February 14, 2021

Matthew 11:7-15

1. We started with the question, "Why does Jesus take so much time to explain the identity of John the Baptist?"

-Prior to Sunday's time in Matthew 11, how would you have explained John the Baptist to someone who didn't know about him?

-Now after Sunday's time in Matthew 11, what would you emphasize more about John the Baptist now that we've gone through this passage?

-The point of John the Baptist & his identity is connected to understanding the identity of Jesus. So take a few minutes to unpack the identity of Jesus by answering this question: Who is Jesus?

2. We then began making our way through the verses to see what is said about both John the Baptist & Jesus in these words.

-One of the portions of this passage that can easily go unnoticed is that John had his disciples ask Jesus in front of the crowd...he shared his fragile faith in Jesus before others. What is evidence of true, godly humility?

-We also see that John the Baptist is a faithful man, he is not "a reed shaken by the wind." What does it look like for you to be a person of conviction that is faithful to the Lord?

-Then we move into Matthew 11:9-10 & see that John the Baptist is the forerunner of the Messiah...fulfilling the prophecy of Malachi 3:1. This means that Jesus is the Messiah. Yet this crowd doesn't respond in worship/praise/celebration. Does their lack of reaction surprise you? What should we take away from their lack of response?

-In Matthew 11:11, we see that Jesus is the one who ushers in & rules over the Kingdom of God as John is the final & greatest prophet of the Old Covenant. When you hear someone say that Jesus is the "King of kings", what does that mean to you? In light of this verse, how does this encourage you to see the importance of your role in God's work?

-Then in Matthew 11:13-14, Jesus says that John the Baptist is the fulfillment of Malachi 4:5...which then means that Jesus saying that He is God in the flesh. How does believing that Jesus is Messiah, King, & God bring strength to your soul & encourage you towards faithfulness?

-We ended with Matthew 11:15 & the call to belief. So what are habits that develop in the life of a Christian as they grow in grace & knowledge in light of their belief in Jesus Christ?