Conduct Not Conversation

In Matthew, chapter 11, we read that John the Baptist, while siting in prison, was wrestling with some doubt issues over whether Jesus was THE Messiah, the One they had been longing for. 

In verses 2 and 3 it tells us this, “John… heard about all the things the Messiah was doing so he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, ‘Are You the Messiah we’ve been expecting or should we keep looking for someone else?’”

You can almost feel the aching in John’s heart when you read the words.  My commentary says, “Where there is true faith, yet there may be a mixture of unbelief.”
And maybe we’ve felt it before too.
I know I have.
And in the asking of the question, our desire should be to have what little amount of faith we may be feeling, strengthened and confirmed.

And here we see Jesus do just that.

It’s a beautiful answer.
And just like the manner of our Jesus to do it this way.

“Jesus told them, ‘Go back to John and tell him 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.”  (verses 4-5)

Jesus provides John, and his students, a glimpse of His nature and a testimony of His mercy.
Jesus invites them to visionally observe what many were allowed only to mentally perceive.

“Tell them what you have heard AND seen.”
The blind… because of Me - they see!
The lame… because of Me - they walk!
The lepers… because of Me - they are cured!
The deaf… because of Me - they hear!
The dead… because of Me - they’re alive!

And then:
The Good News… because of Me - it’s preached!

The proof of Jesus was His actions.  His movements.  His healing.
The focus was on His mobility, not His mouth.
And He was asking them to remember… and to recall.

Words, while they are important… oh, and more important than we could ever imagine… lack in luster, they are bankrupt of power… when they are not confirmed by actions. 

I can tell you that I love you - but does my performance prove it so?
I can tell you that I’d do anything for you - but do by habits tell a different story?

What I say with my life is not as important as what I do with it.
True love is always expressed in activity.

Words lacking operation are cheap. The Good News is preached best by conduct, and then by conversation.