Good morning. May I ask you to turn back to Matthew chapter 11, the passage that we read. And as humanity, there is something that is characteristic of us. One of the many things that are characteristic of us is that God made us as the apex of his creation. He actually made us after he had made everything else so that it can serve our interests so that our environment is conducive for us. And God tells us to go ahead and subdue the earth to be fruitful because he made us in his image. We see with our first parents, they wanted to be like God. We were just singing that we are a moment, but he is forever the God of the ages. He is the great God, uncreated, does not need anything. He is self-sufficient, but yet he is so benevolent. He extends his goodwill. mercy, his goodness to us. Having been made in the image of God as the best of his creation, we still wanted to be like him. In fact, we wanted to take over, to be God, seeking greatness. The passage that we have read shows us something of this kind of thing that we desire for. But unfortunately, as things are now, we are messed up. In that fall, when Adam and Eve sinned, or shall I say, when Adam sinned, our thinking was far gone. The image of God in us was mud, was twisted. Our priorities became upside down. The things that are unimportant, not important, sometimes even harmful, those things we glorify, while important things are despised. The Lord Jesus Christ, in his ministry on the earth, as he went about teaching, he was at pains explaining to people the right way, trying to dissuade them from the wrong way, from the twisted way, so that they can know the truth. That was his concern, that they may know the truth and they may know what he has come to do. The thing that they were longing for, The time that the Lord Jesus Christ came, at this time, there was great anticipation of a Messiah. There was great expectation that someone was going to come who was going to rule. He was going to set up a kingdom. Of course, there was a lot of misunderstanding by the different sects that were there. But yet, Jesus, when he came, he wanted to clarify that for which he came. He wanted to reorient them. Yes, show them that the physical things are important, but reorient them using the physical things, the things that they were familiar with, to point them to the greater spiritual need that they had. He often talked about life and death. And we see he brings up a lesson that he is the resurrection and the life. Concerning food, in a situation where he provided physical food to the people, he brings up the concept that he is the bread of life. Food is good. It is important. But I am the correct, I'm the right, I'm the true food. And if you have me, then it will be well with you. Regarding understanding and blindness, he tells them, I am the light of the world, the light of life. And now, in this text, regarding getting ahead, He brings up the subject of greatness. The remarkable thing, strange as it may be, is that in all these teachings, as he was trying to dissuade the people, a lot of them were uninterested. They would listen to him, but possibly their minds were processing something else. they had something that they were expecting and they continued developing those thoughts as he spoke ignoring what he's talking about and going on processing their minds were busy developing thoughts in their own direction so that at the end of the day after he finishes talking they still come and ask questions concerning what he has just been talking about Do you hear the word of God being explained to you and yet you are interested in something else? Is that something that you can identify with? Do you know why the Lord Jesus Christ said, be careful how you hear. Pay attention. And he says sometimes, he who has ears, let him hear. Because we are messed up, and we are wanting to go our own way. We want to do our own things. Do you pay attention to hear where you are being pointed? Let me also just mention one thing as a by the way, we are also creatures who tend to cherry pick. We will be listening to someone presenting an argument and we will pick one line and go with that one line. It may not even make sense. It may be upset. That is the line that we take. On that basis, we possibly even reject everything that he said. Jesus cares. He cares. He cares about the things that we worry about. He says of them that he knows that we need them. But he says, first of all, seek that which is important of priority. Do not trash the physical, the material, and the things that you need. He made them for you. But do not let them take you. Do not let them possess you. Aspire for greatness, yes. But do not be consumed that you forget the one who is the greatest, even your Savior. Now, here Jesus was the fulfillment of the expectations of the Old Testament, the prophecies that were spoken. There is going to be born a son. There is going to arise a branch in Bethlehem. There is going to arise a Messiah. It was Jesus Christ. He is going to come like a mighty warrior. It is the Lord Jesus Christ. He comes to establish the kingdom, the kingdom of heaven, or the kingdom of God. Matthew refers to it as the kingdom of heaven, and others refer to it as the kingdom of God. He is speaking concerning his kingdom. And he raises the subject of greatness, and we must therefore understand it in the context of his kingdom. Though we have many ideas of what it means to be great, doing good for some is what consists in greatness, doing good for fellow humanity. For others, it is achieving the highest attainment of their calling or career, or gifting. Scientists dream to work for NASA as the epitome of their career. Or maybe things are changing now. They want to work for Elon Musk because he's doing something maybe greater than what NASA is able to do. Most young people dream of inventing something to change the world. But there are also others who are content with just becoming maybe a traffic officer, police officer, and make money on the street. We see greatness and the pursuit of greatness in sports, in film, in the arts, in business and many other areas. And there are many dimensions to greatness. Sometimes achievement and excellence is what is sought for exceptional achievement, exceptional excellence in a field that you are endeavoring in. It might be the impact or the influence that you are going to have on people. It might be maybe from your character and virtue It might be maybe from your creativity, your innovation, your ability to come up with something as a visionary, new ideas, or a great leader, someone who has great vision. Others, it is service and sacrifice. But there are also others who consider greatness as consisting in being resilient and overcoming adversity. Challenges and setbacks of life, you are able to surmount them. That is greatness. But for some, just recognition. Even if your life is empty, even if it is hollow, as long as the people around me are thinking I'm great, As long as people around me, I don't care. As long as people think that I'm important and great, and I look like those that have made it, that is good enough for me. Let me pick out some lessons from Matthew chapter 11, which can help us to understand the greatness that matters to God. The first lesson is that it is Jesus who sets the standard of greatness. It is our Lord. After all, it is his kingdom. He is the one who rules. He is the one who made us. He is the one who brought us into being. We are his pasture. We are his sheep, the sheep of his pasture. We belong to him. It is him that sets the standard of greatness. In our text, Jesus singles out an individual. He singles out John the Baptist as one who was not just great, but the greatest. And he says he was the greatest among all human beings. What do we read? He says. Truly, I say to you, verse 11. Truly, I say to you, among those born of women, there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. No one greater than John the Baptist? You mean, are we including Abraham in this? Are we including Jacob, the father of the nation of Israel? Are we including Moses, the great servant of God? Are we including David, the great king of Israel and his son Solomon, the wisest of all? Are we even including Job, whom the Lord was accustomed to boast about? Are we including the great prophets Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the rest of them Yes, this is what we read Let's read again verse 11 truly Meaning it is certain it is settled. It is not to be debated. This is it. I Say to you among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist those born of women. Job gives us an idea of what this means in chapter 14, verse 1. Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble. Ordinary human beings, this is telling us that among humanity, among human beings, among what we know as human beings, there is no one greater than John the Baptist. There was no one who was either his equal or greater. He was the greatest. And this is coming from the lips of Jesus. of the Savior. He cannot make a mistake. He is not speaking in ignorance. He knows and he says it. Verily I say unto you, truly I say to you, this is a fact which is settled. But then what made John unique? How is it that John comes out and is greater than Abraham? He is greater than Noah. What made John unique? But when it comes to greatness, as defined here, it is very different from what the world thinks or from what we think in our messed up condition. It is interesting that actually the person that the Lord Jesus Christ is pointing at as the greatest came from a humble, common family. He was not from a wealthy family. He didn't have great education. We know nothing of any success in terms of the things that he did, maybe inventing something, We don't see any of that. He had no possessions, earthly possessions, which tend to lift us and give us a head start. And his physical appearance is not commented on. Nothing particularly beautiful about him. But yet, the Lord says, he is the greatest. Not one of the great, he is the greatest human being that ever lived. So what is it that makes him unique? The first thing that we see that makes John unique is that of his position in redemptive history. in the history that God was building himself from creation then the fall and beginning to recreate revealing himself the way of salvation and to the point that he comes at that point that makes him the greatest his ministry his calling makes him the greatest we are told that he was a prophet He was a prophet, which is a position of highest honor. He was a spokesman for God. In fact, the Lord Jesus Christ says, he was more than a prophet. That's what he tells us here. Verse 8, what then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in king's houses. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is John the Baptist. John was a prophet that God had promised that he would come and be the forerunner. He is the one who was going to introduce the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one who was in fact receiving the Lord Jesus Christ in his ministry. None of the prophets in the past had such a great privilege. John was given this privilege. But John also had physical contact. The others foresaw They dreamed about the Lord Jesus Christ. They were imagining who this person was going to be. They didn't even know what kind or who it was going to be. They knew there's a Christ. There's a Messiah coming. There's someone who is anointed, but they didn't know who and what kind in what circumstances he was going to come. And John, The prophet of God testifies concerning this man and even points at him and says, behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. He speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ. He baptized him. He was there, he was even saying, I am the one who has need of baptism. But the Lord Jesus Christ tells him, you have to do it. Because he had to be righteous in every way. John the Baptist is the man that was having dealings with the Lord Jesus Christ directly with him. That makes him unique. That makes him the greatest. of all. John's ministry was the climax of the prophetic ministry. The ministry that was based on Moses has come to an end, and John comes to mark the end of the old era. the old covenant John comes to mark this he is the greatest so Jesus points out the greatness of John's position in redemptive history and he does this to set the stage for something that he says it just there in verse 11 he says Truly, I said to you, among those born of women, there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet, the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Wait a minute. John is greater than everyone who has ever lived. And yet, what is he saying? Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Those that belong to Christ, those that are in the kingdom of heaven, the least of them is greater than the greatest. Confusing. But yet the Lord Jesus Christ knows what he's talking about. And he says, what makes John the greatest is his position in the redemptive history. If we go by our position in our redemptive history, as the people who belong to the kingdom of heaven, we are superior to him. He did not see what happened with Christ. the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we are able to look back and see clearly everything that God intended for our salvation. We are in a greatly privileged position, dear friend. Even if you are a nobody, if you are a Christian, You are greater than John the Baptist You have greatness which matters to God That is what counts to God Why are we looking at the standard of God as the best standard for us? Because there is no greater standard Whatever we desire to be, whatever greatness we want If it is outside of God, it far falls short of the greatness of God. And so if we aspire to the greatness that God gives, then we are great indeed. But we see also that John, in his character, like every great person, shows he was great. Some of the attributes we see in the life of John are courage. He was a courageous man. He confronted the people, spoke the gospel to them, warned them about the judgment to come. He was going ahead and baptizing, and the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were coming, surrounding him, asking him questions, trying to allay him. He never was dissuaded. And what about morality? He was telling the king, the president of his time, about his infidelity, about his illicit relationship with his brother's wife. Herod was living in sin, and this man went and told him. He went to tell him at state house. He had great courage. But we also see in this passage, the Lord Jesus Christ hints on that. John the Baptist was in prison at this time. He had been taken in prison by Herod because he had criticized him. He had gone to state house and attacked him. And this man used the power of the state, Boma, and got John into prison to fix him. He can do anything that he wants. I'll fix him. And he was fixed. He was in prison at this time. But then he sent two of his disciples to go and ask Jesus something. He sends them to go and find out. We are told of this in verse 3. And he said to him, Are you the one who is to come or shall we look for another? This is the message that he sent. That they go and ask. He was in difficult circumstances. He was doubting. This is different from unbelief because doubt can only come if you actually believe something And then your belief in that something starts wavering and you start questioning. And this is what John was doing. He had doubts. He was in difficult circumstances. He had been imprisoned. He was going to be killed. He was a prophet of God. Now he's in prison. He was a prophet of God concerning the greatest the Messiah who has come the one who has come to redeem and yet I am in prison so he finds himself with unfulfilled expectations as well he was expecting like many others a military warrior who was going to subdue who was going to judge by fire who was going to bring sinners to punishment break them to pieces those that did not submit and yet Jesus is now talking about love and forgiveness and is going about eating and drinking with all these people what has happened but we also saw that he had limited knowledge like the others he wasn't too sure so he had doubts but now what we see here is that Though he had these doubts, he went to seek answers from Jesus, because Jesus is the one who has the answers. Jesus is the only one who can attend to our doubts. When we are doubting, when we are confused, when we are discouraged, when we are despondent, Jesus is the one who attends to us. We also see that this man was of great humility. He spoke of the Lord Jesus Christ and said, he must increase and I must decrease. When his disciples saw that the disciples of Jesus were baptizing more people than he was doing and they went to complain and he says, no, no, no, actually Jesus must be greater than me. humble man. But we also see here, when he had doubts, he sent his servants. He was not ashamed of disclosing his fears to his disciples. He did not want to present a fake picture of being tough. He shows himself to be weak. That is a sign of greatness. He was in a position of weakness, but yet he went and sought answers from the one that strengthens him, even the Lord Jesus Christ. He was a humble man. But he was also selfless and sacrificial. We are told he lived not in palaces, Verse 7, as they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John. What did you go out in the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? No, no, no. He was not one who wavered. He was resolute. He was determined. What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in king's houses. Those who have luxury are somewhere else, not where John is. John has sacrificed everything for me. He had put the Lord Jesus Christ before himself. In fact, he had put the people that he was preaching to before himself. He sacrificed himself that he may be able to bring the gospel to them. We also see the greatness of John by the fruit of his ministry. John set the pattern of the progress of the kingdom. Verse 12, from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence and the violent take it by force. His proclamation of the gospel clarified to many what Jesus was about. Many began to see Jesus as the source of hope. They began to see him as the Lamb of God that takes away our sin. So they clamored and went to him and they went to plead with him to save them. As though in violence. as though with force. We see the blind man, Bartimaeus. He hears the sound of people and inquires and finds out finds out Jesus is passing by. And he hears Jesus is passing by. This is my chance. And with great violence, he cries out, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. Have mercy on me. And when they tried to shut him up, he cried even the louder. His eyes were open. His spirit was open. He was able to see Jesus as the Savior. And so, he could not hold back. He had no shame. He needed to grab Jesus. He needed to go on and take hold of Jesus. And be saved. People were in high expectation and John the Baptist brought the message to them that they longed for and they started rushing in seeking the savior. We know how they followed Jesus Christ from place to place. They desired to be in his kingdom. They desired not to be hindered by anything. Some left father, mother, brother, sister because they wanted to get hold of the kingdom as by force. This was the fruit of John's ministry. The people upon their eyes being opened upon realizing that they are desperate They are going to suffer death. They are going to perish. And there is only one hope. Upon being born again, they realize their desperate position and see Christ as their only hope. And so they go rushing in. With holy violence, they clamber and push into the kingdom. They cut off the hand and gouge out the eye that causes them to sin. They are ruthless, taking the kingdom by force. This is the fruit of John's ministry, and it was a criteria of greatness. This is the greatness that Christ respects. Dear friend, will you be great in the eyes of the Lord? Wow. John was the climax of all who had come before and pointed to Christ. None of them, not even the highest of them, had the position and privilege that is reserved for all believers who would come after Christ. All believers who believe in the Lord, who trust Christ, who follow him, Their position, their privileged position is so much higher, so much more superior. Why is this? Because all of them, all those that have passed the prophets, including John himself, had an incomplete picture of the Messiah. Their perspective was limited. Now that our perspective is clear, we long to go in, what should our attitude be? It should amaze us and it should make us grateful what privilege we have. And we must therefore take hold of the truth and be faithful to the task that the Lord has called us to. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been suffering violence and the violent has been seizing it by force. Are you one who is just relaxed? You are content with formality, just respectability of, you know, belonging to the Reformed Baptist Church. You've seen You attend church, you go away, and that is all. There's no fire in you. There's no zeal. There's no show that you have found the greatest treasure. There's no sacrifice. Dear friends, think again. I want to also mention that many, that is the second lesson, many do not accept Jesus. They do not accept his standard of greatness. They do not accept his standard of greatness. What do we see here? The standard that Jesus sets for greatness, unfortunately, will not be accepted by everyone. In fact, the majority will reject it. Just pray that you are not one of the majority. You are not one of those people that are difficult to please. Those people that will not accept the Lord Jesus Christ, they will not accept the preacher, they will not accept even friends like these people. John the Baptist came to them. They were not interested. The Lord Jesus Christ comes to them. They are not interested. They cannot be pleased. John comes with fire and brimstone. They set him aside. Jesus comes with love and forgiveness. They set him aside. Verse 16. But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces. and calling to their playmates. We played the flute for you and you did not dance. We sang a dirge and you did not mourn. What do you want? We sing a song for you to rejoice. You don't want to rejoice. Okay, let's sing a song of mourning and lament. You still don't want to mourn. Nothing will please you. There are some people that are difficult to please. I don't know, you may have come across people that you are so excited, you want to share with them some good news, something that is even good for them. And they look at you, it's like, what is that to me? And you are put off. You feel ashamed that you weren't excited to them. It is also common in families, in-laws. especially from the man's side, besieging the woman, bringing all sorts of tricks and trapping her. She tries to do this, she cannot please you. She tries to do this, she cannot please you. She cooks for everyone, Pachiridoyu, still unhappy. Give her some money. Your husband, You are the one who must give us, because your husband doesn't. These men don't care. Be the one to be sensitive. You are sensitive, they will still not be happy. This is the kind of people that these wear. Are you like that? Are you one who does not get pleased? Even if you hear the gospel, however you hear it, you will not be dissuaded. There's a third lesson, and this lesson is that it is Jesus who gives greatness. It is Jesus who gives us this insight into divine dealings with his father. He gives us a glimpse into his relationship with his father. In verse 27, in fact in verse 25, we see there At that time, Jesus declared, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children. It is the Lord who reveals these things. He is the one who opens your eyes. He is the one who will give you greatness. Who is great? Those that belong to the kingdom. They are even greater than John. Even the least in the kingdom. On what grounds do they enter? Their eyes are opened. Their hearts are changed. They become Christians. They call on the name of the Lord and are adopted, taken in. Because Jesus alone knows the Father. That is what verse 27 says. And when Jesus speaks of knowing, it is that intimate relationship that he has with his Father. He has exclusive knowledge of the Father. And therefore, he is the only one that can reveal it. He is the only one that can reveal the Father. What are we taught in John 1? We are taught in John 1 that actually Jesus is the Word. And the Word is what? expresses what is in the mind of a person. When they express themselves, you know what they are thinking, what is in their mind. So we are able to know God and what his will is when we know Jesus because he comes to reveal his father. And in all that he's doing here, he's trying to dissuade us from going our own way so that we can follow what he is saying the right way. Do not continue in your own way. Come back. I am the light of the world. I am the resurrection. I am the bread of life. Come back. He is the revealer of his father. And because of that, We can only know God by divine grace. Verse 25 tells us that actually the things of God are hidden. They are hidden from those that think they know. Those that think they have their own way of life. They are set in their own principles and standards. Jesus says, the things of God, the way of salvation is hidden from them. Because they are wise in their own eyes. but those that are like infants, those that are simple and they come humbly trusting in him, he tells us these things have been revealed to them. And as God reveals himself, we also must respond, not with an unrepentant and indifferent heart, but with faith, trusting that what he says is true, trusting that his truth is what sets us free, not trusting in our own self-righteousness. These facts tell us that it is no use for us to try to earn greatness on our own. We cannot know the Father. We cannot know the way to greatness. We cannot experience greatness unless Jesus makes us. We are incapable of helping ourselves, dear friends. Jesus is inevitable in the equation. And I conclude, the door is still open. The door is still open for greatness that matters to God. You do not need to perish. From verse 20 to 24, we see that there are some that have rejected Him that will perish. Those that respond with indifference or reject Him or even despise Him, they will perish. And because they have even heard Their judgment is even greater, greater than those that have not heard these things, for example, that we are discussing this morning. The responsibility on us, dear friend, is much greater than those that have not heard these things. There is yet room. The door is still open. He says, come to me in verse 28. Come, come to me. Surrender. Give all you have. to him. Let him be your master and rule over you. Take his yoke upon you like that ox that has a yoke on it which is guiding it as to where it is to go. The yoke of Christ is easy and he says my ways are beautiful for you. Come. He's not saying Come to my laws, come to me, to my person. Go to Christ. Do not start trying to make yourself better, trying to understand, trying to obey the law, trying to follow the commandments. No, trying to say, no, now I'll be attending every meeting at church and then that I'll be fine. No, that is good. Come, but come to him. That is the call that he makes come to him and you know he makes a promise he says that there is rest with him there is rest why is there rest? we have misery we have pain we have so much going on but Jesus is able to give us rest he is able to give us peace he is able to give us relief in verse 29 We read, take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. We desperately need to hear this invitation, and this invitation is here. Even now, Jesus is calling, and he wants you to repent of your sins He wants you to give yourself to him. He wants you to rest in the Lord Jesus Christ. Will you pay attention to what he wants? Are you going to seek the greatness that matters in the eyes of God? Or are you going to continue cherry picking? Ah, the preacher talked about this, and that is all you take. And therefore, I can't take it. Dear friend, listen, the Lord is dissuading you. Do not follow your own way. Do not be wise in your own eyes. Pay attention to what he says and it will go well with you. The Lord will be merciful to you. May the Lord be gracious to us as we consider these things. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we want to thank you for your Mercies that are new every morning. You care about us. You love us so much. That is why these things, you reveal them to us. But father, we also want to pray that as we have this innate desire to be great, channel us in the right way that we may seek the greatness that matters to you. We have heard your words this morning. Let none be displeased with it. Let none reject it. Let none forsake it. But everyone, Lord, may come as you invite to find the rest in your son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you that you are such a God. Now we pray, Lord, that you will hear this prayer. because we make it in your son's name, even Jesus our Lord. Amen.