Sermon Tone Analysis

Always Trust in the Goodness of God!

The Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 14:1-14; Mark 6:7-34

Sermon by Rick Crandall

(Prepared June 22, 2022)

BACKGROUND:

*Matthew 14:1-14 reports on the terrible murder of John the Baptist.

Herod the Tetrarch had John arrested, thrown into prison, and eventually beheaded, simply because this prophet took a bold stand for God's Law.

*The Herods were an extremely wicked family.

They weren't Jews, but natives of nearby Idumea, appointed to rule by the Roman Empire.

The first was known as "Herod the Great," a monster of a tyrant who had zero interest in keeping God's Law.

He was the Herod who tried to kill young Jesus by murdering all the infant boys in Bethlehem.

*The Herod here in Matthew 14 was Herod the Great's son.

His name was Antipas, and "tetrarch" was his title because he ruled one fourth of his father's kingdom.

This Herod was a drunken, depraved man.

His son was Herod Agrippa, who imprisoned Peter and killed the Apostle John's brother, James."

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*Matthew 14:1-4 began to look back at the terrible injustice John the Baptist faced from this family:

1.

At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus

2. And said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.''

3.

For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife.

4. For John had said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her.''

*Herod put John in prison, but the people were outraged about it, so vs. 5 tells us that "although he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet."

*Then vs. 6-8 show us behind-the-scenes conspiracy and intrigue:

6.

But when Herod's birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod.

(This was most likely a very lewd dance from a girl no more that 12 to 14 years old.)

7. Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.

8.

So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, "Give me John the Baptist's head here on a platter.''

*Next in vs. 9-10, we see the deadly poison of pride:

9.

And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him at the table, he commanded it to be given to her.

10.

So he sent and had John beheaded in prison.

*And in vs. 11, we see the bottomless depths of depravity, because John's "head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother."

*Verses 12-14 tell us what happened next, and through these verses we will focus on the infinite goodness of our God.

Please think about this as we read Matthew 14:12-14.

MESSAGE:

*Church: As far as I know, there are only 3 things that God can't do:

-In 2 Timothy 2:13, Paul said: "If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself."

-Then in Titus 1:2, Paul said that we Christians are "in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began."

-And James 1:13 says "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil. .

."

*In short: God cannot sin, because He is always good in every way.

In Psalm 25:6-7 David prayed, ":

6. Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your loving kindnesses, For they have been from eternity past.

7. Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness' sake, O LORD.

*Psalm 33:5 says that "the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD."

Psalm 34:8 urges us to "taste and see that the LORD is good," and "blessed is the man who trusts in him."

In the New Testament, James 1:17 tells us that: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights."

*Every bit of the good in our lives is a gracious gift from God, so we should always trust in His goodness.

Today's Scripture helps us see why.

1. TRUST GOD FIRST, BECAUSE HE HATES INJUSTICE.

*Proverbs 6:16-19 gives us a list of 7 things the LORD hates: "A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren."

*That Scripture sounds like a checklist of the injustice suffered by John the Baptist.

He had done nothing that deserved prison and death.

But John was cruelly murdered by a proud, corrupt ruler, who went along with his scheming, vengeful wife.

*And it was not God's perfect will to intervene for John the Baptist, but the Lord places a high value on justice and kindness.

*Psalm 117:1-2 speaks of His kindness this way, "Oh, praise the Lord, all you Gentiles!

Laud Him, all you peoples!

For His merciful kindness is great toward us, And the truth of the Lord endures forever."

*Many Scriptures also speak about the Lord's love for justice.

For example, Psalm 33:5 tells us that the Lord "loves righteousness and justice."

And in Psalm 82:3 He commands us to "Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy."

*God is good, so He places a high value on kindness and justice.

But if that is true, why did God allow Herod to kill John the Baptist?

If God is good, why is there so much corruption and injustice in the world?

*The main reason why is because the devil is real, and he is the original source of all evil.

Jesus explained in John 10:10 that the devil is a "thief" who "does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy."

*Why is there so much corruption and injustice in the world?

Another reason why is because so many people in our generation are Judges 17:6 people.

There God's Word says, "Everyone did what was right in his own eyes."

Many people in our generation are also Isaiah 5:20 people "who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter."

God calls out a "woe" of trouble, distress, and grief on them all.

*But we must understand that the biggest problem we have with evil is not the evil around us.

Our biggest problem is the evil that comes from inside our own hearts.

The evil from outside can hurt us for a while, but the evil from inside can hurt us forever.

And all of us have this problem.

Romans 3:10 tells us that "there is none righteous, no, not one, and Romans 3:23 tells us that all have sinned fall short of the glory of God.

*The great Christian author Alexander Solzhenitsyn once noted that it would be different, if there were "evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them.

BUT THE LINE DIVIDING GOOD AND EVIL CUTS THROUGH THE HEART OF EVERY HUMAN BEING."

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*Thank God, Romans 5:6-10 tells Christians that:

6. . .

when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

7.

For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.

8.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

9.

Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

10.

For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

*Jesus Christ came into the world to save us from our sins!

And one day, our Risen Savior will wipe away all evil, sickness, and pain.

Then all who have trusted in the Lord will live together in total perfection, with no more sickness, no more pain, no sorrow, no sin, no shame, living forever in Heaven with our Savior.

Put your trust in the Lord today!

*But understand that we are still living out the Lord's parable of the wheat and the weeds called "tares."

A farmer planted good seed in his field, but an enemy came at night and planted weeds among the wheat.

When they both started to grow, the servants asked if they should pull up the weeds.

But in Matthew 13:29-30, the farmer said, "No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.

Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, 'First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"

*Then, in Matthew 13:37-43 Jesus explained the parable and said:

37. . .

"He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.

38.

The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.

39.

The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.

40.

Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.

41.

The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,

42. and will cast them into the furnace of fire.

There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

43.

Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.