01:46 Who is Your Master?

02:44 Jesus: The Best King

02:54 Matthew 9: Jesus' Authority and Miracles

07:42 Jesus Came for Sinners

09:09 Be Honest About Your Spiritual Sickness

13:17 The Biggest Problem: Unforgiven Sin

20:31 Desperation for Jesus' Healing

24:42 The Importance of Faith and Dependence

29:30 Superficial Religion vs. True Faith

31:29 Watch Out for Spiritual Blindness

42:39 Jesus, the Compassionate Shepherd

47:16 Final Prayer and Reflection

Well, I have a confession to make.

2

I'm not ashamed of it,

but it's a confession.

3

I love Kung Fu Panda.

4

I love Kung Fu Panda.

5

I recently have been basically singing

the soundtrack around our apartment.

6

My wife can attest.

7

And I just love the movies.

8

I love the franchise.

9

I love the soundtrack.

10

I listened to the soundtrack

when I sermon prepped this week.

11

It's amazing.

12

I love Kung Fu Panda.

13

Recently, Kung Fu Panda 4 came out,

which was not as good as the first

14

two, but it was still very, very good.

15

Now the key moment, I'm going to kind of

spoil the movie, but I'm not going to try,

16

I'm going to try to keep it vague enough

for you if you still want to go see it.

17

But it's 2025, came out

last year, whatever.

18

It's your fault, you haven't seen it yet.

19

But, what happens in this movie

is Poe, the panda, makes a friend.

20

And, at the climax of the movie,

his friend betrays him, and goes

21

back to serve her old master.

22

She serves her old master, and gives

Poe back to be captured by the master.

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And so then She gets second thoughts.

24

She's like, wait, Poe is so kind to me.

25

Look at him.

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He's so nice and friendly and fluffy.

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Poe is kind.

28

He trusted me.

29

He loved me.

30

He was so good to me.

31

He was such a good friend.

32

He cared about me.

33

And she realizes that her master, the

bad, the bad guy, the villain of the

34

movie, actually doesn't care about her.

35

That her old master doesn't love her,

doesn't want what's best for her.

36

He's just using her as a tool,

while Poe actually cares about her.

37

Now you see Every single

one of us has a master.

38

Every single one of us is serving someone.

39

We all have someone that we're living

for, or something that we're living for.

40

Maybe you'd like to say it was Jesus,

but maybe it's your friend's approval.

41

Maybe it's your own pleasure.

42

Maybe it's your reputation.

43

Maybe it's you want to feel

a certain way about yourself.

44

Maybe it's you just want to

enjoy life and plug your ears and

45

just do whatever you want to do.

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We're all living for something.

47

We're all mastered by something.

48

And what I want to ask you tonight is

will your master take good care of you?

49

Will whatever you're

serving love you back?

50

Will it give you back everything

that you're giving to it?

51

Or maybe it's a person.

52

Will that person give you back

everything that you're giving to them?

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I can promise you that if Jesus

is your master, if Jesus is your

54

King, He will love you back way

more than you could ever love Him.

55

And that's why Jesus is the best King.

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So we're going to be looking

at Matthew 9 tonight.

57

Make sure you've got your Bibles

here every Wednesday night.

58

Turn to Matthew chapter 9 in your Bible.

59

We're going to be looking at

King Jesus and why we know

60

that Jesus is the best King.

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Jesus is the best King

that you could ever serve.

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The best person you could ever serve.

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Follow.

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That's the main point of tonight's sermon.

65

Last week, Pastor Rod was in Matthew 8.

66

We talked about Jesus authority.

67

So Jesus teaches the Sermon on

the Mount for three chapters, and

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then he comes down the mountain,

and he starts healing people.

69

He starts casting out demons.

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He starts doing all these amazing

things, and that's to show his

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authority, to show that he is the King.

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He doesn't just teach with authority.

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He can back it up with who he is.

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He is God in the flesh.

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He is the long awaited Messiah.

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He is the King of Kings.

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That's what we learned last week, and now

this week we're going to be continuing

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on in this story of what Jesus is

doing after he comes down the mountain.

79

Now see, if you're a good Bible

scholar, you'll remember the last

80

time that a prophet came down the

mountain in Israel, or to Israel,

81

it didn't go so well for Israel.

82

It was the prophet Moses coming

down Mount Sinai, teaching

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God's law, and Israel failed.

84

They made a golden calf,

and they worshipped it.

85

And then in the book of Numbers,

they all died in the wilderness,

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because they rejected God's prophet.

87

They rejected God's word.

88

And so, they suffered all the

curses of their disobedience to God.

89

Matthew 8 and 9 is showing

that this time is different.

90

This time, God is not just coming down

the mountain giving them commands.

91

God has actually come down as

a person to live for them and

92

to reverse The curse of sin.

93

So you'll see a lot of Jesus miracles

in the, in these two chapters

94

are reversing the curses of sin.

95

They're reversing the powers of evil that

have come into the world because of sin.

96

So look at Matthew chapter 9, verse 1.

97

And getting into a boat, Jesus

crossed over and came to his own city.

98

So he comes, comes back home.

99

And behold, some people brought to

him a paralytic, lying on a bed.

100

And when Jesus saw their faith, he

said to the paralytic, Take heart,

101

my son, your sins are forgiven.

102

And behold, some of the scribes said

to themselves, This man is blaspheming.

103

Now that means he's taking what's

God's and claiming it for himself.

104

But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said,

Why do you think evil in your hearts?

105

For which is easier to say, Your

sins are forgiven, or rise and walk?

106

But that you may know that the Son of Man

has authority on earth to forgive sins.

107

He then said to the paralytic,

Rise, pick up your bed, and go home.

108

And he rose and went home.

109

When the crowd saw it, they were afraid.

110

And they glorified God who had

given such authority to men.

111

So this first miracle Jesus

does is really less about the

112

miracle and more about authority.

113

That's what Matthew says the point is.

114

The point is that these people are

amazed, they're shocked, they're

115

scared of Jesus's authority, and

there's a controversy, right?

116

They're upset at Jesus.

117

The the crowds are like,

wait, you can't do that.

118

Jesus, only God can do what

you're saying you can do.

119

That's not okay.

120

You're claiming to be God, and if

you're claiming to be God, we should

121

kill you because there's only one God.

122

That's what the Jewish crowds are feeling.

123

But then what happens next?

124

We'll, look at verse nine, as

Jesus passed on from there.

125

He saw a man called Matthew sitting at

the tax booth and he said to him follow

126

me and Matthew rose and followed him and

As Jesus reclined at table in the house

127

Behold many tax collectors and sinners

came and were reclining with Jesus and

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his disciples now tax collectors We're

like the worst people in Israel like

129

your parents don't like taxes This was

like way worse because tax collectors

130

weren't just taking people's money.

131

They were traitors to Israel They were

people who had said, We don't want

132

to be with Israel anymore, we want to

be with Rome, the occupying empire.

133

And they would take way more money

than they were supposed to, and

134

they would keep it for themselves.

135

So they're traitors, they're

robbing their fellow Israelites

136

to help Rome and help themselves.

137

These are, like, the worst people.

138

So, when the Pharisees, verse

11, saw this, they said to the

139

disciples, Why does your teacher

eat with tax collectors and sinners?

140

But when he had heard it, he said,

Those who are well have no need

141

of a physician, a doctor, but

those who are sick need a doctor.

142

So verse 13, go and learn what this means.

143

I desire mercy and not sacrifice,

for I came not to call the

144

righteous, but the sinners.

145

So last week we saw that Jesus

authority means that he's king over all.

146

That Jesus authority means that whether

you want him or not, He's involved with

147

your life because he's the king of kings.

148

You can never say that

Jesus is irrelevant to you.

149

Even if you reject him, he is king.

150

Regardless of what you think about

him or how much you want to listen

151

to him or not, Jesus is always king.

152

But now we also see that Jesus is not

just authoritative, He is the best

153

king because he's the perfect king

for anyone honest enough to admit

154

that they are hopelessly sinful.

155

Jesus wants to be with the

worst people in Israel.

156

That's who Jesus says he came for.

157

He came for the sinners.

158

He came for those who know that

they can't make it on their own.

159

That they're not good enough.

160

That their heart is wicked and evil and

they have no hope of keeping God's law.

161

Jesus is the perfect king for you.

162

Deep down, you know that you aren't

good enough, that you can't do what we

163

just have been talking about for the

past few months in Matthew's Gospel.

164

You know that your heart is selfish.

165

Your heart is wicked.

166

Your heart can't keep up with God's Word.

167

Jesus is the perfect King for you

because He came to save sinners like us.

168

So point number one tonight, be

honest about your spiritual sickness.

169

Be honest.

170

Be real.

171

Don't try to fake it.

172

Don't try to pretend you're not sick.

173

See, trying to pretend that you're okay

when you're really not is actually one

174

of the worst spots you could ever be in.

175

I used to always go hiking with

my family on New Year's Day, and

176

I accidentally made a mistake.

177

A really, really awkward

tradition on New Year's Day.

178

So what would happen, every

time we go hiking, I need to

179

use the bathroom very often.

180

I'll just say that.

181

Every time we go hiking, I would

be like, This time, I can make it.

182

This time I can go up and back and

not have to worry about anything.

183

I'm going to do it this time.

184

And so I would talk myself into it,

because I don't want, you know, you

185

don't want to be that guy that has to,

like, go off the trail and, you know,

186

do that, and then come back, right?

187

You don't want to be that guy.

188

And then everyone has to stop and wait

for you, and then it's that awkward, you

189

come back and join the group, and, like,

you know, no one's going to say, they're

190

not going to be like, oh, how was it?

191

You know, like, it's super awkward, right?

192

No one wants to deal with that.

193

So, every year, I'd be like, you

know what, I'm going to make it.

194

This is going to be it.

195

And every year, I'm going to make it.

196

So my parents started packing

tissues, just in case I needed them.

197

And so I was pretending I was

okay, but I really wasn't.

198

I was pretending that I could make it, and

because it was my pride, that, oh yeah, I

199

don't need that, I can make it, I always

ended up in the same awkward situation

200

over and over and over again every year.

201

Now, that's a funny illustration of that,

but see, this could go really bad for

202

you if you don't admit your spiritual

sickness, that you have a problem.

203

See, the biggest problem in your

life is not how you think you should

204

look and you don't look that way.

205

It's not how you think you

should, how smart you think you

206

should be and that you're not.

207

It's not that those people aren't friends

with you, or that that person doesn't

208

want to be with you, or that your parents

don't do this, or that you can't be

209

good enough at that, or that whatever.

210

That's not the biggest

problem in your life.

211

Because The biggest problem in your

life is that your soul is sick.

212

Your soul is evil.

213

Your soul has a problem.

214

Your soul is drawn to things

that are poisonous for it.

215

Your soul is drawn to sin.

216

You're addicted to poison.

217

And so, you need help.

218

But if you're not aware that you're

addicted to poison, you're going

219

to keep drinking it and keep dying.

220

Look back at the

beginning of this chapter.

221

Jesus, initially, This is, when

you stop and think about it,

222

this is, this is really weird.

223

Jesus sees this, this group

of people bringing a para,

224

a paralyzed person to him.

225

Now if you're the paralyzed person,

and his friends, and Jesus says,

226

your sins are forgiven, but doesn't

heal you, would you feel let down?

227

I came all this way for Jesus

who's been doing all these great

228

things, and what does he say?

229

I forgive you.

230

What?

231

That's not why I'm here.

232

And so the scribes though, that's not

what they're, what they're upset about.

233

They're upset that Jesus is

saying, I can forgive sin.

234

That's what this story is about.

235

This story is about forgiving sin.

236

Jesus does tell them, get up and walk,

but that's not his biggest problem

237

because remember what Jesus said

earlier in the Sermon on the Mount,

238

he said, it'd be better for you to cut

off your hand and gouge out your eye.

239

So it's better if this paralyzed person

is forgiven and stays paralyzed and

240

goes to heaven versus has this miracle

happen to him, get up and walk, and goes

241

to hell if his sins aren't forgiven.

242

This is about forgiveness.

243

This isn't about Jesus healing someone.

244

Your biggest problem is unforgiven sin.

245

If your sins aren't forgiven,

you'll die forever in hell.

246

It doesn't matter what else,

you could have the perfect life

247

that you could always dream of.

248

And if your sins aren't

forgiven, you'll regret it.

249

It won't be worth it.

250

That's your biggest problem in life.

251

And Jesus is the best king because

he came to address this problem.

252

He alone can forgive your sins.

253

The Pharisees couldn't forgive

anyone else's sin, but Jesus

254

said, I forgive your sin.

255

The biggest problem in your

life is unforgiven sin.

256

Jesus isn't just offering

forgiveness, he actually comes

257

to his people with forgiveness.

258

Look right there at the bottom, verse 13.

259

For I came not to call the

righteous, but sinners.

260

If you're honest with yourself, this

is one of the best verses in the Bible.

261

If you're not honest with yourself,

this verse doesn't matter.

262

And then, you're not honest with

yourself, you don't admit you

263

have a problem, you don't come

to Jesus, and you end up in hell.

264

If you're honest with yourself,

you know that this is you.

265

You know that you're a sinner.

266

You know that you break God's law.

267

The problem is, if you're

never honest with yourself, you

268

think you're in this category.

269

And so then, you never come to Jesus.

270

And you never get forgiven.

271

But I also want you to know

that Jesus comes for sinners.

272

Jesus is not saying, clean

yourself up, then come to me.

273

Start reading your Bible

more, then I can forgive you.

274

Start showing up at church more,

start being more respectful to your

275

parents, start obeying me more, be a

better person, then I can forgive you.

276

That's not what Jesus is saying.

277

Jesus came for sinners, not

people trying to be better.

278

Jesus came for sick people, not

for people starting to take meds.

279

Jesus does not shrink back from your sin.

280

Maybe some of you don't feel like

you can become a Christian because

281

you feel like you're not good enough.

282

You're not as good as your friend.

283

You don't know the Bible like that person.

284

You're not nice like that person.

285

Jesus didn't come for nice people.

286

Jesus came for sinners.

287

If you're a sinner, Jesus came for you.

288

Jesus isn't scared of your sin.

289

Your sin's not going to be

too big for Jesus to forgive.

290

He's not going to see your sin and be

like, Oh, sorry, you're on your own.

291

That's too much.

292

I'm out.

293

He's not scared of it.

294

Jesus can forgive it.

295

And also, if you're a

Christian, you have been saved.

296

You can't.

297

Sin your way out of that.

298

Jesus isn't saying, oh, you

sinned too many times, you're

299

not a Christian anymore.

300

Jesus isn't scared of your sin.

301

He came for sinners.

302

Every time you sin as a Christian,

you can always come back to Jesus.

303

Because that's the exact type of

person He came for, is the sinner.

304

This story you probably heard

before in Luke chapter 9.

305

There's two people that Jesus talks about,

there's a Pharisee who's bragging about

306

how righteous he is, and then there's a

tax collector, right, the worst person in

307

Jewish society, who's standing far away.

308

He won't even look at God.

309

He can't look God in the eye, he's

so ashamed of his sin, he's so

310

heartbroken over what he's done.

311

And he says, God, please be

merciful to me, a sinner.

312

He's honest.

313

He gets it.

314

He knows I don't deserve to be with God.

315

I am terrible.

316

I'm wicked.

317

I'm evil.

318

And what does Jesus say about

this person who's honest?

319

I tell you, this man went down to his

house justified rather than the other.

320

So it's not just that the

sinner gets justified.

321

It's the self righteous Pharisee doesn't

get, the self deceived Pharisee who's

322

not honest with himself, who doesn't

bring his sin into the light, who covers

323

it, who hides it, doesn't get forgiven.

324

See, Jesus will not save anyone who

thinks they are righteous without Him.

325

If you don't think you need

Jesus, you're in a bad place.

326

Even as a Christian.

327

Even if you're a Christian and

you think, now I'm good enough.

328

Now I have a good relationship

with God because of, look at

329

all the stuff I've done, God.

330

That's a bad spot to be in too.

331

Jesus will not save anyone who thinks

they are righteous without Him.

332

So we need to be honest, transparent.

333

Don't hide it.

334

Don't cover it up.

335

Jesus doesn't want you

to cover up your sin.

336

He wants you to bring it to Him, admit

that it's wrong, and ask for forgiveness.

337

So what's different about honest

sinners who admit their sin

338

and sinners who go to hell?

339

Right?

340

If everyone's a sinner,

what's the difference then?

341

Does Jesus just let

sinners keep on sinning?

342

Oh, yeah, I know Jesus, I'm a

sinner, I'm just gonna keep sinning.

343

Is that what Christians do?

344

Well, I think the rest of our

passage actually answers that

345

question, so keep on reading with me.

346

Verse 14.

347

Then the disciples of John, John

the Baptist, came to him, to Jesus,

348

saying, Why do we and the Pharisees

fast, but your disciples don't fast?

349

And Jesus said to them, Can the

wedding guests mourn as long

350

as the bridegroom is with them?

351

The days will come when the

bridegroom is taken away from

352

them, and then they will fast.

353

No one puts a piece of unshrunk

cloth on an old garment, for

354

the patch tears away from the

garment, and a worse tear is made.

355

Now, so you know when you put stuff

in the dryer too long, or you put the

356

wrong thing in the dryer, it shrinks?

357

Jesus is saying, if you have an

already shrunken thing, And then you

358

try to, like, patch a hole and put,

like, a not shrunken thing on it.

359

When you put it in the dryer again,

so to speak, if Jesus had dryers,

360

then they'll shrink at different

rates, and they're different sizes,

361

so it'll just mess up your shirt.

362

That's what Jesus is saying, okay?

363

So verse 17, Neither is new

wine put into old wineskins.

364

If it is, the skins burst, and the wine

is spilled, and the skins are destroyed.

365

So same idea, right?

366

Just a different picture in case

you didn't get the first time.

367

But since I'm pretty sure none

of you even have seen a wineskin

368

before, don't worry about it.

369

But new wine is put into fresh

wineskins, so both are preserved.

370

So the point here is old

stuff and new stuff don't mix.

371

Now, I don't know if you're like me, but

sometimes I read the Bible and I'm like,

372

what does it have to do with anything?

373

Like I read these two verses,

the last two verses, and I was

374

like, I have no clue what it does.

375

So what do you do?

376

You just keep going, and maybe when

you keep going, it'll sort itself out.

377

That's what I did the

first time I read it.

378

So that's what we're gonna do right here.

379

Verse 18.

380

While he was saying these things to

them, behold, a ruler came in, so an

381

important person, and knelt before

him, saying, My daughter has just died.

382

But, come and lay your hand

on her, and she will live.

383

And Jesus rose and followed

him with his disciples.

384

And behold, so she's on the way to,

this is like 9 1 1 Jesus, right?

385

This would be pretty epic

if you could do this.

386

Hey Jesus, this person just died.

387

Get in your ambulance and come down here.

388

Verse 20, And behold, the woman who

had suffered from a discharge of

389

blood for 12 years, bleeding for

12 years, that's, that's almost as

390

long as most of you have been alive,

391

came up behind him and touched

the fringe of his garment.

392

For she said to herself, for if I only

touch his garment, I will be made well.

393

Jesus turned, and seeing her, so imagine

you went up to an ambulance, you're

394

like, hey ambulance, please help me.

395

Please help me.

396

Will the ambulance stop for you?

397

No, they'd probably run you over, right?

398

But Jesus ambulance stops for this person,

which is much less of an emergency,

399

because clearly there's a, there's

someone dead versus someone bleeding.

400

Right?

401

This is where the word triage comes in.

402

If you're, if you're an EMT, like

Hudson, you don't do this, right, Hudson?

403

I mean, I guess you wouldn't go to

a dead person anyway, so never mind.

404

All right, verse 22.

405

Jesus turned and seeing her

said, take heart, daughter.

406

Your faith has made you well, and

instantly the woman was made well.

407

And then when Jesus came to the

ruler's house and saw the flute

408

players in the crowd making a

commotion, now pause for a second.

409

Why are there flute players

at this dead person's house?

410

They have like professional mourners.

411

And this time period, so there's

people that, like, come to express

412

how sad the family is and how

sad, like, their friends are.

413

That's why there's flute players

at this random dead person's house.

414

Cool?

415

All right.

416

So.

417

Saw the flute players in the

crowd making a commotion.

418

Verse 24.

419

He said, Go away!

420

For the girl is not dead, but sleeping.

421

And they laughed at him.

422

Which, by the way, if you've

ever been laughed at before,

423

Jesus knows what that's like.

424

And you can talk to him about

it, because he cares about you.

425

And he lives a real human life

with real interactions with people.

426

Verse 25, So when the crowd had been

put outside, he went in and took

427

her by the hand, and the girl arose.

428

And the report of this went

through all that district.

429

So so far, the common theme here,

right, Jesus has authority over

430

death and disease, but also, these

two people are desperate for Jesus.

431

This ruler come up to

him, Jesus, please come.

432

My daughter's already dead.

433

I need help.

434

This woman, who's been waiting 12 years

for someone to help her, comes to Jesus.

435

Jesus, please help.

436

And he does.

437

Then, in verse 27, we

see a similar situation.

438

As Jesus passed on from there, two

blind men followed him, crying aloud,

439

Have mercy on us, son of David.

440

And when he entered the house, the blind

men came to him, and Jesus said to them,

441

Do you believe that I'm able to do this?

442

They said to him, Yes, Lord.

443

Then he touched their eyes,

saying, According to your

444

faith, Be it done to you.

445

And their eyes were opened.

446

Jesus sternly warned them, See

that no one else knows about it.

447

And this is always, this

always cracks me up.

448

But they went away and spread his

fame through all that district.

449

If you had one job, guys, come on.

450

But, the reason Jesus does this, which,

this happens a lot across the Gospels,

451

the reason Jesus tells people, don't

tell anyone about this, is because if

452

Jesus is going around healing people and

raising people from the dead, what do

453

you think all the Jews are going to say?

454

Let's make this guy our king,

and let's get rid of the Romans.

455

Maybe he can, like, destroy them

all, and use his power and authority

456

to get rid of them, and we can

set up our Jewish nation kingdom.

457

And that would be bad, because then

Jesus wouldn't die on the cross, etc.,

458

etc.,

459

etc.

460

And then we wouldn't be here.

461

So that's why this happens.

462

That's why Jesus says, don't tell anyone.

463

Because it seems kind of

counterintuitive, right?

464

Like, why, Jesus, don't you

want people to know about you?

465

Like, what are you, what are you doing?

466

But that's why, because

Jesus wants to die for us.

467

So that's why he keeps it a secret.

468

But, back to what we were saying,

this is the third set of people

469

who are desperate for Jesus.

470

These blind people are following him.

471

You know how hard it is for a

blind person to follow someone?

472

They're following Jesus, crying aloud,

have mercy on a son of David, and

473

they keep following him to this house.

474

And then they trust him,

and so he heals them.

475

So, all of these people,

they're running after Jesus.

476

They know that if we don't

get to Jesus, we're done.

477

No one else can open our eyes.

478

No one else can heal us.

479

No one else can raise my

daughter from the dead.

480

They're all desperate for Jesus,

which translates into faith.

481

They all are expressing

great trust in Jesus.

482

Jesus, we need you, and Jesus,

we believe that you can help us.

483

So our second point tonight is cling

to Jesus with heartfelt dependence.

484

Cling to Jesus.

485

Hold on to him like that woman

reaching out to grab his cloak.

486

Cling to Jesus with heartfelt dependence.

487

Not just superficial, surface

level, oh yeah, I know I need

488

Jesus, but real, tangible.

489

Felt desperation for Jesus.

490

See, the parallel between

all of these people

491

is their faith.

492

I highlighted all that in green.

493

Verse 18, the ruler, his name is

Jairus, if you read other passages

494

that, in other Gospels that are parallel

to this, he's confident in Jesus.

495

I know you can do this.

496

She will live.

497

And then the bleeding lady.

498

I will be made well.

499

She's confident.

500

And Jesus says, your

faith has made you well.

501

And then, the blind men, do you

believe that I'm able to do this?

502

Yes, we know.

503

We're confident.

504

And then, according to

your faith, be done to you.

505

These people all trust Jesus with

their life, or with their daughter's

506

life, or with their health.

507

They are confident that Jesus

can save them, and will.

508

I think sometimes,

509

we think mental assent to Jesus.

510

Oh, I know Jesus can save me.

511

Is what it is, what, what it

takes to become a Christian.

512

That's not true.

513

If these people knew Jesus

could save them and didn't go

514

after him, would he heal them?

515

If there were other blind people, maybe

there's a third blind man who says, if

516

you asked him, yeah, I think Jesus could

heal me, but if he doesn't go after Jesus

517

like these other two and follow him and

cry out to him and ask him to save them.

518

And put all of his eggs in

Jesus basket, so to speak, and

519

say, Jesus, please save me.

520

Would Jesus have done it?

521

I don't know.

522

But these men went after Jesus because

they had heartfelt dependence on Him.

523

They knew they needed Him.

524

They felt it, and they

went to express that.

525

Being a Christian isn't just

checking a box and saying,

526

I think Jesus could save me.

527

I think Jesus could forgive me.

528

Being a Christian is a lifetime

of clinging to Jesus, grabbing

529

onto him, holding on, depending on

him, trusting him from the heart.

530

If I was going to illustrate

this in modern terms, trusting

531

Jesus isn't a vaccine.

532

It's not just your shot and

then you're like, all right, I'm

533

good for the rest of the year.

534

And then you get sick anyway.

535

But it's not just your one time shot for

the flu and then you're, you're good for.

536

For all of your vaccination for the year.

537

It's not all that's not how Jesus works.

538

It's not how faith works

It's not a one time.

539

All right, cool.

540

I'm done.

541

Don't need faith anymore.

542

I can just go on living Jesus

compares himself to food, right?

543

He says I am the bread of life

You don't just eat one meal and

544

be like, all right, I'm good.

545

Don't eat the rest of my life.

546

I got all my calories Wouldn't work

that way you keep coming back to

547

it because you keep needing it.

548

You always need food And

so you always need Jesus.

549

You always need to come back

to Him, to fill you up, to

550

express your dependence on Him.

551

Because if you didn't eat, you would die.

552

If you eat today, but you don't

eat next day, and the next day,

553

and the next day, the next day,

for three weeks, you'd also die.

554

That's the same thing with faith.

555

It's a repetitive exercise of

trusting Jesus, of holding on to Him.

556

Now, Now, what do we do about

these verses that I skipped?

557

Right?

558

Maybe you read this the first time and

you're like, I don't know what to do.

559

Well, I think what Jesus is

saying is the old stuff and

560

the new stuff don't mix, right?

561

Well, the old stuff, that's

what the Pharisees do.

562

So I, I think what Jesus is saying

here, what Matthew is saying,

563

is that the superficial surface

level religion of the Pharisees.

564

of fasting, right?

565

They would fast, but they wouldn't

really express any need for God, right?

566

The point of fasting is, God, I

need you even more than I need food.

567

That's the point of fasting, is you get

so hungry and you're like, you know what?

568

If eating makes me feel this bad,

imagine if I didn't have God.

569

Imagine how that would feel.

570

That's the point of fasting.

571

So the Pharisees would fast, but it

was, it was just to impress people.

572

It was just because it's what they did.

573

It was just to be a religious person.

574

So their superficial Churchianity, if

you will, doesn't mix with the new.

575

What's the new?

576

Well, the new is, remember what we

talked about with Sermon on the Mount?

577

Following Jesus is from the heart, right?

578

You've heard it said,

don't commit adultery.

579

But I say to you, whoever looks on

someone with lust in their heart,

580

or we talk about anger, right?

581

It's not just about not murdering,

but it's about being, whether

582

you're angry in your heart or not.

583

So the superficial Surface level,

old way, doesn't mix with what Jesus

584

is really calling his followers to.

585

So you can't have surface level

religion and follow Jesus.

586

Because following Jesus

takes your whole being.

587

It's heartfelt.

588

It's with all of you.

589

All of you is trusting Jesus.

590

You can't just go through the motions

591

and expect that to be good enough.

592

Something else I think we see in

these passages is just because

593

you're around Jesus doesn't mean

you have a relationship with him.

594

I heard one pastor say that there

were a lot of people who bumped into

595

Jesus in the crowd, but only the woman

reached out in faith and touched him,

596

and she was the only one who was healed.

597

So, similarly, just because you're

around Jesus doesn't mean you

598

have a relationship with him.

599

Pick up with me back in verse 32,

600

as they were going away, so that

the two blind men, they went away,

601

they disobeyed Jesus, and they

started telling everyone about him.

602

As they were going away, behold,

a demon oppressed man, who

603

was mute, was brought to him.

604

And when the demon had been cast

out, the mute man spoke, and the

605

crowds marveled, saying, never was

anything like this seen in Israel.

606

But the Pharisees said, He casts

out demons by the prince of demons.

607

I think there's a reason that Matthew

puts the blind people right before this.

608

Because remember, what did

the blind people call Jesus?

609

They called him the son of David.

610

They're recognizing Jesus is the Messiah.

611

Jesus is the Old Testament promised king

who's come to make everything right.

612

The blind men actually

see the most about Jesus.

613

See, their response to Jesus

is actually the best response.

614

I made this like a stoplight,

just to help you see it.

615

The blind men, that's the good response.

616

Jesus, we want to follow you,

we need you, you're the Messiah.

617

The crowds, remember we talked

about the crowds before, these same

618

crowds are going to crucify Jesus.

619

But they're impressed by him.

620

They're like, yeah, Jesus, you're amazing.

621

You're really cool.

622

We've never seen anything like this.

623

But then the Pharisees, they

attribute Jesus works to the devil.

624

So, obviously, that's not

what you're supposed to do.

625

But even these crowds,

they're around Jesus.

626

They see all his stuff, but a

lot of them are gonna be yelling,

627

crucify him, in about 20 chapters.

628

Just because you're around Jesus doesn't

mean you have a relationship with him.

629

Just because You know a lot, like

the Pharisees, doesn't mean you

630

can see what's really going on.

631

The blind men actually have

the most sight in this chapter.

632

They see that Jesus is the Messiah.

633

So I want all of us, point number three,

to watch out for spiritual blindness.

634

Watch out for spiritual blindness.

635

The blind men were physically blind,

but they saw the most about Jesus.

636

I used to work at a bank.

637

And at the bank we had some businesses

that we would also do banking for.

638

And one of the businesses, my favorite

one that we banked for, was Ray's Donuts.

639

Now you might already know

why they were my favorite.

640

Because, I guess his name was Ray, I

don't actually know if his name was Ray.

641

He would come in every once in

a while and bring in donuts.

642

For all of us.

643

Which is pretty epic.

644

So we got free donuts like once a month

from, I'm just gonna call him Ray.

645

And he would get there at the donut

shop super early in the morning and

646

every day bake these fresh donuts.

647

Now that, like can you imagine, like

your job is to go just make donuts.

648

And like smell them and, here I'll

just, I'll help, I'll help you out.

649

You could see these every day and

make them and maybe sample them

650

make sure they're good Wouldn't

that be awesome if this is your job?

651

Like oh, that would be so good

We asked Ray, which he's a larger

652

man, but we asked Ray Ray don't you

just love getting up and working in

653

this shop that it smells delicious.

654

You know what Ray said?

655

I don't smell it anymore

656

He was around the doughnuts so much,

they, they had no impact on him.

657

He couldn't smell them.

658

Wouldn't it be amazing to

smell doughnuts every morning?

659

Well, until you stop smelling them.

660

Because you're nose blind,

that's what they call it, right?

661

You can't smell it anymore.

662

I think a lot of you in

this room are like Ray.

663

You can't smell Jesus anymore.

664

You're so used to Jesus.

665

You're so used to being around Him,

and hearing His miracles, and hearing

666

His Word, and seeing what He does.

667

It just doesn't really faze you.

668

I think the Pharisees were like that too.

669

They, in the crowds, they

saw all Jesus miracles,

670

and they didn't believe in Him.

671

Because they didn't see the

way they were supposed to see.

672

There's some more doughnuts for you.

673

See, blindness, spiritual blindness, is

a condition that the Bible says affects

674

everyone before that they're saved.

675

You can't see God the way

you're meant to see him, right?

676

You don't smell the beautiful doughnuts.

677

You just work in a doughnut shop.

678

You're insensitive, you're

hard hearted, your heart, it's

679

like it's got scales over it.

680

It can't feel what it's supposed to feel.

681

That's what the Bible says.

682

And now actually, spiritual blindness is

a danger for believers and unbelievers.

683

Look what Peter says, 2 Peter.

684

He's talking about

Christians who are growing.

685

He says, if you're not growing, whoever

lacks these qualities is so nearsighted

686

that he's blind, having forgotten that

he was cleansed from his former sins.

687

So it's not the same as

being an unbeliever, right?

688

You're not completely numb to who

God is, but even as a Christian, you

689

can desensitize your heart to God

and to his word and to what he does.

690

So don't write these down.

691

I even said, even if you started writing

signs of righteousness and then wrote

692

the subtitle, you would be writing,

don't write these down because you

693

don't have time to write all these down.

694

But these are some things.

695

That maybe show that you might

suffer from spiritual blindness.

696

You might be hard hearted.

697

Even as a Christian.

698

You might be slowly desensitizing

yourself to God and His Word.

699

Right?

700

You might be unaware that you need God.

701

You might be so focused on you

and your life and what you need

702

to do, you don't trust God.

703

Or maybe you hear the gospel

and you're like, yeah, whatever.

704

Heard that.

705

Been there.

706

Believed that.

707

I'm good.

708

The gospel is something, even as

a Christian, you need to cling to.

709

Remember, we talked about Jesus food.

710

Jesus isn't a vaccine.

711

Or maybe, you're just

uninterested in the Bible.

712

You're just like, whatever, I can read.

713

Or you look down on it.

714

You think it's dumb.

715

You think God's words, or

God's people, are losers.

716

You're maybe numb to

familiar Bible passages.

717

You know, for God so loved the

world, He gave His only Son.

718

Cool.

719

Or maybe, you read an intense

Bible passage, and you're

720

like, whatever, I don't care.

721

God's warnings are meant to shake you

away, and if you're insensitive to those,

722

you're in a really, really bad spot.

723

So these are just some things

that maybe show that your heart

724

is insensitive to God's Word, and

that's the worst spot to be in.

725

See, the Pharisees, they

were like, Jesus is a demon.

726

The crowds, they were a little sensitive.

727

They're like, whoa, this is so cool.

728

They didn't trust him, but they

were just like, this is really cool.

729

Where as the blind men, they

felt like they needed Him.

730

They were sensitive to Jesus.

731

And that actually, I think,

is our example of how to fight

732

against spiritual blindness.

733

How to pursue sensitivity to God.

734

What did the blind men do?

735

They put themselves in Jesus way.

736

They knew, Jesus is coming,

let's, let's get in front of Him.

737

Let's ask Him for help.

738

Because ultimately, they knew that We

can't unblind ourselves, but if they just

739

stayed silent and didn't do anything,

they're not putting themselves where

740

Jesus is, where Jesus would heal them.

741

Today, God has given you paths

that he walks, so to speak.

742

He's given you his word.

743

He's given you sermons.

744

He's given you prayer.

745

He's given you church.

746

He's given you Maybe a Christian

family, maybe Christian friends.

747

He's given you places where he's active.

748

Where he's moving.

749

It's up to you to put yourself in his way

and cry out, God have mercy, I need you.

750

To do point number two, to

express your dependence on him.

751

That's how you fight hard

hearted insensitivity to God.

752

You put yourself in the way of Jesus.

753

You throw yourself in front of

him and say, please change me.

754

You throw yourself at his word and

read it and pray with all your heart.

755

You just keep going to the places

where God has promised to meet you.

756

You don't shrink back from small group.

757

You don't stop participating in church.

758

You don't stop doing the things that

God has said to do, even if they don't

759

seem like they're working at first.

760

You realize that Jesus didn't heal these

people until they got to the house.

761

They didn't give up.

762

They persevered.

763

They pressed on.

764

And they're blind.

765

They don't even know where they're

going, but they're following Jesus

766

because they know Jesus is, is merciful

and we believe that he's gonna heal us.

767

We trust him.

768

We need him.

769

There's nowhere else we can go.

770

We might as well follow him anyway.

771

If they didn't follow him all the

way, would he have healed them?

772

I don't know, right?

773

But they did.

774

They persevered.

775

They kept going.

776

So if you feel like God's distant from

you, that God isn't answering your

777

prayers, your prayers are bouncing off the

ceiling, they're coming back down, or you

778

read his word, it doesn't do much for you.

779

You come to church, you're like, whatever.

780

You come to True North, you talk to your,

your leader, your friend, it doesn't

781

feel like you're connecting with God.

782

Keep going to where God

has made himself available.

783

And it might take a while.

784

You might be walking after

Jesus for a long time.

785

But Jesus is ready and willing to

heal, and ready and willing to meet

786

you with all that He is for you.

787

And that's the last reason that

we see Jesus is our greatest

788

King that we could ever have.

789

We're gonna finish up

Matthew 9 here, verse 36.

790

I realized I was looking at verse 35,

I was like, why does that not match?

791

All right.

792

When Jesus saw the crowds,

He had compassion for them.

793

They were harassed and helpless,

like sheep without a shepherd.

794

Then he said to the disciples, the harvest

is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

795

Therefore, pray earnestly to the

Lord of the harvest to send out

796

laborers, laborers into his harvest.

797

I think that two of the most

important words in this passage are

798

right here, compassion and shepherd.

799

Because they tell us what

type of king Jesus is.

800

That word compassion, it's a

really strong word in the language

801

that Matthew's using to write.

802

It, it means it's like from your,

back then they would've said

803

from your, from your stomach.

804

But for us we would probably

say from your heart.

805

Right, from everything within you.

806

That's how much he felt

compassion for these people.

807

He cares, he sees that they're

harassed, helpless, they're vulnerable.

808

They're sheep without a shepherd.

809

Sheep are some of the stupidest

animals you could ever find.

810

But they need a shepherd.

811

And Jesus is willing to be that shepherd.

812

And so what does he do?

813

He wants to go get the sheep.

814

He wants to bring them back in.

815

He, he sees these people who

are harassed and helpless.

816

He sees their, their state.

817

Maybe they have unforgiven sin.

818

They're headed to hell.

819

Maybe they have so many trials

that he wants to be their rock.

820

During and so he says there's so much

out there But there's not many people to

821

bring them in so pray earnestly to the

Lord He's sending out people to go bring

822

them to him Jesus is going after people

He's not waiting for them to come to him.

823

He's going after these crowds these

vulnerable people Because He loves them.

824

So I want you to rejoice

in Jesus pursuing love.

825

Jesus love goes after other people.

826

It's outgoing.

827

He doesn't wait for you to find Him.

828

He even made sure that you were born

at a time where you had a Bible in your

829

language in a country where it's legal

to share the gospel, at a place where you

830

could hear biblical teaching to parents

who would bring you to church So that

831

he could tell you that he loves you, and

he wants you to be one of his people.

832

He orchestrated all of history so

that you would hear that right now.

833

If you were born one hour west of here,

you wouldn't be here, hearing God's Word.

834

If you were born a hundred years before

that, or if you were born on the other

835

side of the world, you wouldn't hear this.

836

God puts you here because he wants you.

837

He's chasing after you because he,

he wants you to be one of his people.

838

He's a compassionate shepherd.

839

And so I want to ask you,

840

will your master take care

of you like Jesus will?

841

If your master is money, or pleasure,

or approval, will that take care of you?

842

Will that love you back

the way Jesus will?

843

Will money go out of its

way to make you happy?

844

Will pleasure go out of

their, her way to satisfy you?

845

They'll just keep stringing you

along, and you'll keep coming

846

back empty every single time.

847

But Jesus,

848

the King of Kings, will love you

far more than you can ever love Him.

849

He'll take much better care of you than

you can ever take care of yourself.

850

He'll provide for you, He'll

protect you as your shepherd.

851

Because He is the best King.

852

So hold on to Him with all your heart.

853

Don't let Him walk by

and not say anything.

854

Put yourself in His way and cry

out, Have mercy on me, King Jesus.

855

I want to be one of your people.

856

Let's pray.

857

Father, in your word, you compare yourself

to a shepherd who goes after a stray

858

sheep and brings it home rejoicing.

859

We're so grateful that you love sinners.

860

If you didn't love sinners,

we wouldn't have any hope.

861

So I pray tonight that you help us

to feel that and to believe that.

862

That you love sinners, not

because of anything we do,

863

but because of who you are.

864

And that if we cling to Jesus, cry

out to Him in faith that we can

865

experience this love and it will

overflow in our hearts and satisfy

866

us more than anything ever could.

867

Help us to be focused and attentive

in small groups, help us to be honest,

868

to admit our spiritual condition, to

not hide our sin and let it grow in

869

the dark and enslave us even more.

870

But I pray that we would be

honest and that we would be aware.

871

And that we would grow to love

you and see you as you are.

872

Pray this in Jesus name.

873

Amen.