Jesus Confirmed His Kingdom
Book of Matthew Chapter 11
What is the truth, there is more effort necessary to be saved by grace than by works!
A life of faith is a life of self-denial! It is not easy, though God’s grace will prevent it being too difficult.
All the eager and enthusiastic followers of Jesus Christ must seize the kingdom and must win it as a prize of war.
In this sense, the Lord Jesus announced Himself as the Redeemer, who had come to save the world, to destroy the works of the devil, to annihilate the powers of evil, and to bring men from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light.
He reconciled men to God, gave them access to God, united them to Him as His dear children, and made His people one with God as He Himself is One with His Father.
We cannot therefore think we can just walk into Heaven without facing obstacles!
*****Mat 11:1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.
We know that Jesus had sent the 12 chosen disciples out to preach that the Kingdom of God is at hand.
They were to go to the Jews only at this time.
What did the Lord Jesus do at this time? He went and preached in their cities.
What was the key to the messages of the Lord?
Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
Isa 61:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Isa 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
We know that John the Baptist was locked up in prison because he preached the truth to the government of Israel.
To King Herod he said, it is unlawful by the Books of Moses for him to marry his brother's wife with whom he had committed adultery.
Herod had committed that sin and he locked away John the Baptist to shut his mouth.
This tactic is still in use today in many places.
What did the laws of Moses say?
Lev 18:16 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness.
Lev 20:21 And if a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless.
John was locked up and later beheaded in a trap setup by a wicked woman.
The disciples of John were a bit confused because John himself was dealing with some doubts.
*****Mat 11:2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
Mat 11:3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
Most of us will go through periods of doubt so we need to keep the truth of the Scriptures close to our heart.
We could say our doubts are wavering faith, which is dangerous if allowed to continue.
John had predicted the coming of Christ just as the Old Testament Prophets had foretold so John preached.
Mat 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
Mat 3:12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
The Lord Jesus had just begun His ministry, but what our Lord was providing was a means of salvation for the entire world and most of the Jews had a real problem with this.
They wanted a king that was like the Old Testament King David and who would free them from the tyranny of Rome.
Judgment would come later, but we can also say "Judgment" begins the moment people reject the truth of God, just as eternal life begins the moment, we accept the Lord Jesus Christ.
John was seeking a more visible proof that the Lord Jesus is the Messiah.
John wanted the Lord Jesus to proclaim that He was the Messiah and the things the Lord had already done were according to the Old Testament prophets.
The message of the Lord Jesus is still salvation at this time!
Psa 118:25 Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.
Psa 118:26 Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.
Psa 118:27 God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.
So Jesus began to answer them.
*****Mat 11:4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John "again" those things which ye do hear and see:
Mat 11:5 The blind receive their 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.
Jesus said, go show John what you have seen and what you have heard.
We should notice that word "again". It looks like John had ask for proof more than one time.
The healing miracles that Jesus had done were impossible for man to accomplish!
The sermons that Jesus had preached, He preached with authority like no one that had come before Him in the name of the Lord.
His birth place was known by most of them!
The virgin Mary was not accepted by many of the super religious but only by true believers.
Joh 8:41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
The many prophecies that had already been fulfilled by His life.
There was no doubt that Jesus was the Messiah, but none of the Jews had seen, that Jesus first came to save, and He would later return in "Judgment".
Luk 4:32 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.
Joh 8:51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
Joh 12:45 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.
Joh 12:46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
Joh 12:47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
Joh 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
Joh 12:49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
Joh 12:50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.
We either accept that the Word of God is true, or we will believe the lies of this world.
The biggest problem the world has, is that word "Gospel", they just do not want to understand it.
The word gospel means, "good news" or "good tidings"!
The "Good News" of salvation.
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
The world simply loves "bad news". This is why most news channels are accepted because they give nothing but bad news!
The Lord Jesus Christ was fulfilling Scripture just as it was written!
People just do not want to accept the Word of God as it is written and many of those call themselves believers!
So what do they believe?
Who are those who are blessed today?
*****Mat 11:6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
All the things that the Lord Jesus had done from the time He was a babe in Bethlehem, prove that He is the Messiah!
The Lord Jesus did not just profess to be the Messiah, He proved that He is the Messiah.
Some of the Apostles struggled in their faith also, but they soon believed when the Lord Jesus walked out of that tomb as prophesied!
Joh 14:8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
Joh 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
Joh 14:10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
Joh 14:11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.
Joh 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
The one thing, that many miss is that they struggled to believe that the Lord Jesus is the Messiah, but many more did affirm that there is truly a sovereign God.
Many today deny there is a Holy God, all the time bragging on their personal god!!!!!
Mother Earth, Earth Day, Allah, Buddha and much too many to name them all.
The Lord Jesus is exactly who He claims to be, and it would be a much better world if more people believed this fact!
I am not looking for a Messiah to come, I am looking for the Lord Jesus Christ to come again!
Joh 10:32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
Why did wicked people want to murder a man that never did anything bad?
Who can figure that one out?
Jesus said take the time to read the Bible and you will see!
Joh 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
Joh 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
Joh 5:41 I receive not honour from men.
Joh 5:42 But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.
If you take the time to study the Word of God, you will see that there could be no Messiah if it is not the Lord Jesus Christ.
People are waiting on a fairy tale while the truth stares them in the face!
Jesus then says, what were you looking for when you saw John the Baptist?
People were looking for the Messiah and John said it is not me, but many insisted that John could have been the Messiah.
*****Mat 11:7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
Mat 11:8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
Some people thought that John was wavering in his faith, but this is really not true.
John wanted to be sure that Jesus was the Messiah, if not then he still had much work to do.
When the Lord gives us a task to do, we are not finished with it until the Lord says we are finished with it!
John was not a wavering reed, but he was a man solid in his convictions!
John was not a man that dressed in fine clothes to impress the people, John was a man of discipline and self-denial.
John was the voice that said the true King is Coming.
John was the greatest of natural men, but not as great as the least of true believers.
John the Baptist was the last of the Prophets of days of the Law.
John came in the power of Elijah to proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ.
John was not afraid of Herod or of what Herod could do to him.
John did not preach for the applause of men nor did he weaken his sermon before the doubters.
John preached the message given to him by the Lord and he did not stop until he was beheaded and then his legacy continued as Jesus said.
John did not sway with every breeze of change as we see today in the modern church.
John stood firm on the Word of God.
John the Baptist was much more than a prophet!
John was the last of the priest in the line of Aaron and He passed that priesthood over to the Lord Jesus Christ!
*****Mat 11:9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.
Mat 11:10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
We must understand that the Old Testament pointed to the coming of Jesus Christ, the true Messiah. Christ and Messiah are the same word when it comes to the Lord Jesus.
John the Baptist said: "He is here". John prophesied of the salvation that comes by accepting that the Lord Jesus is truly that Messiah.
Joh 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Joh 1:36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!
What are we looking forward to?
Rev 22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
You see John the Baptist was himself a fulfillment of Prophecy with the job of preparing the way for the Lord and after he had done so, his ministry was complete and the world destroyed him as they did most all prophets of God, but not before they had preached the message of God!
Then the Lord Jesus bragged on John just a little bit.
***** Mat 11:11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a
greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Mat 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
Jesus said the John was the greatest of all-natural men, but true greatness comes only to those who are
"Born Again" into the family of God.
All those Old Testament Saints were at one time inferior to anyone who of God's saints by the work of Jesus Christ.
Gal 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
John was perfect by the works of the Law and there were others like him and none as great as those "justified" (already Judged) by the faith in Christ Jesus.
All those who insists upon justification by the Law are still under the curse from the time of Adam!
Tit 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
These things are not so hard to understand!
The preaching of John the Baptist was the signal for all mankind to press for the mark as Paul put it.
Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Far too many reject this truth!
Jesus Christ is still calling today, but He will not continue to do so for very much longer or He will have lied to His Church!
God does not lie!
As Christians we need to take this time to seize the Kingdom of God and it is prepared for us to do so with "faith" in the works of Christ!
John preached to repent, and this part of his preaching is true today! We must repent of our evil ways and Jesus Christ is the tool of that repentance and our example to follow!
John could not preach the cross because it had not happened.
John could not preach the resurrection because it had not taken place in his lifetime.
Today it is our privilege to know the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
All the called, of God are to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, no other message has the importance of this message!
John was the last of the true prophets of God!
We now have the completed Word of God which has replaced all prophets of God.
We do not need prophets anymore!
*****Mat 11:13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
Mat 11:14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.
Mat 11:15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Again the Lord Jesus says that John the Baptist was an end of an Age. The Age of the Law!
John was the bridge that connected prophecy to the fulfillment of prophecy when it comes to the Messiah!
Jesus Christ is that true Messiah, there is no other!
Heb 9:15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
John was that promised man that came in the power of Elijah, not Elijah but he was like Elijah.
Joh 1:21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
Joh 1:22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
Joh 1:23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.
Some believe John was the resurrected Elijah, but I believe Elijah has not returned as of yet, but will be one of the two witnesses of the 7-year Tribulation Period.
John did resemble Elijah in many ways, but he says so himself that he was not Elijah.
We know that all Scripture is given to us by the Holy Spirit.
2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Pe 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Jesus completes this passage by saying if our ears are working, we need to listen to what the Holy Spirit has to say, and this is said many more times.
If God says it one time, then it is enough, but when God repeats Himself then we had surely pay attention!
*****Mat 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Here is a personal invitation from the Lord Jesus Christ, the God of the Bible.
Christ pleads with those who have no other steps to take and who fill their journey is unbearable and over.
Christ pleads with those who are about to explode and cannot take any more of this world.
Christ does not mention what causes these things, because He has personally felt this kind of pressure.
Heb_4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Christ knows what we are going through!
You see it does not matter what we are going through, Jesus Christ is the answer to that thing!
This is a simple invitation that opens the door to great things and things that will last throughout eternity.
The solution Christ offers is rest. We can rest our weary soul when we know the Lord.
We see that Christ offers this rest only to those who want to learn from Him!
We must put some effort into knowing the Lord Jesus Christ!
We become over-burdened in this world.
We see that worldliness and carnality do not bring much pleasure and is not a lasting pleasure.
We must choose:
Heb 11:25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
We get tired of the power of sin in our lives.
We see that earthly possessions do not last.
We see that fame is just emptiness.
We see that power is just loneliness.
We see that religion is not what it is made out to be and just full of rituals that are meaningless.
We see rules and regulations that do nothing more than rob us of our freedoms.
Life in this world causes exhaustion.
Searching for the truth, but never coming to the truth leaves us empty.
Only the Lord Jesus and help us with these things in this life and He promises a great life that will last throughout eternity.
Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Let us just take on the yoke of Jesus.
*****Mat 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Mat 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
When Christ was upon this earth, He was meek and lowly, but He was not lacking in power.
God cares for those who love Him!
All the traits of God are perfect!
Yes, Jesus was meek and yes Jesus was lowly but He did not lack in power!
Jesus was perfect in in His understanding.
Jesus is perfect in His patience. (I Know this is true because He saved me!)
1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
Jesus will always offer encouragement and we must too!
Jesus, custom fits His yoke upon us, to match our problems and gives us the answer and help we truly need!
God made us so He knows how to custom fit our yoke!
To find the rest that God promises we just need to learn and labor under the leadership of our Savior and our Master!
Jesus is not a taskmaster He only requires obedience. After that, it is all downhill until we reach the Highest Hill of Heaven!
1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
1Jn 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
1Jn 5:5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
Amen
