The Gospel and the Kingdom - Matthew - Jesus' Illustrations - Part 2

 

TEXT:  MATTHEW 7: 13 – 27 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. ¹⁴Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. ¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Therefore by their fruits you will know them. ²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ ²⁴ “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: ²⁵ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. ²⁶ “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: ²⁷ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” ²⁸ And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, ²⁹ for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”

Now we are looking at the topic of the Kingdom and Jesus’ Illustrations. Jesus is in this passage giving us 5 illustrations for what we need, how to treat others, and how to live as a true child of God. We looked at the first illustration yesterday, we will finish the Illustrations today.

So today, we will look at illustration number 2 – He illustrates with Two Animals in verse 15. These animals are the Sheep and Wolves. This is a condemnation of false prophets. A prophet is one who is to deliver the words of God We are called to determine their truth with the Word of God. The false prophets pretend to be sheep (verse 15a):

• ·      They appear to be harmless
• ·      Sheep are  very meek
• ·      They don’t appear to cause any conflict

However, false prophets prove to be wolves. Wolves were one of the sheep’s worst enemies. Jesus says that they are “ravenous” meaning they are  extremely hungry; famished; voracious: like a jungle beast; intensely eager for gratification or satisfaction. They will ultimately tear you apart. They will not draw you to God, but destroy your relationship with Him.

The Third Illustration He uses is about Two Trees in verses 16-20. He makes two main points here:

• ·      A good tree cannot produce bad fruit (verses 16,18)
• ·      A bad tree cannot produce good fruit (verse 17, 19-20)

The fourth picture Jesus uses is about Two Kinds of Disciples in verses 21-23. True  and False Disciples. He tells us that on Judgment Day, the true disciples will be separated from the false ones. On Judgment Day, the false disciples will be condemned. They will proclaim to have accomplished wondrous deeds (verse 22).They say that they prophesied, cast out demons, and performed miracles. But listen to the words of Jesus – (verse 21b, 23). They had disobeyed the Father – they were trusting in their works to get them accepted. Listen to this stern rebuke from the Father – he will say He never knew them.

And, finally, Jesus uses the image of the Two Builders in verses 24-27. Consider the Structures (verses 24, 26):

• ·      One man built his house on solid rock (24)
• ·      One man built his house on shifting sand (26)

Finish by considering the Storm (verses 25, 27)”

• ·      Same storm to hit each builder
• ·      The house built on the rock stood firm (25)
• ·      The house built on the sand fell flat (27) 

In the last two verses of this chapter, we see the Sermon’s Impact on His hearers in verses 28-29. They were astonished (amazed) and said that He taught with authority (the power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege).

Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount continually brings us back to our motives over our actions.

Remember that God looks at the heart, not the outward designs.

Who we are is more important than what we do in the Kingdom of God.