Matthew the apostle shared how Jesus told His disciples, “And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities. Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Are you he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which you do hear and see. 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. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me”, and in chapter eleven and verse six of his book, Matthew shared how Jesus questioned the multitude concerning John the Baptist as to whether they thought he was, “a reed shaken in the wind” where we read:
And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John,
What went you out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
The verse reads, “And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, ...” Matthew began with the words, “and as they departed” which means “and at the time and moment John the Baptist's disciples left and took their journey away from”, “Jesus” whose name means “Jehovah is Salvation” and is “the Son of God, the Savior of mankind and God incarnate” “began” or “commenced” “to say” which means “to utter, declare and proclaim” “unto the multitudes” which refers to “the crowds of people” “concerning John” which means “about and in respect to John the Baptist”. Matthew shared how John the Baptist's disciples left Jesus, and Jesus turned toward the crowd who surrounded Him and began to speak about John.
The verse continues, “What went you out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?” Matthew added the words, “what went you out into” which means “what did the multitude of people arise and go out to” “the wilderness” or “the solitary, lonely, uninhabited wilderness” “to see” which means “to behold, observe, learn by looking, contemplate and perceive”? “A reed” or “a staff, measuring rod or plant stem” “shaken” which means “agitated, caused to totter” “with the wind” or “by way of a violent agitation and stream of air or a very strong tempestuous wind”. Matthew shared how Jesus questioned the crowd of people about what they went into the “solitary wilderness” to observe. He wanted to know if they thought John the Baptist was like a wavering “plant stem” which was “caused to totter” with a violent “wind”.
When we think through Matthew's words in this verse, we see how Jesus waited till John the Baptist's disciples left before He spoke to the crowd about him. Though He told the disciples of John to tell him, “blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me”, Jesus spoke well of John without Him knowing. Jesus questioned the multitude as to what they went to behold when John was in the “wilderness”, and He desired to know if they thought of John as a “tottering plant stem” that was “agitated by a violent wind”. God has a plan for every person, and although they, like John the Baptist, may not be aware of what He has to say about them, God loves everybody and desires to have a relationship with them through His Son Jesus. Those who are wise will not be “offended in” Him but rather surrender their lives to Him as “Savior and Lord”.
Next time Matthew shares how Jesus asks “the multitudes” more about John the Baptist, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
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Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
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