Sermon Tone Analysis

Chapter 11

The following material is adopted from John MacArthur’s commentary on Matthew and his Study guide.

Additional material taken from sources listed at the end

Read and summarize

Look for

— Prayers ( Blue )

— Promises ( Green )

— Warnings ( Red )

— Commands ( Purple )

Q: There’s no shortage of opinions about who Jesus is and no shortage of expressions for or against Him.

What are some of the strongest reactions to Jesus — positive and negative — that you’ve heart or seen?

Why do you think Jesus elicits such strong reactions from people?

To Summarize

— The first ten chapters of Matthew are a series of testimonies that prove that Jesus is the Messiah

— Chapter 1: The gospel of Matthew began with the genealogical proofs that Jesus was indeed the promised Son who would reign on the throne of David; We saw His miraculous birth that was prophesied in the OT ( 1:1-17).

Matthew demonstrated Jesus’ legal qualification through His genealogy

— Chapter 2 & 3: The promised Son & king is visited by the wise men; His fulfilment of other OT prophesy surrounding His birth and fleeing to Egypt ( 2:1-23 ); The early ministry of John the Baptist.

Matthew establishes His prophetic qualification through the fulfillment of prophecy by His birth and infancy

— Chapter 4: Jesus temptation in the wilderness.

Matthew establishes His spiritual qualification by His perfect resistance to Satan’s temptations

— Chapter 5 through 7 - Jesus presents the principles of His coming kingdom in the Sermon on the Mount that emphasizes spiritual and moral principles that govern the kingdom of God.

Here is the manifesto of the new Monarch, who ushers in a new age with a new message about true righteousness.

Matthew establishes His theological qualification through the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount.

— Chapter 8-9: We see his miracles.

Matthew establishes Jesus’ divine power and confirm His deity and His claim to be the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of the world.

— Chapter 10: The commissioning of His disciples to send them to the lost sheep of Isreal ( 10:1-42 )

— Chapter 11 & 12: In Chapters 11 and 12 Matthew focuses on the reaction Jesus encounters from various individuals and groups to the evidence that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah.

We could write one word to describe this chapter and it would be Rejection

Hendriksen

— This chapter follows the experience of The Twelve on their first missionary journey, but Matthew gives no details about it

— He is far more interested in Jesus than in the latter’s disciples

— Even Mark and Luke, who share an equal degree of inspiration with Matthew, have but little to say about the experiences of the disciples ( Mark 6:12, 13; Luke 9:6 )

— In Chapter 11 we learn about John the Baptist’s doubt but Matthew does not even record his reaction when the answer reaches him.

This is intentional, John is not the focus but Christ.

The conclusion of Jonah is an interesting parallel.

Have we not wondered how Jonah reacted to God’s searching question ( Jonah 4:10, 11 )?

It is not recorded, for the emphasis mush be placed on the love of God, not Jonah

Jesus Ministers Alone ( 11:1 )

( 11:1 ) Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities

Matthew Henry

— Once Christ said what He had to say to His disciples, they left and began to preach in the surrounding cities

— Christ would now teach them how to live and how to work without His bodily presence

— In that Christ went away, He was preparing them for His long departure and that by the help of the spirit, their own hands might be sufficient for them ( Deut 33:7 )

— We are told that while the disciples had been sent out, Jesus continued teach and preach alone in the cities of Galilee

— Christ empowered the Disciples to work miracles, and while they worked miracles he returned to teaching and preaching as if that were the more honourable of the two

— Healing the sick was the saving of bodies, but preaching the gospel was to the saving of souls.

Going Deeper

Hendricksen

— There is a difference between preaching and teaching, though, it is true that good preaching is also teaching

— The emphasis is not the same ( cf. 4:23 )

— The word used in the original for preaching means heralding, announcing, proclaiming

— Teaching, on the other hand, indicates imparting more detailed more detailed information about the announcement ( preaching ) that was made

Q: Did John ever have doubts as to whether Jesus was really the Messiah ( 11:2-3)?

For what reasons might he have doubted?

John Doubts Jesus ( 11:2-3 )

( 11:2-3 ) And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?

— As John sat in prison, he began to have some doubts about whether Jesus really was the Messiah

— In the case of John the Baptist, and of countless believers since his time, doubt might be better described as perplexity or confusion

— John was not doubting the truthfulness of God’s Word

— Though the Lord understands the doubts of His children, He is never pleased with their doubt

— Jesus repeatedly said, “O you of little faith” and “How long will you doubt?” ( Matt 8:26; 14:31; 2121; cf 28:17; Mark 11:23; 16:11; Lk 12:28 )

— When a believer has faithfully served the Lord for many years and then experiences tragedy, perhaps even a series of tragedies, it is difficult not to wonder about God’s love and justice

Reasons for doubt

— Our difficult circumstances

— Inadequate knowledge or understanding of God’s Word

— Worldly expectations ; Jesus’ preaching did not square with the Jew’s perception of the Messiah

— Unfulfilled expectations

Going Deeper

— James warns believers that “the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind” ( James 1:6; cf.

Eph 4:14 )

— The fact that John sent his disciples to Jesus is a strong testimony of his faith

— He firmly believed that Jesus was the Messiah and trusted in Him as Lord

— He had all the information, but his faith had become weakened by circumstances

— John the Baptist had done exactly what God had told him to do

— But now he could not helping wondering if prison, shame, hunger, physical torment, perplexity, and loneliness were his rewards

Q: In what sense was Jesus’ answer to John reassuring ( 11:4-6 ) ?

Jesus Reassures John ( 11:4-6 )

( 11:4-6 ) Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

— Jesus answered John’s doubts not with a yes or no answer

— Jesus told John’s disciples to present John with the evidence — the acts of healing the blind, lame and deaf, curing leapers, raising the dead and preaching the good news to the poor

— With so much evidence, Jesus identity was obvious

— The message as phrased by Jesus had a familiar ring

— It must have reminded John of certain prophetic predictions, namely Isa 35:5, 6 and 61:1

— If you sometimes doubt your salvation, the forgiveness of sins, or God’s work in your life, look at the evidence in Scripture and the changes in your life

— When you doubt, don’t turn away from Christ, turn to him

Blessed

— Refers back to Isa 8:14-15

— Christ would be a stumbling block to many

Q: What did you learn about John’s the Baptist ( 11:1-8 )?

True Greatness ( 11:7-11 )

( 11:7-11 ) As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see?

A reed shaken by the wind? 8 But what did you go out to see?

A man clothed in soft garments?

Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.

9 But what did you go out to see?

A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.

10 For this is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.’ 11 “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

— No man ever fulfilled God’s-given purpose better than John

— He had strong conviction