Jesus our Promised Messiah
Matthew 11:1-6
John the Baptizer was now in prison for preaching about the Kingdom of God. He sent his disciples to ask Jesus question: “Are you really the Messiah we’ve been waiting for, or should we keep looking for someone else?” (Matthew 11:3 NLT)
This question was in contrast to what John had said when he saw Jesus coming toward him and John the Baptizer shouted out to the gathered crowd: “Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 NLT)
We really can’t blame John the Baptizer for having doubts about Jesus being the promised Messiah. John was in prison and if Jesus were the Messiah Jesus would get him released from prison. John had wrong expectations of Jesus. His wrong expectations caused him to doubt.
We all tend to be doubters about certain things in life. Some doubting may be good and some may not be good.
Have you received any e-mails from someone in South Africa saying: “I had 30 million left to me as an inheritance, but can’t get it for certain reasons. But I am willing to share a portion of it with you but I will need to transfer it to your bank in America. Please send me your bank account number.” I get several of those kinds of e-mails every month.
You have reason to doubt that e-mail promise.
Doubts come and go in the normal Christian life. The only problem is if the doubts stay and don’t go. There’s nothing wrong about having questions about life. Jesus didn’t condemn John for asking questions?
Carollyn’s stepfather, Allan Robinson was sick in the hospital. He questioned the fact if he was really saved. He had lived for Jesus most of his life. Weak from sickness he doubted. With encouragement from Christian friends and family, he got back on track and again fully trusted the Lord.
Is Jesus our promised Messiah or should we continue to look for another?
Behind doubts is the god of this world, Satan. From the beginning of creation to now Satan has been tempting all humankind to doubt God.
God provided for the first family a home in the Garden of Eden. They lived in a fruit lover’s paradise. They could eat of all the fruit of all the trees except one – the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
The Sin and Fall of Man:
Genesis 3:1-3 The Devil in the form of a serpent tempted Eve to disobey God her creator and taste of the fruit of good and evil. Through their disobedience the first family gave the human race the nature of inherited sin.
When sin divided the world man became the bond-slave of the devil, the victim of God’s judgment against sin, an alien from God’s family. The seed of the woman should restore the fallen culprit to all, and more than all that had been lost through sin. The first-born prophecy declares that in fullness of time a deliverer should arise, offspring of the family of man.
One of the first promises God gave the human race following the fall of man was the promise of a coming Redeemer and Messiah. God spoke to the Serpent in Genesis 3:15 “From now on, you and the woman will be enemies, and your offspring and her offspring will be enemies. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” It is much better to have a bruised heel than a crushed head. The coming Savior and Redeemer would suffer but in suffering the Serpent Devil would be conquered.
Romans 5:12,17 summarized the Genesis account of the fall of man: “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.”
Satan is the Great deceiver. He has many names - Devil, fallen angel, Serpent, Great Deceiver and his first name was Lucifer, an arch angel of the Lord. Lucifer wanted to be on equal with his creator and rebelled against God and was thrown out of heaven and became the god of this world.
In Genesis 3 the Serpent was the Devil in disguise. Satan’s one mission since his fall from the grace of God has been to cause all human beings, God’s creation, to turn from the true God and turn to false gods. Satan works in the heart and soul of people to lead them to disobedience.
Ephesians 2:1-2, “As for you, (Paul is writing to Christ followers in the church at Ephesus) you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is not at work in those who are disobedient.” Without Jesus in their heart people are spiritually dead and under the control of the god of this world. The natural result of being under the control of Satan is disobedience.
The Apostle Paul explained to the Christians in Ephesus that their greatest battle was with Satan and his cohorts. Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
In II Corinthians 4:4 The Apostle gives the reason why so many people doubt the promises of God and believe they don’t need to repent and receive Jesus. “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
Genesis 3:15 promised a Savior would come and crush the head and power of Satan. The Messiah would defeat the power of Satan and all his fallen angels. When Jesus stepped out of heaven as the Son of Man, the Son of God became incarnate in a human body – born of a virgin – the Savior of the world. Jesus came to destroy the works of the Devil.
The Apostle John (a different John from John the Baptizer) is writing to warn fellow believers to beware of false teachers. John said false teachers were denying that Jesus was the Christ. False teachers were saying that you can be a Christian and still live according to the lusts of the flesh and desires of sinful man. John declared that whoever claims to live for God must walk as Jesus walked. John 3:7-8, “Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”
Jesus listened to the question the disciples of John the Baptized brought to Jesus and he told the disciples to go back to John and tell John the things about what you have heard and seen.
Tell John what you have heard. John the Baptized needed to be reminded of what he had heard. He had heard the prophets of old tell about the promise of the coming Messiah. The scriptures gave the promise of a coming Messiah.
The prophet Isaiah described the person who would be their Messiah. Isaiah 7:14, 9:6 --- “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
The prophet Micah foretold the place where the Messiah would be born: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrata, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” Micah 5:2
The prophet Zechariah predicted the Triumphant Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, His betrayal, and death. Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 11:12 prophesied his betrayal, “I told them, ‘If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.’ So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.” Zechariah 12:10 forecast his death, “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.”
John the Baptized needed to be reminded of what he had heard – all the prophecies of old and what he had seen. Jesus said, tell John “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.”
The Disciples were eye witnesses of the miracles and healing Jesus reminded John the Baptizer of.
Blind were healed – “Two blind men followed along behind Jesus, shouting, ‘Son of David, have mercy on us!’ They went right into the house where Jesus was staying, and Jesus asked them, ‘Do you believe, I can make you see?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ they told him, ‘we do.’ Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘Because of your faith, it will happen.’ Suddenly they could see.” Matthew 9:27-30
Lame walk – “Some men brought to Jesus a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, ‘Take heart son! Your sins are forgiven.’ ‘Blasphemy! This man talks like he is God!’ some of the teachers of religious law said among themselves.’ Jesus knew what they sere thinking, so he aside them. ‘Why are you thinking such evil thoughts? Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven” or Get up and walk? I will prove that I, the Son of Man, have the authority on earth to forgive sins.’ Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, ‘Stand up, take your mat and go on home, because you are healed!”
“And the man jumped up and went home!” Matthew 9:2-7
Lepers cleansed – Matthew 8:1-3 “Large crowds followed Jesus as he came down the mountainside. Suddenly a man with leprosy approached Jesus. He knelt before him, worshiping, ‘Lord,’ the man aside, ‘if you want to you can make me well again.’ Jesus touched him, ‘I want to,’ he said. ‘Be healed!’ And instantly the leprosy disappeared.”
Deaf hear – Mark 7:32-35, “A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to Jesus, and the people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him. Jesus led him to a private place away from the crowd. He put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then, spitting onto his own fingers, he touched the man’s tongue with the spittle. And looking up to heaven, he signed and commanded, ‘Be opened.” Instantly the man could hear perfectly and speak plainly!”
Dead are raised up – Matthew 9:18,23-25, “The leader of a synagogue came and knelt down before Jesus, ‘My daughter has just died,’ he said, ‘but you can bring her back to life again if you just come and lay your hand upon him.’ When Jesus arrived at the official’s home, he noticed the noisy crowds and heard the funeral music. He said, ‘Go away, for the girl isn’t dead, she’s only asleep.’ But the crowd laughed at him. When the crowd was finally outside, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she stood up!”
From Genesis to Revelation Jesus is proclaimed as Messiah. I pray that all of us here this morning can say with Andrew when he went to his brother Simon Peter after he heard John the Baptizer announce to the crowd that Jesus was the Lamb of God, Andrew said to Peter, “We have fund the Messiah” (which means the Christ.) The Hebrew word for Messiah is “The anointed one,” and in the Greek Messiah is translated Christ.
As Christ followers it is our privilege and opportunity to tell others, “We have found the Messiah.” Jesus is our Messiah.
When Jesus stood before the High Priest at his trial the High Priest said to Jesus, “I demand in the name of the living God that you tell us whether you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” Jesus replied, “Yet, it is as you say. And in the future you will see me, the Son of Man, sitting at God’s right hand in the place of power and coming back on the clouds of heaven.” Matthew 26:63-64
Jesus is our promised Messiah. Someday we will see Jesus face to face. Be patient. Be strong. Don’t give up – wait for God’s timing. Jesus will make clear to you that He is your Messiah.
Lincoln Steffens remembers one Christmas while growing up when he wanted a pony more than anything. "He prayed and hoped he would get a pony," he wrote. "My good little sisters -- to comfort me -- remarked that Christmas was coming, but Christmas was always coming and grown-ups were always talking about it, asking you what you wanted." His parents played games with him, asking him what he wanted for Christmas. "All I want is a pony," he told them. "If I can’t have a pony, give me nothing, nothing."
Christmas Day arrived and the children were up at 6:00 a.m. At first they were overwhelmed by all the presents. His sisters had knelt down, each by her pile of gifts; they were squealing with delight, till they looked up and saw Lincoln standing there in his nightgown with nothing. Nothing!" The young boy didn’t get the pony he wanted more than anything else for Christmas. His sisters joined him in his agony, running back to their bedrooms crying. He refused to eat anything. He was too upset. He went out to the stable, and his mother came out to comfort him. He noticed his father watching him from a window for a couple of hours. This was his worst Christmas ever - not one present.
Then he noticed a man riding a pony down the street, a pony with a brand new saddle, and it was a boy’s saddle. The man was reading the numbers of the houses. "He looked at our door and passed by," Lincoln remembered. That was the last straw. He flung himself on the ground and began crying uncontrollably. "Say, kid," the stranger asked, "do you know a boy named Lennie Steffens?" "Yes," he spluttered through tears, "that’s me." "Well," he said, "then this is your horse. I’ve been looking all over for you." The man told Lennie his excuses for being so late, but the boy never heard them. "He could scarcely wait." Before too long he was riding down the street on his pony. To this day he still doesn’t know if that was his best Christmas or his worst. The pony was always coming. It was Lennie’s impatience and uncertainty that drove him to the brink of despair.
Like John the Baptizer you may have doubts about God’s plan of redemption through His Son Jesus. As you ask the Lord He will answer you. What do you hear? Listen to the prophets. Look at the promises in God’s Word. What do you see? Listen to the people who have experienced life transformations. Once they were blinded by sin and Satan with a life filled with darkness. Then Jesus, the Messiah, came into their life and now they have the joy of the Lord and a life filled with hope and light.
Jesus is our Promised Messiah. There is no need to look for another Messiah.
