Matthew
11:2-3 When John, who was in prison, heard about the
deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one
who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
John the Baptist, mentioned here, most certainly did not merit
being thrown in a dark, dreary prison. John was the one chosen by God to
introduce Jesus to the world. He had become the voice of repentance in the
Jewish municipality around Jerusalem. There was also a family tie between John and
Jesus; they were cousins. John sent a message from his prison cell to Jesus and
asked; Are you the promised Messiah, or should we be looking for someone else?
We might paraphrase this question: Are you going to get me out of this prison?
We have all found ourselves in a similar situation, a symbolic
prison cell. There may have been times in our lives that we found ourselves
calling on God and asked: when are you
going to free me? Sometimes we work hard to serve Christ Jesus in His ministry,
and we still find ourselves walking through some deep dark valley. We wonder
why I am here during this valley time and when I will see the light at the end
of the tunnel. God has a reason for every valley we find ourselves in, and it
is always for His glory and our good. Mountain tops' experiences are lovely,
but things do not grow on the mountain tops; it is in the fertile valleys where
we find growth. It is the same for us as Children of God; our faith grows the
best when God tests it the most. We will place our faith and trust in Jesus in
the valleys because we can't see the end. The great news is that God knows the
future and knows that our faith will be stronger for our time in the valley.
The same Jesus that walked on water, raised Lazarus from the dead
and cast out demons from numerous people could have melted the prison bars and
freed John. However, Jesus chose not to release John but to send him the
message that everything was on the mark, the Kingdom of God was coming together
on earth. He told John that he had finished his mission.
One great day we will all go to live with Christ Jesus when our
mission on this earth is complete. There are no words in this life that can
come close to hearing that same message from Christ Jesus when our earthly
mission completes, and we hear the most incredible message anyone can receive:
“Well done my good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21)
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