Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?" And Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. (Matthew 11:2-5)
I find this verse very intriguing. I notice that even though it was true that Jesus was the one who was to come, He didn't give John a definitive "Yes, I am he," as He does when confronted on this in other places in the Gospels. Rather, He shows John's messengers the miracles He has performed: that the blind receive sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Essentially He's laying out the evidence, the evidence of peoples' lives changed through His ministry, and allowing John to decide for himself.
So how can we apply this to our own lives? When people ask us, "So what's so special about Christianity?" we can point them to the miraculous grace and healing poured out from the Person of Jesus Christ. We can point to Him who has taken our spiritual blindness and given us sight; we can point to Him who has taken we crippled people and has lifted us and enabled us to stand firm; we can point to Him who has taken we spiritual lepers, so ensnared in sin that we infect all those around us, and has cleansed us in His blood; we can point to Him who has taken our deafness and given us ears to hear the Gospel; and we can point them to Him who has taken we who were dead in sins and transgressions, utterly useless to God and those around us, and has raised us to new and glorious life in Himself.
But above all, we can point them to the good news of Jesus Christ, that through His wonderful sacrifice and gift of love, we who were once poor in spirit are now rich with joy, thankfulness, and gratitude. This is not just a surface change; this is a heart change. So, I ask you: "What's so special about Christianity?" Simple - it's Jesus.
Blessings,
Andrew
