John the Baptist’s Question

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Scripture: Matthew 11:1-6 (ESV)

11 When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities. 2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

Devotion:

            Here in Matthew chapter 11, we have some great teaching from the lips of Jesus. We will spend the next few days surveying this chapter. In today’s scripture, we have Jesus answering a question from John the Baptist’s followers. John was hearing about what Jesus was doing in his ministry and was concerned that Jesus did not seem to be doing the things that John thought he should do if he was in fact the Messiah. It is apparent that John like most Jewish people in Israel at the time expected the Messiah to bring about deliverance from the hated Roman occupiers. Jesus’ actions did not measure up to John’s expectations.

            Jesus answers John’s question by listing his accomplishments. Jesus may have had in mind some Old Testament prophesies when listing his actions. (See Isaiah 29:18-19, 35:5-6, 61:1). Jesus had performed many miracles already in his ministry. He had done what no Old Testament figure had done in giving sight to the blind. Jesus was bringing the kingdom of God to his people, not in the way they expected, but with a power that could not be denied. The walking lame, the cleansed lepers, the deaf hearing, and the dead raised to life again, all testified that there was a power resident in Jesus unlike anyone who had preceded him. On top of all these other healings the poor had been cheered by his proclamation of the gospel. Jesus finally tells these disciples of John indirectly that he is the one who John had thought he was. And there was no need to wait for another.

            We still have questions about Jesus just like John the Baptist so long ago. Jesus sometimes does not meet our expectations. Therefore, Jesus’ words here should be an encouragement to us that our faith in Jesus is not in vain. There was and is a power that resides in Jesus. We are fortunate to have not only the testimony of the miracles that Jesus lists here, but we also know the miracles of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Truly we have every reason to believe Jesus is the true Messiah. Let us praise him:

Prayer:

            Let us lift our voices in praise to Jesus our savior. He heals all our diseases and has defeated death. Glory to God the father, Jesus the son, and to the Holy Spirit blessed three in one. Let our hearts be filled with gratitude for the wonderful things God has done for us. Help us to praise God forever and always. Amen. 

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