Matthew Chapter 11
Scripture:
2 When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he
sent his disciples 3 to ask Him, “Are you the one who was to come, or
should we expect someone else?”
4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you
hear and see: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy
are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to
the poor. 6 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of
me.” (Matthew 11:2-6)
Observation:
There is more to unpack in this chapter than I can write in
a devotional. So much is said clearly
and directly in the passage that you can go a long time on just what is
written. But in preparation for the
study today I was struck more (and for the first time) by the things that were
not said. In fact, they are SO pointedly
not said, that I hear them whispering to each other between the lines. Let me show you what I see, and you tell me
if you hear the echoes of it too.
John the Baptist is in prison – taken by Herod the Great’s son,
Herod Antipas. He sends word through his
disciples, to ask Jesus “if he is the one who is to come, or should we expect
someone else?”
For the longest time I thought that John used the plural “we”
as in the Jewish people as a whole.
(Referring to the belief that the Jews had concerning the messiah coming
to deliver the nation from the oppression of the Romans, much the same way
Moses delivered his people from the Egyptians)
This makes John sound like he’s second guessing his own ministry as outlined
in the gospel of John 1:6-28. (A
different John than the one we are talking about today) His whole ministry was
to prepare the way for Jesus as the messiah. It seemed as though John forgot in the dark
what he knew in the light.
Yet, Jesus doesn’t rebuke him for this – instead he quotes
scripture to him, saying in verse 4 of Matthew, “the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those
who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good
news is preached to the poor.”
Jesus is responding to John with reference to this quote
taken from Isaiah 35:4-6 “4 Tell
those who panic, “Be strong! Do not fear! Look, your God comes to avenge! With
divine retribution he comes to deliver you.” 5 Then blind eyes will
open, deaf ears will hear. 6 Then the lame will leap like a deer, the
mute tongue will shout for joy; for water will flow in the desert, streams in
the wilderness.” And Isaiah 61:1 “The
spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has chosen me. He has
commissioned me to encourage the poor, to help the brokenhearted, to decree the
release of captives, and the freeing of prisoners.”
I went back and looked again at the question John asks, and
this time focused on the word “we” as a personal we, instead of a plural or
national one, and the word “expect”.
Could it be that John was expecting Jesus to set him free; to rescue him
from Herod Antipas? If so, it changes
how I read this chapter and opens up an internal dialogue that I’d never seen
before.
Maybe he wasn’t doubting Jesus as the messiah, he simply
waited in expectation of a rescue from prison.
And, when Jesus quoted the messianic verse without the rescue portion,
that was his answer.
In quoting the verse, Jesus claims that he is the messiah;
the fulfillment of the messianic prophesies given so long ago, but John
shouldn’t look for rescue from his literal prison. God has given his sign of authority through
the miracles performed, and Jesus’ mission was to rescue the world from their
prison of sin. (I’m thinking that leading a raiding party to spring John from
the clink might have ended Jesus three year ministry before it’s time.)
All of this subtext conversation is contained within
references and missing quotes; needing to know the scripture, and what’s missing
in the responding quote in order to decode the meaning. I believe that Jesus knew that the crowd
would misunderstand John’s question. He
spends verses 7 through 19 underscoring the importance of John’s ministry.
Application:
So what can we take away from this? Sometimes, the answer is
no. No, you will not be rescued from
your situation. When Jesus ascended into
heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit as our comforter, to ensure that we would never
be alone while we are in our dark places.
This same chapter goes on to tell us in verse 11 how the least in the Kingdom of Heaven
Also, I think it’s good to ask ourselves what our
expectations of God are. Are they
realistic? Do they line up with The
Word?
Prayer:
Lord, I thank you for sending the comforter to us, to walk
with us in our dark places. Thank you
also for the way your word unfolds to us through time, always yielding new
things to learn. I pray you speak to us
in our tender spots and give us the courage to throw off the expectations of
the world and conform our lives to you.
Amen.
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