Expectation

Matthew 11:1-6 (Message)

When Jesus finished placing this charge before his twelve disciples, he went on to teach and preach in their villages.

John, meanwhile, had been locked up in prison. When he got wind of what Jesus was doing, he sent his own disciples to ask, "Are you the One we've been expecting, or are we still waiting?" Jesus told them, "Go back and tell John what's going on:

The blind see,
The lame walk,
Lepers are cleansed,
The deaf hear,
The dead are raised,
The wretched of the earth learn that God is on their side.

"Is this what you were expecting? Then count yourselves most blessed!"

As the old phrase says..."If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck...it's probably a duck."

I love what Jesus has to say about himself, when asked about his identity by the disciples of John the Baptist.

"Do the blind see? Do the lame walk? Is this what you expected?"

Where is God at work today? Where is the presence of Christ working hard and producing the kingdom around us?

Are lives changed? Is sin overcome? Do the spiritually "dead" and "lame" begin to walk and live new lives of faith and transformation?

Most of all...do those considered "wretched" by the world learn that "God is on their side?"

Where these things happen...the messiah has been found.

Jesus question still hangs in the air for those of us who would follow him today. As we come to the close of this Advent season and begin to celebrate the birth of Christ....

Is this what we expected? God, give us these expectations...and bring them into reality through the work of your spirit in our hearts.

Prayer: The world today still wonders about Jesus..."are you the one we've been expecting?" May you give your disciples grace to live in such a way that the truth of Jesus may be known in all places.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Tomorrow's Scripture: Matthew 11:7-11