New Life and Order

Jesus assures us of the resurrection

First, Jesus assures that there is the resurrection. When you see Jesus here and what the text is doing, the overall point, he's putting the smack down on the Pharisees and the scribes. They're asking the wrong question. They're asking for something that I think is just absurd. And over and over again, we've seen Jesus, whenever the Pharisees pursue him, he either answers the question they haven't asked or he's redirecting them and making significant judgments. He just publicly rebuked them. because they gave credit to Satan for the work that he was doing as the son of God anointed by the Holy Spirit.

And our text, it could seem innocent if we just stripped it out of its context. So we could assume maybe, they're asking in good faith, would you just show us a sign? Show us a sign that you are the Messiah. Show us a sign so that we would know that you are the anointed one. The problem with that is, sign after sign after sign, they've become more angry with Jesus, and they've even sought to destroy Jesus. Sign after sign after sign, they have not believed. He just told a man with a withered hand to just stretch it out. He just removed a demon from a man so that he could speak. We're gonna go back. John the Baptist sent disciples to Jesus for affirmation, because he's in jail, about to be beheaded. And he asks, are you the one? And Jesus says,

report back to John all that you see and hear.

All the signs gave that assurance that he was the anointed one. So they're asking for a sign, and it's the wrong question, I believe. But Jesus answers it, giving them a affirmation of how they can find him and truth.

But I want you to see there's a thread in the text, and it's a reference to generation. As he confronts them for this request, he first calls them an evil and adulterous generation. He concludes that particular section in verse 45 and calls them again the evil generation, and then twice, 41 and 42, he refers to this generation. Significantly, make sure we understand what this phrase is. He's used it before in chapter 11, verses 16 and 17. The generation is the time period, those who got to walk and talk with Jesus, the word incarnate. The generation that, not just waiting on a promise to come, but they walked and talked with the word of God himself. They saw the Son of God, they saw the promises being fulfilled. Remember, Jesus came and was rejected and despised. The same generation back in chapter 11, verses 16 and 17, Jesus said they accused John for fasting and they accused the Son of Man for eating. He likened them to children who just play games, always demanding more and never satisfied. This generation is evil and they're adulterers. It's a significant accusation there.

Now, they've asked for a sign, and it is important to understand what a sign is. A sign is something that points to a greater reality. Again, Jesus has been giving signs throughout his whole ministry, and he's going to give more signs. The Gospel of John has seven great signs. It's ordered around these seven signs in some way. God is revealing himself with great clarity. Remember the crowds are astonished by his teaching. Who has ever taught with such authority? They're astonished that he's able to heal. They're astonished in the great miracles that only he has been able to do.

All these signs are pointing to the fact that he is God and we need to just appreciate God gives us truth so that we know who he is and we can trust him. There's not some secret mystery labyrinth God makes himself known through his teaching, through his word, through his Holy Spirit convicting and converting, through signs, through miracles, through wonders, through the words he's inspired and given to us.

See, the problem isn't the signs. The problem is the heart. This generation he's accusing and speaking to, they're seeing God. They're hearing God speak. They're watching God do what only God could do, and they cannot believe their minds are dull. This gets to that very significant declaration in 39.

An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign.

I believe here he's broadening out, he's not just confronting the Pharisees and the scribes who are asking for it, he's speaking of the greater generation that he's come to walk with.

We just saw that a bad tree produces bad fruit and a good tree produces good fruit. Here, they're evil. The generation, they're twisted inside. Even when they hear and see something good, the evil heart can't receive it right. It twists it and makes it something in idolatry. That's actually where that next word really gets at. You adulterous generation. Throughout scripture, God has likened idolatry, worshiping other gods, as adultery. He uses this loaded language so that we can understand God has called us into a covenant relationship with him. To know him and his love and to love him. It's not mere actions of singing and mere actions of going through emotions. It's supposed to be a real covenant relationship.

And yes, we're worshiping him as his creatures. But the whole idea that it's not just idolatry, worshiping the wrong God in the wrong way, it's adultery. It's whoring after other gods. It's giving ourselves over in love to the one that's not a god when the one true God has committed himself in love. That word picture is supposed to show us how gross that is and how dangerous. God has not designed us for a distant relationship, but to draw us near in his covenant.

He's given this judgment. He's somewhat given a diagnosis here. The evil in adulterous generation, what's wrong with you is inside of you, not what you've seen. There's been many signs, but now we see,

but no sign will be given to you except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the son of man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Here, no sign will be given except, all right, what Jesus cannot be saying is there's only one son. Because there's been signs before and there'll be signs after. He's gonna feed 4,000, 5,000 people in just a couple chapters. Now he's using this language to highlight there's one significant, most important sign. This is the sign of signs. This is the most significant sign that's going to attest to who he is and what he's come to do. It isn't the only sign. They've been seeing signs and they're misinterpreting. He's pointing to the most important truth, the important sign, that is the sign of Jonah, who was in a belly of a well for three days and then came back to the land of the living.

The son of Jonah points to a more significant revelation and a greater prophet, Jesus Christ. Jonah prayed while in that belly of the well that he had been taken down to Sheol, the word for Hades or death. And then he said that he would be lifted up into life again and he was spat out onto the dry land. Jesus is telling us this three days in the darkness of the belly of the well is like his three days in the tomb after he was crucified and then buried and then he was resurrected. Jesus is saying this is the ultimate sign. Jonah's being swallowed and in the belly of the well for three days is pointing to his death and then him being spat out is like his resurrection.

The resurrection is everything

And the significance is the resurrection is everything. The resurrection is the most important truth of Christianity. And here's why. If he is not risen, he didn't die for our sins. We're still guilty. If He isn't risen, He isn't the Messiah because He didn't do what He said He would do. He's a liar. If He isn't risen, He's not the Son of God. We're supposed to still be looking for another that was promised to Israel. The resurrection is the climactic declaration of who He is and His truth. If He's not risen, He's not ascended to the right hand of the Father. If He's not risen, He's not coming back again to judge the living and the dead. Paul tells us if he's not risen, we're all to be pitied because we're worshiping the wrong God right now, if he's not risen. The resurrection is the sign, the historical event that Christianity is based upon.

Now, to make sure we understand how important this is, the resurrection is the most attested event in the ancient world. There is more outside and inside evidence for the resurrection than any other event in the ancient world. It's the most historically attested to event. And there's incredible just rational proofs.

Some will say, well, these disciples, they just made up the story. If that's the case, you have to give an answer, how in the world of 11 of them who were eyewitnesses willing to then die for something they knew was a lie? Or if you're gonna make up a story of a resurrection, you're not gonna have women be the first witnesses. Women could not be heard in court with an authoritative testimony in this culture and in this time. If we're gonna say it's a made up story, or it isn't historically accurate, there's all kinds of problems with that accusation.

I'd love to point you to think about how to reason on how the resurrection is so reliable and accurate, but I just wanna give you one instruction. Take the Gospels of Jesus Christ, and read them. Let God's word help you ask better questions. Allow God's word to show you who Christ is in his power, in his resurrection. The fact that if he's risen, he died. If he's resurrected, he'll return. Take God's word and trust him.

Christian, there are so many good truths that we must embrace and grow up in Christ. We do grow to understand more of who he is and what he's done, but we never graduate from Christ crucified and risen. Over and over again, we must go back to him crucified as we sin and look to the God who forgives us on the cross where Christ is crucified. over and over again as we're seeking to live a life in Christ and to follow him and to resist temptation. We see he who has risen to give us a new life and a new power to walk in a new way. We're a new creation. That's only true because he's risen. We can now follow Jesus and produce that good fruit because of the good heart he produces because he's risen.

Christian, the death of Christ and the resurrection are central to everything we believe and do. Oh, how many of you here today need to understand we proclaim Christ risen every Sunday because we all need new beginnings because we all fail constantly. The resurrection is a constant reminder. God in his mercy and his power gives you the opportunity to repent for a new beginning. Over and over again, the resurrection is a testimony that God is the God of new beginnings and making old things new, bringing life where there was death.

We understand this generation he's speaking to, especially for those who are here and are not believers, They were around the Holy One, God himself, and they did not believe. How dangerous it is to be around the holy things of God and pretend they're ordinary and not see who God is. So Jesus points us to the resurrection. He's going to make his way to Jerusalem, he will die, he will rise again, but where he makes the transition in this text is to clarify the judgment on this generation.

Jesus warns of a coming judgment

There's three different judgments from 41 through 45. 41 and 42 are saying the same kind of judgment in two ways. 41 builds off of this story from Jonah. So the second point, Jesus warns of a coming judgment.

The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it. for they repented at the preaching of Jonah and behold something greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and behold something greater than Solomon is here.

Now these two parallel declarations are loaded. They're saying both of the folks coming to condemn the Jews of this time, the generation, they're Gentiles. They're not the people of Abraham. They're not those who have been given the sign of circumcision. They're not the people who were given the promises of God, like Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. No, they're the nations.

And just to build off of the Jonah story, we have to remember why Jonah had to end up in a whale. He didn't want to go preach the gospel to the Ninevites. He refused to obey God who said, I want you to go and proclaim to the Ninevites a message. He refused.

Why would he refuse to tell a people God's word? Well, Jonah in his own words tells us in chapter four, verse two. Jonah says to God,

I knew you were gracious and merciful Slow to anger.

That should be a little confusing. Jonah didn't want to go preach to the Ninevites because he knew God was merciful and gracious and slow to anger. He's quoting God's own self-description, his own declaration about himself. He has good theology.

Jonah fled because he didn't want the Ninevites to receive God's grace. He didn't want the Ninevites to receive God's mercy. He knew God would be merciful. He fled because the Ninevites were horrible people. They were cruel to their enemies. They worshiped many other gods. They were, in Jonah's eyes, despicable. And they were actually despicable.

The problem with Jonah is he didn't realize he was sinful like they were in needing mercy and grace.

But what's really incredible, Jonah, he clearly still doesn't want them to repent when he preaches. That must be like the most unenthusiastic sermon ever preached. But God did a great work anyway. As we read earlier, they repented. They believed. Jesus says he's done this over and over again. The Ninevites are going to rise up and judge this generation. The Gentiles who merely heard repent or God will bring great devastation, they believed God and God relented. They will come and judge this generation who has seen the great Son of God.

Oh, that phrase, behold something greater than Jonah is here. The Ninevites, they heard Jonah and they believed. This generation, they've seen, they've heard, they've followed the very son of God, the prophet, the final great prophet, and they've hated him.

How is Jonah, how is Jesus greater than Jonah? How is Jesus greater than Jonah? Let's just count some ways. First, Jesus comes to those that despise him in love rather than refusing to go proclaim the good news to the people he despises. Second, Jesus wants us to be saved, Jonah would not. Third, Jesus has a good reason to refuse sinners. He has been sinned against and he is the sinless God. Jonah fails to realize he's a sinner just like the Ninevites. Fourth, Jesus is the perfect, visible revelation of God. Jonah was just a dim reflection, a simple mouthpiece that proclaimed a message given to him. Fifth, Jesus lays down his life in love. Jonah fled in anger and judgment. Finally, Jesus rejoices because he saved us. Jonah pouts when God saves his enemies.

There's a greater lesser throughout this teaching. This generation has received a greater prophet, a greater message, a greater revelation. And those nations that responded to a lesser revelation will come and judge.

Verse 42, the Queen of the South. This is from First Kings. Sheba from probably Ethiopia. Others have speculation, but Ethiopia probably. She comes to Solomon because she's heard of the great wisdom and the blessing of God, and she asks him questions. She's wanting to know, is this truly the work of a God? And she ends up praising Yahweh for how great he is and how he's blessed Israel and how he's blessed Solomon. She came to hear, she proactively went to hear the wisdom that God had given Solomon. And Jesus is now saying she will judge this generation. She came to hear the wisdom given to Solomon, but you've refused the very word of God walking with you. Jesus is greater than Solomon.

And this one gets pretty loaded too because Solomon is David's son. David has promised that he will have a son who will rule forever. You kind of almost think Solomon could be that guy in the storyline until you realize he's not when he starts sinning and taking on, refusing God's word. But Solomon, he had great wisdom, but Jesus is truly the actual wisdom of God and the Word of God. Jesus is the truth. Jesus is the Son of God who will rule forever, unlike Solomon, who's dead.

Folks, we have to constantly see a great theme through Scripture. Jesus is greater. We sang this earlier. True and better Adam. True and better Moses. He's greater than Solomon. He's greater than Jonah to prophets. You can go to the book of Hebrews later, and you can see he's greater than Moses because he actually takes his people into the promised land. He's greater than the priest, and he's greater than the lamb because he provides the once and for all sacrifice that takes away sin, that removes sin from God's people. He is the greater, the better, the one whom we must believe.

Now notice, those who heard the lesser prophets, they're going to judge those who rejected the greater prophet. I think we need to understand that those who receive more have a greater responsibility with that more. In Jesus' own words,

to whom much is given, much is required.

Christian, that needs to have a weight to it. When we have the opportunity to have God's word, to know who God is in his word, to have others around us who would help us see who God is from his word, there's a great responsibility. And we need to hear that those who do not take on that responsibility and believe and trust and follow, there's judgment. This is a warning passage for those who would not truly embrace all that God has said.

You must believe in Jesus

This next section is continuing. Again, your headings in your scripture sometimes can confuse. He's continuing the same lesson because he's gonna wrap it up with that evil generation declaration again. He changes the angle of the judgment though.

When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless spaces, seeking rest, but finds none. When it says, I will return to my house from which I came, and when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also be with this evil generation.

Now, he's continuing on with the kind of judgment that it'll be, but it's not just a judgment from the Gentiles because they have rejected Jesus. He's talking about their own internal life. You can clean yourself up. A demon can be cast out, and remember, demons were just cast out. But if you don't have the new life that only Jesus Christ brings, you're not really in a better state.

The whole challenge here, I believe, is those who would want to sit back and just say, I want to have a neutral position with Jesus. I kind of like being kind of close to him, but not really believe in him, not really united with him, not really indwelt by his Holy Spirit. I want him to help me remove some bad things, and then I can live a happier life, and I'll put my life in order. I'll have little cubbies. I'll clean it up. So if the demons, they're removed, they'll come back and be worse. The judgment is on how you cannot have this neutral station in relation to God himself. You must believe. Thinking you have a demon removed and you just clean up your life, that's not enough. You must believe in Jesus.

Christian, do we really believe Jesus is greater than anybody else who's speaking? I ask that because I ask, who do you bend your ear to most often? Who has your attention most regularly? Is Jesus the true great prophet who you long to hear and know and trust? Or is your ear too often bent to what interests you the most with some kind of political commentary, social observation? I challenge this because I'm quite, I'm seriously concerned that you're with God's people only a couple hours a week, and how often are you listening to all other talking heads that are drawing your attention and action and priorities in all other ways? If Jesus is greater, we're gonna give him the greatest attention. If we believe Jesus is greater, we're going to give him our greatest attention. Who are we listening to? It's too easy to figure out how to stir up people and get them excited about doing something that isn't clear in scripture. Let's be very clear, our objective isn't to do anything but to stir you up to good works and to glorify God. My main goal is actually just to keep you grounded in Christ, steady, able to resist the winds and the waves that are gonna come.

Jesus welcomes a new family

Our last point, Jesus welcomes a new family. Notice here, it is a different topic at some level, but Matthew connects here because while he's speaking, someone says, your family's standing outside. He connects this with the episode. Now, I do believe there's a helpful connection. He gives a really significant warning and judgment. He's given the great declaration he will rise again, and now there's this subtle, incredible revelation of a new kind of people of God. Jesus welcomes a new family.

While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brother stood outside asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, who is my mother and who are my brothers? And stretching out his 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 brother.

Now, this is somewhat interesting and challenging. It's significant. We understand Mary was beloved by Christ. She's significant for the entire storyline of the gospel. She is the mother of God. She's the virgin who gives, conceived by the Holy Spirit, gives birth to the Son of God. She's there at his crucifixion. He's not dismissing his mom. He's not saying moms don't matter. What a great Mother's Day passage this would be.

But when asked a question, he takes the opportunity, and again, he changes direction. Here are my mother and brothers. He knows who Mary is. He's not confused about his actual mother. He's saying there's a reality, there's a greater family that God has created. Here are my mother and brother.

Now at this time, family is created by God. Jesus Christ himself created the family. Family is extremely important, and this time it's even more important because you have to be close to your family to just live. The family unit is central for identity, priority, and community.

Jesus created the family, but now he's redefining a new kind of family. He's not discrediting the importance of a husband-wife, a parent-child. He's going to give more commands in Scripture about this. But he's turning from this judgment to declare a new kind of people of God are being introduced. Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven, this is my family. Whoever does the will of my Father, not just by birth who is part of his family, but the one who does the will of his Father in heaven.

There's a different kind of heavenly family. Let's unpack this.

Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven, First, anytime you see a reference to the will of God, if you highlight or mark your Bible, you definitely want to highlight and mark the will language. If you don't highlight your Bible, you might wanna highlight anytime it says this is God's will or what God's will is. We've seen this before. In Matthew 7, 21 to 23, Jesus said,

not everyone who calls me Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but all who do, the will of my Father.

These two texts are important together here in Matthew.

First, here's the good news. We can know the will of the Father. That's assumed in the passage. By saying you can do it, he's already implying you can know it. And if you don't know what the will of the Father is, I would say go back to the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5 to 7, where Jesus is telling you what it's like to now live as a kingdom citizen, a new family member under His rule, under His Father.

A couple different examples that we can gain from that. If you're forgiven by God, you will forgive like God. That's what it means to do the will of the Father. The whole point of the Christian life is to have our wills in line with what God's will is. To have our do's in line with what God's word commands us to do.

Now here in the second teaching on the will of the father, he's saying the same thing in two different places in two different ways. First there's a warning in the Sermon on the Mount, if you do not do the will of my father, you should not have assurance you're going to enter the kingdom of heaven. But here it's a great promise. If you do the will of the father, you will be part of the family of God.

If you do the will of the Father, that means you've become a new kind of tree with a good heart that produces good fruit. Be very clear, faith alone saves you, and that faith that saves you creates in you a new heart that then bears fruit. True faith produces fruit. You are not saved by doing the will of the Father. You're saved by faith in Christ alone. But all who believe would desire to be aligned with Jesus, to know the Father, to stop being the adulterer, to stop pursuing other gods, but to commit your will to the God who has saved you.

God is creating a new kind of people, not by birth, but by rebirth in the resurrection. Not being born to a Christian family or to a family of the Israelites, no, by being born again in Jesus Christ, who was risen to give you his new resurrected life. This section is important because as he's making a judgment on how bad this generation is, in judging the Israelites who have been born into the promises of God, but not salvation, he's showing that there's a new people of God who are born again in him.

He's already taught in chapter eight that many will come from the east and west and recline at Abraham's table. He's already made a bold declaration that he did not come to bring peace. He came to divide father and child and daughter and mother. He's coming to bring about a new kind of covenant people who are born again. This is where we really start to see Jesus is better. Jesus is better in that he's come to make a new people who know him, a new kind of people We call this the church, a new family order, where God the Father adopts us. God the Son shares with us his inheritance and his relationship with the Father, and God the Holy Spirit seals us in that adoption.

God's will is clear

Now, what is God's will that would make it clear that you're adopted? Let's just be very clear, God's will is true, perfect, and it's the same for everybody who exists. We too often think, like, I want to know what God's will is. Like, I want to know, like, if I marry this person, they're going to complete me. Is that God's will? No, he will not complete you, all right? But we usually ask that very specific question about God's will. The great part of God's word that you want to highlight God's will, God's will is clear for all God's people at all times.

Here's what God's will is for your life.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your strength and love your neighbor as yourself.

That comes later in Matthew. The summary of what God's will is for your life is that you would love Him and enjoy Him and alight in Him and grow thankful for Him and you would love your neighbor as yourself. That's what God's will is. Every decision of your life should be submitted to God's will.

Christian, as we seek to know God, to know His will, to practice His will, the importance of doing there is You belong to the family, and then every family has to know how to behave together. Belonging does affect behavior. Your desires become more aligned with your father. That really just means we all become more like Jesus, our big brother. And it means the Holy Spirit is transforming us, allowing us to call God Abba Father, even testifying to us that we are adopted.

When we're part of the family of God, we delight in Him and His church. Christ has come to die for us. He's risen again. He brings us into a new life and a new family so that we together can delight in God and do His will together.

Will you pray with me?

Father, we thank you that you have given us prophet after prophet in the Old Testament so we can see how you're building up promises and promises to give clarity to who you are and how trustworthy you are, and to know Jesus, your Son, when he would appear. We thank you now for your Holy Spirit that has provided these words in scripture that illuminates our hearts and our minds that assures us we are sons of God.

Lord, pray that we would know what it means to belong to you and to your new family. Pray that we would know how to better commit ourselves to behaving as children, to be a witness to others, to enjoy the benefits and blessings of that family.

Lord, may you cure us of the adultery and evil in our hearts. by the power of the resurrected Jesus and his spirit that now indwells, help us, Lord, to rejoice together in Christ. In his name we pray, amen.