King Jesus: Healer, Reject, & Sovereign

Kate Stevens • January 6, 2021

Summary of sermon on Matthew 12:22-32 from Pastor Randle Bishop of Trinity  Gospel Church on January 3, 2020.

The story of Jesus never ceases to amaze - it always speaks to the truth of who He is.

Matthew gives a unique perspective of who Jesus is.

  • Chapter 1: Jesus is the Christ, Immanuel, because He has come to us
  • Chapter 2: He is a child refugee, a Nazarene
  • Chapter 3: He is the perfect baptismal candidate
  • Chapter 4: He is the tempted one
  • Chapters 5-7: He then delivers the wonderful Sermon on the Mount where we can be citizens of heaven. And He teaches as one with great authority!
  • Chapter 8: He calms the sea with His words, “peace be still”
  • Chapter 9: He calls sinners to follow Him
  • Chapter 10: He calls 12 specific men to follow him, all known sinners
  • Chapter 11: He offers rest for the weary
  • Chapter 12: He is Lord of the sabbath
  • Now in vv. 22-32, we come to this controversial passage about the Holy Spirit


All these things Jesus has displayed, yet the pharisees still oppress Him.  He heals one with a demon, yet they call Jesus demonic. He isn’t demonic, He is King! And He is a healer—it’s what He does...He heals!  He demonstrates His very divine nature in front of the pharisees. 


So then, how do we see Jesus? How do we experience Him? Are we like the pharisees here? 


Jesus came and fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy—He is the Son of David.  They stood in amazement of this, of him, yet they were not fully convinced.  They won’t come to Him, submit to Him.  They take his provisions and leave. They wanted him on their own terms, on their own notions of who the Messiah would be. 


He came meek and gentle (Isaiah 42), but they wanted a conqueror.  So much of their understanding is blocked because they did not submit to His word. 


How much of your understanding is blocked because you do not submit to His word?


And those standing against him saw this as a power of Satan, but Jesus flips it on them. Why would Satan cast out his own demons? He knows their thoughts because of his divine wisdom from the spirit. He is more powerful than the one who came to overcome Him! The power of the kingdom is strong! How is the kingdom of God coming on the people here unless He is king? Because He is King Jesus! He has the authority to bind—this is our King.

Sovereign here means there is no authority, territory or power above Him.  So, He replies in verse 30 with, “Whoever is not with me is against me.” He is asking them to choose sides: are you gathering or scattering?


So look at your own life: what do your words do? How has the Spirit equipped you to gather? This church is gathering for the sake of the Lord’s Name! Others should see the Lord through you.


Jesus says to take sides. What they have done by speaking against Jesus is demonic. It is calling out every healing, miracle, prophecy fulfilled that Jesus has done and calling it false. It is not recognizing him as King Jesus—and this says it will not be forgiven. 


Let’s look at exactly what they are blaspheming here because they also speak against “the son of man.”

“I saw in the night visions,

and behold, with the clouds of heaven

    there came one like a son of man,

and he came to the Ancient of Days

    and was presented before him.

And to him was given dominion

    and glory and a kingdom,

that all peoples, nations, and languages

    should serve him;

his dominion is an everlasting dominion,

    which shall not pass away,

and his kingdom one

    that shall not be destroyed (Daniel 7:13-14).

This is who the pharisees are speaking against!

“Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength (Revelation 1:12-16).”

The pharisees are blaspheming against this sovereign Lord! 


Even though He was a reject, He was still a healer because he is King. 


Are you siding with Jesus? Are you against the controversial parts of Scripture? If so then go sit down with a fellow believer and ask hard questions! Our King, our Lord of Life is powerful! 


Let’s side with Him. God is good and has given us the Son so that we might worship him. 



..


Watch this sermon here.

Freed to Serve

April 28, 2025
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, April 27, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:11-17 This is the beginning of a section addressing how God's people now function in this world. It begins with aliens and exiles and continues with servants, wives, husbands, and finally, all of you. 1.) Our identity defines our actions. We are sojourners and exiles (temporary, passing through, not at home) We have a heavenly citizenship Actions We abstain from the passions of the flesh Keep conduct among the Gentiles honorable (our conduct is for the benefit of other people) Honorable conduct wins souls… sojourners, exiles, and soul winners “Peter’s point is that believers’ behavior creates a context in which people will listen to God’s word. He is not teaching that ‘good deeds’ in themselves convert unbelievers, but they establish an environment for the Gospel-word to do so.” -Barnett 2.) Our identity defines our expectations (Unbelievers will respond to honorable conduct in 1 of 2 ways) Some will speak evil against us as though we are evildoers Some will see our good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation 3.) Our identity defines our view of authority (Does anyone here ever just want to do whatever you want to do, whenever you want to do it? That’s why laws exist) Be subject to every human institution (for the Lord's sake) This includes governors and emperors (no distinction between good/bad) The will of God... by doing good, we silence the ignorance of foolish people 4.) Our identity defines our view of freedom Don't use freedom as a cover-up for evil We are freed to serve God Honor, Love, and Fear Discipleship Questions: 1.)Why is it so important to understand our identity before talking about our behavior? 2.) How might this reality impact your parenting? For real, what are 3 ways that you can apply that this week? 3.) How is good conduct a form of evangelism? 4.) What do these verses say that we can expect from others? 5.) How can we honor a government that isn't always honorable? Seriously, what are 5 things we should immediately stop doing and 5 things we should immediately start doing? 6.) What are some tangible ways to honor others? Love the brotherhood? Fear God? Honor the Emperor? 7.) Should we fear the Emperor?

Cornerstone

April 22, 2025
Notes from Ky Martin's sermon on Sunday, April 20, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:4-10 Everyone must accept or reject Jesus. He is the cornerstone. We choose to accept Him as the foundation of our lives or toss the truth aside. When we come to Jesus… We become part of His People 1 Pe 2:4-5 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. The cornerstone is The New Temple. From this we learn that following Christ entails joining his community, the church…The freelance Christian, who follows Jesus but is too good, too busy, or too self-sufficient for the church, is a walking contradiction. -Daniel M. Doriani We join a royal, holy, priesthood 1 Pet. 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Because of who Jesus makes us. We receive God’s mercy Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms….Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means undergoing a kind of death. Acts 17:30-31 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Discipleship Questions: Why is it impossible to be neutral about Jesus? Why do you believe that Jesus truly is the Son of God? Do you ever have doubts about this? If yes, what are they? According to 1 Peter 2:9, who are we after we come to Christ? Why does Paul say (in 1 Corinthians) that if Christ is not risen, our faith is in vain?

Born Again

April 16, 2025
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, April 13, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:2-3 Why do our souls ache for certainty? We are so eager for certainty that we will look for it in all the wrong places. - Certainty in our Finances [show slide from news] - Certainty in our Jobs [Acts 17:24-27] - Certainty in our Health [Covid] - Certainty in our Abilities [Ecclesiastes 3:11 “God has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”] “Things that have never happened before are happening every day.” -Morgan Housel In these verses, God gives us what our souls ache for! 1.) You must be born again of imperishable seed - We have all been born of perishable seed o Impure souls o Disobedient to truth o Unloving insincerity toward others o Lack of loving effort o Impure hearts - We are withering grass and falling flowers - The imperishable seed is the living and abiding Word of God o Does not wither o Does not fall o Does not let us down o It remains forever o It MUST BE PREACHED! But still, how can we be certain that we have been born again? 2.) If you are born again, hope will be seen in your relationships When your relationship with God changes, God changes your relationships! - Sincere brotherly love - Love earnestly - Put away… o Malice o Deceit o Hypocrisy o Envy o All Slander 3.) If you are born again, hope will be seen in your appetite for God’s Word - Like newborn infants - Long for the pure spiritual milk Discipleship Questions: 1.) Where are some unhealthy places where you look for certainty? 2.) Why do you do that? 3.) What were some evidences of your perishable seed before you came to Christ? Any of that still lingering that needs to be repented from? 4.) Why does Peter call the Word of God the imperishable seed? 5.) In light of the text, how would you describe being "born again" to a 5-year-old? 6.) How has imperishable hope proven itself in your relationships? OR How might it if you lean into loving others earnestly? 7.) Why does Peter tell us that hope will be seen in our appetite for God's Word?
Show More