What do I know with Isaac Carroll
What do I know with Isaac Carroll
Today's Bible Reading: Matthew 11 - John the Baptist's Doubts, Jesus's True Mission, and Spiritual Liberation
What if the Messiah we anticipated was different from the one who appeared? Join me, Isaac Carroll, as we navigate the thought-provoking journey of Matthew 11, examining the intriguing story of John the Baptist. Despite his profound initial recognition of Jesus, John finds himself questioning Jesus's identity as the Messiah, potentially due to the harsh realities of his imprisonment and the unmet expectations of a political savior. We dissect John's doubts and contrast them with Jesus's true spiritual mission to save souls, bringing to light the misunderstanding of his purpose. Dive into Jesus's teachings on the kingdom of heaven and his poignant critique of unrepentant cities, underscoring the urgency for spiritual awareness and repentance.
Experience the profound sense of relief and freedom that unfolds when embracing the love of Christ. As we explore how Jesus's sacrifice on the cross unburdens us from the weight of sin and the law, we discover the empowerment it brings in passionately pursuing the kingdom of heaven. This divine liberation invites us to transform our lives, focusing on what truly matters. Join me in contemplating the liberation offered by Christ's love and prepare for a continuation of this enlightening journey in our next episode. Until we meet again, may God bless you all.
May God bless you and lead you always.
Welcome to the podcast. I'm Isaac Carroll, and this is what Do I Know? Alright, in today's Bible study we are going to be picking up in Matthew 11. If you're ready, let's start in verse 1. When Jesus had finished giving instructions to his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and to preach in their cities.
Speaker 1:Now, while in prison, john heard about the works of Christ and he sent word by his disciples. He said to him Are you the coming one? Are we to look for someone else? Jesus answered and said to them Go and report to John what you hear and what you see. Those who are blind receive sight, and those who limp walk, those with leprosy are cleansed and those who are deaf hear. The dead are raised and the poor have the gospel preached to them, and blessed is any person who does not take offense at me.
Speaker 1:As the disciples of John were going away, jesus began to speak to the crowds about John. What did you go out into the wilderness? To see A reed shaken by the wind, but what did you go out? To? See? A man dressed in soft clothing. Those who wear soft clothing are in kings' palaces, but what did you go out to see A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written. Behold, I am extending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you. Truly, I say to you, among those born of women, there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. All right, let's stop right here.
Speaker 1:In verse 11., we are reading about John sending his disciples to inquire of Jesus, if he was the one. Now, this seems awful strange to me, because wasn't it John who leapt at his mother's womb when Mary came to visit, when she was pregnant with Jesus? Wasn't it John who argued with Christ when Christ came to be baptized, that he should be baptized by him? Wasn't it John, in John 1.36, when he saw Jesus walking, said Behold the Lamb of God. How did John lose sight of who Christ was? When did he get distracted? I needed this question answered, because it didn't make sense to me. So I did a deep dive into John, and what I come to find out is John could have possibly been in prison by this time up to two years, and it's some people's opinion that, because there were so many different copycats that maybe John lost track of which Christ Jesus was, lost track of which Christ Jesus was, and he was sending his disciples out because he was fixing to be beheaded, that he wanted to make sure that they went to the right one. And this makes little sense to me. I'll tell you why. Because Israel is not that big and when someone like Christ is walking around and people are going before him to be where he's going to be, to be around him trust me, he's one in a million. People didn't confuse the Christ. What they confused was the king that they expected to come and the man, jesus, who they got. And this is the same thing that John was dealing with. So John's in prison for telling Herod that he can't have his brother's wife, that it's against the law, and the lawmaker, christ the king, is here.
Speaker 1:Why wasn't things changing? Why wasn't the kingdom that everyone expected coming to pass? You see, everyone thought that the kingdom was one of flesh. They expected Jesus to relieve them from their oppressors, to make them the ruling nation. They didn't understand that Jesus didn't come to save their flesh, he didn't come to save their lives. He came to save their souls from death and separation from God and it looked very different from what they expected. That's why in verse 6 it says blessed is man who does not take offense at me, because Jesus didn't look how they wanted him to look. So they became frustrated because they expected him to just take over. The things had changed the things to change. They wanted a physical change and not a spiritual.
Speaker 1:Jesus tells his disciples take a look, use your eyes and use your ears. What's happening? John 10, 38 says even though you do not believe me, believe the works. He tells John's disciples that he has accomplished the work, even though his kingdom didn't come in the form that they expected. Okay, I'm going to continue reading in verse 12, but I'm going to continue to read the whole rest of the chapter because it all really ties together and the days of John the Baptist.
Speaker 1:Until now, the kingdom of heaven has been treated violently and violent men take it by force For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, john himself is Elijah who was to come, the one who has an ear lame here. But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplace who call out to one another and say we played the flute for you and you did not dance. We sang a song of mourning and you did not mourn. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say he is a demon. The son of man came eating and drinking and they say Behold, a gluttonous man and a heavy drinker, a friend of tax collectors and sinners, and yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds. Then he began to reprimand the cities which most of his miracles had been done, because they did not repent. Woe to you, chorazon, woe to you, beseda, for if the miracles that occurred in you had occurred in tyre and sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Nevertheless, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you and you, capernaum. Would you not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to hell, for if the miracles that occurred to you had occurred in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.
Speaker 1:Verse 2. Intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, father, for this was well pleasing in your sight. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son determines to reveal him. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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 comfort and my burden is light. Okay, we have a lot to talk about here. I'm going to do my best. I don't think I'll touch on everything, but I'm going to do my best to explain this the way I've come to understand it.
Speaker 1:All right, so Jesus sends John's disciples back to John to let him know that everything is happening exactly how it's supposed to happen, to not be discouraged because things don't look the way he thought they were supposed to look. Then he turns to the crowd and he addresses who John is and he tells them who did they go out to see? They went out to see a prophet. They didn't go out to see a king or anything else. When they went out to see John and to be baptized by him, they went out to see a prophet and Jesus said he was a great prophet, one of the greatest Matter of fact, a man born of women. There was none born more righteous than John, and that says a lot about John. But then he turns and he says but the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John. And what this means is that John lived by the old covenant and was a righteous man, but he was still born in sin. And though John was one of the greatest men who ever lived, the person who is under the new covenant of Christ is more righteous in the sight of God than John, because they're taking on the righteousness and the complete work of Christ. We're covered in his blood, so righteousness and the complete work of Christ we're covered in his blood, so he sees the finished work of Christ, so we are considered greater than John. Isn't that amazing? The love and the grace and the beauty of what God has done, all right.
Speaker 1:Then Jesus says something that's a little hard to understand. He says and from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been treated violently and violent men take it by force For all the prophets in the law prophesied until John and, if you are willing to accept it, john himself is Elijah. Matthew is saying from the time John started preaching, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, that men have treated the kingdom violently. Now, when I first read this, I thought they were referring to Jesus. Jesus was the king of heaven and people treated him with hostility. Many times they tried to take him to the side of a cliff and throw him off. So I naturally thought maybe they were talking about Jesus being. You know, they were being violent towards Jesus himself. Even John in prison was supposed to be put to death, and these words kind of made me feel that way. But as I began to look at the complete sentence, the complete message and the statement that Jesus made, I had to go back and check it. Let's read the verse again, verse 12. And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been treated violently and violent men take it by force, for all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And then he says that, if you're willing to accept it, the fact that John is Elijah who was to come. So the prophets and the law spoke of the coming kingdom. The new covenant of Christ, jeremiah 31 and 31 says Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make my new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. All of these of the law have spoken of the coming of Christ and the new covenant that was going to save the people, and it says here that these people had treated it violently and they had taken it by force, violent force.
Speaker 1:So what Jesus is referring to is the pursuit of the kingdom of heaven. The Greek word that is used for violence is beazo, and beazo is a verb. It primarily conveys the idea of applying force, exerting pressure. In the New Testament it is metaphorically to describe the earnest and sometimes forcible pursuit of the kingdom of heaven. Now we can actually easily see this by the men who went onto the roof and tore up the roof tiles to let the man down to Jesus. They did everything in their power to get to Jesus. They forcibly, took it by force. They had a passion to get to Jesus. When was the last time we were passionate about Christ? When did we ever go to Christ passionately, about something that beazo should be a part of who we are? We should be passionately seeking God for our fellow man for the lost, for those who are dying and sick. We should be passionate about it. And Jesus says that those men who had come to seek the kingdom of heaven had done so with passion.
Speaker 1:So then, after this he turns, his frustration about the hard-hearted comes out and everybody talks about the gentleness and kindness of christ. And he really was. But let me tell you something jesus will rebuke you in a second. He didn't pull any punches. He'd let you know. And he turns and he says woe to woe to you. Woe to you, because if the miracles that have been done in the places that have been destroyed had been done there, they would still remain and they would have repented long ago. But these miracles are being done in your presence and yet you still won't repent. We know what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah. It's no more. God destroyed it and he said it would be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than it would be for them, because they refused to repent.
Speaker 1:Now, a lot of times, man, when we're sinning and we're living a life, we make excuses because we're hard-hearted and we won't repent. We won't turn from the sin we're living in because we've become too comfortable in it. Maybe we've pictured something a little different about Christ. Maybe we've got in our head that it's going to be exactly how I think it's going to be, kind of like John and the others did they had an idea of what Christ and salvation was, and when it came it didn't look the way they thought it was supposed to and they became frustrated. A lot of times we take it upon ourselves to believe things a certain way because we're taking our own understanding and we're applying it to something that is greater than ourself. Instead of applying what the Word says to our life, we are applying what we feel and what we want to the word, and it doesn't work that way, and this kind of thought process makes people hard hearted and God's telling us to change, to repent.
Speaker 1:But Jesus doesn't end on a harsh note because he is kind and he is gentle, and I love the last part of this message in 11. It's a beautiful thing and I want to read it to you again. Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Why would you be weary and burdened? Because of sin. You want to be set free. Take my yoke upon you. When you become yoked, you know what yoke means.
Speaker 1:I know it's hard for many of us who don't work on farms to understand. To yoke something two cows being yoked together to plow it's not something we see very much these days, but the concept should at least come across where, when two things are yoked together, they work together to accomplish something. And Jesus is saying take my yoke, yoke yourself with me, join with me, learn from me. He says take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart. You will find rest for your soul. My yoke is comfortable and my burden is light.
Speaker 1:So sin and the law put a lot of pressure on us, a lot of weight that we're just not built to carry. And Jesus frees us. He frees us because he's going to take the burden. He has it on the cross, and we can be lightened, we can be unburdened by the love of Christ, and then we can become passionate, we become beadzo about our pursuit of the kingdom of heaven. I'm going to name this one here. We're going to pick back up in 12, the next podcast. Until then, god bless you guys. I love you. Have a great day. Bye.