“ And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.”
Matthew 11:14
Jesus has been talking in the preceding verses concerning John the Baptist with some high praise of his ministry. After stating that all the law and prophets had prophesied until John, He makes a short statement that if one was truly listening to His words, would tell them who He really was – the God man. Today is not focusing on that aspect – that will be in part 2.
Today we simply want to look at the opening statement: If you will receive it. It’s a short statement, but it contains a critical truth concerning the agency of man in his destiny. Let’s break it down:
“And if you”
‘If’ is the conditional aspect. The impact of John being ‘Elias’ which was to come, the importance and meaning of which we will examine in the future but briefly it meant that the Lord himself was visiting His people, would be placed in its right context thus enabling the individual who understood to benefit from the knowledge. Knowledge is power, for so it is written, my people perish for lack of knowledge.
‘You’ is to whom was being spoken. It was to the listeners of the day, and while that was some two thousand years ago, we can still bring this to our very time when we understand that the coming actions rely on ‘YOU’ and the knowledge, understanding, and resulting consequences of the knowledge in action all hinge on something to do with ‘YOU’. What is that something?
“will receive it“
The word for ‘will’ means to ‘determine, inclined to’ or as we call it, ‘will’. The will – what is it? I leave the question open, for whatever that will may be, it is clear that according to Jesus, the will is yours, and the will is subject to its owner.
Our last part is the ‘receive’. It’s more passive than ‘to take’ but it is by no means solely passive. It implies acceptance, to take with the hand, or in essence, to allow in. It is not speaking of being given a gift, rather, that a gift is offered, and one accepts it. That acceptance is ‘receive’.
Why labor on the point of receive? Because it’s important to understand the assent involved. The information that Jesus was offering was there for the taking. The key being, ‘there for the taking’. If one had the WILL to receive what was being offered, then they would understand.
Whilst what Jesus said here was in relation to what He was speaking about with John the Baptist, it is a theme, concept, and principle that are echoed throughout Scripture.
God respects the will of man. He will not infringe upon it. Consider in Matthew 13:58 where it tells us that Jesus could NOT do any miracles because of their unbelief! One could read that as, He was not received, therefore He could not work.
God will not push His way into your life. He stands at the door and knocks. If you open, He will dine with you. If you don’t, then He won’t. What determines God’s presence in your life? Your will. If you will to be in His presence, God is looking for just that. If you will to rebel, God will not stand in your way.
Some damned doctrines of devils such as Calvinism make out the ludicrous idea that God will override the will of man, that there is no true will of man. It flies directly in the face of statements such as these: If you will . . .
That statement of Christ is still echoing down through the centuries, ‘If you will receive it . . . ‘
The words of Christ are found everywhere. There is no shortage of the Word of God, if you will receive it.
If you will receive it, what would happen? What miracles might occur? What power might flow? What peace might come? If only you would will to receive it.
Don’t let it be said that Christ came knocking on the door of your heart and you never opened. Don’t let it be said that Jesus walked by with the will to do miracles but you had no will to receive.
Next time we will look at the significance of John being Elias which was to come. It was Jesus’ stating in a veiled manner that He was Jehovah in the flesh. If one heard in that day what Jesus said and had the desire to understand, to grasp the meaning, they would have realized that Jesus was indeed, God in the flesh, and they could act with sight not blindness. Who knows, perhaps there were those in that day who truly took it to heart.
May we find the desire to will to receive, to take all that our Lord Jesus Christ has spoken and offered for our benefit.
Talking Bible 