Disappointed with Jesus - Luke 7:18-23 - January 1, 2022

 Luke 7:18-23 Disappointed with Jesus

Good morning and happy New Year!

New Years is a funny time, a time to reset, a time to start some things over. New diets, gym memberships, Bible reading plans, kicking bad habits, starting new good habits, these ideas are all very popular this time of year. I once preached a sermon entitled, “Pay for your gym membership by the year,” it’ll hurt more when you quit. I have no idea what that sermon was about…

Well, we aren’t starting anything new here this morning, we are going to continue to do what we’ve been doing and that is examining Scripture book by book, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse.

If you are determined to change anything about yourself or your life in the New Year I would challenge you to consider aligning your expectations to what the Bible actually says. That is the topic of our text for this morning in Luke chapter seven, verses eighteen through twenty-three, and that’s on page 864 in the pew Bibles.

Let’s look at it together.

18 The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19 calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 20 And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’ ” 21 In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

Let’s pray.

So this is among the most perplexing accounts in the New Testament in my view. In our walk through the Gospel of Luke we have examined the life and ministry of John the Baptist. In Luke one, we read about his special birth, born to a barren couple who was, to put it politely, “advanced in years.” 

The angel Gabriel appeared to John’s father Zechariah while he was serving as a priest at the temple in Jerusalem and told him to name his son John. 

When Zechariah doubted the word of the angel he was made mute until the child was born when he wrote out on a tablet that the baby’s name was John as the angel had directed him. 

John was also Jesus’ cousin through their mothers, and he was about six months older that Jesus. After Mary had conceived she went to visit Elizabeth, John’s mother, and when Mary arrived the baby in Elizabeth’s womb, John the Baptist, leapt for joy.

Luke 1:80 says, “The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.”

Fast forward to Luke chapter three when John did finally appear publically where Luke record the words of Isaiah the prophet concerning John the Baptist in verses 2-6:

…the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, 6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”

And here is what John said about himself there in chapter three and verses 15-17.

15 As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, 16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

And then there’s this passage in the Gospel of John (a different John) in chapter one:

19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” 

24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. 

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

Now, having heard all this, are you with me in thinking that our text from Luke 7 is perplexing?

John the Baptist, who leapt for joy in his mother’s womb at the coming of Mary to visit, who was prophesied about in Isaiah as the new type of Elijah preparing the way of the Lord, who testified himself that Jesus was in fact the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, now, just a year or two later seems to doubt whether or not Jesus really was the Messiah. Why?

The scholars are divided on this like they are about everything. Some claim that John did not in fact doubt Jesus, that this was an attempt to get his disciples to follow Jesus rather than him, some hold John to be completely blameless here and it appears that they hold him up as being almost guiltless of any sin at all. 

And though Jesus Himself says that there is no one born of women greater than John, John was not without sin, not without guilt, and not without his own set of expectations of Jesus.

Why didn’t John himself go to see Jesus, why did he send two of his disciples? Because he was in prison.

And why did he send them to ask if Jesus really was Messiah or should they look for somebody else?

The answer, I think, is simple and disappointing, and all too familiar. John was disappointed by Jesus, not by anything that Jesus had done but what He hadn’t done.

John was a fiery preacher and he was expecting a fiery Messiah. Where was the winnowing fork, where was the separation of the wheat from the chaff, where was the unquenchable fire of judgment, where was the axe already laid at the root of the tree?

John didn’t ask if Jesus was the Messiah because of unbelief but because of impatience. Jesus brought blessings and benefits not punishment. John was sent to prepare the Way of the Lord but it turned out to be a Way that not even he expected.

But why is that? Was it just because of his personality? Did he expect the Messiah to look and act like him with his camel hair robe, leather belt and diet of locusts and wild honey?

Jesus’ response to the inquiry gives us the clue of exactly why John was disappointed, and in His response He also shines light on why we too are often disappointed with Jesus.

 21 In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

Why was John disappointed? Because his expectations of Jesus didn’t line up with what the Bible actually says about Jesus.

Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah chapter 61:1-2 when He was in Nazareth from Luke 4,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

And here in His response to John’s disciples Jesus quotes:

Isaiah 29:18-19, In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. 19 The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 35:5-6, Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.

This isn’t magic, I’m just reading the cross references you have right there in your own Bibles.

John’s understanding of Messiah wasn’t completely wrong, it was just incomplete. His expectations were that Jesus would do all of those things, all the judgment and fire as well as the healing and liberty immediately and all at once.

I don’t say all this to chastise John the Baptist or to put him in a bad light. I only say all this because I think that John and us have this in common: that sometimes we wish that things were different than they are, and sometimes we have unmet expectations of Jesus because we don’t really know what the Bible actually says about Him and what He is doing and is going to do.

But as great a man as John the Baptist was we have some tremendous advantages over him as we will see later in this chapter, we have the Bible in its entirety, we have two thousand years of scholarly work and study of it, and most importantly, we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

So in the words of Saint Augustine of Hippo, “Take up and read!”

Read your Bible, ask questions, think about what you have read, meditate on it, chew on it, get to know what the actual Words of God say about the real Jesus Christ, the humble, healing Messiah, who preached good news to the poor, who died on the cross in our place, who rose from the grave, ascended into heaven, and is coming back again with the unquenchable fire of judgment and a warm welcome into His eternal kingdom for all who believe in Him.

Amen.

The Word Made Flesh - John 1:14 - December 25, 2022

 John 1:14 The Word Made Flesh

Good morning and Merry Christmas!

Turn with me in your Bibles this morning to John chapter one. We are going to set aside our study of Luke’s Gospel for today and look at John’s Gospel instead. We are going to read verses 1-18 which is on page 886 in the pew Bibles but we are really only going to focus on verse 14.

This section from John’s Gospel is his nativity account. He doesn’t include any virgins or shepherds or angels or even mangers in stables. There are no cattle lowing, or little drummer boys, there are no stars shining, nor wise men wandering, but without the truth contained here there is no Christmas.

Let’s look at it together.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 

9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

Let’s pray.

So how is this a nativity account? Let’s compare it to Matthew chapter one.

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Matthew and Luke both give us the accounts of the arrival of Jesus as a baby born to a virgin in Bethlehem. These are the images on our Christmas cards and the subject of our Christmas carols, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But John gives us the account of the spiritual realities of Jesus birth, that He wasn’t just some random baby that grew up to be a good man and a good teacher, John shows us that He wasn’t just a really special baby that grew up to be a great prophet.

John’s account shows us that Jesus is God.

Paul wrote in Colossians 1:19, For in [Jesus] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell… And again Colossians 2:9, For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily…

Hebrews 1:1-3 says, Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

The baby born in Bethlehem was not just some baby, and not even some special baby, the baby born in Bethlehem is God made flesh the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. 

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John calls Jesus the Word, logos, the very expression and content of God’s special revelation of Himself.

And that Word became flesh. Not just, “became a human being,” or, “became a man,” but, “became flesh.” It’s a much more visceral picture that includes all the frailties and weaknesses of our own flesh yet without sin. Flesh is a term that is never flattering in Scripture, it’s always pictured as weak, it’s not a symbol of strength at all. This is further evidence of Christ’s humility.

Paul wrote again in 2 Corinthians 8:9, For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

John writes that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The Greek word for “dwelt,” means to tabernacle, to literally pitch your tent, the Word became flesh and pitched His tent among us.

This is how the Lord manifested His presence with Israel as they wandered forty years in the desert, in the Tabernacle, the tent of meeting. He did it in the Old Testament in a literal tent, and in the New Testament in a figurative tent of frail human flesh.

JP Lange wrote, “Faith lifts the veil of Christ’s humanity and worships His divine glory.”

That’s exactly what we are after this morning, to lift the veil of the human baby in the manger and worship the divine Son of God in all His glory.

John says that we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. 

Now there is some debate among the scholars as to whether John meant that he and the other Apostles alone had seen His glory, or if he meant that the whole church had seen His glory. While it’s true that the Apostle John witnessed Jesus’ transfiguration, and he saw Jesus after He had been raised from the dead, I’m left wondering, haven’t you seen the glory of the Lord Jesus?

Haven’t you witnessed answers to prayer, haven’t you witnessed people come to faith in Him? Haven’t you seen with your own eyes Jesus at work in the lives of individuals and churches through the power of His Holy Spirit? I think we all have, at least to some degree.

His glory is the glory of God’s One and Only Son, completely unique, as Hebrews says, the exact imprint of God’s nature. And what is God’s nature like? Full of grace and truth.

Jesus is grace and truth personified. Some people think that we give gifts at Christmas because the wise men gave gifts to Jesus, but I think we give gifts at Christmas because we have been given the gift OF Jesus. That’s exactly what the word “grace” means, it means, “gift.”

John Calvin called Jesus, “An inexhaustible fountain of grace and truth.” What a beautiful picture!

Warren Wiersbe wrote, “The Law could reveal sin, but it could never remove sin. Jesus Christ came with fullness of grace and truth, and this fullness is available to all who will trust in Him.”

Jesus, in His fullness is the gift that is available for us this Christmas, when we give our lives to Him by faith, He gives us so much more in return, He gives us Himself, an inexhaustible fountain of grace and truth.

Amen.

Two Sons and Sweet Providence - Luke 7:11-17 - December 18, 2022

 Luke 7:11-17 Two Sons and Sweet Providence

Good morning! Turn with me in your Bibles to Luke chapter seven and verse eleven. We are going to look at verses 11-17 this morning and that’s on page 863 in the pew Bibles.

This is a pretty dramatic scene that we are going to observe here in Luke’s Gospel this morning. It takes place in a little hamlet called Nain, a word which means, lovely. This tiny village was just south of Nazareth on the border of Samaria, made up of just a few families, one of which has just lost a son.

Warren Wiesbe pointed out the dichotomy of this account with its two crowds, with two different destinations, two sons, and two enemies. We’ll also catch a glimpse of Jesus’ compassion, His power, and His providence. Let’s look at the text together.

You’ll remember from last week Jesus had just healed the Centurion’s servant in Capernaum and now here we are twenty-five or so miles south of Capernaum just outside of Nain.

11 Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” 17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

Let’s pray.

So the first thing we notice in this account is the two crowds heading in two different directions. Jesus was being followed by a great crowd that included His disciples as well as all kinds of other people and they were headed to the city.

The second crowd was with a widow, a considerable crowd from the town, in a funeral procession headed toward the cemetery. The funeral was for the only son of the widow, a young man, not still a child but not yet of marrying age.

It doesn’t take a lot of head scratching here to see some spiritual symbolism at work in these two crowds and their intended destinations.

One crowd, the one without Jesus in it, is headed for the cemetery, they are surrounded by the sting of death and grief, and are literally headed to the grave.

The other crowd, the one with Jesus leading it, is headed for the city, a place literally called, “lovely.” This crowd was rejoicing at God’s blessing, the recent healing of the Centurion’s servant, and the presence and teaching of Jesus.

Wiersbe said, “Spiritually speaking, each of us is in one of these two crowds. If you have trusted Christ, you are going to the city. If you are ‘dead in sin,’ you are already in the cemetery and under the condemnation of God. You need to trust Jesus Christ and be raised from the dead.”

So there we have two crowds and their two destinations, one representing life and salvation through faith in Jesus and the other representing the death and condemnation that result from rejecting Jesus.

And in those crowds we have two sons, two only sons, one dead, the only son of his mother who was also a widow. Though she was now surrounded by this crowd she was most likely on her way to a life of destitution and poverty with no family to help and care for her.

The other Son, the Author of life, according to Acts 3:15, the only begotten Son of His Father, completely unique, God who put on flesh and was born in that stable in Bethlehem and walked among us. God with us, Immanuel.

The first son was dead but was actually bound for life even though he would eventually die again, while the second was alive but actually bound for death even though he would be raised from the dead never to see death again!

The two sons represent two enemies, life and death.

Just this week several families here are grieving the loss of loved ones. Do you ever wonder why we weep when people die? It is because death is an enemy that separates us from those we love even if only temporary as is the case with believers.

1 Corinthians 15:26 calls death the last enemy to be destroyed, but it will be destroyed by Jesus at His Second Coming.

And in this dichotomy of two crowds with two destinations, and two sons, and two enemies, we have on display the compassion, the power and the providence of the Lord Jesus.

13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”

Here we can see the love the Lord has for people, that’s what compassion really is, an expression of love for the suffering. But Jesus’ compassion for this grieving widow who had lost her only son didn’t end with words.

I often struggle with this. When talking with someone who has experienced a loss like this I want to be able to say just the right word to make the pain stop, to truly comfort those who are grieving. I want to say that everything is going to be alright, as if it really will be, but it’s a lie… 

And if Jesus had stopped with just saying to her, “Do not weep,” His expression of compassion would be just as empty. But Jesus is not just talk.

13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

Jesus’ compassion is accompanied by His power. Jesus has power over death. Jesus is not just compassionate but He is the compassionate life giver.

Here we can see the symbol of spiritual restoration, the young man was dead and bound for the grave until Jesus intervened and brought him back to life.

John Calvin wrote, “By touching the coffin he intended perhaps to show, that he would by no means shrink from death and the grave, in order to obtain life for us. He not only deigns to touch us with his hand, in order to quicken us when we are dead, but, in order that he might raise us to heaven,  he himself descends into the grave.”

Jesus’ compassion for the suffering and power over death were on full display in this scene, but the fact that this scene happens at all is evidence of His providence.

JJ vanOosterzee wrote, “The time of the death and the burial of the young man – the road taken by the funeral train – the meeting with the Lord directly at the decisive moment – nothing of all this is casual here. Time, place, and circumstances, all are ordered to reach a glorious goal; comfort to the afflicted; glory for the Lord; revelation of the quickening power of God.”

If you’re wondering if I’m saying that the death of this young man, the grief and loss felt by his mother, the feeling of desperation and loss of hope for her had some purpose, the answer is yes.

Comfort for the afflicted, glory for the Lord Jesus, and the revelation of the life giving power of God, that was the purpose. Not only that but people have been able to read this account for hundreds of years and have been able to see a little bit more of what God is really like and perhaps put their trust in Jesus. 

This is all part of the plan. This is God’s providence. So maybe the things in your life aren’t as out of control as they seem.

Jesus said in John 5:24-29, “24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. 

25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. 

The dead man heard the voice of the Son of God and lived, may all those who are spiritually dead hear His word and believe the One who sent Him and so have eternal life in Him.

Amen.