Written ~ 01-15-2024
Read Matthew Chapter Eleven
Matthew 11
Verses 2-3
2 John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, 3 “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?”
It’s an interesting question isn’t it? “Are You the Messiah we’ve been expecting?” It would seem to me, that John the Baptist would know Jesus was the Messiah, he identified Him when he baptized Jesus. But here we find John questioning, maybe he is double checking, just to be positive. It’s very possible he still wasn’t quite sure, like many people in that time. As we learned from chapter one of Matthew it had been four hundred years since any word of a coming Savior was mentioned by a prophet. That’s a very long time to wait and hope.
Here is the response Jesus gives John’s disciples…
Verses 4-6 (AMP)
4 Jesus answered, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me, instead accepts Me as the Messiah and trusts confidently in My message of salvation.”
Look at the evidence of Jesus, look at all He is doing! He has full authority from Heaven to heal the sick and make the blind see, raise the dead! The Gospel Message is being spread like wildfire. Yes, it is the Messiah, this Jesus… He is the one we have been waiting for. But there were still those who could not see Jesus for who He was, that’s why He says in verse 11:6, “…do not take offense at Me…” Since there were so many that did not believe Jesus to be the Messiah they were insulted by the things He was doing, instead of seeing this as the sign they had longed for… the Messiah was here. Many would fall away because they just couldn’t believe this man was the Savior.
What would we expect if Jesus were to walk the earth today? Or what if John the Baptist was here shouting from the wilderness that Christ was coming, in fact He’s here now! Who or what is it we would be looking for? What would they look like? Is it true the first century citizens got it wrong because they were looking for a king dressed in royal robes with an entourage blowing trumpets to announce His arrival? And were they put off by the wild looking man who was called John the Baptist? These two didn’t at all fit into what they thought the arrival of the Messiah would be.
This is what Jesus said in verses 11:18-19,
18 For John didn’t spend his time eating and drinking, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ But wisdom is shown to be right by its results.”
As we read the Scriptures and learn more about the character of Jesus, is it possible some may want to see Him as the image painted in far too many pictures, with Jesus in beautiful, tapestried blue and white robes and a glowing halo above His head? With His humble beginnings as a baby born in a manger, being raised by carpenter, then finding His way with compassion and mercy as He began His ministry, those elaborate paintings don’t reveal the truth of what He looked like physically. Yes, He is a King, the Prince of Peace, He is the royalty of Heaven, but on earth He is a man, easily camouflaged in a sea of faces. That could very well be why so many missed Who He Was. Just like John the Baptist, even he questioned, just to make sure.
This is the journey, to read through the New Testament to find out more about Jesus, to learn Who He Is. Do we recognize His character? Do we see Him as just a man or as the Messiah?
Let’s look at a prayer from Jesus to His Father…
Verses 11:25-26,
25 At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank You for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. 26 Yes, Father, it pleased You to do it this way!”
Let’s not be like the “wise and clever” who make up their own ideas about who Jesus is in order to fit Him into their agendas. Instead let’s be “childlike.” Let’s look for Jesus with the innocence of a child, wide-eyed and full of wonder, soak in the Scriptures like a sponge. If any of us are questioning, like John the Baptist did, “Are You the Messiah we’ve been expecting?” Pray that through God’s Word, those questions will be revealed and answered fully as you read through the New Testament.
Pray for wisdom to show us the right results (vs. 11:19b). Pray for each one of us taking this journey, that we find the Lord Jesus Christ in every book of the Bible, within each word. Pray for a childlike revelation.
Thank you Father for Your presence in each of our hearts, minds and souls. Teach us, guide us. Point us to Jesus.
~AMEN~