← Thru the Bible Daily
Thru the Bible Daily
Matthew 11:7—12:2
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Only once in Scripture does Jesus describe Himself and what it’s like to know Him—and it is here in Matthew 11. He begins, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Explore with Dr. J. Vernon McGee what it’s like...
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How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord is made for your faith in his excellent way.
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Welcome to through the Bible with Bible teacher, Dr. J. Brennan McKee. You know, we're on a five year journey through the whole Word of God and we're pulling up to Matthew chapter 11 as we study the life of John the Baptist. So find your place in Scripture and grab your seat on the Bible bus. And as you're settling in, Greg and I want to take just a moment to give a warm welcome to those of you who are probably new to our listening family.
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C
Yeah, this is an exciting time in the five year cycle of through the Bible, which, by the way, this is only the 12th time in half a century that we've started a new cycle that's pretty amazing to think about.
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B
Yeah. And if you're new and you're still listening, which means you went through Genesis and you went through the first part of Matthew, that means, well, you, you're doing well and you probably have a new habit formed. And we want to give you some tips and tricks and advice on how to, how to make sure that you make it through the entire five years and beyond.
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C
Yes. But before we get to some of those great tips and tricks, let's just talk about what is through the Bible, because some folks, hopefully by now they've gotten it. Of course, anybody could step on the Bible bus at any time. But we have seen historically a great uptick in people's interest as we start the new journey. But basically the through the Bible program was designed by a pastor, retired pastor named Dr. J. Vernon McGee, who always believed in teaching the Bible systematically. And he decided to do this on the radio. And it's a simple just read the Bible, explain it, and go from the Old Testament to the New and back and forth because he integrates everything together.
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Yeah.
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And the other thing that we've done is we've always had some level of resources and we've continued to expand those over the years. Notes and outlines, for instance, have always been available. So if you would like to be able to have some type of a paper reference, we do have our notes and outlines now packaged into a single book. It's available for download and PDF for free. Or we can send you an abbreviated copy also for free if you want to have that on your bookshelf.
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C
Yes.
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And then we've also come out with these Bible companions, which I love because they're tied to specific books of the Bible. It has a synopsis of Dr. McGee's teaching, and then there are Some discussion questions and oh my friend, if you ever wanted a resource for a small group Bible study, do we have a product for you? And it's available for free, so it's not like I'm pitching a sale thing. If you need a paper bound copy, we can get that to you. We do charge to cover our costs on that. But we really want people to engage with the bible themselves. And Dr. McGee is such a great teacher to take you along the study of all 66 books of scripture.
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C
Yes. And some other resources we would encourage you to to get on our newsletter mailing list. And again, if you're new, we want to emphasize something. Dr. McGee basically put restraints on those of us that lead through the Bible. We do not. Other than mentioning once in a while that we're listener supported, we never send out appeal letters asking for money. So if you would get our newsletter, you could just go to ttb.org and it's very easy to sign up or call 1-865Bible. It will literally take you less than one minute. And you'll get this beautiful monthly newsletter with teaching from Dr. McGee, prayer requests from around the world, articles from our global team members who are traveling the world. And it's a really great resource and we hope you'll get it.
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Yeah.
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C
It also includes a very handy bookmark so you can keep up with whatever passage we're in based on the days of the calendar year.
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B
Yeah. And I really like that. And that's another tip if you're new to the program. Yes, Dr. McGee tells you where he's at in scripture and he reads verses as he goes through the study. But if you could read that entire passage before the study, you will get so much more out of it. I don't think I've ever read a testimony of a person said, you know, I took your advice, Steve, and I read it and I just didn't get any more out of it.
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C
That's correct. We hear the other a lot. Yeah.
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Everybody says, man, that was really a kind of an X factor to get more out of the scripture and out of Dr. McGee's teaching. So I'd encourage you to do that. And then finally, full circle, sign up for our world prayer team.
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C
Yes.
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We're not getting. We don't have a lot of time to go into detail, but go to ttb.org and sign up for that and you will be able to get an email every day, Monday through Friday. And you can pray around the world with us that the impact of, of, of through the Bible would continue and get a testimony of how the program is impacting that particular part of the world. It will revolutionize the way you go through your inbox and hopefully add some fire to your own personal prayer life.
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C
And just one last thing, if you're a seasoned listener of through the Bible, you've been on many trips or one or two, write to us and tell us what advice would you give new listeners and we may share that on the air.
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B
We would love that. Greg, why don't you pray for us?
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Father, we just are in awe that you have kept this ministry going for more than half a century. This simple Bible teaching ministry that people just support in prayer and giving just because they love it and we give it out in 250 languages around the world. This is a miracle, this whole ministry and we thank you for it and we ask you now to do miracles in our lives as we open our hearts and study your Word in Jesus name. Amen.
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B
Let's open our bibles to Matthew 11 as we go through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee now back to
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the 11th chapter of the Book of Matthew, the Gospel of Matthew, and this chapter has written over it in my Bible rejection. He had gone out after he gave the ethic and had sent his disciples out first, and then he went out and now there's been the rejection. First of all there was the doubt even in the mind of John the Baptist, art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? And our Lord didn't rebuke John for that, but he did send back by these disciples, tell him what you've seen and he'll know that I have the credentials of the Messiah, of the one who's to establish the kingdom. And you find that back in the 35th of Isaiah, verses 5 and 6, let me just lift out this the eyes of the blind shall be open, the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a heart, the tongue of the dumb sing. For in the wilderness shall waters break out in streams in the desert. Now the wilderness didn't break out with water, and there wasn't streams in the desert. Why he didn't establish the kingdom when he came the first time, but he was the king, and he had the credentials of the Messiah. And that's all that he's saying. Now he defends John in case anyone wanted to Criticize him. Verse 7 and as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, what went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind. And by the way, he wasn't a reed shaken with the wind. He was the wind shaking the reeds. The pulpit today has become very weak because it will not speak out and tell the truth always. There's the danger today of the pulpit being subject to somebody sitting out there in the pew that doesn't like the preacher or the message tailored to suit a certain group in a church. The message should be given out regardless and the pulpit should be a wind shaking reed. Too often it's a reed that's shaken by the wind, by the way, and that's not as it should be. John the Baptist, thank God for him. He was a wind shaking reed and he wasn't a reed shaken but a wind. And our lord continues. Verse 8 But what went ye out for? To see a man clothed in soft raiment. Behold, they that wears off clothing are in kings houses. John the Baptist was rugged and he was a rugged individual. Verse 9 what went ye out to see? A prophet. Yea, I say unto you. And more than a prophet. Now he was a prophet, but he's more than that. The superiority of John actually over the Old Testament prophets is amazing here. For this is he of whom it is written. Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Our Lord declares clearly that he came to fulfill Malachi, the third chapter, Verse one that he was the messenger. Now he goes on verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women, there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist. He is the greatest of any in the past. Now we sometimes today debate the question of who was greater, Moses or Abraham. Then there are others that like to put David in the list. Well, the Lord Jesus said there had been none greater than John the Baptist. And I'm sure our Lord would have put Abraham and Moses and David, since he mentioned them so many times. None of them topped John the Baptist. But now notice what he says. Notwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. So that when you come to this period after our Lord came into the world and this group he's calling out of the world today the least. Why? Because he's in Christ, clothed with the righteousness of Christ now. Verse 12 and from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by storm. This has been a difficult verse. This force here can be either internal or external, and it's made it difficult to interpret this verse. The forces of evil from without seek to Destroy it, that's true. But also, only those who are committed wholeheartedly press into it. That is, they violently want to come in. You see, there is the note of need and desperation. We've already seen that one young man ran and fell at his feet and says, master, I'll follow you whithersoever thou goest. You see, you have these two aspects. I'm not quite clear in my thinking what our Lord meant. I rather think he meant both. He was referring to both of these. Now let me read on at verse 13. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. You see, John is a prophet. And if ye will receive it, this is Elijah, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Now, what is it you're to hear? Well, the Spirit of God, I think, would make this clear to us. And will you listen to me very carefully here? The fact of the matter is that John the Baptist fulfilled the messenger that was to come in Malachi 3:1. But the question arises, if they had accepted Christ at that time, it had been promised that Elijah would come. All right, what about that? Our Lord said that this if ye will receive it, that is, receive him. This is Elijah, which was for to come. I know somebody's going to say to me, well, that means he would establish the kingdom immediately. Then that would mean that John the Baptist would have been Elijah. That's it exactly. Somebody then says, well, how can that be? And I have an answer for you. I don't know. I just know that's what Jesus said. And do you know that he can do things that I can't explain? And there are a lot of things God has done. Is doing going to do? I can't explain them, but God says he's going to do them. And I go along with the Lord on this that this would have been true. In other words, this keeps this argument down. Today there are those that say, well, it wasn't a sincere offer of the kingdom if he came and intended to go to the cross and die. Oh, yes, it was. Somebody says, well, if they had accepted him. Well, the interesting thing is they didn't. And these iffy questions are no good anyway. People say, if Adam and Eve had not sinned, what would it have been? I don't know. Because they sinned. Friends, that's an if question. And these iffy questions are no good. And they pose problems that don't exist. And there are enough problems that do exist without making up some. Now, will you notice he goes on to say here, verse 16. But whereunto shall I liken this generation? And this is one of the parables he gave that is loaded, my friend, with biting sarcasm and irony. Not to hurt or harm, but to illustrate a great truth. He says, whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is likened unto children sitting in the markets and calling unto their fellows and saying, we piped unto you and ye have not danced. We have mourned unto you and ye have not lamented. The picture is this a group of children out playing in the street. And one group says, let's play funeral. They play funeral. And they say, no, we don't like that. Let's play wedding. They play wedding. And then they say, we don't like that. One extreme to the other. They're spoiled children. That generation was like that. And we have them like that today. Now, will you notice what it said here? For John came neither eating nor drinking. And they say, he hath a demon. John came. He's austere. My, I tell you, John was very severe. And he was out there in the wilderness fasting. Now the Son of Man came, eating and drinking. And they say, behold a man gluttonous in a winebibber. Friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified. Of her children, that is. There were those that said, oh, John is too austere. Well, Jesus is friendly. What about him? Well, oh, he's gluttonous. There are some people in the church, friends, I've learned a long time ago, you can't please them. And you're better off if you forget about them because nothing will please them. They don't like this preacher because he's quite dry. He just stands up there and in a monotone gives his sermon. And it's too deep and they don't understand it. And then here comes along another one. He pounds the pulpit and he has a great time. And he's very simple. And they said, we don't like him either. There are a lot of people. You'll never please them, friends at all. And that was true in our Lord's day. Now, verse 20. Then began he to upbraid the cities. Now we've come to a tremendous change. He's the king. He has presented his credentials. He's performed miracles. He enunciated the ethics. He had presented himself. He preached the gospel. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. They had rejected him. He's the king, friend. And therefore their decision caused him to make a decision. He rejects them. The king always has the Last word. Listen to him now. Then began he to abrade the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done because they repented not. Woe unto thee, Chorazin. Woe unto thee, Bethsaida. For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Now, Chorazin and Bethsaida were two places. Right up near Capernaum, his headquarters. And he had performed many works there. They had rejected him. He now pronounces a judgment upon them. Now will you notice verse 22. But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you and light. Friends creates responsibility. He never had a ministry or headquarters in Tyre and Sidon, but he did up on the Sea of Galilee. Light creates responsibility. And I think there are degrees of punishment as there will be degrees of reward. Because those that had a glorious opportunity and many have, and turn their back on him. I sometimes put it like this, and I don't want to go into detail on it, but just make the statement. I do not know what God will do with that man out yonder in the South Pacific on a little island who's never heard the gospel, who's bowing down before an image. But I said, I do know what God is going to do with that man who comes and sits in a church where the Gospel is preached Sunday after Sunday and does nothing about it. That's very clear what he'll do there. And that's the one I'm disturbed about today. Now listen to our Lord speaks of the place he made his headquarters. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven. What a privilege they had having the headquarters of Jesus in their city. But they rejected him. Thou shalt be brought down to hell. For if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. God would never have destroyed Sodom. Because if the mighty works he'd done there, why, that city would have made some movement. They had at least turned from their wicked ways and would not have merited the judgment that came upon them. Now listen to him. But I say unto you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for thee and friends. This is very strong language, and it ought to make some folks sit up. I would 10,000 times rather be in the darkness of a jungle never having heard the gospel than to be an Officer in one of our modern churches who has an open Bible and who's never accepted Christ as his Savior. He makes it very clear here. Sodom and Gomorrah were terrible places. But it's going to be more tolerable for them than a place that heard the message of Jesus Christ. And he was there. Now, verse 25. At that time, Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth. And because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes, and Lord of Heaven takes you right back to Genesis, if you'll recall back to the 14th chapter. He's the Lord of heaven and earth, but many wise miss it, and yet sometimes the babes catch it. Dr. Ironside said years ago, always put the cookies on the bottom shelf so the kiddos can get them, the little ones can get them. And if you preach so the children understand it, you can almost be sure the older folk understand it. But even sometimes they miss it. How important it is. Now listen to him. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight all things are delivered unto me of my Father. And no man knoweth the Son but the Father. Neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son. And he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. And this was his way. As he said to his own later on, no man cometh to the Father but by me. Now we come to a definite break and change in his message. I think anyone can see this before it had been repent. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. He's now been rejected as the Messiah. These cities have turned their back upon him, and so would Jerusalem. But listen to him. Verse 28. He's now turning from the nation. No longer presenting the kingdom, he's now on the way to the cross, and he's giving an invitation to the individual. Listen to him. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden. And I'll rest you, take my yoke upon you and learn of me. For I am meek and lowly in heart. And ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Now the burden that he's talking about here, heavy laden. The burden is the burden of sin. Friends, sin is too heavy for you to carry. You'll really get a hernia if you try to carry your load of sin. And I mean, friend. The only place in the world to put your burden is at the cross of Christ. He bore it for you. He invites you to come Bring your burden of sin to him and he'll forgive you. He bore it for us on the cross. Then there's that commitment we can make. Take his yoke. And that means to be yoked with him. Learn of Him. He's meek and lowly in heart. And then there is a rest that comes by being committed to Christ. You don't have to worry about certain things if you're committed to Him. You don't have to be everlastingly trying to get on a committee in the church, become an officer or become prominent or sing a solo. You don't have to worry about that. There's so many preachers today trying to get on in their denomination. They want an office. And that's not confined to denominations, confined to all kinds of organizations. I just quit joining organizations. I got so tired of watching men that are ambitious wanting an office, wanting a job, wanting to be chairman of something, a president or something. May I say to you, it's marvelous to be committed to Him. Then you don't have to worry about the office or the position. Don't have to be running around after it. Because he'll put you right where he wants you if you yoked up to Him. Now that brings us to chapter 12. Now we'll be able to get our foot in the door of this chapter. At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the corn. And his disciples were hungered and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat. Actually, the Pharisees and the scribes broke with him on the question of the Sabbath day. He asserted that he was the Lord of the Sabbath day. Here is where they broke with him. And here is something I'd have you note that's so important before we get involved in this Sabbatic argument that he had. They've been arguing it ever since is this. His disciples were pulling the ears of corn and eating them. And it was the wheat or the oats of barley. And they were taking it and eating it. Now to pull, pull. That was harvesting. And they were doing it on the Sabbath day. But the interesting thing is, why did they do it? Well, they were hungry. Why were they hungry? They were following him. And you remember Lord said to that man who wanted to follow, the foxes have holes, the birds there have nests. Son of man hasn't anywhere to lay his head. And he also has difficulty eating at times. The poverty that he boweth. And they're hungry. That's the reason they did it. And our Lord now is going to defend them. And here is the break. And you have a Sabbath question in two places. You'll find it here on the outside in the field, then again in the synagogue. And these are two places, the inside and the outside or the outside and the inside. Now will you notice? But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do. Upon the Sabbath day, they were harvesting. That's what it would have been called at that day. And I'm willing to go along with that because they did it by hand in that day. And it sure looked like these 12 men going through, just pulling it right and left. And they said, that's harvesting. You're breaking the Sabbath day. Now our Lord defended them by referring to David. And remember, he's in the line of David. And David had done this for his man, and now he's in the line of David. David was the king. I say that he's asserting kingship here. But you know, we're going to have to reserve this until next time. Until then, may God richly bless you.
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We're certainly learning. We can can't be neutral about Jesus, can we? As Dr. McGee said, light creates responsibility. Ask God to show you how to apply these principles to your life. We're here to help point you to the practical resources from Dr. McGee that can help. Visit ttb.org or call 1-865 Bible or email us@biblebusttb.org the Bible Bus has more road to travel in Matthew. I'm Steve Swetson. I'll save a seat for you next time.
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Jesus made it home to him. I hope sin had left a crimson sailor.
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Our story on the Bible bus today is just one step in a five year journey through the entire word of God. Come along for the ride and you'll study both the Old Testament and New Testament. Discovering God's great redemption story. Is this your story too?