Nov 10
8
Extract from a sermon delivered by Angus Fisher on the 7th November 2010 at the Shoalhaven Gospel Church
“Matthew’s Physician at Work” . Mark 2:13-22.
In this event before us today we see the Lord Jesus describe Himself as a physician – a physician of men’s souls.
The contrast here continues between the gracious operations of our God in the flesh and the praise the glory of His grace brings to believers verses the dreadfully hardening effects of legalist works religion. It should cause us deep concern and reverence to see the continuing reaction of the scribes and the Pharisees to the evident grace of God in the saving of His people. We think of the sins in this world and so often we are drawn to think of wars, abortion, child abuse and the like but when we have plumbed the depths of human depravity, lying at the bottom of that cesspool of evil is the sin of unbelief in the presence of the clear unmistakable work of the Saviour and His sovereign works of love to His brethren. As the Lord Jesus says of them if the light within them is dark how great is the real darkness.
Luke 11:35 “Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness.
John 1:5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
We must be careful to think that these crimes are just ancient. They are given to us as examples so that having witnessed the past we will see it lived out in our midst and so that we see that these are written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
The scribes and the Pharisees are alive and well and amongst us today. Total depravity is not just a doctrine but a living reality
… He calls the most unlikely – those we think most unfit for the Kingdom – just look around just look here we are all unfit, unprofitable servants – like sheep gone astray.
Matthew was most likely like Zaccehas – a thief
Matthew was a traitor to his nation – God’s chosen nation in the eyes of the Pharisees a traitor to God – his business was collecting money for the Romans
Matthew was defiled each day by handling money with pagan symbols which the Jews considered idolatry
Matthew was cut off from Jewish worship of God he was hated and despised by the Pharisees.
And so it seems that the Lord Jesus deliberately provoked and exposed the true hearts of the Pharisees. Our flesh wants so often to win the enemies of the gospel through gentle persuasion and there is a sense in which the God-given reality of our weakness and sin should cause us to approach other sinners with humility. Whenever the Lord Jesus met with the broken hearted there was great compassion but when he met the self righteous and hard hearted He was very direct and blunt – He caused offence – it got Him killed!!
How sad it is to see the hearts of the Pharisees –how many times they would have walked by Matthew and his like and sneered at them and avoided contact to maintain their ritual purity. Matthew is named Levi most probably one from the priestly tribe. Instead of rejoicing in seeing this openly traitorous man freed from his sin they instead seek his judgement. What should have caused great rejoicing leads to bitterness.
Mark 2:15 And it happened that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him.
True works of grace always desire others to come to the feast of blessing they have received. If calling Matthew was not enough offence then eating in his house with his tax collector friends settled the issue in their minds – this man is a friend of tax collectors and sinners a friend of sinners must himself be a sinner.
Mark 2:16 When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, “Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?” “a companion, or friend, who becomes the king’s collector, or a “publican”, or the like, they drive him from society with them: [if he abstains from his evil works, then he is as any other man {s}.”] “when the king’s collectors enter into a house to dwell, all that are in the house are defiled {t}.” Again, as they had done with the paralytic they could use the scriptures aided by their carnal understanding to support their accusation.
Psa. 1:1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
Psa. 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
Psa. 1:3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
Psa. 1:4 ¶ The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
Psa. 1:5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
Psa. 1:6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.
What a clear picture of the fact that the Lord Jesus came not to bring peace but a sword to divide. What a picture of salvation of the elect rejoicing with the Lord and those cast out still with bitterness in their hearts. Here is a picture of the wedding supper of the Lamb whose glory is great in the salvation of His bride.
Mark 2:17 And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
They wished ill to the Lord Jesus – they were probably still smarting from His claim of forgiving the sins of the paralytic and sadly they wished evil for the publicans. Those who are most self righteous are always the quickest to want judgement to fall on others. The Lord Jesus had left the beauty and peace and glory of heaven itself to dwell on earth amongst sinners and their sins and all to save His bride from their sins.
It is always the work of the legalists to break up, by gossip, the fellowship of believers. As the scribes and Pharisees were speaking to the disciples – Jesus heard them and answered for His disciples – those gathered to the Lord will be protected by the Lord from the wolves. Jesus acknowledges their claim to ‘righteousness’ a righteousness involving their works and their worth. A righteousness, which even takes them to the point of judging the Lord Jesus. Their question is not really a question but an accusation. For them table fellowship denotes acceptance. Just like touching a leprous man caused defilement close association with sinners brings defilement – uncleanness. In every situation when they see the graciousness of the Lord Jesus they turn from mercy and love, compassion and care and all they see is darkness. Jesus casts out demons therefore He must using the power of Beelzabub. He welcomes sinners and tax collectors therefore he must be a sinner like them.
Is it not the same today?
We speak of sovereign grace and are accused of being armchair Christians.
We declare that believers are free from the law and are accused of being antinomians.
We rejoice in God’s love for His bride from eternity and are accused of not believing in evangelism – hypercalvinists.
We tell of perfect and complete forgiveness of sins and are accused of bringing in licentiousness.
We speak of absolute sovereign election from eternity and are accused of fatalism.
We bring the GOOD NEWS of redemption accomplished and applied for God’s children alone and to God’s children alone, and we are accused of being too serious about the scriptures and divisive.
Legality can at best look to the outside and not to the heart. Here we meet with legalists who are so blinded by their religion that they look in judgement upon the Son of God and condemn Him and try to lead His disciples into condemnation of His actions. And today they still look in condemnation upon the Lord Jesus and take from His bride His robe of perfect righteousness and try to expose their sins – the law can do no other. And those entangled in law religion today do exactly as their forebears did. They spend their time looking at outward acts because so often there is not an inward work bringing humility in their lives. God’s salvation always is accompanied by broken heartedness but these men reflect not the brokenness that God the Holy Spirit brings but self righteous pride as Spurgeon said “it is a hideous farce to see a rebellious sinner suddenly become jealous about good works and greatly concerned for public morality. Does it not make laughter in hell to see licentious men censuring the pure gospel of the Lord Jesus and finding fault with free forgiveness because it might make men less mindful of purity? It makes one sick to see the hypocrisy of legalists.”
…to be strong in body, to be robust, to be in sound health: to have power evinced by deeds
The “buts” against the beauty of the gospel. Ezekiel 34
Isaiah 57:14-15
REJOICING
I wonder whether one of the truest marks of grace in the lives of believers is the ability to rejoice. I don’t mean happy clappy frivolity but deep rejoicing over witnessing in our hearts the wonder of redeeming love in action. To my knowledge there is not one incident of the enemies of God ever rejoicing with those who rejoice, weeping with those who weep. Love of God and love from God to hell deserving sinners is the greatest love in this world because it comes without any cause in the sinner it is freely given and at great cost – it cost the Lord Jesus unimaginable agony – just go to Gethsemane and Golgotha. Love for His fallen bride drove every act of His life – His eye was constantly on His beloved that she would be saved and cared for.
One of the saddest aspects of flesh/law/works religion is that it cannot rejoice in the absolute sovereign grace of the triune God.
God the Father who has loved His children from all eternity, gave them as a treasure to be the bride for His dear Son – eternal, immutable, everlasting, powerful, effective love. Our Lord Jesus loved and cherished His bride from before the foundation of the world removing her filthy sin stained clothes and adorning her in garments of His perfect working holiness not of mans standards but God’s holiness imputed to her. The Holy Spirit taking perfectly the works, worth, and very being of the Lord Jesus and applying the balm of the Lord Jesus to sin sick souls weighed down with innumerable woes. Healing our constant backslidings imparting and implanting Christ in us and us in Him seamlessly woven together.
This gospel is enough to rest our immortal souls upon – take this medicine home with you today and rest your troubled hearts, hide away from the storms of this world in the cleft in the rock. Eat and drink at this feast.
Some of my saddest experiences are when rejoicing in telling of redemptive love, it is met with someone saying BUT you must do … as if our love needs to be proved by good deeds. Yes God has done all he can do and now you must add your obedience your works and then the list of new evangelical law is brought down on the backs of just freed captives – woe to the scribes and Pharisees who weigh down God children – the apostles said it was testing God (or tempting HIM)