Category: Sermon Supplements

In Matthew 6:1-18 Jesus contrast how the hypocrites practice three acts of piety with the way His disciples should practice them. I can imagine someone reading this section and being really convicted by the first two. They may think, “I sometimes give hypocritically, and often pray hypocritically, but I never fast hypocritically.” But they never set themselves up for the fall.  They never fast hypocritically because they never fast. We’re not even sinning in the right direction.

I think we never or rarely fast hypocritically for the praise of men because there are better ways to achieve our sinful desires. In America we value appearance too much to disfigure our faces and put ashes on our heads. Why fast when there are sexier ways to look spiritual? Besides, you might be though odd for God if you were known to fast regularly. Instead of abusing God’s ordained means for our won glory, we craft our own means so that we get double the glory. We don’t need fasting, we use programs, positions, and ministries as outlets for our hypocrisy. These means, more than fasting, will lead to people seeing me, thinking me spiritual, gifted, and wise.

Our craving is for our own glory, not His. We do not fast because we are fat on the world.

Half of Christian fasting is that our physical appetite is lost because our homesickness for God is so intense. The other half is that our homesickness for God is threatened because our physical appetites are so intense. In the first half, appetite is lost. In the second half, appetite is resisted. In the first, we yield to the higher hunger that is. In the second, we fight for the higher hunger that isn’t. Christian fasting is not only the spontaneous effect of a superior satisfaction in God; it is also a chosen weapon against every force in the world that would take that satisfaction away.

The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night. For all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife (Luke 14:18-20). The greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable, and almost incurable.  – John Piper in A Hunger for God

The most important prayer request is that the most important person in the universe would do the most important act in the universe.  – John Piper

Last time we reflected on Matthew I said that our biggest sin in prayer is not that our prayers are too short, but too small.  Small prayers both blaspheme and are idolatrous.  Prayer should be God-centered.

And now we come to the second half of the Lord’s Prayer.  We transition from “Your” to “us”.  Is this prayer at war with itself?  Does this prayer implode?  Does it self-destruct?  No, this prayer is perfectly at peace, because all other requests are submissive to the first and primary request, that God hallow His name.  All of the “we needs” are “to God be the glories”.  In one way this prayer is divided into two halves, but in the deepest sense it is a unified whole.  The “us” is still “Your”.

One way to see this is by noticing what is not there, what is not there at least in most good modern versions.  The traditional ending, “For yours is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.”, is either in brackets, placed in a footnote, or omitted from modern versions.  I believe this is a good decision.  The oldest and most reliable manuscripts do not include it, it was not in the original document written by Matthew.  How did it come to be in the text?  Most likely this was a liturgical ending added by the early church inspired by 1 Chronicles 29:11-13.  Some assuming scribe then sat down to copy a copy of a manuscript and thought that the poor bloke before him left out part of the text.  That monk’s revised copy is then copied several times over until a whole family of manuscripts has the liturgical ending while the older ones do not.  Do not let this disturb you, when the manuscript evidence is examined we can be extremely confident of what the original author wrote.

So how does this help?  The early church saw no disparity between praying the first part of the prayer and the second for the glory of God, nor should we.  God is glorified in both halves.  Ultimately we ask for our daily bread, forgiveness, and to be kept from temptation and the evil one for His glory.

In the final three requests God is glorified as our Sustainer, Redeemer, and Treasure.  Further the Son is glorified in that He is the only way we can approach the Father and know Him in these ways.  God sustains all of humanity, but only through the Son can we come to Him as a Father and ask daily provision for our needs.  Only in Christ can we be forgiven by God.  And it is only because of the gospel of Christ that we see the ugliness of sin and the glories of God and cry, “No contest, give me the eternal pleasures of God and not the temporal pleasures of sin!”

“Us” is still “Your”.  At least is should be.

The biggest problem with our prayers is not that they are too short, but too small.  Our biggest sin in prayer is not the infrequency of our petitions, but the finitude of our petitions.  Small prayers are fit only for a small God, small prayers blaspheme!  Don’t strive to pray more as much as to pray big.

This language is not meant to push you toward using prayer for more health and wealth, but beyond that.  Praying big does not mean praying for more measurable stuff, but praying for the infinite.  Stuff is measurable, God is not.  Also this does not eliminate prayer for daily needs or casting all our anxieties upon Him (I Peter 5:7), but rather establishes the proper setting for such requests.

The Disciple’s Prayer is comprised of six requests that can be divided into two groups of three requests each.  The pronouns are your clue to the division.  The first three all concern “Your”; not your your, but His Your.  The final three concern “us”.  The first three are worshipful longings, the last three are needs humbly requested.

So prayer is to begin with God.  Prayer will reveal our priorities.  What you pray for (content) is what you pray for (motive).  That is, what you request in prayer, is why you pray.  The first petition reveals what should be first in our hearts, the glory and renown of God.  If this isn’t first, your prayers are idolatrous.  Pray big or sin, these are your options.

Prayer seeks the saving rule and reign of God to come and regenerate men’s hearts so that they hallow His name and so that His will is done on earth as it is in heaven.  The answer to our deepest longings in prayer should fall like a mountain thrust to the earth from the heavens totally rearranging the landscape of this world and we are asking only for feathers.

Pray prayers as big as God.  Pray prayers for God.

Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence—as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence!  When you did awesome things that we did not look for, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.  From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.  You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways. Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?  – Isaiah 64:1-5

Imagine two scenarios.

Scenario one:  I never talk to Bethany in private.  She tries to talk with me but I am never interested, until we get in public.  When other eyes are looking besides her own, and when other ears are listening besides her own then I seem greatly interested in her.  Why the difference?  The conversation that seems to be about her, isn’t about her, it’s about me.  It’s about putting on a show, putting up a façade to give an impression.

Scenario two:  I am away on a mission trip.  I hardly ever call Bethany until the last couple of days.  Those conversations are liberally littered with “I love yous.”  In our final conversation the day before I arrive I mention to her how horrible the food has been and how wonderful it would be if she would meet me at the airport with a Webber’s Root Beer and Burger.  She does not bring one, perhaps she is planning that we all go there as a family.  I am furious upon seeing her without the root beer and burger.   She then realizes that “all the right words”  that I said previous in our conversations were only empty phrases. The conversation wasn’t about how much I loved her, but about how much I loved root beer; she was simply the means to the end. I was not after her heart, I was after beverage and sustenance.

Scenario one is conversing like a Pharisee, scenario two is conversing like a pagan.  Prayer is dangerous!  The other acts of piety dealt with in 6:1-18 receive only one warning, prayer receives two.  The methods are not what is being contrasted here.  If you read this passage and only change your method, it is as if you put a bandage on your arm to deal with profuse internal bleeding.

In scenario one, now dealing with our text, vv. 5-6, the issue isn’t posture; for instance, the tax collector as well as the Pharisee pray standing in Luke 18:9-14.  The issue isn’t public prayer as opposed to private prayer; there are numerous examples of public prayer that are blessed by God in scripture.  The issue is praying in public to be seen and praised by others.  The issue is prayer for publicity, not prayer in public.  The issue isn’t the method, but the motive.

In scenario two, vv. 7-8, the issue isn’t repetition.  Jesus would repeat the same prayer in Gethsemane.  The pagan worshipper thought he had to appease or flatter the gods to get what he wanted.  He would use certain formulas so that the gods would listen.  The reason Christians are not to pray in this way is theological; we have a loving omniscient Father.  The issue here is not method either, it is the mindset with which we come to prayer.  Theology shapes your prayers profoundly, I would say more than anything.

If you want to grow in prayer don’t look for new technique, look to your God.  Ever more important than method is your motive and mindset.

Too often when we struggle with prayer we focus on the wrong things.  We focus on praying better instead of focusing on knowing better the one to whom we pray.  And we focus on our need for discipline rather than our need for God.  – Kevin DeYoung

Perhaps we can learn how to give by observing a certain hypocrite and thinking through why his giving in particular is especially ridiculous.  R.W. Glenn tells of a certain man who brought in eight figures yet consistently boasted of his giving.  He would speak of how he gave a thousand dollars to this charity and to that cause.  His giving is repulsive first because as we see in our text, it is not about God, it is not even about others, it is about self glorification.  But secondly it is ridiculous because it’s nothing, he is giving away pennies.  We think it would be easy to give away a few thousand if you posses such wealth.  Here, I think is where we can learn from the hypocrite.

Giving liberally might be thought to be easier in proportion to the wealth one already possesses, but wouldn’t it be equally true, no, more true, that it would be even easier to give in proportion to the reward one expects to receive for giving.  If I am told I will be given one hundred dollars for every Washington that I give away…

For the Christian both truths allow him to be liberally generous.  He is already immeasurably rich in Christ, and He is promised yet more for giving in a way that shows His devotion to God.  Focusing on the reward makes our giving unselfconscious.  We don’t boast because we don’t think ourselves to be giving but receiving.  Let’s focus on the scandal of the reward and the nature of the reward and see how it works toward this end.

First the very idea of reward is scandalous; how can God reward the spiritually bankrupt?  How can the poor in spirit merit anything?  They can’t!  Even when we do all that we should have done, we have only done that which was our duty (Luke 17:7-10).  Consider three further reasons why the idea of reward is scandalous.

1.  All our acts, even our best acts are stained, contaminated with sin.  They are acceptable only in Christ.  John Owen wisely wrote,

Believers obey Christ as the one by whom our obedience is accepted by God.  Believers know all their duties are weak, imperfect, and unable to abide in God’s presence.  Therefore they look to Christ as the one who bears the iniquity of their holy things, who adds incense to their prayers, gathers out all the weeds from their duties and makes them acceptable to God.

2.  The reward is immeasurably disproportionate to the service rendered.  This is a repeated motif through the gospels of which Matthew 19:29 is just one example.

3.  Our good deeds are not only accepted only in Christ, they are also only through and because of Christ.  God rewards his own activity in us (Hebrews 13:20-21, Philippians 2:12-13).  Commenting on 2 Corinthians 9:8 John Pipers says, “Good deeds do not pay back grace, they borrow more grace.”

The scandal of reward is the scandal of the gospel all over again, the gift that keeps on giving.  God’s grace moves us to be gracious.  But the most liberating freedom to give comes in contemplating what He has given us.  What is the nature of the reward?  Notice that Jesus does not go into spelling out exactly what the reward is.  Jesus does not say, “Give and you will have land and great wealth in heaven.”  If this were the case giving would be self-serving and not God-glorifying.  I think the reason the reward is not elaborated is because what moves us to give here is not what is given, but Who is giving.  In contrast to the hypocrite who gives to hear the praise of others, the Christian gives to hear the praise of His Father.  God is the reward.

So then the key to giving unselfconsciously is to believe God’s promises and be enthralled with the reward.

The engaged young man working two jobs to buy a wedding ring doesn’t think himself to be doing anything, why?  Because he is getting the bride.  He doesn’t draw attention to it, doesn’t manipulate her with it, he is in awe that she graciously said yes, and wants to put a rock on her finger that says, “mine!”  She is honored by his service and brags to others of it, but he doesn’t.  The reward is incredibly disproportionate to the service rendered.

But he is a man.  And there are times when he wonders if all this hard labor is worth it all.  How can he gain gusto to work with joy again?  By looking at her picture, conversing with her, dreaming of her, or seeing her.

If you want to give liberally and unselfconsciously think on your God, know His majesty, and remind yourself of the gospel and His promises.  Go to the Bible and be in awe that in Christ you can say, “He is mine!”  Do this and you will think all your meager giving ridiculous.

Jesus in these six antithesis is not negating the law, but explicating it. He isn’t countering the law, but the Pharisees’ wooden interpretation of it. The Pharisees read the law like corrupt lawyers, not lovers. They looked for loopholes in the law under the guise of seeking righteousness and justice. They used the law pursue sin disguised as righteousness. They put white dresses on black sins.

As depraved sinners we don’t want to pursue holiness, which is where the law thrusts us, we want to know where the line is. So we ask, “When does sex become sex?”, or “It it gossip if…?” But what you really ask by such questions is, “How close can I get to darkness? How far can I venture from the light while superficially suppressing my conscious so that I feel good about myself?” We want to flee the light while giving the appearance of avoiding darkness. When we ask such questions we are seeking answers that will make us feel better about our rebellion. We use the law to pursue sin, not righteousness.

Sons and daughters of the kingdom then read the law and keep the heart of it, not so that God will be our Father, but because He is our Father (Matthew 5:48). We read the law with delight (Psalm 1:2), seeking reasons, not exceptions. We read it this way not to gain salvation, but because reading it this way is His salvation in our heart. We read it this way not to get into the kingdom, but because the kingdom has gotten into us. Because of His love, we read the law as lovers, not lawyers.

This is one of the most difficult passages in the gospels… in the Bible. Some may think that Jesus is easy reading and that it is Paul who is difficult, but I wonder if they have ever read Jesus, and if they have, if they really pay attention to what He says or just read Him in a light superficial manner. If you think Jesus was just an ethical teacher and Paul was the theologian, think again.

But don’t let this passage intimidate you. It is crucial, for at least three reasons. It is crucial for understanding :

1. The Sermon on the Mount. The phrase “law and the prophets” appears again in 7:12; this forms an inclusio (think something like parentheses). They let us know what this whole section is about.
2. How the Old Testament relates to the New Testament.
3. How the law relates to the Christian.

As I entered into my study of this text I was excited about this passage because I knew it was a passage that influences my basic approach to the Bible. An approach that a children’s story bible nails, and sadly many ministers fail to realize.

Now, some people think the Bible is a book of rules, telling you what you should and shouldn’t do. The Bible certainly does have some rules in it. They show you how life works best. But the Bible isn’t mainly about you and what you should be doing. It’s about God and what he has done.

Other people think the Bible is a book of heroes, showing you people you should copy. The Bible does have some heroes in it, but (as you’ll soon find out) most of the people in the Bible aren’t heroes at all. They make some big mistakes (sometimes on purpose), they get afraid and run away. At times, they’re downright mean.

No, the Bible isn’t a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a Story. It’s an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It’s a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne-everything-to rescues the ones he loves. It’s like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life!

You see, the best thing about this Story is-it’s true.

There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling on Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them.

It takes the whole Bible to tell this Story. And at the center of the Story, there is a baby. Every story in the Bible whispers his name. He is like the missing piece in the puzzle-the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together, and suddenly you can see a beautiful picture. – Sally Lloyd-Jones in The Jesus Storybook Bible

Jesus fulfills all Scripture. Some 16 times Matthew will use “fulfilled” in regard to Jesus, we have seen it several times already (Matthew 1:22; 2:15, 17, 23; 4:14). The excitement over this truth remained for me as I studied, but desperate prayers were turned to God in trying to understand how verses 18-20 related to verse 17. Simplistic answers at how the law relates to the Christian fall flat here. Some chop the law into three sections; moral, civil, and ceremonial. They will say the moral law remains, but the civil and ceremonial law have been done away with. There are some problems with this; we never see this kind of division hinted at anywhere in the Bible, the first mention of it come from Aquinas, and it doesn’t gel well with what Jesus is saying here about not one iota or dot.

The best help I received and pass onto you is R.T. France’s helpful paraphrase.

Do not suppose that I came to undermine the authority of the OT scriptures, and in particular the law of Moses. I did not come to set them aside but to bring into reality that to which they pointed forward. I tell you truly: the law, down to its smallest details, is as permanent as heaven and earth and will never lose its significance; on the contrary, all that it points forward to will in fact become a reality (and is now doing so in my ministry). So anyone who treats even the most insignificant of the commandments of the law as of no value and teaches other people to belittle them is an unworthy representative of the new regime, while anyone who takes them seriously in word and deed will be a true member of God’s kingdom.

But do not imagine that simply keeping all those rules will bring salvation. For I tell you truly; it is only those whose righteousness of life goes far beyond the old policy of literal rulekeeping which the scribes and Pharisees represent who will prove to be God’s true people in this era of fulfillment.

So it isn’t that we toss parts of the law as unimportant, but that we realize their full significance in light of Jesus. The law then must be read not through a threefold division grid, but in light of Jesus and His fulfilling it.

 

I suppose in our American Idol culture many read these verses, even many Christians, and are not be shocked by them.  We are burned out, broken, and blackened bulbs that believe themselves to be quasars.  We hear truths like, “you were made for greatness” and think “of course – my own;” but “you were made for greatness” does not mean “you are greatness.”  The statement is not meant to curl you in upon yourself, but unfurl you to a transcendent glory.

Here is the shock, that He who is full of glory, grace, and truth, He who is the Light of the World (John 8:12), turns to His disciples, the spiritually bankrupt, and tells them that they are the light of the world.  Jesus’ disciples, who are characterized by the beatitudes, do not respond to such a statement with a casual shrug, but a dropped jaw.  They respond, “I was darkness, and Jesus tells me not ‘be the light’, but ‘you are the light’.  This is the gospel.  This is shocking!”

When others see this light they are to give glory to our Father in heaven, our Father who is above, transcendent, sitting on His heavenly throne enveloped in glory. We do the good works, but He gets the glory – what gives? God is not robbing glory. All of our doing is a result of His work in us by the Holy Spirit because of Jesus Christ. When our light shines others don’t see how wonderful we are, but how glorious our God is.  This light is not our own.  Jesus remains the Light of the World.

Some have said that we are moons; that the glory is not our own, we simply reflect.  I like that analogy, but the language here goes farther than that.  We are not just polished surfaces for light to bounce off of; no, the light pierces our dark hearts and transforms us from within.  The light does not bounce off of the surface, but comes from the inside out. The Light invades and transforms; the Spirit of Christ picks up the shattered pieces of the mirror of the soul, repairs them, and then wipes off the black film.

Burned out, broken, and blackened bulbs do become quasars but the light is not our own.

The emanation or communication of the divine fullness, consisting in the knowledge of God, love to him, and joy in him, has relation indeed both to God and the creature: but it has relation to God as its fountain, as the thing communicated is something of its internal fullness. The water in the stream is something of the fountain; and the beams of the sun are something of the sun. And again, they have relation to God as their object: for the knowledge communicated is the knowledge of God; and the love communicated, is the love of God; and the happiness communicated, is joy in God. In the creature’s knowing, esteeming, loving, rejoicing in, and praising God, the glory of God is both exhibited and acknowledged, his fullness is received and returned. Here is both an emanation and remanation. The refulgence shines upon and into the creature, and is reflected back to the luminary. The beams of glory come from God, are something of God, and are refunded back again to their original. So that the whole is of God, and in God, and to God; and he is the beginning, and the middle, and the end.  – Jonathan Edwards in The End for which God Created the World

Yes, you were made for greatness; it’s just not your own.