Doubting, Trusting, Following

Matthew 11 really marks a shift in the narrative of Matthew’s Gospel. In all four Gospel records, there comes a time when opposition to Christ’s message and ministry, usually by the Pharisees and their close counterparts.

We have already seen this rejection coming in the book of Matthew, specifically in chapter 9 when Jesus faced severe opposition for the healing of the paralyzed man and the two blind men.

When Jesus healed the paralytic, you will recall that he first forgave the man’s sins. This caused the Pharisees to say to themselves, with Jesus knowing it, “This man is blaspheming!”

When Jesus healed the blind men, the accusation was even worse - “this man casts out demons by the prince of demons.”

So the opposition is mounting - Jesus is not satisfying whatever the Pharisees expectations of the messiah was, although they had no doubt by this point heard that that was exactly who he was supposed to be.

In fact, they had probably heard that from the beginning, as part of the ministry of a man called John the Baptist.

We learned about John in Matthew 3, where he was by the river Jordan proclaiming “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And perhaps the most notable and famous part of that story is when Jesus approached John for baptism - not that he needed repentance, but to positively fulfill all righteousness - and when Jesus approached, John proclaimed unequivocally - “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

John was a great prophet - perhaps the last prophet during the Old Testament period - and he came preaching “he who is coming after me is mightier than I.” It was a message of repentance because John’s perspective of Messiahship had to do primarily with judgment. A messsage of winnowing, of separating wheat from the chaff.

But John had not only proclaimed Jesus as “the one,” he had heard confirmation on that baptism day by God the father Himself when the voice came from heaven saying, “this is my beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased.”

News travels fast when you have a wild and notable prophet like John - so it is safe to assume that what he knew about Jesus was part of his ministry, part of his proclamation - part of preaching “repent, the King is here!”

So the pharisees had their serious doubts and rejections, and John had revelation from God himself that Jesus was the messiah - but in chapter 11, those doubts sort of come together for a moment. Now, we read of John’s own doubt - faced with certain grave circumstances, John asks the important question of Jesus “are you the one?”

Now, this wasn’t outright rejection - not rejection at all - but it was a sincere question. A sincere question of what God was doing, what his plan entailed, and certain circumstances that just didn’t seem to line up.

Perhaps you’ve been there in your walk with Christ - a moment, not of rejection, but of honest, sincere, questioning and wondering - is this really how things work? Is God really in this?

Jesus closed chapter 10 with a message about receiving and rejecting - and here in chapter 11 the question is really fleshed out and illustrated with John, and then the crowds.

This theme of doubt and faith will run right through chapter 12, and over the next few weeks we will examine doubt from a few different perspectives. The doubt of John, whcih we see today - the doubt of the masses, many of whom would not believe - and the beginning of the formal, legal opposition to Jesus by the Jewish Leaders.

What God does and allows may not always fit with our notions of how things should be. May we submit to God’s work, His plan, and His ways.

1. A Question from John - Vs. 1-6

Matthew 11:1–3 ESV

When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities. Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

Jesus had just sent his disciples out on mission to preach, to tell the house of Israel that the kingdom was here - that the messiah was here - but Jesus didn’t stop his own work and wait, he kept on teaching and preaching in the disciples’ cities.

Then john comes in - or at least, a message from him. You see, John was in prison - an account we will learn more about in Matthew 14 - but he had been imprisoned be Herod Antipas, who was the Roman-tetrarch, a client/contract ruler of Galilee. We can spare the details for the later account - but John’s preaching of righteousness did not earn him a high view with Herod, so to prison he went - where he would eventually be put to death.

Now, Pause there for a moment and think about this scenario - John had been preaching that the messiah was to come in righteousness, in vindication, in judgment - with a winnowing fork in his hand. There was a big sense that righteousness would prevail, that evil would be cast down, and probably that Rome would be overthrown of their power over Israel. Had that come to fruition yet?

Not at all - in fact, just the opposite - John, who we know to be a righteous man - was imprisoned for his righteous following of God.

Now, it says that John “heard about the deeds of the Christ.” So there was a disconnect - John was sitting in roman-controlled prison, but he was hearing about the great works of the one who he had already proclaimed to be the new and coming king. And with that disparity in mind, he sends his own disciples to ask a question for him.

Now, we know it was his question, because Matthew tells us that it was - “he sent word by his disciples.” Some have tried to minimize any possibility of doubt on John’s part, but that is to take away from John’s human nature - he was a great man, as we will read about in the next section - but he was a man. He was a prophet, and more than a prophet! But he was not invincible, and here he displays honest doubt.

“Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

The question beneath the question, when we put it all together, is really this - Jesus, I proclaimed you as him, and I see your marvelous works - but where is the prevailing of righteousness? Where is the victory?

We may ask similar questions in our own day. “Lord, I see your truth, I see parts of it played out, I know it to be real in my life - but where is the righteousness? Where is the victory?”

Circumstances in life effect us, truly. Circumstances in life are tiring, wearying, heavy in our thinking and emotions. In those times, especially if you are a long-time believer, you may face a certain amount of conviction for your doubt - as if, because you are a Christian, you should be totally in control of your emotions and faculties. But even John, the great prophet, had this honest and sincere question.

John was i prison! He was probably not in the best physical condition because of that, and in that fog of circumstances, Jesus didn’t seem to be totally living up to what he had proclaimed.

Jesus answer comes back to john, through his disciples, not with chiding John for doubt, but with strengthening and with the invitation to blessing.

Matthew 11:4–6 ESV

And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 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. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

Now, Jesus does two things here - he reminds John of the works which he has seen, which are indisputable - and he reminds him of the promises of scripture which he knows, and which Jesus fulfills.

Isaiah 35:5–6 ESV

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 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;

Isaiah 61:1–2 ESV

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; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;

The signs promised with the coming of the Messiah were being fulfilled - the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the good news preached to them.

You see, the Messianic promises were being fulfilled - Jesus read that scripture from Isaiah 61 about himself when he came into the synagogue and said “today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Are you the one, Jesus? Jesus says - yes I am! Now, interestingly, when Jesus read that passage from Isaiah 62, he did not read the part of the day of vengeance. Why is that?

Well, it becomes clear through Jesus’ ministry that in this coming, in his first coming, that was not the prerogative - that was not the plan. Is that vengeance coming? Yes it is - the book of Revelation gives us the image of the Lamb of God as a bloody warrior who will vindicate all righteousness and destroy the evildoer.

But Jesus first coming was a coming of invitation - a coming of blessing - a coming of redemption, of healing, of salvation. It was a coming to offer and purchase forgiveness.

Yes, Jesus is the one to come! He just isn’t done all of his work yet. And Jesus invites John to believe that - a blessing for all those who are not ashamed by Him.

Like a new beatitude - Jesus offers blessings for all those who do accept him. He had spoken of blessing for recieving a righteous man, and for receiving a prophet - but now the blessing is the greatest one - a blessing for not being “offended” or caused to stumble by Jesus.

John, here, is essentially being exhorted to trust what God is doing, and not be limited by his understanding of what should be.

That is a great application for us - in this life, we are often tripped up by the wickedness, the evils, and losses - and we can get cast down because of them. Whether it is political injustice, the evils of unjust war, the abortion crisis, the degradation of marriage and the family, the wholesale rejection of God’s ways and blessings.

But, we can almost hear Jesus speaking in this sense to us - blessed are you when you are not offended by me. You may seem to be in the minority, and you may think that the truth is losing - but don’t lean on your own understanding.

Proverbs 3:5 ESV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

2. An Explanation of John - Vs. 7-15

Now, When John’s disciples left, jesus takes that opportunity as a teaching moment for the crowds.

You see, the crowds knew john! He was at one point more famous than Jesus, no doubt. The crowds around heard about John’s question - john’s doubt, if you will - and now there is no doubt opportunity for them to doubt as well.

Matthew 11:7–10 ESV

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

You can imagine their thinking - the great John the baptist? That rugged prophet? That man who proclaimed so boldly and so powerfully this message of the kingdom, even he is struggling with doubt?

Jesus backs up their memory though - John was not weak, he was not a “reed shaken by the wind,” he was not a “man in soft clothing.” Those are euphamisms for weakness, really. A reed shaken by the wind is not a firmly fixed post. A “man in soft clothing” really denotes the clothing of one who has an easy and casual existence, maybe one with a cushy job in the hosue of a king - but not a rough and ready prophet like John. He literally did not wear soft clothing, rather camel’s hair and a leather belt!

The third hypothetical question gets closer to the answer - Did you go out to see a prophet? Yes! And more than a prophet.

That is, not just any prophet, but the promised prophet. Jesus illustrates this by quoting from Malachi 3.

Malachi 3:1 ESV

“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.

A messenger to come before the Lord, a messenger of the Lord’s covenant. Without a stretch, without a doubt, Jesus says - this is John.

Do you see what Jesus is doing here? By reaffirming John, He is reaffirming himself. He is lovingly addressing the doubts of the crowd, pointing them to what is true, pointing them to himself.

That is what we need in our doubts - the circumstances may cause us to falter. We hear about this often in our day. People who have bad experiences with a particular church, or are met with circumstances in life that cause them to question their faith.

The circumstances can be questioned - if bad things are happening, we are not called to ignore them, to pretend they don’t exist, but what we are called to do is return to the truth of the Lord, His promises, and know that He is the same through all these things.

You may have a moment where you say, I cannot believe that God would allow that! I cannot believe in a religion where people do this or that - but that’s just it. The circumstances are not the object of our faith - a person is the object of our faith. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the one who did fulfill these things - He is the object of our faith. In our doubt, we must look to Him. We must cling to Him. Its ok to ask the question - John asked the right kind of question! But may we never throw Jesus and His teachings out with our bad experiences.

Matthew 11:11–15 (ESV)

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. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Jesus, again, is bolstering John, and in doing that, bolstering the crowds faith in himself.

“among those born of women...” John was an amazing person - I often wish we knew more about his life - but, John was not it. He was, perhaps, the greatest natural man ever to live! But then Jesus makes an amazing statement -

The least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.

Notice the contrast - i think it is important. the contrast is “those born of women...” with “those in the kingdom of heaven...”

Being part of Jesus’ Kingdom is what Matthew is all about - entering it, living in it, accepting and knowing the kind of it.

I think what Jesus is saying here is tied directly to what He said to Nicodemas in John 3 - there, he says “you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven unless you are born again.”

And therein lies one of the fundamental differences, and the new blessings and wonders, of the New Covenant - Jesus introduces and makes possible this new birth.

Yes, of those born of women? Nobody is greater than John! But even the least person who is born again into God’s Kingdom is far more blessed than the greatest natural man.

Now, is Jesus saying John wasn’t born again, or couldn’t be? I don’t think so at all - he is simply saying to these crowds, that yes, even the great John the Baptist has doubts - but in my Kingdom, the new Covenant, even John’s greatness will be overshadowed.

Have you been born again into God’s kingdom? Have you followed Jesus in that sense? I tell you, there is no greater blessing than to embrace Him, believe on Him, and trust Him fully.

Then Jesus acknowledges the opposition - “violent men take the kingdom by force.”

Jesus could here be referring to the Jewish Zealots who had and were trying to physically overthrow Rome, or he could be referring to the violent treating of righteous men like John - I lean toward the latter.

Regardless, Jesus seems to be saying that this violence is a sign that the coming of John, and thereafter the coming of Jesus, was the pinnacle point of the Kingdom.

We know the point of his words was to instill faith in the hearers, because he says “if you are willing to accept it, He is elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear let him hear.”

Jesus here is referring to another prophecy - this one promising Elijah’s coming before the “day of the Lord.”

The last two verses of the Old Testament promise this

Malachi 4:5–6 ESV

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 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.”

The coming of Elijah before the day of the Lord - and in this case, Jesus says to the crowds, if you have ears to hear, if you have faithful ears, believing ears, trusting ears, Godly ears, you will know that John fulfilled that prophecy.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Do your ears burn with these things? With the truth about Jesus as Lord and God, Master and Ruler? Do you have ears to hear and trust in Him?

Earlier I spoke of those who may be believers but doubting - here I ask, are you a doubter who is being drawn to believe? God has orchestrated his plan, in His wisdom, to reveal Himself in Scripture and in Jesus Christ his Son for the salvation of the world, for the forgiveness of sin.

Do you have ears to hear?

3. A Parable of Rejection - Vs. 16-19

We will close today with this little story. I have called this a parable, although it is not grouped with Jesus other parables which we will begin to see i a few weeks - but this is very much like a parable, in which Jesus casts a common experience of life alongside a question of real spiritual value.

In this parable is a deciding question - will you follow what God is doing?

Matthew 11:16–17 ESV

“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, “ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’

Now imagine this scene for a moment - imagine yourself as a little child, in 1st century Palestine. What would you play?

Children play make-believe sort of naturally. Maybe some of that is lost with the popularity of technology and those devices, but even in those things, there is a great amount of make-believe that is played.

We play house, war, cops and robbers, store, we make mud pies, we flood the ground to make little lakes - we do things that we see on a larger scale. We pretend to be doctors, or builders, or things that we see our parents doing.

Well, in the first centuraly, some of the largest and most notable events of society were weddings and funerals.

These events lasted days, weeks even at times. Weddings had great feasts stretched over long periods of time - funerals had professional musicians and paid mourners. A big wedding today is nothing compared to a big wedding in Jesus’ day. And the children, naturally, would mimic these things.

Well that is the picture Jesus casts of this generation.

They are like children, playing with each other. But there is a large group of the children that will not play along no matter what the game was - they just wouldn’t have anything to do with it!

Matthew 11:17 ESV

“ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’

Rejoicing and mourning, wedding and funeral, dance and dirge. The kids just wouldn’t play along.

This, Jesus says, is how the generation is reacting to Jesus and John.

John’s message was the funeral message - a message of mourning, repentance, judgment, and preparation.

Jesus’ message was the wedding message - joy, unity, new life.

Both of these messages are part of the message of scripture - the Joy of the Wedding was brought by jesus to be instilled first, but the mourning of the funeral is coming as well on the judgment day.

But the people wouldn’t take either aspect - they didn’t have ears to hear either message.

John, a straight-laced no-nonsense prophet, they said he has a demon - an obvious slander.

Jesus, who ate at parties with tax collectors and sinners, who was more relaxed, more joyful in his demeanor, more inviting even, they called Him a drunk and glutton.

Now, God’s work was in both things - in both ministries! John was the promised prophet and forefunner, Jesus was the promised Messiah! Both the Judgment and Joy aspects of the New Covenant were being fulfilled before the poeple’s eyes - but they just wouldn’t accept it.

When our kids act like this, we might call them brats. When God’s people acted like this - he gave a greater condemnation.

“Wisdom is justified by her deeds.”

Wisdom is justified - proved - vindicated - by her deeds.

Proverbs 9:10 ESV

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

Jesus is saying, if you reject what is happening, you are rejecting God Himself. There aren’t any other options.

If you reject the message of John and Jesus, you are rejecting the Lord’s coming, the Lord Himself.

Wisdom is the fear of the Lord - and it bears fruit - namely that a person with this wisdom follows the Lord in what He says and leads.

And that is the ultimate question for the crowds - God is doing this - He is bringing in this Kingdom - He is introducing the New Birth - do you follow Him?

Do you trust in Him? Can it be said of you that you are a child of wisdom because you fear and follow the Lord?

John 1:10–13 ESV

He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

The Fear of the Lord - the knowledge of the Holy One - He has been revealed in Jesus Christ.

Doubting, Trusting, Following.

Where are you with these thigns? Do you believe but have honest doubts? Bring them to Jesus - don’t cast Him aside because of circumstances. Simply because you cannot see the whole of His plan coming together does not mean He is not working. Simply because hope is dimly lit at times does not mean the light is not still shining.

Do you trust in Jesus? Then follow Him - cast yourself upon Him - do not be ashamed of Him - there is great blessing there.

Are you a doubter who is being drawn to believe? Well, the invitation that is between the lines in this passage is for you to follow that leading and believe. And as we will see next week, come to Jesus. In your weariness, in your sin, in your struggle, come to Him. Don’t be a resisting child who will not play along - be a tender child who bears the marks of Wisdom and Faith.