Matthew 11:2–6 (ESV) — 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 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.”
NOTE: Apparently,
John's time in prison has depressed his spirit. He had been very confident when
he proclaimed Jesus the lamb of God, but now he has his doubts. He asks Jesus,
in a coded question, if he is the Messiah. Jesus replies in code, quoting various
signs of the Messiah from Isaiah, although leaving one out, "proclaiming liberty to the
captives," which might be misinterpreted by John's capturers. There were
three Messianic miracles (healing leprosy, casting a demon out of a mute
person, and healing a person born blind), but there were many other signs, all
of which Matthew has just included in his collection in chapters 8 and 9.
Matthew's argument, underlined by this
discourse between John and Jesus, is clear, Jesus is the promised Messiah. The
only difference is that Jesus will not be the political leader that they
expected. That is still to come, in the second coming. Jesus first coming had a
purpose, his death on the cross for our sins, and his resurrection unto eternal
life in a new body. That is what we celebrate this week--the forgiveness of our
sins by their removal and placing on Jesus' body, and our hope in the
resurrection and eternal life in a new body. We see that now, and we have no
excuse for doubting. Thank you Lord!
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