The Greatest Prophet | Prepare The Way

Sermon Transcript:

(transcribed with AI)

Good morning. It is good to be here with you all. For those of you who might not know me, my name is Jonathan, privilege of being one of the pastors here. And if you have a Bible with you, let me invite you to open to the book of Matthew. Matthew chapter 11 is where we're gonna be. We're continuing on with this series called Prepare the Way. Getting ourselves ready, getting ourselves prepared for the coming of Christmas, and we want to get others ready as well, right? Really, it's about preparation, preparation for what's coming up, right? And there are times where we certainly don't feel prepared, right?

For some of you, maybe even this morning, you're thinking to yourself after watching all of that, I'm not really prepared to open my Bible, my head is just not quite there yet, alright, it will take a little bit to get there, alright, we'll do it. Right, maybe you've been unprepared going to someone's house, right? You realized when you got there, I'm supposed to bring dessert. I am showing up unprepared, right, you go to the gym, you forgot your clothes, you went for coffee or go to a restaurant and you forget your wallet. Right? Being unprepared can very often be kind of an embarrassing thing for us, right? We can be embarrassed, but the more important the event is, the more important it becomes to be prepared.

Probably one of the examples of me being the least prepared I've ever been was at a job interview. Not exactly a place you don't want to be prepared, and even worse, it was for the job I'd have. Alright? It was when I first was hired by Central, we're part of Central Community Church. I got hired at Central, and I had talked with Pastor Matt, who's the lead pastor. I had talked with him once before this, and he had basically just said, hey, this is what we're thinking about doing in Promontory. I said, oh, it sounds great. He said, would you want to meet up again and talk about it? I said, yeah, of course.

And so I showed up in a coffee shop, and I was met with Pastor Matt and Pastor Ron. And I probably should have clued in at this point, this is more than just coffee. But I didn't really think about it that way, and so we just started chatting and we're talking about church, we're talking about ministry, theology, preaching, all this sort of fun stuff, and then about halfway through the conversation, Pastor Ron looks at me and he goes, so how would you handle conflict between you and another staff member? I remember thinking, oh. Oh, this is not just a friendly conversation anymore. Why would you ask that question, oh this is a job interview.

And he started asking me more and more specific questions until I finally had to say, I'm sorry, I have no idea. So you were asking me very specific questions. What about our statement of faith, do you agree with, are there anything, I was like, I haven't even read it at this point. I am not prepared for this in any way. Now, they were very gracious, and that was not the last time I had to talk to them, and so they eventually let me know when the next interview was actually happening. But it's panic inducing not to be prepared, isn't it? It's not a fun thing to show up especially to an important event, not being prepared for what's happening.

In many ways, as we approach Christmas, we have a far greater event happening than a job interview. We have God Himself entering into our world, that is hardly a small or trivial thing, in fact, this is the greatest one of the greatest events on this earth. The entrance of God into our world, certainly we want to be prepared well for it. In fact, even God Himself was getting his people ready for the coming of Jesus long before. Right? Throughout the series we've been looking, as God is getting his people prepared with prophets hundreds of years before. Last week we looked at the birth of John the Baptist. Today what we're going to do is actually look at his ministry. How did John the Baptist get people ready for what Jesus was going to do?

And so this morning we're actually kind of jumping a little bit past Christmas because we want to hear Jesus talk about what John was doing, because actually the ministry that John has, we're gonna see we actually have a part to play as well. So if you have your Bibles, follow along with me in Matthew chapter 11, starting in verse 7. It's our tradition here, we stand as we read God's words, so if you're able to, would you stand with me? Matthew 11 starting in verse 7.

As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John. What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see a man dressed in soft clothing? Oh, those who wear soft clothing are in the king's houses. What then did you go out to see, a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you. Truly, I say to you, among those born of women, there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets in the law prophesized until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. But to what shall I compare this generation? It's like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates. We played the flute for you and you did not dance. We sang a dirge and you did not mourn. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say he has a demon. The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they say, look at him, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.

Thus far the reading of God's word, you may be seated.

Now this is quite the passage we have in front of us, and in fact Jesus is making a statement here that is really quite shocking. John the Baptist was one of the greatest men to have ever lived. In fact, the greatest man to have ever lived to that point. And yet then he immediately follows it up with an even more shocking statement, and that is that everyone who trusts in him, yet is greater. I mean, these are huge things that Jesus is declaring for us.

I know we need to understand just a little bit of where he's coming from, where all this, where this started, cause we're in the middle of a conversation. If you look back just to the beginning of Matthew chapter 11, you'll see that this is taking place when John the Baptist has been arrested. Alright, so he's been arrested, he's been put in jail, and as he's sitting in jail, he's starting to wonder to himself, what's going on with Jesus? And so he actually sends some of his disciples, and he says, go talk to Jesus, ask him if he is really the Messiah, the one we have been waiting for. Because John is thinking to himself, if he is. Why am I in jail? Why are, why is this happening? Isn't the Messiah supposed to deal with all of the problems in our life?

And so Jesus responds and he tells him, well, tell John what you've seen. The deaf are hearing, the blind are seeing, the sick are healed. Right, Jesus is actually trying to encourage John. Actually, no, you're seeing the right signs, but it's not coming exactly the way that John was expecting it. And so as these disciples now go back to deliver Jesus' message, you can almost see all the crowds thinking to themselves, OK, I mean, I thought John was kind of, I thought he had things right. Was he wrong about what he had said? Was he misunderstood?

And so Jesus begins to kind of teach the people, OK, this is what John was talking about. Here's what his ministry was all about. In fact, he is the greatest prophet of the Old Testament, and yet at the same time, the least in the kingdom is greater. And his ministry really serves to highlight the struggle we will face. So as we work through this, I want us to see in this passage, I want to see what John is doing, but also the incredible privilege that we have as Christians to prepare the way for people to hear the good news of Jesus. We carry on this ministry in an incredible way.

Alright, but let's start off just by understanding what was John the Baptist all doing? How was he getting people prepared? Jesus calls him the greatest prophet. Right, look back at verse 7. It says as they went away, that's John's disciples, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John.

What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see, a man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in the king's houses.

Right, Jesus starts by just asking them some questions, right, what exactly characterized the ministry of John the Baptist? He says, was he a reed shaken by the wind? Right, reeds were just sort of, you can almost picture like long grass, every sort of gust, every breeze blows it all over the place. Is that what John was like? I mean the crowds would have said, oh, he was nothing like this. I mean, this man was as resolute and steadfast as they come. Right, we often think about Jesus getting into arguments with the Pharisees. Do you know who started that? John, John the Baptist started a lot of those arguments because he wanted to confront the Pharisees, you're not getting things right. No, John was hardly shaken by anything happening.

Was he dressed in nice clothing? Well, no, actually we're told he wore camel skin, a leather belt, he ate locusts in the desert. I mean this guy is rough around the edges in more ways than one. Right, you're just trying to point out what was he actually like when you went and saw him. Well, he was pretty direct, wasn't he? He was a prophet who was just coming and speaking, these are God's words, and his message was no less direct. It was repent of your sins. In fact, earlier in Matthew we get part of John's preaching. He says:

I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who's coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I'm not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.

Yeah, John was direct, all right. He had really two things to say, one, repent, turn away from your sin, and number 2, someone else is coming, and he is far greater. Right, that summarizes pretty much all that John had to say and teach, repent of your sins and watch out for the one who is coming, he will be greater.

In fact, Jesus says verse 9:

What then did you go out to see, a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.

Yeah, John was a prophet, but not even just a prophet, he was a prophet who was prophesized about, in fact, he, his coming was foretold. He is both a prophet giving prophecy and fulfilling them all at the same time. In fact, if you've been with us for a couple of weeks, you'll remember we looked at this prophecy back in Isaiah and then again in Malachi. Right? Jesus here is quoting from Malachi chapter 3. It's this prophecy that someone would come who would prepare the way for the coming of the Lord, and what Jesus is saying is, that is John. John is the one, is this messenger who is preparing the way.

But here's what's really interesting. Jesus doesn't quote it exactly the same way. In fact, he changes it just ever so slightly. If you look at these two verses side by side, you should be able to see it behind me, yes. They both start off the same, behold, I send my messenger, right? God's sending someone, we know it's John. Jesus adds before your face, actually, that's not a difference, that's just translation. Jesus isn't speaking in Greek there. This is from Hebrew. But notice the second part. Malachi says, he will prepare the way before me. When Jesus quotes it, he says, he will prepare your way before you. He changes it, doesn't he? Or more accurately, he puts it into context.

See what Jesus is doing is he's saying, actually this prophecy is being fulfilled in front of you. What you read back there, that's what's happening in front of you right now. He's trying to say, you are the one who is seeing this fulfilled. And actually, Jesus is making quite a statement in that. Because he says this prophecy about the coming of the Lord is being fulfilled in front of you. What's Jesus saying? Actually what Jesus is saying is, he himself is the Lord that is coming. He himself is God, right? Sometimes we think, well, Jesus never said it, actually he is saying it right here. By just that very small shift of saying, this is what's taking place in front of you. He's declaring, I am God who has come to this earth.

This is why Jesus will say John is the greatest prophet of the Old Testament. In fact, even the greatest born who will ever live, look at verse 11:

Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.

Greatest person ever lived. I mean, you read a statement like that and you're just begging the question, why? Why is John the Baptist the greatest person to have ever lived? I mean, there's a lot of pretty great people out there. Even in the Bible, there's a lot of pretty amazing people who do some pretty amazing things. John is the greatest. But actually that's exactly Jesus' point.

So if you jump down to verse 13, Jesus says:

For all the prophets and the law prophesized until John. And if you're willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

See, Jesus is speaking of a spiritual reality. John is not literally Elijah, right? No, he comes in the spirit of Elijah. Malachi 4 says:

Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.

Jesus is telling us that was speaking about John, he is this messenger, he is this prophet coming in the spirit of Elijah. In fact, all of the prophets, the law, the entire Old Testament has been leading up to this point. John here sits at the pinnacle of all of these things as the greatest one, as the one they've all been looking forward to, and what is John doing? Pointing at Jesus. He's pointing us to see Jesus, because unlike every other prophet that came before, who always said over and over, someone is coming, someone is coming, someone is coming, John said to him. Right there.

In fact, you read earlier in the Gospel of John. Says:

The next day he, John the Baptist, saw Jesus coming toward him and said, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, after me comes a man who ranks before me because he was before me. And I have seen and borne witness that this is the son of God.

No other prophet had ever been able to do that. They had always said someone is coming, look out for someone like this, and John with his own finger could say, that is Jesus, follow him.

Do you wanna know what greatness looks like in God's eyes? It is pointing people to see the greatness of our salvation in Jesus Christ. What is great in God's eyes is when Jesus is made known clear. John was the greatest human being born because he pointed to Jesus more directly than anyone else had ever been able to do.

But here's the amazing thing. Alright, are you ready for this? Here's the amazing thing, because as grand a statement as that just is, Jesus follows it up with whoever is least in the kingdom. Verse 11:

Truly I say to you, among those born of women, there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist, yet one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Greater than the greatest man who had ever been born.

Now hear me, the point of this is not for us to start asking the question, OK, well, is there ranking in the Christian faith, you know, is there some greater and lesser? That's not the point that Jesus is getting to at all. In fact, he's about to, in a few chapters from now, define greatness as serving others. Humility marks greatness in many ways, but the point Jesus is making here is that every single believer will occupy a place greater than everyone who came before. You have a greater ministry than the greatest man who ever lived.

I know that that's almost hard for us to even wrap our minds around it. Most of you are thinking, nah, it's not really true. Right, you read the Bible and you come across all of these amazing people. Right, here's Moses, right? Joshua, David, Elijah, Isaiah, all these people have done incredible things for God, and we read it and we think to ourselves, I mean, I couldn't do anything like that. I mean there's no way I can have an impact that would be greater than Moses. I mean, the guy led people out of slavery in God's name, right, saw the 10 plagues, the Red Sea open in front of them, stood on the mountain with God, heard his voice, came down with 10 commandments, wrote scripture, his face was literally shining with the glory of God. You're telling me that we could have a greater ministry than Moses. I'm telling you Jesus said that.

Because even Moses, for all that he did. Still couldn't point to Jesus the way you and I can. Moses writes in Deuteronomy 18. He says:

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers. It is to him you shall listen.

What could Moses do? He could say someone is coming. Someone is going to come. He'll kind of act like me, but greater. Listen to him. Yet you and I We say, Jesus has come. We can actually see the fulfillment of these promises, right? It's the difference between someone coming to you and saying, look, one day you're gonna have a million dollars. You'd say, I mean, that's nice, thank you for that. But isn't that completely different than someone coming and saying, you have a million dollars? Actually that second one is a lot greater, isn't it? Because that's the fulfillment of the promise, not just the promise itself. We have the privilege to point directly to Jesus and say, he is the prophet that God told us would come.

Right, we find it hard to compare ourselves with people like, say, the prophet Isaiah. Right, the prophet Isaiah sees the Lord high and lifted up, sees him in his glory, prophesize about this day when sins would be forgiven. Isaiah one says:

Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

It's a beautiful picture of what God's forgiveness looks like. Though your sins have stained you, yet God can wipe all of them away. But even Isaiah, for all of that brilliance, could only say it will happen, yet we can point exactly and say, in Jesus your sins are like wool. They are wiped away. Not one day, but because of what Jesus has done, this is the reality that we live in.

Right, listen to how the prophet Joel will speak. He says:

Yet even now declares the Lord. Return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping and with mourning, rend your heart, not your garments. Return to the Lord, for he's gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, he relents over disaster. Who knows whether he will not turn and relent and leave a blessing behind him.

See, the saints in the Old Testament, I mean they knew the character of God, they knew his mercy, his grace, his steadfast love, and they could trust in the character of God, but there was still always this question lingering behind, how is it that God could actually forgive sins? How could a holy, perfect, pure God who is righteous and just, who will execute judgment on all that is wrong, and yet at the same time, how could he forgive sin? It was a question left unanswered that must have clawed at people over and over again.

Yet you and I do not have to wonder. We can see the answer in Jesus on the cross, because on the cross we see how the love of God for his people and his justice come together. Jesus dies on the cross to pay the punishment of our sins, so that whoever would believe in Him would be saved. Hear me, we do not have to sit and wonder how is it that God could forgive. Maybe he won't this time. No, in fact, even more than that, we have a promise that he will. First John one:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

We are forgiven because of the work of Jesus on the cross, not as a possibility, but as a sure promise fixed in the history of this world, the death and resurrection of Jesus has made a way that our sins may be forgiven.

Do not mistake the incredible place that you and I sit in the history of God's work on this world. We can see how God has forgiven, how he has worked all these things so that we might be saved. Let us rejoice and praise our God, not simply that a way has been made. But that we can experience it. Because here's the thing, we are not simply going to point to Jesus, a savior. But Jesus, our savior. We actually experience this forgiveness, this new life in Christ. This is not something where we stand on the sidelines or act like a news reporter telling other people about what has happened, not even an eyewitness, we are participants in it. I'm not saying you watched the winning game, I said I'm saying you were on the team.

Don't miss the position that we have. Not only can we see the salvation of Jesus, we can experience it for ourselves, and we are filled with the Holy Spirit that we might share with others. Again, this is something the prophets could only look forward to. Joel chapter 2:

And it shall come to pass afterwards that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. Your sons, your daughters shall prophesy. Your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions, even on the male and female servants in those days, I will pour out my spirit.

Hear me The prophets longed for what you and I experience. For everyone who trusts in Jesus Christ, you are filled with the Holy Spirit as a seal over your life. Ephesians one tells us:

In him, Jesus, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation and believed in him. We're sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of His glory.

Everyone who believes in Jesus is sealed with the Holy Spirit, a down payment of the greater glory yet to come. Not only can we see what Jesus has done, experience his salvation, we are given the Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts so that we might make him known. To help us live like Jesus, to give us gifts to build the faith of those around us. He gives us even words to speak when we are lost and we do not know what to say.

This is why Jesus can say, even the least in the kingdom are greater than John. Because we can point to Jesus with greater clarity, having experienced his forgiveness, being filled with the Holy Spirit. And so for every believer here who says, you know, I don't know. Sometimes I just feel like I can't share my faith. I can't do it. I look at the examples in our Bible and I think to myself, sure they could do it, but I can't hear me. Understand the incredible position that you get to sit in, the privilege that we have as believers in Jesus to go and share the good news of what he has done.

Hear me, if there is any sort of. I'll use this word lightly, sin in our modern world. It would be holding on to privilege and not realizing it and not using it for good. Hear me, as Christians, we are the most privileged of any people on earth because we have experienced God's forgiveness. We are filled with the Holy Spirit. Let us never back down to share more of what Jesus has done and the forgiveness we have. What will you do with what God has placed in your hands?

If you're here this morning and you don't know Jesus. You don't know him, you haven't trusted in him. Hear me, this is an invitation for everyone. This is not privilege hidden behind generational wealth or social status, nothing like that. It is open for everyone to receive, for everyone who adhere to turn and trust in Jesus Christ to be forgiven of all our sin. That is why we celebrate Christmas, that's why we get ourselves prepared for what Jesus has come to do. Because we have so much to celebrate in Jesus Christ. We have as great a ministry as God gave to John the Baptist, yet we have a greater one in our own hands. Let us prepare the way for the coming of Jesus.

But here's what we need to see. Our own place in this, and the struggle that does come. Right, it would be somewhat. At least incomplete to pause there and say, so everything is going to be great. It's all going to be easy from now on. That's not what we see in John's ministry, nor Jesus, nor even what he promises to us. Actually, we will face a struggle in our own generation. We jumped over verse 12 earlier. Jesus says:

From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.

It's a bit of a slightly confusing verse, but essentially what it means is that as the kingdom grows, it will always face opposition. These are spiritual words, right, these are a spiritual message that Jesus has come to deal with our sins, we'll always find some kind of opposition. This is what John was so confused about and why he was asking Jesus in the first place. I thought everything was supposed to be easy from now on, and Jesus over and over again tells his disciples that's not going to be the case.

In fact, verse 16, he continues, he says:

But what shall I compare this generation? It's like children sitting in the marketplaces calling to their playmates, we played the flute for you and you did not dance. We sang a dirge and you did not mourn.

I love this idea. Jesus, as he's been teaching and traveling around, he's sitting down in the market and he's just watching children play. Watching the games that they are playing, and apparently at least one game they would sing a little song and maybe the kids would probably on purpose kind of dance the opposite. The happy song they would act all sad, and the sad song they would act all happy and laugh and run around, and Jesus watching this game goes, that's exactly how people respond to me. That's how people are responding to the message. It's the opposite of what it should be. Verse 18, he continues, he says:

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say he has a demon. The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, look at him, a glutton, a drunkard, friend of tax collectors and sinners.

Right, Jesus makes this comparison. Here is John in the wilderness, he is dressed like a prophet, he is off in the desert, he is living rough, and everyone goes, that guy's crazy. Here's Jesus living in a normal house, dressing normally, eating and drinking, and they go, ah, he's a drunk and a glutton. Doesn't matter in one sense. They rejected both of them. Actually, no, the message of the gospel always is opposed at some point or another.

Now this doesn't mean that we just ignore what people say, become rude, arrogant, foolish. No, in fact, actually the Bible tells us our only offense should be the cross. But it is a warning not to chase the approval of others. Not to make how other people respond to the message of the gospel our means of determining success or not. In fact, at the beginning of Galatians, Paul starts his letter and he says:

For am I now seeking the approval of man or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

If our greatest goal in life is that everyone would like us, we would seek fame, recognition, approval of others, we'll soon find we're not seeking gods. Don't chase after such an unstable thing as the opinions of others. And while Jesus is certainly talking to the people in front of him. It applies to every generation. Ours most certainly included, as social media dominates so much of how we interact, when people are canceled for saying or doing or holding to the wrong thing, it's so easy to succumb to the pressure that says you have to be acceptable by the masses. That's not the measure of faithfulness before God.

What does Jesus say?

Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.

Jesus here making an allusion back to Proverbs 9:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, the knowledge of the Holy One is in sight.

Instead of chasing constantly changing social ideals, devote yourself to the pursuit of God. That's where we find true wisdom, a life spent in devotion to God actually demonstrates itself. Let your life speak for itself. We will face opposition to the message of Jesus just as John did, just as Jesus did. So have disciples in every generation to this point. But instead of trying to chase after fickle admiration, let us be faithful unto God. Let our lives of faithfulness speak for itself.

And so this morning as we close here. And we see just how John prepares us for the coming of Christmas, not simply for a baby that was born in a manger, but what Jesus came to do. John points us to see the greatness of Christ, unlike anyone who came before him. But this Christmas, would you marvel at the fact that you have that opportunity as well? To point to the greatness of Jesus, unlike those who have come before us. We announce a celebration greater than John could ever have done because we announce the celebration of the one who has saved us.

Christ has come so that our sins might be forgiven, so that anyone who trusts in Him would be saved, brought into a relationship with God. This Christmas, we don't have less to celebrate, we have far more, far more to proclaim. God Himself entered into our world that we might be saved. Let us never tire of hearing this good news, never exhaust our wonder in the truth, never forget the blessings God has given to us as we prepare for Christmas. Let us prepare the way for many to hear the good news of Jesus.

Let's pray together. Oh heavenly Father. We thank you, we thank you for the greatness of what you have done in Jesus Christ. Father, we thank you that as you sent Jesus into this world, you did not leave us on our own to figure it out by ourselves, but prepared the way so that we might come to understand. Father, as we marvel in all that you have done, as we stand in awe of your grace towards us, Father, I pray, would you give us a heart that resounds to make you known, that longs to point to the greatness of our Savior. Father, I pray, would you fill us with your Holy Spirit once again, that we might be bold, courageous to point to the beauty of what you have done this Christmas season. We ask all these things in your name. Amen.