Mission of Christ
49
of Christ; but they could not communicate with him immediately,
because of the crowd who were bearing the sick to Jesus. The afflicted,
blind, and lame were passing through the throng. The disciples of
John saw the miracles of Christ, and that at his word the lifeless clay
became animate, and the glow of health took the place of the pallor of
death. Jesus said to the disciples of John, “Go and show John again
those things which ye do hear and see. The blind receive their sight,
the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are
raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed
is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.”
In these words John is gently reproved for his impatience. The
cautious reproof returned to John was not lost upon him. He then better
understood the character of Christ’s mission. And with submission
and faith, he yielded himself into the hands of God, to live, or to die,
[72]
as should best advance his glory.
After the disciples of John had departed, Jesus addressed the mul-
titude concerning John, “What went ye out into the wilderness for to
see? A reed shaken with the wind?” Jesus knew that a reed trembling
in the wind was the very opposite of John’s character. John could not
be moved by flattery, nor be deceived by prevailing errors. Neither
could he be turned aside from the work he came to do by rewards, or
worldly honors. He would preserve his integrity at the expense of his
life. Steadfast as a rock stood the prophet of God, faithful to rebuke
sin and crime in all their forms, in kings and nobles, as readily as in
the unhonored and unknown. He swerved not from duty. Loyal to
his God, in noble dignity of moral character, he stood firm as a rock,
faithful to principle.
“But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment?
Behold they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. But what
went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more
than a prophet. For this is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send
my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before
thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there
hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist; notwithstanding, he that
is least in the kingdom of Heaven is greater than he. And from the
days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of Heaven suffereth
violence, and the violent take it by force.”