Matthew 11:2-3
And when John heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"
I love the verses from Matthew 11.
Poor John the baptizer has been arrested and placed in prison. Prison has a way of making you doubt what you have held onto as the truth. I think maybe John knew that that Jesus was the Messiah everyone was looking for. John may have even conceded that his role in this drama that was being played out in public was about to decrease as the importance of Jesus increased. But I don't know that John thought about his life ending in prison. The thing I love about these verses is the simple fact that John is having a crisis of faith. Was Jesus the one that he'd been proclaiming to be the Messiah? Was Jesus the Christ, the coming deliverer for the Jewish nation? The thing I love most about these verses is that when John was at his lowest point.....locked up in prison.....not knowing what his future held....doubt and questions all around him....he turned to Jesus for the truth. "Are You the One?"
What's even more is that John didn't wallow in his doubt. John didn't allow his emotions to run wild. He turned to the very source that held an answer. Maybe there is a lesson here in this Scripture for me. No matter what life hands me...no matter what my situation....Jesus is who He claims to be and will do what He has said He would do. You can stop with Jesus. No need to pursue any other avenue or answer. May sound corny, but it's true. Not the "church" Jesus. Not the "denominational" Jesus. Not the "religious" Jesus. But the real-deal-Jesus-of-the-Bible. Jesus has a way of saying to each of us...."I've seen your life....not look at mine....let's trade. He gives me life and I give him all my mess. Works for me.
Now here's where it gets strange. He doesn't give my His life so I can skate through my days care free and loose as a goose. He gives me His life so that I can proclaim...."Your (Jesus) Kingdom come.....Your (Jesus) will be done, here on earth as it is currently being carried out in heaven. In other words....I get to "do the Kingdom work." Praying for people. Feeding the poor. Visiting those in jail and prison. Casting out demons. Healing the sick........and yes....(are you ready for this? Raising the dead. I knew it. I could hear the collective gasp with that last one. But yet this is all part of the Kingdom here, the kingdom not yet of Jesus.
If you read a little further in the Matthew 11 passage, you'll find Jesus' answer to John's disciples. Notice what He tells them.
Matthew 11:4-5
Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see. The blind see and 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."
That is the truth we need.
That our God is not a bystander sitting off somewhere in a galaxy far, far, away watching our world headed to hell on the fast track. Our God is at work pushing back the kingdom of darkness and the devil through the actions we read about in Matthew 11:4-5. Salvation of a nuclear kind to transfer the hurting and lost under the covering of God's grace and mercy and love and compassion and a few other bazillion things that come from His heart.
That is truth we need!
That is truth I need !
God on you....
mb
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