The solution to having doubts… (2 things) vs. 18-23

• 1^st – Don’t look at our circumstances … vs. 18-20
  • The disciples of John went and reported to him everything Jesus was doing…
    • When John heard in prison about the works of Jesus – he send back two disciples…
    • John had been absolutely certain that Jesus was the promised Messiah…
    • John 1:29,34 – “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!  And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
    • When things were going the way that John planned – he had confidence in Jesus…
    • It’s easy to believe in Jesus and ‘follow’ Jesus when everything is going great…
    • Fair weather Christians – so long as things are going well we ‘love the Lord’…
    • How about when things are not going so well – when the storms of life overwhelm us…
    • Do we still trust in Jesus during the hard times – do we still have faith in God
  • Now John was in prison – and things did not seem as clear from behind bars…
    • John had been imprisoned in the fortress of Machaerus near the Dead Sea…
    • Cast into prison by Herod Antipas when he reproved him for his adulterous marriage…
    • Herod had married Herodias (the wife of his brother Philip)…
    • John stood for righteousness and truth and it got him thrown into prison…
    • It can be really tough to trust in God when we are going through hard times…
    • When we have nothing  – and don’t see how God will work things out…
    • When we are trying to live for God – but it does not seem to make life better… 
    • In fact we get persecuted – people make fun of us for living for – trusting in Jesus!
  • The problem is our perspective – looking at the circumstances and not at Jesus…
    • Anytime we get our eyes off Jesus and onto our circumstances we are in trouble…
    • If we focus what is happening around us: money (or lack of), or our job (or lack of)…
    • We are bound to be overwhelmed – filled with doubt and fear…
    • It is when we keep our eyes on Jesus that we see this great truth…
    • * II Corinthians 4:18 – “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen [Jesus]. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.”
    • Our troubles are only for a moment – heaven with Jesus is forever!
      
• 2^nd – Look to Jesus… vs. 21-23
  • Remembering what Jesus has done…
    • That same hour Jesus healed many diseases / evil spirits / those who were blind…
      • He then told John’s disciples – go and tell John what you have seen…
      • The blind see, lame walk, lepers are cleansed, deaf hear, the dead are raised…
      • Jesus could have just said ‘Yes I am the one’ – but He let the evidence speak for itself…
    • I am encouraged to think even great men of faith have doubt – ‘John the Baptist’…
      • So often we think of these men as flawless in their faith – but they had their moments
      • Even those with ‘Great’ faith have times when they become overwhelmed…
    • I am also blessed that Jesus was not disappointed in John for his doubting…
      • Instead Jesus encouraged John to remember all that Jesus had done! 
      • When we don’t understand what Jesus is doing in our lives…
      • We can gain confidence by looking at what He has already done…
      • He has always been faithful in our lives – and He always will be!
  • Being set free from prison…
    • Jesus gave a quote for the disciples to take back to John…
      • * Isaiah 61:1 – “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me… To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound…”
      • God had sent Jesus to set the captives free – open the prison to those who are bound…
      • It was a message to John – Jesus knew He was in prison – and he was free…
    • Freedom did not mean Jesus went to get John out of prison…
      • It meant he was free in prison by looking to Jesus!
      • What prison are you in this morning – gambling / drinking / debt…
      • Jesus wants to set you free – He does not want to live in worry and sin…
      • John 8:36 – “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”
      • True freedom comes by living for – looking to – following after Jesus!
  • Blessed is he who is not offended because of me…
    • Offended – skandalizo – A stumbling block – (Aorist/Passive/Subjunctive)
    • In John 6 Jesus gave the teaching that He was the bread of life…
    • It was a difficult teaching for the disciples to accept – and when He finished…
    • * John 6:66-68 – “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.  Then Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you also want to go away?’ But Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’”
    • When we face those hard times – do we choose to walk away…
    • Do we give up and run to the world for answers – or do we cling to Jesus…
    • We are blessed if we are not stumbled by the hard times in Christ!

Who was John the Baptist… (3 thigns) vs. 24-35

• 1^st – What did you go to see… vs. 24-26
  • A soon as John’s disciples had left – Jesus turned and asked the crowd…
    • ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to see’…
    • Multitudes had flocked to hear and be baptized by John in the remote Judean wilderness
    • So what drew men to a listen to a man who wore camel skin and ate locusts – Mark 1:6
  • A tree shaken by the wind…
    • The equivalent would be – sugarcane or rice fields blowing in the breeze…
    • In other words did they go to see something extremely common – no!
    • The point Jesus is making is they went to see something different – someone special…
  • A man wearing expensive clothing…
    • The idea is someone who is very wealthy and wears designer clothing…
    • People like that don’t live in the desert – they live in King’s palaces!
    • People flock to see rich politicians in designer clothes – thinking they can help…
    • They do not flock to Lumangog to see someone working in the sugarcane…
    • John was not wealthy – and he wore camel’s hair for clothing (rags)…
    • But neither was John an every day occurrence – tree shaken by the wind…
    • Why did the multitudes flock out into the wilderness to see him…
  • He was a Prophet…
    • Biblically a Prophet is someone who proclaims the Word of God and truth…
    • One whom God speaks through to correct moral and religious wrongs…
    • The role of a prophet sometimes had them foretelling the future…
    • But the main purpose was to call God’s people to repentance – return to God!
    • Moses, Samuel, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel were prophets just to name a few…
    • Like them John was also a prophet – but he was also much more than a prophet…
      
• 2^nd – Greatest of the Old Testament Prophets… (3 things) vs. 27-28
  • 1^st – John brought an end to the Old Testament…
    • All the Law & the Prophets (The Old Testament) were until John – Luke 16:16
    • The Old Testament did not stop with Malachi – it ended with John the Baptist…
    • John marked the end of an Era – the end of the Old Covenant…
    • The Old Testament that was based on what we had to do to be righteous…
    • It was based on our efforts – our goodness – our ability to get to heaven…
    • Ultimately the Old Covenant failed to make us righteous – because we weren’t perfect
  • 2^nd – John came to show us we needed a savior…
    • The purpose of John the Baptist was to prepare the hearts of the people for Jesus…
    • To call the people to repent from their sins – to acknowledge their need for a savior…
    • He was the one that Malachi (the last prophet in the OT) spoke of…
    • Malachi 3:1 – “Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come…”
    • John came to remind the people of God’s Law – God’s standard – reveal their sin…
    • The commandments of God – 613 Laws – were never meant to make us ‘Good’…
    • They were given so that we would know we were NOT ‘Good’!
    • Galatians 3:24 – “Therefore the law was our teacher to bring us to Christ…”
    • The Law teaches us the standard of what ‘Good’ is…
    • Like a mirror that shows you how you look – but cannot make you prettier…
    • The Law shows us how bad we are – but cannot help make us ‘good’…
    • Realizing that is the Key to Heaven – because now we know we need help!
  • 3^rd – Among those born of women (that would include everyone) there is none greater…
    • John the Baptist had the honor of preparing the way for the Messiah…
      • He is the one who first recognized Jesus as the Christ – baptized Him…
      • All the other Prophets had spoken about the coming of the Messiah…
      • John the Baptist was the one who actually got to see Him come!
    • Yet the least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than John…
      • Though John is the greatest of all the Prophets of the Old Testament…
      • The least of men under the New Covenant of Grace are greater than John…
      • * Hebrews 11:39 – “All these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us…”
      • John got to be the forerunner of Jesus – announce His coming…
      • But we have Jesus living in our hearts – have a personal relationship with Him…
      • So the very least of us is more blessed than John the Baptist!

• 3^rd – Reaction to Jesus’ teaching about John… (2 things) vs. 29-35
  • 1^st – The sinners agreed with Jesus about John – having been baptized by John…
    • They who recognized they were sinners – Romans 3:23
    • They understood the Law could not save – Romans 3:20
    • They were justified – not by the Old Covenant – but by the New Covenant of Grace!
    • It is not being a sinner that keeps us from heaven…
    • It is rejecting the solution for sin that God provided in Jesus Christ…
    • We are saved by believing in the sacrifice that Jesus made for our sin on the cross
  • 2^nd – Religious leaders rejected Jesus (the will of God) – they had refused to be baptized…
    • They thought they were righteous – thought they were ‘good’…
    • They had rejected the message of John – and now rejected the message of Jesus…
    • They were like children who complain in the marketplace…
      • ‘We played the flute and you did not dance’ / ‘We mourned and you did not weep’…
      • They were spoiled little children – who only want you to play their game…
      • John did not eat bread or drink wine – and the people said, ‘he has a demon’…
      • Jesus came eating & drinking – the people said, ‘He is a drunk – a friend of sinners’!
    • It did not matter who came to give the message – they did not want to hear it…
      • They did not want to believe that they needed help – they needed a savior!
      • People today reject the Gospel – not cause of who gives it to them – that doesn’t matter
      • They reject the Gospel because they think they can be good enough to get to heaven…
      • They do not see their need for a savior – they do not understand they need Jesus!
    • But wisdom is justified by her children…
      • Regardless of what the leaders wanted to hear – the facts proved them wrong…
      • All you had to do was look at their lives – and see they were sinners too!
      • There is only one way to get to heaven – and it is not by being a good person…
      • The only solution to the problem of sin – is the cross of Jesus Christ!