Greatness In The Eyes of God
I just finished studying Matthew 11:7-11 and I was stunned. I began to read simply expecting another chance to dig a little deeper into what the Word says. But God is so good that while I was reading He gave me insight into His heart, and I just had to share it with you all. The five verses in this passage are talking about John the Baptist and his position in the coming Kingdom that Jesus was launching in the Earth. If we read them closely, however, we come to understand that God views man with different eyes than we do ourselves. He sees us through a different lens and we must see through that lens if we want to come alive with the purposes of God.
To set up the story a little bit, John had been thrown in prison (11:2) and had sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He really was the One that John predicted He was, or if John had actually missed it in his prophecy (11:3). Jesus gave the disciples of John a demonstration of His ministry to boost their faith (11:4-5), and then turned and gave them one more word of exhortation for their teacher: “You're blessed if You're not offended by who I am,” (11:6). All of this paints a pretty bad picture for John the Baptist. I mean here is this guy who’s ministry exploded overnight. He called thousands to repentance and then had the fortitude to prophesy that his distant relative was the coming Messiah. But now overnight he gets thrown into jail, his ministry ends, and he's stuck sending his students to ask questions about the Messiah that are based in doubt.
But the story doesn't end there. And that, in and of itself, is the great part. See most of us now would sit and judge John because we judge ourselves in these sorts of situations. We do well for a minute and then something hits us from left field and we're left in doubt and unbelief about what God actually said. And what we think about ourselves, or anyone else we see in that position, is that they've missed God. But listen to what Jesus said about this man in the darkest hour of his life. First, he asked the crowd around him what they went out to see when they went to see John in the wilderness. They certainly didn't go out to see someone who was unstable and didn't stick to his ground on issues; like a reed blowing in the wind (11:7). They didn't go out to see someone of earthly importance who dressed the part (11:8). Then listen to the sound of joy in His voice when He described John, “You went out to see a prophet, but he was even more than a prophet!” (11:9). The word Jesus used for “more than” means “abundantly more than.” He was way more than a prophet. Jesus went on to describe John as His forerunner. Without going into great detail, this position is what made him more than a prophet.
Jesus went on to begin His next statement with “Truly I tell you...” (11:11) which shows that this was a solemn statement that He expected His hearers to pay attention to. Concerning John, the one who was doubting, He openly declared, “No one born to a woman has arisen who is greater than John the Baptist.” This is the part I love most about Jesus. He looked at this man, discouraged in faith and doubting the very prophesies that had come from his mouth because the road had been weary, and Jesus declared, “He is the greatest man ever born!” Don't You love that about Jesus? He was totally unconcerned that the Pharisees never liked John. He could care less that everyone else in the crowd was judging John for looking like a doubter. He knew that John was great even though the rest of the world didn’t see as He saw.
But Jesus didn't stop there. He went on to describe our greatness. This One who sees John differently than we see him now says He sees us differently than how we see ourselves. According to Jesus, anyone who is part of the Kingdom of God is greater than the greatest man born up until that point! Understand this! The smallest, most insignificant believer in the kingdom is greater than John the Baptist! God judges greatness very differently than we do. Man looks on the outside, but God looks at the heart (cf. 1 Samuel 16:7). Not because of anything you've done, but because you've trusted in Jesus, you are greater than any man born in the first 4000+ years of human history and every non-believer since Jesus' day. Beloved, you are great because you have called on the name of Jesus. You are part of a unique race, beyond normal humanity, loved by the Lord, designed for God's enjoyment, and His alone.
Now to be fair, some of us live what look like normal, everyday lives. But don't settle for the lie. You become something different when you believe you are unique. You are great. There is greatness in you that the world may not see, but the ultimate Judge of the entire world is already enjoying it in you. You may even be like John the Baptist, whose glory days have past, and you feel like you've doubted God. But God sees and knows, even what we do not. You are great in God's sight. Believe it.
To set up the story a little bit, John had been thrown in prison (11:2) and had sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He really was the One that John predicted He was, or if John had actually missed it in his prophecy (11:3). Jesus gave the disciples of John a demonstration of His ministry to boost their faith (11:4-5), and then turned and gave them one more word of exhortation for their teacher: “You're blessed if You're not offended by who I am,” (11:6). All of this paints a pretty bad picture for John the Baptist. I mean here is this guy who’s ministry exploded overnight. He called thousands to repentance and then had the fortitude to prophesy that his distant relative was the coming Messiah. But now overnight he gets thrown into jail, his ministry ends, and he's stuck sending his students to ask questions about the Messiah that are based in doubt.
But the story doesn't end there. And that, in and of itself, is the great part. See most of us now would sit and judge John because we judge ourselves in these sorts of situations. We do well for a minute and then something hits us from left field and we're left in doubt and unbelief about what God actually said. And what we think about ourselves, or anyone else we see in that position, is that they've missed God. But listen to what Jesus said about this man in the darkest hour of his life. First, he asked the crowd around him what they went out to see when they went to see John in the wilderness. They certainly didn't go out to see someone who was unstable and didn't stick to his ground on issues; like a reed blowing in the wind (11:7). They didn't go out to see someone of earthly importance who dressed the part (11:8). Then listen to the sound of joy in His voice when He described John, “You went out to see a prophet, but he was even more than a prophet!” (11:9). The word Jesus used for “more than” means “abundantly more than.” He was way more than a prophet. Jesus went on to describe John as His forerunner. Without going into great detail, this position is what made him more than a prophet.
Jesus went on to begin His next statement with “Truly I tell you...” (11:11) which shows that this was a solemn statement that He expected His hearers to pay attention to. Concerning John, the one who was doubting, He openly declared, “No one born to a woman has arisen who is greater than John the Baptist.” This is the part I love most about Jesus. He looked at this man, discouraged in faith and doubting the very prophesies that had come from his mouth because the road had been weary, and Jesus declared, “He is the greatest man ever born!” Don't You love that about Jesus? He was totally unconcerned that the Pharisees never liked John. He could care less that everyone else in the crowd was judging John for looking like a doubter. He knew that John was great even though the rest of the world didn’t see as He saw.
But Jesus didn't stop there. He went on to describe our greatness. This One who sees John differently than we see him now says He sees us differently than how we see ourselves. According to Jesus, anyone who is part of the Kingdom of God is greater than the greatest man born up until that point! Understand this! The smallest, most insignificant believer in the kingdom is greater than John the Baptist! God judges greatness very differently than we do. Man looks on the outside, but God looks at the heart (cf. 1 Samuel 16:7). Not because of anything you've done, but because you've trusted in Jesus, you are greater than any man born in the first 4000+ years of human history and every non-believer since Jesus' day. Beloved, you are great because you have called on the name of Jesus. You are part of a unique race, beyond normal humanity, loved by the Lord, designed for God's enjoyment, and His alone.
Now to be fair, some of us live what look like normal, everyday lives. But don't settle for the lie. You become something different when you believe you are unique. You are great. There is greatness in you that the world may not see, but the ultimate Judge of the entire world is already enjoying it in you. You may even be like John the Baptist, whose glory days have past, and you feel like you've doubted God. But God sees and knows, even what we do not. You are great in God's sight. Believe it.
posted by Travis at 8:50 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home