Questions & Answers Jesus Asks
Uncomfortable Truth: What Did You Go Out To See?
Matthew 11:7 (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?
Romans 12:2 (ESV)
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
James 1:22 (ESV)
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Come to God not as a spectator seeking comfort,
but as a pilgrim ready to be transformed by His truth.
Part 1: The Illustration of the Reed
Galatians 1:10 (ESV)
10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Ephesians 4:14 (ESV)
14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
A faith that follows cultural winds loses its power,
but God calls His people to stand firm in truth.
Don’t look for swaying reeds.
Part 2: The Illusion of Soft Raiment
Matthew 3:4 (ESV)
4 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
The Modern Palace: The Idolatry of Comfort
- The Comfort Trap
- The Gospel of Convenience
Deuteronomy 8:2–3 (ESV)
2 And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
God often forms true dependence in the wilderness,
not in the comforts people chase.
Matthew 11:9–10 (ESV)
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.’
Matthew 11:11 (ESV)
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.
Since Christ has completed redemption,
we must receive His truth fully and proclaim it boldly.
Malachi 3:1 (ESV)
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
John 1:29 (ESV)
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Acts 1:8 (ESV)
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Matthew 11:7–11 (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.
Matthew 7:24–25 (ESV) Build Your House on the Rock
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
1 Corinthians 10:4 (ESV)
4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.
Hebrews 12:1–2 (ESV), Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Stop leaning on hollow comfort and cling to Christ,
the Rock who saves and transforms.
Response:
1. I will turn from hollow comfort and build my life on Christ, the only Rock who can save and transform me.
2. I will stop observing God from a safe distance and surrender to the truth that transforms me.
3. I will reject compromise and choose to stand firm on God’s truth, even when the culture pushes against it.
4. I will trust God’s work in uncomfortable places instead of running back to the comforts that keep me dependent on myself.
5. I will receive the fullness of Christ’s redemption and boldly bear witness to His truth in my life.
