THE MASTER’S CREDENTIALS
Matthew 11
1. The Revelation of His credentials v. 1 "He departed to teach and to preach."
Was Jesus really the Messiah?
in ch 11 we see the:- The messenger of the Messiah v. 1 - 19 i.e. the miracles of the Messiah v. 20 - 30 , the message of the Messiah ch 12 v. 1 - 12, and the mission of the Messiah ch 12 v. 22 - 50 esp.v. 22 defeating the works of the devil.
2. The Rejection of His credentials Note:-
(a) They silenced His messenger ie. John was imprisioned.
(b) They ignored His miracles ie. they refused to repent.
(c) They questioned His message ie. v17 "we have piped unto you, and ye have not danced: we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented." and
(d) They condemned His mission ch 12 v. 24 attributing his works to Beelzebub - the prince of devils
3. The Recognition of His credentials ch 11vs 1 - 19 Note:-
(a) The Lord’s request v. 3 "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" Notice their :-
(1) doubt - are you messiah or not?
(2) difficulty - John was now in prision
(3) desire - to encourage John
(4) determination - or do we look for another i.e. they weren’t going to give up
(b) The Lord’s reply v. 4 - 6, tell John of the:-
The miracles v. 5 - "the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up" ( convincing evidence.)
The message v. 5 -" the poor have the gospel preached to them." ( compelling evidence.)
The motivation v. 6 - " blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me."
(c) The Lord’s report v. 7 - 15 Now He commends :-
(1) John’s conviction v. 7 - John had been steadfast - he was no shaken reed
(2) John’s condition v 8 - John had been simple - he was no charlatan
(3) John’s commission v. 9 - John had been successful "He was more than a prophet, he had been a messenger"
(4) John’s conclusion v. 11- John had been significant but now one was here who was greater than John, "now is the day of salvation"
(d) The Lord’s rebuke v. 16 - 19 at the unbelief of His generation. why?: -
God’s appeal had been vigorous v. 17 "we have piped", it had been varied v. 18 - John had been separated, and Jesus had been integrated v. 19 but it had been in vain v. 17 " ye have not danced, nor lamented."
4. The Responsibilities of His credentials v. 20 - 24 "then began he to upbraid the cities." "theirs was the heinous sin of indifference" - these cities had been :-
(a) self - contained i.e.so they needed nothing - they were content in their sin
(b) self - satisfied i.e. so they wanted nothing - they were happy as they were
(c) self - righteous i.e.so they sought nothing - they had need of nothing more spiritually
(d) self - condemned i.e.so they did nothing - and were condemned for it
What did the Lord say?
v. 22 " it shall be more tolerable for Tyre & Sidon", " and for Sodom & Gomorrah" v. 24 than for His generation
5. The Reassurance of His credentials v. 28 & 29 "come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
note:-
(a) The character that describes you
(1) labour, in the service of self, of sin, or of satan,
(2) heavy laden, with sin, with care, or with sorrow
(b) The blessing that invites you "I will give you rest" - of conscience, of heart, of mind, and of life.
(c) The direction that guides you - D.L. Moody said you have:-
something to do "come",
something to leave "your burden",
something to take "his yoke",
and something to find "rest".
