Modern March | a Christian blog

Posted: 18 Mar 2010 12:28 PM PDT

Matthew 11:1-6 – ¹When Jesus had finished instructing His twelve disciples, He went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

²Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples ³and said to Him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” ⁴And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: ⁵the 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.

⁶And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.

John the Baptist was Jesus' cousin, and the prophet who baptized Him. John was born to prepare the way for Jesus' coming. John has met Jesus, knows Jesus, is Jesus' cousin, and even tells people as he passes by that He is the Son of God. After all this, he still sends his disciples to ask if Jesus is the Messiah? Kind of a weird thing going on here.

In verse 4, He names the miracles that He has performed as proof that He truly is the Messiah (the miracles Jesus performed were prophesied well before He came).

What intrigued me the most the first time I read this passage was verse 6:

⁶And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.

The question I asked, and you may be asking, is: Why would any believer be offended because of Jesus? I mean, Jesus is God and His followers know this. Remember, John had already claimed that Jesus was the Messiah before this happened, so it’s safe to assume that he was a believer.

John was having a heart issue and Jesus knew John's heart. Maybe John is thinking, "Here comes Jesus! I have done so many things in His name, surely He will get me out of prison!" However, Jesus doesn't do this. This was God's plan for John. Whether it seemed fair or not, this was it.

So Jesus, knowing John's heart, essentially says, "I'm sorry, John. You are supposed to be in prison. You have fulfilled God's plan for you. It may not seem fair, but know that I am the Messiah, even if you think the plan my Father has for you is unfair."

You've been there, haven't you?

"Lord, why me! I go to church every Sunday, I try to live a good life but I am broke and miserable. I hate my job, my car, my wife, my husband… yet here I am, stuck in this place."

It's not always easy following Christ. God is not a magical genie who will grant all of your wishes. He knows what is best. He did create you. Sometimes He has to be called the bad guy (although He isn't) to ultimately be the good guy. These stresses and pains will set you up to enjoy your blessings even more when they do come.

John felt the same way. He felt left out and forgotten because he didn't necessarily get his way. God knew. God also knew that John had served Him well and would be handsomely rewarded in the Kingdom.

Maybe you are struggling a little. Just trust your Savior, you can never go wrong.

Filed under: Scripture Lessons