Brother John's Question

In this episode, we walk with John the Baptist from the wilderness crowds into Herod’s prison cell. How can a man who once cried, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” now ask, “Are you the one who is to come?” We’ll talk about what it means to have real faith and real questions, how Jesus answers us through His Word, and how God meets us in our wilderness seasons with joy that outlasts our circumstances.

Transcript

To the Gospel of Matthew. And we're going to look at Matthew, chapter 11. And when you find that, would you stand with me? Matthew, chapter 11.

And I am going to start at verse two. Two through 11 is where we are today. Matthew, chapter 11. If you're there, say amen. If you're not, say hold up.

Okay, Matthew 11. And we're going to hold just a minute. You guys look fantastic in your Christmas sweaters. I think we should do this every week.

Matthew, chapter 11. And we'll start at verse two. And I'll read. When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another? Jesus answered them, Go and tell John what you hear and see.

The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised. And the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me. And as they went away, Jesus. Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John.

What did you go out into the wilderness to look for a reed shaken by the wind? What then? Did you go out to see someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then?

Did you go out to see a prophet? Yes, I tell you. And more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written. See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you who will prepare your way before you.

Truly, I tell you, among those born of women, no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist. Yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Let us pray. Jesus, I know you are present in this place. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for coming today.

Lord, we have sang about you. Oh, come. Oh, come, Emmanuel. God is with us as we look at the stage and we see the manger with the crown. You are king of kings.

And, Lord, we invite you today to be king of our hearts. May we be a prepared people for you. We ask this in your name. Amen. And you may be seated.

John the Baptist. I realize over the past few weeks that I have never had a Bible study about John the Baptist. When I think about the disciples and when I think about Paul, heroes of the faith. But I had never spent much time with John the Baptist until I turned my attention to this passage to prepare for today. And I have been sitting with John, and I have grown to love John the Baptist.

John, if you remember, he had a miraculous birth story. A few years ago. There was a show on tlc, a birth story several years ago, but it would film a couple and then their pregnancy and then the delivery and this special, special announcement. And I can tell you, had there been a TLC birth story show back then, John the Baptist's parents would have been a part of it. There was a priest named Zachariah.

He had a wife named Elizabeth. The Bible says they were righteous. They lived for the Lord and they served the Lord faithfully. They prayed, lord, would you help us to have a child? Child never came.

Righteous, serving the Lord. Faithful, prayerful and no answer. Unmet expectations, if you will. Have you been there? Unmet expectations.

They're praying and then the Bible says they were very old. And if the Bible says very old, you can only assume they were way up there, very old. And Zechariah, if you remember, an angel comes, Gabriel, with an announcement. And you know what he says? And I love it.

He says, your prayer has been heard. Wouldn't that be nice? When the angel shows up just to tell you your prayer has been heard, you will have a son. Tells him he is going to go before the Messiah to make ready some hearts. Interesting.

He says these words, the angel, he will go on before the Lord to make ready a prepared people for the Lord. Interesting. Jesus comes to hearts that are prepared. How's your heart today? Jesus comes to prepared hearts in Zechariah.

He says, how can I be sure because I am old Zechariah. John's daddy had some questions, and more than that he had doubt and more than that, he had disbelief. We know that because the angel responds and says, because you did not believe my words, you're going to be quiet until the baby comes. Elizabeth gets pregnant with the quiet Zechariah and they are expecting this baby. Meanwhile, several months later, Elizabeth is six months along.

She is showing as this old woman. Her prayer has been heard. And I wonder, had she stopped praying at some point? Had she thought, you know what? This is just not going to be answered for me.

I'm just going to quit, quit even praying about it. And the angel showed up six months along. The angel shows up to another young girl, not a priest, young teen by the name of Mary, tells her she is going to have this baby. And I love the angel, says Ann, just to strengthen your faith. Your cousin, old as she is, is six months along.

He gives her a witness just to strengthen the announcement. And so Mary hurries to go to Elizabeth to see her. And you know the story. When she enters in, it says that the baby John in Elizabeth's wound. He gets so excited that he jumps.

And Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth says, why am I so blessed that the mother of my Lord would come to me? What an announcement. She knew. Elizabeth knew that the mother of the Messiah had arrived.

And she said, as soon as the greeting, this baby leaped for joy. Elizabeth, still filled with the Holy Spirit, said a verse that I hope you take with you and hang onto and claim on your own. She said, blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would do what he said he would do, even when you don't see it yet, even when you aren't showing yet. Blessed, happy, joyful is she who has believed that he would be faithful.

So John is born. They say his name is John Zechariah. He is filled with the Spirit. He then speaks about his Son, and he says, he is going to be a prophet of the Most High. He will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of sins.

Luke, chapter one. The chapter ends. And it says that John grew strong in the Spirit and he stayed the wilderness. He grew in the Spirit, but he stayed in the wilderness. That word wilderness will come up time and time again this miraculous birth story.

And then you find in Matthew chapter three, fast forward. He's grown in the wilderness. And now it says he is preaching in the wilderness. He's grown and now he's preaching in the wilderness. It tells us that this brother John wore a garment made of.

Get this. Camel hair. Camel hair with a leather belt. Why? Oh, John, would you look so bizarre?

I'm a visual person. And I'm picturing old John with his camel hair. And I'm thinking, that can't be comfortable. You know what? It tied him to Elijah.

The prophecy said he would come before the Messiah, like Elijah and Elijah in Second Kings. It says, guess what? He wore camel hair with the belt. John is out in the wilderness and he has got the outfit on like Elijah. It's also extreme sermon.

Illustration. Can you imagine if you're out there preaching in camel hair with a leather belt? It was as if to say, don't look at me. There is someone else who is coming. Don't look at me, but look to someone else.

Not only that, we learn about old John, our friend. Now it says he ate locust and wild honey. Now I can get down with wild honey. Wild honey, tame honey, any honey. I think that would be okay.

But locust I don't really understand. Now, if you dip the locust in the honey, I still don't think I would want to partake. But there's John, our brother in the wilderness, growing strong in the Holy Spirit, preaching in camel hair with a leather belt, eating locust and wild honey. And the Bible says that hundreds are coming to hear him preach. All of Jerusalem, Judea.

They are traveling out to the wilderness. Oh, he's popular. They are flocking to hear this man preach. And what is he saying? A very simple message.

He is saying, repent. Turn is what the word means. Turn from sin and turn to God because the kingdom of heaven has come near. Turn, turn. Interesting.

It's the same word in Malachi. Malachi, at the end of the Old Testament, the prophecy about John. It says he will come to turn the hearts of children to their father and father to their children. The same word turn, he then uses as his place platform as he is preaching. Turn to God.

Turn. All are coming out to the wilderness to hear him. Matthew tells us, he says, you know what? In Isaiah, chapter 40, there's a prophecy. And you don't have to wonder if it was about John the Baptist.

I'm telling you it was. The prophecy said that there would be a voice of one calling. Where? In the wilderness. Prepare the way for the Lord.

Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Isaiah prophesying 600, 700 years before John the Baptist shows up that there would be one who would go before the Messiah, preaching in the wilderness. And John the Baptist is out there preaching in the wilderness. This rugged, direct, blunt preacher in his camel hair preaching to repent. And he didn't mince words, friends.

It tells us that at one point he preached that Jesus would gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he would burn with a fire that never goes out. You hear about preachers that preach fire and brimstone. This is John. He's preaching it. And the people are coming.

And you know what he says? He says, now is the time to repent. Just because you were born a Jew, you must repent. Your heritage will not save you, friends. You must repent.

And he said, after you repent, you can be baptized. Well, this was mind boggling because for them, baptism was for the Gentiles, the outsiders that would be baptized to become a Jew. He's saying, you are already a Jew, but you must repent. You need to turn. You need to be baptized.

As an outward sign of what God has done, he preached. And he said, yes, I can baptize you. But there is one more powerful than me. Don't you love that he's quick to say, there's one coming after me. That he's going to baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

John said, friends, you've all come out here to hear me in the wilderness preach. But there is one coming, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. Don't look at me. There is one coming. He's preparing the way.

Preparing the way. It's a beautiful picture. Back in this time, when the king was coming to town, they would prepare the roads. They wanted the road smooth so it would be an easy travel for the king who was coming. Can I tell you that as John preached to these hearts to be prepared, there was a king who was coming, and he is preparing the way.

They asked him, are you Elijah? No. Are you the Messiah? He said, no. Who are you, John?

Isaiah 43. I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness. Make straight the way for the Lord. He knew his assignment. I like to think of John as a witness in the wilderness.

He was a witness in the wilderness. In the wilderness. The wilderness in the Bible is often a place of remote, challenging obstacles. Drought, dryness, a spiritual dryness, a barrenness. And in that physical wilderness where he is standing, he is preaching to people in a spiritual wilderness.

And he is a witness in the wilderness. Isn't that what we need, friends? Don't we need a witness in our wilderness? In the Gospel of John, John the disciple writes about John the Baptist. He says, he was a witness to the light.

He was a witness to the light. Jesus goes out to John to be baptized. John the Baptist sees Jesus coming, and he says, look, the Lamb of God. God who takes away the sins of the earth. This is the one.

Listen to this phrase. John says, this is the one I meant when I said, a man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me. Whoo. Is that not theology? Our friend John the Baptist was a theologian.

You didn't even know. He said, he is the one who went before me and surpassed me because he was before me. He. He knew Jesus was the Messiah. He knew Jesus was the one they had been waiting for.

He said, I saw the Spirit descend on him like a dove. I witnessed it. He goes on to say, this one I have seen, and I testify that he is the Son of God. What a statement. John, our witness in the wilderness.

Our witness in the wilderness. And yet, our text today, John is no longer in the wilderness. He's in prison. He's in prison because King Herod. This is Herod, the son of the Herod that wanted to kill baby Jesus.

Herod had took his brother's wife as his own. And John the Baptist said, this is what wrong. And it made Herod mad. And Herod wanted to kill him. But the people are all flocking out to hear this preacher.

And so he couldn't get away with killing him. So he put him in jail. Chained, bound, put away in prison. Commentators believe he was there for at least one to two years. Can you imagine one to two years jail in prison?

And John sends his disciples to Jesus to say, are you the expected one? Can I tell you, friends, if you've got questions about who Jesus is, take them to Jesus. He had questions, but he took them to Jesus. Can I also point out that even though he was in prison, he. He heard what the Messiah was doing.

There is nowhere the proclamation and witness of Jesus can't go. He can reach even in the prison.

He sends his questions to Jesus. Now, I want to be real careful here. I cannot speak to John's motivation. I know that John's father had questions and Gabriel said, no, you. You didn't believe.

We don't have that here, but we do have questions. I believe with all certainty that when he said, this is the son of God, he knew who Jesus was. But can I tell you now, he's in prison and he's been there a few years. I won't speak for John, but I can speak for myself that sometimes you can have faith who Jesus is and still have faith. Questions, faith and yet questions.

I have lived through seasons of faith and questions. I've had seasons where I knew God had called me to do something, and yet I don't see a way to do it. Can I tell you that can be painful when you can feel a calling to do something and you don't see God make a way to. For that to come to pass. Painful.

There was a season where Ryan and I believe God wanted us to sell our house. We did not know why. We did not know where we were going. Can I tell you? We had questions.

We had faith that God said, do it. And yet we didn't know the next step. There were times when we were praying. We have two sons at home. We.

We really don't want to be homeless. Jesus, God was faithful. He didn't give me the answers when I wanted him to. Can I tell you, I prayed for a friend, my best friend from college, a mom of four boys who was diagnosed with cancer. We Prayed for healing and she went on to heaven.

We did not get the answer that we wanted in here. Have you ever believed God for something and sat in the tension of not seeing him move as you expected him to? What do you do when you have expectations and the experience are different?

I know what it's like to be praying for God to move and expecting God to move. And day after day after day, I don't see him moving. Anybody else ever been there?

What do you do when you've been praying for healing in a marriage and divorce comes?

What do you do when you're praying for healing for a child and you don't see it happen? I have a friend who has two adult sons and they both have a rare eye disease. They both have lost their vision. They cannot work, they can't drive. They depend on her and her husband and others to help them.

Do you know how hard it is for a young, capable man not to be able to provide for his family because of a disability?

My friend has served the Lord her adult years. She loves Jesus. And yet she went through a season of deep anger because she knew God could and yet didn't see that he was going to.

She told me there were times, she said, emily, there were times where week after week, I've always gone to church. But some days I was so angry that I would go to church and I couldn't even get out of the car.

Anger and frustration, God, I know you can, but I don't see you doing it.

It's one thing to wait on God for a couple of days. It's another thing to wait on God for a couple of years. You remember Abraham and Sarah, and God clearly told them, you will have a son. And then they've waited now 20 years. 20 years.

God did answer. But when you have to wait a long time, there's a temptation to get angry, right? There's a temptation to get frustrated, to walk away.

My friend, actually, she kept seeking the Lord and he did deliver her from the anger. He did heal her heart. She told me that she did not want to turn away from Jesus because she wants to be there in glory when her son's sight is restored.

Seasons are difficult. Discouragement comes, disappointment comes. Distrust can come. There's a place where you may not have the audacity to say, to accuse God of anything, but you'll admit you have some questions. We're confused when we don't see God move or seemingly lack thereof.

Any movement. I can't speak for John, but can I tell you, John was sitting in prison.

He had expectations that when the Messiah would come on the scene, he would conquer, set up his kingdom and have his way. And yet the Messiah comes. And guess what? He's in prison.

He knows he was called to be the forerunner. And yet now I've got some questions. God, this is not how I perceived my life would go. God, this is not how I thought my family would turn out. God, this is not how I thought my career would take off like.

God, this is not how I thought I would see myself.

You remember I spoke a few weeks ago about my friend Albert from speech class? Albert, he wrote a book called Disobedient God. Trusting a God who goes off script. A disobedient God, when you have a plan for God. And yet he's going a different way.

It's so interesting. John sends his disciples, he sends his questions to Jesus and notice how Jesus responds. A few weeks ago, the disciples had questions for Jesus. When is the temple going to be destroyed? And remember, Jesus didn't answer directly.

He actually responds in a way that's more important for our understanding. And in this way similar, he says, go and tell John what you see and hear. Interesting. Go and tell John what you witness. Tell John, the one who witnessed the spirit descend on me, Go tell John my witness what you've witnessed.

Don't you love it when God reminds you of who he is by reminding you of what he's already said in the past? Like, he'll connect the dots for you. He'll remind you. On the day when I was turning my attention to this message in my private Bible time, God had me in Matthew chapter three, where it talks about John the Baptist. He connects dots for us because he wants to communicate with us.

And in this place, what I love, I believe this was from the Holy Spirit. He said, emily, my witness in the wilderness needed a witness in his wilderness. There, in the midst of his prison, in his own wilderness, he needed a reminder of who Jesus was. And Jesus himself comes to be the witness in our wilderness. You may find yourself in a situation right now that is a wilderness season.

Can I tell you that you are here today to hear from the witness that he is present with you in your wilderness. There in the prison, a place of struggle and challenge, Jesus sends a message of hope to his servant, his forerunner, John. And he says, the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. Interesting. Jesus quotes from the Old Testament.

So Jesus in His response when he says, go and tell John what you've seen. He then speaks words from that could be found in the prophet Isaiah. So one of those. Isaiah 61:1. Let me read to you what it says.

The spirit of the sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. That same phrase, good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from the darkness for the prisoners. Prisoners. A reminder to John right there in the prison.

That's the same text that you remember Jesus read from at the synagogue when he announced his arrival and his ministry, saying, I have arrived. It's me. So Jesus here, he doesn't say, go tell John it's me. I'm here. It really is.

No. He uses the word of God to encourage his son. The very same thing he does for me and you. He uses his word to bring encouragement. He quotes Isaiah 29:18.

In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. And he quotes from Isaiah 35, 5, 6. We heard it earlier today. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer and the mute tongue shout for joy when water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.

You see what Jesus does? John takes his questions to Jesus. And Jesus speaks to John through his word. He uses the prophet Isaiah. And John, who knew the Scripture, would know immediately that Jesus was quoting from Isaiah.

Isaiah gave the very one who prophesied what Jesus would do, the same one who prophesied what John the Baptist would do. And Jesus connecting the dots for John the Baptist, right in the middle of his prison, in the middle of his wilderness. Jesus speaks to him through the prophet Isaiah to say, yes, I am the Messiah. Yes, you are my forerunner. And yes, the kingdom of God is near.

It may not look to you, you, John, like I am working, but I am present in the midst of the prison. It may not look like I am setting up a kingdom, but I am up to something, friend. It may not look like God is bringing healing, but he is moving. It may not look like God is reaching your prodigal, but he is moving. He shows up in the middle of the prison.

What do you do when you're sitting in the tension of expectation and experience? Go to the Word of God. Let the word of God remind you of who Jesus is. You realize that he often works in ways that we aren't expecting because we think we know what we need, but we see through a glass darkly. He is good.

He is gracious. He is. He is kind. He is honorable. And one day I am going to sit down with John the Baptist and I am going to ask him.

I am going to say, you know what, John? When your disciples came back with that word from Jesus and he spoke from Isaiah, what did that do for you? Can I tell you that I think John got joyful? I think that even though John's situation didn't change. Do you hear me?

Even though he was still in the dark prayer prison, he had freedom. His eyes were open, and he knew that even if he wasn't delivered on this side, there was a kingdom that was at hand. And the kingdom of heaven was very near. This is only a few days. There's all of eternity ahead of us, friend.

I think he found peace and joy and freedom right in his presence prison. And we can, too, even when the situation doesn't change.

When John's. Excuse me. John's disciples were leaving. You remember, Jesus waits till they go away, and then he kind of speaks on John's behalf and he says, what? Did you go out to the wilderness to see?

Did you go out there to see a reed shaken? No. John's not blowed around easily. Did you go out there to see a man dressed in soft robes like they wear in the palace? No.

He was more than a prophet. He said, no one born of women has been greater than John. John's the one that said, I can't even carry his sandals. And Jesus is speaking for him, saying, no one who has been born is greater. And then he says those words, but the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than.

Than him. Jesus is here contrasting the Old Covenant with the New Covenant. What is different about the New Covenant? We have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. You have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

And that, friend, is something to rejoice about even in the midst of the prison. If you are filled with the Holy Spirit. Friends, that is enough. That is enough. Our Old Testament reading I'm going to close with this comes from Isaiah 35.

Here is a poem about the wilderness, dry ground becoming glad. The wilderness, a place where John chose to have his pulpit. In the poem, you see a picture of a garden blooming from a dry place, a picture of an expedition being very different than what was expected. That's what only God can do. Rejoicing is not the emotion that usually comes with wilderness and barrenness.

But rejoicing is found in unexpected places. When God steps into your wilderness. A prison isn't usually a place of rejoicing and singing, but. But it is. When God shows up in your prison, Isaiah said, don't be afraid, don't be discouraged.

Hear this, friends, don't be faint hearted, because God will come and save you. Friends, receive that. Don't be faint hearted, don't be discouraged, don't be afraid. Because God will come and say, save you. It may not be the saving we expected or planned or hoped for, but his saving is perfect.

And when he comes, the eyes of the blind will be open and the ears of the deaf will hear and the lame will leap and the speechless will sing. Waters break forth in dry places right in your wilderness, right in your prison. Have you experienced God breaking into your dry places in your life? You can experience that now. Isaiah says, they're in the wilderness.

There's a highway, a holy way, where no unclean will walk, but the redeemed will walk there. We friends, the redeemed, are on a journey together right now. Walking together through the wilderness. It says, the ransomed of the Lord will make their way to Zion. We're on our trip with singing.

And everlasting joy will be upon them. Not a joy that you work up on your own, but a joy that is upon you. Joy and gladness, it says, that never ends and sorrow will flee away. Everlasting joy. Your situation today may look dry and barren, but keep walking on the holy way and you will see that he makes rivers flow in once dry places.

He brings encouragement and joy through his word. And the indwelling Holy Spirit refreshes your heart. And one day, brother and sister, we will make our way to Zion, to our heavenly home. And there awaits unending joy. Will you stand with me?

If you would close your eyes.

Our musicians are coming. And in just a moment we are going to sing a song and have a time of response. But can I tell you that this message is for you. If you have been walking in a season of a wilderness, a dry place, a time of obstacles and challenges, the Holy Spirit is sending witness to you right now. A witness in your wilderness.

Turn your attention to him.

He reminds us today that Jesus comes to prepared hearts. How is your heart today? Is your heart busy? Is your heart discouraged? Is your heart afraid?

Can we have hearts that are prepared? Where we say yes, we respond to John's message of repentance. Turning to God, turning from sin, and then the Holy Spirit brings the joy and the beauty and the garden in the midst of that wilderness. Do you sense his joy upon you, friend?

Will you receive that fruit of the Spirit, his joy upon you, brothers and sisters. He is coming, Emmanuel.

He is coming. The day we celebrate Christmas. We're looking forward to that day. And yet we are looking forward to the time where he returns.

Jesus, I just pray right now for every man and woman, boy and girl here in this place and those listening online. Father, we need you in our dry places. Jesus, you're not asking us to work something up on our own. You're not asking us to just do more. You're asking us for all of us.

You just want surrender, Jesus, as we make our hearts ready, as we make our hearts prepared. A part of that is this offering up to you, all of who we are, right there in our prison, saying, jesus, I don't have a lot, but what I do have is who I am, my very heart. And I give it back to you. Give it back to you. It is yours.

Would you have your way here at harvest Point today? God, have your way here, friends, as we sing. Of course. These altars are open if you would like someone to pray with you. We will be glad to do that.

This is your time. Let his joy be upon you. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.