Queries and Criticisms against Christ
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
Jesus Christ came among men and announced Himself as One sent from the Father. He claimed every attribute of Deity, announced Himself as One sent from above, doing the work, speaking the words and fulfilling the will of the Father. We must grant at once that He was either all that He claimed to be, or He was the greatest impostor among religious zealots that the world ever knew.
It is not difficult to imagine the queries and misgivings that filled a priesthood zealous to keep up its own self-assumed dignity and headship. The common people heard Him gladly, while the "leaders" met Him with doubtful disputations and queries, by which they sought to dislodge Him from the confidence and love of the populace. Some of these queries are before us in this study, and we will present a few of the various questions concerning our Lord as they came to Him from time to time during His ministry.
1. "Who art Thou?" This is the first query, and it was lodged against John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ. The priesthood had learned from Zacharias, the priest and father of John the Baptist, something, perhaps everything, which surrounded the birth of John. Now that John has become of the age to launch his ministry the lingering memories of his notable birth were revived, and full of anxious questions, the scribes and Pharisees sent a delegation to ask John something of himself. John fervently denied that he was Elijah, or "that Prophet," or the Christ.
When they pressed him, he said, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the Prophet Esaias."
John's words must have alarmed the rulers inasmuch as they were familiar with the words of the Prophet, which announced the coming of the Messiah. It seemed to them like audacity running wild for any man to suddenly arise, dressed as John was dressed, with his habits, and wilderness message, to acclaim himself the forerunner of the Messiah.
They could not understand nor did they prove themselves willing to receive any Messiah who did not come with their own recommendation and pronouncement.
2. "Where dwellest Thou?" Two of John's disciples followed Christ, and asked, "Where dwellest Thou?" This question showed how intent the two were to know more about the One whom John had announced as God the Son, and Lamb of God (John 1:34; John 1:36).
The question had to do with Christ's earthly environments. How could one so marvelous as God, dwell among them? Did He have some fanciful, Divinely-built palace to house Him? In answer to their question, Christ said: "Come and see." It must have been a real revelation, as they spent the day with Him. What they discovered is not told, but we are sure that His dwelling place had nothing of the regal about it.
3. "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" This was the question of Nathanael. Nathanael could not comprehend how the Messiah of God should come from a mean village like Nazareth. Philip did not endeavor to explain matters to Nathanael. He simply said, "Come and see."
When Nathanael saw Him it was not what he saw, but what he heard, that caused him to cry out, "Thou art the Son of God: Thou art the King of Israel."
4. "What manner of man is this?" This was the query of Christ's own disciples as they saw Him calm the raging sea. They knew that He was above the ordinary, but they were just beginning to grasp the fact that He was God in the flesh.
5. "Whence then hast Thou that Living Water?" This was the question which the woman of Samaria put to Him. Christ said that He would give the Water of which, drinking, she would never thirst. She wanted to know who He was. Such a one must surely be, thought she, greater than Jacob who dug the well. She perceived Him a Prophet, and afterwards confessed Him as the Christ.
I. THE MAN SICK OF THE PALSY (Matthew 9:1-2)
1. The sick of the palsy was brought to Jesus. Here is a ministry of love on the part of some one. It is a ministry in which all of us may have a part. We cannot heal the sick of the palsy; we can bring them to Jesus. We cannot save the sinner; we can point him to the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world. We cannot force people to be saved; we can fill our automobiles, and carry them to the House of God.
There is always a ministry for saints that is vital. We stand, as it were, the go-between twixt the populace, and the Lord.
2. He was sick of the palsy. The poor fellow was all a-tremble, lying on a bed. Sinners are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest. They too are lying prone and helpless upon their backs. There is no man who is lost, who can find himself. There is none sick in sin, who can heal himself.
3. Jesus saw their faith. He saw the faith of those who brought him, or else they would not have carried him there. He saw the faith of the sick of the palsy, or else the sick of the palsy would have not allowed himself to be brought.
Faith is the connecting link between the sinner and the Saviour, between the palsied, and the Great Physician.
4. The words of cheer. "Thy sins be forgiven thee." Christ saw, back of the sick man's physical ailment, a heart full of sin. The "palsy" had doubtless been caused as a result of the man's evil life. The Lord, therefore, went to the root of the whole matter, and said: "Thy sins be forgiven thee."
In doing this, Christ not only announced the cause of the sick man's condition, but He also announced Himself as God. He took to Himself not only the power to heal, but the power to forgive sin. All of this was in line with everything that the Prophets had announced of Him. It was in line, likewise, with the annunciation of Gabriel, "He shall save His people from their sins."
Thank God, that in Christ we have both a Healer of the body, and a Saviour of the soul.
II. A CUTTING CONDEMNATION (Matthew 9:3)
1. The criticism against Christ, acclaimed Him a blasphemer. They said within themselves: "This man blasphemeth." They called Him a blasphemer because they called Him a man, and repudiated the fact that He was God. If their contention that His Deity was false had been true, then their contention that He was a blasphemer would have been true.
Jesus Christ cannot be good and noble and great and worthy of praise if He is a mere man. This, however, is exactly what the present-day modernist seeks to do. On the one hand, he robs Christ of His Deity, denies every claim He made as to His coming forth from the Father; and then, on the other hand, seeks to exalt Him as the world's greatest Teacher.
2. The criticism against Christ came from religious leaders. It was so in that day, it is so in this day. Christ is being maligned in the house of His supposed friends. It is not the world only which denies the Virgin Birth, the atoning power of the Blood, the literal and bodily Resurrection of Christ. It is the scribes, the men behind the pulpits of the modernistic church.
It is not the world only who denies that the Bible is inspired, and who accordingly sets at naught the authority of the Scriptures. It is the scribes. It is not the atheist, the agnostic, the unbeliever without the camp; but it is the atheist, the agnostic, and the unbeliever within the camp that is doing violence unto the Son of God.
3. The criticism against Christ was a covert criticism. The scribes spake within themselves. This is true sometimes today. Men in the pulpit speak words against the Son of God in a veiled and subtle way, while others are more bold and come out into the open, denying the only Lord God and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
III. CHRIST SUSTAINS HIS DEITY (Matthew 9:4-6)
1. Christ manifested His Deity by knowing their thoughts. He knew what they were reasoning in their heart. He read their mind. Herein was fulfilled that which was written: "Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." He was God, because He knew their thoughts.
2. Christ manifested His Deity by challenging their conclusion. He said: "Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?" In either event it was necessary to remove the cause in order to effect the cure. Had Christ said: "Arise, and walk," He would have done what man could not do, and would have acclaimed Himself, thereby, as God. Thus when He said: "Thy sins be forgiven thee" He did no more than to have acclaimed Himself the same God that could say, "Arise, and walk."
3. Christ stated that His power to forgive sins, was based on His power to make the man walk. Here are His words: "But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith He to the sick of the palsy), Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house."
When the first miracle was performed in Cana of Galilee and the water turned into wine, we read: "This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth His glory; and His disciples believed on Him."
When the Lord Jesus walked on the water, and came into the boat, they who were in the ship, "Came and worshiped Him, saying, Of a truth Thou art the Son of God."
Let those who read these words, fall down and join the disciples in worshiping the Son of God, the Saviour. Surely, we who live in the twentieth century have proof upon proof, that Christ is the Son of God. We have not alone the accumulation of the miracles which He wrought during His earth-life, but we have also that supreme miracle of His resurrection, and ascension, with the continued manifestation of the glory of His power made known through His holy Apostles and preachers during 2,000 years of service.
IV. ARISE AND GO (Matthew 9:6, l.c., 7)
1. We have before us the statement, "Arise." It is as though God came to a sinner, undone and unable to help himself, and said: "Arise!" The sick of the palsy lay prone upon his bed, but the Lord said, "Arise!" The man with the withered hand could not by any means move his arm, but Christ said: "Stretch forth thine hand!"
Christ said to the man four days dead, to the man who couldn't come forth, "Come forth," and he that was dead came forth bound hand and foot with graveclothes.
2. We have before us the statement, "Arise, take up thy bed." The bed that carried him, he was to carry. The sins which in the past dominated the sinner; the sinner, saved by grace, is commanded to dominate. The Word is plainly written: "Sin shall not have dominion over you."
We who were sick in sin, are acclaimed, over every power that bound us, more than conquerors through Jesus Christ, our Lord. If we were driven by the devil into the wilderness, we are acclaimed as able to resist him, with the assurance "He will flee from you." Thus the weak are made strong. Those who were impoverished, are enriched; and the conquered are conquerors, the victims, are victors, and the lost are found.
3. We have before us the words: "Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house." This last phrase is meaningful. We are not alone to arise from our weakness, made strong; from our sickness, made well; we are not alone to take up our bed, to carry that which carried us; but we are to go. We are to go, first of all, to our own house. We are to go, secondly, throughout the streets and lanes of our city. We are to go on, into the byways and hedges; and unto the uttermost part of the earth. As we go, we are to tell how great things the Lord hath done for us.
V. THE MARVELING MULTITUDE (Matthew 9:8)
1. The multitudes marveled. It was enough to make them marvel. Their amazement is no greater than ours.
"I stand amazed in the presence
Of Jesus the Nazarene,
And wonder how He would love me,
A sinner, condemned, unclean.
How marvelous! how wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous! how wonderful
Is my Saviour's love for me!"
We marvel at the grace that saves us. How could the Holy, love the unholy? How could the mighty, support the weak? How could the noble, put His arm around the ignoble? How could the clean, embrace the unclean? How could the Just, save the unjust? We do not know how, but we know it is true. God loved us while we were yet sinners. He sought us, He found us, He brought us unto Himself.
We marvel at the power of God that keeps us. He keeps us under His watchful eye. He leads us, He provides for us, He strengthens us, and gives us the victory.
We marvel at what lies ahead: the Rapture of the saints, the Reward, the Marriage of the Lamb, the Reign of Christ, the New Jerusalem, and the eternal ages, in which the exceeding riches of His grace will be revealed.
2. The multitudes glorified God. They glorified Him for what happened unto the man, Here is the statement: They "glorified God, which had given such power unto men." Should we not also glorify Him, because of what He has done to us? Shall we act as though we, by our own power, have preached His Name, wrought righteousness, obtained promises? Is there any place for boasting in anything that we do? Far be it from us to claim any such power within ourselves.
This is one of the greatest statements in the Bible. They "glorified God, which had given such power unto men." Let us do as they did. Never again, may we receive honor for what God does.
"All hail the pow'r of Jesus' Name!
Let angels prostrate fall!
Bring forth, the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of All."
VI. THE CALL OF MATTHEW (Matthew 9:9)
1. A fitting sequence. Our verse says: "As Jesus passed forth from thence, He saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and He saith unto him, Follow Me."
The multitude had scarcely ceased glorifying God who had given such power unto men. Then Jesus, passing forth, called upon Matthew to follow Him. In this act our Lord was fulfilling just what had been ascribed to Him, by the marveling multitude. He was giving unto Matthew, not only a call, but the power to fulfill it.
As we sit in our chair dictating these words, we hold in our hand an open Bible. At the top of the page we see written: "Saint Matthew." What! Do we see the very man who sat at the receipt of custom, with his name inscribed above the page of the Holy Bible? the very man to whom Christ said: "Follow Me"?
Surely, this is an example which verifies the statement, they "glorified God, which had given such power unto men."
2. From a seat in the customs, to a seat on the throne. Matthew had what men would have called, "A good job." It was a good job, as jobs go. It carried with it a neat little sum at the end of the month. It gave him a certain recognition among the Romans, the reigning class. Did the Lord Jesus have the audacity to ask this man to give up his job? No, there was no audacity in it. Christ led him to a better job.
The Lord took Matthew from "sitting at the receipt of custom," to sitting in His cabinet. Matthew the publican, became Matthew the Apostle. Matthew the collector of revenue, became Matthew the dispenser of the grace of God. Far above all of this, is a little clew which God gives us to the final glory which awaits Matthew in the eternal City of God. Read Revelation 21:4
Beloved friends, it pays to leave the customs to follow Jesus. It pays now, in the new fellowship, the new service; it pays by and by when the Lord shall say unto us, "Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
VII. FINDING FAULT (Matthew 9:10-13)
1. Jesus eating with the publicans and sinners. How gracious a scene. The Son of God seeking to save that which is lost. The Son of God sitting with those whom He came to save, in order that He might tell them the story of grace. The Son of God humbling Himself, in order that He might lift tip the fallen.
2. The Pharisees questioning the conduct of the Master. The Pharisees were entirely blinded to the purpose and the spirit of Jesus Christ. They were accustomed to clothe themselves with dignity; they professed a sinister piety and paraded a "holier than thou" policy. Thus it was that they said unto Christ's disciples: "Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?" They were impugning the fact of His glory, because of the deep reachings of His grace.
3. The Master's response. Turning, in behalf of His disciples, toward the Pharisees, Christ said: "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick."
The Lord said unto them: "I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." To whom should the physician go, if not to the sick? Should he, because of the dignity and honor of his profession, refuse to sit down by the side of an emaciated, diseased, polluted victim? Should he be condemned for feeling the pulse, bathing the forehead, and easing the pain of the sick?
The analogy of Christ between the physician and Himself, is deep in the depth of its significance. The Son of God, the Great Physician, should indeed sit with sin-sick souls, and become all things to all men to save some.
AN ILLUSTRATION
Dr. Morrison, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, said: "News of the war got into a lunatic asylum in our country, and the question of food supply agitated the minds of the inmates of the asylum. They were discussing the question as to where they could find a garden, in order that they might grow vegetables. One day one of the inmates was discovered with a pickax, digging at the foundations of the asylum in order to make a garden to plant beans and potatoes. The keepers said, 'What are you doing?" He said, 'I am digging up the foundation to make a garden.' They said, 'Then where are you going to live?' He said, 'O I am going to live upstairs!' They confined him in a padded cell, but he was exactly like those critics who want to do away with the Old Testament; for the Old Testament is the foundation of the New." Publisher Unknown.