Luke 7:18-23

Luke 7:18-23 John’s disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” 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?’” At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. So he replied to the messengers, “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. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."

2 Corinthians 5:16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.

Jesus Christ, who was the Son of God, came in the flesh. This fact has always caused men to struggle, for how could God really come in the flesh. At this time, we see John who was in prison asking this same question. He wanted to know for sure that his relative, Jesus, was the divine one. John knew that he, John, had been a special messenger for God, but he now needed Jesus to be something more than a special messenger, a prophet, a holy man. He needed Jesus to be the one and only Messiah, the Christ. Jesus told John's disciples to report back to John what they had personally 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. He wanted John not to confuse the man of flesh, Jesus, with the man inside of Jesus who is the Christ. He did not want John to see him as a former carpenter, a relative, who now seems to be anointed; He wanted John to see him as He really is: the Son of God.

This aspect of Jesus being the Son of God has alway been difficult for men to believe. Many throughout the ages have failed to believe in Jesus the divine. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me. Paul said, I will know no man after the flesh, not even Jesus. He is saying, I am not going to talk to you about the fleshly Jesus, the man; I am going to talk to you about the divine Jesus. He personally knew the divine Jesus, not the fleshly Jesus. The divine talked to him on the road to Damascus. The divine asked Paul to stop persecuting him, his church. The divine Jesus arrested Paul from certain destruction and put him on the road of restoring humans to God. This is the Jesus Paul recognized and served.

Sometimes, we try to serve the Jesus of the flesh. We try to do good works as He did them and speak of love as He spoke, but unless we know the divine Jesus, the one who rescues us from eternal damnation, we don't know the Christ. Jesus in the flesh died on the cross and went to the grave; his life was over. However, Christ the eternal one rose from the grave. This is the message of the New Testament. We die in Jesus and rise with Christ. We are no longer our own FLESHLY SELVES, but we are IN CHRIST THE ETERNAL ONE. John who was soon to be beheaded needed to know: Are you Jesus the divine? Are you the one who will bring in the kingdom? Are you the one who will give us eternal life? The answer was: "Look at my works and hear my words and you will know."

He did not tell John's disciples emphatically that He was the Christ. He made it a matter of faith. Today, belief in him remains a matter of faith. As you read about Jesus, as you read about the many miracles and healings He performed, as you take in his teachings, can you believe He is the Christ? Yes, it is a matter of faith. Obdurate faith alone unlocks the door to heaven. This kind of faith places your life in the hands of Jesus. Are you there or are you holding back? Are you saying, yes, this Jesus thing might be real, but I am not sure? I'll test him or require another event to happen before I'll believe. If He gets me out this trouble or provides me with a job, or heals my body, then I'll believe. That is not saving faith: a belief in Christ regardless. Can you put away the Jesus of the flesh and believe in the Jesus of the divine? Can you put away the external, historical Jesus and say yes to the eternal one who will abide in you when you believe? These are all questions of saving faith. If the answer is yes, salvation has come to you; grace, not judgment, eternal life, not death has come to your life. Rejoice, for Jesus, THE CHRIST, has come for all of us.