Matthew 11:1-15
“Jesus & John”
I.) Intro
II.) Vs. 1-3 Are You The Coming One?
III.) Vs. 4-6 Blessed Are Those Who Are Not Stumbled
IV.) Vs. 7-10 Who Is John?
V.) Vs. 11-15 Three Things About John
Intro
Matthew presents Jesus as the King of Israel & more then that as King of Kings. As we come to this chapter as well as the next one we have come to a major change in this book. Up too now their has been little opposition, but here we see what the people thought of Jesus. All of what Jesus did & taught are challenged by the people. We will see four attitudes of people towards Jesus, the first of which is seen in John the Baptist; that of confusion.
I believe a great many people are confused about Jesus usually when their expectations don’t come to pass they begin to think of Jesus in a wrong light. The story is told of a family who had great expectations for their daughter. They had hoped that one day she would marry a rich doctor. Upon graduation from college she decided to join the Peace corps for a few years. Just before her term was up she had meet a man & got married so she sent a telegram announcing her marriage & the time of their arrival & the fact that the man was a doctor. With great excitement the parents arrived at the airport gate to see their daughter & her new husband the “doctor”. As she emerged down the plane she was arm & arm with a native man 7 feet tall with feathers, beads, sculls of animals & a bone through his nose. As they approached the mother fainted & her father bent down to attend to his wife. So there they all were around the mother when the father turned looking right at his daughter & said; “Honey, we said RICH doctor, not WITCH doctor. Wrong expectations can reek havoc on our faith in the Lord as we shall see.
Vs. 1-3 Are You The Coming One?
Vs. 1 This verse would probably be bettered served at the end of the last chapter rather then at the beginning of this one. Be that as it may, it is interesting that we see here that while the disciples were out ministering in the communities two by two Jesus went to their cities to teach & preach. He would say later that a prophet was not without honor except in his own town so Jesus went to their towns.
I suppose it is true you go to some retreat & you hear the person say something & man does it impact your life, but hey I’ve been saying the same thing to you for years. So what’s the difference? Will you know me, you see my life & you can say; “Well that’s just Dale he is always saying things like that.”
Vs.2-3 By this time John was in prison in the fortress of Machaerus for telling Herod Antipas that it was not right that he should marry Herodias who he had an adulterous relationship with while she was still married to Philip, his brother.
So John sat there in prison hearing the stories about what Jesus was doing & yet nothing of what he had expected had happened. We only need to look back to chapter 3:10-12 to see what John the Baptist expected to happen. Why, he expected Jesus to come purge those who said they believed & did not practice the truth. He thought the ax was going to come at the root & fire was going to take care of the chaff. Instead came the reports of Jesus’ love & compassion upon the sick, & forgiveness to sinners, this was not at all what he had thought. John had announced Jesus as the Messiah who’s reign had been for told of in the scriptures.
Going to John 1: 29-36 it is clear that John the Baptist knew that Jesus was the Messiah, but at the same time did not fully grasp the work to which Jesus would do, especially the timing of that work. So John sends these two disciple’s to ask for clarification.
Perhaps you have felt like this as you struggle with what you are going through; thinking that Jesus should do something to relieve your circumstances yet it has not happened & you begin to wonder if you have missed something about Jesus. It is the absence of John’s expectations being fulfilled that has caused this difficulty. John’s problem was not with the person of Jesus it was with His method. I submit to you that this is our problem as well. We grasp “Who” He is, but often falter on His methods of making us more like Himself!
Vs. 4-6 Blessed Are Those Who Are Not Stumbled
Vs. 4 Notice how Jesus corrects this:
A.) Vs. 4a First as to the method of correction: He is gentile He does not blast John for his miss understanding of His methods. No, it is; “Go tell John”. Not, “Go tell that lame brain.” I bet there was love & compassion in the tone of his voice. There was not any shaking of His head, no hint of condemnation, just complete understanding & love. Is it not interesting that John struggled with Jesus methods of love to establish the kingdom yet it was this love that He now employs upon John who is struggling with the methodology. I bet John received it much better then he would of if Jesus would of been harsh! The scriptures tell us that a soft answer turns away wrath!
B.) Vs. 4b Simple observation: “Tell John the problem is not in his observation of my methods, but rather in his interpretation of them.” That is what Jesus is inferring as
He says; “Tell John the things which you hear & see.”
C.) Vs. 5 Here Jesus seems to remind John of His power displayed in acts of service, but more then that Jesus in quoting two verses combines them & does not quote them fully.
1.) Isa. 35:4-6 “Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert.” Jesus does not say the first part of this verse nor the last part. John did not see that semi colon before “He will come & save you.”
2.) Isa. 61:1-2 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,” Again Jesus quotes only part of this & John did not see the comma before the “the day of vengeance of our God.”
There is a time frame that John does not see which is there none the less. John was confused about the method because he did not understand Gods timing. Yes Jesus will Judge, yes he will deliver but first He must seek & save that which is lost. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done just what John does here miss interpreted Jesus based upon not understanding His timing in my life. His timing is perfect & his ways are above my ways. It is not enough to trust Who Jesus is we must trust When he does What He does, for He always has our best interest in mind!
Vs 6 What a great encouragement this statement is. “If you are not able at this time to understand how, why or when I’m going to accomplish what I have said I am going to do, don’t allow your heart to be stumbled or halted in your trust of Me.” Joy comes as we trust Him through our weakness not allowing our inability to understand to halt our trust. Folks our trust is not based upon our understanding or even our experience it is based upon His character which is revealed in the scripture.
Vs. 7-10 Who Is John?
Vs. 7 Notice that Jesus waits until John’s disciple’s have left before he says anything? Jesus is going to protect John’s reputation here but it’s not for John’s ears. I like this because it reveals what Jesus thought about John. Now I’m inclined to think that when the disciple’s came back to tell John that he probable felt bad about his question. Yet Jesus thinks the world of him. So how does that relate to you? Well maybe just maybe you have screwed up before & you are fumbling around in your Christian life & all of the sudden you get it straight & you start thinking the Lord probably thinks I’m a real idiot. No, He just loves you. I’m always talking about my kids how great they are & all & don’t tell them that because they well get big heads, but I’m real proud of both of them. Does that mean they don’t mess up? Come on now you have met them, it just means that who they are in Christ is greater then their failures!
So was this John the Baptist? Well Jesus is going to give us a character study of him:
A.) “A reed shaken by the wind?” Was John some guy that was always flipping back & forth in his positions? No! John did not care about the latest public opinion polls. John was not a reed, he was the wind shaking the reeds! John stood up for what is right no matter what the cost. I kind of think of Ken Star! John was no man-pleaser. So John’s question did not come from fear of men or the out come of the situation.
B.) Vs. 8 “Did you go out to see a man clothed in soft garments.” Was John some guy who lived in the lap of luxury was his message popular with the in crowd? No, those people live in palaces not prisons! This guy wore camel hair clothes ate grasshoppers & honey. His message was not compromised it did not bring him income or wealth. John was not a guy spurned because his gravy train had ended, it never started. As look out today on the land scape of pulpits far to many of them could answer yes to the above descriptions!
C.) Vs. 9-10 John was more then a spokes men for God he was the one who was designated to herald the coming of the Messiah. Then the quote of Isa. 40:3 & Mal. 3:1. John’s ministry was the climax of the law & the prophets. All that they spoke of coming he introduced in the words; “Behold, the lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.” John was more then a prophet because he was the fulfillment of prophecy. Second, all the other prophets look forward too the messiah John looked into His eyes. these two things make him greater then any other O.T. prophet.
Vs. 11-15 Three Things About John
Here we will see that Jesus notes three things about John’s work:
1.) Vs. 11a Greater because of personal significance more then all others that came before him. John wrote no book, did no miracle, started no movement; yet Jesus says that he was greater then Abraham, David & all the other prophets. Why? Simply because he introduced personally the Messiah.
Note: Vs. 11b With that said Jesus says that those who are born again are greater then him. Again what does he mean? Greater not in personal accomplish, but rather greater in the since of personal benefits. John was like Mosses who took Israel to the promised land, but never got to go in himself. It is not moral stature, devotion, or service, but privilege that Jesus is talking of here.
2.) Vs. 12-13 Greater because of spiritual significance. He was the herald of the Messiah. Though he may of not got the benefits of the New covenant He none the less proclaimed it.
Note: What does it mean this kingdom suffering violence & the violent taking it by force? Well it can mean one of two things:
A.) It could mean that the kingdom is attacked by violent men.
B.) Or it could mean that those who come into the kingdom have to do so by aggressively going after it.
Both are true so you can take your pick!
3.) Vs. 14-15 Great because he was prophetically significant: John was not actually Elijah, but he did come in the spirit & power of him. Thus John was a partial fulfillment of Mal. 4:5.
Matthew 11:16-30
“Rejecting The Invitation”
I.) Intro
II.) Vs. 16-19 What Do You Want In A Savior?
III.) Vs. 20-24 Rejecting The Mighty Works
IV.) Vs. 25-30 A Promise To Babes
Intro
Last week we saw how John was confused about Jesus, not because of who He was but rather the methods that Jesus used did not fit John’s expectations. John’s was a crisis of faith but an honest one. This morning we shall some that are not so honest & Jesus’ denunciation of them as well all His invitation to all the world. What we see here is the reasons most people reject Christianity. They reject it because they do not like the way in which the truth is delivered. It is not for lack of truth it is rather because of the truth that people reject. Can you imagine this morning someone rejecting medical help that could save their life simple because they did not like the person who was there to help?
What is even more amazing to me is Jesus’ invitation in spite of this to all people.
Vs. 16-19 What Do You Want In A Savior?
Vs. 16-17 After defending John the Baptist Jesus now moves on to speak on how the people did not know what they wanted. There is such a thing in the unbelieving world as a critical heart. People who are just not happy no matter what you do.
It seems that Jesus refers to a game the children would play. They would get together to play a game that would be full of energy & singing, then some would not wish to play wanting rather to play some thing more serious which the first group would not join.
Jesus & John were radically different in style yet they each called for the same thing & both were rejected because the people did not like the way in which they ministered. Jesus’ point here is that what the people rejected was the truth they just attacked the messengers because they did not like the message. What ever was played they would just sit on the side lines & complain.
Folks, there really is only one reason people reject Christianity, accountability! Some people complain that Christianity is to rigid others say that it’s too joyful & not serious enough.
Vs. 18-19 Here we see the contrast between the two & the rejection of both.
They said of John that he was crazy & of Jesus they complained that He was to liberal. Wisdom is know it’s actions, (children). It’s not wise to reject John or Jesus on style but on content! Truth will always justify it’s self regardless of a persons attitude towards it. These folks would not repent with John nor rejoice with Jesus, instead they just complained. It is so comforting to me to realize that the only One I need to make sure I make happy is Jesus!
Vs. 20-24 Rejecting The Mighty Works
Vs. 20-22 Here Jesus rebukes the cities in which most of His mighty works were done.
Note: Here is the first time in this gospel we see judgment being issued by Jesus. “Woe” means judgment but it also implies pity & sorrow. How tragic that the cities that saw the most of the work of Christ rejected Him none the less. It goes against modern wisdom that asks about the “Pigmy in Africa”. We also see that allot of what Jesus did was not recorded. We have no record of what Jesus did in Chorazin. We know that it is in the region of Galilee, but that is all. Bethsaida is where Peter, Andrew & Philip had followed Him. Yet they were places where Jesus spent a great amount of time. Compared to the gentile cities of Tyre & Sidon. Yet says Jesus; “it will be more tolerable in the day of judgment…for them.” With greater light comes greater responsibility!
Vs. 23-24 Capernaum was the most blessed of all because as we have seen Jesus made His ministry home their. Five of the Ten miracles recorded in Matthew 8-9 happen in Capernaum. If you go to this area in Israel today you will notice something odd about these regions. The land is beautiful & looks like they would make beautiful spots for cities, yet all that is left are the ruins of the cities mentioned here. That is like a great many hearts wonderful potential yet nothing living in there.
Here again many people claim that if they could just be given a bit more light they would believe not so. We also see based upon this text that there will be varied degrees of judgment in the end & that judgment will be based upon revelation & understanding of who Christ is. There has never before in the history of the world been a country with greater knowledge of the person & work of Jesus then the U.S. Folks the knowledge of something with out the application of it just makes you responsible!
Vs. 25-30 A Promise To Babes
Vs. 25-27 Upon all of this rebuke of the rejection of Him & John Jesus praises those who do receive Him. It the truth is so easy to comprehend that even a child can understand it, but because of that many times those who are full of themselves can not receive it. The Father can only be known through the Son. Jesus is the only way you can come to understand who God is for if you have seen Him then you have seen the Father. A great many people want to drop Jesus out of Christianity. It is His work & what that work stands for that rubs people the wrong way. Yet with out His work on the cross the we have no access to the Father.
Vs. 28-30 Here in this great promise & invitation we spend some time looking at it in depth.
1.) First from our perspective is a three fold call:
A.) Come to Me: We see that true salvation is found not in religion, but rather in a person. What this means is that we must trust Him in order to come to Him. The story is told of a fire in the second story house where a young boy was trapped in his room. The father was down below telling his young soon to jump out the window into his waiting arms, but because of the smoke the boy could not see his father & would not jump. Finally the situation become so desperate that there was no time to waist the boy had to jump are he would parish in the flames. The boy again said he could not jump because he could not see his father to which the father wisely replied it’s OK son you don’t have to see me because I can see you. Folks that is what we are trusting in, not our ability but His!
B.) Take My Yoke upon you: This is a deeper experience then just coming. Jesus goes on to say that His yoke is easy & burden is light. This is a great word picture. Oxen were teamed together with a yoke that harnessed them. The pair was chosen to be put together on the fact that oxen will pull only together if one is stronger then the other. If they are both lead oxen then they will pull apart. The yoke was always made heavier on the lead oxen side. The heavy end was always placed upon the stronger animal.
The yoke is perfection or holiness found in trying to live by the law that is what it meant in that day, “the yoke of the law” implied intense study of the law & obedience to it to gain acceptance by God. To which Jesus says His yoke is “easy”. The word “easy” in verse 30 means “well fitted”. Jesus offers every person trying to live right with God based upon self effort rest. Why, because He carries the burden of the law upon the yoke of His cross which was tailor-made for us! He carries the heavy side all we must do is let Him lead & follow Him!
C.) Learn from Me: This is the only one of the three responses that is a process the first two are something that we do in an instant, but learning is something that takes the rest of our lives. Notice what we are to learn; “I am gentle & lowly in heart”. What is gentleness or meekness? It is strength under control! Folks we find rest for our soles not just for eternity but right here & now when we come to understand His nature. When come & lay our head upon His shoulder. Placing our burden down & let Him carry it.
2.) Now from Jesus perspective.
A.) I: This promise is from God, it is not a religion it is a relationship. Jesus does not promise something that He Himself will not deliver.
B.) Will: This promise is based upon His faithfulness not ours. Jesus has never broken a promise. This alone ought to brings rest to our souls.
C.) Give: This promise is free, it is a gift. Jesus does not sell His rest, He does not merely speak of it, He gives it away!
D.) You: This promise is personal. Not only personal but universal, for He says come “all you”. Is that not amazing? He calls those who are wiped out, messed up, down trodden. Even if the reason they are so is of their own doing. The great question this week has been whether or not the American people will forgive Bill Clinton. May I just say that the greater question ought to be if Bill Clinton will come to Jesus & find rest for his soul! Are you tired of carrying your burden around? Do you want to find rest? Then you must Come, take, & learn!
Communion