He that hath ears to hear, let him hear (Matt 11:11-24)
Last week, we looked at John the Baptist’s response to The King, Jesus. Today, we explore three other responses.
1. A Look Into v11-16
a) John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, is great (v11a)
Up to the time of John the Baptist’s existence, there is none greater than him. Only he is given the unique ministry privilege of being the forerunner to The Messiah, and the role to usher in The Kingdom.
b) But those in The Kingdom are greater (v11b)
Jesus is the King, and those who enter His Kingdom and receive the New Covenant grace and privileges through faith are greater than John for the following reasons:
Indwelling of the Holy Spirit;
Great High Priest Jesus interceding for us;
Given access to draw near to God
c) Israel is invited to respond to The King, but rejects Him (v12-15)
The Kingdom is presented to Israel
There are people eager to be part of The Kingdom (Luke 16:16)
Jesus condemns Israel’s response
If Israel had embraced Jesus as their King, John would have been that Elijah (Mal 4:5)
Hence, the true Kingdom has not arrived yet
2. We can respond the the message in three ways:
a) The response of criticism (v16-19):
Jesus reprimands Israel for rejecting the Kingdom message in all its forms. In whichever form Kingdom message is presented to them, they are just critical and impossible to please.
Jesus likens them to children in the marketplace who do not want to participate in the games of their friends (either acting out marriages with dancing, or funerals with mourning) because they are hard to please (v16-17)
Furthermore, they are critical of John the Baptist (v18) and Jesus (v19). When John is seen not eating or drinking, they claim that he has the devil. When Jesus is seen eating and drinking, He is seen as a glutton and friend with sinners. Either way, this crowd is not happy.
b) The response of indifference (v20-24): Some also respond to Jesus with an “I don’t care” spirit. Jesus mentions 3 familiar places in Israel (Chorazin, Capernaum, and Bethsaida) and proclaims judgement and woe onto them.
These places have the privilege of witnessing many of Jesus’s mighty works, but they do not repent and are indifferent to The King (v20).
Jesus compares Chorazin and Bethsaida to Tyre and Sidon (2 Gentile cities) which have incurred God’s wrath as mentioned in Jer 25). He laments that, had the works of Christ have been done in Tyre and SIdon, the cities would have repented, unlike Chorazin and Bethsaida
Capernaum, the HQ of Jesus’s ministry, is also compared to Sodom (described as an exceedingly evil place which was destroyed by God in Gen 19) with similar conclusions - Sodom would have survived if its people have seen the works of Christ.
As a result of their rejection of the Kingdom, the people from these 3 places will have to face judgement.
c) The response that matters:
To unbelievers & believers alike, when we come into contact with God’s Word, our response must not be of dismissive criticism, or of indifference. Instead, we must respond in belief, turning away from sin and turning to Jesus.
The truth has been proclaimed. Therefore, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear!
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