INTRODUCTION

One Friday afternoon I was in my study preparing for a sermon when I heard the outer door to our office open. I looked out my study door and a woman I had never seen before was standing in the outer office. I said, "Can I help you?" She told me that she had come to see her therapist in the office next to ours but that she was not available. Then she said that she really needed someone to talk to. I told her to have a seat. She told me her story. The long and short of it was that she was very unhappy with her husband for a variety of reasons and she didn’t know if she could take it anymore. We talked for some time and I finally asked her, "So how does God fit into all this as far as you are concerned?" She assured me that while she didn’t go to church she believed in God. She prayed all the time but God never answered her prayers. In fact, she went on, she didn’t understand why God had given her so much trouble in life. Her father died when she was 12 and then one bad thing after another kept happening to her. While she never said it, it was apparent that she was not happy with God.

The problem of suffering is especially troublesome for people who believe in God. If you are an atheist and bad things happen to you, you just blame the government or bad luck or bad genes or bad parenting. However, if you believe and especially if you believe in Jesus you are confronted with a huge problem. You say you believe in a God who loved you so much that he killed his only Son for you. You say that you believe in the God who made the heavens and the earth and who is working out all things after the counsel of his will. You say you believe in a God who is perfectly just and is opposed to all evil. If all this is true, then why do we suffer? Why is it that Christians die in floods and hurricanes? Why do Christians get cancer? Why do three missionary families that we know have children with serious congenital defects? Why do spouses commit adultery and children do drugs? Why do tens of thousands of Christians get thrown into prisons and suffer all kinds of torture and even death, just because they are Christians?

When we honestly face the reality of suffering in our lives and place it against the backdrop of God’s character and promises, especially his promises in Jesus, we join a long parade of believers who have cried out, "Relent, O Lord. How long will it be? Have compassion on your servants." "How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire? Remember how fleeting is my life…"

The Scriptures give a number of answers to the question of suffering in the lives of believers that uphold the sovereignty, justice and love of God and give comfort to us. The answer we are going to consider today is not so much an answer to the question, why? It is an answer that is designed to assure us, that regardless of the conditions of our life we can be sure that God is working out all things in accordance with his plan. The answer given here focuses upon Jesus and his work to save God’s people and punish God’s enemies.

MAIN POINT

As I have studied and meditated on these 19 verses this week I have been struck by the grace and wisdom of God in how he has spoken to us in his word. Notice that chapter 11 follows chapter 10. In chapter 10 Jesus repeatedly promised us that when we become Christians we are volunteering for a life of suffering. Verse 16 is the real kicker. Our loving Savior tells us that he is "sending us out like sheep in the midst of wolves." What happens to sheep who visit wolf packs? They are torn apart. They suffer at the hands of the wolves. Now chapter 11 begins with one of the sheep who is being torn apart by the wolves asking Jesus the question that all of us ask when we are suffering.

Look at vv. 1-3. In v. 1 we are told that what immediately follows was preceded by instructions to his disciples. As I just said, those instructions were about the certainty of suffering for Christians. Then, out of the blue, we are told about John the Baptist. The last time we heard about John was back in Matthew 3: 12. We were informed that John had been put into prison and that when Jesus heard that news he left the area around the Jordan River and returned to his home territory of Galilee. This was the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. We are not, at this point in the story, told why John is in prison. We are not told who put him in prison. We don’t find out those details until chapter 14. Matthew does not record these details for a very simple reason. He wants us to think about what we know about John and then draw a conclusion. When we meet John in Matthew 3 he is preaching the good news of the kingdom. The same message Jesus preached, the apostles preached and we preach. In v. 11 he very specifically declares that the reason the kingdom of God is near is because king Jesus has come. That’s all we know about John and then he is put in prison. Therefore, we are to conclude that the reason John is in prison is because he has been declaring the greatness of Christ and the necessity of following him if you intend to be a part of God’s kingdom. In short, he is in prison for the sake of Christ.

In Matthew 3:12 John describes the work of God’s only Savior, Jesus. "His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire." He pictures Jesus as harvesting grain and then threshing it, separating the grain from the chaff. The grain is brought into his storehouse and the chaff is burned up. Now John, in using that metaphor is masterfully summarizing enormous amounts of OT Scripture that describe the work of God’s Savior in rescuing his people and judging his enemies. We just heard one of those passages read. Malachi 4: 1-2 says, "’Surely that day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the Lord Almighty… ‘But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.’" When God comes, he judges his enemies and saves his people.

Now in v. 3 of Matthew 11 John sends his disciples to ask Jesus a question. The question is this, "Are you the one who is coming or should we expect someone else?" Do you see what John is asking? He hears, while sitting in prison, about what Jesus is saying and about the miracles he is doing. While he sits, he is thinking, "This Jesus is saying a lot of things that sound right, but at least half of it makes no sense to me. He is healing lots of people. But, this sure doesn’t look like what I expected God’s Savior to do. These are good and amazing things but this is a far cry from a kingdom where there is no more suffering. We, the Jewish nation are not close to possessing our own land again. Where is all the judgement? What happened to this burning up of the arrogant and evildoers? What am I doing in prison if he has come to save his people and destroy our oppressors? The salvation that he is offering is so limited and there is no sign of any judgement on the wicked."

Please do not miss how similar our questions are to what John is asking. If God has come in Christ to save his people and punish the wicked, then why do I and every Christian I know suffer? Where is this salvation? Why do wicked people flourish? Where is this judgement?

Now listen to Jesus’ gracious and firm response to John. "Go back and tell John what you hear and see." What do they see and hear? I want to give you a literal translation because it is very poetic. "Blind ones, they receive sight. Lame ones, they walk. Leprous ones, they are cleansed. Deaf ones, they hear. Dead ones, they are raised. Poor ones, they are being told the good news." There are two things to see here. First, in Matthew 8 & 9 there is at least one example of each of these miracles recorded. Chapters 5-7 are an example of the poor hearing the good news. Second, Jesus, in telling them what they see and hear is almost quoting word for word from two OT passages that are written as poetry. Isaiah 35: 5-6 is part of the description of what will happen in "the day of the Lord". It says, "Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy." Then Isaiah 61: 1, another passage about the day when God comes to save his people, says, "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor."

Jesus tells John and us, look and listen and then compare what you see and hear to the descriptions of God’s only Savior in the OT. "You cannot escape the conclusion that I am indeed the one God promised would come to save his people and destroy his enemies. Your confusion, John, is that you have drawn some unwarranted conclusions about how I am going to accomplish all that is promised because you don’t like the pain. John, you are wondering and doubting and fearing because you do not like what is happening. Is your heart set on God’s kingdom or upon God making life go the way you want it to go? I am God’s Savior and I am perfectly accomplishing God’s salvation, just as he promised."

Notice that Jesus ends with a statement that is both a promise and a warning. It says, "Blessed is he who keeps from taking offense at me." Let me give you an expanded translation of this promise. "Blessed is the man who does not look at his life and then at Christ and say, ‘If this is all the better you can do, then I want nothing to do with you. If you’re the kind of Messiah that lets your servants get thrown into prison then forget you. If you’re the kind of Savior that allows husbands to beat their wives, then I want nothing to do with you. If you’re the kind of God who lets children contract leukemia then you can go to hell. If you’re the kind of king who cares so little for your subjects then I want no part of your kingdom.’"

You are taking offense at Jesus when you declare by your words or your actions that his salvation is not good enough for you. You want more or you want something different from what he is offering. When you demand that he treat you different than he is treating you. The person who has received God’s favor acknowledges, in spite of the suffering, that Jesus is God’s only Savior and loves him because he is. The person who looks at him and sees how he has fulfilled God’s promises and trusts that he is bringing in his kingdom exactly according to plan will have peace and rest.

What is absolutely striking to me in Jesus’ response to John is his lack of sympathy for John’s plight. It is as though he expects that the only encouragement John needs is to know for certain that Jesus is God’s Savior. He does not tell him not to worry because God’s going to get him out of prison. He doesn’t tell him that if he just had more faith he could get out of prison. He doesn’t tell him that God wishes he wasn’t in prison but there isn’t anything God can do about it. He does not tell him why he is in prison. He only tells him that he is indeed God’s only Savior. The kingdom is here and it is coming. All of God’s promises are going to be fulfilled by Jesus. Jesus expects this to strengthen and encourage John in his suffering. He expects it to strengthen and encourage us in our suffering as well. There is no better news you could get than the good news that Jesus has come and died and risen and is coming again. Blessed are you if you know that, if that is enough for you.

You can be sure; contrary to appearances, that Jesus is faithfully fulfilling God’s plan because…

• If he isn’t God’s only Savior he deserves an Oscar
• And because…

John’s disciples asked Jesus this question in front of a crowd of people who have been watching Jesus perform miracles and listening to his powerful teaching. At this point, popular opinion saw Jesus as at least a great prophet if not the Messiah himself. So the crowd would have been somewhat taken aback by this question from John. You can bet there would have been some muttering about John’s lack of loyalty and faith. So Jesus sets out to defend John to the crowd and in so doing to make a claim about himself that is stunning.

He begins by using sarcasm and irony in two metaphors. He turns to the crowd who is calling into question John’s character and asks three questions. First he asks, "What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed blowing in the wind?" In other words Jesus sarcastically asks, "Did thousands of you people go out to hear John preach because he was a man whose teaching changed with the winds of public opinion? Did you go listen to him because he was a like a good politician who tells everyone what they want to hear?" Second he asks, "If you didn’t go to see a man who vacillates in his teaching then what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fancy clothes?" The word translated "fancy" is only used two other times in the NT. In I Cor. 6:9 it is translated "homosexual offender". To phrase it another way then, "Did you go to see John because he was a soft and weak man, a man more like a woman than a man?" Then he says, "No, those dressed in soft and effeminate clothing are in king’s palaces." In other words, Jesus asks, "Do you think John is like those weak and soft men who spend their time pandering to the king? Is he just another "yes man" who only does the king’s bidding because he loves not working or taking risks but wants to live a soft and luxurious life?" That is what some in the crowd would be accusing John of, being fickle and weak.

So Jesus says, "No John was neither of these things. You went to see him because he was a prophet. You were correct to do so. In fact, he was greater than any prophet that ever spoke. He is that unique messenger that was prophesied about in Malachi 3:1." You’re going to have to turn to Malachi 3: 1 if you’re going to see what is so great about John. Malachi is the last book in the OT and Matthew is the first book in the NT, so you only need to turn back a few pages. Malachi lived and spoke 400 years before Jesus was born. Look at what Malachi 3:1 says, "See, I will send my messenger who will prepare the way before me." Look back at how Jesus quotes this. Do you see how he changed it? Jesus says, "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you." In both cases the messenger is John the Baptist. But in Malachi the messenger is sent in front of Yahweh, to prepare the way for Yahweh to come to his temple. Now Jesus could have directly quoted Malachi and what he would have been directly claiming is that he is Yahweh, the one who spoke through the prophet Malachi. But, the nature of the Godhead is far more complex than that and so he inserts himself into the quote. In Jesus’ version, Yahweh is speaking, not to the nation Israel, but to his Messiah and promising to send a messenger to prepare the way before him. There are three persons in the quote as Jesus says it. The "I" is God the Father. "My messenger" is John the Baptist. "You" is the Messiah, Jesus. Jesus is still claiming to be God but he is also showing that there are two beings in this verse referred to as "the Lord."

According to v. 11, John is not only greater than all the prophets but he is also the greatest human being ever born up to that time. What is it that makes John so great? The greatness of John is that he, more clearly than any human being up to that point in history, knew who Jesus was. Not only did he know who Jesus was but he revealed him as God’s only Savior more clearly than anyone else, including all the prophets of the OT, ever did. If you understand why John is the greatest human ever born then you will understand what Jesus means in the second half of verse 11 where he says, "yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John." What Jesus is saying is that every Christian beginning with the events recorded in Acts 2 is greater than John the Baptist, who was the greatest human being ever born up to that time. Every Christian sitting in this room is greater than John the Baptist, the greatest human to ever live from creation to the death and resurrection of Jesus. How can this be? It is because every Christian knows who Jesus is with greater certainty and reveals his true identity with greater clarity and power than John ever did because of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Up to this point he has defended John and in doing so has claimed that he is the God who spoke in Malachi 3. Now in v. 12 he explains why it is that John is in prison. First, he says that ever since John was put in prison in Matthew 3:12, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing. Do you see what Jesus is claiming? That means everything recorded from Matthew 3:13 to here is a record of God’s rule forcefully advancing on earth. Jesus is the subject of these chapters. Therefore he is the king and in his work God’s rule is being extended on earth. He is overcoming God’s enemies and saving God’s people. God’s kingdom is forcefully advancing as he heals and preaches.

But what does the last half of the verse mean, "…and forceful men lay hold of it." This is a fairly ambiguous translation. Is he saying that forceful people, those who really want to be a part of God’s kingdom, are joining it? Or is he saying that forceful, evil men are laying hold of the kingdom for the purpose of destroying it? I am persuaded that Jesus is talking about persecution and the opposition of people to the gospel of Christ. In other words Jesus is explaining that while he is the king and the kingdom is advancing and will advance to the very end and all God’s people will be saved, yet there will always be opposition often breaking out into persecution. John is the first example of that reality. He is in prison not because Jesus is not the Messiah and not because he is not able to fully protect him but because the kingdom is opposed by violent and evil men and they will persecute God’s people.

Verse 13 tells us why it is that the kingdom has been forcefully advancing since John was thrown into prison. The reason is that the entire OT and John were only prophesying about the kingdom. Their job was to point ahead to the one who was going to come and establish that kingdom. Jesus is that one and so there is no more work for John or for the OT in its predictive capacity. What the OT and John said would happen, has happened. The king has come and the kingdom is advancing. Finally, in v. 14 Jesus says that John is Elijah, who was to come. Here he is referring to Malachi 4: 5 which says, "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes." That means that with the coming of Jesus the great and dreadful day of the Lord has appeared. In other words, the day of God’s salvation and judgement has been here on planet earth for about 2000 years. It will end in all of God’s people being saved and in all of God’s enemies being destroyed.

Now Jesus ends his explanation with that great prophetic warning, "He who has ears, let him hear". He is challenging each of us to consider if we are taking seriously the day we live in. What are you living for in this great and dreadful day of the Lord? What is Jesus to you? All the OT and John the Baptist pointed ahead to him. He is God the Son who has become a man. He lived a perfectly righteous life. He died to satisfy God’s anger against the sins of his people. He rose so that he could offer his righteousness to all his people. He now sits at his Father’s right hand and sends the Holy Spirit to give life to all his people. He will one day return, and it could be today, to finally save all his people and to utterly ruin all those who have taken offense at him. He must either be your life or he will be your eternal death.

You can be sure; contrary to appearances, that Jesus is faithfully fulfilling God’s plan because…

• If he isn’t God’s only Savior he deserves an Oscar
• The whole OT, John the Baptist and Christians confirm that he is God
• And because…

Jesus again uses sarcasm. I want you to understand what he is saying to this crowd of Jewish people living in about 30 A.D. But, I am very eager that you hear what Jesus is saying to us. He compares the Jewish people who are following him around to the children who play games in the market places of the towns and villages in Israel. While we may not know the exact games to which Jesus refers, we do know about children whining and complaining. What parent hasn’t had a child run up to them and say, "Mom, Sarah won’t play dolls with me. She only wants to watch TV. Make her play with me." What often happens when children try to decide which game to play? Some want to play "Super Mario Brothers" and others want to play the latest NFL football video game. They argue and argue and finally one of them succeeds in putting the Super Mario Brothers game in the machine. But the one who wanted to play NFL football doesn’t move his man and plays with no enthusiasm and soon can be heard the accusation, "You’re so selfish. You’re not even playing the game. What fun is it play with you when you won’t even try."

Jesus says to the Jews of his day, "You are exactly like those petulant, whining children who are only happy when other children do exactly what they want. John showed up out of the desert, wearing a camel skin garment and living a very severe and ascetic lifestyle. You told him to lighten up and quit being so serious. You told him he was acting like a religious fanatic. You called him crazy and worse. You rejected his message because he didn’t do and say what you wanted him to do and say. You had him thrown into prison. Now I’ve shown up and I freely eat and drink. I like going to parties. I hang out with tax-collectors and sinners and all you can do is insult me. You call me a glutton and a drunkard behind my back. You tell me I need to be more serious about God and his laws, that I’m too free in how I treat the traditions of the elders. You accuse me of the grossest hypocrisy simply because I spend time with those you consider are under God’s curse. The only messengers you will be happy with are the ones who do and say exactly what you want. Has it never crossed your mind that you might be wrong? But let me tell you something. Our actions, John and mine, while they appear very different on the outside are motivated by the same God and aimed at the same goal. We both are declaring the message of the kingdom. We both are displaying the greatness of God by declaring his greatness and serving others out of joy and for God’s honor. Guess what? The end will show that we are right and that you are wrong. The day is coming when it will be clearly seen that we acted in accord with God’s wisdom but that you are fools."

Most of us, when we read the stories in the Bible, automatically assume we’re with the good guys. We have a tendency to presume that we are not like the group of people in the story being criticized. Rather we have way more in common with the people that are being commended. We belong to the group that is obedient and will be blessed and not to the group that is disobedient and will be cursed. I hope you know that is a dangerous way to read the Bible. It is how the Jewish people of Jesus’ day read it. Just because you profess faith in Christ does not mean that you are a Christian and that you are safe. Part of the work of this book is to challenge us so that we will not rest on false assumptions but will have a true and living faith. So we have to ask ourselves, am I like the people Jesus is criticizing in these verses? Am I like a child who whines and complains because God isn’t as interested in the things I am interested in? While professing to be a follower of Christ am I really critical of how God is treating me? While going to church regularly do I just as regularly refuse to believe and submit to what the Scriptures clearly teach? When you look for a church do you look for a pastor who makes you feel good about yourself or for one who says what the Scriptures teach and so makes you uncomfortable? When was the last time you changed your mind, repented of a sin or changed a behavior because of what you heard in a sermon or read in the Bible on your own? Is it really our ambition to believe and obey whatever God says? Are we like children, like the generation that lived with Jesus, saying, "Play the game our way God or we quit. Make my life go the way I want it to go or I’m out of here"?

© Copyright 2000 John Swanson.
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