At the time Jesus had selected his 12 disciples and began his ministry John the Baptist was imprisoned. John was imprisoned because he had been preaching of the coming of Christ which the Jews rejected. He sent his disciples to ask Jesus "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?" (11:3) John was aware of the prophesy in the Old Testament that says, "Behold, I send my messenger before Your face, Who will prepare your way before you." (11:10, Malachi 3:1) So naturally John was curious to know if Jesus was the Savior. The question at first does appear condescending but we have to examine from John's perspective. If Jesus was the 'Messiah,' and had been performing all these miracles (chp. 8-10), John is wondering why hasn't He come save John from prison and possibly a death sentence? John is doubtful and quite confused at the entire situation. The will of God was simply for John to introduce the Messiah. Jesus does not condemn John's doubt but praise him. He says "among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." (11:11) Wow so Jesus is saying John is the greatest? Greater than Abraham? Greater than Isaiah? Yes! The fact that John was given the calling to bring in Jesus the Messiah was such an honor! But, Jesus also says that someone in heaven is greater than John, so being part of the kingdom of God is the greatest honor of all!
The rest of the chapter is Matthew's account of the rejection Jesus faced by the people in his generation. He came to give His life and save this world but yet the people rejected him. Even so Jesus still thanked God for those who accepted his message of repentance and offers an invitation to come to Him. He says, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (11:28) He offers a life of peace and rest. Yes! We can only get that through Christ Jesus.
Life Application: It's natural for us to doubt God when things in our life do not pan out as we envisioned God to do it. That's okay. We should be careful not to let our doubt turn into resentfulness or rebellion towards God. Just know that God has a greater plan for your life and use the opportunity to ask God to give you a better understanding of His will in your life. And when you feel rejected, simply know that Jesus understands the pain that you are going through.
Dear God, I know Your ways are not my ways and Your thoughts are not my thoughts. It's hard for me to comprehend what you are doing in my life at the moment, but please help to have a greater understanding of Your plan and help me to put my trust in You. My life is chaos without you and I want to accept your invitation of rest.
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