This is a description of someone without character, who is pliable to any given doctrine or ideology.
So, Jesus was asking them if they went in search of a man that does not have a character or belief. No, they went to see a prophet who gave then information of a coming Messiah, the Christ, and the coming King.
So, having gotten this understanding, let us returned to the significance of the question as it relates to our generation of Christianity.
What did you go into the wilderness (Church) to behold? More directly asked; why did you come to Church; here it does not matter what denomination you attends?
Did you come to church for healing of any ailment, to be free from satanic oppression, to be free from poverty, to gain admission to a higher institute, to travel abroad, to have a life partner, or to be free from bareness? The reasons of our coming to church are endless.
On the other hand, do we come to church to worship God, to have fellowship with Him, or to prepare our lives for the Kingdom of God?
If we will be truthful to ourselves, we will agree that very few people come to church for the second reason; to worship God and have fellowship with and prepare for eternity.
However, one certain truth is that for any reason giving above that brought us to the wilderness (church), we are here to meet the Prophet; we come seeking God to help us solve the myriad of problems that we cannot solve on our own.
As the disciples of John come to Jesus when they heard of the miracles he was performing, and the world was coming to Him to heal them of all their diseases; so are we running to churches today for Him to heal and deliver us of all our infirmities.
He is able and willing to do that, but on one condition; “seek ye first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and these things He will added….” (Matt. 6:33).
Some of us find these conditions repulsive so we prefer to stand at the gate watching others going in, or persuading them not to go in, that the whole gospel is a scam.
They are like the rich young man who, though captivated with the working of Jesus and showed a willingness to follow Him, could not, when Jesus asked him to sell off his possession to follow Him. The Bible recorded that the man became very sorrowful. (Matt. 18:23)
Others thought they could act the seeking of the kingdom by coming to church and acting out as true believers; but because they would not retain Him in their heart, they are still going around living all the abominable lifestyles of the world, for they think they can mock God; they are playing the game of Ananias and Sapphira, his wife…. (Acts 5)
If not, how can one explain the present state in the world where millions of people are professing to be Christians and yet the crime rate and violence has increased astronomically?
It has gotten so bad to the extent where places marked as worship centers have become culpable in some evil practices as the killing of human beings to lay the foundation of the supposed church building; sure, you heard me right, ‘pastors’ are being arrested for laying the foundation of their church building with corpses: ABOMINABLE.
The good news however is, there are still millions and millions of people who are genuinely following after the Lord with the heart, their soul and their might; for such is the kingdom of God.
For those believers are one that heard the call of the Lord and the warning and admonition of Jesus Christ.
In John gospel 14: 1-4, Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go and prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye will may be also. And wither I go ye know and the way you know.”
So, the true believers heard this saying and abide in the Word. they are not sway them by the new refrain of the latter day religion and teachings that have become prevalence in our churches today.
A new crop ‘pastors’ have turned the church of God to mercantile shops, healing centers, solution centers. They have made the gathering of the believers, social clubs for all their worldly pursuits.
Jesus said to the congregation that if they need to see a man dressed in soft raiment, they would have to go to a king’s house.
In the same vein, if anyone wants to be millionaire let him go to the bank and establish a business; for healing, let him go to the hospital, for a business breakthrough, go to an investment expert.
But if must need these; and surely we need them, and in the house of God, we must, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness…” and God will add all unto us.
In some instances, even when we have the blessings of God, we tend to lose focus in the kingdom goal; that we must not. We should remain focus and continually looking unto Jesus Christ; for He also passed through the situation we are now when he came to us in human form, suffered the same affliction, persecuted even on to death; and now sits at the right hand of God. (Heb. 10:12)
For if we lay our emphases on things we possess, then, we may rightly put our desire of the Kingdom of God into a secondary position.
His admonition to us is that “where your treasure is, there your heart is also …” (Matt.6:21) So “Put your treasure where moth and ant would not touch…” (Matt.6:19) For all things in this world, gold, silver, the riches, wealth, our knowledge, houses will pass away, but only the word of God would remain. (Matt. 24:35). This doesn’ sound pleasant, is it?
We are not just called believers, but we also have an inheritance that the Lord had promised us in his father’s house, on account of our believing in the name of Jesus Christ, wherefore, He has begotten us as His sons and Daughter. (John 1: 12). Now that sounds pleasant, isn’t it?
The icing on the cake is that Christ is returning to takes us to his father’s presence, and he enjoins us to remain spotless and without blemish until he comes.
But yet again, with a proviso, “If there is any of you having this hope in him, let him purifieth himself even as he is pure.” (1 John 3:3)
In closing, let us refresh our selves of the question Jesus asked, “What do you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind…But what you went out to see? A Prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet?”(Mat. 11:1-10
