What Did You Come Out to See? (Matthew 11:7-24)(Archive)

📨 THEKNGDOM | December 28th, 2024

Title: “What Did You Come Out To See”

Passage 📖:  Matthew 11:7–24

Date: December 28th, 2024

📺 Want to watch the full teaching? Click here to view the December 28th, 2024, Lesson.

👋 Introduction to Today’s Lesson

Hey Everyone,

We’re coming to the end of the year and the end of a long journey through Matthew — and this week’s passage couldn’t be more timely.

Jesus pauses to address the crowd, and His words are full of both honor and heartbreak. He speaks of John the Baptist, of miracles done in unrepentant cities, and of a generation still searching for a sign — while the Sign is standing right in front of them.

But this isn’t just a critique of ancient Israel.

It’s a mirror for us, too.

Because sometimes the greatest obstacle to recognizing God… is our own expectations of what He should look like.

⏪ Recap of Last Week’s Lesson (Matthew 11:1–6)

Last week, we looked at John the Baptist in prison — and his question:

“Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

Jesus doesn’t shame the question. He answers it with evidence:

“The blind receive sight, the lame walk… the good news is proclaimed.”

It was a reminder that even strong faith can wrestle with doubt.

And that Jesus will always meet us in our questions — not just with reassurance, but with a renewed invitation to trust.

Want to read/watch this past one? Click here. 

📖 Scripture: Matthew 11:7–24 (ESV)

7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John:

“What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

8 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.

9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.

10 This is he of whom it is written,

‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way before you.’

11 Truly, I say 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.

12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,

and the violent take it by force.

13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John,

14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.

15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

16 But to what shall I compare this generation?

It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

17 ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;

we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’

19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say,

‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’

Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”

20 Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done,

because they did not repent.

21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!

For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon,

they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.

23 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven?

You will be brought down to Hades.

For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom,

it would have remained until this day.

24 But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment

for the land of Sodom than for you.”

🧭 Context & Background

In this scene, Jesus is speaking to the crowds in Galilee, referencing towns like Capernaum, Bethsaida, and Chorazin — all nestled along the northern rim of the Sea of Galilee. These were small but central towns in Jesus’ ministry, places that had witnessed some of His most powerful miracles: healings, resurrections, and teachings. Yet despite their front-row seat to the Kingdom, they remained unchanged.

To understand the weight of Jesus’ words, we need to feel the tension of the world He’s speaking into.

Life Under Roman Rule

The people of Israel were living under brutal Roman occupation.

Taxes were staggering — scholars estimate that between 30–50% of a family’s income went to Roman taxes, local levies, and temple dues. Land was often repossessed. Formerly middle-class families became day laborers, living hand-to-mouth. Roman soldiers patrolled Jewish towns, enforcing a peace that felt more like humiliation. And all of this was happening in their own land, once promised and sacred, now occupied and oppressed.

Why They Expected Another Moses

In this political and spiritual atmosphere, Israel longed for liberation.

Not metaphorical deliverance — but a physical, national exodus. Just as Moses confronted Pharaoh and led Israel out of slavery, many expected the Messiah to confront Caesar and lead them out of Roman rule. The expectation wasn’t for a suffering servant. It was for a warrior-king.

Which makes Jesus’ words even more disorienting.

John the Baptist as the Fulfillment of Elijah

When Jesus speaks about John the Baptist, He calls him “more than a prophet.”

He quotes Malachi — “I send my messenger before you…” — a reference to the prophetic promise that Elijah would return before the Day of the Lord.

So when Jesus says, “If you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come,”

He’s validating John’s role as the long-awaited forerunner — the one sent to prepare the way for the Kingdom.

But He’s also signaling that the crowd’s expectations were misaligned.

They expected Elijah to usher in judgment, to blaze in with fire and fury.

Instead, they got a man in camel’s hair, eating locusts, calling for repentance in the wilderness.

And instead of judgment falling on Rome, Jesus warns of judgment on the very towns who’ve seen Him — and still turned away.

The Cities That Missed It

Jesus names Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum — places where He had performed the most of His miracles. Yet He says if Tyre, Sidon, or even Sodom had witnessed what these cities did, they would have repented.

This is both a rebuke and a lament.

Because the tragedy isn’t just that they were blind.

It’s that they had seen — and still chose not to turn.

Key Takeaways

1️⃣ Deliverance Doesn’t Work Without Transformation

At the time Jesus spoke these words, Israel was under the crushing weight of Roman rule.

Heavy taxes. Foreign soldiers. Lost autonomy.

It was only natural for the people to long for liberation — for someone like Moses to rise up, confront power, and lead a national exodus.

But Jesus doesn’t play into their expectations.

He doesn’t rally a revolution or target Caesar.

Instead, He invites them to repentance.

Why?

Because history had already shown:

Freedom from an external oppressor doesn’t change the internal condition of the heart.

Israel had been delivered before — out of Egypt, out of exile — but each time, they eventually drifted back into the same cycles of rebellion and self-reliance.

The real problem wasn’t just Pharaoh or Rome.

It was what lived inside them.

And the same is true for us.

We often pray for God to deliver us from something — a toxic job, a broken system, a difficult relationship — thinking that if the external pressure is removed, our peace will return.

But Jesus knows better.

He doesn’t just want to change our circumstances.

He wants to transform our character.

Because if we’re set free, but still full of fear, pride, bitterness, or self-sufficiency — we’ll simply rebuild the same prisons.

The Kingdom doesn’t come by flipping power structures.

It comes by flipping the heart.

So before we ask God to remove the weight around us, we must let Him reshape the weight within us.

2️⃣ Repentance Is the Gateway — Not the Punishment

When Jesus begins His ministry, He doesn’t start with comfort. He starts with a confrontation:

“Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 4:17)

But this isn’t condemnation — it’s invitation.

Not a penalty, but a pivot.

In Jesus’ day, repentance was steeped in ritual and shame. It meant cleansing, sacrifice, and guilt. But Jesus reframes it:

To repent (metanoia in Greek) means to change your mind — to turn around, to reorient your life toward what’s real.

And He reveals that repentance isn’t something reserved for the obviously immoral or corrupt — but for the spiritually numbed and culturally distracted.

Jesus compares His generation to children in the marketplace — playing music, but getting no response. It’s a picture of indifference. Apathy.

The people aren’t hostile — they’re just disengaged.

And perhaps that’s the most dangerous posture of all.

Because in the Kingdom, the greatest threat to repentance isn’t rebellion — it’s resistance.

Not the person who pushes back, but the one who shrugs.

The Kingdom doesn’t come with coercion.

It comes to those willing to see differently.

Jesus isn’t scolding us with repentance — He’s extending a rescue.

Because before transformation comes, turning must.

3️⃣ The Kingdom Isn’t Coming — It’s Already Here

Jesus doesn’t say, “The Kingdom will come eventually.”

He says:

“The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 4:17)

That means it’s within reach — present, not distant.

This would have shocked His audience.

They expected a Kingdom that came with power, soldiers, and spectacle.

But Jesus was announcing a Kingdom already breaking in — not through politics or swords, but through presence.

Through compassion.

Through healing.

Through humility.

Through Him.

And today, we’re often still waiting for something flashy — for our circumstances to shift, for systems to change, for revival to roar.

But Jesus says the Kingdom has already arrived.

It’s found when we forgive.

When we serve.

When we live surrendered.

When we repent and realign.

The Kingdom doesn’t come with headlines.

It comes with obedience.

We don’t build it. We step into it.

✨ Final Word

This passage is more than a warning.

It’s a wake-up call.

Not just for first-century cities like Chorazin and Capernaum,

but for every heart that has grown numb to mercy standing right in front of it.

Because the tragedy of this story isn’t just that miracles were missed —

it’s that they were familiar.

Too close to feel divine.

Too ordinary to feel like God.

And we’re not so different.

We long for breakthrough but resist repentance.

We expect deliverance but ignore the invitation to transformation.

We assume the Kingdom will come with headlines — but Jesus says it’s already here, quietly breaking in through presence and mercy and surrender.

So before we ask God to part the seas or flip the tables —

we must ask if we’ve truly turned toward Him.

Because repentance isn’t a punishment.

It’s how we step into life.

And maybe the deepest tragedy isn’t that we’re waiting on God —

but that He’s been here all along, and we haven’t recognized Him.

So today, may we let go of the filters and frameworks we’ve placed on Jesus.

May we open our eyes to a Kingdom that moves in humility, not force.

And may we turn — not just our behavior, but our hearts — toward the One who’s already drawing near.

Because the Kingdom isn’t coming.

It’s already here.

And blessed are those who don’t miss it.

Blessings, 

Michael 

📌 Challenge of the Week

Where have you missed the movement of God because it didn’t look like what you expected?

This week, take time to examine:

• Am I waiting on a specific kind of deliverance?
  

• Have I overlooked God’s work in someone else’s story?
  

• What if the very thing I’m waiting for is already in front of me — just in a different form?
  

Ask God to help you see clearly. Not just what you want — but what He’s doing.