Matthew 11:2-15
John the Baptist was a prophet – and even more than a prophet. So says Jesus, in today’s text from St. Matthew’s Gospel.
He was the immediate forerunner of the Messiah, preparing the people of Israel for his arrival. He called them to repentance, and administered to them a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
All of this was important, and was a part of God’s plan for the unfolding of Christ’s mission.
As a prophet sent from God, what John the Baptist knew about God, on the basis of God’s revelation to him, was accurate. What he preached to the people from God was correct and true.
But John did not understand everything about how God was going to accomplish his purposes, through Christ. We know of this limitation in his knowledge, because when Jesus, as the Messiah, requested baptism from John, this was a surprise to him.
He wasn’t expecting such a request. He initially declined to do it.
Until Jesus explained the reason for it, John didn’t realize that Jesus’ solidarity with the people of Israel as their Savior and substitute, required him to be baptized with the people of Israel.
In today’s text, we may very well see another example of John’s not knowing the whole story about what Jesus’ ministry would entail, and of John’s not perceiving the full mission of Jesus as Messiah. Matthew tells us that “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?’”
Christian scholars have debated over the centuries, whether John was, in this way, expressing personal doubt, or second thoughts, about whether Jesus really was the Messiah.
He was languishing in Herod’s dungeon, in what were no doubt appalling conditions. And so we would not be too hard on him if, in his human weakness, he did begin to have some doubts.
What this incident may demonstrate, however, is simply another example of John’s lack of full understanding, as he sought clarification and instruction from Jesus.
What God had called John to preach – and what he had preached, before he was thrown into prison – was a message of warning to Israel, that God’s judgment was coming. His judgment against their sins, their half-heartedness, their hypocrisy and unbelief, was coming.
The Messiah – soon to appear – would usher in and bring this judgment. And so the people of Israel should prepare for his coming, by “getting right” with God now, before it is too late.
They should repent of their sins, and receive the forgiveness that God offers. And then, they should bear the fruits of repentance – in a new life lived by faith, for as long as their life in this world continues.
“I baptize you with water for repentance,” John proclaimed, “but he who is coming after me…will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
The popular piety of the day would have been expecting the future Messiah to bring judgment against the Romans, and the other pagan nations. But John correctly pointed out that God’s judgment was coming to Israel. Not just to Israel, but to Israel first.
And yet, when Jesus did appear, and when – after his baptism – he began to make himself known as the Messiah, none of these things seemed to be happening. Or at least they were not happening in any kind of visible, obvious way.
Jesus was not proclaiming a harsh message of divine wrath. He was not personally inflicting God’s punishment upon the wicked.
Instead, he was helping and comforting the poor and the weak, the dispossessed and the lonely. He was healing the sick and the lame, raising the dead, and proclaiming to the people a message of God’s forgiving mercy and redeeming love.
Apparently this was not what John expected. Now, John had not been mistaken in saying that the Messiah would bring the fire of divine judgment upon the unbelieving world – and even upon unbelieving Israel.
That was going to happen. It is still going to happen.
But other things were going to happen first. Other things are still happening, now, as we still await the ultimate day of conflagration and final judgment.
When Jesus responded to the query that John the Baptist had sent to him, by means of some of his disciples, he was gentle and respectful toward John. And he responded, not just by making a bold assertion of who he is, but by calling John’s attention to what the Old Testament Scriptures had predicted concerning him and his ministry – and by comparing those predictions with what he was now doing.
“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.’”
The Prophet Isaiah had spoken of the ministry of the future Messiah:
“Say to those who have an anxious heart, ‘Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.’”
That’s pretty close to what John the Baptist had been preaching. The Messiah will come with “vengeance.”
But, at least at first, this vengeance will not be poured out against wicked people. That will happen someday, on judgment day. But that’s not the first thing that is going to happen when the Savior comes.
Instead, the Messiah will wreak God’s vengeance against the powers of sin and death. He will attack and punish the devil and his minions.
Satan’s domination over fallen humanity will be thrown off. God, in Christ, will cast him out. And God, in Christ, will rescue those who had been held captive under his evil power.
As Jesus traveled through the land of Israel, the devils fled before him. When he proclaimed and applied the forgiveness of God to the humble and penitent, the Great Serpent fell from his temporary glory, and was vanquished.
Jesus is gentle with John, and with his disciples – who soon will no doubt become Jesus’ disciples. Jesus is gentle with the sick, the lame, and the social outcast.
But Jesus is not gentle with Satan. A calm and calming word of pardon, spoken to a humble human sinner, is – in the supernatural realm – a furious attack on the forces of evil, wrenching that forgiven sinner from the clutches of the Enemy.
This doesn’t happen in obvious ways. But it does happen. It is God’s vengeance against the Prince of Darkness.
It happens by the power of Christ’s Word, and by the miracle of his touch in the lives of hurting people. Isaiah goes on to describe this:
“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.”
Jesus also said: “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven, is greater than he.”
In some respects, we in the New Testament era know a lot more about Jesus and his ways than John the Baptist did.
We have the Gospels and the Epistles, telling us the details of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection; explaining to us the nature and mission of the Christian church, and pointing out to us the signs of the Lord’s Second Coming – for judgment – so that this Day will not surprise us.
But there is also a lot that we do not know. As with John the Baptist in his time, there is much that we do not understand about God and his ways.
Many things happen among us – troubling and unsettling things – that we do not expect to happen. And sometimes, we have expected God to do things that he has not done – or at least that he has not done yet.
Sometimes we suffer grievous disappointments, betrayals, and injustices. Where is the Lord’s vindication, that the Bible says will come for those who serve him, and who suffer for the sake of his name?
And what is our response to situations like this? Despair? Getting angry at God, and criticizing him? A loss of faith?
Or, do we respond in the way that John the Baptist responded, at such a time in his life? Do we reach out to Jesus, and ask Jesus to show us his truth?
And do we then wait for him to give us – through the Scriptures – a fuller insight into his will, a fuller understanding of his ways, and a fuller appreciation of his grace: just as Jesus encouraged and instructed John the Baptist through the Scriptures, when he needed that encouragement and instruction?
Jesus has already died for our sins. The atonement price has been paid. And Jesus has risen from the grave as the victor over death – over our death.
The hope of eternal life has been restored, for those who look to him. But Jesus has not yet brought an end to the pain of this world. He has not yet righted all the wrongs of human history.
He has not yet, in judgment, cut down the “unfruitful trees” of the human race, once and for all, and thrown them into the fire.
We might be impatient for these things to be fulfilled. But there are reasons for the Lord’s delay.
There is a reason that pertains to the whole world – God’s desire that all men have time to repent, and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
And, there is a reason that pertains to you, and to God’s desire that during your time on earth – as you wait on him – your heart will be ever more firmly established: in penitent humility before God; in a patient faith in God; in Christlike holiness; and in a love for all that God loves.
St. James writes in his Epistle:
Be patient, brothers, “until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”
At a time when John the Baptist needed encouragement from Jesus, Jesus did encourage him, and established his heart, by reminding him of the totality of what the Hebrew Scriptures say concerning the ministry of the Messiah. He would come in mercy and compassion, before he came in fiery judgment.
And when you need encouragement from Jesus, Jesus encourages you as well – and in the same way. He establishes your heart, as he unfolds the Scriptures to you, and speaks to you in the Scriptures.
As you grow in your ability to admit your own spiritual poverty – and your need to be enriched by God’s grace and forgiveness alone – you will be blessed ever more, to know that in Christ, “the poor have good news preached to them.”
The good news of Jesus’ forgiveness of all your sins is preached to you. Indeed, I will preach it again right now:
Dear friends, your sins are forgiven in Christ! God is at peace with you! For the sake of his Son, your Savior, God will not hold your trespasses against you, but instead he embraces you with his reconciling love, and fills you with his life-giving Spirit.
When your faith is weak, Christ, by his Word, will invigorate you. When your faith is incomplete, Christ, by his Word, will teach you.
When your faith is uncertain and wavering, Christ, by his Word, will renew your confidence in him – and your certainty that he is indeed the one who was promised of old; who has promised to come again; and who, in the meantime, is your companion and comforter.
You don’t need to know everything about Jesus, or about his plan for you and for the world. At least not right away. But over time, your grasp on his promises will be strengthened. Your appreciation for his methods will be deepened.
You will understand things you didn’t understand before. You will see things you didn’t see before. You will accept things you didn’t think you could accept before.
And, Jesus also says to us today – as we struggle, and as we learn and grow: “Blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” Amen.