I. Should We Look for Another? 00:02
Lord, we thank you for your promise this morning. We thank you that you have come that we might have life, and life abundantly. Lord, we pray that you would turn our hearts towards you and your kingdom. In Jesus’ name, amen.
So this morning we get to talk about John again. We get to talk about John in what you might consider not his proudest moment. But I think in light of what Jesus says about John, we can give him some grace. I’ve got this picture. You can kind of see this painting of John in his jail cell, and his followers are coming to him. And the question they ask Jesus is, “Should we look for another?” And I’m spoiling it for you, but the answer is: the kingdom is here. That’s the answer they receive.
II. Seek First the Kingdom 01:03
Now, on the third Sunday of Advent: less time to buy presents, not a lot of time. There are eleven days till Christmas, and I can sense the momentum coming. Maybe it’s only me, but everything is ramping up. Christmas parties are in full swing. The preparations are continuing apace.
And so I want to start by reminding us: seek first the kingdom, and all will be added (Matt 6.33). That whole line that Jesus says, “Seek first the kingdom,” is in the context of “Hey, are you worried about what you’re going to wear, what you’re going to eat?” What are you going to buy for your kids or your spouse or your friends? How many Christmas parties are you going to go to? How are you going to afford rent by the end of the month? If you’re worried about these things, seek first the kingdom. That was Jesus’s answer. He was literally saying, “Your Father knows you need these things. Seek first the kingdom, and all will be added.”
So let’s just start from a position of hope, as we’ve been talking about all Advent. Let’s start from a position of expectation, and let’s enter this story, to talk about how we can prepare our own hearts, which might be looking around us and saying, “Should we look for another? Is the rescue coming? Is the salvation here?”
III. John in Prison 01:56
“When John heard in prison” is where we start this passage, in Matthew 11:2. We know that John’s in prison because he got himself into some trouble by speaking the truth boldly. He got himself into trouble by saying the words God told him to say. So not only is he in prison, he’s in prison for doing the right thing. And so you can imagine the thoughts that are going through his head:
2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” Matt 11.2–3
Imagine you announce the Messiah. You have this great revelation. In fact, you’re the first one, outside of maybe Mary. They kind of both hold pride of place for recognizing the goodness of Jesus. John recognized the Messiah in the womb. He’s leaping for joy. You recognize that the answer to all of your problems has shown up, and you start telling people about it, and you get some success. A lot of people are coming and getting baptized in the Jordan. You end up baptizing him, and the heavens literally open, and a dove descends, and a voice says, “This is the guy.” And you’re telling everybody, “The Lamb of God! Behold, this is him!” And then you get thrown in prison.
You think, “Okay, the program has begun. All of that camel-shirt-wearing, locust-and-honey-eating stuff prepared me to be a particular type of warrior in this kingdom”: a man of great importance, the announcer, the herald of God, the herald of our salvation. And then he gets thrown in prison. And Jesus is out there doing his thing. He’s getting word: “Oh yeah, there are miracles happening. People are following. He’s talking to thousands of people.” And you’re in prison. The reality out there is really hard to hold while you have your reality in here. You’re behind bars, and you’re getting a little worried that this might be the end for you. You hear rumblings that there are people who want you dead, and the only reason you’re still alive is that Herod has a soft spot for you. So you’re feeling pretty tenuous, pretty afraid. In fact, the same message that you proclaimed, you’re starting to wonder: is this how it’s supposed to go?
And if you look at this and think about it, John’s struggling with the same problem that everybody struggled with with Jesus. They thought the Messiah was going to come and march down the streets of Jerusalem and take the city by force. And he’s looking at his watch, or whatever. The sun’s coming up and down. He sees time is passing, and he’s going, “When is this? Should I just look for another salvation? Jesus, did you forget that I was in prison? What’s up? Help me out. Why am I here?”
I know all of us have been there. You have this glorious experience with God. You’re like, “Man, heaven is here. God has come.” And then the next week you’re like, “What? This is not what I signed up for. This doesn’t feel like heaven. This doesn’t feel like the kingdom of heaven is at hand. I’ve repented. I was doing the right thing. And yet I’m in prison.”
John didn’t realize that God had an even bigger plan for him: that in fact John was to prepare Jesus’s way into death as well. John was going to announce his coming even in his death. It’s a beautiful picture that we can appreciate now. In fact, if you look up John the Baptist (I almost put one of these up there), there are dozens, maybe hundreds, of paintings of John’s head on a platter. It’s a very common image. But it’s this powerful motif: the person who is willing to follow Christ must follow him in death. And John, unlike all of us, got to do it to lead the way. What a privilege.
IV. Go and Tell John What You Hear and See 06:37
Okay, let’s keep going. So his disciples asked Jesus:
4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 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. 6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” Matt 11.4–6
Jesus doesn’t give John all the Scripture references to figure out again that he’s the Messiah. He doesn’t have a theological discussion. He doesn’t write a treatise to explain. He reframes John’s focus on what’s actually happening, what he can hear and what he can see. And he calls back to the Old Testament prophecies by saying, “Look what’s happening.” You know that John was immediately thinking of our Isaiah passage from this morning, which says:
3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Isa 35.3
John has some feeble knees right now. He’s feeling weak.
4 Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” Isa 35.4
That’s the intro to what Jesus was quoting:
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6 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; Isa 35.5–6
So when Jesus said to his disciples, “This is what’s happening,” John goes, “I know what that’s about. That’s straight out of the Old Testament.” What was the answer? The kingdom is here. John said, “Should I look for another?” Well, the kingdom’s right here.
V. The Upside-Down Kingdom 08:17
Now, when you look at this and think about all the wonderful miracles that are happening: the promise in Isaiah was that God would come with vengeance and recompense. The problem is, his vengeance looked like being crucified. The problem is, his recompense wasn’t Zeus with his lightning bolt striking down the Romans. It wasn’t tearing apart the sacrificial system and putting John in charge. John was on the outskirts, and the Pharisees were making fun of him, telling people, “Don’t go to him.” And he might have thought, “Oh, in our sense of justice, what God should do is put the real prophet in charge.” That wasn’t God’s plan. No, God’s plan was for him to die. That was his promotion. “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt 25.21). Off with his head. With Jesus, it’s an upside-down kingdom. The recompense of God looks like taking the entire burden of sin and brokenness on the cross.
I watched a movie last night. I was told by the people who were watching with me that I would bring it up in my sermon today, and I really worked hard not to bring it up. But it did have this great line where he said, “As a priest, my job is not to bring the wicked to judgment. It’s to bring the wicked to Christ.” That’s the recompense of God. That’s the vengeance of our God.
Okay. So all this stuff is happening, and the signs of the kingdom are great. They’re wonderful physical healings, but it’s so much more than that. The spiritually blind have their eyes opened. That’s what we sing in “Amazing Grace”: “I was lost, now I’m found; I was blind, but now I see.” If you’re wondering, “Well, when am I going to experience it?”: you have. Your eyes have been opened.
What’s the greater miracle? Jesus says it to the lame man he raises up. He says, “What’s harder to say: that your sins are forgiven, or ‘Lame man, pick up your pallet and walk’?” (Mark 2.9). What’s the point? The point is that we are living in the miracle: that we can hear our God, see his works, that we have had our eyes opened, that we can walk. The lame walk. Well, we have the opportunity to walk in the kingdom of God. We are very lame. No, but seriously.
VI. Not Having Received the Promise 11:15
And this is what Jesus does for us. So when he says all these things… John’s not blind. He’s not mute. He’s not lame. But he knows, because he’s a prophet, because he’s been teaching these same people with the same images: “Oh, he’s not just talking about the physical miracles. He’s saying that the people are being awakened to the reality of the kingdom of God.” You know, the first thing Jesus said was the same thing John was saying: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 4.17). And he’s seeing the fruit of that. The kingdom of heaven is there.
Now John gets to go to his death like all the Old Testament prophets, not having received the promise, but like Abraham, believing that God could even raise the dead. If you didn’t get that reference, there’s this great line in the New Testament where Paul says… You know how Abraham takes Isaac to the mountain, and he’s about to kill him because God told him to? Paul says, well, Isaac was the promise. And when Abraham raised the knife over Isaac, he believed that the promise would still be fulfilled even if he killed his son, because God must just raise him from the dead, then (Heb 11.17–19). I don’t get the picture, but if he has to die, then God has to raise him from the dead, because the promise is where his faith lay. So when you look at John, who gets killed before he can see the resurrection of Jesus: he died looking forward to the promise, having the faith that God could even raise the dead.
And if you look at this last Scripture here, Isaiah 35:6: “For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.” That’s John. He’s out in the wilderness, and the waters are breaking forth, and out of the desert the living water is coming: the waters of repentance, the kingdom coming at hand. But it’s also all of us, because Jesus says, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7.38). Not only are you lame, blind, mute, all those things, but your heart is a wilderness and a desert. But when you accept Jesus, rivers of living water come. Just like it says in Isaiah: waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.
It’s all happening. That’s what he wants the disciples to tell John. “John, hold on. I know you’re in prison. I know it doesn’t look this way. And in fact, it’s going to get worse before it gets better. But it’s all happening. Everything you lived your life for is coming to pass.”
VII. Faithful, Not Successful 13:37
Okay, let’s see what Jesus says about John:
7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: Matt 11.7
And you can imagine: he knows that John is not getting out of prison. I believe Jesus knows that in this moment. He has no plans to free him from prison. And he starts to talk about his cousin. He starts to talk about this man who prepared the way. And you can see he’s getting emotional about it, is my interpretation of how he talks about him. He’s talking about a great man, and he wants everybody to know how great he was:
“What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.” Matt 11.7–8
So first of all, he’s continuing this process of reminding them that the kingdom doesn’t come the way they think it’s going to come. “You see, John? That’s how the kingdom comes.” That’s what he’s saying. And he says John’s not wearing soft clothing. They really did have this idea, like Aladdin in the movie: Genie makes him a prince, and it’s like, “Make way for Prince Ali!” They thought that was the Messiah. They thought that was the point: he comes in riding like a king. No, he came in on a donkey. He came in in a manger. He came in like a voice crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord.”
And so when you look at all of this, I’m reminded of Mother Teresa’s quote: “God did not call you to be successful, but to be faithful.” That’s what he wants John to remember. He already was successful. He prepared the way. But there was more to come, and all he had to do was be faithful.
VIII. The Least in the Kingdom 15:45
So Jesus continues:
9 “What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ 11 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.” Matt 11.9–11
Those are some strong words, Jesus. From Adam to John, no one was greater. And yet the least in the kingdom is greater. I think we read that and we’re like, “Okay, we get it. You liked the guy. Great.” I don’t know that we take it seriously. He’s saying, “Everyone in here, everyone who’s been baptized in the Spirit, you have more of a claim, more real greatness in you, than John the Baptist.” Why is that? That doesn’t make any sense.
Well, if you look in Hebrews (I didn’t pull this one up, but this is actually in the same passage that was talking about Abraham’s faith in the resurrection), it says, “All these,” that is, the Old Testament prophets and the patriarchs of the Old Testament, “though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised.” Just like John, right? “Since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect” (Heb 11.39–40). They never experienced the resurrection of Jesus in their life on earth. They never experienced the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost like the early church. They never experienced all those things.
That’s why James, in our passage in the New Testament, says, “As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord” (James 5.10). I didn’t take the time to do this, but I could make a list of all the ways the prophets died: in misery, completely discredited, tortured a lot of the time. That’s what he’s talking about. He’s like, “Hey, you’re feeling a little impatient. The world is turning too fast. Your kids are getting on your nerves. Your boss is demanding too much. Your budget doesn’t stretch as far as your expenses. All of these things: you’re feeling impatient.” James is like, “I’ve got the solution. Look to those who were tortured and killed for the sake of the gospel. Be patient like them.” Can you do that? Probably not. Thank God for the Holy Spirit. Thank God for Jesus’s life lived in us. Thank God that it’s not about your strength, but his.
IX. The God of the Universe in You 17:57
And so when you look at this and ask yourself, what did they not have? Why are we greater than John the Baptist? Because it’s Jesus living his life in us. They didn’t have the presence of Christ like we have. Yes, Christ is present to all, and he’s ever… God holds all things together. Absolutely. But they didn’t have the baptism, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, where he resides in you. God resided in the temple or the tabernacle, or he showed up, or he came to rest on people. But now he lives in you.
We’re so used to that. We’re like, “Yeah, we’ve been told since we were little kids: Jesus is in my heart. Jesus lives in my heart.” It’s like, no, the God of the universe is in you, living his life through you: the same God that raised Jesus from the dead, the same God who spoke and the world came into being. That God is in you. You may have heard some of these creepy New Age people who are like, “We are all God, and we’re all just manifesting our godness.” That is the cheap version of what we’re talking about. We’re saying that eternity, he who truly created all that is, is actually living through you and in you. That’s why Jesus goes, “Don’t you… aren’t you getting it? If you have the faith of a mustard seed, you could tell the mountain to move, and it would move” (Matt 17.20). If the God who spun the galaxies with his voice lives in you, what can’t you do?
Now, let’s remember again: it’s not about being Genie, who makes this big parade and has him parade down the… “He’s a real prince! He’s been magically made a prince!” No, it’s about going to the cross. That’s the type of power you have: the power to forgive even as you are tortured to death unfairly. That’s a power that turns the world upside down. That’s why it says Jesus was crucified before the foundations of the world (Rev 13.8). All of our world is built on that power, the serving, loving, outpouring power of God. And that’s what lives in you.
The other day I was at dinner, just at my house, normal dinner, probably a box of something or other from Costco. And I just looked up, and I looked at my kids, and I looked at Haley, and I was like, “Oh, look at what I have.” And it was a realization moment. I didn’t force it. It wasn’t some mystical thing. There weren’t angels. But at that moment I was like, “Oh, this is heaven. This is the kingdom. This is what I’ve been given.” And in that moment I realized that all of reality is built to reveal itself as the glory of God. And the process of Advent is preparing our hearts to see him in all his glory. Yes, to receive him, but it’s also a matter of waking up and being aware and looking around and realizing what you have, what you’ve been given in the person of Christ, the person of Christ in you.
X. Establish Your Hearts 21:49
That little bit of knowledge I got about the blessing of my children and my wife is nothing compared to the fact that the God of the universe is in me, and that I get to have fellowship with him for eternity. It really beggars description. It goes beyond our imagination. You can only live it out as best you can in your life, and realize more and more and more what you have.
And if you’re sitting there today and you’re thinking of all the ways that God has promised you things that you just don’t see, all of the things… you’re like, “Yeah, but I need my daily bread. I need this thing.” Or “I have this burning desire for this great mission or this purpose that God has put in me. And where is it?” Or you’re feeling the tragedy of the world. Advent is the day to look for the coming of the Lord in all of those ways: to renew our hope, to renew our expectation, to renew our faith. Both to realize that the God of the universe is in you, with you, living through you, and also to raise up our faith that in the end he shall come again, and all shall be made well. All those prophecies we read are about Jesus coming as a baby, Jesus coming on the cross, Jesus coming in his resurrection, and the end of all things, where he comes again in the heavenly city, Jerusalem.
And we look forward to the day when all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well. That’s what it means to cultivate a heart that has a way prepared for the Lord to come. Or, as we prayed earlier this season, “Hasten the coming of our Lord.” Did you know you have a chance to hasten Jesus’s coming? That’s an amazing thing. Not just his coming today, but his coming in all of eternity can be hastened by us participating with him in the coming of his kingdom. That’s why we pray every day, “Father, let your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6.10).
And so as we wrap up, and as we just run towards Christmas over the next eleven days (either way, it’ll be ten days soon; just ramp up that stress motor), in the midst of all of that, let’s remember what James also told us today. He wrote:
7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. James 5.7–8
Amen.