A Dialogue with Deceivers, Part 2

While it's true that Jesus showed extravagant compassion to those who suffered, it's also true about justice. In this passage, we see both sides of His divine character, love and justice. From His brand-new study in the Book of Matthew, Chuck titled today's message, A Dialogue with Deceivers, and we begin with prayer. Father, meet our needs as you use your people to do so.

Remind us over and over of the great benefits that come to us, and with those benefits come responsibility. May we be known as generous followers of Jesus. At the same time, Lord, I give you thanks for your protection. We thank you for those who watch over our safety, all those who serve in law enforcement, all those who guide our country and those who protect us on foreign fields. Give great courage, wisdom, determination.

May that protection be faithfully administered regardless of what a few may say by way of criticism. Hold us all, our Father, close to you through this time as we trust you, as we abide in you, as we rely on you for protection. Now these are our gifts to you and we give them with gratitude.

Thank you for our occupation. Find favor in the giver as well as the gift, for we give out of love for you because we believe in what the ministry is doing and as it is being carried out here as well as abroad. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray, and in that same name we give our gifts.

And everyone said, Amen. We begin in Matthew 22. His first story is about a feast.

It's a banquet. Verse 2 tells us that the kingdom of heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king that would be God since stories are all symbols of a deeper truth. The king is God. Read on. He's preparing a great wedding feast for his son.

Who would that be? God's son is Jesus. This is about God the Father and God the Son offering a plan of salvation to a body of people, his own nation, the nation of the Jews, as they would hear the invitation come.

Now read what happens. When the banquet was ready, salvation was made available. When the story of eternal life was made clear and the son was there available for them to see and hear, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited and they refused to come. John 1-11, he came to his own, but what?

His own did not receive him. So the banquet's made available, salvation is open, and he sent his other servants to tell them. Verse 4, and the feast has been prepared and the bulls are ready and the fattened calf cattle have been killed and it's all ready for the guests who have been invited. But some ignored it and some went their own way to do work on their own farm and in their own business and others had the audacity to seize the messengers, verse 6, and insult them and even kill them. That would be a reference to the killing of the prophets. So the Lord says those servants aren't worthy of coming to my feast.

Open the door to everybody. Look at verse 8. He said to his servants, the wedding feast is ready, the guests I've invited aren't worthy of honor, so now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see. And the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests. You know what I see there? I see the door of salvation opening to the Gentiles.

But then there's a little vignette, there's a story within the story I don't want you to miss. It begins at verse 11. Look, and remember we've got deceivers listening, we've got those who hate him listening, so they're illustrated in this intruder. He came on his own accord and desired to wear what he wanted to wear. When the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn't wearing the proper clothing for a wedding. So he asked, how is it that you got here without wedding clothes?

And the man had no reply. The king says, you're out of here. And he describes weeping and gnashing of teeth. Before I go further, let me let me say here that if this is in fact the symbol of salvation, I think it is, then I believe the clothing for this wedding is imputed righteousness. The only way we come to God's banquet is to come his way.

He calls the shots, it's his feast. And he says, I want you to have the righteousness of my son. I will give it to you when you come by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ. And we are imputed with righteousness. It's a righteousness that's undeserved, but it is the righteousness of Christ credited to our account. That's our clothing.

That's what we wear in order to step into the Lord's heaven and to find our home there ultimately. And this guy didn't want to come that way. He wanted to come his own way. Who does that sound like?

Sounds like a Pharisee. You're not going to tell us to come through Christ. We don't accept this Christ, this Jesus, this Messiah. We don't want that stuff he offers. He's a fake.

He's not the real thing. And so their ultimate future is described in being bound and thrown into darkness, ultimately hell. Let's just call it what it is. Then there is a verse you quoted all your life and didn't know where it was found. Look at verse 14. Many are called and few are chosen, whatever that means. You look at it, you think, do I really know what that means? Think about it. What does it mean to be called and not chosen?

Let me change two words and you'll get it. Many are invited, but few accept. This is not a calling as if called to salvation. This is a calling as if invited to the feast. He calls out and invites all to come.

Come. He's not willing that any should perish. And we make the offer available to our friends, the people at work, the people at school, those that we know, that we've grown up with, and we have the privilege of sharing the gospel and we tell them, whosoever will may come, you've come, but you've got to come like Christ described it, come through him to the cross. And there are many who don't accept it. They've been invited, but they've not accepted. They've been called, but they've not chosen to come.

You've got to come God's way or you don't get in. Now, the Pharisees, as my father would say it, just about have their belly full of it. They've sat there long enough listening and they've decided we've got to put an end to this. Let's trick him into the wrong words and we'll arrest him right now, right now.

Enough of this. They've felt on the spot long enough. So verse 15, look carefully. You'll see deception, the conspiracy being planned. The Pharisees met together to plot how to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested.

See that? This is called deception. This is called planning a hypocritical way to trip up Jesus. Notice it's not a public meeting.

Conspiracies are never public meetings. They plan this conspiracy behind the scenes with one another. And here's what they're going to do.

Verse 16. They send some of their disciples along with the supporters of Herod to meet with Jesus. And now they're in front of him. Look at how they approach him. Remember, they're the ones who hate him.

They're the ones who cannot stand the thought of his living on as he's been living with ministry going on with the crowd following. Look at how they approach it. Teacher, we know how honest you are. You teach the way of God truthfully.

You are impartial and you don't play favorites. This is called, in Texas term, blowing smoke. OK, this is called verbal hypocrisy. They don't mean one word of it. Not one word. But out comes this mush, this nice sounding garage, so that they can speak it before them. So the mob or the crowd will hear what they're saying to Jesus. Oh, you are just the greatest.

You're the best. No one, no one like you. We've got a little question here. Look at what they say.

Tell us what you think about this. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Now, not being Jewish, you won't get the immediately you won't get the punch of the question. It's a loaded question. Their motive is evil. Their words are dripping with phony flattery. And now their question is loaded. If he says no, do not pay tax pay the poll tax to Caesar, then he's starting an insurrection.

They can arrest him for that. The Romans were forever watching out for those that were going to lead a rebellion against Caesar. If he says yes, pay taxes to Caesar, there would be those many followers who would say he's considering Caesar worthy of one's support. He's a graven image.

And we're not to worship a graven, we're not to support graven images. So he's hung in here and he's hung there. Either way, he's going to be seen as wrong and they know it.

So they think we've got it right where we want him. But what they don't realize is they're dealing with the Son of God, wise beyond words. So he says to them, whose picture? He says to them, show me the coin used for the tax.

So they pulled out a denarius. It's a little small coin with an image of, probably in light of where they had been, Tiberius, the emperor and his title, which was an adulation of some kind, naming him as the almighty. And they looked at the Roman coin and they handed it to him. And so he looks at it and he says, whose picture and title are stamped on it? Well, they could tell him, just like you could tell whose image is on a penny or on a nickel. They know it and answer quickly.

They think we've got him. They go, Caesar's. Caesar's image is on that coin. Well, then, he said. Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and and give to God what belongs to God. You can't hear it, but. Down inside, they're going.

Because he's got them. First of all, the word give. As Matthew writes, it is the word to give back as one would pay a debt. And a tax is like paying the debt for your right to be a citizen. And the poll tax is taken and has been taken down through the centuries and the taxes must be paid. And he says, pay back what you need to pay.

But don't forget that you must also. Give to God what he should receive in another part of the gospel. Jesus is described as being wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove. Here's a perfect example.

The answer is disarming. In fact, he begins by calling him what they were. I love that verse 18. Look at it. They came to him with all that flattery. His response to the flattery. You hypocrites.

Now, before you think there's not much to it. When's the last time you called anybody a hypocrite to her face or his face? I would grant that not a person in this room has done that.

You just don't do that. That's a very strong, insulting word. I may say to an individual, what you're suggesting is hypocritical. But I don't know.

I can't remember looking a person in the face and going, you hypocrite. That takes. Take guts. That takes confidence. And you know what?

They didn't have a word to answer. In fact, he goes on to say, why are you trying to trap me? I see through this. Give back to Caesar what you should and give to God what you should. Give to God.

And I love the end. His reply amazed them and they went away. You know, what's interesting is when you really catch a hypocrite and call a spade a spade, they'll never give you the truth in return. You know what? You're right.

I'm guilty as charged. They don't say that. They just walk away. What do we learn from this?

Let me switch it to where we are today. These are what deceivers will never tell you. And I'm going to tell you today. The first thing I learn is since God is sovereign, it's his banquet. If there's anyone hearing me right now who struggles with the plan of salvation.

You can struggle all you wish. But the plan is the plan as set forth by the sovereign God. He's not wanting anyone to perish.

But he's determined a banquet that would come according to his invitation. And these are the terms. You must acknowledge that you're sinful. You realize that you cannot in your sinful condition claim the heaven, your heavenly home to be with God forever. You've got to deal with your sin somehow, which you cannot do because you're sinful through and through. So you must come to Christ, who alone can take care of your sin. And when you do come to Christ, you submit to him, and you enthrone him and take yourself off the throne of your life.

You give him first place. It's his banquet. That's how you come to his feast. It's his sovereign right to call those shots.

Here's the second thing we learn. Since God is just, it's his right to determine who attends and who can't. It's his right. You may not like it. You may not think it's fair.

You may think it sounds terribly arbitrary or narrow. But Jesus said it best. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.

Let me get specific. No president of any country comes to God except through Christ. No ambassador representing any country comes to God except through Christ.

No brilliant, brilliant mind that can invent and can discover incredible things can come to God except through Christ. And no person like you or me can come to God except through Christ. God is just. If we fail to follow his plan, there's hell to pay. It's either heaven on his terms or it's hell on your terms. Frankly, I'm your best friend to tell you that.

Those who will tell you that it's not true are not your friends. Based on the Scriptures, those are the options. And God is just. He doesn't want you to perish. He wants you to take the invitation.

If you don't, you can see what will happen. Here's the third. Since God is God, to him we owe our highest allegiance. To him we owe our highest allegiance. No other one do we worship. And all gods are not the same. In this pluralistic world where other religions would attempt to make you think we're all ultimately serving the same God, there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Since God is God, to him we owe our highest allegiance. He alone is the one I worship.

To worship another is idolatry. It's error. And we can't go there.

Plain and simple. Cynthia and I, years ago, enjoyed a relationship with Ron Blue. He's still our friend. We were just engaged with some of the things Ron would do. He was a financial planner and a Christian man and helped a number of people get underway so they could handle their finances better.

And we needed help and he helped us and we were very grateful. Ron Blue taught me a principle that I've quoted hundreds of times. And you probably have heard me quote it.

Cynthia and I say it to one another rather regularly. God owns it all. Say that with me, okay? God owns it all.

One more time. God owns it all. All. All. Your children. Your parents. Your belongings. Your health. All.

He owns it all. When you truly acknowledge that, it's amazing what that will do to solve your selfishness. And all of us are born selfish.

I've never known of a child growing up saying, here, take mine, please. What I hear is mine. Me. That's mine. Because I own it.

No. He owns it all. And I'll tell you what, you can live so much at ease when you finally come to terms with that.

You'll stop sweating all the stuff that has preoccupied your life for too long. And you'll say, Lord, that's yours. To him, I owe my life and breath and all the joy I have. He makes me triumph over the grave and saves me from the grave and saves me from the grave. To him, I owe my life, my breath, and all the joy I have. God owns it all. Since God is sovereign, it's his banquet. Since God is just, he's got the right to determine who comes to his banquet and who won't, who won't come.

Who can't get in. And third, since God is God, he deserves my highest allegiance. Just sit right there and close your eyes, will you? Just sit right there and close your eyes. Are you absolutely, absolutely certain, beyond the shadow of a doubt, absolutely positive that Christ lives in your life, that you have trusted him to forgive your sins and to prepare you a home in heaven? Are you absolutely certain of that?

If you are not, you can be. Simple, simple plan of prayer, really, where you say, Lord, I come to you just like I am. All these many things in my life that I can't clean up, I trust you to clean up. I turn from them and I turn to you and I trust you and you alone because I believe in Jesus Christ as my own one and only savior. Thank you for coming to live in my life. Right now, you pray that prayer, you can know eternal life.

Isn't that great? You can be sure of a home in heaven. The feast is for you. Father, make this time of worship deeply meaningful. Remove from us anything that would interrupt our thoughts, our time of focus on your son. Make it meaningful, Father, especially for those who have just come to know your son. Give them a sense of peace and assurance that they now are part of the banquet. We accept these elements, the bread and the cup, in remembrance of Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray.

Amen. You're listening to Insight for Living. Chuck titled today's study in Matthew 22 a Dialogue with Deceivers. And to discover a variety of resources available on today's topic, please visit us online at insightworld.org. As you look forward to the weekend, perhaps you'll take some extra time to browse through the variety of free Bible study resources at your disposal. For instance, you've likely heard us mention the Searching the Scriptures studies online.

These are interactive, meaning you can type your thoughts directly into the document, or feel free to print out the PDF and use the notes in your personal quiet times. To access the Searching the Scriptures guide for Chuck's daily teaching, go to insight.org slash studies. In addition, Chuck is recommending an insightful book by pastor and author Vody Bockham. It's called Fault Lines, and it's written for anyone who truly wants to understand how to engage in grace-filled conversations about justice from a biblical perspective.

Again, the book is called Fault Lines, and you'll find all the details for requesting a copy at insight.org slash offer. We are deeply grateful to those who understand that these daily programs are made possible through voluntary contributions from people who value Chuck's teaching and want to see insight for living continue. Let me share a note we received. This listener said, Chuck, while I was stationed at Dover Air Force Base, a voice came across the radio that saved me from self-destructing. And then he adds, I'm tearing up, thinking of how short my life could have been if you had not been there on that cold, rainy night. If I ever get the chance to meet you, I would like to thank you personally. But if we don't get to meet on this side of glory, I'll be asking Jesus where you're sitting. Isn't that great?

One more person that God has saved by His grace. To give a donation right now, call us. If you're listening in the United States, call 800-772-8888.

Or online, go to insight.org. I'm Wayne Shepard sitting in for my friend Dave Spiker and inviting you to join us Monday when Chuck Swindoll continues our study in the book of Matthew on insight for living. The preceding message, a dialogue with deceivers, was copyrighted in 2017 and 2021 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.