College and Career: July- September 2020

By R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation

College and Career is a young adult quarterly study guide directed toward students and young adults as they venture into the world of higher education and work. This quarterly is designed for young adults and stresses the issues and concerns of young Christians. The lessons are both challenging and rewarding, and they address current day issues within society.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation
• Release date: Jun 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781681677293

Book preview

Focal Scripture: Matthew 11:7–19 • Background Scripture: Matthew 11:1–19

LET’S GET STARTED

No better description can be given about a person than the one Jesus gave of John the Baptist. Jesus described him as being more than a prophet (Matt. 11:9, NRSV). Additionally, in verse 11 He said, I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist (NRSV). It is abundantly clear Jesus was impressed by the ministry of John the Baptist. He saw John as His contemporary proclaiming the message of salvation through repentance and faith (see Matt. 3 and Mark 1:1-11). The Lord was trying to help the crowd see the wisdom of listening to and obeying John’s proclamations about Him. John’s directional ministry would set them on the right course to have life and to have it more abundantly (John 10:10).

REMEMBER THIS

The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.

(Matthew 11:19, KJV)

Additional Resource

Boyd’s Commentary for the Sunday School

Get into the Lesson

1. THE JEWS FOOLISHLY REJECT JOHN THE BAPTIST (MATTHEW 11:7–12)

John the Baptist was a misunderstood and despised prophet. Herod acknowledged his special calling but caved in to his fleshly desires to be free of John’s rebuking him for the extramarital affair he was having with his brother’s wife. Others saw the baptizer as a wild man (zealot) who lived in caves, ate insects, and acted as an introvert. Yet the biblical record of John the Baptist paints him in a totally different manner. The primary commentary upon John was given by Jesus. His summation of John was that there was no one greater than John. Yet, He also asserted that the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than John. What did Jesus mean by this paradoxical rendering? The opening verses of Matthew 11 provide us some definitive clues to understand this text. Jesus and His disciples had been ministering throughout Galilee. His relative and forerunner, John the Baptist, sat in prison, wondering if Jesus truly was the long-awaited Messiah he had believed Him to be since their paths first crossed when Mary went to see Elizabeth (see Luke 1–2). John had been imprisoned (for details, see Matt. 4:12; 11:1–4; Mark 6:16–29), and his imprisonment had been the forecasted decrease that John referred to in John 3:30. Though he had expressed faith in Jesus, John’s arrest and almost certain death was taking a toll on John, causing him to need confirmation and clarity of Jesus’ identity. So, John sent his disciples with a message to Jesus inquiring, Are you the One, or should we expect another? (Matt. 11:3). Rather than answer with a simple yes or no, Jesus chose to respond by pointing to the great accumulation of miracle healings that were taking place. The evidence was composed of things no normal human being could do, and it was an accumulation of healings: The blind were made to see, the deaf were made to hear, the lame were made to walk, and the dead were raised to life again. Jesus’ actions would secure John’s sense of doubt.

In verses 7–12, Jesus extended the conversation about John. He had answered John’s inquiry and now sought to enlighten the people about who John really was. First, John was not just a prophet, but a prophet par excellent. Jesus solidified this conclusion in verses 10–11 when He asserted no one was greater than John. His purpose was to show that John was indeed of the prophetic order and then some. His inquiry about what they came out to see points out Jesus’ belief that the crowd needed to be given instruction as to the importance of John’s mission and calling. Rather than see him merely as a zealot, Jesus underscored John was the greatest prophet ever. Jesus affirmed John was a prophet of the highest order. Indeed, the prophecy of his coming is recorded in Scripture (see Mal. 3:1). Jesus used this entry as something akin to the theological walk of fame. He pointed to John the Baptist as a prophet of God who proclaimed His coming.

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John’s greatness, however, must be kept in check, for all believers who proclaim Christ and His second coming are indeed listed among the blessed (Matt. 11:11b). Jesus’ allusion to violence as being a part of the prophetic tradition was a factual observation as to how Jerusalem had treated its prophets. His point was to reveal Israel’s history of ridiculing her prophets. In Luke 4:21–28, Jesus spoke of how the prophet often had been unaccepted by his own people. His truthful criticism of the people drew their anger, and they responded by seeking to stone Him. The attempted stoning of Jesus characterizes Jerusalem’s relationship with the prophets. The people bitterly rejected those who proclaimed God’s truth. John the Baptist was a case in point. He criticized the political hierarchy for an adulterous relationship and was swiftly brought to bear for his condemnation. Jesus’ point on violence underscored the burdensome task of the prophets. Moses, Elijah, and Jeremiah among many others all were subjected to unconstructive criticism by the people of God (see Ex. 14:7–12; 1 Kings 18; Jer. 1). Jesus added John the Baptist to that list, and furthermore alluded to His own rejection as the Messiah of God.

2. JESUS CHALLENGES THE JEWS TO LISTEN AND ACCEPT (MATTHEW 11:13–19)