The Power, Person, and Purpose of Christ

Transcript

GR 705
4/7/1985
The Power, Purpose and Person of Christ
Matthew 17:14-27
Gil Rugh

Matthew 17 begins with the account of the transfiguration of Jesus Christ, that occasion when His glory that belonged to Him as the Son of God was allowed to shine forth. Three of His disciples were given the privilege of beholding that glory, the same glory that will characterize Him at His Second Coming to earth to establish His earthly kingdom.
As they came down from the mountain with Christ, they were confronted with the confusion that existed in Israel relating to Him. There was a small group that had come to believe in Him as the Messiah and Savior. Then there was a much larger group around Christ because they were curious and interested in His power and ability to do the supernatural. Finally the hard core opposition centered in the religious leaders that were opposed to Jesus Christ and determined to put an end to Him and His ministry, whatever that might take.
Matthew 17:14-27 unfolds three aspects of the character of Jesus Christ: the power of Christ, the purpose of Christ and the Person of Christ. A miracle will show the power of Christ over even the spirit world, and another will show the Person of Christ as the Son of God. But in it all Christ had one purpose and that was to go to Jerusalem and pay the penalty for our sins by His own death on the cross.
While Christ was on the mountain of transfiguration with three of His disciples, the rest of His disciples were embroiled in a controversy at the foot of the mountain. A child was brought to them who had several afflictions: he was unable to speak and would cast himself down on the ground and foam at the mouth, perhaps a form of epilepsy, but it was caused by demon possession. “When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on His knees before Him and saying, ‘Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water’” (Matt. 17:14,15).
This does not mean that people with these kind of physical afflictions today are demon-possessed. The presence of demons was manifested in this way during New Testament times and the people recognized this. There was no question by anybody that a demon was in control of this child. The physical affliction was the manifestation of the presence of a demon.

Mark records much more of the details of this miracle than Matthew does. “When they came back to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them” (Mark 9:14). The scribes, key religious leaders, were embroiled in a controversy with the disciples. “Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were amazed and began running up to greet Him. And He asked them, ‘What are you discussing with them?’ And one of the crowd answered Him, ‘Teacher, I brought you my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out” (vv. 15-18). “It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him” (v. 22). A powerful demonic spirit had control of this young boy. The demon rendered the boy incapable of speech and overpowered his body and moved it to self-destruction whenever the demon chose.
The failure of the disciples is recorded in Matthew 17:16. “I brought him to your disciples, and they could not cure him.” This child was brought to the disciples for a cure, and the disciples were powerless in the face of this demon. This may have been the cause of the battle with the scribes. The scribes would take this as evidence that Jesus and His disciples were not powerful. Even though Christ and His disciples had done many works of power, the scribes and religious leaders still did not believe. In this one incident the disciples were unable to perform the miracle and the scribes were ready to take that as an example of the fact that they did not have power. How many miracles would it have taken to convince them? There would never have been enough. Jesus was going to come to that in a moment.
Jesus gave a rebuke before He cured the boy. “And Jesus answered and said, ‘You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you?’”
(Matt. 17:17). This reveals the exasperation of Christ. The Jewish nation was again clamoring for a sign and a miracle. The Jews seek for a sign, Paul wrote to the Corinthians. Christ has done miracle after miracle after miracle, but they were still unconvinced. They still wanted something else, something more. But it would not have changed their unbelief. Jesus was exasperated with the nation, and that is who was addressed by Jesus’ comment, not the disciples. Earlier in Matthew Jesus alluded to the fact that an unbelieving generation seeks after signs because they will not trust what God has said.
In the feeding of the 5,000 and again in the feeding of the 4,000, the same pattern was followed. The resources the disciples had were brought to Christ and then through Him His power worked to meet the need. So as the nation was clamoring for another sign, the response of Christ was, “Bring him here to Me” (Matt. 17:17). This boy was to be brought to Christ and His power would be manifested in this young man.
Matthew’s account is very brief and to the point. “And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once” (Matt. 17:18). This was a sovereign display of the awesome power of the Son of God. He rebuked the demon, and the demon came out.
Mark records more of the situation. “They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth” (Mark 9:20). As Christ confronted this demon, it threw the boy into a convulsion. “And He asked his father, ‘How long has this been happening to him?’ And he said, ‘From childhood. It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us!’” (vv. 21,22). The father reached out, but it was conditional: If you are able to intervene in this situation, I’m not convinced you are, but if you are, do something.
The response of Christ was very abrupt and very direct. “And Jesus said to him, ‘“If You can?” All things are possible to him who believes’” (v. 23). Jesus drew the man’s attention to the fact that the issue in this situation was not His power but the man’s willingness to trust Him. It was not a question of Christ’s ability but of this man’s response to Christ. The man immediately responded in faith, he immediately cast himself upon Christ without reservation: “I do believe; help my unbelief” (v. 24). In other words, Lord, I trust You and help me to trust you even more. I am casting myself completely upon You with all the faith I have and give me more faith. In that situation Jesus Christ was free to work and accomplish the healing.
The crowd began to assemble. “When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, ‘You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again’” (Mark 9:25). Remember, Jesus was having a problem with the crowds and the animosity building toward Him. So He immediately moved to bring about the healing of this boy. He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and mute spirit.” This spirit not only had rendered the boy speechless but unable to hear, as well as throwing him into convulsions. “After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, ‘He is dead!’” (v. 26). Everybody there thought he was dead, that the demon had killed him. “But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up” (v. 27). The awesome, overwhelming power of Christ was demonstrated in His ability to heal this boy. As recorded by Matthew: “the boy was cured at once” (Matt. 17:18).

In Matthew 12:28 Jesus said, “If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Christ’s power and authority over demons demonstrated and proved that He was the Messiah. It is important to note His power in the context of what He wants to talk about with His disciples, His purpose. But first the disciples have a problem.
Why couldn’t the disciples cast out the demon? Why couldn’t they cure this boy? They had been given power and authority over demons. Jesus gave them that authority in Matthew 10:1: “Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.” In Matthew 10:8, He told them, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.”
The disciples wanted to know what happened to their power. Matthew 17:19,20: “Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not drive it out?’ And He said to them, ‘Because of the littleness of your faith, for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.’” Jesus said the problem was that they didn’t have enough faith. Their faith was too little.
All you need is faith the size of a mustard seed. A mustard seed was proverbial for its smallness, and that little seed would grow into a great plant or tree. So it became an expression, as small as a mustard seed. Jesus told His disciples that their faith was too little. They did not even have the faith of a mustard seed. These were followers of Christ and believers in Him, and the issue was the littleness of their faith. The disciples did not even have as much faith as a mustard seed-it didn’t even amount to that much.
Christ has given this kind of rebuke repeatedly in Matthew. A brief review of them is appropriate because I think this is the great challenge for believers in Jesus Christ: to be willing to trust Him in every situation. Although we as believers have trusted Him as our Savior and have trusted Him in a variety of circumstances and situations, a challenge comes and the question is, will I trust Him in the face of the problem, the difficulty, the circumstance that faces me now?
This issue of littleness of faith is really an issue of having no faith in a given situation. It is characteristic of those who have faith in Christ but are not trusting Him in the current circumstance.
In Matthew 6:30, the context is food and clothing: “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!” Would you not trust God in the context of meeting your physical needs, providing food and clothing for you? If you have little faith, you are not willing to trust Him in this area of need.
The disciples are in the boat in Matthew 8:25. The boat is caught in a storm and in danger of sinking. They awaken the Lord and say, Save us, Lord. “He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?’” (Matt. 8:26). They called on the Lord to save them. That demonstrates faith. But there was an inability and an unwillingness to trust Him in the storm. They failed to trust Him that they would not be overwhelmed or destroyed; they failed to trust that He would see them through.
The account of Peter walking on the water begins in Matthew 14:28. Peter had the faith to ask Christ to call him to Him. Peter had the faith to get out of the boat. But when he got on the water, he began to look at the storm and he began to see the wind and the waves and he began to sink. “Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’” (Matt. 14:31). What had happened? Peter had no faith in that situation so he had “little faith,” in that the faith that he had was not applied to the situation and circumstance. In this storm he stopped trusting Christ. That is an example of “little faith.”
In Matthew 16:5 the disciples crossed the sea but forgot to bring bread. “But Jesus, aware of this, said, ‘You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread?’” The issue always seems to revolve around physical circumstances and situations. Am I going to trust Christ for this need? Am I going to trust Christ in the face of this storm? Am I going to trust Christ in the face of this obstacle and problem? We, who are the followers of Christ and have believed in Him, are we trusting Him in this circumstance? That’s the challenge for us! I might say, Oh, yes, I have trusted Him as my Savior. Yes, I have trusted Him in many battles. W ell, the issue is this one I am facing today. Am I trusting Him in this current conflict and in today’s problem?
In Matthew 17:20 the disciples faith had failed. Although they truly believed Jesus was the Messiah and had performed miracles in His name, in the face of this powerful demon they have no faith. They did not trust Christ to meet the need and carry them through.
At the end of Matthew 17:20, He tells them nothing will be impossible if you have faith. This does not mean that because I am a child of God, I can do anything. The point is that I have the power to do anything God wants me to do. I have the power to accomplish everything God wants me to accomplish. That does not mean I have the power to do everything I want to do. There is a difference. Remember the context is faith in Him. My responsibility is to trust Him. If this is the will of God, He is able to accomplish it. I will rely upon Him to do it. Would I ever want to be able to do anything that God does not want me to do? If so, I better examine myself. So in other words I have the power available from God to do everything that I need to do in this life in my service for Him. That’s remarkable! It is no wonder that God expects that we as His servants would be much more effective in the accomplishing of His work.
Jesus gave a further answer in Matthew 17:21: “But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” This verse does not appear in Matthew’s account, but it does appear in Mark’s account. It was actually said by Christ, but Matthew did not record it. It was later added to this portion of Matthew. The “and fasting” does not appear in Mark, so it literally says, “this kind does not go out except by prayer.”
There are two factors at stake here. There must be faith and there must be prayer, and the prayer is an evidence of the faith. If I am trusting God and I know He can do it, then I cry out to Him in prayer to accomplish His purposes. The prayer is acknowledgment that only He can accomplish it. Prayer has to function in the context of faith because prayer is not telling God what to do; it is asking God to do what He desires to do through you.
This was a rebuke to the disciples. Jesus was saying in effect that not only did they not have faith, but they have not been praying enough. I think the danger that the disciples fell into was trusting themselves. Some battles are greater battles than other battles. That is evidenced by this situation: Some demons are more powerful demons than are others.
The disciples had cast out demons yesterday. But they needed to be trusting Christ the next day. They needed to be in prayer about the situation. The greatest defeats are often suffered following the greatest victories. The Lord will work in a life and use one of His servants in a mighty way so that something dramatic is accomplished by God in the person’s life and through that person perhaps in the life of someone else. The person is amazed that God should work in such a great way, but it seems that before the door has closed on that situation something happens and the person is just crushed. You know why? Because the person thinks he can handle it on his own. You can not go into today’s battles counting on yesterday’s faith and yesterday’s prayer; that doesn’t get it done.
The disciples never could cast out demons. They never were more powerful than the demon world. Do you know where the power was? It was in Jesus Christ. Do you know why His power was effective? They trusted Him and allowed Him to work in and through them. As soon as they went into battle thinking, we ’ll handle this. We ’ll show these people that we are the representatives of the Messiah, then there was no power.
This is a reminder that we are to grow each day so that we can face the greater battles. The disciples had cast out demons but then they were facing an especially powerful one. That took especially strong faith, faith that had to get up to be the size of a mustard seed. It took more prayer. They needed to be growing in faith and in prayer. There has to be the diligence to be prepared for the battle and the conflict, but confidence that His power is absolutely sufficient and totally able.
After that miracle displaying the overwhelming power of Christ, Jesus immediately proceeded to tell the disciples about His purpose. His purpose was to go to the cross and die. The disciples did not understand this. How can the One who has all sovereign power even over the spirit world be destined to die on a cross in Jerusalem at the hands of godless men? “And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men’” (Matt. 17:22). That in itself is a remarkable statement. The Son of Man was going to be delivered into the hands of men. The only reason that could be accomplished was because it was the plan of God for it to happen. Jesus has all power, even over the spirit world. Men cannot overpower Him. But He was going to be delivered into the hands of godless men because that was God’s plan from eternity past for accomplishing redemption and salvation.
Jesus was in complete control as He continued in Matthew 17:23, “‘and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.’ And they were deeply grieved.” Jesus told the disciples that they were going to Jerusalem, and He was going to be delivered into the hands of godless men. He told them that the godless men would kill Him and that He would be raised on the third day. Mark and Luke wrote that the disciples did not have any idea of what He was talking about but they were afraid to bring up the subject. They were in confusion. They did not understand how this One with such mighty power could be destined to die on a cross. It just made no sense. It still doesn’t apart from the plan of God in providing salvation for fallen, sinful human beings. That has been God’s plan all through the Old Testament. The sacrifices and the prophecies prepared the way for a Messiah who would die to pay the penalty for sin.
When Christ was born, the angel said to Joseph, “you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). How was He going to save the people from their sins? The penalty for sin is death and He was going to die for them. In Luke the angels announced to the shepherds in the fields, “for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). How was He going to be a Savior? By paying the penalty for sins. “For the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23).
In Matthew 20:28 Jesus explained His purpose: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” In other words, Jesus came to pay the penalty for the sins of sinful human beings. His purpose was set and resolute.
Immediately following Jesus’ statement of His purpose, Matthew presents an account of a miracle that demonstrated the Person of Christ as the Son of God. This miracle demonstrated that this Jesus who had power over the demon world and who was destined to go to the cross in Jerusalem was none other than the Son of God, the Lord of the temple Himself.
The occasion was a question about taxation. “When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, ‘Does your Teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?’ He said, ‘Yes’” (Matt. 17:24,25). Capernaum was Jesus’ home region. The two-drachma tax was not a civil tax or a government tax, it was a religious tax used for the upkeep of the temple. The basis for it was stated in Exodus 30. Moses was receiving instructions on worship from the Lord and he was told that everyone over 20 years of age was required to pay one-half shekel, which is two drachmas, as a ransom for his soul. The silver from the two drachmas given for each person was used in the temple to make some of the visible, external parts as a reminder to the people of the ransom that was accomplished for them by God.
This tax continued to be collected over time for the maintenance and upkeep of the temple. The tax collectors were asking if Jesus paid the tax for the temple upkeep. Peter, without reservation, without hesitation, said Of course. “And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, ‘What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?’ When Peter said, ‘From strangers,’ Jesus said to him, ‘Then the sons are exempt.’” Jesus was drawing Peter’s attention to the Person of Himself, Jesus Christ. The question was, when the rulers of the earth are going to raise money for their support, who do they go to? Do they go to their children and say, It’s tax time. Pay me. Obviously not. The kings of the earth raise taxes from the populace to support them and their children.
Jesus was making the point that He was the Son of God. It was His Father’s temple and so His temple also. He did not have to pay tax for the support of His own temple. This was a strong dynamic statement of the deity of Jesus Christ. Jesus in effect was saying, I am the Son of God. Would it be expected that I would pay a tax to support my own temple? No, others pay the tax to support my temple. This is a tremendous statement. It would be a blasphemous statement, if Jesus were anything other than God in the flesh, for Him to claim to be exempt from the temple tax because He was deity, the Son of God. But that’s exactly what He did. In John 10:30 Jesus said, “I and My Father are one.” He was saying that they partake of the same essence and nature and being. He is deity as His Father is deity.
Malachi 3:1 indicates that the temple belonged to Christ because He was the Son of God: “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple.” This messenger was John the Baptist who prepared the way for Christ. The phrase, the Lord will come to His temple, refers to the Messiah, also called “the messenger of the covenant” in Malachi 3:1. Malachi goes on to describe the judgments of this Messiah. The Messiah, Jesus Christ, was called the Lord of the temple. It was His temple and they wanted tax from Him for His temple. But that is not even the way the world operates.
Isaiah saw Jesus Christ sitting in His temple in Isaiah 6. He was sitting upon His throne, high and exalted and lifted up, with the seraphim crying out, Holy, holy, holy. John 12:41 says that Isaiah saw His glory. He is the Lord of the temple. That was the point being driven home to Peter in
Matthew 17. This One with power over the demons was none other than God in the flesh and the One destined to go to the cross.
Nevertheless Jesus was going to pay the tax. “However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a coin. Take that and give it to them for you and Me” (Matt. 17:27).
The word translated offend means to scandalize or cause to stumble. Paul used this word twice in a similar kind of context for believers from the standpoint of not battling for our own rights. In Romans 14:21 Paul wrote, “It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.” In 1 Corinthians 8:13 Paul wrote, “Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.” Paul indicated that he would not do anything that caused another Christian to be offended or to stumble. In those areas where the Word of God does not speak and I have to do something, then I am to be governed by the concern of how this will affect someone else.
Jesus was concerned about giving offense to them. That had never seemed to bother Him before. He had told some they were hypocrites. Later in Matthew Jesus would tell the scribes and Pharisees that they were an open tomb full of dead men’s bones. In those situations the issue at stake was the Word of God and His own revelation of His person; therefore, there was no compromise. But over the two-drachma tax, He was worried about being offensive because they did not recognize who He was. If He did not pay the temple tax, it would cause misunderstanding about what He was saying about the temple. They would think that He, as a religious leader, was saying you ought not to support the temple and that the worship of God associated with this temple ought not to be supported. So lest people be caused to stumble, that is what the word offense means, He said to pay the tax because they did not understand the real issue. But Jesus thought that it was important that Peter understand it.
There was further evidence that Jesus was the Son of God by the manner in which He paid the tax. He told Peter to go out and cast his hook into the Sea of Galilee. Peter was supposed to take the first fish that came up, open its mouth, and find a coin, a stater. A stater was a sheckle or a four-drachma coin. That was enough for two drachmas for Peter and two drachmas for Jesus.
Think about this: How many fish are in the Sea of Galilee? Of all these fish, how many have swallowed coins? Of all the fish that have swallowed coins, how many swallowed a four-drachma coin? Of all the fish that have swallowed a four-drachma coin, what are the chances of Peter catching one of those fish the first time he throws his hook into the water? When you get the mathematical probability of this figured out, you can share it with me. I didn’t get a chance to do it. It’s impossible.
Christ was going to pay the tax, and He gave clear evidence that the sovereign God provided the money Himself. This was an impressive revelation of His person: Jesus Christ claimed to be the Son of God, God in the flesh, the Lord of the temple, and then proved it to Peter by this demonstration of power.
The three matters that Matthew has brought together are remarkable. Christ was the One with all power, power even over the demonic world. He was the Son of God, the Lord of the temple. He was God in the flesh and He was destined to die at the hands of godless men on the cross and be raised the third day. Is it any wonder that the disciples did not understand all that was happening?
Imagine the confusion of Peter. One minute he saw the awesome display of the power of Christ over the demonic world. Then he was told that Jesus was going to Jerusalem to die at the hands of godless men. Then Jesus gave him evidence that He was the Lord of the temple walking on earth.
The sovereign God determined to provide salvation for sinful human beings in one way and in one way only-by the death of His Son, Jesus Christ. We are all sinners guilty and condemned before God. There is no question about that. You may like it. You may not like it. But that is really irrelevant. I may like it or not like it. That is also really irrelevant, because God says that is the way it is.
It is the same as if I walk into my doctor and he says, Gil, you’ve got cancer. Then I say, I don’t like it. I don’t believe it. It does not matter if I like it or believe it, does it? That is the way it is. You are a sinner. God says so. I don’t like it. So what? That is the way it is. God says the penalty for sin is death. Through Jesus Christ that penalty will be paid, including the sufferings of hell. It is like if I go to my doctor and he says, Well, you are going to die or you can take this cure. Take this medication, you'll live. Don't take it—you'll die. Those are the two choices. God offers a choice as well.
God had His Son come to earth and die on a cross to pay the penalty for sin. That is the explanation of why the death of Christ on a cross can pay the penalty for your sin and my sin, too. He was more than a man, He was God. Thousands of people in history died the death of crucifixion, but only one person died on a cross and paid the penalty for sin. That One was not only a man but He was the Lord of the temple Himself. He was God in the flesh, Jesus Christ. That is what gives significance to His death. In His death He provided salvation. His resurrection demonstrated that indeed He was the Son of God. He is alive today.
Your relationship to Him is the remaining issue. Each one of us must come to the point where we recognize our own helpless, hopeless condition. There is no place I can go but to Jesus Christ. When you recognize your condition and you recognize that He is the Son of God and you trust the fact that He died for you, miraculously, in that instant of time when you trust Him, you are forgiven your sins. You are cleansed and made a new person and brought into a personal relationship with Him that will go on for eternity. I do not understand it all. Jesus Christ died on a cross 2,000 years ago and it is possible today for a person to trust Him personally and have their life changed. I do not understand it but I know it is true because God says it is so.
I trusted Him. It happened to me. Many others have trusted Him. Has it happened to you? Do you know what it means to have Jesus Christ as your Savior? Have you come to experience His power in your life to forgive your sins? That can happen to you right now if you will believe in Him as the One who died for you.