Matthew 11:4-11 4And Jesus replied to them, Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed (by healing) and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up and the poor have good news (the Gospel) preached to them. 6And blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) is he who takes no offense at Me and finds no cause for stumbling in or through Me and is not hindered from seeing the Truth.7Then as these men went their way, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: What did you go out in the wilderness (desert) to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 8What did you go out to see then? A man clothed in soft garments? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in the houses of kings. 9But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one [out of the common, more eminent, more remarkable, and] superior to a prophet. 10This is the one of whom it is written, Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, who shall make ready Your way before You. 11Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
As you remember from yesterday, John the Baptist in a moment of pressure sent people to ask Jesus whether or not He was indeed the One. The response Jesus had was just another example of how amazing He was and still is. He didn’t rebuke John, He didn’t make him feel bad for his moment of wavering, He simply sent a reminder to get John back on track, then praised him to the people. In verse 11 Jesus says there was no one greater than John the Baptist. That should make us happy about the times we waver in our beliefs. Let’s face it, we don’t always have complete and utter faith that God is going to do what He says. There are times when we face things in life that perhaps make us question our trust in God.
I think of Elijah in 1 Kings 19. He was hiding in a cave, dejected, questioning his purpose. God came and spoke to him and basically said, “Get up, pick up your purpose, come on. I called you and no matter if you are wavering now, I still have plans for you. Let’s go” Isn’t it good to know that when we face those difficult times, even if we hesitate, or allow doubt and unbelief to get the better of us for a minute, that our great God doesn’t openly rebuke us, or condemn us. Remember what it says in Romans 8:1 THEREFORE, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.Instead He gives us a gently reminder of who He is, then stands beside us helping us get back to the place of faith. There is nothing we can do to escape His love, His mercy and His grace.
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