Hey everybody! Thank you for joining me in daily Bible reading as we seek to glorify Jesus, know Him more, and interpret the truth of His Word.
If this is your first time going through the Bible, I am incredibly excited to have you here. If this is your 5000th time, I am humbled that you are here and hope you grow in your relationship with Jesus along with me. May we all seek to know Him more and apply what we learn to further our mission of spreading the gospel. If you missed a day and want to catch up, visit the archives page HERE! But there is no shame if you start today! Day 123, Matthew 11:11-15 — Jesus Affirms John Matthew 11:11-15 (NASB1995) “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Historical Context John the Baptist’s disciples have approached Jesus with some questions about His claim as Messiah. Herod imprisoned John, who heard about Jesus’ ministry but had doubts He was truly the Expected Messiah. Because of this doubt, he sent his disciples to question Jesus. The LORD confirms with John’s disciples that He is indeed the Messiah and then defends John’s courage, obedience, and strength in fulfilling his mission. Discussion Yesterday, we read Jesus’ affirmation of John the Baptist by giving three examples to defend his authority. Many people went into the wilderness to hear John preach, so Jesus says that anyone who doubts John’s authority did not go mindlessly into the wilderness to watch reeds blowing in the wind. They went to see a strong and obedient man empowered by God paving the way for the Messiah. Jesus also described John as not just a prophet, but more than a prophet. Since most Israelites would have known the famous prophets of old, including Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, Isaiah, etc., saying John was even more than these men was indeed saying something. John’s appearance in the wilderness was the fulfillment of a prophecy that foretold of a prophet who would make way for the coming Messiah. John did just that, fulfilling his mission. Jesus acknowledges John’s obedience and faith and affirms him in the best of ways. Today, Jesus continues His affirmation of John. The LORD just said John was greatest than all the prophets, but now He goes to the next level. Jesus says, “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist!” What a profound statement. This might seem extreme without context, but there is a reason Jesus gives John this distinction. Before the revealing of Jesus, there was only one man given the privilege and authority to ‘pave the way’ and introduce the Messiah to the world. That man was John the Baptist. In this way, John is the greatest of all born men throughout history. God gave him this assignment, which he fulfilled. John was also the only prophet to fully understand the coming of the Messiah and all that He would do. He was so studied on the matter that he even questioned Jesus because Jesus had not yet fulfilled all He had come to do, as the Messiah has not yet judged the wicked and unrepentant. But following this statement about John’s greatness, Jesus adds, “Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” This might be a confusing statement. What does Jesus mean? He just honored John by calling him the greatest person ever to live, but now John is the least person among those in the kingdom of heaven? The context is that those in heaven have all been made righteous in God’s sight through Christ. In Christ, these faithful believers are forgiven. As ‘great’ as John the Baptist is on earth, he is least compared to those who have received eternal life and forgiveness of sin. John was the last of the prophets to point to the coming kingdom of heaven, which gave him greater knowledge than any who came before him. Yet, he is not greater in status or knowledge than those who will stand in the kingdom itself. Jesus continues, “12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.” To better understand this cryptic verse, we need to cross-reference with Luke. Luke 16:16 says, “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.” Before John, the Mosaic Law and various prophets were authoritative. Now that John had come, the gospel of the kingdom has been preached and many people were attempting to enter or take it. The attempts to enter or take the kingdom could have various interpretations. Craig Keener says, “Revolutionaries, such as those later known as Zealots, wanted to bring in the kingdom by military force.”[1] We have discussed this concept previously, as many Jews expected the Messiah to come as a great warrior who would destroy their enemies. This was the Zealot's perspective, so Jesus might reference them here. Another interpretation shows that some attempted entering the kingdom by mixing the law with the gospel of Christ, which completely misses the point of Christ’s coming. Others twisted the message of the kingdom by syncretizing with pagan religions and practices. Syncretizing the message of the kingdom of heaven with other religions is borderline heretical. Sadly, we see this syncretism even today. Doug O’Donnell has a varying perspective. He says “violent opponents of the kingdom will ‘plunder’ it by persecuting John, Jesus, and others who announce its arrival. Such violence has been predicted by the prophets, including Moses (‘the law,’ v. 13).”[2] Regardless, the kingdom of heaven deals with attacks from many sides, but the truth of Christ will prevail. Jesus concludes this passage, saying, “13 For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Many ancient Jews believed the prophetic voice was muted after the old testament prophets had died.[3] They were right for a time. Before John introduces the messianic era, there was a 400-year period of prophetic silence throughout Israel. Many Jews thought God had abandoned Israel, but others were faithfully expectant of the coming Messiah. Before the Messiah was to be revealed, “Malachi 4:5 had promised the return of Elijah, who had reportedly never died (2 Kings 2:11); Elijah’s return thus became part of Jewish expectation for the future.”[4] Jesus reveals that John represents the return of Elijah in the flesh, paving the way for His coming. Malachi 3:1 describes the coming of John, saying, “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me.” Additionally, Malachi 4:5 says, “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.” Jesus is confirming the authority of John by revealing that he is indeed the prophesied one who was to come before Him. Application We have little to apply from this passage, as Jesus is talking about John. What this passage shows us is how incredibly reliable God’s Word is, though, as we see multiple Old Testament prophecies confirmed by Jesus. I can't imagine life as a Jew during that 400-year period of silence. Before John came, many ancient Jews might have felt left in the dark and abandoned by God—especially when Rome began taking power on Israel’s land and oppressing its people. Insert John, the greatest of all men and prophets. Those who followed John into the wilderness must have been so excited to see a prophet of God appear after all that time. What great hope they must have had to hear that the Messiah was coming soon! Similarly, we are in a period of waiting. We wait for the return of Jesus to establish His eternal kingdom. While we do not know when He will come, we can know the seasons and see that He is coming soon. We have such a great privilege to have the full Word of God to remind us of His promises—to give us hope when we go through trials and tribulations, knowing that this life is but a temporary stop before He comes to destroy sin and the wicked for good. I so much look forward to that day and rest in the great hope that He will indeed raise me up from the grave or allow me to meet Him in the air at His coming. Thank you, Jesus! May we praise, worship, honor, and glorify Jesus every day in all that we do while continually pursuing righteousness, holiness, and forgiveness as He forgave us. Looking Ahead Thank you for joining today’s daily Bible reading! Next, we read Matthew 11:16-19. I hope you join me! I have made commenting available, so please feel free to discuss the reading and ask questions. If you do not want to discuss publicly, you can reach out to me privately. We are on this journey together. References [1] Craig Keener, “IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, Second Edition.” [2] Doug O’Donnell, “Preaching the Word Commentary.” [3] Keener, “IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, Second Edition.” [4] Ibid.
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