Luke 7:19-23
Down But Not Out
Setting - I believe we are well into Jesus’ ministry. John had been
imprisoned for a while—we don’t know how long—and it appears that he
began to wonder whether Jesus was actually the Christ. John, like
most of the Jews, anticipated the Messiah setting up His kingdom
and overthrowing Rome, but after many months—perhaps several
years—that had not happened and so John wondered.
I do not know everything but I think there is a truth for us here. If
the greatest Christians can stumble in their faith, I suppose it is
possible that good ones can too. In \\#28\\, Jesus called John the
greatest born of woman, but John was doubting. I do not think he was
doubting great doubts but enough so that he sent word to Jesus,
basically asking what was going on. I suppose then, that it is
possible that that good people will wonder, question, and even doubt
from time to time.
John was not one to allow doubt to reside within him. He decided he
needed to do something to settle this doubt so he sent two disciples
to Jesus to get some word on what was going on.
Let’s consider Jesus’ response that day with two main thoughts:
I. \\#19-23\\ Jesus’ Message to the Discouraged
A. The discouraged is John the Baptist.
B. Life deals tough blows and discouragement is a part of life’s
burdens. I recommend that you not let anyone convince you
otherwise. John was discouraged and disappointed that he had
sat in prison for so long and that Jesus had not moved to
overthrow the sinful government of Rome.
C. How did Jesus respond? Two ways:
1. With His power.
Luke 7:21 And in that same hour he cured many of
their infirmities and plagues, and of evil
spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave
sight.
a. Of course no one wants to be sick or afflicted, but if
one must be in that condition, wouldn’t the best time
to be that way be the hour in which Jesus wanted to
prove who He was by virtue of His power?
b. The text specifically points out that Jesus did an
exception number of miracles that SAME hour.
(1) Why did Jesus do a lot of miracles in that hour?
(2) To prove the point that He was to the Messiah.
c. There are a lot of reasons Jesus did miracles.
(1) He cared for people.
(2) He wanted to teach lessons.
(3) He wanted to prove who He was.
2. \\#22-23\\ With His words.
a. Along with the miracles, Jesus sent a message.
Luke 7:22 Then Jesus answering said unto them,
Go your way, and tell John what things ye have
seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame
walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear,
the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is
preached.
b. Jesus essential said, "The miracles—the works—prove
who I am."
(1) Jesus came right out and stated this in John’s
gospel.
Joh 14:11 Believe me that I am in the Father,
and the Father in me: or else believe me for the
very works’ sake.
(2) There Jesus was saying you can believe I am who I
say because I said it or you can believe it
because of the works that I do, but believe it.
c. Then Jesus added:
Luke 7:23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not
be offended in me.
(1) "offended" means to trip up, to stumble.
(2) Hard times have a way of making people stumble.
(3) The harder and the longer those times last, the
further and the more there are who will stumble.
(4) John was in a hard place for doing a righteous
thing.
(a) That makes it even easier to stumble.
(b) Someone has wisely said, "Don’t doubt in the
dark what you clearly saw in the light."
II. \\#24-28\\ Jesus’ Message to the Multitude
A. There were people present when John’s messengers arrived.
They watched what Jesus did and saw Jesus send the messages
back to John. Perhaps Jesus wanted to answer any question
the people thought Jesus might have about John or perhaps
Jesus just wanted to pay tribute to John for who John was.
B. Notice Jesus’ tribute to John:
1. \\#24\\ What did they go see when they saw John? A
little breeze blowing?
a. The question associates power with wind, a common
analogy both in the Bible and in the world.
b. The wind that blows the reeds is a gentle breeze, but
John was no gentle preacher.
c. Rather, John was like the presence of God in Elijah’s
day.
1Kings 19:11 And he said, Go forth, and stand
upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold,
the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind
rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks
before the LORD….
d. So the people did not go out to see the reeds blown.
2. \\#25\\ So what did they go see when they saw John? A
man living the good life?
a. Jesus made reference to soft raiment and king’s
courts.
(1) John did not live like that.
(2) He wore animal skins, lived in the desert, and
ate what the land provided.
b. We might rephrase Jesus’ question to describe today’s
preachers?
(1) Did John wear $2,000 suits?
(2) Did John live in multimillion dollar mansions?
(3) Did John have Lear jets, private limos. a large
bank account?
(3) Was that the kind of preacher that these people
went into the desert to see?
c. No. John did not have the fine clothing or live in
the comfortable settings. People looking for such a
man did not go out to see John.
3. \\#26\\ So what did they go see when they saw John? A
preacher? Well, yes. John was a preacher; but John was
so much more than just a preacher.
a. John was a prophecy fulfilled.
Mal 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he
shall prepare the way before me…
Mal 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the
prophet before the coming of the great and
dreadful day of the LORD:
b. John was a path preparer.
Lu 3:4 As it is written in the book of the words
of Esaias (Isaiah) the prophet, saying, The voice
of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the
way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
(1) That means that John got the people ready to
see Jesus.
(2) And John did, with many of his own disciples
following after Jesus.
c. John was a truth teller.
(1) In fact, John was in prison for telling the
truth.
Matt 14:3 For Herod had laid hold on John, and
bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias’
sake, his brother Philip’s wife.
4 For John said unto him, It is not lawful for
thee to have her.
(a) Obviously, John did not practice today’s
notion of separation of church and state,
but that is all right for today’s notion is
nothing more than a silencer placed on the
mouth of the church.
i. There is no separation. The state
meddles in the church’s business left
and right.
ii. The only thing that today’s notion of
separation of church and state means is
that the church is not to meddle in the
state’s sins.
(b) John did not practice that belief and neither
should any other preacher or Christian for
that matter.
(c) Personal, private, or even politically
protected sin is not exempt from the
scrutiny of God nor the condemnation of
God’s people.
(d) Was Jesus pleased with that kind of
preaching?
i. Jesus’ praise of John meant that Jesus
was pleased with John.
ii. I wish I could be a perfectly balanced
preacher but since I cannot, I would
rather people offended that preached
too hard against sin than go to hell
because I did not preach hard enough.
iii. A gentle breeze may be enough to for the
reeds but not for the souls of men.
d. John was a sin revealer.
(1) John didn’t just preach to rulers. He preached
to the people about their sins as well.
Luke 3:10 And the people asked him, saying, What
shall we do then?
11 He answereth and saith unto them, He that
hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath
none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.
12 Then came also publicans to be baptized, and
said unto him, Master, what shall we do?
13 And he said unto them, Exact no more than
that which is appointed you.
14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him,
saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto
them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any
falsely; and be content with your wages.
(2) John preached to the people about being selfish,
to the tax collectors about being greedy, and to
the soldiers about being abusive and discontent.
(3) John was an equal opportunity revealer of sin,
and that is what the call to preach is all
about.
(4) I fear we preachers are too concerned with how we
are accepted by men more than how we are going
to be accepted by God.
e. John was a family restorer.
(1) In the original prophecy of Jesus’ forerunner, a
specific prophecy is made concerning his effect
on the home, and especially on the fathers.
Mal 4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the
fathers to the children, and the heart of the
children to their fathers, lest I come and smite
the earth with a curse.
(2) This is interesting in that as far as we know,
John never preached a message or did a work
related to the home; yet, Jesus said that John
full-filled this role.
(3) I draw from that some conclusions:
(a) When God makes godly men He makes them good
fathers.
(b) A revival in the church would also revive
the home.
(c) What the home needs is not self-help books
and classes but the Bible and the church.
(4) These are all my conclusions but I believe they
are sound and based on the John’s effect on the
home by preaching against sin.
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