Participants: Glenn Russell & Ranko Stefanovic (Host)
Series Code: MTBOTB
Program Code: MTBOTB000014A
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00:21 Hi, and welcome to "The Books of the Book" series
00:23 on "The Gospel of Matthew". 00:25 We're exploring this gospel picture, 00:28 the portrait of Jesus Christ 00:29 and Matthew under the inspiration 00:31 of the Holy Spirit provides for us. 00:34 We're here with Dr. Ranko Stefanovic 00:36 from Andrews University, theological seminary, 00:38 professor of New Testament. 00:40 Ranko, it's a joy to do this program together 00:42 to be studying scripture is just a wonderful opportunity. 00:45 Yes, Glenn, it's--I'm so glad to be with you here. 00:49 We've known each other for long time. 00:52 We taught in the department of religion 00:54 for significant number of years 00:56 and I know your passion for Christ and for ministry 00:59 and it's a great privilege to be here at 3ABN 01:01 and shared this message of Jesus Christ. 01:04 You know, Ranko, I think both of us 01:07 would admit as teachers 01:08 that sometimes things aren't quite the way they should be, 01:11 perhaps in the school, perhaps in our campuses, 01:14 perhaps even in our classrooms. 01:16 We need prayer, don't we? Oh, yes. 01:18 We need the support and encouragement. 01:20 I just want to say a word to the viewers out there, 01:24 please pray for your teachers, pray for your pastors, 01:26 pray for the ministries, pray for 3ABN. 01:29 It's so easy to be critical and to criticize, 01:32 and to find in the opportunity to find fault. 01:35 But please pray for God to speak through 01:37 and for God to bless. 01:39 Each one who is seeking this 01:41 share Christ with our young people? 01:44 It's a difficult world these days. 01:45 It's a tough time to grow up as young person. 01:48 Reach out to the young people in your church, 01:50 in your home, pray for them. 01:51 It'll make all the difference in the world. 01:53 Glenn, I would also like to say something to our viewers. 01:57 You know, I have in my wallet, I have several cards, 02:01 one of them is to show my profession 02:03 as a professor with a doctoral degree. 02:06 But probably the most important card 02:08 that I have in my wallet is this 02:11 that says, "Ministerial Credentials". 02:14 I'm the ordained pastor of Seventh Day Adventist Church 02:17 and I take my classroom as my church 02:19 that those young people 02:21 they have different challenges as young people. 02:23 But at the end of the semester when they come to you, 02:26 they say, in this class I found Jesus Christ. 02:29 I fell in love with Him. I want to serve my church. 02:33 I want to serve Christ the rest of my life. 02:35 Wherever I travel, I find my former students 02:37 they said, "You remember I was lazy. 02:40 I did not take my classes seriously. 02:42 But God used you to make a difference in my life." 02:45 I know the same happened with you. 02:47 So please pray for us 02:48 because we are all on the same mission is 02:52 to bring people to Jesus Christ. 02:55 And as we continue in our exploration of the gospel 02:59 according to Matthew, 03:01 all we want to be sure God leads us in our study. 03:03 Let's pray together. Yes. 03:05 Lord, we come. 03:07 We've thoughts and ideas. 03:09 We've training and we've background. 03:12 But more than anything else, we need Your spirit. 03:15 We need you to breakthrough to speak to our hearts, 03:18 to speak to our minds, to draw us to you. 03:21 May we truly sense 03:23 that Your spirit is present with us now 03:25 as we study Your word. 03:27 Be with each viewer, be with each of us 03:29 in Jesus name we pray, amen. Amen. 03:33 All right, Ranko, 03:34 we have been exploring this wonderful book of Matthew. 03:37 We've seen that Jesus has now 03:39 set His face towards Jerusalem. 03:41 He is headed to the cross. 03:43 But there are some things He needs to make sure 03:45 that His disciples understand before He gets there. 03:48 It's interesting as Jesus is moving 03:51 with His disciples towards Jerusalem there, 03:54 He is constantly taking them aside, 03:57 talking with them, trying to serve them 03:59 because He does not have too much time, 04:02 you know, to talk to them. 04:04 And He wants to tell them, 04:05 "I'm going to Jerusalem to die." 04:07 This is what will happen. 04:09 But evidently their interest was in something else. 04:12 So Glenn, I would like to ask you, 04:14 if you can take verses 1 to 6 of Chapter 18. 04:18 We're hearing Chapter 18 at this moment. 04:20 And we remember the disciples came with mixed motives-- 04:22 Mixed motives etcetera. 04:24 With all kinds of other objectives. 04:26 They had some sincerity. Yes, we have to admit that. 04:28 They were sincere people. 04:30 But they also had some misunderstandings. 04:32 Matthew, Chapter 18, verse 1, 04:34 "At that time the disciples came to Jesus saying, 04:37 'Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' 04:40 Jesus called a little child to Him, 04:42 set him in the midst of them, and said, 04:45 'Assuredly, I tell you, unless you are converted 04:48 and become as little children, 04:50 you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 04:52 Therefore whoever humbles himself 04:55 as this little child is the greatest 04:57 in the kingdom of heaven. 04:58 Whoever receives one little child like this 05:01 in My name receives me. 05:03 "Whoever causes one of these little ones 05:06 who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him 05:09 if a millstone were hung around his neck 05:12 and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.'" 05:14 Okay. Let's try to understand something here. 05:17 When the disciples ask Jesus, 05:18 who is the greatest in the kingdom? 05:20 Who is the greatest in the kingdom? 05:22 Obviously God. Who has the power? Yeah. 05:25 Who is the greatest in the kingdom 05:27 that person will be next to Jesus in his kingdom. 05:30 They were fighting for position there-- 05:33 there in the kingdom. 05:35 They thought that Jesus was to establish 05:37 that earthly kingdom, but Jesus surprised them. 05:42 They were interested in power, 05:44 but Jesus brings there in the midst, 05:46 He brings a child. 05:48 Now there is something different about 05:49 the eastern view about children, 05:51 in biblical times and children today. 05:53 We're used to when a child comes into the room, 05:55 our conversation stops in the center. 05:58 But, in ancient times the child was what? 06:01 When, when-- adults are talking 06:04 child does not have place there. 06:06 The child is outside. 06:07 It's all outside because--go, go and play, 06:09 you've nothing to do with adults. 06:11 So child is an example of the least. 06:13 Yeah, so Jesus invites the child and He says 06:17 if you do not humble yourself to be like this child, 06:22 you'll actually not 06:24 get into the Kingdom of Heaven. Can you imagine? 06:26 Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven? 06:27 Jesus has--if you do not become like this child, 06:30 you don't--not that you're not great, 06:32 but you'll not find yourself there 06:34 in the kingdom of heaven. 06:35 So there is a contrast that we're seeing here. 06:38 They're asking about the greatness 06:40 and He's showing the least. Yes. 06:42 And now Jesus is making to move 06:45 from that Kingdom of Heaven, 06:47 He is moving now to the visibly. 06:49 You remember, we talked about the visible manifestation 06:51 of the Kingdom of Heaven 06:53 and that's actually what the church is. 06:56 And giving the practical instructions, 06:58 if you want to be the great in the kingdom, 07:01 now this is the way how you should live, 07:04 you should live in the church. 07:06 And one of the great problems 07:07 it's--been in so many times in our congregation 07:11 is that same old problem like the disciples 07:13 who is the greatest in my church, 07:15 in my community of faith, 07:17 and Jesus now gonna deal with it, all right. 07:19 So now let's go to what Jesus has done. 07:22 You'll notice how many times 07:25 Jesus uses here the expression "the little ones" 07:28 in verse 6, "The one who causes the little ones." 07:33 Then verse 10, 07:36 "See that you do not despise one of these little ones." 07:40 Let's go verse 14, 07:42 "So it is not the will of our Father who is in heaven 07:46 that one of these little one perishes." 07:49 What Jesus tries to make is that we must be aware 07:53 that in the church, there is a group, 07:56 the Jesus labels or Jesus refers to as the "little one." 08:00 Glenn, if the little ones 08:02 then how we should call another group? 08:04 Well, it's got to be greater. 08:05 The greater ones. 08:07 So there are two groups in the church. 08:10 And what Jesus tried to make very clear is, 08:14 if you are the great one in the church, 08:18 you'll be great by the way you deal 08:22 and you treat 08:24 those little ones there in the church. 08:26 So way to find out how faithful 08:30 I'm in following Jesus is the way I treat the least. 08:33 He's not just talking about age children here, is He? 08:36 Other synoptics,ther synoptics, 08:39 they has-- actually they contain 08:42 and then they mention some other instructions of Jesus. 08:44 When Jesus told them, do you see 08:46 the rulers in the world? 08:47 They take the power. They dictate. 08:50 And they rule other people. 08:51 Keep in mind, they ask who is great in the king of God? 08:55 Jesus said, "Great in the king of God is not the person 08:58 who has the power dictate, dominate other people. 09:02 No, he is the person who tried to treat 09:07 those little ones in the way the Jesus Christ treats them. 09:12 All right. He seems to understand 09:15 human nature very well. Yes. 09:18 And he understands how even though 09:21 we're like the disciples of chosen that follow Jesus. 09:24 We're still struggling. We're still not there yet. 09:28 Now Ranko, there might be little bit of surprise 09:30 where some people say, well the church should be perfect. 09:32 There should be no problems. 09:34 Was that the vision Jesus had? 09:37 Was He unrealistic about his followers? 09:39 Glenn, can we be reminded, we did not have a time 09:44 to go extensively to treat that text. 09:46 In Matthew Chapter 13, Jesus said, 09:49 the Kingdom of Heaven which is the church, 09:52 okay on the earth, that Kingdom of Heaven, 09:57 there are not only good seeds 09:59 but there are also tears. 10:01 And Jesus said 10:03 "until the very Second Coming of Christ, 10:05 the both groups will be in the church." 10:07 We don't want to do it. 10:09 It's not that God is happy because of that. 10:11 And Jesus does not predict that it must be. 10:15 But Jesus said, "This is the reality whether 10:17 we want to accept it or not." 10:19 But until the very Second Coming of Christ, 10:22 there will be two groups together 10:24 and it is only the Second Coming of Christ 10:26 that we'll make separation between the two members. 10:28 And the first thing, we've seen then is 10:30 that one of the things that has to make a difference 10:32 is that those of us in the community of faith need 10:36 to treat those on the fringes, those on the edges, 10:39 those who are the most likely to be 10:40 outcast or rejected. 10:42 How do we treat them? 10:43 Actually, if you notice here verses 7 to 10, the Jesus said, 10:47 "that those little ones, they are sinners." 10:49 There are people who have a problem, 10:51 they're not spiritually strong. 10:52 But Jesus says, 10:54 "If I'm spiritually strong and great person, 10:57 and if I'm a stumbling block to those people," 11:00 do you know what it means stumbling block. 11:02 I can offend people, I can treat them harshly. 11:05 Jesus says, "Is better to me." 11:08 That these are-- Strong lines. 11:10 I'm--I'm afraid to reading those. 11:12 Jesus says, "Put the millstone out of your neck 11:15 and throw yourself in the lake. 11:16 It's better for you to lose this life 11:18 then you one day that you finish in that, in that hell," 11:22 eternal fire that you just mentioned 11:25 at the Second Coming of Christ. 11:26 Fairly that compassion of Jesus 11:28 that we've seen several times in the gospel 11:30 cares deeply how we treat each other. 11:32 And Jesus cares about sinners. Yes. 11:36 By the way, in verse 12, 11:40 Jesus talks about those little ones 11:43 and he compares them with the lost sheep. 11:47 If you go to the gospe of Luke, Chapter 15, 11:50 we have the parable of the lost sheep. 11:52 But, you know, we've the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15. 11:55 We've the lost coin, and we've the prodigal son. 11:58 Who is the lost sheep in that context? 12:00 Is somebody who left the church and is sinner, 12:03 it's outside of the church, 12:04 and the shepherd goes through them? 12:05 In this context, this sheep is lost in the church. 12:13 The context and the metaphor that Jesus is using, 12:17 He is completely differing them 12:18 from the metaphor of Luke 15. 12:20 The people who are in the church, 12:22 they come, they smile, they have a tie, 12:25 they, you know, everything is nice. 12:26 They're all smiling when they come to a church, 12:28 but those people are lost in the church. 12:32 They've nominal name Christians, 12:35 but they've nothing to do Jesus Christ. 12:37 They are so much oppressed with the problems of this life 12:40 and Jesus says, 12:41 "if you're great in the king of God 12:44 it is your duty to go and to seek 12:48 and look for that sheep, find that sheep, 12:52 and restore her into the fellowship of the flock." 12:57 I'd like to read verse 14, 12:58 "Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven, 13:01 that one of these little ones should perish." 13:04 God's desire is that no one should perish. 13:08 What a beautiful picture! It's a beautiful picture. 13:11 As we, as we work through this process, 13:14 He wants us to catch the heart of God, 13:17 He wants us to have the love for the ones 13:18 who would perish just like the Father does. 13:21 There is something else. 13:22 In verse 13 says, when that strong one, 13:25 the great one into church finds that sheep 13:29 that is lost in the church, "He finds truly, 13:31 I say to you he rejoices over it more than over 99, 13:37 which have not gone astray." 13:39 There is a joy when a sinner comes back to God. 13:43 Now there is a question. 13:44 I know that the viewers are asking the question, 13:47 what does it mean that we go and seek for the sheep? 13:51 How we are supposed to seek that sheep? 13:53 I don't, I don't know, I don't know, 13:55 who is that little one that is lost? 13:57 Right after, right after the break Jesus give us 13:59 detailed instructions actually how to seek for the sheep. 14:02 Ranko, you've raised the question. 14:04 We're gonna have to come back for 14:05 the answer right after the break. 14:06 We'll be right back. |
Revised 2023-10-23