Read: Matthew 11
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT: Struggles with doubt are commonplace in life, and even followers of Christ faces times of stress and crisis that create opportunities for doubt to arise. John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus whose ministry of preaching and baptizing "set the stage" for Jesus' ministry (in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy), was one of the most outstanding figures of faith in all of history. In fact, in Matthew 11.11 Jesus says, "Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist." Nevertheless, when John was imprisoned for his preaching, he clearly began to wrestle with doubts about the identity of Jesus. John had followers who continued to visit him and minister to him in the misery and isolation of his imprisonment, so John sent them to ask Jesus, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?" (verse 3). Jesus sent reassurance to John by describing His ministry, which clearly fulfills the prophecies of old that John would have known so well.
Jesus makes an interesting comparison in verses 16-19. He compares the people of that day to children who gathered in the marketplace to play games. When children played the pipe, they were pretending to participate in a wedding; when children sang a dirge, they were pretending to participate in a funeral. In Jesus' story, there were children who weren't happy with either option; they simply did not want to play. Jesus goes on to say that some criticized John the Baptist for his rough "man of the wilderness" appearance and isolated living, along with his fiery and critical preaching. Jesus also cites criticism leveled at Him for attending parties which included as participants some of the very people John the Baptist condemned in his preaching. Obviously, some people wanted to label as God's work only those type of ministries than appealed to their personal tastes and sensibilities. But Jesus says, "Wisdom is proved right by her deeds" (verse 19). In other words, it's often easy to let our doubts about the messengers and methods keep us from hearing and responding to the message. The validity of Kingdom preaching and ministry is proved right by the evidence of its fruit, not by the evaluation of the crowds or the acclaim of popularity among society's leaders.
It's little wonder than Jesus goes on in verses 20-24 to denounce the towns in which many of His miracles had been performed. They had seen the evidence or the "fruit" of the Kingdom in Jesus' ministry, yet many of the residents continued to doubt His message and refused to repent of their own self-centered sinfulness. Jesus is clear and direct: "No one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him" (verse 27). Jesus is not simply the agent of God's Kingdom...Jesus is the only revelation of God's true nature and identity. This in an exclusive claim that some will never accept, but it comes with an inclusive invitation to all: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (verse 28).
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