Ryan King – Class 5: Exhortation – John the Baptist

1
00:00:00,160 –> 00:00:02,000
At this time, brothers and
sisters, I like to go forward

2
00:00:02,000 –> 00:00:05,520
brother Ryan King, who will be
providing today’s word of

3
00:00:05,520 –> 00:00:08,600
exportation which he has
entitled, of whom the world was

4
00:00:08,600 –> 00:00:23,890
not worthy for the.
Thank you, Brother Roberto, and

5
00:00:23,890 –> 00:00:26,170
good morning, my dear brothers
and sisters in the Lord Jesus

6
00:00:26,170 –> 00:00:29,970
Christ.
Bring with me the love and the

7
00:00:29,970 –> 00:00:33,250
fraternal greetings of your
brothers and sisters who made

8
00:00:33,250 –> 00:00:36,730
the Petersburg Eclaisure in
Richmond, VA, specifically.

9
00:00:37,380 –> 00:00:39,740
Brother Paul and sister Donna
Gatanas.

10
00:00:41,020 –> 00:00:45,380
I always believe in doing that.
But you know, sometimes when I

11
00:00:45,380 –> 00:00:47,860
get home they say, well, we
didn’t even know you were going.

12
00:00:48,860 –> 00:00:50,780
Well.
Paul and Donna Gatanas told me

13
00:00:50,980 –> 00:00:53,660
to tell all of you and send you
your love.

14
00:00:55,820 –> 00:01:02,140
Well, the portable Shining hand
lamp is now about to go out and

15
00:01:03,300 –> 00:01:06,540
it will leave behind it that
phosphorus light, that permanent

16
00:01:06,540 –> 00:01:09,840
light.
That nothing could ever put out.

17
00:01:11,000 –> 00:01:13,000
And the time had come now for
John.

18
00:01:14,120 –> 00:01:17,840
And by a simple comparison of
Matthew with the other Gospels,

19
00:01:17,840 –> 00:01:23,880
we learned that John was killed
at the Passover season, just 12

20
00:01:23,880 –> 00:01:27,960
months before our Lord Jesus
Christ would suffer a similar

21
00:01:27,960 –> 00:01:31,240
fate.
He was a forerunner, brothers

22
00:01:31,240 –> 00:01:34,200
and sisters in every sense of
that word.

23
00:01:35,200 –> 00:01:38,790
John the Baptist said come.
And they had done unto him

24
00:01:38,790 –> 00:01:43,350
whatsoever they listed, you
know, it was on the same day

25
00:01:43,350 –> 00:01:47,910
that 70 disciples came back to
the Lord Jesus Christ, flushed

26
00:01:47,910 –> 00:01:51,350
with success.
Lord, the spirits are subject

27
00:01:51,350 –> 00:01:54,550
unto us through thy name.
And as they came from that

28
00:01:54,550 –> 00:01:57,910
direction, telling them all
about the success they had had

29
00:01:57,910 –> 00:02:00,870
in their preaching, there came a
man from the other direction who

30
00:02:00,870 –> 00:02:03,670
said, they’ve killed John the
Baptist.

31
00:02:06,040 –> 00:02:09,919
He knew that John would suffer,
but although he knew it, it

32
00:02:09,919 –> 00:02:14,040
certainly did not detract from
the pain and the sorrow that he

33
00:02:14,040 –> 00:02:16,480
would have felt.
And so in that 31st verse of

34
00:02:16,480 –> 00:02:20,640
Mark Chapter six, he seeks
solace on the other side of the

35
00:02:20,640 –> 00:02:23,960
lake.
And he sat there on the other

36
00:02:23,960 –> 00:02:25,880
side of the lake, and he fed the
multitude.

37
00:02:27,040 –> 00:02:31,320
And it was the spring.
So John was beheaded right at

38
00:02:31,520 –> 00:02:35,890
the Passover season.
Just 12 months before our Lord

39
00:02:35,890 –> 00:02:42,410
Jesus Christ, when we left John
imprisoned in Mccarris just

40
00:02:42,410 –> 00:02:46,170
below the banquet hall while
Herod was celebrating this great

41
00:02:46,170 –> 00:02:50,970
feast on his birthday.
The custom at that time was is

42
00:02:50,970 –> 00:02:54,890
that Caesar always had a great
celebration in Rome on his

43
00:02:55,250 –> 00:02:59,890
birthday and because they all
considered Caesar to be a God

44
00:03:00,370 –> 00:03:04,570
and all reflections of him.
Every Roman Tetra in the land

45
00:03:05,450 –> 00:03:09,170
and all over the world would
have on their birthday a similar

46
00:03:09,530 –> 00:03:13,410
celebration.
It was the great recognition of

47
00:03:13,570 –> 00:03:18,410
he who was Caesar in Rome, and
it being his birthday, we read

48
00:03:18,410 –> 00:03:24,330
in Mark 6 and verse 21.
Herod now invites the Lords, the

49
00:03:24,330 –> 00:03:29,010
high captains, and the chief of
states of Galilee.

50
00:03:30,090 –> 00:03:32,850
So putting all that together,
they were the high officials of

51
00:03:32,850 –> 00:03:37,570
the court.
The legal system was there, the

52
00:03:37,570 –> 00:03:41,810
high captains, the captains.
Over 1000 as the word means, the

53
00:03:41,810 –> 00:03:45,970
military was there, and the
chief of states, the word means

54
00:03:45,970 –> 00:03:50,130
landowners in the province.
And there they were, the gods of

55
00:03:50,130 –> 00:03:55,170
this world, the legal system,
the military and all the

56
00:03:55,170 –> 00:03:59,490
landowners, the rich, all people
who stood in the exact.

57
00:03:59,870 –> 00:04:05,190
Opposite position to that man
who is now down below in the

58
00:04:05,190 –> 00:04:08,270
dungeon.
The crowd in verse 21 is the

59
00:04:08,270 –> 00:04:12,870
crowd of Luke chapter 3 in verse
one that God missed when he sent

60
00:04:12,870 –> 00:04:17,990
out his word and he gave it to a
man that they would not deign to

61
00:04:17,990 –> 00:04:23,030
spit on him to spit on.
That’s the crowd who is here

62
00:04:23,510 –> 00:04:26,790
now.
The Herod’s birthday, as I said,

63
00:04:26,790 –> 00:04:29,980
was meant to be a replica of.
Caesar’s birthday and these

64
00:04:29,980 –> 00:04:35,060
parties that they had always
ended the same way, that when

65
00:04:35,060 –> 00:04:40,180
men had imbibed very heavily and
they’re beginning to see double

66
00:04:41,420 –> 00:04:45,940
they’re free and open with each
other, they would bring it forth

67
00:04:45,940 –> 00:04:51,540
into the hall a woman, some
loose, immoral woman who would

68
00:04:52,420 –> 00:04:55,700
excite them.
And these women were not usually

69
00:04:55,700 –> 00:04:59,140
from the noble class.
But this was different.

70
00:04:59,140 –> 00:05:00,660
Who was the woman on this
occasion?

71
00:05:01,460 –> 00:05:06,580
Well, verse 22 says it was the
daughter of the said Herodius.

72
00:05:06,580 –> 00:05:09,580
Now that’s not usual.
Typically they just drag some

73
00:05:09,900 –> 00:05:14,100
poor person up there.
But here we have the daughter of

74
00:05:14,140 –> 00:05:16,540
the said Herodius.
Now who is she?

75
00:05:18,220 –> 00:05:25,100
Well, she’s a Princess.
She was born of Mary Amney, the

76
00:05:25,100 –> 00:05:28,050
wife of Herod the Great.
A Maccabee, and she was a

77
00:05:28,050 –> 00:05:30,690
descendant of the High priest of
Israel.

78
00:05:32,250 –> 00:05:38,010
Now debasing herself in this
manner, Josephus says that her

79
00:05:38,010 –> 00:05:41,730
name was Salome.
Salome.

80
00:05:41,730 –> 00:05:47,770
Like Shalom, peace, it was
anything but peace, brothers and

81
00:05:47,770 –> 00:05:51,210
sisters, on this day and putting
all the Gospels together.

82
00:05:51,210 –> 00:05:54,730
Mark says that this woman
danced, but Matthew says that

83
00:05:54,730 –> 00:05:58,810
she danced among them.
She kind of whizzed her way

84
00:05:58,810 –> 00:06:02,530
between the tables, and that
wasn’t usual either.

85
00:06:02,610 –> 00:06:05,970
So they tell me.
But the girl left the stage and

86
00:06:05,970 –> 00:06:13,890
moved amongst the tables.
Imagine, no, don’t imagine that.

87
00:06:15,450 –> 00:06:17,210
That’s the world that we don’t
understand.

88
00:06:17,730 –> 00:06:21,530
God be thanked.
And so Herod the fox now feels

89
00:06:21,530 –> 00:06:24,130
like Herod the lion.
The world is at his feet.

90
00:06:24,860 –> 00:06:27,780
And all these greats are here
paying him homage.

91
00:06:28,900 –> 00:06:31,340
And poor John is downstairs
hearing all of that.

92
00:06:32,740 –> 00:06:37,020
He would have heard the noise.
He would have smelled the wine.

93
00:06:38,580 –> 00:06:43,100
And it was Harrod’s birthday.
And John had been a NASA right

94
00:06:43,100 –> 00:06:46,700
from his birthday.
He had never drunk wine at any

95
00:06:46,700 –> 00:06:49,980
time in his life.
Here we ask ourselves the

96
00:06:49,980 –> 00:06:52,060
question, where would we have
been on that day, brothers and

97
00:06:52,060 –> 00:06:56,530
sisters?
Would we be with John down there

98
00:06:56,530 –> 00:07:01,330
in the prison, with the water
leaking, because we had made a

99
00:07:01,330 –> 00:07:05,890
stand against the pleasures of
this world, because we had

100
00:07:06,250 –> 00:07:08,690
denounced an unjust and unholy
marriage?

101
00:07:10,770 –> 00:07:15,610
Or we’ll be up there enjoying
the pleasures of sin for a

102
00:07:15,610 –> 00:07:19,890
season, Herod, now in inflamed
with wine, says at the end of

103
00:07:19,890 –> 00:07:23,340
verse 22.
In this ribe old voice,

104
00:07:23,340 –> 00:07:26,660
whatsoever you ask, I will give
you to the half of the Kingdom,

105
00:07:26,780 –> 00:07:29,900
he says to Salome.
Whatsoever you ask, that will

106
00:07:29,900 –> 00:07:31,580
give you to the half of my
Kingdom.

107
00:07:32,180 –> 00:07:34,100
And the crowd would just roar
with approval.

108
00:07:35,820 –> 00:07:40,100
You know, half of my Kingdom was
a proverbial expression, and no

109
00:07:40,100 –> 00:07:43,420
ruler would give up half of his
Kingdom.

110
00:07:43,420 –> 00:07:47,140
What it really means there is
something priceless.

111
00:07:48,380 –> 00:07:51,020
You have something beyond,
beyond your thinking.

112
00:07:52,030 –> 00:07:56,350
You know, a gift that you
wouldn’t expect Half of My

113
00:07:56,350 –> 00:07:57,630
Kingdom.
You know where that comes from.

114
00:07:57,630 –> 00:08:01,350
You know where that particular
request is said elsewhere.

115
00:08:02,470 –> 00:08:04,230
Just keep your hand here and
come back to Esther.

116
00:08:06,110 –> 00:08:10,270
Esther Chapter 5.
What’s Herod doing quoting this?

117
00:08:11,790 –> 00:08:15,950
Esther Chapter 5 and verse 3.
The half of my Kingdom.

118
00:08:16,790 –> 00:08:19,110
Well, here it is in Esther
Chapter 5 and verse 3.

119
00:08:23,060 –> 00:08:26,860
Then said the king, that is A
has your ears under her.

120
00:08:27,420 –> 00:08:31,460
What wilt thou, Queen Esther?
And what is thy request?

121
00:08:32,100 –> 00:08:36,299
It shall be given thee to the
half of the Kingdom.

122
00:08:38,620 –> 00:08:41,940
That’s what A has your ears said
to Queen Esther, because he was

123
00:08:41,940 –> 00:08:44,420
so impressed with her beauty of
character.

124
00:08:45,800 –> 00:08:48,840
She had access to all the the
cosmetics that the Persian

125
00:08:48,840 –> 00:08:53,600
Kingdom could manufacture, and
she wanted none of them, just

126
00:08:53,600 –> 00:08:56,160
those things that were necessary
for godliness of character.

127
00:08:56,160 –> 00:08:58,880
And he has your ears.
Loved her so much, he said.

128
00:08:59,160 –> 00:09:01,000
I’ll give you to the half of my
Kingdom.

129
00:09:01,080 –> 00:09:04,680
What is your request, Esther?
And have a look at this girl in

130
00:09:04,680 –> 00:09:10,400
Mark chapter 6, debasing herself
in that party.

131
00:09:10,960 –> 00:09:13,620
Well, she’s got the promise.
Behalf of my Kingdom.

132
00:09:13,620 –> 00:09:17,540
And what she does is she goes
back to her mom to Herodius.

133
00:09:17,900 –> 00:09:20,900
What shall I ask?
Just come back to mark chapter

134
00:09:20,900 –> 00:09:22,700
6.
And the Bible is just so

135
00:09:22,700 –> 00:09:25,660
wonderful in the way it’s put.
All you have to do sometimes is

136
00:09:25,700 –> 00:09:28,780
is read it to get get the
feeling of the story.

137
00:09:29,580 –> 00:09:32,500
There’s a brevity of words in
the scriptures but you know

138
00:09:32,540 –> 00:09:35,660
that’s done by gods that we
might think about what’s

139
00:09:35,660 –> 00:09:39,540
happening.
Herodius has got no idea what

140
00:09:39,540 –> 00:09:44,410
request is coming. 1st 24 She
went forth and said it to her

141
00:09:44,410 –> 00:09:45,810
mother.
What shall I ask?

142
00:09:46,330 –> 00:09:48,770
I mean, half of the Kingdom.
I mean, wow, what am I going to

143
00:09:49,050 –> 00:09:51,090
to ask?
Herodious.

144
00:09:51,090 –> 00:09:54,250
You know, she doesn’t say, Well,
you know, I’d like a new Tesla

145
00:09:54,250 –> 00:09:56,410
or a new dishwasher.
I might ask that.

146
00:09:57,450 –> 00:10:00,610
What do you want, mom?
The head of John the Baptist?

147
00:10:02,530 –> 00:10:03,610
No hesitation.
Whatever.

148
00:10:03,610 –> 00:10:06,050
What do you want?
The head of John the Baptist?

149
00:10:06,650 –> 00:10:09,290
She doesn’t say I want John
Kilt.

150
00:10:10,650 –> 00:10:15,350
She says I want his head.
Because it was his thinking, his

151
00:10:15,350 –> 00:10:18,550
Nazarete thinking, his
wilderness thinking that she

152
00:10:18,550 –> 00:10:24,150
despised, that she detested.
What shall I ask the head of

153
00:10:24,150 –> 00:10:27,390
John the Baptist?
That’s how much she hated him.

154
00:10:27,390 –> 00:10:29,870
No hesitation at all.
Didn’t really even know what

155
00:10:29,870 –> 00:10:31,430
question was coming.
What do you want, mom?

156
00:10:31,430 –> 00:10:35,710
The head of John the Baptist and
the word head appears four times

157
00:10:35,910 –> 00:10:38,510
in this section. 4 is the
biblical number for

158
00:10:38,510 –> 00:10:41,450
righteousness.
It was his righteous thinking

159
00:10:41,450 –> 00:10:46,730
that she despised because John
had the audacity time and time

160
00:10:46,730 –> 00:10:49,570
and time again to say it is not
lawful.

161
00:10:49,970 –> 00:10:53,010
It is not lawful for you to be
doing this.

162
00:10:53,050 –> 00:10:57,770
I want his head, says Hirodius.
She instructs her daughter to go

163
00:10:57,770 –> 00:11:00,930
back in and straight way.
She doesn’t want any time

164
00:11:00,930 –> 00:11:03,090
wasted.
Straight way.

165
00:11:03,090 –> 00:11:07,610
Verse 25 and Mark adds these
words with haste.

166
00:11:09,050 –> 00:11:14,250
Straightway verse 25 With haste
I will thou give me by and by

167
00:11:14,250 –> 00:11:18,130
the word by, and by there means
instantly she doesn’t want any

168
00:11:18,130 –> 00:11:21,130
time wasted.
Straightway with haste instantly

169
00:11:21,290 –> 00:11:23,450
get me the head of John the
Baptist.

170
00:11:27,890 –> 00:11:35,850
The head The thinking of John is
what she despised and what did

171
00:11:35,850 –> 00:11:39,920
she want to do with that head.
And this reveals how how sick

172
00:11:39,920 –> 00:11:42,400
she was.
She wanted that head in verse 25

173
00:11:42,400 –> 00:11:45,680
on a charger.
The word charger just means a

174
00:11:45,680 –> 00:11:48,720
plate.
A head on a plate.

175
00:11:49,800 –> 00:11:53,520
Now why would she want that?
Well, first of all, I think she

176
00:11:53,520 –> 00:11:55,520
wanted that head on a plate
because she wanted to be

177
00:11:55,520 –> 00:11:58,960
absolutely sure it was him.
You know, it wasn’t good enough

178
00:11:58,960 –> 00:12:00,560
to hear about it from somebody
else.

179
00:12:00,560 –> 00:12:03,920
Okay, we took care of John.
Now you can move on, Hirodius.

180
00:12:04,270 –> 00:12:06,390
She wanted it on a head so that
she could see it.

181
00:12:06,390 –> 00:12:11,510
There was no doubt it was him.
Secondly, she wanted that mouth

182
00:12:11,790 –> 00:12:14,150
that had been chomping against
John.

183
00:12:14,150 –> 00:12:18,110
She wanted that mouth shut so
that everybody could see it

184
00:12:18,110 –> 00:12:22,110
there on the plate.
Do you still think it’s not

185
00:12:22,110 –> 00:12:26,070
lawful for us to be married?
Husband?

186
00:12:26,070 –> 00:12:29,230
Do you still think it’s unlawful
for us to be married?

187
00:12:30,310 –> 00:12:33,630
Now it’s shut.
And there was, of course, in

188
00:12:33,630 –> 00:12:37,100
that.
Something very very sick because

189
00:12:37,100 –> 00:12:42,500
it’s a head on a plate at a
party and it would have been a

190
00:12:42,500 –> 00:12:47,700
gruesome joke.
This was the dessert served up

191
00:12:48,860 –> 00:12:54,820
at a birthday party.
What a woman you no wonder the

192
00:12:54,820 –> 00:12:57,460
Lord Jesus Christ.
When he heard about that he left

193
00:12:57,460 –> 00:13:00,700
the area.
He said I I need to be alone and

194
00:13:01,620 –> 00:13:03,380
he went went away in the
wilderness when he.

195
00:13:04,310 –> 00:13:06,990
He thought about what they had
done to John.

196
00:13:08,950 –> 00:13:12,630
Well, Herod hears that request,
and in verse 26, remember Herod

197
00:13:12,630 –> 00:13:18,190
likes John.
Verse 26, the king was exceeding

198
00:13:18,710 –> 00:13:22,990
sorry.
He was exceeding sorrowful.

199
00:13:23,670 –> 00:13:26,750
You know how intense that is,
Those two words there in verse

200
00:13:27,310 –> 00:13:31,230
26, you just flip over a few
pages to mark chapter 14.

201
00:13:32,320 –> 00:13:36,600
The same two Greek words are
used here in March chapter 14,

202
00:13:37,280 –> 00:13:46,880
exceeding sorry, where the Lord
bends his head, bows his head in

203
00:13:46,880 –> 00:13:52,160
Gethsemane, and verse 34 says,
my soul is exceeding sorrowful

204
00:13:52,160 –> 00:13:55,320
even unto death.
You know we know the agony,

205
00:13:55,320 –> 00:14:00,080
don’t we of Gethsemane, my will,
your will, my will.

206
00:14:00,600 –> 00:14:01,160
You’re well.
Well now.

207
00:14:01,160 –> 00:14:06,480
Herod’s feeling that he was
exceeding sorrowful, you know,

208
00:14:06,480 –> 00:14:10,960
he would have sobered up really
quickly when that request came.

209
00:14:10,960 –> 00:14:13,480
And those those words of that
girl would have just pierced him

210
00:14:13,480 –> 00:14:17,320
like a dagger he was exceeding.
Sorry.

211
00:14:17,320 –> 00:14:19,680
But here’s the problem that
Herod has.

212
00:14:21,320 –> 00:14:25,280
Everyone in the room heard him.
The legal system had heard him,

213
00:14:26,680 –> 00:14:31,080
the military had heard him.
The landowners had all heard

214
00:14:31,080 –> 00:14:33,920
him, and he can’t afford to lose
face, can he?

215
00:14:33,920 –> 00:14:37,720
He can’t go back now.
And so he gives in to their

216
00:14:38,040 –> 00:14:44,440
request, and he takes the life
of John the Baptist.

217
00:14:47,040 –> 00:14:50,120
And so John’s head, brothers and
sisters, was sacrificed on the

218
00:14:50,120 –> 00:14:55,680
altar of pride, and in fierce
opposition to the greats of this

219
00:14:55,680 –> 00:14:58,960
world, he could not have
suffered a more fitting.

220
00:14:59,840 –> 00:15:04,160
And a bore honorable death.
John’s head was sacrificed on

221
00:15:04,160 –> 00:15:10,440
the altar of pride and in fierce
opposition to the greats of this

222
00:15:10,440 –> 00:15:12,440
world.
Now wasn’t that exactly how John

223
00:15:12,440 –> 00:15:17,160
had lived his life?
A man in a camel skin, living in

224
00:15:17,160 –> 00:15:19,800
the desert completely
unencumbered with all the things

225
00:15:19,800 –> 00:15:22,920
that haired antipass in this
world worries about John didn’t

226
00:15:22,920 –> 00:15:25,850
have those things.
Everything that the world

227
00:15:25,850 –> 00:15:29,290
esteems is great.
John had isolated himself from.

228
00:15:30,410 –> 00:15:35,090
He’d isolated himself from
possessions, just had the basics

229
00:15:35,490 –> 00:15:38,770
of what he needed to live, and
he gave his mind to the

230
00:15:38,770 –> 00:15:44,610
wonderful voice of God’s word,
until finally he sacrificed his

231
00:15:44,610 –> 00:15:50,090
life, his mind in opposition to
the greats of this world.

232
00:15:50,880 –> 00:15:53,400
And his example now speaks to us
brothers and sisters.

233
00:15:53,400 –> 00:15:56,760
John has gone before us this
weekend, the voice that we all

234
00:15:56,760 –> 00:16:00,680
have to listen to, that we stand
with God against the emotions

235
00:16:00,680 –> 00:16:06,200
and against the pleasures of
mankind, and having enough to

236
00:16:06,200 –> 00:16:09,640
live a godly life with
contentment to not worry about

237
00:16:09,640 –> 00:16:12,880
our four O1 KS our raises.
All of those things will be

238
00:16:12,880 –> 00:16:16,880
taken care of just to give our
minds to the wonderful voice of

239
00:16:16,880 –> 00:16:20,360
God’s worth and if necessary, to
sacrifice our life.

240
00:16:21,220 –> 00:16:27,700
In opposition to the greats of
this world, you what God thought

241
00:16:27,700 –> 00:16:30,740
of that.
You what God thought of what

242
00:16:30,740 –> 00:16:34,580
they did to John.
It’s not written in the Bible,

243
00:16:35,580 –> 00:16:39,980
but the historians tell us very
clearly what happened in a D39

244
00:16:39,980 –> 00:16:44,820
about 10 years later here at
Antipass appealed to Caesar.

245
00:16:44,900 –> 00:16:49,060
He wanted the title of King and
Caesar, of course.

246
00:16:49,520 –> 00:16:53,280
Knowing Haired Antipass’s
dubious history was unwilling to

247
00:16:53,280 –> 00:16:56,000
do that.
He was worried handing A haired

248
00:16:56,000 –> 00:17:01,760
Antipass might be a threat.
And so he sent him where he sent

249
00:17:01,760 –> 00:17:08,960
Haired Antipass and his wife
Herodius to a dungeon in Spain,

250
00:17:10,520 –> 00:17:15,200
and there he died.
At the end of his life he had no

251
00:17:15,200 –> 00:17:18,520
more money, He had no more
possessions.

252
00:17:18,920 –> 00:17:21,760
It was all gone and he was down
there 10 years later, at the end

253
00:17:21,760 –> 00:17:23,599
of his life in a dungeon with
his wife.

254
00:17:25,160 –> 00:17:27,680
The justice of God is always
poetic.

255
00:17:28,160 –> 00:17:30,960
As a man sows that shall he also
reap.

256
00:17:30,960 –> 00:17:33,480
He finished up exactly where
John finished up.

257
00:17:33,680 –> 00:17:36,760
But look at the difference.
John will be in the Kingdom.

258
00:17:36,760 –> 00:17:40,200
One day the Lord Jesus Christ
will snatch that head back and

259
00:17:40,200 –> 00:17:42,680
put it on John and stand him on
the earth again.

260
00:17:43,400 –> 00:17:46,400
There will be no future whatever
for Herodana pass, or for

261
00:17:46,400 –> 00:17:49,380
herodious.
You know what they did to

262
00:17:49,380 –> 00:17:55,220
Salome?
Or what happened to her several

263
00:17:55,220 –> 00:18:01,100
years later?
She was on a lake, a frozen

264
00:18:01,300 –> 00:18:05,340
lake.
Some parts of the ice were thin.

265
00:18:06,460 –> 00:18:08,980
So she steps out onto the lake
and she begins to slide.

266
00:18:10,020 –> 00:18:13,860
She loses her balance and she
starts moving along the lake to

267
00:18:13,860 –> 00:18:18,290
where the ice was thin.
And she fell down through the

268
00:18:18,290 –> 00:18:21,610
ice.
And as she fell down through the

269
00:18:21,610 –> 00:18:24,090
ice, you know what happened to
her head?

270
00:18:26,730 –> 00:18:31,850
Off it went.
She had said, I want his head,

271
00:18:33,770 –> 00:18:37,610
the hair at Annie Pass.
And she died going through the

272
00:18:37,650 –> 00:18:39,650
ice in a lake.
And as she went through the ice,

273
00:18:39,690 –> 00:18:43,770
her head made contact with the
ice, and off it went.

274
00:18:45,490 –> 00:18:49,690
God dealt.
With this family, he rewards you

275
00:18:50,770 –> 00:18:55,890
exactly how you reward others,
because they had treated John in

276
00:18:55,890 –> 00:18:59,410
that manner.
They were dealt with like.

277
00:18:59,410 –> 00:19:03,130
So we come down to the 7th
chapter of Luke.

278
00:19:03,250 –> 00:19:09,890
John is gone, and just before
that gruesome moment, he sends a

279
00:19:09,890 –> 00:19:14,450
question to Jesus Christ and
Luke records for us what that

280
00:19:15,130 –> 00:19:17,540
question was.
You know Herod would have been

281
00:19:17,540 –> 00:19:21,260
glad to allow communication
between John and Jesus.

282
00:19:21,260 –> 00:19:24,340
He this is back during the days
when he was trying to save John

283
00:19:25,220 –> 00:19:28,740
from his wife.
So in Luke chapter seven, we

284
00:19:28,740 –> 00:19:32,500
read these words, verse 16, and
there came fear on all and they

285
00:19:32,500 –> 00:19:36,300
glorified God saying a great
prophet has risen up among us

286
00:19:36,500 –> 00:19:40,020
and that God has visited his
people.

287
00:19:40,300 –> 00:19:44,060
Now that’s exactly as your
margin indicates what Zachariah

288
00:19:44,060 –> 00:19:47,080
said.
When John the Baptist was born,

289
00:19:47,280 –> 00:19:51,640
he said, God has visited his
people, and he had not only in

290
00:19:51,640 –> 00:19:55,120
the person of John the Baptist,
but now in the person of our

291
00:19:55,120 –> 00:19:58,240
Lord Jesus Christ.
And so with Zechariah’s words

292
00:19:58,240 –> 00:20:04,600
now echoing before us once again
in verse 19, John, calling unto

293
00:20:04,600 –> 00:20:09,200
him two of his disciples, sent
them to Jesus, saying, Art thou

294
00:20:09,200 –> 00:20:13,870
he that should come?
Or do we look for another?

295
00:20:13,870 –> 00:20:19,350
So this is John’s question in
the prison he sends a message to

296
00:20:19,430 –> 00:20:26,630
Jesus, Art thou he that should
come, or do we look for another?

297
00:20:27,950 –> 00:20:31,030
You know, we sometimes try, I
think in our sincerity and love

298
00:20:31,030 –> 00:20:34,590
for biblical characters to to
skirt the obvious.

299
00:20:35,470 –> 00:20:38,350
You know, people say, well, John
didn’t doubt it was for the IT

300
00:20:38,350 –> 00:20:40,070
was for the cause of the
disciples.

301
00:20:40,490 –> 00:20:43,890
That John asked that question,
it wasn’t for his benefit.

302
00:20:44,290 –> 00:20:47,650
The brothers and sisters that
that will not fit that context.

303
00:20:48,610 –> 00:20:51,770
John had been continually
telling those disciples to

304
00:20:51,770 –> 00:20:54,930
follow Jesus.
They’re hardly likely to then go

305
00:20:54,930 –> 00:20:58,210
to the Lord Jesus Christ to be
convinced of him whom they saw

306
00:20:58,210 –> 00:21:01,490
as John’s opposition in contrast
to what John was telling them

307
00:21:01,490 –> 00:21:04,850
all the time.
They’re not likely to be

308
00:21:04,850 –> 00:21:07,130
convinced to follow him by going
to the Lord.

309
00:21:08,530 –> 00:21:12,570
No, that wouldn’t be the reason.
The context of this chapter,

310
00:21:12,570 –> 00:21:16,810
Bros and sisters, demands that
that doubt in verse 19, if we

311
00:21:16,810 –> 00:21:22,690
want to call it that, was John’s
verse 22.

312
00:21:22,690 –> 00:21:27,210
Go and tell John what things you
have seen and heard.

313
00:21:27,210 –> 00:21:32,250
If the answer is for John, that
must mean that the question came

314
00:21:32,650 –> 00:21:38,050
from John.
There’s no perfect character in

315
00:21:38,050 –> 00:21:40,650
the Bible.
Except one.

316
00:21:42,130 –> 00:21:46,730
All the great heroes of faith
have their failings.

317
00:21:48,650 –> 00:21:51,890
John wavered on just this one
occasion.

318
00:21:52,090 –> 00:21:55,090
You know, after everything that
had happened, he says.

319
00:21:55,210 –> 00:21:58,090
Are you the one?
Are you really the one?

320
00:21:59,570 –> 00:22:05,250
But before we we criticize John
and start throwing stones, think

321
00:22:05,250 –> 00:22:07,050
of John down there in that dark
dungeon.

322
00:22:07,870 –> 00:22:14,310
With all the rioting, he knows
he’s about to die any moment and

323
00:22:14,310 –> 00:22:18,030
he just wanted some reassurance.
Are you the one?

324
00:22:18,470 –> 00:22:22,030
Please tell me he just wanted
some reassurance.

325
00:22:22,270 –> 00:22:24,790
You know, don’t we all need
reassurance, fellows and sisters

326
00:22:25,470 –> 00:22:27,630
in our lives?
Let’s not criticize John.

327
00:22:27,670 –> 00:22:31,030
He’s human, just like all of us.
I’ve seen miracles done in my

328
00:22:31,030 –> 00:22:34,470
life.
I’ve seen God’s hand at work in

329
00:22:34,470 –> 00:22:36,150
my life.
And I could all stirred up.

330
00:22:37,080 –> 00:22:41,880
For about 30 minutes, and I need
reassurance every day of my life

331
00:22:41,880 –> 00:22:46,480
constantly to keep me going.
If we need it, brothers and

332
00:22:46,480 –> 00:22:50,960
sisters, in our comfortable
circumstances, then please be

333
00:22:50,960 –> 00:22:54,640
considerate of John down there
in the prison who momentarily

334
00:22:54,640 –> 00:23:00,560
doubted in a cold, dark dungeon
with an imperious woman there to

335
00:23:00,640 –> 00:23:03,720
kill him.
He knows any minute he’s going

336
00:23:03,720 –> 00:23:08,310
to die.
Wouldn’t you want reassurance if

337
00:23:08,310 –> 00:23:12,670
you were in that position?
Let’s bear thought for that poor

338
00:23:12,670 –> 00:23:15,630
man.
So how is Jesus going to answer

339
00:23:15,630 –> 00:23:18,790
him?
He knows John is struggling.

340
00:23:19,830 –> 00:23:22,150
He doesn’t say to John.
But don’t worry John, I’m the

341
00:23:22,150 –> 00:23:26,270
one you know Jesus.
He he always engages the mind of

342
00:23:26,270 –> 00:23:29,990
his followers.
Look at his response in in verse

343
00:23:30,310 –> 00:23:33,190
20 they asked the question, art
thou he that should come?

344
00:23:33,800 –> 00:23:36,520
Or do we look for another?
And Jesus says to the disciples

345
00:23:36,520 –> 00:23:39,280
of John, just stand over there,
just stand over there.

346
00:23:40,320 –> 00:23:43,240
And then he goes to work, and he
heals like he’s never healed.

347
00:23:43,720 –> 00:23:46,040
Verse 21.
The same hour he cured many of

348
00:23:46,040 –> 00:23:50,480
their infirmities and plagues,
and of evil spirits, And unto

349
00:23:50,480 –> 00:23:52,920
the many that were blind, He
gave sight.

350
00:23:53,760 –> 00:23:55,560
So he goes into a fervor of
activity.

351
00:23:55,560 –> 00:23:59,640
The lame are healed, the blind
can now see, the lepers are made

352
00:23:59,640 –> 00:24:01,280
clean.
And the disciples of John are

353
00:24:01,280 –> 00:24:03,970
watching this.
And then he says, go tell John

354
00:24:03,970 –> 00:24:08,570
this, Go tell John this, Go your
way, verse 22.

355
00:24:08,570 –> 00:24:11,090
And tell John what things you’ve
just seen and heard.

356
00:24:12,290 –> 00:24:17,570
How that the blind see the lame
walk, the lepers are cleansed,

357
00:24:18,050 –> 00:24:22,730
the death.
Here the dead are raised, and to

358
00:24:22,730 –> 00:24:30,290
the poor the gospel is preached.
And that was Jesus’s answer to

359
00:24:30,290 –> 00:24:32,570
the poor.
The Gospels preach.

360
00:24:32,570 –> 00:24:36,690
Go tell John that you can
imagine those messengers, those

361
00:24:36,690 –> 00:24:39,330
disciples, going back to
Mccarris and finding John.

362
00:24:40,010 –> 00:24:42,290
You know John is down there in
the dungeon, pacing back and

363
00:24:42,290 –> 00:24:46,330
forth with anticipation.
John, you should see him.

364
00:24:46,810 –> 00:24:50,330
He’s giving sight to the blind.
Layman stood up.

365
00:24:50,850 –> 00:24:53,730
Lepers are being cleansed.
He went to work like you’ve

366
00:24:53,730 –> 00:24:56,610
never seen him go to work.
And and when your dad said that

367
00:24:56,770 –> 00:25:00,010
God has visited his people,
that’s exactly what’s happening.

368
00:25:00,990 –> 00:25:03,470
They’re all saying that all over
the land.

369
00:25:03,470 –> 00:25:08,670
And then he said to tell you,
John, to tell you to the poor.

370
00:25:09,910 –> 00:25:14,030
The gospel is preached.
Now there wouldn’t be have been

371
00:25:14,030 –> 00:25:18,350
a poor man on the earth at that
time, and that poor man

372
00:25:18,350 –> 00:25:23,350
languishing in that prison.
And that was his answer you

373
00:25:23,350 –> 00:25:26,070
noticed in verse 22, all of
those things are physical.

374
00:25:28,030 –> 00:25:33,100
The blind see the lame walk.
The lepers are cleansed, The

375
00:25:33,100 –> 00:25:37,660
death here, the dead are raised.
And then this one is different

376
00:25:38,180 –> 00:25:41,780
to the poor.
The gospel is preached, and

377
00:25:41,780 –> 00:25:46,500
that’s Isaiah 61.
Let’s come back to that because

378
00:25:46,860 –> 00:25:50,260
Jesus here gives him his answer.
Your John didn’t.

379
00:25:50,460 –> 00:25:54,260
Jesus didn’t say to John, yes,
I’m the one, but he directed

380
00:25:54,260 –> 00:25:57,580
John to the answer himself.
You know, it’s always the best

381
00:25:57,740 –> 00:25:59,940
way to deal with a person who’s
got a problem is.

382
00:26:00,470 –> 00:26:03,190
Send them to find the answer in
the Bible.

383
00:26:03,710 –> 00:26:06,150
They’ll be richly rewarded and
that’s what Jesus does here.

384
00:26:06,830 –> 00:26:09,070
To the poor the gospel is
preached.

385
00:26:09,710 –> 00:26:11,990
Isaiah 61.
Now John would have known that

386
00:26:12,950 –> 00:26:16,790
even even the the casual Jews
recited scriptures.

387
00:26:16,790 –> 00:26:17,950
He would have known this
scripture.

388
00:26:17,950 –> 00:26:22,110
Isaiah 61 It’s all about the
good tidings of the Kingdom of

389
00:26:22,110 –> 00:26:27,190
God, the gospel being preached.
Verse one, the Spirit of the

390
00:26:27,190 –> 00:26:31,640
Lord Yahweh is upon me.
Because Yahweh hath anointed me,

391
00:26:32,600 –> 00:26:37,680
Yes, I’m the one, John.
And here it comes to preach good

392
00:26:37,840 –> 00:26:41,720
tidings unto the meek.
The word meek there is poor to

393
00:26:41,720 –> 00:26:47,040
the poor the gospel is preached.
You go tell John that here it is

394
00:26:47,040 –> 00:26:52,240
in Isaiah 61 to preach good
tidings the gospel unto the

395
00:26:52,240 –> 00:26:55,120
poor.
John would think, Ah, Lizzie’s

396
00:26:55,120 –> 00:26:57,480
down in there in the prison,
good tidings to the poor.

397
00:26:57,480 –> 00:27:01,860
Yes, yes.
But what does Jesus stop before

398
00:27:01,860 –> 00:27:04,740
he gets to?
He doesn’t quote the rest of the

399
00:27:04,740 –> 00:27:07,220
verse, does he?
What does the rest of the verse

400
00:27:07,220 –> 00:27:11,300
say?
He has sent me to bind up the

401
00:27:11,300 –> 00:27:17,140
broken hearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives and the

402
00:27:17,180 –> 00:27:20,860
opening of the prison to them
that are bound.

403
00:27:20,940 –> 00:27:26,500
And Jesus stopped short of that,
saying he would say, yes, I’m

404
00:27:26,500 –> 00:27:30,330
the one.
And John would hear those words.

405
00:27:30,330 –> 00:27:31,530
He would know where they’re
coming from.

406
00:27:31,530 –> 00:27:35,290
But John, I can’t open that
prison just yet.

407
00:27:37,250 –> 00:27:40,970
But that verse says that
ultimately, one day it will be

408
00:27:40,970 –> 00:27:43,730
opened.
Verse two, in an acceptable

409
00:27:44,010 –> 00:27:49,690
time, it will be opened.
You’re not going to get out of

410
00:27:49,690 –> 00:27:52,130
this, John.
Not now.

411
00:27:53,210 –> 00:27:56,250
But one day I will open it for
you.

412
00:27:56,840 –> 00:27:59,880
Now remember, when Jesus quotes
a passage, he he’s not just

413
00:27:59,880 –> 00:28:02,840
quoting a phrase.
Okay to the poor, the Gospels

414
00:28:02,840 –> 00:28:04,000
preach.
That sounds good.

415
00:28:04,840 –> 00:28:07,320
He’s quoting from a whole
context.

416
00:28:07,320 –> 00:28:09,120
Here’s the answer to John’s
problem.

417
00:28:10,520 –> 00:28:13,600
One day I’ll open that prison
for you, John, but but not now.

418
00:28:14,160 –> 00:28:20,280
Look at verse 5 and strangers
shall stand and feed your

419
00:28:20,280 –> 00:28:23,320
flocks.
The sons of the alien, we could

420
00:28:23,320 –> 00:28:24,640
say.
The Edomite.

421
00:28:26,490 –> 00:28:28,770
Shall be your plowman and your
vine dressers.

422
00:28:29,130 –> 00:28:30,850
You shall be named the priests
of Yahweh.

423
00:28:30,850 –> 00:28:32,850
Men shall call you the ministers
of our God.

424
00:28:33,090 –> 00:28:36,410
You shall eat the riches of the
Gentiles.

425
00:28:36,410 –> 00:28:38,290
Now, what were they all doing
upstairs?

426
00:28:38,610 –> 00:28:41,610
They were savoring the riches of
the Gentiles.

427
00:28:41,930 –> 00:28:44,530
And he says, John, one day
you’re going to do that.

428
00:28:45,250 –> 00:28:48,530
One day they’ll be serving you.
One day you’ll be eating their

429
00:28:48,530 –> 00:28:52,410
riches.
And in their glory shall ye

430
00:28:52,490 –> 00:28:55,370
boast yourselves.
They’re all boasting.

431
00:28:56,280 –> 00:29:02,160
And mocking John, one day it’s
all going to change, your Jesus

432
00:29:02,160 –> 00:29:04,120
had said back in Luke 7, verse
23.

433
00:29:04,120 –> 00:29:12,360
And blessed is he whosoever
shall not stumble in Me, verse

434
00:29:12,360 –> 00:29:15,320
9.
And their seed shall be known

435
00:29:15,320 –> 00:29:18,880
among the Gentiles, and their
offspring among the people.

436
00:29:19,720 –> 00:29:22,840
All that see them shall
acknowledge them, that they are

437
00:29:22,840 –> 00:29:25,480
the seed which Yahweh hath
blessed.

438
00:29:25,850 –> 00:29:30,050
Blessed is he who shall not be
offended in me.

439
00:29:31,170 –> 00:29:34,250
And there was his answer.
He sent him back to Isaiah 61 to

440
00:29:34,610 –> 00:29:38,210
allow that great mind to think
about the Kingdom of God.

441
00:29:38,730 –> 00:29:42,650
Look beyond the problem, John,
to see the glory of the Kingdom

442
00:29:42,650 –> 00:29:45,130
of God.
Yes, you’re in shame in that

443
00:29:45,130 –> 00:29:47,450
prison.
Yes, you’re confused.

444
00:29:47,450 –> 00:29:50,770
But look at verse 7.
For your shame, John.

445
00:29:52,130 –> 00:29:57,100
You shall have double.
And for confusion they shall

446
00:29:57,100 –> 00:30:00,420
rejoice in their portion.
Therefore in their land shall

447
00:30:00,420 –> 00:30:04,500
they possess The double
everlasting joy shall be unto

448
00:30:04,500 –> 00:30:06,460
them.
One day I will open that prison,

449
00:30:06,460 –> 00:30:09,460
John, and it won’t be just to
give you mortal life.

450
00:30:10,740 –> 00:30:13,260
It will be to bring you to
immortal life.

451
00:30:13,540 –> 00:30:17,900
Everlasting joy shall be unto
you, John.

452
00:30:17,900 –> 00:30:22,340
I can’t open that prison now.
God’s not necessarily going to

453
00:30:22,340 –> 00:30:28,380
solve all of our problems, both
and sisters now, but one day he

454
00:30:28,380 –> 00:30:30,740
will get us out.
And just before we leave Isaiah

455
00:30:30,740 –> 00:30:35,140
61 look at the verse 10 and see
how appropriate this is in the

456
00:30:35,140 –> 00:30:38,740
light of of John the Baptist.
I will greatly rejoice in

457
00:30:38,740 –> 00:30:41,660
Yahweh.
My soul shall be joyful in my

458
00:30:41,660 –> 00:30:45,940
God, for he hath clothed me with
the garments of salvation.

459
00:30:46,260 –> 00:30:48,620
You know the the the camel skin
is gone now.

460
00:30:49,060 –> 00:30:52,900
The prison garments are gone.
He had covered me with a robe of

461
00:30:52,900 –> 00:30:58,300
righteousness as a bridegroom
deketh himself with ornaments.

462
00:30:58,500 –> 00:31:02,500
John had had to stand outside in
John chapter 3 and hear the

463
00:31:02,500 –> 00:31:04,900
bridegroom’s voice.
He wasn’t part of the bridal

464
00:31:04,900 –> 00:31:08,980
party, as we saw, but one day he
is going to be decked with

465
00:31:08,980 –> 00:31:14,740
garments as a bridegroom, as a
part of the glorious Kingdom of

466
00:31:14,740 –> 00:31:17,980
God to come.
And there was the Lord’s answer.

467
00:31:17,980 –> 00:31:21,470
It was a perfect answer.
Because it set that great mind

468
00:31:21,470 –> 00:31:24,710
to work thinking about the
Kingdom of God.

469
00:31:24,750 –> 00:31:28,910
And just with that one little
phrase to the poor, the gospel

470
00:31:29,270 –> 00:31:32,150
is preached.
John got a perfect answer.

471
00:31:32,230 –> 00:31:35,630
Jesus didn’t upbraid him.
He knew what his need was.

472
00:31:35,630 –> 00:31:39,750
He gently had to rebuke him.
Don’t be offended in me, John,

473
00:31:40,790 –> 00:31:45,030
but he set John’s mind to work
thinking about the future.

474
00:31:45,910 –> 00:31:47,710
That’s the answer we get in
life, isn’t it, brothers and

475
00:31:47,710 –> 00:31:50,580
sisters?
You come to me or I go to you

476
00:31:51,540 –> 00:31:55,260
and we say, here’s my problem.
How often is it that you ever

477
00:31:55,260 –> 00:31:57,380
get a direct answer to your
problems?

478
00:31:57,580 –> 00:31:59,660
You don’t.
But what?

479
00:31:59,660 –> 00:32:02,300
What God does is He gives us
enough to carry on.

480
00:32:03,060 –> 00:32:04,500
He says, I understand your
problem.

481
00:32:05,180 –> 00:32:06,740
I could you, I could relieve
you.

482
00:32:07,340 –> 00:32:10,180
But not now.
But he sends our minds to the

483
00:32:10,180 –> 00:32:14,220
Bible to help us think about
what’s beyond the problem, the

484
00:32:14,220 –> 00:32:18,660
glory of the Kingdom of God.
John wasn’t going to get out of

485
00:32:18,660 –> 00:32:20,900
it at that time.
I can’t open that prison now,

486
00:32:20,900 –> 00:32:21,860
John.
I’m sorry.

487
00:32:22,780 –> 00:32:26,140
But one day he would.
Every answer that you could

488
00:32:26,140 –> 00:32:28,660
find, really for John’s life is
in that chapter.

489
00:32:30,180 –> 00:32:34,060
And when John made that
connection, when Jesus took him

490
00:32:34,060 –> 00:32:37,580
back to Isaiah 61, I think the
doubts were gone.

491
00:32:38,980 –> 00:32:42,340
The doubts were gone, and John
would have walked resolutely to

492
00:32:42,340 –> 00:32:47,260
his death.
We come back now to Luke Chapter

493
00:32:47,260 –> 00:32:51,980
7.
The messengers are going back to

494
00:32:52,020 –> 00:32:57,540
John with the message from
Isaiah 61 that the poor have

495
00:32:57,540 –> 00:33:02,780
received the gospel and
something happened in the crowd.

496
00:33:07,500 –> 00:33:11,620
Luke 7 verse 24 here was one of
the greatest dressing downs that

497
00:33:11,620 –> 00:33:14,690
you’ll find in the Bible.
That our Lord Jesus Christ

498
00:33:14,690 –> 00:33:18,930
performs and as the messengers
of John were departing, it says

499
00:33:18,930 –> 00:33:23,690
the Greek is for verse 24.
What happened was this.

500
00:33:23,690 –> 00:33:26,050
There are hundreds of people
gathered around our Lord Jesus

501
00:33:26,050 –> 00:33:29,130
Christ.
He’s talking to the two

502
00:33:29,130 –> 00:33:31,890
disciples, the messengers of
John, and says, I want you to

503
00:33:31,890 –> 00:33:35,890
send this message back to John.
The Lord has to mildly rebuke

504
00:33:35,890 –> 00:33:41,210
John because he he temporarily
would have doubted and as the

505
00:33:41,210 –> 00:33:46,200
crowd heard that.
A few Snickers went up in the

506
00:33:46,200 –> 00:33:49,480
crowd.
People began to laugh up their

507
00:33:49,480 –> 00:33:53,280
sleeves.
Well, you never would have

508
00:33:53,280 –> 00:33:59,000
believed that he would have
doubted John the Baptist after

509
00:33:59,040 –> 00:34:03,240
all that, he told us.
I suppose you know it.

510
00:34:03,560 –> 00:34:06,280
Everybody’s got their
weaknesses, and the Lord Jesus

511
00:34:06,280 –> 00:34:10,000
Christ heard that.
And so that triggered off in

512
00:34:10,000 –> 00:34:14,500
verse 24.
One of the greatest dressing

513
00:34:14,500 –> 00:34:17,420
downs that you find in
scripture, the Lord really let

514
00:34:17,420 –> 00:34:20,739
go here and upbraids this crowd.
Our Lord could get angry

515
00:34:20,739 –> 00:34:22,300
brothers and sisters, very
angry.

516
00:34:22,980 –> 00:34:26,020
And he had a righteous anger as
he heard the people laughing up

517
00:34:26,020 –> 00:34:29,780
their sleeves at this man.
You know, the Lord’s heart would

518
00:34:29,780 –> 00:34:32,980
have been bleeding for John, you
know, sympathetic to his, his

519
00:34:32,980 –> 00:34:34,580
weakness.
And he just says, what went she

520
00:34:34,580 –> 00:34:39,620
out to see What was it you saw?
And the crowd would stagger

521
00:34:39,620 –> 00:34:43,310
back.
A Reed shaken in the wind at the

522
00:34:43,310 –> 00:34:48,989
end of verse 24 was he a man who
who yielded his opinion, the

523
00:34:48,989 –> 00:34:52,510
popular appeal.
He fronted up to the Pharisees.

524
00:34:52,710 –> 00:34:54,389
He fronted up to the common
people.

525
00:34:54,750 –> 00:34:58,150
He fronted up to the publicans.
And when a Roman soldier stuck

526
00:34:58,150 –> 00:35:00,590
his spear in the ground, he
fronted up to him too, and said,

527
00:35:00,590 –> 00:35:04,670
do violence to no man.
And when the great Herod and to

528
00:35:04,670 –> 00:35:08,870
pass committed his great evil,
he fronted him up, not once, not

529
00:35:08,870 –> 00:35:13,220
twice.
But day after day until it cost

530
00:35:13,220 –> 00:35:14,740
him his life.
Is that what you went out to

531
00:35:14,740 –> 00:35:17,500
see?
The crowd would recoil.

532
00:35:18,460 –> 00:35:22,140
Or did you go and see a man,
verse 25, who was clothed in

533
00:35:22,140 –> 00:35:25,340
soft Raymond?
The word is effeminate, A softy.

534
00:35:26,700 –> 00:35:28,340
It means a man dressed as a
woman.

535
00:35:28,980 –> 00:35:33,580
Did you go and see an effeminate
someone who’s one thing one day

536
00:35:33,580 –> 00:35:36,380
and another thing the next?
Is that what you went out to

537
00:35:36,380 –> 00:35:37,780
see?
Asked Jesus.

538
00:35:39,030 –> 00:35:42,310
That are gloriously apparelled
or in kings houses he wore a

539
00:35:42,310 –> 00:35:45,350
camel skin.
Could any of you do that?

540
00:35:46,430 –> 00:35:48,790
A camel skin which which no one
could wear.

541
00:35:48,790 –> 00:35:52,270
He didn’t live in a King’s
palace, he lived in a desert

542
00:35:53,510 –> 00:35:57,190
where there was nothing and
eating grasshoppers whilst

543
00:35:57,230 –> 00:36:00,270
others fared sumptuously every
day none.

544
00:36:00,270 –> 00:36:03,710
None of you would have had the
gumption to do what John did.

545
00:36:04,590 –> 00:36:06,550
Or perhaps there was a measure
of respect for John.

546
00:36:07,150 –> 00:36:10,170
Did you go and see a prophet?
Verse 26.

547
00:36:10,610 –> 00:36:13,210
I mean, the record says that all
men held John to be a prophet,

548
00:36:13,690 –> 00:36:15,210
but you know, they didn’t even
have that right?

549
00:36:16,570 –> 00:36:18,650
He says, I’m going to tell you
he’s more than a prophet.

550
00:36:20,530 –> 00:36:24,330
There wasn’t one person born
among women that was greater

551
00:36:24,450 –> 00:36:27,290
than he.
So even those who had a measure

552
00:36:27,290 –> 00:36:30,450
of respect for John, perhaps
we’re looking to flatter John.

553
00:36:30,930 –> 00:36:34,330
Their estimation was too low.
Jesus says there’s not one born

554
00:36:34,330 –> 00:36:37,010
among woman that is greater than
him.

555
00:36:37,880 –> 00:36:40,400
You think about Moses, you think
about Elijah, You think about

556
00:36:40,400 –> 00:36:44,720
all the great prophets.
They’re nothing, says Jesus in

557
00:36:44,720 –> 00:36:48,440
comparison to that man.
And you know, he was so great,

558
00:36:48,840 –> 00:36:52,920
says verse 27, that the prophets
actually prophesied of him.

559
00:36:53,800 –> 00:36:56,880
He’s the subject of Malachi.
He is the messenger that would

560
00:36:56,880 –> 00:37:00,920
go before me.
He’s the greatest prophet there

561
00:37:00,920 –> 00:37:04,840
ever was.
Because, brothers and sisters,

562
00:37:04,840 –> 00:37:10,050
he wasn’t just words on a page.
It’s one thing to say something,

563
00:37:11,330 –> 00:37:14,450
and it’s another to to reinforce
its power by doing it.

564
00:37:14,650 –> 00:37:18,090
What went she out to see?
That was John.

565
00:37:19,490 –> 00:37:21,770
That was a verbal blast for my
Lord Jesus Christ.

566
00:37:21,770 –> 00:37:25,050
How how dare you criticize that
man?

567
00:37:25,050 –> 00:37:27,170
Yes, he doubted and I rebuked
him for the doubt.

568
00:37:27,850 –> 00:37:30,010
But look at his example.
Is is that what you do?

569
00:37:32,130 –> 00:37:35,250
Well, now the scene changes
after that, that verbal blast

570
00:37:35,250 –> 00:37:39,460
from my Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord could sense some some

571
00:37:39,460 –> 00:37:41,820
contrition in the crowd.
People were we’re now a little

572
00:37:41,820 –> 00:37:44,420
bit ashamed of, of thinking that
way about John.

573
00:37:44,420 –> 00:37:49,100
And so the Lord said to
everybody come here in verse 28.

574
00:37:50,140 –> 00:37:52,820
Among those that are born among
women, there’s not a greater

575
00:37:52,820 –> 00:37:59,460
prophet than John the Baptist,
but he that is least in the

576
00:37:59,460 –> 00:38:02,740
Kingdom of God is greater than
he.

577
00:38:03,380 –> 00:38:07,440
So as great as John was.
And we’ve been staggered as at

578
00:38:07,440 –> 00:38:13,200
his example this weekend, as
great as he was, you can be

579
00:38:13,200 –> 00:38:15,640
greater, said the Lord Jesus
Christ.

580
00:38:15,960 –> 00:38:18,280
The Lord would put his hands on
on their shoulders, not

581
00:38:18,280 –> 00:38:20,600
apologizing.
He would not apologize at all

582
00:38:20,880 –> 00:38:23,280
for what he had said.
But but to tell them that he

583
00:38:23,280 –> 00:38:27,840
that is the very least in the
Kingdom of God is greater than

584
00:38:27,840 –> 00:38:31,840
John the Baptist.
You can all be greater than

585
00:38:31,840 –> 00:38:36,140
John.
Jesus is not saying here that

586
00:38:36,140 –> 00:38:40,100
John will not be in the Kingdom.
You know, I say 61 just said

587
00:38:40,100 –> 00:38:42,380
that he will.
He’s not saying that he wouldn’t

588
00:38:42,380 –> 00:38:44,500
be there.
But as John stood there born

589
00:38:44,500 –> 00:38:48,900
among women, the greatest of a
transient system, as the phrase

590
00:38:48,900 –> 00:38:52,460
born among women means those
born among women, people that

591
00:38:52,460 –> 00:38:56,300
are in the Kingdom of God and
even lower places are greater

592
00:38:56,300 –> 00:39:02,220
than he is born among women as
the greatest you can all be.

593
00:39:03,430 –> 00:39:06,430
Greater than John.
Brothers and sisters, you want

594
00:39:06,430 –> 00:39:08,750
an encouragement?
That would have been for those

595
00:39:08,750 –> 00:39:11,270
who had previously
underestimated John.

596
00:39:11,350 –> 00:39:13,710
Now they can see what the Lord
is driving at in that man’s

597
00:39:13,710 –> 00:39:16,830
example, and they’re motivated
to do something about it.

598
00:39:18,470 –> 00:39:24,590
Well, some did and some didn’t.
Just look at verse 29, who did

599
00:39:24,590 –> 00:39:31,230
something about it and all the
common people that heard him.

600
00:39:32,160 –> 00:39:39,160
And the publicans justified God
being baptized with the baptism

601
00:39:39,160 –> 00:39:41,640
of John.
They justified God when we

602
00:39:41,640 –> 00:39:43,760
explained that yesterday.
Let me put it to you another

603
00:39:43,760 –> 00:39:48,120
way.
All flesh is grass, and my

604
00:39:48,120 –> 00:39:52,440
father is right.
And they all did that, as we saw

605
00:39:52,440 –> 00:39:56,080
yesterday in Luke Chapter 3, in
the Baptism of John, all flesh

606
00:39:56,080 –> 00:39:57,720
is grass.
There’s nothing in me that’s

607
00:39:57,720 –> 00:40:00,710
good.
And they justified God.

608
00:40:00,870 –> 00:40:06,630
My father is right in putting me
to death, in requiring the death

609
00:40:06,630 –> 00:40:09,710
of human nature.
But then, as we read in verse

610
00:40:09,710 –> 00:40:16,630
30, but the Pharisees and the
lawyers rejected the counsel of

611
00:40:16,630 –> 00:40:20,870
God.
Among themselves or within

612
00:40:20,870 –> 00:40:23,870
themselves, you see the margin
for against themselves, the

613
00:40:23,870 –> 00:40:27,990
margin has within.
Themselves, you see, Here’s

614
00:40:28,070 –> 00:40:31,310
group number two.
Group number one accepted those

615
00:40:31,310 –> 00:40:33,070
principles and declared who they
were.

616
00:40:33,550 –> 00:40:35,870
But group #2, there’s a battle
going on inside.

617
00:40:35,990 –> 00:40:39,750
They’ve been pricked in the
heart by John, but they just

618
00:40:39,750 –> 00:40:42,350
can’t do it.
They can’t give up their

619
00:40:42,350 –> 00:40:45,030
comforts.
They don’t want to give up their

620
00:40:45,030 –> 00:40:47,910
houses.
They don’t want to give up all

621
00:40:47,910 –> 00:40:51,790
their money, all their position,
all their honor, and they refuse

622
00:40:51,790 –> 00:40:55,700
to be baptized.
You know, as we face the table

623
00:40:55,700 –> 00:40:59,740
now, brothers and sisters, we
have to ask ourselves, are we in

624
00:40:59,740 –> 00:41:04,780
any way like these people in
verse 30, how many people walk

625
00:41:04,780 –> 00:41:06,700
away impressed with John the
Baptist?

626
00:41:07,620 –> 00:41:11,300
Like here at Antipass, they’re
struck with him.

627
00:41:11,300 –> 00:41:13,860
They think, wow, that’s, you
know, I really should be doing

628
00:41:13,860 –> 00:41:16,540
that in my life, but when it
comes time to doing it, they

629
00:41:16,540 –> 00:41:21,270
just can’t do it.
Because to do that means I’ll,

630
00:41:21,390 –> 00:41:24,510
I’ll lose this or I’ll have to
give up this comfort or I might

631
00:41:24,510 –> 00:41:28,550
be taken down a peg or two.
They frustrated the council of

632
00:41:28,550 –> 00:41:35,350
God within themselves.
Which group are we having heard

633
00:41:35,910 –> 00:41:39,710
the studies on John the Baptist,
having seen his example, what

634
00:41:39,710 –> 00:41:42,790
are we going to do?
Let’s come back to Matthew 11,

635
00:41:42,790 –> 00:41:46,030
because Matthew just adds one
detail that that Mark doesn’t

636
00:41:47,590 –> 00:41:52,740
here is Jesus.
Final testimony to John and to

637
00:41:52,740 –> 00:41:57,900
the greatness of the man that we
have seen this weekend, Matthew,

638
00:41:57,900 –> 00:42:04,340
Chapter 11, verse 11.
Barely, I say unto you, among

639
00:42:04,340 –> 00:42:08,300
them that are born of women,
there have not risen a greater

640
00:42:08,300 –> 00:42:11,660
than John the Baptist.
Notwithstanding he that is least

641
00:42:11,660 –> 00:42:14,220
in the Kingdom of heaven is
greater than he.

642
00:42:14,220 –> 00:42:15,700
You can all be greater than
John.

643
00:42:16,500 –> 00:42:19,020
And from the days of John the
Baptist until now the Kingdom of

644
00:42:19,020 –> 00:42:22,900
heaven suffereth violence and
the violent take it by force.

645
00:42:23,540 –> 00:42:27,140
For all the prophets in the law
prophesied till John and if you

646
00:42:27,140 –> 00:42:30,460
will receive it, this is Elijah
which was for it to come.

647
00:42:30,980 –> 00:42:34,460
And verse 15 is a statement
which is universal.

648
00:42:34,740 –> 00:42:38,020
When we read this statement in
verse 15 it means this is a

649
00:42:38,020 –> 00:42:42,100
message for all time.
So Jesus is not just speaking in

650
00:42:42,100 –> 00:42:44,220
verse 15 to the people listening
that day.

651
00:42:45,040 –> 00:42:47,360
Here is a message for all
generations.

652
00:42:47,600 –> 00:42:51,280
He that hath ears to hear, let
him hear.

653
00:42:51,280 –> 00:42:56,880
In other words, the choice now
comes down to us on the very eve

654
00:42:56,880 –> 00:42:59,240
of the Kingdom.
What are we going to do?

655
00:43:00,800 –> 00:43:02,640
Well, verse 12 tells us what we
have to do.

656
00:43:03,360 –> 00:43:05,920
From the days of John the
Baptist until now, the Kingdom

657
00:43:05,920 –> 00:43:11,040
of heaven, suffereth, violence,
and the violent take it by force

658
00:43:11,040 –> 00:43:12,790
now.
The word violence, of course,

659
00:43:12,790 –> 00:43:14,670
is, you know, triggers all kinds
of things.

660
00:43:14,670 –> 00:43:17,910
But really what the Greek is, is
men of determination.

661
00:43:19,030 –> 00:43:23,230
Men of determination grasp their
opportunity and didn’t let it

662
00:43:23,230 –> 00:43:25,030
go.
Let’s not go away from these

663
00:43:25,030 –> 00:43:28,910
studies and say, well, what a
marvelous character John is.

664
00:43:29,190 –> 00:43:32,310
Let’s go away from these studies
with a determination that almost

665
00:43:32,310 –> 00:43:36,710
borders on violence to grab this
Kingdom and never let it go.

666
00:43:37,590 –> 00:43:40,230
That’s what John was telling men
to do.

667
00:43:40,640 –> 00:43:42,200
And that’s what Jesus is saying
here.

668
00:43:42,880 –> 00:43:46,840
Take it by force, grab it and
never let it go.

669
00:43:48,120 –> 00:43:51,400
That portable light had flared
up for a moment and people saw

670
00:43:51,400 –> 00:43:53,800
themselves for who they really
were.

671
00:43:54,360 –> 00:43:56,480
I think we all feel a little
embarrassed looking at John,

672
00:43:56,480 –> 00:43:58,520
don’t we?
Because we know that our lives

673
00:43:58,520 –> 00:44:03,920
are are not at all like his.
We see how great he was, but but

674
00:44:03,920 –> 00:44:07,040
let that, let that motivate us
now to go forward, brothers and

675
00:44:07,040 –> 00:44:09,230
sisters, to to.
To make the changes that we need

676
00:44:09,230 –> 00:44:12,510
to make in our lives to grab
that Kingdom before the light

677
00:44:12,510 –> 00:44:17,750
goes out and the parallel
parallel record in Luke, Jesus

678
00:44:17,750 –> 00:44:21,030
said press into it.
He said the law and the prophets

679
00:44:21,030 –> 00:44:24,030
were until John Luke 16, verse
16.

680
00:44:24,750 –> 00:44:28,150
But now the Kingdom of heaven
suffer with violence and men

681
00:44:28,670 –> 00:44:32,830
press into it with energy and
with force they press into that

682
00:44:32,830 –> 00:44:35,150
Kingdom.
It’s only a determination like

683
00:44:35,150 –> 00:44:37,940
that that’s going to succeed.
Whatever the brotherhood needs a

684
00:44:37,940 –> 00:44:41,300
determination, it needs it now.
Press into it with all your

685
00:44:41,300 –> 00:44:44,660
might.
Half hearted life, half hearted

686
00:44:44,660 –> 00:44:47,740
approach is just not going to
work in this day and age.

687
00:44:48,940 –> 00:44:52,500
So John now is passing off the
scene in front of us.

688
00:44:52,500 –> 00:45:01,460
A man who had no money, no coke,
nothing, and yet had everything.

689
00:45:03,820 –> 00:45:05,780
But he’s nothing alongside of
Jesus Christ, is he?

690
00:45:07,620 –> 00:45:11,260
Now is our opportunity, brothers
and sisters, to grab that

691
00:45:11,260 –> 00:45:15,940
Kingdom, to allow these men to
to show us the way and to fall

692
00:45:15,940 –> 00:45:19,020
in behind, like those disciples
in John chapter one did.

693
00:45:20,620 –> 00:45:23,700
Let’s conclude our studies on
John with some very fitting

694
00:45:23,700 –> 00:45:25,980
words.
And no more fitting words, I

695
00:45:25,980 –> 00:45:32,860
think, could ever be recorded of
him, they say, and others had

696
00:45:32,860 –> 00:45:35,660
trial of cruel mockings and
scourgings.

697
00:45:36,540 –> 00:45:40,660
Yay, moreover, of bonds and
imprisonment, they were stoned,

698
00:45:41,580 –> 00:45:46,220
they were sawn asunder, they
were tempted, were slain with

699
00:45:46,220 –> 00:45:48,740
the sword.
They wandered about in

700
00:45:48,740 –> 00:45:53,660
sheepskins and goat skins, and
we could add camel skins.

701
00:45:54,700 –> 00:45:59,380
Being destitute, afflicted,
tormented, of whom the world was

702
00:45:59,380 –> 00:46:03,100
not worthy, they wandered about
in deserts.

703
00:46:04,750 –> 00:46:08,390
And in mountains, and in dens
and caves of the earth.

704
00:46:08,870 –> 00:46:13,910
And we could add in the dungeon
of Mccarris, these all having

705
00:46:13,910 –> 00:46:18,270
obtained a good report through
faith, received not the promise

706
00:46:19,070 –> 00:46:25,190
God having provided some better
thing for us, us God leaves that

707
00:46:25,190 –> 00:46:31,230
man where he is for 2000 years
for us, that his example might

708
00:46:31,230 –> 00:46:32,990
motivate us to be there with
him.

709
00:46:34,710 –> 00:46:36,670
Let that motivate us now,
brothers and sisters, as we

710
00:46:36,670 –> 00:46:41,190
renew our vows before the table,
God having provided some better

711
00:46:41,190 –> 00:46:45,830
thing for us that they without
us, should not be made perfect.

712
00:46:46,950 –> 00:46:49,830
Brothers and sisters, let us
hear the voice.