When Jesus Turned Up the Heat, Part 1

Today on Insight for Living, an alarming message from Chuck Swindoll. I don't know the last time you thought about it, but it does plague me at times that the great majority of people living today openly reject the message of Christ. This message of hope and reassurance is denied by and rejected by and attacked by the very people Jesus came to reach and to touch. Down through the centuries, religious artwork has often depicted Jesus with a gentle smile, welcoming eyes, and perhaps holding a small lamb.

He appears tender, meek, and mild. We likely prefer these docile images of Jesus because it suits our self-interest in serving a God who is compassionate and forgiving. Well today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll reminds us that these snapshots of Jesus are true but fail to illustrate the broader range of his character. There are moments when God's justice is dramatically displayed in anger and rebuke. Chuck titled today's message, When Jesus Turned Up the Heat. We turn to the Word of Life today in Matthew chapter 11 and I'll be reading 15 verses right in the core of that chapter, not easy to understand and I can assure you not easy to preach. I'm referring to Matthew 11, 12 through 26. Matthew 11 verse 12 begins, And from the time John the baptizer began preaching until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing. That could be rendered, the kingdom of heaven has suffered from violence and violent people are attacking it. For before John came, all the prophets and all and the law of Moses look forward to this present time and if you are willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah, the one the prophet said would come. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.

To what can I compare this generation? It's like children playing a game in the public square, they complain to their friends, we played wedding songs and you didn't dance. So we played funeral songs and you didn't mourn. For John didn't spend his time eating and drinking and you say he's possessed with a demon. The son of man on the other hand feasts and drinks and you say he's a glutton and a drunkard and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners but wisdom is shown to be right by its results. Then Jesus began to denounce the towns where he had done so many of his miracles because they had not repented of their sins and turned to God.

What sorrow awaits Corzine and Bethsaida? For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse. I tell you, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on judgment day than you. And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven?

No. You will go down to the place of the dead for if the miracles I did for you had been done in wicked Sodom, it would still be here today. I tell you, even Sodom will be better off on judgment day than you. At that time, Jesus prayed this prayer, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way. May the Lord open our eyes to understand and our hearts to accept what He has written in His Word. You're listening to Insight for Living.

To study the book of Matthew with Chuck Swindoll, be sure to download his Searching the Scriptures studies by going to insightworld.org slash studies. And now the message from Chuck titled When Jesus Turned Up the Heat. There are some days I would love for someone else to preach in my place.

This happens when I come to a section of scripture that is complex and hard to understand. It would be so convenient to call in sick. Now I could be recovering at home watching a game on television as you're down here laboring over this passage. Remind me of a humorous story I learned years ago of a brilliant geologist who was really a recluse and he wrote many books. He was sort of the star in his field. His discipline was envied by many because of his mental acumen and he therefore sort of stayed to himself but the public continued to want to hear from him personally and he got under a little pressure to finally put together a summer full of speaking engagements and he went from one to another to another and yet another. A house was always packed, a crowd was large and he was often just really small standing up front as he would stand and deliver these flawless lectures on this complicated subject. But about halfway through the journey he got really sick of hearing himself giving the same old talk and he said to his driver one day, he said, you know, I am so weary of the same talk. The driver said I've sat through every one of them, I could do it for you. He said pull over at the next service station so they pulled in, they exchanged clothing and he dressed up like the scholar and the scholar dressed up like the driver, put on the cap and got behind the wheel and drove into the next town. They didn't know any difference because they had never seen the man before, introduced himself and finally walked into this massive hall packed with people. And the driver stood up behind the microphone and delivered it flawlessly.

It was without one error. And the scholar dressed up like the driver standing on the side looking and smiling thinking how great is this, we're going to do this again. When he finished the crowd just exploded with applause, they stood up and the master of ceremonies walked back to the mic and said everyone be seated, I'm going to do something I've never done before, we're going to open the floor for questions. Do any of you have any questions for the scholar tonight? And one man down front stood up and said yeah, I've been wondering for a long time, how do you justify your radiocarbon dating method in light of the universal deluge that abruptly changed all geological specimens from the antediluvian era until then on?

And by the way, you might mention how that impacted the laws of thermonuclear dynamics. Small beads of perspiration broke out in the forehead and the man walked up to the mic and said that's such a simple question, I'm going to let my driver answer it for you today. When I come to Matthew chapter 11, I don't think anyone would say it's simple.

And I can't find a driver. So I'll give it my best. What's the subject that Jesus is dealing with? He's the Messiah and he's offered the kingdom of heaven to people who don't want it. It all began with John the baptizer, you may recall, who came out of the wilderness as the forerunner of the Christ, of the Messiah. And he did his job well. He stepped up, faithfully carried out his responsibilities and then went a little too far with Herod Antipas and as a result, you may remember from our last time, he was thrown in prison.

And there he stayed. And now Jesus on his own, having talked about how great John is, addresses further the subject that these people were rejecting. Now who's his audience? Well you won't find them mentioned by name in verse 12 where our passage begins, but you will see them appear at the end of verse 7 or right in the middle. John's disciples were leaving and as that happened, Jesus began talking about him, look at it, to the crowds. So the people he's speaking to would be sort of a mishmash of men and women, some following him to get their bellies full of food, others coming out of sheer curiosity and there were others who were really wondering what this was all about and certainly there were skeptics who said, we'll have none of this, who can even say for sure he's Messiah.

In spite of the fact that Jesus had done the work of Messiah and has spoken the words of Messiah, they wanted nothing to do with it. So his people who are listening are for the most part unbelievers. And as I read the verses before us, I get the feeling that Jesus takes off the gloves and turns up the heat.

He's put up with them for a while and now it's time for them to hear it straight from his mouth. They are responsible with the information he has been giving them and they must respond or they will never know the joy of what he has to offer them. He says in verse 12, from the time John the baptizer began preaching until now, the kingdom of heaven, I believe it could be read, has suffered from violence by violent people.

It has not been well received, it has not been embraced. There are those who have viciously attacked the message and want nothing to do with it. Before John came, all the prophets and the law of Moses looked forward to this present time.

They had spoken of it, they had written about it and now that we find ourselves in the here and now, you want nothing to do with it. And if you're willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah, meaning he speaks as one like unto Elijah, the one the prophet said would come, anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand. In other words, you will need to have the same kind of forceful devotion to follow the teaching that the majority of you in your own vicious and forceful way are rejecting the message and denying what I am offering. It's a deeply emotional and passionate word of warning. In fact, he says in so many ways, all who hear these words must heed them.

I think there's a word for our own times in this as well. I don't know the last time you thought about it, but it does plague me at times that the great majority of people living today openly reject the message of Christ. Some simply shun it and walk away, others viciously attack it, as we have seen in terrorist attacks when the terrorists tell the Christians to stand at their feet and to deny Christ. And those courageous enough to do so stand and refusing to deny him are shot on the spot. This is nothing of ancient history.

This is today as well. This message of hope and reassurance in Jesus' case, the kingdom of heaven that is literally offered to the Jews is denied by and rejected by and attacked by the very people Jesus came to reach and to touch. We witness the same today. He goes on. Not only is there the vicious and violent attack on the message that he offers, please observe that there is sort of a game played and he refers to them as that. Look at verse 16.

To what can I compare this generation? Now read carefully. You're like children playing a game in the public square, complaining to their friends. We played wedding songs and you didn't dance. We played funeral songs and you didn't mourn. I think it's a direct slam against John the baptizer who came out of the wilderness looking weird, sounding strange, but a message that cut like a hot knife through butter as he told him to repent, as he spoke of the one who was the lamb of God taking away the sin of the world. He said to himself, I am not the one, but I come to tell you of the one. And John faithfully did that.

All you want to do was play your wedding game and John wouldn't sing and dance. And then I've come along and I've declared the message and you want me to follow along your plan for fasting and mourning and I don't do that. We don't live our lives according to your rules, but according to God's rules. And you're like petulant, pouting children. You want nothing to do with it because we're not doing it your way. It's clearly a slam against the baptizer and the Messiah. You want us to play your games and we won't. And because we don't, look at what they did next. They called him names. Did you notice that when we read it earlier?

Verse 18, John didn't spend his time eating and drinking. So you gave him a name. He's a demoniac. No one dressed like that would be in his right mind.

No one sounding like that would be a mature adult. He's weird. Must be a demon.

He's demonized. And then I came and Matthew had a party and I sat down at his table for the meal with all of Matthew's friends, a mixture of unbelievers that Matthew once shouldered with and had a career alongside of. And he wanted me to be there and so I came among them and yep, some were outcasts. Yes, some drank too much.

Some used words that you don't consider worth hearing. And I sat among them, but you had no idea of my message to them. However, you're busy calling me a glutton and a drunkard.

All I am is a barfly, an inebriated drunk. That's how you see me. These are strong words spoken to those people and they're standing there exposed. You want things your way and you will not conform to this agenda.

I can assure you, your agenda means nothing to me. What I have to say is a message for all of you to hear and heed. And you've criticized it.

You've walked away from it. These are serious charges. What a series of rebukes. All of those today who think of Jesus as meek and mild, haven't really digested Matthew 12, Matthew 11, 12 to 26.

These are strong words. Because they would not heed his message, he told them the truth about what they faced. And he isn't through. He hasn't finished. Looking at verse 20, he begins to denounce towns that had seen a lot of him and watched him work and heard him teach and witnessed his miracles.

He names them for us. Look at what the verse says. Jesus began to denounce the towns, note this, where he had done so many of his miracles.

Because they hadn't repented of their sins and turned to God. Woe to you, Corzine. Woe to you, Bethsaida. Woe to you, Capernaum. The words are repeated and they are anguishing words of sorrow, not anger.

He's heartbroken. Now, maybe about now you're missing it because we're not familiar with these places. So this gives me a chance to turn to the maps.

I've just been waiting for this opportunity recently and now we have a chance to do it. Go back to the map of the ministry of Jesus. Okay? In the back of your Bible. I see three people turning to the back of their Bibles.

Come on, folks. Turn back there, take a look at the map and I'll show you the towns and then I'll explain why I call them the triangle of evangelicalism. It's an evangelical triangle of towns. When you're at the right map, you'll see three large bodies of water. The Mediterranean is on your left to the west. The Dead Sea is the larger body of water inland down south in Judea. If you go north up the Jordan River, you'll come to the small body of water called the Sea of Galilee. Look at the Sea of Galilee. Let your eyes study the north end. Look up at the top of the Sea of Galilee. You will find Chorazin, you will find Bethsaida, and you will find Capernaum. You see them?

See them? He's talking about those three towns. Now why? Because this was the area where Jesus spent much of his time and performed many of his miracles. You know what's interesting? Nowhere else do we read anything significant or hardly the name Chorazin and Bethsaida.

Only here. Now we read of Capernaum because that's sort of his home away from home. It's where Peter lived and his mother-in-law lived with him. It's where Jesus called the disciples along the shore of the northernmost part of the Sea of Galilee. It's where Jesus kept returning to after he had done ministry elsewhere. So we read of Capernaum, but Bethsaida and Chorazin are virtually unknown.

Why is that significant? Well, I'm reminded of the last verse in the Gospel of John. Many other things Jesus did and taught which are not contained in this book. If they were all recorded right down to the last detail, the world could not contain the books. So to put it bluntly, we know much less than we know more of what Jesus did and said than we wish we did.

We really know very little, only what is revealed in the Gospels and mentioned from time to time in the letters. You're listening to Insight for Living. Chuck Swindoll titled today's study in Matthew 11, When Jesus Turned Up the Heat. To learn more about the ministry of Insight for Living, please visit us online at insightworld.org. It's alarming to hear these words of Jesus as he faced off with an audience who failed to understand the fragility of life and the cost of discipleship. And there's much more from this passage we need to explore together. At Insight for Living, we remain committed to teaching these principles, no matter how difficult or unpopular they might be.

In fact, we resolve to take these commandments of Jesus far beyond our own borders, where men and women have less access to clear Bible teaching than we do. It's a mission to bring the hope and light of the Gospel to all 195 countries of the world that we're calling Vision 195. Greatfully, thousands in our listening family have joined us. In reality, it's their financial support that provides the resources needed to bring Chuck's teaching first to our neighborhood, second to our country, and finally to nations far beyond. To join Chuck Swindoll and Insight for Living in Vision 195, we invite your financial partnership. Giving a donation is made simple when you use the Insight for Living mobile app or by going online to insight.org. To speak with one of our friendly ministry reps, just call us. If you're listening in the U.S., dial 1-800-772-8888.

That's 1-800-772-8888. We appreciate your generous support. And then while you have extra time over the weekend, take a look at the online interactive guide called Searching the Scriptures. In about 15 minutes, you can read through the key ideas of Chuck's message and the biblical text. If you want to dig deeper, there are plenty of questions to answer. And you can readily learn more about the historical context behind each passage and explore its relevance to your life today.

So to access these free online study notes, just follow the steps at insight.org slash studies. You've heard him teach about the Holy Land, using word pictures to make us feel like we're actually strolling through the old city. Learning about Jerusalem is fascinating for sure, but seeing the land of Israel with your own eyes is life-changing.

In fact, it's absolutely magnificent. And now you can see Israel with Chuck Swindoll and the gracious hosts and experts assembled by Insight for Living Ministries. Join us on an unforgettable 12-day tour, March 6 through 17, 2022. At special sites along the way, I will teach from God's Word. We'll worship at the Mount of Beatitudes and share the Lord's Table at the Garden Tomb. In fact, we'll sail the Sea of Galilee together, and we'll visit places where Jesus walked and taught.

To learn more, call 1-888-447-0444. Just imagine walking along those sacred sites and seeing the Bible come to life before your very eyes. Mark your calendar for March 6 through 17, 2022. And make your reservation by calling 1-888-447-0444.

Or go to insight.org slash events. Insight for Living Ministries Tour to Israel is paid for and made possible by only those who choose to attend. Join us when Chuck Swindoll continues to describe what happened when Jesus turned up the heat. Monday on Insight for Living. The preceding message, When Jesus Turned Up the Heat, was copyrighted in 2016 and 2021, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.