Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
1/9/18
Matthew 11:2-3 (KJV)
2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
Here is a man that most likely heard about Jesus from his mother while growing up, after all Mary had gone to her and told her story before the birth of Jesus. It is even possible that he had spent some time with Jesus while they were growing up. We don’t know for sure however, it is possible that John knew Jesus. We do know that John knew him when Jesus came to be baptized by John.
I have heard and read the book of Matthew, yet today these verses stood out to me. Why would someone who knew the truth start to doubt the truth?
Today’s Christians are being taught that God is a god of love, peace and prosperity. Now don’t get me wrong, God is all of that however, you don’t hear many preach the “Rest of the Story,” as Paul Harvey would say. Jesus is recorded in the Bible as saying that God is a whole lot more. Read Matthew 10:34-38
John the Baptist was in prison. I don’t know how long he had been there however, I do know that when you are under a lot of stress, which prison is, for a length of time, ill for a long period of time or even caring for someone who is your faith can decrease over time. If you are not experiencing constant interaction with what you know you can lose your assurance of it.
This is most likely what happened with John the Baptist. He knew it was Jesus but he had some doubts and wanted reassurance just as we do today. We need to stay in the Word of God, stay in our prayer closets, and stay in church. By doing this it will be harder for the devil to steal our faith from us.
C.I. Wilson