Matthew 11:1-5. And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and preach in their cities. Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples. And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
These were Christ's seals and proofs: he needed not to seek others. These were the very works of which prophecy had said they would be the marks of the Messiah. If then, these marks were found in him, he left John and his disciples to draw the inference that he was, indeed, the One that was to come. Christ is always best known by his works, and in his people especially; he is seen in their lives. There are two great precepts for the conquest of the world for Christ: the first is, preach the gospel; but the second is, live the gospel, and if we do not live the gospel we shall not succeed in preaching the gospel. In fact, those members of our churches who do not live the gospel undo through all the week what the preacher of the gospel endeavors to do on the Lord's Day. It is a fine thing to preach with your mouth; but the best thing in the world is to preach with your feet and with your hands in your walk and in your work; aid if you are enabled to do this, the people will be able to say very little against the preaching of the gospel when they see the result of it in those who accept it. God grant that we may be all preachers in some way or another.
Matthew 11:6. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
This exposition consisted of readings from Ephesians 2:1; Matthew 11:1-6.