The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19
calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 20
And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” 21
In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22
And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. 23
And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” 24 When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 25
What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. 26
What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27
This is he of whom it is written, “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ 28
I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” 29
(When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, 30
but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.) 31
“To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? 32
They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’ 33
For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34
The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’35
Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”
Have you ever thought what you might change if you had the power of God to change anything you wanted? It is an interesting thought. You look around at things as they
are and all of a sudden you are granted the power of God and can change the way the world works in any way you see fit…change any circumstance you want to change. What would you do? What would you change? What are we really saying when we play such scenarios
out in our mind? Has God made some mistakes? Does He not know what He is doing? Are “things” just running outside of His control? Are the circumstances of your life befuddling God, is God’s purpose in your life, in bringing the kingdom to bear in this world,
being thwarted, or slowed by men and happenings that are not as He has planned? OR, do you suppose that “things” are as He has ordained them to be?
The doubt and uncertainty that we see in John the Baptist takes us by surprise a bit simply because of what we know about John. He had recognized Jesus at the beginning,
had baptized him and heard the witness of the Father from heaven that followed that event. He had told his followers that Jesus is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. He had told the multitude that he, John, was not even worthy to loosen
Jesus’ sandal. He had preached to the people that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire and that his winnowing fork was in His hand, that He would clear His threshing floor. Jesus would bring the kingdom, would make the presence of God manifest
not only to Israel but the world. John believed this, preached this and lived this. He had staked everything, his entire existence on these facts. This was not profession only, or empty words, not for the prophet John, for he literally lived this reality.
He is the one who is the great fulfillment of the prophets, the one who precedes the coming of Messiah. He is Elijah!!! He is the one who said that he must decrease
that Jesus would increase!
So, where is the judgment? Where is the apocalypse? Where is the kingdom? Where is the cataclysm? Where is the vindication before the world of the righteous?
And for all of John’s faithfulness, for all of his believing, preaching and preparing the way for Christ, John finds himself in prison and as he sits there he isn’t
as sure as he once was. What do we make of this? How could this be? The Lord replies to the disciples that John sent to express his questions, his doubts, by referencing Isaiah 35:5-6 and chapter 61. Jesus teaches the great John that the Messiah was doing
exactly what the Holy Scriptures had said the Messiah would be found doing. It may not, and obviously was not, what John thought or what John was expecting. Jesus tells John that the Gospel, the Messianic message, is in fact going forth in power. The
blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the poor have proclaimed to them the gospel. And then the loving rebuke: “And blessed is he who is not offended in Me.”
God is a God who plays with knives. He is a dangerous God, the God of horses, lions and eagles, a God who makes straight things crooked, (Ecclesiastes 7:13) not morally,
but in the way He directs the world, his people and time. The question for us, for John, is not whether or not we will submit to our Savior as He does things so differently than we would expect, but rather, do we love Him for it? Jesus says to
John, Jesus says to you and me: Are you offended at my ways? Are you offended that things are exactly the way I have planned and purposed? Are you offended at what Jesus has brought to you? You say:
“But you don’t understand my situation… I have tried to live for the Lord, to honor Him, and look! Look at the mess, look at the difficulty…don’t you see my tears…don’t
you see my loneliness…don’t you see how unfavorable my circumstances are?”
Are you as great as John? Jesus, as much as he loves you, would probably say no, for Jesus said that among those born of women, there was not a greater prophet than
John. John sat in prison, alone, banished, punished and would never come out of that hole until the day his head was severed from his body and brought out as a prize. Blessed are you…as you are not offended because of Jesus.
Jesus goes on to speak about John and makes it clear that he indeed was the messenger of Malachi 3 and then in context makes a commentary about the generation of people
that surrounded Him. “To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another saying:
“We played the flute for you and you did not dance. We mourned to you and you did not weep…For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine and
you say He has a demon. The Son of man has come eating and drinking and you say “Look a glutton and wine-bibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.”
Jesus takes what would have been a very common experience for the people, that of children playing at weddings and funerals. They played their instruments but their
friends did not dance. And when they played their dirges, their songs of sorrow, their friends would not weep, there was no cooperation. Jesus says, this is the same thing with regard to the man John and the Son of Man. You have rejected John’s message; you
have rejected John because he was some kind of ascetic and then you rejected Jesus because he was not. They would not repent with John, nor rejoice with Jesus; John was too tight and unbending, and Jesus was too loose and welcoming of everyone. Men stood by
and passed judgment upon God… passed judgment upon the Son of God and His messenger. God was in the dock; God was on trial that day, and we must ask, “what has really changed?”
The arrogance of mankind to think that it is ours to question God, that WE make the plans, that WE know better how the world should work and what God should bring
and not bring, allow and not allow. Do we really believe that it is ours to plan the course and then demand that God capitulate to OUR thinking and feeling? Brothers and sisters, we might not say it that way, we might not ever express such thinking out loud.
But what are we really doing with every complaint and our grumbling against our circumstances? What are we really doing when we refuse to kiss the kind rod of God’s discipline and instead despise the rod? We either doubt that God is Wise, or that He is loving.
I think it is easy for us to see ourselves in this text. It is easy to find ourselves in the prison of our own circumstances and trials as we wonder, ‘what is the
Lord doing’. And it is easy to relate to John for we all struggle with doubts of various kinds and degrees. In fact, in some ways John serves as a picture of every Christian man or woman to some degree or another. Many Christians have been confused, troubled
and weakened by doubts just like his or those that are very similar to what the text sets forth. We have hopes and expectations that day in and day out are not met. The Lord doesn’t do for us what we are so certain is the right and best thing for us.
Let’s be honest, what is it that tests our faith more than anything else? What is it that tries us and makes us shake our heads in doubt? Is it not precisely that
the Lord Jesus does not do for us and give to us what we expect that he would and should, given His power, rule and love for His church, that we belong to? We wonder, don’t we, at why we don’t see in our own lives and in the lives of those we love, what we
want or would expect to see. We look around and have some confusion and uncertainty even as our brother John did as he sat in that prison no doubt wondering, where is the winnowing fork of judgement?
The Lord addresses us and addresses our doubt, even as He did John’s. Our Savior loves us more deeply that we can fathom, and He understands our weakness and that
includes our doubt. But He does not intend for us to stay in that, to wallow in it, or even to give it prominence. Jesus’ sympathy for us is not weakening, rather, He turns our heads to hear His voice that we might be taught of Him and see correctly. No matter
what is going on in your life, no matter what prison you find yourself sitting in, this is in fact, what Holy Scripture has told you that you are to expect.
In our text, Jesus reminds John what the prophets had said. He assures the great man that Jesus is carrying out to perfection the ministry of the Messiah, as the prophets
had spoken. There will be judgment all in its time, but make no mistake about it John, this is the kingdom, and this is the expectation that you should have had, and must now have. It is the same for us.
The Lord Jesus has told us that He is to go away on a long journey and that He will return at another time. He has told us that through many tribulations we will
inherit the kingdom. He has told us that anyone who would come after Him, will suffer persecutions. He has made it clear that the world will hate us. He has instructed us that the bitter-sweet nature of the gospel is not to change while we are in this world.
The outworking of this is different in the lives of his people, it looks different in my life than it does in yours. I might not have the battle of loneliness that you have and you might not incur the hatred of the world that your brother across the street
must deal with. The Lord might sanctify you through loss or disease, physical ailment, or emotional depths. You might have difficult relationships, or economic hardship, or both! He might teach you to depend on him in a way that he doesn’t use with your brothers
and sisters…But make no mistake about it, there is no difficulty, or disappointment that you will face, that I will face, that your children will face, that the Lord has not prepared us for. And when you are tempted to say, Lord I can’t, I can’t do it. He
has already told you, “of course you can.” The Lord says, there is no temptation but that which is common to man, and the Lord is faithful and he will provide an escape. (I Cor 10:13)
The world we live in may not be the world that you had wished for. It may not be the world that you had expected. And what sits in front of you for you to trust the
Lord with, to live with, might not be what YOU would have done, if you had been in charge. But brothers and sisters, it is not a different world than described for us in Holy Scripture. The Lord had not played fast and loose with His people. He has been honest
with you about what lies ahead and He has promised to never leave you, to never forsake you. Trust Him and remember, blessed are those who are not offended in Him.
Prayer: Father, I have complained times without number, against You and against what You have brought into my life. Forgive me for not trusting You, not believing
You and not humbling walking with You through the difficulty. I am ashamed that I would ever have been offended at You when I know all that You have and continue to do, to pour out Your love and mercy on my life. Give me eyes to see and a heart that loves
You for all you do for me and for my salvation. Through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen.
Hymn: If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee