Sunday 15th December 2024. Advent 3.

Pastor Pete Myers explains Matthew 11:2-10.

Isn’t Jesus just too pathetic to take seriously?

Isn’t Jesus just too pathetic to take seriously?

Isn’t Jesus just too pathetic to take seriously?

That is the reason many of John the Baptist’s disciples failed to start following Jesus.

It’s the reason many of our friends and family are simply not interested in following Jesus today.

And as we approach Christmas again, we see people attracted to victory and glory.

We are attracted to decorations that display wealth and power, to churches that are large and influential, to belief systems that are impressive and intellectual.

Jesus poses a question about looking impressive in v. 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.

In other words, Jesus says to the crowds: Why did you go into the desert the see John the Baptist? If it wasn’t to see someone who is unimpressive?

A homeless man, not properly clothed, considered to be crazy by many, not taken seriously by the academics, politicians, and theologians of his day.

Why did you go to see him? Jesus asks.

And we shouldn’t get the false idea, that John was impressive in some kind of subverted way as a kind of super monk.

No, there were plenty of other nutters who lived in the desert.

Matthew’s Gospel is organised around five major blocks of teaching.

Each one marked with the words “When Jesus had finished…” And then followed by a series of stories or actions, that somehow respond to the teaching we’ve just read.

In Matthew 10, Jesus sends out the 12 apostles, and gives them instructions how to preach and teach about the kingdom of God.

Now in Matthew 11, having finished those instructions, we start seeing a series of stories, that show us people’s responses to the message.

And this first event in Matthew 11 shows us the biggest problem people have when hearing the Gospel of Jesus. That: Jesus just seems too pathetic to take seriously.

There’s three things to take away:
We want prosperity, so are offended by Jesus
If we are poor, we are blessed by Jesus
Keep pointing people to Jesus

We want prosperity, so are offended by Jesus

The first of those is: We want prosperity, so are offended by Jesus.

This is our natural state, it is what we see in our friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances; and all of us here right now are constantly tempted to think this way every day.

Please look at vv. 2-3 again:

Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

Now, John did not ask this question for his own benefit, but rather for the benefit of his disciples. And Matthew shows us this in several ways.

From the beginning of his Gospel, Matthew has explicitly shown how the events in Jesus’ life fulfil Old Testament prophecy. This is one of Matthew’s biggest themes.

When he introduced John in chapter 3, Matthew explicitly writes that John fulfils the prophecy of Isaiah 40 as one who will point to Jesus.

Now here in our passage, v. 10, Jesus explicitly says that John fulfils the prophecy of Malachi 3.

But, immediately after the verse Jesus quotes, Malachi prophesies that many will not accept the coming Lord:

behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.

Everywhere else in Matthew’s Gospel, John is presented as a prophet who is fully convinced of his own message, willing to live a life of suffering and even to directly challenge Herod and die for it.

Whereas in Matthew 9 we’ve already seen John’s disciples question Jesus, and challenge him about the religious practice of fasting.

John does not directly question Jesus, or ask to meet Jesus again, but sends his disciples to question Jesus.

And Jesus doesn’t simply say “yes”. Look at how he responds in vv. 4-6:

And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

Jesus lays out the specific works he has done that show he is the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecies about the messiah.

And he preaches to John’s disciples not to be offended by him. And then in vv. 7-10, and in the following passage, Jesus praises John and criticises the generation of Jews who were hearing him.

All of these details Matthew give us show that John’s question was not for himself, but was for his own disciples.

And that’s the point: John’s disciples shouldn’t be John’s disciples.

John’s whole purpose, his whole job, was to point to Jesus. And yet even though Jesus has arrived, and John has already anointed him as God’s messiah, these guys are still clinging to John, and haven’t started following Jesus.

Why is this? Why have John’s disciples not got the point?

Even after John baptised Jesus and a voice came from heaven declaring him to be the Son of God?

Well the reason John’s disciples have failed to follow Jesus is because: We want prosperity, so are offended by Jesus.

Being offended is Jesus’ explicit point in v. 6:

blessed is the one who is not offended by me.

The Greek word translated here “offended” could also be rendered “scandalised,” “sin mortally,” or “fall away”.

And why would people be offended? Because of how weak and pathetic Jesus looks.

Who is it he is helping in v. 5? the blind; the lame; lepers; the deaf; the dead; and the poor.

Now, many people today twist v. 5 into some sort of of victory… …and ironically do so to draw attention to themselves.

That is hugely tempting for me as a pastor… …to tell you to follow me …to advertise myself …to present myself as victorious and successful.

To tell you that my ministry is a ministry of victory… …victory over poverty …victory over depression …victory over sickness.

Many people, Christian, Muslim, secular, mindful practitioners… …want to tell us that they have the true secret to victory.

They preach success, and they want us to follow them.

And we want to hear it.

And that is how Jesus directly challenges the crowds in v. 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.

That is not what John was. John’s message was not one of success.

We want prosperity, so are offended by Jesus.

Everyone outside, and each one of us here is hungry for prosperity, for victory, for success: a large church; impressive arguments; social standing; the secret to health; a beautiful body; successful relationships; a satisfying sex life; crushing it in our careers.

And there are plenty of churches, mosques, schools, colleges, employers, books, universities, movies, philosophies that promise to deliver these for us.

And so we and the people we know, are so easily offended by Christ.

Because we want a path to success, and so convince ourselves we have found it: education, innovation, hard work passion, strategy, discipline, leadership, creativity, influence, risk-taking, knowledge, perseverance, prayer, preaching, spiritual power.

Each of us latches on to one, or two, or three of these methods, in the false belief that they lead to victory; that they give us what they want.

We want prosperity, so are offended by Jesus

If we are poor, we are blessed by Jesus

But, the good news is this: If we are poor, we are blessed by Jesus.

As we hear those lists, and recognise in ourselves our false beliefs, as we start to realise: our faith is lame; we are socially lepers; we are spiritually blind, deaf, and dead; as we realise we are spiritually poor, and have nothing to offer here except dependence on Jesus.

Then this word of Jesus in v. 6 is good news specifically for you:

blessed is the one who is not offended by me.

You don’t need prosperity, nor the right path to it. You don’t need the right philosophy. You don’t need to be great at prayer, or discipline, or power. You don’t need the right education, or idea, or knowledge.

John the Baptist prepared the way for this message:

Malachi 3:1:

And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.

Isaiah 40:1-2:

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned,

Christ has done this for the whole world. He has taken away sin. He has justified all. He has cleansed all. He has removed God’s anger from all.

All are righteous, free, forgiven, perfect, loved, cherished, victorious.

A great, objective, universal prosperity that when Jesus comes back we will see with our eyes.

Those who are made poor by the Law so that they simply trust him, will receive it.

If we are poor, we are blessed by Jesus

Keep pointing people to Jesus

It’s such great news, and I know from talking to many of you, that every time we hear it and faith is fanned in our hearts, one of the fruits that immediately springs up is love for our family, friends and others, who don’t know Jesus.

Every time we hear the encouragement of the gospel, this love springs up, and we are hungry to see the same thing happen to others: your son, your daughter, your husband, your wife, your father, your mother, your friends, or the 2.9 million people we don’t know, who live in Manchester.

Whenever we hear the gospel again, we can’t help but think about those people.

And we long for them to come to know Jesus too.

Well, this story provides a very simple guide for what to do as we feel that:

Keep pointing people to Jesus

Did you notice what John did in vv. 2 and 3?

Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

John kept talking about Jesus, and drew people’s attention to Jesus.

He didn’t explain everything, he asked a question to get people thinking about Jesus.

When you go home, to your school, to your place of work, to your clubs and bars and restaurants.

Or when you come to our carols and conversation event today: just talk about Jesus, and ask people questions about him:

“What does Christmas mean to you?”

“Should we still have national holidays that are all about Jesus?”

“Do you think we should stop celebrating Jesus’ birth?”

Simple questions that are easy to ask and get people thinking about Jesus.

Isn’t Jesus just too pathetic to take seriously?

Isn’t Jesus just too pathetic to take seriously?

That’s often how we feel because we want prosperity, so are offended by Jesus.

But as the Law convicts us of our shallowness, the good news is: If we are poor, we are blessed by Jesus

And as you hear that and long for friends, family and strangers to also put their trust in him, then follow John’s example and keep pointing people to Jesus.

Because, as Jesus assures us:

blessed is the one who is not offended by me.