, and that you would help us to happily 
and joyfully receive your word. May it have its effect in each 
one of our hearts, and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen. Well, as we have had cause to 
reflect, we find ourselves in the larger context beginning 
in chapter 8 at verse 1, which continues to chapter 9, verse 
34, where we have a display of the authority or the power of 
Jesus Christ in his actions and in his deeds. Along the way, 
we have found several lessons, or a few lessons, rather, on 
discipleship. And that's the context where 
we're at this morning. We saw, with reference to discipleship, 
in the calling of Matthew. Jesus says to him, follow me. So Matthew arose and followed 
him. There was joy, there was thanksgiving, 
there was happiness. And what we find there is a great 
example or pattern for what the sinner who comes to Christ ought 
to exhibit. So that's something about discipleship. 
But then in the next section that we're dealing with this 
morning, this question concerning fasting really does reveal something 
about discipleship in the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. Verses 
14 to 17. And there's two broad points 
that I want to consider this morning. First, the question 
concerning fasting in verse 14. And then the answer concerning 
discipleship in verses 15 to 17. Now I should tell you that 
I don't believe that this passage is in the Bible to teach us what 
our practice with reference to fasting ought to be. In other 
words, when we close the sermon this morning or when we look 
to make application, I'm not going to teach you on how often 
you should fast. That's not the point of the passage. That is incidental to the truth 
that Matthew is conspicuously setting before us over and over 
again. Namely that Christ is glorious, 
Christ is almighty, Christ is the one that we ought to focus 
our attention on. That's the point of the passage. 
I'll say that right at the outset. But notice first the question 
concerning fasting in verse 14. There is a third group of people 
that now come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Already in Matthew chapter 
9, we saw the scribes saying among themselves in the first 
part of the chapter, Who does this man think he is? Only God 
alone has the authority to forgive sin. So it's the scribes that 
are sort of the complainers or the complainants in that first 
section. And then when Matthew throws 
this great feast and he invites tax collectors and sinners, now 
we have the Pharisees grumbling. And the Pharisees specifically 
ask the disciples of our Lord, why does your master sit with 
tax collectors and sinners? Now there's this third group. 
They are called the disciples of John. These are the disciples 
of John the Baptist. We ought to applaud them that 
they have the courage, they have the guts, they have the wherewithal 
to speak directly to the Lord Jesus. They're not like these 
scribes who talk among themselves. They're not like these Pharisees 
who ask the disciples and use that as a foil to complain about 
the Lord Jesus. At least these disciples of John 
the Baptist come to him to ask their particular question. Now, 
in Luke's account, he has the Pharisees ask the question. In 
Mark's account, he has both the Pharisees and John the Baptist 
asking the question. Again, no contradiction, the 
same truth from various angles. Perhaps Matthew does want us 
to see that Jesus is facing each group one by one with reference 
to their confrontation of him. The disciples of John the Baptist 
seem to be a bit critical of Jesus in this instance. Their 
master, or their leader rather, John the Baptist, is in prison, 
according to Matthew chapter 4 and verse 12. And we note there 
is a contrast or a marked difference between Jesus' disciples and 
John the Baptist's disciples. How do we know that? Well, John 
was an ascetic. What was John's diet? Locusts, 
right? What's Jesus' diet? Matthew gives 
him this great feast. No doubt they're enjoying good 
food. John's disciples no doubt engaged 
in an ascetic lifestyle, like their leader. They, on the occasion 
of this great feast at Matthew's house, begin to scratch their 
heads and they begin to wonder what the difference is. They 
say to the Lord Jesus, we, the disciples of John and the Pharisees, 
we fast often. But your disciples, they don't 
fast. This is going to come up again 
later in chapter 11, where there's this contrast between the Lord 
Jesus and John the Baptist. Remember, Jesus says that the 
Baptist John came neither eating and drinking, and what did you 
say about it? You said he has a demon. The Son of Man comes, 
He eats and He drinks, and what's your complaint about Him? He's 
a wine-dibber and a glutton. You see, you can't win with the 
religious ilk. You can't win with the religious 
leadership. If you don't eat, you've got 
a demon. If you do eat, you're a glutton. And that's Jesus' 
point when He indicts them for that instance. But John was given 
to this sort of spartan or austere manner of life. And that promotes 
in the disciples of John the desire to understand why. Now when they asked the question, 
why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do 
not fast? I don't think we're to imply 
at all. In other words, the Old Testament 
commanded certain fasts. Jesus himself fasted when he 
went into the wilderness. With reference to those Old Testament 
fasts, no doubt Jesus and his disciples obeyed the law with 
reference to that issue. They're talking about the Pharisaic 
routine. They're talking about the disciples 
of John's routine. In fact, an early Christian document 
written in about 110 A.D. concerning fasting for the people 
of God. It says, do not let your fasts 
coincide with those of the hypocrites. They fast on Monday and Thursday, 
so you must fast on Wednesday and Friday. They're talking about 
that routine, they're talking about that sort of an approach 
to the things of God that have fallen into tradition. Remember that man, that Pharisee 
in the parable in Luke 18, he prayed and he thanked the Lord 
that he was not like other men. And one of the things that he 
says in terms of his ability, in terms of his goodness, he 
says, I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I possess. So you see, the occasion of the 
question isn't that they don't fast in obedience to the law. 
But there's a marked difference between the disciples of the 
Lord Jesus and those of the Pharisees, the disciples of the Lord Jesus 
and those of John the Baptist. That is the occasion of this 
particular question. I hope you're all tracking because 
the answer that Jesus gives is really wonderful. Let's move 
to that. Secondly, the answer concerning 
discipleship. And he does this in two ways. 
First, He gives an instance where he talks to them about the presence 
of the bridegroom, and then he gives a parable to illustrate. 
In other words, verse 15 is what you need to understand. 16 and 
17 illustrate whatever it is he's teaching there in verse 
15. But let's focus now on verse 
15. Can the friends of the bridegroom 
mourn? It's an interesting choice of 
words, isn't it? They ask him about fasting. In 
Mark and Luke, he speaks of fasting. Matthew wants us to understand 
something about the morning involved. Probably a foreshadow to what 
Jesus is going to say. There is a day coming when the 
Son of Man will be taken away from you. What is fasting? It is a time to express sorrow 
of soul. And in Matthew's account, the 
Lord Jesus says specifically, can the friends of the bridegroom 
mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? This is an obvious 
metaphor. What is the answer? The answer, 
of course, is no. Can they? The language is literally, 
the sons of the bridal chamber. What we have here is a good idiomatic 
rendition. The friends of the bridegroom. I've noticed as I've attended 
several weddings in my life, one of the things that marks 
the reception period. It isn't mourning. It isn't fasting. It isn't grieving. It isn't crying. When the bridegroom and the bride 
make their rounds, so to speak, they stop at each of the tables 
at the reception. How do you think that bridegroom 
and that bride would feel if they saw you weeping and mourning 
and lamenting? You are agonizing, you are in 
deep distress, you look like you missed the wrong door, or 
you missed the door. You should have went to funeral 
hall, not to wedding hall. You see, this is an obvious metaphor, 
and Jesus wants you to get it. The question falls upon this 
whole issue. Why are your disciples so happy? Why are your disciples so joyful? Why does Levi or Matthew give 
you a great feast, and these tax collectors and sinners come, 
and they sit down with you, and from outside we hear the shouts, 
and we hear the joy, and we hear the celebration, and we hear 
the delight? You see, the disciples of John 
the Baptist come, and they say, what gives? What's different? What's unique? What is the occasion? Why is this going on? Please 
instruct us about this marked difference. So the first element 
that Jesus highlights is this obvious metaphor. Can the friends 
of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? 
No! In a setting like this, the traditional 
wedding feast lasted seven days. Now mark what I just said, it's 
a wedding feast. You don't go to a feast to fast, 
you don't go to a feast to weep, you don't go to a feast to be 
miserable, right? Get it? Now notice, secondly, 
with reference to the presence of the bridegroom, we have an 
obvious metaphor, but we have some Old Testament background 
as well. When Jesus makes this statement 
concerning the bridegroom, remember that he's speaking to people 
who understood the Old Testament. Kind of an interesting thing 
in God's providence. I didn't tell Pastor Cam, you 
ought to read that section in Song of Solomon. He couldn't 
have read a more fitting and more appropriate section to introduce 
worship this morning. You see, when Jesus gives this 
obvious metaphor, there is some Old Testament background that 
these men would have been thinking in terms of. We have texts like 
Isaiah 54 verses 5 and 6. For your maker is your husband, 
the Lord of hosts is his name, and your Redeemer is the Holy 
One of Israel. He is called the God of the whole 
earth. For the Lord has called you like a woman forsaken and 
grieved in spirit, like a youthful wife when you were refused, says 
your God. See, Jesus knows the Old Testament. Jesus knows the disciples of 
John the Baptist knows the Old Testament. It isn't random that 
he selects this obvious metaphor. Certainly, it answers the question, 
why do your disciples rejoice in your presence? Because if 
you go to a wedding feast, you rejoice when you're around the 
bridegroom. But there is backdrop. There's scripture, there's illusion, 
there's fulfillment, there's reality, there's messianic kingdom, 
there's the dawn of a new era. That's what the Messiah is highlighting. Isaiah 62, 4 and 5, you shall 
no longer be termed forsaken, nor shall your land anymore be 
termed desolate. But you shall be called Hephzibah, 
my delight is in her. And your land, Beulah, which 
means married. For the Lord delights in you, 
and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a 
virgin, so shall your sons marry you. And as the bridegroom rejoices 
over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. You see, 
these men would have known these passages. They would have known 
Hosea 2, 16 to 20, especially verses 19 and 20. I will betroth 
you to me forever. Yes, I will betroth you to me 
in righteousness and justice, in loving kindness and mercy. 
I will betroth you to me in faithfulness and you shall know the Lord. 
They would have known Zechariah the prophet, which incidentally 
in chapter 8, The whole argument hinges on a question concerning 
fasting. Here's what the prophet records 
concerning the messianic kingdom, concerning the arrival of the 
Messiah, concerning the time prophesied. about the Lord Jesus. Zechariah 8.18, Then the word 
of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, Thus says the Lord 
of hosts, The fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth 
month, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth shall 
be joy, and gladness, and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah. 
Therefore love truth and peace. You see, Jesus' disciples or 
Jesus' opponents, or in this instance, these critics, would 
have understand this backdrop. They would have got the obvious 
metaphor. And what Matthew is revealing 
to us in verse 15 is the glorious truth. Behold, your Messiah has 
arrived. That's what Jesus exhibits here. The Lord Jesus Christ is the 
Messiah. The bridegroom that has come 
to is Israel. The disciples must rejoice! They must rejoice! To try and keep these men down, 
to try to keep these men from feasting, to try to keep these 
men from celebrating would be as foolish as putting a piece 
of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. It would be as foolish as taking 
new wine and pouring it into an old wineskin. These guys must 
celebrate. They must rejoice. They're in 
the presence of the bridegroom. The Lord Jesus used a metaphor 
in verse 15 that the disciples of John the Baptist should have 
got. Not just the Old Testament allusions, 
not just the Old Testament background, but from what their leader himself 
testified concerning the Lord Jesus. In John 3, 27-30, the 
Baptist is being questioned as to whether or not he is Messiah. 
He said, John answered. We read, John answered and said, 
A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from 
heaven. You yourselves bear me witness that I said, I am not 
the Christ, but I have been sent before him. He who has the bride 
is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom. This is John 
the Baptist. The disciples of John the Baptist 
should be tracking now. They should be picking this up. 
He says, but he who has the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend 
of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly 
because of the bridegroom's voice. That's what made John the Baptist 
happy, to hear the voice of the Savior, to see the Son of God, 
to see the Lamb of God, to behold with his eyes that one who would 
take away the sin of the world. And then the Baptist makes this 
declaration that I think runs through Matthew's gospel. Therefore, 
he says, this joy of mine is fulfilled. And he says, he must 
increase, but I must decrease. You see, that's what Jesus is 
saying in answer to this question, why do we in the Pharisees fast 
often and your disciples do not fast? Because they're in the 
presence of the bridegroom. Because they are in the presence 
of the one prophesied of old. They are in the midst of Solomon's 
bridegroom. In fact, Spurgeon refers to it 
this way. Our Lord is that bridegroom of 
whom Solomon sang in the Song of Songs, and we who enjoy his 
fellowship are one with him in his joy. This will be carried 
on in Matthew's gospel in Matthew 22. What's the supper? The great 
supper where a man needs to be clothed in a particular garment. 
It's a wedding feast given by the father for his son. We see 
the parable of the of the of the virgins. We've got five wise 
and five foolish. Who are they preparing for? The 
bridegroom. What does Paul say in 2 Corinthians 
chapter 11? I want to betroth you to who? 
To Christ, the bridegroom. In Ephesians 5, when the apostle 
is telling husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the 
church and gave himself for her. When he tells the church, be 
submissive to your own husbands. Be submissive to your own husbands 
the way the church is submissive to her Lord. What's the image 
that is being employed there? The bridegroom has come. We get 
to the marriage supper of the Lamb in Revelation chapter 19 
verses 7 and 9. What do we see? We see the bridegroom 
in his glory. That's the answer to this particular 
question. Knox Chamberlain describes it 
this way. He says a wedding reception calls 
for celebration, not mourning. It calls for feasting, not fasting. He says for wine, not for water. He says just so the dawn of God's 
final rule and the arrival of his Messiah is good news. Tidings 
meant to evoke shouts of praise and songs of joy. That's the 
answer. Why do we and the disciples, 
or why do we rather, and the Pharisees fast often, but your 
disciples do not? He said, you would be better 
off trying to silence a child in a candy store. Or as I've heard before, a heavy 
child with a bag of Smarties. He's heavy! He's joyful. He's delighted. You don't go to a wedding to 
mourn. If you do, stop. Call it off. If it's agonizing, 
if you think you should have walked in the funeral pyre, get 
out. The metaphor turns on this whole 
instance of joy in the presence of the prophesied King. Joy in 
the presence of Messiah of Israel. Joy in the presence of the Messianic 
age. This is what Matthew wants. This 
is what he's conveying. This is what our Savior wants 
you to understand. If you want the short answer, 
yes, fasting has a place in the Christian life currently. You 
can ask me about that later. That's not the point of the passage. The point of the passage is to 
say, it's real. The bridegroom is here. How can 
you but rejoice? How can you but celebrate? How 
can you but feast and delight in his presence? That's the emphasis. There's an obvious metaphor. 
There's Old Testament background. There's glorious truth. And then 
he refers to this approaching death. This is implicit. The first explicit mention or 
reference to the death of Christ will be found in Matthew 16, 
21, where he tells them that he must go to Jerusalem and he 
must die. What we have here is something 
of a foreshadowing. What we have here is an implicit 
reference. What we have here is a statement 
to the effect that with reference to this time of celebration, 
this time of joy, there will be a bit of a a hiatus, notice 
in verse 15, but the days will come when the bridegroom will 
be taken away from them and then they will fast. One commentator 
suggests that the language taken away means violent, violently, 
aggressively, overtly, which Matthew will explain as we proceed 
in the continuing record of the life and ministry of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. You see the emphasis. You see 
back at the wedding feast. You see back at the reception. 
The husband, the wife, the newlyweds are visiting the tables. They're 
thanking the people for their attendance upon this festive 
time. The people are eating. The people 
are drinking. The people are rejoicing. The 
people are delighting. If armed men came into that place 
with guns and they violently took the bridegroom out, if they 
extracted him from that place, I doubt very seriously that the 
feasting would continue. I doubt that the people would 
continue to eat. They'd go back to the buffet 
table. They'd ask for more wine. That wouldn't happen. If the 
man was violently withdrawn from their presence, then there would 
be mourning. Then there's an occasion for 
fasting. Then there's a time for trial. 
Then there's a time for grief. Then there's a time for the affliction 
of one's soul. So you see, Jesus is answering 
the question. He answers it in this four-pronged 
way. Obvious metaphor, Old Testament 
background, glorious truth, and approaching death. Spurgeon says 
it this way, our Lord is our joy. His presence makes our banquet. His absence is our fast. Black 
and bitter, he says. You see, the presence of the 
Lord calls for joy and feasting. The absence of the Lord calls 
for mourning and fasting. So when these disciples of John 
the Baptist come to our Lord and they say, why is it that 
your disciples simply rejoice, they're feasting, they're delighting, 
they're eating, they're drinking, they're making merry, Jesus says 
it's a no-brainer. It's the way it ought to be. 
The bridegroom is with them. The prophesied Messiah is here. 
The dawn of a new age has come. That's the answer. Now notice, 
he gives two examples. Luke calls it a parable. In Luke 
5.36, he introduces this section with Jesus, or then he spoke 
a parable to them. Incidentally, Luke adds one additional. I believe what we have here in 
verse 15 is a statement concerning the fact that they do not fast. Verses 16 and 17 explain why 
they do not fast. And I gotta tell you, flat out, 
there's a lot of comment on verses 16 and 17. You know, the new wine of the 
gospel era displacing the old wineskin of old covenant religion. Yeah, I'm sure some of that layer 
of meaning is most certainly there. Matthew wants us to reflect 
theologically. But I think what Jesus is saying 
is he's giving us two parables or he's giving us two illustrations 
that are so basic and they're so fundamental that no one really 
could miss it. The first thing that he speaks 
of is this unshrunk cloth. Nobody takes a piece of unshrunk 
cloth and sews it to an old garment. Why? Because when you wash it, 
the new piece will shrink. It will tear away from the old 
piece and it will damage it. Esoteric, difficult, hard. No, it's pretty simple. Jesus 
was a simple preacher. And then he speaks of new wine 
being placed into old wineskins. Again, I don't doubt there's 
a theological level, an idea concerning covenant. But you 
see, the opponents, the opposition, the questioners are not necessarily 
biblically committed to the old covenant. I think we need to be careful 
about setting up too strict of an antithesis between new and 
old. Again, I think it's there, but 
you know, quite frankly, the psalmist, the sweet psalmist 
of Israel, was an Old Covenant member and probably exhibited 
about a thousand more times joy than I've ever exhibited. Moses, that man of God, seemed 
to be a happy sort. Jeremiah, I grant, he was a weeping 
prophet. Did he weep constantly? No, probably 
not. Isaiah, Ezekiel? Now, most certainly, they were 
dispatched to sue the nation for their sin. So we don't get 
them in this time of joyful, you know, celebration. We need 
to be very careful about setting up too strict an antithesis here. I think that the illustrations 
that Jesus uses, yes, we have old versus new, but the incompatibility 
of the two. Nobody puts new wine into an 
old wineskin. Why is that? You don't have to 
be a physicist. You don't have to be a rocket 
scientist. Perhaps you've never heard this. 
Perhaps you've never gotten a little education on this process. But 
with reference to wine, there's a fermentation process. And in 
that fermentation process, what we have is expanding molecules. We have a violent sort of a reaction 
going on. And you see, most of the fermentation 
process was conducted in a vat. But toward the end of the process, 
they'd use an animal skin. They'd use a skin to pour their 
wine in. Now, the old wineskin would be 
dry, and it would be brittle, and it certainly wouldn't be 
fitting to contain that new wine that was still permeating. Now, 
maybe in that respect, the old and brittle does very effectively 
show us Pharisaic religion. They're old, brittle, and crusty. 
They don't know nothing about joy. They wouldn't know joy if 
it popped them in the face. They wouldn't know joy if it 
was standing right before their eyes. Their joy is to stand and 
pray thus with themselves. Thank you, Lord, that I'm not 
like other men. You've got Jesus, the Son of 
God. You've got the incarnation of the Son standing right before 
them, and they're old, crusty, and brittle. But you wouldn't 
put new wine in an old wineskin because it would pop. It would 
burst in. Again, I think the idea here 
is simply this. The messianic kingdom has arrived, 
and the joy of the disciples of the Messiah is perfectly consistent 
with this new reality. The idea of fasting and mourning 
in the presence of the bridegroom is as foolish as putting a piece 
of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. It's as foolish as taking new 
wine and putting it into an old wineskin. new cloths for new 
garments, new wine for new wineskins, and new joy for the arrival of 
God's Messiah. I think France explains the nuance 
the simplest and therefore I think the bestest. He says, two little 
parables pick up the theme of a new and joyful pattern of religion 
which is incompatible with the old traditions represented by 
the fasting regimes of the Pharisees and the followers of John. In 
other words, Jesus is saying, you're old school. Now by that, 
some of the commentators basically take this and say, well now in 
this new wineskin era, we can do whatever we want and worship. 
That's not what the text is telling us. It's not mandating that we 
go bananas. It is strict, it is controlled, 
there's a specific context. Why are your disciples so happy? 
Because the bridegroom's with them. If they weren't happy, 
it would be as foolish as putting this new cloth on old cloth, 
putting new wine in an old wineskin. Two little parables pick up the 
theme of a new and joyful pattern of religion which is incompatible 
with the old traditions represented by the fasting regimes of the 
Pharisees and the followers of John. And again, I grant, I totally 
am down with the theological interpretation. I get the wine. 
of the gospel being poured in. I get all that and I understand 
that, but with reference to this immediate audience, they would 
have probably been thinking the most simple thing. Yeah, you 
wouldn't put unshrunk cloth on an old garment, would you? Not trying to make them sound 
like foolish men, but they would have got the obvious truth. The 
new era has dawned. The Messiah is here. Joy, celebration, 
feasting, and happiness are consistent with that blessed, redemptive 
reality. That's the exposition. of Matthew 
9, 14 to 17. By way of application, I want 
to summarize, first of all, instruction concerning discipleship thus 
far. Instruction concerning discipleship 
thus far. For we have seen that in 8.1 
to 9.34, there are three series of three miracles each. interspersed between those series, 
there is instruction on discipleship. Again, it's not enough to marvel 
at our Lord's power. It's not enough for us to stand 
amazed at His authority. We must believe and we must follow. That's what Matthew wants you 
to get to. So in other words, children, 
Young people, we reflect on the authority of Christ. Yes, say, 
wow, that's powerful, that's amazing, that's awesome, that 
he can speak to the wind, that he can speak to the waves, and 
he can hush them. Yeah, that's amazing to be sure, 
but ask the question of the disciples, what kind of a man is this? Hear 
the answer from the Scripture. He is the Savior. He is the Redeemer. He is God's chosen vessel to 
deliver men from their sin and iniquity and bondage. So you 
hear the wondrous power of the Lord. Close with the Lord. Believe on the Lord. We just 
read a prayer letter in the last hour, and one of the men asked 
for prayer for the young people in their congregation. Now, whether 
I send out prayer letters to ARBCA or to the various churches 
or through pharise.com on a regular basis and say, brethren out there, 
pray for our young people, I guarantee you, I guarantee you, there are 
people in this church that bear that burden on a regular basis. We live in a society, we live 
in an age, we live in a time where there's a lot of competition 
for your soul. There's a lot of allurement, 
there's a lot of entertainment, there's a lot of things out there 
vying for the attention of children. Now I'm not suggesting that we 
as older people, especially one of us, that we as older people 
had none of that. We didn't have it in our pockets 
with a phone that had more memory than the space program had when 
they sent the first rocket ship up. Pretty amazing, isn't it? That temptation, that allurement, 
that entertainment, that solicitation for your soul is everywhere around 
vying for attention. There are people in this congregation, 
we don't meet together, we probably haven't ever expressed it in 
such a way that I'm doing so now, but I bet, or me thinks, 
to use a Spurgeon-ism, me thinks that there are people in this 
congregation that daily, hopefully daily, or at least frequently 
throughout the week, bear the young people on their shoulders 
and carry them up to the throne of grace. And they say, God be 
merciful to them, the sinners. You hear gospel preaching here. 
You don't hear Spurgeon. You hear a lot of quotes. I know 
Mr. Bolt says, don't quote so much. They say it better than 
I do. You don't have an angel standing 
before you. You don't have seraphic wings 
floating around up here. But you're hearing garden variety, 
biblical truth. Jesus came, Jesus lived, Jesus 
died, Jesus rose. Believe and you shall be saved. 
I know and I can stand before God Almighty on that day that 
my hands are clean in that respect. Quit playing games. Did you hear the description 
of our Lord in the song? Did you hear? He is altogether 
lovely. He is chief among ten thousand. He's described such that the 
daughters of Jerusalem say, where is He? That we may find Him too. He is that lovely. He is that 
glorious. He is that wondrous. He is that 
beautiful. Here's what discipleship looks 
like. It doesn't just look like showing 
up, though that's included. Attendance upon the means of 
grace is a mark of grace. You see, some are saying, well, 
you know, I think I believe, but you know, I like all this 
other stuff too. I think I believe, but I like to do all this stuff 
too. Well, let's just thumbnail sketch 
what we've learned of a disciple in chapters 8 and 9. The first 
thing is that the disciple of Jesus, he counts the cost, and 
then he follows, he resolves to follow no matter the cost. 
Wasn't that the instruction in Matthew 8? The foxes have their 
holes, the birds have their nests, the Son of Man has nowhere to 
lay his head. What's the implication? Follow 
me to the cross. Follow me to the death. Follow 
me to whatever it is that I deem fit for your sanctification. 
You see, the disciple follows. The disciple says yes, he counts 
the cost, he says that is certainly worth having. Secondly, the disciple 
follows and does not put Jesus second. We learn that in Matthew 
8, 22. Lord, let me first go and bury 
my father. What's Jesus' response? Let the 
dead bury their own dead. You follow me. You see, the disciple hears that 
and he goes. What's the third thing we've 
learned about discipleship? We've learned that following 
Jesus and the presence of Jesus in one's life does not mean the 
absence of trial. It does not mean the absence 
of distress. It does not mean the absence 
of difficulty. They get onto this boat to cross 
the Sea of Galilee, and all of a sudden, immediately the text 
specifies, this storm comes. We have four seasoned fishermen 
in the boat, men that have braved the Sea of Galilee, men that 
had most assuredly seen storms in their day. But the disciples 
collectively come to the Nazarene carpenter and they say to him, 
Lord, save us, we are perishing. You see, if you think discipleship 
means the absence of difficulty, you're wrong. That's what is perverse, heretical, 
unbiblical, and ungodly about the health, wealth, prosperity, 
Gospel. It's not gospel. You see, the 
good news tells us that we may suffer for our Lord Jesus, but 
he's there with us in the midst of the fire. It's Satan's good 
news to say, you'll never have troubles, you'll never have difficulties. It'll be like living in a 40s 
musical. You'll just bust out in song. 
Bluebirds will come and attend to your every wish. There'll 
be rose petals paving your way. That's garbage. That's false. That is heretical. That is perverse. And that is being propagated 
in the name of Jesus. Discipleship does not mean the 
absence of trial. A fourth thing that we have learned 
in our study thus far concerning discipleship is when we get to 
look at that laboratory, that very specific laboratory that 
is by the seashore in the region of Capernaum. There's a toll 
booth there, there's a tax house there, and there's a man sitting 
there engaged in his job. And when the Son of Man comes 
and says, follow me, what do we read? He followed him. The text is glorious for its 
simplicity. The text is beautiful that it 
doesn't deliberate. Matthew doesn't say, well, you 
know, I got to think through the implications of all, just 
follow Jesus. I know you kids have heard a 
lot about Jesus. I know you young people have 
heard a lot about Jesus. I know you older people have 
heard a lot about Jesus. Quit deliberating. Quit weighing the scales. Let 
me just tell you, the scales for Jesus are much better. Far 
exceeding. That's why the Song of Solomon 
says, he is chief among 10,000. You got him here, you got everything 
else there. Follow. You know, I'm really 
struck. Follow him. I'd love to be more pastorally 
emotive and kind and gracious and gentle, but here's what I 
got. Follow him! That's what Matthew did. Luke 
tells us he left all and he followed him. Matthew doesn't tell us, 
I left all and I followed him. And what do we find in these 
last two sections? The disciple follows joyfully. He hasn't slug it out. Life isn't 
always a black cloud. Life isn't always dark. Life 
is joyful. Matthew gave a great feast. He 
invited a sinful guest list. He said, I want you to contact, 
I want you to hear, I want you to come and see this Messiah, 
this Bridegroom, this Lord, this Savior, this One prophesied in 
the Old Testament. I want you to come. It was a 
time of feasting, a time of joy, a time of happiness, a time of 
delight. I understand, brethren, in the 
midst of the storm, it would be incongruous, in the midst 
of trial, and in the midst of difficulty, to have a big fake 
smile plastered on. But in the midst of the storm, 
and in the midst of the trial, and in the midst of the difficulty, 
there ought to be a smile on the soul always, because Jesus 
Christ is Lord! And He will see us through. And 
that when we say, Yea, though I walk through the valley of 
the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Why? Because thy rod 
and thy staff, they comfort me. I know that in the midst of the 
valley of the shadow of death, my Lord is there. You see, that's 
what discipleship looks like. I'm not just saying, yeah, I 
read my Bible four times in 2011, I must be saved. or I go to church, or I go to 
Sunday school, or I teach Sunday school, or I'm Reformed Baptist. No, the disciple of Christ counts 
the cost and resolves to follow no matter the cost. The disciple 
of Christ does not put Jesus second. The disciple of Christ 
realizes there's trials, there's storms, there's difficulties 
when you're with Jesus. The disciple of Christ follows 
when Jesus says, follow. And the disciple of Christ smiles 
along the way. He's in the presence of the bridegroom. 
He's with Jesus. I know I've shared this before 
and I'm guilty. How you doing? I'm okay. I'm 
alright. My sins are forgiven. No matter 
what happens. The blood has cleansed me. I 
have a righteousness not my own. How can I just be okay? You kids are familiar with Eeyore. 
What's Eeyore do? Christianity is not like that. Again, not fake, not affectation, 
not rehearsed, not put on, but you know, whatever my God ordains 
is right. And I understand that in the 
midst of the trial, in the midst of the storm, in the midst of 
the hardship, in the midst of the difficulty, these two things 
do not change. My sins are forgiven and I've 
been given a righteousness that avails with God. That's what marked the early 
church. How do men get flogged? How do men get scourged? How 
do men get beaten and whipped and then go from the place rejoicing? Acts 5. Why did they rejoice? Were they masochists? Did they 
love the physical pain? Were they weirdos? No, they rejoiced 
because they were counted worthy to suffer shame for Him. We learn as well Up to this point 
in our study in Matthew's Gospel, just in chapters 8 and 9, some 
lessons about Christ. He cleanses lepers, He heals 
a servant, and He heals Peter's mother-in-law in chapter 8, verses 
1 to 15. Yes, he's got the power. Yes, 
he's got the ability. But those three accounts demonstrate 
he's got the will, the mercy, the pity. Remember, the common 
bond in those three persons wasn't just a physical trial. It wasn't 
just a physical challenge. We had a leper who's an outcast. We have a Gentile who's an outcast. We have a woman who is an outcast. And Christ comes to call them 
to himself. Continuing in Matthew chapter 
8 verses 16 and 17, Matthew does what he does often. He pulls 
back the veil over the Old Testament for a moment and says, you remember 
that man that Isaiah spoke of? You remember that man of sorrows, 
the one acquainted with grief? You remember that one who will 
stand as a substitute and bear the wrath and fury of God Most 
High? In Matthew 8, 16 and 17, Matthew says, behold that man. 
Here is Yahweh's servant of the Lord, as revealed by the prophet 
Isaiah. We have seen thirdly concerning 
the glory of Christ. He is sovereign over nature. Let the miracle worker of our 
day go out today and say stop to the rain. without some, you 
know, unique providence. I mean, I'm sure we could go 
out at one point and say, stop, and it would just have happened 
to stop, right? That doesn't mean we have the power over nature. 
But if a man can say to the wind to stop blowing, and then the 
sea becomes calm, it is right and appropriate in his presence 
to say, what kind of a man is this? We have seen one who is 
more powerful over a legion of demons. He casts out a legion into the 
pigs who then descend and go and drown themselves. Christ 
is Lord over the unseen world. He has power on earth to forgive 
sins, as we learn in chapter 9, or at the end of chapter 8. But that you may know that the 
Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. He says to the 
paralytic, arise, take your bed, and go home. What's the point? 
The point isn't to say, wow, everybody who comes to Jesus 
paralyzed gets healed. No, the point is everybody who 
comes paralyzed with sin and believes on Jesus gets healed. That's the miracle in Jesus dealing 
with the paralytic. The reality that the Son of Man 
has power on earth to forgive sins. But you know what's great? 
It doesn't stop there. What else have we learned of 
the glory of Christ? He not only has power on earth to forgive 
sins, but he has power on earth, get this, to forgive really bad 
sinners. I don't know if that's grammatically 
correct. Mr. Harms might correct me later. Really bad sinners. 
really terrible people, really horrible men, tax collectors. They're put on the level with 
harlots. They're put on the level with sinners. They're put on 
the level with the scum of the earth, the riffraff of society. 
And yet the son of man goes by this tax booth and he says, follow 
me. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch 
like me, John Newton wrote. I once was lost, but now I'm 
found, was blind, but now I see. How does Newton end that celebration 
hymn? When we've been there 10,000 
years bright shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing God's 
praise than when we first begun. We're standing in the presence 
of the bridegroom. Jesus, lastly, is greater than 
John the Baptist. Jesus, lastly, is greater than 
the Pharisaic expectation of Messiah. Jesus is the bridegroom 
sent to Israel to save her from her sins. Now I ask you, why 
wouldn't we rejoice in his presence? Why would we be morose and somber 
and sad all the time? Why is it the case that when 
we know this one, this King of Kings and Lord of Lords, it's 
almost like surgery to pull a smile out of our hearts? This is a great Savior. This 
is your God. This is what Matthew wants you 
to get. This is his point. behold Him, believe on Him, come 
to Him, and find mercy and redemption in Him. He is a whole lot better 
than I've even depicted. He's a whole lot better. There's 
more said in the scripture. This skims the surface. Go back 
to the song. Go back to the prophets. Go to 
the New Testament. Look at the descriptions. Understand 
this one, who was delivered up. This is what Paul says. He was 
delivered up because of our offenses. He was raised up because of our 
justification. Behold Him, believe on Him, and 
you shall be saved. Well, let us pray. Our gracious 
God and our Holy Father, we thank you for Jesus. We thank you for 
how Matthew describes him, just like what we find in the Song 
of Solomon. Truly he is altogether lovely, 
and he is chief among ten thousand. And God, my heart's desire and 
my earnest plea with you this morning is that children and 
young people and adults that do not know you would come, they'd 
believe, they would understand the truth as it is in Christ. 
God, we appeal not to them, we do not appeal to their free will, 
we appeal to sovereign grace and to sovereign power and to 
the majesty on high. We know that what is impossible 
with men is possible with you and we pray that today would 
be the day of salvation. That there would be rejoicing 
in heaven, there'd be rejoicing in families, there would ultimately 
be rejoicing in this church. When we witness people being 
publicly identified with the Lord Jesus in the waters of baptism, 
how we praise you and how we thank you that you have dealt 
with us so graciously and mercifully. And God, for all of us who believe, 
increase our faith, increase our joy, cause us to reflect 
upon what we have in the Christian gospel, and may this indeed be 
the encouragement and the balm that we need each and every day. 
And we ask these things through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.