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.” ~ Matthew 11:2-6
John was sent by God to prepare the way for the LORD. He proclaimed to the masses that Jesus was the Messiah. That Jesus was the promised Christ. Even though John had preached to the masses and baptized many, his faith was shaken when he was at the end of his life. See, Jesus was healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, and preaching love everywhere He went while John was chained up in prison. The Jews had preconceived ideas about who the Messiah was and how He was to save or redeem Israel. They expected the Messiah to overthrow the Roman Empire that was oppressing the Jews and to take His rightful place as King of kings and LORD of lords, yet Jesus didn’t do this. This caused many to doubt Him, including John, who led the way for Him and even baptized Him.
Today we face this same dilemma. We have our own preconceived notions of who Jesus is and how He would react to things without first taking the time to get to know Him. We no longer search for the Truth; now, we search for those who tickle our ears and validate our own biases. We’d rather stay chained up in a spiritual prison than to seek the Truth of God that will set us free because we don’t want to give something up. Oftentimes, we ignore the Truth of who Jesus is because we don’t want to fight the good fight. Because we want to stay in our own filth and muck where we’re comfortable and have a false sense of safety.
Other times it’s because we desire a Jesus that will bring judgment and punishment on our enemies, as I believe John did. It’s easy to be upset with God when He seems so distant, and everything around us seems like it’s falling apart, but always remember that God works all things out for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. Don’t allow your own idea of who you think Jesus should be cause you to miss out on who He is and be caught unawares and sleeping when He returns.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Trust Him Even In Prison.
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