Luke 7:18

Luke 7:18 says, And the disciples of John shewed him of all these things.  The disciples of John began to tell him what Jesus was doing.  Verse nineteen adds, And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?  John sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask Him if He was the Messiah, or if they should look for another.  Today, when we hear about Jesus, we need to come to Him ourself, and then we must decide if He is Who He says He is or not.  Verse twenty continues, 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?  John's disciples, when they reached Jesus, asked them what John had told them to ask Him.  They should have been concerned about whether Jesus was the Messiah themselves and not just to answer John's questions.  No matter why we come to Jesus, we must decide for ourself Who He is.  Verse twenty-one states, 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.  While John's disciples were there, Jesus  healed many people of their infirmities, plagues, and evil spirits and restored the sight of many blind people.  This is what He is still doing today spiritually when we accept Him as our Savior and Lord.  Verse twenty-two adds, 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.  Jesus told the disciples to return to John and tell him what they had seen Jesus do.  We can tell people what Jesus did in Biblical days, but I believe more importantly we need to tell them what He has done in our life today.   He has healed us of spiritual sickness, restored our sight spiritually, and raised us from death by forgiving our sins if we accept Him as our Savior and Lord.  For many, He has done some of these things physically as well, and we need to give Him the credit and tell the people around us what He has done.  Verse twenty-three continues, And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.  Just as Jesus told John's disciples then, we are blessed if we are not offended by Jesus.  We cannot be followers of Christ if we are offended or afraid to tell the world that we are.  Verse twenty-four says, And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind?  After John's disciples left, Jesus asked those around Him about John.  He asked if they went into the wilderness to see him because he was a weak and wavering person.  Verse twenty-five adds, But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts.  Jesus continued to ask if when they went to see John if they were looking for someone who was finely dressed.  It seems that at times today we are more drawn to preachers because of how they are dressed than because of the message they preach,  and some even waver on the truth of the gospel. Verse twenty-six continues, But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.  Jesus said they went to the wilderness to hear John because he was a prophet, and Jesus said John was much more than just a prophet.  Verse twenty-seven declares, This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.  Jesus said that John was the one who was sent by God to tell the people to prepare for the coming Messiah. It is our responsibility today to tell everyone that we must prepare for the return of Jesus, the Messiah.  Verse twenty-eight adds, For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.  Jesus said that there was no greater prophet in the world than John the Baptist, but that even the least in the kingdom of God was greater than John.  When John was preaching, Jesus had not completed His work of redemption, so John was still looking for the Messiah.  Until we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we may do great things, but we are still less than the least in God's kingdom.  Verse twenty-nine states, And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.  All those who heard what Jesus said, who had been baptized by John, even the publicans, justified God.  No matter who brought us to Jesus today, we must put our faith in Him alone.  Jesus had not yet revealed Himself as the Messiah.  This was not fully revealed until His death, burial and resurrection, but He has been revealed to us today as the only Savior, and we must put our faith in Him alone.  Verse thirty adds But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.  The scribes and Pharisees took council against John, because they refused to believe that he was the forerunner of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.  It was a sad commentary that the religious leaders did not recognize the fulfillment of the scripture before their very eyes.  It is not enough to know what the Bible says if we don't accept it as God's word and allow it to become real for our life by accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.