At
the church where I serve we are in the middle of a sermon series entitled Jesus
uncut. During this series, we are spending
our time together looking at perhaps the most famous sermon that Jesus ever
preached, which is referred to as the Sermon on the Mount. During this series,
we are going to see Jesus reveal the true nature of what God demands of
humanity in order to experience a right relationship with Him and what it truly
means to obey the message and teachings of the letters that make up the Bible.
And during this series, as we see Jesus uncut, our hope and prayer is that God
would move by the power of the Holy Spirit in a way that enables us to wrap our
heads, hearts, and hands around the lifestyle that Jesus calls us to live as
one who is living in a right relationship with Him.
This week, I would like for us to pick
up where we left off last week. And as we jump into the next section of this
famous sermon that Jesus preached, called the Sermon on the Mount, which is
recorded for us in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called
the gospel of Matthew, we are going to discover another timeless truth from
Jesus uncut. So, let’s discover that timeless truth together, beginning in Matthew 7:15:
"Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's
clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
As Matthew continues to give us a front
row seat to this famous sermon that Jesus preached, we see Jesus
command those who were listening to His sermon to beware of the false prophets.
Now when Jesus uses the word beware, this
word, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means
to be in a state of alert. Jesus warning to the crowds listening, and to His
followers throughout history, is that we need to be on alert.
Jesus then explained that what the
crowds listening, and followers of Jesus throughout history, were to be on the
alert for were the false prophets. When the letters that make up the Bible
refer to false prophets, this term refers to an individual or group of
individuals who falsely claim to be a prophet of God who serves as God’s
messenger or spokesman. After commanding the crowds listening to beware of the
false prophets, Jesus then revealed the shady nature of false prophets. Jesus
explained that false prophets are those who come to you
in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. But this morning, what
does that even mean?
Throughout the letters that make up the Bible,
followers of God are described as sheep, while those who were the prophets,
priests, teachers, or leaders of God’s people are described as shepherds. Now while the Jewish people of Jesus day
would have totally connected with this picture, today we do not spend any time
around sheep and shepherds. So let’s take a minute to understand a few things
about sheep, shepherds, and how they related to one another.
The first
thing about sheep and shepherds is that sheep desperately need a shepherd. Now
you might be here this morning, and a natural question that could arise here is
“Well, why do sheep need a shepherd?” You see, sheep need a shepherd because sheep are needy. And sheep
need a shepherd because sheep are stupid. Sheep are some of the dumbest animals
on the planet.
And because of
that reality, sheep need protection, sheep need guidance. Sheep need direction.
Sheep need care. Sheep need feeding. Without a shepherd, a sheep’s needs remain
unmet. Without a shepherd, the sheep
suffer, and even die. And one of the greatest dangers that sheep face was the
threat that came from wolves. Wolves were constantly looking for opportunities
to stalk and hunt down sheep, who were very easy targets for the wolves.
Jesus here paints a word picture
that those listening to His sermon would be very familiar with to reveal the
reality that, just like wolves, false prophets would be constantly looking for
the opportunity to stalk and to hunt down those who were striving to follow
God. And these false prophets, in their stalking and hunting of those who were
striving to follow God, would externally give the appearance of
being right with God and speaking on behalf of God.
However, the reality was that, underneath their
external covering that was used to attempt to deceive those who were striving
to follow God, these false prophets were marked by an internal heart condition
that was opposed to God and that was driven by a desire to destroy the people
of God. And because of that reality, Jesus commanded the crowds listening to be
on the alert for shady false prophets.
Now a natural question that could
arise here is a question that has arisen throughout history. And that question
is this: How are we supposed to be able to distinguish between the sheep and
the wolves if externally there appears to be no difference between the sheep
and the wolves? How are we supposed to recognize a false spokesman for God if
they are able to give the external appearance of being right with God and a
true spokesman for God? How do we know the difference between a person who is a
true spokesman for God and a person who is a false spokesman for God?
If that question is running through
your mind, I just want to let you know that is a great question to be asking.
And fortunately for us, we see Jesus provide the answer to that question in
what He says next.
Tomorrow we will look at what Jesus
says next…
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