The Perplexed Prophet - 12/8/2024 Sunday Sermon

The Tabernacle Today

The Perplexed Prophet - Matthew 11:1-19

Today we will see Jesus explain His calling to John the Baptist; we will also see Jesus explain John the Baptist’s calling to the crowds; and finally Jesus’ call for everyone to walk in the wisdom of faith.

Matthew 11:1-19

Jesus sent out the first ones, and began training the next ones – just like we do to this day! The next ones probably included men like Justus and Matthias, who later would be the finalists to replace Judas Iscariot.

Jesus explains John the Baptist’s calling to the crowds - V. 7-15

JTB was more than a prophet because he served as the Messiah’s forerunner – His prophetic ministry stood at the end of the age of Mosaic Law and at the beginning of the offer of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness of sins. - Luke 1:76-77

And many came to Him (Jesus). And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this Man was true. And many believed in Him (Jesus) there. - John 10:41-42

In Old Covenant days believers went to the Temple; In these New Covenant days believers are each Temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). Thus every believer living in New Covenant days is ‘greater’ than the greatest saint living under Old Covenant days.

“You brood of vipers – who warned you to flee from the wrath to come. Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our Father.” - Matthew 3:7-9

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. - 2 Tim. 3:12

JTB was the fulfilment of Malachi 4:5-6. John himself denied that he was Elijah (John 1:21), yet he came in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17).

Jesus explains His calling to John the Baptist - V. 2-6

John was probably both perplexed and perturbed! Perplexed because he had spoken of the Christ as bringing judgment to evildoers and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire (Matt. 3:12). Perturbed because he was also related to Jesus (Luke 1:36), yet rotting in evil King Herod’s prison while ‘cousin’ Jesus was healing, not judging!

Jesus answered JTB by citing the miracles He was doing, all in fulfilment of prophecies (see for instance Isa. 29:18-19; 35:5-10; 61:1).

In his zeal for what we would call Christ’s Second Advent (Coming) as Conquering King to bring absolute righteousness to Israel and judgment of God’s enemies, JTB had minimized what we would call Christ’s First Advent (Coming) to deal with both Israel and the world’s bigger problem of spiritual lostness. No one will experience the physical external rule of the King who doesn’t first experience the spiritual internal reign of King Jesus.

What chokes every prayer and every hope is the memory of all the prayers H.and I offered and all the false hopes we had. Not hopes raised merely by our own wishful thinking, hopes encouraged, even forced upon us, by false diagnoses, by X-ray photographs, by strange remissions, by one temporary recovery that might have ranked as a miracle. Step by step we were ‘led up the garden path.’ Time after time, when He seemed most gracious He was really preparing the next torture. - C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed, page 30

What are you going to do when your expectations of God’s work in your life don’t match up with the way He actually works?

Will you still worship and follow Jesus? Or will you choose to be offended at Him because of your unrealistic expectations.

Some of you may be perplexed and even perturbed at Jesus right now. I hope you will go to Him in prayer and get back to a place of surrender to God and His actual calling for you rather than your unmet expectations.

Jesus’ call for everyone to walk in the wisdom of faith - V. 16-19