MPC, 7th September 2003.Matthew 11 - "Great Expectations?"
Phil Campbell MPC, 7th September 2003.
You only have to look at the prayer points on the back of our service sheet sometime to get a stark reminder that things don't always go right for Christians.
I heard about one young Christian couple through the week; a week before the due date of their first child. And he finds himself in hospital with an emergency heart condition. He comes out of hospital; she goes in. And the epidural goes terribly wrong. Which among other things contribute to weeks of severe postnatal depression. And you say, where is God when it hurts like that. And even if stuff like that happens to other people, surely as Christians we should be exempt.
Or Andrew's brother Steve and his wife Fiona. Steve's a Youth Pastor in Sydney. And as you've heard already, last week; grieving the loss of their hopes and aspirations as they buried their toddler son. Or Geoff and Jenny in the UK. One disaster after another. And we want to say surely for Christians, there's some sort of bubble we can live in, some sort of guarantee of better things. And things should be better than this.
How much moreso if you're someone who's actually suffering not just in a sense by accident... but because you're a Christian. How much more it's got to hurt if you're suffering injustice directly because of your faith. I spoke in a church in Capetown a few years ago. There's a memorial there. To the congregation members who were shot and killed in a terrorist attack in their Sunday night service. And you think surely, it should be better than this.
Or last week in Nanyang County in China; a raid on a series of house churches. And 170 Christians arrested. They were fined and fingerprinted. And the 14 leaders detained and imprisoned. It's usual, apparently, for Christian leaders to be beaten and tortured while they're detained. Beaten and tortured - not just in the overall circumstances of life where you win some and you lose some - beaten and tortured because of the kingdom. And you think surely, for Christians, it shouldn't be so bad. Where's the blessing you hear about? The good times? That are meant to come with being part of the kingdom of God?
Which I reckon is exactly the sort of thing going through the mind of John the Baptist.
John's in prison. He's in prison, and you can read the details in Matthew 14. He's in prison because he's been arrested by the Tetrarch. The local governor Herod Antipas. John's in prison for speaking out against the fact that Herod has just married his own niece. Who'd been previously married to his brother. It's the sort of messy story you get on the Bold and the Beautiful. You know, I always catch the last few minutes before the Channel 10 First at Five news; and it's one of those shows where someone's always getting married and there's always someone crying at the end. In fact most days it seems like there's someone crying at the same time they're getting married. And to me it always looks like the same guy getting married over and over again.
Which with Herod Antipas is exactly how it is. And because John speaks out against him he ends up in prison. Herod Antipas is appointed by Rome as the Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea. Which you can maybe see in pink on the map. Herod Antipas is the same guy who later sits in judgement of Jesus. And orders him flogged. Herod Antipas is a playboy prince. Building palaces; wearing fancy clothes. Ambitious. With an even more ambitious new wife. And Herod Antipas wants John the Baptist dead. For daring to speak against his lifestyle choices.
Now I don't know much about prison cell comfort back in those days. But I guess it's not great. And as John's sitting there in his cell, as he's sitting there on death row... I guess you could understand he's thinking things should be a whole lot better.
Because he's the one who's been announcing back in Matthew Chapter 3, that the kingdom of heaven is near. He's the one baptising huge crowds. And saying, after me will come one more powerful than I. Who'll baptise you with the Holy Spirit. And with fire. He's the one who'll gather the wheat. And burn the chaff. Who'll bring judgement and justice on the sins of Israel.
Full of confidence that things were coming to a head... and that the one coming after him is Jesus of Nazareth.
Let me suggest, ending his days in a prison cell isn't quite the way John was expecting things to pan out.
I was reading about Le Cun Zin... a Chinese peasant boy who's risen from poverty in the back blocks of China to a career as a stock broker in Melbourne. Think of John the Baptist as the opposite. A meteoric career backwards.
And now he's sitting in his cell thinking it should be better than this. And as he hears Jesus is touring around the towns of Galilee and all he's doing is teaching and preaching, he sends messengers to ask the question. What's going on? I mean, isn't it meant to be better than this? I mean, aren't you meant to be doing some judging of Israel or something? Aren't you meant to be overturning the sort of guys who've got me locked up?
His actual words are in verse 3. "Are you the one who was to come? Or should we expect someone else?"
And if you are, you can imagine under his breath, "let's get on with it."
Now here's where you hit one of the sayings Jesus is particularly fond of.
If you've seen those magic eye posters with the jumble of lines and shapes and you kind of screw up your eyes and focus in the distance and you suddenly see a 3D picture of a man on a bike or something like that, you'll know only some people can see them. I can't. Just have to take Louise's word for it that they actually work.1
Jesus keeps saying you've got to have the right kind of eyes to see; and ears to hear... what he's really on about. And in what he says to the disciples of John, it's almost a test. To see if even John can see what's written between the lines. Because maybe the kingdom isn't going to be quite what John is expecting. Maybe... and here's a hint... maybe even the king himself is going to end up where John is. And that's okay.
Jesus replies, it's verse 4 to 6; it's a message for John's disciples to take back to him in prison. And it's a string of quotes from the prophet Isaiah. Go back and tell him what you see and hear. That the blind, verse 5, receive their sight. That 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.
It's all in the agenda. Back in Isaiah. And the miracles Jesus is doing are saying something about who he is. He might not be knocking off the Romans. But he is preaching to the poor. And binding up broken hearts. And restoring the blind. And so John's mind should go back to Isaiah 35 and take it to heart.
Isaiah who says, stop your knees knocking. Be strong and don't fear. Because the eyes of the blind will be open, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Isaiah who says in his next breath, when that happens there'll be a highway for the righteous. The unclean won't journey on it. There'll be one of those big green highway signs saying unrighteous unwelcome. And for the ones ransomed by the Lord there'll be everlasting joy as a crown on their heads. And sorrow... and sighing... will flee away.
Jesus says, Tell John you're seeing the first bit of that. Which means you'll have to trust me for the next bit as well. And hold out for the ransoming. And the everlasting joy. If, that is, you've got the eyes to see it. And most of Israel don't. Especially the people in power.
And you can tell John, verse 6; "Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." In other words, tell him to stick with it... until the end. Even if it doesn't look like I'm storming his prison cell... and overturning his personal injustice.
Now as John's disciples are turning to go, Jesus talks to the crowd. Because I guess the crowd's surprised John's ended up in prison as well; which means they need to think again. If the crowd is thinking the coming of the Kingdom is going to be an easy ride, they need to rethink.
Can I say as we look at what he's saying, I think we've depoliticised religion to the point where it's hard to put ourselves back in the situation Jesus and John are living in. But we need to see there's a political electricity in almost every word he says.
Alexander Downer, through the week, said the church should stop meddling in politics and stick to being nice to people.
Herod Antipas would have said the same. Because clearly he's not impressed with what's going on. And Jesus says to the crowd, you'd expect that. He says, why are you surprised to see John thrown in prison? I mean, surely you'd expect opposition?
Pick up in verse 7. Because his point is, you went out to hear John in the wilderness exactly because he was different to Herod. You went out to hear John in the wilderness exactly because he was calling for repentance. So what's the surprise when he meets opposition?
What did you go out in the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? Herod's personal symbol. The seal on his signet ring. The mark on his coins. What did you go out to see? I mean, did you think you'd find another Herod out there? Verse 8? If not, what? A man dressed in fine clothes maybe? No. If you want that, look in Herod's palace. What you went out to see was a prophet. And more than a prophet. Verse 10, The very one, who according to Malachi would come to prepare the way for the Lord; Israel's last call.
The greatest and last prophet of all.
So why be surprised, says Jesus, that he's facing opposition? Which I think is the sense of those strange sounding words in verse 12. Which we need to slightly unpack.
There are about four different ways the original Greek can be translated. Our NIV puts it, "From the days of John the Baptist til now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing. And forceful men lay hold of it."
Makes a little more sense if you look a bit more at the last phrase. And the original word lying behind it. Harpadzo; which can either mean to lay hold of something. Or to grab it. Or to snatch it away.
Exactly the same word Jesus uses later in the parable of the sower. The sower sows the seed. The birds come and snatch it away.
So try sticking that thought into verse 12. Why be surprised John's doing it tough? The kingdom of heaven has been pressing ahead forcefully. Why be surprised if there's forceful opposition. He says, From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing. And forceful men snatch it away. There's a battle going on. Which is why John is locked away. And Jesus will soon face the same.
Add it up. Verse 14. John is the new Elijah who was to come, the final prophet before Judgement; John was the one who was going to offer Israel a final chance. And now he's locked away.
Jesus says figure it out for yourself. He who has ears... let him hear. Because in the end it's not just Herod Antipas who's the problem in Israel. And it's not just the teachers of the law. It's everyone.
I mean, what do you do when you hear the word of God? When you're challenged by the need to repent of something? So easy, isn't it, to go along with the crowd, you hear it, you feel a slight sting... and then you go back to business as usual.
We have a neat saying. It takes two to tango. Which is essentially what Jesus is getting at from verse 16 onwards.
He says to the crowd, what can I compare this generation to? What's it like? He says, imagine we're a bunch of kids playing in the market place. Except nobody's playing. John comes, and I come, and nobody's listening. We played the flute for you, and you didn't dance. We sang a dirge for you... you didn't cry.
John does it tough in the desert in his camel hair coat eating locusts. And you say that's no good. Jesus comes along and he eats and drinks with sinners, and you say that's no good. They say, verse 19, he's a glutton and a drunkard and he hangs around with tax collectors and sinners.
John does it one way. Israel doesn't want to hear about it.
Jesus does it another way. They still don't want to hear it.
Nothing penetrates.
Nothing gets through.
Always something to pick at. To complain about. So you don't have to listen to God's call to repent.
It takes two to tango. And Israel just won't dance.
Which is what Jesus goes on to say in verse 20 to 24; the towns he's been travelling in, up around the north of the sea of Galilee.
Korazin. Bethsaida. Capernaum. So many miracles. Such a clear call. And they won't dance. If the miracles that were performed in you, verse 21, had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Even Sodom... verse 23... the Old Testament city so famous for its sleaze... even Sodom would have repented and would still be standing. But the cities of Israel are even harder. And are going to face the judgement of God.
Here's what it boils down to. The people of God are never going to get soft treatment in a hard world. And we shouldn't expect otherwise.
And yet Jesus says, it's worth it.
Might not seem smart. But it's worth it. Doesn't mean we're protected from life's tragedies and safe from persecution. Probably the opposite.
The Apostle Paul says the same a few years later. 2 Corinthians 6. He says,
...as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
In the end, we don't seek righteousness because it's popular. But because it's right. We don't hunger for compassion and integrity because it pays off... but because we've heard the message of the kingdom and repented. Even though there's a cost.
Doesn't sound smart, in a way, does it? Which is why Jesus in verse 25 praises God that he's hidden this stuff from the wise and learned... and yet shown it to the simple. Which has always been God's way of doing things.
So he says, come to me... if you're labouring and loaded; if you're weary and burdened. Don't give up. In your hardships and your heartaches, turn to the expert.
Funny how when times are tough there's no comfort in talking to someone who hasn't suffered anything themselves is there? But there's somehow immense help to be had from someone who's been there before.
Verse 28, Jesus says, no matter what you're carrying, come to me. And I'll give you rest. Rest from the load of the Herods of the world. Rest from the load of the Pharisees who'll load you up with laws and rules. He says, "For I am gentle, and humble in heart... and no matter how tough it seems now, no matter if you're in the prison cell of Herod Antipas... Jesus says, "if you come to me you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy. And my burden is light."
I don't know what you're up against right now. Whether it's family tragedy, or you're struggling with career issues, or maybe illness. Or maybe like John the Baptist - in some way getting hammered expressly for being a Christian. Can I say, don't be surprised. Don't be shocked if your workmates want to ban the subject of Christianity in the lunchroom. Don't be surprised that two years ago Southern Cross University in Lismore tried to ban Christians from evangelising on the campus. Even though every other interest group was free to say what they liked. Don't be surprised if your neighbour or your husband or your sister walks away when you mention the name of Jesus. Because it's always been that way. Don't be surprised.
But do persevere. Don't be surprised. But do press on. No matter how hard the times. In the confidence that the one who ultimately redeemed his people at the cross has been through the toughest of times for you; and he'll be through the toughest of times with you as well.
Because he says, come to me all you who are weary and burdened. And I will give you rest.