Who are you? As a culture we’re obsessed with this question. We even have a name for the inevitable time where people wrestle with this: their mid-life crisis! Often it comes when you realize life wasn’t what you thought it’d be. Your career doesn’t seem to go anywhere. Marriage is hard. Finances start tightening. It’s easy to ask “what am I doing exactly”? “What’s my purpose”? John the baptist had a similarly jarring turn in life when he was thrown in prison. Interestingly, despite his circumstances, his reaction is not to ask “who am I” but instead a greater question “Who is Jesus”! John realizes that if he’s going to follow God, he first needs to know who Jesus is and what he’s like. Our passage today is Luke 7:18-35. You can find it on page 811 of the pew bible in front of you. The main point of today’s text is that we will not fully know who we are until we know who Jesus is. Jesus will point to 3 ways to know who he is: through his word, his witnesses, and wisdom. The text will be divided into 3 sections. “Knowing Jesus through the word” (v18-23), “Knowing Jesus through his witnesses” (v24-30), and “And knowing Jesus through wisdom” (v31-35)
V18-23 Who is Jesus?
John’s disciples ask a question
Our text starts with a question from John the Baptist. The last time we heard about him in Luke was in chapter 3 when he baptized Jesus. To set the scene a bit, we learn in chapter 3 verse 19 that he has been imprisoned by Herod because John had called out Herod for taking his brother’s wife Herodias for himself. Despite that, John’s disciples continued to help John and keep him updated on life outside prison, which is where today’s section opens: [read 7:18-20]
So John is getting word back from his disciples of everything that Jesus has been up to. It’s not clear what the report consists of but we’ll see that there are allusions all the way back to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry when he preaches in his hometown of Nazareth. Something about what Jesus is doing stokes a question within John that is important enough to ask Jesus himself. How John sends his disciples says a lot about the nature of his question. Because he’s in prison, he sends not one, but two disciples to Jesus in his stead. It was standard practice at that time that any testimony should be established on the basis of at least two witnesses. You might recognize that from Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 18 but it stems from case law given in Deuteronomy 19:15 as well. When the disciples reach Jesus, they state the question exactly as John originally posed it. “Are you the one who is to come or shall we look for another?” [repeat]. He’s submitting a formal request to know how Jesus would define himself.
This is a really good question. What could be more important than properly identifying the messiah? Throughout Luke many people have had questions about Jesus. When Jesus preached in Nazareth the crowd wondered “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”. The Pharisees questioned Jesus multiple times. “Who can forgive sins?” or “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath?”. John is the first person to ask Jesus directly “who are you?”. It’s the question everyone wants to know and everyone has opinions on, but so far no one has asked Jesus directly.
The strange part is, why would John the baptist of all people be asking this question? Isn’t his whole mission to announce the messiah? If you flip over to John 1:29 we’ll see John the baptist from a very different perspective. “The next day he (John) saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” So from John the apostle’s account we know that John the baptist recognized Jesus as the Christ from an early point. I think there are two things Luke is highlighting here with John’s question.
Firstly, we know from the beginning of Luke that this gospel was written as an orderly account to a man named Theophilus in Luke 1:3-4 “It seemed good to me also, having followed things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.” Like how John was receiving news of Jesus through his disciples, Theophilus would also be receiving the account of Jesus second hand. We ourselves now receive news of who Jesus is in the same way Theophilus did through writings like the gospel of Luke. Given that John, Theophilus, and we ourselves have not seen Jesus firsthand, how are we to confidently know who he really is? We’ll come back to this but I’m going to argue that Jesus points to how his actions align with scripture. So this first section is about how we can know Jesus through the Word
There’s a second more personal reason why John might be questioning who Jesus is. Jesus and John’s ministries were intimately related to one another. John’s role was to prepare people for the coming of the Christ, and Jesus came to proclaim what it means that he – the Christ – has come. Luke 3:16 gives us insight into how John viewed his ministry. “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” What John is saying is that he expects that when the messiah comes, God will gather in the righteous and punish the wicked for good. Finally justice will come!
What does he experience instead? He, a man of God, is locked up by a wicked king who stole his own brother’s wife. Where’s the justice in that? John isn’t questioning whether Jesus is of God. Part of his question is an appeal for Jesus’ council when he asks “or shall we look for another”. So John trusts Jesus, but is struggling to see how what Jesus is doing matches his idea of what The Christ has come to do . Have you ever felt like that? “Jesus, I know you’re sovereign so why won’t you save my friend?” “Jesus, you’ve given me the holy spirit so why am I still struggling with this sin?”. When we ask ourselves these questions are we understanding who Jesus is correctly? These are the same types of questions John is asking. So how does Jesus respond to John?
Jesus responds to the disciples’ question:
[quote v21-23]. The first thing we see is that Jesus doesn’t give the disciples a direct answer. Why not? Well, anyone can say they’re the messiah. People were claiming that before Jesus, and continue to claim it after him. A yes or no answer doesn’t get rid of doubt. If someone asked me if I was an NFL lineman and I said yes, would that be enough evidence? Saying yes or no also doesn’t fix complacency. Here in the bible belt many people would say that Jesus is the son of God, but when you look at their life, that monumental truth appears to have not affected their life much at all. So Jesus is doing more than just satisfying a Q&A. He’s calling people to think carefully about who he is and what the implications are. Jesus’ response is meant to appeal to both the skeptic and the one who trusts Jesus but is confused by him. In both cases his answer is the same: “compare my words and actions with what scripture says.”
The particular actions that Jesus talks about in these verses are his miracles: Legitimate signs and wonders are hard to argue against. If someone claims to have raised a man from the dead, our brains need an answer for that. Either he’s lying, the circumstances weren’t what they seemed, or something supernatural really happened. What’s amazing is that Jesus’ miracles were greater in volume, scale, and verifiability than any other historical account, biblical or otherwise.
For comparison, the prophet Elijah who’s known for his many miracles did about 8 which was unusually high compared to other people in the Old Testament. His successor Elisha did 16 which is even more amazing. Jesus, in comparison, did at least 37 distinct miracles and even more that were unrecorded. What I mean by that is the gospels often just give a summary like in the one in verse 21. “In that hour he healed many people…”. Jesus’s miracles were not subtle either. Just read the list: “the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up…” Even with modern technology these are near impossible to fake or misinterpret. Finally, Jesus’ ministry was public. He wasn’t healing people in back rooms only among friends and family. As we read last week, we walked up to a random funeral procession, stopped in front of the whole crowd, and brought a dead man back to life in front of their eyes. So we know Jesus is someone special, how do we know he’s the Christ prophesied in the Old Testament?
The miracles Jesus does parallel those in books like Isaiah that predict what the coming of the lord will be like. Isaiah 29:18-19 says “In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One Israel.” Isaiah 35:5-6 says “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy…”. There are many more places we could point to for how these types of miracles are used throughout the Old Testament but the point is that the one who is to come will be marked by obvious change in people’s lives.
Jesus then finishes his answer to John’s disciples with a strange conclusion: “blessed is the one who is not offended by me”. What’s that supposed to mean? Healing people and casting out demons don’t seem like very offensive activities. Let’s focus on what Jesus says directly before: “the poor have good news preached to them”. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard this. He actually said the same thing in chapter 4 when speaking to the people of Nazareth at the beginning of his ministry. Specifically he was quoting Isaiah 61 “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” We already know from the reporting of John’s disciples that John probably knew about Jesus’ preaching in Nazareth and now he’s alluding to the same passage. Jesus chooses to skip the verse about proclaiming liberty for the captives and simply ends with “blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” Imagine John sitting there in prison as a captive getting word of this. What’s he to make of it? Why would Jesus omit the very words that would be such a comfort to John at this moment?
I think Jesus is making two points:
Firstly, freedom for captives was not the only thing Jesus omitted. Let’s keep reading Isaiah 61: “…to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God.” Think about Jesus’ ministry up to this point. Much of it has been spent with tax collectors and sinners calling them to himself. The time of ultimate judgment is indeed coming like John foresaw. But Jesus has chosen to withhold judgement on the wicked for a time. Until that day comes, the righteous like John will suffer. Friends, if you have not yet submitted your life to Christ, this is good news for you! Not only has the savior prophesied in the old testament been revealed, he’s calling those who are not righteous to be forgiven through him! That’s good news to everyone in this room including me. We all come to Jesus in need of him.
Jesus doesn’t just leave John hanging though. He ties his words with a promise. He specifically said “Blessed is the one who’s not offended by me.” In the last chapter we heard Jesus use this same language. [read Luke 6:20-23]. Jesus is saying “John, I know you’re confused right now. I know prison is not where you want to be. But take heart and know you’re blessed. This is for your good.” Many of you here are a testament to that. Jesus doesn’t promise to give direct answers to our questions, but he tells us how it ends and to look forward to the kingdom of God.
V24-30 Who is John?
Jesus asks who John is v24-27
So if we can trust that Jesus is the Christ, what does living for Christ look like for our lives? Jesus actually holds up John the baptist himself as a prime example. John may have questions about who Jesus is but Jesus is about to show he knows exactly who John is. [read v24-27] After John’s disciples leave, Jesus continues the conversation by addressing the crowd around him. Jesus’ instructions to John’s disciples were to tell John what they’ve seen and heard and now he turns that on the crowd and asks 3 questions provoking what they’ve seen of John the Baptist. The main theme is that everything John did was to be a witness to the one to come, Jesus.
Jesus first asks the crowd “what did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?” John set up his ministry in a very strange place. He was on the outskirts, not in the city where all the people and influence were. Especially in an agricultural society, John must have really lived out in the sticks. In fact another way to translate wilderness is desert. If you’ve visited a desert like Paolo Duro Canyon or Big Bend, you’ll have an idea of how uncomfortable and dangerous it must have been to trek out to see John much less live like him. You’re hot and sweaty, there could be robbers around, and there’s very little to eat. John, though, sees the wilderness as the perfect place for his ministry. Biblically, the wilderness symbolized a departure from the ways of the world in order to live in a state of reliance on God. The Israelites were led by God through the wilderness 40 years after their escape from Egypt. The prophet Elijah traveled through the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights, and Jesus was led into the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights before starting his ministry. What better location could you ask for to illustrate what it looked like to repent as John called Israel to do?
John’s reputation definitely preceded himself. Jesus only has to ask rhetorically what John was like. Was he a reed shaken in the wind? No he’s the guy that will call you a brood of vipers to your face and tell you to repent. He’s the type of guy that would be imprisoned for calling out the ruler of the land. In other words he was unabashed about following the word of God. He did not stand idly by as Israel drifted from God.
Was he dressed in soft clothing? No, we know from verses like Matthew 3:4 that he wore a garment of Camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist. This was a scratchy and uncomfortable shirt that would have been used by only the poorest of people, far from the soft clothing of royalty and the elite. Aesthetically, this guy was not cool. If you saw him coming down the street, you would probably avert your eyes and keep walking. But even John’s clothes communicated something about his theology. If you read 2 Kings 1:8 it says the prophet Elijah wore the same garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt. This is important because Malachi 4:5 promises that God will send Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. Where he lived, what he said, even what he wore was to be an example and point others to a life submitted to the coming messiah.
Then just as Jesus pointed to scripture for himself, he points to scripture to describe who John is. He’s a prophet preparing the way for Christ. In fact he’s more than a prophet because while the other Old Testament prophets point to the coming Christ, John the Baptist gets to make way for him and witness his coming.
Jesus you’re saying that the loud, hairy man living in the back woods is the messenger prophesied in scripture? Jesus says yes that’s my guy! Think of how that fits in with all the other people that come to Jesus in this chapter. We have a humble centurion, a grieving widow, John the baptist, and a woman of the city. None of them are great by the standards of those in Israel but all of them humbly respond to Jesus. By the world’s standards, John the Baptist’s track record is not that impressive. He doesn’t do any miracles, most of his ministry he’s stuck behind bars, and he’s wrestling with if his
ministry is even pointing to the right guy. Despite this, Jesus affirms his role as prophet. John’s life indeed points to Christ.
I don’t know about you, but I often struggle to know if I’m really being a good witness to Christ with my life. It’s hard for me to get out from behind my cubicle and ask how my coworker’s doing, much less proclaim the gospel to them. John’s example shows that Jesus knows our deeds and can use us regardless of our shortcomings or failure by the world’s standards. Christian, Jesus is proud of you. Keep striving to live for him!
The people of the kingdom are declared greater than John v28-30
If Jesus calls John the greatest among those born of women, he’s now going to up the ante. [v28-30]. Why are those least in the kingdom of God greater than John? The next verse clues us in. Luke, our narrator, makes a distinction between how the crowd and the Pharisees react to Jesus’ words. The people justify God while the Pharisees reject the purpose of God. The difference between their responses stem from the people receiving the baptism of John while the Pharisees denied it.
Let’s read what John said again about his baptism in Luke 3:16. “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” John’s baptism was a way to prepare people for a greater baptism: a baptism of the holy spirit and spiritual cleansing. The people of the kingdom have not yet come in this passage. We don’t see Jesus’ disciples receive the holy spirit until the day of Pentecost in Acts after Jesus’ death and resurrection. When that day comes though, the people of the kingdom will be greater than John not because of what they’ve done but because of what they’ve received. While John preached a message of repentance from sins, those who understand Christ’s work now declare a message of forgiveness of those sins. Where John’s baptism called people to be righteous, the person of the kingdom receives the holy spirit to enable that righteousness.
Interestingly, when the crowd hears Jesus’ words it says that they declared God just. I don’t think this means that the crowd verbally agreed with Jesus. “Yeah Jesus you’re right!”. At this point it wasn’t yet clear to them what the kingdom of God even was. The NIV translates this verse as “they acknowledged God’s way was right” which I think is a little clearer. As the people obey God by demonstrating their repentance through John’s baptism, their actions are a witness to the wisdom of God’s plan.
At first, God’s plan seems crazy. He’s ushering in the kingdom of God through the despised and the lowly. Luke points out particularly that the tax collectors were baptized and participated in justifying God! Again, John is the prime example of one lowly and yet this passage shows that God indeed used him to prepare the way of the Lord.
If John is an example of someone earnestly seeking to know Jesus, The Pharisees and lawyers represent the opposite. When Jesus talks about those least in the kingdom of God, it’s meant to be an honor! And for those who know they are low, this is good news!
For the Pharisees though, the opportunity Jesus presents is something to be rejected. Jesus next has a rebuke and warning for people like the Pharisees.
V31-35 Jesus calls the crowd to identify him
Jesus describes the childish generation:
He’s going to show that the way of the Pharisees is foolish while his way is wise. [read v31-32] What is Jesus getting at with this parable? To put it simply, it’s possible to hear Jesus’ message, and it fall on deaf ears. Let’s break it down. Jesus describes the people of this generation as a group of children calling out to one another. There’s a division present among the children. There are those shouting out and those not responding. One side shouts “we played the flute for you and you did not dance; we sang a dirge and you did not weep”. A dirge is a song played at a funeral while the flute would be played at a wedding. The group of children who are calling out, parallel the ministry approaches of John the baptist and Jesus.
John the baptist is like one who plays a dirge. He came with sobriety eating no bread and drinking no wine, yet the Pharisees accused him of having a demon. There is nothing about John’s message that should have been rejected by the Pharisees. He’s saying the exact same thing as many of the prophets before him. His mission to call the Israelites to repentance is a theme going back to Genesis. The Pharisees themselves claimed to want to uphold the moral structure of Israel. The difference was that John simply wasn’t one of them. He was an outsider. The problem was not John’s message but that he was a threat to their power as many came to be baptized by him.
There’s another layer in this that shows just how much the Pharisees are willing to twist words to their advantage. In Luke 5:33 they come to Jesus and say “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.”
So the religious leaders hold John and his disciples up as an example when it’s advantageous to make their point, but when it comes to listening to what they actually have to say, John’s lifestyle is demonic. What they’re doing is pure slander.
Jesus on the other hand comes with good news like a wedding, completely opposite to John’s ministry. The Pharisees again twist what they’re seeing, this time by exaggerating Jesus’ actions. They say “look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!”. They’re not just taking shots at his reputation, they’re insinuating a very serious claim. We read in Deuteronomy 21:18-21 that you can be stoned for being a glutton and a drunkard.
The leaders also target him for who he associates with. This is likely a shot at people like Matthew Levi the former tax collector. Jesus actually addressed this accusation of theirs back in Luke 5:30-32. “And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? And Jesus answered them, those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” By this accusation the Pharisees show they’re more concerned with what Jesus does rather than why he does it. While John tries to probe further into who Jesus is, the Pharisees find something they don’t like and reject him wholesale.
In both the accusations of John and Jesus, it’s clear that the Pharisees are much more concerned about choices of lifestyle rather than message. Jesus’ kingdom is radically upside down compared to what the Pharisees envision. How could such different people like John and Jesus, but also a centurion, a widow, and the tax collectors all be part of the same group? It’s foolishness to the world and yet these are the people Jesus calls.
Wisdom is justified by her children
Jesus then gives a final call to recognize who he is here. “Yet wisdom is justified by all her children“ The fruit of wisdom will determine who is right. The life of John, Jesus, and those who follow Jesus will play out according to what they really believe. Jesus has given an example through John of what a life according to the kingdom looks like. Will the Pharisees’ portrayal of the two hold up? If John is possessed by a demon, we would expect people to turn away from God, but instead we hear that they declare God just. If Jesus really is a glutton and a drunkard, we would expect those around him to increase in debauchery, but instead they come to him repentant. The same can be said of the crowd. Like how wisdom is justified by her children, the people (including tax collectors) declare God just! In a major turn of events the sinners and the lowly are the ones who show God to be right.
In contrast, the way the Pharisees twist Jesus and John’s words and actions show their foolishness.
Conclusion
To the nonbeliever I’d challenge you to consider who Jesus says he is. Jesus did many miracles throughout his life but there’s one that holds particular weight and significance for all Christians. Jesus is able to sympathize with John the baptist because he too was wrongfully sentenced. He would be crucified for sins he never committed. Jesus rose from the dead on the third day but that’s not his greatest miracle. His greatest act was that by dying and resurrecting he put every sin to death for all those who would trust in him. These are the children of the kingdom Jesus was talking about! What a peace it is to know that the story doesn’t end with “repent” but with “you are forgiven” for those who put their faith in Christ. There are many people here who’d love to talk more about that over lunch if you’re interested.
Friends, what a privilege it is to have a savior that desires to be known. What’s even better is that God has gifted us with the church to seek Jesus together in community. We all come from different backgrounds and in different seasons of life in our walk with God. We’re united in the fact that our identity has been secured in him as children of God.
As we wrestle with how knowing Jesus shapes our lives, continue to point one another to Christ through the regular things a church does: Seeking Jesus in the word, witnessing him through your lives and prayer, and encouraging one another with godly wisdom. I know I’m not alone when I say many of you inspire me to seek Jesus more in these ways. All I can say is keep it up! Let’s pray.