Luke 7:18-30

The Voice

¹⁸When these reports reached John’s disciples, they brought news to John himself, who was known for his preaching and ritual cleansing.^[a] ¹⁹John sent two of his disciples to ask the Lord, “Are You the Promised One, or shall we keep looking for someone else?”

²⁰They came to Jesus and asked their question exactly as directed by John the Baptist.

²¹Before He answered John’s messengers, Jesus cured many from various diseases, health conditions, and evil spirits. He even caused many blind people to regain their sight.

Jesus (to John’s disciples): ²²Go and tell John what you’ve witnessed with your own eyes and ears: the blind are seeing again, the lame are walking again, the lepers are clean again, the deaf hear again, the dead live again, and good news is preached to the poor.^[b] ²³Whoever is not offended by Me is blessed indeed.

²⁴When John’s messengers left, Jesus talked to the crowds about John.

Jesus: When you went out into the wilderness to see John, what were you expecting? A reed shaking in the wind? ²⁵What were you looking for? A man in expensive clothing? Look, if you were looking for fancy clothes and luxurious living, you went to the wrong place—you should have gone to the kings’ courts, not to the wilderness! ²⁶What were you seeking? A prophet? Ah yes, that’s what John is, and even more than a prophet. ²⁷The prophet Malachi was talking about John when he wrote,

I will send My messenger before You,
to clear Your path in front of You.^[c]

²⁸Listen, there is no human being greater than this man, John the Baptist. Yet even the least significant person in the coming kingdom of God is greater than John.

²⁹The common people and tax collectors heard God’s own wisdom in Jesus’ assessment of John because they had been ritually cleansed through baptism by John. ³⁰But the Pharisees and religious scholars hardened their hearts and turned their backs on God’s purposes for them because they had refused John’s baptism.^[d]

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