Several years ago a newspaper in Biloxi, Mississippi ran an article about an attempted suicide. A young woman apparently thought her life held no meaning so she jumped off a bridge into the waters of the Mississippi River.
A man nearby saw her jump, and without thinking, jumped in after her. It didn’t occur to him until after he was in the water that he couldn’t swim!
His screams for help and flailing limbs caught the attention of the young woman who pulled the drowning man to safety.
The writer of the newspaper article finished with this thought: "It wasn’t the gentleman who saved that woman’s life that night; it was purpose. No doubt, the man meant well. But what he provided for her was one moment where life offered meaning: the opportunity to save a man’s life. She had a clear purpose and objective...She tapped into the energy that was inside all the time when she finally linked up to a mission."
That’s why we’ve been closely observing the life of Jesus these last several Sundays. The purpose-driven life of Christ teaches us how to live life with meaning.
There is a story of a philosopher who took a stroll one evening to ponder the meaning of life. With disheveled hair and dressed in ragged clothes he wandered in the rain through dimly lit streets in a state of deep reflection. The police noticed him and thought he looked suspicious so they abruptly cornered him and asked, "Who are you?" and "Where are you going?" To which the philosopher replied, "Those are the very questions I’m trying to answer. Can you help me?"
We’ve been investigating a set of question and answer dialogues between Jesus and those around Him during His earthly ministry that can indeed help us!
In the first sermon in the series we considered the first question of John the Baptist - "Am I Good Enough?" The answer was, "in Christ" we are good enough!
Last week we digested the question of the disciples before Christ’s miracle of the feeding of the 4,000 - "Do I Have Enough?" Christ’s answer was through a miracle which proved that with God’s help we can have more than enough if we will yield ourselves to Him.
Today we deal with another question of eternal importance - "Is Christ Enough?"
The key verse from the Bible text we read is Matthew 11:3 - "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"
John knew that the "Messiah", or in the Greek language, the "Christ" (John 1:41), was going to come as God’s anointed deliverer and ruler. He wanted to know if Jesus was indeed the Christ.
This is a puzzling question at face value, coming from John, because of his earlier statements about Jesus.
John 1:29 - The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"
30 - This is the one I meant when I said, "A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me."
31 - I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.
32 - Then John gave the testimony: "I saw the Spirit of God come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.
33 - I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ’The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
34 - I have seen and testify that he is the Son of God."
So why did John ask for further evidence of Christ’s credentials as the Promised Messiah if he was previously convinced?
Some say John became discouraged while he was languishing in prison and needed assurance. Since even the greatest people of faith are not exempt from discouragement we can’t count this possibility out totally. However it does seem out of character for John. Having been a patron of the wilderness he was accustomed to deprivation and loneliness.
Others have suggested that John sent his followers to Jesus with the question for their benefit. Maybe, but that hypothesis doesn’t seem to have any real concrete scriptural support either.
A third and quite plausible explanation for John’s question is that Jesus wasn’t carrying out His ministry the way John envisioned the Messiah should have. John’s mission had the distinct characteristic of judgment, while Christ’s ministry had the distinction of mercy. Perhaps John was perplexed. His sincere Old Testament view of things may have caused his perception of the Messiah to be askew.
Why hadn’t Jesus called down the wrath of God on sinners? Why hadn’t the King of Kings dethroned the despots of Roman tyranny? Why hadn’t Jesus abolished the hypocritical religious establishment? If you look closely at the content of John’s preaching and character of his lifestyle this is quite a possible scenario.
The purpose of John’s ministry was to prepare the way for Christ. He certainly did a wonderful job convincing people they were sinners in need of a savior. But knowing that we’re sinners is only part of the equation. If we’re left with that truth alone we are directionless.
John was born of the priestly line and was also a prophet - but the work of human priests and prophets is not sufficient to deliver the world from their sins! Mankind must have a savior.
John, like the prophets before him, wanted to know how the Messiah would be king yet still have to suffer. (1 Peter 1:10,11)
Christ’s answer for John is an answer for us. Observe it more closely.
4 - Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see:
5 - The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
6 - Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
What do we hear and see in Christ’s answer? Is Christ enough of a Savior for us or do we need more? If we determined to live our lives for Christ is that a placebo, or is living for Him the true path?
We recognize first of all that the miracle-working power demonstrated by Jesus authenticates His position as Christ.
All of these activities were supernatural in scope.
No magic tricks, no showmanship. And also, no partiality - the good news was proclaimed to the poor.
This was also a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy which adds further to Jesus’ credentials as the Christ.
Yet still, some won’t believe in Jesus as the one sent from God.
They say a skeptic is a person, who, when he sees the handwriting on the wall, claims it’s a forgery.
You just have to wonder about some people - they think God is dead and Elvis is alive.
But perhaps just as important, and somehow we might overlook this, especially if we have too much Old Testament flavor to our Christianity - the evidences Jesus listed in His answer to John were acts of compassion.
Like the feeding of the 4,000 we considered last week, Jesus saw hurting people and he healed their hurts.
The miracles of His public ministry were a precursor to His trip to the cross. There He would deal with mankind’s greatest problems - sin and death. And what motivated Him to go to the cross and suffer so for us? Love and grace.
He was experiencing God’s wrath on our sins to give us an opportunity to escape wrath.
The age of judgment will come, but for now we are living in the day of grace. Our need is not to try and judge everyone, but rather, to extend to them God’s offer of forgiveness.
Sure they must change their minds (repent) about Jesus and who He is. And of course their changed mind will lead to a changed life. Yet there is one more segment to Christ’s answer to man’s question we dare not overlook.
"Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." (Verse 6)
The Greek word for "fall away" ("offended" in the KJV) is "skandalizo", from which we derive our English word "scandal". It literally means "to trip up, to stumble".
Jesus is in effect saying to John,
"John, don’t stumble over my willingness to heal, forgive and have compassion on people. There will be a time for judgment but now is the time for grace."
That says a lot about what our mood and method of ministry ought to be. Those who don’t yet know Jesus don’t just need to know they’re sinners. They also need to know there’s hope!
We need the prophetic ministry of John the Baptist.
But it is not enough.
We need to know Christ is enough. He alone offers the forgiveness of sin through His death on the cross for our sins because of His great love for us.
This is the good news we are commissioned to proclaim. This is our purpose!
