“Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”-Matthew 11:3

“Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”-Matthew 11:3. This question always puzzled me that John the Baptist asked  messengers to ask Jesus. When Jesus approached him at the Jordan near Bethany, John  shouted: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John, had baptized his Lord and then saw the Spirit descend and remain on him-John 1:29. When did the doubt surface...was it being tournament in Antipas’ filthy prisonJohn had not doubted that Jesus was the Christ. But stuck alone in this dark and gloomy cell, he was assaulted by horrible, accusing thoughts. I have to confess that sometimes I feel Jesus had left me and the devil showed up.  When in so much distress those dark and doubtful thoughts just keep buzzing in my  brain. I believe John knew down deep inside, Jesus was the truth..he just needed to hear from him to put those thoughts to rest in the time he had left.  “Tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.” -Luke 7:22 John would recognize Isaiah’s prophecy in those words. This promise would bring the peace John needed to sustain him for the few difficult days he had remaining. In John's darkness Jesus sent him a sweet promise that would sustain his faith. He will do the same for us in our hour of doubt, he doesn't get mad with us because he knows us. 

Comments

The Good News said…
For days now I have been meditating on “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”-Matthew 11:3. Thinking about how we are trap in our own mental prison, were those voices force us to doubt when we are thrown into a dark and gloomy situation. Like John the Baptist ..he needed a sweet word from HIM to quiet his doubts in a very dark time.John, must of knew in an instants Jesus could free him from jail.As I keep reading theses words, I can't help but feeling for the children who have cancer and fighting for their lives, When we start to ask WHY, that's when the doubts start to flood our spirit...
The Good News said…
Jesus Christ had to understand fully every sin and sorrow that human beings could experience, and that is what makes Him seem unfamiliar. When we see this aspect of Him, we realize we really don’t know Him. We don’t recognize even one characteristic of His life, and we don’t know how to begin to follow Him. He is far ahead of us, a Leader who seems totally unfamiliar, and we have no friendship with Him.
The danger is that we tend to look back on our times of obedience and on our past sacrifices to God in an effort to keep our enthusiasm for Him strong (see Isaiah 1:10-11). But when the darkness of dismay comes, endure until it is over, because out of it will come the ability to follow Jesus truly, which brings inexpressibly wonderful joy.

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