Confronting Christ
Matthew 11
8/10/97
Intro: Who is it that you most admire? What would you do if he or she came into the room? What would you feel like if you got to spend a couple days with them? A couple months? We find quickly that those we respect highly are human too, and each one has their own areas of weakness. but there was one once who was perfect in all his ways. Yet even Christ was questioned often. Let’s look in Matthew 11.
Read 1-15
I. The questioning of John the Baptist- 1-15
John had been looking for Messiah to come. John is not doubting, as much as asking if he had been mistaken. John sits in Jail, he sees Christ with the power to change things for him, but not doing it. He is looking for a Messiah who would bring judgment on the Roman world. Yet Christ does not come bringing physical judgment at this time.
Christ affirms who he is by the works he has been doing. He is fulfilling prophecies from Isaiah. Yet in the verses he quotes, he stops short of the parts about judgment. That will come a little later.
Don’t be surprised if God doesn’t always act the way you would expect him to. We can never tell God how to act.
II. The questioning of the religious hypocrites - 16-19
They were content neither with John the Baptist in his abstinence or Jesus in his fellowships. They wanted to dictate what "spirituality" looked like. We must be very careful that we do not judge the spirituality of others just because they are not like us.
III. The unbelief of the visited cities - 19-24
These cities were on the north side of the sea of Galilee. Jesus spent most of his time there. Yet these cities did not embrace Christ or his ministry. They refused to believe.
What’s it going to take to get you to believe. If you are here and unsaved this morning, think what a terrible thing it would be to stand before God and be condemned for unbelief. We have had so many chances to respond here in America.
There are levels of punishment. Those who have had opportunities will be judged more severely for not responding to them.
IV. The blessings of belief 25-30
What is entailed when you believe?
Knowledge of the Son - we learn who he is and what he is like
Rest - he gives us an internal peace
an easy yoke - he helps to carry our burdens.
