Please make sure to read and comply with our Copyright Statement if you plan on using these devotionals for any type of publication (including websites).

MESSIANIC MANDATE

John the Baptist, who was now in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus,  "Are you really the Messiah we've been waiting for, or should we keep looking for someone else?"   Jesus told them, "Go back to John and tell him about what you have heard and seen—  the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. – Matthew 11:2-5 (NLT)

      John the Baptist had formerly announced to the world that Jesus was the Lamb of God, the long-awaited Messiah. Now, as he finds himself doing time in a lonely prison cell, John becomes impatient for the establishment of Jesus’ Kingdom. He sends his followers to Jesus to make sure that He is really who John had declared Him to be. Jesus sends them back to John with the proof that the Kingdom is now here, and Jesus is the King – miracles are taking place that cannot be denied. The Messiah is living out His mandate, whether it is taking the form that John expected or not.

      It is not hard to relate to John’s impatience. Many times the Kingdom of Christ does not play out as soon as we would like, or in the ways that we expected. Yet, the Kingdom is now. The Christ is real. His will is being fulfilled and lives are being changed. It is not up to us to dictate how, when, and where the Messianic Mandate is fulfilled. It is up to us as Christ’s disciples to seize the day, to celebrate the Kingdom, and to join God in the experience of His new thing.

PRAYER THOUGHT: God, you lead and I’ll follow.