Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

There is a saying: the more you know, the more you know you don’t know.

It speaks to our arrogance as humans.

We often believe in very specific, black and white ways.

We do this about many things, and while we often want to blame the arrogance of youth, adults are not exempt.

How we think life is going to go is rarely how it actually goes.

What we believe about certain people is sometimes proven wrong when we actually get to know them.

Even some of our deeply held beliefs are sometimes shaken when confronted with tragedy or when someone we love walks a different road.

Unmet expectations can lead to shaky ground.

Our equilibrium is thrown off.

How can what we always believed to be true possibly be wrong?

Have you ever been there?

Had something confront your expectations, or even your belief systems, so drastically that you began to wonder what is true?

That is where John is in this text today.

He had these ideas about who the Messiah would be and what he would do.

He was anticipating this radical, cataclysmic judgment for those not following God, for those who have oppressed the people of God.

We can see this clearly prior to Jesus’s baptism when John references an ax at the root of the trees and says that the trees that don’t bear fruit will be thrown into the fire ().

John was obviously waiting for the ax to fall.

Yet here he is in prison.

Instead of watching his enemies fall by the ax of God, he now awaits the ax of his own death.

So, he doubts.

He wonders, Have I been wrong?

Is Jesus really the Messiah?

John was the first to recognize the Messiah—while still in the womb—yet here he is, wondering.

If the Messiah doesn’t look the way John thought he would, is he still the Messiah?

If Christ isn’t working in my life or in the world the way I want him to, is he still Christ?

Body

1. John questions whether Jesus is the Messiah.

a.

He heard what Jesus was doing, and it wasn’t what he expected of the Messiah.

i.

We see from that John expected more judgment from the Messiah.

b.

This is consistent with what we know most of the Jewish people believed about the Messiah.

i.

There were many awaiting a political king.

We even know that at the time of Jesus’s birth the Magi went to Jerusalem seeking him since that was

the logical place for a king to be born.

The freedom they desired was from political oppression.

ii.

We know that there was a great fear of Herod.

1. Herod Antipas was a jealous king who murdered his own family to stay in power.

At Jesus’s birth he put out an edict to kill all boys under the age of two in order to get rid of the threat of a new king.

This paranoia is still present since Herod fears the followers of Jesus, and an uprising.

4. Herod also seems to assume that the Messiah is going to come for political rule.

c. John is sitting on death row in prison.

i.

This probably led him to some doubt about who Jesus was.

If John was a faithful servant and prophet for the Messiah, why was he sitting in prison?

ii.

He is there because of his outspoken words against Herod’s marriage to his brother’s wife.

Again, it seems John’s faithfulness led him to prison.

2. The works John hears about are not works of uprising or overthrowing governments but are acts of mercy.

John is looking for the ax to cut down the unfruitful trees, but instead he hears are about healings.

He has heard rumors about the grace-filled works Jesus is performing.

i.

This is very different from the political uprisings he expected.

The context in Matthew is interesting to explore.

After Jesus’s baptism and his temptation in the wilderness are these incredible acts of mercy and healing.

But it is also the location of the Beatitudes.

Instead of preaching about uprising and overthrowing governments, Jesus’s words are about loving enemies, being meek, humble, generous.

Jesus emphasizes that the peacemakers are the children of God and that the persecuted are blessed.

It’s also important to note that most of Jesus’s preaching in these chapters is not criticism of those in power but words of challenge for those who hear: a reworking of the law and a recon- ceptualizing of how things are in the kingdom of God.

Despite what was believed, the kingdom of God is not about political gain but about deep heart

change that changes the lives of others in real ways.

It’s about loving God fully.

It’s about loving your neighbor fully.

It was very likely that John heard, in addition to the miraculous deeds Jesus did, of this radical way of preaching that ran counter to what they believed the Messiah would do in establishing a king- dom.

3. Jesus responds to John’s questions.

a. Jesus reemphasizes the acts of mercy he is doing.

i.

The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are healed, the dead are raised, and good news is preached to the poor.

Jesus views these acts of mercy as proof enough of who he is.

Again he is redefining the kingdom of God for John.

It’s not about political gain but about mercy, healing, and wholeness.

b.

However, it’s important to note too that, after Jesus lists these acts of mercy, he gives another Beat- itude: Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.

i.

This seems to emphasize the fact that his preaching about the kingdom is part of why John is struggling with the identity of Jesus.

1.

This is a completely different way of thinking about the kingdom of God.

ii.

This also emphasizes the offensive and radical nature of what Jesus is doing.

Not everyone is going to accept Jesus’s words.

Some are going to be offended by them.

This is obviously counter to what people thought of the Messiah and counter to who people want to

be.

4. Jesus responds to the crowd.

The comparison to a reed is likely a direct comparison to Herod Antipas.

i. Herod used an image of a reed on his currency.

ii.

He would be royalty in soft robes.

This continues the theme that while the people think they are looking for political help, that isn’t truly the heart of the matter.

i.

They entered the wilderness because that’s where revelation from God has happened for the people.

The exodus is a key example of this.

Prophets are often found in the wilderness.

ii.

They find a prophet, not a king.

Prophets speak truth to power, whereas kings benefit from power

Prophets challenge the status quo, whereas kings often create the status quo through control