John the Baptist

Christ’s Power Over Every Need The Gospel of Mark Sermon Series “The Beginning of When the World Was Changed” Mark 1:1-13

Christ’s Power Over Every Need

The Gospel of Mark Sermon Series

The Beginning of When the World Was Changed

Mark 1:1-13

Introduction

As we begin our study of the gospel of Mark we need to understand that each gospel is different yet united by telling the same story. They are like the southern accent. Many people think there are two southern accents (Redneck and Plantation) but I can assure you there are many varieties of southern speak. And just for your information, I know how to properly wear a pair of overalls, I do not let one side hang down, undone, and no I do not know how to play the banjo.

Matthew – has lots of facts, full stories, so this accents rolls around in the mouth like those in Tennessee. They are thinking about the words as they say them. They use the word y’all, and talk about football, and whose playing this weekend.

Luke-Acts – two large accounts of Jesus and the church beginning, is like southerners in Savannah or Montgomery. Full, large words, you take time to unpack the words, and they are spoken in the back of the throat. S-A-V-A-N-A-H – this is the Long Horn Leg Horn southern.

John – as the synoptic gospel is doing it’s own thing. It’s used to its own space. This is Alabama, their mouths are open wide, noses scrunch up, and they talk nasally. “What’s Ya’ll doing Friday night? We are going to mamas for lunch after church.”

Mark – is like going to the bayou of Louisiana. People speak quickly, words are cut in half and combined with other words. You add in Cajun and French, When Mississippi people are talking you better hang out to figure out what’s going on. “do like that there.” “Living in uptown.”

Prayer

The Introduction of Jesus

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God. This is when it began to move from town to town, person to person, from the country roads of Galilee, to the city streets of Jerusalem. It made it’s way to the poorest of the poor, and to the wealthiest and most powerful. It made it’s way through generation, after generation and when I was nine years old, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God made it’s way to my VBS classroom and took root in my heart.

“The gospel does not mean a book, or the message delivered by Jesus, but “the Christian proclamation of the divine message of salvation through Jesus Christ.”[1]

We are told quickly that this account is about Jesus who was the Son of God, “later demonic forces acknowledged Him as “the Son of God” (3:11; 5:7) and at the cross the Roman centurion asserts, “Truly this man was the Son of God” (15:39).”[2]

2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, 3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’”4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.[3] 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.[4] 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

(v. 2) “As it is written in Isaiah the prophet” – more specifically it says, “just as it is written.”[5] It was foretold that this would happen, and it did happen “just as it was written.” This is an exact prophetic fulfillment. Mark begins his account by stating how Jesus fulfilled prophecy, even from “the beginning.”

The quotation is from Isa. 40:3 verse 2b is from Exodus 23:30. The gospel is not something new that has suddenly appeared – it has long been anticipated since Genesis 3:15 “. . . he [Jesus] shall bruise your head, and you [Satan] shall bruise his heel.” Since the beginning of time there was a promise that a Savior would come and save mankind from sin – this is the beginning of that great story.

“It had been at least three hundred years since a word had come from God.”[6] It had been a long time since God gave Israel a “word from the Lord.”

John is not crying out in the marketplace or cities, or temples – the Baptizer was “one crying in the wilderness” The desert region in which John started his ministry of baptism is sometimes in the Old Testament called Jeshimmon, which means “devastation.” The people who had not heard from the Lord in generations, now as foretold John the Baptizer was yelling out in the wilderness, “the Savior of the world was coming,” and he’s coming to devastation. The world had been devastated by sin, and now God is going to make it right again.

So out in the wilderness there was a great movement of God, “all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him” His cry was that someone was coming and we need to prepare ourselves for His arrival.

And his message was “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight, — God’s Word applies to us today, so how does one today, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight? It is what John the Baptist said then, yet we are still to take it and use it today.

We are given hints to the answer to this question in what follows in Mark’s account – John’s actions (baptizing for the forgiveness of sin; His dress (simple and humble camel hair and a leather belt), His diet (eating what is around him), His understanding of himself (there will come one who is greater than I) but ultimately all of these things point to John’s message “repent of your sin.”

“The preparation was to be made in their hearts. The way of the Lord is through the heart. They prepared “the way of the Lord” by preparing and making their hearts fit for receiving the Lord.”[7]

There was a massive movement of God where “all the country of Judea, and all Jerusalem” (v. 4) “John appeared,” (egneto Ioanes) The word used for appearing is not in reference to an event (en), but an epoch (egneto).[8] His appearing marked the beginning of something new, and God highlighted by moving in thousands of people’s hearts and minds. “John is treating the Jewish nation as pagans who need to repent, to confess their sins, and to come back to the kingdom of God.”[9]

“Jerusalem is at least twenty miles from the Jordan River and about four thousand feet above it. It was hard going down the rugged Judean hills to the Jordan and even harder coming back up.”[10] Those going to see John were feeling the drawing of God to repent of their sin. “It is not remorse; not admitting mistakes; not saying in self-condemnation, “I have been a fool.” This is more than saying, “I’m sorry for one’s sins.”

[Repentance] It is a moral and spiritual revolution.”[11] It is a radical mindset change toward sin. It is “a change that will have, if genuine, its appropriate “fruits.””[12] (v. 3) “baptizing in the wilderness” – another word to define baptism is to be overwhelmed. John’s baptism was a picture of a people overwhelmed by the guilt and weight of their sin.

The road is made straight in our lives, and the way is prepared (for the Savior) when we humble ourselves before God and say, “I am a sinner” and I hate the sin that is in my life – I want it gone. (v. 5) says that they were “confessing their sins.” In this admission and understanding, you are not alone; Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Our introduction of Jesus is that it begins with a recognition that we have a sin problem – the good news is that God has provided an answer. Many of John’s disciples left John to become followers of Jesus because now that we have seen our sin for what it is, and we repent and seek righteousness – we can do nothing with our sin. We need a Savior.

Before we leave John, I want to highlight his words, “I am not worthy” – thousands of people were coming to see John and to be baptized by him. Anywhere he went, he would have been recognized. There was a mighty movement of God surrounding him. He was preaching constantly – yet, in the original language it says, “I am not suitable, a fit person – to do for him even this most menial service.”[13]

This was his humble utterance of a comparison between him and the Savior before Him. None of us are suitable, none of us are fit to do anything for the Lord. Isaiah 64:6 “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” (like filthy rags).

(v. 8) John says, “I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” – John’s water baptism was a symbolic picture of people being overwhelmed with their sin and wanting to repent from it – so they show this inward heart’s feeling by being overwhelmed in water. When we place our faith in Christ, we are overwhelmed by the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He (Jesus) will overwhelm you by surrounding you, immersing you, with the Holy Spirit.

Before Jesus began his public ministry there were two events that took place first;

his baptism by John, and the temptation.

The Baptism of Jesus

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee[14] and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

The first time we see Jesus in Mark’s gospel is at His baptism. No shepherds, no wise men, no angels appearing to Mary and Joseph – our journey with Jesus begins with a voice from heaven. Mark was not written for “a people who would have little interest in the genealogy of Jesus, or anything but the work by which he had become precious to them. So while John begins from eternity, Matthew from Abraham, and Luke from the events that preceded the birth of the forerunner, Mark finds the forerunner already at work, and introduces Jesus at the time of his baptism.”[15]

(v. 9) “9 In those days” – When the movement of God was in the wilderness, and people were being overwhelmed by their sin – “Jesus came from Nazareth” There was a calling, a direction by God, to put down his carpenter’s apron and hammer, and go to where God was moving among the people. He was waiting for the right time – for the announcement.

Jesus “was baptized by John in the Jordan” – Jesus is being overwhelmed, not with a weight of sin, but with the calling to begin His ministry. He was officially beginning the Messianic work of being the Savior of the world. So that when John brought him up from the water – immediately “he saw the heavens being torn open.”

“the Spirit descending on him like a dove” – At Jesus’ baptism is the only place that the Holy Spirit is described to us to be “like a dove.”[16] When Jesus begins his public ministry, He asks for a scroll of Isaiah to be brought to him, and he reads Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.”

“And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son” – In verse 1 the reader is told that what we are reading is, “the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,” and now here is a voice from heaven affirming that Jesus is the Son of God. Now the story that unfolds in the rest of the book, is not about a good moral teacher, or a historical narrative of a Jewish moral man – it is the story of how salvation was brought to humanity through the Son of God, Jesus Christ[17] (who is loved by God the Father).

The Temptation of Jesus

12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

Now that the Spirit has descended upon Jesus, the first thing the Spirit does is to lead him toward the Temptation for forty days. But even though Mark’s account is brief, it does give a detail that is not found in the other accounts, where it says “And he was with the wild animals.”

Mark doesn’t tell us any details about what happened between Jesus and Satan, whether the animals were against Jesus or for Him; and we don’t know what the angels did in the wilderness to minister to Jesus. Only that Jesus and Satan were battling for forty days.

“For the first time since events in the Garden of Eden, Satan confronted a completely sinless person. However, whereas Adam was created a sinless being, Jesus was sinless by virtue of His being the very Son of God!”[18]

A. Ironside remarks, “It was fitting that he should be tested before He began His gracious ministry. His temptation was not to see if perchance he might fail and sin in the hour of stress, but rather to prove that He would not fail, because He was the absolutely sinless One.”

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[1] George Arthur Buttrick, Commentary Editor, The Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 7 (Nashville, Tennessee; Abingdon Press, 1980) 648.

[2] James McGowan, Twenty-First Century Biblical Commentary Series, The Gospel of Mark (Chattanooga, Tennessee; AMG Publishers, 2006) 10.

[3] “The outpouring of the Spirit was understood traditionally as an established characteristic of the messianic age (Isa. 44:3; Ezek. 36:25-27; Joel 2:28); however, John’s use of the expression “Baptize you with the Holy Spirit” here, was both new and unique.” McGowan, 11.

[5] Buttrick, 649.

[6] Rodney L. Cooper, Holman New Testament Commentary, Mark (Nashville, Tennessee; Holman Reference, 2000) 7.

[7] C.E.W. Dorris, A Commentary on the Gospel According to Mark (Nashville, Tennessee; The Gospel Advocate, 1970) 17.

[8] Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Volume 1 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1932) 253.

[9] Robertson, 254.

[10] Frank E. Gaebelein, The Expositor’s Bible, Volume 8 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1984) 620.

[11] Buttrick, 649.

[12] Clarke, 16.

[13] Clarke, 18.

[14] “Jesus probably began his public ministry about A.D. 27, when he was approximately thirty years old.” Gaebelein, 621.

[15] W. N. Clarke, An American Commentary on the New Testament, Mark and Luke (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; Judson Press, 1950) 15.

[16] Clarke, 21.

[17] On two other occasions God spoke from heaven about Christ (Mark 9:7) – at the Transfiguration and during the last week at the temple (John 12:28). . . Jesus did not “become the Christ” at His baptism. He was already the Messiah, already God manifest in the flesh. This event dramatically inaugurated His public ministry.” McGowan, 12.

[18] McGowan, 13.

How Do I Please God With My Life? By Persevering in the Face of Difficulty John the Baptist: Part 3 Matthew 14:1-12

How Do I Please God With My Life?[1]

By Persevering in the Face of Difficulty

John the Baptist: Part 3

Matthew 14:1-12

***In the beginning of the sermon my IPad was very slow in booting up, and at the end it died very suddenly. So I skipped some of the notes at the end. Just some insider baseball to explain why this sermon was a little more extemporaneous than normal.

Introduction

Psalm 116:15 “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.”

The book Ordinary Men by Christopher Browning is the true story of Reserve Police Battalion 101 of the German Order Police, which was responsible for mass shootings as well as roundups of Jewish people for deportation to Nazi death camps in Poland in 1942. By the end of the war they had killed over 83,000 Jews. Browning argues that most of the men of RPB 101 were not fanatical Nazis but ordinary middle-aged, working-class men who committed these atrocities out of a mixture of motives.

How is it that ordinary, working class men go from being ordinary citizens of a nation to ferocious killers of unarmed men, women, and children? They were not closely tied to the Third Reich, Nazism. These actions are one small step followed by another, and then another.

Prayer

I Can Please God by Telling the Truth (vv. 1-5)

At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, 2 and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 3 For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison[2] for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4 because John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet.

After Herod the Great died (Matthew 2:19 ff.) his empire was divided among his sons. So “Herod the tetrarch”[3] was the son of Herod the Great, was named Antipas, and he ruled for about thirty-two years over the area that Jesus and John the Baptist were preaching and ministering.[4]

“Herod the tetrarch” is hearing about the fame of Jesus. After Jesus raised a man from the dead the people began to say “. . . A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” 17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.” (Luke 7:16-17).

So he goes back to an event that happened earlier – The death of John the Baptist. He superstitiously believes that John has been raised from the dead; that is why this person performing the miracles has power.

In verse five we see that Herod the tetrarch was concerned about the people and what they thought of him. He didn’t want any riots or uprisings, so he was careful in what he did with John. So even though he wanted to kill him, he just kept him imprisoned. Matthew 4:12 helps to get a time line that it was about a year since John’s imprisonment.

Wanting to keep the people happy and calm, it seems that Herod brought in John the Baptist in order to endorse his marriage.[5] Here’s where things get sticky – Herod the Great had three sons that the empire was divided amongst; Antipas, Archelaus, Philip. Antipas (the Herod mentioned in Matthew 14) took Philip’s wife (Herodias) as his own wife – and he wanted John to endorse that marriage, so that it would potentially be ok with the people (since John was very popular). “For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. . .” and they already have a child together.

Levitical law required the marriage of a deceased and childless brother’s wife, but here the brother was still living and they had a daughter.[6]

Instead of endorsing the marriage, John kept on saying, again and again ““It is not lawful for you to have her.” Luke 3:19-20 tells us that not only did John go after Herod because of his marriage, but also many other things as well, “But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison.”

Mark 6:18-20 adds some details, “For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.”

From the Greek verb usage we can tell that John kept on saying that what Herod was doing was wrong, and preached against “all the evil things that Herod had done.” Yet “he heard him gladly.” All the verbs here are in the imperfect tense, describing actions continued or repeated from time to time.[7] John was faithful to not water the sin down, and to keep sharing how it was wrong.

So if we take the Gospel accounts together, Herod was originally angry with John and had him imprisoned with the intention of killing him. But because he feared the crowds, he just kept him in prison.

Then over time as John would appear before him and preach against him, Herod begins to respect and fear him as a prophet, even listening gladly to what John had to say, even protecting John from Herodias. Herodias, on the other hand, as John preached again and again, held a grudge and become increasing angry and was waiting for an opportunity to kill him.

Everyone has a conscience. It is our internal warning system that something is right or wrong. When we violate our conscience we feel shame or guilt, and when we do what we feel is right, we feel satisfaction or relief. Like a altimeter in an aircraft that tells you how far you are off the ground. If you get too low, an alarm goes off.

But that altimeter could be calibrated incorrectly and you could fly right into a mountain with no warning. What calibrates our internal warning system in the Bible. We can also not listen to our conscience, essentially turning off the warning system, by ignoring, and over time you no longer hear the warning alarm.

I Can Please God By Completing My Calling (vv. 6-12)

6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, 7 so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. 10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, 11 and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.

Matthew 4:11-12 is the description of the end of Jesus’ temptation which was around 40 days. His temptation immediately followed Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist. “Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. 12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee.” So now after being in prison for around a year, we reach the last day of John’s life.

“the daughter of Herodias danced” Salome is the daughter’s name and she is around 12 years-of-age. Herodias’ daughter (by her previous marriage to Philip), danced before the crowd and Herod at his birthday celebration. Typically, dancing girls could be hired for such an occasion, but they were “of ill repute.” Here, instead of prostitutes dancing around it is Herod’s step-daughter.

What gives this a sense of horror is that a mother has sent in her child, probably mostly naked into a room of drunken men who would then watch her dance. Her dancing pleased Herod (again horrible), and he made a rash vow to Salome.[8]

Mark 6:22-23 gives us a little more detail, “And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” 23 And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.”[9]

The girl goes and consults with her mother Herodias and they plan the execution of John with the proof to be presented to them on a platter. If Herodias had bet that by sending in Salome the king would react this way, makes it even more diabolical. Even coaching her daughter to ask for the murdered head of a righteous man.

“And the king was sorry” this is the first time in the text that Herod the tetrarch is referred to as king, almost to emphasize that he could, as king, do whatever he wished. He immediately “was sorry” that he had offered the vow because he was trying to protect John the Baptist from Herodias. He probably realizes that he has been played by Herodias.

Herod once again feared what people would say. Weak men fear of being thought of as weak, so he doesn’t do what is right.[10] Herod had no moral problem about his incestial and adulterous relationship with Herodias, nor did he had a moral issue about killing John, nor did he had a moral problem with his 12-year-old step-daughter dancing around, probably nude in a room full of men – here he does not want to break his word. Suddenly, he feels he needs to do what is right.

So Herod upon hearing John’s preaching was aware that his conscience was directing him – he knew John to be righteous, and holy and “he kept him safe.” He gladly heard what John was saying. His conscience was being pricked. We are told that “he felt sorry” for his actions, but it is the same kind of sorry that Judas felt. He was filled with remorse but was not repentant. Instead of severing his relationship with Herodias, he severed John’s head from his body.

Worldly sorry is to feel bad because of an action or decision you have made. Repentance, is to change in your mind how you feel about a particular action. 2 Corinthians 7:10 “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” There are many today who seek to drown out the sorrow in our hearts, to ignore it, mask it, or to be even busier so we don’t feel anything – but that is the spiritual warning system that guides us to a right relationship with God.

“So repentance begins with an intellectual recognition and confession of sin, but it does not end there. There is also a “change of heart”—an emotional component in which the genuine believer mourns over having sinned against the God whom he loves. That is why in the classic psalm of repentance, Psalm 51, David says, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”[11]

“People who have worldly sorrow are often defensive about their sin and attempt to justify it or explain it away; whereas godly sorrow causes you to own your sin and make no excuses. You know you are experiencing worldly sorrow when you are grieving for yourself—for the embarrassment you’re suffering and the pain you’re feeling—rather than mourning over the grief you have brought to the Holy Spirit for dishonoring the grace of Christ and belittling the glory of God.”[12]

“To murder a man you know to be good and righteous and to show no remorse – we call such people psychopaths. But Herod was no psychopath. He was just an ordinary guy who made one small foolish step after another – a small step toward a woman who was not his wife, another step behind his brother’s back, a momentary moment of lust at a birthday party, and the next thing you know there’s John’s head staring at you, served on a royal platter.”[13]

In that culture people, especially at celebrations like a royal birthday, the meal would have lasted late into the night. So, more than likely, John would have been in his cell, asleep in his bunk, when the soldiers[14] came in and hastily beheaded him. There were still some that were considered “John’s disciples” even though John had pointed them to Christ who came a collected his body.

In John 3:29-30 there is a discussion about how John’s ministry related to Jesus’ ministry, and John the Baptist responds, “Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.” John completed his task of being the forerunner of the Messiah, he preached “repent for the kingdom of heaven his here.”

Broadus says, “For many years he lived a life of hardship and loneliness, that he might be better fitted for his work as a reformer.”[15] John the Baptist didn’t just preach about repentance, but the way he dressed and the food he ate and even where he chose to do his ministry – all pointed to his message of repentance. He lived out what he preached down to the last detail and he died in a prison because he faithfully spoke the truth.

For John he boiled his life down to one word – repentance. How he dressed, what he ate, where he went, all pointed back to his calling and it gave constant direction to his life. All too often we are split in thousand different directions because we can’t narrow our calling down, if we even take it into account at all.

In “A world where Herod sits in the festival chamber, and John lies headless in the dungeon, needs some one to set it right.”[16] And his disciples [Johns’] came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus What do we do in light of such injustice? We go and tell Jesus. Jesus understands what is like to lose those he loved.

In Jesus’ parable of the sower Herod is an example of the seed that fell among the thorns.[17] “Herod hears the word, but “the cares of the world” (he has a kingdom to run and important people to impress), “the deceitfulness of riches” (he’s not about to give up his position and the wealth that goes with it to follow some hermit from an obscure little town in Judea or some traveling peasant from Nazareth), and lusts for other things (women, power, you name it) enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful (13:22). So it never grows.”

We must be careful to cut ourselves free, through the convictions of the Holy Spirit, from the sin that entangles us. We must keep our consciences calibrated with God’s Word, and keep it clear.

Baby Jessica’s Rescue Oct. 16^th, 1987

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[1] Week One: By Repenting of Sin and Drawing Close to Him. Week Two: By Accepting My Place in His Universe

[2] “The place of confinement is said by Josephus (Ant. 18.5.2) to have been Machaerus a fortress on the eastern side of the Dead Sea.” W.N. Clark, An American Commentary, Mark (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; Judson Press, 1881) 88.

[3] Matthew 2:19ff. Archelaus, Antipas, and Philip

[4] John A. Broadus, An American Commentary on the New Testament, Matthew (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; Judson Press) 314.

[5] Broadus, 314.

[6] Broadus, 317. Lev. 18:16; 20:21

[7] Ibid.

[8] Craig Blomberg, The New American Commentary, Matthew (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1992) 230.

[9] Esther 5:3, 6; 7:2

[10] Plumptre

[11] https://blog.tms.edu/sorrow

[12] Ibid.

[13] Kent Hughes. Matthew, All Authority in Heaven and on Earth (Wheaton, Illinois; Crossway Publishing, 2013) 387.

[14] Mark’s account tells us that he was an “executioner.”

[15] Broadus, 321.

[16] Lewis, 359.

[17] Hughes, 388.

How Do I Please God With My Life? By Accepting My Place in His Universe John the Baptist: Part 2 Luke 7:18-35

How Do I Please God With My Life?[1]

By Accepting My Place in His Universe

John the Baptist: Part 2

Luke 7:18-35

Introduction

While in seminary a friend of mine asked me to drive him to a doctor’s appointment. He was having headaches and so we went to have a MRI of his brain. We went and on the return trip from one part of Raleigh, NC to across town we got lost on the outer loop. These were the days before GPS, so around and around we went for about an hour.

In the meantime the hospital had called his wife and told her that my friend needed to return immediately that they had found a mass and needed to do further imaging. It was discovered that he had a brain tumor. We were in our twenties, so with prayer and chemo he would be fine, so I thought. Who dies of a brain tumor in their twenties?

Now adding to this was the fact that they were seminary students who lived in a very bad part of town, on purpose – so that they could minister and do Bible studies in this impoverished and crime ridden neighborhood. Months went by, chemo treatment after chemo treatment and my former college wrestler and bulked up man, slowly began to waste away to a living skeleton. I went and setup their Christmas tree because he was too weak to move from his laziboy chair. Eventually, he passed away leaving behind a widow. Doesn’t God answer prayer? Why would God take someone who was serving Him with such passion?

If you live long enough, you will have to endure God doing something that makes no sense to you. You will have some hard questions, you will doubt, and you will not understand. That’s what we will look at this morning.

Prayer

Lord thank you for your word, because without it we would be lost. This world is so confusing, and filled with malevolence. You have not left us without a witness of your love and compassion. Help us to trust you more today as we lean in to your character and unchanging presence. Amen.

I Can Please God With My Life By Asking Him the Hard Questions (vv. 18-23)

The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19 calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 20 And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’”

Luke doesn’t tell us where John the Baptist is when he receives the report from his disciples or sends two of his disciples to talk with Jesus, but Matthew 11:2 tells us that he was in prison.[2]

John the Baptist was there at Jesus’ baptism and heard the voice from heaven saying, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (John 3:22)

John’s disciples reported to John what the people of Judea were saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” John clearly understood his role as the person who would prepare the people’s hearts for the coming Messiah. But he was confused about Jesus and what He was doing. John says, ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” Jesus did not fit his expectations.

While John preached and baptized, people began to think maybe he was the Messiah. Luke 3:16 “As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, 16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

So far there was no Holy Spirit appearing, no fire, no winnowing fork, no burning the chaff. John’s expectation of what the Christ would do, and what Jesus was actually doing didn’t match up.

The Romans showed no signs of going anywhere, Herod and the Herodians were living it up, and the religious leaders (Sadducees and Pharisees) were just as self-righteous and arrogant as ever.[3]

Jesus is focused on mercy, grace, forgiveness – where is the judgement and fire?[4] John seems to feel that he is running out of time – “shall we look for another?” before its’ too late.

John the Baptist has doubts about Jesus.

In May 2020, Jon Steingard, the front-man for the very popular Christian band Hawk Nelson said that he no longer believed in God. Steingard said there were things in the Bible that didn’t make sense to him. There were things in Christian culture that made him feel uncomfortable. He had questions, “Why is there evil in the world?”, “Why doesn’t God do anything about it?”

This year, Kevin Max of the band DC Talk said that he was an “exvanglical.” And there are several others like Joshua Harris of “I kissed dating goodbye,” and the comedians and Air Biscuits podcast hosts Rhett & Link[5]. Many very famous and popular people are deconstructing their faith.

Deconstruction is a movement among those inside Christianity that are seriously struggling with their faith. 67% of young adults are praying more and thinking more than before the pandemic. They want to know how the church is dealing and reacting to racial injustice and sexuality.

Is it wrong to ask questions and to have doubts? Let’s see how Jesus deals with John’s doubt.

21 In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

Jesus responds to John the Baptist’s question with empirical and Scriptural evidence that he was the Messiah.

John 4:17-19 “And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” In Jesus’ response to John the Baptist, He references four different texts from Isaiah.[6] Jesus points to Scripture, and then shows how He is living out the Scripture.

Jesus also doesn’t demand belief, he presents the facts and lets John make up his own mind. Jesus’ asks John’s two disciples to simple state what they have seen and experienced, and from that John can draw his own conclusions.[7] God gives dignity to man by slowing down long enough to allow us to put the pieces together, on our own. God doesn’t become angry when we question, he addresses our questions with facts.

Jesus does not tell John that he would be delivered from prison and he doesn’t say anything about the winnowing fork, or burning chaff, or unquenchable fire. But He does give evidence that He was the Messiah, the Christ. Jesus deals with John the Baptist’s doubts by showing him that He is the Messiah.

Jesus doesn’t promise us that he will take the pain away, cure the disease, or follow the plan that we want to see happen. He just keeps pointing people to Himself. Jesus is who he said He was and in that we have hope.

Jesus is God who put on human skin, fulfilled prophecy in his birth and life, preformed miracles to prove his identity as the Christ, taught and explained how his kingdom was different from all the earthly pharaohs, and would eventually rise from the dead. He reaffirms in John’s life that he is who he said he was.

Jesus closes his remarks to John by saying, “And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”[8] Or blessed is the one who does not fall away because of the way I do things. John was convinced that the Messiah was going to free Israel from Roman oppression, get rid of the religious phonies, and execute judgement – But Jesus wasn’t doing any of those things. If we are not careful, our preconceived notions of how God acts, and beliefs about what He should do, will keep us from being apart of what he is actually doing.

God is God and He will run His universe the way He sees fit, but if we stay the course then we will be blessed. Life still happens, even to those who believe in Christ.

But God’s Word never changes and God never changes.[9] There was a time when the Catholic Church punished Galileo because he believed that the earth revolved around the sun[10] – does the Bible teach that the sun revolves around the earth, no it does not. So, while God’s word does not change, some interpretations of it do change. Our humbleness to admit that we don’t know or may get some things wrong is important to a watching world.

I Can Please God With My Life When I Humble Myself Before Him (vv. 24-36)

24 When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 25 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. 26 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written,

“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’

28 I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

Jesus asks the crowds, “why did you go out to the wilderness?” Were you looking for a trend leader (someone moving back and forth), a fancy dresser (soft clothing), yes they were going out to see a prophet.

Jesus recognizes John the Baptist as the pre-runner of the Messiah, John fulfilled the Scriptures referencing him and his ministry of preaching “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is here.” Jesus also praises John in v. 28 saying “none is greater than John.”

But a new day has arrived, and Jesus says, “Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” John is the last prophet from the Old Testament, and Jesus is beginning a New Testament where those of this new day are apart of the kingdom of heaven. Both are God’s Word, and both are needed to understand God’s message to mankind. The OT is needed to understand the context of the NT.

There are two ways of doing ministry, John representing the Old and bridging the gap into the New, and Jesus representing the New.

29 (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, 30 but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

Luke in parentheses compares those who humbled themselves, repented, confessed their sin, and were baptized by John. He even singles out tax collectors, even those horrible sinners – they declared God just in pointing out their sin.

The Pharisees and the lawyers did not believe that they had any need to repent, confess their sins, or humble themselves to be baptized by John the Baptist. They rejected the purpose of God for their lives, which is to “bear fruits in keeping with repentance.” (Matthew 3:8)

“31 “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’ 33 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”

Jesus uses a child’s song to make a point. One group of children are trying to get another group of children to play. There were “people of this generation” who rejected both John’s and Jesus’ ministries. John’s message of “repent and be baptized” was ignored (no weeping), and Jesus’ ministry of good news of salvation was ignored (no dancing or rejoicing).[11]

John’s not eating certain foods (bread) or drinking certain drinks was an outward expression of his mourning and message of repentance. He is literally living what he is preaching. They even called him a demon for living this way. Jesus’ eating and drinking was an expression of his celebration that the king of heaven was here, and Jesus was called a glutton, a drunkard, and a friend of sinners.

Both Jesus and John’s message was the same, “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is here.” But their presentations were different. The people rejected both. There will be people, that no matter how eloquent or humble the presenter, they will not respond to the gospel. No matter how well laid out the facts may be, they refuse to humble themselves before the Lord.

The religious people who refused to repent, confess their sins, and were not baptized are missing the fact that “the kingdom of heaven has come near.” John’s whole message was for people to prepare their hearts, so that they would not miss the appearing of the Christ. And here we see a group of people who refused to humble themselves and they don’t know what to do with John or Jesus’ message. They are missing the kingdom of heaven that is literally staring them in the face.

“Yet wisdom is justified by all her children” Those that follow the religious leaders (rejection of the need for repentance, and the rejection of the coming of the kingdom of heaven) and those that follow Jesus and John’s message of repentance of sin – one group will be shown to be right, one group will be justified.

God can handle any questions you may have, and He will provide the facts you need, but at the end of the we all have to make a decision to choose Jesus and what He has done for us on the cross or have faith in ourselves and our own abilities to save ourselves. Both can’t be right, and at the end of time one way will be justified. Which do you think is right?

_________________

[1] Week One: Matthew 3, By Repenting of Sin and Drawing Close to Him.

[2] Robert H. Stein, The New American Commentary, Luke (Broadman Press; Nashville, Tennessee, 1992) 226.

[3] Kent Hughes, Luke, That You May Know the Truth (Wheaton, Illinois; Crossway Publishing, 2015) 275.

[4] Leon Morris, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Luke (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Inter-Varsity Press, 1990) 156.

[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujtXatJVeN0

[6] 26:19, 29:18ff, 35:5ff, 61:1 (referenced above)

[7] Clifton J. Allen, Gen. Ed., The Broadman Bible Commentary, Luke-John (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1070) 67.

[8] “The verb rendered takes offense is picturesque. It derives from the trapping of birds, an refers to the action that depresses the bait-stick and so triggers off the trap. It is a colorful way of referring to the cause of trouble.” Leon Morris, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Luke (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Intervarsity Press, 1990) 156.

[9] Immutable.

[10] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_affair

[11] Craig A. Evans, New International Biblical Commentary, Luke (Peabody, Massachusetts; Hendrickson Publishers, 1990) 119.

Matthew 3:1-10 “A Straight Path”

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