Bound

Luke 3:19–20 But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, 20 Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.

Matthew 11:2–6 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? 4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 5 The blind receive their sight, 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, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

John’s public ministry ends up with him being arrested and imprisoned by an unjust Herod Antipas who is the grandson of Herod the Great. It was unbelievably unjust. But wicked rulers seldom pay attention to justice.

John may have been bound

Matthew 14:3 For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife.,

but as Paul stated “the word of God is not bound”

2 Timothy 2:9 Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.

The devil has often imprisoned God’s messenger, but he cannot imprison the message.

John may have been removed from the sight of man, but he was not off the mind of God.

We learn much from John’s imprisonment.

The Detaining Of John

A Russian countess accepted the Lord Jesus as her Saviour and was open about her testimony. The Tsar was displeased and threw her into prison. After 24 hours with the lowest level of Russian society, in the most miserable conditions imaginable, he ordered her brought into his presence. He smiled sardonically and said, “Well, are you ready now to renounce your silly faith and come back to the pleasures of the court?”

To his surprise, the countess smiled serenely and said, “I have known more real joy and more real happiness in one day in prison with Jesus than I have known in a lifetime in the courts of the Tsar.” She found out what was really the easy way.

The scripture does not define the day that John was arrested but it was a dark day for the nation when John was arrested as it is a dark day for any nation who arrests those who preach liberty in Christ.

The prompting of the imprisonment

Luke 3:19–20 But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, 20 Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.

This was not the first time Herod had heard John preach

Mark 6:20 For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.

Spirit empowered preaching is attractive, until you start preaching against sin. Herod was all for it till John mentioned his sin.

Just like church members in our day. They love fiery preaching agains homosexuality or abortion, but when you start mentioning the sin of unforgiveness or anger, or lack of joy and all the sudden you are the enemy.

Herod may have been upset at John’s other messages, but he completely lost it when John preached against his family and their problems.

Mark 6:17–18 For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife: for he had married her. 18 For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife.

Matthew 14:3–4 For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife. 4 For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.

This eventually ends up with John being beheaded, but his arrest tells us they was hostility to his preaching, and it tells us his preaching was honest.

The hostility to his preaching

Just like the at work it is usually the whistleblower who gets fired. So it is when it comes to taking a stand against sin. The one in sin seldom suffers the same fate as the one who is trying to correct them.

Critical tongue

Colonel George Washington Goethals was responsible for the completion of the Panama Canal. The climate and geography of the region were two large obstacles to completing the canal. But his biggest challenge was the growing criticism back home  by those who said he would never finish the project. At one point a colleague asked him if he was going to reply to his critics.

“In time,” answered Goethals.

“When?”

“When the canal is finished.”

Those who take a stand against sin are most often accused of lacking love, respect good sense or one of a million other noble virtues. When in reality all the criticism is an attempt to distract from the message and discredit the messenger. If the messenger can’t be trusted then the message is suspect, as well.

Cruel deeds

History tells us that the authorities in this world are willing to enact laws, throw Christians in jail, lynch them, burn them at the stake and many other atrocities if only to silence them.

The problem is Christians do the same to other Christians they spread slander about anyone trying to take a stand for Biblical truth that no one can decipher truth from untruth.

The Power of Words

A careless word may kindle strife, A cruel word may wreck a life,

A bitter word may hate instill, A brutal word may smite and kill,

A gracious word may smooth the way, A joyous word may light the day,

A timely word may lessen stress, A loving word may heal and bless.

The honesty in this preaching

John was obviously an honest preacher. He stated the facts despite who Herod was and what Herod could do to him.

This is a rare trait in our day. It seems people either take stands to please their friends or to please others, but seldom are they taking a stand to please God.

A small congregation is not exempt from this type of error.

The place of the imprisonment

Vincent describes the palace complex as follows: “Perched on an isolated cliff at the end of a narrow ridge, encompassed with deep ravines, was the citadel. At the other end of this ridge Herod [the Great] built a great wall, with towers two hundred feet high at the corners; and within this enclosure, a magnificent palace, with colonnades, baths, cisterns, arsenals—every provision, in short, for luxury and for defense against siege. The windows commanded a wide and grand prospect, including the Dead Sea, the course of the Jordan, and Jerusalem. In the detached citadel, probably in one of the underground dungeons, remains of which may still be seen, was the prison of John.”

F. B. Meyer said, “They bound the child of the desert-wastes, with his love for dear liberty—sensitive to the touch of the sunshine and the breeze, to the beauty that lay over the hills, accustomed to go and come at his will … Ah, it is little short of a sin to encage a wild bird, beating its heart against the bars of its narrow cage, when the sun calls it to mount up with quivering ecstasy to the gates of day; but what a sin to bind the preacher of righteousness, and imprison him in sunless vaults—what an agony!”

John may have been isolated away from society, but his loyal disciples continued to visit, as Onesiphorus did Paul.

2 Timothy 1:16 The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain:oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain”

No doubt John ministry continued even from prison.

God will reward those who care for the outcast and imprisoned.

The perspective of the imprisonment

It either shakes your faith to read John’s fate or it strengthens it. Because we face times like this that make us wonder, “Where is God?”

It seems to go against everything we believe that someone as close to God as John could possibly suffer the way he suffered, but the Psalms 73 noticed the same thing as did Habakkuk 1.

Think about it isn’t that what the whole book is about… Trust God not circumstance.

Truth and righteousness are forever being thrown in the dungeons while unholy living is accorded all the finery of life. Joseph in prison in Egypt, Jeremiah in the miry pit, Daniel in the den of lions, Christ on the cross, the apostles in jail after jail, countless Christians in prison cells of cruelty heading for martyrdom, and saints suffering in the strongholds of Siberia is the history of the world.-John G. Butler

What we realize by viewing these events in the light of Scripture is that God didn’t fail nor did John.

God has not failed

When injustice takes place in our lives we usually jump to God has failed me, He has forgotten about me, He doesn’t care. We reason that if God truly loved us He would never allow these things to happen to us. This is not biblically accurate. Biblical truth says it is our persevering despite injustice that brings God great glory. Look at Joseph, Daniel, and Christ. There are many blessings/lessons that we gain only by suffering. Some suffering we won’t know the reason for till we get to Heaven, but some we realize after the fact. As we do with John here. John’s ministry was expanded by his suffering.

One day George Muller began praying for five of his friends. After many months, one of them came to the Lord. Ten years later, two others were converted. It took 25 years before the fourth man was saved. Muller persevered in prayer until his death for the fifth friend, and throughout those 52 years he never gave up hoping that he would accept Christ! His faith was rewarded, for soon after Muller's funeral the last one was saved.

John the Baptist has not failed

Scripture would wholly refute any criticism of John’s ministry. The rejection of John’s ministry was not a sign of failure rather it was a sign of success. Contrary to the mega church philosophy of our day that says just go, just build it and they will come. You seldom hear them speak of taking a stand unless it is a popular one. You never hear them speak of the fact that truth and righteous cause loss more often than gain. No one wants to talk about the reality that Noah only got 8 people on the ark, or the stoning of Naboth, or the imprisonment of Micaiah, or the rejection of nearly every Old Testament prophet, or the martyrdom of so many in the early church.

Failure is often a sign of rejection not laziness. Rejection is often the result of noble Christian living. Acceptance in this generation may be more a sign of failure that rejection.

In Scotland many years ago, a faithful minister was waited upon one day by one of his deacons, who seemed to be under a great burden. "I came early to meet you," he said. "I have something on my conscience to tell you. There must be something wrong with your preaching and work; there has been only one person added to the church in a whole year, and he is only a boy."

The old minister went into the pulpit that day with a grieved and heavy heart. He lingered in the church to pray, after the rest had gone. He wished to be alone. He had labored hard for years, only to be told at last that his labor was no longer blessed. At last he became conscious that he was not alone, as he supposed. It was "only a boy."

"Well, Robert," said the minister, "what is it?" "Do you think if I were willing to work hard for an education I could ever become a preacher?--A preacher?—Perhaps a missionary?" There was a long pause. Tears filled the eyes of the old minister. At length he said, "This heals the ache in my heart, Robert. I see the divine hand now. Yes, I think you will become a preacher."

That boy was Robert Moffat. He was "only a boy," but the measure of the old minister's reward will be found in the gathered fruitage of the labors of Robert Moffat, the great African missionary.

The penalty for the imprisonment

Matthew reminds us that rejecting God’s messenger carries a heavy price.

Matthew 4:12 Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;

Jesus departed. That is both a statement of fact, as well as a statement of punishment.

The word translated “departed” is a “favorite word of St. Matthew’s [he uses it ten times while Mark and John use it but once each and Acts uses it only twice] … It always implies some motive for the change of place, and is frequently used of departure directly consequent upon knowledge acquired. Hence it often implies a feeling of danger” (A. Lukyn Williams).

Christ goes to Galilee because Herod is not as active in ruling the area and thus it is safer for Christ ( of course Christ could have kept Herod from being able to touch by supernatural mean, but he liked to use natural means when He was here.

The effect though is that Jerusalem and Judea suffer His absence. When man tries to force God into hiding, most often God complies.

When God’s people are not protected, and respected the blessings of God are withheld.

This happens to churches, as well as nations. They often think they have won the victory because they silenced the truth, but they don’t realize the true consequence of their actions.

Campbell Morgan was one of 150 young men who sought entrance to the Wesleyan ministry in 1888. He passed the doctrinal examinations, but then faced the trial sermon. In a cavernous auditorium that could seat more than 1,000 sat three ministers and 75 others who came to listen. When Morgan stepped into the pulpit, the vast room and the searching, critical eyes caught him up short. Two weeks later Morgan's name appeared among the l05 REJECTED for the ministry that year.

Jill Morgan, his daughter-in-law, wrote in her book, A Man of the Word, "He wired to his father the one word, 'Rejected,' and sat down to write in his diary: 'Very dark everything seems. Still, He knoweth best.' Quickly came the reply: 'Rejected on earth. Accepted in heaven. Dad.'"

In later years, Morgan said: "God said to me, in the weeks of loneliness and darkness that followed, 'I want you to cease making plans for yourself, and let Me plan your life.'" Rejection is rarely permanent, as Morgan went on to prove. Even in this life, circumstances change, and ultimately, there is no rejection of those accepted by Christ.

The doubting by John

One of the reasons we know we can trust Scripture is because it tell of the failures as well as the victories of the individuals of those in it.

“The lies of Abraham and Isaac, the loss of temper by Moses which cost him the privilege of entering the promise land, the adultery and murder by David, the juniper tree experience of Elijah, the pride of Hezekiah, and the denials by Peter are all reported in the Holy Writ.”-John G. Butler

“In this the Spirit of God has rendered us untold service, because we learn that the material out of which He made the greatest saints was flesh and blood like ourselves … If only the ladder rests on the low earth, where we live and move and have our being, there is some hope of our climbing to stand with others who have ascended its successive rungs and reached the starry heights.”-F.B. Meyer

Matthew 11:2–3 2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?

This is the same John who stood against the San Hedrin, declared, “Behold the lamb of God.”, baptised Jesus… saw the Spirit descend like a dove, and heard the voice of God… but doubt is pervasive.

“Having all but lost my Christ, I was beaten by the waves and tempests of despair.”-Martin Luther

“Though God has visited my soul with never so blessed a discovery of Himself, yet afterwards I have been in my spirit so filled with darkness, that I could not so much as once conceive what that God and that comfort were with which I had been refreshed.”-John Bunyan

Great men in scripture or since have not been exempt from doubt. We should expect doubt prepare for doubt and face doubt with faith.

The reason for the doubting

When we hear that John doubted we immediately ask, “Why?” When we see his circumstance we realize that he faced severe circumstance which led to doubt.

His circumstance

Were obviously depressing

Depressing

It difficult at best to overcome oppressive circumstances and John was certainly under oppressive circumstances. John was unjustly imprisoned in a disgusting dungeon. Injustice or at-least feelings of injustice often lead us to dark places in our hearts and minds. Depression leads to doubt and doubt leads to deeper depression and the spiral goes on.

Disappointing

John was no doubt disappointed that Christ didn’t relieve his suffering. Matthew Henry puts it this way.

“He might be tempted to think, if Jesus be indeed the Messiah, whence is it that I, his friend and forerunner, am brought into this trouble, and am left to be so long in it, and he never looks after me, never visits me, nor sends to me, enquires not after me, does nothing either to sweeten my imprisonment or hasten my enlargement.”-Matthew Henry

Word reaches John that Christ is doing many wonderful works, but none of those works are helping John out.

We are often disappointed as we look around us and see Christ doing many wonderful works and we feel like we are left to suffer. It is difficult at such times to be positive.

Divulging

Bad circumstance reveals what our faith is really built on… for many of us our faith is built much more on good circumstances than we would readily admit. We talk about how our faith is based solely on the Word of God, but let the slightest thing go wrong and we lose hope. Jail cells are not required to remind us that our faith is too often based on good circumstance. John is a humbling reminder of how easily doubt can sneak into our lives.

His concepts

John like most Jews was waiting for a conquering Messiah. One who would remove their enemies. They were not expecting a Messiah who would cleanse their hearts before their land. In other words prosperity would come with the Messiah.

John was not wholly exempt for this thinking.

Matthew 3:10  And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Matthew 3:12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Jesus had done none of this yet… Where was Christ’s judgment upon wicked Herod who had so terribly mistreated the forerunner? Where was Christ’s judgment upon the wicked religious leaders? Why did not Christ do something about the oppressing rule of the Roman government?

“John had partial views of the Christ—he thought of Him only as the Avenger of sin … the dread Judge of all. There was apparently no room in his conception for the gentler, sweeter, tenderer aspects of his Master’s nature”-F. B. Meyer

When you merge a misdirected understanding of who Christ is with bad circumstances and you get depression.

Men are always asking why God permits war, or why He lets the innocent suffer and the wicked prosper, why He allows false religion to deceive so many and to blaspheme God without seemingly any punishment for their wicked creeds, and why He allows disease to ravage mankind or how can a loving God send people to hell… etc.

When bad times overwhelm us our misconceptions about who God is and the way He should act work overtime in our minds

Carl Rogers, the U.S. psychologist, was 22 years old when he entered Union Theological Seminary in New York in 1924. While there, he participated in a seminar organized to explore religious doubts. Rogers later said of the group, “The majority of members...in thinking their way through questions they had raised, thought themselves right out of religious work. I was one.”

The remedy for the doubting

How we react or what when faced with doubt will determine if our doubts overcome us or are overcome by us.

The position to take

John unlike many faced his doubts and addressed them in a search for certainty.

This is the only acceptable way to deal with doubt. We cannot afford to have doubts about spiritual matter which affect eternity. We must decide to get to the bottom of things.

The devil wants you to believe there can be no certainty about spiritual matters that they are all open to interpretation, which entirely too many Christians many of them high profile write books, preach messages, do interviews etc.. about as though it is a virtue to have doubts.

Give me the benefit of your convictions, if you have any; but keep your doubts to yourself, for I have enough of my own.-Goethe

Honoring your doubts helps no one. Face them figure them out and put them to bed. so that you can help others do the same.

The person to see

John knew exactly who to take his doubts to… Jesus.

Too many Christians when faced with a crisis of faith turn to the world and philosophy rather than to prayer and the eternal Word of God.

1 John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

G. Campbell Morgan had already enjoyed some success as a preacher by the time he was 19 years old. But then he was attacked by doubts about the Bible. The writings of various scientists and agnostics disturbed him (e.g., Charles Darwin, John Tyndall, Thomas Huxley, and Herbert Spencer). As he read their books and listened to debates, Morgan became more and more perplexed. What did he do? He cancelled all preaching engagements, put all the books in a cupboard and locked the door, and went to the bookstore and bought a new Bible. He said to himself, “I am no longer sure that this is what my father claims it to be—the Word of God. But of this I am sure. If it be the Word of God, and if I come to it with an unprejudiced and open mind, it will bring assurance to my soul of itself.” The result? “That Bible found me!” said Morgan. The new assurance in 1883 gave him the motivation for his preaching and teaching ministry. He devoted himself to the study and preaching of God’s Word.

When you are sick to go to the doctor, not the beach.

The proofs to review

John is not provided with a new demonstration of Christ’s deity. The only proof John had were those which he had already observed. He is told to review what he knows.

Matthew 11:4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 5 The blind receive their sight, 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.

Not every Old Testament prophesy was fulfilled as yet, but it had certainly begun.

Isaiah 35:5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me;

Because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek;

He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives,

And the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

The miracles that Jesus was doing had never been done on the scale Christ was performing them. It seems Christ did even more during the questioning by these two just to prove a point.

Luke 7:21 And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight.

The fact the Gospel was being preached to the poor was possibly the weightiest evidence.

Matthew 11:4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 5 The blind receive their sight, 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.

Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me;

Because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek;

He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives,

And the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

“The philosophers of old addressed themselves only to the great and learned, whilst they wholly overlooked the lower classes of society … [therefore] This [the fact that the Gospel was being preached to the poor by Christ] of itself was a strong presumptive proof that he was the Messiah, because an impostor would rather have sought to gain over to his interests the great and powerful”-Charles Simeon

And of course we wouldn’t want to forget that John saw the Spirit descend like a dove and heard the voice of God

John 1:32  And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. 33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.

If John were like us he would ignore the evidence right before his eyes and focus on the unfulfilled portions of the promise.

it is the habit of our fallen nature… our unbelief. Instead of rejoicing in God’s blessings we focus on what God has not yet done. Instead of counting our blessings we focus on our needs. And then we wonder why our doubts increase and our faith diminishes.

“Again” these disciples are told show it to John, “Again”. This is a great reminder to us that maybe we need to read our Bibles… again. Or maybe we need to maybe we need the scriptures read and preached to us week after week after week. Maybe the solution to our doubt is not in finding some new and exciting so called truth, but rather in repeating what we already know to be true.

Life consists of repeating many mundane things… like breathing in and breathing out… again and again. Like eating… again and again.

Spiritual life is made up much the same way. Reading our Bibles again and again… Giving again and again… Singing the same songs again and again… Listening to preaching again and again… praying again and again… do it again, do it again. Remember again and again what the Lord has already done.

The remonstration for the doubting

Jesus sends them back to John to challenge him with being blessed to suffer for Christ.

Matthew 11:6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

Some are offended by Christ’s humble beginning and life.

Mark 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.

Some are offended by Christ’s doctrine and teaching

John 6:60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? 61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? 62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. 65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.

66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

The self denial and humility it requires to follow Christ offends many.

The meager numbers and uncouth chosen offends many, as well.

God’s will for our lives often offends us because it crosses our desires and plans.

When criticism and persecution comes because of the faith many are offended because somehow they think God did them wrong by allowing them to be belittled.

The admonition here is the only way to be blessed/happy is to not complain when we are persecuted, to not be embarrassed by living for Christ, to sing on the cloudy days, to accept God’s will with with a smile, to accept however God deals with us with a good attitude whether we understand it or not… understanding that God’s wisdom and knowledge is infinite and ours is not… that His grace is overwhelmingly sufficient for whatever the offense.

It is impossible not to be offended if you take a present view of things. If this life were all there was to it… we would have to admit there is a lot of injustice, but this ain’t it.

Herod is partying while John is arrested and placed in prison soon to lose his head… what kind of justice is that? But now over 2000 years later John has been in heaven and Herod has been in hell… and there is an eternity to go. God works out the offense. Quit sweating it.

When we duly consider these truths, we will not be likely to be offended in Jesus Christ. It is the shortsighted view that has problems with being offended. That is the view which Satan emphasizes. He ever concentrates on our present lack and ignores our future provisions. Of course, such an emphasis will cause the flesh to complain about God’s care which is exactly what Satan wants us to do—as is attested by his first attack upon man in the Garden of Eden. But blessed is he who does not have a shortsighted view of life and who, therefore, is not offended in Jesus Christ. Blessed is he who waits patiently on the Lord to fulfill His whole program.-John G. Butler

Pruning

It is the branch that bears the fruit That feels the knife, To prune it for a larger growth And fuller life,

Though every budding twig be lopped And every grace Of swaying tendril, springing leaf Be lost a space.

Oh, thou whose life of joy seems reft, Of beauty shorn, Whose aspirations lie in dust, All bruised and torn,

Rejoice, though each desire, each dream, Each hope of thine Shall fall and fade; it is the hand of love divine That holds the knife, that cuts and breaks

With tenderest touch, That thou, whose life hast borne some fruit, May now bear much.

- Annie Johnson Flint.

Galaxie Software. (2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press.