Works of Christ(ian)

Matthew 11:2-6 "Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, [3] And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? [4] Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: [5] The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. [6] And blessed is [he], whosoever shall not be offended in me.

Matthew 11.7-11 "And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? [8] But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft [clothing] are in kings' houses. [9] But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. [10] For this is [he], of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. [11] Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."

Come now, and see a man of Faith. Come with me, and see through the Spirit's eyes John the Baptist. For this message is upon me, and has been in my heart all week. God empower this pitiful servant so he can speak the words of life, and God, please God, descend on and speak to your Church today.

There are those who say that John the Baptist had a crisis of faith while in Herod's prison, and because he began to doubt Jesus he sent word:

Those who have not studied John's history are quick to jump to this "weakness" theory, and I suppose if any man had a right to a moment of weakness it was John. John was a righteous and holy man, imprisoned for recognizing and proclaiming sin as sin. When Herod married his brother Philip's wife Herodias John was quick to point out that this was unrighteous, unwarranted, and against God's Law. Herodias would have had John killed outright, but Herod feared and respected this holy man. He refused to murder John, even for the sake of his wife's pride, though he imprisoned John for his audacity in speaking the truth.

You see, John the Baptist was truly an uncompromising man of God. He knew his mission was to preach repentance among Israel, to point out to the Chosen Nation that that which she was doing was sinful. John refused to compromise, for he knew his mission was assigned to him by God Almighty. John could have apologized, begged Herod and Herodias for forgiveness, compromised the message that God had given him and been granted amnesty. John could have modified his message to suit the very best of Herod's household, and riches would have been his. He could have compromised with the world as so many before and after him had and have done, sanitized the Gospel message, and been relieved of his poor attire and poor diet.

Do you know what John did? He said NO, in capital letters, NO, for he knew his calling and knew who he was. He knew his mission was to be a Signpost to the Savior, to point all men to Christ by his words and his life, to refuse to compromise his message in order to be politically correct. John was quick to tell all who would listen that he himself was not the Messiah, but the Messiah was coming. John was quick to tell the Pharisees and the Saducees that their religion just didn't measure up to God's expectation, to tell them that they must repent, must repent, and look for the coming Savior. John preached as a man possessed, preached and lived every day as if the Savior would come over that hillock at any moment. He worked as an honest man will work, just as hard whether his Employer was present or not . You see, John worked hard at his ministry for he never knew when Jesus would come. Then one day He did come ....

.... and John baptized Him. No, John didn't want to baptize Jesus, for he knew that he was unworthy to do so. John told the crowd that he was unfit to even tie Jesus' shoes, much less baptize Him. Yet Jesus ordered this baptism, demanded it, and went down into the water just as all of John's disciples had done. Did John have a crisis of faith? No, not John. John was imprisoned for being uncompromising for Christ, uncompromising for his Lord, uncompromising for his mission. No, this was not fear, but something more. John sent word through two of his disciples:

John knew who Jesus was, but it was important that his disciples know who Jesus was also. John knew Herod, knew his weaknesses, knew that because he was held by a hedonist that his days were numbered. John knew his death was imminent and wanted his disciples to know and transfer their allegiances from the signpost to the Reality. John wanted his disciples to get their eyes off of his own seemingly hopeless situation and onto the Light of the World. He wanted his disciples to refuse to focus on the apparent realities and injustices of this present evil age and to begin to focus on the Christ. John knew who Jesus was before he was born. When Mary was told that she would give birth to the humanity of Christ, she quickly went to see her cousin Elisabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. When Mary cried out to Elisabeth John leaped inside of his mother, knowing even then that the Messiah he would grow up to proclaim was Jesus. John knew Jesus while yet in his mother. John knew Jesus while baptizing Him in the Jordan. John knew Jesus, but sent his disciples so that they would know Jesus, too.

John was, in essence, giving Jesus an opportunity to prove Himself to his disciples. Was our Lord offended? Did He back up in shock and chastise John for having the audacity for sending such a question before His holy self? No, John knew who Jesus was, and Jesus knew John's heart. Our Lord merely replied:

"The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them."

Can any question such a reply? John sent word to Jesus, "Prove to my disciples you are Messiah", and Jesus sent the proof in abundance. The true Messiah would know His mission on this earth, and would make every sacrifice to fulfill that mission. Just as John knew who he was and what his mission was, Jesus knew who He was and what His mission was. If one were to ask John, "How do I know you're the forerunner for Christ, the one who will point Him out to the world", then John could have answered:

"Look at my life. I have forsaken all for Christ. Each day I rise, eat a plain and poor meal, then head out to Jordan to tell others about Jesus. As I baptize I preach repentance, I preach Christ. My life has been devoted to telling others about Jesus. My works prove my calling".

When John asked Christ to prove Himself, Jesus said "look at my Works - are these not the works of the Messiah?" Jesus said it even plainer elsewhere in Scripture:

John 10:37-38  "If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. [38]  But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him."

The works were the works of the Messiah, for only Messiah could do these things:

Yes, actual physically blind people regained their sight because Messiah touched them. Yet this is not the greatest Miracle of all. To receive physical sight is one thing, but to receive spiritual sight is much more important. A Samaritan woman, racially rejected, stood at a well and heard a personal sermon that changed her life. On hearing that sermon she went out and started a Revival in rejected Samaria, the Harlem of Jesus' day.

Again, yes this referred to actual physical healing, but it also referred to the healing of man's spiritual walk. All people are aimlessly wandering, walking around, looking for something to believe in. Money, power, fame, sex, drugs, men and women walk in all kinds of ways to seek satisfaction. Some walk in religion, and one, Nicodemus, came in secret to Jesus one night. He had wandered in Phariseeism for so long, seeking satisfaction and peace with God and yet finding none. Jesus healed Nicodemus' walk. The spiritually lame walk!

Those who are diseased, outcasts of society, those who are undesirable, the person you just wouldn't want to go to Church with - Jesus cleansed them, made them whole. Jesus came for the undesirable, not for the desirable. Jesus came to heal those who were outcasts, the pitiful, the sickly of spirit and not only make them well but give them spiritual power. The man who hung next to Jesus on the Cross was such a leper, and said (Luke 23.42) "Remember me when You come into Your Kingdom". This pitiful wretch, perhaps a murderer, perhaps a thief, and certainly not our kind of people asked only for remembrance - yet Jesus gave him Paradise.

Those who sought for and only wanted the praise of man while rejecting the call of God were given new ears. As Jesus preached man stopped listening to his own feeble reasoning and the wheedling compromise of the world and focused on the sweet voice of Himself. Peter, James and John, fishermen all, heard to voice that bade "Follow Me". At this simple call their ears were unstopped, their heads cleared, and they knew that Messiah was present.

Man believed himself so alive, yet Jesus showed us all that we are all spiritually dead without Him. It was amazing that Lazarus came forth from the grave at the simple cry of Jesus, yet more amazing that millions have discovered new and empowered life through the Christ. When Jesus ascended to Heaven the early Church was persecuted, tortured, and murdered for believing in Him. Though killed in a number of gruesome ways, the Christian Church refused to fear physical death. What is death to us who have the promise of Eternal Life? We who call ourselves Christian were all dead at one time, spiritually dead, but have been raised to newness of life in Christ Jesus. This is amazing. This is Messiah. This is Jesus! Finally our Lord said:

Those who have no hope, those who have surrendered to hopelessness, these precious but rejected people have had the Good News of Salvation in Christ preached to them. This preaching went out to all, regardless of social status, and especially to the downtrodden. The Messiah didn't come with His own agenda, and certainly didn't come to fill His wallet with cash by fleecing the flock. No, the Christ came to offer hope to those in hopeless situations. He came offering the riches of the Gospel to those who had no riches, either physical or spiritual, of their own.

Jesus' works proved He was Messiah, just as John's works proved he was Messiah's promoter, His signpost, His special Prophet.

We know who John is, and we know who Jesus is - their works proved who they are. Now The Spirit bids me to ask you a question that will certainly offend, yet it must be asked. The question may hurt your feelings, or disrupt your comfort, or cause you to hate the messenger - yet it must be asked.

Do you know who you are? If you know who you are, do you live your life in such a way as to reflect your place in Him? What do your works say about you? It is certain that a person is saved by faith in Jesus Christ, yet true salvation brings each Christian to where he can see, where he can walk, where his spiritual diseases are eradicated and his hearing is restored. Those who were spiritually dead are now spiritually alive, empowered, and living for the Messiah. Not just on Sunday, but every day of the week.

It is a sad truth that the Church in America is slowly losing its identity because it has forgotten who its Savior is. In many Churches so called alternate lifestyles are smiled at. Those who claim to be in Christ often are living in secret adulteries. Christian employers bind their employees under poor pay and harsh labor. Churches are segregated, and people of color are discouraged from attending our services. Many of our Churches have forgotten that we are to be like John the Baptist - a signpost pointing the way to Christ. We argue and fight among ourselves, gossip, and to what purpose? Christ decreases when our message fails to match our works.

John knew who he was. Jesus knew who John was:

Matthew 11.7-11 "And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? [8] But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft [clothing] are in kings' houses. [9] But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. [10] For this is [he], of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. [11] Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."

For John's works reflected his calling. Do your works reflect your calling? Do your works prove your faith to a lost and dying world? If not, you must repent! If not, you must accept the Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord, as your Savior.