Matthew 11:1-6

When Jesus had completed coaching his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities also.

² But when John heard in prison about what the Christ was doing, he sent word by his disciples

³ and asked him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”

⁴ And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see here:

⁵ the blind are receiving their sight and the lame are walking, the leprous ones are being cleansed and the deaf are hearing, and the dead are being raised up, and the poor are hearing good news.

⁶ And blessed is the one who is not tempted to stumble because of me.” _________________________________________

when life does not fit

No one had represented Jesus better than his forerunner, John the baptizer. But time on death row can change a man. He had boldly proclaimed to his disciples that Jesus was the lamb from God, destined to take sin away from the world.[1] But, as he waits in prison, his life in the hands of the powerful and corrupt, he wonders.

John had come to a place in his life where his situation did not agree with his message. He had expected a different outcome. That still happens to believers today, and it can become a time of tension where commitment breaks down, or a time of maturity where commitment grows stronger.

Jesus gave John the perspective he needed. He showed John’s disciples that all the things predicted about the Messiah’s ministry to the poor and needy were being fulfilled. John’s predicament did not change what Jesus is all about.

There are definitely going to be times in our lives as believers when what we experience is going to seem disconnected to what we declare to be true. John had taught that the Messiah would bring freedom, but then John wound up in prison. The challenge for him was to keep living for Christ while his life situation did not fit his message.

LORD, give us the wisdom to faithfully represent you and the destiny you came to give us, especially when our present situations tempt us to stop believing in that destiny.

[1] John 1:29.