The God of our Expectations
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Introduction
Introduction
The most famously known statement in the Westminster Shorter Catechism (written in 1646 and 1647, and for those of you who are foreign to the word catechism, think of it as a statement of faith) is that man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.
Inherent to that famous statement is the requirement that you know God. How else can one either glorify or enjoy Him? Therefore, knowing God (both about him and knowing him through an intimate relationship) is the primary purpose of your life. A mere intellectual assent about God does not bring either glory or enjoyment. That requires us to have a viable personal relationship with God.
Every spiritual outcome in ministry, in life, and even in death, overflows from this primary undying impulse or thirst to know God. Or, at least that’s how it should be.
But for many people, their thirst for God is often quenched by their false expectations of Him because of a lack of knowledge. If truth fans our desire for God, the lack of it breeds doubt and raises false expectations. Therefore, a void in knowing God for who He really is, is easily filled by false expectations of who He really is not. And these false expectations create an idol in our minds that we worship instead of the true and living God who has revealed Himself in this amazing book.
Which is again why I repeat myself from time to time that if you allow snippets of biblical information that you’ve gathered from here and there in your Christian journey, to form your foundation for knowing God, then you are bound to have unbiblical expectations.
Instead your belief about God and your expectations of Him have to come from your own discipline of studying the Scripture.
Much of what the sermon today deals with, is our need to overcome doubt by having all our expectations of God come from the Bible. We ought not to worship the god of our expectations. We ought to worship the God of the Bible and let the Bible raise our expectations.
Exegesis
Exegesis
1 When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.
Now, although this verse sets up the context for the events to follow, I’d like to point out two different contexts here, one historical and the other literary.
The historical context is plain and clear. The statement ‘When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples’ is a clear transition from chapter 10 where Jesus chose His 12 apostles and sent them out to preach and perform the Gospel and its power in human lives. He instructed and prepared them before He sent them out, the contents of which occupied our sermons in the past few weeks.
From that point, Jesus did not retreat for rest, instead He went by Himself to teach and preach in their cities. We are not sure whether that refers to the home towns of the 12, or the cities they were sent to, or to the Jewish cities in general. But what we see here is that Jesus continued to work.
He devoted as much time as He could to teach and preach. I’ve met many Christians who say that they prefer to show the Gospel through their lives rather than their words. And my response, while commending their desire to live godly lives, has always been that that is not the biblical way.
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
The need of preaching the cross is not up for debate.
Now, the second, literary context of this passage is that the apostle Matthew spent 10 chapters affirming the Messianic identity of Jesus.
As John MacArthur points out, Matthew presents the testimony of history (1:1-17), of the miraculous birth (1:18-25), of fulfilled prophecy (2:1-23), of Christ’s forerunner (3:1-12), of God the Father (3:13-17), of Jesus’ power (4:1-11), of His words (5:1-7:29), of His works (8:1-9:38), and of His disciples (10:1-42).
So, Matthew has spent a considerable amount of time bringing together evidences of Jesus’ messianic identity, that He is indeed the Christ long foretold in the OT.
In light of both of these contexts, the historical one and the literary one, let us read on.
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?”
Now when John heard in prison
John, the baptist was imprisoned for his vocal criticism of Herod Antipas
3 For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,
4 because John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”
We know that for a while now that John’s disciples have been following Jesus and were probably constantly reporting back to John what they’ve been witnessing.
14 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”
So much of John’s own understanding of what Jesus was preaching and performing was second hand information. After Jesus’ baptism, we do not find the two of them have a significant meeting. In fact, from Matthew 4:12&17, we can see that much of Jesus’ ministry accounted by Matthew occurs post John’s imprisonment.
when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ
From his prison, John heard much of the deeds of the Christ (the Messiah). Matthew doesn’t say that John heard much of the deeds of Jesus, his cousin. I think the use of the phrase deeds of the Christ is used to suggest that what John heard were evidences of fulfillments of prophecies long foretold in the OT of what the Messiah would do when He came, much of it we find in the book of Isaiah.
18 In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see.
19 The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
18 we were pregnant, we writhed, but we have given birth to wind. We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth, and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.
19 Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.
he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
Theologians have given different interpretations for why John asks such a question, and the confusion for many of them arises because it is difficult for us to picture this bold forerunner have a crisis of faith.
Some have said that John was actually asking this question to bolster the faith of his disciples rather than himself. But I don’t buy into that understanding. The plainest and clearest reading of the text, is that John had a crisis in faith.
The question is, what led this humble, bold and courageous forerunner to ask such a question?
If you recall the very context of his birth and upbringing, he was set apart for this singular minsistry of preparing the way for the Messiah.
But in order to understand John a little better, let us read from verses 7-14 and then return to this section
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.’
Immediately after John’s disciples went away, Jesus talks to the crowd about John. The nature of this interaction is so heartening beloved, for we see here a profoundly serious prophet of God who in his time of doubt is not chastised but encouraged. Here what Jesus says about John.
“What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
Here is Jesus defending John. What did you go out to see in the wilderness? A flimsy man shaken by the opinions of the world like a reed shaken by the wind? No. What did you go out to see? A covetous tele-evangelist dressed in the finest linen preaching sermons that tickle your ears, promising the riches of king’s houses? No.
A prophet? Yes, and more than a prophet!
Jesus gives John a title of ‘more than a prophet’. This is huge! How could Jesus title ‘more than a prophet’ to a man who just doubted him?
This is he of whom it is written, “ ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’
Just as John declared to other the Lordship of Jesus, the Christ, Jesus here affirms publically the prophetic call of John the baptist, to the crowds.
And He continues,
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.
Why is John the greatest born of women? What makes him more than a prophet? For clearly the prophets of old have performed greater miracles and attracted larger crowds.
The only criteria that makes John the greatest prophet, is his proximity to the Christ. All the prophets foretold of the coming Messaiah, but John introduced Him and prepared His way.
How would we discern higher calling? How would we classify the greater ministries?
It was not power, not words, not faith, not birth, not circumstances and not suffering that gave John importance but his proximity to Jesus. Wow!
And then, Jesus hints to a more profound reality. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
As some preacher point out that John is the least in the kingdom of heaven, I don’t think that’s what this text is saying at all.
The comparison here is not between John and others while they are in heaven. The comparison here is between those in heaven, and the John born of woman, John as he was on earth. In other words, the greatest man of the earth is lesser than the least in the kingdom of heaven.
Why? Proximity to Christ!
Do you see beloved? That the closer you get to Jesus, to fulfilling His glorious purpose, we are blessed!
12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.
13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John,
14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.
15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
The violent have fought against the advance of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is most likely referring to Herod Antipas who imprisoned John. The hurt and suffering of God’s elect is akin to violence against the kingdom of heaven.
Here again, we see that the nature of this kingdom is that it is upon them. It is here. And we who are Christ’s, are citizens of that kingdom, and anyone who wars on us, declares war on God’s kingdom.
John is Elijah who is to come.
1 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.
The Jewish people expected the reappearance of Elijah and Jesus here witnesses that John is this Elijah to come. In Luke we read,
17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
John is therefore not Elijah reincarnate. But the prophecy in Malachi and in Luke show us that John would be a man like Elijah. He will be like him in spirit and power. And he was! And Jesus testifies of it!
[bruised reed? fine clothes?]
Now, coming back, how could such a man doubt? You see the confusion of many theologians?
In all the prophecies of Isaiah, there is one more.
1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
John’s expectations of the Messiah were misplaced, although not entirely.
John does the right thing by sending His disciples for confirmation.
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.”
Conclusion
Conclusion
16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,
17 “ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’
19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”