Matthew – Written Exposition

Reading Matthew 11:1-6; Luke 7:24-35

INTRODUCTION

As the coming of Jesus Christ into the world is celebrated this Christmas season let us briefly reflect upon a profound question asked by John the Baptist: ‘Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?’ This question, recorded in Matthew chapter 11 and Luke chapter 7, provides a powerful lens through which we can examine our own expectations of Jesus Christ.

JOHN’S DILEMMA

John the Baptist was perplexed. In prison because of his bold stand for biblical truth, news had filtered through to him about the ministry of Jesus. However, what he heard about Jesus’ activities did not quite align with his expectations of the Messiah. Like most Jews at the time John may have expected that the Messiah would come as a conquering king; a great military and political leader who would oust the occupying forces of the Roman Empire. Instead, Jesus was busy teaching, associating with and showing compassion to the marginalised in society and healing the sick. Although John was familiar with the many Old Testament messianic prophecies, and had previously identified Jesus as ‘the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29), he was confused by the reports about Jesus.

Some think that John’s faith was weak; that he was doubting and needed reassurance. Others suggest that John was prompting Jesus to hurry up and reveal himself as the conquering Messiah. Whatever his motivation, John sent two of his own disciples to Jesus to ask the question: ‘Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?’

CONTEMPORARY EXPECTATIONS

It is easy to become confused and distracted by the commercialisation, materialism and the festivities of this Christmas season but let us take the time to ask: ‘What are my expectations of the One who came?’ What does the coming of Christ mean to me today? The question ‘art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?’ is still relevant. ‘Am I trusting the Saviour, or looking for something else?’

JESUS’ RESPONSE

Jesus did not condemn John the Baptist for his question but gave a compassionate answer: “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen — the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” Matthew 11:4-5 (NLT)

Notice:

Indirect Confirmation: Rather than directly claiming to be the Messiah, Jesus allowed his works to speak for themselves. He demonstrated his identity by doing things that only God can do. He performed miraculous deeds: healing the blind, lame, lepers and deaf and raising the dead. This approach encouraged John and others to draw their own conclusions based on the evidence of Jesus’ ministry.

Fulfilment of Scripture: Jesus’ response alluded to Old Testament prophecies, particularly Isaiah 35:5-6 and 61:1-2, showing how his life and ministry fulfilled these predictions. (It has been estimated that there are more than 300 messianic prophecies in the Old Testament. Josh McDowell in chapter 9 of his book ‘Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Vol 1’ lists 61 of them. This book can be read online at The Internet Archive’s Open Library).

Emphasis on mercy: Christ’s coming has brought healing, restoration, and hope to a broken world.

Invitation to faith: Jesus concluded his response with ‘and blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me’ (Mt 11:6); thus encouraging John and others to trust in him despite doubts or unmet expectations. True faith requires the setting aside of preconceptions.

This Christmas let us not be distracted by the ‘noise’ of the season but focus on Christ and the true meaning of his coming:

He came to heal the broken.
He came to bring help to the hopeless.
He came to give salvation to all who believe.

Like John the Baptist, have we rechecked and been reassured? Has Christ’s coming transformed our lives, or are we still ‘looking for another’?

Matthew 28:5-7

5 ‘And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead;’

In these verses from Matthew’s gospel there are four verbs which, for me, sum up the message of Easter. The four words are imperatives, i.e. they give an order or instruction. They are commands. COME, SEE, GO, TELL.

The Lord Jesus had been betrayed by Judas Iscariot, forsaken by his disciples, denied by Peter, tried by the Jewish and Roman authorities, sentenced by Pontius Pilate, crucified at Calvary, and buried in a new tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea. Afterwards, on the morning of the first day of the week, some women came to the garden tomb to anoint the body of Jesus with spices. Would they be able to gain access?

When they arrived they were surprised to find that there had been a great earthquake and a large stone that sealed the entrance to the tomb had been rolled back by an angel. He said that they were not to fear and that he knew that they were seeking Jesus. So he told them to ‘come.’

COME!

The Bible contains many invitations! The word “come” occurs often in the Bible. The first mention is in Gen. 7:1 when God called Noah and his family to come into the ark so that they might be saved from the flood. For Noah and his family to be saved they had accept the Lord’s invitation. This is still true today.

Jesus issued that same invitation in Matthew 11:28. ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ That invitation still goes out to all who labour under the heavy burden of sin and guilt. Come, by faith, to the one who is no longer in the tomb! He has risen from the dead and is now in heaven! Come to Jesus who offers forgiveness, support and relief!

SEE!

The words ‘look’ and ‘see’ are similar but not exactly the same in meaning. When we casually look at something, we may not fully grasp what we are looking at. We may not comprehend the significance. By contrast, when we truly ‘see’ something we understand it. The angel wanted the women to ‘see’ (grasp and understand) that the tomb was empty; that Christ had risen from the dead and is alive forever.

GO!

The women were told to go. There was no suggestion or intention that from then on they should just stare into the empty tomb. As soon as we reach the point of seeing the empty tomb and trusting the living Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour, we must ‘go’. We ought to go and learn more about him. We should go to him in prayer. We need to go and fellowship with like-minded believers (Acts 2:42).

TELL!

The women were instructed to tell the disciples about the resurrection. We too ought to tell the good news to those who are lost and dying. It is neither necessary nor practical for everyone to be involved in missionary activity abroad. You can do it wherever you are. In Mark 5 a demon-possessed man who was healed by Jesus wanted to journey with the Lord but was told instead to go home to his friends and tell the great things the Lord had done for him (Mk 5:19).

Have you COME? Do you SEE? If so, GO and live for him and TELL others about what he has done for you.

‘He is not here: for he is risen!’

The message of Easter is COME, SEE, GO, TELL

Tag: Matthew

Understanding Jesus Through John’s Question: A Christmas Reflection

COME, SEE, GO, TELL