Have you ever had one of those moments when blissful ignorance fades and you become painfully aware of how costly something is? That’s when it starts to get real.
- Getting your first car is so cool! Freedom and privileges but then it gets real. You have to fill up the gas tank, purchase insurance…and take it to the repair shop!
- Getting married! What a joy to share your whole life with someone but then it gets real. Your spouse experiences different feelings, has different habits, and expects different things out of life!
- Having your first child! So much excitement but then it gets real. Sleepless nights, sickness, busy-ness, expenses, and heartbreak, even when those babies are full-grown adults.
The best things in life are worth the sacrifice, but often we don’t understand the cost until it gets real. How much more so the kingdom of heaven? It’s one thing to talk about the kingdom of heaven and how it’s worth any sacrifice. It’s another thing to actually make that sacrifice. In Matthew 14, things begin to get real for Jesus as He faces His greatest test yet. Jesus was never blissfully unaware of the cost of the kingdom of heaven. But I think his disciples’ past and present were to some degree. Today, we arrive at a moment in the Gospel of Matthew where things start to get real for Jesus and His disciple. The cost will become clear. But first, it’s important to remember that, this year at Calvary, we’re learning to…
“Live The Cross-Shaped Life” – Cruciformity is learning to embody the self-sacrificial love of King Jesus, which God always deserves and honors.
God doesn’t always make things easy in this life for His people, but He always makes it worth it. The living, breathing proof of this is Jesus. Everything about Jesus is humble self-sacrifice–from birth to death, but God brought Him back to life and crowned Him King of kings. That’s cruciformity, and we’re learning His story as we preach through the Gospel according to Matthew this year.
We’re also learning cruciformity in the beatitudes, the cross-shaped attitudes of God’s kingdom people. We’re memorizing all eight beatitudes this year. Here’s the first four:
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:3-6 NIV)
We’re now deep into the heart of the Gospel according to Matthew. We’ve seen Jesus’s humble yet glorious beginnings. We’ve seen His humble ministry bring the good news of God’s kingdom for all people, even the weak. We’ve seen His humble ministry heal the sick, cast out demons, and even raise the dead. We’ve seen Him call disciples, be overwhelmed by crowds, and face opposition from leaders.
Because of increasing opposition to Him, Jesus begins to speak in parables. These parables reveal truths about the kingdom of heaven to those willing to learn from Jesus, but to those who are rejecting Jesus, the parables only conceal the truth of God’s kingdom all the more.
Two Confrontations Where It Starts to Gets Real
1) Jesus was rejected by his hometown. (13:53-58)
53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. 54 Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. 55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57a And they took offense at him.
Their amazement is not the good kind. They’re looking for a Messiah, the Savior and King from God, but Jesus doesn’t match their expectations. “They took offense at Him” literally means “they stumbled over Him.” Why did they stumble over Him? Look at the kinds of questions they ask.
They ask about His “father” Joseph, who was a lowly person. Joseph, of course, was not Jesus’ real father. Matthew is clear in chapter 1 that God had miraculously caused the virgin Mary to conceive Jesus. But the people of Nazareth seem to have believed the scandal that Joseph got Mary pregnant before they were married. So there was always some sort of scandal attached to Jesus’ parentage.
They also ask about Joseph and Jesus’ trade as carpenter, which is lowly. Typically translated “carpenter,” the Gr. word tektón (TEK-tone) means “craftsman” or “builder.” We get the word “architect” (“chief craftsman”) from it. Carpenter sounds a bit like a fine craftsman who works with fancy wood and makes expensive furniture and has a YouTube channel. A closer modern comparison would be something like a handyman. Joseph was perhaps the only handyman in Nazareth, considering how small it was. Now being a handyman is wonderful and important but it’s not something you’d expect to see on the Messiah’s resumé. You know, in a sense, I get it. We’re looking through resumes right now for our student and young adult pastor position, and, if I see that someone’s primary work experience is as a handyman, I am probably setting that resume aside.
They also ask about Jesus’ mother and brothers and sisters, who are lowly. They know these people. They live with them, work with them, perhaps are married to some of them! And they are all just so…normal. I’m making this next part up but think about it…Jesus’ brother James took over the handyman business. The other brothers work around other parts of town. Jesus’ sister Suzie lives just down the street, and His sister Patty is such a sweetheart. But they hardly match the expected level of the Messiah’s family.
His trade, His dad, His mom, His siblings? What gives??? Jesus seems like…a little mustard seed…a bit of yeast.
But here’s the thing I don’t get. They’ve heard about His teaching and His miracles! They’ve probably heard and seen some of it! Clearly, Jesus is more than a handyman! Why won’t they submit to Him? Why were they so offended by Him?
57b But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.” 58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
By Jesus’ own admission, He is a prophet, just like John the Baptist and the long line of Old Testament prophets before him. True prophets were the mouthpieces of God. They spoke God’s Word with authority, and it was the responsibility of any who listened to the prophet to heed his words. The same was true for Jesus. But the people of Nazareth–Jesus’ hometown–were so proud and hard-hearted that they wouldn’t submit to God’s prophet if he was the local handyman.
Jesus usually performed miracles in response to someone’s faith in order to affirm it–not in response to unbelief in order to convince. Therefore, He would not perform many miracles in Nazareth in order to get them to believe in Him. Jesus did not go around trying to vindicate Himself; He trusted God to do that!
This is one of the moments where it gets real for Jesus. He had been rejected before, but now that rejection comes from his hometown. These are people He’s known and loved and respected His whole life. How painful that must have been. Many of you perhaps have paid this price to follow Jesus, suffering rejection from family and friends and acquaintances for loving Jesus and what is right and good. But here’s one more moment where it gets even more real for Jesus…
2) John the Baptist was executed by Herod. (14:1-12)
1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, 2 and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
Herod the tetrarch or Herod Antipas was one of Herod the Great’s sons. Herod “the Great” was the one who ordered the hunt for baby Jesus and the murder of all the baby boys of Bethlehem in Matthew 2. Years later, his son is in charge and is freaking out because reports of Jesus’ ministry make him think John the Baptist has returned from the dead! Wait a second. Last we knew, John was in prison but still alive! What happened?!?! Matthew fills us in with a flashback…
3 Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4 for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.
John was in prison because he publicly called out Herod’s unlawful marriage. Here’s what had happened: Though already married, Antipas had fallen in love with his brother’s wife Herodias on a trip to Rome. Antipas and Herodis each agreed to divorce their spouses and marry, which was wrong on so many fronts. It was, first of all, coveting another person’s spouse (Exodus 20:17). It falls short of God’s design for marriage that it be a lifelong union between one man and one woman (Matthew 19:1-12). Moreover, even if the divorces were “justified” due to sexual immorality, abandonment, etc., it went against God’s law for a man to marry his sister-in-law (Leviticus 18:16).
So, John calls Herod out and Herod puts John in prison. Being imprisoned in the ancient world was not like the American experience today. The right to a swift and speedy and fair trial by a jury of peers is an American thing. Jews did not have that right under the Roman Empire. John didn’t have that “right.” So he was simply waiting in Herod’s dungeon as a political prisoner. Perhaps he would spend the rest of his life there, and perhaps one day, Herod would randomly decide to execute him!
Herod was afraid of John’s preaching, which is why he had him arrested, but he was also afraid of his people who thought John was a prophet, so he was holding off on John’s execution until it was politically convenient…
6 On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much 7 that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”
Based on the historical record, this was likely Herodias’s daughter Salome (Herod’s stepdaughter), who would have been a young teenager at this time and her dance pleased Herod so adding foolishness to foolishness, he offers her a blank check. Conspiring with her mother Herodias, who also hated John, they asked for the gruesome execution of John the Baptist…
9 The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted 10 and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother.
Like his evil father who hunted baby Jesus, Antipas commits an unspeakable sin. He could have humbled himself and owned his mistake but instead tried to save face by beheading John, whose only “crime” had been speaking God’s truth, and was, as Jesus said, “the greatest ever born of a woman.”
Remember this has all been a flashback in Matthew, and here’s the point:
12 John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.
John’s execution is firmly anchored as a part of Jesus’ own story. This little detail that news of John’s death gets back to Jesus is very important. The death of John the Baptist is like Satan’s warning shot to Jesus. Perhaps Satan thought He could scare Jesus off of the mission. As we’ll see and as you may know, nothing would scare Jesus off from paying the ultimate price. Jesus would be executed as well. There are all sorts of similarities between the executions of John and Jesus.
- Both John and Jesus were arrested though their only “crime” was speaking God’s truth.
- Both John and Jesus were caught in the middle of a political power struggle (governors deciding who to please: crowds or allies or wives).
- Both John and Jesus were executed horrifically and shamefully.
- Both John and Jesus were buried by their disciples.
But where as John had not risen from the dead (as Herod feared)–Jesus would!
The Lessons
1) Jesus is much more than a handyman!
I don’t know if Jesus seems lame, boring, ordinary, undesirable, or unimpressive to you, but nothing could be further from the truth. Listen to the Apostle Paul’s description of Jesus in Colossians 1:
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (Colossians 1:15-20)
Jesus is much more than a handyman! He’s the Creator of all, the Reason that everything exists, the Purpose for which everything exists. And He became a human, in whom God delighted every step of the way, and He lived for us, died for us, rose for us, and now rules for us.
2) Don’t reject Jesus even if He seems too ordinary or His way too difficult.
Remember the parable Jesus told in Matthew 13…
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.” (Matthew 13:31-33)
If only Nazareth had opened their hearts to this truth, they would have worshiped and obeyed Him–and perhaps some did. But we each now have this opportunity, by the grace of God, to see Him for who He really is. A mustard seed that grows into a tree. A bit of yeast that produces a ton of dough. He is much more than He seemed back then and much more than He may seem to you right now. He deserves to have the say in every area of your life. Desperately beg for His forgiveness, gratefully receive it, and humbly begin to worship and learn from Him.
3) Pay any price to remain faithful to Jesus.
Allegiance to God’s kingdom cost John the Baptist his life, but he will receive it back from God in the resurrection to come. Allegiance to God’s kingdom cost Jesus of Nazareth His life, and He did receive it back from God almost 2,000 years ago. Countless disciples of Jesus have countless sacrifices for King Jesus. Many have given their lives. We support missional partners all over the world who are encouraging disciples who have lost jobs, families, etc. for the kingdom of heaven. Those missional partners have given up normal “American dream” type lives to spread the Gospel around the world. Why did they? Why did John do it? Why did Jesus? Why have brothers and sisters throughout history and throughout the world? Here’s why…
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:44-46)
What will following Jesus cost you? What will calling others to follow Jesus cost you? When will following Jesus start to get real for you?
- Maybe there is sin you need to repent of first. Pride, selfishness, sexual sin, gossip, greed, discontentment, laziness, etc. Sacrifice those things every day. It’s definitely worth it.
- Maybe being bold and humble for Jesus will cost you relationships. Maybe with those you love the most. It will still be worth it.
- Maybe it’ll cost you comfort or time or money or energy. It will still be worth it.
- Maybe it’ll literally cost you your life. It would still be worth it.
Here’s one place to start: pay the price of prayer. In this week’s New Testament plan, we read about a request Paul had for the church in Rome. Romans 12-15, Paul taught about the great call to practical solidarity Christians have because of the Gospel of Jesus. That unity in Christ should come out in many ways: radical service, love, hospitality, forgiveness, etc. But then he says this: “I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.” (Romans 15:30 NIV) One amazing way we can “pay the price” is by joining one another in our struggles through prayer. Even if we are not personally suffering at the moment, we can join those who are as we sacrifice time and energy in prayer! Earnest and honest prayer itself is skin-the-game.
Questions for Reflection and/or Discussion
- What aspects of following Jesus are most “unimpressive” or “too difficult” for you? Have you been able to get over those hurdles to surrender to Jesus and follow His ways? If so, what was the mental shift that helped you? If not, how can you find help for this?
- What will it cost you to follow Jesus? What will it cost you to call others to follow Jesus? How will the price Jesus paid for us empower you to pay the price to follow Him? Is it worth it to you?
Calvary | Muskegon 