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Luke 7:28 “For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

   Only Jesus would know how to say something so flattering about someone else and yet bring great glory to Himself at the same time. He here mentions those ‘born of women’, and it is easy for us to pass over that and miss the significance. This is not a generic reference to humankind. Adam had no mother or father, but though the first man, he still counts as a general member of humanity. However, there is another human who was born of a woman, but not of a man. That is, of course, Jesus Himself. So Jesus is here referring to humanity in a unique way in that He is at the same time highlighting that which we share with Him, and that which we do not. We share with Him a human mother, we do not share a human father.
   Jesus goes on to say that there is not a greater prophet that John, but that one who is least in the kingdom is greater than he. Though this has been taken variously, I believe it is a reference to Christ Himself. I say this first for the reason mentioned above, due to how He frames this whole sentence. But then secondly, Jesus later tells His disciples that whichever of them would be great, should seek to be the least, and that He had come to minister to all. So it would not be incongruous for Him to speak of Himself as the ‘least’ while at the same time confirming He is the greatest.
   Also, John had made statements about Jesus increasing and himself decreasing, and Christ knew that. In addition, Jesus did not enter upon this discourse for the purpose of bragging on John. Instead, though He does John great honor, he is pointing out Who John came to lead humanity to, Himself.

   Heavenly Father, make me always full of wonder a the Person of Christ! Jesus is Brilliant beyond all imagining. He is Your Glorious One. I will forever praise You Father in Your Son! You have made everything perfect in Him. I cannot but put my hand on my mouth in awe at His wonderful wisdom and truth. I love You Father! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 7:27 “This is he of whom it is written:`Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.'”

   This quote comes from Malachi chapter 3, verse 1. It is important to do your homework when you are trying to learn from Jesus. Our Lord is not interested in un-interested followers. Jesus quotes only part of this verse here. He could have gone on to quote more specifically about the Lord coming to His temple suddenly. But He is not recorded here as doing so. Why? Jesus wanted people to connect the dots. He wasn’t ministering to the spiritually ignorant, just the spiritually blind. The Jewish people had the truth in hand, but did not see it for what it was.

   Heavenly Father, give us ears to hear and eyes to see wonderful things in Your Word! Thank You for Your truth! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 7:26 “But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.”

   Jesus here confirms that John the Baptist was indeed a prophet. He was to be included in the long line of God’s men who had spoken to the people of the Messiah. But, he was different in so many ways. And he was so much more than they could have ever hoped to be.
   John’s rank among the prophets is here established by the One Whom the message was about. As the heralds of the Messiah, these prophets were all servants of Him. Jesus is eminently qualified to determine the importance, significance, and preeminence of the ministry of John the Baptizer. We cannot argue with the designation.
   What, however, is the goal of Christ in bringing this ranking of the prophets to light? What is the motivation here? The cold indifference of the religious leadership to the coming of the Messiah is all we need look for as the reason. This generation of the Jews stood poised to completely reject the Son from heaven. They needed to understand that John was not just another of the prophets, but that he was the forerunner, the one who would signal the coming of the Lord of Sabbath to His temple.

   Heavenly Father, we live in a day in which everywhere we find those who would embrace the message of ‘love thy neighbor’ and yet stand ready at all times to stab their neighbor in the back. This present, confusing, spiritual landscape is full of information, indoctrination, and inflammation. But dedication, discipline, and determination, these are rare gems, hard to find. The time for good to be called evil and evil to be called good seems just around the corner. Yet, in spite of all this, we dare not interpret the signs without Your Word as our guide. We know we live in the last days. We know we approach the end even now. But, we also know this is the time for Your grace. You are claiming a people for Your Name. You are at work. You have not stopped, slowed, or slackened. Thus we must, to keep with our Lord in all things, be busy about the work You have left us to do. We must make disciples. And we may cry for Your blessings when it is Your work we are trying to do. Bless us we pray, but only as we seek to obey! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 7:25 “But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings’ courts.”

   Jesus does not here mean to say that a prophet cannot live in a king’s court. Daniel, Joseph, and Nehemiah were great men of God who did indeed enjoy this luxury. However, these Men, like John, did not take full advantage of the luxury for their own fleshly enjoyment, but instead used their advantage for the benefit of others. In the same way Jesus means to say that John was a man who could have, by his abilities, served in a king’s presence. But instead of being in that place of honor, John had been set in a place of low esteem. And it was his low position that gave his particular message such great power. His words reached the king’s court, even though he himself never enjoyed its company.

   Heavenly Father, we spend much of our lives worried about our position in this world. But in truth our position before You is all that matters. I will cast off considerations of my own importance and focus on Your grandeur. You are in that high and holy position as King over all. It is my privilege and honor to serve You all the days of my life. In eternity forever and ever we will wonder, awed by Your glory and majesty! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 7:24 “When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?”

   John the Baptist was not one influenced by his time, but who influenced his time. He brought a great change to the Jewish people of his day. His ministry was quite successful. And he never once let his success go to his head. He stayed on target and on task and made a big impact as he prepared the nation for the Messiah.

   Heavenly Father, You are glorious and wondrous! Your creation is a beautiful witness to Your grandeur. Thank You for making Yourself known to us. Only You can make these wonderful things. Make us to know Your great wisdom and love. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 7:23 “And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

   This also was to be told to John the Baptizer to answer his concern. And, it is a good word of encouragement for a whole host of those who have taken the message of Christ under consideration. Many have been offended. They have questioned the ways and means of Christ. They have wondered about His timing, questioned His teachings, and belittled His miracles. Indeed, it seems it is always easier for humans to critique a savior than to depend upon one.
   Also this is a fulfillment of prophecy, from Isaiah 8:14-15. Jesus was a trip hazard for the Jewish nation. This is not intended to cause confusion. But, upon a careful reading of the later part of the Old Testament we come to understand that the work of God with man would no longer be as focused upon the Hebrews. Instead, as a nation, Israel would reject their own coming King, the Lord Jesus Christ. This obviously does not at all mean that no Jews can, did, or will accept Christ. Quite on the contrary, the Jews championed the gospel and the church at the very first. But, as a nation they did not recognize and accept Him in the way that they claimed they would, and orthodox Jews still claim they will. And this failure was foretold, and the ministry of Jesus and the circumstances of it fall perfectly in line with this prophecy. Any pretender would not have done the same.

   Heavenly Father, make us Your people. We must come in humility regardless of our nationality. May we not miss the wonderful blessings that are to be found in Christ. And may we never forget what a mercy it is that You have made Yourself known to us. How could we have any hope otherwise? Never will we ever know just how awful we could become without the work of Your Spirit in our world. Give us love for each other and make us holy we pray! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 7:22 “Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.”

   The things Jesus here mentions are all fulfillment of prophecy. However, in the same passages where we find many of these, there is also a theme of the release of prisoners. It may be that John was hoping Jesus would get him released from prison.
   But, this would require a direct intervention in the political machine. During His earthly ministry Jesus did not directly influence the politics, but allowed all to run its course. This ultimately led to His crucifixion. So to be sure it was difficult for John, just as for Christ’s other disciples, to understand the plan as it unfolded. The expectation they were working off of was that Jesus would at that time set up His earthly kingdom. And this would get John out of prison and relegate him to a place of honor.
   We need not be hard on John. Jesus wasn’t. He knew what John was going through and encouraged him. John was the first great preacher of Christ, but he was also the first to suffer for Christ’s sake.

   Heavenly Father, You alone know the end from the beginning. You know the plans You have for us. You have everything figured out. We need not worry about tomorrow, or ten thousand years from now, You are in both and have control over it all. We can trust You with the future, even when the present seems cloudy. You have brought to our lives the light of Your Son. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 7:21 “And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight.”

   The miracle ministry of Jesus was unmatched by any previous prophet of God. His works were many and very unique in their extent and power. But, more than that, as we see here, they were a fulfillment of prophecy. It had already been predicted by the prophets that the Christ would work many miracles.
   It is important for us to understand the role of miracles in connection with belief. Many of us today have the idea that seeing Christ perform countless miracles would automatically make us and everyone we know believe in Him. However, we discover a different dynamic upon reading the gospels. Miracles did not guarantee belief. They garnered popularity, and created an attachment between many people and Christ. But, they could not bring folks to the right conclusion about the identity of Christ all by themselves. Yes there were exceptions to this. But in the case of such exceptions the persons involved were already prepared for belief by other means.
   Thus, it is important to understand that the miracles of Christ served primarily as a fulfillment of prophecy. They stood as testimony to the veracity of Christ’s claims. But Jesus didn’t expect people to believe only on the basis of miracles. He offered the miracles as a bolster to His teaching. And it was His teaching concerning Himself that He put forth primarily as the thing to believe.

   Heavenly Father, thank You for each day that You give to us. May we never forget that we belong to You. Your world stands in darkness in so many ways, and yet the light of the gospel of Christ has made it altogether a different place than it would otherwise be. Give us great understanding, Lord, that we may know Your wisdom in what You have done in this world. We praise You for Your great faithfulness, and Your perfection. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 7:20 “When the men had come to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying,`Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?'”

   Even today we may ask the same question and find good reason to answer it in favor of Jesus as all that He claimed to be. Indeed, the message of Christ is still believed these two thousand years later. There is not a person or event in history to overshadow the reality of Christ Jesus. His life, death, resurrection, and all that has followed are abundant evidence that He is Someone altogether different from what this world always produces.
   Consider for a moment the cold facts of the situation. With Jesus you have a man, and He is compared all the time to other men. And yet people still recognize that there is something different about Him. With Him you are presented with a narrative about resurrection, and yet thinking, intelligent people accept the narrative as the honest truth. With Him your have the Jewish people, which have yet to be stopped or stamped out, in spite of wishes for their extinction from many directions. You have the church, which has grown worldwide and marches on without anything giving it cause to stop.  You have then the fact of the Bible. It is an ancient book, and yet it is so modern in its application as to still be challenging us to prove or disprove its claims in our new technocracies. And, in spite of all claims from pop science theories, good science cannot refute the enduring belief in the creation of the cosmos by God, just as the book of Genesis reports it.
   In short, everyone must ask themselves, “Is Jesus the One, or do we need to look for something or someone else?”

   Heavenly Father, as we think over Your Word, and the history of this world, we cannot ignore the amazing veracity of the gospel message. It calls us to repentance, and gives us hope for the days ahead. May we never forget all that has come before and go into tomorrow with the lessons of yesterday upon us. We will give You the glory for it all, Father! You are worthy of all honor and praise! You are the Perfect God! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 7:19 “And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

   This is, very honestly, one of the most difficult passages in Scripture. However, it is one of many that lend much credence to the veracity of Scripture. And how so? Because this is such a human event, it is so realistic. Someone making up a story would surely drop this, or never come up with it to begin with, or try to provide some explanation. But, since it is included just as it is, it lends authenticity to the account.
   One might object, “If even John doubted Jesus, why should anyone believe Him?” But this objection is not valid when one studies the situation carefully. In fact, John’s doubt itself also lends credence to the gospel message because it highlights the difficulty the Jews had in accepting the particulars of the gospel message.
   And how so? Well, the Jewish believers, John included, expected that the Christ would overthrow the Romans and establish His kingdom on earth. And this is understandable given there are many prophesies of the Old Testament foreshadowing just such a scenario. But, as with many prophesies of Scripture, the fulfillment can come at unexpected times. Thus, Jesus in this passage mentions many prophecies concerning things He was indeed doing in fulfillment of prophecy. But, He omits many other things which He had not come to fulfill at that time. These are then in regard to yet future events, and those prophecies will be fulfilled at the Second Coming of the Messiah. So, Christ will indeed fulfill all of the prophecy concerning Himself, but not with the timing that the Jews expected.
   This is no where more evident than in the first chapter of Acts. The disciples asked Jesus, “So, are you going to set up the kingdom now?” They saw His suffering and witnessed His resurrection, and were beginning to maybe understand atonement, so they saw the kingdom on earth as the next step. And indeed it is a step to be taken, but not even at that time. And why wait? Because Jesus wanted to gather in the Gentile sheep, also a concept that was difficult for the Jews to swallow.
   Thus, when this is all taken into consideration, this particular event is quite a good pillar to the gospel. Here, though we have doubts expressed by the forerunner of Christ, his doubts are those of a man in prison, and they are not inconsistent with what all of the Jews felt at this time. The reality of this difficulty explains why there were few of the scribes, Pharisees, and other Jewish leaders who were converted to Christ early on. It puts much of the actions of the very early church, such as Peter’s ministry to Cornelius, in a better light. It is really and truly a very authentic human action that arose from the growing understanding of the gospel and all that it would mean for this world.

   Heavenly Father, as we look at Your Word we may test it in any way we like and yet we always come to the same conclusion. It cannot be dismissed. It is no joke or fairy tale to be taken lightly. It hits us squarely right where we live if we will but read it with a view to taking it as it presents itself. I cannot help but wonder at Your wisdom in providing it to us. For the man who never hears it is the silent partner to what he can see quite evidently in Your creation, and that explains his existence and purpose, though he remain ignorant of it. And, for the rest of us, who know that it stands here to inform, it serves as the signpost to point the way around the bottomless pit. Even if we chose to ignore it, wishing to be ignorant of it, it condemns our disinterest in such a way that it is difficult for us to argue. In short we have to embrace it, or fight it. Oh God give us the power to preach the gospel as comes to us! Let us not make it what it never was, but present it just as it is. May we bring to this world a book that reads the reader. May we help them to see that this is the only way that all of this could be done. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.