Today’s Podcast
Today’s Bible reading plan:
Read it in a year – Genesis 36-39
see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)
Today’s Devotional
Matthew 11:4-6
Jesus: Go back and tell John the things you have heard and the things you have seen. Tell him you have seen the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers cured, the deaf hear, the dead raised, and the good news preached to the poor. Blessed are those who understand what is afoot and stay on My narrow path.
What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?
John expected someone to come and rescue the nation from the oppressive rule of the Roman Empire. When he baptized Jesus in the Jordan several months earlier, God showed him Jesus was that Messiah he was looking for. But Jesus didn’t fit the image everyone, including John looked for. John did what God asked and instead of finding relief from the oppression, he sat in a prison cell in Herod’s basement. Did he make a mistake? Was Jesus really the one he was looking for? Did God really point Him out as the Messiah? How could he still be in prison if the Messiah had come?
So, John sent his disciples to ask Jesus the ultimate question, “Are you the One we’ve been waiting for or should we look for someone else?”
I like Jesus’ answer. He didn’t answer yes or no. He just told them to look at His actions. Go back and tell John the things you’ve heard and the things you’ve seen. The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers cured the deaf hear, the dead raised, the good news preached. Go tell John what you’ve seen. That will be enough for him.
I think it was not to John, but to John’s disciples and the crowds that followed Jesus out of curiousity that He said those last words, “Blessed are those who understand what is afoot and stay on My narrow path.” I think those are the critical words for us, too. Do we understand what is afoot today? Do we look for the miracles God performs in our lives and know He lives today? Do we acknowledge His authority over all things and recognize His hand at work when He comes to our rescue? Do we see Him for who He is?
Jesus told John’s disciples to just look around and see the miracles happening around them and report back to John. He will know the truth when he hears their report. Can we look around and see the truth of God’s word around us? If not, maybe it’s because we’re not in touch with Him. Maybe we need to open our eyes and look around at the things He does for us everyday to understand what’s afoot. If you have a hard time finding miracles, just think about the process of breathing the air around you, the miracle of life. Think about how extraordinary it is that God makes you in such a way that your body naturally pulls in enough oxygen to power the processes that turn food into energy so your muscles can do what they do, so your brain can think, so your body can function, so you can live. Life itself is a miracle beyond description!
God is afoot!
The other thing I think Jesus wants us to know is afoot as He talks about staying on the narrow path with Him is that there are many things that would try to pull us away from Him. We live in evil times, as did those around Him then. Then, as now, the mainstream religious institution fell far short of God’s expectations for His people. In our churches, we say we are Christian, but often our actions are no different than the world’s. A Barna survey several years ago noted that the only difference between the churched and the unchurched in terms of outward behavior was that the churched didn’t curse as much. We used cleaner language. Wow!
If that’s the only difference between those who call themselves followers of Christ and the rest of the world, something is afoot. Many have left the narrow path Jesus told us to follow. People saw a difference in Him and those who followed Him. People noted the change in behavior when Christ came to dwell in their lives. Something is afoot when others cannot see the difference Christ makes in our lives.
How does this happen? How can we be lulled to sleep and become like the world and so unlike Christ? The answer is simple. We stopped listening to Him and started listening to false prophets that tickle our ears and make us feel good about ourselves. We don’t want to hear about sin or God’s wrath or judgment. We don’t want to hear about following His standards or living under His commands. We want to hear about His love and grace and mercy and forget the rest of the story.
But to listen to the good news, the gospel, we must hear all of it. Paul reminds us the wages of sin is death. We all are sinners and all our attempts to reach God in His glory fail. But that doesn’t mean we are hopeless. We have a Savior. We have a Redeemer. We have One who wants to rescue us from the penalty we deserve. God incarnate, in the flesh as Jesus, His Son, gives us that hope. But as with almost all of God’s promises, that hope comes with an if clause. If you believe. If you follow Me. If you obey Me.
Something is afoot. It is hope for our salvation. It is hope for eternal life. But we must follow Him to have it. What path will you take?
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