Matthew: The Unbelief of Unbelievers (16:1-12)

This sermon was preached to Grace Church Guildford on 16 July 2023. The audio recording of the sermon can be found below along with the transcript.

Last year, the Government released results from its most recent nationwide census. These results captured key facts about our country, such as the current age range, ethnic diversity and exact population. However, they covered a range of other statistics as well, including our religious identities. Indeed, this was one of the most talked about aspects of the results, for the census found that for the first time in UK history, Christians are in a religious minority. That is, the majority of British citizens no longer claim to be Christian, with only 46% of the country now labelling itself that way.

Now, of course, those of us who are evangelical, Bible-believing, Christians, realise that we have been a minority for many centuries. Indeed, the number of evangelical Christians in the UK right now is more like 4%, not 46%. Just because someone calls themself a Christian does not mean that they are one. And in any event, at 46%, those who call themselves Christians are still the largest religious group in the country. Followers of Islam make up around 6% and Hinduism about 2%. The only group that came close in size to that of Christians, are those who say they have no religion at all (such as atheists, agnostics and humanists). In the latest census, 37% of the population said they had no religion. That is only 9% lower than those who call themselves Christians, and that number is rising as fast as the number for Christians is falling. So much so that by the time of the next census in 2031, the largest religious group in our nation, and perhaps even the majority of our population, is set to hold to no religion at all. Looking at these statistics, it is clear the recent rise and popularity of beliefs such as atheism, which is the belief that there is no God, is beginning to change the nature of our nation and shape of our society.

However, when we turn to our passage tonight, we learn that there are actually two kinds of atheism. Obviously, there is a kind of atheism that shows up on a census, for there are those who profess to be atheists and label themselves as such. Maybe you are here this evening, and that is what you would call yourself. If you had to fill out a census tomorrow, you would tick the box that said, ‘no religion’ or ‘atheist’. If so, it is great to have you with us. You’re always welcome at our services here at Grace Church, and a little later in our sermon we will hear what Jesus would say to you from this passage. And yet, our passage also speaks of another kind of atheism. For it tells us that there are those who are not atheists by their profession, but by their practice. It demonstrates that it is possible for those who do not label themselves as atheists, to still live like they are atheists. As the great puritan pastor, Stephen Charnock, put it almost 400 years ago, ‘We can have atheism in our hearts without ever having it in our heads.’ And indeed, that is exactly what we see in Matthew 16 this evening. Here we see there are not only those who deny God with their lips, but there are those, who are even his disciples, who deny him with their lives.

Our passage tonight splits into two parts. First, in 16:1-4, we read of yet another confrontation between Jesus and the religious leaders. And then in 16:5-12, we are told of a conversation between Jesus and his disciples. And in these two parts we will see these two kinds of atheism presented to us. In the first half, we see the religious leaders must deal with atheism in their heads. Whereas, in the second half, the disciples have to deal with it in their hearts. And by this, Matthew shows us that unbelief is a problem for both non-Christians and Christians, both unbelievers and believers alike. [...]: (1) The Unbelief of Unbelievers (16:1-4); (2) The Unbelief of Believers (16:5-12).

1.     THE UNBELIEF OF UNBELIEVERS (16:1-4)

Last week, in Matthew 15, we heard that after rebuking the Jewish leaders, Jesus went into Gentile lands. He left the region of Galilee, that part of Israel he mostly ministered in, to spend time outside Israel. And our passage this evening picks up on his return into Israel, where we see that he is immediately confronted by the religious leaders. Having spent time with the heathen, Jesus is now back among the hypocrites. However, there is a key difference between the delegation he debated back in Matthew 15 and this group that comes to confront him in Matthew 16. In 15:1, we were told it was ‘some Pharisees and teachers of the law’. However, here in 16:1, we read it is a group of ‘the Pharisees and Sadducees”.

Now for those of us living in 21st Century Britain, this nuance naturally goes over our heads. To us ‘Pharisees, teachers of the law, Sadducees’ are just all names for Jewish religious leaders. And they are, and yet they all represent very different kinds of religious leaders. The significance and surprise of what happens here is clear when we realise the only other time that these two groups, the Pharisees and Sadducees, come together in Matthew is in chapter 3, when both go together to confront John the Baptist. Ordinarily, these two groups did not get on, for they represented the far right and far left of the religious spectrum. The Pharisees were the ultra-serious religious leaders on the far right, they took every letter of the Old Testament with complete seriousness and strictly kept not only its laws, but lots of other Jewish traditions as well. On the other hand, the Sadducees were the ultra-secular Jewish leaders on the far left. They taught that there was no resurrection from the dead, or even a life after death, and encouraged their country to compromise with Rome, make the best of a bad situation. These two groups were not natural allies, but instead were bitter opponents locked in conflict for the soul of the Jewish nation. And indeed, if you look at the trial of Paul in Acts 23, you will see he made great use of that fact there. If we were to put it in British political terms, this would be like Nigel Farage and Jeremy Corbyn turning up to make a joint statement together. That would certainly get the press to sit up and take notice! The far right and the far left of our political spectrum agreeing on something. And that is what we see here. The serious and the secular come together to confront Jesus. For they come, we read in 16:1, not to talk with him, but to test him, try to chip away at his support among the crowd, challenge his followers, prove that people should not believe in him.

Friends, we see here that there is a wide spectrum of those who reject Jesus, that people tick that ‘no religion’ box for all kinds of different reasons. In Jesus’ day, the Pharisees refused to believe in him because he was too liberal: he ate with tax collectors and sinners. And the Sadducees, because he was too conservative: he taught resurrection and life after death. If you are here this evening and not yet following Jesus, I wonder what reason is stopping you doing that? Why do you tick the ‘no religion’ box? Or why have you not yet believed, been baptised, and begun to follow him? Perhaps some of you are modern-day Sadducees. You think the idea of life after death is a silly myth, for science disproves Christianity and secularism is superior to any religion. Or maybe you are a modern-day Pharisee! You reject Jesus for moral reasons – his views on sexuality aren’t inclusive enough, his constant talk about Hell is offensive, or you find those that follow him, Christians, are judgemental or hypocritical, don’t live up to your moral standard.

Or maybe you are neither a Pharisee nor a Sadducee tonight, you are somewhere in the middle, unsure about who he is, indifferent to what he has done. Oh yes, you come along with your parents or friends to church each week, but you are unsure how what you hear each Sunday can make any difference to your life. Well, no matter where you are coming from this evening, regardless of the reason why you refuse to follow Jesus, see here that while there are many different types of unbelievers, there is one thing that unites them all. For that day, though the Pharisees and Sadducees disagreed over much, there was one thing that brought them together, and it was their unbelief. They were united in their unbelief. And as we shall see, no matter what the reason for unbelief may be, it is a perilous position to be in.

We are told these opponents ask Jesus for a sign, something to show beyond all doubt that he is who he says he is. They want a sign from heaven to prove that Jesus has been sent by heaven. And so, in 16:2, Jesus starts to speak about the heavens, that is the sky above them.  […] In 16:2, we read: [READ]. The logic of Jesus’ reply is easy to understand. In 16:2-3, he points out that they seem to be perfectly capable of interpreting the simple signs they see in the sky. In those days, they predicted the weather in a relatively rudimentary way. They didn’t have the satellite technology that we use today. No, they simply looked at the colour of the sky. They basically used the same little rhyme we often still teach our children: Red sky at night, shepherd's delight. Red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning. They could look at these simple signs in the sky and interpret what the weather would be. And so Jesus says that they should simply use the same logic to work out who he was. They should look at the evidence that is all around them, as clear as the colour of the sky, and draw the obvious conclusion that he is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God.

They have asked Jesus for one sign, but he points out there have already been so many signs, ‘signs of the times’ he calls them in 16:3. And if we flick back over the last few chapters, we can see the kind of signs he is speaking about: healing the sick, raising the dead, calming the storm, walking on water, feeding 5000 and 4000 men. If these signs were painted in the sky like the signs of the weather, they could hardly be much clearer! Indeed, these signs were so clear that last week in 15:31 we heard how the Gentiles looked at all Jesus did and glorified the God of Israel because of the signs they say. And yet, these religious leaders refuse to see the signs, believe in Jesus, and give God glory. There was already more than enough evidence, they were just failing to respond to it.

I wonder if you are like these Pharisees and Sadducees this evening. We have already thought how there may be all kinds of reasons why you are not believing in Jesus tonight. However, have you considered all the reasons for believing in him? Have you stopped to see these signs of the times? How so many details of Jesus’ life and death were predicted and prophesised in the Old Testament, hundreds, even a thousand years before his birth? Have you considered the trustworthiness of these Gospel narratives, these historical records of healings and miracles that he performed, proving he is who he says he is? Have you read the letters written in the rest of the New Testament by his disciples, those who knew him better than anyone else, and went to their deaths declaring that he is the Son of God? Above all else, have you thought about the sign of all signs, this sign of the prophet Jonah that Jesus mentions in 16:4, which we heard when we were considering Matthew 12 earlier this year, is Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. How is it that you can explain the empty tomb? Make sense of all the pieces of evidence that point to Jesus dying on the cross for the sins of his people and then rising again to new life in order to give us new life?

Friend, no matter what reason you have for rejecting Jesus tonight, I can assure you there is more than enough evidence for you to believe in him. [...] Here Jesus says that if we apply the same simple logic to the case for Christ, as we do in order to work out whether we need to wear a coat or jacket outside, or bring an umbrella with us, we will find that Jesus really is who he says he is. For the evidence is clear for all to see, as clear as the colour of the sky above us.

Friend, if you are here this evening, and you have already heard all the evidence, maybe you have been coming along to GCG for years, perhaps even your whole life, you’ve listened to the Word of God preached to you, sat in Sunday School and Bible Class week after week, spoken to your friends and family about Jesus, do you see that if, after seeing all of those signs, you have still not believed in Jesus, still not been baptised and begun to follow him, then you are just like these Pharisees and Sadducees that day. Seeking another sign, wanting and waiting for some other proof, when all the evidence is already sitting right in front of you. These Pharisees and Sadducees refused to believe the signs they could see all around them, and so Jesus said they were a wicked and adulterous generation. And if you act like them, you will be punished like them, for in 16:4, Jesus stops speaking to them, and leaves them in their unbelief to face God’s coming judgement without him.

 Oh what else does Jesus need to do to convince you to follow him? Young person, what else do I, your parents, your Bible Class teachers and YPF leaders, need to say in order for you to finally accept that Jesus is the Saviour of the world? Have you not got all the evidence you need to believe in front of you? Have you not heard again and again how he [...].

2.     THE UNBELIEF OF BELIEVERS (16:5-12)

You see, as we have said, unbelief is not only a danger for unbelievers, but for believers as well. Oh yes, even if we are not professed atheists, we can still be practical atheists. For even Christ’s disciples can deny him with their lives, in ways they would never do with their lips. This explains why Matthew includes what we read in 16:1-4. You see, the religious leaders have already come asking Jesus for a sign. If you go back and read 12:38-39, you will see that Jesus has already had that conversation with them about the sign of the prophet Jonah. And yet, here Matthew includes another instance of that conversation, because we wants to emphasise that unbelief is not limited to the religious leaders, but is even a danger for the disciples. To put it plainly for us today – unbelief is not only a danger out there in the world, it is also a danger here inside the church. For we too must take care that the spirit of this secular age, the attitude and approach of atheism, does not settle in our hearts and lives as Christians.

The incident that leads to this insight is a simple one, indeed it is almost comically simple. For in 16:5, we read that as the disciples follow Jesus away from his confrontation with the religious leaders, they suddenly realise that they have forgot to pack the sandwiches, left their lunchboxes at home, for we read that they ‘forgot to take bread.’ As we shall see, this seems to have become a great source of worry for the disciples. Where will they find food? How will they be able to feed their company of 13 men without any bread? And it seems that as they are discussing and worrying about the situation, Jesus decides to speak into the problem in a very impractical and yet incredibly helpful way. For in 16:6 we read, [READ]. If that seems like a bit of a cryptic saying to you, take comfort, for the disciples who were there didn’t get the point of it either. In 16:7 we read, [READ]. The disciples seem to think that Jesus is teasing and taunting them about the fact they have forgotten to bring bread. And yet, what Jesus is actually doing is training them by targeting the real problem, which is not their lack of food, but their lack of faith.

It is so comical that these disciples seem to be so worked up and worried about their stomachs, that they miss the spiritual lesson Jesus is trying to teach them. They were so hungry, they seem to see everything through that lens. Assume that he if he mentioned bread, he must be talking about food. And it is comical, until we realise that we so often do the same. Brother or sister, I wonder if you are tempted to see everything that happens to you tight now through a particular need you are experiencing? You are concerned about your finances, desire more certainty over your future at work or in a relationship, you are suffering from bad health. You have a care that is legitimate and real, just as these disciples were really hungry that day, and yet this care has begun to consume you. It is like a pair of glasses over your eyes, tinting everything you see. Almost every conversation you have causes you to think about this particular care. The ups and downs of every day, your mood at any given moment, all depends on how you feel about this particular concern. You have become so fixated on this one thing in your life, that you have become blind to everything else. Deaf to whatever else Jesus might be saying to you in this season.

These disciples were so concerned about the physical danger they were in, they missed the far greater spiritual danger they faced. They had become so concerned about their stomachs; they had forgotten about their souls. Oh brother and sister, see here that even if you are in great physical need right now, even if you really do need more money, better health, some security for the future, that the greatest danger you face is not your circumstances, but in how you are responding to your circumstances. For sin is far more dangerous to us than even starvation. A lack of food is one thing, but a lack of faith, well that is the greatest danger that any disciple of Jesus Christ could ever face.

And so that is what Jesus sets about warning his disciples of. He plays on the picture of bread, to highlight to them how unbelief seems to have infiltrated and impacted their hearts, in the same way that yeast works its way through dough and changes it from the inside out. That’s what the disciples finally realise at the end of our passage, for in 16:12, we read: [READ]. Much ink has been spilled over what exactly this ‘yeast’, ‘leaven’, ‘teaching’ of these Pharisees and Sadducees is. Indeed, for as we have heard, these are two different groups with two very different teachings. And yet, as we heard earlier, the one thing they had in common, the one thing they were both trying to publicly promote by demanding a sign, was a lack of faith in Jesus, unbelief in who he was and what he could do. The Pharisees and Sadducees were united in unbelief. And we see here that the disciples were in danger of being infected by unbelief as well. Oh yes, they may openly have the name of disciples, but inwardly they were in danger of having the heart of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Of becoming like them in their unbelief. Yes, the Pharisees and Sadducees are denying Jesus with their lips, but the disciples were in danger of denying him with their lives.

It is this their lack of faith, rather than the lack of food, that Jesus challenges them over in 16:8-11. There we read: [READ]. These disciples had become so consumed by their need for food, that they hadn’t stopped to consider just how faithless that concern really was. Where will they find food? How will they be able to feed their company of 13 men without any bread? Well, have they already forgotten how Jesus feed, not 13 men, but 5000 men in Matthew 14, and then again 4000 men in Matthew 15? How have they managed to so quickly forget that food is no problem to Jesus? That whether they have bread or not, as long as they have Jesus with them, they have the one who can bring down bread from heaven, supply all their wants, meet every need they could ever have. Yes, if Jesus is in the boat, we can smile at the storm. And if Jesus is at the dinner table, we need not worry that there isn’t enough food. For Jesus is always enough, more than enough, to meet any care or concern we can ever have.

As I thought about the passage this week, one of the wonderful things that struck me, is how Jesus’ reply is so personal. He doesn’t just say, don’t you remember the feeding of the 5000 and 4000. No, instead he asks, ‘Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?’ Jesus is not merely reminding them of the events, but of their own participation in them. How they saw with their own eyes, experienced with their own hands, his great faithfulness! Jesus is telling them to think back to a time he personally provided for them, to remember how they experienced his faithfulness in the past, and so use that to bring themselves to trust him in the present. And Christian, can you not do the same? Can you not look back in your own life and remember how God has met all your needs? Provided for you in remarkable ways? Came when you cried out? Answered some of your prayers? Oh, brothers and sisters, if you are filled with faithlessness in the present, look back at God’s faithfulness to you in the past and see that you can trust him, rely on him, look to him for your all needs once again. For I trust as you look back, you will see that God has never abandoned you, he has never let you down, he has never failed to care for you. No, instead, when we look back to the past, we see, as we have sung this evening, ‘All I have needed thy hand has provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord onto me.’ If the Pharisees and Sadducees failed to respond, see here that the disciples failed to remember. They failed to faith in him in the present, for they had forgotten all he had done for them in the past. Thought their lips said they believe in him, their lives suggested something different.

Brothers and sisters, as numbers of those who say they have no religion grows in our nation, and more and more people profess to be atheists. See here that the great danger for us as disciples of Jesus Christ is not just professed atheism, but practical atheism. For a spirit of unbelief can infect our hearts, without it ever impacting our heads. We can still tick the box saying Christian on the census, indeed we can still come along here to Grace Church and declare we are disciples of Jesus. And yet, if, in our daily lives, in the ordinary cares and concerns of the world, like where our next meal is coming from, or how we are going to financially support ourselves in the future, if in those matters we act in unbelief, live like those who do not know God or truth in him, then we are just as much atheists as those who profess it openly around us today, for we are atheists in practice, even if not in profession.

Oh, brothers and sisters, the unbelief of unbelievers is one thing, but the unbelief of believers? Do you see how that shouldn’t be? Do you see how the lovely alliteration of my second point there is completely ruined because of it! Those two things ‘unbelief’ and ‘believers’ shouldn’t go together. How much better would it not be if my second point was the ‘belief’ of ‘believers’, for is it not that which should go together?

For we have known God’s love poured out for us on the cross, the work of his spirit in our lives. We have tasted his salvation, seen his provision. We have trusted him for heaven, how does it make any sense for us to doubt him for earth?