Author: David McKay

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The story of Jonah is familiar, but how are we to approach it?  Many dismiss it as fiction or myth, others see it as a parable or allegory.  The view of Jesus is decisive – he treats this as a historical record (see Matthew 12:39-41 and Luke 11:29-32).  Jonah brought an encouraging message about Israel’s flourishing during the reign of Jeroboam II (782-753BC) – see 2 Kings 14:25.  This book is very different.  We consider Jonah 1:1-17 The reluctant prophet.

1. The commission given

‘The word of the Lord came to Jonah’ (v1) – this is a commission directly from the Lord, with his full authority.  It is a command to be obeyed.  God requires action – ‘Arise’ (ESV).  The specific mandate is ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it’ (v2).  Most OT prophecies against the nations were not taken directly to them but were for the instruction of God’s people, but Jonah is to go and speak face to face with the Ninevites.  It is a message of judgment ‘because its wickedness has come up before me’.  The Lord speaks as Judge (Genesis 18:25), but the message also implies hope, for there is forgiveness for the repentant, including those in Nineveh (Jeremiah 18:8).  If they repent, they will be forgiven.

2. The commission refused

‘But Jonah ran away from the Lord’ (v3) – going in the opposite direction.  This is defiant rebellion.  It is unlikely that Jonah thought he could escape the presence of the God ‘who made the sea and the land’ (v9), but he was trying to make the fulfilment of his commission impossible.  Someone else would have to go.  The reason for Jonah’s response is in 4:2 ‘I knew you are a gracious and compassionate God…who relents from sending calamity’.  He does not want Nineveh to be spared and is afraid it will be.  Probably he had 2 reasons:

Nationalism: Assyria was an enemy of Israel and he did not want it strengthened.

Isolationism: he was unwilling to think of God being gracious to any non-Jews.

3. The divine chastening

The Lord’s plan will not be thwarted and Jonah will be chastened.  The wind and storm show the Lord is in sovereign control.  Sadly the prophet is rebuked by a pagan for not praying (v6).  God determines the outcome of casting lots and Jonah admits responsibility for events (v12).  He realises his sin and the fact he is in God’s hands.  Chastening has brought him to the point of sincere repentance, the result of God’s loving discipline (Hebrews 12:6), a reassuring truth that should always be an encouragement to God’s people when they go astray.

4. The divine mercy

Here we see the wonder of God’s grace.  Despite Jonah’s sin, the Lord shows him mercy and provides the ‘great fish’ (v17) for his deliverance.  God sets Jonah back on the path of obedience.  Nothing but grace can explain this.  Jonah is still commissioned to go to Nineveh – another token of grace.  The God whose actions impressed the pagan sailors (v16) is able to change the sinful hearts of the Ninevites.  Jonah’s mission can be a means of grace to them.

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Jesus had many debates with the Pharisees, who were always seeking to entangle him in his answers, so that they would have an excuse to silence him.  The debate often centred around the Old Testament – the whole OT pointed to Jesus’ work (see Luke 24:27).  In Matthew 24:41ff the debate concerns Psalm 110, one of the most clearly messianic of the psalms, most often quoted in the NT.  We consider Psalm 110 Three Portraits of the Messiah.

1. The Messiah as King (v1-2)

Though most of the psalms first refer to the psalmist’s own day, this psalm is different.  ‘The Lord says’ (v1) – the words of God revealed to David by the Holy Spirit.  This is a solemn authoritative utterance of God regarding the Messiah.  Note:

• His dignity: ‘Sit at my right hand’ – the place of highest honour, sharing the glory of the ruler.  The Father is addressing the Son.  The NT shows the fulfilment of these words in the exaltation of Christ after his resurrection.  Peter quotes the verse on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:36).  The eternal Son always possessed such dignity, but now he has it as the God-man, the incarnate Son, the Mediator, as a result of the work of redemption.
• His dominion: The Son reigns with the Father – ‘until I make your enemies a footstool’.  The Father rules through the Son and so the Messiah’s dominion is universal (Matthew 28:18).  Note John’s vision of the final state – he sees ‘the throne of God and of the Lamb’ (Revelation 22:1).  ‘He must reign’ (1 Corinthians 15:25) – none can frustrate him.

2. The Messiah as Priest (v3-4)

This King often executes his rule through his people.  He requires obedient servants and the provision of a people is bound up with the Messiah’s priestly work.  Note:

• His work: ‘You are a priest for ever’ (v4).  He has the task of making a unique sin offering, with himself as the sacrifice (Hebrews 9:14).  He holds a unique priesthood, not Aaronic but ‘in the order of Melchizedek’.  He sits because his offering is complete, but his priestly work continues as he draws sinners to salvation and intercedes for them (Hebrews 7:25).  ‘The Lord has sworn’ – there is no possibility of failure.
• His people: The result of Christ’s work is a redeemed people (v3).  As the Spirit imparts new life, they are made willing (there are various ways to translate v3).  They are ‘a free-will offering’, giving themselves entirely to the Messiah.  By grace they are holy people and are like ‘dew’ – continually refreshed and renewed to be like the Lord.

3. The Messiah as Judge (v5-7)

Father and Son work together (v5) – the right hand now is the place of power, action, help and support.  As Judge the Messiah pours out ‘wrath’ – enemies are called to account for refusing to submit to him.  There is no contradiction between the love of Christ and his holy judgment on the unrepentant.  All must appear before him (2 Corinthians 5:10).  There is no doubt about the Messiah’s total victory.  God’s holiness will be vindicated.  Even nations and rulers will be judged (v6).  Christ is always fresh for the battle – lifting his head (v7).  He is sure of final victory and every knee will bow to him (Philippians 2:10).

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The Bible often speaks about holiness.  God makes his people holy; God expects his people to be holy (see 1 Peter 1:15 and many other verses).  But among Christians there is confusion: some passages seem to say we are holy, whilst others seem to say we must become holy.  How can we reconcile these two views?  As always, we need to pay close attention to what the Word of God says.  Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 1:2 Biblical holiness

1. The gift of holiness

Note the description ‘those sanctified in Christ Jesus’ – the verb tense shows this is a single completed event in the past.  (Paul addresses the Corinthians on the basis of what they profess to be – although later it is clear some are hypocrites).  It is crucial to see how this sanctification has taken place – it is ‘in Christ Jesus’.  It is a consequence of the believer’s union with Christ, as set out in Galatians 2:20 and at greater length in Romans 6.  The Christian life can be described as a dying and rising spiritual with Christ.  This is clearly spiritual, not physical – Paul is saying that the life, death and resurrection of Christ are in a profound sense reproduced in the experience of believers.  We benefit from what Christ has done for us as our representative.  It is as if we lived that life of perfect obedience to God’s law, died that death on the cross and rose to new life.  We benefit from what he has accomplished (2 Corinthians 5:21) on our behalf.  The result is twofold:

• Our standing in the sight of God is transformed.  Once we were ‘children of wrath’ (Ephesians 2:3), now we are ‘sanctified’, set apart for God as holy.  This relates to our legal standing before the holy Judge.  The Judge declares us ‘righteous’ (‘justified’ Romans 5:1).  This is possible because God imputes the work of Christ to believers (Romans 5:17).  We stand as holy in the court of heaven and are ‘sanctified’.

• Our bondage to sin is broken.  Our slavery to sin and Satan is broken once for all.  This too is God’s gift.  We are not sinless (see 1 John 1:8) but at conversion the bondage of sin is broken and we are set free from the prison of sin – ‘sin shall not be your master’ (Romans 6:14).  This is ‘definitive sanctification’ true of every Christian.

2. The pursuit of holiness

We read in Hebrews 12:14 ‘Strive…for the holiness without which no-one will see the Lord’ (ESV).  This is an unequivocal command, as is 1 Peter 1:16 ‘be holy’.  The holiness of the Lord as separation from all sin is to be reproduced in his people.  Thus the imputed holiness that changes our status before God is to be matched by acquired holiness that changes our lives and conduct.  We are to become in daily living what we already are in terms of our spiritual status.  This too is dependent on our union with Christ.  As the fruit of that union we have all the necessary resources for growth in holiness: ‘His divine power has given us all we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him’ (2 Peter 1:3).  All the means of grace we need have been provided – the Word. prayer, fellowship, the sacraments, even trials.  These must be used faithfully and in reliance on the Spirit’s blessing.  We live in this world united to Christ – ‘in Corinth…in Christ Jesus’.  We pursue holiness in this present world.

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The Lord never promised that the Christian life would be easy – he warned his people that it would be tough (John 16:33).  One of those who heard Jesus’ warning was Peter.  In 1 Peter he warns of the devil’s hostility (5:8) and earlier refers to ‘the fiery trial’ (4:12 ESV).  Though these are fearful things, the Christian need not feel overwhelmed.  We consider the encouragement offered in 1 Peter 5:10-11 The God of all grace.

1. The gracious call

The starting point must not be our experience but the truth about God.  The reference to ‘the God of all grace’ is crucial.  ‘Grace’ is freely-given favour to those who deserve condemnation.  Grace is closely linked to the love of God, a demonstration that ‘God is love’ (1 John 4:16) and ‘all grace’ covers every conceivable form of favour to undeserving sinners.  God is the possessor and source of ‘all grace’, and is also the giver of it.  This God ‘called you to his eternal glory in Christ’.  The call is his sovereign, effectual call brought home to the heart by the Holy Spirit which conveys new life and always results in faith and repentance.  It is all ‘in Christ’ – designed to unite us to him.  We were ‘chosen in him before the foundation of the world’ (Ephesians 1:4).  Salvation’s goal is ‘his eternal glory’ – we will share the glory that Peter glimpsed at the transfiguration (2 Peter 1:17-18).  We will be fully ‘transformed into his likeness’ (2 Corinthians 3:18).

2. The limited suffering

Peter introduces what may seem a jarring note – ‘after you have suffered a little while’.  God’s call and the prospect of glory do not mean for Christians a life free from suffering.  Jesus warned of ‘tribulation’ (John 16:33).  Christians face the same trials as others (illness, loss, etc), and also the spiritual battles that result from our belonging to Christ.  These, however, are for ‘a little while’ – limited by the sovereignty of God.  Our times are in his hands (Psalm 31:15) and glory will ultimately be revealed in all believers (Romans 8:18).

3. The full restoration

Beyond the suffering, God ‘will himself restore you’.  The word is used of a doctor setting a broken bone and of fishermen repairing nets.  God repairs what is broken in us and restores us to useful service.  The work of the Holy Spirit is to restore us so that we reflect the likeness of Christ, reversing the damage dome by sin.  The Lord will ‘confirm, strengthen and establish you’ – as we use the means of grace he provides, we have a solid foundation for life.  Even suffering leads to growth when received in the right way (Romans 5:3) – a big challenge to us.

4. The hearty praise

It is appropriate in the light of all that Peter has said that he ends with praise.  It is essential that our whole spiritual life is God-centred – ‘to him be the power for ever and ever’ – A heart acknowledgment of what he possesses.  God is able to do all he plans for us.  We have assurance of the certainty of salvation.  ‘Amen’ – ‘so be it’ – is the voice of faith.

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How a man introduces himself can be very revealing.  We may quickly learn about his origins, background, work, etc.  Often he will begin with what is most significant for his identity.  This applies to the Apostle Paul at the beginning of his letters.  In a few words he can get to the heart of his gospel ministry.  Here he writes to Titus, one of his Gentile converts who was left by Paul to complete the establishment of the church in Crete.  We consider Titus 1:1-3 A gospel to proclaim.

1. Gospel goals

As Paul introduces himself as ‘a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ’ (v1), he sets out the goals of his ministry.  Though not apostles, we are servants with a ministry.  Note:

• Faith: ‘for the faith of God’s elect’.  His first aim is to build the faith of God’s people.  He desires that people will come to faith in Christ and grow in that faith.  There is no other way to salvation.  Behind the sinner’s response is the sovereign election of God (see Ephesians 1:4, Acts 13:48).  This gives great hope in our gospel ministry.
• Knowledge: Paul aims to increase believers’ ‘knowledge of the truth’.  This is not salvation by intellect, but knowledge of the basics of the gospel is essential.  This knowledge is relational – knowledge that feeds a living relationship with the Triune God.
• Godliness: the outworking of this ‘leads to godliness’ – a life of devoted service to the Lord and increasing likeness to him.  This is a proof of the genuineness of a profession.  God empowers and is the pattern for Christian living (1 Peter 1:16).

2. Gospel hope

Paul turns to consider ‘the hope of eternal life’ (v2), the foundation of faith and knowledge.  Biblical hope is confident expectation, full of certainty (Romans 5:5).  Note 2 aspects of hope:

• Eternal life: ‘the hope of eternal life’ (v2).  We already possess eternal life (John 5:24), but resurrection glory lies ahead, with the end of death itself (Revelation 21:4)
• Sure promise: a wonderful reminder from ‘God who does not lie’ – he cannot and will nor break his word.  He ‘promised before the beginning of time’ and his promise is absolutely certain.  Our hope is not built on us but on God’s sure promise and cannot fail.

3. Gospel preaching

How is the gospel to be made known?  There is an application of Paul’s words to all believers:

• The time appointed: God’s work takes place ‘at his appointed season’ – an outworking of God’s sovereignty.  All steps in the provision of salvation take place in ‘the fulness of time’ (Galatians 4:4).  That provides great assurance in gospel work as he leads us.
• The message revealed: ‘he brought his word to light’.  The gospel is a revealed message from the Lord, not the product of mere human reasoning.  It is vital we understand our message is revealed truth, given by God himself.
• The messengers entrusted: ‘the preaching entrusted to me’.  As an apostle Paul had a foundational ministry, but all believers are to be witnesses – Acts 1:8 was not fulfilled by the apostles alone.  We have a great privilege and a great responsibility.

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2 Timothy was the last letter written by Paul – writing in prison in Rome, while awaiting execution.  His major concern is his spiritual ‘son’ Timothy and his ministry in Ephesus.  Though Paul is alone – ‘everyone…has deserted me’ (1:15) there is no self-pity.  Timothy was called to minister in a difficult situation, with a personality tending towards timidity and having to deal with false teaching regarding the resurrection.  Paul’s focus, however, is on positive truth.  Consider 2 Timothy 2:19 God’s solid foundation.

1. The foundation God laid

Despite the challenges and the damage done to the church, Paul affirms strongly ‘Nevertheless’ – turning attention to God’s mighty and gracious work.  These are words of faith – ‘God’s solid foundation stands firm’ – to strengthen Timothy and all God’s people.  The best view is that the ‘foundation’ is the true church of God – ‘the pillar and foundation of the truth’ (1 Timothy 3:15).  As the handiwork of God it cannot be destroyed.  Note Christ’s statement in Matthew 16:18 ‘I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it’.  The church is established by the purchase of sinners by the very blood of God (Acts 20:28).  Paul’s wording is significant: ‘stands firm’ is a perfect tense, a past action of God that has ongoing consequences – ‘remains standing’.  Paul stresses the permanency and the stability of the church – whatever the attacks, the church will never be overwhelmed, a great truth to hold on to.

2. The seal God applied

The Lord seals the foundation with an inscription.  A seal has several kinds of significance:

            It affirms ownership – the church belongs to God

            It authenticates identity – this church alone is the true church

            It protects from tampering – the blood-bought church of God cannot be destroyed or taken over, although bodies professing to be the church may prove false.

Two aspects of the seal show why ‘God’s solid foundation stands firm’:

• Sovereign grace: ‘The Lord knows those who are his’ – the language of covenant and salvation.  He has entered into a relationship of love with them.  He loves them ‘with an everlasting love’ (Jeremiah 31:3) and chose them before creation (Ephesians 1:4).  It is not surprising that Jesus, speaking as ‘the good shepherd’ (John 10:11) can say ‘I know my sheep’ (v14).  He loves them and gave himself for them.

• Godly living: ‘God’s solid foundation’ embraces not only God’s work of sovereign grace but also the human response of godly living.  On the seal is a second statement that is equally true: ‘Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness’.  Here is a statement of human responsibility.  Turning away from wickedness is an inevitable consequence of divine grace.  Our decisive break with sin at conversion must be worked out in daily godly living with the enabling of the Spirit.

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If anyone could have hoped to please God by living a moral life, it was Saul of Tarsus, the zealous Pharisee: ‘as for legalistic righteousness, faultless’ (Philippians 3:6).  But in a dramatic way he came to realise that such efforts were doomed to failure.  He was brought by God’s grace to trust in Christ.  He understood that a spiritual revolution had taken place in his life which he described in terms of union with Christ.  He speaks of this in Galatians 2:20 Crucified with Christ.

1. The death that has been died

Paul speaks of his spiritual transformation in terms of a death (v19), a radical break with his Pharisaic past, but note there are two deaths discussed when he refers to ‘crucified with Christ’:

            (a) The death of Christ.  Only on this basis may sinners be saved and transformed.  Christ died as the representative of his elect – ‘God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us’ (2 Corinthians 5:21).  Paul’s description here is most significant.  He uses the title ‘Son of God’ – the deity of Christ gave his sacrifice infinite value to redeem his people.  God himself provided what was needed.  Note ‘who loved me’ – personal redemptive love from before the creation.  None of God’s people is merged into the crowd.  Love resulted in specific action – ‘gave himself for me’ – in my place.  Every believer can say the same.  The love of Christ reached its goal at Calvary.

            (b) The death of Paul.  ‘I have been crucified with Christ’.  Even though Paul’s death could not be redemptive, it is nevertheless real.  All who put their faith in Christ die a spiritual death – in a profound sense they die with Christ.  In a legal sense what Christ accomplished is counted as belonging to his people.  We also die in a personal sense – ‘those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires’ (Galatians 5:4).  The old nature has been put to death.  The dominion of sin is destroyed.  ‘I no longer live’ – he no longer lives for self.  This is how we must now view ourselves.  We are dead to the old life of sin and rejoice in a new freedom.

2. The life that is to be lived

Paul continues – ‘The life that I live in the body’ – life in this present world continues, we are not raptured into heaven upon conversion.  It is again essential to see that two lives are in view:

            (a) The life of Christ.  ‘Christ lives in me’.  In a mysterious sense Christ indwells his people.  There is a fellowship between them that words cannot fully express, fulfilling the covenant promise is ‘I will walk among you and be your God’ (Leviticus 26:12).  Christ is the source of our life (Colossians 3:4).  This is an ongoing daily reality.  He is our source of strength to face whatever God in his providence sends.  ‘I can do everything through him who gives me strength’ (Philippians 4:13).

            (b) The life of Paul.  His life is ‘in the body’ – literally ‘in the flesh’, indicating human nature in its weakness and frailty.  The believer cannot escape into some ‘higher life’.  Christian faith is to be lived out in the realities of a fallen world.  Paul had his ‘thorn in the flesh’ (2 Corinthians 12:7).  The Christian is not called to a life of ease.  Jesus warned ‘in this world you will have trouble’ (John 16:33), but we have all the necessary resources if we approach life in the right way – we are to ‘live by faith in the Son of God’.  We must draw on his strength and provision.  He will ‘supply all your need’ (Philippians 4:19).  To focus on self brings despair.  We must focus instead on Christ who told us ‘I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33).

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The Bible is not like any other book.  It was written by human authors, but at the same time is the result of the miraculous work of God (2 Timothy 3:16).  The Holy Spirit guided the authors in their work.  The result is that the Bible is the Word of God.  We must always approach the Bible in this frame of mind, and particularly with prayer.  We consider such a prayer in Psalm 119:18 Open my eyes.

1. The need for divine teaching

The prayer ‘Open’ indicates that our eyes are closed.  Scripture often uses the language of blindness to express the spiritual condition of people.  That is true before conversion – we are unable to understand the truth revealed in Scripture.  Regarding the things of God, we ‘cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned’ (1 Corinthians 2:14).  It can also apply after conversion – we remain limited (2 Peter 3:16) and our sin clouds our understanding, hindering our engagement with the Word.  We need divine teaching.

2. The agent of divine teaching

The very fact this is a prayer shows the agent of instruction is the Lord.  From the wider context of Scripture we can say that it is particularly the role of the Holy Spirit, as the channel of revelation.  He gave the revelation (2 Peter 1:21) and because of our limits and sins we need him as our Illuminator.  The promise of John 16:13 ‘he will guide you into all truth’ applies to the apostles but in a secondary sense to all believers.  We need a divine teacher:

            Only God fully understands the ‘wonderful things’ (1 Corinthians 2:11)

            Only God can apply truth to the heart.  He graciously enables understanding and an appropriate response of faith, repentance, awe and rejoicing, beyond human power.

3. The nature of divine teaching

The Spirit’s ministry relates to the written revelation, ‘your law’, covering the entirety of the Scriptures.  The Spirit illumines the word he has already given, enabling us to understand and submit to God’s truth.  When Psalm 119 was written, much of God’s Word was still to be given.  The apostles were the final channels of God’s revelation.  With their passing, the age of new revelation has passed and we are not to seek fresh revelations, but to give ourselves to the study of the Word given.  The result of the Spirit’s work is love for the Word (v97).

4. The content of divine teaching

What are the ‘wonderful things’ we seek to see in ‘your law’?

• Concerning God: God’s law is primarily a revelation of himself.  He tells us the kind of God he is – sovereign, holy, gracious, compassionate, a Trinity.
• Concerning ourselves: we need a proper understanding of humanity as created, fallen, deserving judgment, capable of a new life of obedience by God’s grace.
• Concerning salvation: a gracious God provides salvation, foretold in the Old Testament and fully revealed in the New, salvation through the work of God’s Son incarnate.

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If a special meal has been arranged, the host wants everything to go smoothly.  How the event goes will say something about the host.  If something unforeseen happens, if something or someone else becomes the focus, it could be a disaster.  Such a threat arises at Simon the Pharisee’s dinner.  We turn now to consider Luke 7:36-50 The wonder of grace.

1. Striking action

Such a meal would be quite a public event, with people able to walk in.  A woman comes in – she very deliberately wants to meet Jesus.  We gradually discover the reason.  Note ‘a woman of the city, a sinner’ (v37 ESV) – it is generally assumed she was a prostitute.  Certainly, she was a notorious sinner whose presence was unwelcome to respectable guests and an offence to a Pharisee.  She showed courage and determination – meeting Jesus really matters.  Her action is shocking.  An ‘alabaster jar of perfume’ (v37) is very expensive – a really extravagant gesture.  There is deep emotion – ‘weeping’.  Her loose hair (v38) is not ‘respectable’.  The dinner guests were probably stunned into silence, but Jesus understands.  The key is v47 ‘she loved much’.  Her actions are tokens of her love because ‘her many sins have been forgiven’.  Jesus will focus on her actions as a forgiven sinner.

2. Stinging criticism

Simon was a pillar of the religious establishment.  Perhaps he had no serious interest in Jesus’ message.  His focus is the sinfulness of the woman.  He puts her in a category to which he is sure he does not belong.  He has no sense of his own sin.  Regarding Jesus, Simon thinks, ‘If this man were a prophet’ (v39) – he does not believe Jesus is a prophet.  If he were a prophet, Simon thinks, he would not associate with people like her.  The Lord knows his heart.  Simon has no sense of spiritual need, but is hardened in loveless self-righteousness.

3. Strong rebuke

Jesus knows Simon’s thoughts – he makes his point by telling a story of two debtors (v41).  The point is clear – ‘which of them will love him more?’ (v42).  Simon’s ‘I suppose’ suggests reluctance to answer.  Jesus drives home the lesson regarding ‘this woman’ in a series of contrasts (v44-46).  Simon’s religion was, at best, keeping rules.  The key issue is ‘she loved much’ (v47).  There is no evidence of love in Simon’s heart.  He has not experienced grace and has no sense of need of forgiveness.  Jesus exposes the emptiness of loveless religion.

4. Saving grace

We must be clear on what Jesus says.  This is not a case of love earning salvation.  The woman’s sin is not glossed over – ‘her sins, which are many, are forgiven’ (v47) – sin needs to be forgiven, but ‘forgiven’ is in the perfect tense (also in v48) – her sins were forgiven before she loved.  Her love was proof of God’s forgiveness by grace.  She wept and anointed Jesus’ feet as a forgiven sinner.  Good works follow forgiveness (Ephesians 2:8).  As God, Jesus forgives and the crowd wonders (v49).  ‘Your faith [God-given] has saved you’ (v50).

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There is no pleasing some people, or so it seems.  No matter what is done for them, it is never right.  This applies as much in spiritual things as in any other area of life.  A Christian little involved in society and one thoroughly involved are criticised equally.  We see this with regard to John and Jesus.  We turn now to consider Luke 7:18-35 John and Jesus compared.

1. Healing the sick

            (i). John’s struggle.  John is in prison for his faithful witness to Herod (3:19-20).  Through his disciples he asks Jesus a strange question: ‘Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?’ (v19).  Why such a question from the man who knew Jesus was ‘the Lamb of God’ (John 1:29)?  Perhaps it was discouragement due to harsh imprisonment.  Maybe John is puzzled by Jesus’ ministry.  Jesus preached good news but where was the judgment also spoken of in Isaiah 61:2?  Why were the enemies of Israel not defeated?  Perhaps John was disappointed by the results of Jesus’ ministry.

            (ii). Jesus’ signs.  Jesus is very gentle with John.  He continues to perform miracles (v21) as a deliberate answer to John.  His disciples are to ‘report what you have seen and heard’ (v25) – healings, raising the dead and especially ‘good news is preached to the poor’, fulfilling OT prophecies such as Isaiah 35:5 and 61:1-2.   These are signs of the Messiah’s identity as the transformer of broken lives and the giver of salvation that is the key to all other blessings.  Hence ‘Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me’ (v23) – a challenge to commit to the Messiah as he truly is, not as we might imagine him to be.

2. Raising the dead

Jesus takes this opportunity to ‘speak to the crowd about John (v24).  Note:

            (i). False expectations.  ‘What did you go out into the desert to see?’ (v24) – the crucial question.  John was not a ‘reed swayed by the wind’ or a ‘man dressed in fine clothes’, but rather a prophet ‘and more than a prophet’ (v26).  A prophet was expected before the coming of the Messiah – but what did the crowd do with his preaching?  The call to repentance was ultimately refused.  Revelation requires a believing response.

            (ii). Fulfilled prophecy.  John’s role did fulfil prophecy, especially Malachi 3:1, the messenger preparing for the Messiah’s coming (as John realised, John 1:23, quoting Isaiah 40:3).  But John was not the Messiah, but a kind of bridge between OT and NT.  Jesus is the ultimate fulfilment of prophecy.  Through him alone sinners enter the kingdom.  Hence the least in the kingdom is greater than John (v28) – our privileges in the kingdom are great.

            (iii). Fickle crowds.  There was a degree of positive response to John’s ministry (v29), but ‘the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves’ (v30).  They were hardened in self-righteousness.  In v31ff Jesus probes beneath the surface of ‘this generation’ – they rejected John’s ministry and also Jesus’ very different ministry (v33-34).  But godly wisdom could see God at work in both ministries, when grace opens our eyes (v35).