Luke 17:20 (NIV) When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"
Long ago, when I read this verse, I thought to myself, "John, are you insane?"
Maybe that's why John lived in the woods, ate grasshoppers and dressed in deerskin.
"Are you the one, or should we expect another?"
I don't think John sent his disciples to Jesus to ask the question for John's benefit, but rather for theirs - and ultimately for ours.
Jesus responded with, “Go back and report to, John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor."
"Are you the One?"
There was no need for a long discourse from Jesus. I love His simple but not simplistic answer. "What have YOU seen and heard?"
This begs the questions to myself, "what have YOU seen and heard?" Or better still, "what has changed in me?"
"Are you the one He wants you to be?"
For a resurrection to occur, a death must take place. I ask: What needs to die in me, in order for something better to arise?
Psalms 51:10 "Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. "
Bring death to my faults. Give me a new life in you.
And so He did.
Happy Resurrection!
David Massey