Least in the Kingdom
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Noah built an ark that saved eight people from the flood and allowed humanity to continue in the world. Joseph saved Egypt from famine, and not only Egypt, but all the surrounding region and specifically his own family allowing them to grow from 70 people to millions. Moses led those millions through the wilderness for 40 years. Joshua led them into the Promised Land and commanded the armies against the nations of Canaan. David was Israel’s first great king. Josiah led Judah in spiritual revival. Nehemiah led the returned exiles of Babylon to build a wall in record time and with Ezra’s help reestablish the worship of Yahweh. That’s just the Old Testament and, of course, there are many more Old Testament figures we could mention. We’ve got the apostles in the New Testament that established and grew the church by the power of the Spirit. They were able to perform signs and wonders that led so many to Jesus. Paul became the apostle to the Gentiles and wrote letter after letter that we still read today.
Then of course there are those who came later. Heroes of the faith. Augustine, Anselm, Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Edwards, Brainerd, Spurgeon, Mueller, MacArthur, Piper, and hundreds of others! And here are you and me, part of a small church in a relatively small city—a suburb of a relatively small city. We live in a world in which everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame and many get it thanks to YouTube and Tiktok. And the pressure to “be somebody” and “do something great” is enormous. There is a real sense in which our need to know and be known looms so large that the need becomes a desire to be known by many rather than a close few.
As we get into the text this morning, we see Jesus take a different perspective. In fact, he takes many different perspectives than those around him. In fact, I see three perspectives in this one text that Jesus has that are different from those around him. The first perspective is this: Faithfulness is more important than fame. The second is: Being on the bottom is better than being on top. The last perspective Jesus has is radically different than those around him: Different times call for different measures. (if that sounds almost right, it is because you’re used to hearing “desperate times call for desperate measures.”)
Faithfulness Is More Important Than Fame
Being On Bottom Rung Is Better Than Being On the Top
Different Times Call For Different Measures
When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?
What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings’ courts.
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.’
I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
(When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John,
but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)
“To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like?
They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, “ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’
For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’
The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”
Faithfulness Is More Important Than Fame
Being On Bottom Rung Is Better Than Being On the Top
Different Times Call For Different Measures
Faithfulness is More Important Than Fame
Faithfulness is More Important Than Fame
When we come to a familiar text, it is tempting to speed read through it. We know what it says. We’ve read it before. We’ve heard it before. We get the gist; let’s move on. But if that’s what we do, we can miss something that is small and yet important. It’s a small reminder that can make an important change in our outlook on things. Such is the case with this first perspective of Jesus. How Jesus saw John was not like how others saw him. Jesus’s perspective was that John’s faithfulness was more important than his fame.
When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?
What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings’ courts.
What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
John’s disciples are gone. They had come because John was having some type of crisis of faith. He had sent them to ask if Jesus was the one or if they were to expect someone else. Jesus sent them back with an answer and was left there with a crowd of people who had just witnessed John the Baptist asking Jesus this question that shows that there seems to be at least some doubt in John’s mind as to Jesus. There is no way that Jesus is going to be able to ignore this elephant in the room.
So he asked the crowds, who many of at one time had followed John but now are following him, what it was they went out to see: a reed shaken by the wind or perhaps a man dressed in soft clothing? They were rhetorical questions. John was neither of those things. He wasn’t one that was easily shaken. He didn’t flip-flop when times got tough. He wasn’t about pleasing this group and then pleasing that group. That’s not who he was. He stood strong. Thus, they ought not take John’s question as a sign of his flip-flopping, but rather as confirming.
And he wasn’t one who sought to lap of luxury. Luke never tells about what John the Baptist wore, but it was common knowledge that he wore camel skin and a leather belt. These are hardly soft clothes to wear. John wasn’t trying to be something he wasn’t. He wasn’t trying to look a part. He wasn’t about gaining riches. The fact that people came to him was an act of God, not a well-planned, well-orchestrated production. Certainly John the Baptist was famous, but that was only a platform for faithfulness.
Now, it is probably no surprise that I am one who looks for excellence. Some might say perfection, but I’m getting better. I grew up under the motto that “if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right; if it’s not worth doing right, it’s not worth doing.” I get the idea that has infiltrated churches all across America. And the idea is right in one sense, but wrong in another. Churches want to be excellent in their various ministries. They want to have the best music, the best studies, the best speakers, the best of everything. For what reason? If it is for any other reason than being a platform for faithfulness, then it is idolatrous. If it is so that a church can become famous or grow larger or become influential, then that church has left its first love.
Jesus continued asking his questions. Did you go see a reed? No. Did you go see a man in soft clothing? No. Did you go see a prophet? Yes. But notice closely that even that isn’t a full and complete answer. Notice Jesus’s perspective. They saw a prophet and it ended there. Jesus said that John was “more than a prophet.” When you went to church, what did you go to see? Did you go to see a production? No (hopefully). Did you go to see the pastor wearing $400.00 shoes? No. What did you go to see? The pastor preach? Yes! But more than that! Hopefully you have come to see Jesus being made much of! Every ministry, every song, every prayer, every preached word, every time we take of the Lord’s Supper—everything I hope to make much of Jesus.
Look at what Jesus said about John.
This is he of whom it is written, “ ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’
John the Baptist wasn’t there for the fame. He was there using the fame as a platform for faithfulness. And that faithfulness adds up to making much of Jesus. John’s mission was not to gather a large following. It wasn’t to amass an audience. It was to point people to Jesus. It was to get them ready for the Messiah. And that is exactly what John did. And for that reason, Jesus said that John was the greatest born among women. He was the one who was born to prepare the world for Jesus.
Let me ask you this. How are you doing in preparing others for Jesus’s coming? There are certainly different stages in life as to who we may minister to for the sake of Jesus. It may be that you’re single and therefore your time is not divided with family obligations and ministry obligations (and by ministry, I simply mean serving people, not established programs in the church). It may be that your’re married with children and thus your kids or even your spouse is your target group. It may be that you’re empty-nesters and now have opportunities to invite neighbors over or go out with coworkers.
Whatever fame we have, whether it is with friends, family, or beyond, we can utilize it as a platform to make much of Jesus. We are simply called to faithfulness in order to make much of Jesus.
Being On Bottom Rung Is Better Than Being On the Top
Being On Bottom Rung Is Better Than Being On the Top
The second perspective that Jesus had that differed from the people around him was that being on bottom was better than being on top.
I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
(When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John,
but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)
John’s fame did not contribute to John’s worth. Certainly there was something to be said about John’s abilities. He certainly had some talents that God utilized. But one’s talents does not constitute worth. We know that from 1 Corinthians 12.
For the body does not consist of one member but of many.
If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.
And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.
You see, Jesus understood rightly that there is a difference between earthly perspective and heavenly perspective. On earth John the Baptist was someone. He was famous. He could preach and stand up to the religious elites and even King Herod. He was somebody here. But Jesus said, the least in the kingdom is greater than he.
If our view of self is earthly, then we will never understand what Jesus means here. Much like Paul would write later about affliction and glory, so Jesus speaks about fame and worth. Paul wrote that affliction in this world only shows how great the glory will be in heaven. Because while affliction may be great in this world, it is nothing compared to the glory of the heavenly kingdom.
In a similar fashion, Jesus said that John was the greatest among those born of women. In other words, John was the greatest man to have lived. He may not have been the most famous of men, but he was the greatest of men in this world. But the least in the kingdom of God is greater than the greatest of men on this planet.
God has made us to be relational beings. We not only want to be known. We need to be known. It is not good for a person to be alone in this world. But the amount of people who know us does not contribute to our worth to God. YouTube has awards that they give out. You get a silver Creator Award when you reach 100,000 subscribers! A gold if you get to 1,000,000 subscribers! And a diamond if you get to 10,000,000 subscribers! But having 10,000,000 subscribers who watch your content on YouTube is nothing compared to your value in the kingdom of God.
I love the song, My Worth is Not in What I Own. In the second line, we sing:
My worth is not in skill or name
In win or lose, in pride or shame
But in the blood of Christ that flowed
At the cross
Most Christians can’t fathom their worth to God’s kingdom. They cannot imagine their value. But some of the people who heard Jesus did. Do you see how they responded. I love that Luke pointed out that the people—the tax collectors too. Don’t forget those lowly, hated tax collectors, the outcasts of society! They justified God. In other words, they declared that God is right in this. They vindicated God. He is the God of the lowly. He is God of the humble. He is God of those who repent!
They do this, why? The word because is not in the text, but there is still a cause. It’s what is known as a causal participle. We could easily translate it as, “Because they had been baptized with the baptism of John, they justified God.” John, the great, had baptized them, the least. They saw what Jesus meant by this statement and they made much of God’s work! Like Augustine said, “I believe in order to understand.” So they had been baptized, believing John’s call to repentance and message on the coming kingdom, and so they understood Jesus’s words regarding the least in the kingdom.
The Pharisees and lawyers (aka scribes) were just the opposite. They rejected the purpose of God—the purpose to make much of Jesus though being least themselves. They didn’t understand it because of their rejection—their disbelief.
Different Times Call For Different Measures
Different Times Call For Different Measures
And it is to these that Jesus turned his attention. The first perspective is that Faithfulness is More Important than Fame. The second is that Being on the Bottom Rung is Better than Being on the Top. Now we come to the third: Different Times Call for Different Measures.
I will admit that I have misunderstood this text my entire life. So if you have heard me talk on this text before, you may be hearing something a little different this morning.
“To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like?
They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, “ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’
For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’
The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
The way I always understood the text was that John was like one set of children saying we sang a dirge and Jesus was like the other set saying “we played the flute.” And the religious leaders weren’t satisfied with either of them. But that isn’t actually what Jesus was saying. Though it’s a bit similar.
Jesus compares this generation to those children, in essence the 1st century Jews (particularly the religious leaders) to these children, not himself and John. The religious leaders were like children playing games. They wanted to play their game and they wanted others to play it with them. Like children that want to play house inviting others that want to play cops and robbers to play with them. They’re fighting with each other because mom is getting arrested for robbing a bank while some robber is cooking a souffle for the kids! There’s bickering back and forth about what is going to be played and how it’s going to be played.
In this case, there are children wanting to play wedding (where flutes are played) but those who want to play funeral (where dirges are sung) won’t play right and vice-versa. Jesus is saying, “we’re not playing games here. This isn’t about getting people to play games. It’s not about defamation of character.”
That generation of religious leaders were defaming John who was out in the desert where demons were believed to dwell. They said he had a demon. Less people playing John’s game and more playing their own. Still others were defaming Jesus saying he was a glutton and a drunkard hanging with tax collectors and sinners, thus hoping to lure people away from him and into their own camp.
Jesus was saying, “We’re not about playing your games here. We’re not about acting like children.” Different times call for different measures. John was right in doing what he did. He went out in the desert and lived an austere life because that was necessary to build God’s kingdom. Jesus now was eating and drinking and hanging with sinners and tax collectors because it too was necessary for the building of God’s kingdom. Different times call for different measures.
Hence,
Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”
There’s that word justified again! God was justified and here wisdom is justified. The people justified God, the children justified wisdom. These are related statements. Those brought into the kingdom in various methods are still part of the kingdom and so vindicate the wisdom of God in utilizing those methods.
This is not much different from Paul who wrote,
To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law.
To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.
To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.
I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
Conclusion
Conclusion
As we conclude our study on Luke 7:24-35, my hope is that we have seen Jesus and his perspective of us in a clearer light. Perhaps all these points are not new, but perhaps they were forgotten or relegated to the far reaches of our minds. But I hope that we see that Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith sees that our faithfulness to make much of him is greater than our fame. Fame is only but one of many platforms. May we use the platform we’ve been given to be faithful in our pointing to him. Jesus sees that those whom we aspire to be like—the Spurgeons or Pipers or Calvins or whoever—are less than those who are least in God’s kingdom. Who we are in this world is not nearly as important has how God sees us in his kingdom. Finally, I hope we see that we don’t have to be picky. God uses different methods at different times with different people to bring about his kingdom work. Some people may prefer door to door ministry. But that’s not the only way to lead people to Jesus. Some may like huge events to do mass evangelism. But that’s not the only way to lead people to Jesus. Some may like one on one coffee with a friend or neighbor. But again, it’s not the only way.
Some may be here and still cannot understand Jesus’s view of greatness. You can’t see yet how making much of Christ is more important than anything else we can do in this life. And that doesn’t mean that there aren’t important things to be done. It is only to say that as we do those important things, we cannot forget the most important thing.
“ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.
I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.
It is not that all the other works Ephesus was doing were unimportant. But that they had forgotten to do them in conjunction with their first and most important of loves.
So, if you’re still not there yet—if you still have a hard time understanding, let’s talk about it. I’d love to talk with you.