He Who Is To Come
Matthew 11:1-6
1. And 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 3. and said to him, "Are you he 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 he who takes no offense at me."
My NIV translation of verse 6 reads: “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” Can you imagine John sending someone to ask Jesus that question? Are you the one? Doesn’t it almost seem absurd? What if he wasn’t? Is he going to say, “Nope, it’s not me, keep looking?”! So what is really going on here? I think John was pretty sure that Jesus was “it.” He just needed to hear the answer in order to discern if this really was the Christ. And his answer was everything. Everything hinged on Jesus’ response.
Jesus knew that, and responded to John’s disciples exactly as John needed to hear. He needed to know that scripture was being fulfilled—maybe he needed assurance for himself—that he was not suffering in vain—that his vision of what his life purpose was to be was accurate. He needed to know that he had heard God correctly. And his cousin, Jesus, knew that! And he told him all the ways that he had fulfilled scripture up to this point – starting with “lesser miracles” and then proceeding to raising the dead. Then his final statement is the clincher. “I’m the ‘real deal’ John. You can believe it! I’m the one you’ve longed for, prepared for, and preached about.”
Well done good and faithful servant. Keep up the good work! Jesus had just sent out the apostles to preach the good news. Everybody must have spent a lot of time trying to figure out if these guys were also the ‘real deal’ or just a bunch of prophets, magicians, or crazy people, of which there were many in that day and time.
History was ripe for the Messiah. All the signs in the stars and on the earth had reached a culmination—the earth had waited, breathless, for Jesus to come. Man roamed the earth, nearly hopeless, nearly spent. The last thread of hope was hanging in the balance of Jesus’ answer. And I think his answer was not just for John. It was for all of us. Trust in me.
I don’t need to know that Jesus raised the dead. I don’t need a miracle that amazes. I’ve experienced a few in my life. I’ve lived them through others and experienced the birth and lives of two children—and a husband who has stuck by me for almost 30 years. Those gifts are almost as precious to me and is God’s grace.
Would I still believe had I not had a strong marriage and two great kids? Probably. Would I have as deep a faith had I not been told of miraculous healings and other signs and wonders done through and because of God’s healing power and might acting in our lives on earth? I don’t know. All I know is that I am satisfied within my soul that Jesus is the perfect incarnation of my creator. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is, as he told Moses, “I AM.”
And most days, that’s enough. But some days, I do find myself asking, as John did, "Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?"
I hope you spend today in the assurance and blessing of being bathed in God’s grace. And that you spread the good news that “Jesus is he who came” to earth to demonstrate it!
Mary
