THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS FORCEFULLY ADVANCING

Matthew 11:1-15

Key Verse: 11:12

“From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.”

Read verses 1-3. What did Jesus do after he finished instructing his disciples? Where was John and why was he there? (Mt 14:3-5)

[Mt 11:1-3] 1After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee. 2When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"

Jesus continued to “teach and preach” (and heal of course) the people in the towns of Galilee. This wasn’t a fancy way of ministering to the people of Israel but it was a type of humble and personal way of ministering. There were almost always large crowds who formed around Jesus but this didn’t keep him from going to the towns in person to minister to the people who weren’t able to come to him. Jesus came to us in every way — it was even reflective in his style of ministry.

[Matthew 14:3-5]  3Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, 4for John had been saying to him: "It is not lawful for you to have her." 5Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered him a prophet.

* John was in prison for rebuking Herod for his sins. 

Read verses 4-6. What was Jesus’ answer? How does this answer identify him as the Messiah (Christ)? (Isa 35:5-6; 61:1) 

[Matthew 4:4-6] 4Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 6Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."

Jesus gave a list of all the good work that God was doing through his ministry. Jesus wanted to relieve John’s doubts by showing him that God was working mightily in important ways.

 

[Isaiah 35:5-6]  5Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.

[Isaiah 61:1] 1The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,

John was a great man of God but he was bias in his view of who Jesus was and what he should be like. John had a preconceived idea that Jesus would be more powerful, more glorious and more mighty than any of the kings of the earth. When John preached about the coming Messiah he said things like…

“But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire." [Matthew 3:11-12]

Was John wrong to think that Jesus was so great and mighty? No, his view was based on the scriptures however it wasn’t based on ALL the scriptures because there are many passages/prophecies that describe the “suffering Messiah” as well. John evidently didn’t pay enough attention to these verses and so Jesus described the work of his ministry as the fulfillment of the scriptures so that John could know indeed he was the one to come. See Isaiah 35:5-6, Isaiah 61:1 for prophecies of his healing ministry.

Among his Messianic works, what is the importance of “the dead are raised”? (John 11:25-26) What does verse 6 mean? 

Jesus fixed a lot of ailments (blindness, deafness, muteness, etc.) These are all fixes to bodies that were damaged but still alive. However, Jesus raised the dead several times in his ministry too. These were important miracle because they revealed his ability to give life. Who can give life like this? Doctors and nurses can try to save life but only Jesus has the power to give it. This has an important spiritual application because man can try and try to revive their spiritual life (consider Nicodemus) only to fail time after time. Jesus our Savior has the power to give life to those who would receive it. John needed to consider who could perform such a miracle. Only the Messiah.

Verse 6 means that people who are challenged by Jesus’ person, ministry, lifestyle and words should hold-on and not fall away because if they are able to accept they will be blessed. Sometimes because we are spiritually poor Jesus’ words seem too strong and too difficult but if we keep praying and try to accept them we will be blessed.

Read verses 7-11. What did Jesus say about John’s life and mission? Why does he call John a prophet and more than a prophet? In what sense is John great? What does he mean by least and greatest in the kingdom of heaven? (See Mt 18:4) 

[Matthew 11:7-11] 7As John's disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: "What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 8If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings' palaces. 9Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10This is the one about whom it is written: " 'I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.' 11I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Jesus said that John was a real prophet and a man who people gravitated to because of his message of repentance.

John is more than a prophet because he was active in the era of Jesus Christ. The Greek literally says He was much more than a prophet. Part of the reason for this is that John fulfilled the prophecy given in  HYPERLINK "http://bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Bible.show/sVerseID/23122/eVerseID/23122" \t "_blank" Malachi 3:1. No other prophet, aside from Jesus Christ, was ever the fulfillment of a distinct prophecy—and such an important prophecy on top of that! There may be a great deal more to John than we ever considered.

John was great not only because of his dedicated life of mission and his whole hearted dedication to God but he is great also because of his place in God’s history. He is unique among all the other prophets in the sense that he was given the opportunity to introduce the Christ (that is make a way for him) to the people of the world (mostly Israelites though). Instead of just prophesying about the Christ, John was like a friend of the bridegroom who saw the coming  of the groom happen. In this sense he was greater than any prophet before him. But those who followed Jesus and who saw his miracles, heard his teaching and believed were greater in the sense of their knowledge and understanding of Jesus. John preached repentance for the remission of sins but the Apostles preached Christ crucified and the resurrection as well—he who is least in the kingdom is greater than he. Biblical “greatness” can be measured by several factors (faith, devotion, humility, etc.) but in the passage greatness as Jesus uses the term is a measure of one’s personal revelation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Read verses 12-15. What else can we learn here about John’s prophetic role? What was the focal point of his ministry? (Mt 3:6) What does it mean that the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing since the days of John the Baptist?

John was the Elijah who was to come. His mission was to make a way for Jesus in the hearts of the people. He fulfilled his mission.

The kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing means that since Jesus’ coming the work of God began to explode and has quickly taken new territory and expanded into new areas that the Israelites never thought of capturing. Judaism was pretty much a faith that was concentrated in Israel. Many came to believe but expanding wasn’t a priority until Christ came. Since his coming the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing. We therefore must encourage new students to be forceful in their attitudes toward faith and in following Jesus. As well we must be forceful in taking new territory through God’s leading.