“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
— John 12:24
“He must increase, but I must decrease.”
— John 3:30
John the Baptist was eventually put in prison, and later he was beheaded. John had served the Lord so much, but the Lord didn’t rescue him out of prison, so John sent his disciples to the Lord to ask Him, “Are You the coming One, or should we expect another?” (Matt. 11:3).
How could John ask the Lord such a thing? Even in the womb he had recognized the Lord Jesus and jumped for joy. Jesus and John were cousins, and must have known each other while they were growing up. John knew who Jesus was, and how He had been conceived. Later John testified for the Lord, declaring, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” (John 1:29a). Despite all of this, after he testified for the Lord, John still asked Him from his prison, “Are You the coming One, or should we expect another?”
Adapted from the online series, Serving the Lord as a Seed, Message two, page 2.
Tomorrow: “The Lord’s Example of Being a Seed” (4)