The One Who Is to Come—Matthew 11:1-19
Jesus fulfilled, not people's expectations, but God's promises of a Savior. Even the great John the Baptist was confused by Jesus. The majority of Jesus' generation were still further from the mark in their evaluation of the Son of Man.
"Now," Matthew tells us, "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?'"
I read John's thought process like this: At first, back when he baptized Jesus, he recognized Jesus as "the one who is to come." That's why he tried to refuse to baptize Jesus, and said, "I need to be baptized by you." Then, when he was thrown in prison, or after he had been there a little while, perhaps he started to doubt that Jesus was really the one -- if he was, why didn't he help? Then he heard about "the deeds of the Christ," and his hope in Jesus revived. But he couldn't understand why he himself was still lying in prison, if Jesus was the one he himself had prophesied about: "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." So he sent his disciples to ask who Jesus really was, and perhaps to remind Jesus that his friend could use a hand.
Jesus makes clear that he is the Christ. He is doing all sorts of things the Christ is supposed to do. His miracles are like heaven on earth for those who were blind, lame, leprous, deaf, bereaved, and dead. He is fulfilling the prophecies of Isaiah. And he gently prods John not to doubt: "Blessed is the one who is not offended by me."
John's disciples carried the message back. John must have wondered, what about that prophecy in Isaiah 42:6 that says the Messiah is supposed to "bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness?"
Jesus must have had a reason to leave John to wrestle with that question. He must have thought John had the spiritual maturity to figure it out for himself. But it seems he didn't think that about the crowds. So he explained to them: John was a prophet, and more than the Old Testament prophets: He was the one who would actually prepare the way of the Lord. In that way, he was the greatest of all the prophets, because he overlapped with Christ himself. But John didn't get to be part of the kingdom of heaven in this life. He would go to heaven when he died, but he wouldn't enjoy the heaven-on-earth blessings that other people, in other respects much less important than John, would enjoy. They would get their sight back, but he wouldn't get his prison break.
So much for John -- he would understand. But what about the people as a whole, "this generation?" They would have a harder time seeing the truth. When John came, they didn't like him because he was too severe (and weird). When Jesus came, they didn't like him because he was too loose. They called him "a glutton and a drunkard" (or simply "a wine-drinker), "a friend of tax collectors and sinners." (Some people understood Jesus better -- those tax collectors and sinners.) The religious leaders were like children who wanted to call the shots and whined because the other children wouldn't play their game. But John didn't play their game, and neither would Jesus. He came to heal the sick, preach good news to the poor, and bring sinners to repentance. He wouldn't keep his distance from the people he came to save.
Are you like the whining children too? Do you have a preconceived notion of your own of who the Savior must be, if there is a Savior? Or are your eyes open to see "the deeds of the Christ"? Do you look for a Savior who will fulfill your expectations, or God's promises?
Pastor Nate Jeffries