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in your bibles to matthew 11. matthew chapter 11. this is a passage we looked at within the last year i preached it on july 19th last year as an encouragement for courage in the midst of trials i think it is well suited for another encouragement in the midst of trials and it also ties in with what we saw this morning this morning in john 1 we saw jesus witness to john rather john the baptist witness to jesus here we're going to see jesus assessment or his testimony concerning john the baptist so i'll read beginning in matthew 11 at verse 1. now it came to pass when jesus finished commanding his twelve disciples that he departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities and when john had heard in prison about the works of christ he sent two of his disciples and said to them are you the coming one or do we look for another jesus answered and said to them go and tell john the things which you hear and see the blind sea and the lame walk the lepers are cleansed and the death here the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them and blessed is he who is not offended because of me as they departed jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning john what did you go out into the wilderness to see a reed shaken by the wind but what did you go out to see a man clothed in soft garments indeed those who wear soft clothing are in king's houses but what did you go out to see a prophet yes i say to you and more than a prophet for this is he of whom it is written behold i send my messenger before your face who will prepare your way before you assuredly i say to you among those born of women there has not risen one greater than john the baptist but he was least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he and from the days of john the baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force for all the prophets in the law prophesied until john and if you are willing to receive it he is elijah who is to come he who has ears to hear let him hear amen let us pray our father in heaven we thank you for the word of god and the testimony of john the baptist to our lord jesus christ as well we thank you for our lord's assessment of john the baptist and certainly very good lessons for each of us in the church today to ponder god we pray that you'd raise up men like john the baptist men that are not reeds shaken in the wind men that aren't in the king's houses to simply be yes men but men that will thunder forth the truth of god's holy word that they will see the calling to preach the word to be ready in season and out of season to convince rebuke exhort with all long suffering because the time is coming and is now upon us when men will not endure sound doctrine they seek out teachers to tickle their ears and god we pray that that would not be the case that it would be the case that the church would meet such with the declaration of truth concerning christ and him crucified and resurrected concerning god and his absolute lordship and supremacy over all things that we would not relinquish this blessed privilege that has been given to us as the church and lord do this for your glory do this for the salvation of sinners and to that end now we pray for the spirit to guide and direct us and for the forgiveness of all sin and we ask in jesus holy name amen well as we look at this particular passage i want to look first at the question concerning the messiah and then secondly the lord's assessment of john the baptist again it's a bit of outflow from our study this morning in john 1 we saw that there was a man sent from god we see that that man's name was john which meant yahweh is gracious he was not the light but he was sent to testify concerning the light and john successfully carried out his mission john did what was upon him in a manner that was consistent with the word and the record of god and so here we see our lord's response concerning that man first though notice the question concerning the messiah in verses 2 to 6 the situation john is in prison according to verse 2 and when john had heard in prison we see according to chapter 4 and verse 12 that john the baptist was in prison and then in john 4 matthew 14 rather matthew 4 matthew 14 that john is ultimately executed by herod i'm sure you all know that story it was the sermon that cost a preacher his head and john ultimately dies as a man under god who had been faithful in the task at hand but then notice the question that he wants his disciples to ask jesus so verse 2 tells us when john had heard in prison notice about the works of christ he sent two of the of his disciples and said to jesus are you the coming one or do we look for another now john the baptist was in fact a great man jesus will say as much so we might ask the question is he doubtful is he waffling is he vacillating is he a reed shaken by the wind is he doubting the identity of our lord jesus christ is that the nature of the question that he wants his disciples to ask jesus essentially there are three views concerning this particular issue the first one is is that he didn't doubt at all he does this for the benefit of his disciples the second is is that he did doubt he's languishing in this prison cell and his faith gets away from him and he starts to doubt the identity of our lord jesus christ i think the third position is the actual correct one he believed that jesus was in fact the messiah he believed that jesus was in fact the king that he himself as forerunner had announced in accordance with isaiah 40 and verse 3 and malachi the prophet chapter 3 and verse 1. but i think that john was struggling with the implications associated with that the implications of the fact that christ was the messiah or jesus was the messiah and that john was languishing in a prison and the various reasons i suspect that this is the case is that in the first place there was this jewish expectation of a political messiah i'm not suggesting john adopted that all the way but in terms of the messianic expectation that was prevalent in the first century they thought messiah would come crush the heads of the roman government and then engage in a geopolitical sort of a kingdom there on earth and so there was that sort of prevalent opinion as well the expectation that john had specifically concerning the general role of the messiah look at matthew 3 and verse 12. matthew chapter 3 and verse 12. this is what john says john the baptist in his ministry will pick up in verse 10 and even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire i indeed baptize you with water under repentance but he was coming after me is mightier than i whose sandals i am not worthy to carry he will baptize you with the holy spirit and fire his winnowing fan is in his hand and he will thoroughly clean out his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire so john has this messianic expectation it is consistent with the old testament specifically malachi the prophet chapter 3. but now john is languishing in a prison and while jesus is engaged in these wonderful works that are consistent with the ministry of mercy that was given to messiah john is not seeing that experientially as well if one of the tasks of messiah is the execution of justice upon the enemies of god and john is still languishing in a prison again not that he's doubting who jesus is but he's wondering about the implications concerning the fact of who jesus is why is a nice guy like me languishing in prison while the messiah who is tasked with bringing justice is in the midst of this people so it's most likely that aspect that is troubling john at this particular time and again he is the anti-typical elijah great men aren't perfect men the best of men are men at best after that grand victory at carmel according to first kings chapter 18 the next scene is elijah under the broom tree asking the lord god most high to take him there was ahab and jezebel the fire didn't consume them they were still real-life enemies they still hated elijah he knew that he still had to contend with them and he knew that he lived in the midst of the people that had been negligent in terms of their covenant obligation he wasn't having some crisis moment in terms of an existential quandary but rather he was lamenting over the faithlessness that was rampant in israel at the time and so he cries out to the lord and the lord in mercy gives him rest and gives him food the same thing obtains here jesus doesn't send the disciples back to john and tell them that you need to rebuke him how dare he ask if i'm the coming one no christ deals with him in mercy christ deals with him in grace christ deals with him with the truth and that is what we see in verses four to six notice that jesus dispatches them to go back to john and underscore and defer and confirm that christ is in fact the coming one notice in verse 4 jesus answered and said to them go and tell john the things which you hear and see the blind sea and the lame walk and the lepers are cleansed and the death here the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them this is the messianic agenda if john is questioning the messianic agenda then jesus wants to remind him concerning the messianic agenda i read at the outset of worship the prophet isaiah chapter 35 verses 5 to 6 pointing forward to the messianic reign of christ then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the death shall be death shall be unstopped then the lame shall leap like a deer and the tongue of the dumb sing isaiah 61 1 the spirit of the lord god is upon me because the lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound jesus says to john via these disciples that the messianic agenda is being fulfilled in this ministry of mercy that christ has undertaken he is confirming and affirming that he is the man that the prophet isaiah spoke of he is the man that john the baptist preached he is the man in whom all the blessings of god are yea and amen but it's not just the ministry of mercy there is that ministry of justice we saw that in isaiah 35 4 behold your god will come with vengeance with the recompense of god he will come and save you go back for just a moment to that prophet to isaiah chapter 35 there is a connection that is made there that the church does well to see isaiah chapter 35 again as christ sends the disciples to tell john to give him that confirmation that the messiah has come that jesus is he and that these things have come to pass he goes or at least he has in the background or at least we see in the background is what the prophet isaiah says so notice in verse 3 strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees say to those who are fearful hearted be strong do not fear behold your god will come with vengeance be strong do not fear why because god's gonna save everybody no because god is going to damn some the justice and the vengeance of god almighty is to steal the believer's soul it is to promote in him or her a readiness and a stability and a comfort at the thought that god will make all things right he will vindicate his own name and he will vindicate his bride so with reference to the judgment and the justice and the righteousness of god there is in that an argument for the non-fearfulness of the people of god in other words the fact is god will render judgment that's the connection that he makes be strong do not fear why behold your god will come with vengeance with the with the recompense of god he will come and save you so the messiah tells the disciples to go back to john and confirm that in fact he was messiah and now this had played out in matthew's gospel you see in matthew's gospel the blind see matthew 9 27-31 you see the lame walk chapter 9 verses 1 to 8. you see the leper's cleanse chapter 8 verses 1 to 4. you see the death here chapter 9 verses 32 and 33. you see the dead rays chapter 9 verses 18 to 26 and you see the poor have the gospel preached to them in chapters 4 5 7 and 9. and so the baptist is vacillating not in terms of the identity of the messiah but in terms of the implications of the messianic reign if the messiah comes to not only engage in this ministry of healing then he comes to engage in this ministry of justice and i think a very valuable lesson for all of us practically is this the justice of god may not be poured out in our time frame the justice of god may be for uh uh for uh shadowed it may be uh withheld for a time but it is most certainly coming the justice of god cannot be averted by man and so when we see things looking topsy-turvy the question is never does god notice is god concerned does god want to deal with this oh god most certainly does god most certainly will but it may not be in our time frame the children of israel were in bondage for 400 years before the promises made to abraham began to be made good there is time necessary in the hearts of god's people or rather patience necessary in the hearts of god's people that the agenda isn't going to be implemented right now according to our particular needs or our particular desires i have found this experientially in my life whenever things aren't going great i'm ready for jesus to return but when things are pretty good okay you can you can you know it's not really horrible here i got a nice wife and nice kids and all that sort of thing well it's the same thing with the justice of god we see things happening to the church and we think immediately that should be corrected and we cry out to god for his justice and that's not wrong brethren in fact that is actually right one of the things that seems to be lacking in the church today is an emphasis on the justice of god most likely that is what promoted this in john's heart he saw the ministry of mercy he would have heard about these healings but it was that winnowing fan it was the thrashing of the the that chaff it was the the expulsion of the chaff that perhaps troubled the brother as he's sitting in prison and it may obtain with us as well but we cry out to god for his justice knowing that he's not going to relinquish knowing that he's not going to not answer that it may not be in our time frame and things could quite feasibly get a whole lot worse before they get better or even if they do get better we're never taught that this is to be paradise on earth we're never taught that this is to be our utopia we're always taught to be looking heavenward and to understand that whether in this world or in the age to come god most high will vindicate his own name and god most high will vindicate his own bride and so we need to appreciate that and we need to rest secure in that reality and then notice in verse six there is a beatitude pronounced and blessed is he who is not offended because of me no doubt he wants the disciples of john to rehearse that to john again he doesn't admonish him he doesn't upgrade him he doesn't attack him he doesn't try and you know insult him but he is simply pronouncing a beatitude on those who are not offended because of him spurgeon i think explains this well he says this is a hint for john john had not fallen but very possibly he had stumbled he had been a little put to it through a sense of non-deliverance in time of need and therefore he had asked the question blessed is he who can be left in a prison can be silenced in his testimony can seem to be deserted of his lord and yet can shut out every doubt john speedily regained this blessedness and fully recovered his serenity now in saying that i'm sure spurgeon isn't picking on john in saying this i am not picking on john spurgeon himself knew deep dark misery spurgeon experientially understood what trial and what hardship was one time preaching i think at the music gardens somebody some wonderful person yelled fire and as a result there was a stampede and several people were stomped to death at a ministry or at the meeting of the ministry of c.h spurgeon that took a long time to recover you don't just wake up the next day and say well that's just the effect of gospel ministry and fools who cry fire so spurgeon's not picking on the baptist butler is not picking on the baptist we all ought to appreciate the reality that when we don't immediately see the judgment of god it can creep up into our hearts where o god art thou in fact turn back to psalm 74 for just a moment i mentioned earlier the church needs to recover a type of praying in the first place in terms of let's say civil government we ought to pray for their salvation in 1st timothy chapter 2 where paul tells us to pray for kings and all who are in authority he goes on to highlight the salvation of god by christ so i think the context would indicate that it's a good good thing for the church to pray that god saved the prime minister as well the church ought to pray that god restrains the prime minister i'm just using him for one example but in terms of salvation that is a sovereign act of god maybe the prime minister maybe the president maybe the premiers maybe the governors maybe they're not elect so what's the next best option for the church to pray well it's proverbs 21 1 the king's heart is in the hand of yahweh and yahweh turns that heart just like he does the rivers of water so i think a legitimate prayer for civil government when they're acting contrary to the will of god as revealed in scripture is to pray for restraint but then there is that third aspect that you see in the imprecatory psalms of david wherein the actual prayer prays for god's justice to be meted out upon the enemies of god most high again brethren i'm not suggesting that this is the only way to pray but i am suggesting when we reflect upon the psalter and we reflect upon oh say first corinthians 16 or we reflect upon galatians chapter one it's not the case that this kind of praying should be excised from the christian's life in other words we see new testament authors and jesus himself quoting from imprecatory songs now that they don't necessarily quote the imprecations doesn't matter if they quote say for instance psalm 69 in one particular detail but psalm 69 includes imprecations i think they're giving tacit approval for the entirety of the song but i've already mentioned first corinthians 16 22 paul says something that even out does the implications of david king of israel paul says if anyone does not love the lord jesus christ let him be anathema and that word anathema means to be damned to hell to be condemned to be condemned to hell paul uses the same language in galatians 1 for somebody who would distort or twist the gospel of our salvation but notice in psalm 74 verse 1 a contemplation of asaph oh god why have you cast us off forever why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture remember your congregation which you have purchased of old the tribe of your inheritance which you have redeemed this mount zion where you dwelt see what the psalmist is doing he's doing something akin to john the baptist if you are a saved man or a saved woman one of the things you image with reference to god even unsaved men and unsaved women do image this with reference to god this desire for justice this desire for righteousness ask a hundred people what they think ought to be done to a man guilty of pedophilia what will those hundred people say well if anything is indicative of our age they might say bravo but a hundred non you know moronic people that are image bearers of the living and true god want that person to be punished i mean that's the whole sort of predicate for civil society is that if you are an evil doer if you do things like you know victimizing children you should be punished by the body politic that is to image god brethren it is to bear forth that image it is to resonate with who god is in terms of justice and righteousness so he cries out oh god why have you cast us off forever i mean it's a kind of praying that you and i would be hesitant to even undergo well brethren you can read the psalm and pray the psalm through consistent with who god is god doesn't upbraid him remember this man is under the inspiration of the spirit he is voicing the concerns of the church he is praying the prayers of jesus christ himself oh god why have you cast us off forever why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture now notice remember your congregation which you have purchased of old the tribe of your inheritance which you have redeemed this mount zion where you have dwelt lift up your feet to the perpetual desolations now notice why the enemy has damaged everything in the sanctuary your enemies roar in the midst of your meeting place they set up their banners for signs they seem like men who lift up axes among the thick trees and now they break down its carved work all at once which have ax with axes and hammers they have set fire to your sanctuary they have defiled the dwelling place of your name to the ground they said in their hearts let us destroy them all together they have burned up all the meeting places of god in the land now brethren that's far more epic than what we are experiencing i will grant but the idea that the government has shut down the meeting places of god should evoke from the people of god a similar cry in terms of the injustice that is being inflicted upon us notice what he goes on to say verse 9 he says we do not see our well back to verse 9 8 they said in their hearts let us destroy them all together they have burned up all the meeting places of god in the land and then verse 9 we do not see our signs there is no longer any prophet nor is there any among us who knows how long oh god how long will the adversary reproach will the enemy blaspheme your name forever why do you withdraw your hand even your right hand take it out of your bosom and destroy them for god is my king from of old working salvation in the midst of the earth you divided the sea by your strength you broke the heads of the sea serpents in the waters you broke the heads of leviathan in pieces and gave him his food to the people inhabiting the wilderness you broke open the fountain and the flood you dried up mighty rivers the day is yours the night also is yours you have prepared the light and the sun you have set all the borders of the earth you've made summer and winter you see what he's doing he's admitted we don't hear the prophet we've gotten no new revelation we see the heathen have breached the gates we see that they're destroying the sanctuary in your absence god you know what we're gonna do we're gonna remind ourselves in the old testament we're gonna go back to the exodus we're gonna remember your power displayed in egypt the way you crushed pharaoh and his armies we're gonna gird up our hearts and that reality that there is a god on high that he sees and that he will bring justice there's a type of praying like this that isn't like this it's whining and grumbling and complaining the psalmist is content with the reality that if god continues to be silent in the face of their suffering the psalmist will nevertheless encourage his heart with the written word do you know what gets believers through trials and afflictions it's the written word it is an emotion it is an experience it is an ecstasy it isn't an existential moment it is rather the written word of the living and true god exegeted properly and grounded or our hearts grounded upon it faithfully he he encourages his heart with the past works of god and then notice verse 18 he says remember this that the enemy has reproached oh lord and that a foolish people has blasphemed your name oh do not deliver the life of your turtle dove to the wild beast do not forget the life of your poor forever have respect to the covenant spurgeon comments here here is the master key heaven's gate must open to this have respect to the covenant for the dark places of the earth are full of the haunts of cruelty oh do not let the oppressed return to shame let the poor and needy praise your name arise oh god plead your own cause remember how the foolish man reproaches you daily do not forget the voice of your enemies the tumult of those who rise up against you increases continually you know he's doing he's praying the first petition of the lord's prayer hallowed be thy name brethren there is nothing in the new covenant nothing in the new testament that says thou mustn't pray those prayers of asaph or david any longer thou must exhibit a much more gentle spirit much more meek and and kind and lowly well we should always be meek we should always be kind we should always be lowly but we must come with boldness to the throne of grace to fetch out blessings for the church of jesus christ because while we value and while we prize our testimony relative to the outside world we must value and prize the dignity the supremacy the glory and the majesty of the name of god most high and the protection of this precious bride that is presently being persecuted and for those who say well this isn't persecution that doesn't do your case any better as far as i'm concerned that's even worse if this isn't persecution and you shut your churches i can only imagine what we'll obtain when there is persecution and brethren with reference to this current crisis the policeman today said i hope we don't see you next sunday our day our our lives are are our peace or our lack of harassment hinges on the balances of the pronouncement of an unelected official this coming tuesday and for some reason christians are okay with this christ is head of the church whatever he says that is what carries the day we're going to be responsible we're not going to cough on each other we're not going to lick each other's dripping noses we're going to do everything we can to make sure that we are physically protected from a virus but in this world you will have tribulation and viruses are one of them we cannot eradicate it so what do we do stop church stop life stop business and this isn't just a church thing brethren what about the businesses i read recently a third a third of restaurants in california are shut now why why is that the case why has coveted become king and god and lord and why have we subjected ourselves to this narrative christ is head coven belongs to him whoever gets it and that's a sad thing and we shouldn't celebrate that but just as others get other things this is a sin cursed world there is disease there's amputation there's there's car crashes there's a whole host of things if we don't learn to live with it we're going to be living in our living rooms forever is that what the social engineers of our day actually want for us to just sit in the living room and to have no truck with family people are hurting loneliness is a reality we have all been impacted by this i don't think that i've seen my grandkids this past year as much as i should have so even a guy who doesn't toe the line with all of that is still being impacted people are aching and agonizing why because they're alone what a horrible cult no fostering fostering a friendship you know how hard it is brethren when we've had older people or people in our church that are in the hospital we can't go visit them why if masks work why can't i as their pastor go visit them we are a a stone throw away from the hospital here and there have been persons who have gone to that hospital that i haven't been able to visit and typically when people go to the hospital because we are a stone's throw away i'm always there try to visit them because i think that's what we should be doing but not under covet thou must not visit thou must let people die in silence thou must let people die all alone and if somebody does die woe to you if you think you can actually attend their funeral what has happened to us what have we become in this country that is a civilized land that affords the protection for speech affords the protection for conscience affords the protection for religion and all those things are gone that is terrifying brethren if ever there was a time to pray psalm 74 it might just be now again it's not as epic the sanctuary isn't being burned the sanctuary hasn't been locked down for which we are thankful and we praise god most high for but brethren they have effectively said thou can't go to the sanctuary of god most high to worship him give us the opportunity as adults to make our own decisions we are citizens with elected officials not subjects of kings and lords didn't somebody fight wars over such things and establish constitutions and charters so that we can with freedom of conscience gather on the sabbath day to worship our god unmolested by civil authority and for those who say well james coach should have given in pastor arthur shouldn't have said those mean and nasty things tim stevens should have relinquished why does the church always have to capitulate there are two kingdoms under christ the church and the state why does the church always have to bow to the state why do we have to be functional erastians why do we call them lord when it comes to matters of what we're supposed to do in the church jesus christ is head of both kingdoms they both have responsibilities but they're both supposed to stay in their lanes the moment someone were to hear this sermon they'd say oh that pastor he's uppity he's speaking about politics and we have a separation of church and state funny how it only works that way funny how it only works when they want to bridle the church from ever saying anything about the godless state but the godless state can come and shut down the church and that's somehow acceptable and okay what happened to the separation of the church and state what happened to staying in your own lane what happened to listening to the headship of jesus christ and for those who invoke romans 13 and say that we need to be subject to the governing authorities because paul says so you know what i say to that amen brethren amen a hundred a million fold the argument is simple we have one law in this land it ain't the church that has defined it it's the government they have infringed upon our rights as protected by that document and again here it's going to be said oh he's invoking rights paul did that paul did that in the book of acts paul evoked or invoked his roman citizenship at crucial times in his ministry no i'm not paul no i'm not doing it quite like that but the bottom line brethren is that we're 14 months into the crisis and six months into the specific crisis of the church being locked down and when i say crisis i don't mean kovit 19. i mean the government's response to covid19 that is the crisis that really ought to alarm us and with reference to this passage with reference to this text i see why john the baptist was saying boy if i'm in the messianic reign and i'm in prison what's up but you see the timetable and the time frame of god isn't ours that's just the the stark reality that you and i have to accept i'd like to be able to just snap my fingers and then god you know come and in vengeance and act and all that but then who would be god it would be me god most high is a sovereign free being he is independent he doesn't need us he didn't make us to try and satisfy some some lack that he had he is triunely blessed father son and spirit from everlasting to everlasting as i mentioned last week from john chapter one verse three christ made all things christ or god plus the world is still god god minus the world is still god there's nothing that god needs in terms of us so we are at his disposal which is a good place to be because he's infinitely wise infinitely holy infinitely good infinitely merciful infinitely kind and gracious but it's the patience part that i think troubles at least some of us and so back to the tax we need to appreciate john is not discounting that jesus is the messiah john affirms that but in light of that why am i still in jail and as spurgeon said blessed is he who can be left in a prison can be silenced in his testimony can seem to be deserted of his lord and yet can shut out every doubt john speedily regained this blessedness and fully recovered his serenity let's look secondly at the lord's assessment of john the baptist in verses 7 to 15. john the baptist in verses 7 to 15 jesus asks some rhetorical questions in verses 7 to 9 a each of those questions jesus knows what the answer should be and notice in the first place what did you go out into the wilderness to see a reed shaken by the wind is that what you want from the prophet of god because there's a whole lot of non-profits of god that will do that but the prophet of god in the language of spurgeon is not to be a vacillating orator he is to be a man of the word declaring the truth not shrinking back from doing it and not being beaten about by every wind and doctrine he's not to be hushed he's not to be silenced he's not to be sidelined he's not to be sidetracked what did you go out into the wilderness to see a rage shaken by the wind do you want some namby-pamby prissy preacher that's going to simply tell you what you want to hear do you want some guy that can be bought off do you want some guy that can be easily effective do you want some guy that can be easily change a malleable wax nose whatever you like he'll do that whatever you want he'll be that we have a whole class of people in society for that they're called politicians the preacher or the prophet of god most high mustn't be a reed he mustn't be easily shaken he mustn't be immature and delicate he must stand fast he must hold firm he must go forward he must be faithful and that's what john the baptist was what did you go out into the wilderness to see a reed shaken by when he didn't have a fickle or an unstable disposition he wasn't easily shaken by the wants and opinions of men he was not weak nor would he be swayed by public opinion he simply in this question needed a reminder concerning the messianic agenda and that is precisely what jesus gives him so jesus doesn't say what a horrible guy did he ever ask that question about my identity no jesus says this is the reality but then notice what he says in the next place what did you go out to see into the wilderness to see a reed shaken by the wind but what did you go out to see a man clothed in soft garments indeed those who wear soft clothing are in king's houses now the baptist like his old testament counterpart was known for his austere manner of life both elijah the prophet and john the baptist were not softies they were not hand cream guys they were not wearing guy liner they were not the sorts of fellows that had the latest fashions they were simple men that ate simple fare and preached the glories of christ almighty the baptist was not a court preacher that's what i think he means in verse eight but what did you go out to see a man clothed in soft garments indeed those who wear soft clothing are in king's houses remember that instance of jehoshaphat and ahab ahab elicits jehoshaphat to go into battle and jehoshaphat wants the word of the lord imagine that a king of judah actually wants instruction from god before he undertakes battle on the field and so when these court prophets come along they assure jehoshaphat nahab that there's going to be victory jehoshaphat's a bit suspicious though you mean everyone to a man has a shortest victory on the field of battle and what does ahab reply well well you know there is this one prophet his name is michaela and he's kind to pesky he never really tells me what i want to hear guess who the prophet is that you should listen to it's the one who doesn't tell you what you want to hear i'm not here to tell you every preacher should scream obscenities at you and tell you constantly horrific things but in that instance the court prophets all came and they said ahab and jehoshaphat go out into battle you will be victorious my chair steps up to the plate and he affirms the same thing but he's being completely ironic completely ironic and then he says the lord has shown me what's going to happen you're going to lose you're going to go to the field of battle ahab and you're going to stay there dead you will not return from battle you know what he got for that do you think he got a raise no he got thrown into jail and he was given bread and water for his sustenance see the court prophet is the royal yes man whatever you say king is the truth now i mean king and the earthly sphere so jesus says what did you want from john did you want somebody that vacillated did you want some soft prissy dainty man that wouldn't stand up to king and authority if need be we have proof positive that the baptist did stand up to king and authority and whoever need be remember the baptist's interaction with herod it illustrates both points go to matthew 14 for just a moment matthew chapter 14. verse one at that time herod the tetrarch heard the report about jesus and said to his servants this is john the baptist he has risen from the dead and therefore these powers are at work in him for herod had laid hold of john and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of herodias his brother philip's wife because john had said to him it is not lawful for you to have her you know what john would be called today well you're so intolerant you know he's free to do whatever he wants if he wants to multiply girlfriends and one of them happens to be his brother's wife well that's on him he's free to express himself sexually not with john the baptist on the watch he's not a reed shaken by the wind he's not a prissy dainty court prophet that just watches the herods of the world abuse their authority and commit the sin of adultery but it's not only that sin that john points out parallel in luke's gospel tells us that john the baptist reprieved herod for all the evils which herod had done you mean a preacher of god's kingdom actually told a civil authority that they were wrong can you do that well not if you listen to the modern prophets but if you listen to the bible you certainly can't while we can't get into the lane and run civil government though i think we do a far better job though we can't do that it's not the case we don't address such things remember the argument romans 13 what does romans 13 indicate that every authority is established by who yes by god if the church can't speak to that relationship if the church doesn't speak to that relationship then it's that church that doesn't believe romans 13. that church has betrayed their calling with reference to a prophetic voice in terms of civil government again i'm not wanting to dictate policy i'm not wanting to tell them what to do at every step of the way but when you do things that hurt the people of god and even the image bearers of god i mean there is proof mounting huge amounts of it that the lockdowns have been far worse than the actual virus itself but see they won't even listen to that they won't even engage that it is not consistent with the dogma so therefore it's misinformation therefore you're wrong therefore you're false it came up in the in the court case i think pastor brett and brenton in calvary chapel and langley had made a statement concerning covet early on and that was used in court well he's not a doctor he's not a scientist and yet they want to listen to bill gates he's not a doctor he's not a scientist either it's obvious brethren it's whatever fits the agenda and if the church can't see that won't see that or speak up against that then we're not functioning in the spirit and tenor of john the baptist because he said to herod it is wrong that you lay with your brother's wife and it's wrong that you do this list of other sins john the baptist was not a reed shaken by the wind and he wasn't a man wearing soft garments the lord ultimately underscores the reality in verse 9 by telling them giving them the correct answer because he already knew it was rhetorical uh sorry chapter 11 verse nine but what did you go out to see a prophet yes i say to you and more than a prophet he was a prophet not only because he spoke concerning the coming of jesus but he himself was the subject of prophecy so he's more than a prophet in that regard isaiah 40 verse 3 malachi chapter 3 verse 1 john the baptist is a subject of biblical prophecy so he's more than a prophet in that regard he's not only a preacher that christ is coming but he's also a pro a subject of the prophecy itself and then notice his role in redemptive history verse 10 for this is he of whom it is written behold i send my messenger before your face that's exodus 23 20 who will prepare your way before you this is the father speaking to the baptist talking about his mission in preparing for jesus again the christology here is monumental because when you go back in those sections it is my messenger and the way before me yahweh says it that way here in matthew it's behold the father says i send my messenger john the baptist before your jesus face who will prepare your jesus way before you jesus the christology is glorious christ is almighty god as we have seen in the prologue in john and then notice quickly and finally i want to bring this to a quick conclusion here i say no longer than one and i want to hold fast to that notice his relation to the kingdom in verses 11 to 13 the greatness of john assuredly i say to you among those born of women there has not risen one greater than john the baptist but he was least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he so he commends john the greatness of john but this whole idea of least and greater has to do with covenant those in the new covenant have benefited and profited by the the the glories of redemptive history it's not that john is bad and paul is somehow better this is a covenantal reference similar to what we'll see when we get down to john 1 in the prologue when it says that grace or the law came through moses and grace and truth came through our lord jesus christ doesn't mean there was no grace and truth from moses doesn't mean there's no law from jesus he's talking about covenant he's talking about the overarching way that god deals with men so in the apex of redemptive history john though great is least compared to those in the kingdom of heaven inaugurated by our lord jesus and then a puzzling passage one man one commentator says verse 12 there is no way to make this verse simple there is no way to make this verse simple there are four views i'll just give you the view that i believe is right notice in verse 12 and from the days of john the baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force i believe that this means the kingdom is forcefully forcefully advancing by god's grace but violent people plunder it the kingdom is forcefully advancing but violent people plunder it it is similar to matthew 16. i will build my church jesus says it's going to go forward it's going to be successful it's going to be triumphant it's going to be victorious but the gates are in the gates of hades shall not prevail against it though it's going forward there's going to be some attacks though it's going forward there's going to be some attempts at plunder though it's going forward it's not going to be a bed of roses and and petals to to to waffles and rose petals to waft us up to heaven no the kingdom advances forcefully by god's grace but violent people plunder it and then in verse 13 for all the prophets and the law prophesied until john again the idea being that the mission of the prophets in the old testament john being one of them was to point the way to jesus and now that jesus has come covenantally this is how we understand this statement for the prophets and the law prophesied until john and then notice in verse 14 he compares john to elijah if you are willing to receive it he is elijah who is to come in luke 1 17 we learn what that means it's not that he was the actual embodiment of a reincarnated elijah it's not that elijah fell out of heaven in the person of john the baptist there were two different men they had two different identities i think luke 1 17 is the gloss that we all need to hear he will also go before him in the spirit and power of elijah he was an elijah-like man he was anti-typical of the type elijah pointing forward to that forerunner of our lord jesus and of course he ends on this note he who has ears to hear let him hear well i want to conclude quickly with two thoughts first the ministry of the messiah first a ministry of mercy you see that he heals people he feeds people he cares for people but there's also this ministry of justice it's in isaiah 35 it's in isaiah 11 it's in isaiah 61. it's all throughout the prophets and it's certainly all throughout the new testament remember the apostle paul's encouragement exhortation admonishment to the church of thessalonica and second thessalonians chapter one he calms them he he encourages them and he tells them that it's going to be the case that jesus will come in the glory of his father with all of his holy angels taking vengeance on those who know not god and on those who do not obey the gospel he tells the thessalonians that it is right with god to punish or judge those who afflict them and so brethren let us never get discouraged to the point of inaction are god reigns our god rules our god most high will vindicate both his name and his bride the kingdom forcefully advances by his grace but wicked men will always try to assault it wicked men will always try to sideline it wicked men will always try to stop it but christ is on the throne and christ must be trusted for his government and then secondly in terms of the ministry of john the baptist the redemptive historical isaiah 40 malachi 3. he came at that time in the the the crossroads of covenant and he spoke of and he pointed to the one coming and the one who had arrived but in terms of practically i think that john the baptist ought to make his way into our prayer closets in other words jesus in matthew 9 says the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few what kind of laborers should we pray for what kind of men should we ask god to raise up reeds shaken in the wind that doesn't sound good or prissy court prophets who only say what people want to hear namely their bosses and government no that doesn't sound right either we need to have men like john the baptist in the first place he was not a reed shaken by the wind ryle says he was a bold unflinching unflinching witness to the truth whenever i think of john the baptist i think of another john john knox the reformer of scotland at his grave site a man gave a eulogy and one of the things that he said concerning john knox he said here lies one who neither flattered nor nor feared any flesh what a great testimony here lies one who neither feared or flattered any flesh he didn't fear herod but he didn't flatter herod he did what god called him to do preach the truth to herod preach the truth to pharisees preach the truth to believers preach the truth that's the job secondly he was not a court prophet he wasn't a royal yes man he didn't simply take his cues from the prevailing wisdom of those over him he took his cues from the prevailing wisdom of the one over him namely god most high third he was a man of both light and he john 5 35 jesus assessment there includes that statement john was a man both of light and heat both elements are crucial in the preacher brethren both elements are to be prayed for when we're fetching out of heaven men of god to serve in the church of god light they need to understand the bible they need to be able to exegete scripture they need to understand biblical theology they need systematic theology they need to understand covenant they need to understand how to get at the meaning that the holy spirit put there there's a lot of light that is necessary but also heat i think it was either horatius or andrew bonar who said that men realize that if religion means anything then it means everything and so men in pulpits ought not only to be able to expound the truth but to do so in a manner that reveals they themselves actually believe it preachers need to awaken not that they can do so like their sovereign but they need to preach in such a way as to be heard samuel davies was preaching before the king of england and at one point the king of england either dozed off or he mentions something to his wife sitting at his side davies stops his sermon looks the king square in the eyes and says when the beasts of the field hear the lion rage they stop they listen he rebukes the king for not paying attention to him preaching the word of god that's the kind of men that we need if you've ever seen the picture of john knox preaching before queen mary there's one where he's like hanging over his pulpit and he's got his finger out like that i mean that's what we need brethren not theatrics not affectation but light and heat because men know that if religion means anything religion means everything so may god the lord raise up men to manifest both light and heat in this crooked and perverse generation men who will not shrink back from declaring the whole council of god not simply to the people who already believe but to refute the heretics and as well to address those appointed by god for the government in civil polity well let us pray our father in heaven we thank you for your word we thank you for john the baptist and for the lord's assessment of him and god we pray specifically as a church that you would raise up men from among us raise up men in all other churches in this world that would not be reeds shaken by the wind that would not be men that are soft and prissy and wearing clothing and doing whatever the king says but men of god faithful to declare the whole council of god and to exhibit both light and heat may you bless the church today and may you grant her grace and may we learn the lessons from scripture and from experience and that we may indeed be faithful in this present age and we ask this through jesus christ our lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation so you