Luke 7:18-23 | The Expected One

Luke 7:18–23 What we will study today in The Expected One…01. The Question of John (Luke 7:18-20); 02. The Response of Jesus (Luke 7:21); and 03. The Message of Jesus (Luke 7:22-23).

01. The Question of John (Luke 7:18-20)

The disciples of John must have been witnesses to many of the miracles and teachings of Jesus, and they would tell John what they had seen and heard, most notably the healing of the centurion’s servant (Luke 7:1-10) and raising the widows dead son in Nain (Luke 7:11-17). Matthew records in his parallel account (Matthew 11:2–19) that John was “imprisoned” when he “heard of the works of Christ” (Matthew 11:2)

At this time, Herod Antipas was the governor of Galilee. His father was Herod the Great. Herod the Great was the Herod who ordered the death of all male babies two years old and younger when he realized that the Magi tricked him (Matthew 2:16-18).

When Herod the Great died in 4bc, his estate was divided among three of his sons, Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Philip, who married Salome. After the death of Herod the Great, Joseph and his family came back to Nazareth from Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15) when Archelaus began his reign over Judea (Matthew 2:19-23). Herod the Great and his second wife (out of ten, Mariamne I) had a couple of sons, most notably Aristobulus. Aristobulus married Bernice of Salome and they had a daughter named Herodias. Herodias married her uncle, Herod Philip and they had a daughter named Salome. On a trip to Rome, Herod Antipas, seduced his brothers’ (Herod Philip) wife Herodias, who was his niece. When he returned, he divorced his own wife, and married Herodias.

John the Baptist rebuked and reprimanded Herod Antipas for marrying his brother’s wife, and then Herod Antipas threw John into prison (Matthew 14:3-4; Mark 6:17-18; Luke 3:19–20). Josephus (Ant. xviii. 5. 2) tells us that Machaerus is the name of the prison.^[1] Machaerus was located on a hill overlooking the east part of the Dead Sea. The Greek word that is used for “reprimanded” in Luke 3:19 is (G1651. elegcw elegcho) and it means to tell a fault, to rebuke, to reprove. Solomon said, “A scoffer does not love one who reproves him, He will not go to the wise.” (Proverbs 15:12)

Obviously, Herodias didn’t like John the Baptist (Mark 6:17-20), and at Herod Antipas’ birthday, Herodias had her daughter, Salome (from her first marriage with Herod Antipas’ brother, Herod Philip) dance seductively for her stepfather. Herod Antipas was so pleased with the dance of his stepdaughter Salome, he offered to reward her in any way that she desired. Herodias prompted Salome to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a platter (Matthew 14:6-12; Mark 6:21-29). Salome then married Philip the Tetrach (her great-uncle), the son of Herod the Great and Cleopatra of Jerusalem (Herod the Great’s fifth wife).

Luke 7:19 This is not the first time that the disciples of John had a conversation with Jesus. We saw in Luke 5:33 that the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees were together asking Jesus in a veiled attempt to rebuke Jesus for not having His disciples fast like the Pharisees and John’s disciples did.

The “Expected One” is a term for the Messiah. In the Greek this term is (G2064) ἐρχόμενος erchomenos and it speaks of He that is coming according to the prophecies.

Jesus often claimed to be the “Expected One” in the Old Testament. Jesus said that “Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” (John 8:56) and that “Moses…wrote about Me.” (John 5:46) and David called Him LORD (Matthew 22:41–45). Jesus rebuked two of his disciples on the rode to Emmaus after He rose from the dead because they were being “foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!” (Luke 24:25) about Him and “Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:27)

The Old Testament is full of references to the “Expected One” that undoubtedly point to Jesus: Throughout the Old Testament, anytime that you see a reference to the “Angel of the Lord” it is a reference to the pre-incarnate appearance of the “Expected One” (56 times in 52 verses: Genesis 16.07; Genesis 16.09-11; Genesis 22.11; Genesis 22.15; Exodus 3:2; Numbers 22:22-27; Numbers 22:31-32; Numbers 22:34-35; Judges 2:1; Judges 2:4; Judges 5:23; Judges 6:11-12; Judges 6:21-22; Judges 13:3; Judges 13:13; Judges 13:15-18; Judges 13:20-21; 2 Samuel 24:16; 1 Kings 19:7; 2 Kings 1:3; 2 Kings 1:15; 2 Kings 19:35; 1 Chronicles 21:12; 1 Chronicles 21:15-16; 1 Chronicles 21:18; 1 Chronicles 21:30; Psalm 34:7; Psalm 35:5-6; Isaiah 37:36; Zechariah 1:11-12; Zechariah 3:1; Zechariah 3:5-6; Zechariah 12:8).

In Genesis 1:1, we see the “Expected One”, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit creating everything. In Hebrew the word for “god” is “El” singular. The word for “gods” is elohim, plural. The word “God” here is Elohim (Gods). The Hebrew word for “created” is (H1254) בָּרָא bârâʾ, and it means to shape, fashion, create, and bârâʾ is used in reference of divine activity. ^[2] The word (H1254)  בָּרָא bârâʾ here in Genesis 1:1 is written in the Third Person Singular and as a Verb. So if you were to translate this literally, it would read, “In the beginning, Gods, He created the heavens and the earth.” What that means is that either we are dealing with some very bad grammar, or we are confronted with something unique about God. This very first sentence of the Bible hints at the Doctrine of the Trinity, see also Genesis 1:26 (the creation of man) and John 1:1-3.

His coming was first prophesied to Adam and Eve right after the Fall. God told them that Satan who deceived them would be destroyed by the “Expected One” in Genesis 3:15 and 1 John 3:8. Right before God cast Adam and Eve out of the Garden, He killed an animal to provide clothes to cover the shame of Adam and Eve’s sin, picturing Jesus being the perfect sacrifice for our sin and shame (Genesis 3:21; Hebrews 12:1–2).

The “Expected One” was to be a descendant of Abraham (Genesis 22:18; Acts 3:25; Galatians 3:16), from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49.10; Hebrews 7:14). When Abraham offered his son Isaac in Genesis 22:1-14, it symbolized the sacrifice of the “Expected One”; just as God provided a ram as a substitute for Isaac, so too was Jesus the substitute sacrifice for sinners (1 John 2:1-2).

Joseph, the eleventh son of Israel, was scorned and rejected by his brothers, and yet he became their deliverer. Just as Jesus “came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,” (John 1:11–12)

Every spotless, innocent lamb that was offered as a sacrifice foreshadowed the final sacrifice of “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29; cf. 1 Peter 1:18–19) The manna in the wilderness foreshadowed the coming of the “Expected One”, who is the true “bread of life…which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.” (John 6:31–58)

Beginning with Aaron, the first High Priest, and all those who succeeded him, they were all picturing the “Expected One” as the Great High Priest (Hebrews 2:17; Hebrews 3:1; Hebrews 4:14-15; Hebrews 6:20).

Boaz, Ruth’s kinsman redeemer (Ruth 4:1-12) was foreshadowing the “Expected One” as our Kinsman Redeemer (Matthew 1:21; cf. Exodus 6:6; Exodus 15:13; Job 19:25; Psalm 69:18; Psalm 74:2; Psalm 103:4; Psalm 107:2; Psalm 119:154; Isaiah 35:9; Isaiah 41:14; Isaiah 43:14; Isaiah 44:6; Isaiah 47:4; Isaiah 60:16; Isaiah 62:12; Jeremiah 50:34; Micah 4:10; Galatians 4:4).

The “Expected One” is the Anointed, King and Son of Psalm 2:2, 6, 12 (John 1:41; Acts 10:38; Hebrews 1:9; Matthew 28:18; Ephesians 1:22); the Holy One who is resurrected in Psalm 16:10; the Good Shepherd in Psalm 23:1; and the one betrayed in Psalm 41:9 (John 13:18, 26-27).

Isaiah foretold that the “Expected One” would be a light that will shine on those who walk in darkness (Isaiah 9:2; cf. Matthew 4:16; Luke 1:78-79; Luke 2:32; John 8:12; John 12:35, 46; Ephesians 5:8, 13-14; 1 Peter 2:9; 1 John 1:5–7). Isaiah foretold that He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; cf. Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:35) and be God with us (Isaiah 7:14; cf. Matthew 1:23; John 1:1-2, 14). Isaiah also described the crucifixion of the “Expected One” seven hundred years before it happened in Isaiah 53:1-12.

Now back to our text…here in Luke 7:18-20 we see a great divide among many people and commentaries. When John summoned two of his disciples to ask if Jesus is the “Expected One”, was John displaying some doubt, or was he trying to get his disciples to see that Jesus was the Messiah. The divide seems to generally come from the early church fathers that primarily say John asked for the benefit of his disciples, and the more recent ones seem to lean towards the fact that John had a moment of doubt in his faith. If it was doubt from John the Baptist, then why did he doubt? Wasn’t it he who declared that Jesus is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)? Didn’t he know the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah? Could his doubt be because John felt forgotten in prison because he had not experienced the “liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners” promised in Isaiah 61:1? Jewish tradition taught, with no Biblical basis, that a series of prophets would reappear, concluding with the coming of the Messiah. So John’s question, whether for him or for his disciples, makes sense, because they were wondering if Jesus was indeed the Messiah, or if He was one of the resurrected prophets. This serves as a good reminder that we are not to base doctrine off of tradition.

Judaism then and still to this day, ignores the prophecies of the suffering Messiah (Psalm 22:1-31; Isaiah 53:1-12) and instead they focus and teach on the coming of the Messiah to destroy the enemies of Israel and establish His kingdom here on earth. They have taught for many years that the Old Testament refers to two messiahs: Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben David. Mashiach ben Yosef is the suffering Messiah, just as Joseph suffered and was sold by his brothers (Genesis 37:28) yet he became their deliverer in Egypt (Genesis 47:11-12). Mashiach ben David they taught was the conquering Messiah, much like King David conquered the enemies of the Jews (cf. 1 Samuel 19:8; 1 Samuel 23:5; 2 Samuel 1:1-8). This teaching of ignoring the suffering of the Messiah (first coming) and only focusing on the conquering Messiah (second coming) was so prevalent that when Jesus rose from the dead, the apostles asked Him, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6) Jesus came in humble circumstances, born in a manger (Luke 2:7, 12, 16) to poor people (Leviticus 12:8; Luke 2:7, 12, 16). He came into Jerusalem “Humble, and mounted on a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9 cf. Matthew 21:1-9; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:28-44; John 12.12-16), definitely not the conquering Messiah that they were expecting!

Luke 7:19 “Summoning two of his disciples, John sent them to the Lord, saying” Matthew in his account doesn’t record for us how many disciples that John sent (Matthew 11:2), but Dr. Luke tells us he sent two disciples to Jesus.

Luke 7:19 “Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?” At this time, the nation of Israel is coming off of four hundred years of silence, they have been conquered by Rome, and they are desperate for the Messiah, knowing from the prophecies that He is coming. We even see this displayed in the Samaritan woman when Jesus was talking to her by the well in John 4:25. The word for “coming” in John 4:25 is the same Greek root word (G2064) that is used for “Expected One” in Luke 7:19-20.

Luke 7:20 The disciples of John then came to ask Jesus the question from John the Baptist.

02. The Response of Jesus (Luke 7:21)

At the exact time that John’s disciples come to Jesus to ask the question if He is the “Expected One”, Dr. Luke tells us that Jesus was healing many people. All that Jesus did here are in fulfillment of prophecies found in Isaiah (Isaiah 26:19; Isaiah 29:18; Isaiah 35:5–6; Isaiah 42:18; Isaiah 61:1). All it takes is just a brief look at the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah to see that they were and will be fulfilled by Jesus.

Luke 7:21 “He cured” means that Jesus cured the people of any disease that they had.

Luke 7:21 “many people of diseases and afflictions” The Greek word for “diseases” (G3554 νόσος nŏsŏs) νόσων carries the idea of something that is severe, dangerous and even violent. The Greek word for “afflictions” (G3148 μάστιξ mastix) μαστίγων is used to describe that which is weak or sick. This word emphasizes the idea of incapacity, the opposite of the Greek word used for “diseases” (G3554 νόσος nŏsŏs) νόσων.

Luke 7:21 “and evil spirits” Dr. Luke, being a doctor plainly distinguishes the difference between bodily infirmities and those who were demon possessed, showing us that not every disease has a demon behind it!

Luke 7:21 “and He gave sight to many who were blind.” This is amazing. The Greek word for “gave” is (G5483) ἐχαρίσατο and it emphatically means to give graciously, give freely, to bestow. What Dr. Luke is pointing out to us, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is the compassion and kindness of Jesus towards those who were in need of healing, especially the blind. This can be translated “and He graciously gave sight to the blind”.

The psalmist declares what the Messiah will do when He comes in Psalm 146:1–10. John the Baptist had heard about the miracle of Jesus, now Jesus was showing to John’s disciples that He was the “Expected One” (Luke 7:21).

03. The Message of Jesus (Luke 7:22–23)

Jesus tells the disciples of John that they just witnessed the fulfilling of the prophecies of Isaiah (Isaiah 26:19; Isaiah 29:18; Isaiah 35:5–6; Isaiah 42:18; Isaiah 61:1) about the Messiah. Jesus is showing them that the Messiah is here, but instead of coming in judgment as the conquering Messiah, He came first performing acts of mercy.

Jesus then told John’s disciples, to remind John, “Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.” (Luke 7:23) The Greek word that is used for “take offense” is (G4626 σκανδαλίζω skandalizō) σκανδαλισθῇ (skandalisthe) and it means to scandalize, to trip up, a stumbling block.

The LORD speaking through Isaiah said that He would be a sanctuary, a place of refuge for those who believe in Him. But those that don’t believe in Him, He will be their destruction (Isaiah 8:13–15). Peter quoted Isaiah 8:14 in reference to those who reject Jesus as the Messiah (1 Peter 2:7-8). God promised that those who believe in and obey Him would be blessed but those who refuse to believe in Him and obey Him will be punished. Paul writes that a heart that has not been regenerated cannot understand the things of God, for they are just foolishness to him (1 Corinthians 2:14).

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^[1] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Mt 14:3). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.

^[2] Whitaker, R., Brown, F., Driver, S. R. (Samuel R., & Briggs, C. A. (Charles A. (1906). The Abridged Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon of the Old Testament: from A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament by Francis Brown, S.R. Driver and Charles Briggs, based on the lexicon of Wilhelm Gesenius. Boston; New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company.