Matthew 11:1-19

How do we prepare for Christmas in its truest sense? What kind of thoughts fill your mind as you enter this season of the year, and how might the Scriptures shape our focus in the weeks ahead? In the passage we have read this morning, we are given a window into different responses to Jesus’ first advent. Israel was a nation full of expectation, of longing and waiting. They were waiting for God to fulfill his promises towards them, and they were a nation divided regarding how that fulfillment might come about, and what they could do to bring it about.

In the midst of that expectation, John and Jesus have come proclaiming God’s kingdom, the arrival of the fulfillment of the promises, but not everyone has embraced that message. In fact, as we will see at the beginning of this passage, even John has begun to wonder about the certainty of Jesus’ mission. Therefore, we can use this passage as a reflection of our own souls, of the questions and hopes we may have, and how we can meet those needs by focusing our attention on Jesus. This passage asks us a big question, How do you prepare for Christmas?