Luke chapter 7 and verse 18. And the disciples of John showed
him of all these things. That is, all the things that
the Lord Jesus Christ had been doing. For example, the healing
of the centurion's servant, the ministry to the family at Nain
and the raising of that young man. These things the disciples
of John showed him. And John calling unto him two
of his disciples, sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that
should come, or look we for another? When the men were come unto him,
they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art
thou he that should come, or look we for another? And in the
same hour he cured, that is the Lord Jesus, cured many of their
infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits, and unto many
that were blind he gave sight. Then Jesus, answering, said unto
them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and
heard, how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are
cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to the poor,
the gospel is preached. And blessed is he whosoever shall
not be offended in me. Amen. May the Lord bless to us
this reading from his word. John the Baptist had finished
his baptising days. He had dipped his last convert
and he had slept his last night under the stars in the wilderness. His current accommodation was
a prison cell in Herod's palace, but it was only a temporary address. Soon he would be laying aside
his camel hair cloak and donning a robe of God's glory. He would be entering into his
gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. John's
days on earth were swiftly coming to an end. Jesus called him a
burning and a shining light and soon the light would be extinguished
here only to burn more brightly and shine everlastingly in the
presence of his God and Master. And soon we shall join him and
we shall all be like our precious Saviour. Before John finished
his course, he had one more duty to perform. His had been the task of preparing
the way for the Saviour and pointing sinners to Christ. And this he
had done faithfully, baptising thousands, no doubt, and identifying
for them the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God which
taketh away the sins of the world. That was John's phrase and it
was John's way of identifying the Messiah. John had no doubt
who Christ was and he had no envy towards him for the growing
fame and success of his cousin and his God. His last job, his final task,
was to convince his own disciples that their interest now lay in
following Jesus of Nazareth and that he was the one whose teaching
and ministry would best serve their soul's future needs. as John's followers struggled
with the reality of their own leader's final days, the ending
of his role and the rising fame of Jesus, whose reputation and
ministry now eclipsed the fame of their leader, John the Baptist. That faithful prophet sent two
of his disciples to Jesus with this question, art thou he that
should come or look we for another? And I think there was great wisdom
in John's part in dealing with this matter in the way that he
did. No man can believe for another. And so John knew that the best
he could do for his followers was to put them in the way, put
them in the presence of the Lord Jesus, and let them see for themselves. Let them critically examine by
personal experience who he was, what he did, and what he taught. And furthermore, there was great
wisdom on the Lord's part in dealing with these men as He
did. He did not try to recruit John's
disciples. He merely invited them to watch
and listen, and then make up their own minds about what was
being said and done. Art thou he that should come?
Well, look and see. Listen and learn. And in verse
21 we're told, in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities
and plagues and of evil spirits and unto many that were blind
he gave sight. How many were blessed of the
Lord that we really know nothing about. How many instances, how
many occasions, how many opportunities for the Lord to do good were
taken here and how many in Israel and Jerusalem and Galilee and
Judea in that day were blessed in the presence of our Saviour. During the time that these two
men were with the Lord Jesus, he provided them with personal
evidence of his power to heal both the bodies of the sick and
the souls of the sinful. He both cured and ministered
the gospel in their presence so that they could neither doubt
his divine power to heal or his gracious message to save. I doubt
these men heard anything that John would not happily have rejoiced
in, so that the message they took back to him in his castle
dungeon was that altogether, the things that they'd seen and
heard were undoubted proof and a full demonstration that Jesus
was indeed the Messiah. and convincing these men in this
experimental way was both a wise and conclusive witness to the
proper identity of the Lord Jesus Christ. I think there are some lessons
here for us all. First, awareness and conviction
of the true identity of the Lord Jesus Christ is a personal and
intimate experience. We each have to come to the conviction
and conclusion that Jesus is who he says he is and that he
has done what he says he has done. And that's how it should
be. We're not Christians because
we've been born in a Christian country, wherever that might
be. We're not Christians because we attend church, or because
we pledge allegiance to a statement of faith, or because we uphold
a way of life, or maintain an appropriate moral code, or simply
like the idea of going to heaven. We're believers, we're Christians,
we're followers and disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ because
we're convinced that he is God and we believe the gospel message
of grace from and peace with God. There are many who take the name
Christian that I cannot seriously consider are true believers. And I do not say that arrogantly,
I trust, but based on my understanding of what the gospel is, the revelation
of God's sovereign grace and goodness, and what the Bible
teaches, it means to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as the
saviour of our souls. I am more than content, I am
delighted to acknowledge that the Lord knows them that are
His and it's not for me to judge. I'm happy to look to my own soul
as much as possible without judging others. Nevertheless, I return to this
passage and I simply remark to you that both John and Jesus
so directed these two men as to lead them to come to a personal
knowledge and conviction of the true identity of the Messiah,
the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the first point I want
to make. Here's the second one. We need never be embarrassed
or ashamed about our faith in Christ. The Lord showed these
men the evidence for themselves of who he was. They saw with
their own eyes, they heard with their own ears. Now perhaps,
as we've gotten older, Being sensitive about our testimony
has become less of a problem to us. I admit that for myself,
confessing Christ was challenging when I was younger. Perhaps as
we have gotten older, we've realised that all the vaunted wisdom of
the world that mocks simple faith in Christ is itself empty. and vacuous, and has nothing
better to offer by a long margin. The truth is, no one can ever
come to a knowledge of Christ by reasoning, by examination,
or by arguing. And I don't need to prove the
veracity of the Christian faith, and I couldn't even if I wanted
to, Knowing Jesus Christ requires faith and faith is a gift of
God's grace. And again, I do not doubt that
there are many who profess faith, but as I have said already, there
is a difference between commitment to a way of life and a knowledge
of Jesus Christ crucified. Faith in Jesus Christ is produced
by divine quickening, by gospel truthfulness, and by spiritual
need. And once got, it will never be
lost and no true believer would ever give it up. Which brings
me to my final point. Having come to Christ, having
seen His transforming miracles of grace, having felt His power
in conversion, should we look for another? Is
there yet someone else who could improve upon the Saviour, our
Jesus? It's interesting, to hear Jewish
people speak sometimes of how they are still waiting for the
Messiah, still expecting someone to come who will improve upon
the work and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. What does the world have to offer
a true believer? What can better what Christ has
done for us and promised to us? Who could do more to cleanse
us from sin, create in us a new heart, grant us His Spirit, and
lay up for us treasure in heaven? These men said, Art thou he that
should come, or look we for another? No, don't look for another. I am He. Look at the works that
I've done. Listen to the gospel that I preach. Look and listen to the evidence
of my life, my death, my resurrection, my ascension into glory, and
believe me when I say, I will come again and receive you unto
myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. The Saviour sent
these men back to John, not to convince John, but having convinced
them. Several of John's disciples became
disciples of the Lord Jesus. Was it these two? I don't know,
but I am sure that when true faith comes, we shall be blessed,
happy, content, joyful, and peaceful in believing that thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God. May we never be offended
at the Lord Jesus, our God and our Saviour, who says to us here
in verse 23, blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me. Amen. Amen.