’The proof of the pudding is in the eating’ is a very old proverb. The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations dates it back to the early 14th century (albeit without offering any supporting evidence for that assertion.) The phrase is widely attributed to Cervantes in The History of Don Quixote. It means “To fully test something you need to experience it yourself.”
I think Moses in Exodus 33:18 is a good example of a person who wants a proof of the pudding when he prayed to God: “Now show me your glory.” This was after Jehovah promised Moses that His presence will go with him. Thankfully, God backs up His word. As he has shown to Moses so is He going to show the truth of His promises to us His people. For us today, this is a very timely reminded. The message of the sermon today shows God in the business of giving proof of his integrity and power. While many in your life – wrong decisions, bad relationships, stressful workplace, sinful practice – tend to drag you away from believing, God’s Word today reminds us of his ability to prove his trustworthiness and that from these challenges we can still entrust our lives to Him who will prove Himself great in our lives.
Let us pray...
BIG IDEA
Israel awaited for their Messiah. Their history at this time informs them of a nation, their nation, led by Jewish kings, leaders. Now we are informed in Matthew 2:1 that Israel was under the rule of a Gentile King, King Herod. This brought a lot of discomfort. Messianic expectation was high. There will come a time when
The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned. (Isaiah 9:1)
Imagine this for a moment. There is a foreign guard on the streets ordering your around as you go to work in the morning. He pushes you around. Yell at you. You’d feel oppressed. You’d feel violated. You are a prisoner in your own land. Back in those days they had rebels fighting the foreign government but they were not very successful. But they expect the Messiah to arrive. When the Messiah comes, the reign of the foreigners end.
Enter Jesus. He was the anointed Christ. As a sidenote, however, although he was the Messiah, what the Jewish people thought the Messiah would do would not be what Jesus would do. He will not free Israel from the oppressing nation yet, NOT YET, because He will inaugurate His kingdom which was a spiritual kingdom, a kingdom that will draw people from every tribe and nation. What they thought the Messiah would do now, would be done by Jesus in his second coming.
In this Gospel, Matthew is intent in showing that Jesus is the promised Messiah of old. He will prove to them that He is king of Israel who came to provide salvation for His people. Accompanying the sign of the messiah is His ministry of healing. That is why Matthew took pains in showing the healing ministry of Jesus in this chapter. Matthew said, “This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: ‘He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.’”
Notice that these actions were to back up what was promised by God. The healing confirms His identity as the promised Messiah. God provided the proofs for his glorious promises.
THEME/THEOLOGY
God’s actions confirm His nature. God breaks in our world to give confirmation of His greatness. He does this in this passage and He does this many times in the Old Testament – to confirm Himself as Lord.
STORY IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
He did it with the miracles in Egypt. His purpose was to show He is the great God among the many gods of that nation. It seems like God does this not only to show his greatness but also that His people will trust Him. He is so extravagant in showing that so that His people wouldn’t not doubt that He is the God who will bring them out of Egypt and He is the God who will sustain them. So they did trust Him because of his glory and stepped out of Egypt.
Not so like us these days. Although we have received this glorious saving act of God and that we have been saved from the fires of damnation, yet the last thing we do is trust Him. At the first instance of challenges and stress, instead of submitting in quiet prayer and trust, we grumble, blame, explode, give up. We live like God does not care, like God is some distant tyrant waiting for us to make another mistake so He can punish us – instead of the God we see in our passage, in the miracles in Egypt: involved, caring, promise-keeping. What happens is that our response breaks us even more. What was supposed to be an adult who takes challenges in life and face it, is now a cowardly adult who does not have hope, who is angry, who is ready to call it quits.
Dr. Ralph Sockman writes about an experience he had while standing on the edge of Niagra Falls one clear, cold March day. Wrapped in white winter garments, the falls glistened in the bright sun. As some birds swooped down to snatch a drink from the clear water, Sockman’s companion told how he had seen birds carried over the edge of the precipice. As they dipped down for a drink, tiny droplets of ice would form on their wings. As they returned for additional drinks more ice would weigh down their bodies until they couldn’t rise above the cascading waters. Flapping their wings, the birds would suddenly drop over the falls.
This is what happens to us when we fall into a life devoid of any form of trust in the God who desires to show His greatness to you. All of a sudden the anger, the fear, the resentment we keep will eventually fall heavily on our wings and we couldn’t rise above the cascading waters of failure.
STORY OF JESUS
If giving up was the case for Jesus Christ then we would not have received his saving work. When faced with the challenges the beset him: lashing, punches, beating, stabbing and many other – he held on to the will of the Father. The Gospel is the story of Jesus’ faithful testimony of trust in God and the faithful testimony that we have hope, that we can overcome by the grace of God. In fact Jesus life, death and resurrection was actually an invitation to believe that God fulfills His will. Galatians 1:4 talks about Jesus’ mission as God’s will. Whatever the odds, people trying to kill Him even when He wasn’t born yet or the mob attempting to lynch him, God’s will was fulfilled to show His glory, to show to each one of us that He can be trusted.
YOUR STORY
Where are you today? Are you in need of rescuing? Do you have challenges that seem insurmountable? Do you have pain that you only know of? Do you have worries that eat you up? Anger that is destroying you? Bitterness that’s keeping you from moving forward? Dirt that you can’t wash away? God is inviting you to come to him and start believing he cares, he loves and he has done such great things for you. What matters now is not what you have done, but what he has done. Come to him.
Action Points
We always start with prayer. Just like that passage where Jesus personally went to the house of Peter, he also enters into our lives. What area do you need to believe God is working in your life? Why don’t you approach the throne of grace and bring that issue up to God. And after you talk that to God, trust that He is working.
We always start with prayer. Just like that passage where Jesus healed the many who came into Peter’s mother-in-law’s house, you also know of people who are struggling. Pray for them that Jesus will work in their lives also.
Let’s spend a few minutes reflecting and praying. If you want to write something down, write it down. Then I will close our time together.
