Mat 3:7-10; The Kingdom of Heaven Is the Only Everlasting One.

Class Outline:

Tuesday January 2, 2023

 

In Matthew 1-3 we have a few kingdoms in view.

Jesus’ genealogy (in the first two parts) are kings of Judah.

Herod the king.

The Pharisees and Sadducees (not kings but the leaders of Israel).

The kingdom of heaven.

 

The kingdom of Judah was a failure. Herod and the Sanhedrin were failures. All for the same reason - sinners do evil things in order to hold on to power, wealth, and influence.

 

Power, wealth, and influence.

Attained or deferred to God.

 

In the kingdom of heaven, these are deferred to God.

They belong to the Son of Man (hypostatic union of Christ).

 

The kingdom of Israel and all Gentile kingdoms failed (fail) to do this.

 

MAT 3:7-10

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 "Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; 9 and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father'; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 10 "The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

 

Axe at the root of the trees.

Cutting at the root in MAT 3:10 means a final removal of the tree rather than pruning. Burning the tree is a natural extension of the metaphor, but fire is also in itself a common OT metaphor for judgment (MAT 13:30, 40-42, 50; 18:8-9; 25:41).

 

Trees that do not bear good fruit (fruit of repentance) are cut down and thrown into the fire. Trees cut down.

 

Psa 74 - a lament over the invasion of Babylon.

A picture of the final destruction of all human kingdoms.

 

PSA 74:5

It seems as if one had lifted up

His axe in a forest of trees.

 

ISA 10:33-34 - the promise of the destruction of Assyria.

[click in] Behold, the Lord, the God of hosts, will lop off the boughs with a terrible crash;

Those also who are tall in stature will be cut down

And those who are lofty will be abased.

34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe,

And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.

 

Eze 31 Egypt chopped down.

DAN 4:14 Babylon chopped down.

 

The individual in the image of a tree, MAT 7:15-20.

We are all designed by God to bear fruit.

 

MAT 7:15-20

"Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  16 "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?  17 "So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.  18 "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.  19 "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  20 "So then, you will know them by their fruits.

 

The fruit of power, wealth and influence must be God’s and not our own.

 

The kingdom of Israel and all Gentile kingdoms have failed to do this.

 

Regardless, leave them be. You must do this. Your power, wealth and influence must be God’s.

 

Every person must bear the fruit of power, wealth, and influence.

Power: gospel, Spirit, Word, dependence, new life.

Wealth: possessions in Christ.

Influence: agape love.

 

Your power: the gospel (1CO 1:18, 24), the Spirit (EPH 3:16; 5:18), the Word (COL 3:16; HEB 4:12).

          Power is perfected in weakness (2CO 12:9).

          Power is in resurrection (new birth / creation; EPH 1:18; Php 3:10).

 

Your wealth is your possessions in Christ (EPH 3:8).

          Understanding is wealth (COL 2:2).

          Forgiveness is wealth (EPH 1:7).

          Wealth is God’s glory and grace (EPH 1:18; 2:7; 3:16).

 

Your influence is love - giving better than receiving (ACT 20:35; 1CO 3:4-8; GAL 5:22-23).  

 

Our present kingdoms do not submit to the Lord.

Kingdoms always defer less to the Lord over the time of their existence.

 

Fruit of repentance: No one has it at first.

Repentance means that all are warned and God is patient.

 

LUK 13:6-9

And He began telling this parable: "A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. 7 "And he said to the vineyard-keeper, 'Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?' 8 "And he answered and said to him, 'Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; 9 and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.'"

 

Nations are to bear fruit as are churches and people.

 

REV 2:5

'Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place — unless you repent.

 

JOH 15:6

“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.”

 

All four Gospels show us the way of the Pharisees, scribes, and Sadducees. They are the same as Herod, Israel of the OT from Exodus to Malachi.

 

Israel was to be cut down again (MAT 15:12).

 

“Bear fruit in keeping with repentance” - manifest behavioral change from turning to God. No one is to judge you. You are to see the changes in yourself.

          Weakness becomes power.

          Poverty of soul becomes riches in Christ.

          Eyes on self becomes influence of others in love.

 

Pharisees in Matthew:

          Stand aloof: Eats with sinners (9:11); Sit is Moses’ seat (23:2).

         

Elevate ritual: Eating grain on Sabbath (12:2); Washing (15:1).

 

          Lack of faith: Demand a sign (12:38; 16:1).

 

          Seek to destroy rivals (especially the kingdom of heaven).

                   Jesus does His work by the devil (9:34).

                   Tempt the Lord (16:1; 19:3).

                   Trap the Lord (22:15).

 

          Blanket solution of destroy the enemy (12:14; 21:45).

 

Herod and the Pharisees sought to destroy the coming kingdom of heaven, but no one can stop what is coming (27:62).

 

Do not fear what your flesh says you must have and must do or not do.

Do not fear what the world says that it can do to you.

The axe is at the root of the trees. They will be judged.

 

You will be judged for what you have done, and you will be rewarded or not rewarded depending on your ability to defer power, wealth, and influence to the Lord.