Matthew 11: Taking the Kingdom by Force (5)
Pray Psalm 149.5-9.
Let the saints be joyful in glory;
Let them sing aloud on their beds.
Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,
And a two-edged sword in their hand,
To execute vengeance on the nations,
And punishments on the peoples;
To bind their kings with chains,
And their nobles with fetters of iron;
To execute on them the written judgment—
This honor have all His saints.
Praise the LORD!
Sing Psalm 149.5-9.
Toulon: I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art
Sing to the LORD, exult with great delight!
Sing on your beds with joy to God by night!
Sing praise and take His Word into your hand.
Publish His grace and wrath in every land!
Read Matthew 11.1-24; meditate on verse 20-24.
What do you “see” when you think of “the day of judgment”?
Prepare.
1. Why did Jesus rebuke these cities?
2. What does this suggest about the good works Jesus calls us to do?
Meditate.The psalmist declared that the goodness of the Lord is in all the earth (Ps. 33.5). We don’t have to look very far to see evidence of this. In His coming, Jesus hyper-exaggerated the goodness of God for the dramatic effect of demonstrating that, in His Kingdom, bringing the goodness of God to light in the land of the living is a primary concern of Kingdom people (Eph. 2.8-10; Ps. 27.13). The good works Jesus did are to be reproduced in His followers, thus justifying Jesus as the Wisdom of God, and His rule as the way of righteousness (Matt. 11.19).
The world has a responsibility in the face of such good works: People must acknowledge the goodness of God and repent of their sins. Where that doesn’t happen—as in Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum in Jesus’ day—the judgment of God awaits. Some of that wrath falls in the here and now (Rom. 1.18-32). The most devastating judgment of God, however, is stored up for the day of judgment (v. 24). Here is another mention of that coming day (cf. 7.21-23).
We are reminded that the Good News is not good except in the light of the bad news of the coming judgment of God. God is continuously witnessing to His love through His goodness, including that which His people do. To fail to acknowledge that goodness, repent of all that is contrary to it, and believe in the Good News of the Kingdom, is to consign oneself to wrath now and eternal judgment to come. With all the love we can muster, we need to make this clear.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
We have been given the same job Jonah was given to do, which he preferred not to do, and thus encountered a storm, three days and nights inside the belly of a large fish, then being ejected from the fish, which finally led to a change of mind and destination. We can skip all the drama of Jonah’s disobedience; however his sermon is still on point: “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” (Jon. 3.4).
John the Baptist preached a similar message: “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance…” (Lk. 7, 8). And “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matt. 3.2).
God speaks to the world through His creation; His Word; and His people.
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handwork.
Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.
Their sound has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world” (Ps. 19.1-4).
“…the Word of our God stands forever” (Is. 40.8).
“…Your Word is truth” (Jn. 17.17).
“…having been born again…through the Word of God which lives and abides forever…” (1 Pet. 1.23).
“For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4.11).
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Gal. 5.22-25).
“Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love” (1 Cor. 16.13, 14).
We are responsible only for the people part. But make no mistake, we will be held accountable. For God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3.9). “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3.16).
Our message to others is this: Do not fail to acknowledge the goodness of God.
For “To fail to acknowledge that goodness, repent of all that is contrary to it, and believe in the Good News of the Kingdom, is to consign oneself to wrath now and eternal judgment to come.”
As the repentant Ninevites declared: “Let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?” (Jon. 3.8, 9).
And “God’s goodness” response? “Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it” (Jon. 3.10).
So, “Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works and
glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5.16).
It’s our Jonah-job—our Kingdom work.
Reflect.
1. Why should we include repentance as part of the Gospel proclamation?
2. How would you explain repentance should someone ask you?
3. How would you counsel a new believer to practice repentance regularly?
These were cities where Jesus was prone to linger as a favored place. And not even at this does He hold back His speech. He makes their dread even more intense by saying that they would suffer things more grievous than Sodom and Tyre. Jesus alarmed them when He used every possible means to reclaim them to repentance. John Chrysostom (344-407), The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 37.4
Pray Psalm 149.1-4.
Rejoice in the salvation of Jesus, and commit this day to showing His goodness and proclaiming His truth to the people in your Personal Mission Field.
Sing Psalm 149.1-4.
Toulon: I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art
Sing to the LORD a glorious song and new!
Praise Him you people, to Whom praise is due!
Let us rejoice, let us be glad in Him
Who has created us and cleansed our sin.
Praise Him with dance, with tambourine and lyre!
To be so praised is God’s one great desire.
LORD, beautify Your holy ones with grace;
show us the mercy of Your saving face.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
We invite you to join us in ReThinking Church. We explain further at our ReThinking Church page, here.
Other columns of interest: This week: The Read Moore podcast continues readings from our book, The Kingdom Turn. Our Crosfigell teaching letter presses ahead in a series on the state of the Church in Europe at the time of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column begins to examine the hope for the church, especially struggling churches. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
