Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. Jesus will not reject you. People might reject you, but Jesus will not reject you. He comes as the hope. Of the nations.
Because of who he is and his magnificent work, he is our hope, and he is the hope for the nations. Welcome to the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. Jesus is far more than a religious leader or a famous wise teacher. He is the Son of God, the long-awaited Messiah. Today, on the verdict, we're looking at a beautiful Old Testament prophecy, which helps us better understand who Jesus is, his miracles, his teaching, and his mission.
So let's join Pastor John Monroe for his new lesson titled Hope for the Nations. Matthew begins his gospel by saying, It is the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. Matthew is writing to inform his readers of who Jesus is. And in our study, we're learning much about who Jesus is, what he teaches, and what he does. In Matthew chapter 12, Matthew quotes from a prophecy which was about 750 years old.
It was written by the Old Testament prophet Isaiah about the coming Messiah. Is that wonderful that Jesus fulfills these Old Testament prophecies? Matthew wants his readers to know that Jesus. Is the Messiah.
So This is an intriguing passage. As we learn about Jesus, who's described as God's perfect servant. Let me ask you to open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 12. Matthew 12, we're going consecutively Through the book of Matthew and today Come to Matthew 12. verses fifteen through Last time we saw that Jesus was in conflict with the Pharisees over the rules and regulations of the Sabbath.
We saw that in the first 14 verses of Matthew chapter 12. The Pharisees are unable to answer the brilliant teaching of Jesus, and we read. In verse 14 of Matthew 12, But the Pharisees went out, that is, out of the synagogue where Jesus had healed a man with a withered hand, they went out. and conspired against him. How to destroy him.
Such is the hatred of the religious leaders. That although they're unable to answer the teaching of Jesus, and although the power of God is demonstrated in their very midst, they leave the synagogue. And they conspire to kill Jesus. He has exposed that hypocrisy. He has exposed their self-interest.
He is composed of lack of compassion and mercy, and they're full of hatred. And they Leave Jesus. Can you imagine being in the very presence of Jesus in a synagogue? And you're full of such hatred. You are so opposed to the person and teaching of Jesus that you walk out from his very presence.
That can happen to us today, can't it? People do that all the time. We leave the very presence Now for those of us who have not rejected Jesus, For those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ, We're going to learn today to learn more. We're going to learn more about Jesus. I want you to see Jesus.
I want you to hear him.
So that we may love him, we may worship him, and serve him more and more. And as we're occupied with Jesus, Something marvelous happens.
Something supernatural happens. will become more and more Like him. That is, we want to keep our eyes on Jesus. And that's difficult for us in this world. There's so many distractions from our society.
There's so many problems out there, and also so many problems within our own hearts and within our own situations. But we've been reminding ourselves, and will remind ourselves from this passage, that Jesus is our only hope. Our hope. is Jesus.
Now let me read Matthew 12. Verses 15 through This is an intriguing passage. On the face of it, you think is not very relevant for us today. I want to suggest it is very, very Matthew chapter 12 Verse fifteen. Jesus, aware of this, that is aware that the Pharisees had left the synagogue and they're conspiring to kill him.
He's aware of this. He withdrew from there. And many followed him. And he healed them all. and ordered them not to make him known.
This was to fulfill What was spoken by the prophet Isaiah? We've seen before that Matthew loves to quote the Old Testament scriptures. And he gives this magnificent quotation. From Isaiah 42. Here it is.
This is to fulfill. What was spoken by the prophet Isaiah? Behold, my servant. whom I have chosen. My beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.
I will put my spirit upon him. and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break. And the smouldering wick he will not quench until he brings justice to victory, and in his name.
The Gentiles. We'll hope. I want to learn with you this morning three main things about Jesus from this passage. First of all, Jesus is God's chosen servant. I want you to think about that because Jesus is God, He's the Son of God, but when He comes in His incarnation, when He comes into this world, He comes as God's chosen servants.
Verse 18. Quoting from Isaiah 42, Behold, my servant whom I have chosen.
So Jesus comes in fulfillment of a prophecy. That one of the Old Testament prophets called Isaiah made 750 years before the time. I want us to read that, if you can find that in your Bibles. Isaiah 4. Forty-two.
One of my goals is the teacher of the Bible. and uh to learn the books of the Bible and to learn how to find these Passages, you may struggle a bit, please don't be embarrassed. There's an index at the beginning. I'm going to read the passage as it's found in Isaiah, the passage which Matthew quotes in Matthew chapter 12. Here it is.
Behold my servant whom I uphold. My chosen. in whom my soul delights. I have put my spirit upon him. He will bring justice to the nations.
He will not cry aloud, or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street. A bruised reed he will not break. And a faintly burning wick he will not quench, he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he is established Justice in the earth. And the coastlands, coastlands, wait for Here's Law.
There it is. As Jesus comes, He comes in fulfillment of this prophecy. And he comes as God's chosen servant. Behold, my servant, whom I have chosen. And when Jesus comes into this world, he says, I came not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
Hebrews chapter 10 verse 7 says, Behold, I've come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.
So when our Lord Jesus Christ comes into time and space, And he is born in Bethlehem and grows up into maturity as we see him. He comes to do the Father's will. He is God's chosen servant. Paul writes of our Lord in this way. Of Jesus.
He says, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant. being born in the likeness of man. Do you enjoy being a servant? I love to be served, quite honestly. But Do you enjoy?
Serving? Do you enjoy serving people who look down on you? Would you enjoy serving people who are going to reject you and say nasty things about you? This is the Lord. He's God's.
Chosen. servant. And Matthew 12 verse 18, Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. When you read these words, what do you think of?
Well, if you've been following the series in Matthew, your mind goes back to the end of Matthew chapter 3 in that beautiful scene when our Lord Jesus is baptized and God the Father says from an open heaven as John the Baptist is baptizing Jesus, this is my Son. my well-beloved, in whom I am well pleased. Incidentally, God still says of those who are baptized, That he is well. Pleased. They are obeying, as we heard.
They are obeying the Lord. And so God the Father looks on his son and says, This is my son, the one that I love, and I am well pleased. That is, the Father always delights in the Son. This is the perfect sun. God's perfect servant.
And then we read in verse 18, I will put my spirit upon him. And we see that at the baptism of Jesus, as the Spirit of God in the form of a dove comes down from heaven and lights on God's Chosen servant. and is authenticating And anointing Jesus as the true Messiah. He is the Lord from heaven. Chosen by God.
Delighting it. The Father delights in him. And the spirit Comes upon him, all in fulfillment of that Old Testament spirit. And the messiahship of Jesus, the fact that Jesus is the messiah, is authenticated. by his authoritative teaching and by his mighty works.
Look again at verse 15. Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And it's from the synagogue. And many followed him. And he healed them all.
No one is turned away. No case is too difficult for Jesus. Our medical profession is wonderful. But they can't cure everything. They've been scrambling now all over the world for months.
to find a cure for COVID-19. We trust they have finally got a cure. We'll see. But with Jesus, there is no problem, whether it's COVID-19 or any other disease, He heals every single person. Why?
Here is a demonstration in front of those who have eyes to see and ears to hear that Jesus is no ordinary person. He's the Christ. He's the Son of God. He heals the leper. He gives sight to the blind.
He causes the mute to speak, the lame to walk. Yes, he raises the dead. He heals them all. And sometimes I asked Does Jesus still heal today? Jesus' power to heal is undiminished.
It neither increases nor decreases. It neither evolves nor devolves. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. We are constantly praying for those who are sick. Every single day someone is sick, even now.
So during this week I was praying for the sick.
some who are very, very sick. And our elders have prayer and anointing, following the pattern of James chapter 5, where people are prayed for, where they're anointed with oil. And we believe that the prayer of faith can heal the sick. Sick. We believe that with God nothing is impossible.
However, this is very important to observe. To demand healing from God is a denial of his sovereignty. It is an assertion of our autonomy. Who's in charge? Who's in control?
You, me? Elders, pastors, though God is in control. And our faith is to be in God. Please notice. Our faith is to be in God, not in the power of our belief to always get what we want.
Only children. demand always to get what they want. The Apostle Paul had his thorn in the flesh. The Apostle Paul left Trophimus ill at Miletus, according to 2 Timothy chapter 4. And we don't believe in the so-called faith healers.
Have you seen them on television? The Lord Jesus in Matthew chapter seven denounced the false prophets. You know what he called them? He called them ravenous wolves. They exploit the vulnerable, they take money from the vulnerable, and we see that today, don't we?
People who profess that they can heal everything, provided you send them the money to them. Can I say don't be deceived by these devious and flattering words. When we talk about healing, The question is not a matter of God's power. God's power is infinite. God can do anything He wants in a split second.
And I've seen And many of you have seen God work miracles. We believe that God Can do anything he wants. He's sovereign. He can heal it in an instant. And this is what Jesus is doing.
But When we talk about healing, it's not just a matter of God's power, it's a matter of God's purposes. And at the cross, our Lord Jesus Christ broke the power of sin, but still, sin is still with us. At the cross, our Lord Jesus took our pain and sickness. But we still suffer. and become ill.
At the cross, our Lord Jesus Christ conquered death, but we still die. Followers of Jesus, devout followers of Jesus still die. Jesus conquered death. Yes, the bonds of sin are broken. Yes, God does answer prayer in accordance with his will.
But it may not be God's will for a sickness to be healed at this time. You say, how do we know? The answer is we don't know that God's purposes are inscrutable. We prayed for people. And I've seen them healed.
We prayed with faith to God. And we've seen people Die. The reality. And some say, well, the Bible says there is healing in the atonement. Of course, there's healing in the atonement.
But we must understand the full impact of all of the blessings and benefits of our salvation is still future. We still await. Our final complete and perfect. Salvation. Do you know what heaven is?
Heaven's a place where there's no death. No hospitals. No terminal illness, no tears, no mourning. But when brothers and sisters were not yet in heaven, We're on earth. And on this earth there is suffering.
There is pain. There is confusion, there's difficulty, there's sometimes excruciating pain. And what are we to do as the people of God? We are to pray for one another, we're to pray with faith, we're to encourage one another. And we believe that God, sometimes in His purposes, chooses to intervene in a supernatural way and bring healing.
In other cases for which we do not understand. People die. My older Brother, as you know, suddenly got a brain tumor. And we prayed and we prayed and he prayed. And he had lived a consistent Life since a little boy.
A man who walked with God, and we say, Why didn't God Uh heal him. The answer is I don't know. But they do know this, he's safely home. And that those who have this hope in Jesus Christ, we know that nothing can take that way.
Now here in our Lord's incarnation, to establish that he is the true Messiah, because it was prophesied that the Messiah would heal, notice, he does what the so-called faith healers doesn't. Never does. He healed them all. No tough cases for Jesus. He heals them all.
A crowd want a celebrity, that's why, in verse 18, he ordered them not to make him known.
Some people, then and now, are only attracted to Jesus for what they can get from Jesus. They want the loaves and fishes, they want the healing. Is that why you're attracted to Jesus? Are you attracted to Jesus for What you can get. A job, health, money.
Marriage. Personal happiness. Is that why you're following Jesus? There's nothing wrong with these desires, but they miss the basic issue. You see our greatest need.
Your greatest need and your greatest desires should be spiritual. Forgiveness of our sins, our relationship with God, becoming more and more like Jesus, living in obedience to God, humbling ourselves, and believing, as we heard in the testimonies, that God's way is perfect. And is there anyone here? Who would be so proud to say that you always understand God's ways? No, causeways are mysterious.
God works out his purposes. He works in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform. And sometimes God reveals His will to us, and we certainly have God's will revealed to us perfectly in Scripture, but in our personal circumstances, what God wants from you and from me is to trust Him. Whether in the light or in the dark. Whether on the top of the mountain or whether in the valley, our hope is still to be in Jesus Christ, and we're to trust him irrespective of the surrounding circumstances because our hope is in Christ alone.
And as we do that, Our faith deepens. Our faith increases. And you say, I I wish my faith was was stronger. Listen. Listen to what Jesus is saying.
I want to hold up Christ to you today. the magnificent Christ. I want you to see him. Do you see him? As God's chosen servant.
Secondly, Jesus is the suffering. Servant.
Now here in Matthew chapter twelve Matthew is quoting from the first of what we call four. Servant songs in Isaiah. In Isaiah, there are four songs, as it were. Prophesying of the coming of the Messiah. This is the first of them.
And all of these songs find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. The most familiar of these songs is Isaiah 52 and 53. Many of you have heard part of it. when it talks about Jesus coming who is despised. and rejected by man.
A man of sorrows. and acquainted. with grief. When God's Son comes to earth, he comes as God's chosen servant. Who always pleases his father, but he comes.
as a suffering servant. That was difficult for the disciples, wasn't it? That was difficult for John the Baptist. Who, when he's in prison, questioned, is this really the Messiah? It doesn't seem to be working out as we thought it was to them.
The Messiah would be a military conqueror. The Messiah would be one who would free them from the Romans. The Messiah would there and then set himself up as King of Israel. King of the kings. Set up his messianic kingdom on earth.
And the very idea. that the Messiah would suffer. The very idea that the Messiah would be killed and that pagans And their own people would take him and nail him to a cross and crucify him. That was unimaginable. I mean, who wants a Messiah like that?
Who wants to follow a man who's going to end up dead on a cross? But he comes as a suffering servant. This is the verdict featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. There's still more to hear when John returns in just a moment, so stay with us. From matters of truth and identity, to the subjects of love and grace, our world seems more confused than ever.
but to find truth and certainty about who we are and find peace, we must turn our attention away from the world and look to the Word of God. To help you do that, John wrote a booklet titled Eternal Security, Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World. Through this special resource, John shares his personal testimony, along with a careful examination of Scripture, to offer us clarity on matters of eternity. Get your copy today by visiting our website at theverdict.org. While you're there, consider making an investment in this Bible teaching ministry.
Whether it's $5, $50, or more, your gift today helps cover the cost of sharing these gospel messages to listeners around the world. And if you haven't already, be sure to subscribe to the Verdict Podcast, featuring John's weekly podcast exclusive called Avizandam. It's available wherever you get your podcasts, or simply go to our website. Again, that's theverdict.org. The verdict is a ministry of Calvary Church in South Charlotte.
We're located on the corner of Highway 51 and Ray Road. If you've been looking for a church home or a community to help you grow in your walk with Christ, We invite you to join us for our Sunday services. For more details about Calvary and our service times, visit theverdict.org.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? What did you learn today about Jesus the Messiah, God's chosen servant? Don't you love the fact that the Lord Jesus healed all who came to Him? He was demonstrating that he was the true Messiah by his healing. The greatest healing we need is Is the healing of our souls, the forgiveness of our past and our sins.
There is no doubt that Jesus is the true Messiah, the long-promised one foretold by the prophets to Israel. Are you following him? Do you understand that he is the Christ? God's chosen servant. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict.
I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
