A Portrait of Jesus

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Contents

Preface.............................................................ixThe Ordination of Jesus Matthew 3:13-17............................1A Battle in the Desert Matthew 4:1-11..............................7Jesus' Inaugural Address Matthew 4:12-17...........................13Getting Started Matthew 4:18-25....................................21A Portrait of Man Matthew 8:1-17...................................29On Being a Disciple Matthew 8:18-22................................35The Christ of the Great Calm Matthew 8:23-27.......................41The Disturbing Christ Matthew 8:28-34..............................47Jesus Calls Us Matthew 9:1-13......................................55New Wine and New Wineskins Matthew 9:14-17.........................61The Touch of Grace Matthew 9:18-26.................................67The Miracle Worker Matthew 9:27-34.................................75The Compassion of Jesus Matthew 9:35-38............................81The Twelve Matthew 10:1-4..........................................89Field Testing the Gospel Matthew 19:5-15...........................97On Dealing with Difficulties Matthew 10:16-25......................103On Discipleship Matthew 10:26-42...................................109Expectations Matthew 11:1-6........................................115It's Your Call Matthew 11:20-27....................................121What Did He Say Matthew 11:28-30...................................127Principles of the Kingdom Matthew 13:24-34.........................133Characteristic of the Kingdom Matthew 13:44-50.....................141The Miracle of Multiplication Matthew 14:13-21.....................147Faith that Overcomes Matthew 15:21-28..............................153A Glimpse of Glory Matthew 17:1-13.................................161A Good Word for Jesus Matthew 21:1-11..............................169Bibliography........................................................177

Chapter One

Matthew 3:13-17

John the Baptist's reputation as a prophet of righteousness had spread throughout the land. John was preaching in Judea in the region south of Jerusalem near the place where the Jordan River empties into the Dead Sea, but the people came from all over to be baptized by John.

Jesus lived in Nazareth in the region of Galilee near the Sea of Galilee in the northern part of Israel. Jesus learned of John's ministry in the desert and came to be a part of what John was doing.

The natural question for us is why would Jesus, who was without any sin of his own, come to John to be baptized? The definitive answer to that question lies hidden in the mind of Jesus. However, we can speculate about it.

Upon hearing about what John was doing, and having a deep inner sense of wanting to be a part of something like this, Jesus came to John to be a part of the new order of which John was preaching.

This raises another question. What awareness did Jesus have of his mission in the world at this time? Did Jesus know from the beginning that he was the Messiah? It is easy to say yes to this idea. It is safe to say that most of us want to believe that Jesus always knew; but if that is true what does that do to our understanding of the humanity of Jesus? If Jesus always knew, then his humanity is not like ours. Therefore, in light of the humanity of Jesus, it is safe to say that when Jesus came to John, He came to be a part of what John was doing. Deep within his own self Jesus wanted to see a new order established that would be better than the old order. Jesus came to know through a slow process that he was to walk a path, awful and alone, in human history. Perhaps he was finally sure as he went to be baptized by John that the soul-shaking moment was at hand.

So the baptism of Jesus became the water-shed event in the consciousness of Jesus concerning his special mission in the world, i.e. the baptism of Jesus can be seen as the ordination of Jesus for his messianic mission in the world.

Look with me at the baptism of Jesus as recorded in our text and see what happened to help Jesus as he launched his divine ministry in the world.

THE MISSION CERTIFIED

Let us, first of all, see that the mission of Jesus was certified in his baptismal experience. John spoke of Jesus as the one who was coming after him, and who was so much greater than he that he was not worthy to carry his sandals. He said in verse eleven of the text:

But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

You can also see this in John 1:29-30. John was preaching about the coming new kingdom. Jesus came to John because in a deepening sense of destiny, he knew that God had some commission to lay on him. He believed that the voice of God might come to him pleadingly, piercingly and with divine endowment through his brave cousin, who was disciplined in righteousness. Therefore, Jesus came to John. In his baptism there came to Jesus the certainty that he was indeed the chosen one of God.

The gospels show other times when Jesus struggled with his identity and mission. In the wilderness temptations, at the transfiguration, and in Gethsemane, we see Jesus struggling with the deep questions of his identity and mission. The very titles attributed to Jesus in the gospels show this struggle. He is the Son of God and he is the Son of Man.

When John saw Jesus he declared this is the one who will launch the New Kingdom. This new Kingdom according to Jesus is not of this world. That's the way Jesus understood it when he spoke to Pilate about his kingship just prior to his crucifixion. You will recall that when Jesus was before Pilate he said, "My Kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest ... my Kingdom is from another place" (John 18:36).

What Jesus discovered and declared about himself is what Toscanini said of his orchestra as the audience applauded wildly after a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. He shouted above the cheers of the audience, "Gentlemen, You are nothing, I am nothing, Beethoven is everything."

Jesus understood that God's purpose and mission for him was everything; and it was more important than his own life.

THE METHOD CLARIFIED

Not only was the mission of Jesus certified in his baptism, but the method of Jesus' ministry was also clarified. Matthew reports in verse seventeen of our text that at the time of Jesus' baptism, the heavens opened and the spirit of God descended on him like a dove, and that a voice from heaven was heard saying:

This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.

This is a quotation from two Old Testament passages. "This is my Son" is from Psalm two which refers to God's Son who is anointed to reign. Thus the Son of God is the kingly messiah. The phrase "With him I am well pleased" is from Isaiah forty-two which pictures the Messiah as the suffering servant. Jesus must have pondered this voice and its message many times to search for its meaning, only to conclude that he was to be the reigning king of heaven, whose throne would be a cross, and whose crown would be a crown of thorns.

So in his baptism, Jesus came to understand that he would be the suffering servant of Isaiah chapters forty-two and fifty-three. This understanding did two things. It helped Jesus as he moved around among the people when they wanted to enthrone him as King; and it kept him going when opposition to his kingdom developed. That's the second thing that the suffering servant image of the Messiah did - it insured opposition. The Messiah as envisioned in the popular theology of the day was that he would be a king to reign in the mode of David. Even His own disciples had difficulty accepting the suffering servant image of Jesus' ministry.

So at his baptism, Jesus came face to face with the cross. And with resolve he went forth accepting the cross as his destiny. This is where the debate over why Jesus was baptized belongs. He was not baptized because of his sins, but because of ours. It is our sins, not his, which was nailed to the cross. That's why we are able to say to men today, Christ died for you.

F.F. Bruce who was an outstanding theologian of my generation tells about his father's conversion. As someone was witnessing to his father, his father said, "I realize that the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross was for me," and then after a pause, he said, "Man, I see it all, I'm saved!" As he related this to his son he said, "What did I see? I saw Jesus on the cross for me." Bruce said this was always the central note of his father's gospel witness to the end of his days, "Jesus on the cross for me."

Toyohiko Kagawa who was born to wealth in Japan renounced his treasure and buried himself in the slums of his native land. He developed cataracts in both eyes, his lungs became tubercular and his posture became very stooped. Toward the end of his distinguished life he came to Princeton Seminary to deliver a lecture. When he was finished, one student turned to another and remarked, "He didn't say much did he?" A lady, who heard what the student said, stepped in to put the matter straight. She said, "A man on a cross doesn't have to say much."

Jesus went to the cross for us. What he did on the cross says it all.

THE MESSAGE IDENTIFIED.

Finally, as we look at Jesus' baptism we see the message of Jesus identified. Look at what John the Baptist said in Matthew 3:2. He said:

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. Now look at what Jesus said in Matthew 4:17. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. Now look at what Jesus said in Mark 1:15: The time has come ... The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.

Repent and believe became the message of the disciples and of the church through the centuries. Acts 2:38 reflects this:

Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

This theme recurs throughout the book of Acts and the New Testament.

The message of repentance and faith continues to this day to be the central theme of the gospel. Jeremiah 15:18 says, "If you will return, I will restore you," and Malachi 3:7 says, "Return to me, and I will return to you." Here Jeremiah and Malachi were coming face to face with the full and convincing impact of the message they were preaching. They were convinced by their own preaching. We need to heed the message we preach.

We need to do like a "hot shot" young preacher is said to have done during my college days. He was a young preacher with unlimited confidence. It was told of him, in jest, that he recorded a sermon for a radio broadcast. On Saturday as he was driving to his church field from the college, he heard his sermon and upon hearing it, stopped his car and rededicated his life. On hearing this, I had to admit that some of my sermons were that bad also!

Repentance is serious business. Most of us are like the man who had a nagging secret he couldn't keep any longer. In the confessional he admitted that for years he had been stealing building supplies from the lumberyard where he worked. "What did you take?" his parish priest asked. "Enough to build my own house" he said, and enough for my son's house; and enough for houses for my two daughters; and for our cottage at the lake." "This is very serious," the priest said. "I must think of a far reaching penance. Have you done a retreat?" the priest asked. "No," said the man, "but if you can get the plans, I can get the lumber!"

Repent, we must!

What we have seen today is that at his baptism Jesus discovered his mission on which His heavenly Father had sent Him; he discovered the manner in which he was to accomplish his mission; and he discovered the message he was to declare while on his mission. And that message is still appropriate for today.

At his baptism Jesus made a major commitment; and that commitment led him to the cross to be the sacrificial lamb for our sins.

A young couple was so proud of their new son. He was in perfect health in every way except he didn't have any ears. He had the auditory opening and all the inner parts necessary to hear, but he had no fleshy parts outside which we commonly call ears. They were told that the problem could be corrected when he was grown and a donor was found.

His first day of school was tough. He came home weeping, "I'm a freak," he said. He soon learned to deal with the stares, whispers and taunts of the older kids and went on to become an excellent student. He entered college to study geology. In the spring of his junior year, he received a call. "We've found a donor; the operation will be done during spring break."

Following the operation, he was so happy. His ears were so wonderful. He was so proud. He graduated with honors; and went to work in the Midwest, where he married and became a father of twins. One day he received a call from his dad saying, "Son, your mother is dying with a heart attack." He caught the first plane, only to learn upon his arrival that his mother had died a few minutes earlier.

The first time he went to the funeral home, he said to his father, "Dad, she surely is pretty." It was at this point that his Dad pushed back his wife's hair to show his son that his mother had no ears! For the first time, he realized that his mother had given her ears so he could have ears.

At his baptism, Jesus decided to give up his life so we could have life. Will you accept his gift of life today?

A BATTLE IN THE DESERT

Matthew 4:1-11

The text is about Jesus' battle in the desert with the devil himself. There are few passages in all of the scriptures that are as personal and intimate in nature as this passage. This is an experience out of the life of Jesus about which only Jesus could have known. In the desert there were no other persons present - just Jesus. Whatever we know about the temptation experience of Jesus, Jesus told us. So the real significance of this event is that it is one told by our Lord himself. You might say this is the Lord's own spiritual autobiography.

The occasion of the temptation of Jesus was immediately after his baptism. After that climactic inauguration of his ministry, Jesus was driven into the wilderness. It seems that after every great moment in life there almost always comes a moment of reaction. It is in the reaction where the danger lies. An example of this is Elijah's courage on Mount Carmel as he faced the four hundred-fifty prophets of Baal, and his ight of fear after he received a threat from Jezebel. So the tempter carefully, subtly, and skillfully chose his time to tempt Jesus.

By way of introduction it should be said that the temptation of Jesus is likely not an outward experience, but an inner experience. It was probably a struggle that went on in Jesus' own heart, mind and soul. One of the factors in the story as told by Jesus gives us a hint that this just might be the case. There is no physical mountain anywhere from which all the kingdoms of the earth can be seen. But I would quickly add that this does not diminish the validity or the intensity of this experience.

So like Jesus, it is through our innermost thoughts and desires that the tempter comes to us. It is true that this can be so real that we can almost see the devil. Such was the experience of Martin Luther in the Castle of Wittenberg in Germany, where he spent a lot of time in hiding and studying during his struggle with the church officials who were out to do him in. On one occasion Luther was reflecting upon the issues involved in his struggle, and became convinced that Satan was trying to lead him astray, so he threw an inkwell at the devil. I understand that to this day the ink stains can still be seen on the walls of Luther's room.

It seems to me that there are two issues which we need to address as we look at the temptation experience of Jesus.

THE MOTIVATION FOR THE TESTING

First we must ask ourselves why Jesus was tempted. The first insight into the motivation for the testing of Jesus is to be seen in the meaning of the word tempt. It does not mean just to entice us to do wrong, but its real meaning is to put us to the test. God came to Abraham and told him to take his son, Isaac, and sacrifice him as a test of his faith which is the same word used here.

When we are tempted it does not necessarily mean that the tempter is seeking to cause us to stumble, but it may be that the temptation is intended to help us to stand strong. It is not meant to make us bad, but to make us good. It is not meant to make us weak, but to make us stronger. It is not meant to make us worse, but to make us better. The result of the temptation was that Jesus was strengthened in his resolve to be about the Father's business.

Notice also the questioning statement of Satan when he said, ""If you are the Son of God." Remember that this came immediately after the confirmation of his sonship at his baptism. Satan knew that Jesus was the Son of God, but he tried to put a question about it in the mind of Jesus. But the real intent of Satan was to pervert the nature of his sonship and also his mission and ministry in the world. We will see this as we look at each of the three temptations recorded here in Matthew. So what does it mean to be the Son of God? Moses went into the wilderness and the nation of Israel, was born. Jesus went into the desert to determine the nature of the new Israel.

The real question which Jesus faced in the wilderness was how to redeem Israel and the world. As Jesus faced this question, he most certainly came face to face with the cross. Jesus knew that it was important to know how and what he was to do.

It is also important for us to know what we are to do, who we are, and where we are. E. Stanley Jones shows how the wrong idea about who we are and where we are going can lead to disaster in life. He tells about ying in a small mission plane over the spot in Zambia, Africa where Daug Hammarskjold met his tragic death. The pilot of the mission plane, who survived the crash, told that one of the things they found among the wreckage of the U.N. plane was an open map of Nadolo, a town in the Congo, instead of the map of the city of Nadola, Zambia, the destination of the plane. The map of Nadolo in the Congo showed that the pilot had a thousand feet more than he actually had for a landing at Nadola; for Nodola in Zambia is higher in elevation than Nadolo in the Congo. So he crashed in an open field in the night, thinking he had a thousand feet more than he actually had. He had the wrong map. He didn't know where he was.

If we have the wrong mental map of ourselves, we very well may make some wrong landings in life which might lead to disaster instead of to our destination. In the temptation experience, Jesus was checking his maps so that he would reach his destination - the cross!

(Continues...)

Excerpted from A Portrait of Jesusby T. A. Prickett Copyright © 2010 by T. A. Prickett. Excerpted by permission.
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