Disappointed Expectations (Matthew 11:1-30)

Well, good morning church. You can go ahead and grab your Bibles. Open up to Matthew 11. We will look at all of Matthew 11 this morning as you’re turning there, it’s Matthew 11. If you’re anything like me, you get really, really frustrated when people disappoint you, when people don’t live up to your expectations for for who they’re supposed to be and really what they’re supposed to be doing as well. Could take on a lot of different shades. Of course, you know, maybe it’s an online dating thing. You’re there, you know, first time, show up for the blind date, whatever, and you realize their profile pic was a little bit more flattering than reality. You know, definitely sucking in the gut a bit and covered the bald spot just right in the picture, or something like that. Or it’s a new hire at work, and it’s clear, after just a few days and the gross incompetency that you’ve seen that the resume was padded. Or, you know, NFL starting pretty soon, right? Maybe it’s the superstar signing the the umpteen gazillion dollar contract just doesn’t pan out anything like superstar stats. We just we hate to have our expectations disappointed when somebody isn’t who you thought they would be, and they don’t do what you expected them to do, it’s going to sound sacrilegious when I say this. I apologize for that, but that’s how people felt about Jesus. He wasn’t who they were expecting, and they had definite expectations. It’s not just his opponents, either. We know there are people who really don’t like Jesus what he’s doing and saying, but even his friends and we’ll see next week, his family, are upset by what he’s doing. In fact, in this part of Matthew, we see this rising disappointment with him, Jesus, it seems to the crowds, is just not the right kind of Messiah. He’s not who they were expecting. Now, of course, Jesus is the right kind of Messiah. He’s Redeemer and savior and friend and so much more. He’s just not who they thought he was going to be a political deliverer, and let’s be honest for a moment, sometimes he’s not who we think he should be, either. And so it’s worth interrogating ourselves right now, in light of this passage that we’re going to look at this morning, just What were you expecting? What are you expecting when it comes to Jesus? That’s the question we’ll seek to answer. We’ll ask three more questions as we go. So first question though, what were you expecting? What sort of Savior were you expecting? From chapter 11, verses one to 19. Let me go ahead and read that for us. Matthew 11, one to 19, after Jesus had finished instructing his 12 disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee. When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, He sent His disciples to ask him, Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else? Jesus replied, Go back and report to John what you hear and see. The blind receive sight, the lame walk. Those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear. The dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me, as John’s disciples were leaving, John began to speak to the crowd about John, what did you go out into the wilderness to see a reed swayed by the wind. If not, what did you go out to see a man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in King’s palaces. Then what did you go out to see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, in more than a prophet, this is the one about whom it is written. I will send my messenger ahead of you who prepare your way before you truly, I tell you, among those born of women, there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist. Yet whoever 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 been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it. For all the prophets in the law prophesied until John and if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. Whoever has ears, let them hear to what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others. We played the pipe 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, here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. But wisdom is proved right by her deeds All right. So we saw last week, Jesus sent out the 12 on this little mini mission, and now he continues his mission. And. As he’s doing this, as he’s going about still ministering in Galilee, his cousin John, sends some men to ask him a question, John. This is John the Baptist. Is in prison at this point because he called out King Herod for his gross sexual immorality, and as a result, Herod tossed him in prison. That’s where John is now. It is where he will remain until he is beheaded by Herod. But John sends these men to ask Jesus, it’s important question, and here’s the crux of the matter. You can see it there in verse two, when John heard about the deeds of the Messiah. That’s actually really interesting, because if you read Matthew’s Gospel, you know he doesn’t use Messiah all that often, especially up to this point, not before chapter 16, because nobody understands that Jesus is the Messiah. Nobody understands what exactly the Messiah came to do. So this is, like Matthew’s little hint to us that everything we’re talking about is messianic expectation. Who is the Messiah going to be? So John had heard about the deeds of Messiah, his healing, his teaching, his exorcism, but John is now wondering, Is he really the one? Is this really the Messiah? Because so far, he seems like the wrong Messiah in that he has brought blessing, but not judgment at the same time, which would matter to John, by the way, because John is unlawfully imprisoned by a grossly immoral pagan. So John’s going Could you do something about that? Like, this is what Messiah is here for, to bring justice, right? Would you do something about that? Now, John knows that Jesus is the Messiah. That’s his whole role, in fact, is to be the one who announces Messiah has come. He’s just demoralized, which happens a lot to prophets. In fact, the guy whose place he’s taken, Elijah, also got pretty demoralized at one point and sat down by a creek and said, I’ll just sit here until I die because no one else is worshiping God. So John really is channeling the spirit of Elijah at this point, and for exactly the same reason, you can almost hear the subtext in this question that John sends His disciples to ask. Why aren’t you acting Why aren’t you doing something? Why am I in prison and Herod is still reigning over your people? Never mind the fact that Rome is reigning over your people. Why are you drawing sinners and tax collectors to yourself instead of bringing justice for the righteous? In fact, if you know anything about John, you know, earlier in Matthew’s gospel, he said something like this. He was famous for this kind of preaching. This is Matthew three. Verse 10. He says, The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So what is John saying? John saying, hey, Jesus, where is your AX, and when are you going to start swinging it? Look, these might be some of your questions, too, as you sit here this morning, why? Haven’t you healed me yet? Lord, where’s my daily bread? Where’s your faithfulness to the promise that My God shall supply all your needs. How can you ask me to love my enemy when you know what that person did to me. Are you really the one? Are you the one, even that you claim to be? If you’re the resurrection and the life, then why did he have to die? If you’re the bread of life, then why am I so unsatisfied? If you’re the true vine, then, why am I not drawing spiritual life from you when I come to you in prayer and the study of your word? Are you sure that you are the one we’ve been waiting for? John is expressing what we all start thinking when it feels like God has let us down. Are you there? And Jesus’s answer is gentle and patient but firm at the same time, because he says, Look around. Look around. What do you see? The blessings show that the kingdom has come. And if the kingdom has come, that means the King is here also, but not fully yet. And He does this by drawing from Isaiah passage that we already looked at in this series, Isaiah, 35 five and six. This is what it’s going to look like when God begins to. Rescue his people, then will the eyes the blind be opened and the ears the deaf unstopped, and will the lame leap like a deer and the mute tongue sing for joy, shout for joy? But that that passage has a context you want to know. What comes right before it? Here’s verse four, which I didn’t read for you last time. Next slide, be strong. Do not fear. Your God will come, right? That’s what we’re looking for. Okay, God, he’s here, right? He will come with vengeance, with divine retribution. He will come to save you, and that’s what John’s asking for. Where’s the vengeance? Where’s the retribution? Or Isaiah 61 one and two will read for us earlier, already, right? It says, spirit of sovereign Lord is on me. He sent me to proclaim good news to the poor. Bind up the brokenhearted. Proclaim freedom for captives. Oh, that’s interesting. Release for prisoners. John’s like, Can I get an amen? Anyone testify? Right? But then we keep going next slide again to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God. That’s like the one. He always cut out a song. See, we always sing about. He’s binding out the broken Hunter. He’s comforting those who mourn whatever sings about the fact that day of vengeance is supposed to come also, but that’s what John is looking for so you can see his point, Jesus’ point, right? I’m doing what Messiah will do. I’m bringing all the blessings of the kingdom that Isaiah and others prophesied. There’s restoration for sinners. The kingdom has come. It just hasn’t come fully yet. We’re waiting on vengeance, retribution, judgment, because Jesus, and we know this at this point, looking back, Jesus came in mercy the first time, thank God, by the way, but he will come in judgment The next time He comes. The problem is, as the great American theologian Tom Petty put it, the waiting is the hardest part. Now we’ve seen the end of the story, right? We studied revelation not that long ago. You know how it ends? You know that God will bring perfect justice in the end, but until that time, injustice and evil and sin and death are still present, still linger, and so that’s why Jesus says basically, blessed are those who don’t stumble over that tricky truth, who don’t understand, misunderstand Jesus’s purpose in coming the first time and the timing of all of this. I tell you what I’m encouraged by this story as I read this. You wanna know why I’m encouraged by this story? Because look at John. First of all, verse 11, it tells us Jesus says John is the greatest of everyone born of a woman. That’s high praise, right? So this is a really, really super guy. If John doubts, has these sorts of questions, we probably shouldn’t be surprised if we doubt and have these sorts of questions. Like, I feel like there’s just this sense of like, okay, I’m glad I’m not the only one asking this, and somebody that even Jesus commends would doubt like this, but I’m also encouraged by this story to doubt like John, because John doesn’t doubt the way some of us doubt. We see that he’s got a what Doug O’Donnell calls a faithful doubt. Because what does he do with his doubt? He brings it to Jesus, which says something about his doubt, doesn’t it? He He’s saying, I still want to ask you about this, because I trust you. And so in the same way, then we bring our doubts. Where not to YouTube. We bring them to God. We bring them to Jesus. John models that for us, and in all honesty, he models what we learned during our lament series. Right? I mean, what is this? Right here? John is basically just offering that prayer in pain that leads to faith, and that’s exactly the sort of doubt that we should express also. So John’s disciples leave. They’ve got their answer at this point, and then Jesus turns to the crowds who are still there and offers this little sermon on John to defend him honestly against the accusation that he might be fickle or weak, because he’s raised these questions that we’re all asking, Is he fickle? I mean, is he like a reed that’s blown back and forth by every passing breeze? And Jesus basically says really, is that what you guys went out there to see somebody who what do I think today? No, that’s not. John. I mean, he’s a thundering Old Testament prophet. Or what about somebody weak? That is somebody who’s wearing and the actual word there is, like, effeminate clothes. There’s that weakness idea, so somebody who can only fall asleep if they’re in silk pajamas, and even their undershirt, it’s got to be 800 thread count Egyptian cotton. And Jesus goes, is that what you went out to see? No, you want that. Go look at Herod who threw him in prison. That’s who’s wearing those clothes. John is, in fact, dressed like Elijah. He’s wearing camel’s hair, not quite as soft. So he’s not weak, he’s not fickle. He’s just confused because of his place in salvation history, because he’s the hinge, really, between the Old Testament and the New Testament. That can put it like that, he’s the hinge. So he’s the last Old Testament prophet. But he’s also more than a prophet in what sense? Well, he’s more than a prophet because he’s also the subject of prophecy. He was himself prophesied because Malachi says, Imma, send my messenger ahead of you, and so he’s the messenger. He’s the one that the Old Testament was pointing to, preparing God’s people for the inbreaking of the kingdom, which has now begun. It’s actually really interesting, though, Jesus changes the quote slightly Malachi has this is God speaking through Malachi says, I will send my messenger ahead of me. And then Jesus changes it to, I will send my messenger ahead of you, which is fascinating, because Malachi, you know God is saying, John’s coming before God. And then Jesus says, right before me. And so Jesus is very clearly claiming to be God. Here, he’s also giving us a wonderful little picture of the Trinity, because, in the one hand, yes, John the Baptist comes before God. Because Jesus is God. In another sense, you could really say God is sending this next person who’s coming, who’s God. The Father is sending God the Son, there’s the Trinity on display. So John’s this great guy, this hinge between the Old Testament and the New Testament. But then we get to verse 11, we see how great he is, greater than everyone born of a woman. So then how is it that even infants in the kingdom are going to be greater than he is? And it’s because of their place in salvation history, our place in salvation history, because we can point to Jesus, the Messiah unambiguously. We can say exactly what he came to do and how he came to do it, which, again, even John was confused by doesn’t that encourage you as an evangelist, by the way, like I wrote this week in the pulse, talking about, what is it we normally feel like we’re missing when it comes to evangelism? Well, boldness, of course, but words. Why would you worry about words? John didn’t understand what he was proclaiming. We understand perfectly what we’re proclaiming. Jesus came to die the death we deserve to die so that we could experience the life that he’s won for us by dying on the cross in our place. We can point unambiguously to him. Then we get to verse 12. Verse 12 is tough. It’s tough to translate, in part because there’s a play on words that no one quite knows how to read here. You’ll notice there’s a footnote if you’re looking in the NIV. So it might be that the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing. And I think that that is actually the better translation here. So the kingdom of heaven is spreading. And we know that’s true, of course, because we’re evidence of that even here today, couple 1000 years later. So the kingdom of heaven is forcefully advancing, but it’s met with opposition. Right? Violent people are attacking it. And John’s question again is that, if it’s forcefully advancing, how come God hasn’t swept away the opposition yet? Like, that’s the whole idea here. But John, as the last of these Old Testament prophets, he’s closing that chapter, because now the king has come, the kingdom is here. And Jesus says, actually, if you think about it, all the prophets and the law prophesied until that moment. Now, here is where I get a little nervous sometimes when we read our Bibles, because what I just read was really weird, and no one went, huh? Because Jesus said All the prophets and the law. No one ever says the prophets and the law. They always say the law and the prophets, because that’s chronological and canonical. We start with the law, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Then you get to the prophets. But Jesus says the prophets and the law. And then that little twist right there was meant to catch us is to point out the fact that the whole of the Old Testament has a prophetic function. And even the law, even what happens in Genesis and Exodus, and we’re about to do Exodus, we’ll see it there. It’s all pointing forward to Jesus. So the whole Old Testament points to this, to what John announced to Jesus Himself. And that’s why, when we preach here, even in the Old Testament, we always get to Jesus, because it’s always talking about Jesus, and John is the Elijah who’s announcing it that that the King has come, the kingdom has come. But that is hard to get. Verse 15, whoever his ears let them hear. It’s hard to get. It’s hard to accept, especially before the cross and the resurrection, because pretty much everybody is confused at this point in salvation history, at this moment, which is why they reject John and Jesus, which is funny, because it means they can’t make up their minds the point Jesus makes there. They don’t like John’s repentance and they don’t like Jesus’s mercy, so they’re unhappy with everything. Of course, if they’d understood John, they would have the need to repent, then they would have understood Jesus, who’s bringing grace for the repentant and vice versa. If you understand Jesus is giving you grace, you understand that that means you did something that requires grace, so you best start repenting. But notice then that means that just everyone’s expectations were disappointed. No one is happy with Jesus at this moment, not John, not John’s disciples, not the Pharisees, even the crowds are confused. What sort of Savior were they expecting? They’re expecting the same sort of savior that we all want, one who affirms us in our choices, so that there’s no need for us to repent, and one who destroys our enemies so that there’s no need for him to show mercy to anyone else anyway. In other words, they want a Savior who does what they want, which is what we all want. And I know I’m supposed to preach the good news, but I have very bad news for you. That is not the savior who has come. That is not the savior who’s come, and so Blessed is the one who doesn’t stumble over that fact. Because look at the Savior who has come this whole section. It’s not about John the Baptist. It is about his cousin, who is so much greater than he is. I mean, if John is this super Prophet, what does that make Jesus, whom he’s come to prophesy about? If John is the greatest who lived in the pre kingdom days, what does that tell you about the King who has finally arrived? And if John is the Elijah who’s announcing that God is coming, and Jesus is the one he announced, what does that make Jesus? It does raise another question, though, if this is who Jesus is, well, then what sort of faith is required of us? And that’s our next section, what sort of faith, speaking of expectations? Still, let me read verses 20 to 24 for us. Then Jesus began to denounce the towns which most of his miracles had been performed because they did not repent. Woe to you, chorazin, Woe to you, Bethsaida, for the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you and you. Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom and would have remained to this day, but I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you. The tone shifts here, right? But the tone shifts understandably. It’s like Jesus has thrown the question back on us. I don’t think I’m going beyond what’s here. If I paraphrase it like this, it’s like Jesus has said, You’re disappointed in me. Okay, I’m disappointed in you. I’m disappointed in your response to what I’ve come preaching and doing. Look, regardless of the Savior you were hoping for, Jesus is the one who’s there, and he is God, by the way, so we should probably listen to him. What does God, Jesus, the Messiah, expect of you. Now he’s omniscient, so my analogy at the beginning of the sermon is not great here, for sure, but again, it’s like, We’re the new hire, and he’s going really, like, you don’t even know how to open Word, much less use it like, that’s not good for a guy that we hire to be our i. Tea director, like I’ve got concerns, but that’s the disappointment that you hear. Right what he said in the last section, I thought you were going to dance for joy. I thought you were going to mourn over your sins, I thought. And there it is in verse 20. I thought that when you saw all of this, you would repent, and yet you have not, especially given what they’ve seen God himself in the flesh performing miracles in their town, and still they didn’t repent. That’s a problem, and so it will be worse for them than it will be for Tyre and Sidon, pagan towns who were destroyed long ago. Worse. Why? Well, because the more light you have, the more responsibility you have, the more you’ve been given, the more that is expected of you. Let me give you a parenting analogy to explain what I mean here. Let’s say you walk into your rec room and you see your 10 year old and your four year old on the couch watching an R rated movie filled with gratuitous sex and violence. Which one are you going to yell at? Because your four year old is just watching a flickering screen, right? There’s no understanding there. This is just, was like Blippi, just with more red stuff. I don’t know, but your 10 year old. I mean, what would you even say to your 10 year old? You should know better. You should know better, right? Why did you lead your brother into this? You should know better. That’s what Jesus is saying. You should have known better. Chorazin, Capernaum, Bethsaida, but what about us? Because the reality is we have even more light, because we have the cross of Jesus Christ which they hadn’t seen yet, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which they hadn’t seen yet, and the completed Bible, the Word of God in its fullness. And some of you are sitting there, I know, thinking, No, I would rather have a miracle than the Bible. Then I would believe. And the entire Bible says, Nope, that’s not how that works. Miracles do not produce faith. You know what produces faith? Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, as Peter tells us, you were born again through the miracles you saw no through the living and enduring word of God. What that means is that every time you hear God’s word, right now, when it’s being preached to you every time you open it up and study it in your time of private worship, when you drive by it at a billboard on the highway, every time you hear the word of God, your heart is getting harder or softer. It’s a dangerous place to be, as Johan Bengal put it in kind of delightfully antiquated language, he says, Every hearer of the New Testament is either much happier or much more wretched than them of old time, because we have the word of God. So take a moment now, like what is happening in your heart at this moment, as you listen to God’s word, is it getting harder or is it getting softer? Are you listening and thinking, I’m convicted, I need to repent. That’s a good sign. If you’re listening and you’re not thinking that ask God to give you repentance that should come when you hear his word. And if you’re sitting there thinking, I don’t want to do that, just know that’s a really dangerous place to be. You might want to try asking, even if you don’t feel like it at this moment, because that is a heart that is getting irrevocably harder. This is a tough section, no doubt about it. It is hard to understand. It is hard to accept as well. There are three really important theological truths that we see in these brief verses. Don Carson points these out in his commentary. He says, first of all, we learn here that God has contingent knowledge, meaning God knows what we would do in different circumstances. So he knows all the options here. He’s got exhaustive omniscience. And that is helpful, because sometimes we say, Well, Lord, if you would do this, then I would believe but you don’t know that. God does know that. So that’s important second truth, because if you’re reading this, and if you’re reading it carefully, you should be a little bit like upset, almost, because Jesus says, If Sodom had seen this, they would have repented. And so we are probably asking the question, then, why? Didn’t you show them this so they could have repented, which means we misunderstand everything we need to see that God does not owe us revelation, even revelation is an act of grace. We keep talking about the fact that we’re blind, right? We’ve seen that in this series already. We’re not blind because of a congenital defect. We’re blind because we plucked our own eyes out so that we wouldn’t have to see God’s holiness. The way Romans puts it is we suppress the truth. We know what’s true, and we suppress that truth, and then we have the gall to tell God, you should have given me more truth. Why? So you could suppress that also we are not owed revelation. The fact that we have this book is grace. That means, though, that we are not all given the same amount of light, and that’s okay. God is not unjust, because we are not owed this. So we are not all given the same amount of light. We are all given enough light, though Romans, one tells us as well, so that we are without excuse. Third important theological truth, punishment, on the day of vengeance takes all of that into account, because Jesus says it will actually be more bearable for Sodom than for Capernaum, because they got more light and so they had more responsibility. As Carson puts it again, it means just as there are different degrees of Felicity in heaven, so there will be differing degrees of torment in hell. Look, these are strong words. They are hard to hear. They’re hard to hear, especially because the sin that we’re looking at is here is so banal it is in Stanley Hauerwas words, just the sin of perverse normality. Like what sin do you see in Capernaum and chorazin and beside at this point, it’s not gross injustice. They’re not guilty of genocide, though they’re guilty of simple unbelief. What like every one of us had? You might not know this, but you you got sins ranked in your head. You know which ones are worse than others, right? Some of us have a little more collectivist sense of sin. The worst sins are racism and exploitation and injustice. Some of us are much more personal. Worst sins are sexual immorality and stuff. You know what the Bible says over and over again, and Jesus says here, the worst sin is unbelief. It’s unbelief, seeing who Jesus is and refusing to acknowledge it. This is Christ number one that might shock you, that might dismay and annoy you. In fact, you might think that’s one of the sins that you would rank higher, because it’s just that evil narrow mindedness that’s so intolerable today. You can think that, but these are the words of the King who is God. So I’d recommend you reckon with them instead of casually dismissing them, like in rejecting that, you are not rejecting me and my sermon right now. You’re not rejecting Christianity in some vague sense, you are rejecting the very words of Jesus. What sort of faith does Jesus expect? Well, this sort of faith, do you have it? And if not, now is the time to repent and believe and obey. We got one more section to cover though, one last question. What sort of person let me keep reading? 25 to 30. At that time, Jesus said, I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. All things have been committed to me by my father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son. And those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. This feels like an awkward transition, but actually it’s quite clear thematically, at least, because the faith that Jesus expects necessitates requires demands humility instead of pride. So Jesus praises his father. Why? Why does he praise his father? Here we often reveal ourselves most honestly, most truly in prayers. So this is kind of an important part of Jesus’ Spiritual Autobiography, the fact that we get to read his praise in this moment, but he doesn’t praise God for what we. Expect he praises God because God has hidden truth, the good news of the kingdom from those who are wise and understanding. And understanding, understanding is probably the right idea here. I don’t think this has to do with education. He didn’t hide it from people who have master’s degrees any more than he revealed it to little children, meaning people who are small and young. It’s more the sense of self understanding. He’s hidden these truths from the self reliant and the self impressed, and instead has revealed to the humble, the dependent, the eager. Again, we have to reckon with this God sovereignly reveals or conceals truth from people. Now, these are not symmetrical activities. To reveal, he has to open blind eyes. To conceal, he just has to leave you as you are. But more than the fact that it’s not symmetrical activities, it’s the fact that we have to remember and understand this well, that we are not neutral beings like I think a lot of this, when we have this complaint against God’s justice, we’re going, how come you’re not helping these helpless, little people, these innocent, helpless people. They’re not they’re sinners. We are all of us in the flesh, sinners and rebels who are owed nothing. So to hide these truths is an act of judgment, exactly the kind of judgment that John was looking for, by the way. So it shouldn’t surprise us that God judges because we’re sinners and rebels. Shouldn’t surprise us that God shows mercy either, because that’s who he’s revealed himself to be this whole time. What should surprise us is the recipients of judgment and mercy. Because what we’re expecting, and this is what John the Baptist is talking about, right? We’re expecting judgment on the unrighteous, mercy for the righteous. And Jesus says, No, it’s judgment on the proud, mercy for the humble, which is the message we get throughout Scripture. Again. This is why, as Paul says in First Corinthians, one not many, who accept Jesus, who come in faith, are rich, powerful scholars. It’s not because you have to be dumb to believe these things, not that at all. It’s just that so often those who have those attributes are too proud to see like the Pharisees that we keep meeting, whereas the poor, the downtrodden, the desperate, well they may just open their eyes. So he praises God for revealing and concealing. And then he goes on to say that actually he’s the agent of that revelation, because only he knows the father, so only He can reveal the Father to the people around him. That revelation happens according to his choice, which is a remarkable claim, of course, once again claiming to be God, and it is such an arrogant claim, unless, of course, it’s true, which it is, but it’s such an arrogant claim. I mean, just think, in this one verse, verse 27 Jesus has claimed that he has all authority and power. He’s the only one who knows God. You can’t know God except through Him, and only then, if he chooses one verse of the Bible, he has offended absolutely everyone on the planet. He’s offended Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, atheists, squishy, spiritual but not religious types. He’s offended all of us again unless, of course, it’s true, and unless you see who is speaking these words. You look at his life, and then you look at his death, and then you look at his resurrection, and then you go, that’s not arrogant. This is information that we need to know so only the humble can come. So it makes sense that he then invites not the wise and the learned but the weary and burdened to come. But did you catch that another one where I’m like, why aren’t you all going because what just happened? Like, notice what just happened. We have all this talk of God’s sovereign choice, and then he says, Now choose. Well, which is it? There’s a paradox here, for sure, the tension between God’s divine sovereignty and human responsibility. God is sovereign over our salvation, and yet we are responsible for how we respond to Jesus. And if you’re going, those are incompatible, Bible says, Nope, they’re perfectly compatible, even if you don’t understand how it’s like light. If you’re a physics geek, you know that light acts like a particle and a wave, you should also know that that is impossible. And physicists go, sorry, i. Yes, only God knows. Well, exactly, only God knows. Only God knows how this works. But it does work. The paradoxes continue, though, because then Jesus promises the weary rest and then invites them to work. Oh, you look weary. You look burdened. Why don’t you come over here and take a nap? No, why don’t you come over here and take my yoke upon you, which is the bar that goes across oxen to keep them hooked to the plow. Isn’t that interesting? So he’s saying, Yeah, you’re not just like off on your own. Now you’re gonna take my yoke. In other words, you’re gonna receive my discipline and my direction. We are no longer under the law, that’s what the yoke represents, especially in the way the Pharisees would teach. Not no longer under the law, the burden of self salvation, of having to earn God’s approval, but we are still under Christ, so we take his yoke on us. Now, how is that rest? Though? Well, it’s rest, because we’re no longer working for now we’re working from. We’re no longer working for our salvation, but from our salvation. No longer working for God’s approval, but working from God’s approval. It is the difference, as Tim Keller would love to say, between saying, I obey, therefore I’m accepted, and I’m accepted therefore I obey, and we are now called to the second one. And that is true rest, as opposed to getting on that hamster wheel at work in your relationships, or even before, God, we’re always what just one mistake away from it all spinning out of control. There’s no rest in that. Gotta keep earning. Gotta keep earning. No rest like this, though, what Jesus promises that can only be for the humble, because the proud foolishly think that they can still get there on their own. So our last question, then, in our disappointed expectations, what sort of person will come to Jesus. And the question for you, of course, is, are you that sort of person? Are you humble and desperate or proud and self reliant? I don’t know what sort of Savior you were expecting, but I know the Savior who came, and he is gentle and humble of heart. Yes, he will bring judgment. In the end, he must. That is an act of love. We talked a lot about that. I’m not gonna get into it all today. If you want a world free of violence at a certain point, you’re gonna have to evict the violent from that place. So yes, he’ll bring judgment. But he came first to bring grace and mercy. He came in love and all he asks of us, but what he most certainly expects from us is that we come humbly empty handed, trusting and believing so even now, whether you are questioning Jesus still today or a long time follower, open your eyes to see Jesus afresh as he really is believe. Receive right. Lay down your burdens like your high school student dropped their backpack after that first wearying day of school, and pick up grace. Put his easy yoke on your back and follow the only Savior worth following. Let’s pray. Lord, would you help us to see who Jesus is, who you are, Lord, we know it’s a dangerous prayer, but we pray, Lord, would you give us more light, more understanding, more revelation, so that we can see truly knowing Lord that you expect more of us as a result, the more we know you, the more we should love and worship and follow and obey you, But Lord, that is our heart’s desire. So would you help us to do just that? I pray for those Lord who are still stuck in self sufficiency, who are unwilling to come to you because they think they can handle it on their own. They think they can earn it. Would you open their eyes now to see who they are, but also the wonder of the grace that is available in Christ. Lord, would you invite them, even now to come weary and to unburden themselves and take up the wonder of grace we pray in Christ’s name? Amen.