When the men came to Him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to You, to ask, 'Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?'" At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind. And He answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. (Luke 7:20-22 NASB)
John, in prison and evaluating a life spent pointing people to the Messiah, the One he believed Jesus to be, needed to be sure. He sent his disciples to speak with Jesus. "Are you the expected one?" they asked. John was saying, "I need to be certain. Reassure me."
Jesus was as busy as He could possibly be, curing sick people, casting out demons, restoring sight to blind people, and causing the lame to walk. People were constantly pressing in on Him, wanting to touch Him and the power that emanated from Him. With all the responsibility, fame, and "busyness", He still had time for John. He still had time for John's questions. He still had time to reassure an imprisoned and soon-to-be-executed man.
I'm not sure why people think Jesus was grumpy with John's disciples, but that's the impression I've been given all my life. In studying this, I hear it a little differently. We might disdain questions, but Jesus was not, is still is not, threatened by our questions. "Look around at the evidence of My impact on these people's lives. See what I am doing and see the miracles. Remind John of what Isaiah wrote. He said the Messiah would do all these things. Tell John the best thing to do with questions is to look for the answers in Scripture."
Jesus was exactly right. John had spent years in the desert, studying Scriptures and preparing for ministry. Although he did not have a paper (or electronic) copy of God's Word, he had memorized large sections. Now was the time to remember all he had learned, all he had hidden in his heart. He had the answers to all his questions already, safely stored away, deep inside.
There are two things we need to glean from this passage. The first is that Jesus has time for us, no matter what questions we need answered or how great our doubt. The second is that Jesus was right about finding answers to the big questions of life. We need to start in Scripture and recognize the fulfillment of those Scriptures in lives changed by Christ.
Do you have questions? Do you have doubts? Take them to Scripture and find your answers in the evidence of God's word in Christ Jesus alone.
Pray today that we and our loved ones will turn to Scripture rather than the world for the answers to our questions and our doubts, and that all our doubts will find their end in Christ alone
-------Here's the link to last might's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/05/maggie-flees-temptation.html
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