When Life Doesn't Go How You Expected
Matthew 11:1-6 talks about the current circumstances of John the Baptist. He had been imprisoned for speaking out against an improper relationship between Herod and Herodias who was the ex-wife of his half-brother Philip. He was imprisoned by Herod to make Herodias happy. Herod would eventually go farther and have John killed to keep his wife happy.
To say the least, imprisonment for declaring a relationship to be unlawful under Jewish law was completely unfair and wrong. It was a huge step down for John who had been declaring the coming of Jesus and preaching repentance, just as God had asked him to do. He had been the one baptizing Jesus when God spoke from Heaven and the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove [Matthew 3:16]. So he, probably more than most others, knew that he was on the right track in preaching what he was preaching.
What is unknown is whether God told him to speak out against the immoral union between Herod and Herodias or whether he just did that on his own. I'd like to think that no Christian ever took up a cause that wasn't directed by God in the first place, especially a political cause. I think there's a reason Jesus said to render to Caesar what was Caesar's and to God what was God's [Mark 12:14-17]. It's too easy to get deflected from the work God has for you to do when politics get involved.
But without knowing the circumstances of his arrest, it is impossible to know if he was doing what God wanted him to do in opposing their union, and was simply paying the consequences of following God or if he spoke out on something God didn't wish him to pursue but he felt he must just because it was wrong.
It's sometimes hard to know. There are so many things wrong in the world, that I could probably post on that every day, but if my posts don't add anything to a previous post and we are simply paying the price of historical mistakes, is it beneficial to the work of Christ? Issues I deal with every day.
But it is easy to see how his present circumstances would get him down in the dumps. He would have been eating poorly and infrequently. He probably had barely enough to drink. Prisons of that day were awful compared to what we think of as prisons in America today. And his circumstances led him to doubt.
How could God let me be taken from my work and put in prison? Things were going so good. Maybe I was deceived about the whole Jesus thing... All thoughts Satan would have been stirring up in his mind whenever possible.
He was in a position to do something about his circumstances though. He sent his disciples to Jesus to ask if Jesus was the expected Messiah. Jesus pointed out all the things that the disciples of John were able to hear and see with their own eyes - the blind seeing again, the deaf being made able to hear, the dead resurrected, the lepers were being cleansed, and the poor were preached to. He ends by saying that people who aren't offended by Christ are blessed.
I need to stress the importance of what Jesus was doing. He wasn't just talking. The Holy Spirit was working through Him at all times. There wasn't just one person being healed every year or two. He was making a difference in His community (wherever He was currently at was His community). He not only proclaimed the gospel message. He followed it up with works that were evident to anyone who would stop by. The disciples of John didn't have to tarry for weeks, or months, or years to see the power of God at work. They had immediate examples.
If you aren't seeing this in your own ministry, know that God hasn't changed. His power isn't diminished. But also know that He wants the glory. He wants Jesus to be lifted up and people to come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord. If He works through you, it isn't you who is doing the work - it's still God. If you haven't been baptized in the Holy Spirit, start there. Seek the baptism in the Spirit. Keep seeking a fuller relationship with God through the Holy Spirit. Seek a greater filling every day.
Then listen to what God wants you to do and do it. An example can be seen in Ty Buckingham's testimony about a Walmart shopping experience about 20 minutes into the video. That's a perfect example of trusting that what God is telling you to do is what you should do. The whole video is good. If you want to be used of God you have to be willing to do what He asks. I suspect that the more God can trust you to follow Him and lift up the name of Jesus rather than yourself, the more opportunities you will have to be used of God.
If it doesn't happen immediately, don't get discouraged. Keep moving closer to God. Keep trusting in His word and in His promises. Pray. Fast. Seek. Knock. Wait for it to be opened, but trust that it will be. And always remember to give God the glory both in the things He has done in your life, but also in the things He is doing in other Christian workers lives. Support and give thanks for His work being done everywhere. Don't let Satan discourage you in your own ministry. Those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength [Isaiah 40:31].
The Effect of John's Ministry According to Jesus
Matthew 11:7-19 records Jesus' comments to the surrounding crowds after John's disciples depart. He asked them about what they thought about John. I suspect some were judging John because of his doubts, considering how John had been used of God. But Jesus calls them all out and asks about when they first went to see John. Were they looking for a frail and week man? Were the looking for a well to do man like many of the Pharisees and Jewish leaders? Or were they looking for a prophet to hear the message he had for the people?
Jesus declares that John's message was the most important prophecy that was to be made... greater than all other prophets that came before him. He was declaring that the Messiah was coming soon and the people needed to repent and make ready for Him. The same message is equally valid. Jesus is coming back soon. And any of us could die before that time happens, so we need to be ready at all times.
The point of all the prophets who spoke before John was to try to get the nation of Israel to repent and get ready for the kingdom of heaven to come and for the Messiah to be presented to Israel. This was now happening. Yes, there was tremendous sin in the land of Israel at various times, and the prophets were also speaking against the sin of the people. But getting right with God was the real focus, and John's prophecy was the culmination of that work. Jesus was now present and would be the final sacrifice for humanity's sin.
But Jesus also spoke of a sad reality in the end verses of the section. The people were looking for someone who would fulfill their own view of how prophecy would happen. John wore rough clothes and lived off the land. They rejected his message because he didn't look or act like a prophet should in their humble opinions. They went so far as to say he was devil possessed.
Then, when Jesus came, eating and drinking with those who needed saved, the same people condemned Him. He wasn't ministering to them, so they found fault with Him. His words that the healthy didn't need a doctor didn't set well with the people.
Jesus statement in 11:15 is just as clear today. He that hat ears to hear, let him hear. But I would also say that it isn't enough just to hear. You need to put the words to practice and change your lives. There aren't a lot of churches preaching the message of John today. Repentance isn't a popular subject. But it is still as strong a message today as it was 2,000 years ago. We are called to accept Christ as Savior, absolutely true. He's the only path to eternal life with God. But we are also called to make Him Lord of our lives and to repent of the evil and iniquity in our lives. Jesus is coming back soon.
Judgment On Those Who Deny the Mighty Works of God
Matthew 11:20-24 talks a bit about Jesus thoughts on all of the people who saw the mighty works of God being done and dismissed the works. Towns like Chorazin and Bethsaida were particular examples Jesus pointed to where great things had been done by God. Jesus says that if Tyre and Sidon (two famously strong and long lived cities) had seen what had happened in the local towns, they would have repented of all of the evil they had done and would have been in sackcloth and ashes for their sins. Considering their reputations, that's an impressive statement.
But sadly, Jesus declares that there would be more grace given to them than to the local towns which had seen the direct power of God poured out. He then compares the great works in Capernaum and says that if Sodom had seen works like that, it would still be around. The people of Sodom would also have repented of their evil ways and God wouldn't have had to destroy them. Again, he declares that their state would be worse for having witnessed and ignored the work of God.
I realize that the works of God aren't seen as frequently around much of the world as was being done by Jesus. And that is totally on us and not on God. I also realize that word of mouth is about all we have to spread the word when miracles and healing does happen. It will rarely get the attention of the main stream media. But by the same token, it is easier than ever for each person who has witnessed a work of God to spread the word about it.
I've talked about the miracles I've seen at other places in my websites, so I won't duplicate them here. There was a story in a recent Live about a girl in Uruguay who was hit by a vehicle and suffered many breaks and fractures. God told her He would heal her in three days, and on the third day she felt her bones mending. He is still at work.
But the warning that was given to those cities around Jesus still applies today. Many have seen and heard about great things that God has done in people's lives and willfully ignore the reality of God for one reason or another. Don't let that be you. You don't want Matthew 11:24 to be about you.
Yoked with Christ
The chapter closes [Matthew 11:25-30] with Christ encouraging the people. They had just seen the trial that John was going through - many may not have known that until then. Jesus says that He wants to give rest to the people. He tells them to bind themselves to Him as oxen are paired together with a yoke to do work.
Learn the way that Christ lived His life and seek to emulate that. Jesus was God and set that aside for a short while (in His eternal eyes) to live as man and to be sacrificed as a sin offering for humanity. He, of any human ever borne, had rights to take on airs. But He chose a life that was meek and lowly of heart. It was also full of compassion for the world around Him. We may get weary in our bodies as we try to live out our lives for Him. But our souls can find rest in Him because He is helping to carry all of our loads.
That is still true today. He helped carry and lighten John's burden by showing the disciples of John that He was doing the works prophesied of the Messiah. All that John was going through was awful, but His work hadn't been in vain. Ultimately, whatever we are going through, our short time on earth is nothing compared to an eternity with God. And nothing in our lives today will be worse than an eternity without God in hell if we don't accept God's Plan for Our Salvation.