Christmas Plan

²John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus,

³“Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?”

⁴Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen —

⁵the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.”

⁶And he added, “God blesses those who do not fall away because of me. ”

⁷As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began talking about him to the crowds. “What kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see? Was he a weak reed, swayed by every breath of wind?

⁸Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people with expensive clothes live in palaces.

⁹Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet.

¹⁰John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say, ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you.’

¹¹“I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is!

¹²And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it.

¹³For before John came, all the prophets and the law of Moses looked forward to this present time.

¹⁴And if you are willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come.

¹⁵Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!

⁵And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf.

¹The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, for the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.