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11:1-19
John sends a message to Jesus
The 12 chosen men, disciples hand-picked by Jesus, were sent on their
mission, to search out the lost sheep of the scattered Israelite tribes. Now
that this phase of Jesus' plans was underway, he went by himself to the towns
and villages where most of his disciples normally lived, teaching and preaching
as he went.
John was in prison at this time, thrown there by the cruel, suspicious
Herod, who hated talk of a soon-coming king - a rival to his power over Judea.
It had been a bitter blow to John - being arrested and imprisoned, right at the
moment when he thought Jesus would take the throne over Israel. Everything had
been going so well! The crowds had coming to the water to repent and prepare
themselves . . . the message had gone out to the Jews . . . then Jesus had come
walking down to the water . . . the vision of the dove had appeared in the sky .
. . the voice had spoken . . . and the King had been identified. John thought
all would go well from then on . . . but Jesus
made no move to take any throne . . . John was feeling defeated. Lonely, and
sad, he sat in his dark cell and wondered what had gone wrong?
Some of his friends told him about Jesus. "He is doing many
miracles" they said, "And going about preaching, and teaching!"
"Yes but is he the Messiah?" asked John.
"Why don't you ask him?"
John decided to do just that. He sent two of his own men straight to
Jesus with a flat question. "Might as well get a 'yes' or a 'no'"
thought John, "Its better than sitting here wondering about it all the
time."
So the two men made their way to Jesus and waited for an appropriate
moment. When they had Jesus' ear they said : "John wants to know if you are
the Messiah or not, or is he still to come?"
Jesus decided to give them the best answer possible. He quoted from the
Old Testament predictions which described what the Messiah would do when he
came. (It would have been insufficient to simply say "Yes" because it
might have been a lie - but no-one could deny the miracles.)
"Tell John this is what I am doing : I am giving sight to the blind
(Isaiah 35:5), I am enabling the lame to walk (Isaiah 35:6), I am cleansing
lepers (Isaiah 53:4), I am giving hearing to the deaf (Isaiah 35:5), I am also
raising the dead, and I am preaching the gospel to the poor (Isaiah 61:6). These
are my credentials, so you decided for yourself if I am the Messiah or not.
"And by the way, tell John not to be sad because I don't live up to
his expectations."
The two men thanked Jesus and started back to the prison with the
message, and as they walked away, Jesus turned
to the people around him, who had been listening in : "Let me tell you
something about John.
"Some of you may have preferred John to be flexible and weak, and
agreeable to every opinion and wind of change, but he wasn't. John was strong,
like a massive tree, with a heart of iron. Nothing could shake him from his love
for God!
"Others of you might have liked a John in fancy silk clothes, and a
flash house, and plenty of money, but he wasn't like that either. No, John was
humble, and simple in his tastes. He didn't go chasing after fame and fortune,
and he didn't care that he had almost none of the material blessings which most
of you enjoy. John lived a simple life, totally devoted to the work God had
given him to do.
"Most of you went out to see a prophet, and that was what John was.
A prophet with a very special ministry. He was my own personal prophet, coming
just before me, and preparing the way for my arrival. That makes him the most
distinguished prophet of all.
"If you read Malachi 3:1 you will hear Jehovah speaking. There He
says "Look! I am sending My own personal Messenger, who will work just
before the Messiah arrives!" That messenger was John - a man with a
tremendous privilege.
"John was without a doubt, a citizen of the kingdom, yet he only
just made it in, because he was there at its inception, announcing its coming.
If you are a citizen, you will be in a more blessed position than him, because
you will be able to live in the kingdom for many years.
"But since John started to announce the coming of the Messiah and
King, many people have been trying to pull the whole plan down. Pharisees,
scribes, Sadducees, Romans, sceptics, cults and many false religions have all
used different forms of violence against the kingdom plan, but I have good news
- there are also a lot of people who are using another kind of violence to get
into the kingdom! These people are pressing against the walls, and thumping at
the gates, pleading with God for forgiveness and cleansing from sin!
"So you see, right up till John, the setting up of the kingdom was
just a predicted event. All the prophets, including John, spoke of a day when
God would send His King, and now He has. Your King has come!
"Malachi also predicted that Elijah would come just before the
Messiah (Mal.4:5,6), and although the literal Elijah did not come before me, the
spiritual one did, because John came in the spirit and power of Elijah, calling
people to repentance just as Elijah would have done. (John 1:21, Luke 1:17).
"Please listen carefully to what I am saying! If you lose your
concentration you will miss the significance of these events."
"But I see that hardly any of you want to understand these things.
You are like children, who want to play games rather than think seriously.
Everything John did was in line with God's Word, but you are more interested in
finding fault with him. You want to play weddings and funerals! If John had come
in rags, you would have said he was demon-possessed. If he had come
well-dressed, you would have called him a boozer. Nothing he did or said would
have pleased you, because you were infantile and picky. All you were doing was
finding some weak, pathetic excuse for not believing him, because you didn't
want to repent.
"And now I have come and you give me the same treatment. I eat
normally and with self-control and you call me a glutton. I mix with the people
who need God most, and you say I am a low-life and a boozer. I cannot do
anything right!
"But why should I worry. You'll get what you deserve. If you want to
be fools, you'll be treated like a fool, and cast out of the kingdom you so
despised."
11:20-24
Cities which failed to repent
Jesus knew his mission to restore the kingdom, with the Jewish nation as
its nucleus, had failed. He had done his utmost to convince these people, but by
and large, they had wanted only free food and healing. Just as the Israelites of
old had treated Moses with contempt and indifference, so these descendants of
the same people were giving Jesus the same treatment.
Jesus therefore warned the Jews of their precarious position. He picked
Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum as examples and spelled out their legal
position in God's sight.
"You have seen many mighty works of power!" he said, "I
have proved myself to you repeatedly, yet you have failed to repent. If I had
gone to Sodom and done these same miracles, those people would have repented
long ago! Do you understand? You are more wicked than those disgusting cities!
You have sunk lower than Tyre and Sidon! There is nothing anyone can do for you
now . . . you've had your chance! Only judgement can follow now!"
It is interesting to note that there were four prominent cities in
Galilee : Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum and Tiberias. Of these four, only the
three named by Jesus have been obliterated. (The site of Capernaum is still
uncertain.) Tiberias is still there.
11:25-30
Service, rest and purpose in
Jesus
Jesus could have, at this point, collapsed in a fit of depression. His
entire ministry lay in tatters behind him. Everywhere he went he was
misunderstood, mocked, and hated. Every city he had worked in had generally
refused his call . . . but he encouraged himself in what he knew of his Father.
"I thank you, Father, that you are Lord of heaven and earth. You are
Sovereign over all things. You are in control
- despite how things look. I know that nothing can frustrate your
purposes.
"The people who considered themselves to be wise have failed to
understand my message. For all their brains and education they have got it all
wrong, but the poor, and the uneducated, and the humble are taking it in. The
fact that the intelligentsia have missed the point saddens me, but I know that
this is because of their failure, not mine. They were given every opportunity.
"I accept this, Father, because I believe it is all part of your
plan.
"I know the fault does not lie with me, because I am the Son of God.
I have perfect communion with you, Father, and I have all the power and
authority I need.
"I also know that anyone can have fellowship with you Father, if
they come the right way. They must be humble, and open to instruction.
"If anyone accepts my terms, and comes to me the way I prescribe, I
can give them : relief from daily
stress, a direction in life, a reason for living, peace of mind, a new, gentle
attitude, fellowship with God, spiritual understanding and humility."