A Tribute to John the Baptist | Matthew 11:7-19

So the Bible reading for today will be Matthew chapter 11, the verses 7 to 19, and that can

Matthew 11 · chapter mention

be found on page 1484 to 1485 of your pure Bibles.

So Matthew chapter 11 verse 7.

Matthew 11:7

As John's disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John.

What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No.

Those who wear fine clothes are in King's palaces.

And what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.

This is the one about whom it is written. I will send my messenger ahead of you who

will prepare your way before you. Truly I tell you, among those born of women

that has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist, yet whoever is least in the kingdom

of heaven is greater than he. For the days of John the Baptist, and so from

the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subject to violence

and violent people have been raiding it. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until

John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.

Whoever has ears, let him hear. So what can I compare this generation?

They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others.

We played the pipe for you and you did not dance. We sang a dirge and you did not mourn.

For John came near the eating nor drinking and they say, he has a demon.

The son of man came eating and drinking and they say, here is a glutton and a drunkard,

a friend of tax collectors and sinners. But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks, John.

Morning, everyone. It is great to be together. This morning, if we have not met before, my

name is Michael. If you are visiting, it is a delight to have you with us.

Please, after the service, do not feel like you need to rush off. We have morning tea,

tea bickies. We would love to get to meet you. If you have any questions about today's

sermon, we would love to hear from you and see if we can answer anything that you might

bring up.

It was wonderful to hear a testimony this morning because testimonies are like listening

to an audiobook of someone's experience in real time. As we heard, Tony gave us such

a wonderful witness of God's goodness and mercy. Absolutely beautiful and encouraging

thing that you did for us, brother. Thank you.

Keeping with the theme of testimony, we are actually going to look at another one in the

text in which we find ourselves this morning. It might be a little bit surprising to you

because it is actually a testimony from our Lord about John, Israel's greatest prophet

and our Lord's forerunner, which as we will see was given so that we all might be encouraged

in our own discipleship. But before we look at the text before us this morning, let's

have a bit of context. As we saw last week, John had been locked up in prison and become

discouraged and doubtful about the one he was preparing Israel to meet. We see that

in verses one through to six. He sent his disciples to ask if Jesus was the Messiah

or if they were to expect someone else. It seems that as John's disciples had asked this

question and then headed off after getting the answer that the crowd started to murmur

about John's character and ministry. And so Jesus, he picks up on this and he addresses

the crowd to teach them and us a few things about discipleship and the kingdom of heaven.

Church, I have to admit that the passage that we have before us this morning is very complex.

There's a lot going on in these few verses, so we're not going to get to everything that

it has to say. However, with that said, I do hope to show you a few things so that you

have something to go away with and mull over and pray over this week. First, in verses

seven to 10, I want to show you that Jesus, he protects his disciples. Second, in verses

11 to 15, that Jesus, he makes a call for all people to come and follow him, to be his

disciples. And third, in verses 16 to 19, that Jesus warns all people to not reject

the gospel because of frivolous things. But before we look at any of this, would you

please join me in asking our Heavenly Father to help us in the task that we have this morning?

Would you pray with me? Father God, indeed, we thank you for your word. They are the words

of eternal life and we ask that by your spirit this morning that you would enlighten the

eyes of our heart, that Christ would be glorified in and among us, that all manner of people

will be drawn to him by the gospel. We ask for this for the sake of your church and in

Jesus' name, amen. So if you have your Bibles with you this morning, look with me at verses

seven through to 10. Jesus, addressing the crowds, he says, what did you go into the

wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind. If not, what did you go out to see? A man

dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in King's palaces. Then what

did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you and more than a prophet. This is the one

about whom it was written, I will send my messenger ahead of you who will prepare your

way before you. Right, so the first thing that I want you to see here is that the crowds,

as they started to question the character and ministry of John the Baptist, Jesus, he

protects him. He protects him. Yes, it's already been noted, John, he has this moment of weakness.

He's doubtful, he's questioning Jesus publicly. But look what our Lord does here. He doesn't

say, oh silly John, no, he makes sure that the crowds understand that John, that he's

the real deal, even though he was having a crisis of faith. In and around most lakes

in Australia is something called giant reed. These six-metre watercress looking things,

well, they're pretty handy if you want to go out sailing or fishing because they tell

you which way the wind is blowing because they are so sensitive to it. Not so with John,

says Jesus, as we see there in verse seven. No, he wasn't like some flimsy, wishy, washy

preacher blowing in the tide of popular opinion. He was a man of conviction and people knew

it. But you can imagine it. John's now in prison. He's questioning Jesus and so people

would have been like, he was so confident out there in the desert on his soapbox. But

now, well, he's like this weed that's blowing in the wind whistling this other tune. No,

says Jesus. You knew he was a man of conviction. You knew he wasn't like one who sways with

the tide of popular opinion. That's why you went to go and see him in the first place.

Jesus defends John's conviction. Verse eight, he defends John against people thinking that

he'd gone soft. I was helping a mate put down some decking and I was really struggling with

the task after about 20 minutes. And so he offered me, if I would like, a bag of concrete

for lunch. That was totally lost on me until he started laughing and saying that I was

a softy and that I needed to harden up just a little bit. Not so with John, says our Lord.

No, he was no court jester trying to entertain the civil authorities or the crowds. People

knew this wasn't a guy out there who was pursuing the pleasures of this line. John, he wore

animal skin. He had a diet of the desert, we might say, and against all opposition,

he preached boldly, boldly against sin. That's why these people went to see him. And Jesus,

he reminds them of that. John was a man of conviction. He was a man of great courage.

And in verse nine, our Lord defends John's ministry. It seems that people may have been

questioning if John was even a prophet. And they may have done this because one of the

things that qualifies a legitimate prophet is that what they said comes to pass. But

now we have John questioning if Jesus was even the guy that he was preaching about. But notice

it. Notice how Jesus answers these questions and confirms John's ministry in the doing.

Jesus says not only was John a legitimate prophet, but he's the one that Malachi, we

see this in chapter three, a Malachi prophesied about all those years ago, saying in verse

10, this is the one about whom it was written. I'll send my messenger ahead of you who will

prepare the way before you. So essentially, our Lord, he's saying to the crowds, don't

judge John on this one hiccup. Don't judge him by the struggles that he's having, his

character, his ministry. It's been proven. He's a man of conviction, of courage, and

of great obedience. And even though he's struggling in the moment, don't sit there and think that

this battle he's in undercuts who or what he really is. Dear brothers and sisters, I

think the evangelist Matthew is showing us such a beautiful thing here. You see, even

though it seemed like the world was turning on John, Jesus, he doesn't. Not only doesn't

Jesus not turn on John, he goes so far as to defend him. And in the doing, we're all

showing something of our Lord's faithfulness and his love that he has for all his people,

even when we are struggling to remain faithful to him. You know, every single disciple of

Jesus has a different experience of our faith being tested. Some are faced with death, others

with losing everything, some have their families reject them, others are put in prison, and

for others, it might even be something that's not so avert. But at the end of the day, when

hard times hit, the fact of the matter is, disciples, we struggle. We all do it various

times and for different reasons, but imagine for a moment, if you will, that every time

we struggled or questioned or doubted that Jesus, that he just cast us off. All disciples,

including you and me in this very room this morning, would be in so much trouble. This

is what Matthew shows us. When our Lord's people question, or even when we're under

attack, Jesus doesn't leave, nor forsake us. He stands at our defence. Might I be so

bold to suggest to you that this scene shows us something of a bigger picture as well?

You know, every single one of us has an accuser before God who points out all our sins, all

our stumbles, and all of our stupidity. But brothers and sisters, we also have the Lord

Jesus Christ who confesses us before his father as his blood-purchased people. Yes, the devil

might be the accuser of the brethren, but our Lord Jesus Christ is the confessor of

his people. And he claims his blood over his people and as Paul tells us in 2 Timothy,

he remains faithful even when we are faithless, for he cannot disown himself. Church, we

mustn't for a moment think that Jesus doesn't care about us when we struggle, or when we

face trials of various kinds. Now as we see here, Jesus remains fiercely loyal to those

whom he has purchased with his blood, to those who belong to him. He is our Lord, he is our

Saviour, and as we wonderfully see here in our text this morning, he is our Defender.

First, Jesus protects his disciples. Second, he calls all people to become his disciples.

We read in verses 11 through to 15, truly I tell you among those born of women there

hasn't risen anyone greater than John the Baptist. Yet whoever is least in the kingdom

of heaven is greater than him. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom

of heaven has been subjected to violence and violent people have been raiding it. For all

the prophets and the law prophesied until John, and if you're willing to accept it,

he is the Elijah who was to come. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

Right, so as I said before, there's a lot going on in our text, but I think it's really

important that we understand how our Lord, how he views John here, because there's an

important contrast that he's going to give us so that we can understand something about

how important our own discipleship really is. So first, let's have a look at what Jesus

has to say about John, and then let's look at the contrast that's happening there in

verse 11, because it's quite important that we see what's going on here when it comes

to us. So first, Jesus saw John as pretty much the greatest prophet to ever live. We

see this language here in verse 11. It's a high compliment, especially when you think

of the Old Testament prophets, but we might ask, what does Jesus mean by this? What does

he want his church to see here? I think there's a few things. First, other prophets, they

looked forward to John's ministry. We see that there in verse 10 and in verse 13. He

was the Elijah to come. We won't get into that this morning. And so John, he has this

unique role that was revealed from the get-go. He's going to be a different kind of prophet.

Second, I'd also say that he had a greater ministry than other prophets because all those

that came before him only spoke of the Messiah from afar off, whereas John, he actually got

to physically meet Jesus. He got to introduce the Messiah to Israel, and he even got to

baptize him. Third, John was filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb. We see this

in Luke. And when he met Jesus, the Spirit of God revealed to him that Jesus, that he

was the Lamb of God that was going to take away the sin of the world. Fourth, in the

face of all religious and governmental authority, John remained completely loyal to the gospel.

And fifth, even though he was the Billy Graham of the Middle East in popularity and reputation,

once Jesus rocks up on the scene, he commends his own disciples to Jesus, saying that he

must increase while he must decrease. These are just a few of the things that Jesus may

have had in his mind when speaking about John. This is what makes our text so startling. You

see, with a resume like that, Jesus still goes on to say that John isn't even as great

as the least in the kingdom of heaven. So what are we to make of this contrast? Well,

first of all, Jesus is not saying that John isn't saved. As it's already been said, John

saw Jesus and when he saw him, he confessed him as God's sin solution, the ultimate answer

to God's salvation plan. So what did he mean? What did Jesus mean when he said whoever is

the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John? Well, I would like to put it to

this morning that this becomes a little bit more clearer when we look down at verse 13,

where Jesus says, all the prophets and the law, they prophesied until John. You see,

the time that we're living in now, dear ones, isn't a time of sacrifice and temples and

the Mosaic law. There was a time and that was the case, but with the coming of Jesus,

well, all of that, as we saw in our Galatian series, has been fulfilled, which means we're

living in a new time. That's why we have the Old Testament and the New Testament in our

Bibles. The Old, it looks forward to Jesus in the shadows and the types and the New explains

how Jesus fulfilled all that was promised about him. And so what Jesus is saying here

is that John was more like one of the prophets of Old in that he only looked forward to the

fulfillment of these things. And even though he got so very close, he didn't actually get

to experience all these things in their fullness for himself. If we think about it, John didn't

get to see, even though he confessed him as the Lamb of God, but he didn't get to see

him crucified. He didn't even get to hear that Jesus was raised from the dead or that

the Spirit of God was given from the Father and Son to the church on the day of Pentecost.

Now, if we follow the timeline of John's life, he died in prison before these things came

to pass. That's why this contrast is so important for us to pick up on here, because unlike

John, we don't live in the darkness, putting our faith in the types. Now, we live in the

light of the gospel. This is an awesome, awesome thing that we are reminded of here

this morning. Because we live, because we live on this side of the life, death and resurrection

of Jesus. We're more privileged, think about this, than the greatest prophet to ever walk

the earth. As we, unlike the people in the Old Testament, enter into our Lord's kingdom

with the fullness of the gospel proclaimed to us. I think there's a warning in this as

well. I do. I think there's a warning here, because without great privilege also comes

great responsibility. As you may have noticed it just before, as the text has been read

out a couple of times now, that all of this has to do with Jesus' central message. And

that is the kingdom of heaven. As to enter, it means to enter into eternal life with God.

Now, we're not going to spend oodles of time here, and there's a lot of different interpretations

here. But verse 12 is something that I think we all need to think about. Because as Jesus

has just talked about the privilege of this fuller revelation of the kingdom, he then

goes on to say that the kingdom, it isn't something that can be entered into passively,

or without any efforts on our part. That's not to say that we're saved by our works.

That is not what Jesus is saying here. But it is to say that we must actively strive

to enter his kingdom, to essentially raid it. To put it simply, Jesus is using such

language, hyperbolic language here, to drive the point home that no one, no one must be

haphazard or apathetic towards what the gospel really is holding out. Now, when you hear

the gospel proclaimed that you must repent and trust in the kingdom's king, Jesus, the

one who is on the scene, these aren't suggestions. The time of the fulfillment of the law and

the prophets and the things that John preached about, all that they looked forward to had

come near in Jesus Christ. And Jesus says, reach out and snatch the offer that is really

being held out. Repent and embrace the good news of the kingdom by faith and be passionate

and zealous to enter it, no matter the cost to you. In other words, the language that

Jesus employs there in verse 12 is to simply say no one's sleep walks their way into the

kingdom of heaven. The gospel, it demands a response, it demands faith, it demands that

we embrace the king of the kingdom. So first, Jesus protects his disciples. Second, he calls

all people to be his disciples. Third, Jesus warns people to not reject the gospel because

of frivolous things. Look with me at verses 16 to 19. To what can I compare this generation?

They're like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to others. We played the pipe

for you and you didn't dance. We sang a dirge and you didn't mourn. For John came neither

eating or drinking and they say he has a demon. The son of man came eating and drinking and

they say he's a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. But

wisdom is proved right by her deeds. Right, so we're going to break this last point down

and see what Jesus is doing here because he's essentially giving his audience an illustration

to say that those that heard his and John's ministry that they saw and heard what they're

preaching about, well they're like children in the marketplace which chucked tantrums

because they weren't getting their own way. Some of them, they wanted to play the pipes

and dance. That's kind of like alluding that they wanted to play weddings while others wanted

to sing funeral songs. But because they weren't getting what they wanted, they essentially

wanted to pack their toys up and go home. And so if we understand what Jesus is saying

here, you'll see that he is warning the people before him that they are going to miss out

on entering into the kingdom of heaven because they were rejecting the gospel because they

didn't like the people that were calling them to it. John came along. He's a pretty hairy

serious guy. He was straight down the line and he, yeah, he had a limited diet and wardrobe.

His sermons were usually about judgment, about condemnation and the need for repentance.

It was too much for some. And so they accused him of having a demon. Jesus on the other hand,

well he came and he eats with sinners. He was kind. He's tenderhearted. He sits with

the leper. He has time for the widow. He is there for the orphan and had a much more larger

range of things that he was happy to eat and drink. But this wasn't good enough for some.

So they accused him of being a glutton and a drunkard. One was a faithful servant of

the kingdom who had one ministry style. The other was the king of the kingdom who had

another ministry style and both came with the good news of the kingdom. And both says

Jesus, both weren't good enough for the crowns. So Jesus closes with these awesome words.

Jesus was proved right by her deeds. Essentially he's saying no matter what you think of us

now, the fruit of the gospel will vindicate truthfulness and gospel proclamation. And so

be very, very careful with how you listen to what's being said and what you are in

danger of rejecting because of frivolous things. Just recently I was speaking to someone about

the brilliant singer-songwriter Keith Green. Now I mentioned to you to him this morning

because he was a man that was passionately zealous for the gospel and he proclaimed

it so clearly in word and in his songs. But many wrote him off in the 70s because he had

long hair and he travelled with a drummer. I think about my favourite preacher, a guy

called Leonard Ravenhill, a powerful evangelist who was used mightily of God yet so many wrote

him off because he was too passionate behind the pulpit and too loud for some conservative

groups in the 50s and 60s. And I mentioned these couple of guys to you because it's amazing

how people will often criticise methods of ministry and in the doing throw the whole

thing out, throw the baby out with the bathwater. Brothers and sisters, we have to be aware of

this, all of us for ourselves. Australia is a nation of consumers and thus we have to

be careful that we don't approach absolutely everything as a consumer. The gospel and even

Jesus himself. That's the danger that we are being warned of here in these last verses.

We can treat Jesus like the salad bar at Sizzlers wanting to fill our plates with all the things

that taste good and are to our pallets. All the while casting off the things that just

aren't to our taste. Jesus, he warned the generation around him that the message that

he and John both proclaimed was done admittedly in radically different styles but both of

them had this one message of truth. And people were in danger of throwing all the way and

not passionately coming after the kingdom, embracing the Messiah because they didn't

like John's style or Jesus's methods. As it's been said before, this is an interesting

but complex passage that we have before us this morning. But as we end, I do think there

is a simple truth that could be held out to us and it's this. Jesus calls us all to hear

the gospel, to embrace the kingdom passionately and follow him as his disciples and as we've

seen as we do this, he will never, never leave nor forsake us all the days of our life. No,

he will confess us as his, not just for a moment mind you but for all eternity. Brothers

and sisters, Jesus never fails his people because his blood shed on the cross is his

testimony to the world that we belong to him. Let's pray. Father, we ask that you would

fill us with your spirit, that we would be those that would pick up our cross and follow

hard after you, that we would see the straight and narrow and by your spirit walk on it all

the days of our lives. Father, we ask that we would be a people that would testify, like

we heard our brother this morning, testify of your goodness and your gracious, that there

is no one that is outside of your reach, that the kingdom, the gospel is for all nations,

all peoples, all tribes, all languages. Would you make us passionately zealous for the gospel?

Would you use us for your kingdom and glory? And we ask, Father, for those of us that are

struggling here this morning, that you would help us by your most holy spirit to lift our

eyes to you and to know that you are the one who has called us, that you are the one who

defends us, you are the one who has purchased us and that what you have started, no one

can snatch out of your hand. Amen.