Immerse: Messiah - Flipbook - Page 342
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IMMERSE
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MESSIAH
11:1-19
When Jesus had finished giving these instructions to his twelve disciples,
he went out to teach and preach in towns throughout the region.
John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah
we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?”
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.”
As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began talking about him to the
crowds. “What kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see? Was
he a weak reed, swayed by every breath of wind? Or were you expecting
to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people with expensive
clothes live in palaces. Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is
more than a prophet. John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when
they say,
‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
and he will prepare your way before you.’
“I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than
John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is
greater than he is! And from the time John the Baptist began preaching
until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it. For before John came, all the prophets and the
law of Moses looked forward to this present time. And if you are willing
to accept what I say, he is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come.
Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!
“To what can I compare this generation? It is like children playing a
game in the public square. They complain to their friends,
‘We played wedding songs,
and you didn’t dance,
so we played funeral songs,
and you didn’t mourn.’
For John didn’t spend his time eating and drinking, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks,
and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors
and other sinners!’ But wisdom is shown to be right by its results.”
