The NXR Podcast - August 03, 2025


THE SERMON - Waging Holy Violence

Topics
ministers' masculinity hell hierarchy waging holy violence
Hosted by
Joel Webbon Harrison Smith Antonio Griffith Dale Partridge Wewsley Todd Calvin Robinson
Mentioned
John Stattmiller Gomorrah Tyre Behold Sidon Misquoting Jesus Messiah Hebrews Matthew Herod Joel
THE FRIDAY SPECIAL - It Is Not Sin To Love Your Kin THE LIVESTREAM - The United States of Israel

Episode Stats


Length

50 minutes

Words per minute

136.87

Word count

6,850

Sentence count

364

Harmful content

Misogyny

2

sentences flagged

Toxicity

1

sentences flagged

Hate speech

25

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

John the Baptist was a prophet, but in the eyes of the world, he was not a prophet. He was a man of doubt. He sent his disciples out into the wilderness to ask Jesus whether or not He is the Christ. And Jesus answered them.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Topics generated with Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct.
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
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00:00:26 Amen. Please join me in standing for the reading of God's Word.
00:00:30 this morning we continue our series through the gospel according to matthew our text for today
00:00:34 is matthew chapter 11 verses 7 through 15. again that's matthew chapter 11 verse 7 through 15. i'll
00:00:40 read us our text in its entirety when i finish reading the text i'm going to say this is the
00:00:44 word of the lord at which point i would appreciate very much if you would respond by saying thanks
00:00:48 be to god one final time our text for today is the gospel according to matthew chapter 11
00:00:54 verses 7 through 15, the Bible says this. As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds
00:01:00 concerning John. What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?
00:01:07 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft
00:01:13 clothing are in king's houses. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you,
00:01:21 and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before
00:01:28 your face, who will prepare your way before you. Truly I say to you, among those born of women,
00:01:35 there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist, yet the one who is least in the kingdom 0.98
00:01:42 of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven
00:01:49 has suffered violence and the violent take it by force for all the prophets and the law prophesied
00:01:56 until john and if you are willing to accept it he is elijah who is to come he who has ears to hear
00:02:05 let him hear this is the word of the lord all right please be seated let's go ahead and dive
00:02:11 in by way of introduction i've written the following christ the great teacher of the church
00:02:17 takes this occasion to correct the people's misjudgment. He's speaking now to the people
00:02:24 at large correcting their misjudgment and misunderstanding. In their fickle hearts
00:02:32 they were ready to cast doubt on John's prophetic office simply because he, like all men, had
00:02:39 expressed a moment of weakness. But Christ in his kindness and truth reaffirms John's dignity.
00:02:47 Showing us that God's servants may waver in affliction, yet remain steadfast in calling.
00:02:53 If you were with us last Lord's Day, we dealt with a text where John the Baptist sends his disciples to go and question Jesus.
00:03:04 At that moment, John the Baptist is captured.
00:03:07 He is imprisoned by King Herod.
00:03:11 And he's awaiting what he probably knows is going to be his certain death.
00:03:15 And we know that that is in fact what takes place, that he's beheaded.
00:03:20 And as he's waiting for his execution, he sends his own disciples to go and to speak with Jesus
00:03:26 and to question Jesus to confirm whether or not Jesus is in fact the Christ.
00:03:33 In other words, what John the Baptist is doing in that moment is he is at some level
00:03:38 pleading with the Lord Jesus for assurance, for affirmation.
00:03:44 He wants to know that his own ministry as a precursor to the Christ, to the Messiah, has not been in vain.
00:03:52 He wants to know that Jesus, in fact, is the promised Messiah.
00:03:57 And Jesus answers the question.
00:03:59 He doesn't rebuke John, but he actually answers John's questions.
00:04:04 John is doubting in that moment, not disbelief, but doubt.
00:04:09 he's wrestling with his faith his ability by the spirit to trust in Jesus and so Jesus provides
00:04:17 for him assurance confirmation affirmation which is a gracious thing for Jesus to do and John
00:04:23 in his humanity infinitude and at some level even perhaps his fallenness is doubting because of his
00:04:32 current tribulation his life is now on the line he realizes that he is probably at the very end
00:04:39 of his race and he wants to know that he has not run that race in vain and so because John questions
00:04:46 Jesus through his disciples it's fitting that Jesus is now addressing this with his own hearers
00:04:53 many of them who are also disciples or followers hearers of John the Baptist he's saying you've
00:04:59 come to me to hear my teaching and many of you are the same individuals who would go out into
00:05:05 the wilderness to hear the teaching and preaching of John and he's kind of restoring in a sense
00:05:14 John's dignity he's not apologizing for John he's not sweeping any weakness of John under the rug
00:05:21 but he's saying that despite any weakness on John's part his weakness does not invalidate
00:05:28 the office of his ministry that the Lord appointed to him. He was a forerunner. He was a prophet. And
00:05:36 I tell you even more than a prophet. He was a voice crying out in the wilderness, make way,
00:05:42 make straight paths unto the Lord. He was a prophet. He was a man. We'll get to that here
00:05:49 in a moment not just male but masculine and he was steadfast not a reed that bends and breaks
00:05:58 but he was steadfast he was consistent he was unbending uncompromising so even in a moment
00:06:07 of weakness and and needing to reach out and to cry out to the Lord for assurance and confirmation
00:06:14 that he had not, in fact, run his race in vain.
00:06:18 Even in that weakness, he did not break.
00:06:22 Even in that weakness, he did not ultimately fail
00:06:25 or compromise or sell out.
00:06:29 He was not a reed bending back and forth.
00:06:33 He was not a politician or a prince in king's houses
00:06:38 wearing soft clothing, malakoy, soft.
00:06:44 But he really was indeed a masculine, unbending prophet
00:06:49 who was appointed by God with a legitimate, valid office
00:06:54 as a precursor in the spirit of Elijah
00:06:58 to prepare the way for me.
00:07:02 So Jesus restores his dignity.
00:07:05 And even with his own hearers, it's all about Jesus.
00:07:08 This is the same John the Baptist who previously said
00:07:11 he must increase, speaking of Christ,
00:07:14 i must decrease so it's all about jesus and now here is jesus who knows that it's all about him
00:07:21 and that the whole focal point of john the baptist ministry is that he would slowly
00:07:27 decrescendo and that christ would crescendo and rise my mom would be very proud of me to use those
00:07:36 musical terms um she's not here this morning but she'll listen to this and she'll probably cry
00:07:41 It was all worth it. John the Baptist didn't run his race in vain, and I didn't run my race in
00:07:48 vain. All the piano lessons that I forced upon my son, they paid off. But this is Jesus who knows.
00:07:56 He knows that John's purpose was to prepare the way for Christ, and that he was to fade out as
00:08:03 jesus is rising up and yet jesus still gives to john dignity and part of it is his compassion and
00:08:12 love for john but part of it also is because his own not in the objective sense but in the
00:08:21 subjective sense his hearers and their perception of christ in the subjective sense jesus ministry
00:08:29 and his calling, his anointing as the Messiah,
00:08:33 it is resting on John saying that it was so.
00:08:38 And so Jesus is validating John
00:08:40 and saying this moment of John questioning me
00:08:43 is not a sign that he didn't finish the race well.
00:08:48 He may have doubted, but he did not disbelieve.
00:08:52 He may have questioned,
00:08:53 but he ultimately did not bend or break.
00:08:56 and he may have struggled at the end of his life but he was still a hard man he had grit grit's a
00:09:04 good word that's a word that i'd like to see come back around he was masculine he was not soft he's
00:09:11 not a soft man and so this is what's going on this is the context of our text today the first point
00:09:20 that I want to draw out of the text is this, ministers should be masculine. I think it's
00:09:25 important that we see ministers should be masculine in at least two regards, as we've already seen from 0.91
00:09:31 the text, that ministers of the gospel should not be as a reed bending, but they also should not be
00:09:38 as a prince in king's houses soft. Now, I don't think it's a coincidence. Obviously, you can have
00:09:46 malakoi, soft, effeminate men in virtually every realm, in every vocation, right? There's not like 1.00
00:09:55 there's one vocation or one category that has a monopoly on effeminate men. But I do find it
00:10:05 significant. I don't think it's a mere coincidence that Jesus, as he says, what did you go out into
00:10:10 the wilderness to see a soft man wearing soft clothing and then he could have said no you'll
00:10:17 find those people in the markets you know he could have said that right those are those are
00:10:23 businessmen that's where you'll find them or he could have said no you'll find you want a soft
00:10:31 man and soft clothing you'll find him over here you'll find him over there he could have named
00:10:35 you know listed any vocation any realm any category but he lists the political you want to
00:10:43 find a soft man wearing soft clothing then look to politicians that's where you'll find them
00:10:51 where do you find them in dc in king's houses you find them at the courthouse you find them at the
00:10:59 palace. You find them in Congress. That's where you find them. You don't find them in the wilderness
00:11:08 wearing camel skin and eating bugs, right? That's not where you find soft men. That's where you find 1.00
00:11:15 hard men. You want to find a masculine man? Then go off the beaten path. Do you want to find an 1.00
00:11:24 effeminate men, then look to the chief seats. Look to the places of honor, because soft men will 0.99
00:11:32 always find themselves clamoring and clawing and clinging to places of honor. So Jesus mentions
00:11:41 both of these aspects. He says, John the Baptist is not a reed. And in that sense, he is masculine. 0.97
00:11:50 He's not a reed. He's not bending.
00:11:53 And he's also not soft, wearing soft clothing.
00:11:57 But rather, he's in the wilderness.
00:12:00 He has grit.
00:12:02 Okay.
00:12:03 I've written this.
00:12:05 A reed easily moved by the wind symbolizes a man lacking firmness or conviction.
00:12:12 But John was no such man.
00:12:14 True ministers of the word must not be carried about by the changing winds of public opinion, but rather must stand firm.
00:12:23 Likewise, John's rugged austerity directly contrasts with the soft attire of those who dwell in king's houses.
00:12:33 His camel's hair garments and wilderness dwelling were outward signs of inward grit.
00:12:40 true ministers of the word must be masculine not merely male i'll come back to that in a moment
00:12:46 they are called to labor diligently often in hardship so it's not just for the sake of
00:12:53 appearance there's a purpose for this criteria why is it that ministers of the word should be
00:12:59 male and that we should assume that included in that criteria of maleness that that necessarily
00:13:07 also speaks to a masculine maleness not just in a biological strictly biologically I guess
00:13:14 technically the guy is a guy it's it's not just that he's male he must be masculine and this is
00:13:21 not capricious it's not arbitrary this criteria that the Lord gives the reason for it the purpose
00:13:29 for it is because ministers at times will be under fire. And so they have to be able to have
00:13:37 resolve. They have to be able to withstand hardship and opposition for the glory of God
00:13:45 and the good of the church. So that's the first thing that we see as Jesus is speaking to the
00:13:52 crowd. He's reaffirming the dignity of John. One, in compassion for John himself, I believe.
00:13:58 But secondly, insofar as not just John the man who struggled, at least at some degree, in his final moments of life, but not just reaffirming John's dignity for his own personhood in compassion, but also reaffirming John's ministry.
00:14:17 not just his person but his office and what that means its significance for Christ who comes as the
00:14:26 one who is after John who John was preparing the way for so this is what Jesus is doing he's
00:14:34 reaffirming John the man and he's also confirming John the prophet his office in order to further
00:14:43 validate himself that he is indeed the messiah and the christ and in doing so he uses at least
00:14:50 two criteria to say no john was authentic john was legitimate john was a man he was a prophet
00:15:02 he was not a reed uncompromising and he was not a politician he was not soft he was not merely
00:15:11 male, but masculine. And he was not compromising, but resolute. The second point, as I see it in
00:15:18 the text today, that I hope by God's grace to draw out for you, is this, the greatness of John
00:15:25 and the privilege for us. Jesus, he affirms that there was indeed a unique greatness that John
00:15:37 possessed. But he doesn't just leave it with John. But then he further fleshes out that John's
00:15:45 greatness was significant. It was high. It was lofty. It was respectable. And yet it pales in
00:15:54 comparison to the least in the kingdom of heaven. So John, in fact, really did possess a greatness.
00:16:02 And yet John's greatness means for us not an insubordinate, lesser, lesser gift that we receive, but if anything, an even greater privilege that we have today.
00:16:19 The text says this,
00:16:20 Truly I say to you, among those born of women, there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. 0.82
00:16:27 Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 0.94
00:16:32 In your notes I've written this. 0.92
00:16:34 Christ declares that no man born of women, namely those who are born according to natural birth, physical birth, that none were greater than John.
00:16:46 His greatness is not, what's not in reference here, his greatness is not moral perfection.
00:16:55 Because we see the weakness of John in the prior, immediate prior text, where he's questioning the legitimacy, validity of Christ.
00:17:07 So this greatness of John is not in reference to his own moral perfection, but his ministerial privilege.
00:17:15 He's great because he stood closer to Christ than any prophet who came before him.
00:17:23 John's greatness is measured by the clarity of revelation granted to him and his role in introducing the Messiah to the world.
00:17:33 Yet Christ declares that even the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John.
00:17:38 This does not mean that the believer, for us today, exceeds John in personal piety, meaning holiness, but rather in positional privilege.
00:17:52 It is not that believers today exceed John in personal piety, but rather positional privilege.
00:17:59 The smallest believer today enjoys a clearer view of God's grace than even John ever did.
00:18:08 In other words, the principle that we can find is this.
00:18:12 Greater grace means greater responsibility.
00:18:16 With great grace comes great responsibility.
00:18:22 The greater of God's revelation, which is, and you have to understand this,
00:18:27 God's revelation to man is always grace.
00:18:32 He is not obligated to reveal anything to us.
00:18:36 the fact that God has spoken to his people is grace the fact that God came God himself the son
00:18:45 of God in the incarnation and took on flesh and tabernacled among us dwelt among us and revealed
00:18:52 himself to us is grace and the greater God's revelation and all God's revelation is a gracious
00:19:00 revelation the greater god's revelation to us the greater moral responsibility we have
00:19:07 to live in light of that revelation the person who has received nothing no word from god
00:19:16 no revelation from god it will be required of him in terms of his moral obligation his
00:19:24 his life's response there will be a lower bar for him now you have to be careful with this
00:19:31 theologically some have gone so far as to say well those who have never heard the preaching
00:19:36 of christ at all who've never received a single page from the scripture or some tribe in the
00:19:44 deep dark jungles of the amazon where no missionary has ever gone no verse of the bible has have ever
00:19:51 reached that of of them there would be zero requirement but that's not true we know that's
00:19:58 not true from the scripture we know from romans 1 and romans 2 for that matter that all men have
00:20:06 at least some revelation from god through nature itself that god has revealed himself to all people
00:20:14 by what he has made the creation itself testifies to a creator therefore you oh man even the man
00:20:24 on a lonely island who's never heard the gospel all men are without an excuse
00:20:32 but the fact that all men have received some revelation from god merely by their own life
00:20:41 and the breath in their lungs and eyes and ears
00:20:43 to see the stars and the sun.
00:20:46 The fact that all men have received some revelation of God
00:20:50 and therefore all men are rendered excuseless
00:20:54 does not mean that there's not a sliding scale.
00:20:58 So nobody is innocent.
00:21:02 Nobody gets a pass.
00:21:04 Nobody can stand before God's throne on that final day
00:21:07 and say, I didn't know.
00:21:09 but it is true that some know less all know in part and the knowing that all have received the
00:21:20 revelation that all have received make all at least responsible enough to where God is justified
00:21:26 as the judge to send those who do not have faith in his son Jesus to an eternity in hell
00:21:33 without God doing any wrong on His part.
00:21:38 So everyone has received enough gracious revelation from God
00:21:42 to therefore be excuseless and held accountable.
00:21:46 But that does not mean that everyone has received the same degree of revelation.
00:21:51 It is undeniably true that some have received more grace.
00:21:57 All have received some grace.
00:21:59 and enough grace sufficient grace for what judgment apart from faith in jesus christ
00:22:07 but that does not mean that all have received equal grace and that's what jesus is saying
00:22:14 here where he says john the baptist is the greatest born of women he's saying up until this
00:22:20 point, there is none born of women, no one of physical human birth who has been in a greater
00:22:29 position. Not just meaning he was the greatest person, not personally, but positionally. None
00:22:37 have been in a greater position of revelation to see with clarity who I am, what I've done,
00:22:48 And what I've said, John had, up to that point, the greatest degree, the highest degree of
00:22:56 gracious revelation from God. And therefore, Jesus says, without mincing words, complete integrity,
00:23:06 he's not being tongue-in-cheek. It is true when Jesus says, John the Baptist is the greatest man
00:23:12 born of women. And then it's also true when he says, and yet the least in the kingdom of heaven 0.91
00:23:19 is greater than he. Another biblical reference to, to help validate this principle is when Jesus
00:23:30 pronounces judgments on certain Jewish towns in Israel. Woe to you, Tyre and Sidon. And, 0.98
00:23:39 then he compares. He says, for if the works,
00:23:44 the miracles that he performed in these places, 0.86
00:23:47 if they had been performed in Sodom
00:23:51 or Gomorrah, he says they would have repented.
00:23:56 And so what is Jesus essentially saying? Sodom and Gomorrah
00:23:59 are off the hook. No. No, the residents of Sodom
00:24:03 and Gomorrah were temporally judged by fire and brimstone.
00:24:09 God destroyed those cities and eternally judged.
00:24:15 Not just temporally, but eternally.
00:24:17 They died apart from faith in Christ,
00:24:20 as far as we know, as far as what the Scripture teaches.
00:24:23 So therefore, the cities were temporally burned
00:24:26 and the residents are also eternally in hell.
00:24:33 That's not something that we're happy about,
00:24:35 but we certainly have to acknowledge that
00:24:38 if we believe that the Scripture is true
00:24:39 in the Word of God. 0.93
00:24:40 So Jesus is not exonerating Sodom and Gomorrah.
00:24:44 He's not saying, hey, Tyre and Sidon,
00:24:46 because you're this bad,
00:24:48 that means that they're not bad at all.
00:24:50 And that they're off the hook.
00:24:52 No, he's saying they were judged.
00:24:54 They were judged by God justly.
00:24:57 They did not pass through the judgment.
00:24:59 They were temporally destroyed.
00:25:01 And eternally, those residents are also being destroyed.
00:25:05 And yet, the judgment for you
00:25:08 these towns in Israel
00:25:11 will be even greater.
00:25:13 Why? On what basis?
00:25:14 What's the determining factor?
00:25:16 Because, according to Jesus,
00:25:19 these Jewish towns had received more grace.
00:25:24 More grace by what means?
00:25:27 In what form?
00:25:28 Revelation.
00:25:30 They had seen more.
00:25:33 You saw me work mighty miracles.
00:25:36 You guys are witnesses of the resurrection of Lazarus.
00:25:43 Dead guys came back to life. 0.99
00:25:46 Lepers were healed. 1.00
00:25:49 The lame walked before your very eyes. 0.94
00:25:52 The blind see, the deaf hear. 1.00
00:25:56 You saw me multiply food for 5,000, just the men. 0.86
00:26:00 Listen, you've witnessed incredible divine revelation.
00:26:08 God has graciously revealed much of himself to you.
00:26:15 And so therefore, what you're rejecting is more.
00:26:19 And therefore, your rejection is worse.
00:26:22 you are more morally responsible for your rejection of God's grace through the means of
00:26:31 revelation than others who also rejected God's revelation which is also gracious but a smaller
00:26:38 degree. Sodom still had revelation. Well what revelation did Sodom have? Well two. They had
00:26:47 natural revelation and special revelation. How? Well, natural or general revelation, they had
00:26:54 beating hearts. They were alive. They saw the stars. They saw the sun. And it's a Romans 1
00:26:58 situation. God has made himself plainly manifest by what he has made. Special revelation now,
00:27:05 they had Lot. Now, I'll be the first to say, Lot is no Jesus. Right? He's not performing signs
00:27:13 and wonders he's not going around raising the dead and he's also a little bit of a deadbeat
00:27:21 morally speaking and yet the scripture says righteous lot was his soul not tormented within
00:27:31 him as he lived among the heathen year after year righteous lot and this is the same lot who carried
00:27:38 his own family line in some very distasteful ways. And I'll just, for the adults, you can
00:27:48 look that up in the Bible later if you're unfamiliar with what I'm saying. But we are
00:27:52 family integrated and have kids in the church. And so I want to be careful. But Lot did some
00:27:57 not great things. Okay. Not great things. And yet the New Testament refers to him as righteous,
00:28:05 which is crazy.
00:28:09 And whatever righteousness Lot possessed,
00:28:13 certainly I think positional righteousness,
00:28:16 forensic righteousness,
00:28:17 I believe that Lot is a Christian. 0.97
00:28:18 I believe that Lot is in heaven. 0.93
00:28:21 So he had the positional righteousness,
00:28:22 the perfect righteousness,
00:28:24 not of his own,
00:28:25 but of Christ,
00:28:26 which is received through faith,
00:28:29 regardless of what time in history you live.
00:28:32 Old Testament saints are saved
00:28:33 the same way New Testament saints are.
00:28:35 God has only saved people one way, through faith in Christ. Old Testament saints are looking forward
00:28:44 to Christ through prophecy, through types, through shadows. And we are looking back toward Christ,
00:28:53 which is the whole point that I'm making, that I believe Jesus is making in the text. That's why
00:28:58 we are so privileged, because in looking back to Christ, we're able to look to Christ with
00:29:04 more clarity, more revelation. And therefore, it is more gracious on God's part to reveal to us
00:29:17 so much more of himself. We see this in Hebrews chapter 1. Long ago, God spoke
00:29:25 to our fathers through the prophets and the law
00:29:29 in many ways, many times.
00:29:33 But in these last days,
00:29:35 He has spoken to us through His Son.
00:29:40 Who is what?
00:29:41 What is Jesus in that context of Hebrews 1?
00:29:44 He's the exact imprint.
00:29:46 Right?
00:29:48 No more types and shadows.
00:29:50 No, He is the substance.
00:29:52 He's the exact imprint of the Father's nature.
00:29:55 by just a chip off the old block.
00:29:57 Nope, he is the block.
00:30:01 He's the exact imprint of the Father's nature
00:30:03 and the full radiance of the glory of God.
00:30:11 So for those who are looking back to Christ,
00:30:14 whether you were privileged to see him in person
00:30:17 2,000 years ago at the time of his earthly ministry,
00:30:22 or whether you are a New Testament saint,
00:30:25 such as you and I, who still get to see Jesus with far more clarity than Old Testament saints,
00:30:33 not because we get to shake his hand or watch him on earth raise the dead,
00:30:38 but because we get to read of Jesus all his teachings and works.
00:30:44 Not all. If all his works were written down, then all the world would not be able to contain the books.
00:30:50 That's what the Gospel of John says.
00:30:51 But we get to read much of his works, his miracles, and his teachings, his sermons,
00:30:58 that Old Testament saints, before Christ came, did not have access to.
00:31:03 Because it hadn't happened yet.
00:31:05 And yet we do.
00:31:06 We have greater revelation.
00:31:07 We have greater clarity.
00:31:09 We have greater grace.
00:31:11 So whether it's Tyre and Sidon.
00:31:13 It's not that Tyre and Sidon.
00:31:14 This is important to get. 0.99
00:31:15 it's not that these jewish towns had committed more heinous acts there's at least two i think
00:31:24 two categories okay two categories of of degrees of sin have you heard right we'll do some bible 0.85
00:31:33 myth busters for a moment all sin is equal right wrong no it's not all sin is equal insofar as all
00:31:42 unrepentant sin, apart from faith in Christ, is equal in its ability to separate you
00:31:50 from God for all eternity. So in that sense, yes, all sin, be it serial killer or white lie,
00:32:01 all sin is equal in that sense. Yes. But not all sin is equal in its temporal consequences,
00:32:09 right we don't teach our children hey you know what if you do this some small infraction you
00:32:15 get a timeout and then if you do this other thing that's also a timeout no we we teach our children
00:32:22 from a young age well there are certain behaviors that have more severe consequences than others
00:32:27 i don't want my kids to grow up and become adults and think you know what if i get a little cute on
00:32:34 my taxes, that's bad. And also if I murder my neighbor, that's kind of bad too. And, you know,
00:32:40 tomato, tomato. No, no, no, no, no. It's not tomato, tomato. All right. One of these things is not like
00:32:45 the other. These things are different. And so there is a category of greater degrees of sin
00:32:53 in terms of the infraction, the transgression itself. But there's also, and I think this is
00:32:58 what many pass over, there's also what's clearly expressed in the scripture by Christ himself
00:33:03 is another category of determining
00:33:06 whether someone gets a light beating
00:33:08 or a severe beating.
00:33:11 And those are the words of Jesus.
00:33:12 Like Joel's talking about beating people.
00:33:14 I'm not exegeting right now.
00:33:15 I'm just quoting.
00:33:16 Quoting Jesus.
00:33:17 Your problem, once again, is with Jesus.
00:33:21 He says, to one will be given a light beating.
00:33:23 To another, a severe beating.
00:33:25 Based off of what?
00:33:27 Well, in that context,
00:33:29 what Jesus is talking about is, again,
00:33:31 not the the degree of transgression or the degree of infraction but in that category he's talking
00:33:39 about transgression in the midst of varying degrees of revelation varying degrees of grace
00:33:46 that's why Jesus is saying woe to you Tyre and Sidon why because you've done worse things
00:33:55 maybe but that's not explicitly referenced in that context that may be the case but what Jesus
00:34:00 says for sure is, woe to you because you have hardened your hearts, rejected me, gone on in
00:34:07 your rebellion and sin in the midst of great revelation. And Sodom and Gomorrah, also guilty,
00:34:17 also judged him poorly and eternally. But their rebellion was in the midst of some revelation,
00:34:24 enough to condemn them to make them morally culpable but a lesser degree of revelation
00:34:31 and therefore their punishment will be lesser a punishment nonetheless eternal nonetheless i'm
00:34:37 not teaching annihilationism john stott's hardest hit god bless him he had a lot of good stuff but
00:34:44 not that so i'm not saying that you know the people in sodom and gomorrah will go to hell for
00:34:49 you know temporarily you know they'll be there for 10 000 years and then other people will be
00:34:53 there for 20,000 years. No, it is eternal. It's what the Bible teaches. And I don't know exactly
00:34:59 what that looks like, but according to the words of Jesus, there are some people that will be in
00:35:04 hell forever and it will be miserable. And there are others who will also be in hell forever and
00:35:10 it will be more miserable. I think that the scripture teaches this, right? Which is just
00:35:17 another, it's funny, it's just another example that just rubs our liberalism a little raw, right?
00:35:25 I'm a modern Christian, right? 20th century liberalism, in the heart of liberalism, in many
00:35:31 ways, is egalitarianism. But according to scripture, egalitarianism doesn't even exist in hell. Even in
00:35:38 hell, there's a hierarchy. Even hell has a hierarchy. Different degrees of judgment and
00:35:45 punishment hell is not equal heaven is not equal there are varying degrees of eternal reward
00:35:54 everyone will be eternally happy peace joy wiping away every tear no more sorrow we know that but
00:36:04 there are scriptures that speak to varying rewards heavenly rewards for our lives here on earth the
00:36:12 reward of salvation itself is a reward not for our work but for Christ's work on our behalf which
00:36:17 we receive by grace alone through faith alone in him alone but we know that heaven will have
00:36:24 degrees of honor hell has degrees of misery and earth has degrees of vocation and role and influence
00:36:35 and authority.
00:36:37 Hierarchy is inescapable.
00:36:40 It's God's world.
00:36:41 It's not ours.
00:36:42 It's His world.
00:36:43 He designed it.
00:36:43 He made it.
00:36:44 And He determines the rules.
00:36:47 And God is not egalitarian.
00:36:50 So, the greater the grace,
00:36:53 the greater the responsibility.
00:36:55 What does that mean for us?
00:36:57 Well, what it means is this.
00:37:02 On this side of Christ,
00:37:04 with all the resources
00:37:06 that in God's gracious providence
00:37:08 have been made available to us today.
00:37:11 All men are without an excuse,
00:37:13 but we especially are without an excuse.
00:37:19 You have the Bible, brothers and sisters.
00:37:22 You have the infallible words of God inscripturated,
00:37:26 both inspired by the Spirit
00:37:28 and preserved by the Spirit.
00:37:30 And on top of the Bible,
00:37:32 if it could possibly get any better.
00:37:36 We, sitting on the precipice of a millennia of Christendom
00:37:42 in the West and what God has done,
00:37:45 we have volumes of commentaries
00:37:49 and systematic theologies.
00:37:54 If you're too lazy to even read them,
00:37:57 you can now listen to them.
00:37:58 you can be washing dishes and listening to john owen
00:38:03 and you don't even have to go out and buy a book you can find most of it for free
00:38:10 we have received so much revelation and i want you when you hear revelation i want you from now
00:38:21 on to think revelation, grace, revelation, grace. We have received so much revelation. God has
00:38:30 revealed so much truth to us, which is a gracious thing of him to do. So you have received so much
00:38:40 grace. Rebellion toward God is always wrong. And we are always responsible for that moral failure.
00:38:52 But rebellion toward God
00:38:54 on the backdrop of greater degrees of grace
00:38:58 is even more of a moral failure.
00:39:03 And I think that that's one of the main points
00:39:06 from the text today.
00:39:08 John the Baptist really was great.
00:39:10 And at that time, up to that point in redemptive history,
00:39:14 he was truly the greatest.
00:39:17 And yet for you and I,
00:39:19 right? On one hand, it's encouragement. It's hopeful. It's a great honor. On the other hand,
00:39:26 though, we should hear it with fear and trembling. It's like, John the Baptist is the greatest. I
00:39:32 don't like that. That sounds like hierarchy again. And I believe that the Bible is liberalism.
00:39:39 It's not. It's not. But I understand. I too live in 2025. I feel it. I've been indoctrinated
00:39:47 Just like you, I've been trained to bristle, you know, every time I hear something that, you know, comes from, I don't know, something, you know, before the 1960s, the way that everyone used to think, not just Christians, but everyone. 0.78
00:40:02 So I get it.
00:40:03 I have the natural aversion that you do.
00:40:06 But then, you know, with that, as a modern Christian, modern Western Christian, John the Baptist is the greatest.
00:40:13 No.
00:40:13 but then you can kind of almost have like a like a a sigh of relief that at least it's followed up
00:40:20 with but even the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than oh and at that precise point that's
00:40:28 where i want to respond and just with a pastoral warning and say um don't be relieved by that
00:40:37 when when the statement of john the baptist is the greatest but even the least in the kingdom
00:40:43 of heaven is greater than him? Don't hear that with a sigh of relief. Hear that with a, oh no.
00:40:52 What then does God require of me? What then is God's righteous and just expectation for me?
00:41:03 How then will I be expected to live my life if John was not a reed and didn't bend or break? 0.77
00:41:09 how much more resolute and steadfast and firm should i be if john was not a politician in soft 0.98
00:41:18 clothing in dc king's houses how much how much more grit must i have i think that's what jesus
00:41:28 is getting he's doing more than one thing at the same time yes he is reaffirming john and restoring
00:41:36 his dignity. And yes, he is doing that both in compassion for John's person, but also to validate
00:41:41 himself as the Messiah and the Christ because of John's office as a precursor. And I think he's
00:41:47 also then raising the bar for everyone else, for you and I, even 2,000 years later, to say,
00:41:56 yeah, John was great, but his greatness was not ultimately stemming from his personal piety,
00:42:03 but his positional privilege and your positional privilege, if anything, is even greater than his.
00:42:12 You have even more revelation. To you has been given even more grace. And with great grace
00:42:21 comes great responsibility. Final point, waging holy violence. Waging holy violence.
00:42:29 the text says from the days of john the baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered
00:42:34 violence and the violent take it by force i've written in your notes the following christ
00:42:41 declares that from the days of john the baptist until now the kingdom has suffered violence the
00:42:46 violence shall take it by force this does not mean that men can somehow in their own strength
00:42:52 wrestle the kingdom from God's hands, but rather that true conversion always involves
00:42:59 earnestness, spiritual struggle, and holy zeal. Salvation is not gained by sloth, but by the
00:43:09 Spirit's quickening power. It is the Spirit. Notice this. By the Spirit's quickening power,
00:43:15 which leads to urgent and effectual seeking of God.
00:43:20 Romans 3, a description of unregenerate man.
00:43:25 The Bible's anthropology, if you will. 0.80
00:43:27 One of the characteristics, no one seeks for God.
00:43:32 And yet, Matthew chapter 6, the Sermon on the Mount,
00:43:35 Jesus says, seek and you will find.
00:43:39 Knock and the door will be opened.
00:43:40 Ask and you will receive.
00:43:42 well we've just found another biblical contradiction the schizophrenic god who can't
00:43:52 make up his mind no no wherever there seems to be a contradiction in the word of god i assure you
00:43:58 the contradiction lies ultimately in you not god when jesus tells us that we should seek him
00:44:06 it's because for the christian seeking god really is possible because we've been given eyes to see
00:44:13 and ears to hear new hearts that are inclined towards the things of god we've been given new
00:44:19 hearts a new nature if any man is in christ he is a new creation and with this new nature there is
00:44:25 to us afforded new desires and with new desires therefore it is made available to us a new
00:44:33 spectrum of choices. One of those choices being seeking after God, knocking at the door of heaven,
00:44:41 asking and petitioning the Lord of hosts that he might reveal himself to us and be kind to us.
00:44:49 So the Christian must seek God and can, by the Spirit's quickening power, seek God. The Christian
00:44:58 must not be slothful the christian must not be apathetic the christian must be violent 0.87
00:45:07 in terms of spiritual violence he must wage holy violence the christian should daily
00:45:18 be seeking the kingdom of heaven with on the one hand an assumption that christ is holding fast to
00:45:27 him and with assurance of his salvation and on the other with an assumption that we must
00:45:37 work out our salvation with fear and trembling and that no one waltzes into heaven
00:45:45 and that if we are vigilant and violent to use the word of the text not my own
00:45:54 if we are spiritually violent righteously violent in the context of what jesus is saying
00:46:01 we should know that that is required to enter the kingdom of heaven and also if we meet that
00:46:08 requirement we should know it is the spirit's work within us that caused us to meet such a
00:46:16 requirement well how do we know this i think perhaps one of the best texts in scripture that
00:46:21 describes this miracle is Philippians chapter 2 verses 12 to 13 which says
00:46:28 this therefore my beloved as you have always obeyed so now not only in my
00:46:35 presence this is the Apostle Paul speaking but now that I'm gone even much
00:46:40 more in my absence work rest work relax work no work out yours own salvation with fear and trembling
00:46:56 the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence and the violent will take it by force wage holy
00:47:04 violence work spiritually work out your own salvation with holy fear holy trembling holy
00:47:12 violence that's on the one hand and both of these things believe it or not while seeming to be a
00:47:18 contradiction are actually simultaneously true here's the other side of the coin for assuming
00:47:25 that you do it is ultimately God who works in you both to will and to work both your desire
00:47:35 your will your choice and your action your life and your work it is God through you in you doing
00:47:44 this who is working in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure so who will enter the
00:47:51 kingdom of heaven the violent that is the vigilant the diligent the disciplined
00:48:02 and who are such people well those who the spirit is producing that within
00:48:10 so that there really is a criteria and yet at the same time if this criteria be met it really is
00:48:19 God who gets all the glory. Because it really is his work in and through us that brings this
00:48:25 about. So I think those are the three big ideas from the text today. Ministers should be masculine,
00:48:33 not soft, and not bending. Not a reed, not a politician, not a prince. Also, the greatness of
00:48:42 John only speaks to an even greater privilege for us with great grace comes greater responsibility
00:48:51 and lastly the need to wage holy violence to be vigilant about the things of God to seek first
00:48:59 his kingdom and his righteousness and to do so not with sloth but with diligence and yet at the same
00:49:05 time to maintain a position of humility knowing that if we do so well it is the spirit's work in
00:49:13 us and not our own so in conclusion in this passage christ honors his forerunner john the
00:49:20 baptist corrects the people's misconceptions and reveals the inbreaking of god's kingdom
00:49:26 john stood as a faithful witness unshaken by popular opinion or the comforts of the world
00:49:32 yet even his greatness pales in comparison to the glory now revealed in christ the kingdom has in
00:49:39 fact come therefore let us on this side of the cross especially strive by the spirit's strength
00:49:48 to press into this kingdom with holy violence let's pray father thank you for your word bless
00:49:55 it to your people that you might bring about for yourself greater glory we pray this in jesus name
00:50:00 and for Christ's sake, amen.