Luke Chapter 7- With Jim Briggs Part #2

Hey, this is Jim Graham from the Masculine Journey Podcast, where we explore a relationship instead of religion every week. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few seconds. Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network. This is the Truth Network.

The following is part two of a two-part program. Today's episode features guest speaker, Professor Jim Briggs, Associate Director of Finding Purpose. Do you feel like you're on a religious treadmill? Do you feel like Christianity is just a system of rules and regulations?

I can do this, but I can't do that. Do you feel like your efforts to reach God, find God, and please God are futile? Do you feel like your faith is dead or alive? Today, Pastor Russ Andrews will walk us through Scripture to answer these questions. Join us on Finding Purpose, glorifying God by helping men find their purpose for living.

For more information and to connect with Russ Andrews and Finding Purpose, you can visit us online at findingpurpose.net or connect with us on Facebook. Now, let's listen to Russ Andrews as he teaches us how to be a Christian without being religious. Well, I want you to now take a look at Luke 3, 16 and 17, because we still want to ask this question, why is John so perplexed? Now, the picture here is John is on the banks of the River Jordan, and you remember people were coming from all over the countryside because they had heard about John out in the wilderness, and he was baptizing people with water.

And here's something interesting that he says here that gives us maybe a clue as to why he's a bit perplexed. He says, he will baptize you, he's talking about the one to come, with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear the threshing floor and to gather the wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.

Did you get that? The chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. You know, throughout his ministry, John has been calling people to repentance in view of this coming wrath of God. That's what he's been preaching all this time. Repent, for the kingdom is at hand.

Repent, because God's judgment is coming. And now Jesus, from all reports that he's getting, is going from town to town and he's preaching love and mercy and forgiveness, and he's healing people. Well, do you see why John was a bit perplexed? What Jesus was doing didn't look at all like what John thought the Messiah would do when he came.

So here's the issue. He believed Jesus was the Christ. That was clear from his earlier testimony. But in John's understanding, God would send his Messiah to purify Israel and to wipe out her enemies and to establish the new kingdom. So John had preached judgment, but Jesus now was preaching love and mercy, and he even had helped a Roman soldier, the enemy of Israel. So John was very, very confused. Jesus wasn't anything like what John was expecting.

I think this is kind of interesting here. I think doubt may be the wrong word when we talk about doubt. I don't think John doubted Jesus at all. I just think that he didn't understand what Jesus was doing. And so, as I said, he went to Jesus.

It wasn't a question of who, but of how. So John just didn't understand how all this was going to take place. Well, so he goes to Jesus and he says, are you the one to come? Well, that leads to the next part in our story where John's disciples arrive, and they arrive just at a time when Jesus is healing many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits. He's restored the sight of the blind. And the answer to John's question comes really in two parts.

The first part is the exciting answer, an exciting answer. He says, go and tell John what you have seen and heard. The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up.

The poor have good news preached to them. That's verse 22. Well, we might expect Jesus would try to reassure John by telling him that, hey, don't worry, judgment is coming. But instead, he sends the disciples back with reports on these miracles that he's performing. And you know, quite frankly, the list of miracles that he's been performing are very much like the miracles he's already been performing.

So this report to John is really nothing new, but why is this such an exciting answer? Well, because it's interesting, one, that Jesus is not rebuking John for expressing his doubt. Rather, he gives John the prophet a gentle little reminder of God's Word about what the coming Messiah, what he would do. He's essentially quoting from Isaiah, and I want, if you will, let's take a little journey. I want you to first turn to Isaiah 35. Now, Isaiah is towards the middle of your book, the middle of the Bible. You go from Psalms right in the middle of the book, and then Proverbs, and then Ecclesiastes, and then Song of Solomon, then you get to Isaiah. Go to Isaiah 35. Isaiah wrote this 700 years before Jesus' birth, and listen to some of the words here. See if you can pick out some of the things that Jesus is trying to use to explain why he's doing what he's doing. Say to those who have an anxious heart, be strong.

Fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance and with recompense of God. He will come and save you. Then the eyes, listen, the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. And then the lame man will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. So Isaiah here is saying that the Messiah would do everything that Jesus was doing, everything that Jesus had just reported.

But I also want you to notice this bombshell in verse 4. Behold, your God will come with vengeance and the recompense of God. Who will open blind eyes?

Who will heal the lame? God. God's going to do these things. What Jesus is showing him through this reminder is that Jesus is, in fact, God. Well, what about the vengeance, right? We read that part about the vengeance. Behold, your God will come with vengeance and with the recompense of God.

What about the vengeance, this passage says, that God will bring? Well, Jesus had come, but he was nothing like what John thought. Nothing seemed to have changed. The enemies of Israel were still completely in power, right?

The Romans were there. I mean, John is actually in prison, inherits prison, and it seems like nothing has changed at all. All those who oppose God are still in power.

They haven't been punished. And this kingdom that John had been talking about, the kingdom that is at hand, it's a new kingdom. It doesn't seem to have arrived yet. Well, let's take another look in Isaiah. Go to Isaiah 61, and we're going to look at Isaiah 61, 1-2. And you may recall, as you're flipping there, you may recall that this was the passage that Jesus read in the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth. You remember that?

That was back in chapter 4, so that was a few weeks ago. But Jesus had read this really to show that this prophecy in Scripture was being fulfilled through his ministry. And again, as we take a look at this, I want you to read, or at least pick out, the things in this prophecy that are reflecting the very things that Jesus is doing. So it says, the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring, here it is, good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

Right? So that's a familiar passage. We studied that in chapter 4. And indeed, Jesus is preaching to the poor. He's preaching good news. But it's easy to see why John has some doubt here, too, right? Because it also says that he was there to proclaim liberty to the captives. He was there to open the prison of those who are bound. Where was John?

In prison. So, this is an exciting answer, but it's also an incomplete answer. Jesus seems to be fulfilling only part of this prophecy. Jesus was telling John that he was doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing.

The very miracles, in fact, that were causing John such a problem were confirming that Jesus was, in fact, the Messiah. And, you know, even today, when so many biblical prophecies have been fulfilled, we have to acknowledge that prophecy can be pretty confusing. Prophets, you see, look at the future like we look at a mountain range. Now, when I was a young boy, I lived in East Tennessee, and from our back porch we could look out and we could see the Great Smoky Mountain. And so if you were standing on my back porch, you could see what looked like just a long and giant mountain spread out across the horizon.

It just looked like one. But if I were to go to the first mountain and climb it and got to the top, I would quickly find out that it wasn't one long, continuous mountain. But stretching out to the horizon behind that first mountain, there were more mountains, there were more ridges, and there were valleys in between, and they went as far as the eye could see. And so this is what is happening with this biblical prophecy. The prophets of the Old Testament really were seeing all of the future, but they were looking at it like a mountain range.

And really what God had done for John the Baptist, from where John the Baptist stood, God had granted him a very clear perspective of the closest mountains of Jesus' miracles and preaching. But he had no clear idea of how the distant future events would spread out, when they would happen. This is what's called prophetic perspective. So when we look at prophecy, very often we see a lot of things that will happen. Some of those things, as I said, have already happened.

Some of those things happened when Jesus came, and some of those things won't happen until Jesus returns. And it's important to remember, too, about prophecy, that prophecy is not a haphazard gift. Prophecy is not based on uncertain data, like, say, a weather forecast. You know, you can predict the weather, and they do often, and you get prepared for the snowstorm, and then you wake up that morning and guess what?

It didn't happen. That's imperfect data, and they're predicting what's going to happen. Prophecy is not a prediction like that. Prophecy is God's Word.

God's Word is a sure thing. And Dr. Hugh Ross, who's an astrophysicist and a Christian apologist, actually writes that there are approximately 2,500 prophecies in the Bible, about 80 percent of which have been fulfilled perfectly. Libraries, as you know, are filled with books that contain information surrounding historic events that we read. And I'm a history buff.

I like to read, in particular, biographies of past presidents, and as I read those, I see all the facts about their lives and all they accomplished and all they did, and I sort of take those as true. But also, we know that sometimes history can be written and it's incorrect, and we can find out later as the discovery of some new documents or new research that's been done, that that history that we thought was true was maybe not quite true. Well, God's Word isn't like that at all. Biblical prophecy, unlike our history book, biblical prophecy is history written in advance.

History written in advance. And this is because it's God's Word. Right? We trust God's Word. God's Word is inerrant. God knows all things. He knows the future. He knows the past. He knows the present.

He knows everything that's going to happen. And so, if He's writing about the future, it's almost as if it's already happened. In fact, it is as it's almost as it's already happened. This is really the bedrock, too, of Christian hope. You know, as Christians, we have hope. We talk about hope all the time. But it's not a hope-so kind of hope in the way that the world talks about hope. It's a know-so kind of hope because it's based on God's Word. As Stefan just said a little while ago, the bedrock of our faith.

Right? Everything can be built on God's Word because it's a sure thing. And we can have absolute confidence, therefore, in what God's inerrant Word says about future works because it's His story. Well, John the Baptist didn't get all the facts correct, or did not get all the facts about Jesus correct, but there will be a judgment. It was just the fact that he was unclear about the timing. So what he saw Jesus doing was in prophecy, was actually part of Isaiah's prophecy.

John would have known that, but he also saw something else that would happen later, and so he was just unclear about the timing. Jesus will fulfill all Scripture according to His timeline, not ours, not John. And as we look at current world events and we see the swift decline of our culture all around us, like John the Baptist, we may actually grow impatient, maybe even frustrated with what the Lord is doing or not doing. But we must not give in to that frustration.

We must not grow discouraged. You know, we should be thankful that the Lord is gracious and merciful and slow to anger and great and loving kindness, according to Psalm 145 verse 8. We must rejoice that the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient, listen, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

That's 2 Peter 3 15. That is good news for you and me. That's good news for our neighbors who don't believe yet. That's good news for our co-workers, maybe a family member that you've been working on, that you've been praying for all these years. God is patient. He's not just taking His time because He's kicking back and He's lazy or... No! God is patient, not wanting any to perish. And so He's giving you and me time to continue to preach the gospel, to tell people about Jesus.

Well, the doubts that John wears experienced are not unlike those that you and I struggle with from time to time, right? Each of us knows the disappointment when we see our hopes and dreams dashed. Many of us have prayed fervently that God would bring about certain results in our life, only to be disappointed. Maybe you planned to get married and you haven't yet.

Maybe you planned to have children and you found you can't. Maybe you planned on that sweet job and you haven't heard anything. What's going on, God?

Maybe you planned on retirement and you just got news that shows that your retirement is going to take a little longer. Well, what do we do when that happens? Like John, we wonder what God is doing. We might even be filled with doubt. Why doesn't Jesus act the way we want Him to act? Jesus, are you the one to come? Yes, Jesus said. Just look at what I'm doing. Look at the evidence that proves that I am the Messiah.

Don't be discouraged that I'm not following your plan. Keep in mind the many promises in the Old Testament will be fulfilled only when I return in glory. Well, John's messengers left. Perhaps some of the crowd were wondering about John and whispering about the fact that he was still in prison and Jesus now turns to the crowd and He goes through a series of questions that I think are important. They're very telling. You know, when you look at these questions, sometimes it looks like these questions are trying to help us to understand that John was a very important man, that we need to listen to him.

But as you read these questions, you realize that Jesus is really talking about Himself. What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in the king's courts.

Verse 25. What did you go out to see? Did you go out to see a pastor who would sway to every prevailing idea of the culture? Easily bendable?

Easily pliable? Did you go out to see somebody who was dressed in fancy clothes? Had a great social following? Was influential?

No, of course not. It's not like you went out into the wilderness. It's important to understand the reason behind these questions. As I said, he isn't trying to convince his audience that John was a great man. After all, he's still answering the question, are you the one? Jesus gets right to the heart of the issue with a penetrating question. Why or what did you go out into the wilderness to see? A prophet? Verse 26.

Yeah, yeah. You did go out to see a prophet, and I tell you, more than a prophet. What does it mean that John was more than a prophet? Well, the people hadn't heard from a prophet in over 400 years. Jesus explains what he means by saying, this is the one about whom it is written, I will send my messenger ahead of you who will prepare your way before you. You see, John wasn't just a prophet. He was the long-awaited prophet that would be the forerunner to the Messiah.

Look why this is such a powerful answer. Look at the last book of the Old Testament in Malachi 3 verse 1. See if you can see what Jesus is trying to say here.

I will send my message who will prepare the way before... This is the Lord speaking before me. Jesus said they went out into the wilderness to hear the final prophet who was pointing to the Lord.

What was the point? Well, if Jesus or if John the Baptist is the last of the prophets who would go before the Lord, what does that tell you about Jesus? Well, then Jesus says something very astonishing. He says, I tell you, among those born of women, there is none greater than John. Yet, the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. That's verse 28.

The point? If you belong to the kingdom of heaven, you have more spiritual privileges than even John had. Again, this is not about John.

What does it say about Jesus? Well, the least of the kingdom of heaven is greater than John the Baptist. Then how great is the king? And more than that, how great is the king? So you see these verses are really not so much about John the Baptist, but they're really meant to reveal who Jesus Christ is.

Here's the question. Jesus, are you the one? Well, have you been given enough evidence to determine who Jesus is?

Is Jesus who he claims to be? Have you responded to these facts that Luke has presented? You know, this passage goes on to say that the religious leaders rejected John the Baptist and his message of repentance, and they also rejected Jesus and God's purpose for themselves.

Jesus compares these leaders to ill-tempered children turning their nose up at every suggestion that their friends make about games that they might play. They rejected John for his austere lifestyle and preaching of repentance and judgment that, hey, they also rejected Jesus for preaching forgiveness and mercy to sinners and joyfully attending their feast. But, verse 29, all the people, even the tax collectors, it said when they heard Jesus' word, acknowledged that God's way was right. They declared God just because they had been baptized by John. Well, why did some reject John's baptism and Jesus' message? Choosing foolishly to go their own way.

This is what many people do today. While others, including tax collectors, embraced God's way by accepting Jesus' words. Both of them had the same amount of evidence. Both of them had the knowledge.

So what was the problem? Well, the Pharisees and the scribes, thinking themselves wise, refused to submit to God. Verse 35 says that true wisdom, true wisdom, which is God's way, is proved right by those who received John's baptism and accepted the words of Jesus. Jesus, are you the one? Well, where do you stand tonight? You've had all the evidence. You've been in Bible study all these many weeks.

You've been reading the same Bible I have. Where do you stand tonight on this crucial question? Listen, are you still investigating the evidence? Do you still have some doubt?

Do you still wonder if this could be true? Well, first of all, welcome. Good to have you here tonight. Secondly, keep coming. And third, as John already demonstrated, take those thoughts, those questions that you have, take them to Jesus. Take them to God's word.

That's where you're going to find the answers. Now, if you're a believer tonight and going through a difficult time, maybe you're disappointed, maybe your life hasn't turned out like you thought it would. Maybe you're asking Jesus, Jesus, why does it have to be so hard?

Can't you make it easier for me? Are you tempted to fall away? Well, remember that many of the promises in the Old Testament, they're not for now, but they're really for the new creation. And so have hope. We talked about that hope.

It's a no-so kind of a hope. Go to Jesus with your doubt. Go to Jesus with your concerns, and He will be faithful to open your eyes and open your heart. You know, He's already done it. He's already opened your heart to Him in the first place. Remember what He did.

Be convinced that He is the One. And know, verse 28, that being the least in the kingdom is far greater than anything else that you will know or have or do in this life. Oh, Father God, what a privilege to be able to come to You on this night to look at Your Word, Father, to be together as brothers, to spend time in fellowship as we go now to our discussion groups. Father, we thank You that we could hear this Word tonight. We ask that as we consider the evidence, as we take into consideration all that we have learned so far as we've studied Luke's gospel, Father, we pray that You would do a work in our hearts. Father, we pray that it wouldn't just be a collection of facts. Father, that it would be rock-solid evidence that Jesus is who He says He is. And then, Father, with that in mind, that we have the confidence, we have the assurance, and Father, that we have the grace to be able to follow Him, to take up our cross daily and follow Him all the days of our life, realizing that one day, even as the least in Your kingdom, we will be greater than anything in this world. And it's in Jesus' precious name that we pray.

Amen. Being a Christian is not about being religious, but about having a dynamic, alive relationship with Jesus Christ. You've been listening to Finding Purpose with Pastor Russ Andrews, glorifying God by helping men find their purpose for living. You can discover more about finding your purpose in life by checking out the resources at findingpurpose.net or connect to Finding Purpose on Facebook. Pastor Russ would also like to extend a special invitation for you to join him and over 300 other local men to study God's Word together every Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in downtown Raleigh. Find out more at findingpurpose.net. This is the Truth Network.