“The Just Shall Live By Faith”

New King James Version                          Written by: David Hicks

 

Romans 1:17 “ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

Galatians 3:11 “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith."

Hebrews 10:38 “Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."

“Articles of Faith"

An Orderly Account Of The Greatest Story Ever Told

(A Study in Luke)

Chapter 7:18-35:

In this lesson, we will look at Jesus' interaction with the disciples of John the Baptist. There have been many who have taught that this passage shows that John had doubts concerning the validity that Jesus was truly the Son of God.

There is overwhelming evidence that points to the fact that John was well aware of who Jesus was, note:

John 1:29-34 “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.' 31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”
32 And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' 34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God .”

In Addition, as we will see in the text, it was not John that had the doubts, but his followers. John is going to send them to Jesus to publicly end all doubts concerning Him being the One John was to testify on behalf of!

The corresponding passage in Matthew: Matthew 11:2-19

Text #1:

Luke 7:18-21 “Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things. 19 And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”
20 When the men had come to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?'” 21 And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight.”

As I mentioned in the opening, John was without doubt; however, his disciples didn't seem to share his confidence. John's solution was to send them to the Lord for proof irrefutable.

Are You the Coming One: The question they are sent to ask is not are you just another prophet, but are you the Messiah? This is what John taught all along, note:

Luke 3:16-17 “John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”

John 3:26-32 “And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!”
27 “John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,' but, ‘I have been sent before Him.' 29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease. 31 He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.”

Note that Jesus did not respond to their question with mere words, but as it was the intention of God, He testified of His true identity with miracles, signs, and wonders (Acts 2: 22).

Text #2:

Luke 7:22-23 “Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. 23 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

Go Tell John: There is no rebuke for John, as evidence that this was for the benefit of his disciples. They were however, to go and testify of what they had witnessed and that the poor had the gospel of the coming kingdom preached to them as opposed to the rich or authoritative. In this, the disciples of John did not hear that Jesus was here to establish an earthly kingdom; to remove Rome , to obliterate the sinners, or to begin judgment on the nations. Instead they were shown that the mercy of God was here and this is what they would tell John!

Blessed is He Who is not Offended: This was offered to the disciples of John before they left for their benefit. They were to understand that what their teacher has been telling them all along is true!

Text #3:

Luke 7:24-28 “When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 25 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings' courts. 26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written:
‘ Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.' 28 For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

What Did You Go Out To See?: After John's emissaries had gone, Jesus would pay tribute to John the Baptizer. He began this tribute with a question, “What did you go out to see?” “A reed shaken by the wind?” This was a rhetorical question, as nothing normal would cause the multitudes to venture into the wilderness to see and hear John. In fact, they had gone out to see a mighty oak, a man who was as immovable as a tree and performing mighty works.

My Messenger: All these who came out to see John expected that before the Messiah of God came, one was to come in the power of Elijah first. Jesus would acknowledge that John indeed was this one spoken of by Isaiah and Malachi (Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1).

No Greater Prophet: The greatness of John was not to be measured in that he performed greater works or spoke louder than the others. It was measured by his relationship to the Messiah of God. He was great because he went before the One that God would send to save all men!

He Who is Least in the Kingdom: A comparison is made here to bring His audience back to the reality of His supremacy to John. Even John would testify that Jesus must increase and that he must decrease (John 3:30). When the kingdom would come, all those who would enter and become it's citizens would be greater than John, in that they would become God's eternal purpose in Christ Jesus, note:

Ephesians 3:10-11 “to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,”

Text #4:

Luke 7:29-35 And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. 30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.
31 And the Lord said, “To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying:
‘We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not weep.'

33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.' 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' 35 But wisdom is justified by all her children.”

In the remainder of this teaching we have demonstrated for us the success and warning of free-will. Two very contrary results exist in verses 29 and 30 . First, we have those who truly appreciated the preparatory work of John and the kingdom that he preached was near. These were the justification of God in their obedience. Second, we have the Pharisees and lawyers, who chose of themselves to reject God's will in disobedience.

The Men of This Generation: Jesus would now focus His attention on those who rejected the will of God. He would not directly quote scripture concerning their rejection as foreseen by the prophets, instead He would offer a poetic gesture to describe what the prophets said of this generation.

Note Isaiah's words concerning this; words that Jesus and Paul would quote concerning this generation, note:

Isaiah 6:9-10 “And He said, “Go, and tell this people:
‘ Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' 10 “ Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed.”

Wisdom is Justified by Her Children: Jesus would recognize the hypocrisy in the attempts of the Pharisees and scribes to undermine His work and that of John. Here Jesus acknowledges that both He and John were directed by God and are accomplishing the things that God has given them to do. In this, they were the true children of wisdom, as would be all who hear and obey their words.

Note: In Matthew's account (Matthew 11:12), Jesus would speak of the kingdom suffering violence. This was a direct reference to the fact that ever since the prophet's spoke of the coming kingdom, men had created for themselves what they wanted this kingdom to be (from this time to the day of Jesus and to this very day).

The kingdom would be shut up until the day of Pentecost after the resurrection of Jesus (Acts 2); however, many would attempt to breach the walls and enter in a way that was not designed (for example see: John 6:15; Matthew 20:21; Luke 19:11; 22:24-30). It was the design of God to open the gates to the kingdom through the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, brought to the world by the chosen Apostles of Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8). All things happen as God designs and the futility of men simply exclude them from having God as their benefactor.