Love, Weeping/Rejoicing, Teaching

Introduction

What a joy it is to be with you this evening as our gospel meeting continues. Thankful to God for this good opportunity. And a special treat for my brother Bob Waldrin to be here tonight, who so effectively led us in prayer, approaching the throne of grace. Solomon spoke of a friend that sticks closer than a brother. And from my youth, Bob has been that kind of friend. He’s so special to me, and I’m glad that he is here this evening. When I was a teenager, I wanted to preach, and I knew that the best way to do that is to work with an older preacher. So I was 16 and Bob was 27. He was my older preacher. But he was not like your typical 27-year-old preacher, I can tell you that.

Not that we don’t have some capable ones, but he was way beyond that. And so that relationship over the years is so special. And we have visitors from other places. We’re thankful for your presence, and some of whom I have known and appreciate so much, and others that I’m meeting for the first time. But we’re thankful for all the folks that are here for the South Bumbi folks as well as the visitors, as we continue discussing our theme, then this meeting of becoming more like Jesus. There are so many passages that deal with that topic. We looked yesterday at one of those in Luke chapter 6 and verse 40. A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

The King James says, everyone who is perfect, tellios, meaning having all of its parts. And so there’s a growth process that God wants us to undergo that continues. Once we obey the gospel, which is where we almost start, God has a plan for us. The New American Standard, interestingly, uses the word pupil. So we are to see ourselves as pupils, as students. That’s what disciples are. And so we’re wanting to be just like our teacher. And so we study him. We imitate him. God’s purpose is that we be conformed to the image of God’s Son, Romans 8, verse 29. Christ in you, our hope of glory, Colossians 1 27. Passage after passage shows we’re to be imitators of our Lord, to study Him, to know Him, to be like Him, to be assimilated in Him.

Paul would say in Galatians 2 20, I’ve been crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I live in the flesh, I live in the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. And so that’s that’s God’s plan for us. It’s so important that we learn the truth about Jesus and that we obey from the heart the gospel of Christ. And if you’re present tonight as one who has not yet made that decision to become a Christian, we want to encourage you to be thinking about that and yield yourself in obedience tonight. But we’re especially focusing on what comes next, what the Lord wants of us after that. And we’re talking about traits that Jesus has, traits that he had and traits that he has.

1. The Tremendous Love That He Has

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And so the qualities that we see in the scripture are not past tense qualities. This is the nature of Christ. And one of the things when you talk about Jesus, you can’t talk about him without addressing the tremendous love that he has. Jesus, we could, as our beginning point, say, Jesus loves everyone. And there’s no greater manifestation of that than the fact that he died for the sins of all. John was writing to Christians in 1 John 2 and verse 1, when he said, My little children, these things I write unto you that you sin not. So don’t sin. But if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And he is the propitiation for our sin, for our sins, and not only for our sins, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Christ tasted death for every man. Hebrews 2 verse 8 and 9 tells us.

And so his love is universal. His love is for all.

But John 13 tells us in verse 1. Now, before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come, that he should depart from this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. He loves all men. But those that are in relationship with him, there’s a special bond that is there. And Jesus went on to talk to them, of course, extensively that night. This is the night before his crucifixion. And in John 13 and verse 34, Jesus said, A new commandment I give to you that you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you’re my disciples if you have love one for another.

That’s a tremendous passage. If Jesus had just said, love one another, that would not be a new commandment. The Old Testament taught the principle of loving God with all of our being, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. So that the concept of love for fellow man would not be a new concept, but Jesus said, as I have loved you. Well, that raises the bar, doesn’t it? And so we’re to love one another as Jesus loves us, and he’s telling this to his disciples. And in a special way, he said, that’s a mark of discipleship. By this shall all men know that you’re my disciples. Now there are a lot of things that set us apart. If someone attends an assembly such as this, and they notice you don’t have instrumental music, they might wonder why why do you not do that?

And a lot of times the churches of Christ are known for the fact that we do not use instrumental music in worship. And I believe that that’s not just a preference, it’s a matter of singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord. It’s a matter of trying to glorify God, it’s a matter of following his will and doing things by authority. So it’s not just a personal preference, it’s worshiping by faith. And yet Jesus does not say, as important as matters like that are, Jesus does not say, By this shall all men know that you’re my disciples, if you don’t use instrumental music in worship. That’s how they’ll know. And on the first day of the week, as we come together, we the central focus should be we’re authorized to do other things, but we come together to break bread.

Central to our coming together on the first day of the week is the Lord’s Supper. And we so we break the bread. We eat the unleavened bread. The body of Christ is memorialized by that. And we drink the cup again in memory of his blood. And that’s important. It’s very important. And if we don’t do that properly, as Paul told the Corinthians, he said, For this cause many of you are weak and sickly, and some are asleep. That is, some are spiritually dead. So it’s important for us to discern the body and blood of the Lord. But Jesus does not say, By this shall all men know that you’re my disciples, if you come together on the first day of the week and break bread. That’s important.

We must do that. But as we just look at the text and what Jesus said on the night in which he was betrayed, the evening before his crucifixion, he said, By this shall all men know that you’re my disciples. If you have love for one another. I’m not sure we’ve always given that the attention that it needs. And by the way, that doesn’t take away anything from anything else the Lord has said. That doesn’t mean you know you do this to the neglect of something else. We’re not saying that. But we’re simply looking at what the Lord said, how important it is that we imitate what He has. And we imitate who He is. To love me as I have loved you. That is how people will know.

That’s how the world will know that you’re my disciples. And so we need to look at passages like that and take inventory. How are we doing? You know what I think about that? I think about our brethren over in China. Where it is illegal to really do what a Christian needs to do, and uh where people have sacrificed so much just to get a copy of the Bible and have to meet secretly. And you hear the sacrifices people have made when they’ve come to the knowledge of the truth in China, and you love your brethren in China, don’t you? I do. Do you respect your brethren in China? Yes, I just admire them so much. And you know you’ve got brethren in Russia, and you’ve got brethren in Belgium, and you’ve got brethren in Africa, and you’ve got brethren in South America, and you love all those brethren, don’t you?

And you hear reports from people that go to those places. You love all those brethren. It’s the ones that you worship with that really get under your skin. It’s the ones you know that really bother you. Isn’t that the way it is? And so we hear of a new congregation that is formed, and somebody rushes in there and says, Well, um, the people that pulled out there, there weren’t any doctrinal differences. Now they’re going to be teaching the same doctrine. It was just over, and you know how you know how to finish it, don’t you? It’s over personality conflicts. Is that a euphemism for saying people could not learn to get along? They couldn’t learn to work together. Does that reflect what Jesus says here? If you have love for one another.

And so that’s that Jesus is not making it easy on us. But that’s what we must do if we’re to be imitators of him. And those brethren you know and you work with, they’re the ones you’re to love too. They’re the ones you are to edify too, and not just the ones that you know of in far distant places. I’ve got John chapter 11 up there. Turn with me there, if you will. In John 11, a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Martha and her sister, uh that is Mary and her sister Martha. And it’s that Mary that anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. By the way, you do know this, don’t you?

Please do not confuse her with Mary Magdalene. That’s often done. Mary of Magdella, that is up in Galilee, a fishing village up in Galilee. Mary Magdalene, this is Mary of Bethany. That’s on the Mount of Olives. So two different Marys, two different places. Just that’s that’s free. But in verse 3, therefore the sisters sent to Jesus, saying, Lord, behold, he whom you love is sick. Now they’re in Bethany. And where Jesus is at this point is on the other side of the Jordan in Perea. He’s in the Purian ministry. He’s busy, he’s ministering, but he’s awaiting the time that he’ll cross the Jordan, go through Jericho, make his way to Jerusalem to be crucified. So he’s in Perea. Lord, he whom you love is sick. Now I know that you know this, but in the Greek language, there are different words that are translated by our English word love.

And everybody, everybody knows about the word agape. Agape love. That word’s commonly used. And agape love is unconditional love. It’s having the best interest of its object. It’s refraining from doing anything harmful to the object. It’s the word used in John 3.16. God so loved the world. And it’s the word used, by the way, in Ephesians 5. Husbands love your wives. And by the way, that’s a command. It is imperative. Love your husbands. And somebody says, I don’t love my husband, then repent of that. Love, someone says, I don’t love my wife. Husbands, love your wives. So that’s one word. But the word that is used right here is not that word. There is the word phil, which is to love as a friend. It’s fondness, it is affection.

The noun is phalane. And actually, that is the word that is used here. Jesus, they say, Lord, he whom you love is sick. Now I know that the Lord has agapa’o love. Agape love. Agapa’o, the verb. I know he loves us with that kind of love. Because verse 5, Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, so that’s that word, agapeo. The noun would be agape. But in verse 3, he’s using a different word. They are using a different word. And John records that your friend is sick. And notice, notice that Jesus waits on purpose in verse 11. And he says, our friend, Lazarus sleeps. But I go that I might wake him up. He waited till Lazarus died. Sleep is a euphemism for death here.

But Jesus said, our friend. And that tells me another element of Jesus’ love for us is that he loves us as one who would die for us whether or not we ever respond. He loves us unconditionally. But he wants to be our friend. What a friend we have in Jesus. And I want to have that kind of relationship with the Lord. That’s what he wants to have with me. And so I think that’s very special. Do you want that tonight? I want that kind of relationship with the Lord. I want him to be my friend. And he wants to be my friend. In John chapter 15. In John chapter 15 and verse 9, Jesus says, As the Father love me, I also have loved you. Abide in my love.

If we’re talking about being like Jesus, we have to see that this tremendous love is involved. Mark chapter 10 and verse 21 tells us about the rich young ruler. By the way, as you’re turning there, you know how we end up calling him the rich young ruler, don’t you? There’s no passage that says that just in one passage. But in Matthew’s account, in Matthew 19 and verse 20, it says that he’s young. In Luke’s account, in Luke 18 and verse 13, Luke 18, verse 18, it tells us that he is a ruler. And all three texts tell us that he is rich. And that’s involved in your study of the scripture. You take all the Bible says on any given point, then you’ve got the whole picture.

And so by taking all three passages together, he’s the rich young ruler. And you know how he came to Jesus eagerly asking the question, good teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said, Why do you call me good? No one is good but one that is God. Do you know what Jesus is saying? Jesus is not saying that he, Jesus, is not good. Jesus is saying he is God. This man is standing in the presence, not of another rabbi. I’ve always wanted to ask this question. He’s standing in the presence of God. So the seed is planted. But then he goes on, you know the commandments. And this this man says in verse 20, teacher, all these I have observed from my youth.

In verse 21, Jesus looking at him loved him and said to him, one thing you lack. Go your way, sell what you have, give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Come take up your cross and follow me. And unfortunately, he’s sad, he turned away, sorrowful. He’s grieved at these words. He had great possession. So at least for now, he doesn’t make the good right choice. But I’m interested in verse 21, and this is only found in Mark, where the text says, Jesus looking at him, loved him. Now, Jesus loves everybody. We started out there. But what is he doing here? He’s trying to teach someone. Let me ask you this. If you are trying to teach someone the gospel, if you know the Lord and you know the truth, but you’re trying to teach them the truth.

Do you think they can tell if you love them or not? Do you think it comes across if you if you have a special regard for them and you really want them to have what you have, do you think that somehow will come across? And likewise, if if what you’re there for is to kind of win some arguments and make yourself really look better at their expense, do you think they can probably pick up on that too? Of course they can. But what I’m saying is when Jesus is teaching somebody, Mark makes a special point, even though we already know he loves everybody. Mark makes a special point. When this young man came to him asking him this question, Jesus cared about him. And he cared about the choice he would make.

2. Weep With Those Who Weep, Rejoice With Those Who Rejoice

Jesus loved him. As he then went on to say what he said that was hard, but was necessary for the man really to see himself where he was spiritually, and we have to do that before we can come to the Lord on his terms. So Jesus loved everyone. That’s involved to develop that, to cultivate that, to love, to have love for all men. But to have that special regard for our brethren and realize that Jesus Himself made that charge, but that’s how others will know we’re his disciples. Let me suggest to you, Jesus also had the quality of being able to weep with thought to think about how he can make our sorrows his very own. That the care that he has would express itself in the way that we express mourning and grief, that is, in the shedding of tears.

I’ve already introduced us to John chapter 11 and mentioned about Lazarus, the good friend. And when the disciples, we left off in verse 11 about our friend Lazarus sleeps. This is John 11, but I go that I may wake him, and the disciples don’t catch on to that. It’s like, well, you know, he probably needs a sleep. If he’s sleeping, he’ll get well. You know, if someone’s sick, that’s the best thing. But Jesus was talking about his death. Which for Jesus, our being asleep, our being dead is just like someone being asleep. Somebody’s asleep, we can take their shoulder, take their arm and say, hey, wake up. And for Jesus, death is just like sleep. But they didn’t get it. And so in verse 14, Jesus said, Lazarus is dead.

And I’m glad for your sakes I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless, let us go to him. You know, the thing that the sisters were asking for is for Jesus by implication, when they said he’s sick, they’re sending for him. They want him to come. And you remember when Jesus arrives, first thing Martha said when he arrives at Bethany, and she meets him, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. They wanted him to come. And then when, after he talks with her, and then Mary comes, she says the same thing. Let me suggest to you that they did not receive the thing they asked for. They received something far greater. And when we pray to God, we may not receive the specific request we are making, and it may be that what God has in mind is something far greater than we even know how to ask.

And that was the case here. You see the way it turned out by allowing Lazarus to die, and in fact, he’s been the tomb for four days, so that his death could not be questioned. And Martha was even concerned that there would be bad odors when the tomb was opened. And for Jesus to cry out, Lazarus come forth. And he that was dead came forth. That showed that indeed the one who told Martha, I am the resurrection and the life, that that claim was true. And so they received a greater blessing. And because of this, there was even more evidence for believing and more evidence for faith being strengthened, you see, as a result of what the Lord did. I think you might be interested in noticing here.

Bethany is on the slope. It’s actually part of the Mount of Olives. You’re going south and east from Jerusalem, but it’s still on the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives is a slope that continues to descend. And we can see that very area where Jesus went and where Martha and Mary and Lazarus lived. This here is a photo of Bethany. And in fact, there at Bethany, there is a traditional tomb that is referred to as the tomb of Lazarus. And when I take groups here, I don’t say this is where for sure Lazarus was. I don’t approach it that way, but the point of it is tombs like this is where people were buried. And it is in Bethany. And so it would be a situation like this, where Lazarus was, when Jesus cried, Lazarus, come forth.

Some have suggested that the reason he called Lazarus by name is had he not done so, he would have emptied the whole cemetery. But the truth of the matter is that what you see here was temporary. Lazarus would have to die again. And yet what this foretells is the kind of thing stated in John 5 and verse 28 and 29 the hour is coming in which all that are in the grave shall hear his voice and shall come forth. They that have done good to the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation. And so the hour is coming. We’ll all respond to that same voice. This past week I had part in conducting two funerals.

Every time I hold up the splendor of God’s word by the open grave, and the body is committed to the earth, I’m well aware that everything we’re doing at that cemetery is going to be undone. Because when Jesus comes, all that are in the grave are going to hear his voice. And will come forth. All those tombs will be emptied. But giving that as the context and the setting. In John chapter 11, read with me in verse 33, when Jesus was with Mary, she fell at his feet. Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. You know what? Every time we see this good woman, do you know she’s at the feet of Jesus? In Luke the 10th chapter, she’s at the feet of Jesus, hearing his word.

Here she’s at Jesus’ feet with her sorrow. In the next chapter, she’s going to be at Jesus’ feet, anointing his feet and his body for burial when nobody else understood he would have to be crucified. This is Mary. When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, he groaned in the spirit and was troubled, and he said, Where have you laid him? They said, Lord, come and see. And then verse 35 says, Jesus wept. And the Jews said, See how he loved him. And by the way, that’s our word phileo again. Friendship. And we ask the question, does Jesus care when I’ve said goodbye to the dearest on earth to me? And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks. Is it aught to him?

Does he see? Oh, yes, he cares. I know he cares. His heart is touched with my grief. When the days are weary, the long nights dreary, I know my Savior cares. We have a merciful high priest who can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities. And if we’re like the Lord, we learn to be empathetic. We learn to be compassionate. We learn to be able to weep with those who are weeping. And that doesn’t mean you have to talk and verbalize. You know, some people they’ll see someone that is deeply distressed, and they think to relieve the situation, they’ve just got to talk a blue streak. And often that does not help. But you can minister by your presence, and you can make yourself available.

And then if someone feels like talking, you can be there for them. So many things we can do of that nature, but but we need to be able to do it to be like the Lord. But the other side of that is Jesus could rejoice with those who were rejoicing. And we’re told in Romans the 12th chapter to do both, aren’t we? To be able to weep with those that weep and to rejoice with those that rejoice. Look with me to Luke the 10th chapter. This is when the seventy return from the limited commission. And in Luke 10 and verse 17, the text says, Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name. Their mission had been to preach the message of the kingdom, that the kingdom was at hand.

And so they’re preaching and they return with joy. Now they’re very glad, especially that the demons are subject to them. And Jesus had to talk to them about that. He said, Well, that’s good. And it depicts the fact that I’m here to overthrow Satan. I’m putting that in my own words. But he said, Don’t rejoice in that so much, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. But then you go on in verse 21, where Jesus in that hour rejoiced in spirit and said, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and reveal them to babes. Even so, Father, for it seemed good in your sight. All things have been delivered to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son but the Father, and who the Father and uh is but the Son, and the one to whom the Father, the Son wills to reveal him.

And so Jesus is rejoicing, and he takes that to God in prayer. And he’s rejoicing that these things are hidden from the wise and prudent and revealed to babes. And he’s using the words like Paul would in 1 Corinthians, the first chapter, that it’s not many wise after the flesh that are called, and so forth. And what Jesus is doing is he’s praising God that the gospel will call those whom it’s intended to call. He’s thankful for that. And he’s thankful for the good work that these men were doing. They were rejoicing, even though he had to do some teaching and some modification there. But the fact is, he also is rejoicing. And he takes that in prayer to the Father. There’s so many things for us to rejoice about, for me to rejoice about.

Some of you perhaps have heard about the young men’s leadership that we have part in that we direct in North Alabama. Brother Harkrider has been there. And this was something started by Sewell Hall years ago, and now I’m having part in that and directing that. And one of the things that I do as we line up men who will teach, and then when the time comes, I try to sit in on different classes, some as time permits. And this past year I was limited because I was also teaching. But anyway, before that, when I first was directing, I just was floating around sitting in classes. And so there was a speech class where one of the teachers was just teaching the boys how to read, to give the passage clearly, that people turn to the text and enunciate and where everyone can understand what you’re reading, but they could just pick whatever text they wanted.

So one young man picked Proverbs 31, and he started in verse 10 and read down to verse 31. And perhaps you remember that’s about the worthy woman. So he just read that whole section. This is a boy about probably 16, 17 years old, maybe 17, I think, at the time. So the teacher said, Well, you know, you did a good job with that passage. But he said, let me ask you this. Why did you select that particular passage about the worthy woman? And I love his answer. He said, see, this camp is only for boys. It’s age 14 to 18. So he says, because we are guys. And he said, this passage is describing the kind of woman that we should be attracted to, that we should be looking for.

So I’m thinking, how great is that? You know, we look at Proverbs 31, and what do you do? Ladies are going to have a class. So the ladies study Proverbs 31. So lady is teaching Proverbs 31 to all the ladies who are present. Well, that makes a good study, doesn’t it? Because that’s teaching the ladies what they’re to be like. But you read through the Proverbs, and that’s written over and over to the young man, appealing to the young man. Now that doesn’t mean women don’t learn or girls don’t learn, but it’s especially the way it’s worded is it it warns the young man about foolishness and enjoins him to be wise. And you get to chapter 31, and the fact is that is telling a young man the kind of lady he should be attracted to.

I take note of that. I rejoice in that. So many good things are happening. When Linda and I pray together, we pray for the God, we we’re thanking God for the godly men and women that we’ve known that have been such a source of blessing to us. We have so much to be thankful for, so much to rejoice about. We have part in supporting Don Bunning up in Upper Manhattan. In a slow month, he’ll probably have 40 or 50 studies. And besides the studies that he has in New York, he’s also Skyping studies internationally. And the use of technology to be able to study with brethren overseas in various countries. And a lot of brethren are doing that. I’ve had some small part in that myself in Moldova.

But I rejoice in that. And just recently, in fact, in July, we made a trip to Italy. In this trip, I was not preaching, but taking a group to tour Italy, but also in our itinerary, making it a point to be available to meet with brethren. And on a Wednesday night in Rome, we met with brethren in Rome. And they came to see us and they talked to us. And here is your oldest brother that is here in Rome. And a gospel preacher there in Rome as well. And young men that are being trained that are telling what they’re trying to do. And we’re just all together rejoicing in that. And then on Sunday morning, I had the occasion to make a quick run early that morning to Monfalconi, where Gianni Berdini is preaching.

Just a few years ago, this was a congregation that had dwindled down to five or six people. And they asked Brother Berdini to come over and help. And he’s been working with them just a relatively short time. And God has blessed them. And so here you’re seeing so many people that are new converts there. And I rejoice so much in that. And then from there, we made our way on to Trieste. And after services, we we had a time to eat and to visit together, and just a great occasion of rejoicing. This is earlier that morning here, where we’re in our worship period there at Trieste. And to think that every Lord’s Day, brethren all over the world are coming together to take the Lord’s Supper, to worship God.

Blessed be the tie that binds. What a fellowship. And how much to rejoice about. And the thing is, if we don’t, if we don’t think like that, if we’re not following the Lord’s example in Luke 10 and verse 21 in these kind of ways, what’ll happen is we’ll be watching the news. And I don’t care if you turn on one of the more liberal news stations or one of the more conservative, you know, it’s just it’s just bad news, bad news, and it’s just getting worse and worse. And I don’t mean we should be like the proverbial ostrich that just buries our head. We don’t have any idea what’s going on. But I was reading sometime back a blog by a fellow that’s talking about time management, and he knows what he’s talking about.

I think he does a good job. But one thing he does, he says, I take five minutes, and he said, I listen to headline news. He said, That’s all I need. That way I know what’s going on. But if it’s just hour after hour of that, and people get so depressed and they get so worried and they forget God is on the throne, and it’s just everything is just terrible. And if we’re like the Lord, who lived in the first century, when the Roman Empire was committing all kinds of atrocities, he found things to rejoice about. And if we lift up our eyes and look, there’s so much to rejoice about if we’re to be like the Lord, to rejoice in good things. And when someone obeys the gospel of Christ, what an occasion of rejoicing.

3. Sometimes the Lord Got Angry

And how many times I’ve seen people lead their first song or lead their first prayer or make their first talk. What a time of rejoicing. And so to see young ladies that are pure and modest and godly and studious of God’s word. So much to rejoice about. And I want to be like the Lord and see that and encourage that. But you know, sometimes the Lord got angry. In Mark the third chapter, early in his ministry, this is in the Galilean ministry, he was in a synagogue on the Sabbath day. There was a man with a withered hand, and people were just watching to see if he was going to heal this man that they might accuse him. And Jesus knew their thoughts. Of course. And instead of dodging the issue, he said to the man who had the withered hand, step forward.

And then Jesus asked the question to those present: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil? To save life or to kill? Not a trick question, just a fair question. Which is lawful? Which should you do? But they kept silent. Now it’s a fair question. They they should have, because if they answered that question, then they would see where he was coming from, and the problem would go away. But they kept silent. They stubbornly refused to give a fair answer to that question. And the next the next verse says, So when he had looked around them with anger, being grieved by their hardness, the hardness of their heart, he said to the man, stretch out your hand. He stretched it out, it became whole as the other.

And the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with Herodians against him how they might destroy him. So you see, that shows they were not at all fair-minded. And even witnessing this miracle, they went out, and the Pharisees were enemies of the Herodians. Enemies. But they had a common enemy in Jesus that they perceived as a greater enemy, so that brought those two groups together with a purpose of plotting for Jesus’ death. But when I see Jesus being angry, I have to remind myself that it’s not because somebody cut him off in traffic. It’s not because somebody put a dent in his new car. And I mention that because those are the things that infuriate us. Somebody’s rude to us, somebody mistreats us. You go to a fast food place and they serve you French fries, and they’re cold.

They’ve been sitting out there too long. And so you slam those coal fries up there. What are you thinking about? What are you doing? I’ll never be back. And so we can get upset about all kinds of things. But Jesus’ anger, it seems, is reserved for the things of God, for things pertaining to righteousness. And when he saw people willfully hardening their heart, refusing to answer a fair question that would have helped save their soul, yes, that upset him. That angered him. And in John the second chapter, when he saw the temple, a place for hawkers with their goods and money changers, robbing the people. And the doves that were there, the animals for sacrifice that were being sold, Jesus was angry. And the text talks about his making a whip of cords, and he drove them all out of the temple with the sheep and the oxen and poured out the changers’s money.

I mean, on that day, doves were flapping, uh, coins were rolling, tables were being overturned. He was upset. And he said, You made my father’s house a place of merchandise. He insisted on reverence for his father’s house. And so things pertaining to righteousness, things pertaining to the honor of God, things pertaining to the teaching of truth. Jesus was quite intense about that, and he could be upset when that was disregarded. May I suggest to you that we’re told in the Word of God in Ephesians 4 to be angry and sin not. And that means whatever it is that causes us to be angry, it’s never an excuse for sin. But what I would suggest to you is that more than that, that we should see that what if we’re to be like the Lord, what angers us should not be just those personal offenses or personal insults, but again those things that pertain to the Father’s honor.

4. Jesus Was Devoted to His Family

Let me suggest to you, Jesus was devoted to his family. We don’t, you know, ordinarily say a lot about Jesus’ family, but in particular, we see his devotion to his mother in John chapter 19 and verse 25. He’s on the cross. And what he’s doing in his last words on the cross here, he is making provision for the welfare of his mother. John 19, 25. There stood by the cross Jesus’ mother. His uh Jesus, I’m sorry, there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary, the wife of Clopus, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple, whom he loved standing by, he said to his mother, Woman, behold your son, not me, but John, behold your son. And he said to the disciple, Behold your mother.

And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. And so you can see that even with all the agony and all the anguish of the cross, Jesus is devoted to his mother and his concern for her. But I want to tell you that Jesus never let family matters interfere with doing his father’s will. On an occasion in Matthew, the 12th chapter, when Jesus was teaching, and it was a very busy time. His mother, his brothers and his sisters think that it’s time for him to go home. And so they they send word to him in verse 47, look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak with you. And Jesus said, Who is my mother? And who are my brothers?

And with outstretched hand toward his disciples, he said, Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother. See, Jesus is the master teacher. Somebody else teaching, somebody interrupts. There was an interruption. Hey, your folks are ready for you to come home. You’d be embarrassed. Well, tell them I’ll be there in a little while. Jesus doesn’t do that. He turns that into a teaching opportunity. And who is my mother? Who are my brothers? And so what he did was to go right ahead with his teaching, again, not disregarding family, but he never let that interfere with his responsibilities as the Son of God. And if we follow the Lord’s example, we know that we have responsibilities to our home, to our family.

5. Jesus Helped Others See the Truth in Scripture

But this should never be an excuse as to why we’re not doing the things we should be doing as a Christian. If we follow the example of Jesus, we don’t let family matters interfere with doing the Father’s will. Let me suggest to you, Jesus helped others see the truth in Scripture for themselves. And a lot of passages would illustrate this. The one I want to mention quickly is Luke the 10th chapter and verse 25. When a certain lawyer stood up and tested him, saying, Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus could have just given him the answer. But he says, What is written in the law? What is your reading of it? And he gave the answer from Scripture of loving the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.

Jesus said, That’s right. You’ve answered correctly. Do this and you shall live. Oh, who is my neighbor? And Jesus could have just given the answer to that, too. But instead he tells the story that we know as the good Samaritan. In the Bible, they don’t speak of good Samaritans. I mean, the only good one would have been a dead one, as far as the Jews were concerned. But we call him this side of things, we call him the good Samaritan, because he is the one that did good to the injured man. So Jesus says, which one of them proved to be neighbor? And he can’t bring himself to say the Samaritan, and he sure doesn’t say the good Samaritan. He just says, He who showed mercy on him.

Jesus said, Go and do likewise. So what is he doing here in this scripture? He’s guiding a person. He’s helping them to see the answer in Scripture for themselves. And so often, if someone has a Bible question, and circumstances are such that you can tell them where it is or have a Bible that they can look at and let them see. Well, read this, tell me what you think it says. So often that can be an effective way to teach instead of just telling someone. If you just tell them, they may think, well, that’s just that’s just your opinion. But if if it’s, well, here, what does the word say? And let them read it. Let them commit to what it says. That’s the way Jesus, that’s the way Jesus would do.

6. Patient, Yet He Strongly Denounced Sin

Well, let me suggest to you another thing about Jesus. He was so, he was so patient. In John chapter 14, that night before his death, the um the disciples still end up acting clueless.

Philip says, Lord, show us the Father and it sufficeth us. Thomas is saying, Lord, we don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way? Even the night before his death. And Jesus just patiently teaches them and continues with that. And you see, that’s the way Jesus was. The text says in Matthew chapter 12 and verse 20, a bruised reed he will not break, and smoking flax he will not quench. That’s a quotation from Isaiah. Now you think about that. That’s not really talking about reeds and wicks for lamps. It’s talking about people. You know, today you can make your way to the Jordan River, and actually on the Israel side, it’s uh there are just a very few points of access you can see the Jordan River.

Most of it is in the West Bank. Most of it is uh not occupied by Israeli territory. But the places you can go, you can still see the reeds that are there. And you so you look at that. That that’s a bruised reed. It wouldn’t take much to snap that the rest of the way in too, would it? And so what Jesus would do uh with the person that is like the bruised reed, he would bind that bruised reed and strengthen that and help it. And the smoking flax, here’s a little lamp, and so it’s smoking. That shows it’s either out of oil or the wick needs to be trimmed. So, but there’s still some life there because there’s smoke. And so Jesus is putting in oil.

He’s trimming the wick. And so now there’s a flame, you see, that is there. And this is the kind of regard you see that we are to have for people for one another. We exhort your brethren, warn those that are unruly. Someone that’s disorderly, he’s to be warned. Comfort the faint hearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. You see, not everybody, not everybody is marching out of ranks. Some people are faint-hearted. Some are weak. Be patient with all. Admonish the undisciplined. If they don’t repent, withdraw from them, 2 Thessalonians 3 says, but comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient toward all. Everybody’s not the same. And so it’s our job to see where people are and to meet their needs. And to be like Jesus and not to be impatient.

But I must tell you as we close out our study that even though Jesus was patient, he strongly denounced sin. He condemned following human traditions in no uncertain terms. In Matthew chapter 15, he talked about those who worship in vain, teaching as their doctrines the commandments of men. And his disciples said, Do you not know that the Pharisees were offended at what you said? And Jesus says, Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They’re blind leaders of the blind, and if the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a ditch. This is the same Jesus that loves everybody and is patient. But he condemned in no uncertain terms, following human tradition that makes void the Word of God.

We’re not talking about tradition like what time do you meet on Sunday? That’s not the point. We’re talking about doctrines and teaching that conflicts with the Word of God. And again, that is the context. And so Jesus condemned that again, and he condemned it in no uncertain terms. In Matthew 16 and verse 6, Jesus said, Take here, take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And he goes on to show he wasn’t talking about leaven of bread, but the teaching. See, leaven, the yeast in bread, leavens the whole lump. And false teaching will permeate and it’s destructive and it will cause souls to be lost. And so he says, take heed. Beware of that. And if we’re like Jesus, we will warn people about false doctrine.

Conclusion

We’ll speak the truth in love, and we’ll love their souls, but if we’re like Jesus, we will make a clear distinction between what God has said and the doctrines and traditions of men. You’ve listened so patiently tonight, and I close with where we began. A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher. We’re pupils. And in all the ways we have discussed tonight, we want to be fully trained. It is our mission to be like the teacher. May God help us to do that. And as I said in the beginning, if there’s someone present who has never yet obeyed the gospel, it would give us such great joy to witness your good confession and witness your baptism into Christ.

And I hope so much that someone will make that decision tonight to follow Jesus. And if you’ve strayed from following the teacher, you need to come back to him in repentance and prayer. We encourage your response as we stand and single.