All right, we're continuing on through Luke. I'll pray before we get started this morning. Lord God, let the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be pleasing and honorable to you, our Lord our God, our rock and our redeemer. Lord God, you have a message for all of us collectively, individually, and only you, Holy Spirit, can work that out. Only you can take the meager preparation that I do and turn it into something of value. So I ask, Lord God, that you multiply and make good of this small offering that we have to you and use it for the good of your kingdom. Amen.
All right. Now you're all thinking, "Oh, Brad doesn't prepare much for his sermons." I see what's going on here. I was regretting that as I'm saying it. Like, oh man. You know what I meant. All right. Luke chapter 7. This is going to be John the Baptist revisited. This is kind of like a part two to that sermon. I looked back, that sermon, it was Luke chapter 3, which is only four chapters ago. It doesn't feel that long ago. That was preached January 6, I think. So if you're foggy on it, I understand. I was foggy on it. I was like, what did I talk about? So I had to look it up.
I'll try not to refer to it too much, and bring you in where you need to be brought in so that you can kind of understand. But we're revisiting John the Baptist. He comes back up in our text this morning. All right. So I'm going to read the first few verses, and then I'm going to talk about that, and then I'll read a few more verses. So, Andrew, if you were looking for a nap this morning, you're not getting one, because you're going to have to stay with me a little bit.
Okay, so first few verses, Luke chapter 7:18-35. All right, so John's disciples told him about these things. These things, what are these things? Well, pretty much what we've been doing in our sermon series for the last, I don't know, four months. John's disciples are telling him about these things. Calling two of them, he sent them to the Lord to ask, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?" When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?" All right, this is as far as I'm going to go for now.
I'll tell you a little story. When Rebecca and I were fairly freshly married, maybe, I don't know, a couple years into our marriage, we bought a house, our first house. And that house needed a lot of work. And so one of the things as we were kind of assessing what to do, I said, "One of the first things we should do is replace the windows. We should put new windows in." And I remember Rebecca saying, like, "Oof, that sounds expensive. Like, who are we going to pay to do that work?" And I was like, "What?"
I owned my own construction company at that point, and had owned my own construction company for, I think, four years already at that time. And part of what I did very regularly was install windows. That was a very normal part of what I did. I was probably installing windows like every couple of weeks. And so, I mean, I was personally offended in that moment. But I had to calm down and think, okay, is this a malicious comment from Rebecca? Is this her undermining my abilities? Or is this just maybe the innocence of not knowing that I can install windows? And so I had to ask her that, and then, yeah, found out that it was the innocence of not knowing that that's part of what I do. So I didn't have to take offense to it.
So as we read these words from John, asking this question of Jesus, are you the one that we are expecting, or should we be looking for someone else? That question has a sting to it, and I think it's good for us to think about, what is John's motivation here? Is he kind of ignorant to everything that's going on? Or is he someone that is really saying something pretty negative towards Jesus?
All right, so imagine this picture, right? His disciples, John's disciples, come to him and they tell him about these things. Well, what kind of things? Well, healings, raising people from the dead, all the teaching that he's doing, spending time with tax collectors and Pharisees, and all the stuff that Jesus is up to. And I imagine John's disciples are telling John passionately about all these things, like listing them off, excited. But John, remember, John is kind of countercultural in a lot of ways. I see John as kind of like the king of hot takes. All right, he's always saying stuff that you don't expect.
So imagine the disciples running up, his disciples, and saying, "John, you're not going to believe what Jesus is doing. Like, he's raising people from the dead, he's doing the stuff." And John is like, "Really? That's super disappointing." And they're like, "What?" And he's like, "That is not what we need from a Messiah. That is not what we need from the one that is to come. If you think about it, that's Old Testament stuff. We've seen this before. Remember Elijah and Elisha? They were doing this stuff. They're doing miracles and they're teaching and they're healing people, and they even raised someone from the dead. So how is this any different than what we have already seen? This is just more of the same. This isn't going to lead to Israel being rescued. This isn't going to lead to us overthrowing the Romans. We know this story. Look at the entire Old Testament. The prophets come, they do these amazing things, they say these amazing things, and nobody listens, and the cycle continues."
And John's disciples are probably like, "Oh, well, I hadn't thought about it like that." And so John sends them back to Jesus and asks this question. Are you the Messiah? Or are you someone else? So this question has sting because John knows. John understands. And he thinks Jesus is not measuring up to what is needed from a Messiah. He's not meeting John's expectations.
So this raises a really important question. What are John's expectations? What is it that John is looking for from a Messiah? And so we can learn about that just by looking back and seeing what we know about John. So if we go back to John chapter 3, John chapter 3. So this is basically the story where John the Baptist is preparing the way. That's the subtitle we get from scripture. And he's going around and he's basically baptizing. He's in the wilderness and he's calling people to repentance. Remember this, right? He's in the wilderness and he's saying, "You need to be made right. You guys need to live differently." He's doing what Old Testament prophets do, and he's kind of paving the way for the Messiah.
And it says, a voice of one calling in the wilderness, "Prepare the way for the Lord. Make straight paths for him." And so the crowds are coming to him and they're saying, "Well, what do we do? How do we make ourselves straight? How do we fix ourselves up?" And John says things like, "Anyone who has two shirts should share with one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same." So he's talking about justice. He's calling them to living differently. And then the tax collectors say, "Well, what should we do?" And he says, "Don't take more than what you're supposed to." And he's calling them to this repentance, this living differently.
And so the people were waiting. So this is the text from chapter 3. The people were waiting expectantly, and they were all wondering in their hearts if John might be the Messiah, because of just how profoundly he was speaking. And so John tips his hand now, giving us a clue as to what he expects from the Messiah, as he basically rebukes them and says that he isn't. Okay? So this helps us understand what John pictured the Messiah to be.
He says, "John answered them all, I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I'm not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." The Holy Spirit and fire. "His winnowing fork will be in his hand to clear the threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." He'll burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Okay? This is a picture of what John is seeing is going to come when the Messiah comes.
Now, where does John get this from? For that, we have to look back at Malachi. All right, Malachi is a very short book. It's the last one in the Old Testament. It's the one that immediately precedes 400 years of silence that go between the Old and the New Testament. It's the last prophet talking about what is to come. And John is specifically referencing Malachi here. He's talking about the winnowing fork and the wheat and the chaff and all these things. And it comes straight out of Malachi.
So Malachi 3:1-3 says this, "I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me." Okay? Then, "suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come into his temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come, says the Lord Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver." So this also helps to round out what John is thinking the Messiah will look like, because he's quoting directly from Malachi 3.
And then Malachi 4:1-3 says something more along these lines. And now this is quoting, Malachi is quoting God, or giving God's word here, and he says, "Surely the day is coming. It will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble." And that can be translated, I think, as chaff as well. "And the day that is coming will set them on fire, says the Lord Almighty. Not a root or branch will be left for them. But you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness," as in s u n, sun of righteousness, "will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. Then you will trample on the wicked. They will be ashes," another fire reference, "under the soles of your feet on the day that I will act, says the Lord Almighty."
This is the pathway that John is paving, for this kind of future, for this kind of Messiah, which is why he's so boldly calling for a repentance, a baptism of water to wash away sin and to cleanse themselves to prepare the way for the Messiah. So this is kind of what John is picturing. Okay? So let's go back to our text now, knowing that John is picturing this from a Messiah. Jesus, we've seen the way that Jesus has lived, and now Jesus has a chance to answer and respond back to John.
All right, Andrew, we'll continue with the next verses here. So at this time, Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses, and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard. The blind receive sight. The lame walk. Those who have leprosy are cleansed. The deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor." And then he says, "Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me."
How do you think this answer was received by John? Probably not great. He already knows all this stuff. Jesus doesn't respond by saying, "Okay, John. I know you. I know how you are. I know what you want. Don't worry, I'm bringing that. That stage is coming. It's coming. But right now, I'm doing kind of all that miracle prophet stuff that you're a little frustrated with right now." He doesn't do that. He just says, "Look at what I'm doing. And blessed are those who don't stumble on account of me."
Now, we can ask this about Jesus. Is Jesus simply innocent to what's going on in John's mind as he answers the question? Does he know he's giving an answer that John already has? Or does he sincerely think, "I'll give my pal John some answers that will help him"? Well, I think we can find out that answer as we continue to read. Andrew, let's get the next verses up here.
After John's messengers left to go back and tell, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John. This is brilliant, because we get Jesus' own words as commentary to this whole thing, to help us understand. "What did you go out into the wilderness to see?" Talking to the people who went out to see John when he was in the wilderness, remember? "A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes?" Those are rhetorical questions, and the answer is basically no. That's not why you went out there. "No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you."
Okay, hold on. Did Jesus just quote Malachi 3:1? Reflecting on John's understanding and question about assumptions about the Messiah? Jesus knows exactly what John is asking here, because he quotes the text that John uses to paint the picture, the imagery of who the Messiah will be. And what's incredibly interesting about this is that the verse is, "I will send my messenger who will prepare a way before me." Who did you go out to see? You went out to see the messenger who will prepare the way before me. But then he says, "You didn't just go out to see a prophet. You went out to see more than that." Because as we know in John chapter, or in Luke chapter 3, the disciples, or the people who were looking to John, they were asking him, "Are you the Messiah?" They were looking for the Messiah in John.
So Jesus shares these words. Okay, let's keep reading now. "I tell you, among those born of women, there is no one greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus' word, acknowledged that God's way was right, because he had been baptized by John. But the Pharisees and the experts of the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John. Jesus went on to say, "To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like?" And I'm going to save these last few verses.
All right. So Jesus' answer is perfectly, explicitly clear here, as he gives an answer to John and then reflects on it with all of the people. But he says, "You folks are searching for a Messiah. You're searching for this, and John is clearly missing something in his assumptions and in his questions, wondering if he should be looking for someone else." So we have this tension between even John the Baptist missing this image of who Jesus is supposed to be based on what he's seeing from Jesus, and Jesus is redefining, in his own words and in his own actions, what it's supposed to be.
So I think we have to go beyond our text this morning to try to really nail this down, what's going on here. And I think we can do that by analyzing and looking at this idea of fire. Because I think an image comes along with this idea of fire. John says, "We're looking forward to someone who will come with fire." And Jesus doesn't deny that. Well, if we look at John's understanding of what fire is, he sees fire as something that is used to punish, something that is used to destroy, something that is used to kind of get rid of things that are no good. Which is why John's so spicy all the time, and is always calling for repentance in these powerful ways, and always warning about this fire that is to come.
But if you look at the text, looking at Malachi 3, it says, "For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap." They're kind of saying the same thing twice, a refining fire or a launderer's soap. Well, what does laundry soap do, and what does refining fire do? It purifies. It cleanses. It restores. In some ways, for refining fire, it makes new. This is a whole other side of the image and understanding of fire that John seems to just look over. And we see in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ that he is embracing these things. He's embracing this image of refining and purifying.
But here's the thing. It's not that John sees one meaning of punishment and fire, and Jesus sees the other, which is refining and purifying. No, Jesus is saying it's both. And if you have only one part or the other, you're missing the entirety of the gospel. You're missing the whole point.
All right, so let me help you break that down for a sec. So, the gospel. Sin happens. Sin enters the world and it corrupts God's good creation. There is something that is wrecked and broken. People are hurt. People are hurting each other. Creation is hurting itself. Things are in absolute chaos. And God says, "This needs to be fixed. This needs to be cleansed. It needs to be made right. It needs to be refined and purified." But you don't accomplish that by simply ignoring sin and suffering. No, a payment has to be made. Death has to happen. Destruction is needed in order for sin to be overcome and to die. There has to be restitution made.
Well, how do you live inside both of these things? In the Old Testament, it was done through ceremonies of sacrifice, and this is how restitution was made. But Jesus comes and lives this life where he's pardoning people, forgiving people, healing them, eating with sinners, but then also calling them out of their sin into a new life. And then he himself goes to the cross. A punishment for sin. A sinner's death, and he is the only one who is not worthy of this death. He's the only one who is perfect, and Jesus Christ is God. Therefore God himself takes on the punishment of sin and says, "I will make restitution for what you broke. I will fix what you cannot fix. I will do for you what you cannot, will not ever be able to do for yourself."
And in that, in that sacrifice and suffering that Christ takes on, we see both justice and mercy perfectly held in the heart of our savior, Jesus Christ. This is the gospel. This is the perfect image of refining fire, but also a destructive fire that calls sin and suffering, death, betrayal, and hardship to account. And this is what John is missing, because he only sees the one side, whereas Jesus is embracing both.
And so now, what about us today? Where do we find ourselves inside of this? Because we really don't have some of the excuses that John has. We are living in the era post Jesus Christ's life on Earth, for the 32 years that he was here. We're living beyond Pentecost that happened, where the spirit of God was sent in and amongst the church. We should know better than John. He has a bigger excuse than we do. In some ways you can't fault him for the ways that he missed this gospel truth, because it hadn't been revealed as it's been revealed to us and in us.
But I think if we're honest, we have to admit that at times we miss it too. I think that each and every one of us has a bend to either one side or the other. We either err towards wanting punishment and destruction and a call to justice, or we err to the other side, where we say we just want to forgive and forget. We want everything to be okay. We want to be able to just meet everyone where they're at, and we don't require anyone ever to change or do anything differently.
Look at any hot topic in society or the church for the last 2,000 years. Let's pick one we're a little distant from, to help us to understand it so we can be more objective and we don't slide into our bend. But if we think about slavery, for example, one that thankfully the church has in a lot of ways learned a lot from. We're still not perfect as far as racism goes, but we've learned a lot. But if you look at the argument in the past, if you look at the way the church has tried to process some of these hot topics, we tend to fall in one of two camps. And we all, every single one of us, has a hard time of living in that tension in the middle, where we're embracing both love that is lived out through justice and mercy. Love can be lived out through justice and mercy, and we see Christ do that.
So my challenge to you is to really think about this for yourselves. Think about the things that you're wrestling with in your life. The battles that you're having, the struggles that you're seeing, the big questions you have about right and wrong, good and bad, a broken relationship that needs to be restored, all of these things that we're facing. And I challenge you, before Christ, to lay it out and say, "God, help me to see where my bend is. Help me to see where my blind spots are. Help me to see where I fall either too far to the left or to the right. And help me to anchor my love and to embrace justice and mercy as you, Lord Jesus Christ, would call me to."
That's my challenge for you this week. Really pray through that and discern these things for yourself. The only way to accomplish this is to grow in the reality and understanding of who Jesus is, and reading and reflecting on the stories that he gives us of his life, his death, his resurrection, the story of the Holy Spirit coming to the church, and the mission of God that we have to minister to a hurting and broken world.
God wants to meet us where we are. I love that image from Malachi chapter 4. The sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. The sun is incredibly powerful. A huge ball of fire, and if the earth was any closer to it, like, we would just burn up. We would be nothing. And yet it is the sun that provides life and sustenance to this world. It allows things to grow. It meets us right where we are. And that's beautiful. And this is a beautiful image of the God that we love and that we worship.
All right, we're going to pray. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your word. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the life and ministry that you lived. Holy Spirit, continue to empower us to understand this more and more each day, so that we can live more fully in your truth and your reality. Help us to understand what it looks like to crucify sin, but also to be refined in and through your loving embrace. We ask all these things in your loving name. Amen.