Jesus and John the Baptist - Matthew 11
Jesus and John the Baptist
11 After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee. 2 When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” 4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
Reflection: Today, as Jesus moves from his challenging message to his disciples, he goes into the towns of Galilee. His mission was to give all people a chance to hear about God's kingdom coming here as it is in heaven, and to give evidence of it's working through the miracles. And today we meet again John the Baptist, who we know was imprisoned for his faith and preaching. John has a very logical question are you really the Messiah, the Christ, or should we expect someone else? And it seems appropriate, after all John is suffering for Christ, and he is wondering if what he is going through will be worth it, both for himself and his disciples. Whenever you are leading someone, you not only want to be following the right path for your own salvation, but pointing them in the right direction as well.
And notice rather than rebuking John for his question, he tells John's disciples to go back and report what they hear and see. Jesus wants John to be encouraged with the reports, which are in line with all the prophecies from Isaiah, the Psalms, and other prophetic words about Christ in the bible. Rather than admonishing John for his inquiry, as we will see tomorrow, Jesus uplifts the faith and courage of John the Baptist.
So what does this mean for us? Have you ever wondered if the suffering you are going through as a disciple will be worth it? Do you ever have doubts that Jesus is who he said he was? One thing is for sure Jesus understood himself as the unique Son of God, and Savior of the world as we will soon see. This is what got Him crucified. But we also see the compassionate side of Jesus, who knows our doubts and wants to give us the evidence we need to be sure of our faith.
There are many resources today that help believers be sure of their faith. A couple I have used over the years are the Alpha Course: an introduction to the Christian Life. Alpha gives an environment where people can ask any question about the Christian life through a series of ten weeks. Lee Strobel has written two great books called "Case for Christ" and "Case of Faith", where he looks at all the prophecies in the Old Testament and how Jesus fulfilled every one of them. And then also takes on in Case for Faith, the eight greatest questions atheists have posed over the years challenging the Christian faith. He does a wonderful job using biblical and other arguments to show why Christianity can withstand each of these challenges.
Bottom line is all of us will have times where we question is it worth it? The bible tells us in Romans that our suffering in this world is not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in Christ Jesus. And we see today that Jesus cares about our faith and has proved to us in every way, in word and in deed that he can be trusted.
Jesus thank you that you meet us in our doubts and sufferings. You know what it is like to be human as you were tempted and tested in every way yet without sin. Give us strength as we face the challenges in our lives, knowing it will be worth it all some day. Amen.
11 After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee. 2 When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” 4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
Reflection: Today, as Jesus moves from his challenging message to his disciples, he goes into the towns of Galilee. His mission was to give all people a chance to hear about God's kingdom coming here as it is in heaven, and to give evidence of it's working through the miracles. And today we meet again John the Baptist, who we know was imprisoned for his faith and preaching. John has a very logical question are you really the Messiah, the Christ, or should we expect someone else? And it seems appropriate, after all John is suffering for Christ, and he is wondering if what he is going through will be worth it, both for himself and his disciples. Whenever you are leading someone, you not only want to be following the right path for your own salvation, but pointing them in the right direction as well.
And notice rather than rebuking John for his question, he tells John's disciples to go back and report what they hear and see. Jesus wants John to be encouraged with the reports, which are in line with all the prophecies from Isaiah, the Psalms, and other prophetic words about Christ in the bible. Rather than admonishing John for his inquiry, as we will see tomorrow, Jesus uplifts the faith and courage of John the Baptist.
So what does this mean for us? Have you ever wondered if the suffering you are going through as a disciple will be worth it? Do you ever have doubts that Jesus is who he said he was? One thing is for sure Jesus understood himself as the unique Son of God, and Savior of the world as we will soon see. This is what got Him crucified. But we also see the compassionate side of Jesus, who knows our doubts and wants to give us the evidence we need to be sure of our faith.
There are many resources today that help believers be sure of their faith. A couple I have used over the years are the Alpha Course: an introduction to the Christian Life. Alpha gives an environment where people can ask any question about the Christian life through a series of ten weeks. Lee Strobel has written two great books called "Case for Christ" and "Case of Faith", where he looks at all the prophecies in the Old Testament and how Jesus fulfilled every one of them. And then also takes on in Case for Faith, the eight greatest questions atheists have posed over the years challenging the Christian faith. He does a wonderful job using biblical and other arguments to show why Christianity can withstand each of these challenges.
Bottom line is all of us will have times where we question is it worth it? The bible tells us in Romans that our suffering in this world is not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in Christ Jesus. And we see today that Jesus cares about our faith and has proved to us in every way, in word and in deed that he can be trusted.
Jesus thank you that you meet us in our doubts and sufferings. You know what it is like to be human as you were tempted and tested in every way yet without sin. Give us strength as we face the challenges in our lives, knowing it will be worth it all some day. Amen.
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