The Perfect Son Who Became Our Perfect Savior 2

Introduction and Prayer for Divine Guidance

0:05 The following sermon was delivered on Sunday morning, April 6, 2003, at Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. Now I would ask you to follow with me as I read three relatively brief portions of the Word of God that will be the primary focus of our study in the Scriptures this morning. The first is found in Luke, Chapter 2, the Gospel of Luke, and the second chapter. I shall read verses 41 through 51. Luke 2, beginning at verse 41.

1:16 And it came to pass, after three days, they found him in the temple sitting in the midst of the teachers, both hearing them and asking them questions. And all that heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when they saw him, that is, his parents, they were astonished. And his mother said unto him, Son, why have you thus dealt with us? Behold, your father and I sought you, deeply grieving and sorrowing. And he said unto them, How is it that you sought me? Did you not know?

2:17 That I must be in the things of my father? And they understood not the saying which he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth. And he was subject unto them.

2:32 And his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And then the Gospel of John, Chapter 2, just the first five verses. And if you don't know the rest of the story, you may want to sneak on your own and read the rest of it. May I urge you to resist the temptation.

2:59 For our purposes this morning, we want to focus only upon the first five verses. John, Chapter 2, verse 1 to 5. And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee. And the mother of Jesus was there.

3:15 And Jesus also was bidden and his disciples to the marriage. And when the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said unto him, They have no wine. And Jesus said unto her, Woman, what have I to do with you? My hour is not yet come.

3:38 His mother said unto the servants, Whatever he says unto you, do it. And then one final passage from John, Chapter 19. John, Chapter 19, verse 25. Be, through verse 27.

4:01 John 19, 25, be. But there were standing by the cross of Jesus his mother and his mother's sister, Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciples standing by whom he loved, he said unto his mother, Woman, behold your son. Then said, Behold your mother.

4:33 And from that hour the disciple took her unto his own home. Now let us again seek the face of God in prayer.

4:46 I've been very conscious of tremendous need in my preparation and also in anticipation of seeking to preach what I believe needs to be preached, that I do not want to go one, one hundredth of a milligram beyond what Scripture says and misrepresent my dear Lord Jesus. But I do not want to stop one hundredth of a milligram short of what the Scripture says. So let us together pray that understanding and wisdom will be given to us by the Holy Spirit. Let's pray.

5:24 Our Father, you know the state and frame of our minds and hearts. You know that your servant does not know the truth. You know that your servant does not know the truth. You know that your servant does not know the truth.

5:35 You know that your servant does not want to go beyond what is written, but desires to be faithful to all that is written. So we pray for the help of the Holy Spirit for him and for those who sit before the preaching of the Word. Oh God, be our teacher. Lead us in a straight path, we pray, that we may rightly understand your mind and then be given grace that we may rightly understand your mind and then be given grace to walk in the light of it.

Jesus: The Perfect Son and Savior

6:08 Hear us for Jesus' sake, we pray. Amen. We come this morning to the fifth and final message in a brief series of sermons that I have entitled, now concerning obeying and honoring your parents. In the first message, we examined the clear commands of Scripture to honor and to obey your parents, the encouraging promises, given to those who do obey and honor their parents, and the frightening threats to those who refuse to obey and to honor their parents.

6:51 And then in the next two messages, I set before you three very serious exhortations based upon those commands, promises, and warnings. In the fourth message, preached two Lord's days ago, I attempted In the fourth message, preached two Lord's days ago, I attempted to help us all to behold with wonder the perfect fitness of Jesus to be our Savior because He was the Son who perfectly obeyed and honored His earthly parents. Stated more succinctly, Jesus is the perfect Son who became our perfect Savior. Had He not perfectly obeyed, would He not have been our perfect Savior? Had He not perfectly obeyed, would He not have been our perfect Savior? All that God intended when He said, Children, obey your parents, honor your father and your mother, He would have had sin and therefore been an unacceptable sacrifice for our sins.

7:58 But He was God's blemishless Lamb because He perfectly obeyed the fifth commandment as well as every commandment. And in that perfection, He was the perfect Savior. And in that perfection, He was the perfect Savior. And in that perfection, He was the perfect Savior.

8:09 In that perfection of His moral constitution, He is an acceptable sacrifice on behalf of the sins of others. And furthermore, because in His perfect humanity, He knew the reality of temptation. The Scripture says, in all points, tempted like as we are. That does not mean tempted to every single sin that men are tempted to.

8:37 But everything that is, is essential to temptation He experienced. And because He experienced and He triumphed, He is a high priest who can sympathize with us and can enter into our struggles with matters pertaining to our temptations to disobey the commands to both obey and to honor our parents. Now this morning in this final message, I want you to, to with me behold with wonder our Savior who is the perfect example of a son who obeyed and honored his parents. Not only was his obedience to the fifth commandment part of his qualification to be our perfect Savior and our sympathetic high priest, but in that obedience, he has become the perfect example of a son who obeyed and honored his parents. Now some may question calling Joseph and Mary his parents, but the Word of God does. In Luke 2 and verse 27, the Scripture is very clear that the very one who has given us the greatest detail about the virgin conception of the Lord Jesus,

Jesus' Example as a Normative Standard for Believers

10:02 and the fact that Joseph was only his stepfather and not his biological, and the fact that Joseph was only his stepfather and not his biological, yet we read in Luke 2 and verse 27 these words, he came in the Spirit into the temple and when the parents brought in the child. And so Joseph and Mary are called his parents by the Scriptures and therefore I have no reservations using this terminology, behold with wonder our Savior who is the perfect example of a son, behold with wonder our Savior who is the perfect example of a son, who obeyed and honored his parents. Now in opening up this wonderful subject of beholding Jesus as the perfect example of a son who obeyed and honored his parents, his father and mother, I want to do so under two major heads. The first is this. I want to establish the fact that the example of Jesus as recorded in the Bible, as recorded in the Bible, especially in the Gospel, especially in the Gospel, especially in the Gospel, in the Gospel records is a normative standard for the people of God. I want to establish the fact that the example of Jesus as recorded in the Scriptures is a normative standard for the people of God.

11:28 Now the Bible is abundantly clear in teaching us that we are not saved by imitating or following the example of Christ, but we are saved by believing in him and in his saving work on behalf of sinners. When that jailer in Acts chapter 16 under deep conviction of sin cried out, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? What was the answer of Paul and Silas? They did not say, Mr. Jailor Man, start following the example of Jesus, and once you do fairly well in that pursuit you will be saved. No. What did they tell him? They told him, believe upon the lead by entrusting ourselves to Jesus as our Savior in the light of his saving work in dying and rising from the dead on our behalf.

12:24 That testimony is profuse throughout the scriptures. However, the Bible is equally clear in its teaching that all who believe upon Christ in order to be saved by him and his saving work are then obligated to seek to imitate Christ by the grace of God and by the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. So while we are not saved by the imitation of Christ, we are saved by the grace of God. Being saved, we are under solemn obligation to imitate Christ. And I want to give you four texts which epitomize this reality.

13:06 In Matthew 10 and verse 25, our Lord Jesus Christ, speaking to his own disciples, says these words. Matthew chapter 10 and verse 25. It is enough for the disciple that he be. As his teacher and the servant as his Lord. The disciple is to be as his teacher. Not merely listen to his teacher, receive the instruction of his teacher, but to become like his teacher.

13:43 Christ is the teacher. We are the disciples. It is enough for the disciples to be as the teacher. And then, in John 13, when our Lord has given this graphic object lesson in true humility, he says to the disciples in that setting, in John chapter 13 and in verse 15, I have given you an example that you also should do as I have done unto you. I have given you an example. I have given you a pattern you are to do.

14:23 As I have done. He doesn't say you're to do what I've done. That is, gird a towel and go around and wash one another's feet. He is saying, I have taken the place of the servant. I, the master, have stood to the role of the servant. And I have come to you and met a real need in serving you. Now, he says, you, my disciples, are to follow my example.

14:48 A third text, 1 Peter chapter 2, writing to servants. Who are being abused by their earthly masters. This is what Peter says these servants are to do. 1 Peter 2 and verse 21.

15:04 For hereunto were you called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow his steps. Here you see the emphasis is not upon the sufferings of Christ. It is not upon the sufferings of Christ. It is on our behalf as an atonement for sin. That's the foundational reality. And Peter has addressed that thoroughly in the first chapter.

15:32 You were redeemed, not with corruptible things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. But based upon that foundation of trusting Christ and his redemptive work, he says to these believing servants, Christ, in his suffering, has left you an example. That you are to follow his steps. And then the crowning text is 1 John chapter 2 and verse 6.

16:02 1 John chapter 2 and verse 6.

16:08 He that says he abides in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked. The one who says, I have a saving union with Jesus Christ. I'm trusting in him. I'm trusting in him as my only Savior.

16:28 And I've given myself to him as my supreme Lord. His spirit dwells in me. And I dwell in him. He says, he that says he abides in him.

16:37 And that is, he that says he has a saving, vital relationship to Jesus Christ ought. And that word ought means is under a solemn, constant obligation to walk even as. There's the equal sign. Even as he.

16:55 He also walked. So when we read the gospel records, we are not only confronting deeds and actions utterly unique to Jesus as the incarnate deity, the Son of God. Utterly unique to him as God's anointed Messiah. But we are also beholding what we are to be and do as those who are saved by his grace and indwelt by his Holy Spirit.

17:26 Therefore, when we want to know what does it mean for me to obey my parents and to honor them, we go to the scriptures and we ransack our Bibles to see any record of how Jesus related to his parents. And when we see that, we say, ah, that's how I am to relate to my parents. We are to walk. We are to walk even as he walked as a son under the authority of his earthly mother and his stepfather Joseph.

Jesus' Principled Obedience to Imperfect Parents

18:07 So we've established, I trust, from the scriptures that Jesus Christ is the example for his people. Now, secondly, we're going to consider, and this will be the bulk of our message, the specific ways in which Jesus is our example of one. Who perfectly obeyed and honored his parents. We're going to look at the specific ways in which Jesus is our example of one who perfectly obeyed and honored his parents.

18:42 And we're going to look at three categories set before us in the very passages that were read in your hearing. Number one, Jesus is our example of principled obedience. Obedience to his parents, even though they were sinful and imperfect parents.

19:08 Let me give it to you again. Jesus is our example of, and here are the key words, principled obedience to his parents, even though they were sinful and imperfect parents.

19:27 And here I direct your attention to Luke chapter 2. And verse 51. After the incident at the temple in Jerusalem, to which we will come back under the next heading, it is said of Jesus, verse 51, that he went down with them. Even though Nazareth is north of Jerusalem, no matter what direction you lead Jerusalem, the Bible says you go down.

19:52 Because of the elevation of Jerusalem, you go down. Even when you go north, you're going down. You go east, you're going down. You go west, you're going down.

20:00 So, they went down, he went down with them, came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them. He went down to Nazareth and was subject unto them. And the verb for was subject is that verb which means consciously, voluntarily, deliberately to range yourself under the authority of another. It does not mean simply to render the obedience of the clicked heels in the throne salute of the underling in the military.

20:41 It's the kind of submission to which a wife is called. The Greek verb hupotasso means to voluntarily, consciously arrange yourself under another who has legitimate authority and to embrace that authority as binding. And so, the scripture says that Jesus went down to Nazareth and he was subject. And the tense of the verb indicates that this was the pattern of his life.

21:15 Not occasionally subject, not subject just when all of the requirements seemed reasonable to him or were in his best interest. No, this subjection was a principled. He did not have an obedience to his earthly parents. He ranged himself under the authority of Joseph and of Mary.

21:40 And I have said he did this even though they were sinful and imperfect parents. Now, how do I know that Mary and Joseph were sinful and imperfect parents? Well, I know so for three reasons. Number one, because Joseph and Mary are part of Adam's fallen race.

22:04 There's not a smidgen of indication in the Bible, not an ounce, that Mary and Joseph were anything other than part of Adam's fallen race. And the Scripture says in Romans 5.12, As through one man sin entered into the world, and death passed upon all men, for that all sinned. Or in 1 Corinthians 15.22, As in Adam all died. Joseph and Mary, both of them equally, were a son and a daughter of Adam. They were involved in the solidarity of human sin in connection with our first father, Adam. Furthermore, we know they were sinful because of the kindness and the kind of children they had.

22:59 In John 7, we are told this about some of the siblings of the Lord Jesus, born to the union of Joseph and of Mary. In John 7, verse 2, Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of the tabernacles, was at hand. His brethren, therefore, and all attempts to say, well, that's some cousins or some distant friends, has no basis in linguistics, it has no basic in exegesis, it's prejudice that seeks to bleed the passage of its obvious meaning. His brethren, those who shared Mary's womb with him, his siblings, who are described elsewhere, at least four brothers and at least two sisters, because it names the four brothers and it says in the plural, sisters. So he had at least two sisters. That family had at least seven children. His brethren, therefore, said unto him, Depart hence.

23:57 Go into Judea, that your disciples may behold your works that you do. For no man does anything in secret, and he himself seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, manifest yourself to the world. They're being sarcastic.

24:10 How do we know it? Verse 5, For even his brethren did not believe on him. Mary and Joseph begat unbelieving rebel sinners, who though they lived in the very presence of the sinless Son of God, were not brought to faith. Till after the crucifixion and the resurrection.

24:32 So they were sinners. They were in Adam. They begat sinners. And we know because of the attitude they displayed in this passage in Luke chapter 2.

24:43 They tried to emotionally manipulate Jesus. They tried to lay blame upon him in an incident where he was utterly blameless. Look at Luke 2.48.

24:54 We'll come back to it under the second heading in more detail. When they saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said unto him, Son, the best way to get this conveyed in contemporary English is if a mother's upset, she'll even call a 20-year-old child. Child, what are you doing?

25:10 Well, that's the sense of the word that she uses. Child, what have you done to us? Why have you dealt thus with us? You've been insensitive.

25:20 Behold, your father and I have sought you sorrowing. And when Luke uses that word sorrowing, three other times, in his writings.

25:32 He uses them in the Gospel of Luke twice about the rich man in hell. Being in torment. I am tormented. This is a strong word.

25:43 Why have you dealt thus with us? For three days we've been seeking you with broken, tortured hearts. Why have you done this to us? We have sought you sorrowing.

25:54 She's cheeky with Jesus. She's upset with Jesus. But she's upset growing out of her own spirit and she's upset with Jesus. She's upset with his little dullness, not his insensitivity and his disobedience.

26:05 She shows herself to be a sinner. This is why in the Magnificat, Mary says, My soul is rejoiced in God, my Savior. She needed a Savior. They were sinners.

26:20 Yes, Joseph and Mary were what we call Old Testament saints. They were saved sinners. They were believing, obedient sinners who knew God's grace in their hearts. Yes.

26:31 Joseph is called in Matthew 1.19 a righteous man. And when you read the history of Joseph, you find God never speaks and reveals His will. But Joseph clicks his heels, throws his salute, and he walks in the way of obedience.

26:46 Willing to live with all of the dark shadows of people who can count up months and realize Mary's pregnant after he takes her to be a wife. And in enough time in between, he was messing around before,

27:03 he's willing to restrain all of his natural desires for intimacy until after she is born her firstborn, gone through her days of purification. And only then does Joseph enter in to marital intimacy with Mary. He is a godly, righteous, Old Testament saint. Mary is.

27:25 When the angel comes to her and says, You have found grace with God. You are highly favored. Yes, they were both saints, sinners. Sinners in Adam.

27:36 Sinners as evidenced by the kind of children they had. Sinners in the way they treated Jesus in this incident in Luke chapter 2. But they were saved sinners. But as all saved sinners, they had remaining sin.

27:50 Remaining sin that caused their minds to be dark and to be limited in understanding. We read in this passage, Luke 2.50, they understood not the saying that He spoke unto them, and we can only imagine how many times living in that home, they simply couldn't figure out why Jesus did what He did and didn't do what He did. Their remaining sin caused their minds to be darkened.

28:19 Their emotions at times to expect things that they had no right to expect. And I see in this Luke 2 passage a form of emotional manipulation. Jesus, we feel so bad, you ought to feel bad, about what you did. They were sinners.

28:37 Saved sinners, but sinners. Now why do I emphasize that, children? For this very reason. When God commands you to obey your parents, to honor your father and your mother, He knows He's calling you to do that with a man and a woman who are sinners.

28:58 He knows that. He knows that well. He knows it better than you do. And if the holy, sinless, eternal, Son of God takes to Himself a true human soul and body in Mary's womb and is brought forth and lives in a home as the holy, spotless Son of God and obeys two sinners, honors two sinners, who in the world are you as a fellow sinner with your mom and dad not to obey them just because they're not perfect?

29:38 You got it? They're not perfect. They're sinners. But God says, children, obey your sinful parents.

29:50 Honor your sinful father and mother. So He tells you to do. As we shall see, He doesn't tell you obey them if they provoke you to sin. If they seek to get you to sin, no, no.

30:06 But Jesus, who never sinned, nonetheless it is said of Him, He went down unto Nazareth, and the pattern of His life was one of voluntary, conscious submission to Mary and to Joseph. And in that way, He is your example. Listen to old Matthew Henry, that he was subject to his parents, though once to show that he was more than a man, he withdrew himself from his parents to attend to his heavenly Father's business. Yet he did not, as yet, make that his constant practice, nor for many years after, but was subject to them, observed their orders, and went and came as they directed, and as it would seem, worked with his father at the trade of a carpenter. Herein, he has given an example to children to be dutiful and obedient to their parents in the Lord. Being made of a woman, he was made under the law, of the fifth commandment, to teach the seed of faithful ones to approve themselves to him a faithful seed. Though his parents were poor and lowly, though his father was only his supposed father, yet he was subject to them,

31:32 though he was strong in spirit and filled with wisdom, nay, though he was the son of God, yet are disobedient to their parents. Christ is our example, is our example, first of all, of principled obedience to his parents, even though they were sinful and imperfect parents. But secondly, Jesus is our example. Now, I want you to listen carefully.

Jesus' Righteous Resistance to Parental Desires (Minority)

32:03 Jesus is our example, not only of principled obedience to imperfect parents, but he is our example of righteous resistance to parental desires, and to the will of God, and directives that are contrary to the clearly revealed will of God. If I had a nickel for every word I've written, struck out, changed, in trying to word that heading, I'd have enough change to take you all out for an ice cream cone. Jesus is our example of righteous resistance to parental desires and directives that are contrary to the clearly revealed will of God. As truly as he is our example of principled obedience to parents, so he is also our example of righteous resistance to some of his parents' desires and expectations that were contrary to the revealed will of God for him. In other words, let me state it this way,

33:22 Jesus understood and acted on the truth that the fifth commandment was never given to warrant disobedience to the first commandment. Do you got that? Jesus operated on the basis of understanding that the fifth commandment, honor your father and your mother, was never, never given to negate or cancel the demands of the first commandment, which is you shall have no other gods before me, including your mama and your daddy. And Jesus is our perfect example, and I want us to look at two such examples, one from the period of his minority, that is, before he was a full adult, there's a debate among people who've studied Jewish life, some say at age 12, a young man began to be prepared to become a, he was not fully grown as a man, it is not yet said that he went down to Nazareth and was subject to them, though we know he was. Here is an example, very interesting,

34:44 the only recorded incident in the period from a cobbler in Nazareth, after they'd gone down to Egypt and come home, and he said, come back again, he's a boy, and his adulthood at age 29 when he's baptized, this is the only recorded incident of anything in the life of Jesus. And that's what hung me up in my preparation. Lord, why? Why this one incident?

35:17 And I don't have all the answer, but I am persuaded that part of it is, that he might be our perfect example, of those times, when a minor child, ought righteously to resist parental desires and expectations, that are contrary to the clearly revealed will of God. So we're going to look at this first incident in his minority, Luke chapter 2, verse 41. His parents went every year to Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover. The scriptures require, the Old Testament law, that the males should appear three times a year in the feast at Jerusalem.

36:02 But you remember that Samuel, a godly, Samuel's dad, Elkanah, would go up with his wife, his wives, and godly families would do that. And so, they selected this one feast, you're talking about a 70 mile journey from Nazareth down to Jerusalem. And you didn't hop on a bus, you didn't hop on a train, you didn't hop on a commuter plane, 70 miles. It was an arduous journey.

36:27 And so his parents would go every year to the central, the most significant feast, the Passover. And when he was 12 years old, that is Jesus, they went up after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, and again there's a debate, some would not stay the whole seven days, some would, and it seems to me on the surface of it, it would indicate they stayed for the whole feast. As they were returning, the boy Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem, and his parents did not know it.

37:05 But supposing him to be in the company, they went a day's journey, and they sought for him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. Now I think it would be very helpful for you if I just read a paragraph from Hendrickson's commentary which beautifully summarizes that whole section of the narrative. At the end of the feast, therefore, Joseph and Mary joined the northward bound caravan. Maybe there was a Nazareth caravan where relatives and acquaintances and neighbors all traveled together.

37:36 If the custom which can be verified for a later day prevailed, even at this time, the women and the children would travel in front of the caravan, and the young men and the men would come on behind. At the age of 12, Jesus might fit into either category. However, he had not even joined the traveling party, but had stayed behind at Jerusalem. You can understand why they might not have noticed it.

38:02 Mary might be assuming, Oh, Jesus is back there with the men. Joseph is assuming, Oh, Jesus is up there with the women and the kids. So they didn't notice it. They leave.

38:13 At the end of the day's journey, maybe families drew together more closely at night. Again, we don't have a lot of information, but sort of exegeting the white spaces, you can imagine that families would then gather together in the evening, and when they gather together, Jesus is not there. At first, his parents did not miss him. Joseph may have thought he's in front with Mary.

38:34 Mary may have reasoned he's in the rear with Joseph. Generally, the caravan was composed of people from the same town or from several small neighboring villages. On the evening of each day of travel, the entire group would gather at a previously agreed rendezvous. So in the present case, when evening arrived and Jesus didn't show up, his parents became worried.

38:57 They searched up and down for him among their relatives and acquaintances. Unsuccessful. The next day, they were on their way back to Jerusalem. Thus, the second day went by.

39:06 Still no success. Then came the third day. As Robertson says, one day out, one day back, one day searching for him and finding him. So look at the text.

39:17 Supposing him to be in the company, they went a day's journey. They couldn't find him. They apparently got a few hours sleep, took the one-day journey back, and then they spent a whole day in Jerusalem, hunting up and down until they finally find him. Verse 46, And it came to pass, after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both hearing them and asking them questions.

39:44 All that heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when they, Mary and Joseph, saw him, they were astonished. That verb is a strong verb. They were knocked out.

39:56 They were blown out of their heads. They were shocked. Now notice the response of Mary. They were astonished.

40:04 And his mother said unto him, Son, child, why have you dealt with us in this way? You have wronged us. You've been insensitive to us. And I'm going to tell you specifically the way in which you have been.

40:23 Behold, you do. Listen up, son. Listen up, child. Behold, your father and I have been continually seeking you.

40:38 And then that strong verb, sorrowing. I am tormented in these flames. The third place, Luke uses it in Acts 20, 38, when Paul is about to leave, and the Ephesians all gather around him. It says, Sorrowing most of all, that they would see his face no more.

40:56 Deep, agitated sorrow and grief of heart. They say to Jesus, You've wronged us. Your father and I for three days have been seeking you with broken hearts and emotional trauma which we never would have experienced had you been more thoughtful. They are charging Jesus with breaking the fifth commandment.

41:24 Not in blatantly disobeying a command, because it says in verse 43b, His parents did not know He was back at Jerusalem in the temple. Had they found Him there before they left and said, Jesus, it is time to leave and go home with us, they could have charged Him with disobedience. But they don't charge Him with disobedience. They charge Him with causing them emotional trauma that was unnecessary.

42:01 They're charging Him with dishonoring them. Now how does Jesus respond? And He said unto them, Mother and Father, I see my fault. Please forgive me.

42:21 If Jesus had been at fault and had owned fault, we'd have no Savior. We read this morning holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. If that had been the only sin He committed in His 33 years, we would have no Savior. He would have had to die for His own sin of insensitivity and failure to honor His Father and His Mother.

42:55 But Jesus does no such thing. What does Jesus do? Look at the text. How is it that you sought Me?

43:04 How is it that you had to be seeking me for three days? How is it that you had to be in a tizzy, in a frenzy to know where I would be? He charges them with dullness and lack of perception about knowing where He would be. How is it that you sought Me?

43:27 Did you not know? And you may have a translation that says, I must be in my Father's house. That's not really a good translation. Literally, His words were, Did you not know I must be about the things of my Father?

43:41 Did you not know I must have claims over you that you have violated? Jesus said no. My Father has claims over me that supersede your claims. Did you not know that I must be, and again that little particle of necessity, that I am under solemn necessity to be about the things of Jesus?

44:11 My Father, now again, while there are some things utterly unique to our Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, including how the Father revealed His will to Jesus, there are many incidents in the Word of God where it is plain that Jesus lives by the precepts of Scripture. You find in His temptation, you find when He's hanging upon a cross that the Scripture might be fulfilled. He said, I thirst. But there are other incidents where it is plain that there was something in the mysterious interaction of the first and second person of the Godhead that we cannot plumb, where Jesus became confident of the will of His Father in ways that are not open to us or normative for us. I fully acknowledge that, but I believe the principle that is crucial is right here. Jesus resisted parental desires that were contrary to the revealed will of God for Him. The revealed will of God for Him at this point, at the conclusion of the feast, was to be about the things of His Father.

45:37 The desires and wishes of His parents were, don't cause us this pain. And I believe there's even a form of emotional manipulation to try to put Jesus on a guilt trip, but He utterly deflects it because the demands of the first commandment take precedence over the demands of the fifth. So for you, dear children, the will of God for you is known only in the Scriptures, but in that it is known in the Scriptures, what does this say to you if your parents ever, ever desire you to sin, you must righteously resist them. If your father, dear girls, ever sits you on his lap and says, if you love me, my dear, you'll let me touch this part or that part of your body that he has no right to touch, defy Him in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some of you are shocked that I would say that in this congregation. If you were a pastor for 40 years, you'd know why I said it.

47:04 You have not been. Keep your ignorance to yourself. Dear girls, never father, grandfather, uncle, teacher, pastor, never, never, never take the directives of any adult who would try to emotionally manipulate you to do their will when it is contrary to the revealed will of God. If your parents should try to hinder you from fulfilling spiritual disciplines, maybe God's created a hunger in some of you that your parents who profess to be Christians don't have. They begin to see you spending lengthy times with your Bible in prayer. And they say, look, look, you're getting in balance, son or daughter. You shouldn't be reading your Bible for an hour at night before you go to sleep.

48:07 You shouldn't be. Don't you ever let a parent deflect you from spiritual disciplines to which God has called you in the Scriptures. As a 17-year-old boy, I had to resist my father and my pastor who sought to do that with me. They were upset that I was so zealous that I was causing a ruckus in our high school.

48:45 That I was causing reproach because I was this fanatic out in the street corner preaching. And they sought to turn me aside. And I blessed God for my godly mother coming in when I fell on my knees, confused and wondering what to do. And she said, son, everything I've ever prayed for I see in your life.

49:09 Don't, don't turn aside. Two years later, when I was 19, one yet legally of age, 21, and I had to make a decision clearly rooted in very plain principles of the Word of God to change the college I was going to. Even my mother didn't understand. She thought I was having a nervous breakdown.

49:37 And I had to righteously resist my godly mother. I blessed God that both parents for many, many years saw that it was righteous resistance and commended me. For not yielding to their pressure. This is not theory, folks.

50:03 Don't ever allow anyone of any name or any position to bully you into backing off on any spiritual discipline. Don't let any man, any woman, mother, father, pastor, friend bind your conscience with anything but the Bible. It's one thing for your father to say, as long as you're under our roof, these are the kind of clothes you're going to wear. When you get out of here, that's a matter you sort out with God.

50:42 There's a difference between mom and dad giving directions for which there's no explicit warrant in the Bible and binding your conscience for the rest of your days to that application of parental government. You see, make a distinction. That's another whole thing we have to get into sometime. But our Lord Jesus, in this passage, I believe is clearly setting an example for us.

51:05 And I'm persuaded that that's why when He began to call people to Himself, He called them to precisely the same relationship. You remember what He said in Matthew 10, 34? Do not think that I came to send peace. I came to cast a sword upon the earth.

51:28 I came to set a man against his father, the daughter against her mother, the daughter-in-law against the mother-in-law, and a man's foes shall be they of his own household. How does the Prince of Peace cause a sword in the deepest ties of human family relationships? Because He calls people to primary obedience to the first commandment even when it appears to be a violation of the system. That's why, that's why, that's why, that's why, He calls people into such an allegiance with Him that decisions will be made that others will not understand nor be sympathetic with. And He says, I take responsibility for the sword. Luke 14, 26, There went out after Him great multitudes, and Jesus turned and said, If any man come to Me, make not father, mother, brother, sister, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. Jesus set the example, placing the will of His heavenly Father

52:55 over the will of His earthly Father and Mother. That little phrase, My Father, it is the first indication that Jesus had come to a conscious awareness of His identity as Son of God, whose primary allegiance is to His heavenly Father. Again, Matthew 15, Remember when… Matthew 28, Matthew 29. other business give way to it this word of Christ we now think we understand very well for he had explained in it what he had done and said it was his

Jesus' Righteous Resistance to Parental Desires (Adulthood)

54:04 errand into the world and his meat and drink in the world to do his father's will and to finish his work and yet at that time his parents understood not this say but now let's hasten on to his adult experience all right we looked at him at age 12 what about his adult experience more briefly John chapter 2 John chapter 2 remember what we're trying to see is that Jesus manifested righteous resistance to parental desires and expectations when they were contrary to the revealed will of God John chapter 2 it is most likely and many of the commentators are several that I consulted point this out when we read the third day there was a marriage in Cain of Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there she is highlighted by John and Jesus also was bidden in his disciples it point out that most likely this was some relative of Mary and she may have had a position such as a wedding coordinator it was a steward who was the head of the whole thing you meet him down in church at the table and he instantly accepts any how Keith

55:26 down in verse 8, when Jesus said, draw out now and bear to the ruler or the steward of the feast. But the very fact that Mary felt comfortable giving orders to the servants, and the scripture highlights the mother of Jesus was there, it helps to soften a bit why she was so forward in this situation. She may well have been like the wedding coordinator or the reception coordinator, and these feasts would go on for days, as we know from the scriptures and from secular history. So here at this wedding feast, an emergency occurs. And when the wine failed, the wine failed, and that would have been a shameful thing, and the Middle Eastern culture is a shame culture. The last thing you do is run out of food and wine at a wedding feast. You don't do that. That's an insult to all your guests. So Mary comes to Jesus, and she says, they have no wine. She comes to

56:24 Jesus. She doesn't go to the steward of the feast. Verse 8, she comes to Jesus. Now, you could read all kinds of, how did she say it? What was her expectation? But we know from Jesus' response, the field of her expectation. They have no wine. Implicit in that, and Jesus understood from that, Jesus, do something about it. Now, the do something about it may have been rooted in the fact, as I alluded a week or two ago, that there's every evidence that Mary was a woman. But there's no evidence that Mary was a woman. There's no evidence that Mary was a widow. Jesus was the oldest son. He may have taken the role of husband and organizer of the home, and had so proven himself to be competent in emergencies, she just instinctively said, Jesus, you've solved lots of problems at home with that bunch of kids that I bore when Joseph was alive. Help us out in this. That may have been. There may have been other motives. But one thing is clear. Jesus perceives in her words that Mary is calling the shots for

57:29 Jesus. And she's calling the shots for Jesus. And she's calling the shots for Jesus. And she's calling the shots for Jesus to do something. Did she expect he would perform a miracle? He hadn't performed any miracles up till now. Had she reasoned all the way back? The Bible says she pondered all the things of his conception, his early development, the things that were mysterious. Did she now have a persuasion that he was Messiah? I don't know. Nobody knows. When we get to heaven, we can ask the Lord to tell us. But one thing is clear. Jesus understands in her words that Mary's calling the shots for him. Because he answers in verse 4, Jesus said unto her, Woman, what have I to do with you? My hour is not yet come. Now let's try to understand what

58:17 he's done. Note first of all the form of his address, Gunai. Woman, that sounds very coarse and harsh and almost disrespectful. And here's the problem of bringing the word of God into the words over from Greek into English. And one of the commentators spends a whole paragraph trying to find something in our culture that might be akin to what Jesus said when he said Gunai. He didn't say mother. He said woman. And he suggests that maybe it's like the southerner who says man.

58:49 Or it might be like an Irishman who says dear lady. But it hovers somewhere between saying to her, woman, and all the abruptness of that, and dear woman, and all the indignation. It's somewhere in between. In other words, it is not the word one would use in expressing deepest affection. It is used again at the cross. But it's not used that way in the ordinary secular literature of the day. So the very address of Jesus apprises Mary that there's a distance he's putting between himself and her, and her expressed desire that she call the shots, that he do something about this crisis. Then he asks the question, what have I to do with you? And it's a Greek idiom. What to me and to you

59:41 is a literal rendering of the Greek idiom. And it's the one found again and again when Jesus came into contact with demon-possessed people. What have we to do with you, son of God? What to you and to me? What to me and to you? It has a very definite strain of abruptness.

60:03 Listen to the words of Donald Carson. Very, very helpful. The expression common in Semitic idiom always distances the two parties. The speaker's tone overlaid with some degree of reproach.

60:19 Strictly speaking, the idiom simply asks, what's common to you and to me? What do you and I have in common so far as the matter at hand is concerned? That's the issue. So Jesus is saying to Mary, by the word of address, and by the question, Mary, what do we have in common with respect to this present crisis?

60:41 What makes you think that you have a right to call the shots with respect to what I do in this setting for, now notice the explanation, my hour is not yet come? That could be John pointing to this very significant phrase, my hour, that constantly looks forward to the cross, in which Jesus is saying, as I move to the very purpose for which I was born, from here to there, every facet of my life is ordered by my Heavenly Father, John 8, 29, I do always the things that please Him. Or He could be saying with respect to this situation, my hour has not yet come, the Father has not made known His will to me, and you do not step in and intervene and become the revelation of my Father's will to me. Mary? What have I to do with you, woman? But the principle is clear, whatever the nuances may be, Jesus is making it plain that Mary's wishes and desires do not determine His decisions concerning the will of God.

61:54 He distances Himself from her, the same way He did in Mark chapter 3, when Mary sends an entourage, your mother and your brethren are without seeking you. Mary and the siblings say, hey, go in there and tell Him, this is His mother, these are His siblings, surely He'll come out. Jesus said, no, no, no, no, who is my mother? Who are my brothers and sisters?

62:17 He puts a distance. He said, here's my family, those who hear the Word of God. So in this instance, as a fully grown man, a mature man, taking His orders from His Heavenly Father, Jesus responds to Mary's request with righteous, resistance, and He's our example. He's our example.

62:44 What are we to do when those who have some natural claim upon us by our relationships seek to intrude into the sacred theater where you as an adult and I as an adult with my Bible am answerable to God?

63:08 We're to do what Jesus did. In this thing, what? To you. And to me.

63:15 That's the posture that we are to take.

Application: Prioritizing God's Will in Life's Decisions

63:20 I would like to just touch very briefly as I close, and we'll have to leave the third strand of Jesus' example of sensitive caring for His mother, even in the midst of great trauma, the John 19 passage. But I want to suggest there are three areas, and this is particularly true for you young adults who know Christ and are committed that you will never allow the fifth commandment, to fracture your obedience to the first commandment, with respect to your life's work and calling, as you seek soberly to assess your gifts, as you seek the counsel and advice of wise and godly men and your pastors and your parents, if it becomes clear that God's will for your life's calling goes contrary to the wishes of father and mother. You're to follow Jesus' example. And say, what to you and to me?

64:33 I'm bound to do the will of God.

64:37 I trust that in coming days there will be not a few of you whose vision for the need of a lost world will be so expanded that the idea of just living a nice, middle-class, comfortable, affluent life will become distasteful. And there will be born in your breast a yearning to be an instrument in the hands of God. To go to some God-forsaken place. And bury your life for the advancement of the gospel.

65:09 Pressure may come from mom and dad. You can't do that.

65:14 And you must say, I must.

65:19 What to you and to me? You didn't die for me, mom. You didn't shed your blood for me, dad. Jesus did.

65:28 I'm his purchased bond slave. First commandment obligations take precedence over fifth commandment wishes and desires. It's true with respect to your life's partner. Your parents and your friends may have the ideal husband or wife picked out for you.

65:50 And lo and behold, as a young woman setting biblical standards, conscience bound by biblical non-negotiables, he must be a proven Christian. He must be responsible to be able to give me biblical headship and guidance and protection and love. And beyond that, nobody can bind your conscience. Yes.

66:14 Yes. People have in their mind that, oh, well, he ought to be at least 5'10", weigh at least 170 pounds, broad shoulders. And lo and behold, a guy that meets those biblical criteria and your heart goes out to him in growing biblical love. He's 5'2", wears a 34 jacket, and he's got a horrible case of zits.

66:42 And mom and dad are embarrassed to show him off.

66:47 You're persuaded from the script. He meets the biblical criteria of a godly man. A man worthy of your entrustment as a woman.

66:58 Don't you let anyone step in between you and the Lord who bought you with his own precious blood. Your life's work, your life's partner, your life's place of dwelling.

67:15 Christ may call you to forsake father, mother, brother, sister, houses and lands for his sake and the gospels. Righteous resistance. To any expectation or desire that goes beyond the revealed will of God.

Conclusion and Final Exhortation

67:46 Well, as I say, I'll have to leave the third head. My time is gone. But, dear people, before God, I don't believe I've gone beyond what these passages teach.

67:58 I ask you to search the scriptures, to pray them in. I ask you children and young people to take seriously what you've heard this morning. I ask you parents.

68:13 To go back to your Bible and ask God to show you what are the limits of your parental will with respect to your children. And God have mercy on you. If you dare to step in and intrude upon the will of him who purchased those kids with his own precious blood. Don't do it.

68:38 Don't do it. Our Father, what thanks can we render to you? You have given us in our blessed. Lord Jesus Christ, such a perfect example of a son who obeyed and honored father and mother.

69:02 Who even in his righteous resistance to their wishes that were contrary to your will. He honored them by not making idols out of them. And bowing down to them and dishonoring their place. Oh Lord, we thank you.

69:19 Help us to be by your grace. Those who follow. In his steps. Seal your word to our hearts.

69:28 For your praise and for our good. Amen.