/And John, having heard in the prison the works of the Christ, having
sent through his disciples, he said to Him, "Are You Yourself the One
coming, or will we wait for another?" And He answered: Jesus said to
them, "Having gone, announce to John what you are hearing & seeing;
blind receive sight & lame walk, lepers are cleansed & deaf are hearing,
& dead are being raised up, & the beggarly are being evangelized; and
blessed is whoever does not fall into a death trap on account of me.
And as these were going, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning
John, "Why did you go out into the desert? To see a reed by the wind
shaken? But what did you go out to see? A man clothed soft & fancy?
Look, those wearing what is soft & fancy are in the houses of kings! But
what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes I say to you, and much more
than a prophet! This it is, concerning whom has been written, "Look, I
Myself send on a mission my angel before your face, who will prepare
Your way before You. Amen, I say to you: there has not arisen among
those born of women greater than John the Baptizer; but the one lesser
in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is./
What is going on with John the Baptizer?!. He was the one who boldly
confessed Jesus, as the Lamb of God Who came to take away the sins of
the world! John knew Who Jesus was, compared to him. He boldly confessed
that he was not worthy to even untie the strap of Jesus' sandals! He
willingly became lesser & lesser, knowing Jesus would become greater &
greater. Now, he seems to question just who Jesus really is. Has being
in prison begun to get the best of him?
From our view, we might assume that John must be having a crisis of
faith, or that doubt is beginning to creep in. But we ought not jump too
quickly to such a conclusion. For John is a master teacher, one who
knows how to use questions wisely. Your teachers in school didn't ask
you questions because they didn't know the answers, did they? They posed
questions to you for your benefit, so that you could learn something,
and that's just what John was doing for his disciples.
John asks a question through these disciples for a reason. Is Jesus the
coming one whose advent believers await? Of course he is. Then why have
these disciples of John not realized yet that the Baptizer has now grown
lesser & lesser, and that they ought to be following the one Who is
growing greater & greater? So John cleverly sends them to Jesus to see
for themselves, and their Savior does not disappoint them. They actually
witness the miracles Jesus describes.
In John becoming lesser & lesser, therein Jesus points out the
Baptizer's greatness. No greater man has been born than John was. But
his greatness was in humbly stepping out of the way so that Jesus could
walk in the way the Baptizer prepared. John knew that it wasn't all
about him. It was all about God, Who had taken upon human flesh to
tabernacle among men. Jesus was the One Who was to come, and John has
successfully pointed his clingy disciples toward Him.
Jesus speaks another thing which causes us to ask, "What's up with John
the Baptizer?" The Lord declares that the lesser ones in God's kingdom
are greater than John! Does this mean we won't see John one day in
heaven? Of course not. Jesus is simply pointing out John's greatness
found in his humility. For John was a lowly slave to God's people. His
humble service was preaching God's gift of repentance and administering
God's baptism to bring others into God's kingdom!
Boy can we learn a lot from John the Baptizer. First, it is not about
all of the things we do for the church that's most important, rather
what God provides us which we receive that matters most. Your greatness
is not all about holding a church office, or pitching in to help out in
cleaning, decorating & maintaining your church. Those are but
opportunities for humble service, anonymous if possible, so that even
your left hand does not know what your right hand has done in the end .
Greatness in the God's kingdom of heaven down here, known as the church,
is all about what God does. First & foremost it is in the healing, in
the restoration, and in the resurrection Jesus brings to sick, forsaken,
dead-in-our-sins folk like you and me. Jesus' word proclaims your
illness of sin cured from lectern & pulpit. Your adoption into God's
family through Baptism restores your relationship with your heavenly
Father. And the body & blood of Jesus, which died & rose on high for you
forgives your sins, and bestows to you eternal life and everlasting
salvation
So what's up with John the Baptizer? Simply, once again, directing us to
our Savior, Christ Jesus.
John C. Drosendahl, Pastor
[email protected]
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