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Intermediate Sunday School Lesson 68 : Commendation of John the Baptiser

Text: Matthew 11:7-15
11 June 2023

INTERMEDIATE SUNDAY SCHOOL 11 JUNE 2023
STUDIES IN THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW
Text: Matthew 11:7-15

Subject: Commendation of John the Baptiser

7 As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he of whom it is written:
‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You.’
11 “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Matthew 11:7-15

1. The Lord Jesus commended John the Baptiser

2. What John was not:

a) He was not a common reed
b) He was not a soft man living in great comfort

3. What John was:

a) He was a prophet and more
b) He was the special messenger of the Messiah

THE PROMISED ELIJAH THE PROPHET

4 “Remember the Law of Moses, My servant,
Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel,
With the statutes and judgments.

5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.

6 And he will turn
The hearts of the fathers to the children,
And the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”

Malachi 4:4-6

a) God will send Elijah the prophet

b) He will reconcile broken families
c) John was that promised Elijah

THE PROBLEMS THE LORD HAD TO ADDRESS

1. The multitudes did not know how to appreciate:

a) John as the special messenger of the Lord
b) The message of the gospel of the kingdom
c) To receive the Gospel and to enter into the kingdom is to be “greater than he”

2. There were some who tried the way of violence

a) They manipulate spiritual matters politically
b) They even literally resort to violence in their application of the laws of God
c) The scribes, chief priests and the Sanhedrin council members were people who resorted to violence in religious matters

3. The challenge then and now

a) To have ears to hear
b) To listen well and to respond to the message of the Lord positively
c) To spend time understanding the Gospel of the Kingdom of heaven and to respond appropriately

THE PROBLEM OF THE MULTITUDES

1. Their problems

a) Limited knowledge
b) Poor faith if any at all

2. The challenge of the Lord Jesus

a) To comprehend
b) To appreciate
c) To have a deeper faith