“Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” Matthew 11:3 NLT
Read Matthew 11
Have you ever been discouraged to the point of losing your faith in God? You may have one time been so passionately devoted, but when things didn’t turn out the way you expected, you are left with a crisis of faith. I think we have all been there.
Perhaps that is a bit of what John the Baptist was feeling. I honestly don’t think he lost his belief in who Jesus is, but he must have been quite disillusioned. Imagine, he had passionately declared the Kingdom of God and had prepared the way for the Son of God to establish His reign on this earth. He had baptized and discipled hundreds! He may have expected Jesus to come as a conquering hero and deliver them from this tyrannical rule, but that is not what happened at all! Had he been wrong all this time?
Here was the mighty John the Baptist rotting in a prison cell. How could it have come to this? He finds himself asking, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” (Matthew 11:3 NLT). I had often wondered how John could have gone from the spirit of Elijah preparing the way for the Messiah, to a broken man questioning everything he thought he once knew. Does anyone know that feeling?
Jesus was strategic with His response. “Jesus told them, ‘Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen— the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.’ And he added, ‘God blesses those who do not fall away because of me.’” (Matthew 11:4-6 NLT) Or, “Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.” (NASB)
Come on, John, don’t you see? You may not see God’s bigger plan right now, but surely you have seen enough to know He has it under control. Maybe that is a lesson for all of us. There is so much going on in our lives that we just don’t understand. This isn’t how we expected it to be when we first came to Christ. Yet, if we would just focus for a moment on what we do know and see about God. We can see His handiwork in all of creation. We have seen His work in our lives many times. Surely that is enough of a reminder to jumpstart our shattered faith when it fizzles. God is still God, even if we have lost sight of His purpose.
How Jesus’ answer must have cut John to the core. Even the great John the Baptist, the one whom Jesus had declared “of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist.” (verse 11), had the potential to fall away and lose his faith.
Maybe that is you, or any of us at any time. God has not measured up to our expectations, and we feel so let down. We feel offended, and we may even fall away. But, Jesus reminds us of what is really going on. He is still mightily at work and is in control. He just has a different plan than we expected. We are so blessed when we choose to trust Him for who He is rather than for making things happen to our expectations. Allow God’s plan to unfold and see for yourself that His ways will ALWAYS work out better than we could possibly hope. Just keep your hope and faith alive and adjust your perspective to the bigger picture of God’s amazing purpose in all of this.
Jesus continues the chapter to express his sorrow for the towns who have refused to repent, and He declares harsh judgment upon them. After all the miracles they have seen, they still refuse to accept Him. Even if Sodom had seen the things these people witnessed, it would still be standing today. They didn’t realize the privilege they had to have witnessed the miracles of Jesus firsthand. What fools they were!
Finally, Jesus concludes with a gentle prayer of thanksgiving to God, declaring that God has hidden the greater things of the Kingdom from those who think they are “all that.” It isn’t human wisdom or arrogance that will reveal the hidden secrets of the Kingdom. It comes from a pure heart and childlike faith. Then, it is only as God reveals Himself to us. May our hearts be right before Him, and may our faith be solid no matter what our circumstances!
My favorite part of this chapter is the final invitation Jesus gave. Let us take these words to heart, and may this give you comfort! “Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.’” (Matthew 11:28-30 NLT)
