Matthew 11:1-19: “When Life Doesn’t Work out as You Thought”

January 13, 2008

 

It seems we have an unusually large number of physically hurting people right now. Many are sick in bed with the flu, sinus infections, or a cold of one kind or another.  Some are laid up with a bad back. Others are either recovering from surgery or facing surgery. Still others have an illness of the type that may require treatment or care of one kind or another for the rest of their lives. 

As a pastor with my people, people who have gone through “battles won” where health is regained and lives are victoriously changed for Heaven’s sake and also through lengthy illnesses that eventually end in death, victorious or otherwise, for over 30 years, I have a perspective on life few of you have. I have had the unique privilege of sitting by many beds and engaging in very intimate conversations about very personal matters. Quiet calls in the night and frantic calls from the emergency rooms are a sacred trust. Sitting with many of you across a dinner table, in my office, or in your living rooms are privileges I cherish. I will always be indebted to a special group of World War II veterans here at First Church who first faced death in the battlefields of Europe or the Pacific and then shared their final struggle with death under my time here with them.  I cannot forget Bud Emerson’s account of D-Day or the way he loved his wife after she lost the ability to communicate in a rational way. Private conversations shared with Bob Henry, Bob Hardy, and Hoppie Cowie have changed my views of work, marriage, and manhood. And now, we may have a few more. Although I don’t think he was a veteran, the strong desire of Claude Cunningham to get his driver’s license back contrasted with his acceptance of the doctor’s orders is a battle written in my heart.

The point from which almost every one of these heavy conversations began is, “Somehow, I never pictured my life turning out this way.”  Somewhere between the glorious strength of our youth and the days of fading eye sight, lagging energy, and memory loss, each of us has a conversation with ourselves, then maybe with a few close friends or family members, and then, ultimately, with God.  At the heart of that conversation is the word “trust.”  It usually begins with a thought similar to “God, are you sure you know what you are doing?  Is this really what you want me to do or to go through?” but from there it goes a whole lot of places. In that hour, in that place, each of us has the same need: we need to find where Jesus is in all of this.

Maybe it will help our struggling to know that great people of the Bible faced their deaths wanting the same assurances.  Although there are many hints of this throughout Scripture, the one I want to share with you this morning is unique because of the greatness of the man and the close, physical proximity of Jesus to him.

Look at the screens or turn with me, if you will, to Matthew 11. Here we find Jesus, having finished instructing His disciples, returning to his work of “teaching and preaching in the towns of Galilee” (11:1). In the next two verses we meet John the Baptist facing his imminent, but uncertain death. We read: “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?"

Being locked up in the fortress of Machaerus on the east side of the Dead Sea did not sit well for the one who met God and proclaimed the message, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 3:2) in the wilderness. Believing he was the prophetic forerunner of the coming Messiah was easy.  His parents would have often recounted the story and promise of his birth (Luke 1:5f); the descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus at His baptism was his confirmation (John 1:32-34).  Still, the fact that Jesus asked John to baptize Him was troubling.  John admitted as much: “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"  Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented” (3:13-15).

John had been happy to see Jesus’ ministry grow in stature while his diminished; he explained this fact to his disciples (see John 3:22-36). But the coming judgment that was to be brought about by the Messiah was at the heart of John’s ministry: “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:12). He wasn’t hearing these words from Jesus.

At this point I would like to point out two things that John did in this situation that each of us should do when we are facing uncertain times, times that the bad guy wants to use to threaten our faith.

First, John admitted to himself and to his disciples that he was struggling.  John’s different perception of who the coming Messiah would be and what he would do cause him to ask: "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" When he voiced his concerns in the presence of his disciples, he and they together were able to begin the process that brought John the answer he needed.  So many times we are afraid to verbalize to close, Christian friends, or worse yet, to the pastor, our faith struggles.  If such a great man struggled when Jesus didn’t do what John thought He should do, why should we be surprised when we have the same struggle? John’s honesty was the key to his finding his answer.

Second, John went directly to Jesus for the answer he needed.  This passage is important because Jesus was physically present and Jesus answered John’s honest confession of his faith struggle. When Jesus was being tried before the Sanhedrin He was silent as they accused Him through their questions (Mark 14:61). He also refused to answer Herod (Luke 23:9) and Pilate (Mark 15:5) when they asked less than honest questions. The fact that Jesus answered John’s urgent cries is important, but the answer Jesus gave was even more important. Notice: “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). 

These words do two things. First they teach us that we can find Jesus through the fruit His message is bearing: changed lives. Remember, Jesus was teaching and preaching in the towns of Galilee when John’s disciples came to Jesus. Jesus let changed lives resulting from His preaching and teaching be His answer.

The second thing these words teach us is much more subtle. In Isaiah 35:5-6, we read: “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.” Isaiah 61:1-2a says, “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor.”

John, as all good Jews of his day, would have known that both of these passages were considered Messianic.  That means everyone accepted that these were the kinds of things the “Coming  One” or the Messiah would do.  By telling John He was doing the things everyone agreed the Messiah would, Jesus was acknowledging to John that He was indeed the Messiah, if John’s heart would open to that fact.

What is more subtle, however, is that Isaiah 35:4, (“Say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.") the preceding verse in one case, and Isaiah 61:2a, (“and the day of vengeance of our God.”) the rest of the verse in the second instance, both speak of the judgment the Messiah would bring. If John opened his heart and let God speak through His Scriptures, John’s view of the Messiah would expand enough to allow him to understand that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. John would then be among the “blessed” who would “not fall away on account of me” (Matthew 11:6). Do we even know the Scriptures well enough to recognize God’s voice when He speaks to us? Are we willing to search His Word to find His answers? That’s where they are!

The beauty of Jesus and the way He ministers is that He always gives us a choice.  That choice always requires an act of faith and His Word.  He does not explain everything to us the way we would like; but we need to remember (1) He will speak to us when we honestly seek Him and (2) He always asks us to choose to trust Him all the way to the very end.

Death always challenges us to renew our vows of love. Commitments must be kept; life must be lived.  This is life’s greatest challenge. Let me share one example of this via this video clip.   Video

Life won’t happen the way we want or plan it.  That is what life teaches all of us.  Most of us will wake up one morning and ask ourselves, “How did get here?”  But in that moment, we need to remember those we loved who walked with us on our journey to this place, and most of all, we need, especially in that moment, to recommit our lives to the one who loves us best and is saying to us, “"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9). I promise you Jesus can be trusted.  You have shown me.