A Portrait of Jesus
Sermons from Matthew
by
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Jesus calls us to salvation, he calls us to service; and he calls us to supper. In the third section of our text, we have the report of a banquet at which Jesus was the guest of honor. It is likely that the purpose of this banquet, which was given by Matthew, was to explain to his fellow tax collectors his new found vocation. We see this in verses ten through thirteen in the ninth chapter of Matthew.
Here in the text, Jesus did not say, "Believe in me," instead he said, "Follow me," because to believe in the Lord Jesus includes following him. To follow Jesus involves walking with him, and doing as he does. Christianity involves our lives, our attitudes, and our actions.
To sit at table was the grace of God in action. To the scribes and pharisees it was a scandalous affair. One that caused them to throw up their hands in disbelief. They asked the disciples of Jesus why he ate with tax collectors and sinners? Jesus, knowing their thoughts, answered them: "For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Jesus made table fellowship a virtue and duty when the religious people of his day considered it wrong. Just as the physician does not wait until the sick are well before going to them, so Jesus did not wait for bad people to become good before ministering to them. Jesus had the cure for the malady of immorality, and so he went where sin was most evident. In addition to that, Jesus was convinced that ostracism was both wrong and foolish.
What does this mean to us? It means that good people and bad people are the same. They are both people in need of grace and forgiveness. It means that Jesus did not and could not quarantine himself from sinners as many of us do today.
Our attitude is something like this: We see a church in a bad area of town and ask, "What's a nice church like that doing in a place like this?" When we retreat into a safe enclave, separating ourselves from the suffering of this world, are we not putting Jesus in quarantine? It is much easier to go through the motions of religion than to go the second mile with some of the world's burdens on our backs. When we compartmentalize life putting religion over here and business over there, and pleasure somewhere else, we confine Jesus to his quartersl. Many today would prefer to restrict Jesus to the religious reservation, and not allow him to wander into town to get mixed up with business, politics, and pleasure.
In John Masefield's "Trial of Jesus," a woman named Procula asked the centurion who carried out the crucifixon, "Where is Jesus?" To which the centurion said, "Let loose in the world, lady, where no one can stop his truth."
That's what this is all about. It's about loosing Jesus to go into the whole world. It's about not quarantining him to his quarters. If we isolate Jesus, he will sooner or later break out, either with or without our consent.
And when he breaks out, one of the first things he will do is throw a party and offer all of his new friends the new wine of the gospel. So rather than being the keepers of the quarantine, let us become agents of his grace and instruments in the salvaion of all men, for that is what Jesus calls us to do and be.
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About the Book
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.
About the Author
TAP Born in Alabama near the end of the great depression, T. A. received his early education in the Verbena public schools of Chilton County in Alabama. In 1950 the family moved from rural Chilton County to Montgomery. In Montgomery he attended Starke University School, a private military school, where he excelled in football. At the conclusion of the 1951 football season, he was named to the All City Football Team, and received honorable mention to the All State Football Team.
In Montgomery, T. A. and his family attended Second Baptist Church (now Eastmont) where he became involved with a group of Christian young people who greatly influenced his life. Soon he began to sense a call to the ministry. In the fall of 1952, T. A. enrolled in Howard College (now Samford University) in Birmingham. While in college he began to preach, and was soon called to his first pastorate in1953. After gradua-ting from Howard, T. A. served three years as the associate pastor of the Forest Lake Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He graduated from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Lousiville, Kentucky with a Master of Divinity degree in 1965, and a Doctor of Ministry degree in 1980.
For thirty-four years he served as pastor of the Seven Hills Baptist Church in Owensboro, Kentucky. T. A. served in numerous positions of leadership in the city of Owensboro, the local Baptist Association, and in the Kentucky Baptist Convention. He was elected president of the Kentucky Baptist Pastor's Conference in 1973, and the following year he was chosen as the First Vice President of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. T. A.. has served on numerous convention committees including Chairman of the Business and Finance Committee, the Order of Business Committee, and the Credentials Committee. He also served as the Chairman of the Editor Search Committee for the "Western Recorder"; and Chairman of the "Western Recorder" Board of Directors. T. A. was also Secretary of the Executive Director Search Committee for the Kentucky Baptist Convention Executive Board.
This is T. A.'s third book since his retirement in 1999. His first book, "We Preach Christ" was released in 2004. In 2007 he published his Memoirs, "A Cold Day in July"; and in 2009, "For Our Age of Anxiety" was released.