Jesus and John the Baptist
The disciples of John
told him about all these things. John, calling to himself two of
his disciples, sent them to Jesus, saying, "Are you the one who is
coming, or should we look for another?" When the men had come to him,
they said, "John the Baptizer has sent us to you, saying, 'Are you he
who comes, or should we look for another?'"
In that hour he cured
many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits; and to many who were blind
he gave sight. Jesus
answered them, "Go and tell John the things which you
have seen and heard: that the blind receive their sight, the lame walk,
the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the
poor have good news preached to them. Blessed is he who is not offended
by me."
When John's messengers
had departed, he began to tell the multitudes about John, "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed
shaken by the wind? But
what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft clothing? Behold, those
who are gorgeously dressed, and live delicately, are in kings' courts.
But what did you go out
to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written,
'Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.'
"For I tell you, among those
who are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the
Baptizer, yet he who is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than
he."
When all the people
and the tax collectors heard this, they declared God to be just, having
been baptized with John's baptism. But the Pharisees and the lawyers
rejected the counsel of God, not being baptized by him themselves.
But the
Lord said, "To what then will I liken the people
of this generation? What are they like? They are like children who sit in
the marketplace, and call one to another, saying, 'We piped to you, and
you didn't dance. We mourned, and you didn't weep.' For John the Baptizer came
neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.'
The Son of Man has come
eating and drinking, and you say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man, and a
drunkard; a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Wisdom is justified by all her
children."
Luke 7:18-35
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