True Victory

Introduction

Matthew 11:1–19 ESV

When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve 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 and 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 kings’ 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 he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it 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 mourn.’ 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 drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”

Two weeks ago Pastor Russ preached to us from Luke 10 and the Good Samaritan on True Justice. And we have been reminded again in the past week of the deplorable violence, inhumanity and injustice that plagues our world. What hope is there for true victory over evil in our world? Is there a difference between the way Jesus approaches the need for victory over evil and the way we’re tempted to approach it apart from him? How do we mourn grieve over evil while simultaneously believing there will be victory over evil?

I just got back from eight days of travel. Because I was out of town, I couldn’t talk to my neighbor in person, so I sent her a text message. She’s a Rabbi in a local synagogue, and as horrified as I was by the attack by Hamas, I knew it paled in comparison to what she, her family and her community were going through. I let her know that I was praying for them as they grieved, and dealt with anger and sadness. She expressed a deep appreciation and said that although her immediate family and friends were all safe, they were deeply traumatized and all connected to people who were missing or dead. Then she ended her text with these words, “This week has been overwhelming. L’shalom - toward peace and justice for all people.”

The next day I was on a prayer call with our Mission to North America staff. When we were taking prayer requests, the leader of our chaplains ministry asked for prayer for the chaplains who were serving on the strike carrier warship headed to the gulf. These chaplains who minister to enlisted men and women potentially heading into harm’s way. Our English as a Second Language ministry leader asked for prayer for the Iranian ESL students who are afraid of being attacked even though they’ve fled Iran.

At the end of the week I was at the Wheaton College board meeting and among the prayer requests was to pray for Palestinian and Arab students at Wheaton who are anxious and concerned even though they’re Christians at a Christian college.

What does Jesus have to say to us about all of this violence, trauma, inhumanity and evil? Is there any hope of victory? What we will see in our passage this morning is that Jesus does has something to say and there is real hope for victory over evil. But it’s not a neat and comfortable, wrap it up in a bow message. The only way that the world knows how to pursue victory is through violence. Even if the victory that we’re seeking is victory over evil, the only means we have to attain that victory is through violence.

Jesus’s approach to victory is scandalous. As theologian Stanley Hauerwas writes,

The kingdom [Jesus] brings is one of gentleness and humility that cannot help but reveal the violence of the world…We will not, therefore, be surprised then, after Jesus has plainly said who he is and what he has come to do, that everything he says and does invites controversy and resistance.

I want to look at these 19 verses in two sections, Victory and Scandal, Victory and Suffering.

Scandal

Let’s situate ourselves in Matthew’s Gospel as we begin to look at the scandal of victory from vv. 1-6. The first four chapters are essentially Matthew’s introduction. Then there are five major discourses in the body of the book from chs. 5-25. And the conclusion is chs. 26-28. And for each of the discourses Matthew makes a bridge statement. Something like, “After Jesus finished these sayings, or these instructions, or these parables…” You’ll find that statement at the end of the Sermon on the Mount in 7:28. You’ll find it in 13:53, 19:1, and 26:1. What do we find in v. 1 of ch. 11? “Then, when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went up from there to teach and preach in their cities.” Guess where we are? We’re transitioning from a major discourse, the Sermon on Mission—where Jesus predicts opposition for the twelve disciples—to the section where we see that opposition explained implicitly and explicitly.

You see, here’s one aspect of the scandal of victory. Our passage follows on the heels of Jesus’ message to the twelve about the opposition they will face in their work as ambassadors of his kingdom. They are not to be surprised that their good work is met with suspicion, rejection, and persecution. If they are like Jesus, then others will react to them the way they reacted to him. “If they call the master of the house, Beelzebul,” Jesus says in 10:25, “how much more will they malign the members of his household?” Now he transitions to the implication of this for the members of the kingdom.

Matthew 11:2–3 ESV

2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

Matthew doesn’t tell us until ch. 14 why John was in prison, but he gets word that Jesus is preaching the good news of the kingdom of heaven, and that Jesus is doing the miraculous. You need to realize that John and Jesus had the same message. In 3:1 John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” God’s victory over evil is coming. In 4:17, after Jesus is tempted in the wilderness, Matthew says, “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” So why John’s question now? John is the one who said to the people,

Matthew 3:11–12 ESV

11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing 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 unquenchable fire.”

When the Mightier One comes, he’s bringing victory with him. He’s going to purify this world of all that is against God’s righteousness and justice. Why is John doubting?

Let me say this to you please. Doubt is not the same as unbelief. To experience doubt even as a believer in Jesus, to experience doubt even as a Christian is not a cause for shame. That’s not the scandal ]. Sometimes Christians think that if they have any doubt about any aspect of the Christian faith they’re unacceptable to God. And this is often an aspect of Christianity that non-Christians don’t understand either. It is inherently the case, if you’re not a Christian, that you have doubts about this faith. You doubt the authenticity of the Bible. You doubt the authenticity of Jesus and his resurrection, his claim to be the way the truth and the life. You doubt the necessity of the salvation that he offers. You doubt the reality of heaven and hell. We have a culture that exalts skepticism. Dr. Dallas Willard, a philosophy professor at USC from 1965-2012, who was also a Christian, put it this way,

We live in a culture that has, for centuries now, cultivated the idea that the skeptical person is always smarter than the one who believes.

He was right to say,

If you’re going to be a doubter, be sure to doubt your doubts as well as your beliefs.

Here is the point that I am making when it comes to this issue of doubt. Doubt is not the barrier to faith for a non-Christian. Unbelief is the barrier to faith. It is a matter of the heart, not a matter of the intellect. For the Christian, the existence of doubt is not the same as unbelief. It is what arises in us when our experience doesn’t match our expectations.

John’s doubt here comes from his affliction. His expectation of the Messiah’s coming did not include his imprisonment. Jesus, this isn’t what victory is supposed to look like! Jesus says to John’s disciples, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and 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.” Jesus is assuring John, “You’re not wrong about me.” There was the expectation that the promises God made to his people in the book of Isaiah would be fulfilled when Messiah came. (Isa. 29:17-18; 35:3-6).

Isaiah writes the song of the Messianic Servant in 61:1. The Servant declares,

Isaiah 61:1–3 ESV

1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; 3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

The year of Jubilee, when healing, wholeness, and salvation would come, Jesus says, “It’s here because I’m here. All of those expectations and promises are fulfilled in me.” The problem John the Baptist had was that when he was preaching he said that the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I’m not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing 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 unquenchable fire.” John is asking Jesus, “Where’s the fire? Where’s the vengeance of God? Isaiah didn’t just say that the blind would see, and the deaf would hear, and the poor would have good news preached to them. He said (Isa. 29:20) the ruthless shall come to nothing and the scoffer shall cease, and all who watch to do evil shall be cut off. Isaiah said (35:8) that a highway called the Way of Holiness shall be there and the unclean shall not pass over it. Isaiah said (Isa. 61:2) the Servant of the Lord would proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God. Where is it Jesus? Why, if you’re the one who is to come, am I in prison?”

Do you see it? Do you hear it? My expectations for how this thing is supposed to work isn’t lining up with the reality. I have an expectation of how the Lord is supposed to fulfill the victory that he’s promised. And Jesus’s response to John is a gentle rebuke. Remember our context? Jesus has just gotten finished telling the twelve disciples what the cost of being a disciple looks like. Now here is a living breathing example for them in John the Baptist. He is languishing in prison, a prison from which he will not be released, the place where he will be executed. The scandal of victory in Jesus Christ is that God is still patient with sinners. And that means his people will have to live in the paradox of a victory over evil that allows suffering to continue.

That’s why Jesus says in v.6, “Blessed (or Happy) is the one who is not offended by me. Jesus is describing this happiness with a negative. “Who is not offended by me.” The word translated as offended here does not simply mean taking offense at what Jesus says. He is describing unbelief. It’s the word that our English word “scandal” comes from. You can hear it in the pronunciation of the Greek word… It means to “lead to ruin,” “to give offense,” “to seduce to sin.” Jesus is referencing himself as the one through whom this offense, this ruin comes. You see, Matthew is setting us up. He’s setting us up for what will happen later.

We find this phrasing multiple times in Matthew. In 13:57 the people in his hometown took offense at him (skandalizw). And Matthew says in 13:58 that Jesus did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief. When we get toward the end of the book, and Jesus is at the Last Supper, in the upper room celebrating the Passover with the twelve disciples, he says in 26:31, “You will all fall away because of me.” It is the same phrasing that we find here in 11:6. Peter says in 26:33, “Even if everyone falls away because of you, even if all of them are scandalized by you, I’ll never be scandalized by being associated with you!” Jesus said to Peter, “I tell you the truth, this very night, before the rooster crows, you’ll deny that you know me three times.” Peter said, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And the other disciples said the same thing! What happened? They all were scandalized by Jesus. When Jesus was being tried, condemned and crucified, they wanted nothing to do with him.

His victory comes through a cross! It’s an upside-down victory! The victory of God in the present world can look like defeat.

Suffering

After Jesus sends John’s disciples back with a corrective rebuke, he turns to the crowd and begins to speak to them about John. Jesus doesn’t usually describe people with superlatives, so when he does we ought to pay attention. Jesus asks the crowd questions in v. 7. Why did you go out to the wilderness? To see a reed being blown to and fro by the wind? Why did you go out to the wilderness? To see a man who was dressed in soft clothing? Look, the people who wear soft clothing are in palaces. But why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes. And even more than a prophet. He is the one concerning whom it is written, “Behold, I am sending my messenger before you. He will prepare your way before you.” Truly I say to you, no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist among those born of women.

Jesus helps the crowds understand who John is. John can be disregarded by them because he’s in prison. They didn’t get it. Jesus will say down in v. 18, “John came neither eating or drinking and you say he has a demon.” But John was the greatest and more than a prophet because, as Stanley Hauerwas puts it, “he has the unique office to herald Israel’s Messiah.” John wasn’t great because of something inherent in John. John was great because he was the one Malachi spoke of in Malachi 3:1, “I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way.” He is Elijah who Malachi spoke of in Malachi 4:5, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.”

And yet, the point of the superlative is the contrast that Jesus makes. As great as John is, the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John. Jesus isn’t talking about levels of membership in the kingdom of heaven. Membership in the kingdom of heaven isn’t like membership in a club. You don’t have your basic membership, silver, gold, and platinum. That’s how the disciples think, though. You find that in Matthew 20 when John and James send their mama to Jesus to ask if they could have positions of power in Jesus’ kingdom, sitting at his right hand and his left hand. That’s not how Jesus talks here. Jesus’ statement here is intended to shock us. He is talking about the great privilege, the immeasurable blessing of being a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. The shock value is that any old member of the kingdom is greater than John.

John was great but he stood at the edge. He was the last of his kind, standing at the end of the old age and looking into the new. But he wasn’t all the way in. John’s day was not one of Jubilee. His day was one of desolation and exile and oppression. The new age is the Year of Jubilee, with the kingdom arriving in Jesus Christ. So, like the old American Express commercial used to say, “Membership has its privileges.” Why is it a privilege to be citizens of Jesus’ kingdom? Why is it better to be in his kingdom rather than out of it? Jesus continually puts himself at the center of God’s kingdom, at the center of life. The privilege of membership is clarity. The person who is least in the kingdom of heaven doesn’t have more faith than John the Baptist, they have more clarity. Clarity on where your primary identity lies because you’ve seen the unfolding of Jesus ministry on your behalf. In the kingdom of heaven, the citizens of the kingdom seek to draw their primary identity from their relationship with God (Sherman, 48). A relationship that they didn’t establish, that they don’t maintain, that can never be destroyed, and that is rooted in the deep deep love of God.

Why is this necessary? I thought we were talking about victory? We are. We see evil on the world stage and in our communities, and we wonder whether God is powerful enough to do anything about it. But the first place that the victory of God is established is over us! The first place that God comes to reign over in victory is our hearts. Our grief and devastation over war and gun violence and human trafficking and abuse and rampant poverty and systemic racism and corporate greed and on and on the list goes—our grief over these things makes us doubt or even want to dismiss God. The only way to lean into these things with a sense of hope and even a supernatural peace is if we have experienced the victory of God personally. Have you experienced God conquering the evil of your heart? Have you experience the reality that God’s victory in the cross of Jesus Christ was for you? We need this kind of clarity because Jesus immediately moves from this statement about the privilege of citizenship in his kingdom to talk about suffering again.

Right after he says that the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John, he says in v. 12, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.” There are all kinds of interpretations and various ways of translating this verse. The essence of it is, however, is negative in force. Jesus is issuing a warning to his disciples to prepare for violence. The kind of violence that John is experiencing as Jesus is talking. The kingdom of heaven suffers violence. The sense of that statement is most likely the straining and the difficulty with which the kingdom of heaven advances in this violent world. The NLT’s rendering of the Greek in v. 12 may be the most helpful one. “And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it.” The advancement of God’s kingdom cannot be stopped, but it’s no easy road because it is constantly under attack from violent people.

The presence and the message of the kingdom often creates a violent response because it includes the necessity of having the Lord at the center of our existence and not ourselves. The kingdom comes with the promise of peace. But the only way that we know how to pursue peace in this world is through violence. That’s because peace, whether it be nations at war, or families with internal strife, or sports teams that can’t get along, no matter what it is, peace for us means having things the way we want them. Why can’t our politicians achieve any substantive work and policies in Washington D.C.? It’s in large part because the way to get life as we want it in America is to beat the other party, have the majority, and be in control. That’s not the way to peace. It’s the way to ongoing strife.

I love what Stanley Hauerwas says about these verses,

The kingdom…comes through the peace brought by Jesus. This kingdom is not some ideal of peace that requires the use of violence for its realization…We live life…as if we are our own lords, our own creators. We respond violently to anyone who might challenge our presumption that we are in control of our existence. We do not want to be reminded that when all is said and done, we will all be dead…The kingdom [Jesus] brings is one of gentleness and humility that cannot help but reveal the violence of this world. Yet the very gentleness of the kingdom effects a judgment on those who refuse to believe that the love that moves the sun and stars is the same love that is found in this man.

So, if you’re a citizen of the kingdom through faith in Jesus Christ, it is necessary to have clarity about your unearned privilege because what Jesus says and does always invites controversy and resistance. Jesus has a mostly negative tone in our text because he’s primarily rebuking those who are offended by him. But let me offer you a word of encouragement and exhortation especially if you find yourself among those struggling to believe, especially if you find yourself among those offended by the things Jesus says and does. Don’t be content to dismiss the struggle. Don’t be content to ignore what’s offending you. God can handle that. That’s part of the scandal of his love. The love that moves the sun and stars in their course is the same love that is found in Jesus. That means his love is married to power. He doesn’t dismiss you as quickly as you might want to dismiss him. So, don’t ignore the struggle. Don’t dismiss the struggle. Let me encourage you to hear Jesus saying to you that you’ve got to get off the throne. You don’t call the shots in this deal.

I can issue you that encouragement because Jesus issues it in v. 15. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Anyone with ears to hear should listen to and understand what I’m saying. There’s a tone of frustration in Jesus’s voice. He asks another question in v. 16, “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 mourn.” Children love to make up games, and usually somebody is in charge. That child will assign roles and responsibilities. “You play so and so, and you be so and so…” And every once in a while, the child who has been assigned a role in the playtime production that he or she doesn’t want resists their assignment. “I don’t want to be so and so. I’m not playing anymore.” Sometimes, not with any of the children in here I know, but sometimes that leads to verbal and physical conflict among the children.

Jesus says to the crowds, “This generation is like a group of children playing together. Some want a make-believe wedding. I’ll be the musician, you two be the bride and groom dancing. But somebody doesn’t want to do a wedding. Ok. Let’s play make-believe funeral. I’ll do the funeral song, and you all will be the people who mourn. But somebody doesn’t want to play funeral either.”

That’s how it is with this generation, Jesus says. John and Jesus are the ones who are declaring what time it is. John came neither eating nor drinking. John’s diet was locusts and wild honey. John ate meagerly and impoverished life telling that generation it was a time to mourn over their sin. The king was coming and they weren’t ready to receive him. People might’ve liked listening to him, but they thought he was a little coo-coo. We’re not going to play along with you and mourn John. In fact, you might even have a demon.

Then Jesus talks about himself. The Son of Man comes eating and drinking. The Son of Man comes celebrating the arrival of the kingdom, good news, Jubilee, victory. Jesus would go to people’s homes and eat and drink and share the good news of God’s love and grace for those who repent. That generation said, “We’re not celebrating with you. We don’t like the people you’re hanging out with. You’re a glutton and a drunkard. You’re a friend of tax collectors and other sinners. We don’t like what your victory looks like.”

It wasn’t just that generation caught in the snare and scandal of never being satisfied or pleased with Jesus. But Jesus is right. Wisdom is justified by her deeds. That is, wisdom is proven right by its results. Jesus Christ is the victory of God and the wisdom of God. And dissatisfaction with Jesus still exists because in the wisdom of God he chose what is foolish in the eyes of the world to shame those who are wise in the world; he chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; he chose what is low and despised in the world so that no one is able to boast in the presence of God. And that’s not the victory we were expecting.

So, what do we do? Three quick things.

First, don’t let your doubts be a barrier to belief. Every Sunday, after we do the confession of sin, you hear the minister speak words of assurance and encouragement from the Scriptures. Why do we do that? It’s because week by week, day by day, moment by moment we need to hear the words of assurance from God to deal with the ever lurking doubt that exists in our lives especially when we see evil triumph.

Second, in a few short weeks we’ll be in the season of Advent. One of my favorite things to do during Advent is return to Fleming Rutledge’s book on the subject. In the section titled “Looking into the Heart of Darkness,” she says,

Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ Looking into the “Heart of Darkness”

To grasp the depth of the human predicament, one has to be willing to enter into the very worst. This is not the same thing as going to horror films, which are essentially entertainment. Entering into the very worst means giving serious consideration to the most hopeless situations: for instance, a facility for the most profound cases of developmental disability. What hope is there for a ward full of people who will never sit up, walk, speak, or feed themselves? Tourists go to the site of Auschwitz-Birkenau and take pictures, but who can really imagine the smells and sounds of the most depraved of all situations? The tourist can turn away in relief and go to lunch.

To know the victory of God through faith in Jesus Christ is to know that we’re not tourists who turn away from the ugliness of evil and go to lunch. No, as his people, we can look the evil squarely in the face without fear and labor as peacemakers in the midst of the strife.

Third, we keep coming to this table. This table is the place where the scandalous love and victory of God displayed in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ meets us again and again. It is the place where we receive clarity again about the privilege of being a citizen of his kingdom, where, in a deeply mysterious way, he meets us and satisfies us. It is where, through faith, we are satisfied by his victory and are assured of our victory in him. And it is where he blesses us with the strength to dance to tune he plays even if it comes with a heavy dose of rejection in this life from those who don’t yet see the upside-down nature of his victory.