14th December 2025

John the Baptist, imprisoned and feeling unsure about Jesus, sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he is the One (vv.2-3), to which Jesus responded with evidence to reassure John, and to help us to answer that question today. Evidence that is not only physical but has an important spiritual element.   

The blind receive sight: Jesus brings illumination – Jesus restores physical sight to the blind, but he also opens the eyes of the heart, giving people the ability to see truth, to see themselves rightly, and to see God clearly. Many in the world today have blurred spiritual vision: they can’t see hope, see purpose, or see a way forward. But wherever Jesus is, light breaks in, confusion is clarified, and darkness is dispelled. He is the One who provides direction.

The lame walk: Jesus restores movement – To be lame is to be stuck, unable to go where you long to be. Jesus restores not only legs, but lives. For people who are spiritually stuck, and can’t move forward because of guilt, fear, or a besetting sin, Jesus restores momentum. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, paralysis ends. Jesus gives forgiveness where there is guilt and sin, and courage where there is fear. In Christ, we can walk again, we can walk with him.

Those who have leprosy are cleansed: Jesus removes shame – Leprosy in scripture represents isolation, rejection, and deep shame. Jesus does more than heal the body: he restores dignity and community. Jesus touches the untouchable. Jesus welcomes the excluded. Jesus cleanses what others condemn. If you have ever believed you are too broken, or too stained for God’s love, then know that Jesus moves toward the people everyone else moves away from.

The deaf hear: Jesus restores relationship – Hearing is about more than sound: it is about connection. Deafness isolates, cuts off, separates. When Jesus heals deafness, he is restoring communication with God and with others. If you have stopped hearing God’s voice because pain, disappointment, or busyness has drowned him out, Jesus can open your ears again.
His sheep hear his voice, and he is still speaking.

The dead are raised: Jesus resurrects what seems lost – This is the ultimate sign: Jesus brings life where there is no life. Some things in our lives feel dead – dead dreams, dead relationships, and dead faith. Jesus doesn’t just revive bodies, he resurrects futures. What looks impossible to us is never impossible to God.

The good news is proclaimed to the poor: Jesus lifts up the lowly – Jesus ends with what might be the greatest miracle of all: the grace of God reaches the poor, not just the financially poor, but the poor in spirit, the overlooked, the burdened, the desperate. The gospel is a lifeline for the broken. The forgotten are remembered, and the empty are filled.

John the Baptist asked, ‘Are you the one who is to come?’ (v.3), to which Jesus said, ‘…report to John what you hear and see’ – essentially, look at the fruit, look at the lives transformed (v.4). The signs Jesus listed then, he is still performing today:

• Eyes are still being opened.
• Lives are still being restored.
• Shame is still being washed away.
• Hearts still hear his voice.
• People are still being resurrected.
• The poor still hear good news.

So, is Jesus the One? It’s a question we must all answer. Come to him and see.

Local congregation:
Grace Communion West Hampstead 
Sidings Community Centre
150 Brassey Road
West Hampstead
London
NW6 2BA

Meeting time:
Sunday 12.30 pm

Local congregational contact:
Gordon Brown
gordon.brown@gracecom.church

Word of Life contact:  
wordoflife@gracecom.church