Matthew 11: 2-3: "And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, 'Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?'" John was the one that said Christ would bring judgment and "burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." John had to be confused. He was in prison and instead of bringing the fire of judgment, Jesus Christ healed people in Galilee, far from Jerusalem, the city of the King. This is not a question of doubt on John's part, but rather an issue of whether he had misunderstood Jesus' mission. Jesus doesn't rebuke John's disciples, but instead sends a message of what He is doing in His ministry. The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead raised up, and the gospel is preached to the poor. We can learn much from this passage with regard to dealing with our expectations of others. John did the right thing, he asked what was the meaning of what was taking place. Instead of allowing doubt, anger or confusion to settle in, he sent for information. When we are dealing with people and we don't understand their actions, we should start by asking the person directly. The enemy loves it when he can get us to be upset with a brother or sister in the faith, make assumptions and act on those assumptions. Over the years, I have seen many situations resolved peacefully, simply because someone asked a question instead of assuming the worst. Be like John.
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