Teaching To Beware | Matthew 16:1-12

Scripture

• Matthew 16:1–12

About this sermon

Introduction: Faithful discipleship includes warning. We not only teach people what is right to believe. We prepare people — we warn people — about what would sidetrack them. We prepare people for the assault on their spiritual wellbeing that IS CERTAINLY COMING. And we must especially prepare them to withstand what we might discern they are most vulnerable to. The recognized spiritual leadership of Israel was dangerous. The Pharisees and the Sadducees were not good men who were simply misguided. They were serpents. They were wicked men who were blind guides of the blind. THEY WERE CHILDREN OF HELL. ESV Matthew 23:15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. But THEY WERE INFLUENTIAL MEN. They were EXTERNALLY IMPRESSIVE MEN. And that made them DANGEROUS MEN. We live in a world of spiritually dangerous people — influencers. Men AND WOMEN who are perceived as spiritual leaders. People who might have a lot of influence, especially in this age of imagined digital shepherding. People who might be very charismatic and impressive. But they are clouds without water. They are impressive to men but not to God. And they must be evaluated in the way that Jesus leads His disciples to evaluate the Pharisees and Sadducees. And it is the task of faithful churches and faithful shepherds to not only teach the people of God what to believe, but also to equip them to recognize and refuse what they should not believe. Tonight, we consider teaching to beware. • A DELEGATION FROM THE ENEMY (vs.1) The first thing we note is that Jesus is approached by another delegation. This is increasing in frequency. Jesus is a problem for these men, and they recognize it. You will remember that a delegation of Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem showed up at the beginning of chapter 15. It is likely that this was an official delegation. Probably representing the Sanhedrin, where you would find Pharisees and Sadducees working together — the Supreme Court, as it were, for the Jewish people. NOTE: Hatred for God makes for strange friendships. It is amazing how people who are in error at opposite ends of the spectrum, who are sort of natural enemies, end up being friends in their opposition to the truth. James Montgomery Boice — “This was an odd combination of forces, for the Pharisees and Sadducees held different views and were rivals and antagonists in the leadership of Israel. The Pharisees’ very name means “separated,” and they separated themselves by strict observance of the law and traditions of Israel. They were the most spiritual people of the time. Although their zeal for the law drew them into legalism and a sad preoccupation with minutia, which Jesus condemned, they nevertheless believed in all the right things: a supernatural written revelation from God (our Old Testament), miracles, the coming of the Messiah, the resurrection, and a final judgment at the end of time. The Sadducees were modernists. They did not believe in miracles, and although they looked for a Messiah, the Messiah they looked for was no more than an effective political leader. They were really politicians themselves, and their policy was to collaborate with and support whatever government happened to be in power at the time.” They are asking for a sign from heaven. The signs are already CLEAR for anyone to recognize. As we have already pointed out in our study of Matthew, Nicodemus had no trouble recognizing that the things Jesus did proved He was from God. But these men belong to that group that exists to this very day which will claim that they have not YET seen enough to believe. “Give us something unmistakable and we will be convinced.” But regardless of what they see and hear they are never convinced. • AN ANSWER FROM GOD (vs.2-4) And that is what Jesus tells them. He responds to their request for a sign by telling them that they are spiritually dull. THEY ARE SO DULL THAT THEY CANNOT RECOGNIZE WHAT IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM. He compares it to their ability with weather. • WHAT YOU ARE ABLE TO DO (vs.2-3a) They can recognize, predict, interpret, what they see in the sky. They can tell if the weather will be fair, or if the weather will be stormy. Sometimes a red sky can mean fair weather. Sometimes it is red and threatening. In the evening it apparently means one thing, in the morning it can mean something else. THEY HAVE EYES TO SEE THE SIGNS IN THE SKY. • WHAT YOU ARE UNABLE TO DO (vs.2-3b) But what they CANNOT DISCERN are the signs from heaven that identify the time they are living in. There are signs all around that the Messiah has arrived. THEY ASK FOR SIGNS WHEN THEY HAVE ALREADY BEEN GIVEN SIGNS IN SUPER-ABUNDANCE. • WHY YOU WANT WHAT YOU DO (vs.4a)