Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see:Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:And Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and tell John the things which ye hear and see:
5 sermons cite this verse
… He's the one. We see a great illustration of this in Matthew 11, verses 2 to 4. Remember John the Baptist? He was Jesus' cousin. He was the one who was the forerunner. The Old Testament said he would proclaim that the Son of God had come. there was nobody greater in the kingdom of God than John the Baptist. And yet, did you know what? John the Baptist had moments that he doubted the Messiah. If you ever have moments of doubt as a Christian, don't condemn yourself. Don't think it means necessarily that you're not a believer. Even John the Baptist had doubts. And that's why in Matthew 11, 2 to 4, it says, when John, John, while imprisoned, heard of the work of Christ. He sent word by his disciples and said to him, are you the expected one or should we look for someone else? John's disciples were being polite to Jesus, but they said, Jesus, you know, you claim to be the Messiah and yet your own cousin, the person who believed in you most is in prison. …
Herod is still on the throne, flooding the zone. Are you the one that should come or do I keep on looking? I like that. That's a question that has faith, but it's disoriented faith. And, oh, it's a question. It's a question. Uh-oh. It is a question. Because a lot of us, including me, have been brought up to believe you don't question God. Uh-huh. I was told that after my dad died. I'm 14 years old. His death made no sense to me. How could he die at 46 with kids to raise and a wife to love, a church to lead? It made no sense. And I questioned God and well-intended saints there at my home church, Third Baptist in San Francisco said, you don't question God. Never question God. God never makes a mistake. I couldn't clap back, but I did in my mind. Well, he made one here and he needs to explain it to me. And y'all can judge me all you want to, but if life hurts you enough and you prayed and God is deafening in his silent response, there are moments when you will find yourself having some questions for God. …
… Next verse, please. Jesus, at that very time, was curing many diseases, so he replied, 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. This is Isaiah 35. The deaf hear the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Go back to Isaiah 61. The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. John's like, go ask Jesus that I said, are you the one? In other words, he's doubting. In other words, are you going to do what I expect you to do? So they said, okay. He said the blind, the lame, the da-da-da-da-da, and he said that the good news is preached to the poor. John goes, oh, he's quoting Isaiah 61. This is one of my favorite scriptures. The good news is preached to the poor. Look what comes next. He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. …
… Jesus said to John's disciples, go back and report to John what you hear and see. To which they thought, okay, that's not like really encouraging. We want to let you know. We've been doing that all along. He's not encouraged by all the things you're doing for everybody else that you never met until they asked. And John, Jesus is like, no, no, I want you to go back and tell him what you hear and see. and I want you to tell him this specifically. Tell cousin John, tell the prophet, tell him that the blind receive their sight. This is unheard of, this is remarkable. And tell him that men and women who've never walked before are walking and those who had leprosy are cleansed and the deaf hear and the dead are raised. and they say, okay, we'll tell them. They write it down, remember it, and they leave. And then, this is the best part, then Jesus says something for us. He addresses the crowd, but he doesn't say this for the crowd. …
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. May you have a seat. so if there's anything that we've noticed i don't know if you noticed this about this season right now the season of advent the season leading up to christmas um it seems like the season this season what we're doing right now what we're in the midst of is marked by so well so much is marked by so many things but it is marked by being in a hurry right it's being rushed being frenzied that we talk about them frenzy shopping or or being harried in fact the the term hustle and bustle. We've heard the term hustle and bustle. I think the only time I've ever heard the phrase or the term hustle and bustle is in relation to this season we're in right now. It's so unique. It's such a busy time. In fact, I looked, I asked a little internet, like, what's the busiest time of the year? And they're like, now, basically, now is the busiest time of the year. And there's so many people who are in a hurry. Like last week, we talked about this. Last week, Advent, this time of waiting or life of waiting is marked by worry. This week we recognize that waiting, for so many of us, is marked by hurry. And yet we ask the question, like right now you might be, again, frenzy, tussle and bustle, in a hurry. But how strange it is to be in a hurry and how …