More classic art masterpieces used as illustrations
TL;DR:
When John the Baptist's disciples asked Jesus whether He was truly the Messiah, Jesus pointed to His works—healing the sick, raising the dead, and preaching to the poor—as proof. Rather than arguing His case, He let His compassionate actions speak for Him. Even faithful believers like John can experience doubt, but Jesus responds with grace. His miracles fulfill prophecy and reveal the arrival of God's Kingdom. The page includes reflection questions about Luke 7:18–23.
Do Jesus' words to John's disciples in Luke 7 have any meaning for us today?
Week 6 devotional
7 18 John's disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, 19 he sent them to the Lord to ask, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?"
20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?'"
21 At that very time, Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 23 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me."
Wouldn't the final words of Luke 7:22 make a great sign on a church building? I've thought often about how dramatic it would look splashed in giant letters across the end of a building so everyone could see it.
I would not put it there to suggest that we were staging a "miracle show" in the building. I just feel that, in some dramatic way, we need to shout to the twenty-first-century world that God has visited His people.
To the worshipers coming to such a building, these phrases would draw attention to the celebration their worship should embody—the celebration of a personal relationship with a Creator who cares about His people.
Of course, my huge sign might have very little impact. Today, the idea of a miracle—a word that ought to send a tingle up our spines—has become blunted and dulled. Everything today is a miracle. There is even a "miracle" salad dressing!
In answering John's question about His messianic identity, Jesus pointed to His ministry of compassionate miracles. John's two followers witnessed an ordinary day in Jesus' ministry. He didn't slyly let them in on some secret revelation. Jesus simply told these two men to go back to where John was in prison and report to him on these happenings of an "ordinary day." That makes me wonder if the events of an "ordinary day" of ministry by my church today would be evidence of the Lord's presence in our midst.
The ministry of compassionate healing that Jesus had during His earthly ministry is carried on today by His Holy Spirit. Healings, such as those that confirmed Jesus as the awaited Messiah to John and his two followers, serve today to confirm our belief in Jesus as the Christ.
During our first home assignment, or furlough, from Italy, I saw a living demonstration of the powerful visitation of God to His people. In May of that year, I spoke in an evening service of the Mansfield, Arkansas, church where Johnny Lee Self was pastoring. Over dinner in the parsonage before the service, Pastor Self told me part of his life story.
Years earlier, injuries while serving in the military had paralyzed his left side. He became a wheelchair pastor and served the Lord faithfully for years. Then, not long ago, his health worsened, and he had to be hospitalized with a heart problem. His hospitalization stretched from days into weeks and then months.
None of this dampened Pastor Self's passionate Christian faith. He kept on loving Jesus and praising the Lord.
The doctors finally decided to try to replace a valve in his heart. Not long before that surgery, the Lord revealed to Pastor Self that he would recover from the operation and would also begin to walk again.
He shared that vision with his medical doctor. "I'm sorry, Reverend Self," said the surgeon, "but you're only creating a false hope for yourself. There's no way this particular operation will have any effect on your paralysis. Please be realistic."
But Johnny Lee Self knew he had heard from the Lord. Within days after the heart surgery, movement returned to his left side. When I heard his story, this once-paralyzed preacher was walking around Mansfield, Arkansas, without a wheelchair.
God has visited His people! Alleluia!
I wrote this devotional blog post while Barbara and I were serving as missionaries in Italy. It is one of a series of 52 brief devotionals published in The Standard, a weekly take-home publication for adult Sunday school classes in the Faith Connections curriculum published by The Foundry.
Note: Writing this particular blog post gave birth to the basic outline of a Nazarene mission book: The Kingdom Strikes Back!
—Howard Culbertson, hculbert@snu.edu
In Luke 7:18–23, John the Baptist sent some of his followers to Jesus to ask Him if He was the Messiah or if they should expect someone else. Here are five lessons we can take away from this passage:
