“The Servant of the Lord”

(Matthew 12:15-21)

Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

July 14, 2019

The Passage

Matthew 12:15-21

15 Jesus was aware of this and withdrew. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them all. 16 He warned them not to make him known, 17 so that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

18 Here is my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. 

19 He will not argue or shout, and no one will hear his voice in the streets.

20 He will not break a bruised reed, and he will not put out a smoldering wick, until he has led justice to victory.

21 The nations will put their hope in his name.

Introductory Comments:

Do we all remember what is going on in the Gospel of Matthew?

Jesus has grown in fame and popularity. He has healed many. He has taught much. He has cast out demons. He is well known and well loved by many. 

However, Jesus has started to develop an edge to His teaching. He is confronting people head-on for hypocrisy, for not understanding the ways of God, and for not understanding His ministry. 

In last week’s passage, we see Jesus call out the Pharisees for not really understanding the law of God and He stands against their legalism and lack of love. As a result, the Pharisees start to plot against Jesus in order to kill Him. 

We read this in verse 15 of today’s passage, “15 Jesus was aware of this and withdrew. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them all.”

Jesus was aware that the Pharisees wanted Him dead, so He did what many of us would do, He got out of there; He withdrew from the area!

However, even though Jesus was hated by the Pharisees, many people were still fascinated with Him and tried to partake of His miracles and great teaching. 

Matthew said, “Large crowds followed Him.”

Even though Jesus was withdrawing for a reason. Even though Jesus was trying to stick to His mission, these large crowds followed Him and He still healed them. In fact, we see that, “He healed them all.”

Jesus was unique and sometimes hard to figure out. He did things differently. 

We might wonder what would drive Jesus to behave the way that He did. Why is He so unique?

Well, it might interest some of us to know that part of who Jesus would be, how He would behave, and what His mission would be was prophesied long ago by the prophet Isaiah. 

One of the prophecies of Isaiah makes up the bulk of our passage today. 

Let’s go to God in prayer and ask Him to speak to us as we soak in the Word of God. 

(prayer)

Remember, Matthew is writing His Gospel so that we might know that Jesus is the promised prophesied Messiah. 

The passage that we have today contains the largest quotation from the Old Testament in the Gospel of Matthew. So, we ought to pay attention to it. 

From this prophecy and how it is applied to Jesus, we will learn two defining identities of who Jesus is and why He came to the earth. 

Let’s discover first that . . .

I. Jesus is the Servant of God (vv. 15-18) [on screen]

Look at verses 16-18. 

16 He warned them not to make him known, 17 so that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

18 Here is my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. 

Jesus warned those whom He had healed not to let everyone know where He was. 

You see, Jesus could have just called down an army of angels to take out the Pharisees when they wanted to kill Him. He could have gone around the whole region of Galilee and healed whomever He wanted and killed whomever He wanted, but He didn’t do that. 

He didn’t want to create unnecessary commotion or chatter. He was trying to stick to the reason that He came to the earth. He knew that crazy events would come later but now was not the time. 

Jesus had a mission. He was part of a larger plan. He first ca

“The Goodness of the Great One”

(Matthew 12:1-14)

Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

July 7, 2019

The Passage

Matthew 12:1-14

1 At that time Jesus passed through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick and eat some heads of grain. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “See, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”

3 He said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry: 4 how he entered the house of God, and they ate the bread of the Presence—which is not lawful for him or for those with him to eat, but only for the priests? 5 Or haven’t you read in the law that on Sabbath days the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent? 6 I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

9 Moving on from there, he entered their synagogue. 10 There he saw a man who had a shriveled hand, and in order to accuse him they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

11 He replied to them, “Who among you, if he had a sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, wouldn’t take hold of it and lift it out? 12 A person is worth far more than a sheep; so it is lawful to do what is good on the Sabbath.”

13 Then he told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored, as good as the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted against him, how they might kill him.

Introductory Comments:

We’re continuing our series in the Gospel of Matthew.

In Matthew 11, we see that Jesus is getting down more to the nitty-gritty of who He is and what He came to do. 

Now, we are starting chapter 12 and we see that more and more people will start to oppose Jesus. In today’s passage, it’s the good ol’ Pharisees who are opposing Jesus. 

In Matthew 12:1-14 the Pharisees are caught up on some rules regarding the Sabbath. We’re going to see what they say and how Jesus responds. 

Let’s go to God in prayer and ask Him to continue to be with us in this worship service. 

(prayer)

Have you ever put a lot of effort into something only to realize that you totally got it wrong? Perhaps you’re stressed out before a party and you start acting crazy and getting upset. Not only that, but you upset everyone else and drive them crazy because you’re so stressed out. Then you realize later that parties are all about spending time with people and having fun. You realize that you got it totally wrong. Or, perhaps maybe you’ve tried to be helpful with washing dishes when you were young. Instead of using dishwasher liquid, you used Dawn dish soap. The next thing you know, you have soap suds all over the kitchen. You got it totally wrong. 

Well, the Pharisees are on a mission to perfectly follow God. They are trying to keep all the rules and make sure everyone else does as well. However, they get it all totally wrong. 

We’re going to see today that there is someone and something greater than religious rules.

Let’s see first, . . .

I. The Savior is greater than the Sabbath (vv. 1-8) [on screen]

Matthew sets up this chapter so that we know that these events are happening on the Sabbath day. 

The Sabbath day was the last (seventh) day of the week. Because God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day, He also commanded His people in the Old Testament to rest on the seventh day of the week, which is Saturday. 

By the way, as a side note, there is nowhere in the New Testament that says that Sunday is now the Sabbath day, instead of Saturday. Sunday is the Lord’s Day and the day when most Christians met for worship in the early church. There is no evidence that the early church observed the Sabbath on Sunday. Christ has set us free from the Old Testament laws, including the stric

“The Good Pleasure of the Father in Jesus”

(Matthew 11:25-30)

Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

June 30, 2019

The Passage

Matthew 11:25-30

25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to infants. 26 Yes, Father, because this was your good pleasure. 27 All things have been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son desires to reveal him.

28 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Introductory Comments:

(prayer at end of Lord’s Supper)

Several years ago I started running in order to get in shape. I got kind of bored with running alone and I heard about this organization called, GORUCK. It’s a company that sells military inspired backpacks and created events to demonstrate how tough the backpacks are. I got into it and really started to enjoy it because of the variety of challenges and the unpredictability of the events, which kept me on my toes and stretched me in my fitness life. At one particular event, while wearing our backpacks filled with weight the instructors were also putting contractor bags filled with sand on each one of our shoulders and having us walk a fifty yard path. I looked ahead and saw the two sandbags that were coming towards me. I’m not a very big guy so I was hoping since the contractor bags were not all the same size that I would get some of the smaller ones. That did not happen. The two largest bags came up for me, and I was probably the smallest guy or one of the smallest guys there. I wasn’t a quitter, so I let them load me up and I set off. About half-way through I could feel one slipping off and there was nothing that I could do to stop it. It fell to the ground, so I started dragging it. The instructor saw it and yelled for some people to go help me. You see, GORUCK is all about teamwork, so these two guys came over and put it back on my shoulder and then helped balance it the rest of the way. 

For me, the burden of carrying that sandbag was more than I could handle on my own. I needed someone to intervene.

In today’s message, we will see that God intervened in our lives. He did not leave us to ourselves. Those who are humble and seeking help from God will find it through Jesus. Jesus will come alongside us and help us with our burden

Be sure that you’ve turned in your Bibles to Matthew 11:25-30. 

Let’s see what Jesus is saying to us in this passage. 

Last week was a heavy passage. We saw where Jesus pronounced that there would be difficult judgment pronounced against those who did not believe and repent. Last week was a message of warning.

This week’s passage is a message of hope. 

We’re going to discover three aspects of God the Father and Jesus the Son. 

In seeing these three aspects, we’re also going to learn something of our salvation in Jesus Christ. 

Let’s see first . . . 

I. The pleasure of the Father (25-26) [on screen]

In Matthew’s record of these events, Jesus moves immediately from the condemnation of the towns who did not believe to a moment of prayer spent speaking to God the Father. 

Look at verses 25-26. 

25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to infants. 26 Yes, Father, because this was your good pleasure.

Jesus is praising the Father. He is praising Him for something specific. Look again at verse 25. 

Jesus is praising the Father for hiding the deep truths of the faith from the wise and intelligent of the world.

AND

Jesus is praising the Father for revealing the deep truths of

“Are You Satisfied with Jesus?”

(Matthew 11:16-24)

Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

June 23, 2019

The Passage

Matthew 11:16-24

16 “To what should I compare this generation? It’s like children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to other children: 17 We played the flute for you, but you didn’t dance; we sang a lament, but you didn’t mourn! 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” 20 Then he proceeded to denounce the towns where most of his miracles were done, because they did not repent: 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes long ago. 22 But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until today. 24 But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

Introductory Comments:

Have you ever met someone who could never be satisfied? I’ve met that type of people. Perhaps you think of a boss whom you could never make happy. Perhaps a coach or teacher from your younger years. Maybe you’re thinking of a spoiled child. The truth of the matter is there are some people who can simply never be satisfied. 

Jesus spoke about some of those people in today’s passage. He spoke of some of the people of Israel and how they felt towards Him and His work. Jesus would then go on and speak about how God felt towards them. 

This passage is important for us to understand as we think about ourselves and our feelings towards Jesus and God’s feelings towards us. 

Because of the importance of this passage, let’s go to God in prayer and ask Him to speak to us. 

(prayer)

Remember, we are in the middle of our series in the Gospel of Matthew. In chapter 11, Jesus has shifted His focus away from preparing the disciples to go out and encounter difficulty. Now, Jesus is focusing on Himself and His authority. 

In the beginning of chapter 11, Jesus speaks of John the Baptist preparing the way, of Jesus Himself being the One who was sent, and about the least of those who are part of the kingdom of Heaven. 

Now, Jesus will speak about the people’s reaction to Him and God’s reaction to the people. 

Let’s begin by exploring the fact that . . .

I. The people were dissatisfied with the works of Jesus (16-19) [on screen]

We’re at the point in the Gospel of Matthew when we start to see more and more displeasure and disenchantment shown towards Jesus. 

People are starting to realize that Jesus is not exactly who they want Him to be. They are dissatisfied with Jesus and with His works. 

Look at verses 16-19. 

16 “To what should I compare this generation? It’s like children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to other children: 17 We played the flute for you, but you didn’t dance; we sang a lament, but you didn’t mourn! 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

Jesus says, “To what should I compare this generation?”

I believe He’s speaking generally here of the generation of Jewish people among whom He is living and to whom He is ministering at that particular time.  

He’s basically saying, “This is what y’all are like!”

Well, what does He say they’re like?

He gives this illustration of spoiled children: children who are performing and expecting the audience of other children to re

“The One Who is to Come”

(Matthew 11:1-15)

Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

June 16, 2019

The Passage

Matthew 11:1-15

1 When Jesus had finished giving instructions to his twelve disciples, he moved on from there to teach and preach in their towns. 2 Now when John heard in prison what the Christ was doing, he sent a message through his disciples 3 and asked him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

4 Jesus replied to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news, 6 and blessed is the one who isn’t offended by me.”

7 As these men were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothes? See, those who wear soft clothes are in royal palaces. 9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written: See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you.

11 “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared, but the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been suffering violence, and the violent have been seizing it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if you’re willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come. 15 Let anyone who has ears listen.

Introductory Comments:

Have you ever doubted something? Perhaps you’ve asked, “Are you sure they won’t think I’m weird? Are you sure that he’s the right pastor for us? Do you think this will hold me? Are you sure you want to have another kid? Is this the right school for me? Should I have eaten that second burrito? Did I make the right investment? Is there really a God? Is Jesus really the Messiah?”

That last question is the very question which John the Baptizer struggled with in today’s passage. 

The answer to that question is the most important question which we can wrestle with as followers of God. Is Jesus really the Christ?

Today, we’re going to learn that He is and how that affects us. 

Let’s pray together before we go any farther. 

(prayer)

What does it mean for us that Jesus is the Christ?

Going to church and living as a Christian are not merely exercises in living out nice little moral lives.

We live as changed people because we really believe that Jesus is the Messiah. He really is the One who came. 

John asked this question concerning Jesus and we can see how the answer to that question affects us. 

We’re going to see this morning that Jesus is the One, John paved the way for Him, and there are blessings for those of us who follow Him. 

First, . . .

I. Jesus is the one who came (1-6) [on screen]

We learn that John the Baptist is in prison at this point. He cannot directly ask Jesus this question, so he sends his followers to ask Jesus. 

Look at verses 1-6. 

1 When Jesus had finished giving instructions to his twelve disciples, he moved on from there to teach and preach in their towns. 2 Now when John heard in prison what the Christ was doing, he sent a message through his disciples 3 and asked him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

4 Jesus replied to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news, 6 and blessed is the one who isn’t offended by me.”

John doubted. John wondered if Jesus really was the One who was to come. Was He really the Messiah? Was He really the Christ?

We might be tempted to ask, “How could John t

“The Absolute Priority of Jesus”

(Matthew 10:32-42)

Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

June 9, 2019

The Passage

Matthew 10:32-42

32 “Therefore, everyone who will acknowledge me before others, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever denies me before others, I will also deny him before my Father in heaven. 34 Don’t assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I came to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. 37 The one who loves a father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; the one who loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Anyone who finds his life will lose it, and anyone who loses his life because of me will find it. 40 “The one who welcomes you welcomes me, and the one who welcomes me welcomes him who sent me. 41 Anyone who welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. And anyone who welcomes a righteous person because he’s righteous will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.”

Introductory Comments

Let’s pray together.

(prayer)

Illustration: I enjoy fishing. I’ve fished for catfish in Turkey Creek Reservoir, I’ve fished for crappie (or speckled perch, as we call them) in Kentucky Lake, I’ve fished for striped bass on Beaver Lake in Northwest Arkansas, I’ve fished farm ponds in Ohio, I’ve fished for rainbow trout in North Carolina, I’ve fished for sharks on the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Pier, I’ve fished for largemouth bass right here in Bartow, I’ve fished for brim in a creek behind my house growing up, and I’ve fished for grouper miles off of the coast of Florida. One fishing trip that I’ve really enjoyed is an inshore fishing trip I went on near the 10,000 islands off the coast of Collier County, Florida. I went on that fishing trip with a friend of mine from a previous church in order to catch some species of fish that I had not caught that were the prized fish for inshore fishing. On that trip, we caught trout, sharks, tarpon, snook, and redfish. It was a great trip. I said to my friend, that I wish I could find and catch fish like he did. He said that it was easy to do so. All you had to do was be a third generation Collier County fisherman, purchase a $60,000 boat, and fish there your whole life, and then you could fish like he did. 

You see, my friend was committed to being a great fisherman. He had put in the work, he was passionate, and he had spent the money. He had really given himself to that work. 

All the greats in this world are committed to whatever it is that makes them great. Great athletes practice thousands of hours in order to achieve a high level in their sport. Great doctors have done hundreds of surgeries and seen thousands of patients. They’ve studied and consulted hours upon hours. To be the best at something, that something has to have priority in your life. 

Today, we’re going to learn that if we want to be great at faithfully following the Father, Jesus must have absolute priority in our lives. 

We’re continuing our series in the book of Matthew and we’ve heard Jesus shift His focus to sending out His apostles for ministry and the spreading of the message of the coming of the kingdom of God.

These principles and commands are not just for the apostles, they are for us also. 

Today, we will learn three ways that Jesus is a priority in our lives based on Matthew 10:32-42. 

First, . . .

I. Jesus is such a priority that we must acknowledge Him above all else (32-37) [on screen]

Jesus is very clear about the priority that He must have in our li

“Be Bold, Not Afraid”

(Matthew 10:26-31)

Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

June 2, 2019

The Passage

Matthew 10:26-31

26 “Therefore, don’t be afraid of them, since there is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered and nothing hidden that won’t be made known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light. What you hear in a whisper, proclaim on the housetops. 28 Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. 30 But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Introductory Comments:

Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Roger Youderian, and Pete Fleming were American missionaries sent to Ecuador in 1952 to reach the indigenous tribes in Ecuador. They would all five be killed by the very people whom they were trying to reach with the Gospel. There are indications based on journal entries that the men understood that they very well might be harmed. Yet, they were bold in their faith and their calling to proclaim the Gospel. One must wonder what caused these men to be so bold in their faith. Jim Elliot wrote this in one of his journal entries: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

These missionaries understood two things which led them to be bold: they understood the message they proclaimed and they understood the God whom they served. 

Today, we learn how we can be led to be bold in these two ways as well.

Before we go any further, let’s pray together.

(prayer)

We are continuing our series in the Gospel of Matthew. Last week we learned that Jesus was sending out His apostles as sheep among wolves. We learned that there very well may be dangers, hatred, and rejection that Christians face as they faithfully live for Jesus and proclaim the Gospel. 

In the midst of these potential persecutions, Jesus wants His followers to be bold. In this passage today, Jesus will say three times, “Don’t be afraid,” or “Don’t fear.”

Why aren’t we to be afraid? Well, because there is something different at play than only the material circumstances around us. There are supernatural and eternal factors at play when we share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and when we live faithfully for God. 

As we go out as sheep among wolves, we must keep this heavenly and godly perspective. 

This week, in these six verses, we’ll learn two ways that we can live boldly as we live in faithful obedience to God.

First, . . .

I. Boldly proclaim the message (26-28) [on screen]

We can and should proclaim the Gospel message boldly. 

Jesus tells us why. 

First of all, Jesus says in verse 26,

26 “Therefore, don’t be afraid of them, since there is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered and nothing hidden that won’t be made known.

We shouldn’t be afraid of any who may attempt to persecute us or who may reject the message of the Gospel because God sees all. 

He sees and knows what is happening in our proclamation of the love of Jesus and He sees and knows what is happening in others’ rejection of the love of Jesus. 

There are no secrets with God. What is covered will be uncovered. What is hidden will be made known. 

Boldly proclaim because God sees what you’re going through and He sees the rejection of others as well. 

He will reward us for our faithfulness and He will punish this who reject the Gospel. 

He goes on in verse 27:

27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light. What you hear in a whisper, proclaim on the housetops.

He has already told the disciples that He is sending them out. He has already told them that the message they have is the coming of the kingdom of God. 

Now, He’s letting them know that what He has been telling them privately, He now wants them to proclaim publicly. Remember, th

“What Should Christians Expect?”

(Matthew 10:16-25)

Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

May 26, 2019

The Passage

Matthew 10:16-25

16 “Look, I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves. 17 Beware of them, because they will hand you over to local courts and flog you in their synagogues. 18 You will even be brought before governors and kings because of me, to bear witness to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they hand you over, don’t worry about how or what you are to speak. For you will be given what to say at that hour, 20 because it isn’t you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father is speaking through you.

21 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. For truly I tell you, you will not have gone through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. 24 A disciple is not above his teacher, or a slave above his master. 25 It is enough for a disciple to become like his teacher and a slave like his master. If they called the head of the house ‘Beelzebul,’ how much more the members of his household!

Introductory Comments:

Before embarking upon the D-Day invasion, General Dwight D. Eisenhower shared these words with American forces:

Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force:

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months.

The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.

In company with our brave allies and brothers-in-arms on other fronts you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped, and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944. Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our home fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned. The free men of the world are marching together to victory.

I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory.

Good luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

Many members of the armed forces would go on to lose their lives on D-Day. They went into battle knowing that their lives were at stake, and they did so knowing that they were fighting for a great cause: the cause of liberty. General Eisenhower wanted to set the expectations for them before they went into battle. 

Today, in our passage, Jesus will set the expectations for the apostles as He sends them out to proclaim the coming of the kingdom of God. 

We are continuing our series in the Gospel of Matthew and we are right smack dab in the middle of the section where Jesus is giving very specific instructions to His followers. 

Today, we’re going to discover four expectations Jesus gives to the apostles, and which apply to us as well. 

Before we get into these, let’s go to God in prayer. 

(prayer)

In their traveling with Jesus and their observation of His interactions with the religious elites, the apostles had surely learned that Jesus is not always well received. They potentially would have had to deal with challenges themselves by this point. However, Jesus i

“The Gospel Pioneers”

(Matthew 10:1-15)

Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

May 19, 2019

The Passage

Matthew 10:1-15

1 Summoning his twelve disciples, he gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out and to heal every disease and sickness. 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: First, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

5 Jesus sent out these twelve after giving them instructions: “Don’t take the road that leads to the Gentiles, and don’t enter any Samaritan town. 6 Instead, go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you received, freely give. 9 Don’t acquire gold, silver, or copper for your money-belts. 10 Don’t take a traveling bag for the road, or an extra shirt, sandals, or a staff, for the worker is worthy of his food. 11 When you enter any town or village, find out who is worthy, and stay there until you leave. 12 Greet a household when you enter it, 13 and if the household is worthy, let your peace be on it; but if it is unworthy, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone does not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

Introductory Comments:

When I say the word pioneer what do you picture?

Many of us picture the pioneers in American history who moved out west to unexplored territory. Perhaps we picture folks who took the Oregon Trail. 

You might picture a wagon train moving through the mountains, like this picture [show picture]

A pioneer is someone who is the first to explore something or the first to do something.

Today, we’re going to talk about the Gospel Pioneers. 

We are continuing our series through the Gospel of Matthew. Today, Matthew will shift his attention to discussing Jesus and His disciples, specifically the twelve apostles. 

Let’s pray together before we get started. 

(prayer)

Jesus had many disciples. As we’ve heard many times, disciple simply means, “follower.” 

However, today we’re going to learn about some special disciples. These disciples are different than the other disciples. 

Let’s dive right in. Let’s learn first . . .

I. Who were the Gospel Pioneers? [on screen]

First of all, we need to point out, again, that we are speaking of the twelve disciples. These are the specific twelve whom Jesus chose to follow Him and do His work. 

These are those whom we also refer to as the apostles. Apostle refers to someone who is sent as a representative of someone; sort of like an ambassador. Apostle can also refer to someone who is sent. 

These twelve men were called, taught, equipped, and sent as representatives of Jesus. 

It’s significant that there were twelve of them. “Why,” you ask? Well, there were twelve tribes of Israel, and Jesus came first for the people of Israel. So, He chose twelve men to first take the message to the people of Israel, and later to the world. We’ll learn more about that in just a minute. 

This passage gives us the specific names of these twelve men. 

Look at verses 1-4. 

1 Summoning his twelve disciples, he gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out and to heal every disease and sickness. 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: First, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

So,

“The Harvest is Abundant!”

(Matthew 9:35-38)

Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

May 12, 2019

The Passage

Matthew 9:35-38

35 Jesus continued going around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. 38 Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.”

Introductory Comments:

 

Illustration: When I was a kid, my great-grandmother Kirkland had a piece of property off of Parker Road in the community of Medulla, in Southwest Lakeland. My great-uncle Donald helped manage the cows and pigs on the property. One day, when I was a young boy, he told me that he had a job for me. He said that these prickly weeds had started to pop-up all over the pasture and he wanted me to pick them. He said he would take me out there and show them to me and he would pay me to pick them. It only took one look for me to realize that this was not a job that I wanted to do. You see, there were far too many weeds and far too few of me. Thankfully, I wasn’t forced to do that job. 

Today, Jesus is going to tell His disciples that there is a lot of work to be done, and more workers are needed!

We’re continuing our series in the book of Matthew. We just saw last week that Jesus was doing a lot of miracles right and left. Now, Matthew is transitioning to talk about the work of the disciples of Jesus. 

Remember, a disciple simply means “a follower.”

Are we disciples of Jesus? (pause) You better believe it! We are called to be followers of Jesus.

In this passage, Jesus is going to give His disciples instructions for how to live as followers of His.   

We’re going to discover three steps which we must take as followers of Jesus also. 

Before we do, let’s pray to God and ask Him to teach us. 

(prayer)

Matthew introduces us to this section by giving us a summary statement of the continued work of Jesus. 

We learned about several specific miracles already in the Gospel of Matthew. 

Yet, verse 35 indicates that Jesus did a lot of other work as well. 

35 Jesus continued going around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.

Jesus went to many towns and villages and He encountered a lot of people. As He continued to minister to them, more and more people came out to Him. 

Even though He was doing a lot of work, He was just scratching the surface of all of the people who needed to be touched by God’s love. 

This passage allows us to see the heart of Jesus and shows us what kind of heart we must have. 

Let’s learn together, starting with the first step:

I. We must be compassionate [on screen]

As Jesus encountered all these people and His heart was filled with compassion for them!

Look at verse 36. 

36 When he saw the crowds, he felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd.

Jesus ministered to a lot of people, but there were also many to whom He was unable to minister because there were so many people. He had compassion for them. 

This is not any ol’ compassion. Jesus had deep compassion for the people whom He encountered!

I don’t usually refer to the original Greek language, but in this case, it is helpful to communicate the meaning of this passage. 

The Greek word here is splanchnizomai, which can refer to a feeling from the gut. Way down deep inside. 

This compassion of which Matthew speaks is deep, gut-level, genuine compassion. 

Matthew said that the people whom Jesus saw were distressed and dejected, or harassed and helpless, or they were fainted and scattered abroad. 

The literal translation here