“A GREAT MAN – A GREATER MESSAGE”
LUKE 7:24-30

I. Introduction
If I were to place three pitchers of crystal-clear pure water on the table, then add two drops of industrial waste to one, a quarter ounce of raw sewage to another, and just a few grains of rat poison to the third, there would no longer be pure water in any of them, would there? No matter the degree of contamination, they would all be polluted.

Obviously, none of the three pitchers would be as foul as if they were “totally filled” with industrial waste, raw sewage, or rat poison. And whether or not the water in any of them would still be safe for human consumption would be a matter for a chemist to deter-mine. But one thing would be indisputable. By any objective standard of measure, the water in all three pitchers would be, to one degree or another, polluted.

Our sin is like the pollution in those pitchers. All of us are fleshly vessels polluted by the waste, the raw sewage, and the poison of sin. Of course, some of us are worse than others. We can always find someone more vile than ourselves, someone who is actually more contaminated by sin than we are. And, truth be told, when we find someone like that, we tend to feel better about ourselves, don’t we?

Wouldn’t it be nice if God would judge us based on the standard set by a Judas or an Adolf Hitler? Just imagine how clean the water in our pitchers would look if it were compared to the water in theirs.

But of course, God will not judge us based on a comparison with the foulest sinners who have ever walked this earth. He will judge us based on a comparison with the only sin-less man who ever walked this earth, His Son, Jesus Christ. Whereas you and I might look pretty good next to a Judas or a Hitler, next to Jesus we are as black as if our pitcher were filled with tar. That is just as true of the worst sinner who ever repented and put his faith in Christ as it is of the best and finest man who ever lived. Just as pollution is pol-lution, so too sin is sin – regardless of the degree of contamination.

In the four thousand years from Adam until Jesus, God raised up many great men. Think of Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, Daniel, and Elijah, just to name a few. But none of them were as great as John the Baptist. We know that because Jesus said so. We will hear Him say that this morning. But even John was a sinner who fell far short of the glory of God. And despite John’s sin, his doubts, and failures, we’ll see how Jesus deals with God’s children, and in the process, we’ll get an idea as to how the Lord defends and
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II. Review
John the Baptist was in prison and facing his execution at the hands of Herod.
He had pointed to Jesus, the “Expected One,” the Messiah of Israel. He had proclaimed the need to repent, to turn to God. For the unbelieving among the Jews, that was crime enough, but John had gone even further. His “crime” was that he had preached and taught the Word of God. He had called sin, sin. He had done so loudly, boldly, and with-out equivocation. The world will forgive you of much, but it will not forgive you of that.

While John was in Herod’s prison he heard of all the marvelous works Jesus was doing, but since Jesus was the “Expected One,” John began to wonder why Jesus wasn’t doing what the Messiah was prophesied to do? Why wasn’t Jesus judging and punishing sin? Why wasn’t He throwing off the yoke of the Roman oppressors? Why wasn’t He taking the throne of David in Jerusalem? Not to mention, why wasn’t Jesus getting John out of prison? After all, the Prophet Isaiah had said, in…
Isaiah 61:1
1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners…

You can see why John began to doubt and to think that he had misunderstood God; that Jesus was not the Messiah at all. So he sent two of his disciples to Jesus to personally ask Him, “…are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else (Luke 7:19-20)?”

Jesus knew exactly what John needed to hear. So He responded to him in a loving and encouraging manner. He sent a message to John reminding him of what he already knew and believed – “…the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, (and) the poor have the gospel preached to them (Luke 7:22).”
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III. Text
*Luke 7:24-30 (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word.)
24 And when the messengers of John had left, (Jesus) began to speak to the multitudes about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind?
25 “But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are splendidly clothed and live in luxury are found in royal palaces.
26 “But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and one who is more than a prophet.
27 “This is the one about whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.’
28 “I say to you, among those born of women, there is no one greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
29 And when all the people and tax-gatherers heard this, they acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John.
30 But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.

We know that the reason Jesus took on human flesh and came to earth was to die for sinners. In John’s gospel Jesus describes Himself as a good shepherd who sacrifices His own life for His sheep. God gave Him the authority to do so, and He did it.
John 10:11, 15b, 17-18
11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”
15b “…and I lay down My life for the sheep.”
17 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up again.
18 “No one has taken it from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father. ”

The key verse in Mark’s gospel attests to and affirms this one fact.
Mark 10:45
45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

So that’s the reason Jesus came to earth – to die. But what was the principle goal of Jesus’ ministry while He lived and walked on this earth? It was to show that He was in fact the “Expected One” of Israel. It was to show that He alone could forgive men and redeem them from their sin. It was to show that He alone was King and Servant, fully Man and fully God. In fact, those who wrote the gospels presented Jesus in just that way.

In Matthew Jesus is the King of Israel. In Mark He is the servant of man. In Luke He is the Son of Man, and in John He is the Son of God. When taken together it becomes obvious that only Jesus could possibly fulfill all the OT prophecies and covenants. Only Jesus could possibly be the Jewish Messiah, the “Expected One” from God.

It was left to the last of the OT prophets, John the Baptist, to point directly to Jesus. He did so and he did so in an exemplary manner. Initially, most of Israel accepted John as God’s prophet. This is remarkable because John was anything but one who preached a “soft message,” that is, one that was designed to tickle the ears and draw large crowds. On the contrary, John’s message was one of coming judgment, the wrath of God, and the need for personal repentance.

While many believed that John truly was a prophet, few accepted the fact that Jesus was the Messiah. John, God’s messenger, had been obedient. He had done what he was called to do, but the people who heard him rejected his testimony about Christ. But how could that be? If John was a prophet, then Jesus was the Messiah. Or if Jesus wasn’t the Messiah, then John wasn’t a prophet. The people couldn’t have both ways.
So in Luke 7:24-25 Jesus challenges them.
*Luke 7:24-25
24 And when the messengers of John had left, (Jesus) began to speak to the multitudes about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind?
25 “But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are splendidly clothed and live in luxury are found in royal palaces.”

In these verses Jesus makes His point that the people could not accept John as a prophet and at the same time reject Him as the “Expected One.” Remember that John’s disci-ples have come to Jesus to ask if He is, in fact the One. Jesus has sent them back to John with His answer. But can you imagine what some of the people are thinking?

“If John used to say that Jesus was the Messiah, but now he’s not so sure, maybe Jesus isn’t the One at all. And maybe John isn’t a prophet at all. After all, real prophets don’t vacillate between two opinions. Real prophets aren’t weaklings or fickle men.”

The people weren’t interested in Jesus. They wanted to reject Him. They thought that if they could find reason to condemn John, and by extension, his message, then they might soothe their own consciences about rejecting Jesus. It’s as if the people are saying, “John had us going for a while. His message was pretty powerful. But now we can see that he was just a talker. Even he isn’t convinced by what he said about this Jesus.”

Listen, if people don’t want to believe, they’ll find all sorts of reasons not to, won’t they? They may respect you as the messenger. The message they hear may well make sense to them. It may cause them to consider the claims of Christ. It may even cause them to face their own sin. But they will often look for a way out or an excuse. Failing that, they may be able to gin up some perceived problem with the messenger. If they can just find a problem with the messenger, then maybe the message is invalid.

I think there’s an important lesson for us here. It’s just wrong to condemn a person based on one deviation from the straight and narrow. When you consider your brothers and sisters in Christ, don’t let one mistake, or one failure, or one slip be the determining fac-tor in your opinion of their entire life, or their character, or their ministry. Look at the totality of their life, their character, or their ministry. And never forget that you have made mistakes, failed in some area, or slipped off that straight and narrow path yourself.

In John’s case, his whole life and testimony was that of a man who was strong like an oak tree, not weak like long grass blowing in the wind. The people who had followed John knew this. But he had doubted. His doubt had exposed him as being less than per-fect. It was just what those who didn’t want to believe in Jesus needed. It was just the “out,” they were looking for. They seized on it as an excuse to reject John’s message about Jesus.
So Jesus asks them about their former relationship with John. He does so in the form of two rhetorical questions. The first is this: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? The obvious answer is, “No, we did not!” The second question is like the first. “But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Again, the obvious answer is, “No!” The one whom they went to the wilder-ness to see and hear was anything but a weak, spineless, vacillating “ear tickler.”

Do you remember the way John preached?
Matthew 3:2
2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Luke 3:7-9
7 (John) therefore began saying to the multitudes who were going out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8 “Therefore bring forth fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.
9 “And also the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree there-fore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

John hadn’t been schooled in the latest methodologies of the church-growth movement, had he? Didn’t he know that people wouldn’t respond to such negative preaching? Didn’t he know that people were only interested in positive up-beat messages that are designed to address their felt needs?

No, he didn’t! But he didn’t need to. The people went out in droves to hear the truth. Listen, what John was doing is laughed at today. It is mocked even among Christians as “pulpit-pounding, Bible-thumping, or old fashioned hell-fire and damnation preaching.”

That’s what the people went out to hear. And that’s what John was faithfully doing. And so, many came to repentance. The people most certainly did not go out to hear “a reed shaken by the wind,” or to see a man in “soft clothing.” What they went out to hear was the Word of God. What they went out to see was a great man of God who proclaimed a message that was greater than the messenger. We have already heard the heart of it. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 3:2).” They believed John was a prophet, a man who spoke for God. So why didn’t they believe him about Jesus?

Before we move on to v. 26 I just want to say a word about the “soft clothing” Jesus speaks of v. 25. The term refers to the kinds of clothes worn by the royal families, the wealthy, and those who held positions of power and authority in the first century. I sup-pose the silks, satins, cashmeres, laces, and many furs of today would qualify as soft clothing. Instead of soft clothing John wore camel’s hair. Instead of steak and lobster, John ate locusts and honey.
The point is that John not only spoke like a prophet, he lived like one. It’s not that good clothes and food are, in and of themselves, sinful. They are not. But it seems apparent that John had taken a Nazarite vow (Numbers 6:2-4). In accordance with such a vow, he would not cut his hair, he would abstain from any form of alcohol, and he would live a life of self-denial, separating himself from the world and most all of its pleasures.

In all of this the people recognized and respected John’s character and his integrity, and therefore, his validity as a true prophet of God.
*Luke 7:26-27
26 “But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and one who is more than a prophet.
27 “This is the one about whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.’

Now in v. 26 Jesus asks the crowd a third rhetorical question. He answers it Himself. “Yes, you went out to see a prophet.” That’s clear enough. But what did Jesus mean by “…one who is more than a prophet.”? Not only was John a prophet, but he himself had been prophesied by Malachi.
*Malachi 3:1
1 “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the LORD of hosts.”

In order to understand what Malachi is saying we need to identify the pronouns and names of God here. “I,” “My,” and “Me” all refer to the pre-incarnate Christ. “…he” is John the Baptist. “Lord” is the Hebrew “Adonai.” It also refers to Jesus and speaks of His supremacy, mastery, and absolute authority over every aspect of His creation.

The second time “messenger” is used it refers to Jesus Himself. The phrase, “…in whom you delight” is sarcasm. These people didn’t delight in God at all. Most of them would reject Jesus when He came. The last use of the word “LORD” does not refer to Jesus. It is not “Adonai,” but “Yahweh,” God’s personal name – “I AM WHO I AM!”

Later, Malachi says the one who will come before Jesus is Elijah. It seems to be a con-tradiction until you recognize that John’s prophecy speaks of Jesus’ first advent which had already taken place, while Elijah’s prophecy speaks only of the Second Coming.
*Malachi 4:5
5 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.”

So you can see why many thought that John was some sort of reincarnation of Elijah. If Jesus was coming to judge sin and punish sinners, to bring in “the great and terrible day of the LORD,” then they would be seeing the fulfillment of Malachi 4:5.
John 1:21a
21a And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And (John) said, “I am not.”

While John was not Elijah, he came and he spoke in the spirit and power of Elijah. Just as John announced Jesus the first time, so Elijah will most likely be one of the two pro-phets who announces Jesus’ Second Coming of at the end of the Great Tribulation.
*Luke 7:28
28 “I say to you, among those born of women, there is no one greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

Jesus is saying that Israel’s unbelief and rejection of their Messiah does not diminish the greatness of John or his message. Truth is truth whether or not anyone believes it. The gospel is the gospel whether or not anyone embraces it. And Jesus is the “Expected One,” the Messiah, the Christ, whether or not anyone receives Him.

Jesus says that John is great because no one ever had a more important purpose or mes-sage. “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29)!” John announced his message with clarity and forcefulness. He emphasized repentance and conversion. And he resisted the temptation to draw attention to himself. All of these are marks of a true and humble servant of God.

But it seems strange that Jesus says what He does in the rest of Luke 7:28 – “…he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” What Jesus means is simply this:
“Although John was great, and although his privilege was great, the salvation of our souls is infinitely greater than any privilege or honor or blessing that God will bestow upon us in this life on this earth.” (repeat)

And there is something else here. It’s often called “progressive revelation.” Charles Hodge, the great nineteenth century theologian, defined it this way:
“The progressive character of divine revelation is recognized in relation to all the great doctrines of the Bible. What at first is only obscurely intimated is gradually unfolded in subsequent parts of the sacred volume, until the truth is revealed in its fullness.”

For example, Adam and Eve knew that God would destroy Satan and his works. They did not know where, when, how, or exactly who God would use to accomplish this, but God said He would do it.
Genesis 3:15
15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel.”

Later, God revealed more to Abraham, but Abraham didn’t get the whole story.
Then God revealed more to Moses, but Moses didn’t see the whole plan of God. This continued through the OT. David knew more, but he didn’t know all of God’s plan either. Then John the Baptist appeared on the scene and he actually met and knew Jesus. But John never saw, never wrote, and never read even one word of the NT.

Are you catching on to the principle of progressive revelation? You hold in your hands the complete revelation of God. You have in your hands everything God wants you to know about Himself and His plan of redemption. That is, everything He wants you to know this side of heaven.

You know vastly more about God’s eternal program than John knew. You do not know the moment that the Rapture of the church will take place. But you do know it will happen. And beyond that you have other privileges and blessings that John did not have.
• You have the entire NT. John did not.
• You have complete knowledge of forgiveness of sin at the cross. John did not.
• You have the continual indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. John did not.
• You have the spiritual gifts that God has bestowed upon the church. John did not.

The bottom line here is that John and those who came before him wanted to know more, but God chose to withhold it from them and give it to us in the Person of His Son. The Apostle Peter speaks of this.
*1 Peter 1:10-12
10 As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful search and inquiry,
11 seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which have now been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven – things into which angels long to look.

So God has now revealed more of Himself to you and to me than He did to any of the prophets, or to John the Baptist himself, the greatest man ever born of woman up until that time. It is in that context, and with that knowledge, that you and I, who are the least in the kingdom of God, are greater than John.
*Luke 7:29-30
29 And when all the people and tax-gatherers heard this, they acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John.
30 But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.

“All” in v. 29 refers to all the saved. John told the people what they must do to be saved.
They must repent and put their faith in Christ.
Those sinners among the common people who did so had humbly submitted themselves to John’s baptism. But as is usually the case, religious people – those who thought their religion and good deeds were sufficient to save them – had not.

Common people tend to be humble. So when they hear a message that calls for humility, they often respond positively to it. Wealthy people, the self-important, and many of those who are religious tend to be prideful. Naturally, that is never true of all, but it is true of many. Such people want to do things their own way. So when they hear a mes-sage that calls for personal brokenness and humility, they often tend to reject it.
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IV. Conclusion
John the Baptist was a great man of God. The message he proclaimed was greater. But greater still is the “Expected One,” the One to whom John pointed that day at the Jordan River when the Son of Man came to him to be baptized.

It was Jesus who said to the Samaritan women at the well…
John 4:10-15a
10 “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
11 She said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do you get that living water?
12 “You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank from of it himself, and his sons, and his cattle?”
13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again;
14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
15a The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water…”

The living water Jesus gives is what we need. It matters not if our sin is little or much. It matters not if the water in our pitchers is polluted a little or is nothing but waste, raw sewage, and poison. It’s contaminated and it’s foul.

Humble yourself before God. Turn to Jesus Christ and ask Him to begin the process of emptying all the pollution, the sin, out of your pitcher. Repent and turn to Him and He will fill it back up with His living water. He said, “…the water that I shall give (you) shall become in (you) a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

~ Pray ~