Wednesday Bible Study: What Jesus asked, part eight

 

We are in Matthew 11, but the set-up starts in the previous chapter:  Jesus has sent the Disciples out on their first mission trip.  Now it is Him alone with the crowd, and He also went on the same mission to the cities and towns of Israel.  But at a certain point, John the Baptist send his own acolytes to Jesus, asking- as John was fighting doubt during his last imprisonment- whether Jesus really was the one.  And from Jesus' answer, and His following description of John, I wonder if the question was more for their benefit than his own.

But in describing John, Jesus asks 3 questions- and I believe that, though they look like rhetorical questions, they were in fact meant to focus the crowd onto the way Jesus WANTED them asked...

Mat 11:7  As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?   Mat 11:8  What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
 Mat 11:9  What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
Mat 11:10  This is he of whom it is written, "'Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.'
Mat 11:11  Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Mat 11:12  From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.
Mat 11:13  For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John,
Mat 11:14  and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.
Mat 11:15  He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

I want you to see in these questions, a couple of things.  First, the main question, "What did you go out to see", meaning those who went to John's baptism.  Then, that each of the three modifiers was directed at a specific segment of the crowd.  And finally, the length of answer depended on the sincerity of the searcher.

What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 

 

This was directed at the Pharisees and scribes who only went out to decide what kind of trouble was being stirred up by John.  They went out hoping to see another nobody who got momentary attention and then would fade into obscurity with a little pressure.  Assured by his arrest by Herod, they had nothing to worry about, they didn't concern themselves with his message.  And thus, Jesus gave them no reply.

  What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.

 

Now He directs His inquiry to the curious; they've heard the stories, maybe a bit of the message, and have sought out John for, essentially, 'entertainment value'.  "A man dressed in soft clothing" is a euphemism for someone famous, rich, well to do.  These people, at least, get an answer from Jesus, but it is a mocking one.  "Why would you come all the way out to this desolate area for your entertainment?  There's nothing for you to see here."

 

  Mat 11:9  What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 

 

Now here, Jesus finally expounds upon John's true nature, because the seekers are seeking truth.  They have come seeking this baptism of repentance, to make themselves right with God.  These are people who look at the 'repentance' granted by Temple sacrifice, and see it for the insincere, money-gouging enterprise it had become.  And to them, Jesus explains John.

Mat 11:10  This is he of whom it is written, "'Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.'
Mat 11:11  Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. 

Jesus links him to the prophecies of old, particularly that found in Malachi:

 

 Mal 4:5  "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.
Mal 4:6  And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction." 

And in making the claim for John to be 'Elijah the Prophet', He leaves no doubt that He is the awaited Messiah.

Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 

 

This would be a puzzler, except I heard it explained the other day.  John is alive and on earth, on which he may be the greatest of men; but the least who has achieved Heaven is greater than any on earth.  This was what was available to all of them.

From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.
Mat 11:13  For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John,
Mat 11:14  and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 

 

Jesus is trying to get two things through to them here, and you have to understand that He is trying to break centuries of 'tradition teaching' in doing so.  First, the reward, and the victory, are NOT IN THIS LIFE.  I've been spending some time in the Book of Job recently, and two things you learn about the people of that day is that they had a conception of God that never went beyond what they could see, and they 'judged' God based on how faithful HE was to that image.  He had to break that conception, and show them that the connection between this world and the next was all about seeking God sincerely. Second, everything they needed to know about Himself, Jesus, was IN THEIR SCRIPTURES, taught not by the Pharisees but by the prophets they ignored, and sometimes killed.

 

 Mat 11:15  He who has ears to hear, let him hear. 

 

Now, it comes down to us.  What do WE go out to see?  Are we waiting to see God PROVE Himself before we believe? (Don't hold your breath.  It is our obligation to believe, not His to prove.)  Are we just seeking the entertainment, enlightenment, the next hot thing?  If that's what you found, you looked in the wrong place.  But if you come sincerely looking, seeking God and not just your 'take' on Him, and are willing to use the Bible to LEARN about God- then you'll have your proof.  But that proof will validate the next life, not this one.