Seeds for 08/11/2023 - Matthew 11:1-6
Scripture: 1 After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, He went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.
2 When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 to ask Him, “Are you the One who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
Observation: After training up the disciples and sending them forth, it was time to get back to teaching and preaching Himself.
The way verses 2-3 read, I imagine John, imprisoned and perhaps discouraged, experiencing a bit of doubt and uncertainty. He gave a great deal of himself to the ministry of preparation, calling people to repentance and pointing people toward God’s coming Messiah. Now, what if Jesus is not the One after all? It’s not so hard to put ourselves in John’s place.
Jesus’ reply is worth noting. Rather than demonstrating how the scriptures lead up to Himself or explaining the miraculous and peculiar circumstances of His birth, Jesus highlights the activities of His ministry. Instead of arguing or persuading, Jesus points to the fruit of His work. He knows and is saying that the authentication of His ministry and Messiahship is in this holistic work of ministry that extends the blessings of God to those most in need of them.
These are the sorts of miracles and fruitful work that Isaiah spoke about (and that Jesus quoted as included in His purpose in Luke 4): “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” (Isaiah 61:1)
For us the implications are clear. We can imagine someone asking if we are true followers of Jesus, if ours is truly His church? Rather than get defensive and try to argue why, I might look at my life and see what difference following Jesus has made. I might look at the ministries I support and participate in through my church. I might simply offer the fruit of our efforts as potential evidence that this work is from God and not from us.
James is surely right: “But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.” As they say, “the proof of the pudding is in the eating.” When Johns’s followers sought to authenticate the Messiahship of Jesus, He essentially said, “Taste and see.”
Application:
Where have you most seen Jesus working through you this year?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, lead me to be a doer of your Word and not a hearer only. And let my works point people to you. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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