Don't Miss The Point

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If you have your Bibles, please open them to Matthew 11:7.

Last week we started a new series picking up in Matthew where we left off from last year. Last year we saw that most of the people who saw Jesus’ miracles did not recognize Jesus for who he was. And now, this year we will be covering chapters 11-13, and in this section we will see varied responses to Jesus, the majority of which is offense.

For this reason, we are calling this series, ‘A Rock of Offense.’ This title comes from 1 Peter 2:4

1 Peter 2:4–8 ESV

4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

When you come to him, is he Chosen and precious to you? Or is Jesus a rock of offense who you stumble over? That’s what what we are getting at in our time in Matthew this fall.

With this in mind, let’s stand for the reading of God’s Word.

Matthew 11:7–19 ESV

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. 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. 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.”

Let’s pray.

How many enjoy seeing memes? You know those pictures with a text laid over the top of them? Yeah I don’t enjoy memes… most of the time I don’t understand them. Sarah will send me memes regularly, and I normally need her to explain them to me in order for me to understand them. After she explains them to me I do think they are funny, but I am usually slow to understand.

There are all kinds sorts of times when we might not understand something, or we miss the significance of what is going on.

Take for example if you don’t understand all the rules in a game… The NFL season starts this week so I’m excited about that… but if you don’t understand the rules of the game, you might what kinds of plays are fair, and what plays get penalized. If you don’t understand the rules of a sport, you won’t understand the meaning of a penalty.

Or take for example the new spider-man trailer… quick show of hands, how many of you saw the latest trailer? Now a quick show of hands, how many of you saw all the old Toby Maguire spider-man movies that came out in the 2000s? If you haven’t seen the old movies, then you probably missed the significance of the villain that was revealed at the end of the trailer.

It’s easy for us to miss the point of something if we aren’t paying close attention to the details.

This happens all the time in our Bible reading… it’s easy to read it, but not really understand it. We can even read it, and have level of understanding and all the while we can still miss the main point of the Bible. This isn’t just true for us in our day, because our text tonight deals with those in Jesus’ day who missed the point of what the Word of God said, and what was taking place in their very midst.

Because of people were missing the point of what was happening Jesus took time to explain to them the significance of what was unfolding before their eyes.

Matthew 11:7–10 ESV

Let’s unpack these three verses for a bit.

When John the Baptist was baptizing people in the Jordan River, crowds were flocking out to see what was going on. But in going out to see him, they weren’t really sure what it was that they were seeing...

Matthew 11:7 ESV

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?

The phrase “A reed shaken by the wind”, is likely confusing to most of us… but it helps picture a reed in order to understand what Jesus is describing.

Put up picture of the reeds

You know what happens when the wind blows against a reed… it get’s thrown about. Wherever the wind blows, the reed bends in that direction.

Jesus is using a word picture to describe those who are easily swayed by thee various options of people. A reed shaken by the wind describes people who are are fickle, they are trying to please the public… they are not people who are resolute in their convictions and their thinking.

But did this describe John the Baptist? Not at all… for he preached the same message of repentance to everyone, be it the crowds there at the Jordan, or before Harod the king.

So John wasn’t a reed shaken in the wind… so why did the people go out to see him?

Matthew 11:8 ESV

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.

Those who wore soft clothes would have been princes and kings… those who wore soft clothes would have been those who served before princes and kings in their palaces… We all have soft cotton shirts today, but back then soft clothes was a symbol of wealth and status.

Was John a man of wealthy status? No, he was the complete opposite… he was a man out in the wilderness wearing camel’s hair and eating locusts and honey… hardly the symbols of wealth or comfort. People didn’t go to see John because of his wealthy status.

Matthew 11:9 ESV

9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.

Let’s pause here for a moment.... because Jesus is making a significant statement that most of us might miss if we don’t understand what was going on in this point of Israel’s history. Before the NT was written, God spoke to his people through his prophets… We read the message of the prophets in our OT… they include those like Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel… God spoke through his prophets in the OT. But by the time John the Baptist entered onto the scene, God hadn’t spoken through his prophets for 400 years...

Let’s put that into context for a moment… our nation is only 245 years old…

God hadn’t spoken through any prophets for 400 years. In all this time, God remained silent, and the last prophet who spoke on behalf of God was named Malachi.

Who was the last prophet who spoke in the OT?

Keep Malachi’s name filed away in your mind… he will show us again soon.

After 400 years of silence, Jesus now says this of John the Baptist… he is a prophet. This is a significant turn in Israel’s history.

But Jesus told us that John was more than just another prophet…

Matthew 11:10 ESV

10 This is he of whom it is written, “ ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’

Whenever you hear Jesus say, “it is written” he is quoting an OT Scripture… And can you guess who Jesus is quoting here?

Malachi

Turn to Malachi 3.1 in your Bibles… I want you to see where Malachi is situated in your physical Bibles…

You should notice that Malachi 3 is on the last page or two of the OT…

Malachi 3:1 ESV

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.

Who is the messenger that Malachi is talking about do you know? It’s John the Baptist…

John was the prophet that the the prophet Malachi prophesied about...

And if John was the one to prepare the way… for the Lord, then who does that make Jesus…

Jesus is the the Lord who the Israelites sought… Malachi continued to describe the Lord’s coming like this.

Malachi 3:2 ESV

2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.

In other words, when the Lord comes, he do so to bring his wrath against sin.

With all this in mind, let’s go back to Matthew again and understand what Jesus is saying.

Matthew 11:9–10 ESV

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.’

If the people would have understood who John was, then they would have understood who Jesus was as well…

This is what I want us to see.

1. There has always been confusion about the coming of Jesus.

In Malachi’s day, people didn’t know if the Lord would come… so the Lord gave them a sign that there would come a messenger who would prepare a way for the Lord.

But even in John’s day, people still didn’t recognize Jesus to be the prophet who the prophets prophesied about.

And people today are just as confused regarding the identity of Jesus…

So what are we to do about this?

We must pay attention to what is happening even in our own time and in our own life so that we won’t miss that which should be plain and obvious to us...

And most of us know how to pay attention…

How many of you have heard the acronym called FOMO… F.O.M.O. FOMO is the Fear Of Missing Out…

We don’t want to miss anything that is going on…

so we keep a close watch on social media so we can know what is happening in everyone’s life

We keep a close eye on the news so we can know what is happening in the world

We keep watch of the latest movies and games that are coming out

We watch our sports teams to know what is happening…

When you get older you will watch other things like the rise and fall of the stock market, the rise and fall of your weight, and things like this…

We know how to be alert and to keep watch over things of this world that are fleeting away. So how much more should we keep watch over eternal things that will last for all eternity!

Those in Jesus’ day weren’t able to recognize John as being the one who the Lord would send before the Messiah… and if we aren’t watchful of our own lives not only will we not be ready when he returns, but Jesus himself will not recognize us!

So we need to be watchful… if those in Jesus’ day were watchful, they too would have recognized who Jesus was.

Listen to how Jesus says it…

Matthew 11:11–15 ESV

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. 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.

Jesus said that no one born of a woman was greater than John… that is, John had a very special role in redemptive history… he was the one and only man who was tasked with preparing the way for the Lord. All the prophets who came before John had important roles to play… v13 says that all of the prophets and the law were prophesying about a certain point and time in history… but that time came to a conclusion when John came onto the scene… When John came, he did not speak of that which was far off in the future. Rather, when John came, he came to announce that the Lord had come to deal with sin once and for all.... And Jesus says something that would have been difficult for most people to believe… If they were willing to accept it… and if they had spiritual ears to hear that which the natural man could not hear, Jesus said, John is Elijah who is to come… Again, if you’re not paying attention to that which the OT said, you won’t understand the significance of what Jesus is claiming here.

Malachi 4 ESV

1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. 3 And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts. 4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. 5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”

2. The entire Old Testament pointed forward to Jesus’ arrival.

Malachi said, when the Lord would come, he would bring an end to all evil… He said he would burn them like an oven, they way Grass and stubble are set ablaze by a fire…

So for sinners, Jesus’ arrival was bad news.

This is why John called people to repentance… because John was warning everyone that God’s wrath against sin and against the sinner was soon to come.

And for those who were righteous, Malachi said that in that day they would go out leaping like calves from the stall… Here I picture my dog that get’s excited when he is let loose around the house after being shut up in a room all day. In other words, when the Lord comes, those who are righteous will rejoice and be glad! For when he returns he will bring an end to all the wicked, and he will redeem those who are righteous.

So the people of Jesus day missed the point, because they did see how all the Scriptures pointed to Jesus… so too I don’t want us to miss the point, because now, all the Scriptures are pointing back to what Jesus has done for us on the cross. He came and died, so that those who believe in him will have eternal life… so don’t miss the point of Jesus’ arrival, but instead look and see how he is the fulfillment of all that the Scriptures said.

If the Jews would have known the Scriptures, then they would have recognized John listened to him… and if they would have known who John was, then they would have recognized Jesus and they would have listened to him as well… but that wasn’t the case for many of them.

Matthew 11:16–19 ESV

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.”

Jesus here is talking to those who believed they were wise… they claimed to know the Scriptures, but Jesus here compares them to the likes of foolish and stubborn children playing in the marketplaces…

They played the flute… but they did not dance.

They sang a dirge, and they did not mourn…

In other words, when there was a time for rejoicing, they did not rejoice, and when it was time for repenting they did not repent...

Jesus explains it this way,

Matthew 11:18–19 ESV

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.”

It’s funny how people have a way of always finding offense with the Lord’s servants… They don’t like it when they neither eat nor drink, and they don’t like it when they do… they don’t like it when they come with a message of repentance, nor do they like it when they come with good news of rejoicing.

Here’s the last thing I want us to see,

3. Those who recognize Jesus will repent and rejoice.

If you are paying attention, you won’t miss the point…

If you’re paying attention, you will hear the message of John the Baptist, and you will repent… because Jesus will soon return and when he does he will bring judgment against all those who do not obey his word.

But if you are paying attention you will also rejoice, because those who repent and turn from their sin will not face God’s wrath, but instead will receive Christ’s perfect righteousness.

Jesus told us,

Matthew 11:11 ESV

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.

If John had a high status as the one who prepared the way for the Lord, how much higher is the status of those who have been adopted into the family of God?

So do you recognize Jesus? Then repent when it is fitting, and rejoice and be glad, for Christ has died so that you may live.