In Matthew 11, John the Baptist sends to Jesus from jail and asks if He is the awaited Messiah, or if should they look for another. Jesus responds, not with a simple "Yes" or "No" but rather with a summary of His work: the blind see, the lame walk, the poor hear the good news, and then adds an encouragement not to be offended by Him.
The word for offended here is the Greek scandalon, which means a rock that causes someone to stumble on the road. Jesus was warning John not to get caught up in His previous conceptions about Messiah. Undoubtedly, John expected a conquering King who would overthrow Rome's oppression and set up a glorious kingdom in Israel. In fact, one wonders if John was not so aggressive in condemning Herod precisely because of these expectations. Perhaps Jesus' response was going to be the moment when John would realize for the first time that he was not going to be released from prison when the Messiah set up his throne.
Jesus always surprises us. He is often less than what we expect because He is so much more than we could imagine. It was this way on the first Christmas, it is often that way in our lives.
Have a Merry Christmas. May Jesus be more than you can imagine in your life, not only in this season, but all through the year.
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2 comments:
Jesus always surprises us. He is often less than what we expect because He is so much more than we could imagine.
Wow, I just love that quote. If you tell me you came up with that yourself, I'll be very impressed.
I don't know why, but there's something I find oddly comforting about a Savior that defies my expectations. The last thing I want is a Savior who would act like me. Please.
Yep, it's mine. But you need not be all that impressed. I've said lots of stupid things before and you rarely mocked my.
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