Matthew 11:7-19

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7 As these men 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? 8 ``But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings' palaces! 9 ``But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. 10 ``This is the one about whom it is written, `BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.' 11 ``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. 12 ``From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force. 13 ``For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 ``And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. 15 ``He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

16 ``But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children, 17 and say, `We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.' 18 ``For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, `He has a demon!' 19 ``The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, `Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.''

The world conditions were ready for something different to catch their attention and turn their hearts toward God. There was much religiosity and secularism thriving at that time, but "authenticity" was woefully lacking. John's attractiveness was that he was authentic-the real deal. He took on a pose that was almost the opposite of the religious setting of the day and people were hungry for it. He didn't wear the flowing robes of the priestly or religious class, didn't operate in or around the beautiful Temple, didn't have a religious air to him, and was not playing games any longer. This authentic message of turning back to God (repentance) and looking for the Messiah was most refreshing, even if they had to travel out into the country to hear it.

NOTE that John came with a serious tone like singing a dirge at a funeral to catch the attention of those who were playing games with their faith. Jesus, on the other hand, came with more of a tone of a wedding party where music was being played for dancing. Yet, Jesus says that this generation responded negatively to both! To John they claimed he had a demon. To Jesus they were critical of His partying, calling Him a drunkard, gluttonous and a friend of sinners. "Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds" means that the actions of those who respond will speak most clearly and loudly.

One more interesting note here. Jesus says, ``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. There is no one greater than John the Baptist born of women, yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. In the earthly sense, John is the greatest with the greatest human mission-to introduce the Messiah to the world. However, when it comes to the kingdom, even the least enjoys a greater positioning than John. John was preparing the way for the King. Those in the kingdom enjoy the king and all of its riches.

It seems we live in a very similar context today in our world-filled with religiosity, spiritualism and secularism. We are in need of a breath of authenticity like never before. In a day when the mega-church is easily made into a distant show to watch and enjoy without personal engagement and where the small church can easily be so boring with the predictable program and needs, where personal engagement leads to certain burnout. We desperately need authenticity! I believe that authenticity is to be found among those who are interested in walking with Jesus, walking with others and waiting for Jesus to lead out. In other words, authenticity today must come from many Elijah-like followers of Jesus who are preparing the way for the Messiah to show up, "where two or three gather in My name, there I will be in their midst."

Matthew 11:1-6

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1 When Jesus had finished giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there to teach and preach in their cities.

2 Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to Him, ``Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?'' 4 Jesus answered and said to them, ``Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. 6 ``And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.''

What is going on here? John has already pronounced Jesus as Messiah, so why the question through his disciples here? He was well aware that Jesus was the Messiah (John 1:29; Luke 3:22) and had heard from prison the things Jesus was doing among the people-miracle after miracle that could only come from God, even raising the dead back to life!

There are three thoughts for your consideration: John must have been terribly disappointed with Jesus. Jesus didn't fit the mold of what John was expecting entirely. Some were saying that Jesus had a demon (Matthew 12:24; John 8:48). Others reported that Jesus was a drunkard and glutton (Matthew 11:19). Still others said that He was crazy (Mark 3:21, 31-35). We always try to fit Jesus into a mold-our mold. It doesn't matter whether God is fulfilling what He claims to be and to do, we still have our images and caricatures. Every time I think I have God figured out, He surprises me BIG TIME. It's not that He acts out of character, but that He is the God of gods and supersedes most every expectation I can muster!

John was also confused by Jesus' message. It was not quite the same approach as John. John's message was filled with truth and destruction. Jesus' message was filled with truth and love. He was filled with grace and truth. This was a powerful difference!

NOTE that John is not asking whether or not Jesus is the Messiah as much as he is asking is there another Messiah. One of the great opinions of first-century Judaism concerning the Messiah, was the idea of there being two Messiahs. The two Messiah concept was prevalent among the Jews. There was to be Messiah ben Joseph (son of Joseph)-the suffering Messiah who would fulfill the duties of priest and would be killed for the sins of the world. The other was Messiah ben David (son of David)-the victorious Messiah who would bring Israel to glory, fulfilling the role of king and would live forever. So, in keeping with the two Messiah concept, yet a bit confused about the manner in which Jesus appeared, John asks if they are to be seeking another Messiah as well. You see, when you are in a Roman prison, this is a great time to have Messiah ben David to show up-to kick the tuchus of the Romans and bring Israel to its kingdom glory. This is no time for Messiah ben Joseph-the Messiah who will be killed as a sacrifice.

Jesus does something that is fascinating to me. He quotes the prophet Isaiah as He answers the question by quoting the passage that might best be attributed to the victorious Messiah ben David and Jesus adds a curious act to the list of what the Messiah will do-the raising of the dead. There are not two Messiahs! Both of these concepts of Messiah are all wrapped up into one-His name is Jesus. The only possible way for the two messiahs to be brought into one is the resurrection of the dead. "Messiah ben Joseph" must come, be sacrificed and die as the Lamb of God for the sins of the world and "Messiah ben David" must come and reign as king forever on planet earth. The only possible way for that to happen is to have the Messiah come to be sacrificed for the sins of the world (the first coming of Jesus), be resurrected by God and someday come again to reign forever (the second coming of Jesus).

So Jesus' answer here is listen to what I am saying and watch what I am doing and then you'll know the Messiah completely! The same is true for us today! Jesus is the Messiah-our Deliverer from the sin that separates us from ourselves, others and God-and He is the only way we will ever make it out of here alive!

Matthew 10:40-42

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40 ``He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 41 ``He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. 42 ``And whoever, in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.''

In this fresh and direct passage regarding being a disciple of Jesus and what it is going to cost, Jesus turns the subject toward the great reward that will come to those who receive or welcome these disciples into their lives and homes. He uses "receives" (welcomes) 8 times and speaks of "reward" 3 times.

"When Jesus said this, he was using a way of speaking which the Jews regularly used. The Jew always felt that to receive a person's envoy or messenger was the same as to receive the person himself. To pay respect to an ambassador was the same as to pay respect to the king who had sent him. To welcome with love the messenger of a friend was the same as to welcome the friend himself. The Jew always felt that to honor a person's representative was the same as to honor the person whose representative he was. This was particularly so in regard to wise men and to those who taught God's truth.

NOTE that all 4 players in salvation are present in this scenario: 1-There is God out of whose love the whole process of salvation began. 2-There is Jesus who brought the message to men. 3-There is the human messenger-the prophet who speaks, the good (righteous) man who is an example & the disciple who is the learner-who passes it on. 4-There is the believer who welcomes God's message and messengers and therefore find life for their souls.

NOTE: FIRST-We cannot all be prophets, but the one who gives God's messenger the simple gift of hospitality will receive the same reward as the prophet he blesses! SECOND-We cannot all be shining examples of goodness and righteousness, but the one who helps a good man to be good receives a good man's reward! THIRD-We cannot all teach the child or learner (young believer), but we can all serve the child.

NOTE it is the simplest of things that will be rewarded with great reward! To simply give a cup of cold water only to a little one is noticed and rewarded by God!

Although it is often downplayed, there are many who give of their time, service or money to keep a ministry going or keep a prophet, a teacher, a righteous man or keep a young one in the faith who is learning toward continuing this process. Jesus is saying that within the kingdom there are many roles to play and they will not go unnoticed, but will be specifically and specially rewarded. You will be rewarded with the same reward by which you received the messengers of Jesus!

Matthew 10:24-39

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Here we come to the "fine print" of discipleship! These are the toughest words about the cost of being a disciple of Jesus. This is boot camp, pure and simple! The drill sergeant is Jesus.

I see this section as revolving around one question-"Who controls your life?"

1. Does fear control your life? 24 ``A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. 25 ``It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household! 26 ``Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 ``What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. 28 ``Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 ``Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 ``But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 ``So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

The prophet Micah spoke of this in His day: Micah 7:6 - For the son dishonors the father, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.

The Jewish Talmud (commentary on the Scriptures) connects such family disloyalty to the time of Messiah: (Soncino Talmud 49b) - In the footsteps of the messiah, insolence will increase and honor dwindle; the vine will yield its fruit [abundantly] but wine will be dear; the government will turn to heresy and there will be none [to offer them] reproof; the meeting-place [of scholars] will be used for immorality; Galilee will be destroyed, Gablan desolated, and the dwellers on the frontier will go about [begging] from place to place without anyone to take pity on them; the wisdom of the learned will degenerate, fearers of sin will be despised, and the truth will be lacking; youths will put old men to shame, the old will stand up in the presence of the young, a son will revile his father, a daughter will rise against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man's enemies will be the members of his household; the face of the generation will be like the face of a dog, a son will not feel ashamed before his father. So upon whom is it for us to rely? Upon our father who is in heaven.

This is an amazing observation from the Jewish point of view! YOU ONLY HAVE THE GOD OF GODS WHO CARES MOST FOR YOU TO FEAR!

2. Does your lifestyle control you? 32 ``Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 ``But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

To confess is literally to "say the same thing" about something. Here it is to confess Jesus-to say the same things as Jesus-to love, think, act and live like Jesus throughout your life. Your lifestyle is all about your identification with Jesus!

IF YOU CONFESS JESUS, HE WILL CONFESS YOU; IF YOU DENY HIM, HE WILL DENY YOU!

3. Do your family members and friends control you? 34 ``Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 ``For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; 36 and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD. 37 ``He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

WHEN YOU LOVE JESUS MOST, YOU'LL LOVE YOUR FAMILY BEST!

4. Does owning and directing your own life control you? 38 ``And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 ``He who has found his life will lose it and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.

Here we are back to a familiar issue-TRUST. Am I willing to lose my life-dreams, aspirations, comforts, in order to find my life in Jesus? We're back to "ruthless trust" as Brennan Manning defines it. It's coming to the understanding that we are created to be dependent people. If we place our dependence upon our Creator, then we will experience the most fulfilling life we could ever live. Everything works best when we are plugged into the original intent of our lives-to be like Jesus!

WHEN YOU ENTRUST ALL THAT YOU ARE INTO ALL THAT HE IS, YOU FIND THAT HE IS ALL THAT YOU WILL EVER NEED!

Matthew 10:16-23

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REMEMBER, this is a special time in history in which you have the long-awaited presence of Messiah Jesus, filled with the Spirit, approved by the Father, bearing direct witness to the people of Israel. The Messiah was being presented to the Jewish people as the One Who was promised. They only had a prophecy and a promise before (Sodom and Gomorrah), but now is the real deal.

The ancient Jewish writings about the time of the Messiah all included this thinking of difficult times-persecution, division of friends and family-all over a person's response to this powerful, personal witness. Jesus warns this first round of direct witnesses what they will face and what they must do. [I personally believe that this same context of trouble and therefore the same required response from His disciples will happen again just prior to the Messiah's return.]

16 ``Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 ``But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; 18 and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 ``But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. 20 ``For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

We are to be as "shrewd as serpents and harmless as doves". "Shrewd" has the idea of a wisdom that sees through all that might be deceptive. "Harmless" is a unique word meaning to be unmixed, pure as with metal or wine-no mixture of deviousness. This is the same term Paul uses in his letter to the Philippians.

Philippians 2:12-16 - Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain.

I love the balance! We are to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling"-work out into your behavior the salvation that is in your heart. But he doesn't leave you all on your own. "For it is God which is at work in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." So, be "harmless", unmixed, pure and single-minded as you can be as you walk among the people who respond poorly or negatively to the presence of Messiah Jesus. "Shine as lights in the world" of darkness, "holding forth the word of life".

NOTE that Jesus says not to worry about what you will say when dragged into a difficult situation, but the Spirit of your Father will give you what you must say, when you need it. I am finding this to be a more useful principle than I had thought. I think I have prepared too much many times what I am going to say and not relied upon the Spirit of my Father to "speak in me." And as I have been practicing this principle, the words that I have been speaking are so powerful, appropriate, timely and pointed at the need of the moment!

21 ``Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 22 ``You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. 23 ``But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.

You may not have experienced a great physical persecution, but there will be a sorts of verbal persecution and false accusations against you. This will be found among those who are followers of the Messiah to discredit the witness of His existence and presence.

The intent here is that all of Israel will be faced with the witness of the longed-for Messiah by the time He would be clearly revealed to them. This is why Jesus sent these disciples only to the house of Israel in this opening mission. All others will come later, as we will see.

Salvation is not seen as a one-time, fix and you're in! Although I believe that your salvation is secure, I also know that there are situations where people turn away from God, never to return to Him. This is not a fear tactic, but a proof of genuineness. Salvation does not come to you so much because of your faith, but because of His grace-undeserved favor from God. No one will get into heaven except through the grace of God. Jesus wants us to be faithful in our response to this great grace.