The Joy of the Lord

Scripture: Matthew 11:2-11

² When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples ³ and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” ⁴ Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: ⁵ the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with a skin disease are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. ⁶ And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

⁷ As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁸ What, then, did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. ⁹ What, then, did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is the one about whom it is written,

‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way before you.’

¹¹ “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist, yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Questions

1. John did not seem to question Jesus at his baptism, why would he have doubts about Jesus being the Messiah now?
2. Why would Jesus answer John with a reference to Isaiah instead of a straightforward yes or no?
3. What is Jesus’ description of John supposed to teach us about him and his relationship to God’s kingdom?
4. What would John have felt when his disciples returned to him with Jesus’ answer given he was imprisoned and possibly facing execution?

Background

Related Scriptures: Isaiah 35:1–10; Nehemiah 8; Philippians 4; James 5:7–10

John’s question indicates that he had at least some idea of what Israel’s Messiah was meant to be or do that Jesus was not fulfilling.

Jesus’ words about John are somewhat ambiguous but are meant to touch of the fact of John’s greatness as a prophet but to also remember that everyone who enters God’s kingdom fully has an even greater knowledge of God. And John predating the fulfillment of Jesus’ work has not yet entered it.

The passages that Jesus cites from Isaiah focus on both God’s judgment and blessings, yet Jesus only speaks of God’s blessings with the Messiah, this appears to be a deliberate choice to only focus on the positive elements of God’s coming kingdom. Jesus is demonstrating what is most important to his mission.

There is an irony in Jesus contrasting John to a palace environment when he was imprisoned in a palace.

The contrast between a reed and one in finery is that the reed is in the wilderness but no one would go out to see it, and the person in finery is not found in the wilderness even if people flock to that one.

Reflection

Why would John the Baptist, the one who first identified Jesus at the Jordan River, now question whether Jesus was the Messiah? There are numerous potential answers to this question, but one that hits me this week is that John was in prison and facing execution. I can see John thinking, “When is this guy going to become king so I can get out of here?” It is likely that John expected Jesus to take political control and was wondering why he had not yet started so he sent his disciples to find out if Jesus was in fact the Messiah—king. If this is the case then I wonder what went through John’s head when his disciples reported back to him. He asked his disciples to find out if Jesus is the Messiah and Jesus responds with a list of events given in Isaiah that are evidence the Messiah has arrived. Exciting, right? In a sense, sure. Jesus is essentially answering him, “Yes I am.” But notice what Jesus leaves out. There is no reference to reigning as king, there is no reference to judgment on enemies. The first thing I notice in Jesus’ response is that he is abundantly positive. His message is about the good of his coming. He does not dwell on the consequences of rejecting him, but rather on the Good News he brings. I think this is a wonderful display by Jesus. He knows John is in a position where he might want revenge on the person who put him in prison and he avoids judgment. John is probably dreaming of a reversal of fortunes where he will be released and Herod will be condemned. Jesus though does not play into that but casts his mission in terms of the joy it brings.

Immediately after Jesus responds to the messengers, he turns to the crowd and speaks about judgment. But this is not part of the answer he provided John. Jesus was wise enough to know that we need to focus much more on the joy than the judgment because it is easy for us to get caught up in “judgment for thee, blessings for me.” But this demonstrates the judgment is on those who did not agree with the message that Jesus is proclaiming. The judgment is against those who do not work to see Jesus’ mission accomplished, they do not help the poor, the blind, deaf, lame.” This is what he means when he says “blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” He is saying blessed are those that are not scandalized by the fact that I have come to help those in need and will do so at every turn. Blessed are those helping me care for the poor, the disabled, the hurting and judgment on those who are scandalized by the fact I show these people the most attention.

But I also notice one other element that Jesus leaves out. Jesus did not add “the captives are released” (Luke 4:18, Isaiah 61:1), a message I am sure John wanted to hear. I think if I were in John’s position I would be thinking “Joy to the world, but not to me.” I can certainly imagine John feeling lost and forgotten as Jesus talks about bringing joy to others while he lingers in his plight. I am putting these thoughts and feelings into John because they are real expressions that many believers have, especially around Christmas. There are many who have difficulty seeing the joy of Christmas because we cannot focus on the big picture when our own looks dark.  A. W. Tozer once said “Sometimes when we get overwhelmed we forget how big God is.” This is simply a reality of being human, grief and pain hit home and cast a shadow over our perspective. I have a friend who occasionally says, “I know others have it worse, but I want to complain too.” And this is legitimate. But the issue is that what happens for us is if this temporary complaint can easily become permanent. We can get caught up in the mindset that Jesus has forgotten me and left me in my circumstances while others get healing. This is why the Church focuses on Joy. We take a week to focus on the joy in the world, to call people to look outside themselves and share together in the joy of the family. This is why sharing life together is so important, it is so we can share in one another’s joys. Sharing the joy of Christmas helps us look beyond ourselves to the reality of the future that God has planned for us. This week is about remembering my current situation does not define my or the world’s future—the Messiah does.