John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say, ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you.’ [Matthew 11.10]
Matthew 11 is amazing!
Regardless what may be said otherwise, there is simply no way to fully comprehend the life and ministry of Jesus Christ without first understanding the life and ministry of John the Baptist.
In the context of Matthew 11, Jesus provided great insight:
For before John came, all the prophets and the law of Moses looked forward to this present time. [Matthew 11.13]
The prophets and the law of Moses went hand in hand. The law revealed man's sin, and the prophets called for repentance of that sin. This is precisely what John the Baptist re-emphasized in preparation for Jesus. However, instead of following through with prescribed sacrifices, John baptized people. John's baptism was a baptism of repentance.
Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.” [Acts 19.4]
Repentance is the preparation for Jesus. It might also be accurately concluded that if Jesus then is not "seen" then repentance has not taken place, giving paramount importance to repentance.
What sin is being talked about here?
The prophets and the law of Moses dealt directly with man's sin problem. Specifically, and as might be expected by the arrangement of the law of Moses, the sin problem of man can be understood as idolatry. The first three Commandments are the first three Commandments for a very good reason! John the Baptist's baptism of repentance dealt primarily with man's violation of the first three Commandments.
John's message and baptism of repentance for violation of the first three Commandments (regarding idolatry) was the perfect segue into (preparation for) a new understanding of the 4th Commandment about the Sabbath - about the rest God wrote into the Ten Commandments long before anyone really understood why. John's call to repentance prepared the way to embrace the rest found in Jesus Christ, The Sabbath Rest. Matthew 11 also includes this important information from Jesus, the Sabbath Rest:
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” [Matthew 11.28-30]
If however, people failed to repent for the Godward sin of idolatry, then they would fail to comprehend Jesus as the Sabbath Rest, and then they would have no basis to understand the remaining six manward Commandments.
While, for years, I have felt that John the Baptist was having a weak and doubtful moment in prison, I now see instead that John was actually brilliantly doing his job of "preparing the way" for Jesus when he sent his disciples to Him with a question that would intentionally unveil amazing truth.
John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” [Matthew 11.2-3]
I now don't think that John was having doubts. Instead, John crafted the perfect question for his disciples to ask Jesus so that they might understand for themselves what and who John had indeed been "preparing the way" for in calling for the baptism of repentance. And what did John lead them to learn?
Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen— the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” [Matthew 11.4-5]
Jesus sent John's disciples right back to John with powerful confirmation of John's accomplished task of "preparing the way." Repentance for idolatry had been re-established and miracles were the result. What a leaning moment for John's disciples! And what a confirmation for John in what would be his final days!
Religion and religious people refuse to acknowledge this. In Luke's account of the same Matthew 11 discussion about John the Baptist, we find this damning statement:
But the Pharisees and experts in religious law rejected God’s plan for them, for they had refused John’s baptism. [Luke 7.30]
Later, Jesus would reveal the consequences for those who rejected both John's baptism of repentance and Jesus' message of the Good News: miracles as the result of repentance.
This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says, ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes—so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’ [Matthew 13.14-15]
Religion and religious people always have and always will reject the notion that they are idolatrous, and therefore need to repent, so that when they do, they will enjoy God's miraculous power. Stiff necked, unrepentant people, like the religious ones who opposed Jesus, must have religion to excuse their powerless existence. They simply cannot accept the the truth of Jesus Christ plainly recorded in the Gospels - but must instead "explain away" most everything Jesus said.
And yet, Jesus' demand in Matthew 16.24 reveals the idolatry that must be given up and the cross that must be taken up in order to follow Him:
If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24]
Repentance for sin is much deeper than being sorry for stealing a cookie. Every sin of man is traceable back to idolatry - starting with the idolatry to "self" - placing our own will over the will of God (the original sin in the Garden of Eden).
Until we understand John's message of repentance (in perfect harmony with the prophets and the law of Moses), we can never understand Jesus or enjoy the power of God.
Father, I feel like I have stumbled through these thoughts here in amazement but also in accuracy. May I constantly see the depth of Jesus' call to give up my own way (turn away from idolatry - repent), take up my cross (the power of God, 1 Corinthians 1.18), and follow Him. So be it!
