One of the basic characteristics of human beings is the ability to respond to each other. When a baby comes into the world, in those early weeks and months as he or she develops, we watch expectantly for it to respond and interact to those around. That ability to respond develops over the years. We know that one of the crucial factors in life for everyone is that they learn to respond to others in ways that are constructive and appropriate.

God created us to respond to one another, but more than that, he also created us to respond to him in love and trust. But that has all gone wrong somewhere. Instead of responding to God in love and trust, mistrust has come into human responses. As a result of a spoilt relationship with God, human relationships have been spoilt.

Human beings often do not respond in love to each other. Often they respond in fear or jealousy or anger. And they also often respond in a wrong way to God. The reality of our world is that we know the experience of alienation. Yet God is not content to leave his creation in the state its in. He responded to mankind’s plight and in his love sent his son into our world. The key for people to regain the right relationships, both with God and with our fellow human beings is in the way we respond to Jesus. In Matthew chapter 11 we see people responding to Jesus in a variety of ways. Let’s look and learn what we can from those responses.

The first response we come across is the response of John the Baptist. John’s response is to question Jesus. It had been John’s God given job to prepare the way for Jesus, but now John is in prison. He wonders if Jesus really is the promised messiah. John had spoken in terms of Jesus baptizing with fire and the Holy Spirit. His expectation was that Jesus would sort the wheat from the chaff; the righteous would be rewarded, and the wicked punished.

As he had listened for news of what Jesus was doing, he begins to question in his mind: ‘is this really the messiah, or is the messiah still to come?’ John sends his messengers to ask Jesus this. There is nothing wrong with honest questioning. That is a legitimate response to Jesus. God respects our honesty towards him. Just like John the Baptist, many people today have their own ideas about God, sometimes they are perplexed when they read the bible or hear the gospel preached; Jesus does not always fit with their expectations.

If we have questions or doubts about Jesus, then we need to honestly face those doubts and ask those questions as John did. But we also learn from this passage how answers can be found to our questions. Jesus sends back an answer to John. He tells John what he is doing. ‘The blind receive their sight, the lame walk the deaf hear…. and the good news is preached to the poor.’ Jesus was telling John what he was doing, but he was saying more than that. He was also quoting Old Testament prophecies; prophecies from the book of Isaiah to be precise.

Isaiah 35 v 5 says ‘then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.’ Isaiah 61 says ‘The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.’

Jesus was saying, ‘Look John, I’m doing the things that God promised he would do for his people.’ A massive change had taken place with the coming of Jesus. Up until that point, God had revealed himself to mankind through the Old Testament law and through the prophets. In fact John the Baptist himself had been part of that prophetic revelation. Jesus speaks of John as being more than a great prophet.

But yet some thing new has now arrived. Jesus has come to bring the kingdom of heaven near. Those who enter the kingdom of heaven enter into something way beyond what was possible in the Old Testament days of the law and prophets. The law came to mankind in the Old Testament. Jesus has brought grace to mankind; he has come so that men and women might receive the power to become children of God. Yes, John the Baptist’s expectations were valid. Jesus would inaugurate the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but that was yet to come about.

Yes, Jesus is the judge of all men. That is still to come and he leaves us in no doubt that those who do not repent will have to face judgement. But he has also come to save men and women from judgement through the good news of the gospel. There are answers to honest questions in God’s word, but at the end of the day, we can only find God’s blessing if we respond rightly to Jesus. The right response is not to fall away, but to put our faith in Jesus.

Jesus talks about another response that people make to him and the preaching of the gospel in verses 12 to 14. ‘Forceful men lay hold of the kingdom.’ Violent would probably be a better translation than forceful. Jesus is saying that some people respond to him violently. That was and still is a reality, some people respond to the gospel violently.

King Herod had responded to John the Baptist violently and put him in prison. When Jesus had commenced his ministry in his hometown of Nazareth the people there had attempted to kill him. At one point John tells us in his gospel that the crowd wanted to take Jesus by force and make him king. There are still those who respond to Jesus with violence. Some want to take Jesus, take the name of Christianity and use it for their own violent ends. There will also be Christians who face violence today because of their faith in Jesus.

Why the violence? It is usually because people are unwilling to face the truth that Jesus brings. When the light of Christ’s truth comes to people, their need for repentance also becomes obvious. Many will not face the reality of what Jesus reveals about them. They prefer darkness to light, because their deeds are evil. We see in our world today how many continue to choose the way of violence. In the end the way of violence is futile, because the darkness can never put out the light. Jesus triumphed over the power of violence when he rose from the dead. He offers a better way.
Others responded to Jesus with cynicism. Jesus compares the response of many to the attitude of truculent children. We sometimes think that the response ‘boring’ that we often get as parents or Sunday school teachers to our attempts to interest the younger generation is a modern thing. Kids are different today. They’re so hard to satisfy.

It seems that the younger generation in Jesus day were little different. The picture he paints of disaffected playmates is timeless. The tragic thing is that adults can be like it too. We live in a cynical age where there is a tendency to carp and criticise every attempt at noble actions. But that is not new either.

When God’s son walked the earth, the response of many was cynicism. People found fault with the message of the gospel. Even the miracles of healing and the exorcisms that Jesus performed cut no ice with many people, even among the religious leaders. Jesus ministry and message just didn’t fit their preconceived notions. They didn’t like the way he mixed with all sorts. They were unwilling to repent.

But yet that was what they so desperately needed to do. They were heading for disaster. Their proud, nationalistic attitude was going to lead to the destruction of the nation when the Romans crushed their rebellion and destroyed the Jerusalem temple in 70AD, but far worse than that, they would face God’s judgement for rejecting his offer of grace. The unforgivable sin is to refuse the offer of God’s forgiveness, and Jesus warns them of their peril. Life’s experiences may tempt us to be cynical, but we are very foolish if we reject the love that God extends to us through Christ.

Finally, there are those who respond to Christ in the right way. Among those who heard the gospel, there were those who responded in love and trust, and became followers of Jesus. In a way beyond our complete comprehension, while many who should have known better rejected Jesus, God drew ordinary simple folk to believe and follow Jesus. To them Jesus imparted the knowledge of God. They came to know Jesus for who he was; the Son of the Living God.

Matthew then records for us that wonderful invitation to men and women in every age and place. Jesus invites ordinary people, people who are weary and struggling with the burdens of life to come to him and find rest. People carry all sorts of burdens. Some of us are burdened with the unrealistic expectations of others. Some are burdened with anxiety. For some there is an especially heavy burden of guilt.

Jesus invites all to come to him. He promises us his rest and his peace. He doesn’t offer us an escape from reality or responsibility, but he does promise that our burden will be light. He also asks us to learn to share his yoke. He calls us to follow him in a life of love and service. He is a gentle master. He is humble in heart. It is the best offer anyone can ever hope to get.

Every one has got to respond to Jesus in some way. Some respond with violent hostility. Some respond with cynicism or lethargy. Some respond with honest questions, and that is a good response. But the ultimate way to respond is in humble trust and love.
 

Amen.

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