Sermon 50 Matthew 11.1-6 Offended Not By Christ

As we enter a new chapter in the gospel according to Matthew, we enter a new division in the book. Matthew repeats this phrase "when Jesus had finished" five times in his gospel, giving us seven divisions. What that means is we get something to give a context reset here; and a clear reminder of Christ's intentions as well. We notice in Matthew 11:1 it says, "...departed from there to teach and preach in their cities." Matthew reminds us that God had one Son and he made him a preacher.

In 1884, the future US President Theodore Roosevelt, his wife and his mother both died on Valentine's Day. What a tragedy that would have been for this man. His journal entry for that day had a black X written in it, and he said the words, "The light has gone out of my life." Here we are told in Matthew 11 that John the Baptist, a prophetic forerunner to the Messiah, is now in prison at the doing of Herod Antipas.

Soon, Jesus is going to say of John, "amongst those born of woman, there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist." From time to time, peculiar and extraordinary people come into this world. Theodore Roosevelt was perhaps one we could place amongst that number, but even more so, to a greater extent, John the Baptist too. This great John was bold as a lion; he was valiant in his ministry and in his prophetic calling. But dear friends, the best of men are men at best. This prison cell that he is in, this dungeon which it would have been, seems to be weighing heavily on this great man's soul. He feels a little bit like the light has gone out of his life.

And what will change John's perspective on his own situation in prison is Jesus response to John's inquiry. The subject we are looking at, you see, is Jesus' messiahship; but more specifically, how Jesus points John to the fact that his words and his works testify as evidence of his messianic identity. And so we will see that we, like John the Baptist, must take Jesus' person and ministry at face value and take no offence at how we find him and what he has to say to us. Because we will see that even John takes offence to Christ momentarily, and Christ has to correct him.

You see, we must have no other expectation of Jesus but that which has been taught, that which he has performed, and trust in him no matter what, even when it feels like the light has gone out of our lives. We must consider like the old hymn: "When doubt and fear assail me and bend my spirit low, I know there is a saviour to whom I can go. He promised to be with me, no matter what I'm tired, till someday when he called me to sit down at his side." Christ is drawing John to learn to trust in him, take him at face value, take him at his words and his works, and not look any other place; and we need the same.

So let's consider these things under the following two headings: first of all, John's request in Matthew 11:2–3; and secondly, Jesus' response in Matthew 11:4–6.

John's Request

First of all, John's request. Now let's gather a little bit of context here together. We notice in Matthew 11:2 that John the Baptist is in prison, and that's a little bit of an understatement. This is likely a cold, dark dungeon.

We heard all about John's ministry earlier in Matthew 3. In Matthew 4:12, we were told that John was taken into custody. So he's been here for probably around six months at this point, an important fact to consider.

The question is: why is John in prison? Well, as in Mark chapter 6, the king of Judea, the proxy king at that time, Herod Antipas, had divorced his wife and he had the audacity to marry his own niece named Herodias, who had been married to his own brother. And John had denounced this scandal. So what did Herod do? He put John in prison. And curiously, we're actually told that Herod was a bit put out by the fact that he had to put John in prison to cover his own tail, because in Mark 6:20 it tells us that he actually used to enjoy listening to John's preaching.

Now there is a lesson in and of itself, isn't it? There is a great danger in hearing and enjoying preaching and not being rightly moved by its truth, as was the case with Herod Antipas. Nevertheless, the last of the old covenant prophets, as John was, he found himself, as had many of the prophets across millennia, persecuted for telling the truth; he found himself in a prison cell and a coming beheading.

And now we see that John here is in prison, hearing about the activity of Jesus and all that he's doing. So he sends word through his disciples, saying, "Are you the expected one, or shall we look for someone else?"

Now this question can easily catch us off guard a little bit. Why? Well, John is the last man we might think in the world that needs to be assured that Christ is the Messiah. Is this not John who said of Christ that he was unworthy to untie even his shoe? Is this not John who said that he, that is Jesus, must increase and I must decrease? Is this not John who announced Christ, that his arrival at the River Jordan is "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world"?

It's probably for these reasons that commentators like J.C. Ryle have even believed that John was sending word not for his own sake to know, but for the sake of his followers, that they might transfer allegiance from John to Jesus. But I actually tend to disagree, as hard as that might be for someone like J.C. Ryle. I think John's question is for John's own sake. First, on the basis that in Jesus' response he says "go and tell John." There was a question from John, and the answer was for John.

So the question then for us is: why does John ask this question? Does he not know all these things about Jesus? Has he not announced him as the Christ? And now he's unsure whether he is the Christ. There's a combination of two reasons here. The first we might call bewilderment.

You see, the fact of the matter is that God's prophets, those who have been called to speak forth God's truth, they did not always grasp the full reality of the things which they spoke and the fulfilment of the word they were to proclaim for God. They themselves, though prophets, were redeemed sinners with failings, weaknesses, and imperfect knowledge, though they spoke forth a true and perfect word. Their lack of understanding at times does no violence to the inspiration of the revelation given them; but it does speak to the veiled nature of God's revelation.

And we see this is the case with John. You see, John misunderstands the nature of the Messiah's ministry. Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, with the lepers, with the lowly, with the tax collectors. John thinks this is a little bit off the chartered course that the Messiah was supposed to lead. Recall that John said of Jesus earlier in Matthew 3. John is thinking of Jesus as the man of heaven come to bring eschatological judgement, about to bring the end of days. He does not expect this man of sorrows, or this man of grace.

John thinks that the Christ has come to swing the axe at the root of the tree (Matthew 3:10). He's not yet seeing that Jesus will be crucified on a tree and that the axe will be swung by man at him. What John, you see, must be thinking is that Jesus doesn't seem to be getting along with the agenda. Where's the judgement?

So, as with many of Jesus' disciples, the messianic expectations had been unable to discern the first and second comings of Jesus. First Christ comes with respect to salvation, and in the end he will return with respect to judgement and the summing up of the ages.

But a second aspect of why I think John has this question is because his soul is heavy with despair. One commentator says this: "Everything tends to get out of proportion when you are suffering for a long time in a confined space", as John was. Doubts grow in such soil". Despondency, you see, becomes one of the plights of John, though he is this great man.

Now consider here the application. The pressing need that John feels to send word to Jesus with this most important question ought to be our pressing need to ask the same question. Remember Gideon in the book of Judges? The Israelites were suffering with oppression at the hand of the Midianites for seven years. And the angel of the Lord comes to Gideon, and Gideon says this: "If the Lord is with us, why has all of this happened to us?" You see, it's a question of despair. What despair can do, even to believers' minds, is make them doubt what they think they know about the promises and purposes of God.

To ask such questions is to show a desperation, but a seriousness, a sober seriousness. And the question I ask you this morning is whether you yourself have shown any such desperation of asking of Jesus if he really is the man from heaven and if you really can trust him? What do I mean by that? I mean: have you come to your senses, to your mind, and realised your desperate need to discern if Christ is the one that you can look to and no other? Can I throw all of my lot, cast all of what I am into him? That's what John is wondering.

Because maybe you're just meandering along in life, going through the motions, going with the flow, never really coming to Jesus and asking this question: "Are you the one? Are you the man?" Jesus must be asked by each one of us: "Are you him, Lord? Can I trust you with my life and my soul?" This above all else, I suggest, is what men and women in New Zealand need most this morning: to ask this question. Is Jesus the Saviour? Is he the man from heaven? Is it all in fact true? Is it to him that I can lay all my guilt?

Sadly, some don't want to ask such a question at all. They prefer to remain distracted; they prefer to ignore their conscience. Some perhaps are ignorant; they have not heard there was an expected one, a Messiah, and they do not know yet to ask. Some ask the question of the wrong person; they're not asking it of Jesus, but of others who cannot save: false messiahs and false shepherds. Some will ask the question half-heartedly, and they will not turn no matter if they hear the truth or not. They love their sin; they love being their own god; they love trusting in themselves, and they will not confess Jesus as Lord and Messiah.

But some, and I trust you this morning, some have joined with John in desperation, and you've asked, "Is it you, Lord Jesus? Can I cast my whole eternity, my whole destiny upon your shoulders? Give me assurance of your person and your work, or I die." Is this true of you this morning?

Friends, you see, we are not immune from John's situation. We forget, and so when things are going poorly in our lives or unexpected chaos takes over, we suddenly think that Jesus is no longer in charge and he isn't who we thought he was; he's no longer at the wheel. And we might start doubting, "Jesus, are you really this expected one? I've believed in you. I've followed you, but now my life seems to be getting worse and worse. It seems like things are more difficult for me now than when I didn't know you."

You see, through such trials our character must be refined and shaped by God. He must end our own lives so we might find our life in him. God is most present in the hearts of his people who have first been emptied of themselves: emptied of their pride, godlessness, and Christless aspirations. Unrealised expectations can sow doubts in our hearts.

Jesus' Response

So we have John's request, but secondly, see Jesus' response in Matthew 11:4–6. Read again the text with me: "Jesus answered and said to them, 'Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. Blessed is he who does not take offence at me.'"

If you have sharp observation skills, you would have noticed something quite interesting here. Remember that in Matthew 11:2, Matthew told us that John's request came after he heard of the works of Christ. He's heard about what Jesus is already doing, and then you'll see in Jesus' response he says effectively, "John, I want you to consider those works that you've already heard about even more closely." In other words, John doesn't understand them in light of the promised Messiah. Jesus is saying, "You're not viewing them, John, in the right light."

Now this is a very subtle rebuke, I believe, by Jesus to John; a correction. John's been sitting in that dungeon for six months, rotting in a cell, and Jesus says to him, "It is these works and words of mine, John, that precisely answer your question, and I am he." It's a correction for John, whose circumstances have made him a little bit confused about whether he'd spoken too much down by the Jordan River as he announced Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Maybe Jesus was just another prophet like him, John might be thinking. Maybe the man he expected as Messiah would actually be someone else.

Now what do we learn here? First of all, we learn our expectations of Jesus can easily be misled. If it can happen to John, it can happen to you and me. John, you see, had fallen for what was the common Jewish thinking at the time. He wanted a political Jesus, a political Christ. He is thinking about his nation; he wants Christ to lead a Jewish supremacy, a Christ to throw off Rome, to bend and crush the will of the Caesars and kings. That's what John wants, and he's wondering, "Jesus, what are you doing up in Galilee? Why are you amongst these commoners when you ought to be in Jerusalem taking power?"

How does Jesus respond? Well, Jesus tells John and us to read our Bibles better. "You've misunderstood, John," he says. Jesus then cites various passages, and to John says, "Are you sure your expectations were right, John? You're asking this question as if you expect me to ride into Jerusalem on a chariot, seize power, assemble an army, purge the land of their foes as in the days of Joshua, and bring about the rule of God for all eternity from Jerusalem." This was prevalent Jewish era thinking.

But friends, what did Zechariah the prophet say? Did he expect a Christ to come riding a chariot, a great steed, a war horse? No. Zechariah 9:9 said, "Rejoice greatly, your king is coming, humble and mounted on a donkey." Or take Isaiah, who said of the coming of the Messiah, Isaiah 42:3, "A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoking flax he shall not quench."

It was John who needed to revisit the word of God. And so are we if we are in any confusion about who Jesus really is. We need to measure ourselves up to the word of God, to understand what it is God that is doing through Christ, and not what we want him to be.

You see, people are still doing the same today; still making the same error, even Christians. They see the modern world; they see it melting in its own folly, and they say, "2,000 years of Christianity in the world, and it is still a mess. Oh, we must look now to other means. We must get to work ourselves. This gospel has proved fruitless," they say. "The world is still a mess. We must look to more political means. We must look beyond this preaching to common people about salvation. We must stampede the government. We must take control." Many are saying this, even professed believers.

Jesus is saying, '"'You want me to be up in Jerusalem taking power, but did not Isaiah say of me, Isaiah 61:1, 'The Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted'? Did he not say that the works that I do are the works that I must do, the works of my Father who sent me, that the eyes of the blind might be opened?'"'

We must be careful, brothers and sisters, of what Christ's aspirations really are. Make sure that we understand them as they are. What we find in Christ is a focus upon the individual, a focus upon the individual's soul and their standing with God. So whilst men want to build earthly kingdoms, Christ wants none of it.

So the second lesson here is: we must learn not to be offended by Christ, offended at how we find him. We must conform ourselves to who we find Christ saying he is, expecting no other of him. People in the Gospels, you see, were constantly offended by Jesus. This cornerstone became a great stumbling block for many. Pharisees accused him of doing his works by the power of Satan; they were offended. Jesus told his disciples that he must be crucified and rise on the third day, and Peter got in his way and rebuked him; he was offended.

Here John has taken offence that Christ is not aligning with his own expectations. Remember in Mark 2, when Jesus healed the paralytic. The religious leaders took offence: "Why does he say that he can forgive sins? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" They took offence. On and on we go, and today people are still offended by Christ, and even believers can be too, in some ways.

What do you mean, you might ask? Many Christians, you see, get tired of the preacher always focusing on personal salvation, always coming back to the blood of Christ and our need to be washed by him, and they say, "Oh, we are bored of this message." They take offence. Too many Christians think there are bigger needs in the world today than this. They say, "Personal salvation? That is such a narrow and selfish topic. Look at the world. Isn't it in a right state? Shouldn't you be preaching and talking about the Middle East and Ukraine and such topics as this? Why must we always come back to my need for the blood of Christ to wash away my sins? Why must it always get back to me? Cannot we focus on the bigger issues in the world at stake? Why so narrow?"

You see, people take offence at the message of the cross, which speaks to the individual. Many are offended by the cross and what it says about them, what it says about their needs. So they want their preacher to be political because they want a political Jesus, and not a personal Saviour Jesus.

Christ did not come to conquer Rome with a sword. He came to conquer hearts with his word by the Spirit, and he is very successful in that task. Jesus came to seek and save lost souls before he returns in cataclysmic judgement. And John was thinking ahead of the time. Jesus is saying here, in principle, we must take him at face value for the purpose he has stated he has come.

These were the messianic expectations, and Christ has perfectly fulfilled them. So Martyn Lloyd-Jones says here, "Are you scandalised by the Lord Jesus Christ? Or do you like him and take him as he is? It is one or the other. You are either scandalised by him or you like everything in him."

Now I say in closing to you believers this morning who are not scandalised by Christ, and as you do desire to know and come to Christ as you find him in your word; not wanting a Jesus that can make you wealthy?, not wanting a Jesus who is a political figure, but wanting Jesus who is a Saviour. I speak to you and I say, isn't there a great blessing that we can know, that all of our doubts, concerns, worries can be surrendered into his purposes, for he is that heavenly man, that Messiah? He says to John, as he says to you, 'I am he. Trust me. Look at my works and marvel. Look at my words and marvel. Look at my death on the cross, for which I have won your salvation, and marvel. Look at that empty grave wherein justification is secured, and marvel. Do not take offence at me.'

So John asked, "Is Jesus the expected one?" Well indeed, he is, and there is no other. And when we know him, you know, when we know him, the light can never leave our lives. Theodore Roosevelt went through what no man, what no woman, should we ever wish upon. Imagine losing both your loved ones on the same day, on a day such as Valentine's Day. But you know, for the Christian, there is no circumstance where the light will leave our hearts, because Christ promises to be with his people always, because he lives in us by his Spirit. In the darkest dungeon in the ground, any fiery trial, any ordinary event of life, he is with his people, because he is this heavenly man.

Trust him. When dark doubts assail thee, the hymn says with hope: "Trust him when thy strength is small. Trust him when to simply trust him seems the hardest thing of all. Trust him; he is ever faithful. Trust him, for his will is best. Trust him, for the heart of Jesus is the only place of rest."