Alrighty turn your Bibles if
you would to Matthew chapter 17 We're gonna look at the last
verses of Matthew 17 But I want to begin with the handout tonight
You'll see I said I said a title up below the gospel according
to Mark or according to Matthew part 62 I put in there a little
title to kind of give us a bit of an idea of what it is we're
gonna be looking at tonight and I want you to When I first read
the scriptures that we're going to look at, this is what came
to my mind. The Lord said, I set my face
like a flint, and I put those verses in the top paragraph of
the handout, page 1, Isaiah 50, verse 5 through 8. The Lord God
had opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious. This is speaking
of the Lord Jesus. This is talking about the Lord
Jesus in the covenant, the great covenant between the three and
one before the worlds were created. The Lord God has opened mine
ear and I was not rebellious. He never rebelled against God
the Father. He was in total agreement as
the three of the Godhead are always in total agreement. He says, neither turned away
my back. Folks, we have to understand
the depth. Our salvation is free, but it
costs God his son. He gave his only begotten son
to die that you and I and all those that belong to him would
live. He neither turned away back. He goes on and says, I gave my
back to the smiters and my cheeks to them that plucked off their
hair. I hid not my face from shame and spitting." Folks, he
created those ones who were doing that to him, and he knew this
was coming. He knew this was coming all along.
He hid not his face from shame and spitting, for the Lord God
will help me, he says, therefore shall I not be confounded? Therefore
have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be
ashamed. He is near that justifies me. Now, if you would, I want you
to read the first two verses of our text tonight. Matthew
17, beginning at verse 22. And while they abode in Galilee,
Jesus said unto them, and he's speaking to his disciples, the
son of man shall be betrayed in the hands of men, and they
shall kill him. And the third day he shall be
raised again, and they were exceeding sorry. Every time our Lord has
spoken about his death, he has made it very clear that he would
be raised again on the third day. Consider with me, if you
would, in this passage. We're in the second paragraph
of page one of the handout. Consider with me in this passage
Christ's determination to suffer and die for his elect. Our Lord's
heart was focused upon his death from eternity past. He came into
the world to suffer and die for his people. Wherefore, when he
cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest
not, but a body hast thou prepared me. Hebrews 10 verse 5. Every
step he took moved him with predetermined pace to the appointed place in
the appointed hour when he would lay down his life for the people
he loved from everlasting and have come to save. You'll recall
just a couple weeks back we were looking at a verse where the Lord departed from them because
it was not his time yet, the hour had not come. Nobody took
Nobody was going to take the Lord's life. He laid it down,
and he took it back up again. Our Lord purposed to die at a
certain time, in a certain place, in a certain way, and that's
exactly how each and every one of us will leave this world,
in a certain time, in a certain place. Our days are marked, and
the means for us to leave is, He is the determiner of our habitation. Do you realize that it was God
that put us in this country that we live in and so much enjoy
the privileges that we have today? We should be so thankful that
the Lord has got anybody ruling or making laws and stuff for
us in this country at all. We could live in some place like
Russia and have a dictator over us. The Lord Jesus. seemed to delight in the prospect
of his death as our substitute, because the joy set before him
of our everlasting salvation would be accomplished by his
great sacrifice. Listen to these words from Matthew
16, 22 to 23. We're talking about the Lord
knowing where he was going, knowing what was gonna happen to him,
knowing what he had to face. Then Peter took him and began
to rebuke him. You remember, we looked at this
just a few studies back, saying, be it far from thee, Lord, they
shall not be unto thee, speaking of his death. But he turned and
said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan, thou art an offense
unto me. Now listen to this, for thou
savorous, that means appreciate, that means you savor it, you
kind of just rest yourself in it. Not the things that be of
God. Peter was thinking of himself
and the things of this world. He wasn't thinking of why God
had sent his son. He wasn't understanding. He didn't
have a full understanding of it. For thou savorest not the
things that be of God, but those that be of men. And then over
in Luke 2, verse 48 through 49, we read these words. And this
is speaking of when the Lord's father and mother, he had got
separated from them in one of the feasts. feast days, and they
went looking for him. He says, and when they saw him,
they were amazed. And his mother said unto him,
son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and
I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, how is
it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about
my father's business? And then in Luke 12 verse 50,
But I have a baptism, saith the Lord, to be baptized with, and
how am I straightened, or looking straight at it like a flint,
setting his face like a flint, till it be accomplished. Now
in John 12 verse 27 through 28, Now is my soul troubled, and
what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour,
But for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy
name. Then came there a voice from
heaven saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. Because his heart was fixed upon
us from eternity, he has determined to die upon the cursed tree and
spoke often of the event. Here he tells his disciples now
for the third time how that he must go to Jerusalem and be betrayed
into the hands of men and die. And I put a couple of references
for you there, 16 and 21 and 17, 12, to show you that. Our savior voluntarily laid down
his life for his sheep. Listen to these words from John
10, 17, for everything. Therefore does my father love
me? Because I laid down my life that I might take it again. No
man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power
to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment
have I received of my Father. And he did so by the will, purpose,
and determinate counsel of God the Father, as we read in Acts
2, verse 23, him being delivered by the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God. But let it never be forgotten.
that the Lord of Glory was betrayed and slain by the hands of wicked
men. The Son of Man came into the
world to save men, and was by a man betrayed into the hands
of men, as we read in verse 22. Brother Don Fortner wrote this,
he says, for men he lived, and by man he was betrayed. For men
he died, and by men he died. Nothing would satisfy the rage
of men against him but his blood. God hating man ever cries, give
us his blood. Yet nothing could satisfy the
wrath and the justice of God but his blood. When justice found
our sins upon him, justice cried, give me his blood. Hebrews 9
verse 22, and by his precious sin atoning blood, divine justice
is fully and forever satisfied. As our Savior kept his death
in the forefront of all, his teaching so too much disservance,
we preach Christ crucified. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 23. Because nothing is so needful,
nothing is so vital, so comforting to our souls and so glorious
as this. When we were yet without strength
in due time, Christ died. for the ungodly. Doesn't that
give peace to a sinner's heart, knowing that Christ came to save
sinners? God commendeth his love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Then our Lord assured the disciples
that he would, according to the type and prophecy of the Old
Testament, rise from the dead on the third day. Therefore,
my heart is glad. and my glory rejoiceth, my flesh
also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul
in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of
life in thy presence, is fullness of joy in thy right hand, there
are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16, nine through 11. Thy
dead men shall live together with my dead body, shall they
arise, Isaiah 26, 19. For I delivered unto you first
of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our
sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that
he rose again the third day according to the scriptures, 1 Corinthians
15, three through four. Now the last line of Matthew
17, 23 reads this, and they were exceeding sorry. Some say they
sorrowed because they loved the Savior. No doubt that is true. Others say that they sorrowed
because they were confused and did not understand his doctrine.
That, too, is certainly true. But the Holy Spirit tells us
by Mark that they sorrowed because of their lack of understanding.
That's what we read in Mark 9 verse 32, but they understood not that
saying and were afraid to ask him. And their ignorance was
rooted in lack of faith. John Gill explains how their
grief might arise from their ignorance of the Lord's doctrine.
He says, they seem to have overlooked and to have taken no notice of
his rising again from the dead. Now remember, I mentioned this
before we started here, the Lord never mentions his death without
mentioning being raised again the third day. Nowhere in scripture
have I been able to find anyway. They've kindly overlooked is
what John Gill is saying here, which might have administered
comfort to them if they had taken notice of it. and have relieved
them under their melancholy apprehensions of things. But this they understood
not, nor indeed truly any part of what he had said. So Mark,
and page 4, and Luke intimate. But then it may be said, how
came they to be so very sorrowful, if they did not know what was
said? To which may be replied, writes John Gill, that this might
be the reason of their sorrow because they did not understand
what he said and they were afraid to ask. They could not tell how
to reconcile the betraying of him into the hands of men and
his sufferings and death with their notions that the Messiah
should abide forever and should set up a temporal kingdom in
a great splendor and a magnificence. And what he meant by rising again
from the dead, they could not devise. They could not tell whether
all this was to be understood in a literal or a mystical sense. How often we grieve when there
is no cause. Christ's death was for the glory
of God, by the will of God, and according to the purpose of God.
Isn't that what the Word tells us? It was the means of their
ransom and ours. Our Savior's death upon the cursed
tree was the revelation of God's glory. It was our Savior's path
to glory, joy, and everlasting dominion of God's glory and the
accomplishment of their everlasting redemption in ours. yet they
were exceeding sorry. Why? Partially because they had
counted on an earthly kingdom and earthly joys and earthly
honors. How often do we fall into that
very same thing, thinking to ourselves, we'll be blessed if
we do it a certain way. And I'm not saying we shouldn't
do things, you know, that are according to God's commandments.
I'm not suggesting that one bit. I'm just telling you that we
I know from personal experience, sometimes I expect something
and it doesn't happen so, and I'm disappointed for it. Why?
It's exactly how God had purposed it for me. What do I have to
be disappointed in? You know, I see this more and
more, and my pastor, who lays in a hospital bed right now in
Kentucky, to this point, even laying there in a hospital bed,
John, this is what God has for me. being away from his wife,
unable to take care for her, knowing that she is going through
a terrible moment right now with him not being there. Not remembering
some things that are going on in her life, and the only comfort
she had was being around her husband, yet Jean has the blessedness
of God's grace to say, this is what God has for me right now,
John. I can't express in words how
much that blesses me to hear that. The comfort to know that
all that happens, everything that comes our way, God has purpose
for us. Oh, Lord help us. Lord help us
to take what comes our way without murmurings. These faithful men. were so greatly influenced by
the religion of the Pharisees that they never questioned the
Pharisees' traditions regarding the Savior's kingdom. Blinded
by tradition, they remained ignorant of his plain teaching until he
was raised from the dead. Therefore, he set the truth before
them again and again in almost the same words over and over
again. His death would be a painful,
heavy trial for them, Therefore, it would seem he took great care
to prepare them for it. Next, we read in our text, if
you would go return to your Bible and let's read verses 24 through
27. In verse 24 of Matthew 17, we
read, and when they were come to Capernaum, they that received
tribute money came to Peter and said, doth not your master pay
tribute? He, Peter, saith, Yes. And when
he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest
thou, Simon, of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute,
of their own children or of strangers? Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. And Jesus saith unto him, Then
are the children free? Notwithstanding, lest we should
offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast and hook, and take up
the fish that first cometh up, and when thou hast opened his
mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money, that take and give
unto them for me and thee. Back in our handout, bottom of
page four, During the last six months of his public ministry,
our Lord spent less time with the multitudes and more and more
time in private with his disciples. During these last six months,
he constantly gave them intense, careful instruction, both about
his betrayal, his death, and resurrection for the redemption
of our souls, page five, and about the principles of his kingdom,
the principles of grace, faith and love by which we are to live
in this world for the glory of his name and the advancement
of his kingdom. This is an issue discussed by
none of the other inspired writers. Matthew, who was himself a tax
collector, you remember that, is the only one who mentions
it, but The tribute money here, the tax being discussed, was
not a tax imposed by Caesar or a political government. That
is discussed later in Matthew 22, 17. This tribute money was
a temple tax, which the Roman government allowed the Jews to
collect. It was a religious custom. Originally, it was based upon
God's law. It was the ransom money that
every man was to pay for the maintenance of the tabernacle
and the temple sanctuary, told of in Exodus 30 and 2 Corinthians
24, 6 through 9. From the payment of this redemption
money, there was no exception. There was no exemption. But it
was not a tax levied every year. It was a free tax. It was a free
gift made by every man numbered among the children of Israel.
The Jews, by custom, had made the ordinance of God a fashionable
annual ceremony imposed upon and expected of all who profess
this religion. It was a matter of custom which
they practiced. As usual, it was with great show
Religious people in that day, as it is in ours, who did not
know God, and do not know God now, made it certain that everyone
saw their acts of devotion. You remember they were out in
the marketplace, you know, Lord warned us, don't be as those
who pray in the marketplace out loud. Go to your home and do
it in private, not to be a show of religion. Everyone saw their
acts of devotion. And consequently, when they asked
Peter, does not your master pay tribute? He answered without
a hesitancy, oh, yeah. Though he did not really know
for sure, he said, yeah, of course. Of course he does. And then the
Lord gives us a marvelous, wonderful demonstration of our Savior's
divine majesty. I want to stop there for just
a moment with our handout. I have to share this again. Some
of you have heard this before, but I need to share this again.
There was a time when Kathy and I first were put here in this
ministry, that we weren't in financial trouble here at the
church, but our general fund was quite low. And we needed
some funds to remove a tree that was out here by Gene's office.
Some of you remember it was splitting at the 40-foot mark, and it was
40 feet up above that, and we were quite sure that it was going
to split and land on the building. Well, we didn't have the $3,000
to drop that tree. And I'm at work driving my truck
one day, and I get a phone call from Kathy, and she's just in
total tears. just saw what I'm scared me I
what's going on what happened and she she sputtered out a woman
came by and she told me a little bit about her she was new to
the area and she was looking for somebody to to give money
to some religious organization she could have chosen anybody
she could have gone to any one of these churches but she came
to our door And handed Kathy an envelope. Kathy didn't even
know how much money was in there. She just gave her the envelope. And she said, can I give this
to you? And Kathy said, sure. And she went about her way. We
have not seen her again since. We've never heard. We don't even.
There was $1,000 in that envelope, cash. And it's exactly what we
needed to drop that tree. Don't tell me our Lord doesn't
still create miracles. Don't tell me our Lord doesn't
still deliver the needs of his people in a miraculous way. Oh,
listen to this. In these verses, we see a clear
instructive demonstration of his omniscience. He knows everything
and his omnipotence. He's all-powerful. These two
divine attributes are full of very practical instructions here,
and we cannot be reminded too often that the Lord Jesus Christ,
our God and Savior, knows everything that is thought, Everything that
is thought, let me repeat that again, everything that is thought,
said, and done in this world. Look at Matthew 17, 25 once again,
if you would. He saith, yes, that's Peter. And when Peter was coming to
the house, Jesus prevented him. Stopped him, stopped him from
speaking. Didn't even need to hear what
Peter was gonna say about the tax collectors, about the revenue.
He didn't even need to know. He says, what thinkest thou,
Simon, of whom do these things of the earth take custom or tribute
of their own children or of strangers? He completely changed the subject
of what Peter was on Peter's mind. Peter was coming in the
door thinking he was gonna need to, we gotta come up with some
tax money here. And the Lord stopped him before he could say
a word. When Peter came into the house, apparently to discuss
this matter with the Savior, he prevented him. He showed Peter
that he had heard every word of his conversation with the
tax collectors from the temple. Page six. All things. You know what I thought of as
I was putting this part together? Not one sin that I commit can
I hide from my Lord. Think about that. Think about
that. All things are naked before our
Lord. Nothing is secret. Neither is there any creature
that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked and
opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. That's Hebrews 4, verse 13. Every thought that goes through
our mind, he knows. He knows it before it even comes.
A more solemn realization cannot be imagined, can it? Hypocrisy
is useless. Concealment is impossible. Christ
sees everything, hears everything, and knows everything. We live
in the immediate presence of God. We will be wise always to
realize that fact. J.C. Ryle wrote this. He says,
let us measure every difficult question as to right and wrong
by one simple test. How would I behave? if Jesus
was standing by my side. Such a standard is not extravagant
and absurd. It is a standard that interferes
with no duty or relation of life. It interferes with nothing but
sin. As He is omniscient, all-knowing,
so too our Savior is omnipotent, all-powerful. This is demonstrated
by His power over all creation. He told Peter to go catch a fish,
assuring him that the first fish caught would have the money needed
to pay the tax. Thou madest him to have dominion
over the works of thy hands. Thou hast put all things under
his feet. all sheep, and oxen, yea, and
the beast of the field, the fowl of the air, the fish of the sea,
and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas, O Lord
our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth. This is
what that Psalm was talking about that we read in the beginning
of our study tonight. This is what that's talking about
right there. This is actually Psalm 8 verse 69, but this is
what we are to tell our children. This is what we are to express
to our children, to our young ones, to those who are young
in the faith, those who are babes in the faith. Here is the blessed
fact we must never overlook. Our God will provide for his
own. We may safely serve him and confidently
trust him. God, our Savior, is also God,
our provider. His name is Jehovah Jireh. The Lord will provide, and I
reference Genesis 22-14 and 1 Samuel 2-30 to that very fact. He often
provides our needs supernaturally, and He often does so through
the instrument He has appointed by our faith in and obedience
to Him. Because he trusted Christ, Peter
got his fishing pole and went fishing. But the provision is
God's and God's alone. Beyond those things plainly revealed
in this passage, page 7, there is a beautiful blessed spiritual
truth as well. Our Lord Jesus Christ willingly
came under tribute for our sakes. Listen to these words, 2 Corinthians
8, verse 8. No, Galatians 4, verse 4 through
6. But when the fullness of time
was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under
the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might
receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God
has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying,
Abba, Father. or these words from 2nd Corinthians
8 verse 9, For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that
though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye
through his poverty might be rich. By his one payment A payment
which he provided, tempified in the ransom money required
under the law, given in Exodus 30, 12 through 14, by the sacrifice
of himself, he cleared our debt completely. There were not two
coins in the fish's mouth, one for Peter and one for the Lord
Jesus, our substitute. There was one piece of money
which made payment for both Peter and his Savior. There was one
sacrifice for sins that our Lord gave payment for, for his people. His people were cleared in him. What a picture this is of our
complete union with Christ in redemption. Our debt became his. His payment was and is ours. By his one sacrifice, both surety
and those for whom he died must go free. In all things, seek
the glory of God as we read in 1 Corinthians 10 31, wherefore,
whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do
for the glory of God. Let us live in the awareness
of his presence. Let us live to honor his name. Let us seek to help others by
our behavior, molding our lives to Christ's example. If our Savior
performed a miracle, then to pay tribute for Peter, we ought
to be confident that he will not now fail to supply all our
needs. Robert Hawker wrote this, he
says, oh how blessedly does every incident in the life of Christ,
in the life of Christ, minister instruction in grace and comfort.