i invite you to turn to matthew chapter 11 matthew chapter 11 this morning as we continue our study in the gospel of matthew and we move after these instructions in chapter 10 on jesus sending out the 12 for on a sort of mission store if you will anticipating the great commission first going to the lost sheep of the house of israel now we are looking today at jesus a dealing with response to the kingdom of god being announced and that's the heart of this particularly with john the baptist so we're looking at the first 20 verses today of matthew chapter 11 let's give our attention page 969 to the word of the lord when jesus had finished instructing his 12 disciples he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities now when john heard in prison about the deeds of the christ he sent word by the disciples and said to them are you the one who is to come or shall we look for another and jesus answered them go and tell john what you hear and see the blind receive their sight and the lame walk lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear and the dead are raised up and the poor have good news preached to them and blessed is the one who's not offended by me as they went away jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning john what did you go out into the wilderness to see a reed shaken by the wind what then did you go out to see a man dressed in soft clothing behold those who wear soft clothing are in king's houses what then did you go out to see a prophet yes i tell you and more than a prophet this is he of whom it was written behold i send my messenger before your face who will prepare your way before you truly i say to you among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than john the baptist yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he from the days of john the baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence and the violent take it by force for all the law and the prophets the prophets and the law prophesied until john and if you are willing to accept it he is elijah who is to come he who has ears to hear let him hear but to what shall i compare this generation it is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to their playmates we played the flute for you and you did not dance we sang a dirge and you did not mourn for john came neither eating nor drinking and they say he has a demon the son of man came eating and drinking and they say look at him a glutton and a drunkard a friend of tax collectors and sinners yet wisdom is justified by her deeds and there will end the reading of god's word well we have been uh considering beloved the christian ministry as christ sent out his apostles on this trial mission if you will this run to go out to the lost sheep of the house of Israel for their training and to confirm that the kingdom of God had come with power he gave them authority to do all these things to preach the gospel of the kingdom to heal diseases to do these wonderful miracles Christ gave all kinds of instruction in chapter 10 on what they were to do and the ministry they were to follow remember what he said preach openly everything that I've told you in secret you preach the word of god you give them that word even when they don't receive it and you do it fearlessly i don't want you fearing men but i want you to fear god fear him don't fear him who can kill the body fear him who can kill the body and soul and hell remember your servants of value to the lord i care for you as servants sending you out and i want you to confess me in front of men may your ministries preach from the heart may they tell people have the aim to tell and confess me to the masses so he's giving instruction to them and we looked at how this applies to us the character of the christian and how important that was but in the heart of it he was very clear about the opposition wasn't he you will be hated by all he said openly you should expect that this will not always be a peaceful endeavor you're dealing with spiritual realities i think it was cornelius ventillo said he'd tell his students before they preached their first sermon 15 of the congregation didn't like them that's the challenge there's a spiritual warfare going on i'm shaking things up said jesus sometimes i'll put you in prison i will do that so you have witness and that division will also come to your houses i'm i'm not just doing the family thing i'm i'm making a new family so if people are too devoted that way i'm going to break it up i'm pulling out true christians who are going to follow me and count all for loss for me they will love me more than father and mother see that's what we looked at last time you can expect that since i'm going i am calling people to worship me as lord and to put me first there's going to be divisions and it's going to make ministry challenging it will expose loyalties but then he left off with a great encouragement that he said make sure when you go out and minister you tell them this was the whole thrust of it those who receive the message those who receive my word peace will come to their houses the very thing that they're trying to do will happen when the word is received when the word is received um this is not some human word that's happening this is this is what we've been our great problem in the church in america we thought it's a human word it's not a human word the lord is is speaking through his word sending servants to preach the everlasting gospel and he says when that word is received you're receiving me and and when you receive me you receive the father and tell them when they take a cup of cold water to a disciple because he's a disciple they will not lose their reward okay well that's summary i think it's important to remember the context that's why i spent a few minutes on that here we are now disciples have gone out we are in chapter 11 he now addresses the crowds that have come out from some major Galilean cities we have the cities of Corazon and Bethsaida and Capernaum here that Jesus is addressing so it's kind of a whole unit to the end of the chapter but it's too much to take on on one sermon, but I want you to notice here what we have today is Jesus addressing the crowds from these cities that have been there, that have heard him, that have heard John and had not received John and had not received him. In fact, I think you can make the case that in the previous section when he said, he who receives a prophet receives a prophet's reward and he who receives a righteous man receives a righteous man reward, he was applying it right to John and then to Jesus. John is the prophet, Jesus is the righteous man. He was speaking of himself. And the main point today of what we're looking at is to expose the reason that the message was not being received. See how important that is for us today? to think through the anatomy, if you will, of why people don't receive the message. And then to ask the all-important question, have we received the message? That's what he's all about here. That's what he's emphasizing. Why didn't Israel receive it from John and then from Jesus? And here you have it explained, and it's surprising. And of course, Jesus in the next section gives a serious threat of judgment to these cities and households but even in that he over says that can all be overturned as he ends this chapter by saying come to me all you who are weary heavy laden i'll give you rest i mean it's just that's always the intention it's beautiful so what we have this morning is important because we're looking at the anatomy of what not receiving the word or not receiving the ministry looks like as people treated as a human word and not the word that comes from above so here we notice the evidence the kingdom has come jesus then makes a clarification about the kingdom and then he addresses the response of the people to the kingdom so that's what we're looking at here briefly this morning look at verse one and you'll notice jesus when jesus had finished instructing the 12 disciples he went on from there to teach and to preach in their cities those cities are mentioned down in verse 20 the ones he is about to pronounce woe but all of this now centers around this figure of john the baptist we read in verse 2 that when john heard that jesus was in prison and heard about, I mean, when John, in being in prison, heard about the deeds of Christ, my apologies, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, are you the one who is to come or shall we look for another? John had been such a popular figure in Israel that the crowds were all asking, is this Elijah? They had all gone out to be baptized by him. John was calling people to repentance. He was doing it old covenant style, lawsuit style. He was saying things like, you brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Don't be presumptuous and say that you have Abraham as your father, for God is able to raise up stones and children from Abraham from these stones. The axe is laid to the root of the tree, bear fruits worthy of repentance. This was a prophet. John's message was calling people to repentance. But this is an interesting moment because he's confused about Jesus. i often thought this is a this is really something to study why would john be confused about jesus john is confused and he sends disciples to jesus to ask are you the one to come john had already said we beheld his glory we saw the glory and john in john 1 so why is he saying this? Well, it's because John expected the Messiah to bring judgment right away. John expected the Messiah to bring judgment. Here's what happened. That's the kind of testosterone that attracted the people. We need a kingdom that comes with strength and with power and with muscle. We need to overcome the false teachers. We need to overcome the pagan rulers. We need a kingdom of muscle. This was Judaism nationalism at its best. That's what they wanted. John was wildly popular among the crowds for this reason, but they weren't listening to him. The crowds Jesus now turns to, and he says, listen, here's what happened. They didn't really accept or listen to John's call that they needed to repent. They thought, wow, this is some kind of preaching. Look at the power of this. now he's in prison well if you want to kill enthusiasm real quick just throw somebody in prison i suppose it's died for john a kingdom warrior who belongs to the messiah's kingdom doesn't get barred up the crowds are fickle the people are fickle so what happened was his popularity was dying in a moment and he would soon be beheaded and he would be forgotten that's not the warrior we thought that would bring in the kingdom so john has confused himself about this when he hears about christ it doesn't make sense to him john expected immediate judgment john expected the strength of the kingdom to come in christ at that moment. John expected it to be dealt with in Christ, not himself. Well, Jesus is doing stuff that doesn't make sense. So he sends his disciples in front of the crowds. John's disciples walk up and they ask, are you the one? The people have thought John was just a reed now shaken in the wind. He's fickle. He doesn't even know who the Messiah is. In a moment, he became nothing. It's interesting that in front of the people, Jesus says, go tell John this. I want you to go back and I want you to tell John. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel, the good news preached to them. Go tell them that, and then say this, and blessed is he who's not offended by me. That last line. That last line, huh? He just said, John, remember what Isaiah prophesied. Isaiah prophesied the acceptable year of the Messiah, that the gospel would be preached before the judgment, and that tells you that the kingdom of God has come. What awesome things were being shown. What awesome things were being said about the kingdom. He's healing people. Now think about this. He's healing people. He's forgiving people. He's preaching good news. He's preaching forgiveness. And then Jesus says, after all that, Blessed is he who's not offended. Why would he have to say that? Why would that cause offense? That's the startling aspect of this. Even to this day, you know our culture. In our highly tense political moment, if Pastor Gordon became obnoxious, you might say I am, but I don't think I am, so that's what matters, right? If Pastor Gordon became obnoxious and made threats against the government and taught you all to rebel against Governor Newsom and to be men and he used the language of Galatians 5 that promoted dissensions, rivalries, these kind of things against the government, you know, I think we'd get a lot of people in here. You might not want those kind of people, but I think that's what would happen. You could amass great interest right now. You could play this really well right now. I could play it. I think I'm smart enough to do it. But it wouldn't be honest, would it? I'd be playing a game with people. Forgiveness. You stay consistent with a message of forgiveness. you forgive your greatest of enemies, you love those who do bad, evil things to you, you pray for the worst of them, you want your worst enemy to come to faith, you want to heal the defiled? Nope. No way. It's not exciting. Blessed is he who's not offended by me. See? this is not what they wanted. They wanted the coming of the kingdom. They wanted judgment now. On all sides. It doesn't matter on all sides. They wanted somebody by violence to come, now listen, and take the kingdom by force. Hold that thought. He's going to address that. But the evidence that the kingdom has come was the evidence of good news of the gospel. But here's what was being said. The Son of Man is a drunkard. A friend of tax collectors and sinners. That is not what we need right now. That's not our idea of the kingdom. how sad i mean just how sad right they had no understanding of what they needed now before we get to their response to all this and how jesus characterizes that he wanted to clarify the nature of the kingdom just for a minute this is good it's as if to say let's talk about john just for a second let me raise this figure john for a second i've got something to say about john as john's disciples go away jesus addresses the crowds i've got a question for you i've got a question for you what did you go out in the wilderness to see a reed shaken by the wind what did you go out to see a man dressed in soft clothing behold those who wear soft clothing are in king's houses did i send out a man in that kind of soft effeminate garb you think he's fickle you think he's weak because he's in prison what'd you hear that's what I want to talk to you about was he a reed shaken by the wind what does that mean did he go like this in ministry you should know what this is it's very important because you can do this in ministry what do the people want put up your finger lick it see which way the wind's blowing and give a message that panders to everyone they'll love you for it did you get that no no no he wasn't playing with emotions he wasn't attempting to gain a following he wasn't a revolutionary you saw his clothing the clothing he wore said he has backbone not soft clothing you see all kinds of people today who will follow you for visions of grandeur you see what jesus wants to draw out here is a direct line from john to him meaning you saw a prophet and you heard what he had to say and what did he have to say he had to say a lot about malachi didn't he he was fulfilling malachi he was fulfilling the old testament scriptures and what was he fulfilling behold i send my messenger before your face who will prepare the way before you he was preaching repentance he was preaching the road to my arrival he was preparing the way for me and you didn't listen to him because you're not coming to me that's what he's saying and then jesus says and those who come to me are in a much better position than john because they see the kingdom john pointed the way to me now i think we come to one of the most important verses in our text now confusing for many for many years not that i have unsolved all the challenge of it here but i do think there's something interesting going on with this next verse look at verse 12 from the days of john the baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence and the violent take it by force. What does that mean? Well, a lot of people want the kingdom to come by force and a lot of people want the kingdom to come violently. It's interesting, isn't it? My thought is, this is a major moment in sarcasm. They wanted the figure to come and take the kingdom by storm and violence that energized them, that excited them. And I believe Christ is saying, yep, you've missed the true violence, if you will. Since John came until now, you've seen holy violence and you've missed it. The violent do take it by force. How so? There are people who have heard. And there are people who are entering the kingdom of God with all they can. They've sold everything for it. They found a pearl of great price and sold everything for it. They have been willing to count the cost. They have accepted. Remember last time he said, I don't think I've come to bring peace but sword. They've accepted the sword I brought. What is the sword of the kingdom? Division. Oh, there's holy violence going on. You want to know what it looks like? They are willing to love me more than father and mother. They are willing to love me more than son or daughter. They are willing to take up their cross and follow me. That's holy violence. That's taking the kingdom by storm. This was Thomas Watson's view of it. Oh, they're violent. Yes, they're violent. You see, many in the crowds, after hearing John and hearing Jesus, did nothing but refuse and resist him. That's all they did. And they never thought they needed to repent and believe. So they would not take possession of the kingdom. They would not come to Jesus for rest. They would not bow to him as king. They were always displeased with the king and the kingdom. So he's dividing them. And as his sword is striking them, they don't even know it. There's violence of the kingdom. It's separating. And Jesus says he is the Elijah to come. He is the end of the law and the prophets who all anticipated my arrival. Here I am. Okay, now to close this out today, I think we come to one of the most fascinating sections of Scripture. Verse 16, but to what shall I liken this generation? It's like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to their playmates. We played the flute for you and you did not dance. We sang a dirge and you did not mourn. This is really powerful. Do you understand it? I didn't. I had to spend a lot of time on it to get it in the context. I hope you're with me. Here's how it goes. You have been absolutely childish in your whole approach to the kingdom of God. Here's what you've been like. A message has been given to you all these years. Prophet after prophet has come, and now I'm in front of you, the very preachers of the kingdom of God, all these prophets culminating with John, and you are like children down at the Escondido Marketplace. We have one of those little market days. Imagine the children buzzing around out there, all in a group. This is what you're like. They say, hey, let's play dance for a while. Yeah! Let's play wedding. Let's play a wedding. We'll all be the groom. And a little girl says, I'll be the bride. And somebody says, I'll be the best man. And I'll be the maid of honor. and then we'll be the crowd and somebody pops up and says, that's dumb. I want to play that. The music's no good. Okay, say the children. Well, then let's play funeral. We'll sing a dirge. One would think they would have liked the marriage music better, right? I'll play the dead person. We'll have casket bearers, pallbearers. And then we'll all walk and we'll march and we'll bring playing the dead person to the cemetery. That's dumb. And a big fight breaks out. And some walk away. And one says, well, I'm so confused. You don't want to play wedding. And you don't want to play funeral. What do you want to do? And you see, beloved, that captures just what they thought about the ministries of John and the ministry of Jesus. The religious leader and the people were never satisfied. They were always complaining. The gospel of the kingdom was being preached to them and it wasn't good enough. They were ready to leave the church. Forgiveness of sins was being announced to them. Nah! Healing and helping people was happening. And the song wasn't good enough. Because they're not taking the kingdom by violence and force. They hate Christ. They hate his disciples. They would take the Padres game by force rather than the kingdom of God. And so it goes to this day. There are people who are never satisfied with the church and the ministry. Never. And if you ask them what they want, they don't even know. It doesn't matter. Nothing about the way of the kingdom of God interests them. Because they have yet to take the message into their own hearts. Listen, this is it. And see that He's calling them to repentance. To believe. To receive. So there it is. you all loved hearing john in the heyday of his enthusiasm you could bring in a great a great preacher with a great scott i'm scottish but i don't have the accent right you could bring in the great preacher with a scottish accent who would you'd you'd hear him for the place would be packed morning and evening for maybe a month until you realize he was calling you to repentance See, this is what he's saying. Until the newness died off. They were all excited about John, but then it changed when they realized the kingdom was not coming the way that they wanted it to come and John came neither eating nor drinking. He was playing funeral music for them. You see? He was playing funeral music for them. He has a demon, they said. Did you notice that at the end of this? That's not how it first went. But then the Son of Man came eating and drinking, celebrating with who? Tax collectors and sinners. He's singing the marriage song. The Lamb. Wow, he's sitting with the worst of sinners. He's forgiving sinners. He sees the groom come for his bride and they say, look, a glutton and a drunkard. A friend of tax collectors and sinners. Anything they could to avoid entering the kingdom. and jesus's wisdom's justified did you notice that by her deeds what about here why are we coming for what reason mercy is that enough is forgiveness of sins great who wants to leave and why you want a better song that's not what it's about come on that's not what it's about wisdom is shown by those who take the kingdom by storm who recognize an answer what a privilege it is to be a part of this i'm counted worthy to follow christ the greatest news the kingdom is he's taken his authority and reigns you see in the next section beloved woes are about to be pronounced those who refuse the christ great woes are coming but here's the marvel in is in israel even after all this even after all this rejection of israel how does this section end verse 28 but come to me all who are labor all who labor and are heavy laden and i will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn from me for i'm gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light wow why would you refuse that What else do you want? You see? The kingdom of God has come. Take it by storm. Come get it. Come get it. When you come to Christ, you enter. You enter the narrow gate. He'll never cast you out. The kingdom of heaven does indeed suffer violence and the violent take it by force. This way, that Christ would extend his arms to tax collectors and sinners like this, like me, this is a marvel. That we get to receive his word of reconciliation. Well, we could do nothing else in our hearts then. But to receive that word, believe that word, because he desires to show you mercy and not judgment. What a God. What a king. What a kingdom. Enter it. Receive it. And let peace come on you, listen, and your household. It's not been there. Then enter it. It's beautiful. What a wonderful Savior we have. Let's pray. Gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for this marvelous text. Thank you for showing us what happened in Israel. May we be people who are believing and receiving this kingdom. Taking it by storm. Thank you for such a gift of Christ in the gospel being announced. That he dines with tax collectors and sinners. They are us. God, be merciful to us sinners. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.