And his disciples reported about all things to John, then having summoned a certain two of his disciples John sent them to the Lord saying, “Are You the One Who is coming or should we expect another?” (Luke 7:18-19 ONM)
I’m sure there has been in most Christians’ lives, the question come up whether Jesus is who He say He is. John the Baptist had made a prophetic declaration of Jesus being the Lamb of God when He appeared on the scene. He had the honor to baptize Him and see the evidence of Him being filled with the Holy Spirit. He had heard the audible voice of God the Father declare and affirm that Jesus was His son and express His pleasure in Him. He was filled with the Holy Spirit in the womb and sent forth as a forerunner for Jesus. After all these wonderful miraculous experiences in his life, he was now at a cross road in prison. Fear had gripped him because he knew that this was the end of his journey and he needed assurance that the man he had declared as the Son of God was really the Messiah.
Before we pooh-pooh John the Baptist, how many times have we been on the ship of life and the waves of a storm were raging, and Jesus was reaching out to you, but you were afraid to walk on the water because you still haven’t figured out whether it was Him beckoning you are a ghost like the disciples thought. After experiencing healings and blessings in your life, how many times does the same fear John felt come upon you when the Dr. tells you they have discovered a disease in your body; the electric company tells you the lights will be turned off at 5 p.m. but you still don’t have the money; the boss says they are laying off twenty people and you are number nineteen; the divorce will be final in a week. When his disciples relayed the question to Jesus, He didn’t tell them to go back and tell him yeah, instead He exhorted and encouraged him with the word by quoting Isaiah who prophesied of His coming and what to look for “Strengthen the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not, behold your God will come with a vengeance, even God, with a recompense; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and ears of the dead shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a heart, and the tongue of the dumb sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert” (Isaiah 35:3-6). It is the same way today our assurance (a positive declaration intended to give confidence; a promise) from fear to faith will always be the Word of God. When Peter recognized Jesus, the Word, he stepped out of the ship and walked on the water during the midst of the circumstances. Even though you might not be in a physical prison, but the chains of fear have imprisoned your mind, you don’t have to say ‘are you the One or should I look for another’ because our declaration of confidence and promise tells us that He is. The blessed assurance from fear is the Word of God.
