11-17-19 Sermon Notes
“Overwhelming – The Healer”Isaiah 35:1-6; Matthew 11:1-5; Isaiah 53:5 and 1 Peter 2:24
Last week, we focused on the foretelling of one who would come proclaiming the arrival of the Savior. This week, we will examine the prophecy in Isaiah about the coming of someone who would be a healer.
Introduction
What one or two things are the following people known for? Betsy Ross, Clara Barton, Babe Ruth, Mother Teresa, Jonas Salk, and Jesus (besides being the Son of God, Christmas, and Easter)
Read Isaiah 35:1-6 New International Version (NIV)
“The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
the splendor of our God.
3 Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
4 say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.”
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
Read Matthew 11:1-5
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, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” 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 cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.”
Message
“Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame man will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing” (v. 5-6a). This is poetic language and thus lends itself to various interpretations. It could reflect a Godly concern for people with physical infirmities. It could be a metaphor for the people of Israel who will experience joyous freedom. It could be a metaphor for the people of God generally. It could have an eschatological (end of time) character, portraying the beauty that we can expect with God in heaven. Most likely, it is all of these—and more.
The New Testament portrays Jesus as the fulfillment of this promise.
We find in Matthew a host of healing stories:
• Of a leper (Matthew 8:1-4)
• Of many people at Peter’s house (Matthew 8:14-17)
• Of a Gadarene demoniac (Matthew 8:28-34)
• Of a paralytic (Matthew 9:2-8)
• Of a little girl and a woman (Matthew 9:18-26)
• Of two blind men (Matthew 9:27-31)
• And of one who was mute (Matthew 9:32-34)
When John the Baptist was in prison, he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus answers,“Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them” (Matthew 11:3-5; see also Luke 7:22).
Jesus basically said “tell John I’m giving hope to the hopeless including the ‘good news’ of the Gospel.”
“then the lame man will leap like a deer” (v. 6a). This was fulfilled literally when the Apostle Peter healed a man lame from birth. Luke reported that the man jumped up and began to walk—”walking and leaping and praising God” (Acts 3:8).
Concluding Remarks and Application
So far we have focused on physical healing and the fulfillment of prophecy. Now, let’s turn the page and talk about spiritual healing. While we know that miraculous healing can and have taken place today, we also are aware of instances when a person has not been healed and perhaps even in our own lives. In no way, do we want to minimize those miracles or to say that a person cannot be healed today.
Now, let’s turn the page and talk about spiritual healing by looking at Isaiah 53:5
“But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.”
And 1 Peter 2:24
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”
While we may not be healed of our physical ailments, these verses point to the healing of our sins through the shed blood of Jesus. There are no ifs, ands or buts when it comes to this kind of healing. So if it came down to it, which would you choose – physical healing or spiritual healing?
11-10-19 Sermon Notes
“Overwhelming – A Forerunner” Isaiah 40:3-5; Luke 1:76-80; Luke 3:1-6 and Luke 7:27-28
Last week we focused on the fulfillment of the prophecy that there would be a Prince of Peace in the coming of Jesus and the peace that He brings to us. This week, we will look at the foretelling of one who would come proclaiming the arrival of the Savior.
Introduction
In Isaiah’s time, the coming of a king was announced by a herald. People literally leveled the roads that the king would travel.
Read Isaiah 40:3-5 New International Version (NIV)
3 “A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
These verses, like much of the prophecy in Isiah, have several levels of meaning and application: (1) They refer to the Jews’ return and restoration from exile after they had been conquered and deported from their homeland by the Babylonians. (2) They also refer to the coming of the Messiah and salvation that He would bring. (3) Finally, they refer to the complete liberation of God’s people at the end of time, when God establishes a new heaven and a new earth where He will reign for eternity with His people. (Revelation 21-22) Verse 3 specifically refers to John the Baptist – the one who went before and prepared the way for Jesus.
Read Luke 1:76-80 New International Version (NIV)
“And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him, 77 to give His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” 80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel.”
ReadLuke 3:1-6 New International Version (NIV)
3 “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.
5 Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
6 And all people will see God’s salvation.’”
Read LuLuke 7:27-28
27 This is the one about whom it is written:
“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’
28 I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
Message
Question: “Who was John the Baptist?”
Answer: Although his name implies that he baptized people (which he did), John’s life on earth was more than just baptizing. John’s adult life was characterized by devotion and surrender to Jesus Christ and His kingdom. John’s voice was a “lone voice in the wilderness” (John 1:23) as he proclaimed the coming of the Messiah to a people who desperately needed a Savior. He was the precursor for the modern-day evangelist as he unashamedly shared the good news of Jesus Christ. He was a man filled with faith and a role model to those of us who wish to share our faith with others.
Most everyone, believer and non-believer alike, has heard of John the Baptist. He is one of the most significant and well-known figures in the Bible. While John was known as “the Baptist,” he was, in fact, the first prophet called by God since Malachi some 400 years earlier. John’s coming was foretold over 700 years previously by another prophet: “A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all
Something to consider: When we look closely at verse 4 in the Isaiah passage – “Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.” John was an evangelistic forerunner. How about us being forerunners for Jesus when we spread the good news to others? Are we not helping make the ‘rough ground’ level and those who have ‘rugged places’ in their lives?
mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken’” (Isaiah40:3-5). This passage illustrates God’s master plan in action as God selected John to be His special ambassador to proclaim His own coming.
John’s birth was miraculous. He was born of elderly parents who had never been able to have children (Luke 1:7). The angel Gabriel announced to Zechariah, a Levitical priest, that he would have a son—news that Zechariah received with incredulity (Luke 1:8-18). Gabriel said this about John: “He will be great in the sight of the Lord. He . . . will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, . . . to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:15-17). True to the word of the Lord, Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, gave birth to John. At the circumcision ceremony, Zechariah said about his son, “You, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; / for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him” (Luke 1:76).
John was related to Jesus, as their mothers were relatives (Luke :36). In fact, when the angel Gabriel told Mary that she would give birth to Jesus, he also told her about John. When Mary was carrying Jesus in her womb, she visited Elizabeth, and John leapt in his mother’s womb for joy at the sound of Mary’s voice (Luke 1:39-45).
As an adult, John lived a rugged life in the mountainous area of Judea, between the city of Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. He wore clothes made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, the typical garb of a prophet. His diet was a simple one—locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4). John lived a simple life as he focused on the kingdom work set before him.
John the Baptist’s ministry grew in popularity, as recounted in Matthew 3:5-6: “People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.” To be baptized by John was to admit your sin and repent of it—which was, of course, a great way to be prepared for the Savior’s coming. The repentance associated with John’s baptism also kept the self-righteous out of the water, as they did not see themselves as sinners. For the self-righteous, John had stern words, calling them a “brood of vipers” and warning them not to rely on their Jewish lineage for salvation, but to repent and “bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:7-10). People of that day simply did not address leaders, religious or otherwise, in this manner for fear of punishment. But John’s faith made him fearless in the face of opposition.
In John 3:28 John says, “You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.’” John cautioned his disciples that what they had seen and heard from him was just the beginning of the miracle that was to come in the form of Jesus Christ. John was merely a messenger sent by God to proclaim the truth. His message was simple and direct: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 3:2). He knew that, once Jesus appeared on the scene, John’s work would be all but finished. He willingly gave up the spotlight to Jesus, saying, “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30).
There are several lessons we can learn from the life of John the Baptist. One lesson is that whole-heartedly believing in Jesus Christ is possible. John knew that the Messiah was coming. He believed this with his whole heart and spent his days “preparing the way” for the Lord’s coming (Matthew 11:10). But the road was not an easy one to prepare. Daily he faced doubters who did not share his enthusiasm for the coming Messiah. Under hard questioning from the Pharisees, John shared his belief: “I baptize with water, . . . but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie” (John 1:26-27). John believed in the Christ, and his great faith kept him steadfast on his course until the time when he could say as he saw Jesus approach, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). As believers, we can all have this steadfast faith.
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Concluding Remarks and Application
John’s life is an example to us of the seriousness with which we are to approach the Christian life and our call to ministry, whatever that may be. John lived his life to introduce others to Jesus Christ; he was focused on the mission God had given him. John also knew the importance of repenting of one’s sins in order to live a holy and righteous life. And as a servant of God, he also was unafraid of speaking truth.
Something to consider: When we look closely at verse 4 in the Isaiah passage – “Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.” John was an evangelistic forerunner. How about us being forerunners for Jesus when we spread the good news to others? Are we not helping make the ‘rough ground’ level and those who have ‘rugged places’ in their lives?
One more thing: Even John had some doubts when he was in prison that Jesus was the Messiah. “When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?’” Luke 7:20 Jesus sent them back to tell John that they saw the miracles that Jesus had done to assure John that He indeed was the Messiah. So, we see that even John had some doubts and was not afraid to express them. Nor should we be afraid to express our doubts because Jesus can answer them.
Hopefully, by now, we are ‘overwhelmed’ by the details of the prophecies and their fulfillment. And we are only halfway there………