The impulse to publish these sermons came to me after I had successfully published my book, For Our Age of Anxiety, based on the Sermon on the Mount. All of these sermons were first written and preached while I was pastor of the Seven Hills Baptist Church in Owensboro, Kentucky where I served for thirty-four years. As I considered the idea of publishing a follow up book of sermons from the remaining chapters of Matthew, I went to my files and began the process of selecting the sermons to be included. After I had selected these sermons, I began to see that they could be put together under the theme of a portrait of Jesus. This book features sermons that focus on the early days of the ministry of Jesus particularly as they related to the ministry of John the Baptist. They also shed some light on the temptations of Jesus in the desert, on the call of those who would be his first disciples, and what is involved in being a disciple of Jesus then and now. Some of the sermons are based on the miracles of Jesus, thus revealing the compassion of Jesus. These sermons also deal with the idea of the Kingdom of God, showing some of the principles and characteristics of the Kingdom. The last two sermons are about the person of Jesus. It is my hope that these sermons will indeed help the reader to draw his or her own mental and spiritual portrait of Jesus.

A Portrait of Jesus

Sermons from MatthewBy T. A. Prickett

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2010 T. A. Prickett
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4520-1323-7

Contents

Preface.............................................................ixThe Ordination of Jesus Matthew 3:13-17............................1A Battle in the Desert Matthew 4:1-11..............................7Jesus' Inaugural Address Matthew 4:12-17...........................13Getting Started Matthew 4:18-25....................................21A Portrait of Man Matthew 8:1-17...................................29On Being a Disciple Matthew 8:18-22................................35The Christ of the Great Calm Matthew 8:23-27.......................41The Disturbing Christ Matthew 8:28-34..............................47Jesus Calls Us Matthew 9:1-13......................................55New Wine and New Wineskins Matthew 9:14-17.........................61The Touch of Grace Matthew 9:18-26.................................67The Miracle Worker Matthew 9:27-34.................................75The Compassion of Jesus Matthew 9:35-38............................81The Twelve Matthew 10:1-4..........................................89Field Testing the Gospel Matthew 19:5-15...........................97On Dealing with Difficulties Matthew 10:16-25......................103On Discipleship Matthew 10:26-42...................................109Expectations Matthew 11:1-6........................................115It's Your Call Matthew 11:20-27....................................121What Did He Say Matthew 11:28-30...................................127Principles of the Kingdom Matthew 13:24-34.........................133Characteristic of the Kingdom Matthew 13:44-50.....................141The Miracle of Multiplication Matthew 14:13-21.....................147Faith that Overcomes Matthew 15:21-28..............................153A Glimpse of Glory Matthew 17:1-13.................................161A Good Word for Jesus Matthew 21:1-11..............................169Bibliography........................................................177

Chapter One

The Ordination Of Jesus

Matthew 3:13-17

John the Baptist's reputation as a prophet of righteousness had spread throughout the land. John was preaching in Judea in the region south of Jerusalem near the place where the Jordan River empties into the Dead Sea, but the people came from all over to be baptized by John.

Jesus lived in Nazareth in the region of Galilee near the Sea of Galilee in the northern part of Israel. Jesus learned of John's ministry in the desert and came to be a part of what John was doing.

The natural question for us is why would Jesus, who was without any sin of his own, come to John to be baptized? The definitive answer to that question lies hidden in the mind of Jesus. However, we can speculate about it.

Upon hearing about what John was doing, and having a deep inner sense of wanting to be a part of something like this, Jesus came to John to be a part of the new order of which John was preaching.

This raises another question. What awareness did Jesus have of his mission in the world at this time? Did Jesus know from the beginning that he was the Messiah? It is easy to say yes to this idea. It is safe to say that most of us want to believe that Jesus always knew; but if that is true what does that do to our understanding of the humanity of Jesus? If Jesus always knew, then his humanity is not like ours. Therefore, in light of the humanity of Jesus, it is safe to say that when Jesus came to John, He came to be a part of what John was doing. Deep within his own self Jesus wanted to see a new order established that would be better than the old order. Jesus came to know through a slow process that he was to walk a path, awful and alone, in human history. Perhaps he was finally sure as he went to be baptized by John that the soul-shaking moment was at hand.

So the baptism of Jesus became the water-shed event in the consciousness of Jesus concerning his special mission in the world, i.e. the baptism of Jesus can be seen as the ordination of Jesus for his messianic mission in the world.

Look with me at the baptism of Jesus as recorded in our text and see what happened to help Jesus as he launched his divine ministry in the world.

THE MISSION CERTIFIED

Let us, first of all, see that the mission of Jesus was certified in his baptismal experience. John spoke of Jesus as the one who was coming after him, and who was so much greater than he that he was not worthy to carry his sandals. He said in verse eleven of the text:

But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

You can also see this in John 1:29-30. John was preaching about the coming new kingdom. Jesus came to John because in a deepening sense of destiny, he knew that God had some commission to lay on him. He believed that the voice of God might come to him pleadingly, piercingly and with divine endowment through his brave cousin, who was disciplined in righteousness. Therefore, Jesus came to John. In his baptism there came to Jesus the certainty that he was indeed the chosen one of God.

The gospels show other times when Jesus struggled with his identity and mission. In the wilderness temptations, at the transfiguration, and in Gethsemane, we see Jesus struggling with the deep questions of his identity and mission. The very titles attributed to Jesus in the gospels show this struggle. He is the Son of God and he is the Son of Man.

When John saw Jesus he declared this is the one who will launch the New Kingdom. This new Kingdom according to Jesus is not of this world. That's the way Jesus understood it when he spoke to Pilate about his kingship just prior to his crucifixion. You will recall that when Jesus was before Pilate he said, "My Kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest ... my Kingdom is from another place" (John 18:36).

What Jesus discovered and declared about himself is what Toscanini said of his orchestra as the audience applauded wildly after a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. He shouted above the cheers of the audience, "Gentlemen, You are nothing, I am nothing, Beethoven is everything."

Jesus understood that God's purpose and mission for him was everything; and it was more important than his own life.

THE METHOD CLARIFIED

Not only was the mission of Jesus certified in his baptism, but the method of Jesus' ministry was also clarified. Matthew reports in verse seventeen of our text that at the time of Jesus' baptism, the heavens opened and the spirit of God descended on him like a dove, and that a voice from heaven was heard saying:

This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.

This is a quotation from two Old Testament passages. "This is my Son" is from Psalm two which refers to God's Son who is anointed to reign. Thus the Son of God is the kingly messiah. The phrase "With him I am well pleased" is from Isaiah forty-two which pictures the Messiah as the suffering servant. Jesus must have pondered this voice and its message many times to search for its meaning, only to conclude that he was to...