Matthew 11:1-6

¹ After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns ofGalilee.

² When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples ³ to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

⁴ Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵ 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. ⁶ Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

Dear God, there are two interesting things here: 1. John the Baptist doubted. Sure he was in prison, but his faith waned. 2. Jesus said, “Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” That implies that there will be those who stumble, but it is their fault that they stumble. But there will also be those who do not stumble over Jesus and his teaching, but embrace it and walk with it. Those people will be celebrated (blessed).

Regarding John’s doubts, this is so encouraging for me because he knew Jesus for most of his life. He somehow knew who Jesus was in terms of being the messiah at Jesus’ baptism. And yet, sitting in prison, facing death for being so outspoken, he doubted. He wondered if he had done it all for nothing. He had been so radical in his life. Should he have been?

So Jesus affirmed him. The affirmation is a little cryptic. I wonder if it was an inside deal with them. I wonder if they talked as children and dreamed of what would happen when Jesus came into his ministry. In essence, this seems cryptic, but it is a code that John would understand?

I wonder if this second part (about the stumbling) was part of the code too. I wonder if, as children, they talked about how they would offend and be rejected by some. John was looking for some peace and restoration of his faith. I never thought of it before, but I wonder if Jesus was doing that by taking advantage of the personal relationship they had had since their childhoods.

Father, there are times when my faith fails. Frankly, my faith was needing some affirmation on Monday. I took a day to fast and pray and then you spent the rest of the week affirming my faith. Thank you. Thank you for how you have answered my prayers. Thank you for how you will continue to answer my prayers. You care about me. You care about those around me whom you want to bless through me. So I submit myself to you and thank you for not rejecting me for my mini crises in faith, but, instead, you affirm me and bless me.