CHRIST TAKES CENTER STAGE
Matthew 11:1-15
IDENTIFYING
THE CHRIST
V:11.1 After Jesus had finished instructing his
twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of
Galilee.
2 When John
heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him,
"Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"
A. God has a way of bringing to an end
the ministry of one servant to
To promote the ministry of another.
1. The work of John the Baptist was
complete once he baptized
Jesus.
John 3:28-30
You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am
not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.' 29 The bride belongs to the
bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him,
and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and
it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less.
2. John the Baptist was in prison for
opposing the marriage of Herod.
Matthew 14:3-5
Now Herod had arrested
John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother
Philip's wife, 4 for John had been saying to him: "It is not lawful for
you to have her.
3. John The Baptist way of releasing his
disciples from him was to
Send
them with the question of the Messiahship to Jesus
The
true Messiah.
4. John the Baptist stepped back to let the
source of Baptism take
The center stage.
5. He pointed to the true marriage, by
highlighting the illegal marriage
Of Herod.
YOUR RECORD
IS A TESTIMONY OF WHO YOU ARE
V:4. Jesus replied, "Go back and report to
John what you hear and see: 5 The 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. 6 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account
of me."
A. If you want to know what someone can
do, look at their record.
1. Jesus pointed John’s disciples to His
record.
2. The things Jesus did could not be
done by an ordinary man.
3. Miracles are the product of God.
4. The miracles that Jesus performed
were designed to draw men
And women to Himself.
B. All of Jesus miracles represent
spiritual issues in our lives that only
Jesus can solve.
1. The Blind receive their sight.
a. We were born blind to the wisdom of
God.
b. We were born blind to His grace and
mercy
c. We were born blind to His love.
d. When we accepted Jesus into our lives
we granted spiritual
Sight.
2. The lame walk
a. When we walk after the ways of the
world, we stumble in the
Pits of life.
b. The steps of a good man are ordered
by the Lord.
3. Leprosy is cured.
a. We were born with sores of life with our
flesh
eating at our souls.
c. The sins in our lives prevent total
restoration.
d. Jesus Christ is a mind doctor.
e. Any man in Christ is a new creation
f. All of our sins are washed clean in
His righteousness.
4. The deaf hear.
a. The Word of God is spirit and unbelievers
cannot not
Understand it.
b. No one can come to Jesus unless the
Father draws him.
c. It is the love of God to open up our
ears.
d. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by
the Word of God.
e. To each is given a measure of faith.
5. The dead are raised.
a. We were born dead in our sins.
b. It is by the grace of God that we
were chosen to be in the
Body of Christ.
c. Christ death on the cross open door
to eternal life.
6. The good news is preached.
a. Jesus preached the good news about
our eternal salvation
C. With these observations, John’s
disciples could have confidence
In Jesus as the Messiah.
THE
HUMBLE SERVANT
V.7 As 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? 8 If not, what did you go out to see? A man
dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings' palaces.
9 Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a
prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written:
"'I
will send my messenger ahead of you,
Jesus Confirmed the mission of John’s ministry
1. He was a prophet of God.
2. He was the messenger of God.
3. He came with a humble spirit and made
His pulpit was the desert
of life.
A. Jesus confirmed the success of John’s
ministry.
1. John prepared the way for Jesus.
2. John got the Jews ready to accept
Jesus as the long
A weighted Messiah.
B. Those who accept Jesus as the Messiah
find a life of
Joy and peace.
THE
GREATNESS OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
V:11. I 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.
A. John the Baptist was born into a
family devoted to God.
1. His father was a priest of Israel and
his mother was
A righteous woman.
2. He followed in his father’s footsteps
as a man dedicated to
The Lord.
B. He was ordained to prepare the way
for Jesus 300 years before the birth of Christ.
1. Like His Savior, He fulfilled his
mission and was filled with joy
2. Like his Savior, he died at the hands
of the enemy and was
Innocent of any crime.
C. He was great in his position as the
forerunner of Christ
1. Previous prophets proclaimed the
coming of the Messiah.
2. John pointed the Messiah out to men.
3. He was least in the kingdom of heaven
at his death
For he was not permitted
to see the glorification of
The Messiah he preached.
SETTING
THE STAGE FOR CHRIST
V: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. 13 For all the Prophets
and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, he
is the Elijah who was to come. 15 He who has ears, let him hear.
A. John was
the forerunner of Christ and Elijah the prophet
Malachi talked about.
Malachi 4:5-6
"See, I will send you the prophet Elijah
before that great and dreadful day of the
Lord comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of
the fathers to their children, and the
hearts of the children to their fathers;
or else I will come and strike the land
with a curse."
A. The dreadful day is the 7 years of
tribulation after the second coming
Of Christ.
1. John preached before that time during
the first coming of Christ.
2. All the prophets before John pointed
to the coming Christ.
3. John had the glorious task of
introducing the world to Christ.
B. Jesus preached the righteousness of
the Father which brought
Families together in praise and worship.
1. We are blessed with the wisdom of God’s
righteousness.
2. Those who reject the wisdom of the
Father are cursed.
3. We must thank God that He gave us a
measure of faith
To accept Christ as Lord And Savior.
PRAISE
GOD FOR OUR SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST.
Rev. M.
Mitchell
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