Prophets Rejected Matthew: King of Heaven :53-14:12 Pastor Dirk Jasperse July 18, 2021 Good morning First Free. It’s a joy to be with you as we open up God’s Word together from the book of Matthew. This morning we come to two of the most famous, and most tragic, stories in the of Matthew—’ rejection by his hometown and ’s rejection and beheading by Herod. Though each deals with different events, they together tell one larger story, a story we need to hear. So would you please turn in your Bibles to Matthew 13:53. We’ll be reading through Matthew 14:12. Matthew 13:53-14:121 53And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54and coming to his hometown he taught them in their , so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief. 14:1At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, 2and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 3For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4because John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet. 6But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, 7so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 8Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. 10He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, 11and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus. This is the Word of . This morning we come to two stories of tragic rejection. First, Jesus’ rejection in his hometown. Second, John’s rejection and execution by Herod, given to us by Matthew in the form of a flashback. Though they each deal with distinct events, together they tell a shared story. A story of sinful rebellion against God demonstrated through rejection of his prophets. In doing so, they both point towards the ultimate act of rejection and rebellion—’s crucifixion by many in Israel. My hope as we walk through these two stories is that they will serve as a warning to us. That we will not respond to Jesus with rejection, but instead embrace him through . So during our time together we will walk through each prophetic rejection, consider how they point forward to Christ’s crucifixion, and then close by considering their implications for us today.

1 Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® unless otherwise noted.

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NAZARETH REJECTS JESUS.

The first story of rejection takes place in Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth. Verse 53 tells us that when Jesus had finished these parables, meaning the parables of Matthew 13, “he went away from there, and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue.” This likely would have been the synagogue (the place of Jewish worship) that Jesus had grown up in. The audience would have been familiar. As he looked out, I imagine he likely saw older town members who held him when he was an infant. Those who had done business with his father Joseph. Friends he’d grown up with. We might expect this crowd to welcome Jesus, to listen to him. After all Jesus is the hometown boy. Yet instead they reject him. Jesus is no favorite son. We’re told that as Jesus taught, they were astonished. His teaching amazed them. He spoke with great wisdom and in keeping with his central message, summarized earlier by Matthew. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (4:17). He made demands of them. Yet though they heard his wise words and saw his mighty works, they did not respond rightly to Jesus. They did not acknowledge him as the Messiah, the Promised One. Instead, they said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us?” We know Jesus’ family. We’ve done business with his blue-collar dad. We know his mom, and his brothers, and his sisters. They don’t teach with great wisdom like this. They don’t do mighty works like this. He certainly didn’t learn this at home. So where then did this man get all these things? And they took offense at him. Who does this guy think he is? Notice that they don’t dispute Jesus teaches wise things. They don’t dispute that he does mighty works, the very mighty works which point to his identity as the Messiah. They can’t deny the reality of what they’ve heard with their own ears and seen with their own eyes. Yet despite being exposed to clear evidence of Jesus’ messianic identity, they don’t recognize the truth to which it points. Rather than honor Jesus, they are offended by him. They stumble over Jesus, the stumbling stone, and refuse to listen to him. Much of this is rejection based on familiarity. They’ve grown up with Jesus, they’re familiar with him. And so they turn their backs on him. Their familiarity with him breeds contempt. This response doesn’t surprise Jesus. He said to them, “‘A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.’ And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief” (vv. 57-58). Jesus is not shocked by his hometown’s rejection. Instead, he seems to expect it. Jesus was, as his answer makes clear, a prophet. Like John the Baptist and the other prophets before him, he called his hearers to repent of their sin, to turn from it and pursue righteousness. In fact, earlier in Matthew Jesus’ public message, his gospel, was summarized as this: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Jesus’ public message echoed the call of his prophetic forerunner, John the Baptist, in Matthew 3:2. It followed the pattern of the Old Testament prophets , Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, and others, who urged God’s people again and again to turn back to God in repentance. To turn from sin and pursue righteousness. And yet God’s people, though they had every advantage, though they had been given the Law, though they had seen God’s mighty deeds on their behalf, though they should have been most likely to respond, rejected prophet after prophet after prophet, refusing to repent.

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Thus Jesus’ rejection by his own hometown, by those who should be best positioned to respond to him rightly, comes as no surprise. It fits the pattern. We’ve seen this pattern again and again in Matthew. In :20-24, Jesus condemned the cities of , , and , where much of his public ministry took place. Because though they heard his teaching and saw his mighty works, they refused to repent. Repentance is the response that Jesus’ messianic identity requires. Yet they refused to do so, because they were hardened by their sin. We’ve seen this with the scribes and too. They were the religious leaders of God’s people. Given their knowledge of the Scriptures, they should have been the first to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. But they, like many of Israel’s religious leaders in the past, refused to listen to God’s messenger. Instead they accused Jesus of working by the power of Satan. And here in Jesus’ own hometown, this pattern continues, as it had in the days of the prophets. In the words of Isaiah the prophet, quoted by Jesus in the parable of the sowers in Matthew 13:14-15, the people of Nazareth heard, but never understood. They saw, but never perceived. Their hearts had grown dull, and with their ears they could barely hear, and their eyes they had closed. And so they did not see with their eyes, or hear with their ears or understand with their hearts, and they did not turn, and they were not healed. Thus we read in verse 58, “[Jesus] did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.” When confronted by Jesus, and by his gospel call to repent, we are faced with a choice. Will we acknowledge Jesus’ authority as the Messiah, and so respond with repentance and faith? Or will we reject him, refusing to repent? This tragic pattern of hard-hearted rejection of God, demonstrated through rejection of his prophets and refusal to repent, continues in miniature in the tragic story of John’s rejection and execution by Herod in chapter 14:1-12. HEROD REJECTS JOHN.

Matthew, having just shown us Nazareth’s rejection of Jesus’ prophetic message, now cuts to the palace of Herod the tetrarch. In chapter 14, verses 1-2, we’re told, “At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus and said to his servants, ‘This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.”’ Now at this point we might be saying, hold up, let’s take a step back here. Who is this Herod, and why does he think Jesus is a resurrected John the Baptist? Since when is John dead? Last time we heard about John in chapter 11, he was still alive. Herod the tetrarch, or Herod Antipas as he is also known, ruled over the provinces of Galilee and Peraea, where much of Jesus’ public ministry took place. He was the son of Herod the Great, who in Matthew 4 had killed Bethlehem’s boys in an attempt to kill Jesus. Like his father, Herod Antipas was concerned about any threats to his rule. He no doubt kept a close eye on what was going on in Galilee, and in doing so heard about the miraculous works Jesus was doing in places like Chorazin and Capernaum. Like the people of those cities and the people of Nazareth, Herod was forced to grapple with the source of Jesus’ power, and he came to the mistaken conclusion that Jesus was a resurrected John the Baptist.

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The grisly reality is that at some point chronologically between the events of Matthew 11 and Jesus’ rejection at Nazareth in chapter 13, Herod Antipas executed John. Now that John’s dead, Herod believes Jesus is the resurrected John. And he’s worried. If Herod killed John, and now believes Jesus is John, Jesus is likely his next target, which explains why Jesus flees Herod’s territory in verse 13 after hearing about Herod’s mistaken conclusion. Matthew here knows we might have questions, so in verses 3-12 he uses an extended flashback to fill in the details of John’s execution at the hands of Herod. By including this flashback account of John’s rejection here, right after Jesus’ rejection at Nazareth, he uses this story of John’s rejection to thematically build on Jesus’ rejection at Nazareth. Let’s take a look together at the flashback, at John’s rejection, and eventual execution. We read, starting in verse 3, that “Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because John had been saying to him, ‘It is not lawful for you to have her.’” The situation of Herod Antipas is like something out of daytime soap opera, filled with intrigue, affairs, and violence. According to the first century Jewish historian Josephus, Herod Antipas had been married to the daughter of a neighboring king named Aretas. Yet later Herod fell in love with his niece Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. 2 Herod and Herodias hatched a plot to divorce their spouses and marry one another. This new marriage was a clear and obvious sin against God. It directly violated the Mosaic law’s prohibition on relations between a man and his brother’s wife. You can read those prohibitions in Leviticus 18:16 and 20:21.3 It was a major scandal for Herod. It drove down his domestic support from his Jewish subjects. It also inflamed diplomatic tensions with King Aretas, his first wife’s father. Tensions that would eventually lead to war a few years later.4 Into this scandal stepped John the Baptist. John had been tasked by God with a prophetic message for God’s people: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” John called all people in Israel to repent and turn back to God. He made no exceptions, not even for the powerful Herod. So John confronted Herod over his sinful marriage. Now at that point, Herod had a choice. He could have listened to God by listening to God’s prophet, John. He could have repented of this sinful marriage to his brother’s wife and turned from it. Yet rather than listen to John’s correction and turn from his sin, Herod arrested John and threw him in prison. This would have made political sense. Most commentators believe that the Greek grammar used in verse 4 implies John didn’t just criticize Herod once, but that he did so repeatedly.5 Given the public nature of John’s ministry, these repeated confrontations were likely public. This repeated condemnation of the marriage angered Herod and Herodias. It also risked further inflaming the scandal both domestically and internationally. We’re told verse 5 that Herod wanted to put John to death. Again, Herod did not listen to God’s prophet. He did not repent. Instead, he wanted to kill John. But Herod was also a consummate

2 Josephus, Jewish Antiquities XVIII, 116–19 3 D. A. Carson, “Matthew” in Matthew, Mark, Luke, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary 4 Josephus 5 Carson; Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 14-28, Word Biblical Commentary; Craig S. Keener, Matthew, IVP Commentary Series

5 politician, and he feared the people because they held John to be a prophet. And so he refrained from killing John in hopes of avoiding political blowback. Yet John’s fragile position would not last forever. Eventually, through Herod’s foolishness and Herdoias’ cunning, John would lose his life. We’re told in verses 6-7, “When Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.” At that time, it was common for rulers to throw lavish parties for their friends and political allies, and on his birthday Herod did just that. There was plentiful food, the wine was flowing, and at some point in the course of the party, Herodias’s daughter danced before the company and pleased Herod. Herod then foolishly promised with an oath to give the girl whatever she might ask for. Prompted by her mother Herodias, who wanted John dead, the girl asked for John’s head on a platter. This request grieved Herod. We’re told in verses 9-10, “And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.” We’re told Herod was grieved, but it seems highly unlikely this grief is driven by moral remorse. Verse 5 makes it clear that Herod wants to put John to death. Rather, Herod realized that his foolish promise had backed him into a corner. If he executes John, he risks a popular backlash from his subjects. But if he refuses the girl’s request, he loses face in front of his dinner guests. In the end, Herod’s hand was forced, he gave the execution order, and the prophet’s severed head was presented to the girl on a platter. In this wicked scene, we are given a second tragic picture of sinful rejection of God, expressed through rejection of God’s prophet. When confronted with the reality of their sin and the need for repentance, Herod and Herodias did not turn from their sin. Instead, Herod arrested and ultimately killed God’s prophet. We are meant to see in their treatment of John the Baptist more than just a sad story of wickedness. Like the rejection at Nazareth, this rejection fits the long pattern of Israel’s treatment of God’s prophets. Throughout Matthew’s gospel, John has been presented as the ultimate Old Testament prophet. He, like Elijah before him, preaches in the wilderness. He, like Jesus and the prophets before him, called people to repent. And in his rejection and execution by Herod, John continued the prophetic pattern, suffering rejection as the prophets before him did. But sadly, this pattern didn’t end with John. It was simply a prelude for what’s to come in the life of Jesus. THE ULTIMATE REJECTION

Throughout Matthew’s gospel, John has been preparing the way for Jesus, the Messiah. As Jesus teaches in Matthew 11, John was the second Elijah, promised by the prophet Malachi, the culmination of the old covenant prophets and forerunner to the Messiah. He was Jesus’ forerunner. His forerunner in ministry. His forerunner in message. And this time his forerunner in suffering. Jesus makes this connection explicit in Matthew 17:9-13.

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In that passage, the disciples ask Jesus about the Elijah who was to come, promised by Malachi. Jesus answers them that the promised Elijah has already come in the person of John. And that John’s treatment foreshadowed his own. Jesus says this, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist. Jesus says the promised Elijah already came. That was John. But the religious leaders did not recognize him, so they mistreated him, and persecuted him. Just as John was mistreated, so I, the Son of Man, will suffer at their hands. As it went with the earlier prophets, as it went with John, so too it would go with Jesus, the prophesied Messiah. In John’s rejection and execution, we see a foreshadowing of Jesus’ rejection and execution on the cross. Like John, Jesus called his people to repent, yet many refused to listen. Like John, Jesus was not recognized as the Messiah by many who were blinded by their own sin, and like John, Jesus was ultimately murdered by those who refused to listen to his message and believe in him. And so Jesus would be lifted up on a tree, suffering scorn and rejection, mocking and hatred. Yet even as he suffered great rejection from those who refused his call to repent, Jesus, in his suffering, was bringing salvation to all who would repent and believe in him. IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

So, what does all this mean for us today? First, and I think most clearly, Jesus calls all people to repent, to turn from sin and follow him. If you’re here this morning and you have not yet responded to Jesus with repentance and faith, I urge you, do not reject Jesus like the people of Nazareth and Herod. Do not be like Jesus’ hometown, who turned away from him in rebellious disbelief. Do not be like Herod, who refused to listen to John’s call for repentance. Do not harden yourself in your sin and reject Jesus. Instead, listen to him. He still calls out, “Repent.” Turn to him today. Admit that you have sinned against God. Believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Promised One who came to save God’s people from their sins, and confess him as Lord, placing yourself under his rule, and committing yourself to pursuing the righteousness that he calls you to. There is no other path to life. Rejection of Jesus and his call to repentance leads only to death. Second, for those of us who have already committed ourselves to following Jesus, who have been welcomed into the people of God, if we hear God’s voice of correction, whether corporately or individually, in whatever area of life, let us not harden our hearts. Let us not be like Israel in the Old Testament, who repeatedly rejected God’s correction and refused to repent. Let us not behead his messengers. Let us not close our eyes and plug our ears. Instead, by the power of the Holy Spirit, let us respond with tender-hearted repentance. Let us be quick to turn from sin, and listen to God. Let us pursue righteousness, seeking to follow Jesus in all things. Lastly, let us give thanks that God did not abandon his people to their sin, but that he sent prophet after prophet after prophet. Let us give thanks for Jesus, who willingly left the glories of heaven to walk the path of the prophets, ultimately suffering rejection on the cross for us, that we might be

7 accepted into the family of God. Let us give thanks that Jesus’ story did not end with rejection, but that he was raised from the dead. Let us give thanks that he has ascended to the right hand of the Father, and that he has poured out his Spirit on us now, that we might follow him in righteousness until the day that he returns. He is worthy of our worship and all honor.