Matthew 11:1-6
I'm not sure about the chronology of Matthew. I wonder if v. 1 actually belongs to the previous section and if John really responds to Jesus sending out his disciples by sending his own disciples to Jesus to find out what's going on. I wonder if Matthew is using John as an illustration of the potential cost of adopting and spreading the message of the Kingdom.
Whatever the order of events actually is, John is beginning to wonder if Jesus is really who John and Jesus have been claiming him to be. John's circumstances have given him a lot of time to think, wonder and doubt and now he needs some reassurance. The message that Jesus gives to John's disciples is: "go back and report what you see." Then he lists all the miraculous signs that fulfill his mandate as given in Luke 4: blind are seeing, lame are walking, lepers are cleansed, deaf are hearing, dead are living and the good news is being proclaimed to the poor.
This makes me wonder what people are seeing today. As they look for the truth and wonder about the claims that the Church is making about life, the world and Jesus, what evidence do they see that the claims are true? Are the oppressed being cared for? Are the prisonners being set free? Are the sick being cured and loved? Is the good news making a difference in people's lives? Is the Church showing people a new way of living or just offering something that can be added to the old life they are already living? Do people see Jesus in us? in me?
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1 comment:
Good thoughts Jer. Glad to see that you are back. I think it is so true, we are not meant to copy this culture, people need to see and hear Jesus in our lives and in our churches, and I don't think that Jesus looks much like our culture. Can people tell by our lives and churches through the evidence that they see that something different is happening? Something beyound understanding, can they see Jesus?
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