That might be where John the Baptist was…have you ever thought about that?
John clearly knew that Jesus is the Messiah. He says as much when he calls attention to him. He sees heaven opened when he baptizes him, and he must have heard reports back about how Jesus was performing miracles. So why would he send several disciples to ask “are you the one we have been expecting, or is there someone else?” Maybe it was because the devil was whispering in Johns ear, telling him “Jesus is your cousin, he can’t be God…how can your cousin be God?” Maybe John expected Jesus to behave in a different way. All the Jews thought the Messiah would be a conquerer…John didn’t see Jesus advancing to power. Maybe John didn’t consider himself to be the manifestation of Elijah…who knows. We will probably never know exactly why John was curious. What’s important to realize is that honest, intent, serious Christians can sometimes get caught up in a wave of doubt. It doesn’t mean you aren’t genuine…it means you are human. We can’t stop the devil from whispering lies, and every once in a while we hear one too clearly. John does the right thing. He doesn’t let his doubt simmer and grow. He goes right to Jesus and gets an answer. Jesus answers in a way that will completely put John’s mind at ease. John knows the sort of things that the Messiah is going to do…and Jesus simply says “I’m doing those things”. That’s enough for John, he has his answer.
Jesus goes on to say that there isn’t anyone born of man who is greater than John, so being tempted to doubt isn’t a disqualifier in your spiritual life. And think of this…anyone who goes to heaven will be even greater than John. What must we be in heaven? It certainly is going to be incredible!
I’ve read the passage many times about the kids singing a song in the city square and wasn’t quite sure what it meant. But the New Living Translation words it differently enough that I derive this meaning: The people of Jesus’ day who opposed Him (the ones He refers to when He says that ‘forceful people oppose the Gospel’) weren’t going to be happy no matter what the messenger did. They didn’t like the message, so they immediately criticized the messenger. They said John was demon possessed, and Jesus was a drunk and a glutton. No matter what Jesus did, they weren’t going to be happy.
Sometimes we encounter those types of people in our lives. They oppose the message (even if it isn’t openly) and that manifests itself by criticizing the messenger. No matter what you do, you aren’t going to make them happy. What should we do then? I suggest that we treat them with love, not compromise the message at all and continue on our journey. After all, we aren’t taking this path to please men anyway….right?
Blessings,
PR