Go back and Tell... Part 1

Matthew 11:2-6 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. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” 
Go and Tell.  Putting those two commands together from the mouth of Jesus yields some interesting results.  Often, like here, when Jesus told people that, He was sending them back to where they had come from.  They were not always going to a place they did not know, but many times being sent back to their families, friends, and co-workers to bring a much-needed message.  Here he is saying, "Go back and tell John what you have witnessed" - what Jesus did and said. He then added some food for thought: how one responds to that message makes a big difference.  John could have been offended that Jesus was out free, living a life of popularity, which he was stuck in prison on death row.  But instead he asked a serious question, and the evidence in the report sent back was enough to give him the answer: "Jesus is the Christ.  There is no other."  Responding correctly to Him will bring blessing - put one on the right path, headed in the right direction.  He is "the way, the truth and the life," and "no one comes to the Father but through Him."  That is the message for us to mull over, respond to, and go and tell.