We're Owed Nothing!
We're Owed Nothing! • Sermon • Submitted
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· 10 viewsWe're owed nothing! So pursue what's promised.
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We’re Owned Nothing! Take it
We’re Owned Nothing! Take it
prayer
2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written,
“ ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’
11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
: 2-11
This text begins with John the Baptist, sometimes called “John the Baptizer” questioning Jesus about His Christ-hood. Some theologians used to claim that John wasn’t asking for himself, but rather for his disciples. I subscribe to the other school of though:
John was suffering from a crisis in faith.
John was suffering from a crisis in faith.
How could John be suffering from wavering faith in Jesus? When many though John was the Messiah, he quickly and vehemently decried that there was One to come (Jesus) whose status would make John pale in comparison. Further, John - the older cousin of Jesus - was God’s messenger to proclaim Jesus’s arrival. So how is it now that he’s asking Jesus if He is in fact the Messiah?
John had a sense of entitlement
John had a sense of entitlement
And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
I mean, he’s the cousin of Jesus (1st cousin at that), he’s the one God sent to be the messenger, the one that an angel said “would minister in teh spirit of Elijah, serving as a prophet and a preacher, and preparing the people for God’s intervention in history.”
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.
Malachi
And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
All of this, and he still finds himself in prison about to be executed for doing the right thing, all while Jesus, the Messiah, is out performing all these miracles. John probably felt like he DESERVED to be rescued!
At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet. But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. He sent and had John beheaded in the prison,
Matthew 14:1-10
John misunderstood Jesus’s real purpose as the Messiah
John misunderstood Jesus’s real purpose as the Messiah
In the first century, many Jews “eagerly looked for the coming of the Messiah, a deliverer who would defeat Israel’s enemies and usher in an era of peace and prosperity for God’s people. It’s the though of Jesus being the Messiah that likely emboldened John to speak up against Herod. He probably thought, “even if they throw me in jail, Jesus will take care of it.”
So after thinking all this, I’m sure Jesus’s response had to irk him:
4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.
Basically, Jesus was eluding to the fact that He was indeed the fulfillment of all the OT prophecies - saying do the math yourself.
Jesus even goes on to compliment John to others:
11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Matthew 11:
Here’s the thing, that’s not really the question John was asking. He really wanted to know, sense Jesus is the Savior, the Messiah, and John has been a faithful servant, is He gonna get John out of prison - out of this death sentence? Doesn’t Jesus owe it to him to rescue him?
The answer for John and every single one of us is this:
7 “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? 8 Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’ ”
Luke 17:
GOD OWES US NOTHING!!!
GOD OWES US NOTHING!!!
Soren Kierkegaard the Danish theologian tells a story about a certain kingdom with a handsome prince. Now the prince was searching for a woman worthy enough to become his wife and to rule the land with him. But no one in the royal court could be found to please him.
One day as he was running an errand for his father he glanced out the window of his golden-carriage and he happened to see a beautifully stunning maiden working in the fields. He was instantly struck. And so he decided to pursue her.
He had a choice: he could show up at her village with his splendid uniform and six-horse carriage, and his entourage of attendants. But then how would he know if she truly loved him? She could just agree because she was overwhelmed by his power, of out of fear of punishment, or even out of greed.
And so he chose an alternate plan: he endeavored to remove his royal garments (no more crown, nor scepter, nor purple robes) and don the ragged clothing of a peasant—tattered pants, worn shoes. Next he moved into the village and took a job as a common laborer. He worked his way into her life, placing himself in her path. And his wooing worked.
The fairy tale ends as all fairy tales do. It’s the kind of story Disney would make a movie out of, or fathers would tell their daughters. As a parable, it has its flaws. Yet Kierkegaard saw a much deeper reality than a children’s story—the truth of the incarnation of Christ.
Jesus gave up EVERYTHING for us all. He’ll never owe us. We’re expected to go out and live this life of faith, because since we can’t repay Him, we should at least do what it takes to please Him.