Jesus and John
Scripture Reading — Luke 7:16-23
John’s disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
Jesus and John (the Baptist) had little in common. John spent much of his adult life in the wilderness. Jesus traveled from village to village with throngs of fans. John knew one way to preach—urging people to get right with God through repentance and forgiveness of sins (Luke 3:3). Jesus took his preaching to different levels, and he displayed God’s grace and power in miraculous acts.
Luke does not waste our time with flowery statements. Jesus healed people of diseases that John wasn’t capable of curing. Jesus evicted evil spirits that were bent on ruining people’s lives. People who were once blind could share stories about Jesus giving them sight. John’s disciples saw kingdom miracles as they saw lives changed through Jesus’ ministry. And they reported all this to John.
Jesus told them to remind John of all they had witnessed. Jesus ministered to the blind, the lame, the leprous, the deaf, the dead, and the poor. These were the people whom God had chosen to include in the annals of grace. Jesus was pointing out that transformed lives made the most convincing proof that he, the Messiah, was the one who had to come, bringing the good news and new life of God’s kingdom.
There are miracles in our lives today too. Are you taking note and reporting them?
Savior, help me to see you at work in the transformation of my life and in the lives of others. Help me to tell of those miracles too. Amen.
About the author — Reginald Smith
Dr. Reginald Smith is senior pastor at Roosevelt Park Community Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he has served for seventeen years. He has also served as a pastor in Paterson, New Jersey. He and his wife, Sharon, have three daughters, Janelle, Katrina, and Mariah.
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