Faith Seeking Understanding

It's my joy and pleasure to bring God's Word to you guys this morning. I see a bunch of new faces.

For those who don't know me, my name is Ed. I'm a pastoral resident here at Trinity Cambridge.

I'm excited to be able to bring God's Word to you this morning.

We are going to continue on in our sermon series in Matthew as we open up our Bibles.

If you are in need of a Bible, feel free to raise your hand and we'll be happy to give you a Bible that you can use and you can keep yourself.

If not, let's open up our Bibles to Matthew 11.

The passage this morning will be from verses 1 to 24.

Verses 1 to 24.

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

Heavenly Father,

we are a weak people,

small people,

beaten and battered

by life,

tempted by Satan,

and struggling with our own habitual sin.

And we see

in our own experiences

and in Scripture this morning

that it's easy for us

to doubt you.

To doubt

your existence,

your promises,

but I pray

you would help me today

to preach with clarity,

with love,

with wholeness,

so that our faith

would be built up

so that we have

faith

that seeks understanding

even in the midst

of question

and trial

and confusion.

So Lord,

please

meet us,

address us by your Word.

Won't you increase

and that we decrease,

Lord,

as we look to you.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Thank you.

If you are able,

please rise

for the reading

of God's Word.

Starting off

in verse 1.

When Jesus had finished

instructing his 12 disciples,

he went on from there

to teach

and preach

in their cities.

Now when John

heard in prison

about the deeds

of the Christ,

he sent word

by his disciples

and said to him,

Are you the one

who is to come

or shall we look

for another?

And Jesus answered them,

Go

and tell John

what you hear

and see.

The blind

receive their sight,

the lame walk,

lepers are cleansed,

and the deaf hear,

and the dead

are raised up,

and the poor

have good news

preached to them.

And blessed

is the one

who is not

offended by me.

As they went away,

Jesus began

to speak to the crowds

concerning John.

What did you go out

into the wilderness

to see?

A reed shaken

by the wind?

What then

did you go out

to see?

A man dressed

in soft clothing?

Behold,

those who wear

soft clothing

are in king's houses.

What then

did you go out

to see?

A prophet?

Yes,

I tell you,

and more

than a prophet.

This is he

of whom it is written.

Behold,

I send my messenger

before your face

who will prepare

your way

before you.

Truly,

I say to you,

among those

born of women

there has arisen

no one greater

than John the Baptist.

Yet,

the one

who is least

in the kingdom

of heaven

is greater

than you.

From the days

of John the Baptist

until now,

the kingdom

of heaven

has suffered

violence

and the violence

taken by force.

For all the prophets

and the law

prophesied until John,

and if you are

willing to accept it,

he is Elijah

who is to come.

He who has ears

to hear,

let him hear.

But to what

shall I compare

this generation?

it is like

children

sitting in the

marketplaces

and calling

to their playmates.

We played the

flute for you

and you did not

dance.

We sang a dirge

and you did not

dance.

For John came

neither eating

nor drinking

and they say,

he has a demon.

The son of man

came eating

and drinking

and they say,

look at him,

a glutton

and a drunker,

a friend of

task collectors

and sinners.

Yet wisdom

is justified

by her deeds.

Then he began

to denounce

the cities

where most

of his mighty

works have been

done

because they

did not repent.

Woe to you,

Chorazin.

Woe to you,

Bethsaida.

For if the

mighty works

done in you

have been done

in Tyre and Sidon,

they would have

repented long ago

in sackcloth

and ashes.

But I tell you,

it will be

more bearable

on the day

of judgment

for Tyre and Sidon

than for whom?

And you,

Capernaum,

will you be

exalted to heaven?

You will be

brought down

to Hades.

For if the

mighty works

done in you

had been done

in Sodom,

it would have

remained

until this day.

But I tell you

that it will be

more tolerable

on the day

of judgment

for the land

of Sodom

than for you.

This is God's

holy and

exhortated word.

You may be seated.

I am struggling

to believe in Jesus.

I am plagued

with doubts

on whether God

really is with you.

I am not sure

if I believe

the Bible.

If your friend

honestly shared

those concerns

with you,

how do you think

that you would

respond?

What do you think

that you would say?

Back in college,

I met regularly

with a friend

who was faithfully

attending church,

but for years

struggled with

this kind of doubt.

Doubt about Jesus,

doubt about his faith.

I would regularly

hear these opening

lines

from him.

There were good

weeks,

there were bad

weeks,

but he always

seemed to be

stuck on the

same death.

In the end,

we finished

school,

we moved away

with him

still being

in the same

place,

still confessing

the same

doubts.

What about you?

Have you ever

wrestled with

these questions

before,

these doubts

before?

Are you struggling

with doubts

today?

In our passage

today,

Matthew wants

us to overcome

our doubts

by faith.

And the

Son of God

needs to apply

reasons for

us to do so,

reason after

reason.

So the main

point of this

passage and

my sermon

is simple.

It's because

of his ministry

and because

of his

messenger,

believe that

Jesus is the

Messiah.

But Matthew

doesn't just

state that

truth,

he shows us

two real

contrasting

examples,

responses to

Jesus.

On the one

hand,

you have

John the

Baptist,

on the other

you have

this wicked

generation.

One exemplified

humble faith,

seeking

understanding,

the other

a heart-hearted

skepticism,

demanding

proof.

One said,

I believe,

help my unbelief,

the other

said,

I don't

believe.

Prove me

wrong.

As a result,

there is a

stark contrast

in the way

that Jesus

responds to

these two

people.

And that's

going to be

the main

roadmap for

the rest of

this sermon.

you can

follow along

on the

screen.

We'll

see first

how John

doubts

Jesus,

but in

turn,

Jesus

defends

John.

And then

we'll learn

of what not

to do,

how not to

deal with

our doubts,

by reading

how these

wicked cities

deny Jesus,

and in

turn,

Jesus

denounces

them.

Getting

into the

text now,

in verse

one,

we read

that Matthew

signals a

transition to

the next

phase of

the narrative

as Jesus

wraps up

his discourse

on missions

in chapter

10.

And he

moves on

to carry

out his

ministry,

to teach

and preach

through the

cities.

Even when

Jesus performed

grand miracles

like cleansing

lepers,

or raising

people from

the dead,

it's fascinating

that Matthew

summarizes

Jesus'

ministry in

this particular

way,

focusing on

his teaching

and his

preaching.

After all,

wouldn't those

miracles stand

out most

in your

mind?

If someone

today taught

to preach

and performed

miracles,

we'd like to

focus on

the miracles,

but Matthew,

he has a

different focus.

He highlights

the preaching

ultimately because

these miracles,

these healings,

they were never

the primary focus

of Jesus'

ministry.

They instead

were just

these big,

bright,

neon-lit

signs to

confirm

Jesus'

message.

It's an

affirmation,

it's God's

affirmation to

the preached

message of

Christ,

that he is

the foretold

Messiah.

After all,

God would

not work

such amazing

miracles through

the mouth

of a lion.

God.

And if

Jesus came

primarily to

teach and

preach about

his identity,

we then

carry out

that legacy,

that same

focus in

our mission,

as we

fulfill the

great commission,

teaching in

every community,

every county,

every country,

every continent,

to obey,

teaching everyone

to obey what

Jesus has

commanded us to

do.

Now, as

Jesus is

teaching throughout

the cities in

verses 2 to

3, he's

interrupted by

a question,

a question from

a few of

John the

Baptist

deciders.

If you're

new to our

Matthew series,

or simply

new to the

Bible, John

the Baptist

was a prophet

sent by God

with one

singular mission,

to prepare the

way for the

Messiah.

He preached

repentance and

baptized crowds

all to prepare

people for the

arrival of the

Messiah.

And even when

he was massively

popular, and

everyone saw

him and his

baptism, John

unwaveringly

testified that

he is not, he

was not the

Messiah.

So given all

that John had

already said

and seen, this

question from

John is quite

astonishing.

He asks,

are you the

one who

is to come?

Or shall we

look for

another?

Huh?

What?

John is

suddenly filled

with doubt.

Unlike my

college friends,

John isn't

doubting the

reliability of

the scriptures,

or the

existence of

God, or

even his

promise of

Messiah, but

John is

now doubting

if Jesus is

the true

Messiah.

Before, John

refused, tried

to refuse to

baptize Jesus,

saying that I

need to be

baptized by you,

but now he's

questioning,

not sure.

Once

convictional,

but now

confused.

Once

settled,

but now

shaken.

But why

did John

now doubt

Jesus?

First, it

seems like

John is

expecting a

completely

different

ministry from

the Messiah.

After

proclaiming that

he is not

the Christ,

in chapter 3 of

Matthew,

John continues

to say,

his

wind and

fork is

in his

hand, and

he will

clear his

threshing

floor and

gather his

wheat into

the barn, but

the chaff he

will burn

with fun

punch the

fire.

It

sounds like

John, he's

expecting Jesus

to come with

fire, with

judgment, with

vengeance, to

overthrow the

evil in the

world.

John didn't

expect the

foretold

Messiah to

be

eating, dining

with prostitutes

and tax

collectors, let

alone even

choosing one

tax collector

to be his

disciple.

And

secondly, there's

a small detail

that we skipped

over that

might be part

of the reason

why John is

down.

He is in

prison.

We find out

later in

Matthew 14

why he's in

prison, because

he had boldly

rebukes.

Hannah, the

tetrarch, the

Roman leader

of the land

for his

immoral

marriage.

And you

have to

understand that

prisons back

then were

much, much,

much worse

compared to

prisons today.

Prisons today

are five-star

marriage compared

to prisons

back then.

Back then,

conditions were

unsanitary,

poorly

ventilated,

with limited

food, little

access to

daylight, and

given Harry's

reputation as

a tyrannical

ruler.

He knows

that his

life is

unlawed.

His external

circumstances are

squeezing John

and testing

his faith.

So I think it

makes sense why

John would

question why

Jesus isn't

coming thrashing,

burning,

judging, when

he is currently

suffering at the

hands of the

wicked.

knowing all

this, Jesus

responds to

John in

truly a

most gracious

manner.

It's not

soaked with

passive

aggression or

disappointment.

It doesn't

say, come

on, John,

I thought you

knew better

than this.

John,

John,

John,

you know

better.

No, he

patiently,

gently answers

John,

saying, the

blind receive

their sight from

a walk,

lepers are

cleansed,

and the

deaf hear,

and the

dead are

raised up,

and the

poor have

good news

preached to

them.

Now, in the

recent passages

in Matthew,

particularly in

chapters 8 and

9, we've seen

Jesus do all of

these things,

haven't we?

Jesus has

likely performed

lots more

miracles than

the ones that

we actually see

in these

chapters, but

we don't

read specific

examples about

them, or

specific details

rather, because

editor Matthew,

he's down-selected

these few

miracles, all so

that we as

readers would

get to this

quote in

chapter 11,

saying, ah,

yes, John,

or Jesus, has

done all of

these things.

And while

this isn't a

direct quote from

one Old

Testament prophet,

Jesus does seem

to be fulfilling

a combination

of two

messianic

prophecies from

Isaiah 35 and

61, which I

threw up on the

screen here,

John, who

would have

intimately known

the book of

Isaiah, would

have understood

what Jesus

was saying.

By giving

concrete evidence

of his ministry,

of his work,

Jesus affirms

that the

wait is over.

He is the

foretold

Messiah.

John is

right that

Jesus will

come to judge

the living and

the dead, but

that's not

now.

That's later.

For now,

look, look

clearly at the

evidence of who

Jesus is.

Because of his

ministry,

believe, be

convinced, have

no doubt, that

Jesus is the

Messiah.

God.

If you are

struggling with

doubt today, or

if you're trying

to minister to a

doubting Christian,

I think there

are four quick

lessons that we

can read from

this passage.

Number one,

ask Jesus

honestly.

Just as

John the

Baptist wasn't

afraid to ask

Jesus the

honest questions,

the raw

questions, don't

be afraid to

admit to

yourself and

to others and

before God, the

things that you're

thinking and

struggling with.

There is truly

great value in

working through

your doubts,

because frankly

speaking, if you

have never

struggled through

any kind of

doubt throughout

your entire

Christian life,

it may be

because you

have not truly

made faith

your own.

Then when

tragedy

strives or

when a smart

skeptic

attacks,

your faith

is shown to

be a

house of

thoughts.

But as

you work

through your

doubts,

bring them

before God.

Bobby Conway,

the author of

the book

Doubting

Towards Faith,

he makes

the arguments

that doubt

is directional.

You either

doubt for

God or you

doubt away

from Him.

John exemplified

the former,

doubting

toward God,

to Jesus,

with a faith

that sought

understanding.

So bring

your doubts

to God,

and He

will answer

them.

Number two,

reflect on

the evidence.

When Jesus

answers John,

he doesn't

say,

go searching

within your

heart to go

figure out

what you

feel is

through.

what you

feel is

most important.

The answer

is within you.

He doesn't

say that.

Instead,

he gives

them a

cold,

hard fact

about what

Jesus has

done and

who He

is.

If you

are struggling

with doubt

today,

take time

to study

and reflect

on the

concrete

evidence we

have for

our faith,

the historical

evidence of

the resurrection

of our

Messiah,

the reliability

of our

scriptures,

solid

philosophical

reasons to

believe in

God,

even just

look to

nation.

And as

you study

my third

point is,

be willing

to correct

any

misconceptions

that you

have about

the Christian

faith.

Perhaps

you're doubting

your faith

because ultimately

you have a

wrong understanding

about

Christianity.

If you

grew up hearing

the health

and wealth

gospel,

believing that

if you put

that point

in the

offering box

that your

life will

be amazing,

pain-free,

blessing-filled,

and that when

tragedy strikes,

when life

knocks you

down and

kicks you

in the

teeth,

your

faith

is

shaking.

Just as

John the

Baptist had

to learn

and be

corrected,

be willing,

be willing to

learn and to

correct any

misconceptions

that you

might have

about the

faith.

finally,

number four,

give proper

weight to

life

circumstances.

Understand

that we

are not

robots.

John the

Baptist was

not a

robot.

No one

is immune

to hardship

and Jesus

knows our

friend,

he knows

that we

are but

us.

Understand

that more

times than

not,

doubts

are not

necessarily

intellectual

in nature

or in

their

origin.

When a

Christian

unjustly

fires,

or suffers

a miscarriage,

or loses

a spouse,

that stuff

is hard.

It's really,

really hard.

And it

shakes,

it can shake

your head.

But the

good news of

the gospel is

that we are

not,

ultimately,

the same

by the

clarity

or the

intensity

of our

faith,

but by

the

objects

of it.

Imagine

you and

a friend,

probably

John Buckley,

hiking out

in Mount

Washington

in the

cold

winters,

where you

suddenly run

into an

angry

bear.

In

fleeing,

you guys

get split

up.

the only

option is

for you

guys to

jump into

a frozen

pond,

hoping that

the ice

will be

strong enough

for you.

Your

friend John,

the Cisco

John,

John has a

strong assurance

that his

section of the

pond is going

to hold

his weight.

He's going

to survive.

You're in a

different spot.

Your mind is

filled with

doubts,

uncertainty,

that the

ice will

hold you

up.

But you

both

jump,

only to

find out

that only

you can

stand.

Sorry to

kill you

off in

the sword.

It's not

the strength

of your

faith,

but the

object of

your faith

that saves

you.

But if

you're able

to work

through your

doubts,

just as

John the

Baptist

did,

Jesus

promises

another

beatitude,

just like

he did

in the

Sermon on

the Mount,

he uses

the same

word and

the same

sentence

brushes.

He says,

blessed

is the

one who

is not

offended

by you.

Now,

as gentle

and gracious

Jesus has

been to

John,

this last

statement

feels like

and it

is.

It's a

mild

repute

to

John.

And I'm

glad that

this is

here.

In our

day and

age,

suspicion,

skepticism,

our praise,

conviction,

and assurance

of truth

are denigrated.

Our secular

culture teaches

us to

question

everything,

missing the

fact that

the purpose

of questioning

is to

arrive at

truth,

not to

question

indefinitely.

it.

Like the

gnostic

who insists

that we

can never

really know

whether God

exists or

not because

he believes

endless

uncertainty

is better

than

arriving at

conviction,

arriving at

truth.

People

claim to

see through

things,

especially

religion,

and they

call that

wisdom.

love.

But here,

see us

who will speak

about this

attitude prevalent

today.

You cannot

go on seeing

through things

forever.

The whole

point of

seeing through

something is to

see something

through it.

it is good

that the

window should

be transparent

because the

street or

garden beyond

it is opaque.

How if you

saw through

the garden too?

If you see

through everything,

then everything

is transparent.

But a

wholly transparent

world is an

invisible world.

To see

through all

things is

the same

as not

to see.

Jesus

wants us

to see,

to see

with faith

who he

really is.

He wants

us to have

the faith

that overcomes

doubts.

So he

promises this

blessing,

this joy to

all those who

work through

their doubts

with a faith

that seeks

understanding

and a faith

that ultimately

accepts Jesus

as the

Messiah.

This is a

kind of funny

way to

pronounce true

blessing,

is it not?

You might

expect Jesus

to say,

blessed is

the one

who gives

up your

life for

me or

serves me.

And those

things are

true,

but on

your first

reading,

it almost

might sound

like Jesus

is lowering

the bar

for obedience.

All that

you have to

do is

not be

offended

by Jesus.

That might

seem easy

at first,

but Jesus

knows that

in the end,

he and his

ministry

would ultimately

be incredibly

polarizing

and offend

the

multitudes.

Why?

Because

Jesus knew

that he

would not

be the

kind of

Messiah

that the

public

would be

expecting.

Not the

kind of

Messiah

celebrated

by everybody.

Even

John the

Baptist

expected

somebody

different.

The same

is true

today.

Lots of

people like

Jesus.

They do.

They like

him as a

moral teacher

or as a

good man.

But then,

when they

actually

understand

Jesus is

the only

way to

salvation,

when Jesus

challenges

them on

their sin,

then they're

offended.

And

although

perhaps

John was

offended

by Jesus

and did

struggle

without,

he,

again,

embodied

faith that

sought

understanding,

so in

turn,

ultimately,

we'll see

how Jesus

responds.

After his

disciples leave,

notice how

Jesus immediately

turns to

defend John

before the

cross.

He does

so with a

series of

rhetorical

questions and

figurative

metaphors to

describe who

John is.

But when

John's

popularity

among the

Jews,

he asks,

what did

they go

out all

to see?

First,

he can

contrasts

John with

a reed

shaken

by the

wind,

reeds

a light

and slender

plant that

thrives in

marshy areas

where likely

are easily

and constantly

slung about

by the

wind.

And at

that time,

the term

likely had

cultural

baggage

too,

when rabbis

would use

that phrase

to insult

the toothpicks,

those who

would easily

flip-flop

between opinions

just to

please the

masses

and again

achieve their

own agendas.

But even

when John

was moved,

he was

shaken in

his doubts.

Jesus is so

gracious.

He sees

John not

as a reed

shaken by

the wind,

but as a

steady,

strong,

oak tree.

Next,

Jesus speaks

about soft

clothing that

can only be

found in

kings'

houses,

those who

would kiss

their way

up,

you know,

flattery and

gifts.

They would do

all these

things so

that they

could make

it,

be comfortable

living in

the king's

house in

their smooth

satin robes

or their

comfortable

casual

flares.

But John

wasn't like

that.

He wore

garments of

canons

and a

leather belt,

clothing that

embodied his

practical devotion

to God and

his separation

from the rest

of the world.

And at the

last question,

Jesus gets to

the main

point.

He identifies

John as a

prophet, but

not just any

prophet, the

final prophet,

the one who

would predict

the arrival of

the coming

Messiah.

Actually, he

was more than

a prophet because

he didn't just

predict Jesus

from a distance

away.

He personally

prepared the

way for Jesus.

and he

introduced Jesus

to the world.

No other

prophet in the

Old Testament

and the Old

Covenant could

claim that

for us.

And that's

what makes

John the

greatest of

all those

born of

women before

the coming

of the

kingdom,

which is

just another

way to say

that he is

the greatest

of all the

Old Covenancies.

He was

greater.

He's greater

than Abraham,

greater than

Moses, greater

than David.

Why?

It was, again,

one thing.

John's

historical

proximity to

Jesus is the

one thing that

made him the

greatest.

That he

personally

introduced the

world to

Jesus.

In other

words, simply

put, Jesus

is what made

John

great.

God

is the

greatest.

Only with

that metric

of greatness

can we then

understand this

next verse.

Because while

John was

greater than

anyone in

the Old

Covenant,

that's the

era of

prophecy.

That's the

era of

waiting,

anticipation,

preparation.

But Jesus

teaches us in

verse 11 that

the one who

is last in

the kingdom

of heaven is

greater than

him.

what does

that mean?

The key to

understanding this

verse is

understanding that

John the

Baptist, because

he lived and

died before

Jesus' death

and resurrection,

isn't counted

as part of the

new covenant

people of God.

Instead, he

functions, again,

as the last

prophet of the

Old Covenant,

the transitional

figure between

the two eras,

the Old

Era of

prophecy,

the Old

Era of

anticipation,

gives way to

the Era of

fulfillment,

of arriving.

And that's

why the

least of us

who live on

this side of

the cross is

greater than

the greatest

man on that

side of the

cross.

So if you're

here today and

you have put

your faith in

Jesus Christ,

you are

greater than

John the

Baptist,

you are

greater than

Abraham,

you are

greater than

Moses and

David.

because of

the unbelievable

privilege that

you have as

a new covenant

saint of God,

you have

specific knowledge

and participation

in the new

covenant in

Jesus' blood.

Matthew 13,

17 says,

many prophets

and righteous

people longed

to see what

you see,

and they did

not see it,

and to hear

what you hear,

and they did

not hear it.

You may read

the stories of

how Moses

personally talked

to God face

to face,

or how Jacob

wrestled with

God,

or how Israelites

walked through

the Red Sea,

and a part of

us, when we

read stories like

that, we feel

like, yeah, I

wish I could

have been there,

I wish I could

have experienced

these things.

But the truth

is, they

wish to be

like us,

because we

have the

unbelievable

spiritual

privilege to

have the

whole testimony

of God in

the canon of

scripture, to

have the

Pentecostal

gift of the

Holy Spirit

indwelling us

now, and

most importantly,

we get to

have a

relationship

with Jesus,

with King

Jesus.

All the

Old Testament

saints longed

to hear what

we hear,

to see what

we see.

So may we

never lose the

wonder of the

privilege it is

to be in

relationship with

our King

Jesus.

Verse 12

is one of the

hardest verses

in all the

book of Matthew

to interpret and

translate, and

to be honest,

I'm still not

quite sure, but

I think that the

ESC, along with

many other

reliable

translations,

they get it

right when it

says, from the

days of John

the Baptist

until now, the

kingdom of

heaven has

suffered violence

and the

violent

taken by

force.

Although the

time from

John the

Baptist until

the point of

the kingdom,

the point that

Jesus is

speaking, that

time is

comparatively

short.