Written by: Candy Thomas
~All scriptural quotations are taken from the NIV
As I was reading Luke 7:18-28, I became particularly intrigued by Jesus’ interaction with the disciples of John the Baptist. John, held in prison by Herod, sent his disciples to ask Jesus the following, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” Luke 7:18.
Jesus, in their eyesight, performed the miracles of the Isaiah 61:1 Messianic prophecy. After quoting the scripture aloud, Jesus told them to go back and report to John all they had seen and heard. But Jesus added this caveat to His scriptural quotation, “… Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” (vs. 23). I pondered why Jesus felt it necessary to add that comment, but I knew one thing for certain, Jesus never casually threw away His words. Jesus is the word made flesh and when He walked this earth, everything He both said and did had deep spiritual insight and purpose. I also knew that nothing any man ever said in His hearing slipped past Jesus. He knew both the spoken and unspoken secrets in the heart of every person.
While sitting alone in that prison, John most likely thought carefully about what he wanted his disciples to say to Jesus for him. He didn’t choose to send them to make certain Jesus knew that he was being held a prisoner. Instead, he sent them on a rather odd inquisition to confirm Jesus’ identity AGAIN. I questioned why John did that. Before he was arrested, he had boldly declared Christ’s messianic assignment to a crowd and the only thing that had changed since then was his imprisonment. No doubt Jesus recognized that John even sending them to question something he already knew the answer to was telling in itself. But John’s adding, “or should we expect someone else?” to his unnecessary question about whether He was the one, had a much deeper implication. The sarcastic edge of those six words spoke to the condition of John’s heart as he sat languishing in that dank, dark prison. Jesus knew John very well.
They were not strangers. They were family…. cousins being only 6 months apart in age. No doubt, John knew Jesus well, also most likely having heard stories about Him his whole life from his mother and his entire family. Those stories, telling all the many unusual events in Jesus’ life ranging back even before His birth, were probably repeated over and over at family gatherings. John had always known who Jesus was. He even gave a nonverbal testimony to the newly pregnant Mary while he was yet in his own mother Elizabeth’s womb that Jesus was surely the one.
I acknowledge scripture is silent on details about Jesus and John’s familial relationship and I admit I may be reading between the lines but ……. I’m curious. Did John possibly ever struggle during his youth with all the fuss family made when it came to Jesus? I can only imagine the things John might have seen and heard as they grew up. I wonder what John thought about all the confusion that occurred the day Jesus wandered into the temple to discuss the scriptures with the experts of the law and was accidentally left behind by the family caravan. I can almost hear the reprimand of the family asking John how it was that he hadn’t kept track of his “special” younger cousin. What might John’s early life have been like if all his actions were constantly being compared to a sinless Jesus?
You may argue that I’m stretching too far with this train of thought but in my defense, I just want to make the point that John the Baptist lived a real life. He at times might also have occasionally felt insecure or unappreciated by his family because these kinds of feelings are normal for humans and happen in real people’s lives. Yes, yes, yes… John was powerfully called and perfectly anointed by the Spirit but he certainly wasn’t a perfect human. He was known by the crowds for his uniqueness and some curiosity seekers inevitably followed him purely for the spectacle. I don’t know if he was knowingly patterning himself after the prophet Elijah or if his eccentricity was possibly drawn out by a need to differentiate himself from the legalistic religious leaders of his day or maybe even from his own perfect cousin. Perhaps none of these things applied or contributed to who he was.
In any event, neither his unusual fashion sense, weird diet or fiery persona mattered to Jesus. He well knew John’s heart and His opinion of him was unmoved by his reputation among the people. Jesus spoke supportively about John in Luke 7:28, calling him the greatest naturally born prophet of all time. Yet, almost in the same breath Jesus added, “he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” His statement reminded me of the scripture that says all sin and fall short of the glory of God. This undeniable truth is as applicable to today’s everyday Christian as it was to someone as anointed and purposed in God’s redemptive plan as John the Baptist.
God mightily used all our favorite biblical heroes but we must never forget they were still only flesh and blood. The sin nature inherited from Adam and Eve puts them, along with each of us, on a level playing field. Only Christ was sinless and not even the most powerfully anointed person can be declared righteous unless he or she is found in Christ. Not even John the Baptist who Jesus enthusiastically called, “the greatest prophet born of a woman,” would try to claim for himself a high place of worthiness in the kingdom of God.
This same John who proclaimed to the crowds that Jesus was, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” later doubted his own proclamation. This John who baptized Jesus and experienced the miracle of the heavens being opened up and the Spirit of God descending like a dove upon Him according to Matthew 3:16-17, openly questioned the very truth he had been confident about his entire life.
This John who heard God speak as a voice out of the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” suddenly needed additional confirmation. I doubt there was any other man alive at that time who knew more than he that Jesus was the one. God had sent John before Jesus as, “the voice crying out in the wilderness,” and John knew that his calling was “to prepare Christ’s way and make His paths straight.” (Isaiah 40:3). But the fiery furnace of persecution has always tested the souls of men and it is no stretch to consider it also tested John’s soul. The trial of his unfair imprisonment for speaking the truth about Herod likely played a part in him questioning what he already knew about Jesus. I can clearly picture John sitting there in prison as the days drug on, wondering why his powerful cousin hadn’t come to see or help him. After all the magnificent miracles he was hearing that Jesus performed, surely, He could have come into that prison and instantly delivered him, couldn’t He?
Maybe it matters little exactly what John was thinking or what led him to send his disciples on that last mission. What does matter is that his questions proved that he was just a man who needed a savior as much as any other sinner. The imperfection and need for salvation of this fiery prophet was made clear to all the moment he verbalized his insulting public question of doubt about Christ’s identity.
John, who had not too much earlier given bold testimony about Jesus, momentarily allowed the dark circumstances he was experiencing to cause him to stumble. He missed the opportunity to once more publicly recognize Jesus as the one they had all been waiting for, the Messiah.
Studying God’s word is so amazing! I love how God revealed the frailties as well as the strengths in the lives of the people He sovereignly chose to use for His glory. I also love how forgiving and gracious Christ’s response was to John’s challenging amnesia attack. Jesus provided indisputable evidence of His fulfillment of prophecy then sent a message back as subtle as the one He had received. He warned John that in order for him to expect or look for someone else he would first have to “stumble over” Him. I have no doubt that John instantly repented when Christ’s response reached him and his faith was fully restored. He realized he had completed his assignment and his part to play had come to an end. His prison sentence became the fulfillment of his prophecy to the people, “He must become greater. I must become less.” John 3:30. Not much longer after that John the Baptist’s life was brutally brought to an end at the young age of 30.
I’ve read this section of scripture numerous times but have never seen it in this light before. It was made crystal clear to me that if John the Baptist could stumble, so can any of us.
There is an old saying that familiarity breeds contempt. Sitting up on our lofty spiritual perch, it’s easy to accuse and dismiss unbelievers for stumbling over Jesus. They take offense of Him because they can’t get pass the familiarity of His humanity. They see it as a weakness because they can’t comprehend how or even why God would possibly cloth Himself in human flesh. They are blinded to the fact that the light of incarnation was God’s precise plan for redeeming man from the darkness of sin. Jesus was God made flesh so that He could die as a man in our place to satisfy our sin debt, raise Himself to life again for our justification and take the sting out of death. When unbelievers stumble over Christ’s deity and take offense, they disqualify themselves for the very salvation and eternal life He came to deliver.
But what about us? It is humbling to realize that if prison could result in someone as anointed as John the Baptist stumbling, we certainly must take care to watch our step. In unsettling times of tribulation, our faith can be tested in ways we may not anticipate. When a test goes deeper and longer than we want, when God doesn’t answer a tearfully offered prayer in the way we had hoped…will we endure to the very end of our assignment? At the height of intense suffering will we question if Jesus is the one or if we should expect someone else? These are very sobering questions to consider. Even mature believers sometimes tremble at the thought of suddenly facing their greatest weaknesses and fears but thank God for the reassurances found in His word. Jesus promised that He would never, ever leave us or forsakes us. Just as He showed grace and mercy to John the Baptist in his time of testing, He comforts us with words of affirmation in our times of weakness: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
As I completed my study of Luke 7:18-28, I felt close to John the Baptist in a way I never had before. John’s weakness and stumbling exposed by Jesus’s response to his insulting questions made him much more real to me. His emotional struggle both encouraged me and acted as a sober warning. The fact that God knowing all things, still chose John from birth and used him so powerfully to accomplish His plan acted as a reminder that God isn’t looking for perfect people to anoint and use. He is looking for surrendered vessels who will humbly yield to the Spirit’s power and willingly obey His commands.
I pray this blog inspires a refreshing renewal of hope in your heart. If you are experiencing one of those frightening times when you’ve done your very best but feel like you’ve fallen short and are oh so close to stumbling, please trust in the sufficiency of God’s amazing grace. Take a deep cleansing breath, rest in Him and allow Him to perfect His power in your weakness.
May your soul find comfort in this scriptural Doxology…
“To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” Jude 1:24-25
Image by: Jan Marczuk from Pixabay