NOTES for Luk 7:18-35
18 And the disciples of John shewed him of all these things. |
19 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? |
20 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? |
21 And 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. |
22 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. |
23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. |
24 And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? |
25 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts. |
26 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. |
27 This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. |
28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. |
29 And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. |
30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him. |
31 And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? |
32 They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. |
33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. |
34 The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! |
35 But wisdom is justified of all her children. |
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Why does John, who himself bore witness to Jesus and saw the Spirit descending upon Him, suddenly send his disciples to Him with such a question? Perhaps he wants to strengthen his disciples' faith? Or perhaps in prison he himself was passing through the final trials of faith?
In any case, this question is extraordinarily important for us: “Art Thou He that should come?” We are called not merely to “believe” but to take a very decisive step—to take up the cross and follow Him. To do so, we must be certain that this is indeed He.
Jesus answers in the words of a messianic prophecy: let John's disciples judge by the works He performs. It seems that nothing else is left for us either: to look at what He does in our lives and in the lives of people we know, and to draw the right conclusions.
Readings for 25 July 2026
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