The Longing of John and Jesus’ Joy-Affirming Response

Scripture — Matthew 11:2-6 (NRSV)

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 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. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

Devotion

Today’s short reading from Matthew’s gospel describes a scene I’ve always found interesting and encouraging. In the context of Advent and the theme of longing, a first thing I note in the message from John the Baptist is a sense of waiting and longing. Brief and concise though his words are, they surely echo the thoughts and questions of many devout Jews in Israel during his day: those who have been waiting for the Messiah to come, trusting in the promises of the prophets, but not knowing when they would be fulfilled_. Is Jesus the one? Or must the long wait continue?

In a way, John is asking the old question posed in many psalms of lament: How long, O Lord? How long must we wait? John longs for the Messiah. But he doesn’t just sit passively with his longing. He expresses it and actively seeks God.

This is the same John who not long before had baptized Jesus in the Jordan, and in doing so proclaimed him to be the Messiah: “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. . . . the Chosen One” (John 1:29,34). Now John is in prison, awaiting execution for having spoken truth to power. Everything he has believed in will now be put to the ultimate test as he is called to lay down his very life. His question to Jesus reveals a level of uncertainty—what we might call doubt. Was he mistaken in proclaiming to the world that his cousin was the promised Messiah? This is a very human and understandable response to his situation. Scripture reveals not only John’s great integrity and faith, but also his humanness in his doubts and longings.

The way John deals with his doubts and questions is a wonderful example. He doesn’t try to hide them or pretend them away.  (What, after all, can we hide from God?) He isn’t ashamed to acknowledge them. He brings them to Jesus. John’s example gives me freedom when I experience doubts—freedom to also bring them to God, along with my longings for Jesus to return and usher in the promised restoration of this suffering world.

As for Jesus, there are many different ways he could have answered. At least at first glance, some seem more obvious to me than the way he actually did answer. For example, Jesus could simply have said, “Yes. I am the promised Messiah, the Son of God. You just need to have faith.” Such an answer would have cleared up doubts as to who Jesus claimed to be, helping to eliminate any conjecture that he really didn’t see himself as the Messiah. But I’m not sure such an answer would have alleviated John’s doubts. John might well have responded, “How do I know?”

What Jesus does instead is point to the evidence. He doesn’t merely say, “Take my word for it.” He invites John to look at what He has done: “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.” That Jesus raised the dead is especially powerful evidence of his divinity, and I have to imagine it was an important reassurance to John, who must have been concerned about his own life. I am reminded of the post-resurrection interaction Jesus would later have with his disciple Thomas. Thomas had seen far more evidence and reasons to believe in Jesus than John had, and yet Jesus still shows him his hands and side wounded in the crucifixion and then says, “Do not doubt but believe” (John 20:27).

This isn’t to say that Jesus’ words alone are not trustworthy. They are. And as we get to know him as the Messiah, we learn this more fully. But there were, after all, many in those generations who claimed to be the Messiah. John is wise (and we would be too) not to simply accept any person claiming to speak for God, but to look at the evidence. And this leads me to a final point. Had I written this devotion a few years ago, I likely would have stopped here. But as I reflect on this passage again, I am struck by something else as well. Jesus’s answer not only points to evidence of his Divine power—especially to raise the dead—but his words also reveal God’s character and purposes. God cares about the blind, the lame, and the deaf. He cares about the poor. He cares about those despised and neglected by the world. For the blind, lame, deaf, and poor, and for anybody who cares about those people, these are words of great joy! And for all of us living in mortal bodies, Jesus’s words to John should bring us a powerful hope and joy.

They are also wonderful words by which we might examine the character of any in the world today who claim to speak for God. Do they care about the blind, the lame, the deaf, the poor, and those despised by the world?

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: My Yoke Is Easy (Matthew 11:28-30).