“The Lesson about Seeing”

Notes
Transcript
Good morning, turn with me to Luke chapter 7. Just to catch you up, last week we took some time to see how Jesus deals with our doubt. How many of you are dealing with doubt today? John the Baptist was dealing with doubt himself while he was unable to come to Jesus because he was in jail. Based on everything that John was dealing with there was some doubt about who Jesus was and John wanted his faith to be strengthened. So, John sends out two of his disciples to ask Jesus if He was really the Messiah. In response to John’s question the Lord Jesus puts on a powerful display of His divine power to give convincing proof that Jesus is the Messiah and He alone is the answer to our doubt.
After John’s disciples leave, Jesus now begins to speak to the crowds about John. This is God’s Message about what we need to see, and yet sadly there are many folks who are spiritually blinded.
There was a true story I came upon about a California ophthalmologist. The lady’s name was Katerina Kurteeva. This eye doctor met with a patient one afternoon as she painstakingly removed one contact lens after another from the eyes of an elderly patient. All in all, Dr. Kurteeva removed 23 layers of lenses.
It seems the elderly woman either didn’t know or had forgotten that she must remove previous contact lenses before placing new ones. The ensuing blurred vision caused her to keep inserting more lenses in the hopes of correcting the problem. Her vision blurred more and more until she finally sought medical help.
Fortunately, the lenses were removed before permanent damage was done.
Like the blinding physical effects of these layers of lenses, the effects of spiritual blindness can build up slowly, creeping up on us as we focus on life through a worldly view.
When we view the world without the benefit of Christ and the light of His Word there is no real true vision.
Today I want to share with you 4 important lessons that stand out to us.
Luke 7:24–35 ESV
24 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? 25 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. 26 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written, “ ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ 28 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.” 29 (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, 30 but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.) 31 “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? 32 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.’ 33 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 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!’ 35 Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”
Here are 4 M’s that can help us see the Lord’s message.

1. We need to see John’s Morals.

Luke 7:24–25 ESV
24 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? 25 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.
One of the first things that we come to see here about the Lord’s lesson is that this lesson is a lesson of morality. This is a lesson about virtue and character. Notice here that there were several questions that Jesus asks to the crowd and they are specifically questions about what did you see?
A. What did you see in the wilderness? Did you see a reed shaken by the wind? What in the world does Christ mean by this statement? Here Jesus helps us to see that John was not easily swayed by the breezes of popular opinion. John did not give in to the culture and voices of his time. John was a man of firm, godly, unshakeable convictions. These convictions are what led John to be so bold when he told Herod Antipas that he was wrong and sinful by taking his brothers wife for himself. In fact, this is what led to John’s imprisonment and eventually his execution. John had a strong boldness to preach the truth of warning and judgement. People often traveled many miles to hear John speak and to hear his message of repentance.
B. The second question Jesus now asks is what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Again what did Jesus mean by this statement? The word “soft” here can be translated “effeminate.” This calls to mind the frilly, lacy clothing that would have always been worn by nobility. What John wore would be the exact opposite of this. The gospel of Matthew explains to us what John would have worn.
Matthew 3:4 ESV
4 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
My point here is that John was not an effeminate flatterer of nobility or with his words. He was not someone who lived in luxury. He was currently in prison.
C. The third question was rather simple. What did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, but John was even more than a prophet. John not only spoke like a prophet, he lived like one and talked like one. John lived a life of self-denial and separation from the world. John had a devotion to his God and lived a life of godly character.

2. We need to see John’s Mission.

Luke 7:26–27 ESV
26 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written, “ ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’
The Lord tells us here that John was a prophet. Most people recognized that John was indeed a prophet so much so that they even wondered if he might be the coming Messiah.
Luke 3:15 ESV
15 As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ,
John was the last of the Old Testament prophets and as he came on the scene we see John’s mission stand out in a powerful way. John proclaimed the Word of God. John confronted sin. John warned others of the coming judgement of God. John called people to repent of their sin and to live for God.
But the major thing that should stand out to us here is that John was not just known for being a prophet, his calling, his mission was that God sent him to be His messenger. John was the prophet whom Malachi predicted would prepare the way for the Messiah.
Malachi 3:1 ESV
1 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
John had the very unique privilege of coming before Christ and helping people be prepared. Think about this. While the Old Testament prophets predicted that Messiah would come; John announced that He had arrived. For all of the Old Testament prophets it was a matter of faith; for John it was a matter of sight. John had the awesome privilege of not only seeing Jesus, but also of visiting, and hearing Him speak.
However, in all of John’s teaching Israel rejected John’s warning and therefore they rejected the Messiah. None of this however diminishes the character of John. He was the forerunner of the Messiah. His very privileged mission made him the last and greatest of the Old Testament Prophets. We should all be thankful for men like John the Baptist.

3. We need to see John’s Mark.

Luke 7:29–30 ESV
29 (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, 30 but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)
I want us to see here today that John the Baptist left a very profound mark or impact on the people of Israel. John left a mark on those who initially accepted his message as well as those who rejected his message. When all the people heard John’s powerful message, like the tax collectors they acknowledged God’s justice or righteousness. What this helps us to understand today is that they admitted that they were sinners and that God was right and just to condemn them for their sin and to call them to repent. They also understood the baptism of John which meant that they publically acknowledged themselves to be outside the kingdom of God.
In verse 30 we see the other group that John left a mark on. These people were the religious leaders of their time. These were the Pharisees and the lawyers and they rejected God’s purpose for themselves. They too saw and witnessed John’s powerful preaching but they refused to repent and be baptized by John. Unlike the common people of the time they were not willing to acknowledge that they were sinners. They want to appear good and self-righteous, however their hearts were far from God.
The common people of John’s time were excited for a short time by John’s ministry because they now had a prophet among them after many long years without a word from God. The people looked forward the arrival of the Messiah who would come to rescue them from the cruel Roman oppression. But eventually the excitement wore off and the people forgot about John’s message and therefore sadly refused to embrace Jesus as Messiah. All the excitement of John’s ministry was short lived. It was short lived because so many people did not really believe. They just made superficial commitments that didn’t last when the pressures of life were turned up. Eventually many began to deny what they had once affirmed regarding John and their belief in Jesus. We see this very same thing play out with the crowds when Jesus came riding into Jerusalem. One day the crowds were chanting Hosanna to the highest and a few days later they exclaimed Crucify Him.
You may say, well it sure doesn’t look like John left a mark or a very big impression. Let me remind us again of what Jesus said in verse 28.
Luke 7:28 ESV
28 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.”
John preached that sinners needed to repent and be reconciled to God. John was preparing people for Christ and he was faithful to the end. This is what John was called to do and he was faithful to his calling. My point today is that you. Will you be faithful to what God is calling you to do? Will you be obedient to live your life for Christ and serve Him with the gifts that He has given you. Let us be quick to learn a very valuable lesson from John’s mark in life and serve our Lord. We have a message to proclaim today and it is to tell others about our Saviors life, death, and resurrection.

4. We need to see the Lord’s Stern Message.

Luke 7:31–35 ESV
31 “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? 32 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.’ 33 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 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!’ 35 Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”
Jesus continues to speak as He now begins to share some illustrations. The term “generation” here in verse 31 was often used in a negative sense. The Lord would have used this term to refer to the Pharisees and scribes who rejected John the Baptist and Jesus. We know that Jesus spoke of His generation as an unbelieving and wicked generation. Why? Because ultimately they had rejected Jesus as Messiah. My point here is that this illustration points us to the fact that this applies to anyone in any generation who rejects the gospel. This message is a stern warning for people today to wake up and follow Jesus.
Notice the next illustration that Jesus gives to those who have rejected Him. Jesus uses a scene where children are playing. Children would often imitate adults and apparently children in Christ’s time played games that reflected significant events in Jewish life, like weddings and funerals.
Here in the Lord’s analogy or illustration, some children had been trying to put together a game. They sat in the market place and called other children to play but they refused. This is why Jesus says, “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance.” The kids here were trying to involve other children to play in a game of a make- believe wedding celebration where music and dancing were involved, but those invited were stubborn refusing to participate in the festive wedding celebrations. They just wanted to sit and pout because of their hardened hearts.
We then see that the children involve others in a pretend funeral. But again they refuse to play the game. “We sing a dirge, and you did not weep.” No matter what game the children try to play here, the others would not join in. These children here or people serve as an illustration of that prideful and hardened generation. Having given His hearers this illustration, Jesus applies this to John and himself.
The first part of this illustration is that Jesus likened John’s ministry to the funeral. Eating bread and drinking wine here symbolized the normal pattern of life for these people who were listening to the Lord’s message. However Jesus explains that John came eating no bread and drinking no wine. John’s life was simple and he was not concerned about what he wore or what he ate and drank. Cultural fads and trends of society had no influence on John. John’s ministry was a somber and serious dirge because it sounded a warning of judgement and proclaimed a mourning over sin and a desire to turn to God. This is why the people eventually came to hate John’s message so much that they declared John has a demon. John’s condemnation of them as sinners in need of forgiveness of sins led them to attack John as a person in order to justify their rejection of his message.
But we also see that the people’s rejection did not stop with John the Baptist. Jesus now explains that the Son of Man has come. The term here Son of Man is a messianic title taken from Daniel chapter 7 and verse 13. Jesus came eating and drinking with people in his own society and with his own disciples. Jesus traveled through the towns and villages of Israel and while he did he got to know the people of his time. The Lord’s ministry was more closely a picture of a wedding. In fact, we know that Jesus pictured himself as the bridegroom and the disciples as the bridegroom’s attendants.
John 3:29 ESV
29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.
The Lord gives us this illustration and application to help us see that because Jesus interacted with people and even the outcasts of society the religious leaders and His enemies called Him a glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.
Matthew 9:11 ESV
11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Luke 15:2 ESV
2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
The people here ultimately rejected the ministries of both John and Jesus. Both John and Jesus called people to turn from their sin, to repent and know that they would be forgiven. The point here is that there will be people in every generation who are spiritually ignorant. There will always be people who reject the truth of Jesus and continue to follow the sinful ways of this world. Will you follow the sinful and ignorant ways of this world or will you follow in the wisdom and truth of the gospel. Jesus ends this message by helping us to see that wisdom is justified by all her children. True spiritual wisdom is salvation. Those who are wise children are God’s redeemed and they are known for their righteous deeds. Their lives have truly been transformed by Jesus. There are two kinds of people. Paul explains it this way.
1 Corinthians 1:18 ESV
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
(Close in Prayer)
(Lead into Communion)
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