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Matthew 11:2-15

² Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples ³ and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” ⁴ And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: ⁵ the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. ⁶ And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

⁷ As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁸ What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. ⁹ What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is he of whom it is written,

“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’

¹¹ Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹² From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. ¹³ For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, ¹⁴ and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. ¹⁵ He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

John preached that Jesus is coming, that the reign of God is at hand, that God is about to act. John pointed at Jesus and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” This is all exciting news – a cause for rejoicing. What God had promised right after the Fall into sin – that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head – it’s finally happening. That promise, the one that God continued to make and expand for centuries and millennia, is finally being realized.

This is more unique than the Cubs winning the World Series or the Vikings winning the Super Bowl. Start dancing in the streets. Throw a parade. But, hang on, we’d better wait. Before we start blowing the confetti and popping the champagne corks, look – there in prison, in Herod’s dungeon – there sits John the Baptizer. We should probably wait for him.

John hears about what Jesus is doing, but he isn’t free to witness it himself. John hears what Jesus is doing, and as great as all of that is, it’s hard to be too happy about it when you are sitting in a dank, dark prison. So, John sends his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are You the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

Now, there are two ways to look at the motive behind John’s question, and they both center around the question, “Who is doubting?” Is it John or his disciples?”

In our Old Testament lesson (Is. 35:1-10), God promises that the Messiah would come with vengeance and save His people. God had also promised that when the Christ came, those in prison would be released (Is. 42:7). So John might be asking this question because he is in prison. So, maybe, Jesus isn’t really the Messiah. John may be the one doubting. Others think that John is sending his disciples to Jesus because they are doubting because John, their beloved teacher, is still in prison.

Either way, it doesn’t matter who is doubting. Either John or his disciples are offended by Jesus. Jesus is offending some because it looks like Jesus either doesn’t care that John is still in prison, or that Jesus can’t do anything about it.

So today, this text should cause us to ask ourselves, “Does Jesus offend me?”

We know the answer to that question should be a resounding, “No.” We aren’t supposed to wrestle with doubt. We aren’t supposed to let the messes in our lives cause us to question Jesus and His promises to us. But, be honest, we all do. We all struggle with doubts and are offended by Jesus when our life doesn’t match up with what we have heard in His promises.

So, what do you do when the messes of your life are all you can see? What do you do when you lie awake at night full of anxiety because the demons in your mind will not be quiet? What do you do when you lose your job, when your spouse dies, when your kids abandon the faith and turn their back on God? What do you do when the doctors run all sorts of tests and still can’t tell you what is wrong with your body?

What do you do when Jesus lets you down? What do you do when you cannot pray because Jesus has seemed to fail you? What do you do when Jesus doesn’t bust you out of the prison of suffering and doubt, and it looks like He has left you there to rot? What do you do when Jesus becomes offensive?

Frist, and most importantly, don’t hide your doubts. Don’t simply go through the motions of what you think a Christian should do. Don’t project your anger at Jesus toward others. Drop your pretenses. Just be honest about how you are angry at Jesus.

Instead, listen to the word that Jesus sends to John. “The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me.”

Even though Jesus didn’t restore sight to every pair of blind eyes on earth during His ministry, in healing the ones that He did, He showed that He is the Son of God to bring healing to this fallen world.

Even though Jesus didn’t cleanse every leper and exorcise every demon in the world during His ministry, by cleansing those that He did, He revealed that He has the power and authority to remove the uncleanness of your sin and cast out your evil by the word of His forgiveness and absolution.

And even though Jesus didn’t tear down the walls of John’s prison, He did tear down the walls of the devil and the walls of condemnation when He went to the cross. There, on that cross, Jesus became the Messiah who took your condemnation and clothed you in His forgiveness. Jesus wasn’t maybe the Messiah you wanted, but He proved Himself to be the Messiah you needed.

On the cross, Jesus proved Himself to be the Messiah who has made you eternally whole, eternally clean, and eternally holy. And at the empty tomb, Jesus proved Himself to be the Messiah who perfectly did the Father’s will. He laid down His life and picked it back up again so that you can have eternal life with Him forever and ever.

When you are offended by Jesus, remember, that in the cross and the empty tomb, He has defeated all your doubts, all your afflictions, and all your diseases.

The Scriptures don’t tell us why God removes the afflictions of some but not others. But what we do know from the Scriptures is that Jesus is coming again to make all things new.

Jesus didn’t tear down the walls of John’s prison. Instead, in His eternal wisdom, God allowed John to be beheaded. But when Jesus returns, He will place John’s head back on his shoulders and John will live eternally with his Messiah. And just as Jesus has done this for John, He has done it for you. “Be strong; fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance with the recompense of God. He will come and save you” (Is. 35:4). Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.