The Wrong Messiah?

Matthew 11:1-6

“When Jesus had finished giving these instructions to his twelve disciples, he went out to teach and preach in towns throughout the region. John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?”

Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen— the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” And he added, “God blesses those who do not fall away because of me..”

Have you been where John, myself or the Israelites were before? Have you ever found yourself looking for the wrong Messiah, that when He actually showed up you didn't recognize Him?

The story of John the Baptist, like the entire Bible is extremely compelling and riveting, life changing really. I have found myself over the years reflecting on the many questions and emotions that I experience while ruminating on John’s life, purpose and journey. I want to focus today on his final days on earth. John, cousin, and forerunner for Christ, now finds himself imprisoned and on the fringe of being beheaded. His crime was doing what was right, ie. speaking out against a perverted action involving Herodias and Phillip,(Herod the tetrarch’s brother and sister in law). Herodias was the unlawful wife of the tetrarch Herod Antipas and had formerly been the wife of Herod’s brother, Philip. As the granddaughter of Herod the Great, Herodias was herself a niece to both of her husbands, Philip and Antipas.

John was a man of experience, zeal, fervour, filled with and anointed by the Spirit of God, from he was in his mother, Elizabeth’s womb. His very conception was miraculous, as his mother Elizabeth was past child bearing age and was barren. He was described as being the greatest man born of a woman, by His cousin Jesus. The scriptures said he did no miracles but persons would walk miles to the wilderness to hear him preach. This however, didn’t make him immune to, nor did it safeguard him against disappointment. What happens when the God we are expecting doesn’t show up in the way we are expecting? I have often felt like John, where are you Lord? If you are truly with me, why did x or y happen? Why does my faithfulness seem to be rewarded with hardship and pain?

Jesus came on the scene and John declared “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”-John 1:29 This would have probably been their second meeting since John leaped in Elizabeth’s womb, at the presence of Mary, who was pregnant with Jesus. I always wondered how he could be his actual cousin and they never met-not even for Shabbat? Anyhoo it was a momentous occasion for both John and Jesus. John met and baptized the Messiah he had been speaking about, and Jesus gets baptized and is affirmed in His identity as a Son of God right before entering the wilderness, by the Spirit to be tested by the devil.

At the pinnacle of Johns’ ministry he is imprisoned and sends a messenger to ask Jesus one question; Are you the Messiah, or is there another one coming? The question exposes that John clearly knew that Jesus was the Messiah, not just because he had previously declared it, but if he didn’t know, would he really expect a random person to give him the answer? The question was borne out of disappointment. John like the other Israelites, were expecting a Messiah who would deliver them from Roman rule, taxation and would come to execute judgment and vengeance on their oppressors. Jesus’ response was “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.”

I thought this was a little bit harsh at first. Jesus this is yuh cousin yuh couldn’t give him a like buss and visit him or send one earthquake so he could escape from prison? Then I thought, Jesus was always about his Father’s business and most likely this wasn’t on the agenda. John had lived a full life and had fulfilled his purpose. The Messiah he spoke of was now here and the kingdom of God was advancing. John's entire life was about preparing the way for Jesus.

In the heights of the pandemic we all experienced tremendous loss. It was heartbreaking to see the amount of persons who passed away, and many people questioned God. A prevailing sentiment I heard expressed was that if the pandemic hadn’t happened, their loved one would still be around. In my time of fellowship with the Lord I believe He gave a very comforting yet not so comforting reminder. He is sovereign! None of this took Him by surprise.

You see when we are born, none of us are told by God you will die at this age, in a car accident or, a runaway train, or a bee sting, or cancer or disease or peacefully in your sleep, or… a pandemic. We assume because of how sudden it seemed to us that it was unplanned. However, from before we are born our days are numbered by Him. What this means is that people didn’t die because a pandemic prematurely took them, but because God sovereignly orchestrates how many days we have on this earth. Was the suddenness of it all hard for us? Yes! But was it unforeseen to God? No.

We can take comfort in a sovereign God who knew that John the Baptist would die by being beheaded for standing up for truth before He faced such a demise. We can also take comfort in a God who knew that your friend and/or family member would die in a pandemic instead of peacefully in their sleep.

Our faith we must embrace with much sobriety because it isn’t easy for us frail humans to trust an infinite God. When we can’t conceive something, oftentimes, we come to our own conclusions instead realizing our limitations, and need for reliance upon the only omniscient God.

None of this is said lightly, or to be insensitive to those who have lost loved ones in the pandemic. I have suffered the same loss, and have found that God wants us to realign our perspective with His. Instead of making Him in our own image and creating expectations of Him around this image, let us embrace His heart and character. Nothing takes Him by surprise and nothing happens randomly. Our faith we must embrace with much sobriety because it isn’t easy for us frail humans to trust an infinite God. When we can’t conceive something, oftentimes, we come to our own conclusions instead realizing our limitations, and need for reliance upon the only omniscient God.

Friend, God is calling us to mature in our faith, He is compelling us by His grace to come into a greater dispensation of trust and reliance upon Him as we renew our minds. Of those who were born of a woman, there was none greater than John the Baptist. This was Jesus’s penultimate statement about his cousin and faithful servant, even though John lost heart near the end. Suddenly my heart was encouraged. My eyes were opened, Jesus wasn’t being harsh when he sent back that sobering message to John. He was providing much needed encouragement and affirmation. John you did well, you have ran and finished the race, see that which you have been faithful towards is here. The kingdom of God has come, your purpose has been accomplished, and you can rest and go home in peace.

His presence with us doesn’t mean the absence of persecution, trials, and crosses.

Death is piercing, losing someone you love is devastating, the Messiah like John faced the heights of anxiety in the garden of Gethsemane, so He isn’t unfamiliar with what John or you and I have experienced. He is neither unfeeling, the word says “we have a messiah who is touched with the feelings of our infirmities and has been tempted in every way yet didn’t yield to temptation” (Hebrews 4:15). He was focussed however, on the will of the Father. Friend, your Messiah has come, let nothing else but the will of the Father compel and consume you as it did Him. Friend, The Father didn’t spare His own Son, who was blameless, so why do we expect Him to spare us? His presence with us doesn’t mean the absence of persecution, trials, and crosses.

Jesus has been here all along, but maybe you haven't been able to see Him because your vision is clouded by a Messiah made in your own image. If that's you, take heart. Your Messiah has come, you are not forgotten or forsaken. His eye is on you even now.

Reflections

• List 3 ways that you can identify with John and the Israelites.

• Ask God to give you His mind on each example, and write down what you believe He is saying.

• Look up 3 scriptures that express gratitude and thanksgiving to God, write them down and pray them throughout the week.

Prayer

Father, I thank You for Your presence with me always, and that You never leave or forsake me. Your ways are higher than my ways, and Your thoughts are higher than my thoughts. I ask You to renew my mind as I embrace Your truth. Help me to remember Your faithfulness and fill me with hope in believing as I trust in You.