Posts
Sunday,
December 15, 2013
Title:
Life Unexpected, Part Three: The Unexpected News.
Scripture:
Matthew 11:2-15
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Unexpected news.
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The test results are back; you have cancer.
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Your spouse says to you: I'm leaving; I'm in love with someone else.
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The investment banker telephones you: The Company has gone bankrupt; your
retirement savings are gone.
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The police arrive at your door: There's been a tragic accident...
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More unexpected news.
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I have your test results; you are in remission.
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A voicemail from your estranged spouse: I'm so sorry for the pain I caused you.
Please, forgive me. I miss you. May I come home?
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The police arrive at your door and with them is the long missing child you
grieved for dead.
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Tragic, painful, confusing, even joyful, unexpected news has the power to turn
life on its head.
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Jesus already announced the good news of God's rule, he displayed God's power
through healing and miraculous signs, and he sent out his disciples to do the
same.
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John the Baptizer languished in the prison of Herod Antipas.
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He had long ago accepted his role as the forerunner, the prophet who would call
people to repentance and prepare the way for the Messiah.
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But alone and imprisoned, John began to doubt.
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Why did John doubt? Unexpected news.
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The ministry of Jesus did not meet Jewish expectations of the Messiah, and the
ministry of Jesus also did not meet the expectations of John the Baptist.
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The prophet Isaiah told of freedom for prisoners and of God's vengeance.
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Where was God's vengeance against the unjust Herod Antipas? Where was freedom
for the imprisoned John?
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That's why John doubted Jesus.
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So, John sent disciples to question Jesus. "Are you the Coming One or
should we expect someone else?"
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This question gave Jesus the opportunity to sum up his ministry to that moment,
declaring that his preaching and miracles were all the evidence that John and
his disciples needed.
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Jesus told them, "Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen
– the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead
are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. And tell
him, "God blesses those who are not offended by me."
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The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are
raised to life and the good news is preached to the poor, these are the signs
of the kingdom of God, but they are not all the signs.
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What about God's judgment and vengeance? What about release for captives and
freedom for prisoners?
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The reply Jesus gave to John was a sure sign that he was the Messiah and that
the day of salvation truly had arrived.
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God's judgment would be delayed, postponed. God would judge sin, but he would
first judge sin by atoning for it through Christ's cross.
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This unexpected news of Jesus was scandalous news.
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It was scandalous news because it shattered the expectations of the time.
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The Jews expected that when Messiah came, he was going to clean house, punish
the wicked, reward the righteous, Rome would become his footstool, Israel would
be restored as the greatest nation among all the nations, the kingdom of God
would be on earth complete.
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To have claimed anything else would have invited scandal and offense, causing
many to stumble and fall. Many did.
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The scandalous idea of a suffering Messiah raised doubt because this news was
most unexpected.
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Jesus came first to conquer sin, not the enemies of Israel.
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Jesus issued a warning to John and his followers: Just because your experience
of me does not fit your expectations, don't abandon me.
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Just because our experience of Jesus does not fit our expectations, let's not
abandon him.
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Embrace the unexpected news of the Messiah who shatters all expectations.
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Jesus also turned to the crowds to speak about John.
“What did you expect when you went out to see him in the wild? A weekend
camper? Hardly.
"What then? A sheik in silk pajamas? Not in the wilderness, not by a long shot.
What then? A prophet? That’s right, a prophet!
"Probably the best prophet you’ll ever hear. He is the prophet that Malachi
announced when he wrote, ‘I’m sending my prophet ahead of you, to make the road
smooth for you.’
“Let me tell you what’s going on here: No one in history surpasses John the
Baptizer; but in the kingdom he prepared you for, the lowliest person is ahead
of him. For a long time now people have tried to force themselves into God’s
kingdom. But if you read the books of the Prophets and God’s Law closely, you
will see them culminate in John, teaming up with him in preparing the way for
the Messiah of the kingdom. Looked at in this way, John is the ‘Elijah’ you’ve
all been expecting to arrive and introduce the Messiah. Are you listening
to me? Really listening?” (MSG)
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John, baptizing in the wilderness, was the first prophetic voice that the
people of Israel had heard in 400 years.
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Because of John's fame, his arrest by Herod Antipas would have been the talk of
the town. Likely, everyone talked about it.
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The crowds wanted to know: What kind of prophet was John? Why did John minister
the way he did?
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Sure! They had their own ideas, but Jesus set things straight.
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John was no weekend camper, no tall grass blade easily swayed by the poll of
public opinion.
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John was no Mr. Fancy Pants flatterer. He was no toady, telling rulers what
they wanted to hear.
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No, John was a prophet. In fact, John was the long waited for prophet who
prepared the way for Messiah's coming.
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John himself was the fulfillment of prophecy.
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The climax of the old covenant and the opening of the new covenant are found in
John.
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The least of the kingdom are greater than John because John is the last of the
old covenant prophets.
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Jesus told the crowds that John was a key example of the persecution that will
accompany the age of mission.
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Violent people will do violent things to the messengers of God's kingdom.
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All the prophets and the law come to a spectacular fulfillment with John's
moment in the limelight.
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Like a chorus of fanfare trumpets, John pointed to who came afterward, not to
his own fanfare, but Jesus the Messiah.
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If you are willing to accept it, Jesus said, he is the 'Elijah' you've been
expecting.
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According to Jesus, John was the turning point of history.
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After the 11th chapter in Matthew's Gospel, the Pharisees, scribes, teachers of
the law and Sadducees stepped up their opposition to Jesus.
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Obviously, instead of really listening to Jesus, these groups chose reject and
oppose the unexpected news that Jesus brought.
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Rather than being like the Pharisees, scribes, teachers of the law, and
Sadducees, we need to be like the early disciples and embrace the unexpected
news of the Messiah who shatters all expectations.
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Jesus calls his disciples to righteousness greater than the scribe and the Pharisee.
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Their righteousness is a righteousness that says "I didn't." The
Scribe and the Pharisee say, "Look at me, God, look at me, everyone, look
at all the bad things I avoided."
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Their righteousness is legalistic score keeping, overflowing with
self-righteous pride and finger pointing.
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Jesus is not the Messiah everyone is expecting.
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He brings most unexpected news. Too many people want to remake Jesus in their
image.
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Too many people want a comfortable Christ who makes life easier and simpler,
but Jesus is not a comfortable Christ.
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Jesus calls his disciples to faithfulness, commitment, obedience, and
sacrifice.
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Just because our experience of Jesus does not fit our expectations, let's not
abandon him.
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We live in the time of fulfillment. The saints and prophets of the Old
Testament longed for the day in which we now live.
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The promises of all the prophets and all the law find fulfillment in the coming
kingdom of Jesus Christ.
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John the Baptist preached the coming of a new age, the age of the Messiah and
with that age come the blessings of the kingdom of God.
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Because the kingdom of God has come in the person of Jesus Christ, the
Christian has access to God, the Christian can pray with power, and the
Christian can experience new, abundant life in the Holy Spirit.
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Christians must learn not to take these blessings of a new reality of the
present kingdom of God for granted and complain.
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Instead, Christians must live in the light of the real presence of the kingdom
of heaven, allowing the kingdom to get a complete hold on us.
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Because the kingdom of God has come in the person of Jesus Christ awaiting his
return, the Christian will experience violent opposition from violent people.
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God has postponed or delayed his vengeance and judgment upon the wicked, as
well as, rewards for the righteous.
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Let's make no mistake, God's kingdom has come in the person of Jesus Christ and
Jesus is coming again.
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Let us be encouraged to accept Jesus as the Savior and Lord who sets aside our
expectations, who calls us to suffer, to sacrifice and to a growing commitment
to him in the present darkness of this world.
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Embrace the unexpected news of the Messiah who shatters all expectations.
