The Gospel of Luke 7:20-23 When God Says...I Say, AMEN!

When God Says …

“When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight. Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.” (Luke 7:20-23 KJV).

It is intriguing to watch the disciples of John the Baptist coming to deliver his message asking if the Lord Jesus is indeed the One expected to come. This is a question of the person who declares: “….“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 NKJV). What happened to John the Baptist? Of course we note that he sent his emissaries from his prison cell. He was jailed by Herod for chastising him of his adulterous relationship with his brother’s wife. No doubt John may have been shaken, who now seeks reassurance of having accomplished the mission he was sent for. Or, maybe is he confused? Has he not seen the miracles and signs the Lord Jesus has been performing all around Judaea? This is a reminder to us that even to best of humanity like John, when things are rough they can be shaken. Hence, as John did, we too must come and approach the Lord Jesus and seek His affirmation. By grace, He will take care of our cares, always!

In the presence of the Lord Jesus, we’ll always receive His affirming assurance. He will affirm us with His mighty works. We’ll never get disappointed from the Lord. He'll meet us and clear our clouds of doubts and confusion. The Lord Jesus reminds John that He, Jesus, is the Christ. He is the Messiah whose way he was sent to prepare. To reinforce this affirmation, He asked John's disciples to report to John what they saw him do and heard him say, especially to the poor and the broken-hearted. And, further He reminds John that blessed are those who don’t stumble or sin or come to unbelief due to the circumstances about Him. The Lord Jesus was what He said, and He does what the prophets proclaimed He would do.

John the Baptist’s words were right when he had talked about the Messiah (Luke 3:16-17; John 1:29-34) even if his personal expectations of all that the Messiah would do were not exactly what the Lord Jesus did. In our weaker moments, we may want a Messiah and Savior who is different from the Lord Jesus - one who will do our bidding. But, the Lord Jesus did the will of the Father, doing and saying what the Father wanted Him to do and say. It is not Him who needs to be transformed. We do need transformation. Scriptures remind: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2 ESV).

And I say, AMEN!

Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries

When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.

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