Least in the Kingdom of God

In Luke chapter 7 Jesus says this about John the Baptist until you are among those born of women bone is greater than John was the prophet selected to be the herald of the coming Messiah to introduce Jesus as the one who would be crowned the king as the one who would bring in the new covenant, but he was still on the outside looking in. Welcome to Renewing Your Mind on this Thursday, and those sermon controversies prose exposition of Luke's gospel after Jesus declared the greatness of John the Baptist.

He was going to say get the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than John. What did he mean by that. Is it possible that is referring to you and me, there's doctors from this morning were going to continue our study of the Gospel according to St. Luke were still in chapter 7 and today I'm going to start at verse 28 and reads through verse 35 when asked the congregation please stand for the reading of the word of God. 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 then he and when all the people heard him even the tax collectors justified. God, having been baptized with the baptism of John, but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him and the Lord said to what then shall I liken the men of this generation. What I like. There like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying, we played the flute for you and you did not dance way more into you and you did not weep for John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say he is a demon the Son of Man has come eating and drinking in your say look a glutton and a wind River.

A friend of tax collectors and sinners.

But wisdom is justified by all her children.

There are things in this passage that are difficult to understand. But no matter how difficult they are, they still come to us from God himself who promises his Holy Spirit to search out these things aluminum this text for our edification and for our understanding so please receive this word as it comes to you from God himself seated last week when our time ran out. I was in the middle of verse 28 denies that if you wanted to hear the rest of the text. You have to come back this morning with all of you who are here today have done and so I'm glad for that result. Now let's tackle this difficult statement that Jesus made after he gave such wonderful praise to John the Baptist. He then goes on to say that of all the prophets there was none greater than John the Baptist and yet he was least in the kingdom of God is greater then he got a put this in perspective. Let's just assume for the sake of illustration that you're looking this morning at the person standing in this pulpit who is least in the kingdom of God.

And if I qualify for that distinction as discouraging as it might be for me to wake up and discover that of all of those who are in the kingdom of God.

I am the very least, at least I can take some comfort in knowing that despite my least mess in the kingdom of God. I'm still greater than John the Baptist.

That means you have one greater than John the Baptist preaching to you this morning. Can hardly get a whole lot better than that, but this seems silly at one glance because we know that John the Baptist bring one of the greatest prophets of all time, if not the greatest of Old Testament pages in some respects is far greater than I am and far greater then you are in terms of his importance to the whole scope of redemptive history and so if we are sinking this in terms of status are we going to consider that in heaven. When God gives out the rewards for faithfulness and obedience that your reward in heaven will be greater than John the Baptist. I don't think so, I'm sure that my reward in heaven won't look anything like the reward that will be given to John the Baptist in heaven for his martyrdom and his fidelity and his convictions and compression publicly of Christ Jesus. So what then does it mean to say that's the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater then John the Baptist.

What we have to look at here is the meaning in the context of greatness and I think there's a clue to this in the pages of the Old Testament.

When we go way way way way back to Genesis 2 of the time when Noah gives his patriarchal blessing to his three sons. You remember how he divided that blessing up, he said, Blessed be Stratton and large it be J pass, and cursed be Canaan, the disciple of ham, so one was blessed one was cursed and the middle one J pass was enlarged the sense made greater in the context of that language from the Old Testament had to do not simply what the size of the tribes that would flow out of the descendents E of J pets, but rather the degree of blessedness that J pass and his sons and daughters would experience the greatest level of blessedness was given to Stram and to his sons and daughters, but then the second greatest level of blessedness would go to the descendents of J pass and so the quantitative terms. Here of large and small of great and small are defined in terms of blessedness, so I hear Jesus saying in this problematic statement about John the Baptist is even though there is none born of woman, greater than John the Baptist. Nevertheless, he who is least in the kingdom of God is in a greater state of blessedness that even John the Baptist enjoyed John the Baptist as I mentioned last week, though he is written about in the New Testament still belong to the period of redemptive history called big period of the Old Testament. He was the last of the Old Testament prophets, and he was the prophet selected to be the herald of the coming Messiah to introduce Jesus as the one who would be crowned the king as the one who would bring in the new covenant, but he was still on the outside looking in, but anyone who's born after the cross after the resurrection, and particularly after the ascension of Christ to the right hand of the father is living in a better situation in terms of redemptive historical salvation, then all of the saints in the Old Testament, the New Testament that even the angels desire to look into those things that have been brought to pass through the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the covenant that we are in we are told is a better covenant. The situation that we are in is a better situation and it all has to do with the kingdom of God. Now there are those in the Christian church who had been profoundly influenced by theology. The teachers that the kingdom of God is something that is totally and completely in the future and you see that in the books of the left behind series and the late great planet Earth and that kind of approach to history, but the New Testament makes it clear that the kingdom of God will be finalized and consummated in the future but it has truly been surely been inaugurated already in the past, Jesus coming was to begin the kingdom of God. Remember John the Baptist preaching was what repent for the kingdom of God is at hand and then Jesus came preaching the gospel, the good news of the kingdom of God and he said if you see me casting out Satan by the finger of God, then you know that the kingdom of God is among you is here in a very real sense, and so our situation historically in terms of redemptive history is far greater than anything John experienced even though he was an eyewitness of Jesus and actually baptized. Sometimes we think when the been great if we could've lived back in the first century. I could have seen the miracles of Christ could have been a witness of the crucifixion to been there on Easter Sunday and saying the resurrected Christ or stand on the Mount of ascension and watch them on the glory cloud spring lifted up the heaven.

Those people were so much more blessed than we are no we live on this side of the enthronement of Christ as the king of the kings and is the Lord of the Lord's will so watch may be the perfect time to ask this question in the last four years. Our national debt has gone from $10 trillion-$16 trillion, you know, not too many people were all that concerned about the safety and it was a different trend 10 trillion and 16 trillion once you get up in the trillions. Does it really matter anymore.

Then I hear people say, but we really owe it to ourselves is all to pay that $16 trillion, you are and your children and your grandchildren and your great grandchildren and that is a burgundy that can crush the very heart and soul of this country. What's a government under you know what they're gonna do, they're going to try to print their way out of it and if they do that it's going to cause more grief for you because your currency will be continually based generation after generation. Your purchasing part your savings, your investments will diminish with every new dollar let's print it, he will understand this and I look at that and I say how can the country stand a better $16 trillion.

Well, it can't and it may be too late, but we certainly can't have any more of us has to stop. It has to stop. For the survival of this country and of your children and your children's children, so I hope that you will consider these matters deeply hears the good notes even if things get worse. Anyone of four years from now.

We got another $6 trillion added on, and it's now 22 trillion after four more years. Therefore, I guarantee after four more years Jesus Christ will still be king and whoever wins the election on Tuesday. On Wednesday Jesus Christ will still be king. I just hope the king, Jesus does not give to us what we deserve. We need to pray for mercy and for grace because we have been blessed beyond imagination and again, if the figtree doesn't blossom and if there's no more cattle in the stalls. Nevertheless, we rejoice in the God of our salvation because we are in the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ know when the people heard all of this.

Even the tax collectors justified. God, having been baptized with the baptism of John.

But again, the Pharisees and scribes. They rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by John the Baptist came as a prophet and he called all of these people to come and be cleansed the repent because the kingdom of God is at hand. But it was the religious establishment with it were not going to do that. That's for the hoi polloi. The arm hurts the people of the land. Common folk, but not for us will not go into that water and be Clinton. And so Jesus said, what shall I liken the men of this generation what they like and so he answers his own question there like children. Their childish there like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying, we played the flute for you and you did not dance. We mourn to you and you did not wait, what's this about what the kids would do when the marketplace would be empty and they had a little bit of space to play that go in there and that create games for used to play in the street in front of my house would place for man touch football and we had a watch from the cars coming down the street and we can only play as long as the cars were in the strata, so the car went by we throw the ball over the car.

You know that's her thing with and would continue our game kids are great at inventing games did you do it when you were little kids were used to dress up in which I let's play Robin Hood Sherwood Forest.

Now let's play like cowboys and Indians cops and robbers girls dolls. Now let's play dress-up and the kids would fight among themselves as to what they should do with their games is Jesus of the several little kids are like kids out there and I play the flute and have a happy time of dancing at some the kids. They were not answering went on to play the flute okay so they play the funeral dirge.

Let's play funeral and the kids say no. Not 100 play funeral were not going to mourn this the way children behave. Jesus said that's what I liken this generation to for John the Baptist came in his asceticism made in the make their bread he didn't drink wine, and what did you say they must have a demon but I will eat bread like normal people will drink wine like normal people possess. So they rejected him. So now Jesus comes and it's a time of feasting on a time of morning. He hates what the people it makes wine for them at their wedding. And you say what the Son of Man comes now you say will we can accept them is a glutton is a wind never this is the old damned if you do, damned if you don't syndrome they rejected John the Baptist because he was too austere.

They rejected Jesus because he was to happy and plus buddy says wisdom is justified by all virtual very important statement Jesus makes a figurative use and application of the word for justifier justification in the New Testament.

This plays a critical role in the whole history of the Reformation Reformation was fought over the battle of justification. How are we justified in the sense of reconciled to God.

God is just where I'm just he's holy were not, and Paul labors the point that the only way we can be justified is not by our deeds or our works because there always tarnished by the works of the law.

He says shall no flesh ever be justified. So we have to be justified by faith, by faith alone, which means the only way we can be justified before God is by putting our trust in our faith in Christ and in his works and his righteousness, and then St. James comes along and writes his epistle and says if a man says he has faith that has no works well.

That faith justifies him and he answers that question saying that that phrase never justifies anybody and that the end of that chapter. He goes on the site was not Abraham justified by his works when he offered Isaac on the altar and Rahab, and so on.

So now you have Paul Swank were justified by faith James. They were justified by works, how you handle well there obviously not talking about the same kind of justification when Paul is talking about justification in his major work in Rome and she talked about how we are made justified in the sight of God. James asked the question if a man says he has faith and has no works well that faith justified justified before who does God have to wait to see whether Abraham's going to give Isaac on the altar before he knows whether Abraham's faith is genuine course not. According to Paul, Abraham is justified in Genesis 15.

According to James, not until Genesis 22 because what James is saying is that's a man's claim to have faith is justified to be a true claim before men when he or she manifests or shows or demonstrates the reality of that base by his works. That's what James is teaching and he's using the term justify in the sense of manifesting or demonstrating something in exactly the same way Jesus uses a here in this text. What he says wisdom is justified by her children. Jesus is not saying that wisdom is brought into a reconciled relationship with adjusted holy God by having kids. He's saying that wisdom is shown to be wisdom by its fruits by the results. We don't know whether the decision we make is a wise course of action will only know for sure when we see the results of that and so now he's speaking to these Pharisees who reject John the Baptist and they reject him and he said will see wisdom will be justified by her children and wisdom of John the Baptist and the wisdom of Jesus Christ was made plain and manifest by the power of God showing the whole world. These men were the men of the passage of time prove that without a doubt, glad you joined us for Renewing Your Mind of the Sunday pipe we web over the past several months, we have reserved this Sunday program for Dr. RC Sproles verse by verse sermon series from the Gospel of Luke were in chapter 7, so we have several months of study ahead of us.

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