12102022 – Luke 11. 2-11
John the Baptizer had “EXPECTATIONS” about the ONE who WAS to Come.
He WASN’T alone.
A lot of people did. It was actually pretty COMMONPLACE.
Some thought of a KING, like King David. The Greatest King of All Time. The “GOAT!”
Some expected A “WISE RELIGIOUS RULER,” perhaps someone like King Solomon.
You know, WISE, but with a lot of SHECKLES!
Or maybe someone like “a PROPHET OF OLD,” saying, “Thus says the Lord.” And commanding all kinds of public attention.
Maybe even someone like ELIJAH or “an ELISHA figure.”
Some expected “a WARRIOR,” ACTUALLY riding on “a WHITE horse,” a charger, the STEED OF BATTLE, leading the way to free Israel from the chains of Roman domination and oppression.
Many assumed rightly or wrongly that Israel would be FREED from any and all enemies, ushering in a TIME OF PEACE AND TRANQUILITY.
This would ALL be the Messiah’s DOING. The ANOINTED ONE OF GOD. HIS JOB. HIS WORK. His activity.
Some even went so far as to say, when the Messiah DID COME, he would enter the Holy City through the “EASTERNMOST GATE, the GATE OF MERCY” and nowhere else!”
People were getting PRETTY SPECIFIC.
Did Jesus fulfill “their” EXPECTATIONS?
Or, did Jesus DEFINE “his own mission” and “his own ministry” on HIS OWN TERMS, without worrying about – what everyone else thought or said?
John knew this…
His own world had SHRUNK considerably in size.
The one who WAS “preparing the way” in the wide-open wilderness was now being held captive in a small…little…tiny underground prison cell. Cold and damp. Surrounded only by darkness, except for the light of a torch.
John had tons of time to think.
The one who baptized “WHAT HE ASSUMED TO BE” the Messiah – in the Jordan River is NOW dependent on others for even a cup of cold water.
The one who was SO SURE of WHO Jesus was, now wonders, Are you the one WHO IS to come?
OR should we be looking for another?
Perhaps, old John had too much time on his hands. Too much time to think.
WHO KNOWS maybe he was even thinking IF JESUS WERE THE MESSIAH, then why was he, John, still held in this prison captivity?
For sure, the MESSIAH would come and free him.
Matthew writes, “When John heard WHAT “the Messiah” was doing …”
Or, NOT DOING…according to John’s way of thinking…
Jesus WAS NOT following John’s outline for his ministry.
It seemed like he was doing anything BUT!
Jesus was NOT following John’s “mission statement” for him, his “step-by-step plan” for a successful Messianic ministry.
It was, as if, Jesus was ignoring it all COMPLETELY.
John had told people THE AXE was lying at the root of the trees, ready to chop down the UNWORTHY TREES.
IF you didn’t bear good fruit, you were HISTORY!
He had even promised THE CHAFF (the useless part of the wheat) would burn with unquenchable fire.
Where were the unquenchable fires?
They should be BURNING day and night by now.
People should be shivering, shaking, kowtowing, afraid of their own shadows…and John heard nothing of it…
Jesus did not seem to be pointing the finger of judgment, at all. There was NOT a lot of judgment coming from his mouth, either.
There was NO smoldering woodpile of sinners. NO weeping and gnashing of teeth anywhere to be found.
This must have been more than mild disappointment for John: He was at that very moment sitting in prison, awaiting his own beheading because he had dared to stand up and challenge King Herod for Herod’s unrighteous marriage.
If Jesus were looking for some chaff worthy of burning, he could start by lighting a match to Old King Herod, and get John out of prison…QUICKLY!
Instead, Jesus is pronouncing FORGIVENESS OF SINS, HEALING the sick, and PREACHING “good news to the poor.”
Was this really WHAT Jesus WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DOING if he were indeed the Messiah?
Each of us has our EXPECTATIONS and THOUGHTS about the kind of “savior” we want.
The gospel DOES NOT tell us whether John eventually understood, accepted, and set aside his ASSUMPTIONS about the MESSIAH.
What we know is that Jesus welcomed his QUESTIONS and his DOUBTS and PRAISED John as “more than a prophet” in front of the crowds.
This tells us that we should not be ashamed or afraid to voice OUR QUESTIONS, NAME OUR DOUBTS, and SHARE OUR STORIES of DISAPPOINTMENTS.
John went DIRECTLY to THE SOURCE instead of just muddling along, making assumptions, or staying in the dark about WHO Jesus is.
Now what about us, and our expectations and assumptions when it comes to others?
Amen.