WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.480 of Luke, which focus on the question of who is this Jesus and seeking to refocus our attention 00:00:08.480 --> 00:00:17.160 on him just personally and directly as we look in the gospels at his works and his words. 00:00:18.800 --> 00:00:24.000 Luke chapter 7, beginning at verse 18, let's read together. 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:34.079 The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, 00:00:34.200 --> 00:00:40.060 sent them to the Lord saying, are you the one who is to come or shall we look for another? 00:00:41.460 --> 00:00:44.920 And when the men had come to him, they said, John the Baptist has sent us to you saying, 00:00:45.659 --> 00:00:49.679 are you the one who is to come or shall we look for another? 00:00:49.679 --> 00:00:56.640 In that hour, he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits. And on many who 00:00:56.640 --> 00:01:02.179 were blind, he bestowed sight. And he answered them, go and tell John what you have seen and heard. 00:01:02.859 --> 00:01:09.460 The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, 00:01:10.260 --> 00:01:16.159 the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them, and blessed is the one who is 00:01:16.159 --> 00:01:21.959 not offended by me. When John's messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning 00:01:21.959 --> 00:01:30.179 John. What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind. What then did you, 00:01:30.239 --> 00:01:36.900 what then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing. Behold, those who are dressed in 00:01:36.900 --> 00:01:42.120 splendid clothing and live in luxury are in king's courts. What then did you go out to see? 00:01:42.120 --> 00:01:49.180 A prophet? Yes, I tell you. And more than a prophet, this is he of whom it is written, 00:01:49.320 --> 00:01:55.520 behold, I send my messenger before your face who will prepare your way before you. 00:01:56.500 --> 00:02:03.380 I tell you, among those born of women, none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the 00:02:03.380 --> 00:02:09.840 kingdom of God is greater than he. When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, 00:02:09.840 --> 00:02:15.780 they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, but the Pharisees and the 00:02:15.780 --> 00:02:21.539 lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him. 00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:30.539 To what then shall I compare the people of this generation? And what are they like? They are like 00:02:30.539 --> 00:02:35.780 children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, we played the flute for you, 00:02:35.780 --> 00:02:44.020 and you did not dance. We sang a dirge, and you did not weep. For John the Baptist has come eating 00:02:44.020 --> 00:02:49.920 no bread and drinking no wine, and you say he has a demon. The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, 00:02:50.060 --> 00:02:56.800 and you say, look at him, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners, yet wisdom 00:02:56.800 --> 00:03:05.300 is justified by all her children. Let's pray. Father, we pray that you would send us your spirit 00:03:05.300 --> 00:03:10.620 as we look into your word now, open our hearts and minds to receive from you. In Christ's name, amen. 00:03:12.760 --> 00:03:14.800 The atheist Richard Dawkins wrote, 00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:40.939 In other words, religious faith is only sustained when people refuse to question, doubt, and think 00:03:40.939 --> 00:03:49.240 rationally. Now, some Christians have behaved as if Richard Dawkins was right. I was recently talking 00:03:49.240 --> 00:03:54.979 with a friend of mine. He's one of the only Christian faculty members at a small liberal arts 00:03:54.979 --> 00:04:01.079 college where he teaches, and he was talking with one of his colleagues, a fellow professor who shared 00:04:01.079 --> 00:04:06.639 with him that he had grown up in a Bible-believing church, but no longer identified as a Christian. 00:04:06.639 --> 00:04:13.459 And they had a 40-minute conversation about the questions that led this man to distance himself 00:04:13.459 --> 00:04:20.459 from and eventually abandon his Christian faith that he was raised with. And at the end of the 00:04:20.459 --> 00:04:26.560 conversation, he said to my friend, you're the only Christian I've met who's been willing to seriously 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:33.139 engage with me about these questions. Now, sadly, that's how many people have experienced Christianity. 00:04:33.139 --> 00:04:39.959 If you believe in God or the Bible, don't ask too many questions. Don't worry about evidence. Don't 00:04:39.959 --> 00:04:47.360 ask for too many explanations. That means your faith is weak. Some Christians seem to resist or suppress 00:04:47.360 --> 00:04:55.579 all expressions of doubt or disappointment or questioning. They see no place for doubt in the life of a 00:04:55.579 --> 00:05:02.779 Christian. Now, by contrast, there are other Christians who seem to be strangely attracted to doubt. 00:05:02.779 --> 00:05:06.539 Doubt and disappointment and disappointment and questioning. They act as if doubt and disappointment 00:05:06.539 --> 00:05:11.679 should have a permanent place in the life of every Christian. One such person wrote, 00:05:11.779 --> 00:05:17.659 doubt is a healthy part of faith. I am generally suspicious of Christians who claim to be certain 00:05:17.659 --> 00:05:23.179 about what they believe. I think religious certainty is one of the biggest problems in the world today, 00:05:23.319 --> 00:05:29.099 and I think it is driving people out of the church. But that position has its problems as well. 00:05:29.100 --> 00:05:37.680 For one thing, doubts don't just come out of pure neutrality. Behind every doubt or question 00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:44.980 is an alternate belief. Doubts emerge from other, often unstated assumptions. For example, 00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:53.260 this particular person who I quoted assumes that certainty or confidence in one's faith in God 00:05:53.259 --> 00:05:59.379 fosters arrogance. Always or almost all the time. 00:06:01.539 --> 00:06:08.579 What does Christianity actually say about doubt and questions and disappointment with God? 00:06:09.480 --> 00:06:14.819 This morning's passage speaks to this very issue. In fact, it begins with a question 00:06:14.819 --> 00:06:18.180 from John the Baptist to Jesus. 00:06:18.180 --> 00:06:23.759 Are you the one who is to come? Or shall we look for another? 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:28.139 This morning I want to look at John's question, 00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:30.740 at Jesus' answer, 00:06:31.480 --> 00:06:33.460 and finally at our response. 00:06:34.480 --> 00:06:36.019 So first, John's question. 00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:40.379 Now if you have read through the Gospel of Luke, 00:06:40.819 --> 00:06:43.939 chapters 1 through 3, Luke has already introduced us to John the Baptist. 00:06:43.939 --> 00:06:49.079 And we see in those chapters that the lives and callings of John the Baptist and Jesus 00:06:49.079 --> 00:06:51.219 were deeply intertwined from the very beginning. 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:53.740 Their mothers were even related to each other. 00:06:54.939 --> 00:07:00.220 Luke describes their birth and circumcision and naming and growth and beginning of their public ministry. 00:07:00.800 --> 00:07:03.019 Jesus goes to John to be baptized by him. 00:07:03.159 --> 00:07:03.659 John says, 00:07:04.060 --> 00:07:04.899 I'm not the Messiah, 00:07:05.300 --> 00:07:07.540 but he points to Jesus as the coming one. 00:07:07.540 --> 00:07:09.960 But by this point, 00:07:10.040 --> 00:07:11.740 John was no longer preaching in the wilderness. 00:07:12.300 --> 00:07:13.760 He was locked up in prison. 00:07:14.960 --> 00:07:17.080 We learn that in chapter 3, verse 20. 00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:20.020 John had confronted King Herod, 00:07:20.320 --> 00:07:23.080 the most powerful ruler in the region. 00:07:24.300 --> 00:07:25.220 Because Herod, 00:07:25.480 --> 00:07:28.759 Herod had divorced his wife 00:07:28.759 --> 00:07:31.040 and married his brother's wife instead. 00:07:32.220 --> 00:07:33.680 And John confronted him 00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:36.879 about that and many other evil things that he had done. 00:07:36.879 --> 00:07:38.719 And Herod decided he couldn't, 00:07:38.839 --> 00:07:40.920 the only way to shut him up was to lock him up. 00:07:41.459 --> 00:07:42.459 So he put him in jail. 00:07:43.899 --> 00:07:45.019 And from jail, 00:07:46.339 --> 00:07:48.639 John sent messengers to Jesus to ask this question. 00:07:49.839 --> 00:07:51.360 Are you the one who is to come? 00:07:52.259 --> 00:07:53.240 Or shall we look for another? 00:07:55.819 --> 00:07:56.839 It seems like, 00:07:57.560 --> 00:07:58.300 for whatever reason, 00:07:58.379 --> 00:07:59.639 John was having second thoughts. 00:08:00.540 --> 00:08:01.480 He was doubting. 00:08:02.439 --> 00:08:03.420 He was questioning. 00:08:04.459 --> 00:08:06.740 Now some commentators have said that can't be right. 00:08:07.540 --> 00:08:08.839 How can John the Baptist, 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:10.100 the bold preacher, 00:08:10.459 --> 00:08:11.759 be doubting Jesus? 00:08:11.980 --> 00:08:13.860 No, he must have been asking this question 00:08:13.860 --> 00:08:15.560 simply for the sake of his disciples. 00:08:16.379 --> 00:08:17.899 That they could be reassured 00:08:17.899 --> 00:08:19.339 of who Jesus really was. 00:08:20.920 --> 00:08:22.439 But I think the most natural way 00:08:22.439 --> 00:08:23.540 to read John's question 00:08:23.540 --> 00:08:25.740 is as a genuine question. 00:08:27.399 --> 00:08:29.079 John's disciples had reported to him 00:08:29.079 --> 00:08:31.339 the things that they had seen Jesus do so far. 00:08:31.339 --> 00:08:33.860 What we've looked at over the last three chapters, 00:08:34.039 --> 00:08:35.339 the blind receiving their sight, 00:08:35.439 --> 00:08:36.220 the lame walk, 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:37.639 the lepers are cleansed, 00:08:37.720 --> 00:08:38.360 the deaf hear. 00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:41.179 And perhaps John was thinking, 00:08:41.299 --> 00:08:41.659 okay, 00:08:42.379 --> 00:08:44.459 that sounds all well and good. 00:08:45.860 --> 00:08:47.220 But I thought that 00:08:47.220 --> 00:08:49.600 one mightier than I was coming 00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:51.639 to clear the threshing floor 00:08:51.639 --> 00:08:53.559 and gather the wheat into God's barn 00:08:53.559 --> 00:08:54.720 and burn up the chaff 00:08:54.720 --> 00:08:56.039 with unquenchable fire. 00:08:56.039 --> 00:08:58.279 What about God bringing his judgment, 00:08:58.959 --> 00:08:59.719 righteous judgment 00:08:59.719 --> 00:09:01.360 on an ungodly government 00:09:01.360 --> 00:09:03.719 and a corrupt religious establishment? 00:09:04.459 --> 00:09:06.740 What about the Messiah delivering me 00:09:06.740 --> 00:09:09.219 from the clutches of wicked King Herod? 00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:11.679 I don't hear about any of that happening yet. 00:09:12.959 --> 00:09:13.379 Jesus, 00:09:14.039 --> 00:09:15.219 are you really 00:09:15.219 --> 00:09:16.740 the coming Messiah? 00:09:18.699 --> 00:09:20.779 Or is there somebody else coming after you? 00:09:20.779 --> 00:09:22.839 Should we be on the lookout 00:09:22.839 --> 00:09:23.759 for someone else? 00:09:26.199 --> 00:09:26.439 You know, 00:09:26.439 --> 00:09:26.980 sometimes 00:09:26.980 --> 00:09:30.860 loyal and self-sacrificial servants of God 00:09:30.860 --> 00:09:32.720 experience doubt 00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:34.399 and disappointment 00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:36.199 and depression. 00:09:37.939 --> 00:09:39.000 The prophet Elijah did. 00:09:40.100 --> 00:09:41.919 Right after his dramatic showdown 00:09:41.919 --> 00:09:43.059 with the prophets of Baal, 00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:45.259 a victory, 00:09:46.459 --> 00:09:48.279 he ran away 00:09:48.279 --> 00:09:50.579 and went into a cave 00:09:50.579 --> 00:09:52.419 and wanted to die. 00:09:54.659 --> 00:09:55.779 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 00:09:56.659 --> 00:09:58.059 the courageous German pastor 00:09:58.059 --> 00:09:59.240 who resisted the Nazis 00:09:59.240 --> 00:10:00.720 and protected the Jews 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:02.399 and trained underground church leaders 00:10:02.399 --> 00:10:03.579 and even joined in a plot 00:10:03.579 --> 00:10:04.620 to assassinate Hitler, 00:10:05.480 --> 00:10:06.039 wrote a poem 00:10:06.039 --> 00:10:07.740 when he was in the concentration camp 00:10:07.740 --> 00:10:09.059 entitled, 00:10:09.199 --> 00:10:09.720 Who Am I? 00:10:10.919 --> 00:10:11.959 This is what he wrote. 00:10:13.019 --> 00:10:13.980 Who am I? 00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:15.860 They often tell me 00:10:15.860 --> 00:10:17.659 I would step from my cell's confinement 00:10:17.659 --> 00:10:18.299 calmly, 00:10:19.100 --> 00:10:19.519 cheerfully, 00:10:19.919 --> 00:10:20.219 firmly, 00:10:21.039 --> 00:10:21.879 like a squire 00:10:21.879 --> 00:10:22.919 from his country house. 00:10:24.179 --> 00:10:24.919 Who am I? 00:10:24.980 --> 00:10:25.919 They often tell me 00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:28.000 I would talk to my guards 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:28.500 freely 00:10:28.500 --> 00:10:29.319 and friendly 00:10:29.319 --> 00:10:30.000 and clearly 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:31.379 as though it were mine to command. 00:10:31.480 --> 00:10:31.959 Who am I? 00:10:32.019 --> 00:10:33.039 They also tell me 00:10:33.039 --> 00:10:34.379 I would bear the days 00:10:34.379 --> 00:10:35.139 of misfortune 00:10:35.139 --> 00:10:35.719 steadily, 00:10:36.719 --> 00:10:37.459 smilingly, 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:38.379 proudly, 00:10:39.199 --> 00:10:40.500 like one accustomed to win. 00:10:42.259 --> 00:10:43.860 Am I really all that 00:10:43.860 --> 00:10:45.439 which other men tell of? 00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:47.200 Or am I only 00:10:47.200 --> 00:10:48.360 what I know of myself? 00:10:49.680 --> 00:10:50.200 Restless 00:10:50.200 --> 00:10:50.960 and longing 00:10:50.960 --> 00:10:51.820 and sick 00:10:51.820 --> 00:10:53.760 like a bird in a cage, 00:10:54.720 --> 00:10:55.700 struggling for breath 00:10:55.700 --> 00:10:57.200 as though hands 00:10:57.200 --> 00:10:58.400 were compressing my throat, 00:10:58.640 --> 00:10:59.600 thirsting for words 00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:00.180 of kindness, 00:11:01.060 --> 00:11:01.980 for neighborliness, 00:11:03.640 --> 00:11:03.940 trembling 00:11:03.940 --> 00:11:04.600 in expectation 00:11:04.600 --> 00:11:05.560 of great events, 00:11:05.760 --> 00:11:06.740 powerlessly trembling 00:11:06.740 --> 00:11:07.420 for friends 00:11:07.420 --> 00:11:08.660 at an infinite distance, 00:11:08.820 --> 00:11:09.080 weary 00:11:09.080 --> 00:11:10.400 and empty 00:11:10.400 --> 00:11:11.580 at praying, 00:11:12.360 --> 00:11:13.080 at thinking, 00:11:13.080 --> 00:11:14.200 faint 00:11:14.200 --> 00:11:14.960 and ready 00:11:14.960 --> 00:11:15.720 to say farewell 00:11:15.720 --> 00:11:16.420 to it all. 00:11:19.280 --> 00:11:20.220 Have you ever been there? 00:11:22.379 --> 00:11:23.320 Everybody around you 00:11:23.320 --> 00:11:24.280 looks at you 00:11:24.280 --> 00:11:24.780 and says 00:11:24.780 --> 00:11:26.620 you're so strong 00:11:26.620 --> 00:11:27.860 in God's word, 00:11:27.960 --> 00:11:28.620 you're so devoted 00:11:28.620 --> 00:11:29.200 to the Lord, 00:11:29.280 --> 00:11:30.020 you're such a servant 00:11:30.020 --> 00:11:30.800 of God's people 00:11:30.800 --> 00:11:31.580 and on the inside 00:11:31.580 --> 00:11:32.160 you feel like 00:11:32.160 --> 00:11:33.560 you're about to break down. 00:11:34.560 --> 00:11:35.580 You feel weary 00:11:35.580 --> 00:11:37.480 and worn out 00:11:37.480 --> 00:11:39.160 and short-tempered 00:11:39.160 --> 00:11:40.420 and cynical. 00:11:40.419 --> 00:11:42.439 Some days 00:11:42.439 --> 00:11:43.039 you look around 00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:43.899 and don't even quite know 00:11:43.899 --> 00:11:44.879 what to believe anymore. 00:11:46.439 --> 00:11:47.439 Doubt and disappointment 00:11:47.439 --> 00:11:48.079 can be provoked 00:11:48.079 --> 00:11:49.240 by all kinds of things, 00:11:49.339 --> 00:11:49.719 whether it's 00:11:49.719 --> 00:11:51.799 simple physical tiredness 00:11:51.799 --> 00:11:54.139 or grieving a loss, 00:11:55.459 --> 00:11:56.500 boredom and idleness, 00:11:57.159 --> 00:11:58.079 spiritual attack, 00:11:59.019 --> 00:12:00.259 harboring unconfessed sin, 00:12:01.539 --> 00:12:02.719 all kinds of reasons. 00:12:04.019 --> 00:12:04.779 Sometimes it's 00:12:04.779 --> 00:12:05.959 when we feel strongest 00:12:05.959 --> 00:12:07.699 that we're most 00:12:07.699 --> 00:12:08.679 spiritually vulnerable. 00:12:08.679 --> 00:12:10.819 After all, 00:12:10.859 --> 00:12:11.739 the Bible warns us 00:12:11.739 --> 00:12:13.039 pride goes before a fall. 00:12:14.620 --> 00:12:15.439 And sometimes 00:12:15.439 --> 00:12:16.779 it's when we feel weakest 00:12:16.779 --> 00:12:17.879 that our faith 00:12:17.879 --> 00:12:18.899 is being refined, 00:12:20.120 --> 00:12:21.899 sometimes unbeknownst to us. 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:24.979 What do we do 00:12:24.979 --> 00:12:26.099 when we're in the midst 00:12:26.099 --> 00:12:26.559 of doubt, 00:12:27.500 --> 00:12:28.019 disappointment, 00:12:28.579 --> 00:12:29.219 or depression? 00:12:30.839 --> 00:12:31.879 Well, sometimes I think 00:12:31.879 --> 00:12:33.500 we hold on to those things. 00:12:34.459 --> 00:12:35.740 We sort of turn them 00:12:35.740 --> 00:12:36.419 over and over 00:12:36.419 --> 00:12:37.339 in our own minds. 00:12:37.340 --> 00:12:38.620 We simmer 00:12:38.620 --> 00:12:39.879 and marinate in them. 00:12:40.879 --> 00:12:42.440 We can even become proud 00:12:42.440 --> 00:12:44.160 of them. 00:12:44.259 --> 00:12:45.300 We see these things 00:12:45.300 --> 00:12:46.660 as a badge of authenticity 00:12:46.660 --> 00:12:48.980 that distinguishes us 00:12:48.980 --> 00:12:50.720 from more simple-minded believers. 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:53.840 If we're honest with ourselves, 00:12:53.899 --> 00:12:54.500 we'd be afraid 00:12:54.500 --> 00:12:55.720 to let those things go. 00:12:58.300 --> 00:12:59.540 Sometimes we hide 00:12:59.540 --> 00:13:01.240 our doubts instead. 00:13:01.240 --> 00:13:03.759 We feel that doubt 00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:04.840 is inherently shameful, 00:13:04.840 --> 00:13:05.700 so we avoid 00:13:05.700 --> 00:13:06.879 revealing our doubts 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:07.919 and our disappointments 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:09.340 to fellow Christians. 00:13:10.060 --> 00:13:11.360 We especially resist 00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:12.299 voicing any doubts 00:13:12.299 --> 00:13:13.180 to a Christian leader. 00:13:14.560 --> 00:13:15.500 Perhaps we share 00:13:15.500 --> 00:13:15.879 our doubts 00:13:15.879 --> 00:13:16.639 and disappointments 00:13:16.639 --> 00:13:18.080 with unbelievers 00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:20.500 or unorthodox believers, 00:13:21.019 --> 00:13:21.700 thinking that they 00:13:21.700 --> 00:13:22.600 will be more sympathetic. 00:13:24.480 --> 00:13:25.539 But those are not 00:13:25.539 --> 00:13:26.519 healthy responses 00:13:26.519 --> 00:13:27.100 to doubt 00:13:27.100 --> 00:13:27.779 and disappointment. 00:13:27.779 --> 00:13:31.079 Look at what John does here. 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:33.919 He sends messengers 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:34.720 to Jesus. 00:13:35.759 --> 00:13:37.240 Despite the prison walls, 00:13:37.379 --> 00:13:38.919 despite the geographical distance 00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:40.139 separating him and Jesus, 00:13:40.279 --> 00:13:41.419 he finds a way 00:13:41.419 --> 00:13:43.319 to communicate his questions 00:13:43.319 --> 00:13:45.120 and bring his doubts 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:46.500 to Jesus. 00:13:46.500 --> 00:13:49.279 There's no one 00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:50.179 more sympathetic 00:13:50.179 --> 00:13:51.980 and no one 00:13:51.980 --> 00:13:52.799 more wise 00:13:52.799 --> 00:13:53.879 than Jesus. 00:13:55.299 --> 00:13:56.779 So bring your doubt 00:13:56.779 --> 00:13:57.700 and your disappointment 00:13:57.700 --> 00:13:58.519 and your depression 00:13:58.519 --> 00:13:59.159 to Jesus 00:13:59.159 --> 00:14:00.259 through prayer 00:14:00.259 --> 00:14:02.019 and through fellowship 00:14:02.019 --> 00:14:02.740 with his people. 00:14:05.240 --> 00:14:06.440 There's John's question. 00:14:07.679 --> 00:14:08.679 Are you the one? 00:14:09.879 --> 00:14:10.799 Or shall we wait? 00:14:12.200 --> 00:14:13.779 Now let's look at Jesus' answer 00:14:13.779 --> 00:14:15.259 in verse 21 to 28. 00:14:16.500 --> 00:14:17.759 Notice how Jesus 00:14:17.759 --> 00:14:18.860 responds to John. 00:14:20.120 --> 00:14:21.720 He does not rebuke 00:14:21.720 --> 00:14:22.779 or shame him. 00:14:24.580 --> 00:14:25.580 He does not say 00:14:25.580 --> 00:14:27.000 stop asking such questions. 00:14:27.100 --> 00:14:27.940 You should know the answer, 00:14:28.019 --> 00:14:28.539 of course. 00:14:30.879 --> 00:14:31.620 Look instead 00:14:31.620 --> 00:14:32.460 at how he responds. 00:14:32.559 --> 00:14:33.039 Verse 21. 00:14:33.220 --> 00:14:34.200 He does a bunch of miracles 00:14:34.200 --> 00:14:35.919 right in front of their eyes. 00:14:36.039 --> 00:14:37.480 He shows John's messengers 00:14:37.480 --> 00:14:38.419 some of the visible 00:14:38.419 --> 00:14:39.879 fruits of his ministry. 00:14:40.820 --> 00:14:42.200 You learn who Jesus is 00:14:42.200 --> 00:14:43.399 by seeing what he does. 00:14:43.399 --> 00:14:46.699 And there are many people 00:14:46.699 --> 00:14:48.679 even right here 00:14:48.679 --> 00:14:49.240 in this room 00:14:49.240 --> 00:14:51.220 who can testify 00:14:51.220 --> 00:14:52.360 to the transforming 00:14:52.360 --> 00:14:54.139 and healing power 00:14:54.139 --> 00:14:55.159 of Jesus Christ. 00:14:56.019 --> 00:14:57.439 Where Christ is 00:14:57.439 --> 00:14:58.579 we will see his 00:14:58.579 --> 00:15:00.600 actual and visible work 00:15:00.600 --> 00:15:01.740 in people's hearts 00:15:01.740 --> 00:15:02.759 and lives. 00:15:03.659 --> 00:15:05.179 Not always in the form 00:15:05.179 --> 00:15:06.419 of miraculous healings 00:15:06.419 --> 00:15:08.019 but real fruits 00:15:08.019 --> 00:15:08.600 of the spirit. 00:15:08.799 --> 00:15:10.259 Real change over time. 00:15:10.259 --> 00:15:11.659 Sometimes it's two steps forward 00:15:11.659 --> 00:15:13.019 and one and a half steps back. 00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:14.539 But it's real change 00:15:14.539 --> 00:15:15.539 that wouldn't be happening 00:15:15.539 --> 00:15:16.639 in your life 00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:17.840 or in other people's lives 00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:18.919 apart from Christ 00:15:18.919 --> 00:15:19.759 and the Holy Spirit. 00:15:21.080 --> 00:15:21.759 And sometimes 00:15:21.759 --> 00:15:22.519 when we're doubting 00:15:22.519 --> 00:15:23.179 or disappointment 00:15:23.179 --> 00:15:24.299 we can be encouraged 00:15:24.299 --> 00:15:25.639 by looking around 00:15:25.639 --> 00:15:26.700 at our brothers and sisters 00:15:26.700 --> 00:15:28.120 and seeing God 00:15:28.120 --> 00:15:28.500 at work 00:15:28.500 --> 00:15:29.419 in their lives. 00:15:31.620 --> 00:15:32.539 Verse 22. 00:15:32.679 --> 00:15:33.379 Jesus lists 00:15:33.379 --> 00:15:34.480 the work of mercy 00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:35.220 he has done. 00:15:36.100 --> 00:15:37.120 Sort of summarizing 00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:38.179 these last three chapters. 00:15:38.179 --> 00:15:38.779 but these words 00:15:38.779 --> 00:15:39.939 are also a fulfillment 00:15:39.939 --> 00:15:41.479 of Isaiah's prophecies. 00:15:41.859 --> 00:15:42.419 And John 00:15:42.419 --> 00:15:43.939 well versed in the Old Testament 00:15:43.939 --> 00:15:45.239 would have recognized that. 00:15:46.019 --> 00:15:47.259 Because Isaiah prophesied 00:15:47.259 --> 00:15:48.779 that in the day of the Messiah 00:15:48.779 --> 00:15:50.219 exactly these things 00:15:50.219 --> 00:15:50.719 would happen. 00:15:51.919 --> 00:15:52.459 For example 00:15:52.459 --> 00:15:53.259 Isaiah 35 00:15:53.259 --> 00:15:54.120 5 and 6 00:15:54.120 --> 00:15:54.839 says 00:15:54.839 --> 00:15:55.279 Then 00:15:55.279 --> 00:15:56.779 the eyes of the blind 00:15:56.779 --> 00:15:57.459 shall be opened 00:15:57.459 --> 00:15:58.379 and the ears 00:15:58.379 --> 00:15:59.079 of the deaf 00:15:59.079 --> 00:16:01.219 unstopped. 00:16:01.559 --> 00:16:02.799 Then shall the lame man 00:16:02.799 --> 00:16:03.740 leap like a deer. 00:16:04.779 --> 00:16:05.379 Isaiah 26 00:16:05.379 --> 00:16:05.799 says 00:16:05.799 --> 00:16:06.679 Your dead shall live 00:16:06.679 --> 00:16:07.919 their bodies shall rise. 00:16:08.179 --> 00:16:09.059 Isaiah 61 00:16:09.059 --> 00:16:09.379 1 00:16:09.379 --> 00:16:10.139 The spirit of the Lord 00:16:10.139 --> 00:16:10.699 is upon me 00:16:10.699 --> 00:16:11.439 he has anointed me 00:16:11.439 --> 00:16:12.579 to bring good news 00:16:12.579 --> 00:16:13.459 to the poor. 00:16:14.919 --> 00:16:16.099 What Jesus is saying 00:16:16.099 --> 00:16:17.839 is I'm the promised Messiah 00:16:17.839 --> 00:16:19.419 the one of whom 00:16:19.419 --> 00:16:19.979 the scriptures 00:16:19.979 --> 00:16:21.679 have foretold. 00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:23.959 Jesus reminds John 00:16:23.959 --> 00:16:25.159 that the Bible 00:16:25.159 --> 00:16:25.959 has a storyline 00:16:25.959 --> 00:16:27.879 and Jesus is the climax 00:16:27.879 --> 00:16:29.319 it leads up to him 00:16:29.319 --> 00:16:29.899 and sometimes 00:16:29.899 --> 00:16:31.059 that's helpful 00:16:31.059 --> 00:16:31.919 when we're facing 00:16:31.919 --> 00:16:32.819 doubts as well. 00:16:33.620 --> 00:16:35.299 To see God's purposes 00:16:35.299 --> 00:16:36.299 God's faithfulness 00:16:36.299 --> 00:16:36.819 in the past 00:16:36.820 --> 00:16:37.360 to see that 00:16:37.360 --> 00:16:38.580 God led his people 00:16:38.580 --> 00:16:39.379 in the Old Testament 00:16:39.379 --> 00:16:40.520 through a wilderness too. 00:16:42.340 --> 00:16:43.480 And God's people 00:16:43.480 --> 00:16:44.020 waited 00:16:44.020 --> 00:16:45.140 hundreds of years 00:16:45.140 --> 00:16:47.220 and many of them 00:16:47.220 --> 00:16:48.200 died without seeing 00:16:48.200 --> 00:16:48.860 what was promised 00:16:48.860 --> 00:16:49.879 but God was faithful 00:16:49.879 --> 00:16:51.060 to his promises. 00:16:52.800 --> 00:16:53.879 It's helpful for us 00:16:53.879 --> 00:16:54.680 to look back 00:16:54.680 --> 00:16:56.020 and see 00:16:56.020 --> 00:16:57.420 God's faithfulness 00:16:57.420 --> 00:16:58.020 in the scriptures. 00:16:59.980 --> 00:17:00.800 Verse 23 00:17:00.800 --> 00:17:01.820 Jesus gives a challenge 00:17:01.820 --> 00:17:02.600 blessed is the one 00:17:02.600 --> 00:17:03.380 who is not offended 00:17:03.380 --> 00:17:04.000 by me. 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:05.799 Another translation 00:17:05.799 --> 00:17:06.599 in the NIV says 00:17:06.599 --> 00:17:07.619 blessed is the one 00:17:07.619 --> 00:17:08.660 who does not stumble 00:17:08.660 --> 00:17:10.079 on account of me. 00:17:11.259 --> 00:17:11.920 You might say 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:12.539 blessed is the one 00:17:12.539 --> 00:17:13.579 who is not turned off 00:17:13.579 --> 00:17:14.579 by me. 00:17:15.720 --> 00:17:16.960 What's Jesus saying here? 00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:20.400 Well it seems that John 00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:21.640 most likely 00:17:21.640 --> 00:17:22.720 had expectations 00:17:22.720 --> 00:17:23.940 about Jesus 00:17:23.940 --> 00:17:25.039 that needed 00:17:25.039 --> 00:17:26.200 to be revised. 00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:28.460 He was expecting 00:17:28.460 --> 00:17:28.940 Jesus 00:17:28.940 --> 00:17:30.819 to bring salvation 00:17:30.819 --> 00:17:31.920 and judgment 00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:33.740 all at once. 00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:36.240 Jesus was operating 00:17:36.240 --> 00:17:37.160 on a different timeline. 00:17:37.320 --> 00:17:38.039 Yes there would be 00:17:38.039 --> 00:17:39.060 a future day of judgment 00:17:39.060 --> 00:17:40.240 but now Jesus was here 00:17:40.240 --> 00:17:41.360 to bring God's mercy 00:17:41.360 --> 00:17:43.560 his saving grace 00:17:43.560 --> 00:17:44.759 to a broken world. 00:17:46.800 --> 00:17:47.820 Sometimes our doubts 00:17:47.820 --> 00:17:48.600 and disappointments 00:17:48.600 --> 00:17:49.320 are rooted in 00:17:49.320 --> 00:17:50.140 sincere 00:17:50.140 --> 00:17:51.500 but misguided 00:17:51.500 --> 00:17:52.460 expectations 00:17:52.460 --> 00:17:53.700 about what God 00:17:53.700 --> 00:17:54.460 is going to do 00:17:54.460 --> 00:17:55.480 and when he's going 00:17:55.480 --> 00:17:55.940 to do it 00:17:55.940 --> 00:17:56.880 and what part 00:17:56.880 --> 00:17:57.920 I'm supposed to play 00:17:57.920 --> 00:17:58.420 in it. 00:17:58.420 --> 00:18:01.039 And sometimes 00:18:01.039 --> 00:18:01.660 our doubts 00:18:01.660 --> 00:18:02.440 and disappointments 00:18:02.440 --> 00:18:03.560 are God's means 00:18:03.560 --> 00:18:05.620 instruments 00:18:05.620 --> 00:18:06.400 that he uses 00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:07.320 to reshape 00:18:07.320 --> 00:18:08.880 and refine 00:18:08.880 --> 00:18:10.080 and refocus 00:18:10.080 --> 00:18:11.440 our expectations. 00:18:14.700 --> 00:18:15.940 Sometimes we can be 00:18:15.940 --> 00:18:16.320 offended 00:18:16.320 --> 00:18:18.160 by the mercy 00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:19.360 Jesus shows. 00:18:20.320 --> 00:18:21.259 Isn't that what 00:18:21.259 --> 00:18:22.120 Jesus has been doing? 00:18:23.019 --> 00:18:24.080 Showing mercy 00:18:24.080 --> 00:18:25.080 to all kinds 00:18:25.080 --> 00:18:25.640 of people. 00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:27.860 Teaching his disciples 00:18:27.859 --> 00:18:28.839 love your enemies 00:18:28.839 --> 00:18:29.959 do good to those 00:18:29.959 --> 00:18:30.519 who hate you 00:18:30.519 --> 00:18:31.199 bless those 00:18:31.199 --> 00:18:32.000 who curse you 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:33.119 pray for those 00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:34.259 who abuse you 00:18:34.259 --> 00:18:34.919 be merciful 00:18:34.919 --> 00:18:36.299 even as your father 00:18:36.299 --> 00:18:37.379 is merciful. 00:18:40.439 --> 00:18:41.399 God the father 00:18:41.399 --> 00:18:41.979 is merciful 00:18:41.979 --> 00:18:42.779 every day 00:18:42.779 --> 00:18:43.819 to people 00:18:43.819 --> 00:18:44.559 who hate him 00:18:44.559 --> 00:18:45.599 and curse him 00:18:45.599 --> 00:18:46.939 and abuse his blessings 00:18:46.939 --> 00:18:48.059 and he calls us 00:18:48.059 --> 00:18:48.619 to be merciful 00:18:48.619 --> 00:18:49.240 like him. 00:18:49.819 --> 00:18:51.059 That's a hard teaching. 00:18:53.139 --> 00:18:53.699 Right? 00:18:53.759 --> 00:18:54.159 Many of us 00:18:54.159 --> 00:18:54.699 would be offended 00:18:54.699 --> 00:18:55.359 by that 00:18:55.359 --> 00:18:57.459 if we take it 00:18:57.459 --> 00:18:57.899 seriously. 00:18:59.119 --> 00:18:59.879 Now it doesn't mean 00:18:59.879 --> 00:19:00.459 we shouldn't set 00:19:00.459 --> 00:19:01.339 appropriate boundaries 00:19:01.339 --> 00:19:02.159 when relationships 00:19:02.159 --> 00:19:03.240 turn toxic 00:19:03.240 --> 00:19:04.099 but it does mean 00:19:04.099 --> 00:19:04.699 we should pray 00:19:04.699 --> 00:19:05.240 for people 00:19:05.240 --> 00:19:05.859 even those 00:19:05.859 --> 00:19:06.899 that hurt us 00:19:06.899 --> 00:19:08.279 and pray 00:19:08.279 --> 00:19:09.479 for an open heart 00:19:09.479 --> 00:19:10.299 toward reconciliation. 00:19:13.519 --> 00:19:14.519 Perhaps we're offended 00:19:14.519 --> 00:19:15.179 when others seem 00:19:15.179 --> 00:19:16.099 to receive more mercy 00:19:16.099 --> 00:19:16.740 than we do. 00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:19.219 Imagine John 00:19:19.219 --> 00:19:21.179 sitting in prison 00:19:21.180 --> 00:19:23.080 and he gets 00:19:23.080 --> 00:19:23.680 this report. 00:19:24.420 --> 00:19:24.940 Jesus heals 00:19:24.940 --> 00:19:25.440 the lame. 00:19:25.980 --> 00:19:26.600 He gives sight 00:19:26.600 --> 00:19:27.220 to the blind. 00:19:27.560 --> 00:19:28.580 He cleanses lepers. 00:19:28.980 --> 00:19:30.000 He raises the dead 00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:31.580 and I'm still here 00:19:31.580 --> 00:19:32.980 in prison. 00:19:35.400 --> 00:19:36.180 Okay Jesus 00:19:36.180 --> 00:19:37.019 I can see you're there 00:19:37.019 --> 00:19:37.740 for somebody else 00:19:37.740 --> 00:19:38.620 but what about me? 00:19:41.240 --> 00:19:41.900 Jesus said 00:19:41.900 --> 00:19:42.640 blessed is the one 00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:43.299 who's not offended 00:19:43.299 --> 00:19:43.900 by me. 00:19:45.240 --> 00:19:46.220 In another place 00:19:46.220 --> 00:19:46.519 he says 00:19:46.519 --> 00:19:47.400 don't be envious 00:19:47.400 --> 00:19:49.039 because I'm generous. 00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:51.399 You see 00:19:51.399 --> 00:19:51.940 the salvation 00:19:51.940 --> 00:19:52.879 that Jesus brings 00:19:52.879 --> 00:19:54.579 is by his grace alone. 00:19:56.139 --> 00:19:57.180 It's not something 00:19:57.180 --> 00:19:57.839 we earn 00:19:57.839 --> 00:19:58.980 or deserve 00:19:58.980 --> 00:20:00.379 by our works. 00:20:02.299 --> 00:20:03.440 We can't deserve it. 00:20:03.500 --> 00:20:04.099 We can't earn it. 00:20:04.139 --> 00:20:05.200 We can only receive it. 00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:06.480 And some people 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:07.519 are offended by that 00:20:07.519 --> 00:20:08.180 because it means 00:20:08.180 --> 00:20:09.259 it humbles us. 00:20:10.119 --> 00:20:11.000 The only way 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:11.720 we can receive it 00:20:11.720 --> 00:20:12.720 is to humble ourselves 00:20:12.720 --> 00:20:13.759 and lay down our pride 00:20:13.759 --> 00:20:14.279 and acknowledge 00:20:14.279 --> 00:20:15.180 we don't deserve it 00:20:15.180 --> 00:20:16.059 and we can't earn it. 00:20:18.079 --> 00:20:18.960 And we have to 00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:19.740 open our hands 00:20:19.740 --> 00:20:20.279 and receive it 00:20:20.279 --> 00:20:21.059 as a free gift. 00:20:23.120 --> 00:20:24.279 But when we accept 00:20:24.279 --> 00:20:25.620 that salvation 00:20:25.620 --> 00:20:26.319 by grace 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:28.640 Jesus says 00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:29.220 we're blessed. 00:20:30.779 --> 00:20:31.519 We're at peace 00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:32.160 with God. 00:20:33.319 --> 00:20:34.500 We can have joy 00:20:34.500 --> 00:20:37.259 from the Lord. 00:20:38.279 --> 00:20:39.200 Jesus is a merciful 00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:40.360 Messiah. 00:20:41.840 --> 00:20:42.700 That's the first part 00:20:42.700 --> 00:20:43.340 of his response 00:20:43.340 --> 00:20:43.860 to John 00:20:43.860 --> 00:20:45.539 is emphasizing 00:20:45.539 --> 00:20:46.180 his mission 00:20:46.180 --> 00:20:46.720 of mercy. 00:20:46.720 --> 00:20:48.839 But then Jesus 00:20:48.839 --> 00:20:49.680 turns to the crowds 00:20:49.680 --> 00:20:50.960 in verses 24 to 28 00:20:50.960 --> 00:20:51.579 and he asks them 00:20:51.579 --> 00:20:52.600 a question about John. 00:20:52.700 --> 00:20:53.400 What did you go out 00:20:53.400 --> 00:20:53.980 into the wilderness 00:20:53.980 --> 00:20:54.559 to see? 00:20:54.940 --> 00:20:55.940 He repeats this question 00:20:55.940 --> 00:20:56.759 three times. 00:20:58.880 --> 00:20:59.259 Right? 00:20:59.339 --> 00:21:00.059 Not a reed shaken 00:21:00.059 --> 00:21:00.700 by the wind. 00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:01.759 Not a weak 00:21:01.759 --> 00:21:02.539 and wavering 00:21:02.539 --> 00:21:03.279 individual 00:21:03.279 --> 00:21:04.460 driven by the trends 00:21:04.460 --> 00:21:05.360 of popular opinion. 00:21:05.539 --> 00:21:05.980 Not a man 00:21:05.980 --> 00:21:07.160 dressed in soft clothing. 00:21:08.160 --> 00:21:08.559 Overprivileged, 00:21:08.680 --> 00:21:09.319 overprotected, 00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:10.259 and overindulged. 00:21:10.319 --> 00:21:10.880 But a prophet. 00:21:11.960 --> 00:21:12.420 In fact, 00:21:12.500 --> 00:21:13.500 the messenger 00:21:13.500 --> 00:21:15.380 prophesied by Malachi 00:21:15.380 --> 00:21:16.180 who would prepare 00:21:16.180 --> 00:21:16.560 the way 00:21:16.560 --> 00:21:17.100 for the coming 00:21:17.100 --> 00:21:18.000 of the Lord himself. 00:21:19.780 --> 00:21:20.880 Jesus is a merciful 00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:21.420 Messiah, 00:21:22.100 --> 00:21:22.620 but John 00:21:22.620 --> 00:21:23.920 was a messenger 00:21:23.920 --> 00:21:24.580 of repentance. 00:21:26.360 --> 00:21:27.480 John was a prophet 00:21:27.480 --> 00:21:27.940 in the line 00:21:27.940 --> 00:21:28.460 of Elijah. 00:21:29.620 --> 00:21:30.500 He spoke the truth 00:21:30.500 --> 00:21:31.580 without apologizing 00:21:31.580 --> 00:21:32.140 for it, 00:21:32.520 --> 00:21:33.660 without mincing words, 00:21:33.760 --> 00:21:34.240 without beating 00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:34.960 around the bush. 00:21:35.020 --> 00:21:35.600 He called people 00:21:35.600 --> 00:21:36.220 to repent, 00:21:37.060 --> 00:21:38.380 to confess their sins, 00:21:38.380 --> 00:21:39.380 and be baptized 00:21:39.380 --> 00:21:40.520 in the Jordan River. 00:21:41.120 --> 00:21:42.160 That was a dramatic 00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:42.960 public symbol. 00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:45.680 It means I need 00:21:45.680 --> 00:21:46.799 to start all over again. 00:21:49.180 --> 00:21:50.079 I'm going to leave 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:51.000 behind my old way 00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:51.340 of life 00:21:51.340 --> 00:21:52.360 and start something new. 00:21:53.680 --> 00:21:54.759 And John didn't just 00:21:54.759 --> 00:21:55.620 talk about forsaking 00:21:55.620 --> 00:21:56.460 sin in general. 00:21:57.019 --> 00:21:57.980 He called people 00:21:57.980 --> 00:21:58.380 to repent 00:21:58.380 --> 00:21:59.340 of particular sins. 00:21:59.440 --> 00:22:00.019 So John told 00:22:00.019 --> 00:22:00.880 the tax collectors 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:02.400 who were notorious 00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:03.480 for fudging the numbers 00:22:03.480 --> 00:22:04.460 to their own benefit, 00:22:04.819 --> 00:22:06.259 don't collect any more 00:22:06.259 --> 00:22:06.940 than you're authorized 00:22:06.940 --> 00:22:07.380 to. 00:22:08.299 --> 00:22:09.640 He told the soldiers, 00:22:10.279 --> 00:22:11.220 notorious for abusing 00:22:11.220 --> 00:22:11.799 their power, 00:22:11.799 --> 00:22:12.879 don't extort money 00:22:12.879 --> 00:22:13.579 from anyone. 00:22:14.059 --> 00:22:14.599 By threats 00:22:14.599 --> 00:22:15.680 or false accusation, 00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:16.940 be content with your wages. 00:22:17.480 --> 00:22:18.339 He told Herod, 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:19.680 who did whatever 00:22:19.680 --> 00:22:20.579 he wanted to do 00:22:20.579 --> 00:22:21.899 and expected others 00:22:21.899 --> 00:22:22.659 to get in line, 00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:23.359 repent, 00:22:24.259 --> 00:22:25.319 you're committing adultery. 00:22:26.859 --> 00:22:27.539 John was willing 00:22:27.539 --> 00:22:28.700 to get in people's face 00:22:28.700 --> 00:22:30.039 and confront them 00:22:30.039 --> 00:22:30.839 about their sin. 00:22:31.619 --> 00:22:32.319 He called people 00:22:32.319 --> 00:22:32.879 to repentance 00:22:32.879 --> 00:22:33.779 and warned 00:22:33.779 --> 00:22:34.899 of God's coming judgment. 00:22:35.399 --> 00:22:35.700 He said, 00:22:35.859 --> 00:22:36.759 even now the axe 00:22:36.759 --> 00:22:37.619 is laid to the root 00:22:37.619 --> 00:22:38.200 of the trees. 00:22:38.339 --> 00:22:38.919 Every tree, 00:22:39.099 --> 00:22:39.339 therefore, 00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:40.299 that does not produce 00:22:40.299 --> 00:22:40.819 good fruit 00:22:40.819 --> 00:22:41.720 will be cut down 00:22:41.720 --> 00:22:42.460 and thrown 00:22:42.460 --> 00:22:43.200 into the fire. 00:22:45.960 --> 00:22:46.419 Now, 00:22:46.480 --> 00:22:47.139 in some ways, 00:22:48.659 --> 00:22:49.439 Jesus and John 00:22:49.439 --> 00:22:51.480 might seem like opposites. 00:22:53.159 --> 00:22:53.919 John preaching 00:22:53.919 --> 00:22:54.559 about sin 00:22:54.559 --> 00:22:55.159 and repentance 00:22:55.159 --> 00:22:56.220 and warning 00:22:56.220 --> 00:22:57.299 of God's coming judgment. 00:22:57.460 --> 00:22:58.319 Jesus proclaiming 00:22:58.319 --> 00:22:59.299 good news to the poor 00:22:59.299 --> 00:23:00.039 and healing 00:23:00.039 --> 00:23:01.099 all kinds of people. 00:23:02.980 --> 00:23:03.419 John, 00:23:03.500 --> 00:23:04.859 the solemn ascetic 00:23:04.859 --> 00:23:06.339 living in the wilderness, 00:23:07.740 --> 00:23:08.960 subsisting on locusts 00:23:08.960 --> 00:23:09.660 and wild honey, 00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:10.500 eating no bread, 00:23:10.620 --> 00:23:11.480 drinking no alcohol, 00:23:11.620 --> 00:23:12.400 teaching his disciples 00:23:12.400 --> 00:23:13.000 to fast. 00:23:13.120 --> 00:23:13.380 Jesus, 00:23:13.860 --> 00:23:14.779 the joyful king 00:23:14.779 --> 00:23:16.319 who spent most of his time 00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:17.019 in the cities, 00:23:17.240 --> 00:23:18.079 eating and drinking 00:23:18.079 --> 00:23:18.900 with tax collectors 00:23:18.900 --> 00:23:19.400 and sinners, 00:23:19.539 --> 00:23:20.259 speaking of himself 00:23:20.259 --> 00:23:21.240 as the bridegroom, 00:23:21.620 --> 00:23:22.220 his disciples 00:23:22.220 --> 00:23:23.019 as wedding guests 00:23:23.019 --> 00:23:23.660 and his ministry 00:23:23.660 --> 00:23:24.660 as new wine 00:23:24.660 --> 00:23:26.019 in new wineskins. 00:23:28.600 --> 00:23:29.340 You might think, 00:23:29.559 --> 00:23:30.460 that looks about 00:23:30.460 --> 00:23:31.319 as different as can be. 00:23:32.440 --> 00:23:33.360 But Jesus spoke 00:23:33.360 --> 00:23:34.480 very highly of John. 00:23:34.480 --> 00:23:37.640 Jesus did not criticize 00:23:37.640 --> 00:23:38.819 anything about 00:23:38.819 --> 00:23:39.640 John's ministry. 00:23:40.799 --> 00:23:41.900 Among those born of women, 00:23:42.039 --> 00:23:43.460 none is greater than John, 00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:43.920 he said. 00:23:45.519 --> 00:23:47.180 Jesus absolutely affirmed 00:23:47.180 --> 00:23:47.759 John's ministry 00:23:47.759 --> 00:23:48.900 as a messenger of repentance. 00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:52.980 And yet, 00:23:53.360 --> 00:23:54.500 he said, 00:23:54.579 --> 00:23:55.380 the one who is least 00:23:55.380 --> 00:23:56.240 in the kingdom of God 00:23:56.240 --> 00:23:57.019 is greater than he. 00:23:57.440 --> 00:23:58.019 Verse 28. 00:23:59.360 --> 00:23:59.759 You might say, 00:23:59.799 --> 00:24:00.799 what does that verse mean? 00:24:02.019 --> 00:24:02.980 Well, it means that John 00:24:02.980 --> 00:24:04.680 was a transitional figure. 00:24:05.279 --> 00:24:05.980 The messenger 00:24:05.980 --> 00:24:07.819 going before the Messiah. 00:24:07.960 --> 00:24:09.440 Sort of like the torchbearer 00:24:09.440 --> 00:24:11.299 of the Olympic Games. 00:24:12.259 --> 00:24:13.200 Leading the way, 00:24:13.380 --> 00:24:14.319 heralding the greatness 00:24:14.319 --> 00:24:14.980 and uniqueness 00:24:14.980 --> 00:24:16.019 of what is to come. 00:24:17.440 --> 00:24:18.180 But of course, 00:24:18.259 --> 00:24:19.640 once the Olympic Games begin, 00:24:20.920 --> 00:24:21.819 the torchbearer 00:24:21.819 --> 00:24:22.860 fades into the background. 00:24:24.680 --> 00:24:26.660 Or it's like the first emissary 00:24:26.660 --> 00:24:28.539 of the Allied Liberation Forces 00:24:28.539 --> 00:24:29.839 announcing to the inhabitants 00:24:29.839 --> 00:24:31.640 of a Nazi concentration camp, 00:24:31.640 --> 00:24:33.340 you are no longer 00:24:33.340 --> 00:24:34.700 under Hitler's dominion. 00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:37.040 A new kingdom has arrived. 00:24:37.680 --> 00:24:39.120 A new regime is in place. 00:24:41.640 --> 00:24:42.960 John was preparing the way 00:24:42.960 --> 00:24:43.500 for the Lord, 00:24:43.640 --> 00:24:44.400 announcing the coming 00:24:44.400 --> 00:24:45.020 of the king. 00:24:46.280 --> 00:24:47.320 His role was unique. 00:24:47.420 --> 00:24:48.180 His role was important. 00:24:48.300 --> 00:24:49.040 But Jesus had come 00:24:49.040 --> 00:24:50.360 to establish God's kingdom 00:24:50.360 --> 00:24:51.580 with authority. 00:24:53.420 --> 00:24:54.380 And once the king 00:24:54.380 --> 00:24:55.040 had arrived, 00:24:56.120 --> 00:24:56.680 in particular, 00:24:56.840 --> 00:24:57.460 once his kingdom 00:24:57.460 --> 00:24:58.280 would be established 00:24:58.280 --> 00:24:59.200 through his own death 00:24:59.200 --> 00:24:59.840 and resurrection, 00:25:00.059 --> 00:25:01.080 John's role would fade 00:25:01.080 --> 00:25:01.860 into the background 00:25:01.860 --> 00:25:03.640 like a candle 00:25:03.640 --> 00:25:06.039 fading into irrelevance 00:25:06.039 --> 00:25:07.480 before the rising sun. 00:25:10.680 --> 00:25:11.740 So Jesus answered 00:25:11.740 --> 00:25:12.600 to John's question. 00:25:15.900 --> 00:25:17.500 Jesus is the merciful Messiah. 00:25:18.019 --> 00:25:18.680 John's the messenger 00:25:18.680 --> 00:25:19.299 of repentance. 00:25:20.420 --> 00:25:21.519 Now how do we respond 00:25:21.519 --> 00:25:22.740 to both of them? 00:25:22.740 --> 00:25:26.279 In verse 29 to 35, 00:25:26.620 --> 00:25:28.059 we see two responses 00:25:28.059 --> 00:25:30.539 to John and to Jesus. 00:25:33.019 --> 00:25:33.900 And interestingly, 00:25:34.299 --> 00:25:35.799 we don't see 00:25:35.799 --> 00:25:36.779 half the people 00:25:36.779 --> 00:25:37.740 taking John's side 00:25:37.740 --> 00:25:38.359 and half the people 00:25:38.359 --> 00:25:39.380 taking Jesus' side. 00:25:41.180 --> 00:25:42.059 What we see is 00:25:42.059 --> 00:25:42.579 half the people 00:25:42.579 --> 00:25:44.079 take neither side 00:25:44.079 --> 00:25:44.819 and half the people 00:25:44.819 --> 00:25:45.940 take both of them. 00:25:47.960 --> 00:25:49.539 Verse 29 and verse 35, 00:25:49.680 --> 00:25:50.920 we see a positive response. 00:25:50.920 --> 00:25:53.940 When the people 00:25:53.940 --> 00:25:54.440 heard this 00:25:54.440 --> 00:25:55.580 and the tax collectors too, 00:25:55.660 --> 00:25:57.720 they declared God just 00:25:57.720 --> 00:25:59.680 or they justified God 00:25:59.680 --> 00:26:01.080 having been baptized 00:26:01.080 --> 00:26:02.580 with the baptism of John. 00:26:04.100 --> 00:26:05.140 They had responded 00:26:05.140 --> 00:26:05.860 to John's call 00:26:05.860 --> 00:26:06.380 to repentance. 00:26:06.920 --> 00:26:07.680 They had taken 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:08.660 his warning of judgment 00:26:08.660 --> 00:26:09.240 to heart. 00:26:09.460 --> 00:26:10.740 They had heeded his words 00:26:10.740 --> 00:26:11.400 and so they also 00:26:11.400 --> 00:26:12.940 welcomed Jesus' ministry. 00:26:14.300 --> 00:26:15.160 Verse 29, 00:26:15.320 --> 00:26:15.539 I think, 00:26:15.600 --> 00:26:16.320 helps us understand 00:26:16.320 --> 00:26:17.259 verse 35. 00:26:18.420 --> 00:26:19.500 Wisdom is justified 00:26:19.500 --> 00:26:20.539 by all her children. 00:26:20.539 --> 00:26:21.579 It's the same verb, 00:26:22.119 --> 00:26:22.559 justified. 00:26:23.559 --> 00:26:24.319 Now throughout the Bible, 00:26:24.480 --> 00:26:25.539 wisdom is always connected 00:26:25.539 --> 00:26:26.940 with the character of God. 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:29.480 And the children of wisdom 00:26:29.480 --> 00:26:31.099 are people who live 00:26:31.099 --> 00:26:32.940 according to God's wisdom 00:26:32.940 --> 00:26:34.420 or according to God's ways 00:26:34.420 --> 00:26:35.200 and his character. 00:26:36.099 --> 00:26:36.940 In this case, 00:26:37.460 --> 00:26:38.740 those who receive 00:26:38.740 --> 00:26:39.680 John's baptism 00:26:39.680 --> 00:26:41.899 and receive Jesus' ministry 00:26:41.899 --> 00:26:44.059 are the children of wisdom. 00:26:45.379 --> 00:26:46.079 And so just as 00:26:46.079 --> 00:26:46.819 in verse 29, 00:26:46.960 --> 00:26:47.980 it says the tax collectors 00:26:47.980 --> 00:26:48.480 and the people 00:26:48.480 --> 00:26:49.980 declared God just. 00:26:51.400 --> 00:26:52.380 That's the same thing 00:26:52.380 --> 00:26:53.440 verse 35 is saying. 00:26:53.539 --> 00:26:54.579 Wisdom is justified. 00:26:55.380 --> 00:26:56.420 Wisdom's ways 00:26:56.420 --> 00:26:57.819 are proved right 00:26:57.819 --> 00:26:58.960 or declared right 00:26:58.960 --> 00:27:00.180 by all her children. 00:27:02.039 --> 00:27:02.259 All right? 00:27:02.299 --> 00:27:03.200 Those who receive 00:27:03.200 --> 00:27:04.900 the ministry of John 00:27:04.900 --> 00:27:05.420 and Jesus 00:27:05.420 --> 00:27:06.039 declare 00:27:06.039 --> 00:27:07.420 God is righteous 00:27:07.420 --> 00:27:08.319 in calling us 00:27:08.319 --> 00:27:08.839 to repentance 00:27:08.839 --> 00:27:10.400 and God is faithful 00:27:10.400 --> 00:27:11.380 to his promise 00:27:11.380 --> 00:27:12.539 in bringing 00:27:12.539 --> 00:27:13.700 his mercy 00:27:13.700 --> 00:27:14.460 through the Messiah. 00:27:14.460 --> 00:27:17.240 So we see 00:27:17.240 --> 00:27:17.680 those people 00:27:17.680 --> 00:27:18.380 receive both. 00:27:19.079 --> 00:27:19.799 Verse 30, 00:27:19.880 --> 00:27:20.460 by contrast, 00:27:20.559 --> 00:27:21.360 we see the Pharisees 00:27:21.360 --> 00:27:21.840 and the lawyers 00:27:21.840 --> 00:27:23.140 rejected both. 00:27:24.700 --> 00:27:25.279 And in verse 00:27:25.279 --> 00:27:27.079 31 through 34, 00:27:27.220 --> 00:27:28.059 Jesus exposes 00:27:28.059 --> 00:27:29.059 their hypocrisy 00:27:29.059 --> 00:27:29.880 in doing so. 00:27:30.940 --> 00:27:31.620 He says, 00:27:31.700 --> 00:27:32.079 you are like 00:27:32.079 --> 00:27:32.840 fickle children. 00:27:34.500 --> 00:27:35.380 What you want 00:27:35.380 --> 00:27:36.380 is always changing. 00:27:37.440 --> 00:27:38.860 You're never satisfied. 00:27:40.600 --> 00:27:40.900 Right? 00:27:40.960 --> 00:27:41.779 When Jesus arrived 00:27:41.779 --> 00:27:42.640 playing the flute 00:27:42.640 --> 00:27:43.400 as it will, 00:27:43.580 --> 00:27:44.600 summoning people 00:27:44.600 --> 00:27:45.300 into the joy 00:27:45.300 --> 00:27:46.040 of God's kingdom, 00:27:46.520 --> 00:27:47.420 they didn't dance. 00:27:47.520 --> 00:27:48.200 They didn't rejoice. 00:27:48.340 --> 00:27:49.140 They didn't join in. 00:27:49.240 --> 00:27:49.460 Instead, 00:27:49.580 --> 00:27:50.780 they rejected Jesus 00:27:50.780 --> 00:27:51.500 and labeled him 00:27:51.500 --> 00:27:51.940 a glutton 00:27:51.940 --> 00:27:52.620 and a drunkard. 00:27:53.640 --> 00:27:54.720 When John came 00:27:54.720 --> 00:27:55.640 singing a dirge, 00:27:56.040 --> 00:27:57.520 speaking about 00:27:57.520 --> 00:27:58.140 God's wrath 00:27:58.140 --> 00:27:58.600 and judgment 00:27:58.600 --> 00:27:59.280 and calling people 00:27:59.280 --> 00:27:59.820 to repentance, 00:27:59.960 --> 00:28:00.860 they didn't 00:28:00.860 --> 00:28:02.020 mourn over their sin. 00:28:02.520 --> 00:28:03.340 They didn't repent. 00:28:03.420 --> 00:28:03.620 Instead, 00:28:03.680 --> 00:28:04.200 they labeled him 00:28:04.200 --> 00:28:04.860 a fanatic, 00:28:05.360 --> 00:28:06.259 demon-possessed. 00:28:07.740 --> 00:28:08.380 Jesus says, 00:28:08.440 --> 00:28:09.460 you're never satisfied. 00:28:10.640 --> 00:28:11.520 No matter what 00:28:11.520 --> 00:28:12.080 they look like, 00:28:12.079 --> 00:28:12.619 you're always 00:28:12.619 --> 00:28:13.399 finding fault 00:28:13.399 --> 00:28:14.000 with the servants 00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:14.619 of God. 00:28:16.740 --> 00:28:17.339 You see, 00:28:17.399 --> 00:28:17.919 there's a kind 00:28:17.919 --> 00:28:18.299 of doubt 00:28:18.299 --> 00:28:18.919 and questioning 00:28:18.919 --> 00:28:20.919 that is honest 00:28:20.919 --> 00:28:21.559 and sincere. 00:28:23.299 --> 00:28:24.119 There's a kind 00:28:24.119 --> 00:28:24.740 of disappointment 00:28:24.740 --> 00:28:25.399 and depression 00:28:25.399 --> 00:28:26.480 that God's servants 00:28:26.480 --> 00:28:27.339 may, 00:28:28.220 --> 00:28:28.759 and usually 00:28:28.759 --> 00:28:30.019 sometime in their lives 00:28:30.019 --> 00:28:30.379 do, 00:28:31.059 --> 00:28:31.519 experience. 00:28:32.579 --> 00:28:33.740 That's what John the Baptist 00:28:33.740 --> 00:28:34.439 was experiencing 00:28:34.439 --> 00:28:35.059 at the beginning. 00:28:36.500 --> 00:28:37.259 He had some 00:28:37.259 --> 00:28:38.419 misguided expectations. 00:28:39.179 --> 00:28:40.240 He was in a very 00:28:40.240 --> 00:28:41.179 difficult and stressful 00:28:41.180 --> 00:28:42.259 personal situation 00:28:42.259 --> 00:28:43.320 and so he had 00:28:43.320 --> 00:28:43.720 some doubts 00:28:43.720 --> 00:28:44.320 and disappointment. 00:28:45.420 --> 00:28:45.880 Jesus says, 00:28:45.960 --> 00:28:46.519 no worries. 00:28:49.259 --> 00:28:50.060 Jesus doesn't 00:28:50.060 --> 00:28:51.060 rebuke or condemn 00:28:51.060 --> 00:28:51.920 or shame him. 00:28:52.220 --> 00:28:52.920 He responds 00:28:52.920 --> 00:28:53.560 to his question 00:28:53.560 --> 00:28:54.259 with mercy 00:28:54.259 --> 00:28:55.980 and with encouragement 00:28:55.980 --> 00:28:57.480 and even publicly 00:28:57.480 --> 00:28:58.320 commending him 00:28:58.320 --> 00:28:59.420 for his faithfulness. 00:29:01.500 --> 00:29:02.380 But there's also 00:29:02.380 --> 00:29:03.120 a kind of doubt 00:29:03.120 --> 00:29:03.720 and questioning 00:29:03.720 --> 00:29:04.940 that is not 00:29:04.940 --> 00:29:05.759 fully honest 00:29:05.759 --> 00:29:06.519 or sincere, 00:29:06.900 --> 00:29:08.859 which we see 00:29:08.859 --> 00:29:10.059 in the Pharisees 00:29:10.059 --> 00:29:10.660 and the lawyers. 00:29:12.200 --> 00:29:13.839 They were unmoved 00:29:13.839 --> 00:29:15.279 either to joy 00:29:15.279 --> 00:29:16.519 or to tears. 00:29:17.480 --> 00:29:18.740 They were indifferent, 00:29:19.019 --> 00:29:19.559 complacent, 00:29:19.700 --> 00:29:20.339 apathetic, 00:29:21.039 --> 00:29:21.660 dismissive, 00:29:22.119 --> 00:29:23.299 impossible to please. 00:29:23.839 --> 00:29:24.660 They were always 00:29:24.660 --> 00:29:25.500 finding fault 00:29:25.500 --> 00:29:27.059 with God's servants. 00:29:27.799 --> 00:29:28.980 One's too strict, 00:29:29.440 --> 00:29:30.759 the other's too generous. 00:29:30.759 --> 00:29:33.119 because really, 00:29:33.379 --> 00:29:35.119 they didn't want 00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:35.859 either John 00:29:35.859 --> 00:29:36.460 or Jesus 00:29:36.460 --> 00:29:37.000 to interfere 00:29:37.000 --> 00:29:37.519 too much 00:29:37.519 --> 00:29:38.259 with their lives. 00:29:39.299 --> 00:29:40.039 They thought 00:29:40.039 --> 00:29:40.680 they were pretty good 00:29:40.680 --> 00:29:41.259 as they were. 00:29:42.740 --> 00:29:43.319 And so they would 00:29:43.319 --> 00:29:44.339 always find a reason 00:29:44.339 --> 00:29:45.220 to doubt 00:29:45.220 --> 00:29:46.619 and reject 00:29:46.619 --> 00:29:47.660 God's messengers. 00:29:48.839 --> 00:29:49.420 And Jesus says 00:29:49.420 --> 00:29:50.480 that kind of doubt 00:29:50.480 --> 00:29:51.039 and questioning 00:29:51.039 --> 00:29:52.500 is just sinful 00:29:52.500 --> 00:29:54.819 and it leads 00:29:54.819 --> 00:29:56.140 only to spiritual death 00:29:56.140 --> 00:29:57.519 and destruction. 00:29:57.519 --> 00:30:01.900 So three applications 00:30:01.900 --> 00:30:04.180 as we close. 00:30:05.940 --> 00:30:06.700 Number one, 00:30:06.779 --> 00:30:07.279 God's servants 00:30:07.279 --> 00:30:08.319 may have different gifts 00:30:08.319 --> 00:30:08.920 or emphases 00:30:08.920 --> 00:30:10.019 in their ministries. 00:30:11.900 --> 00:30:12.460 The Apostle Paul 00:30:12.460 --> 00:30:13.799 speaks about spiritual gifts. 00:30:14.440 --> 00:30:15.240 In Romans 12, 00:30:15.400 --> 00:30:16.200 he refers to some 00:30:16.200 --> 00:30:16.660 who have the gift 00:30:16.660 --> 00:30:17.180 of mercy 00:30:17.180 --> 00:30:18.639 and others 00:30:18.639 --> 00:30:19.200 who have the gift 00:30:19.200 --> 00:30:19.799 of prophecy 00:30:19.799 --> 00:30:20.680 or exhorting. 00:30:22.279 --> 00:30:22.920 Some of you 00:30:22.920 --> 00:30:23.980 might be more like John. 00:30:24.839 --> 00:30:25.759 You can point out 00:30:25.759 --> 00:30:26.299 what is wrong 00:30:26.299 --> 00:30:26.879 in the world 00:30:26.880 --> 00:30:28.180 and what needs 00:30:28.180 --> 00:30:28.620 to change 00:30:28.620 --> 00:30:29.260 in the church. 00:30:29.920 --> 00:30:30.540 You can speak 00:30:30.540 --> 00:30:30.940 the truth 00:30:30.940 --> 00:30:31.680 with boldness 00:30:31.680 --> 00:30:32.720 and you don't really 00:30:32.720 --> 00:30:33.680 care what people think. 00:30:34.260 --> 00:30:35.020 That's a gift. 00:30:35.360 --> 00:30:36.080 It can also be 00:30:36.080 --> 00:30:36.680 a liability 00:30:36.680 --> 00:30:38.580 if you don't learn 00:30:38.580 --> 00:30:39.840 to use that gift 00:30:39.840 --> 00:30:41.560 with appropriate 00:30:41.560 --> 00:30:42.040 gentleness 00:30:42.040 --> 00:30:42.840 and love 00:30:42.840 --> 00:30:44.380 in an edifying way. 00:30:46.640 --> 00:30:47.260 Some of you 00:30:47.260 --> 00:30:47.600 might have 00:30:47.600 --> 00:30:48.360 the gift of mercy. 00:30:49.800 --> 00:30:50.580 You can come 00:30:50.580 --> 00:30:51.500 alongside people 00:30:51.500 --> 00:30:52.140 who are troubled. 00:30:53.800 --> 00:30:54.500 You can come 00:30:54.500 --> 00:30:55.220 alongside someone 00:30:55.220 --> 00:30:55.840 who's weak 00:30:55.839 --> 00:30:57.220 and practically 00:30:57.220 --> 00:30:57.819 help them. 00:30:58.720 --> 00:30:59.759 You can listen 00:30:59.759 --> 00:31:00.939 to someone 00:31:00.939 --> 00:31:01.699 who has an anxious 00:31:01.699 --> 00:31:02.119 heart. 00:31:03.779 --> 00:31:05.139 You can be patient 00:31:05.139 --> 00:31:06.000 and forbearing 00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:07.579 with difficult 00:31:07.579 --> 00:31:08.220 personalities. 00:31:08.359 --> 00:31:09.019 That's a gift. 00:31:10.019 --> 00:31:10.759 It can also be 00:31:10.759 --> 00:31:11.359 a liability 00:31:11.359 --> 00:31:13.500 if you never 00:31:13.500 --> 00:31:14.480 speak the truth 00:31:14.480 --> 00:31:17.139 and always 00:31:17.139 --> 00:31:18.119 refuse to confront 00:31:18.119 --> 00:31:20.079 even when that's 00:31:20.079 --> 00:31:20.599 called for. 00:31:21.699 --> 00:31:22.799 But here's the thing. 00:31:22.799 --> 00:31:24.819 God's gifted 00:31:24.819 --> 00:31:25.899 us all differently 00:31:25.899 --> 00:31:27.220 but through Christ 00:31:27.220 --> 00:31:27.919 we're all 00:31:27.919 --> 00:31:28.720 on the same team. 00:31:30.039 --> 00:31:30.559 And so we need 00:31:30.559 --> 00:31:31.299 to bear with 00:31:31.299 --> 00:31:31.899 one another 00:31:31.899 --> 00:31:33.079 and learn to work 00:31:33.079 --> 00:31:34.039 together even if 00:31:34.039 --> 00:31:34.759 we rub each other 00:31:34.759 --> 00:31:35.359 the wrong way 00:31:35.359 --> 00:31:35.940 sometimes. 00:31:37.940 --> 00:31:38.879 We need to try 00:31:38.879 --> 00:31:39.639 to use our gifts 00:31:39.639 --> 00:31:40.700 for the edification 00:31:40.700 --> 00:31:41.440 of the body 00:31:41.440 --> 00:31:43.519 in a balanced way 00:31:43.519 --> 00:31:44.559 but we also need 00:31:44.559 --> 00:31:45.399 to bear with 00:31:45.399 --> 00:31:45.859 one another 00:31:45.859 --> 00:31:46.519 and receive 00:31:46.519 --> 00:31:47.339 one another's gifts 00:31:47.339 --> 00:31:49.339 and realize that 00:31:49.339 --> 00:31:50.220 God has given 00:31:50.220 --> 00:31:50.659 each of us 00:31:50.659 --> 00:31:51.259 different gifts. 00:31:51.259 --> 00:31:55.579 second application 00:31:55.579 --> 00:31:57.440 John the preacher 00:31:57.440 --> 00:31:58.039 of repentance 00:31:58.039 --> 00:31:59.500 and Jesus the merciful 00:31:59.500 --> 00:32:00.539 Messiah are on 00:32:00.539 --> 00:32:01.279 the same team. 00:32:02.200 --> 00:32:02.920 You can't have 00:32:02.920 --> 00:32:03.920 one without 00:32:03.920 --> 00:32:04.879 the other. 00:32:06.319 --> 00:32:07.740 You can't fathom 00:32:07.740 --> 00:32:08.319 the magnitude 00:32:08.319 --> 00:32:09.319 of God's grace 00:32:09.319 --> 00:32:10.720 in Jesus 00:32:10.720 --> 00:32:11.480 until you have 00:32:11.480 --> 00:32:12.180 taken to heart 00:32:12.180 --> 00:32:12.859 God's law 00:32:12.859 --> 00:32:13.680 and its demands. 00:32:15.079 --> 00:32:16.319 You can't fully 00:32:16.319 --> 00:32:17.599 enter into the joy 00:32:17.599 --> 00:32:18.579 of Jesus' kingdom 00:32:18.579 --> 00:32:20.299 without being serious 00:32:20.299 --> 00:32:21.619 about turning to God 00:32:21.619 --> 00:32:22.460 for the grace 00:32:22.460 --> 00:32:23.579 to help you 00:32:23.579 --> 00:32:24.379 change. 00:32:26.680 --> 00:32:27.639 That's what the season 00:32:27.639 --> 00:32:28.139 of Lent 00:32:28.139 --> 00:32:28.859 is about. 00:32:29.700 --> 00:32:30.619 The season of 00:32:30.619 --> 00:32:31.559 leading up to Easter 00:32:31.559 --> 00:32:32.839 that we're in right now. 00:32:33.799 --> 00:32:34.180 Traditionally 00:32:34.180 --> 00:32:34.680 it's a time 00:32:34.680 --> 00:32:35.480 of preparation 00:32:35.480 --> 00:32:38.319 of fasting 00:32:38.319 --> 00:32:38.899 and prayer 00:32:38.899 --> 00:32:41.559 confessing our sin 00:32:41.559 --> 00:32:42.599 seeking reconciliation 00:32:42.599 --> 00:32:43.319 with God 00:32:43.319 --> 00:32:44.059 with one another 00:32:44.059 --> 00:32:45.819 preparing to share 00:32:45.819 --> 00:32:46.359 in the feast 00:32:46.359 --> 00:32:47.279 of Christ's resurrection 00:32:47.279 --> 00:32:48.259 with fullness 00:32:48.259 --> 00:32:48.879 of joy. 00:32:51.180 --> 00:32:52.200 Dietrich Bonhoeffer 00:32:52.200 --> 00:32:52.839 wrote this 00:32:52.839 --> 00:32:55.000 grace is costly 00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:56.559 because it calls 00:32:56.559 --> 00:32:57.220 us to follow 00:32:57.220 --> 00:32:59.420 and it is grace 00:32:59.420 --> 00:33:00.160 because it calls 00:33:00.160 --> 00:33:00.799 us to follow 00:33:00.799 --> 00:33:02.019 Jesus Christ. 00:33:03.099 --> 00:33:04.240 It is costly 00:33:04.240 --> 00:33:05.099 because it costs 00:33:05.099 --> 00:33:06.099 a person his life 00:33:06.099 --> 00:33:08.099 and it is grace 00:33:08.099 --> 00:33:09.720 because it gives 00:33:09.720 --> 00:33:10.099 a person 00:33:10.099 --> 00:33:11.119 the only true life. 00:33:12.180 --> 00:33:13.279 It is costly 00:33:13.279 --> 00:33:14.220 because it condemns 00:33:14.220 --> 00:33:14.599 sin 00:33:14.599 --> 00:33:16.399 and grace 00:33:16.399 --> 00:33:17.619 because it justifies 00:33:17.619 --> 00:33:18.399 the sinner. 00:33:20.079 --> 00:33:20.719 Above all 00:33:20.719 --> 00:33:21.399 it is costly 00:33:21.399 --> 00:33:22.319 because it costs 00:33:22.319 --> 00:33:22.759 God 00:33:22.759 --> 00:33:24.139 the life of his son. 00:33:25.480 --> 00:33:26.179 You were bought 00:33:26.179 --> 00:33:26.879 at a price. 00:33:28.259 --> 00:33:29.480 What has cost 00:33:29.480 --> 00:33:30.159 God 00:33:30.159 --> 00:33:30.719 much 00:33:30.719 --> 00:33:32.319 cannot be cheap 00:33:32.319 --> 00:33:34.000 for us. 00:33:35.259 --> 00:33:35.899 Above all 00:33:35.899 --> 00:33:36.419 it is grace 00:33:36.419 --> 00:33:36.980 because God 00:33:36.980 --> 00:33:37.579 did not reckon 00:33:37.579 --> 00:33:38.039 his son 00:33:38.039 --> 00:33:38.759 too dear 00:33:38.759 --> 00:33:39.579 a price 00:33:39.579 --> 00:33:40.019 to pay 00:33:40.019 --> 00:33:40.859 for our life 00:33:40.859 --> 00:33:41.759 but delivered 00:33:41.759 --> 00:33:42.719 him up for us. 00:33:42.720 --> 00:33:44.759 costly grace 00:33:44.759 --> 00:33:46.440 is the incarnation 00:33:46.440 --> 00:33:47.120 of God. 00:33:48.079 --> 00:33:48.500 God 00:33:48.500 --> 00:33:49.360 becoming flesh 00:33:49.360 --> 00:33:51.339 in Jesus Christ 00:33:51.339 --> 00:33:52.519 taking on our sin 00:33:52.519 --> 00:33:53.819 bearing it 00:33:53.819 --> 00:33:54.539 on the cross 00:33:54.539 --> 00:33:56.339 being 00:33:56.339 --> 00:33:57.400 just 00:33:57.400 --> 00:33:58.799 in bearing 00:33:58.799 --> 00:33:59.299 the punishment 00:33:59.299 --> 00:33:59.940 of our sin 00:33:59.940 --> 00:34:00.920 and being merciful 00:34:00.920 --> 00:34:03.019 in offering us 00:34:03.019 --> 00:34:03.519 a new life 00:34:03.519 --> 00:34:04.059 in Christ. 00:34:05.380 --> 00:34:05.880 So our final 00:34:05.880 --> 00:34:06.660 application is to 00:34:06.660 --> 00:34:07.160 take communion 00:34:07.160 --> 00:34:07.600 together 00:34:07.600 --> 00:34:08.639 with repentance 00:34:08.639 --> 00:34:10.099 and with joy. 00:34:10.099 --> 00:34:12.659 when we come 00:34:12.659 --> 00:34:13.440 to the Lord's table 00:34:13.440 --> 00:34:14.839 there's a call 00:34:14.839 --> 00:34:15.339 to repent 00:34:15.339 --> 00:34:17.000 to confess 00:34:17.000 --> 00:34:17.719 our sins. 00:34:18.860 --> 00:34:19.839 The apostle Paul 00:34:19.839 --> 00:34:20.440 gives a strong 00:34:20.440 --> 00:34:20.839 warning 00:34:20.839 --> 00:34:23.920 whoever eats 00:34:23.920 --> 00:34:24.319 the bread 00:34:24.319 --> 00:34:24.699 or drinks 00:34:24.699 --> 00:34:25.079 the cup 00:34:25.079 --> 00:34:25.539 of the Lord 00:34:25.539 --> 00:34:26.380 in an unworthy 00:34:26.380 --> 00:34:26.759 manner 00:34:26.759 --> 00:34:27.579 will be guilty 00:34:27.579 --> 00:34:28.920 concerning the body 00:34:28.920 --> 00:34:29.319 and blood 00:34:29.319 --> 00:34:29.940 of the Lord. 00:34:31.059 --> 00:34:31.839 Let a person 00:34:31.839 --> 00:34:32.699 examine himself 00:34:32.699 --> 00:34:33.059 then 00:34:33.059 --> 00:34:34.519 and so eat 00:34:34.519 --> 00:34:34.920 of the bread 00:34:34.920 --> 00:34:35.239 and drink 00:34:35.239 --> 00:34:35.759 of the cup. 00:34:37.279 --> 00:34:38.139 What that means 00:34:38.139 --> 00:34:38.739 is this 00:34:38.739 --> 00:34:40.799 if you are 00:34:40.799 --> 00:34:41.079 living 00:34:41.079 --> 00:34:42.059 in unrepentant 00:34:42.059 --> 00:34:42.419 sin 00:34:42.419 --> 00:34:44.319 that is 00:34:44.319 --> 00:34:44.979 if you know 00:34:44.979 --> 00:34:45.619 you are living 00:34:45.619 --> 00:34:46.299 in a pattern 00:34:46.299 --> 00:34:47.179 of disobedience 00:34:47.179 --> 00:34:47.699 to God 00:34:47.699 --> 00:34:49.259 and you have 00:34:49.259 --> 00:34:50.239 no intention 00:34:50.239 --> 00:34:51.000 or desire 00:34:51.000 --> 00:34:51.879 to change 00:34:51.879 --> 00:34:54.239 then don't 00:34:54.239 --> 00:34:54.839 take the bread 00:34:54.839 --> 00:34:55.379 and the cup 00:34:55.379 --> 00:34:57.179 because you 00:34:57.179 --> 00:34:57.919 can't feast 00:34:57.919 --> 00:34:58.779 on Christ 00:34:58.779 --> 00:35:00.339 if you are 00:35:00.339 --> 00:35:00.859 refusing 00:35:00.859 --> 00:35:02.000 to turn 00:35:02.000 --> 00:35:02.439 to him. 00:35:04.239 --> 00:35:05.139 Let a person 00:35:05.139 --> 00:35:06.000 examine himself 00:35:06.000 --> 00:35:06.759 Paul says 00:35:06.760 --> 00:35:08.760 as the bread 00:35:08.760 --> 00:35:09.080 is being 00:35:09.080 --> 00:35:09.600 passed out 00:35:09.600 --> 00:35:10.320 pray with the 00:35:10.320 --> 00:35:10.660 psalmist 00:35:10.660 --> 00:35:11.240 search me 00:35:11.240 --> 00:35:11.860 oh God 00:35:11.860 --> 00:35:12.820 know my 00:35:12.820 --> 00:35:13.180 heart 00:35:13.180 --> 00:35:14.840 test me 00:35:14.840 --> 00:35:15.220 and know 00:35:15.220 --> 00:35:15.820 my anxious 00:35:15.820 --> 00:35:16.220 thoughts 00:35:16.220 --> 00:35:17.000 see if there 00:35:17.000 --> 00:35:17.380 be 00:35:17.380 --> 00:35:18.540 an evil 00:35:18.540 --> 00:35:19.340 way in me 00:35:19.340 --> 00:35:21.080 and lead 00:35:21.080 --> 00:35:21.460 me in the 00:35:21.460 --> 00:35:22.220 way everlasting. 00:35:25.280 --> 00:35:25.580 But taking 00:35:25.580 --> 00:35:25.920 communion 00:35:25.920 --> 00:35:26.640 is not only 00:35:26.640 --> 00:35:27.220 an opportunity 00:35:27.220 --> 00:35:28.940 for repentance 00:35:28.940 --> 00:35:29.420 and self 00:35:29.420 --> 00:35:29.840 examination 00:35:29.840 --> 00:35:30.720 it's also 00:35:30.720 --> 00:35:31.700 an invitation 00:35:31.700 --> 00:35:32.700 to partake 00:35:32.700 --> 00:35:34.100 with Christ 00:35:34.099 --> 00:35:34.860 in his 00:35:34.860 --> 00:35:35.279 joy. 00:35:37.099 --> 00:35:38.059 Because through 00:35:38.059 --> 00:35:38.920 what the 00:35:38.920 --> 00:35:39.259 communion 00:35:39.259 --> 00:35:39.599 table 00:35:39.599 --> 00:35:40.400 reminds us 00:35:40.400 --> 00:35:40.779 is that 00:35:40.779 --> 00:35:41.159 through 00:35:41.159 --> 00:35:41.699 Jesus' 00:35:41.839 --> 00:35:42.019 death 00:35:42.019 --> 00:35:42.279 on the 00:35:42.279 --> 00:35:42.579 cross 00:35:42.579 --> 00:35:43.179 our sin 00:35:43.179 --> 00:35:43.519 has been 00:35:43.519 --> 00:35:44.099 paid for. 00:35:44.980 --> 00:35:45.599 The price 00:35:45.599 --> 00:35:45.880 has been 00:35:45.880 --> 00:35:46.339 paid. 00:35:47.380 --> 00:35:47.880 We don't 00:35:47.880 --> 00:35:48.319 take the 00:35:48.319 --> 00:35:48.619 bread and 00:35:48.619 --> 00:35:48.920 the cup 00:35:48.920 --> 00:35:49.440 because we're 00:35:49.440 --> 00:35:50.019 good enough 00:35:50.019 --> 00:35:50.819 or because 00:35:50.819 --> 00:35:51.319 we've done 00:35:51.319 --> 00:35:51.739 enough. 00:35:52.460 --> 00:35:53.259 We take 00:35:53.259 --> 00:35:53.559 the bread 00:35:53.559 --> 00:35:54.019 and the cup 00:35:54.019 --> 00:35:54.539 knowing that 00:35:54.539 --> 00:35:55.219 he is 00:35:55.219 --> 00:35:55.799 good enough 00:35:55.799 --> 00:35:56.860 and what 00:35:56.860 --> 00:35:57.319 he did 00:35:57.319 --> 00:35:57.579 on the 00:35:57.579 --> 00:35:57.799 cross 00:35:57.799 --> 00:35:58.259 for us 00:35:58.259 --> 00:35:58.980 is enough. 00:36:00.799 --> 00:36:01.440 And in 00:36:01.440 --> 00:36:01.980 response we 00:36:01.980 --> 00:36:02.440 say take 00:36:02.440 --> 00:36:02.880 me Lord 00:36:02.880 --> 00:36:03.539 I'm yours. 00:36:04.920 --> 00:36:05.219 You are 00:36:05.219 --> 00:36:05.599 mine 00:36:05.599 --> 00:36:06.380 and I 00:36:06.380 --> 00:36:06.880 love you. 00:36:07.599 --> 00:36:07.900 And we 00:36:07.900 --> 00:36:08.139 can know 00:36:08.139 --> 00:36:08.619 the joy 00:36:08.619 --> 00:36:09.159 of forgiveness 00:36:09.159 --> 00:36:09.599 as we 00:36:09.599 --> 00:36:10.019 take the 00:36:10.019 --> 00:36:10.679 bread remembering 00:36:10.679 --> 00:36:11.239 his body 00:36:11.239 --> 00:36:11.599 and take 00:36:11.599 --> 00:36:12.019 the cup 00:36:12.019 --> 00:36:12.619 remembering 00:36:12.619 --> 00:36:13.179 his blood. 00:36:14.480 --> 00:36:14.679 Jesus 00:36:14.679 --> 00:36:15.319 described his 00:36:15.319 --> 00:36:15.839 kingdom as a 00:36:15.839 --> 00:36:16.460 great banquet 00:36:16.460 --> 00:36:18.239 where the 00:36:18.239 --> 00:36:19.539 poor and 00:36:19.539 --> 00:36:20.119 the doubting 00:36:20.119 --> 00:36:20.940 and the 00:36:20.940 --> 00:36:21.440 disappointed 00:36:21.440 --> 00:36:21.960 and the 00:36:21.960 --> 00:36:22.420 depressed 00:36:22.420 --> 00:36:22.940 can come 00:36:22.940 --> 00:36:23.299 and find 00:36:23.299 --> 00:36:23.920 rest and 00:36:23.920 --> 00:36:24.460 peace and 00:36:24.460 --> 00:36:24.960 joy and 00:36:24.960 --> 00:36:25.739 feed on 00:36:25.739 --> 00:36:26.059 the bread 00:36:26.059 --> 00:36:26.480 of life 00:36:26.480 --> 00:36:26.900 for this 00:36:26.900 --> 00:36:27.319 life and 00:36:27.319 --> 00:36:27.619 the life 00:36:27.619 --> 00:36:28.019 to come. 00:36:30.319 --> 00:36:30.799 Finally 00:36:30.799 --> 00:36:31.059 if you're 00:36:31.059 --> 00:36:31.360 not a 00:36:31.360 --> 00:36:31.679 Christian 00:36:31.679 --> 00:36:33.179 consider the 00:36:33.179 --> 00:36:33.839 invitation of 00:36:33.840 --> 00:36:34.280 Christ to 00:36:34.280 --> 00:36:34.519 you. 00:36:36.380 --> 00:36:37.160 Instead of 00:36:37.160 --> 00:36:37.559 taking the 00:36:37.559 --> 00:36:37.860 bread in 00:36:37.860 --> 00:36:38.160 the cup 00:36:38.160 --> 00:36:38.559 today 00:36:38.559 --> 00:36:39.480 consider 00:36:39.480 --> 00:36:39.860 taking 00:36:39.860 --> 00:36:40.340 Christ. 00:36:42.460 --> 00:36:43.140 If you 00:36:43.140 --> 00:36:43.559 have many 00:36:43.559 --> 00:36:44.059 doubts and 00:36:44.059 --> 00:36:44.519 questions 00:36:44.519 --> 00:36:45.760 feel free to 00:36:45.760 --> 00:36:46.260 ask them. 00:36:47.079 --> 00:36:47.660 There's no 00:36:47.660 --> 00:36:48.140 shame in 00:36:48.140 --> 00:36:48.620 doing that. 00:36:48.619 --> 00:36:48.980 prayer. 00:36:48.980 --> 00:36:51.259 But also 00:36:51.259 --> 00:36:52.019 consider what 00:36:52.019 --> 00:36:52.480 is holding 00:36:52.480 --> 00:36:53.059 you back 00:36:53.059 --> 00:36:54.539 from 00:36:54.539 --> 00:36:55.039 surrendering 00:36:55.039 --> 00:36:55.239 to 00:36:55.239 --> 00:36:55.659 Christ 00:36:55.659 --> 00:36:57.099 and 00:36:57.099 --> 00:36:57.480 trusting 00:36:57.480 --> 00:36:57.859 him. 00:37:00.119 --> 00:37:00.599 There's 00:37:00.599 --> 00:37:00.739 some 00:37:00.739 --> 00:37:01.219 prayers in 00:37:01.219 --> 00:37:01.539 the center 00:37:01.539 --> 00:37:01.799 of the 00:37:01.799 --> 00:37:02.279 bulletin 00:37:02.279 --> 00:37:03.199 that you 00:37:03.199 --> 00:37:03.559 can look 00:37:03.559 --> 00:37:03.940 at and 00:37:03.940 --> 00:37:04.480 read through 00:37:04.480 --> 00:37:05.779 as the 00:37:05.779 --> 00:37:06.099 bread and 00:37:06.099 --> 00:37:06.359 cup are 00:37:06.359 --> 00:37:06.880 being passed 00:37:06.880 --> 00:37:07.239 out. 00:37:09.000 --> 00:37:09.599 One's a 00:37:09.599 --> 00:37:09.920 prayer for 00:37:09.920 --> 00:37:10.440 those searching 00:37:10.440 --> 00:37:11.039 for truth. 00:37:12.380 --> 00:37:13.199 Another is a 00:37:13.199 --> 00:37:13.519 prayer of 00:37:13.519 --> 00:37:13.920 belief. 00:37:14.859 --> 00:37:15.339 Perhaps one 00:37:15.339 --> 00:37:15.619 of those 00:37:15.619 --> 00:37:17.440 prayers you 00:37:17.440 --> 00:37:17.780 would want to 00:37:17.780 --> 00:37:18.179 read them 00:37:18.179 --> 00:37:19.079 and perhaps 00:37:19.079 --> 00:37:19.539 even use 00:37:19.539 --> 00:37:19.980 those words 00:37:19.980 --> 00:37:20.380 to pray. 00:37:22.740 --> 00:37:23.240 As we 00:37:23.240 --> 00:37:23.980 prepare to 00:37:23.980 --> 00:37:25.420 share communion 00:37:25.420 --> 00:37:26.039 together let's 00:37:26.039 --> 00:37:26.240 pray. 00:37:27.760 --> 00:37:28.280 Lord we 00:37:28.280 --> 00:37:28.679 come to you 00:37:28.679 --> 00:37:29.059 today 00:37:29.059 --> 00:37:32.260 even with 00:37:32.260 --> 00:37:32.780 our doubts 00:37:32.780 --> 00:37:33.720 our questions 00:37:33.720 --> 00:37:34.760 our disappointments 00:37:34.760 --> 00:37:37.679 we pray that 00:37:37.679 --> 00:37:38.099 you would feed 00:37:38.099 --> 00:37:38.500 us with the 00:37:38.500 --> 00:37:39.079 bread of life. 00:37:41.119 --> 00:37:41.860 We thank you 00:37:41.860 --> 00:37:42.360 Lord for your 00:37:42.360 --> 00:37:42.700 mercy. 00:37:42.900 --> 00:37:43.320 We thank you 00:37:43.320 --> 00:37:44.099 Lord for your 00:37:44.099 --> 00:37:45.300 righteousness. 00:37:45.300 --> 00:37:45.380 righteousness. 00:37:46.580 --> 00:37:47.360 We thank you 00:37:47.360 --> 00:37:48.000 for the cross 00:37:48.000 --> 00:37:50.060 of Jesus 00:37:50.060 --> 00:37:50.519 Christ. 00:37:51.960 --> 00:37:52.760 And that is 00:37:52.760 --> 00:37:53.180 our hope. 00:37:54.539 --> 00:37:55.060 In his name 00:37:55.060 --> 00:37:55.460 we pray. 00:37:55.980 --> 00:37:56.300 Amen.