Expectations and the Kingdom (Matthew 11)
After the stories and teachings on discipleship, Matthew begins a section of stories and teachings on the Kingdom of Heaven. First, we get a series of stories highlighting people’s reactions to the King. In Chapter 11, we see a disconnect between the religious expectations for the Messiah coming into conflict with Jesus’ message. They will escalate into confrontations in Chapter 12.
It all starts with John, in prison, questioning Jesus. Is He the awaited Messiah? Things are not turning out how John expected them to. Jesus responds with evidence. The signs of the Kingdom are all there. John can’t let himself get tripped up on the unexpected.
Jesus tells the crowds that John signaled the end of an age. Prophecies about the Kingdom of Heaven are over, the Kingdom has now come. John was the herald.
Jesus talks about the conflicting expectations of the crowd. They rejected John and his message because he was too ascetic. They reject Jesus because He is too libertine. Religious mindset is inconsistent outside of rejecting all challenges to authority and power.
The message of the Kingdom baffles the wise of the world and the leaders of the religious powers that be. It is only accessible to those with child-like faith and trust. His message is to all who have been worked to exhaustion trying to satisfy the religious leaders’ demands. Jesus’ way—the path of discipleship, of trusting and obeying God rather than a system—is gentle and light.
It all starts with John, in prison, questioning Jesus. Is He the awaited Messiah? Things are not turning out how John expected them to. Jesus responds with evidence. The signs of the Kingdom are all there. John can’t let himself get tripped up on the unexpected.
Jesus tells the crowds that John signaled the end of an age. Prophecies about the Kingdom of Heaven are over, the Kingdom has now come. John was the herald.
Jesus talks about the conflicting expectations of the crowd. They rejected John and his message because he was too ascetic. They reject Jesus because He is too libertine. Religious mindset is inconsistent outside of rejecting all challenges to authority and power.
The message of the Kingdom baffles the wise of the world and the leaders of the religious powers that be. It is only accessible to those with child-like faith and trust. His message is to all who have been worked to exhaustion trying to satisfy the religious leaders’ demands. Jesus’ way—the path of discipleship, of trusting and obeying God rather than a system—is gentle and light.
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