John's Uncertainty and Jesus' Sympathy

Revelation

Psalm 107:1–9 ESV

1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! 2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble 3 and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. 4 Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; 5 hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. 6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 7 He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. 8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! 9 For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

Sermon Summary: Jesus encourages and celebrates His weak, yet faithful servants.

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Introduction

The other day, I took a walk down to the river. Staring out at the dock, I took some time to read the names of the boats. Some of the names were incredibly clever, but one stood out to me. The boat was named “Restless.” I thought about how incredible a name that was for a boat, and it made even more sense when I wandered my way to the dock rules and discovered that our dock is what’s known as a “transient dock.” That people can only stay for up to 10 days in a year.

What a marvelous name for a boat that presumably moves from one place to another, that might even have a person living in it and traveling up and down the coast. I had to wonder about the person who owned the boat. Was he a local? Maybe a fisherman and that was his private boat? Or was he really a person who lived in their boat?

I don’t know any answers to those questions, but I do know that people name their boats after people, or sometimes because of what they’re going through. “Restless” perfectly describes a lot of people.

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While I was looking at these boat names, I was also thinking about our text for today. I was asking myself: “What might John the Baptist name a boat?” If he were to get one while he sat in prison, I wonder if he might name it “Doubtful.”

This is where we pick up our text today in Matthew chapter 11. We encounter a doubtful John the Baptizer (or Baptist) who sends some of his own disciples to Jesus to ask a very important question. A question that reflects the condition of the heart of a man who is rotting in jail for speaking truth. Unjustly imprisoned, John’s faith is in crisis. Let’s read our text for the day:

Matthew 11:1–11 ESV

1 When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities. 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?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 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. 6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” 7 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? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written, “ ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ 11 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.

Who is John the Baptist?

Before we go any further, it’s worth reminding ourselves who John the Baptizer is. If we were to turn to Luke 1, we’d find out that John was Jesus’ distant cousin, born Zechariah the priest and his wife Elizabeth. They were advanced in age, but God promised they would conceive and give birth to John. Zechariah didn’t believe God, and God responded by striking him mute until his son was born.

During Elizabeth’s pregnancy, Jesus’ mother Mary came to visit and John “leaps” in Elizabeth’s womb at just being near Jesus. Before even being born, John recognizes Jesus and delights in Him. Now, just because John and Jesus were related and their mothers visited with each other does not mean that they were close. Scripture only records this one visit which lasted a long time, and since they lived far from one another, it would make sense that Jesus and John didn’t really know each other that well.

Once John grows up, though, he becomes a prophet. In fact, he’s the last of what we might call the “Old Testament prophets.” As the end of the book of Malachi interposes, “Elijah” was the come to turn the hearts of fathers to their children and children to their fathers (Mal. 4:5). Elijah was one of the greatest and most recognizable prophets of the Old Testament because of the wickedness of Israel. But God used him to crush false gods and turn people’s hearts back to God (1 Kings 17-19).

In a similar way, God was setting John the Baptizer to do the same thing, so much so that Jesus actually calls him “Elijah who is to come” (Mt. 11:14). God’s intention was not to resurrect the prophet, but to send a prophet who stood fast and pointed to God the way Elijah did.

So, John the Baptizer becomes a prophet. Kind of a weird one, especially in a time where there are no true prophets. He lives in the wilderness, wears camel hair, and eats locusts and honey. But, he is heralding a message of repentance saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt. 3:2). He’s also “immersing” people in water, signifying their new life of repentance and holiness. Those who accept the message of repentance get “baptized,” which is the meaning of his name “Baptist” or “Baptizer.”

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One day, after defending his ministry to Pharisees, who were confused by his ministry, John sees Jesus walking by. This is what happens:

John 1:29–34 ESV

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

Much like in his time in the womb, John simply recognized Jesus. Adding a little more color to the situation, other gospel writers point out that John starts to refuse to baptize Jesus, saying that actually Jesus should be the one baptizing him. Jesus commands John baptize Him, and so he does.

After this point, John the Baptizer’s ministry begins to decrease as Jesus’ ministry increases (Jn. 3:30). But, at some point, John the Baptizer speaks out against a sin of a leader named Herod (Mt. 14:3) and is thrown in jail. While in prison, John’s faith wanes. Like any normal person, his circumstances begin to cause him to doubt what he knew was true. Probably in desperation, John sends some of his own disciples to inquire about Jesus, which is where our verses today took us.

Jesus Encourages The Doubtful

One thing I want you to notice right away from our text is that Jesus does not rebuke John and call him “foolish” or “stupid” for doubting who Jesus is. This truly is important, and if we miss this fact, then I think we are prone to treat the doubting in an unChristlike manner.

If we were to open this account in Luke 7, we would find that these disciples of John had been present for Jesus doing incredible miracles. When He says “Go and tell John what you hear and see” (11:4), He literally means that these disciples have witnessed miraculous healings. Jesus delights to prove Himself to these messengers, and He also delights to prove Himself to us today. Not precisely with miraculous interventions, but in His grand sovereign providence, God never ceases to show that He is who He says He is.

In this case, these men saw “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” (11:5). All these things were promised to happen through God’s promised Messiah, the Christ promised through the whole Old Testament. Jesus was this “Promised One” who was “the one to come,” and He was showing it over and over again in His miraculous works.

So, Jesus doesn’t rebuke John, but instead He shows John’s disciples exactly what would quell his doubts and calm his soul in prison.

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What a wonderful thing of Jesus to do for John. And O, how often does He do this for us? When our doubts rise, when our struggles begin to overtake our faith, if we would just cry out to God and listen to His voice in His Word we would find our doubts quelled and our souls calmed.

Notice how John went about this: When his doubts rose, He didn’t seek out any other source of affirmation than Christ Himself. This is precisely how you should respond to your own doubts. Don’t run to any other source than God at first, but be open to whatever providence He intentionally provides for your helps.

“Blessed is the one who is not offended by me,” says Jesus in verse 6. Do not be like the Pharisees were so often in Jesus’ time, searching for proofs of Jesus’ faults (hint: there are none). Do not be like the Scribes or the Gentiles and search out proofs external to Jesus of your own validity and knowledge. Run to Jesus in your doubts and ask Him: “Are you the one? Are you the Promised One? The King of all Creation?” He will gladly answer you as He answered John.

And when He answers, respond to His providence. You’ll find that you’ll feel a stirring in your soul to open His Word. To “take up and read” and St. Augustine described. You’ll find yourself in a situation where people will be provided that drive you into His Word. Don’t sin and resist that urge. Don’t ignore it and turn on the news, or open Facebook, or find solace in a distraction like a work or game….

Let Christ prove Himself to you.

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If you are in a situation right now where you are doubting, run to Christ like John the Baptizer did. He was in prison, unable to physically go to Jesus. You don’t have that limitation. In fact, Jesus isn’t limited by being in a single physical location like He was before He ascended to heaven… All you must do is pray and respond to His sovereign guidance to be encouraged in the truth.

Jesus Celebrates the Faithful

Another important thing to note from our text is that Jesus celebrated John the Baptizer. As we read in both Matthew 11:7 and Luke 7:24, Jesus waited until John’s disciples departed before He began to praise John.

Jesus begins to beg the question of why people went to see John in the first place. Why did they? Was it to see a man given to cultural appropriation (a reed shaken by the wind)? Was it a rich man, dressed in soft clothing? What about a prophet? Yes, that’s what they went out to see, but more than just an orator claiming to have a word from God. In fact, this was a man promised just like Jesus was promised!

What high praise! How would you respond if after working for a company and going through trials, all of a sudden your boss came up to you and said: “You’re the perfect man (or woman) for this job? We had hoped we’d find someone like you!” How would you respond? How might your heart begin to swell?

Swell with what, though? It would swell with pride, wouldn’t it? I think this is why Jesus waited until John’s disciples departed. John would be encouraged by Jesus’ worth, not his own. Personal pride leads to pompous mistakes and failures. If your boss tells you how perfect you are, or your spouse tells you how perfect you are, how quickly does your heart fall to despair the moment your imperfections begin to show?

What John needed in His doubt was not a reminder of how great he was, but how great Jesus is.

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Here is another reminder for us all. We are not to find our own worth in our accomplishments, our talents, our abilities, or anything else. Christ does not tell us of our worth to make us feel greater about ourselves. Instead, He tells us how great He is and gives us what our souls really need.

Anything you turn to that strengthens your own self-worth is only good so long as it helps you delight in God. If it begins to cause you to delight in yourself, then it is no longer helpful. Cast it away, give it up, repent, and turn only to Christ. It is no longer useful for God’s glorification, but merely for your own self-exaltation.

There are many a time that we begin to celebrate our accomplishments in a sinful manner on earth. We must constantly be repenting, heeding the message of John the Baptizer to: “repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” It is nearer now even than when Jesus walked the earth. Be more repentant now than ever before.

The Greater Least

The last thing I want us to note is in line with Jesus’ praising John the Baptist. Notice verse 11: “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 int he kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

Our world longs for fame. It longs to be noticed, to have a presence, to be in charge of something grand, and to be a name that people know. But, in Jesus’ kingdom, the greatest saints are not the ones who take center stage, but the ones you’ve never even heard of.

The most glorious and wonderful saints, the ones closest to the throne in heaven, the ones who will be the most celebrated and wear the most crowns, are going to be the ones who haven’t faded into obscurity, but who existed in obscurity.

There is not a single unknown person by the King in the kingdom, but there are countless people who have served God faithfully by cleaning toilets, by bringing food to sufferers, by giving offerings quietly, by being God’s providence to families in need, and so on. God sees every little one of those things, and He celebrates them like He celebrated John the Baptizer’s work.

John’s whole mission in life was to point to God. He didn’t dress fancy, he wasn’t someone who was the popular kid, and he ate really weird things… But he did it all to point people to God. He existed to make much of Jesus and tell people how magnificent Christ is.

This is your calling. This is my calling. To love Christ so deeply that we are willing to be unknown by the world, yet known by God. To be so close to Him with our actions and heart that we can run to Him in our times of doubt and trial. To have Christ talk so highly of us as He did about John.

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Again, though, He did these things behind closed doors. And, knowing my own desire to have my pride stoked like a fire, I think it’s better that Jesus praise me behind my back. I would rather have Him quietly praise me to His Father on His throne, than have a loud and booming voice from heaven propound my success.

That attitude should be the attitude of all the saints. We shouldn’t want to fight for recognition on earth, but remember that God is the One whose approval we crave.

The reality is that God will sometimes provide that earthly encouragement. When we run to Him and confess our doubts or fears, He responds by steering us to the encouragement we need. But our sinful hearts will often crave more than they ought, so remember that the brightest saints in heaven are those this world has passed over.

Live for God’s celebration, not man’s. Live to have God extol you in private, not before others. You’ll find a life of satisfaction and contentment that way.

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Sermon Summary: Jesus encourages and celebrates His weak, yet faithful servants.