Matthew 11:1-6: “John The Baptist Sends His Disciples To See
If Jesus Really Is The Christ”
by
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In this next section we will begin to take a look at
the man John the Baptist, or as Jon Courson refers to him, ‘J The B’
1.1.1.
In this first study we will look at him as a good and
righteous man, really the best that ever lived during the Old Testament times,
yet a man who at a certain juncture in his life had real and honest doubts
about who Jesus was
1.1.1.1.Having
served the Lord faithfully for all of his life, and then during the couple
years of his ministry of proclaiming the need to repent and to be ready for the
coming of the Lord and His Kingdom, John had then found himself in prison for
condemning Herod Antipas for his adulterous relationship with Herodias, and it
was here in the isolation of months of time in a prison that he began to have
doubts about whether or not Jesus truly was the Messiah
1.1.1.2.He serves as
an encouragement for us today since most good people experience doubts in
certain times of their life
1.1.1.3.He also serves
as an example to us because when he had doubts he took them to the Lord
2.
VS 11:1 - “11:1 And it came about
that when Jesus had finished giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He
departed from there to teach and preach in their cities.” - Jesus departed from teaching His 12 disciples
and went to teach and preach in the synagogues of
2.1.
Jesus not only sought to instruct His disciples when the opportunity
presented itself, He also sought opportunities to preach the gospel of His
coming Kingdom to the common people
3.
VS 11:2-6 - “2 Now when John in
prison heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples, 3 and said
to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” 4 And Jesus
answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 the
blind receive sight and the lame walk,
the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the
poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 “And blessed is he who keeps from
stumbling over
3.1.
The question that we have here regarding these verses is whether or not
John the Baptist is really having serious doubt about whether or not Jesus was
the Messiah? Was he wondering if he had
been reading things wrong all along?
3.1.1.
There are those who teach that John was such a great man of faith that he
couldn’t have been having serious doubts at this time, therefore he sent his
disciples with this question to Jesus for their sake, not his
3.1.2.
I personally believe that John was having honest doubts about Jesus
3.1.2.1.John surely had never really
understood many of the concepts of Jesus’ first coming, for he like everyone else
had probably thought that Jesus would soon come to power and conquer the
nations as
3.1.2.1.1.Jesus’ first coming was to
be the suffering Messiah to die on the cross for the sins of the world, yet had
John really come to understand this and all its implications? Probably not.
3.1.2.2.John, the wandering free
spirit who had lived his life out among nature had been sitting as a captive in
a dinjy horrible prison now for many months, and this prolonged suffering
caused John to have his faith tested
3.1.2.3.There is a poem called, ‘How
Often’, that deals with Christians and our doubting:
How often we trust each other
And only doubt our Lord.
We take the word of mortals,
And yet distrust His word;
But, oh, what light and glory
Would shine o’er our days,
If we always would remember
God means just what He says
3.1.2.4.Another poem from the Gospel
Banner called ‘Faith And Doubt’ is as follows:
Doubt sees the obstacles,
Faith sees the way!
Doubt sees the darkest night,
Faith sees the day!
Doubt dreads to take a step.
Faith soars on high!
Doubt questions, ‘Who believes?’
Faith answers, ‘I!’
3.1.2.5.Someone once said, “If
you tell a man that there are 581, 678, 934, 341 stars in the universe, he’ll
believe you. But if a sign says, ‘Fresh
Paint’, he has to make a personal investigation”
3.1.2.6.All good people sometimes go
through periods of doubt and unbelief, even the great and famous Old Testament
prophets such as Elijah who courageously slayed 450 prophets of Baal only to
flee for his life from Jezebel and then immersed in depression and fear before
the Lord wish that God would take his life (see 1 Kings 19:1-8)
3.1.2.6.1.In those dark times in our
lives we can sometimes begin to think that we are all alone and no one can
relate to us, as Elijah did (1 Kings 19:14) before the Lord reminded him that
there were 7,000 others in Israel who had not bended the knee to Baal
3.1.2.7.It is OK to have doubts as
long as you take your doubts to the Lord as John the Baptist did here
3.1.2.7.1.God can handle our honest
doubts, and throughout the scriptures we see that He never chides the person
who comes to Him with honest doubts
3.2.
Jesus didn’t give a flowering argument in defense of his Messiahship when
John’s disciples came to Him with this question, instead he just tells them to
report to John the works that He was doing, works prophesied that the Messiah
would perform
3.2.1.
Jesus quotes from Isaiah 35:5-7 in describing the works that He was
performing in healing the deaf and lame, and as we read from verse 1 of that
chapter we see that the context of the verses is Messianic for it deals with
the end times and the restoration of the earth, “35:1 The wilderness and the
desert will be glad, And the Arabah will rejoice and blossom; Like the crocus 2 It will blossom profusely
And rejoice with rejoicing and shout of joy.
The glory of
3.2.2.
Jesus also quotes from Isaiah 61:1-3 verses which deal with the Messiah
when He comes preaching the gospel to the poor and healing the hurting and less
fortunate, and as we read the verses from chapter 60 leading up to that verse
we see that it too is Messianic in its context, “60:1 “Arise, shine; for
your light has come, And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. 2 “For behold, darkness will cover the
earth, And deep darkness the peoples;
But the Lord will rise upon you, And His glory will appear upon you. 3 “And nations will come to your light, And
kings to the brightness of your rising.
4 “Lift up your eyes round about, and see; They all gather together,
they come to you. Your sons will come
from afar, And your daughters will be carried in the arms. 5 “Then you will see and be radiant, And
your heart will thrill and rejoice;
Because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you, The wealth of
the nations will come to you…13 “The glory of Lebanon will come to you, The
juniper, the box tree, and the cypress together, To beautify the place of My
sanctuary; And I shall make the place of
My feet glorious. 14 “And the sons of
those who afflicted you will come bowing to you, And all those who despised you
will bow themselves at the soles of your feet;
And they will call you the city of the Lord, The
3.2.2.1.It is so sad that the
religious leaders in Jesus’ day for the most part had no appreciation for the
work of the Messiah in reaching out to all those who were hurting and in need,
and thus they rejected Jesus as their Messiah
3.2.3.
3.2.3.1.In Isaiah 814-15, which is
quoted in these verses in Matthew, it was prophesied of the Messiah that He
would be a stumbling block for the people and that many people would stumble
over Him, “ 14 “Then He shall become a sanctuary; But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to
strike and a rock to stumble over, And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants
of Jerusalem. 15 “And many will stumble
over them, Then they will fall and be broken;
They will even be snared and caught.””
3.2.3.2.In Psalm 118:22 the Psalmist
reveals that this stone which the builders rejected is to be the ‘chief corner
stone’, “22 The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief
corner stone”
3.2.3.2.1.“Jesus Christ is God revelation to man”, and thus He is the chief
corner stone
3.2.3.2.1.1.From cover to cover, the
Bible contains the revelation of Jesus Christ, and when people understand the
revelation of Jesus Christ whom scripture calls ‘the exact representation of
His nature’ (Heb. 1:3), there is no longer any need for a further revelation
from God, and thus those in the cults, etc. who believe that there is a
continual revelation from God haven’t yet understood the revelation of Jesus
Christ
3.2.3.3.Isaiah 28:16 speaks of
Christ as being this corner stone and ‘a costly stone’, “16 Therefore thus
says the Lord God, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly
cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed.
He who believes in it will not be disturbed.”