Turn with me, if you would, to
Matthew chapter 22. Matthew chapter 22. The last time that we were in
Matthew, we ended the message with verse 14, where our Lord
said, many are called, but few are chosen. Many are called,
but few are chosen. As you know, our Lord is preaching
in the temple. This is the week leading up to
his crucifixion. And he is teaching and instructing,
and the Pharisees are disputing with him, and that's what's happening
right now. He said, concerning sinners,
concerning men and women on this earth, he said, many are called,
but he told them, few are chosen. Few are chosen. And that upset the Pharisees. And it always does. It always
does. So verse 15, it says, then went
the Pharisees and took counsel how they might entangle him in
his talk. They decided they were going
to stump him and catch him and entangle him with their questions. And they weren't the only ones
who wanted to do that. Everybody wanted to get in on
that. Now from this point to the end
of the chapter, if you look all the way to the end of the chapter,
verse 46, there are four interactions, there are four exchanges or four
segments to what happened in this moment. And I had every
intention of looking at each one of them in their own message. And I may still do that. I may
come back and look at each one of them in their own message
or bits and pieces of things, because there is a lot that is
said right here. Each one of these encounters
is worthy of its own message. A lot is said in each one of
these exchanges that these men had with the Lord. But let me
tell you what our message today is gonna focus on. As I read
through to the end of the chapter, all the way to the end, I saw
a big picture message that I would like for you to see today. Okay,
there's a message in each one. And then collectively, there
is a big picture message, and I want us to see that message
today in the fullness of everything that is being said right here.
And I really want to get it across. There's a lot. You're gonna say,
well, you just read right over that. I know. There's a lot. There's a lot right here. But
in the fullness of everything that's being said, all of the
subjects that are brought up, all of the issues, at the heart
of everything that's being said right here is a clear, simple
gospel declaration of Jesus Christ. And that's what I want us to
see today. Right in the midst of all of these complicated subject
matters. is the simplicity that is in
Christ. That's what I want us to get
to this morning, the simplicity that is in Christ. I asked our
brother to read Philippians 3 for our scripture reading. I felt
like that was such an appropriate scripture reading for this because
Paul said, concerning this issue and concerning that matter and
concerning all these things, I count it all dung that I may
win Christ. He said, that's all that matters.
That's all that matters. And that's what I want us to
get to this morning, the simplicity that is in Christ. Now let's
read this first segment. Verse 15, it says, then went
the Pharisees and took counsel how they might entangle him in
his talk. And they sent out unto him their
disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that
thou art true and teacheth the way of God in truth. Neither
carest thou for any man, for thou regardest not the person
of men. Tell us, therefore, what thinkest
thou? Is it lawful to give tribute
unto Caesar or not? What they were saying was, God
told us, the Jews, to give our tithe to him. But this man is telling us to
give our tax to him, this Gentile heathen man. What should we do? Should we do it or should we
not do it? What do you think about that?
What do you think? Should we do it or should we
not do it? What do you have to say concerning
what we should do? Verse 18, but Jesus perceived
their wickedness and said, why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Show me the tribute money. And
they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, whose
is the image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar's.
Then saith he unto them, render therefore unto Caesar the things
which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's.
When they had heard these words, they marveled and left him and
went their way. Now I will sum up that exchange
in just a moment. Here's the second interaction,
verse 23. The same day came to him the
Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection. They don't
believe in a resurrection. And asked him, saying, Master,
Moses said, if a man die having no children, his brother shall
marry his wife and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were
with us seven brethren, and the first, when he had married a
wife, deceased, he died. and having no issue, having no
children, left his wife unto his brother. Likewise, the second
also, he died. And the third, unto the seventh. And last of all, the woman died
also. Therefore, in the resurrection,
whose wife shall she be of the seven? For they all had her. What they were saying was, what
should they be? Legally, lawfully, rightly. Because of death, this one woman
was married to seven different men, seven brothers, according
to the law. In the resurrection, should the
oldest be her husband? And should she be the wife of
the oldest? Or should the youngest be her husband and she be the
wife of the youngest? Or any of the five in between?
What do you think? What do you think about that? What do you have to say concerning
what we should be? That's what they're asking the
Lord. Verse 29, Jesus answered and said unto them, you do err
not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God. Or in the resurrection,
they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels
of God in heaven. But as touching the resurrection
of the dead, have you not read that which was spoken unto you
by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac
and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead,
but of the living. And when the multitude heard
this, they were astonished. at his doctrine. Now I will sum
up that exchange in just a moment. Here's the third interaction.
Verse 34. But when the Pharisees had heard
that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered
together. Then one of them, which was a
lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him and saying, Master,
Which is the great commandment in the law? What they were saying
was, what about the law? What do you think? What do you
have to say concerning the law? Verse 37. Jesus saith unto him,
thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with
all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first and great
commandment. And the second is like unto it.
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments
hang all the law and the prophets. Now this is the fourth interaction
right here. Verse 41. While the Pharisees
were gathered together, Jesus asked them. They questioned him. They questioned him. They questioned
him, and then he questioned them. And what he said to them right
here is what he was saying to them all along. Verse 41, while
the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, what
think ye of Christ? What think ye of Christ? What he is saying is, and this
is what he's saying. You're missing Christ. That's
what he's saying. You're missing Christ. That was
his response. You're missing Christ. They were talking about this
issue and that issue. We have all these issues we need
to discuss. Now there's a lot of issues we
need to get sorted out and settled now. They said, what about what
we do? He said, you're missing Christ. They said, well, what about what
we are? He said, you're missing Christ. They said, well, what about the
law? He said, you're missing Christ. You're missing Christ. You're missing Christ. This is what needs to be declared
to false religion. You're missing Christ. It's not about what I do. It's
about what he has done. It's not about who I am. It's
about who he is. It's not about my fulfillment
of the law. It's about his fulfillment of
the law. Our Lord concluded each one of
these situations by saying to them, you have missed Christ. You're missing Christ. Verse 41. While the Pharisees
were gathered together, Jesus asked them saying, what think
ye of Christ? Whose son is he? Whose son is
he? They say unto him, the son of
David. Do you know what he said to them in response to that?
You're missing Christ. Look at verse 43. He saith unto
them, how then doth David in spirit call him Lord? Saying, the Lord said unto my
Lord, sit thou on my right hand till I make thine enemies thy
footstool. If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? And no man was able to answer
him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him
any more questions. False religion will dance around
every subject known to man, but the only subject that matters. Our Lord said, let's get to the
only issue that matters. What think ye of Christ? Verse
42, what think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? They say unto
him, the son of David. He saith unto them, how then
doth David in spirit call him Lord? If he's David's son, why
did David call him Lord? saying, the Lord said unto my
Lord, sit thou on my right hand until I make thine enemies thy
footstool. If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? And let's go ahead and answer
that question before we move any further. If David called
him Lord, what that means is if David called him God, if David
called him Jehovah, if David called him the eternal existing
one, How could he call him his son?
Here's the only way. Here's the only way. God, Jehovah,
the eternal existing one would have to be manifest in the flesh. Made flesh, the eternal existing
one would have to be born of a virgin in time. The God of
the heavens would have to be contained in a body. The God
of everything would have to be contained in a body. What a mystery. What a mystery. The glorious
news of the gospel is God came down to do for his people what
needed to be done for them. God came down to be for His people
what He needed to be for them. God came down to fulfill and
satisfy and deliver His people out from under every law that
was over them. They said to Him, what about
a payment that, okay, this payment, what about a payment that needs
to be made? You know, there's a payment that has to be made
for our sin. And our Lord said, look to Christ. That's what he
said, look to Christ. They said, what about a union?
What about a husband and a bride? What about a marriage that has
to take place between a husband and a bride? He said, you look
to Christ. Look to Christ. They said, what
about a law that has to be fulfilled? He said, look to Christ. What
think ye of Jesus Christ? Whose son is he? Whose son is
he? If we say he's the son of David,
then why did David call him Lord? If we say he's the son of God,
then why did the father look at him and say, you sit down
on your throne, oh God. Who is this man? What think we
of Christ? Who is Jesus Christ? That's the
question. That is the question of all questions.
That's the only question that needs to be answered. What think
ye of Christ? A child of God will say, and I'll go ahead and
just, I'll ask the question right now. What think ye of Christ?
What do you think? They said, what do you think?
What do you think? He said, what do you think of Christ? What think
ye of Christ? I'll ask every person here. I'll
ask myself too. What think ye of Christ? A child
of God will say, a soul who was chosen by the Father,
redeemed by the Son, and called by the Spirit will say, whatever this word says about
Christ, that's what I think about him. That's the answer that a
child of God will give. Whatever the Word of God says
about Jesus Christ, that's what I think about Him. What does
the Word of God say about Christ? Genesis 1 says, He is the one
that was in the beginning. John 1 supports that. He is the
one. Was He born? Did He begin 2,000
years ago? No. He was the one in the beginning. Revelation 22 says He will be
the one in the end. Genesis tells us He is the ark
of our salvation. What do you think of Christ?
What do you think of Jesus Christ? Well, Genesis says He is the
ark of salvation. Exodus tells us He is the Lamb
that was slain. Numbers tells us He is the rock
that was smitten. Ruth says He is the Redeemer
who has the right to redeem. That warms my heart. Samuel says He is the anointed
King of God's people. The Psalm says, He is the good,
great, chief shepherd of God's people. Isaiah 42 says, He's the servant. Isaiah 53 says, He is the root
out of dry ground. Lamentations 3 says, He is the
faithful one. of compassion and mercy. Malachi says He is the Son risen
with healing in His wings. Matthew 1.21 says He is the Savior
of His people from their sins. Matthew 1.23 says He is Emmanuel,
God with us. What do you think of Jesus Christ?
Mark says he is the preacher of the Scripture. Luke says he is the fulfillment
of the Scripture. All Scripture, beginning at Moses,
all the Psalms, all the prophets. Mark says he's the preacher of
the Scripture. Luke says he's the fulfillment
of the Scripture. John says he is the very Word
of Scripture himself. In the beginning was the Word. John 10 says he is one with the
Father. I and my Father are one. John
17 says he is the keeper of the Father's people. John 19 says
he is the finisher of the Father's work. Romans 10 says he is the end
of the law for righteousness, the righteousness that people
need to stand before God. Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5 says he's the
substitute who was made to be the sin of
his people. Call his name Jesus, he will
save his people. How? God will make him to be
sin who knew no sin. the sin of his people, that his
people might be made to be the righteousness of God in him.
Ephesians 5 says he's the head of the church. What do you think
of Jesus Christ? Ephesians 5 says he's the head of the church. Philippians 2 says he is Lord
of all. Won't you make Jesus Lord? He
is Lord. He has risen from the dead and
he is Lord. Colossians 1 says he is the creator
of all things. All things. What do you think
of Jesus Christ? Well, Colossians 1 says he is
the one who actually created all these things. Colossians
2 says he is the fullness of all things. All fullness is in
him. Colossians 3 says he is all things. Christ is all. Verse Timothy 2 says he is the
only mediator between God and man. Boy, you think of Jesus
Christ. Hebrews 1 says he is the express
image of God and man. Hebrews 7 says he is our prophet,
our priest, and our king forever. No one's taking his place. He
has an unchangeable priesthood, an unchangeable throne, and an
unchangeable message. Hebrews 12 says, he is the author
and the finisher of our faith. 1 John 2 says, he is our advocate
with the Father. Benny Manzin, we have an advocate
with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. First John 5 says
he is the manifestation of the only true God that there is. Revelation 22 says he is Alpha
and Omega, the beginning and the end, the one who is coming
back very quickly, very quickly. And all who have been given eyes
to see him, they say, Amen, even so, come Lord Jesus. What do God's people think of
Christ? They think Christ is all. They
do. They think Christ is all. Christ
is everything to them. No matter what the question is.
See if you don't find this to be so in your heart. No matter
what the question is, Christ is the answer. No matter what
we need to do, Christ is the answer. No matter what we need
to be, Christ is the answer. Whatever God requires, Christ
is the answer. Whatever the law requires, Christ
is the answer. Like Thomas said, my Lord and
my God, I believe on you. Doubting Thomas said, I believe
on you. You're my Lord, you're my God. That's not too doubting,
is it? Doubting in himself. Full of faith in Christ. Lord,
you are all, you're all. You are my all. Christ is all
I need. Christ is all I need. That's
what we think of Christ, isn't it? Christ is all I need. Once
a sinner sees that, and this is so true, this right here is
so true. Once a sinner sees that, there are no more questions.
You know that? People come into the truth with
so many questions. They hear the truth of the Word,
and it's shocking to them. They've never heard it before
because people don't preach it. So when somebody actually opens
the Word and reads it, people are shocked. They're like, I've
never heard that. But there it is. And it creates all these
questions, so many questions. Well, what about this? Christ. Well, what about that? Christ. Whatever this requires, Christ.
Whatever payment, whatever punishment, whatever condemnation, Christ. Christ. What think ye of Christ? My heart was so settled when
God revealed Christ to me. I've told you this so many times,
but I used to read this word and it says, whoever does this
is going to hell. And I'd think, I'd do that. And whoever doesn't do this,
you're not coming into heaven. I don't do that. What hope is there for me? Christ. This says I deserve punishment. I got it in Christ. This says if I don't do that,
I can't go into heaven. I haven't done it in my flesh,
but I have done it in Christ. Because He did it for me. As
my substitute, as my representative. Christ, Christ, the longer a
sinner hears the truth concerning Christ, the more that sinner
will say, I think He's all. I think He's all. What do you
think? What think ye of Christ? I think
He is all that God needs. I think He's all that the law
needs. I think He's all that justice
needs. I think He's all that judgment
needs. I think He's all that heaven
needs. I know He's all that I need. I think Christ is all. I think Christ is all. This Huckster Jack was a poor,
wicked fellow who had gone about from village to village swearing,
drinking, huckstering, and perhaps pilfering. Some thought him half-witted,
but the story would show his whim to be sound enough. He heard
a poor woman sing somewhere, I'm a poor sinner and nothing
at all, but Jesus Christ is my all and in all. He remembered
the words and what was better, he felt their sense. I'm a poor
sinner and nothing at all, but Jesus Christ is my all and in
all. And he kept on humming them to
himself till God's good spirit engraved them on his heart. So
he assayed to join himself unto the church, but the brethren
looked suspiciously at him and inquired, What is your experience? He said, I had no experience,
but this, I'm a poor sinner and nothing at all, but Jesus Christ
is my all and in all. The good elders very properly
asked, Are you converted? Have you been born again? And
Jack replied, I do not know much about these things, but I do
know and am sure of, I'm a poor sinner and nothing at all, but
Jesus Christ is my all and in all. They put him back for a
while to try if he would grow in his knowledge, but he never
went an inch beyond the first standard. He knew what he did
know, and to that he held fast. I'm a poor sinner and nothing
at all, but Jesus Christ is my all and in all. Well, they must
take him into the church. They could not well refuse a
man with such a confession of faith. And when he was in the
church walking with the brethren, he was happier than the rest
of them. at which they greatly marveled, and one said to him,
Brother Jack, don't you sometimes feel doubts and fears? Doubts,
he said? What do you mean? I never doubt
that I'm a poor sinner and nothing at all, for I have daily proofs
of it. And why should I doubt that Jesus
Christ is my all in all? For he says he is, and I must
believe him. Ah, well, said one, sometimes
I enjoy good frames and feelings and feel very happy, and then
I lose them and sink in spirit. Jack answered, I never get lower
than I am, for I'm down at the bottom, a poor sinner and nothing
at all. I cannot get lower than that,
can I? But I'm also at the top, for Jesus Christ is my all in
all. I cannot get higher than that,
can I? They tried him with many ways in their blessed experience
of which you and I have got cartloads, perhaps wagon loads, but he could
not be drawn out of his one firm position. They tried him with
their various attainments, depressions, anxieties, quibbles, and questions,
but still the huckster would not budge. He had bought the
truth and would not sell it. And so he stuck to him. I'm a
poor sinner and nothing at all, but Jesus Christ is my all and
in all. I pray God will answer all of
our questions with that right there. Christ is all. Christ is all. Jesus Christ is
my all and he's in all. Amen.