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Advent Productions

Encounters With Jesus

Benjamin Ng

Jesus’ Encounter With The Devil

Jesus’ Encounter with the First Disciples

Jesus’ Encounter with Philip and Nathanael

Jesus Encounter at the Wedding Feast

Jesus’ Encounter with Nicodemus

Jesus’ Encounter with the Woman at the Well

Jesus’ Encounter With The Centurion

Jesus Encounter with the Blind Man Near Bethsaida

Jesus’ Encounter with the Man by the Pool of Bethesda

Jesus’ Encounter with the Man Sick of Palsy

Jesus’ Encounter with the Disciples in the Storm

Jesus’ Encounter with the Blind, Dumb Demoniac

Jesus’ Encounter with the Demoniacs of the Gadarenes

Jesus’ Encounter with the Woman with the Issue of Blood

Jesus’ Encounter with the Five Thousand

Jesus’ Encounter with John the Baptist

Jesus’ Encounter with the Disciples on the Sea

Jesus’ Encounter with the Woman Caught in Adultery

Jesus’ Encounter with Martha and Mary

Jesus’ Encounter with the Man Born Blind

Jesus’ Encounter with the 10 Lepers

Jesus’ Encounter with the Rich Young Ruler

Jesus’ Encounter with Blind Bartimaeus

Jesus’ Encounter with Zacchaeus

Jesus’ Encounter with the Woman with the Spirit of Infirmity

Jesus’ Encounter at Simon’s Feast

Jesus’ Encounter with Peter and His Denial

Jesus’ Encounter with Pilate

Jesus’ Encounters at the Cross

Jesus’ Encounter on the Road to Emmaus

Jesus’ Encounter with Peter at the Sea of Tiberias

Father in heaven, thank you so much for this time that we have to study together this evening.

Thank you Lord for your watch care over us, for your blessings upon us, and especially for these holy Sabbath hours.

Lord, as we're about to open your word to study, I pray that you please guide us with your spirit.

Lead us into all truth, O Father, and bless us, that we might know how to apply these lessons and the word that we're about to read.

We may know how to apply this to our lives this evening.

We're going to go to our first text this evening found in Matthew 11, verse 2.

Now when John had heard in the prison, and this is John the Baptist, when he had heard in the prison the works of Christ he sent 2 of his disciples.

He was a free man for so long and all of a sudden we find that he's ended up in prison and he sends 2 of his disciples to go look for Jesus.

But before we get there, let's look at the reason why John was in prison in the first place.

In Mark chapter 6, verse 17 and 18, the Bible says this, For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother's wife, for he had married her.

For John had said unto Herod, it is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife." Why did he end up in prison?

Because you see, Herod had committed adultery, fornication against his brother by marrying his wife Herodias.

You know friends, when you do God's work, you have to be brave.

You got to be willing to speak the truth in spite of the consequences and no matter who you are speaking it to.

And you know God allowed John the Baptist to be imprisoned.

Following God and doing his will is always, is not always, pardon me, a bed of roses.

It requires a sacrifice and in this case John in a sense got in trouble for preaching the truth.

You know we see this throughout the Bible.

Joseph he was an honest man and because of his honesty and integrity He ended up in prison Paul I mean when you study about 1st and 2nd Corinthians You will find a long list of what he went through just because he was faithful.

He was imprisoned, he was stoned, he was whipped, all sorts of things.

Even King David, who had done nothing wrong, he had been anointed a king secretly, but because of the jealousy of Saul, he had to run for his life.

He was a fugitive even though he had been faithful to God.

You know friends, when we follow God Many times, many times, we can also have many trials.

Not because we did anything wrong, but because we were faithful.

And this is what happened with John the Baptist.

So John's in prison and he sends 2 of his disciples to go and seek out Jesus.

He wants to ask Jesus something through his disciples.

And said unto him, art thou he that should come?

He was asking if Jesus really was the promised Messiah Or should they go and look for a different person?

Now look, why would John the Baptist ask such a thing?

I mean, John, he was meant to be full of faith, right?

He was the 1 that declared himself that Jesus was the Lamb that taketh away the sin of the world.

He also was the 1 that baptized Jesus and saw with his own eyes the Holy Spirit descending like a dove and coming down upon Jesus Christ and he heard that voice from heaven declaring that this is my son.

So why did John the Baptist seem like he was doubting that Jesus was the Messiah?

Are you the 1 that we're waiting for or should we go look for another?

You see, people were expecting for Jesus or at least the Messiah to set up a government that would conquer the Romans and to liberate the Jews, to be their own independent nation again and to be able to go out and fight the battles of God like they did in the Old Testament.

And so John he's in prison and he's doubting.

I mean if Jesus really was the Messiah you know he should be coming to the prison to save me, right?

After all, John the Baptist was Jesus' cousin as well.

So they were linked in many ways, in the work and through family as well.

But John, he began to doubt because he was in prison.

And he began to be down on himself and pity himself and just start thinking of self.

You know that's like us so often isn't it friends?

When anything bad happens to us we begin to doubt God, we begin to question God, we begin to get angry at God And why?

We have this misconception and misunderstanding of God.

When we go through trials and temptations, when we lose our job or lose some money or we get sick, You know, we just about lose our religion, isn't it?

We misunderstand God and we forget, like John, what God is like.

The sun rises on the good and the bad, friends.

And we forget stories like Job, where God allowed trial to come upon his life.

And we never realize that God sometimes stands back.

And through the mysterious workings of his will, we don't see beyond that.

We begin to question and we misunderstand him.

So John's disciples, they come and ask Jesus this question.

And How does Jesus respond to these disciples?

Well, at first, Jesus actually does not respond.

Look at this, Luke chapter 7 and verse 21.

And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits, and unto many that were blind he gave sight." Jesus actually continues His work that He was probably doing before those disciples got there to ask him that question.

He goes about healing those that were sick, who those who had evil spirits, and those that were blind.

Matthew chapter 11 verse 4 and 5 says this, Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see.

The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, The dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

You know, I don't know if Jesus really did that in 1 sitting or in 1 hour, or maybe he did that throughout the whole day, but after he's done with healing those that were sick and that were blind, Jesus turns around and he gives his attention back to John's disciples.

Go back and tell John simply what they saw with their own eyes.

Give the personal testimony of what you saw.

The poor heard the gospel preached to them.

You know, friends, they simply saw the good works of Jesus, healing people and preaching the gospel to everybody.

I mean why Why was Jesus telling him or telling the disciples, go back and tell John what you saw?

You see, in the works that he did, did you see anything there of a political nature?

Did it seem like he was recruiting an army or making a speech to gather funds to go and fund an army from Egypt or from the surrounding nations.

Series

Encounters With Jesus

Jesus’ Encounter with John the Baptist

Transcript

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

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