Immediately after the encounter with the Pharisees over Jesus’ disciples plucking grain on the Sabbath, He goes on to enter the local synagogue.
Note first that as corrupt and defiant as the leadership was, Jesus did not forsake attending the local assembly to worship. How unlike many today who would use poor Church leadership as an excuse not to attend. Why would we consider it reasonable to rob God of the public testimony of our worship over the foolishness of fallen men? Why would we forsake singing His praises together? Hearing His Word read and at least attempted to be applied in some way? Sometimes, we can be more righteous than Jesus Himself.
Note second how because this is true, Jesus will have opportunity to heal the man with the withered hand. Despite our failing assemblies, might not the Lord use us to minister to those within its pale? People are still in need of the mercy and grace of Christ even in deeply flawed Churches. May we be willing conduits of His mercy.
Note third that when Jesus is aware that His enemies were out to destroy Him, that He withdrew. The Son of man knew His time was not yet. He did not find it prudent to die on just any hill – but that of Calvary alone. And we believers, we are not to die on just any hill either. When the cause is truly the Gospel, we must not shrink. But neither are we to stick our chins out and dare our opponents to strike us over every little thing. Christians dividing and warring over politics and lesser matters of religion is a shame. There are times to stand our ground no matter the consequences. And times to withdraw when the cause does not justify it. How we need wisdom to discern which is which.
Note lastly how Jesus’ withdrawal at this point is actually the fulfilling of Isaiah’s prophecy. As such, it teases out the frame of the Gentle Shepherd. Verse 18 begins with God calling us to “behold” – to see and take note of His servant. To take to heart what is about to be revealed about Him.
1. He will proclaim the justice of God to the Gentiles – in showing them their sin, yet not as to condemn them. To show How God is both just, and the Justifier of those who have faith in Christ.
2. He will not do battle with His enemies while here – but be gentle toward them as well.
3. He will be gentle toward those who are broken and bruised and have but the slightest spark of spiritual life kindled within.
4. He will be Gentle to those Gentiles to whom He has proclaimed justice – that in Him, they might hope.
It is not “behold the warrior King.” That He will show Himself to be in due time. But we live in the age when His gentleness and proclamation of grace to the nations is still the leading feature.
Oh, that we would proclaim it. The we might be the ones crying “BEHOLD!”
As Matthew has arranged it, this portion has contain Jesus’ 3 “greater than” statements regarding Himself.
In the first, something greater than the Temple is here – He demonstrates how it is He is the fulfillment of all the Old Covenant signs and symbols pointed to. Soon, He will actually inaugurate the New Covenant. The Old era will have come to it consummation in Him. And it is why going back to those Old Covenant feasts, festivals and practices are so foolish. It is going back to pictures when the reality is right in front of us.
Then, He speaks of how He is greater than Jonah. By contrast and comparison we are meant to infer how He had come to the most hostile and distant people from God (even though they professed nearness to Him) and preached judgment – but also salvation. A salvation Jonah never preached. At this point in time, Israel as as much the enemy of God as Assyria was the enemy of Israel in Jonah’s day. And yet God came to rescue them and grant repentance.
Now comes Jesus’ third statement.
“The queen of the South” Jesus says, “will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
In context, not only is the Pharisee’s unbelief rebuked by the example of Jonah, He’ll go on to show how it is rebuked yet again in the account of how the pagan Queen of Sheba came from a great distance to see Solomon for herself – simply because she had heard such great things about him. Whereas these guys, had watched and seen Jesus close-up for quite some time, and still scoffed!
Once again, we see a number of things here by way of contrast and comparison.
1 – Solomon sought out and spoke wisdom: Christ is the very wisdom of God – 1 Cor. 1:30/ “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”
2 – Solomon’s reign brought temporal and temporary peace – the golden age of Israel’s history: Christ is the very Prince of Peace – and brings reconciliation to God the Father. Rom. 5:1/ “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
3 – Solomon was seduced by the world: Christ said “fear not, I have overcome the world”. John 16:33/ “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
4 – Solomon was unfaithful to his wives: Christ remains ever faithful. And doesn’t Scripture repeat and emphasize the great truth of His faithfulness? 2 Timothy 2:13/ “if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.” Hebrews 2:17 / “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” Hebrews 3:5–6/ “Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.” Revelation 19:11/ “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.”
5 – Solomon dressed himself in splendid garments: but in Luke 2:11-12, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” Humbling Himself to our condition.
6 – Solomon was King of Israel: Christ is pictured in Rev. 19:11-16/ “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”
7 – Solomon built an earthly Temple: Christ Himself IS the Temple in the New Jerusalem – Revelation 21:22/ “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.”
8 – Solomon built a temple out of material stones: Christ is building His Temple out of the living, redeemed stones of Believers – Eph. 2:19-22/ “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” 1 Peter 2:4–5 / “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
What then are we to make of all this?
Let me suggest just three things:
1 – Salvation rests solely in the person and work of Jesus Christ, not in any system of rules, regulations, rites, rituals or imagined good works.
We are saved by grace through faith – not by our efforts.
All of man-made religion finds a way for people to somehow reach God. But Biblical Christianity is all about how our God reached down to us.
How He found us in our sin and rebellion against His right to rule us, and now re-establishes His rule, as He created us to serve His plans and purposes.
Even the very commandments God has given cannot make us worthy.
At most, the perfect Laws of Moses can only serve to reveal how broken and sin-stained we are – how we cannot keep His Law perfectly.
Only the mercy and grace of God in the substitutionary death of Christ on Calvary can wipe out our sin.
Only He can save us from the just wrath of God which is due to us.
Something greater than the Temple is here: It is Jesus Christ. The one who fulfills all the things the Temple and its laws, rites and rituals were meant to typify.
I have often told the story of how my wife and I met. It was on the internet. Living in different states, we could only see each other infrequently. So I had a picture of her as the screen saver on my computer.
And I will confess that a couple of times, I longed to be with her so, my lips my have touched that screen.
But we’re married now. I get to see her, hold her hand, kiss her and live life with her.
If now, AFTER we are married, I go back and kiss her picture instead of kissing her – well, that’s a pretty serious defect wouldn’t you say? She sure would!
That’s just what is it like when people go back to Old Testament rites, rituals and regulations rather than serving the Christ who has come in person!
Those things were pictures. He’s the authentic.
Christians serve Christ, not a system.
We seek His Lordship, not a bunch of rules and laws.
We seek to please Him, not a written code.
2 – The Christian lives by faith, not by sight.
We do not look to signs, omens, feelings, impressions and mystical experiences to guide us, or assure our hearts and minds; We rely on the revelation of God’s character in His Word, in Christ, and the promises we can rightly discern in His Word.
And how do we define “faith” as it is in the Bible? It is believing that all of what God has said in His Word is true, and ordering our lives accordingly.
A number of years ago I heard a very famous preacher tell people over and over that they should follow him and send their money to Him because “a miracle settles it all.”
No it doesn’t! Jesus Himself told us that on judgment day – Matt. 7:21-23 ““Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
Some will prophesy – rightly! Cast out demons and do many mighty works in His name – and yet they will not be His at all!
Paul reminds us there is a lawless one who will come some day: 2 Thess. 2:9-10 “The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.”
So Isa. 8:19-20 “And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.”
As Believers we do not need signs from God regarding this and that in life – we need His Word, studied, rightly understood, believed, obeyed and applied.
And if you are not a Believer yet today…
In Luke 16, Jesus told the account of a man who died in his sin, and while in Hell pleaded with Abraham that someone would reach his 5 brothers who were still alive – to warn them not to die in their sin: Luke 16:27 / “And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house—
Luke 16:29 / But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’
So the man shot back, Luke 16:30/ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’
To which Abraham finally replied: Luke 16:31/ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’ ”
If you are demanding God give you some sign that the Gospel is true and that you need to come to Christ now to receive the forgiveness of sins – it will not be coming.
He does not answer to you, you, and all of humanity answer to Him!
If you will not hear God’s Word to repent of your sin and believe on Christ – no sign He could give you would be sufficient.
Such is the wickedness of our rebellious hearts. Come to Him now, before it is too late!
3 – A true grasp or reality can be had, only in the light of the Person and work of Jesus Christ.
Until He is in His proper place in our thinking, we do not live in reality as God knows it. We live only by the fallen wisdom of this godless age.
Christ has come: 1 Cor. 1:30 “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,”
And –
Colossians 2:1–4 / “For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.”
Solomon was wise – but Christ is wisdom itself. When we know who He is, why He came, what He is doing now and how all things will end in Him – THEN, and only then do we understand life and how to live it.
So we read in Ephesians 1:7–10 / “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”
If God’s plan for the fullness of time – if what He is aiming at in everything, in creation, in us, in everything – is to unite all things in Christ, everything in Heaven and on earth – then we must reckon with that as framing all of reality and existence.
We cannot live in truth, until we live in this reality. We must live all of life in reference to Him.
Something greater than the Temple is here: All that the Temple and its laws, rites, rituals and regulations pictured.
Something greater than Jonah is here: The One who accomplishes all of God’s will – the One who is the very subject of the Gospel message of reconciliation to God.
Something greater than Solomon is here: Everything we can possibly know about God, His plans and purposes in creation, all of life and what it means, and what is to come – is wrapped up in Him.
Look nowhere else. Serve no one or nothing else.
2 Corinthians 4:6 / For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Before we go back to treat the intervening verses of 9-40, it seems good to continue looking at the 3-fold “greater than” statements.
Hint to preachers: At times, you have to look at a larger portion to grasp the big picture, before going back to look at the individual portions. In this case, because the section encompasses these 3 related references, they need to be dealt with in that regard. Some passages will require more than one treatment to tease out both the big picture and the smaller parts.
Note that these latter two “greater” statements most certainly took place at another place and time. The narrative is arranged by Matthew to give us this emphasis. So be careful not to assume that all the entire section occurred at the very same time. By the inspiration of the Spirit – Matthew has helped us find this emphasis.
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. Matt. 12:38-41
2 – Greater than Jonah
Now the idea here is really quite startling.
By the time this encounter happens, Jesus had already performed any number of healings and miracles.
He had been preaching in the synagogues for quite some time. And news of His healings and casting out demons was commonplace.
He had already given the Sermon on The Mount, healed a leper right after and interacted with them over healing others on the Sabbath.
One has to wonder just what kind of sign other than these things would have been sufficient for them?
Nothing keeps lost men bound in their sins and Christians paralyzed in confusion when making decisions, more than requiring God to give them “signs” rather than simply believing the truth.
We try to force God’s hand. Internally – even if not consciously – thinking to blame Him for not giving us enough proof. But what proof does the truth need? It ought to be obvious.
As we see here, the point of Jesus’ words are that the men of Nineveh saw no sign.
When Jonah was cast upon the shore he was hundreds of miles away from Nineveh. None of them saw it. But! they believed Jonah’s preaching. How very fallen we are indeed.
And Jesus here frustrates their attempt get Him to perform on demand. He is no trained seal.
The Scribes and Pharisees had seen Him cast out devils and yet here – they ask for a “sign”
So it is Jesus reminds them that those who were proverbial for being wicked pagans – the Ninevites – repented at the mere preaching of Jonah – and didn’t require some sign from him.
So the only “sign” they are going to get, is one that will be after the crucifixion. It won’t deal with their present unwillingness to believe.
But how does that factor into Jesus being greater than Jonah?
Jonah himself was a sign: And Christ is the reality the sign pointed to. And this, by both comparison and contrast.
1 – By comparison, Jonah’s time in the belly of the fish was type and shadow of Jesus’ burial: Matt. 12:40 / For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
2 – By contrast, Jonah preached judgment only: Christ both preached the forgiveness of sins, and died as the satisfaction of our sins.
3 – Jonah did no miracles: Christ demonstrated the Kingdom everywhere.
4 – Jonah was a most reluctant prophet: Christ came most willingly, even at the cost of exchanging His glory for humility, being brutalized and most cruelly murdered.
5 – Jonah only preached: Christ lived sinlessly, died as our substitute, was buried, and rose again for our justification.
6 – Jonah was in the fish for his own sins: Jesus was in the grave for ours.
7 – Jonah heard the Word of the Lord and ran from it: Jesus came specifically to do the will of the Father. Heb. 10:5-7/ …when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’ ”
8 – God’s will displeased Jonah: But in John 4:34/ Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.
9 – Jonah was a sign to Nineveh only: Christ is the sign of the great fallenness of mankind: Luke 2:34/ And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed.
The entire portion of 12:1-42 should be considered in terms of the triple repetition. 3 Times we read from Jesus’ lips that He is “greater than.”
vs. 6 – Something greater than the Temple is here –
vs. 41 – Something greater than Jonah is here –
vs. 42 – Something greater than Solomon is here.
Preachers, you might want to say something about the nature of repetition in the Bible as a means of emphasis. Since the original texts did not have devices like italics, bolding, highlighting, etc., repetition was the chief means. Note too that each of the points listed below could be expanded upon if this was a stand alone sermon, or kept in briefer form if the sermon encompasses all three – Temple, Jonah and Solomon.
Consider just the first today: 1 – Something Greater than The Temple is here.
The key point in this potion is that the reality is always to be considered above the symbolic. Symbols point to things, they are not the things themselves. And Jesus is saying that the Temple with all of its grandeur and divine appointment was never meant to be an end in itself, but is a symbol of that which is fulfilled in Christ.
All of the Temple rites and rituals were meant to display something about Him! He was the REAL the types and shadows here were pointing to.
The Jews for the most part had missed this. The Temple as the very center of their society represented far more than sacrifice only.
But just think for a moment how it is that Jesus is the “greater than” the Temple was pointing to. It is profoundly sweet and glorious.
1 – God’s presence was to be found in the Holy of Holies: Here, Christ far excels – He brings and actually IS, God’s presence out among men. Remember the angel speaking to Joseph in Matt. 1?
Matthew 1:20–23/ But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
2 – The Temple had a lampstand in the Holy Place: But in John 8:12 and 9:5 – Jesus said HE is the Light of the World. John 8:12 / Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” And as 2 Cor. 4:6 notes: For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
3 – The Temple had a table of shewbread: In John 6:35Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
4 – The Temple had an altar of incense: Heb. 7:25 says: Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
5 – The Temple had the Ark of the Mosaic Covenant: Christ Himself is the New Covenant – ratified in His own blood – 1 Cor. 11:25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
6 – The Temple had the blood of bulls and goats on the mercy seat: Christ’s blood is on the mercy seat of the New Covenant, and it cleanses from all things which could not be cleansed under the Old.
7 – The Temple was the place of sacrifices: But Christ is the final sacrifice, and is the very mercy of God poured out in full. Jesus is the one Romans 3:25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
This is how man-made religion always errs – it makes the instruments of religion more important than the One that religion is meant to serve, and the people it is meant to bless.
In this case, how can the regulations of the Temple be more important than the God the Temple is made for?
And how can the regulations of the Temple be more important than the people God intends the Temple to bless?
When we get these upside down, legalism reigns.
In fact – as Jesus says here – He is actually the Lord of The Sabbath and can administrate it as He sees fit – and so His disciples were doing nothing other than what He was allowing right at that moment!
Something greater than the Temple is here indeed – Christ Himself is here!
Note first, how few, even among professed Believers actually rest in Jesus instead of trying to establish and live in confidence in our own performance or righteousness. How many of us sincerely trying to serve and walk with Christ do not rest in His finished sacrifice, His imputed righteousness, His promises to finish His work in us, in His knowledge of just how broken and sinful we were when He betrothed Himself to us, and how He has taken us to Himself fully aware of our remaining sin.
Note secondly, how the text answers the hidden question of some. Having received us, will He now put us off? Did He commit to us without knowing full well when, where and how we would fail Him? Was He unaware of the extent and ravages of indwelling sin? Did He make a mistake? No! We can rest in His unchanging love, in His sanctifying work, in His infinite longsuffering, in His mercy, in His grace, in His goodness, and in His unchangableness. He does not react to us, though He does respond. But His feelings and attitude toward us is not dependent upon us, but upon His freely given love.
Note third at how Jesus is inserted here – only a blasphemer or fool or lunatic could at this moment issue a call not to “seek God” – but “come to ME!” Jesus locates all of God’s blessing and presence in Himself. He is saying: “I alone can reveal the Father to you, so come to ME. Come to ME with your labor and burden – I (not God as though separate) will give you rest. Take MY yoke, i.e. serve ME.”
If He is not God – all of this is blasphemy.
So, what is the answer to those who are weak, burdened down, and in need of rest? The revelation of the Father (“learn of me”) which only He can give. The revelation of willing forgiveness, of “the day of the Lord”, to set the captives free. We must come to Jesus and to Him alone for this knowledge of God the Father. And we find His yoke easy, His burden light – for it is but by faith we enter into the riches of the Living God in Christ Jesus.
This in fact is the “easy” yoke and the “light” burden – to come to Him alone, and to trust Him alone, having believed Him alone. Come and be mine. Be yoked to me. That is the whole of it. And I will give you rest. I am meek, and approachable. Lowly, you need not raise yourself up to some level first. Just come.
All that you seek, is ultimately to be found in Him. So if you abandon trying to obtain it here – which is the impossible, exhausting and impossible task – and look to Him instead, the only task is to wait upon Him. This is infinitely lighter and easier than running from place to place, person to person, experience to experience to be filled. Keep fixed upon Him for your desires, and let Him fulfill them in His way, in His time – by Himself.
Note fourth – can we have a better template for preaching the Gospel than this from Jesus’ own lips? I think not.
Tell them Christ invites all who have exhausted themselves in sin or religion to come to Him.
Tell them He alone can reveal the Father.
Tell them He alone can give them rest.
Tell them His way is easy and light – just to trust Him.
Tell them He calls sweetly and gently, not thundering the law from Sinai.
Tell them He seeks those who have thrown off pretense and feigned personal righteousness.
Tell them that in all this, He is doing the Father’s perfect will.
On the heels of explaining to the crowds how those serving God are out of step with those in the world, and how the World misunderstands them, He goes on to pronounce woes on several cities: Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum. These the text says, are where He performed “most of His mighty works.”
Note first then that the misunderstanding of the ministries of John and Jesus, is not an innocent mistake. The Kingdom had been demonstrated before them with multiple and incontrovertible proofs. They rejected the proof. It isn’t that there wasn’t enough proof. It is that they would not believe.
Jonathan Edwards is helpful here when he distinguishes between an inability to believe as though people do not have the faculty for faith, and a “moral inability.” He uses the example of Joseph’s brothers in Gen. 37:4 where we read that Joseph’s brothers “could not speak peacefully to him.” Why? Because “they hated him.” Why do people reject the Gospel, because our flesh is at enmity with God. We don’t want to submit to Christ. Later in Matt. 23 Jesus will cry to Jerusalem that He would have gathered her children together like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but they “were not willing.”
It is the will of man which must be overcome for salvation to dawn. This is why we are all morally culpable before God. It is not that we cannot believe, as though we don’t have the capacity, it is that we will not because we want to serve self and not God.
Note secondly how it is Jesus denounces entire towns for their lack of repentance. Perhaps some individuals did, we cannot be sure. But each town, each community is dealt with as an entity. The zeitgeist of any given area speaks loudly. Communities, villages, cities, states?, nations? And let us be clear, America as a whole has not repented. Though the most marvelous of miracles have been done in it. It will suffer judgment worse than that of Tyre and Sidon for its rejection of Christ. We must see that judgment is not restricted to individuals, but to cultures, cities and the like. Do not doubt it. It is a powerful call then to join the new Community, the community of Christ. And to be citizens of His anew Jerusalem.
Note thirdly that future judgment is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. There will be judgment proportioned to the weight of various sins. It is vastly more egregious to hear the Gospel and reject it outright, than to have never heard at all. Tyre, Sidon and Sodom will receive their just due. But even greater guilt will accrue to those who saw and heard Jesus, and remained in their unbelief in the face of His incarnation.
Those fine, upstanding, normal people, people like you and me and our neighbors – not notorious sinners like those at Sodom, are more culpable and worthy of greater punishment for our apathy toward the Savior when exposed to Him.
We are wont to point the finger at the murders, the savages, the pagans and the brutal and make them the highest of sinners. Or, we point to the notorious, those whose sin is open and repugnant to us.
But it is those, the normal people, the average people, the not-so-wicked people – who having heard the Gospel and encountered the measure of Christ in His Church, who have simply shrugged their shoulders, and said “to each his own, its just not for me” – who live their nice neat every day, culturally upright lives who will one day see the real malignancy of that rejection.
Note lastly the profound grace in this warning. For that is what it is, a warning. The day of judgment was not yet. If they were hearing His voice that day, they had opportunity right then to repent. Or you as you are reading this today, repent! There is grace this moment. Here, once again, you have the opportunity to flee to the Savior for forgiveness and new life. He made them know the seriousness of their condition, but in doing so, He made it known they might come and be reconciled to Him if they would. And this is the seriousness of your situation if you are still outside of Christ. But in mercy and grace you’ve been warned again. And so there is till a door open. For how long, no one knows. But it stands before you today. By faith, enter in.
Note first, that those who would serve Christ, will always be out of step with the World, no matter what we do. No matter what the World does. And it is why we must be careful when political parties, personages, businesses or causes seek to trade on the name of Christ and Christians, when it is obvious they are not (as best as we can discern) true follows of the The Master. Though our purposes may seem to converge for a moment in time, rest assured, they will diverge just as quickly and the folly of it revealed. Seeking public approval for who and what we are in Jesus is a waste of time. We must not be concerned to court the World’s favor above seeking to delight our Redeemer.
Note secondly that those in Christ dance to a different tune than the World. What makes the World rejoice, makes us weep. And what often makes the World weep, does not, indeed CANNOT fill us with the same grief. We have other griefs to break our hearts – like the wickedness that pervades our culture. Just observe the reactions in our society around the striking down of Roe v Wade. Many openly wept and grieved. TV shows portrayed the horrors of the loss. Public discourse decried the loss of “women’s reproductive health rights” over the sparing of innocent lives from being slaughtered in their mother’s wombs. Christians necessarily rejoiced, while the World wept. And so it should always be in such matters.
Note thirdly how it is with Jesus’ words here; the conversation needs to be moved from curiosity with John, to the people considering their own plight. When discoursing with those around us regarding the issues of the day, we need to seek the Spirit’s wisdom and power and opportunity to steer the conversation to a different place. To use the discussion as a platform to consider spiritual and eternal matters.
We are endlessly wrapped up in questions about others, while barely (if at all) taking the time to truly examine our hearts before God. This preoccupation with others – which fuels the gossip industry, tabloid journalism, reality TV, and makes celebrities out of people who contribute nothing but the sordid details of their lives to others – pervades our current culture. But it is nothing new. People are always wanting to shift the focus to others, so as to avoid asking the serious questions of life about themselves. So it is in the face of that reality, Jesus demonstrates to us the need to turn the tables.
Note fourthly, with all the response to John’s preaching – still – the greater part of that generation remained caught up in its own thoughts and agenda. God’s purposes being wholly ignored. We must expect the same in our generation. There may be times of great revival and the moving of God’s Spirit among us, but we must not imagine turning the tide of culture so as to make the world around us “Christian.” If the preaching of John and Jesus together didn’t do so – will we imagine our efforts will? No. We get a reality check here. Yes, we preach and teach and testify of Christ with all hope and joy. But we also recognize there will such opposition. In due time, wisdom WILL still be justified by her deeds.
Lastly, herein is a most useful insight to how Scripture defines a “glutton.” If it were merely a matter of overeating or being overweight, then the charge against Jesus would be so patently and obviously false that it couldn’t bear the slightest weight of even the most rabid detractor. Gluttony in Scripture is more akin to our “party animal” – be he slim, svelte or hefty. It is one who is given over to dissolution. One who would rather party with friends than work. Lazy. Obdurate. Jesus at this point had no trade – He did not support Himself as best we know. In fact, we are told that He had a number of benefactors – women who contributed to giving Him the freedom to go about and teach (Luke 8:3). So given His free time to meet with and dine with tax collectors, and to be itinerant, the charge might have some plausibility.
And so Believers may well be considered the worthless naval-gazers of our day because we set our noses on matters of spiritual and eternal importance above each cause célèbre. So be it. As long as the charge holds no real weight. As long as we are not lost in dissolution and wastefulness, but set about the Master’s service.
Take heart Christian – if they so completely misunderstood both John and Jesus, then we ought not be surprised if the same is true for us. And again, in due time and in our case too – wisdom will be justified by her deeds.
Having sent John’s disciples back to him, with a charge to report all that they had seen and heard of Jesus – He now turns to the crowds. As with His interaction with John’s men, He begins asking the crowds if they’ve digested what they have seen and heard of John?
Jesus says that John is the consummate prophet, in the very spirit of Elijah. Indeed he is prophesied about the Messiah’s forerunner. And yet 2 things are missing: a. He never does a single miracle. b. He never utters a word of predictive prophecy. What does He do? He recognizes and proclaims Christ. He point to the Lamb of God. And this, we can enter into as well. What a high a glorious thing He grants to us.
Note first the nature of John’s ministry! It is one filled with power. Multitudes are pursuing entrance into the Kingdom with violence, like a seige upon a city. Anyone could tell something unique was happening. But is often the case, people can be more curious than thoughtful about what they are witnessing.
Note secondly how John’s preaching is having such an effect. He is nothing short of “Elijah”. Jesus will go on to note how they were not really listening to John’s message. Those who did, repented of their sins and sought God. And yet how few made the connection back to Jesus – even after John’s proclamation of Him being the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Often, we must connect the dots for people. They do not on their own.
Note third that the ministry of the Disciples (at least prior to Pentecost, and with the exception of Peter & Paul) had no such power or public response. They were no less disciples. No less chosen. No less anointed. No less commissioned. And yet none seem to have the same response of the masses in preaching. We must bow to the Father’s sovereignty in such matters. We must repel jealousy and comparison. We must betake ourselves to our commission and remain faithful in it. Yes, we may cry for the same results – even wrestle for them, and then we must leave things in the hands of our Lord.
Note fourth that Jesus’ statement regarding the kingdom of heaven suffering violence may be taken more than one way. It may refer (as above) to how many when convicted of their sins rush into it like a city under seige.
Then, it might refer to the simple fact that when Christ and The Kingdom are proclaimed, there will always be violent opposition to it. Men reject above all, submission to God and His Word. We still want to be our own god and will resist Christ’s Lordship any way we can. And John’s imprisonment certainly demonstrates violent rejection of his message.
Or, look how men have sought to take the kingdom of heaven by their own strength. How they use the law and prophets like weapons to claim their own right and their own righteousness to heaven. But we cannot take heaven by such means. We neither have a right to it by birth, nor by virtue of our having possessed or obeyed the law. Heaven must take us. It must conquer us. We must come before Heaven’s King, defeated by our sin, decrying our own righteousness and pleading to be forgiven our self-reliance, self-righteousness and pride. We must cast ourselves on the coming King’s mercy and His message of grace. No man can storm heaven’s gates. He must be carried into those gates a captive of war and a trophy of all conquering love. So they came to be baptized. To own their sin and their uncleanness. And in their surrender, found a willing and inviting Savior. Oh what a Christ He is!
Or lastly – the Kingdom of God has to force its way into the World – men do not receive it gladly. It is a conquering work. Warfare. Men’s souls are not subdued with anything less than the power of the Holy Spirit. Almighty God Himself must bind up and cast out the strong man. As Paul will note in 2 Cor. 4:6 it takes no less power to create a new heart in a person than it did to begin the whole of Creation – calling light out of darkness. Salvation is a most miraculous thing indeed! All of the Prophets were violently causing the light of God’s truth to break in upon the darkness of this sin filled world. And while John is the last of his breed, so even now the true light will dawn Himself. Jesus, the Light of the World is come. John gave the last announcement that He would come – we announce that He is here. And so the Spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Note fifth in this entire section, as per Blomberg – as great as John is, there is yet the blessing of the New Covenant. And the least among us sharing in those privileges is blessed higher than the greatest of all the OT saints and prophets. Grasp what it means to be “in Christ.” Father forgive me for failing to understand this.
Commentators are divided as to what was behind John sending his disciples to Jesus.
J.C. Ryle, similar to Calvin for instance, thinks this was by no means a moment of doubt in John. John, knowing his time was short, was getting his own followers to make the necessary shift to Jesus. After all, hadn’t John been the first to proclaim who Jesus was and that, by supernatural revelation? One would think he was by not shaken in the least.
Others speculate that John, expecting Jesus’ to rise to a more common vision of Messiahship, began to doubt his identification of Jesus as the Messiah. In prison, facing death when he thought the Messiah would change everything, was near fainting.
Which ever view one takes (I tend to think as Ryle and Calvin) this much is certain – how often the answers to our deepest questions and concerns are right there before us – we simply need to truly contemplate what it is we see and hear.
Men say they need “proof” of God. Open your eyes and your ears – and you will have all the proof you need. Fail at that, and no other proof will suffice.
So Jesus sends the men back asking them to bear witness to what they themselves have seen and heard. The blind are given sight. The lame walk. Lepers are fully cured. Deaf men hear. The dead are raised up again. The Gospel of the Kingdom is being preached to even the poor. What more can you ask for proof?
Indeed, what more might you are I or anyone else need? Are not the life, words and acts of Jesus incontrovertible proof of His divinity and mission? He was a public figure. His detractors could have easily disproved His miracles if they had been false. But no one does. His contemporaries may try to assign the source of His works to demonic powers – but they could not deny they truly happened.
And so I ask you today reader – what do you say to these things? What do you make of the evidence?
Note secondly, that we must not reject the obvious truth because it does not fit with our pre-conceived notions.
Jesus may not have been the Messiah they imagined the Messiah would be – but here He was, fulfilling Scripture. Jesus appeals to Isaiah 61:1-2 in giving His answer. As He would say to the Pharisees, “If you believed Moses, you would believe me.” And, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”
Maybe the Jesus of the Bible isn’t the Jesus we want Him to be or imagined Him to be. Many a time I’ve heard people say – upon reading something in Scripture they do not like – “I would never serve a God like that.
No less than Oprah Winfrey testified that she abandoned the God of the Bible because she read in the Old Testament that God said He was a jealous God over His people Israel. She had weighed God in her balances and found Him wanting in His being “jealous” which she thought beneath Him. That God, she would not have.
But God and His Christ must be received on their own terms. We cannot re-create Him to our likeness. We must take Him in His wrath as well as His mercy. In His sovereignty as well as in His love. His holiness as well as His grace. His demands, as well as His blessings.
We may well need to reject the God of our imaginations, but we dare not reject the God revealed in the Bible, and in the face of Jesus Christ. Do not stumble over who and what He truly is.
Father, save us from our heart’s blindness and deafness. We are so dead and dull. Open our eyes, that we may truly see and comprehend His glory. It isn’t that the Sun hasn’t risen upon us and shined in His perfection – it is that we are blind. Save us!
Chapter 10 is occupied with Jesus’ appointment of the twelve, and then His detailed instructions. Those instructions were twofold. Some of what He said to them pertained to their immediate mission, and some had to do with their larger mission and the future, after He was gone.
All in all, we see Christ as the Good Shepherd who prepares His own for each and every circumstance. In His warnings He also reminded them how He would always provide. They heard or reception and opposition; the working of miracles and the persecution of the lost. Of great victories and severe trials. And so our own lives in serving Him still are. We are not to be shocked at trials, but nor are we to be daunted by them. And through our hands in the preaching and living of the Gospel, men’s souls are raised from the dead, those who cannot walk before God are freed from their bondage. Some, bound even by demonic forces are set at liberty, and every sin and stain cleansed in the blood of the Lamb.
So in the first verse of chapter 11 we see several things of note.
Note first how after sending out the 12, He did not sit back and watch, He continued to labor too. So it is today. Preachers and teachers of the Gospel ought to be aware that we never labor in His field by ourselves, but that He is also still laboring with us. He has not left us to our own devices. He has equipped us, but He Himself is still at the work too. Just as He said to His detractors in John 5 “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” And dear Christian, it is still so today. Take heart. You do not labor alone.
Note secondly the nature of His own labors, and how that serves as a directive to us. What occupied His own efforts? Preaching and teaching. People need the Word of God proclaimed to them. Above everything else – we need to hear God, and we hear Him best and most in the proclaiming of the kingdom of Christ.
Communications experts tell us that sermonizing is a poor and inefficient way of communicating. That it is old fashioned, passe and that there are much better methods. But the God/Man didn’t think so. He gave Himself to it, and charged His disciples likewise. It may not be the World’s method, but it is His. It may not be the latest method, the coolest, the naturally most attractive nor the preferred among the intelligentsia of our day – but it is the way He has chosen to be represented and made known. “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” “and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel.” (Rom. 10:14-15 & 15:20a)
I find then 2 compelling things here.
First, how necessary it is for the Church not to give up on Jesus’ method. Preaching the Word is His chosen way to bring in the lost, weed out the dabblers, edify the saints, and make His glory known. We ought not to try and out reason God. He knows why He has determined this to be His way. Ours is to carry it out.
Second, how necessary it is for His People to attend to His ways by making sure we are sitting under sound preaching. In our flesh, we too might prefer other ways to edify our souls, and in truth, we should take advantage of all we can. But we ought never neglect to sit and hear the Word of God preached to our souls. It is His manna for our generation. It is His way. We might find it dull at times, repetitive, the same-old same-old. But it is His provision. And our souls are fed there, that we might be strong and healthy before Him. Let us never disdain His provision because we would prefer leaks and garlic from Egypt.
ResponsiveReiding 