Matthew 11:7-19

Introduction

Have You Ever Known Someone Who is Impossible to Please?

Maybe a Parent, a Boss, or Your In-Laws?

Hopefully Not Your Spouse!

If You Want an Unhappy Marriage, That’s How You Do it

If You Don’t Know Anybody Whose Impossible to Please…

You’re Either Very Blessed, Or You are the Impossible to Please Person

Do You Remember the Story of Goldilocks?

The Porridge was Either Too Hot, Too Cold, or Just Right

The Chair was Either Too Big, Too Small, or Just Right

The Bed was Either Too Hard, Too Soft, or Just Right

She was Pretty Difficult to Please…

But I’ve Got Someone Living in My House Who Easily Beats Goldilocks

We Call Her Vanna Kate

Have You Ever Refused to Eat Something Because it was “Too Good”?

VK Does Often

Have You Ever Yelled at Someone for Being “Too Nice”?

VK Does Often

Some People are Just Impossible to Please

Here’s an Application to Start Us Off:

Don’t Be a Person Who is Impossible to Please

Be Gracious, Merciful, and Gentle with Others

Don’t Be a Burden to Others with Your High Standards

In Our Text this Morning, Jesus is Going to Mention Some People…

Who Were Impossible to Please

Matthew 11:7-19

Last Week, We Saw John the Baptizer’s Reaction to the Ministry of Jesus

He was Doubting Jesus Being the Messiah…

Because Jesus’ Ministry Didn’t Meet His Expectations of What the Messiah Would Do

He Expected a Powerful King Who Would Judge the Wicked of the World and Establish an Era of Peace

But Jesus was a Compassionate, Humble Teacher and Healer

I Heard One Preacher Put it Like This this:

“John Expected a Hammer, But What He Got was a Healer”

In Our Passage this Morning, We Will Find that it Wasn’t Just Jesus Who Didn’t Meet Expectations

John Didn’t Either

Matthew 11:7–9 (NASB95)

As these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ palaces! But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet.

As Soon as Jesus Sends John’s Disciples Back to Him…

He Starts Talking About John to a Crowd of People

He Starts By Asking 2 Questions:

“What Did Ya’ll Go Out to in the Wilderness to See?”

“A Reed Shaken By the Wind?”

A Man with No Backbone Who Cowers and Shifts with the Opinions of Others?

“A Man Dressed in Soft Clothing?”

A Pampered Man with Lots of Money Who Lives in a Fancy House?

The Answer to Both Questions is, of Course, “No Way!”

John was a Rough and Tough Guy Who Didn’t Mince Words with Anyone

He Called the Pharisees a “Brood of Vipers” Straight to Their Faces

In Chapter 14, We’ll See the Reason He is in Prison is Because…

He Called Out the Sin of King Herod Straight to His Face

John was No Reed Shaken in the Wind

Neither was He a Wealthy Prophet-For-Hire Living in a Fancy House with Fancy Clothes

He Lived in the Wilderness, Wearing Camel Hair and Eating Locusts

He Resembled Prophets Like Elijah Who Lived Hard Lives in Obedience to God

Then Jesus Asks a 3rd Question with the Intended Answer of “Yes”

“Did You Go Out into the Wilderness to See a Prophet?”

But John was More Than a Prophet

He was THE Prophet

Matthew 11:10 (NASB95)

“This is the one about whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, Who will prepare Your way before You.’

Jesus Quotes From the Last Prophet in Our OT

Malachi Told of a Messenger Who Would Come Before the Messianic King

This Messenger Would Prepare the People for the King’s Arrival

John is That Messenger

And He is More than Just a Prophet

He is the Prophet Who Ushers in the Era of the Messiah

Matthew 11:11–15 (NASB95)

“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. 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. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

There’s Not Been a Greater Prophet than John the Baptizer

John was the Greatest Born of Women

This Doesn’t Mean He was the Greatest Human to Ever Live

This Refers to His Role, Purpose, and Privilege

Not Only is He is Final Prophet of the Old Covenant

He Also is the Prophet Whose Role and Purpose it Was…

To Introduce the World to the Son of God

He Ushered in the Climax of All History

He was the Messenger of the Long Awaited Messianic King

There Had Never Been a More Important Role

John the Baptizer was the Greatest!

But Then Jesus Tells the Crowd:

“The One Who is Least in the Kingdom of Heaven is Greater Than John”

That’s an Extremely Interesting Thing for Jesus to Say

We’ll Talk More About that in a Minute

From the Beginning of John’s Ministry…

The Kingdom of Heaven was Already Experiencing Violent Opposition

Because the Messenger, Messiah, and Kingdom Didn’t Meet the People’s Expectations…

Many Rejected Them

But This Crowd Shouldn’t Let That Discourage Them

John Truly is the Prophesied “Elijah Who was to Come”

And, Therefore, Jesus is Truly the Messiah Who was to Come

They Just Need to Listen, Understand, and Trust this Truth

Even if John and Jesus Don’t Meet the People’s Expectations…

They Truly are the Messenger and the Messiah

Here’s a Summary of this Context So Far:

Even Though John Had Some Doubts About Jesus…

He Shouldn’t Be Seen as Weak or Soft

He is the Greatest of All the Prophets

But as Great as He is, Those Who Belong to the Kingdom are Greater

The Kingdom Has and Will Suffer Violence…

But That Shouldn’t Stop the People From Seeking it

John is the Prophesied Messenger

Jesus is the Messiah

Matthew 11:16–17 (NASB95)

“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children, and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’

Jesus Calls His Generation Childish

It’s Like Children Playing on the Playground

One Child Says, “Hey, Do You Want to Play Wedding?”

He Would Play the Flute and They Were Supposed to Dance, Like at a Wedding

But They Say, “No, We Don’t Want to Play Wedding.”

So Another Child Says, “Hey, Do You Want to Play Funeral?”

He Would Sing a Lament Song and They Were Supposed to Mourn, Like at a Funeral

But They Say, “No, We Don’t Want to Play Funeral.”

They Don’t Want to Play the Happy Game or the Sad Game

They Can’t Be Pleased

Matthew 11:18–19 (NASB95)

“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

The People are Like the Children on the Playground

They Reject John Because He’s Too Sad, Like the Funeral

They Reject Jesus Because He’s Too Happy, Like a Wedding

They Looked at John and Thought…

“He Lives in the Wilderness and Doesn’t Associate with the Rest of Society…”

“He Must Be Demon Possessed…”

“There’s No Reason to Listen to Him, He’s Not the Messenger of the Messiah!”

Then They Looked at Jesus and Thought…

“He Associates with the Rest of Society, Going to Weddings and Dinner Parties…”

“He Must Be a Glutton, a Drunk, and a Friend of Sinners…”

“There’s No Reason to Listen to Him, He’s Not the Messiah!”

John was a Little Too Holy and Jesus Wasn’t Holy Enough

The Kingdom was Being Proclaimed From 2 Opposite Ends of the Spectrum…

But this Stubborn Generation Rejects Both

They Didn’t Conform to the Expectations of Their Generation

There was No Pleasing These People

Jesus Ends with These Words:

“Yet Wisdom is Vindicated By Her Deeds.”

That is to Say:

The Work and Fruit of the Kingdom that Comes From John and Jesus’ Ministries…

Will Prove that They Truly Were the Messenger and the Messiah

That What They are Proclaiming Truly is the Kingdom of Heaven

Application

In this Passage, Jesus Caused All of Us to Realize Just How Great John the Baptizer Was

His Role in History Surpasses All Who Ever Came Before Him

But Jesus Said, “Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

Who All Here is a Citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven?

Do You Feel Greater Than John the Baptizer?

Jesus Says You are

How are We Greater Than the Greatest One Born of a Woman?

It’s Not Because We are More Devout, Zealous, or Righteous Than John

That Would Be a Nearly Impossible Battle to Win

John Wasn’t the Greatest Because of Devoutness, Zeal, or Righteousness

He was the Greatest Due to His Relationship to the Messiah

He was His Forerunner and Messenger

So What Makes Citizens of the Kingdom Greater Than John?

Our Relationship to the Messiah

As Intimate a Relationship that John Had with King Jesus…

We Have a Closer One

John Introduced the Coming King Who Would Soon Take His Thrown

We Live Under the Rule of the Heavenly Enthroned King Jesus

John‘s Ministry was to Come Before Jesus to Prepare the People for His Coming

We Come After Jesus, Take Up His Mantle and Continue His Own Personal Ministry

John Died Before Jesus’ Redeeming Death, Resurrection, Ascension, and Enthronement

We Celebrate These Things Everyday as We Enjoy Out Blood-Bought Redemption

John was the Greatest to Be Born of a Woman

But Each Citizen of the Kingdom is Born of God Himself

Each of Us Have Been Born Again as New Creation

We Have Been Washed in the Blood of Jesus

We are Being Transformed By the Spirit

We are Adopted into the Family of God

We Live Under the New Covenant of Grace Through Faith

John Got to Call Jesus the Future King

We Get to Call Jesus Our Eternal Brother

John Only Got a Glimpse of the Future Messianic Era

We Get to Live in it Every Day

On and On We Could Go About How Our Privilege as Kingdom Citizens…

Is Greater Than John’s Privilege as the Kingdom Messenger…

But When it Comes Down to it, Our Roles are Not So Different

John Came with the Message, “The King is Coming, Repent and Submit to Him”

Our King Has Given Us the Very Same Message

“The King is Coming Back, Repent and Submit to Him”

John’s Mission was Important

But So is Ours

The World Needs to Know What Jesus Has Done, is Doing, and Will Do

And it is Our Role, Purpose, and Privilege to Share that Message

Jesus Had an Incredibly High View of John and His Ministry

But He Also Has an Incredibly High View of You and Your Ministry

John Lived Up to His Role, Purpose, and Privilege…

Even Though Many Never Listened, and It Led to His Imprisonment and Death

Will We Live Up to the Ministry that Our King has Given Us?

It Will Sometimes Lead to Rejection and Suffering

But What We Have Been Called to Greatness

And it’s Our Duty to Live Up to it