John chapter, excuse me, Matthew
chapter 17. Did I say John? You'll have to overlook my frailty.
Matthew 17, that'll work better. John 17 is a good chapter, though.
That's the Lord's Priestly Prayer. You knew I meant Matthew 17.
You knew that, didn't you? You just have to overlook. Matthew
17. So I'm taking the title for the
message from what is said there in verse 27. Thou shalt find
a piece of money, take and give unto them for me and thee. That money that was paid to the
temple, that tribute money, was for a ransom. Ransom money for
an atonement for the soul. And we know the Lord Jesus Christ,
He paid the tribute money for us with His own blood. That's what our substitute did
for us. Christ paid all our sin debt
with His own blood. We're going to turn and read
at the end of the message what is said in Matthew 20, 28. The
Lord Jesus Christ came to give His life a ransom. a ransom for
many. He paid the debt. All the debt
I owed, He paid it. He paid it in full. Now, there's
two parts to this message. The first part is verse 22 and
verse 23. While they abode in Galilee,
Jesus said unto them, the Savior said unto them, the Son of Man,
shall be betrayed into the hands of men. And he was, he was. He was arrested and turned over
to the ungodly Romans and they shall kill him. And the third
day he shall be raised again. And they were sorry. They were exceeding sorry. So the first thing I want us
to consider is the Lord's absolute determination to give His life
a ransom for His people, to lay down His life for us. We read
in Isaiah chapter 50, the Lord set His face like a flint to
go to Jerusalem. They couldn't turn Him or deter
Him. We see His unchanging determination
to lay down His life for His sheep. We studied in Luke 9,
verse 51, he set his faith steadfastly to go to Jerusalem. And then
in John 10, he said, I'll lay down my life for the sheep. He
said, no man takes my life. I lay it down on myself. I have
power to lay it down. I have power to take it again.
This commandment have I received of my father. The great price
of our salvation was paid in full by our Lord Jesus Christ
with His own blood. He obtained for us, we study
in the book of Hebrews all about the blood atonement, the Lord
Jesus Christ. As our great high priest, He
didn't bring the blood of bulls and goats, but His own blood,
and He obtained for us eternal redemption with His own blood.
God bought the church with his own blood. He ransomed us. Deliver them from going down
to the pit. I found a ransom. That ransom price is Christ.
And when that ransom price is paid, Prisoners go free. The children are free. We're
going to see in just a minute. He bought us with a great price,
didn't he? His blood. As the Lord Jesus Christ moved
closer to the appointed hour. And some think this is said about
six months away from the time in which he would give his life
for our sin. As the Lord moved closer to that appointed hour,
he mentioned his death more often. More often. Go back one page,
Matthew 16, verse 21. From that time forth, Matthew
16, 21, Jesus began to show unto his disciples how that he must
go to Jerusalem, he must suffer many things as the elders, chief
priests, and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again.
He must. He must. And he mentions that
again in chapter 17, Matthew 17, The last part of verse 12, likewise
also the Son of Man shall suffer of them. As John the Baptist
was killed, he said the Lord Jesus Christ will be killed as
well. Now turn a couple pages to Matthew
20 verse 17. The Lord as he marches toward
that appointed hour, To that determined end, He talks more
and more and more about how He must die for us. Matthew 20 verse
17, And Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples apart
in the way, and said to them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem,
verse 18, and the Son of Man shall be betrayed unto the chief
priests, unto the scribes, and they shall condemn Him to death,
and they shall deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge
and to crucify Him, and the third day He shall rise again." So
as the Lord marches toward that appointed hour, that special
hour, He knows exactly what's going to happen, He knows how
it's going to happen, and He's known this from all eternity,
yet He does not turn from it. He said, I came to lay down my
life to save my people from their sin. Now I want you to turn to
John chapter 12. John chapter 12. He said, for
this cause came I to this hour. John chapter 12. Let's read this
for a minute. John chapter 12, beginning at
verse 23. John 12, 23. And Jesus answered
them, saying, The hour is come that the Son of Man should be
glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth
alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth
much fruit. He that loveth his life shall
lose it. He that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto
eternal life. If any man serve me, let him
follow me, and where I am there shall also my servant be. If
any man serve me, let him let Serve me, him will my father
honor. Now, verse 27, now is my soul
troubled. What shall I say? Father, save
me from this hour, but for this cause came I to this hour. Father, glorify thy name. So the Lord knows that this hour
is appointed of God. that He came to fulfill all things
for us. The Lord Jesus Christ from all
eternity knew the cost of our salvation. He willingly accepted
to pay the ransom for us, that ransom price, that price to secure
our everlasting salvation. And that's what He obtained for
us, eternal redemption, everlasting salvation. Remember from our
study In the revelation of Jesus Christ, chapter 13, the Lord
is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. That's always been
God's purpose. Before Adam ever sinned, before
Adam ever fell, the Lord Jesus Christ stood as the surety of
the everlasting covenant of grace. We are redeemed, Peter said,
with the precious blood of Christ. And the Lord Jesus Christ, verily,
was the Lamb foreordained before the foundation of the world,
but was manifest for you in these last days. In the fullness of
the time, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under
the law to redeem them that were under the law. And notice particularly
what the Lord says in verse 22 of Matthew 17, the Son of Man,
the Son of Man shall be betrayed. and delivered into the hands
of men. He calls himself the Son of Man often. This is the
same one who is no doubt the only begotten well-beloved Son
of God. But he's called the Son of Man
81 times in the four Gospels. More than he's called the Son,
he's called the Son of Man 81 times. More often than he's called
the Son of God. The Son of Man we find 81 times.
the Son of God 28 times. He is both God and man and one
blessed person. He had to be both in order to
accomplish our salvation. Paul writes about it in 1 Timothy
Chapter 2, one God, one mediator between God and man, that is
the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Without controversy, great is
the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh.
He is the Son of God. He is the Son of Man, but He's
also God the Son. Man alone could not satisfy the
holy law of God. God alone could not suffer and
die, but the God-Man both suffered and satisfied, honoring the law
of God for us. Yes, He is the Son of Man, and
yes, He is the Son of God, married in one blessed person. He had
to be. You remember Peter's confession?
Turn back over here to Matthew 16. Matthew 16. Remember he asked, whom do men
say that I, the Son of Man am? Verse 13. Who do men say that
I, the Son of Man am? Well, some said John the Baptist,
other Elijah, Jeremiah, one of the other prophets. But he said
to them, verse 15, but whom say ye that I am? Simon Peter answered
and said, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Yes, he is the Son of Man. Yes,
He is the Son of God and one blessed person. And He had to
be both. He had to be both to accomplish our salvation. Now
the second thing I want us to see, it says there, the Son of
Man shall be betrayed into the hands of men. And we know that
He's talking about the betrayal of Judas, right? We know that
the betrayal of Judas was foretold. It's foretold in the book of
Psalms. Psalm 109 verse 8. I believe that reference is given
there, isn't it? I'm not sure, but I know that
reference is given there on that verse where it says, let another
take his office and his days be few. The Lord Jesus Christ
fully knew who Judas was and what he planned to do in his
heart to betray the Lord for 30 pieces of silver. Now turn
over here to Matthew 26. Matthew 26. And we see this all through the
scripture. The Lord said, I've chosen you 12 and one of you
the devil. The Lord knew exactly who Judas
was and exactly what Judas was going to do. Matthew 26, look
at verse 21. They here are observing the Passover. Matthew 26, 21, as they did,
he said, verily I say unto you that one of you shall betray
me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to
say unto him, Lord, is it I? Now what a shock that must have
been. One of you is going to betray me. And they were exceeding
sorrowful, and began every one of them to say, Lord, is it I?
Notice, Lord, is it I? And he answered and said, he
that dippeth his hand with me in this dish, the same shall
betray me. The Son of Man goeth as it is
written, But woe unto the man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It had been better for that man
if he had not been born. Then Judas, verse 25, which betrayed
him, answered and said, notice what he says here. The other
said, Lord, is it I? Judas said, Master. He didn't
call him Lord. They didn't own him as Lord.
Is it I? And he said unto him, thou hast
said. The Lord knew that he would be
betrayed of Judas. We must always remember these
things were ordained of God, right? They shall, and then look
at verse 23. And they, he shall be betrayed,
verse 23 of Matthew 17. They shall kill him. And the
third day, he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding
sorrowful. Exceeding awful, the law of God
demands the guilty must die. They shall kill him. The soul
that sinned shall surely die. The Lord Jesus Christ was made
guilty. Our sin was reckoned to Him.
He was made guilty for our sin when they were tarred to His
account. His soul was made an offering for sin. God made Him
to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the
righteousness of God in Him." Judas, Pilate, Herod, the Pharisees,
the Romans all did what their wicked heart desired to do, right? But in doing so, they accomplished
the eternal will and purpose of God. Now let's look at that.
Turn over here to the book of Acts. The book of Acts, right
after John, the book of Acts chapter two, verse 22. Acts chapter two, verse 22. You
men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs which God
did by him in the midst of you, as you yourselves also know,
him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, you have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain,
whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it
was not possible that he should be holding of it. When he put
away our sin, death had no more claim on him. Turn a couple pages
to Acts chapter 4. Acts chapter 4 verse 25, who
by the mouth of the servant David said, why do the heathen rage?
That's Psalm 2. Acts chapter 4 verse 25, And
the people imagined the vain thing. The kings of the earth
stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the
Lord and against his Christ. For the truth against thy holy
child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Gentiles,
and all the people of Israel, We're gathered together for to
do whatsoever thy hand, thy counsel determined before to be done. They shall kill him. He shall
be betrayed. They shall kill him. And the
third day he shall be raised again. The third day he shall
be raised up. Had to be. Levered for our offenses,
raised again for our justification. On the third day, the Son of
Man, must be raised from the dead. Now, if He's not raised
from the dead, we have no Savior. If He's not raised from the dead
and ascended and seated, we have no Savior. We have no forgiveness. We have no deliverance from our
sin. His resurrection declares at
least two things. At least two things. He's declared
to be the Son of God by the resurrection from the dead. That declares
that he is the Son of God. The second thing, his resurrection
declares, that his work is absolutely successful. When he by himself
purged our sin, he sat down on the right hand of the throne
of God. This is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. The
Father is well pleased and satisfied with the sacrifice of the Lord
Jesus Christ. His death and his atonement for
sin wasn't an attempt to put away sin, it was a full, complete
atonement for our sin. But notice what it says there
in the last part of verse 23, and they were exceeding sorry. They were exceeding sorrowful. Now remember before, back in
Matthew 16, when the Lord told them that he must die, that he
must be betrayed, that he must be raised, and Peter took him
and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, remember?
Peter rebuked him. And the Lord said, Peter, get
behind me, get out of the way, get behind me, Satan, for thou
art a fence to me. Thou sabrest not the things that
be of God, but those things that be of man. They were exceeding
sorrowful, but notice Peter here doesn't rebuke the Lord. Peter's
learned something about God's eternal purpose. But they were
exceeding sorrowful, not sorrowful, not understanding all that the
Lord accomplished in his agonizing death, only thinking about the
Lord whom they loved. The Lord whom they loved. They
didn't want to see this one whom they loved died. We don't want
to see our loved ones died. They were only thinking about
the Lord in His agonizing death. They overlooked the good news,
He must be raised again. You know, they heard that first
part, and they thought, oh no, oh no. And it's almost like they
didn't hear Him saying, I'm going to be raised again the third
day. Oftentimes, we fret and worry. when there's
absolutely no reason to do so. Now I'm thinking about myself.
We fret and worry as these men did here that day, not looking
at the full picture down the road. The Lord is working all
things for our good. We fret and worry when we absolutely
have no good reason to do so. Oh, we know all things work together
for good to them who love God, to them who are the called according
to His purpose. We know that our light afflictions
work for us, not against us. The trials the Lord sends our
way, He sends by purpose. What was great sorrow to them,
the Lord rejoiced in His accomplishment. And they did too later on, after
His resurrection, after His ascension. The Lord said upon the Calvary
tree, it is finished, it is finished. We studied in Hebrews 12, who
for the joy that was set before him, the joy that was set before
him endured the cross, despising his shame, and he sat down on
the right hand of the throne of God. The Lord Jesus Christ
did agonize, but he's looking beyond that to his eternal glory
and what he accomplished in our salvation. But even after the
Lord was raised from the dead, these same men, he told them
repeatedly that he would die, that he would be raised again.
Even after the Lord was raised from the dead, these same men
did not believe the report of the women. The women went to
the grave and the messenger said, why are you seeking the living
among the dead? He's not here, he's risen. Go
tell the disciples. And they did. And you know what
it says? Their thoughts were of what those
women said when the women come back and said, He's risen! It
says in Luke 24, their words seem to be idle tales. They did not believe. The two
disciples on the road to Emmaus, remember, the risen Lord appeared
to them and walked along with them and said, O fools, slow
of heart, all that believe, to believe all that the prophets
have spoken, ought not Christ to have suffered these things
and to enter into His glory? And beginning with Moses and
all the prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures
concerning Himself." Now it just took a while for it to really
sink in. Later on in the book of Acts,
when the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to glory, The apostles went everywhere
preaching Christ and Him crucified. But if you read through the book
of the preaching of the book, in the book of Acts of the apostles,
almost without exception in every sermon, you know what they preach?
His resurrection, His resurrection. Oh, they were glad He was raised
from the dead. We should follow the example
of the apostles and to be always determined to preach the Lord
Jesus Christ, his person and his work, and his glorious resurrection. Go into all the world and preach
the gospel to every, every, every creature. Now here's a second
part of this story. So the Lord points them to his
death, burial, and resurrection as the hope of our salvation.
And then in verse 24, down through verse 27, we have this, and Matthew
is the only writer Mark, Luke, and John do not mention this.
This is the only place it's mentioned in scripture. And when they would
come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to
Peter and said, does your master pay tribute? And he said, yes. Does not your master pay tribute?
Yes, he does. Did he really know? I don't think
he really knew, but he said, yeah. Yes, and when he was come into
the house, and some think that they were in Peter's house there
in Capernaum, Jesus prevented him, or that is he anticipated,
saying, what thinkest thou, Simon, of whom do the kings of the earth
take custom or tribute, of their own children or strangers? And then Peter said unto him,
well, They don't tax their own children, they don't tax their
own family, strangers. And the Lord said to him, then
are the children free. We are by nature strangers, without
God, without hope, without Christ. But by the grace of God, we are
children who have been made free. Barif and Malaw, oh happy condition. Jesus had bled and there is remission. We have this providential picture
of the gospel of Christ, the Lord knowing all things and providing
all things for us. The Lord pays the tribute money
to the temple for Peter and for himself, one coin, one prize
for both. And the point is, the Lord will
provide for us. Peter was asked about the tribute
money that was collected for the tabernacle and later for
the temple. We read about it in Exodus chapter 30. When they
asked Peter about this tribute money, Peter said, well, yes,
yes. The Lord was always about obeying
the word of God and the law of God. And he did that not only
for himself, but for us. His faithfulness and his obedience
is our righteousness before God. The Lord is well pleased for
his righteousness sake. He will magnify the law and make
it honorable. Remember, the Lord said, I didn't
come to destroy the law and the prophets. I came to honor it. And that's what he did. When
Peter was coming to the house, the Lord anticipated, and he
fully knew the conversation that Peter had and what he said. Here
we see something of the Lord's omniscience. He knows all things. He knows every thought in our
mind. This is a God with whom we have to do. He knows all things
afar off, and He is acquainted with all our ways. Hebrews 13
says, neither is there any creature that's not manifest in His sight.
All things are naked and open unto the eyes of Him with whom
we have to do. The Lord knew exactly what Peter
said, and He knew exactly what this conversation was. In Psalm
139, the Lord has searched me, David said, and known me. Thou
knowest my down sittings, my uprising. Thou understandest
my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my
lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. There is not
a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. The Lord knew everything Peter
said and what He thought at that very moment. Then the Lord asked
Peter about this paying the tribute tax. Did the kings of the earth,
did they tax their own children or strangers? Well, Peter knew
the answer, didn't he? They don't tax their own family.
They tax strangers. And I love this statement here.
You see that last part of verse 26, then are the children free. He's made us sons of God by His
grace. He has honored the law of God
for us. He's paid everything that we
owe, and He has set us free. The children are free! Free! No longer strangers. Free! Set free. The Lord Jesus Christ,
being King of kings, And Lord of Lords, one who is greater
than Solomon, greater than the temple, he owes no temple tax
or tribute because he's the owner of all things. Yet, as the Son
of Man, He's going to obey the Law of God for us. And we are
sons of God in His Kingdom, being set free from the bondage of
the Law, because of the blood atonement of Christ, and the
righteous faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ. He truly has
set us free from the curse of the Law, hasn't He? We read in
John chapter 8, you shall know the truth, and the truth shall
set you free. Whom the Son set free, He is
free indeed. We're no longer strangers, that's
us by nature. But now we're sons of God, and
the children have been set free by the Lord Jesus Christ paying
our debt. Oh, what manner of love the Father
hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called sons of God.
Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ has
set us free. Then, he said, the children are
free. Free indeed. Free indeed. We are free. Now, the last verse,
verse 27. Notwithstanding, lest we should
offend or needlessly offend those temple tax collectors, Go to
the sea and cast a hook and take up the fish that first cometh
up." Now, Peter, remember what Peter did before the Lord called
him into the ministry? He was a professional fisherman.
He knew exactly how to catch fish. But I bet he never caught
a fish that had a coin in its mouth until this day. And the
Lord said, you take a fishing line and a hook. I guess it was
a bare hook. Throw out the line and pull in
this fish. Now Bridget and I were fishing
one time in Canada years and years and years ago and we fished
and fished and fished and fished and you remember, she caught
one fish with a bare hook on the back of the fish and rolled
it into the boat. But take this hook, cast it in,
and take out the fish, the first fish that you catch, and when
you'd open his mouth, you'll find exactly the price that we
need, that I need, the half shekel, to pay the ransom price for me
and what I do you do. That's that union with Christ,
that union with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord of glory shows
us he's not only omniscient, He knew what Peter said, but
the Lord of Glory is also most powerful. omnipotent. The almighty sovereign God, who
is also most wise, he acts in such a way as to not to needlessly
offend. As a Lord of glory, he owes no
tax. He's the King of kings. But willingly,
to keep from needlessly offending, he's willing to pay the price. Willing to pay the price. The
Lord Jesus Christ accomplished all of our salvation by himself,
with himself. We can learn something here about
needlessly offending our friends when we don't need to. Now, we're
not to compromise the gospel to get along, I'm not saying
that. But there are things that we can just leave off, that we
don't need to be needlessly offensive. We'll never compromise on who
Jesus Christ is and what he accomplished and how he saved sinners, but
there are things that we can let go. Just let it go to maintain
peace. As much as possible, that life
within you live peaceably with all men. The old timers called
that things of indifference. Things of indifference. What
might bother me might not bother you, but if I know that it bothers
you, What should I do? Just rub, take some salt, put
it in the wound? Let it go. Let it go. Don't needlessly
offend. Now, here's the last point. The
Lord of glory demonstrates again his mighty power over all things. Now, whether he, by his power,
puts the coin in the fish's mouth or by his knowledge, he knew
the coin was there, Was it by his power that he put it there?
Or was it by his omniscience that he knew it was there? I
think both are true. I think he put it there. That's
why he knew it was there. The Lord Jesus Christ instructs
Peter how to receive the exact amount to pay the tribute money
for both of them. One coin for both of them. What
the Lord did, Peter did. Cast in the hook and pull out
the first fish. The exact money for me and for
you. Remember that ransom money was paid as an atonement for
the soul, we read about in Exodus 30. And in a typical sense, the
Lord Jesus Christ paid our full atonement price. And He did so
not with the blood of bulls and goats, not with silver and gold,
but with His own blood. He redeemed us. from the curse
of the law. It was a miracle of God's mighty
power that the Lord provided for Peter with unusual providential
means, one coin paid for Peter and the Lord. Give unto them
for me, and what's good for me is good for you. For me and thee,
we're one. We have that vital union with
the Lord Jesus Christ. I in them, thou in me, that we
may be made perfect in one in Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ
paid. the full sin debt that we owe. It was a miracle of God's mighty
power and love and mercy the Lord Jesus Christ gave himself
as a ransom for our soul and completely put away our sin and
doing so by honoring the law of God. Not only in every precept
but also in that penalty. Here is love. Not that we loved
God, that He loved us. And He sent His Son to be the
propitiation for our sin. Now, I told you that we turn
to Matthew 20, and we'll quit with this. Verse
28, Matthew 20, 28. The Lord Jesus Christ paid our
debt. Matthew 20, 28, even as the Son
of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to
give his life a ransom, a ransom, a price for many, for thee many. All that the Father hath given
to me, they shall come to me. And those that come to me, I
will never cast them out.