We are continuing our series called Faceless: A Character Study of John the Baptist.

In the first week, we saw that he was a forerunner of Jesus Christ. We spent some time looking at his parents, Zachariah and Elizabeth, who were unable to conceive a child. But while they were old, during a time of impossibility, God heard their faithful prayers over the many years and blessed them with a son. When we face the impossible, prayer is the appropriate response. Take it to the Lord. And when He does answer prayer, give Him the praise He is due. Praise the Provider. Because of Zachariah’s unbelief God caused him to be mute for 9 months and when he could speak again his first words were praises of God. We need to tell those around us the great things God has done for us in our life.

Last week we learned how John was always pointing people back to Jesus. We looked at Zachariah giving adoration to God. He praised God for what He had done in his life. Adoration is something that Christians should be doing. Our prayers should not be just full of petition and supplication; requests that we have and things that we want. We need to praise and adore God in the good times and in the bad. We were then challenged to Assess our Attitudes. Jesus gave John a great compliment when He said he was the greatest born of all women. John could have become proud by this but he didn’t. He humbly served God and pointed people to Jesus. He lived on purpose according to God’s will. And lastly we were challenged to advance the gospel. Our assignment is to make disciples of all nations, Matt. 28:18-20. One of the reasons God has us on earth still is to be a mouthpiece for Him. To reach those in our circle of influence. We need to be intentional about that mission.

Jesus is Not Who They Wanted

This week’s message is titled, “Jesus is not who they wanted.” We are going to be in Matthew 11 this morning if you will turn with me there. We’re going to see how there were some wrong expectations about who Jesus was, who they were expecting Him to be, and how it’s possible that we might have some wrong expectations about Him as well.

The text we will be reading from was written by Matthew. It’s always good to understand who is writing the text, who he is writing it to, and why. Matthew was a Jewish tax collector who left everything to follow Jesus. He denied himself, gave up his job and his wealth to follow. Now he is a Jew writing to the Jewish people the account of Jesus’ life and showing them how Jesus was the Messiah (the anointed One). Watch for that to unfold as we read through the text.

Look at verse 1 with me: When Jesus had finished giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there to teach and preach in their cities.

In Chapter 10, Jesus was instructing His disciples to go strictly to the lost sheep of Israel. At this point in God’s plan, the message of the good news of the kingdom of heaven was to go to the Jewish people first. The Jews are God’s special, chosen people. Jesus made the disciples aware that they were being sent out as “sheep in the midst of wolves.” You can imagine what that looks like. A sheep going into a field full of wolves; it’s not going to end well for the sheep. Jesus is telling them that they will be hated and persecuted. Their families will even turn against them because of Him the Teacher.

Jesus made it very clear to them what to expect on their mission. And we can tell from the way Matthew writes here that it appears Jesus and the disciples separate for a short time. In their cities is referring to the region of Galilee; this was the center of where Jesus’ ministry took place.

I. John’s Question (2-3)

Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, “Are you the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?”

The first question I would ask is, Why is John in prison? What happened?

Matthew doesn’t record what happened to John until chapter 14. I’m going to summarize what happened. Herod Antipas is the governor of the region of Galilee. He had John imprisoned because of his wife Herodias. Well, why was she upset with John? She was not happy with him because John rebuked Herod and told him he was wrong for marrying her. See, Herodias was the wife of Herod’s brother Philip. Herod took a trip to Rome at one point in time and met his brother’s wife, and he liked her and wanted her for his own. When we arrived back to Galilee, he divorced his wife and then married Herodias. John the Baptist, being the fiery spirit that he was, publicly confronted Herod about his sin and told him, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife” (Mk 6:18). This landed him straight in prison. Herodias wanted him dead but Herod feared the people and considered John to be a righteous man and liked to listen to his preaching.

He was imprisoned in Machaerus which was about 10 miles east of the Dead Sea. When you put together a timeline of the synoptic gospels, John was in prison from a year to almost two years. That helps explain for us the text that he “heard of the works of Christ.” John had been unable to witness the miracles of Jesus, or hear his teachings. He has not been able to observe first-hand Jesus’ ministry. This is why he is sending his disciples to ask Jesus a question. He’s unable to go himself and he’s had a lot of time to think.

So the question John asks is, “Are you the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” So John is sending a question to Jesus, asking Him, “Are you the Messiah?”

Now let’s not be quick to condemn John for his question. His doubt is not that unreasonable. John, just like the rest of the Jews, were expecting a different Messiah.

Look with me at Matthew 3:11-12. John said this as he was preparing the way for Jesus. “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

John was saying here that “the one who is coming after is mightier than I, I’m not even worthy to untie His sandals, and He is coming in judgment.” John describes Him as coming with a winnowing fork in His hand. You would use this “pitch fork” like tool to separate grain from the chaff. A farmer would winnow the grain by tossing it up into the wind so the chaff—the useless husks—were blown away and the grain would fall down to the threshing floor. The grain would then be gathered up and the chaff would be burned.

John was expecting the Messiah to come in judgment. And He is coming in judgment. Revelation 19 tells us that at the second coming, Jesus will appear riding on a white horse, from His mouth will come a sharp sword, He will rule with an iron rod, and He will release the fierce wrath of God on all who oppose Him (Rev 19:15). But that is still to come.

That was not the purpose of His first coming. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” (Jn 3:17). Jesus came the first time to save the world. He came to seek and save the lost (Lk 19:10).

Jesus was also not who the Pharisees wanted Him to be. See as they read about Isaiah’s prophecies, 700 years before, they were waiting for the Messiah who provided the hope of deliverance. They were waiting for a redeemer much different than Jesus was. They wanted a temporal salvation. They wanted an earthly kingdom now. It wasn’t faith, repentance, or baptism they were longing for but the destruction of their enemies and an earthy kingdom full of peace, prosperity, and justice. Jesus wasn’t giving them that.

Jesus was also not who the Jews wanted, or the common people. Like the Pharisees, they wanted freedom from Rome. They expected Jesus the Messiah to end all suffering, disease, hunger, and pain. They were picturing a type of welfare state where all of their needs would be met. They expected health, wealth, and instant happiness. This is why when Jesus fed the multitude they were immediately ready to forcibly crown Him king (Jn 6:15, 26). “This is the Messiah we’ve been waiting for! How can we lose with him?”

Let me ask you a question this morning: Who do you want Jesus to be?

See they were picking and choosing what was prophesied about the Messiah what they wanted Him to be for them. They wanted the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Is 9:6). They wanted freedom from their bondage and blessings in place. But they forgot about, or neglected, the Messiah humbling Himself to serve and be the perfect sacrifice, being despised and rejected, wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities (Is 53), because He had to bring an end to sin (Dan 9:24; Gal 1:3-5). He had to come first as the Sacrificial Lamb. John the Baptist himself said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn 1:29).

Trust in The Jesus of the Bible

People are still doing the same things today. People want to pick and choose what they want to believe out of the Bible; about Jesus. Pastors will get up on stage and say the same things. Why? Because it allows them to live a certain way. It suits their preferences and desires.

We do not get to pick and choose what we want out of God. If that’s what you are doing, you are not following the God of the Bible. Without The Jesus of the Bible, you have nothing. You cannot be saved from our sin, and you cannot be reconciled to God. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (Jn 14:6). The Jesus of the Bible is the only way.

People can’t get over their thinking that they would do things differently. The God in their mind wouldn’t allow ...

So God does not fit what they think He should be like. He is not who they want Him to be.

Please listen to me on this. The world does not know God or understand His nature and plans.

1 Cor 2:14 “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” evaluate

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.” God is inviting people in need here to come to Him. God is addressing sinners in this context. He is saying that He will have compassion on anyone who turns to Him. His ways and thoughts are not our ways and thoughts. His perspective is not our perspective. John might not know why he’s sitting in prison but God sure does.

Listen, the Jews would not believe in Jesus even when He would tell them plainly. The Pharisees kept asking Jesus “when the kingdom of God was coming,” and He would answer them with, “It is here! It’s in your midst!” But in their ignorance and unbelief, they missed it. Because they were expecting someone else, they missed the truth when it was right in front of them.

What have you done with the truth about Jesus? I hope you’re not “missing it” because you’re expecting something else. Jesus is everything that was written about Him. And He is Who we need. He is the answer to our biggest problem in life, our sin problem, that keeps us separated from God. Trust in The Jesus of the Bible.

II. Jesus’ Answer (4-6)

Matthew 11:4-6 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive 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. And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”

Jesus answered them in a way that they may not have expected. He said, “Go and report to John what you hear and see.” Looking at Luke’s account of this question and interaction, he records in Luke 7:21 “At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind.”

Jesus didn’t give John’s disciples a yes or no answer. He showed them right on the spot, before their very eyes, a display of miracles. He says, “Here is your answer. Go and report back to John what you are hearing and seeing.” Jesus did these miracles specifically for the benefit of John the Baptist. These works would indeed indicate that Jesus was the Messiah. They validated who He was. Proclamation of good news and healings matched expectations of the Messiah.

Jesus didn’t fix John’s problem. He chose not to free him from prison, but He sent him back a special confirmation that He was indeed doing messianic works. Jesus basically said, “This is just a preview of the coming kingdom. You can see clearly by what I’m doing right now that I care, that I heal, and that I have power over all things. This is a time of good news and grace, judgment will come later.”

III. Jesus’ Explanation (7-14)

Look at the beginning of verse 7, “As these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John,” Jesus felt the need to speak to the crowd of people who were there listening to the Q&A that just took place. Maybe some of the people were thinking John wasn’t committed anymore to the Messiah because of his question of doubt.

Jesus presents 3 questions and answers to help give a better understanding of John the Baptist.

First question: He asks, “What did you go out to see? A reed shaken by the wind?” Now in that region of the world, along the Jordan river, there are 12’ tall reeds that grow and sway in the wind. Jesus asks if that is a picture of John? Is he weak and easily swayed? No. This is the man living in the wilderness and off of the land and who confronted the governor of his sin which is why he is now in prison. John wasn’t intimidated by anyone.

Second question: He asks, “But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in king’s palaces!” Did John wear soft clothing? Is camel skin soft? No. It’s coarse and I imagine itchy. People who wear soft clothing live in palaces. Or they would dress nice to try to impress people of importance.

This wasn’t John the Baptist. John wasn’t a “popular preacher” who told the crowds what they wanted to hear. He was a man of conviction that was not swayed by anyone. He didn’t care about the comforts of this world or the approval of others. He was focused on what God had set before him to do. He was denying himself to do the will of God.

Live for God, not self

Every day when you wake up you have a choice to make: “Am I going to live for God or am I going to live for self?” Jesus taught His disciples the spiritual discipline of self-denial. He told them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me” (Matt 16:24). Denying yourself is an essential part of being a follower of Jesus. What are the two greatest commandments? Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and your mind and your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself (Matt 22:36-39). Notice you aren’t in there.

Let’s learn from John’s character. Here was a man who denied himself and lived for God. We should be striving to do the same. What does Living for God and Denying Self look like? We might feel good about denying certain things in our life but there are sure to be other things we gloss over and have a harder time with. I read a blog by a pastor by the name of Ed Taylor (Colorado) where he listed 13 so-called "rights” that we, because we are Christians, should be giving up. Here is list of biblical ways we should be denying ourselves:

As a Christian, you need to deny the right to:

take revenge (Rom 12:19-20)

always have a comfortable, secure home (Lk 9:57-58)

a good reputation (Matt 5:11)

spend money however you please (Matt 6:19-21)

hate an enemy (Matt 5:43-47)

understand God’s plan before you obey Him (Heb 11:8)

be honored and served (Mk 10:42-45)

live by your own rules (Jn 14:23-24)

hold a grudge (Col. 3:13)

complain (Phil 2:14; 1 Thess 5:18)

put yourself first (Phil 2:3-4)

express your sexuality freely (1 Cor 6:18-20)

rebel against authority (1 Pet 2:13-15)

This is not my list, but God’s. I challenge you to think through this list this week. Let’s not be a people who pick and choose which of these rights we will deny and which one’s we won’t. As followers of Jesus, we must Live for God and deny self.

Third question (v 9): He asks, “But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.’ Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” Jesus answers yes to this question. Prophets play a big part in the history of Israel. God would send people called prophets to speak to His people what He wanted them to know. Moses was the first prophet and there were prophets all the way through the Babylonian captivity, the last one being the prophet Malachi. But since Malachi, there were 400 silent years where Israel did not heard from God. There was no prophet until John the Baptist came.

Why was John declared the best, “more than a prophet,” “greatest of all born of women”? Well, there’s something fascinating about John. He was both a prophet and fulfillment of prophecy. He was the prophesied forerunner and now here he is a prophet of God. And as the forerunner of Jesus, he didn’t get to just say the Messiah was coming but that He had arrived! He was God’s messenger who was preparing the way for the Lord, and then he got to minister to Him; he baptized Jesus with his own hands, something no prophet did before or ever would be able to do again. God granted him the privilege to be the Messiah’s personal herald. How cool is that!

But Jesus says that whoever makes it into the kingdom of heaven will be greater than John. You see, from an earthly perspective, John’s calling and character made him the greatest man ever born (except Jesus of course). But, the privileges in heaven will be far greater than anything anyone could experience on earth, even John.

Look with me at Matthew 11:12-14 “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force. For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.”

Jesus is saying here that since John began preaching repentance of sin and baptism, people were trying to force their way into the kingdom of God. Remember how they were going to make Jesus king by force? And remember how the prophets had prophesied about John? (Lk 16:16). Now the prophecy has been fulfilled and the kingdom of God is present; the Messiah was there. And Jesus ends by saying that just like Malachi prophesied, John came in the spirit of Elijah. He dressed like him, lived like him, and boldly proclaimed God’s Word in the face of opposition. This was the forerunner to the Messiah.

IV. Jesus’ Final Emphasis (15)

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” This was something Jesus said often to give emphasis to His words that had special importance. He said these words 11 times in Scripture.

Seek Jesus with all your heart

If you are a believer, you serve a God who loves you. He gave up His very best for you so that you could have forgiveness of sins, and newness of life, and a relationship with Him. Don’t keep Him at a distance from you. Don’t think you have a plan that is better than His. Trust in Jesus. Follow His plans for your life. Seek Him and obey Him in all things. Each morning, make the choice to live for God and deny self.

If you are here this morning and have never placed your trust in the Jesus of the Bible, please don’t continue to ignore Him. Judgment is coming, just like John said. Jesus was the promised Messiah. He was the one prophesied about thousands of years ago that would come to be the savior of the world. Repent of your sins and trust in Him today for salvation. If you are unsure of what I’ve spoken about this morning, keep searching. Read the Bible. Read it again. Then read it again. God promises that if you seek for Him with all their heart you will find Him. And as you read you will discover this Jesus is absolutely trustworthy and faithful and He will never let you down. Seek Him with all of your heart. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Prayer

You are the God we love and want.

Help us to live for you this week, and deny self.

13 Biblical Ways to Deny Self https://hopeondemand.com/article/13-biblical-ways-to-deny-yourself

People today, including believers, are confused and perplexed about the plan of God for the same reason [Jesus wasn’t changing the governmental system]. Their minds are so full of the ideas of people around them that they fail to understand God’s plan even when they read it in Scripture. People often say things like: “If Jesus loves everybody so much, why do children die? Why are people starving? Why do people get sick; they get cancer? If God is a God of justice, why is there so much corruption and injustice in the world? Why do so many good people have it so bad and why do so many bad people have it so good? If God is loving and merciful, why does He send people to hell? If God is so powerful and false religions are so evil, right, they are misleading large numbers of people, why doesn’t He just wipe out those false systems?’”