This may seem really strange to you but I want to read the story of Little Red Riding Hood for you this morning.
There are several important lessons that parents could teach their children from the story of Little Red Riding Hood.
But there are important lessons in the story for both teens and adults as well as children. "Be aware of what is going on around you. When things don't seem right they probably are not right." This lesson cautions us to pay attention to the details of what is going on around us. It tells us that sometimes wolves, or people, dress up and pretend to be someone or something they are not.
It might seem strange to use this child's story as part of a sermon but in Jesus teachings He tried to teach His disciples and the people about this same truth. Jesus warned those who would listen to him to pay attention to what is going on around them. Pay attention to the things that are coming at you. Let's take a look.
Matthew 7:15-23 (NASB)
[15] “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. [21] “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
[22] “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ [23] “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
Look at verse 15 again.
[Matthew 7:15 (NASB)] “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
Sounds a bit like the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood who gobbled up the grandmother. Then he dresses up like the grandmother to conceal himself so he can deceive and then eat the little girl.
Jesus compares false prophets to ravenous wolves. But even more than ravenous wolves they are deceptive, hypocritical wolves who disguise themselves as gentle submissive sheep. Jesus wants His listeners to be cautious about who approaches them. This can be applied in just about any area of life but Jesus' main concern was with their spiritual welfare.
If you do some research on the story of Little Red Riding Hood you learn a lot of interesting and bizarre information. The ways in which it has been told, written, and interpreted over the years is a very interesting study. The fairy tale can be traced in oral versions from various European countries preceding the 17th century.
It was first written and published by Charles Perrault in 1697, and was somewhat different from the version I read to you this morning. Listen to his interpretation of the meaning of the fairy tale.
Charles Perrault explained the 'moral' at the end so that no doubt is left to his intended meaning: "From this story one learns that children, especially young lasses, pretty, courteous and well-bred, do very wrong to listen to strangers, And it is not an unheard thing if the Wolf is thereby provided with his dinner. I say Wolf, for all wolves are not of the same sort; there is one kind with an amenable disposition — neither noisy, nor hateful, nor angry, but tame, obliging and gentle, following the young maids in the streets, even into their homes. Alas! Who does not know that these gentle wolves are of all such creatures the most dangerous!" (Perrault)
Perrault saw the story of Little Red Riding Hood as a warning against dangerous deceptions. Jesus' warning about false prophets dressed in sheep's clothing, was a warning against dangerous deceptions. But how does that apply to you and I today. I think the key is found in verses 21-22, but I want to read them in their context.
Matthew 7:15-23 (NASB)
[15] “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. [21] “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
[22] “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ [23] “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
Jesus was a master at using simile and metaphor. Take for example the text we looked at in our last sermon found in Matthew 7:24-29. He compares the actions of hearing and acting on His words, to the word picture, of one using a rock, for the foundation to build their house on. The rock is His word. He compares the actions of hearing and refusing to act on His word, to the word picture of one building a house on the sand. The sand is an individuals truth, or words and ideas.
Then Jesus paints the picture of these two houses, one built on a foundations of rock and the other built on the foundation of sand, going through multiple storms. He shows the consequences of the choice of the foundation each builder chooses to build his house on. Then Jesus makes the spiritual application of building our lives on the foundation of His words which He compares to the rock. That sermon was appropriately titled, "The Rock".
This week's sermon title is, "The Tree". Again Jesus uses simile and metaphor to make a spiritual application. This week Jesus uses a tree to represent a person's life. Out of that life flows the fruit that is an indication of who they really are and what they are really like.
An individual can put on granny's cap and gown, but the voice, ears, eyes, and teeth are still those of a wolf. And while those attributes might be temporarily disguised, that disguise does not change the wolf into a loving granny. Eventually the truth comes out, the wolf can no longer resist being a wolf and he jumps out of granny's bed ready to do what wolfs do, eat little girls.
This is the picture Jesus wants us to see. Prophets who dress like prophets, and talk like prophets, and do what prophets do, but they are false prophets because they want people to hear their words and thoughts instead of the words and thoughts of Jesus. They promote their own truth instead of God's truth. But eventually, by the way they live their lives they show their ears, eyes, and teeth. Eventually the people hear their disguised voices and the ravenous wolf jumps out of his disguise to reveal who he really is.
The religious leaders of Jesus' day put on the robes of priests, scribes, and teachers. They convinced the people that they spoke for God on earth. Standing in the Roman courtyard of Pontus Pilot they convinced the people that Jesus needed to be put to death. Why? Because they wanted the people to believe their words not the Word of Almighty God given by the Word who became flesh.
But in spite of their best efforts, their voices, ears, eyes, and teeth were still those of a ravenous wolfs. And while those attributes might have been temporarily disguised as they convinced the people to call for Jesus' death, that disguise did not change who they really were. No amount of disguise could make them real men of God. Eventually the truth comes out, the wolf can no longer resist being a wolf and he jumps out of granny's bed ready to do what wolfs do, eat little girls.
But! But! Three days after they had Jesus put to death, guess what happened? Jesus came out of the grave. The religious leaders could only hide their faces but there was no disguise that could now convince the world that they were men of God. In the light of the empty tomb, their sheep's clothing fell off and they stood there as wolves with sheep's clothing laying on the ground around their feet.
[Matthew 7:21-23] “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
That lawlessness is described in Jesus teaching about the rock that the wise man built his house on. Why does Jesus use the term lawless to described these ravenous wolves? Because they did not listen and act upon the words of Christ. Lawlessness flows out of them like fruit flows out of a tree. Christ even makes a distinction here between actions from the head and actions from the heart. Listen to the definition of the Greek word used here for lawlessness.
A literal translation of this verse is: "Whosoever commits the sin [on a continual basis] also commits [continuously] lawlessness [GK anoman], and the sin is the lawlessness" (a.t.). Sin (GK hamarta) is missing the mark ordained by God and not by us. God has placed in our hearts an innate knowledge of what is good and evil. There may not be any specific law which we violate when we sin, but that does not make sin any less sinful. Crucial to the understanding of all this is Ro 2:15, ". . . the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another." The nonexistence of a specific law forbidding an act or a life of sinfulness does not absolve a person from being lawless. (CWS-NT)
When Jesus talked about the fruit that naturally comes out of a tree, He was talking about your life. The only way you can bear any good fruit at all in your life is to allow God to change your life through His grand plan of salvation. Our text for this series is found in...
Matthew 7:24 (NASB)
[24] Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
I don't know what is important in your life. I don't know who you listen too, or what authority you use to make the important decisions of you life. But I can tell you that the empty tomb is confirmation of the authority of everything Jesus taught while He was here on earth. It is the Rock you should build you life on.
Can I ask you a question? Do you listen to the wolf? Or, do you listen to the Word of God who became flesh, died for your sins, and then rose from the grave to give you eternal life? Only by listening to His words and acting on them can we produce good fruit. That is the rock, will you build your life on that rock?
CWS-NT - AMG Complete Word Study Dictionary - New Testament (CWS_NT). Cedar Rapids: Laridian Electronic Publishing, 2007.
NASB - New American Standard Bible (NASB). Cedar Rapids: Laridian, 2002
Little Red Riding Hood story was found at this website: http://www.dltk-teach.com/rhymes/littlered/1.htm Copyright © 1998-2009 DLTK's Sites - All Rights Reserved, Used with permission.
Perrault, Charles; Inserted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Red_Riding_Hood.