St. Luke 7:18-28
Dearly beloved,
John the Baptist was a very important figure who factored
into the coming of Jesus. John points to the coming of Jesus in the
Gospels. So, he does the same thing for us in Advent. As with all good
things, there usually is a problem, which mars the picture, though. Whenever
you have the dynamic of people involved, there usually is a problem that
develops somewhere along the line.
To figure out the problem, however, takes a good working
knowledge of all four gospels. What was the problem associated with John
the Baptist? Well, one must realize that he had disciples of his own. St.
John 1:35 tells us that John was standing with two of his disciples, and he
looked at Jesus as He walked by and said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God!’ John had
his own following. In fact, in Jewish society it was the norm to for a
teacher, a Rabbi, to have students. Students were called “disciples.”
“Students,” or, “disciples” functioned differently than they
do in society today. Today, students jump from teacher to teacher. Instead
of learning everything from a wise man, students learn a little from one
person, then move on and learn a little from another, so on and so forth. In
Biblical days, a wise man was worth a student investing his time. As a
result, a disciple would spend a great deal of time with his Rabbi. He
would learn information, but he would also learn how to live.
The disciple would learn how to pray, how to serve, how to
love, how to talk. A disciple would learn to say and do things exactly as
his Rabbi did. In other words, we are talking about intense learning and a
great time investment. This would have been the situation with John the
Baptist and his disciples. So, John comes preaching repentance and
baptizing. He sets the way for Jesus to begin His ministry and trek to the
cross.
Now comes the problem. John’s disciples loved him! John did
his thing. As soon as Jesus comes on the scene, it is time for Jesus to
take over. John knew this. In fact, in St. Matthew 4:12, we are told that
Jesus waited until John was put into prison before He would actually begin
His ministry. So what was the problem? The disciples of John the Baptist
were more loyal to John than to Jesus. A couple of instances bear this out
for us. In St. Matthew 9:11ff the Pharisees and John’s disciples become
upset with Jesus. The disciples of John come to Jesus, saying, ‘Why do we
and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?’ Note the critical
eye that they cast upon Jesus.
They look at Jesus and His disciples and conclude that Jesus
isn’t pious and holy enough. He isn’t doing what they do, so there must be
something wrong with Jesus and His disciples. Jesus tries to correct their
thinking by telling them that the wedding guests do not fast when the
bridegroom is with them. This is not all that concerns the disciples of
John the Baptist. As often happens with young, budding theologians, they
may find themselves bantering back and forth.
In St. John 3, a discussion arose between some of John’s
disciples and a Jew concerning purification. So, they go to John and they
say, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore
witness--look, He is baptizing, and all are going to Him.” Put simply,
John’s disciples did not like the attention Jesus was getting. The problem
to which I have been leading you is this: John’s disciples wanted to follow
men, not God. This happens in the church all the time. People follow men
instead of Jesus.
People cling more strongly to what men do than they do the
Word of Life. All that I have just said is the detective work for the
proper understanding of the inquiry of John the Baptist. John sends a
couple of disciples to Jesus to ask “are you the coming One or should we
look for another?” Now, you might think that John is getting weak. After
all, isn’t our faith weak sometimes? We would never want to admit that
sometimes we struggle with our belief in Jesus and His resurrection, heaven,
eternal life, and all things good and miraculous.
But we do. But this is not the reason that John sends the
disciples. It is without doubt that John will soon lose his head and his
life. John is a compassionate and wise Rabbi. He loves his disciples and
he sees that they are offended by Jesus. John does not want them to be lost
and stray from the faith after he is dead. So, John sends these two
disciples. John is also a clever teacher. John isn’t about to let his
disciples know that this is a teaching moment for them. They may resist. John
knows that the best teaching is done when people do not realize they are
being taught.
John also knows that his disciples need to see things with
their own eyes. So, the disciples approach Jesus. There is a crowd there.
The disciples ask Jesus the question posed to them by John. “Are you the
coming One, or should we look for another?” The gospel tells us that the
response by Jesus is that in that very hour He heals many people of diseases
and plagues, evil spirits, and gives sight to the blind.
Then Jesus turns to John’s disciples and says to tell John
what you have seen and heard. Jesus ends with the statement that says it
all: “And blessed is he who is not offended by me.” That was for the
disciples of John. They had been antagonistic to the ways of Jesus. Then
we know it wasn’t John’s doubting, because Jesus turns the crowd and says,
“What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the
wind?…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.”
In other words, John wasn’t wavering. It was his disciples
who had become misguided. The sinful flesh does this. People get hung up
on old ways, and people. Things get in the way between our faith and
devotion to Jesus. This gospel is for the church. John prepared the
way. Jesus
was to take the disciples where they needed to go from there. It is the
same today.
Jesus takes you along the path. Jesus is your true Rabbi,
or, teacher. Jesus is the One who makes the path clear. Jesus lights the
path. The miracles that Jesus performed for the disciples to see were meant
to show them that in Jesus is the power to defeat sin, sickness,
imperfection and the devil. Those miracles were shown to show them that the
time of God’s coming had arrived. This is where the church’s focus should
be. Not on men.
It is Jesus Who will take you home. It is Jesus who heals
you of your sins. It is Jesus who will grant you victory over death and the
grave. In fact, He has done it. “It is finished.” In Jesus you are holy.
The church gathers around the altar to behold Jesus in the sacrament. The
church gathers to get a foretaste of heaven, because Jesus won this for you
on the cross by the shedding of His blood and suffering hell in your place.
Men point to the God-man, but Jesus is the King of King and
Lord of Lords. Jesus is upheld in this gospel to remind you that in Him you
have all the things that make for peace. Not peace in the world, but peace
with God. You shine as the stars because the Lord shines His love upon you,
as He imparts to you the grace that means forgiveness for sins and holiness
unto everlasting salvation in heaven with Jesus. Let us glorify the Lord
Jesus, who has the power and the victory over the grave. Amen.
--
Rev. Chad Kendall
www.frchadius.blogspot.com
Trinity Lutheran Church
Lowell, Indiana
www.trinitylowell.org
