Jesus, Are You The One?
Powerful Passages
OKAY – this morning (10/3/2021) we are going to unpack another powerful passage from the Living and Active, sharper than a double edge sword, able to equip us for every good work… Word of God.
The passage is Matthew 3:1-11
The conversation is called, ‘Jesus, Are You The One’
OKAY – let’s do this…
HERE ARE – the first three verses of the powerful passage that we are going to dive into this morning.
After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee. When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"
- Matthew 11:1-3
Prayer
QUESTION…
• Have you ever been disappointed?
• Have you ever been confused?
• Have you ever been discouraged? Disillusioned?
• Have you ever pulled out the calculator of your life… started punching in numbers and found out that things were not even close to adding up?
• Do you ever have doubts… about - your choices, your decisions, about your life?
• Do you ever have questions about God?
Like… why does He move and act so powerfully in some lives and in other lives ‘seem’ to be detached and indifferent.
• Have you ever had thoughts like these…
LORD, I don’t get it… I don’t understand, this is not at all what I expected, do you see, do you care…
are you the one?”
B/S – if you answered yes to any of these questions you are not the first and you are not alone… there is a room full of us. AMEN?! When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"
OKAY – let’s do this.
MGCC - I want to share with you 4 things that this encounter that John the Baptist had with Jesus 2000 years ago, reveals about FAITH… and about those times when we are not so sure or certain anymore… FIRST - it reveals that;
Everyone At Times Will Have Doubts
NOW – I don’t know about you…
BUT IF I – were asked to pick someone who would question whether or not Jesus was the Messiah - John the Baptist would probably be the last person I would choose…
AFTER ALL - they were family, cousins, they grew up together… I MEAN - when John was still in his mother womb (6 months after conception), he knew who Jesus was…
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb,
QUESTION - who leaped in the womb?
• Fetal tissue
• The products of conception
• A woman’s choice
the baby leaped in her womb,
‘Brephos’ –
• Luke 2:16 – “So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger”
• Luke 18:15 – “People were also bringing babies to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them”
• Acts 7:19 – “He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.”
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. – Luke 1:41-44
BUT NOW - 30 years later John was starting to have some major doubts. Why? What’s going on?
Let’s see if we can figure this thing out…
NOW – at the age of 30 John began thundering in the Judean desert… Huge crowds, a great multitudes came out to see this wild man who wore clothes made of camel’s skin (not the height of fashion even in Jesus day)
and who ate nothing but locust and wild honey
(I think the wild honey was to help get the locust down).
John’s message was that the kingdom of God was at hand that the Messiah was here and that they best get ready….
AND GUYS – let there be no doubt about it John was one bold dude… I MEAN – when the religious leaders and Pharisees came out to the desert to checkout what all the commotion was about John look at them and said;
“You brood of vipers!
(AND – in case you are wondering the term brood of vipers is not a term of endearment…)
Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” -Mt 3:7,8
NO – you wouldn’t expect John, the camel skin wearing, locust eating, truth proclaiming, Pharisee slamming, coming of the LORD preparing man to question, to doubt, whether or not Jesus was the one…
I MEAN – John seemed pretty sure of who Jesus was when He came to the Jordan River to be baptized…
‘Look, He is the one I told you about… The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the World.’
AND – don’t forget that John was there when the heavens ripped open and the voice of the Father thunder…
"This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
FOR - 30 years starting in the womb John boldly cried out to Jesus; “you are the one!” AND NOW – he is not so sure… AGAIN - why? What’s going on?
UNDERSTAND – a lot has happened to John in the last year or so… REMEMBER – I said that John was bold, that he held back no punches… WELL – his boldness got him into some deep trouble…
YOU SEE - one day John was preaching a message on marriage and divorce, and King Herod came up in the sermon. AND JOHN – basically told the people that King Herod stealing His brother Philip’s wife and sleeping with her while he was married to another women was wrong and sinful…
WELL - the next day, reporters from ‘The Jerusalem Progress’ streamed out into the desert asking John if his statement condemning the marriage of Herod were true.
NOW JOHN - being unskilled in the politics of spin said. “yeah that’s what I said, King Herod is an adulterer and a sinner… and that’s John spelled J-O-H-N..
THE – headline the next day read, “Wild Preacher From The Desert Takes On King Herod”
SO HEROD - had John arrested and thrown into a prison located in a 2400- foot mountain fortress on the north eastern shore of the dead sea.
AND NOW JOHN - the man who had lived his entire life in the open air of the wilderness, is confined to a small, damp prison cell… with barely even a ray of light streaming from the lone narrow window above him.
AND – before John knew it the hours turn into days…
The days turn into weeks… the weeks turn into months… the months into a year…
AND - John begins to wonder, “why hasn’t my cousin Jesus done anything to get me out of here. I’ve always been there for Him. I MEAN - isn’t the Messiah supposed to free those who are being held captive?
(who could be a better candidate then me)…
LIKE - How can the Kingdom of God be here, while I’m rotting in this smelly, dirty prison cell?
Where’s Jesus? Doesn’t He know I need His help?
Doesn’t He care? None of this makes sense, UNLESS
I was wrong about Him, and Jesus isn’t the Messiah after all?”
UNDERSTAND – whenever you go through a period in your life like this… YOU KNOW – those hard, difficult, painful times, where God seems to be nowhere to be found.
YOU - may begin to have doubts…ON – the flap of James Dobson’s book; ‘When God Doesn’t Make Sense,’ are these words;
When we are young and health is good and we have not yet encountered disease, disappointment, and sorrow, it is easy to believe that life will always be rather carefree and happy. But every person who lives long enough will eventually experience difficulties that are not easy to understand. At those times the pieces simply will not fit, and God just doesn’t make sense…
QUESTION - have you ever been there?
HAVE YOU - ever tried to arrange the pieces of life that have been handed to you and no matter how hard you try… nothing really seems to fit… nothing adds up, nothing makes sense… and God seems to be somewhere else.
I MEAN – you thought following Jesus would:
• FIX – your marriage, your kids, your finances
• HEAL – your sickness or the sickness of a loved one
• MEAN – that you would become part of a community, part of a family where no one would…
betray you, slander you and that everyone would love, help and encourage you.
OKAY MGCC – here’s the deal, here is what I am trying to say…. THAT THIS - encounter that John has with Jesus in Matthew 11:3 reveals first of all that even godly people at times will have doubts…
QUESTION – is that where you are this morning?
IN – a dark, damp prison… northeast of the Dead Sea? Staring at what little light is coming through the narrow window, WONDERING…
• “Jesus, are you the One Jesus?”
• “Is this following you, for real?”
• “Is this how it is always going to be”
• “Jesus, where are you, do you even care?”
SECOND – this encounter that John the Baptist, reveals that…
When Doubting Go To Jesus
QUESTION - where do you go for answers?
LIKE WHERE – do you seek comfort from your problems and pain?
WHERE – do you turn when you are in your own Matthew 11:3…
MGCC WHERE – do you go when your faith, is not so sure and certain anymore?
UNDERSTAND – John the Baptist did not sit and sulk.
AND – he didn’t have philosophical debates with other prisoners… INSTEAD – he went straight to Jesus…
When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"
AGAIN - let me be as straight with you as I can be…
WHEN – you are in a Matthew 11:3 there is ONLY one place, you can go to have those doubts… to Jesus.
Don’t sit… Don’t sulk. Don’t get into philosophical debates with other prisoners… Go to Jesus. Go to His word!
NOW - I want to read some words that a guy wrote over 4,000 years ago. A guy who is probably the patron saint of Matthew 11:3’s… I MEAN – talk about things not adding up… UNDERSTAND - this guy… he loved God, he served God, and he did it very well.
IN FACT – he did it all so well, that God was often found bragging on him in heaven… BUT THEN – God allows his kids, his wealth, his health, He allows it all to go way.
BUT MGCC – here’s the deal…
UNDERSTAND – in his pain and confusion Job went to God… YEAH SURE - sometimes he questioned God…
(and by the way God is okay with and can handle it when we do that)
BUT CHECK OUT – some of what Job was able to write (and share with us) because when doubts came flooding in, attempting to Shipwreck his faith… he went to God.
OKAY – so, Job receives the news that his kids have been killed…
Job got to his feet, ripped his robe, shaved his head, then fell to the ground and worshiped:
Say what? No that’s not a typo… Job’s entire world is falling a part… and he worships… that’s sooo awesome!
Naked I came from my mother's womb, naked I'll return to the womb of the earth. GOD gives, GOD takes. God's name be ever blessed. – Job 1:20,21
And later, in the midst of the pain, loss and heartache Job writes;
I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! - Job 19:25-27
AGAIN – there is only one place to go to have our doubts answered… to Jesus and His Word.
The 3rd thing that this encounter reveals is that;
Our Doubts Usually Spring From Wrong Expectations…
UNDERSTAND – unrealistic expectations of your spouse, of your kids, of your parents, of your job, of your church, of your ministry, of your pastor, of your church members
AND – of your God is a sure path to trouble, confusion and disappointment
John asks Jesus are you the one, and here is how Jesus responds to Him…
Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
– Matthew 11:4-6
NOW - at first glance it seems like Jesus is trying to inspire John. YOU KNOW – something like; “Don’t sweat it cuz… I’ve got everything under control. I am doing everything you would expect a Messiah to do…”
AND – you’d have to admit Jesus did have a pretty impressive resume. The blind seeing, the lame walking, people with leprosy being healed, deaf ears opening, the dead being raised. AND – to top it all off the good news is being preached to the poor.
LIKE - how do you argue with that?
I MEAM - you’d expect John to hear that; become overwhelmed with joy, come back to his senses and wonder how in the world he ever doubted Jesus to begin with…
BUT LISTEN – the problem is John already knew all about that stuff… REMEMBER – the words from Matthew 11:2; “when John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him…Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"
APPARENTLY – the amazing & inspiring work of Jesus didn’t eliminate John’s doubts… INSTEAD - they fueled them… QUESTION – why would Jesus doing so many good things jeopardize John’s faith?
AND WHY – was Jesus almost expecting them to cause John to doubt? AND – He did,
I MEAN – look at what Jesus says right after giving that powerful summary of all the stuff that He was doing, “Blessed is the one who does not fall away on account of me…”
NOW - the Greek word that is translated “does not fall away” is the word (scandalizo) it’s where we get our English word ‘scandal’… AND – it refers to the part of a trap that the bait was attached too.
QUESTION – why would Jesus say that? Why would Jesus think that the awesome and miraculous stuff He was doing might become a trap that causes John to fall away?
I MEAN – I can’t imagine someone walking up to me and saying… “Steve if one more blind person gets their sight back – I don’t think my faith will be able to take it… and if one more crippled person gets up and walks or one more poor person hears the good news and receives Christ, If one more marriage and family is put back together again…
I want you to know that I am out of here…”
NO – great waves of miracles don’t usually result in someone cashing in their faith…
"Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
QUESTION – do you see what Jesus is saying here?
HE – is telling John, “I love you cuz, I really do… but I am not going to get you out of prison…
IN FACT – when I heard you were arrested, I not only didn’t come but I left Judea and went to Galilee.
YES – I know I’m doing amazing things for so many other people…
BUT – I have chosen a different path for you…John don’t get caught in the trap of your wrong expectations.”
UNDERSTAND – when John’s expectations hit reality he found himself in a Matthew 11:3… BUT – in this reality John went to only place he knew to go, to Jesus.
AND MGCC – that’s what you and I need to do, whenever we are in our own Matthew 11:3…
AND – here’s the deal…
When we do that, our expectations will get adjusted.
NOW BASICALLY – there are 3 adjustments that Jesus makes to our expectations…
Adjustment #1 – Jesus reminds us of how things are in this broken world
Jesus is walking to the garden with his guys…
I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.
– John 16:33
For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.
– Philippians 1:29
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. - 1 Peter 4:12,13
• In this world we will have what?
• We have been given the privilege of what?
• What should we not be surprised about?
Adjustment #2 – Jesus reminds us that God has a different plan for each of us…
SOME - get the Peter plan.
OTHERS - get the John (the apostle John) plan.
WE – find both of these plans in John 21…
The truth is, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked and go wherever you wanted to. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will direct you and take you where you don't want to go." Jesus said this to let him know what kind of death he would die to glorify God.
Then Jesus told him, "Follow me." Peter turned around and saw the disciple Jesus loved following them--the one who had leaned over to Jesus during supper and asked, "Lord, who among us will betray you?" Peter asked Jesus, "What about him, Lord?" Jesus replied, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You follow me."
- John 21:18-22
Erwin McManus writes the following in the barbarian way (page 36,37)
YES – faith IS risky business…
ASK – Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Ruth, Esther, Paul and John the Baptist…
YEAH – it looks to me like they all got the ‘Peter Plan.’
NOW – for Adjustment #3 –
AND - get ready church… because I think you’re really going to like this one.
MAN – I pray that you hear His voice this day.
Jesus reminds us of what ‘we can’ expect when we follow after Him
We can expect…
• A peace beyond understanding
• That His power is made perfect in weakness
• Contentment in EVERY situation whether well fed or hungry, living in need or in want.
• A purpose behind our hardships… to be made mature, complete not lacking in anything
• A reason for living that goes far beyond our small and finite story
• Christ to be with us always even to the end of the age.
• The comfort of God when we hurt
• Forgiveness and restoration every time we sin and fall short
• That in all things, we will be more than conquerors
• A high priest who is able to sympathize with our weakness
• A hope that is living and an inheritance that can NEVER fade, spoil or pass away…
• That our present suffering is not worth comparing with the glory that one day will be revealed in us.
• That one day the trumpet will sound and the Lord will come… AND WHEN – he comes he will: wipe every tear from our eyes and take us home to a world without; sorrow, defeat, disappointment, death, disease, crying, pain… to a world where we will see Him face to face…. To a world that will EXCEED our every expectation!!!
OKAY - here’s a way to minimize the impact of Matthew 11:3’s in our lives
We need to lower our expectations about life here and raise them about life there!
Doubts Do Not Negate Who We Are
NOW – I love what Jesus does right after John’s disciples head back to give John the message from Jesus.
YOU SEE – Jesus knows that some of the people who were there were starting to think that John blew it, that he failed, that his doubts made him a loser…
BUT JESUS – quickly and powerfully blows any such thoughts out of the water…
As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind?
If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written:
“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. – Matthew 11:7-11
QUESTION - why did Jesus wait until John Disciples left to say all of that awesome stuff about John?
I MEAN - Jesus doesn’t say anything about John, He only talks about Himself…
LIKE – he does not say, “be sure to tell John what a great job he is doing… THAT – he is knocking it out of the park.”
NO – he waits until John’s Disciples leave and then He begins to talk about John, behind his back.
AND – not the usual way people talk behind someone’s back. YOU SEE – usually when people talk behind someone’s back… it is negative, critical and judgmental stuff… and the reason people talk behind your back is because they don’t have the guts or Christ-like maturity to talk to you face to face.
BUT JESUS - does not roll that way.
I MEAN - He had no problem telling people how it is, right to their faces. Whether it was some tough words… “You hypocrites. You whitewashed tombs!” OR – whether it was words of affirmation… like to the centurion who ask Jesus to heal his servant, “I have not found so great a faith in all of Israel…”
YOU KNOW – as I read this text and Jesus’ powerful affirmation about John… I’m like, why didn’t Jesus say this before his disciples left, tell John…
• That He is more than a prophet
• That among those born of women there is none greater than Him
I MEAN – those would have been some great words of encouragement to hear as he sat alone in prison.
AGAIN – why does Jesus wait until the messengers were gone before he said all of the good stuff about John behind his back.
NOW – we do not know for sure,
BUT - I think it was because Jesus wanted John to put his faith and confidence in HIM…
• In who He was (the Messiah)
• And in what He was doing
Rather than putting His faith in confidence in Himself, in what He has done, or in his circumstances.
“Tell John… the lame walk, the blind see and the good news is preached to the poor.” AND THEN – Jesus turns the crowd and says, “Hey, now that they’re gone let me tell you something about John, he’s my boy!”
I love it…
YOU KNOW – I am convinced that there are times when God turns to the angels and says, “let me tell you about my child down there..”
LISTEN – we have a much too limited view of what God sees in our lives.
I MEAN – don’t you think that every once and in awhile God jumps up and slaps the angels a high five and says,
“Did you see that, Did you see the way…”
• She/He forgave that offense
• They responded to that need
• They got back up after getting knocked down
UNDERSTAND
God sees stuff in our life that we may never see,
OKAY – so here is what I want to do as we wrap up this conversation and take it home.
I WANT – to talk about 3 things that Jesus wants to affirm in your life today… In whose life?
3 THINGS – that Jesus may be saying behind your back.
AND LISTEN – everyone in this room who is living FAITHFULLY for Jesus the best that you know how, I want these words to get into your heart this morning…
Write them down.
Put them on your fb wall.
Tweet them to all of your dysfunctional friends.
SO - are you ready?
Are you ready to receive from your God this morning?
Affirmation #1
You Are Doing Better Than You Think You Are!
UNDERSTAND MGCC – I have zero doubt whatsoever, that sent me hear came this morning to tell somebody that Jesus has been talking about you behind your back… and what he has been saying is that ‘you are doing better than you think you are!”
UNDERSTAND – John couldn’t see all the miracles that he had participated in by preparing the way for the Lord. In verse 10 Jesus says that it was John who got this whole thing going, by preparing the way.
YOU KNOW – I just wonder if God may want to say to someone today who feels like a failure. Who feels like…
• They always come up short
• They always have to loose 20-25 pounds
• They never pray enough
• They never read the bible enough
YEAH JUST MAYBE – God wants to take that burden off your back and tell you this morning…
You’re doing better than you think you are!
UNDERSTAND
OUR GOD - does not work through condemnation, that’s the way the enemy works…
NOW – I know what some of you are thinking… If we tell people they are doing better than they think they are… we are giving them a license to slack off…
BUT LISTEN – God’s affirmation IS NOT a license to slack off! INSTEAD – it’s a charge to keep going! Keep doing! You’re doing better than you think you are!
BUT – I’m not where you’re want to be (maybe not)…
BUT – you’re not where you were
You’re doing better than you think you are…
AND – do you want to know how I know that you are doing better… You’re here in this room this morning or watching with us right now online!
I MEAN – somebody else is…
• washing their car, sleeping in,
• catching up on laundry
BUT – you’re here
YEAH – I get it, I get it, it’s hard to accept this truth sometimes.
MAN – I pray we are all hearing His voice this morning….
BECAUSE - today Jesus is saying to us…
“I know that you are not where and who you should be, but you are doing better than you think you are…”
FIND – three people, look them in the eye or fist pump them and tell them…
“you’re doing better than you think you are!”
Affirmation #2
You Matter More Than You Think You Do
“FATHER – please help someone who needs this affirmation to really believe that today, who thinks that their life doesn’t matter all that much…”
You matter more than you think you do…
Who you are and what you are doing for Him, matter more than you think it does.
I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John… - Matthew 11:11
AND THEN – Jesus goes on to compare John the Baptist to Elijah… UNDERSTAND – John not at the time sitting in a prison cell felt that his life mattered
BUT – it did. I MEAN – he had no idea that 2000 years later
A bunch of people would be talking about him in this building in Charlottesville, Va.
MGCC… YOU – matter more than you think you do
Who ‘you are’ matters more than you think…
How can I be so sure,
• because of the price God was willing to pay for you!
• because of how God feels about you… (according to what Jesus prayed in John 17) God loves you the samw way he loved Jesus.
What ‘you do’ matters more than you think…
(AGAIN - John made not have felt sitting in the his life matter all that much)… but he had no idea of the difference he was still making.
IN LIKE MANNER – you have no idea the difference you have and are making…
AND B/S - this is both an encouragement and a challenge…
AND – If you think… It doesn’t matter
• If you are there for your kids, because they don’t seem to be listening anyway, or
• If you stand up for Christ at work or at school or in our community – because no one seems to notices anyway
No, no, no, no
It matters a lot more than you think it does… because there is a lot more going on then you think there is.
YOU KNOW – I think it is pretty cool that John asks, ‘Are you the one,” and as soon as John’s disciples leave says about John ‘This is the one.’
John you matter more than you think you do.
MGCC – you matter more than you think you do
What you do matters more than you think it does
UNDERSTAND – you have no idea, how that one smile, that one word of encouragement, on that one day – may have changed and may have saved someone’s life!
We just don’t know what we don’t know…
AND LISTEN – during those times when you are at the end of yourself, and you wonder…
Does anybody notice? Do I matter?
Am I making a difference? Does anybody see?
Does anyone know? GOD SAYS…
• Oh you better believe I notice
• You should hear what I am saying behind your back
• You should see the ways I have been using you that you have no clue about
• You should see the generations and lives being impacted because of your obedience.
AND LISTEN – one day Jesus will say the following (not behind your back) BUT INSTEAD, he will say it to your face Well done - It mattered….I see you - I appreciate you
It counted – you counted
I’m so glad you didn’t quit.
I was using you when you felt useless
I was working through you when you felt all used up
MGCC
You matter more to God than you think you do!
QUESTION – did anybody receive that today!
Okay, I want to close with this thought…
And you could argue that it is the most important part of all… BECAUSE – without it we could pervert and twist all that God is saying to us today…
It’s Less About You Than You Think It Is!
What a minute Steve... I thought you just said
I matter more than I think I do.
And now you’re telling me… It’s less about me than I think it is… Yes
Well which is it… Both…
UNDERSTAND - you matter more than you think you do…
WHEN - you realize that it’s not about you, to begin with!
John the batiste certainly understood and lived this out
HE > I <
Go tell John that - the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the dead are raised
And also tell John that - blessed is the one who does not fall away on account of me
In other words blessed is the one who truly believes that it is not about them and therefore they do not fall away when things do not turn out for them as they had hoped.
You’re doing better than you think you are
You matter more than you think you do
It’s less about you than you think it is
