The Compassionate Servant

WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.679 --> 00:00:04.799 If you'd remain standing with me for the reading of God's Word From Matthew, 2 00:00:04.960 --> 00:00:10.630 Chapter Twelve, beginning in Verse Fifteen. Listen, for this is the word 3 00:00:11.070 --> 00:00:17.390 of the Lord, speaking of the Pharisees who are plotting to destroy him. 4 00:00:17.390 --> 00:00:23.579 Verse Fifteen says Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there and many followed 5 00:00:23.620 --> 00:00:27.780 him, and he healed them all and ordered them not to make him known. 6 00:00:29.140 --> 00:00:33.500 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the Prophet Isaiah. Behold my 7 00:00:33.700 --> 00:00:37.490 servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well 8 00:00:37.649 --> 00:00:43.369 pleased. I will put my spirit upon him and he will proclaim justice to 9 00:00:43.490 --> 00:00:48.289 the gentiles. He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear 10 00:00:48.369 --> 00:00:52.439 his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and 11 00:00:52.600 --> 00:00:59.200 a smoldering wick he will not quench until he brings justice to victory, and 12 00:00:59.399 --> 00:01:03.909 in the nate and in his name, the gentiles will hope. Then, 13 00:01:03.950 --> 00:01:07.909 a demon oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him and he 14 00:01:08.030 --> 00:01:12.549 healed him so that the man spoke and saw, and all the people were 15 00:01:12.590 --> 00:01:18.579 amazed and said, can this be the son of David but when the Pharisees 16 00:01:18.620 --> 00:01:22.659 heard it, they said it is only by beelzible, the Prince of Demons, 17 00:01:22.700 --> 00:01:27.659 that this man casts out demons, knowing their thoughts, he said to 18 00:01:27.819 --> 00:01:32.930 them. Ever, free kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no 19 00:01:33.129 --> 00:01:38.170 city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, 20 00:01:38.769 --> 00:01:42.609 he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And 21 00:01:42.849 --> 00:01:48.920 if I cast out demons by Beelzible, by whom do your son's cast them 22 00:01:48.959 --> 00:01:53.400 out? Therefore, they will be your judges. But if it is by 23 00:01:53.480 --> 00:01:56.959 the spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the Kingdom of God 24 00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:01.390 has come upon you. or how can someone enter a strong man's house and 25 00:02:01.549 --> 00:02:07.590 plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may 26 00:02:07.669 --> 00:02:13.509 plunder his house. Whoever is not with me is against me and over does 27 00:02:13.550 --> 00:02:17.259 not gather with me scatters. That's for the reading of God's word me. 28 00:02:17.379 --> 00:02:32.930 He blessed to us. You may be seated. Well, if you recall 29 00:02:34.009 --> 00:02:40.210 from this morning, Matthew, Chapter Twelve begins with the Pharisees. It begins 30 00:02:40.250 --> 00:02:46.919 with the Pharisees Confronting Jesus Two Times and, as we saw, both of 31 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:53.319 these confrontations deal with the nature of the Sabbath, where the Pharisees are trying 32 00:02:53.400 --> 00:03:00.590 to catch Jesus slipping up and breaking the law. G just uses these events 33 00:03:00.629 --> 00:03:05.229 to turn the tables on the Pharisees and to show them how blind they are 34 00:03:05.389 --> 00:03:09.430 to what the scriptures actually teach. For if they truly understood the scriptures, 35 00:03:09.469 --> 00:03:15.500 if the Pharisees really knew what the Bible was about, they would agree that 36 00:03:15.699 --> 00:03:20.460 something greater than the temple is before them. Standing right there in front of 37 00:03:20.580 --> 00:03:23.699 them, they would see that the son of man is Lord of the Sabbath. 38 00:03:23.780 --> 00:03:30.409 Jesus shows them that this day belongs to the Messiah, for in Christ, 39 00:03:31.129 --> 00:03:36.449 our arrest is not held out as a culmination of what happens after six 40 00:03:36.490 --> 00:03:40.210 days of working and laboring. In Christ, our rest has already been achieved 41 00:03:40.250 --> 00:03:46.120 on that first day, through his death and resurrection. We begin our weeks 42 00:03:46.159 --> 00:03:53.840 right resting in Christ, and this is what the Pharisees missed. Jesus is 43 00:03:53.919 --> 00:04:00.469 answering their challenges by directing them back to the scriptures. He's answering their doubts 44 00:04:00.550 --> 00:04:05.110 by directing them to his own miraculous works. And so when he's confronted by 45 00:04:05.150 --> 00:04:14.099 these controversies, when he's confronted by anger and hatred, how does our Lord 46 00:04:14.180 --> 00:04:18.860 respond? Well, he responds with God's word. He he responds by fulfilling 47 00:04:18.939 --> 00:04:26.649 God's Word and he responds with compassion. Me Throughout the gospels, right, 48 00:04:26.649 --> 00:04:31.850 aren't we shown how the Lord quotes and he interprets the scriptures in order to 49 00:04:31.930 --> 00:04:39.160 show that he's the fulfillment of the Scriptures? And that's what we have before 50 00:04:39.160 --> 00:04:43.879 us. And these first six verses I just read. Our passage this evening 51 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:49.560 begins with Matthew quoting from the Prophet Isaiah in what is the longest Old Testament 52 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:58.149 quotation in his gospel. We read that after the Pharisees conspired together on how 53 00:04:58.230 --> 00:05:02.509 to destroy Jesus, Jesus was aware of this and so he withdrew from there 54 00:05:03.310 --> 00:05:09.019 and many followed him and he healed them all and ordered them not to make 55 00:05:09.060 --> 00:05:13.379 him known. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the Prophet Isaiah. 56 00:05:13.819 --> 00:05:18.379 And what follows then are several verses from Isaiah, forty two. But did 57 00:05:18.420 --> 00:05:24.889 you notice what Jesus is doing? That is fulfilling these words of the Prophet 58 00:05:26.370 --> 00:05:31.649 when Matthew quotes from Isaiah, what is it that Jesus has just done to 59 00:05:31.810 --> 00:05:40.040 bring about this fulfillment? Is it his miraculous healing in the synagogue? No, 60 00:05:40.519 --> 00:05:44.879 is it the healing of the many who followed him? Not Exactly. 61 00:05:46.759 --> 00:05:53.550 What's he doing that it Causes Matthew to quote from this lengthy passage? He's 62 00:05:53.629 --> 00:06:00.910 withdrawing. He's withdrawing from further conflict with the Pharisees. He's still healing all 63 00:06:00.949 --> 00:06:05.620 who come to him, but he's also ordering those he's healed to do what? 64 00:06:08.819 --> 00:06:17.100 To be quiet. He's telling them not to make him known. And 65 00:06:17.300 --> 00:06:25.529 why not? Why not have his name spread? A couple chapters ago, 66 00:06:25.610 --> 00:06:29.689 and in chapter ten, Jesus has already sent out his disciples not to be 67 00:06:29.730 --> 00:06:33.399 quiet, but to proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. That's the 68 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:36.920 same thing John was proclaiming. That's the same thing. Jesus goes about preaching 69 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:44.480 and teaching, but now, as he heals, he tells those whom he's 70 00:06:44.519 --> 00:06:49.910 healed to not make his name known. Why not? I mean, wouldn't 71 00:06:49.910 --> 00:06:55.110 that attract more people? Hey, look what Jesus did for me. Wouldn't 72 00:06:55.110 --> 00:07:01.740 that create even more of an effective ministry for our Lord. Well, one 73 00:07:01.819 --> 00:07:09.620 answer is that perhaps it's because crowds don't make for the most reliable witnesses of 74 00:07:09.660 --> 00:07:14.899 Jesus. We know that the crowds don't always get it right. They don't 75 00:07:14.899 --> 00:07:18.170 always understand what it is that they're seeing. Later on in Chapter Sixteen, 76 00:07:18.209 --> 00:07:23.009 Jesus will ask his disciples who do the people say the son of Man is? 77 00:07:24.250 --> 00:07:27.290 What do they say? Well, some say he's John, the Baptist 78 00:07:27.370 --> 00:07:32.560 right, others say Elijah, others Jeremiah, one of the prophets. So 79 00:07:32.759 --> 00:07:38.120 is he's Jesus ordering these crowds to remain quiet so that they don't spread that 80 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:46.550 kind of misinformation? Does he order this quietness because witnessing will be done on 81 00:07:46.829 --> 00:07:54.110 his terms and not theirs? Well, that's possible, but notice that Jesus 82 00:07:54.269 --> 00:08:01.300 withdraw and this quietness is it self a reaction. It's a reaction to the 83 00:08:01.500 --> 00:08:07.620 hatred of the Pharisees. I mean the Pharisees were conspiring together on how to 84 00:08:07.899 --> 00:08:18.050 destroy Jesus. So he leaves. He's not pushing the conflict forward, he's 85 00:08:18.089 --> 00:08:24.089 certainly not scattering his enemies and, rather than coming up with his own schemes 86 00:08:24.209 --> 00:08:35.320 on how to retaliate against their plotting. Jesus chooses rather to withdraw. I 87 00:08:35.399 --> 00:08:39.320 mean he knows persecution is coming, he knows the cross is what awaits him. 88 00:08:41.429 --> 00:08:45.830 And yet now is not the time for that. And so matthew says 89 00:08:45.870 --> 00:08:52.309 that this withdrawal, this quietness, is fulfilling what the Prophet Isaiah said. 90 00:08:54.860 --> 00:09:00.899 But the question remains. Does this activity for from Jesus sound all that significant? 91 00:09:00.980 --> 00:09:07.340 Does it sound all that historically important and earth shattering that he withdraws from 92 00:09:07.379 --> 00:09:11.889 the Pharisees? I mean he's been performing miracles, he's been calming storms, 93 00:09:11.929 --> 00:09:18.889 he's been raising the dead, and yet the lengthiest quotation of prophetic fulfillment applies 94 00:09:18.970 --> 00:09:28.279 here to Jesus's quietness. It's that wonderful. And yet why is it? 95 00:09:30.519 --> 00:09:35.399 Listen to again to the words of Isaiah? Behold my servant, whom I 96 00:09:35.519 --> 00:09:41.350 have chosen, my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased. I 97 00:09:41.509 --> 00:09:46.269 will put my spirit upon him and he will proclaim justice to the gentiles. 98 00:09:46.309 --> 00:09:52.299 He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in 99 00:09:52.340 --> 00:09:58.340 the streets. A bruise read. He will not break in a smoldering wick. 100 00:09:58.980 --> 00:10:03.620 He will not quench until he brings justice to victory, and in his 101 00:10:03.740 --> 00:10:11.970 name the gentiles will hope. It seems like the specific reference that Matthew is 102 00:10:13.129 --> 00:10:18.929 recalling comes to us from Verse Nineteen, the Line where he says that he 103 00:10:18.090 --> 00:10:24.159 will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the 104 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:30.559 streets. For you see, Jesus is ministry is not first and foremost about 105 00:10:30.559 --> 00:10:37.789 gaining the largest crowds. His success will not be marked by making the biggest 106 00:10:37.830 --> 00:10:41.750 impact in society. As I say, it says he will not quarrel, 107 00:10:41.870 --> 00:10:46.870 he will not cry aloud, he will not allow himself to become just a 108 00:10:46.110 --> 00:10:54.179 spectacle to be gawkeed at. For Our Lord, he's not looking to win 109 00:10:54.259 --> 00:11:00.899 a popularity contest, and so when the Pharisees Plot, when the Pharisees Scheme, 110 00:11:01.659 --> 00:11:05.250 our Lord leaves. He's not going to resort to their kinds of planning 111 00:11:05.409 --> 00:11:13.289 and politicking. It's not looking for a fight, he's not grandstanding, nor 112 00:11:13.450 --> 00:11:18.360 is it his purpose to simply cause a disturbance or to grab a headline. 113 00:11:20.600 --> 00:11:24.840 His Ministry will not be merely mark merely marked by the boastings of a good 114 00:11:24.879 --> 00:11:31.870 public speaker, but his ministry will be marked by his acts of faithfulness. 115 00:11:33.789 --> 00:11:39.309 For with this quote we see that Jesus is not simply filling fulfilling this prophecy 116 00:11:41.309 --> 00:11:46.460 on this one particular afternoon when he retreats. Rather, it's showing us how 117 00:11:46.500 --> 00:11:54.259 Jesus is over all ministry was done in the fulfillment of this scripture. His 118 00:11:54.419 --> 00:11:58.860 Ministry is not marked by an ability to gather and to keep a crowd interested, 119 00:12:00.500 --> 00:12:05.250 like so many others. Rather, it's marked by his service. It's 120 00:12:05.570 --> 00:12:11.289 marked by his compassion and notice. It's not marked by his utter silence, 121 00:12:11.850 --> 00:12:16.720 as Isaiah says that at the same time that he will not quarrel or cry 122 00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:22.639 aloud or make a sound in the streets, he will proclaim justice to the 123 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:28.879 gentiles. I mean, after all, he does debate, he does reason 124 00:12:28.039 --> 00:12:37.389 with the Pharisees, he gives answers to those who hate him, with those 125 00:12:37.470 --> 00:12:43.460 who conspire together on how to destroy him. He doesn't respond with hatred, 126 00:12:45.779 --> 00:12:48.940 he doesn't plot on and instead how to destroy them. Instead, he tears 127 00:12:48.980 --> 00:12:56.299 down their arguments. What he destroys is their false accusations, and in doing 128 00:12:56.340 --> 00:13:03.570 so he reveals the hardness of their own hearts. And so Jesus is the 129 00:13:03.009 --> 00:13:07.370 true and Faithful Servant of the Lord. This is the one in whom the 130 00:13:07.409 --> 00:13:13.080 father is well pleased. This is the Messiah who is greater than King David. 131 00:13:13.600 --> 00:13:18.759 Notice how his ministry is marked. It's marked by proclaiming justice. His 132 00:13:18.879 --> 00:13:24.039 Ministry is marked by its message and then, more than that, that he 133 00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:31.309 is bringing justice to victory. He is actually accomplishing true justice and is proclaiming 134 00:13:31.389 --> 00:13:37.750 that justice to the nation's but where the Pharisees would hear such claims from Jesus 135 00:13:37.750 --> 00:13:43.220 and want to destroy him, the crowds would hear such things and would want 136 00:13:43.220 --> 00:13:46.860 to enthrone him. For if Christ has come to bring justice, then the 137 00:13:48.340 --> 00:13:52.460 crowds are certainly expecting this. They're certainly desiring a king. They're looking for 138 00:13:52.620 --> 00:13:58.730 one to lead them in a revolution, perhaps against the Romans, to be 139 00:13:58.809 --> 00:14:03.490 another King David, to establish justice, to bring about a kingdom of peace. 140 00:14:03.529 --> 00:14:11.639 And yet is Jesus here acting like a conquering king? When confronted by 141 00:14:11.639 --> 00:14:18.679 the hatred of his enemies, he withdraws. When healing, in performing miracles, 142 00:14:18.759 --> 00:14:28.269 he orders silence. For notice how Isaiah describes his activity. A bruised 143 00:14:28.350 --> 00:14:39.379 read he will not break and a smoldering wick he will not quench. And 144 00:14:39.500 --> 00:14:45.100 so Isaiah is describing for us the victory of a King bringing about justice. 145 00:14:46.899 --> 00:14:50.259 And yet it doesn't look like the kind of justice we would expect. This 146 00:14:50.460 --> 00:14:56.009 imagery of a bruised read is that of a plant stem that's been bent but 147 00:14:56.090 --> 00:15:01.730 not fully broken off. The Smoldering Wick is a candle that's just about to 148 00:15:01.850 --> 00:15:09.240 go out, but it's not yet fully extinguished. Do you hear how these 149 00:15:09.360 --> 00:15:16.960 are images of weakness and therefore, do you see the compassion of the Servant 150 00:15:18.039 --> 00:15:26.269 of the Lord when confronted by astounding frailty and weakness and brokenness and suffering? 151 00:15:28.350 --> 00:15:37.500 He will not break bruised reads, you will not extinguish smoldering wicks, and 152 00:15:37.620 --> 00:15:43.299 from a worldly perspective this looks wildly inefficient. Why concern over one bruised read 153 00:15:43.779 --> 00:15:48.259 when there are thousands of others that are perfectly fine alongside it? Why the 154 00:15:48.379 --> 00:15:54.409 effort of keeping a smoldering wick going when it be so much easier to get 155 00:15:54.529 --> 00:16:00.409 to get a new candle? This seems like such a contrast from the chosen 156 00:16:00.450 --> 00:16:06.039 king who would bring justice to the nation's and yet his eyes are set not 157 00:16:06.240 --> 00:16:11.600 on princes, not on rulers. His eyes are set on bruised reads at 158 00:16:11.639 --> 00:16:17.679 his feet. His attention is on the smoldering wicks about to be snuffed out. 159 00:16:19.230 --> 00:16:22.870 And of course, Asaiah is not ultimately talking about reads or or candles. 160 00:16:25.429 --> 00:16:30.269 He's describing people. And here we see our Lord's compassion for the bruised 161 00:16:30.309 --> 00:16:37.340 and for the broken. Here we see our Lord's love for those who are 162 00:16:37.379 --> 00:16:48.289 hurt and miserable. Our Lord's withdrawal and in his humility is not revealing any 163 00:16:48.289 --> 00:16:55.610 kind of defeat. Rather, it's a testimony to his ultimate victory. It's 164 00:16:55.690 --> 00:17:00.730 this very love, it's this very compassion, which motivates our Lord to answer 165 00:17:00.929 --> 00:17:07.000 and to address our most basic need, for our biggest problem is not merely 166 00:17:07.240 --> 00:17:11.039 found in our circumstances. Our biggest problem is ultimately found in our sin. 167 00:17:11.240 --> 00:17:18.430 And so our Lord, our conquering King, goes forth in love and in 168 00:17:18.509 --> 00:17:25.910 victory, by humbling himself and by remaining obedient all the way to the cross. 169 00:17:26.670 --> 00:17:30.299 This is what he's done for you, so that, as Isaiah says 170 00:17:30.940 --> 00:17:37.380 in his name, the gentiles will hope. Our Lord's Ministry doesn't look all 171 00:17:37.460 --> 00:17:41.980 that successful, then, in the eyes of the world, he doesn't resemble 172 00:17:42.019 --> 00:17:47.569 a conquering King. Though he is the long awaited son of David, he 173 00:17:47.730 --> 00:17:53.690 looks almost nothing like King David in terms of wealth prestige, because the enemy 174 00:17:53.730 --> 00:17:59.400 that Christ came to challenge is not the Romans. It's not even, ultimately, 175 00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:03.720 the diseases and afflictions that he heals. Its Sin, it's death. 176 00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:10.519 And though we see the threat against Jesus lying in wait, waiting to strike 177 00:18:10.599 --> 00:18:15.829 his heel, we know that Christ came to crush Satan's head, and it's 178 00:18:15.869 --> 00:18:21.829 in that light that we notice the events which follow. A demon oppressed man 179 00:18:22.710 --> 00:18:26.109 who was blind and mute was brought to him and he healed him. So 180 00:18:26.269 --> 00:18:29.539 the man spoke and saw and all the people were amazed and said, can 181 00:18:29.700 --> 00:18:33.259 this be the son of David? Don't you see? Our Lord's mission is 182 00:18:33.299 --> 00:18:37.140 so much bigger than that of just a worldly king. He came to put 183 00:18:37.180 --> 00:18:45.170 to death Satan and sin and death itself. He's waging war upon the Kingdom 184 00:18:45.170 --> 00:18:49.650 of Satan. And while the crowds are amazed, they're still confused. Can 185 00:18:49.809 --> 00:18:55.410 this be the son of David? I mean, they're raising the right question, 186 00:18:55.609 --> 00:19:00.279 right, but they're not yet answering yes to that question. For of 187 00:19:00.319 --> 00:19:03.640 course, this is the son of David, and yet this isn't exactly what 188 00:19:03.799 --> 00:19:08.319 the people were expecting from such a messiah. He comes wielding a power far 189 00:19:08.440 --> 00:19:15.390 greater than that of just another King David. He's engaged in a cosmic battle, 190 00:19:15.430 --> 00:19:22.069 a cosmic warfare, and while the crowd seemed confused, the Pharisees are 191 00:19:22.069 --> 00:19:26.980 immediately hostile. They use this opportunity to bring further accusations against Jesus. That 192 00:19:27.059 --> 00:19:32.059 when the Pharisees heard it, they said it's only by be elsible, the 193 00:19:32.140 --> 00:19:37.059 Prince of Demons, that this man casts out demons. I mean, come 194 00:19:37.099 --> 00:19:41.170 on, really, does it sound like the Pharisees are getting desperate at this 195 00:19:41.250 --> 00:19:45.410 point? Does it sound like they're grasping at straws, looking for something, 196 00:19:45.769 --> 00:19:52.809 just anything, to accuse Jesus? Well, it's not just desperate, it's 197 00:19:52.849 --> 00:19:57.839 also sinister. I mean, what are they accusing Jesus of doing? What 198 00:19:57.960 --> 00:20:06.720 are the accusing Jesus of being? They're accusing Jesus of being under Satan's employ 199 00:20:07.430 --> 00:20:15.789 they're accusing Jesus of being on the side of Satan. They were accusing the 200 00:20:15.910 --> 00:20:22.740 most holy and righteous son of God of being anti Christ. That which is 201 00:20:22.859 --> 00:20:26.380 good they call evil. God himself is in their midst, and yet they 202 00:20:26.460 --> 00:20:34.809 call him Satan. There anything more blasphemous than that? And how will a 203 00:20:36.009 --> 00:20:42.250 righteous how will a holy God, respond to such offensive speech and language? 204 00:20:45.490 --> 00:20:52.599 Does he become judge, jury, executioner in that moment? Can you imagine 205 00:20:52.599 --> 00:21:00.839 the restraint? You imagine the compassion that hears such utter blasphemy? The Pharisees 206 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:06.910 have just uttered despicable evil and, knowing their thoughts, he said to them 207 00:21:07.630 --> 00:21:12.470 every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste. No city or house divided against 208 00:21:12.509 --> 00:21:17.029 itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against 209 00:21:17.029 --> 00:21:21.460 himself. How, then will his kingdom stand? If I cast out demons 210 00:21:21.500 --> 00:21:23.980 by Beelzibule, by whom? To your son's cast them out, therefore, 211 00:21:25.099 --> 00:21:33.250 they will be your judges. Do you hear how our Lord Responds to their 212 00:21:33.289 --> 00:21:41.450 attacks? He reasons with them, he reasons with those who hate him. 213 00:21:41.890 --> 00:21:48.200 They've revealed him themselves as enemies. They've actually revealed themselves by being as being 214 00:21:48.279 --> 00:21:52.759 servants of Satan in their accusation. And yet how does our Lord react? 215 00:21:53.000 --> 00:22:02.549 By crushing them. He reasons with them. After all, a bruised read 216 00:22:02.710 --> 00:22:10.309 he will not break a smoldering wick, he will not put out and you 217 00:22:10.430 --> 00:22:15.980 see his compassion here, even for his enemies. And he proves to them 218 00:22:17.059 --> 00:22:22.500 how ridiculous their accusation is that if Satan casts out Satan, how can his 219 00:22:22.539 --> 00:22:26.339 kingdom stand? Why would Satan even be opposing Satan? It doesn't make sense. 220 00:22:29.819 --> 00:22:33.490 And this is because the Pharisees accusation is not borne out of any truthful 221 00:22:33.529 --> 00:22:36.410 examination of the evidence. It's just borne out of their own hatred. And 222 00:22:38.009 --> 00:22:41.450 so he tells them that if it is by the spirit of God that I 223 00:22:41.569 --> 00:22:45.720 cast out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. or 224 00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:48.400 how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first 225 00:22:48.839 --> 00:22:55.160 binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. Whoever is 226 00:22:55.279 --> 00:22:57.789 not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 227 00:23:00.589 --> 00:23:06.269 And so Jesus directs them and us to the truth of his ministry. 228 00:23:07.710 --> 00:23:11.190 That is, casting out demons is evidence that the Kingdom of God has come 229 00:23:11.269 --> 00:23:18.299 upon you. And this is what marks the Kingdom of God. That Christ 230 00:23:18.460 --> 00:23:23.380 came to bind the strong man, that Christ came to crush Satan's head, 231 00:23:25.460 --> 00:23:27.289 as John tells us in First John, three eight, the reason the son 232 00:23:27.369 --> 00:23:34.089 of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. And so do 233 00:23:34.130 --> 00:23:38.970 you see the contrast that is working out within our passage? On the one 234 00:23:40.009 --> 00:23:45.839 hand, we see our Lord, meek and lowly, bending down to prop 235 00:23:45.880 --> 00:23:52.039 up bruised reads, tenderly nourishing smoldering wicks, reasoning with his enemies. And 236 00:23:52.240 --> 00:24:00.390 yet by doing that, Christ is waging war. In his compassion, he 237 00:24:00.630 --> 00:24:07.750 is binding the strong man. Through his announcement of peace, he is pillaging 238 00:24:07.829 --> 00:24:12.420 the Kingdom of Satan, and he's doing it through his own work, through 239 00:24:12.500 --> 00:24:18.059 his own love, through his own obedience. He is rescuing those who are 240 00:24:18.180 --> 00:24:36.809 lost. I love how our Lord concludes this passage. He directs us to 241 00:24:36.890 --> 00:24:41.960 his own work, he directs us to his own love. Even for the 242 00:24:41.079 --> 00:24:48.880 Pharisees who hate and oppose him, Jesus would speak truth to their blasphemy. 243 00:24:49.799 --> 00:24:52.670 For aren't we in the same boat that, left to ourselves, we would 244 00:24:53.109 --> 00:24:57.190 hate and oppose a King of grace and peace, and yet Christ has come 245 00:24:57.269 --> 00:25:02.349 to destroy our own towers of pride, our own towers of self righteousness. 246 00:25:02.390 --> 00:25:08.660 And yet where we too would be defensive and left grasping for straws. Our 247 00:25:08.779 --> 00:25:15.220 Lord calls us to take hold of him, to take hold of him, 248 00:25:15.259 --> 00:25:18.460 that our prides would be crucified, that we would be lifted up to new 249 00:25:18.539 --> 00:25:25.049 life and to true righteousness. For you have a savior who looks upon your 250 00:25:25.130 --> 00:25:30.450 hurt, upon your misery. You have a lord who doesn't say come back 251 00:25:30.490 --> 00:25:36.119 when you've got it all figured out. He meets us in our neediness, 252 00:25:36.279 --> 00:25:41.200 he meets us even in our lostness and they're in our sin and in our 253 00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:47.160 suffering, he calls us to himself, for the schemes of Satan cannot overcome 254 00:25:47.319 --> 00:25:53.750 his rule, the opposition of his enemies cannot crush his perfect plan and the 255 00:25:53.869 --> 00:26:02.230 brokenness and the lostness of his people cannot derail his purposes. So do you 256 00:26:02.309 --> 00:26:07.059 see how Jesus is at work in the oppression, how Jesus is work, 257 00:26:07.099 --> 00:26:12.859 at work even in the opposition, how he is at work even in our 258 00:26:14.180 --> 00:26:17.900 failures and our sin, in in our weakness, he is at work, 259 00:26:17.980 --> 00:26:26.930 as his Gospel speaks light and life into such cold and dark places. For 260 00:26:26.089 --> 00:26:30.009 here we have our savior king who is willing, who is able to save. 261 00:26:32.880 --> 00:26:37.119 So look at the compassion of Jesus, look to the love he poured 262 00:26:37.160 --> 00:26:41.400 out on the Cross, a love that is guaranteed now by his own precious 263 00:26:41.440 --> 00:26:47.670 blood, and look to the love he displayed in the empty tomb, where 264 00:26:47.670 --> 00:26:53.630 we saw true victory and glory and power. Amen. Let's pray