Christ’s Preaching (1)
In the first
verse of Matthew 11, the emphasis changes from the disciples going out and
preaching the gospel, to Jesus going out and preaching the gospel. It may be a
surprise to some, but we learn that the Lord Jesus is something of a
Street-Preacher! He went to teach and “preach in their cities.” This also fits
in with his role as the ultimate prophet; as we read in Isaiah 58:1 “Cry aloud,
spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their
transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” We know that Jesus preached His longest
sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, in the open air. What did he preach about?
Matthew 4:17 tells us, “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say,
Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Did Jesus tell the world that
God loves them? Yes, we should all be familiar with the words of John 3:16, but
in terms of emphasis in the Scriptures, most of the time Jesus was preaching
about sin, repentance, righteousness and the coming judgement. In fact in the
Sermon on the Mount, “hell” gets a mention 3 times in one chapter, even “hell
fire.” So it would not be disingenuous to
say that the Biblical Jesus was a hell-fire, open air, street preacher!
I’m not making a joke; I am saying that because I feel we could do with some
balance in the way that Jesus is often misrepresented by churches today. Yes,
Jesus is more accurately represented by that hard-preaching guy on the street
corner (or at least certain ones) than the smooth-talking, easy-on-sin, mega-church Pastor!
Christ’s answer to John’s disciples
(2-6)
We have an
interesting encounter next with two of John the Baptists disciples (read 2-3)
“art thou he that should come?” Are you the Messiah, the Anointed one; that’s
what the name “Christ” means. Now, have they come because John isn’t sure about
Jesus? Some have argued that true faith may also be mixed with an element of
unbelief, I don’t really subscribe to that view, I think that what is happening
here is, John is sending them for their own satisfaction, so that they might
confirm their own faith. Even though Jesus says, “Go and shew John again those
things which ye do hear and see…” (verse 4) They are to “shew” or tell, for
their own benefit, not John’s.
Christ’s testimony to John the
Baptist (7-15)
Read verse
7, first part. He began to speak about the person and character of John the
Baptist. Remember John is still alive at this time, although he is in prison.
What was John like? What drew you to hear him? Was john a “man clothed in soft
raiment,” privileged, sophisticated, eloquent; as John Wesley puts it, “an
effeminate courtier, accustomed to fawning and flattery?” (Explanatory Notes on the NT - John Wesley) No, John was a loud, rough,
hairy guy! He was direct and challenged people who were living in sin; that’s
why he’s in prison at this moment. Is he a prophet? “A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more
than a prophet.” He is the special forerunner of the Messiah. “For all the
prophets and the law prophesied until John,” (verse 13) John was the end of the
Old Covenant dispensation. He was also “Elias,” that is Elijah that was
prophesied. Malachi 4:5 says, “Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet (This
doesn’t mean he was somehow the reincarnation of Elijah; it means he came in
the same spirit and character of Elijah)before the coming of the great and
dreadful day of the LORD.” This is consistent with the interpretation of a “Day
of the LORD,” that I shared with you last Sunday evening regarding the verse in
Matthew 10 “Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of
man come.” I believe this further confirms, that it is a reference to the
destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70. There are other similarities
between John and Elijah, both were loners, both lived in the wilderness, both
showed a boldness in delivering the message of God; both of them upset the King
in their day; respectively, Elijah with Ahab and john the Baptist with Herod.
Read verse
11. Even though John the Baptist had such a privileged role, in the sense that
he introduced the world to Christ and His ministry, nevertheless, “the least
true Christian believer” is greater than him, because they would have a more
perfect knowledge of the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus;
John of course would die before these events, which clearly shows that Christ
had foreknowledge of these events, another aspect of His divine nature.
One of the
most interesting verses is in verse 12. (Read)The violence that Jesus is
speaking of, I don’t believe is physical violence. Neither is the archaic use
of the word “suffer” used in the way that we would use it today. Remember Jesus
says, “suffer the little children to come unto me.” What I believe Jesus is
saying here is that if you want the kingdom of God, then you have to take hold
of it violently, like you are never going to let go! Go to Genesis 32: 24-30.
The Perverseness of those that reject
the gospel (16-24)
Read 16-19.
The imagery, (which is largely a criticism of the Scribes and Pharisees, but I
think it works for many that reject the gospel) is of children at play. They
get together to play a game; do you want to play marbles? No, I hate games
where you have to sit down! How about a game of football? No, I hate games
where you have to run around! They are contrary, contentious, argumentative,
petty, childish; just like the Scribes and the Pharisees. There is no pleasing
them. Read 18-19. “Wisdom is justified of her children.” The wisdom of Christ
is acknowledged and embraced by those that are truly wise. It is a godly
wisdom. Go to 1 Corinthians 1:21 (Read)
John Gill
said, in what may be one of the truest (and perhaps longest) sentences ever, “the
Gospel, in which there is such a display of divine wisdom, which is vindicated
from the charge of licentiousness, by the agreeable lives and conversations of
the children of God: or rather Christ himself, who is the wisdom of God; and in
whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge; who, however he may be
traduced by ignorant and malicious men, yet will be acquitted from all such
charges, as here insinuated, by all the true sons of wisdom; or by such, who
are made wise unto salvation.” (Gill's Commentary)
Jesus starts
to “upbraid” the cities where most of his mighty works were done. To upbraid
means to reprove and denounce. The word indicates not so much a curse on them,
rather a foretelling of the misery that they are going to endure. Why does he
denounce them? Because they “repented not;” will Christ not also reprove and
denounce people today that repent not? He mentions Capernaum in verse 23, now
this was the city that Jesus entered into at the beginning of Chapter 9, which
initially welcomed Him, yet refuses to repent; will Christ not also reprove and
denounce those people that initially welcomed Him, yet “repented not?”
In fact so
strong is the Lord’s denunciation, that he says this in verse 24 (Read)
The Gospel revealed to the Simple. (25-27)
Read verse
25. God has revealed the truth through
Jesus Christ, not to the religious leaders, Scribes and Pharisees, but to
simple men and women who are truly seeking God. Remember it’s “the poor in
spirit…the meek” that will be blessed. As Paul puts it:
“For ye see
your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many
mighty, not many noble, are called:
27 But God hath chosen the foolish
things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things
of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world, and
things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to
bring to nought things that are:
29 That no flesh should glory in his
presence.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29)
In verse 27
Jesus says something that is theologically and spiritually very significant.
(Read verse 27) A man may be wise, clever, and insightful in worldly things and
yet be a million miles away from his understanding of God; because these things
are revealed by natural reason, but by divine revelation.
When Peter
testified to Jesus being the Son of God, “Jesus answered and said unto him,
Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it
unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17)
Again, Paul says
“the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14)
The Heavy Laden (28-30)
Jesus
finishes off a chapter that has been quite hard, with a surprisingly tender
invitation now to salvation. This shows me, that sharing the gospel must have
that initial exposition of man’s sin, his guilt, his pride and ignorance; in
order for the depth of conviction to prepare the heart. Nobody wants a saviour,
if they don’t think they need to be saved from anything! Yet following on from
this we have this wonderful invitation to “whosoever.” Read verse 28-30.
“Come to
me,” Jesus says. Jesus has that life, that salvation, even that eternal life.
We don’t go running after a man, an organisation, a particular church, a
particular theology, or denomination; we MUST come to Jesus, the living Son of
God. It is in Him that we find the rest and the peace that passes all
understanding.
Find rest
for your soul. Are you weary, is life a labour to you, then come to the one;
the only one that can grant you rest. His yoke is easy, but it is a yoke. That
means, He does expect you to work, yet it is light and easy, compared to the
slavery of Satan’s kingdom; it is easy because the grace of God and the power
of God, through His Holy Spirit, will enable you to walk as Jesus walked, in
obedience to God.
As it says
at the beginning of the book of Hebrews:
“Wherefore
seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us
lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us
run with patience the race that is set before us,
Looking unto
Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;”
Copyright © Paul Jennings.
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