Matthew 11: 1-19

Dearly loved people of God,

When I was a kid, we had snow. Snow up to here! When my dad shoveled the laneway, he made huge piles.

I remember one time carving a fort out of one of those piles. As I was digging, a snowball landed near the fort. Then another. I kept digging. After a pause, there was another. I kept digging.

What are you supposed to do when someone throws a snowball at you? Throw one back. That’s how snowball fights get started!

It wasn’t until the neighbour kids yelled, Fight back! That I knew what they wanted and we had a great time pelting each other with snow.

That’s Jesus’ problem with the people of his generation. Jesus was throwing snowballs and they weren’t fighting back. When he played a pipe, none of the other kids danced. When he sang a funeral song, nobody cried. They just refused to engage. Nobody was willing to play along.

What game is Jesus inviting them to play? What response is he looking for?

This whole account begins with John’s question:

Matthew 11:2–3 NIV

When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

Matthew, the narrator has already tipped his hand. He tells us who Jesus is: he’s the Messiah, the anointed rescuer of the world.

But John isn’t so sure. Matthew hasn’t told us much about John since he baptized Jesus. Until now, all we’ve heard about John was in

Matthew 4:12 NIV

When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee.

But John is puzzled by what he hears about Jesus.

So Jesus tells John’s disciples to describe Jesus’ actions in very specific language.

Matthew 11:4–5 NIV

Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.

Jesus picked his words very carefully. For someone who is familiar with the way OT prophets spoke about God’s redeeming work in the world, Jesus’ description of his work rang a bell.

Isaiah 35:4–6 NIV

say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.

Isaiah 61:1 NIV

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,

When Jesus sends John’s disciples to describe his actions in these tones, John will understand the connection. “God has come to save you.”