John the Baptist’s voice echoed through the Judean wilderness, sharp as the desert wind. As we mentioned last week, crowds gathered to hear his call for repentance, and he spoke with a boldness that spared no one—not even rulers. So, when Herod Antipas took Herodias, his brother’s former wife, John denounced the marriage publicly as unlawful. His words spread quickly, stirring unrest and embarrassing the royal household. Herodias was furious at being shamed and demanded Herod silence the prophet who dared to challenge her honor. So, Herod has John arrested and imprisoned. And as he sits alone, bound in chains behind stone walls, this great forerunner of Christ began to have doubts. He had been bold, fearless even, as he declared, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” But if the Kingdom of God has indeed come, why was he languishing in prison?
From this position, a singular question forms in John’s mind, one he perhaps would rather not speak aloud. But the longer he remains in his cell, the more difficult it becomes to remove it from his thoughts. Finally, he cannot stand it anymore. He needs to know. He needs an answer. He still receives regular visits from his disciples. In fact, they provide for many of his needs despite his limited freedom. So, he has them take his question to Jesus. It is time to ask the man Himself. And the question is haunting, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” Was he wrong? Was he mistaken in the proclamation that Jesus is the Messiah?
This question finds our Lord in the midst of His work, and His answer is profound. “Go and tell John what you hear and see,” He says. “The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me.” Jesus is the coming of the rule and reign of God’s Kingdom, and the effects of such a coming are evident. In fact, the events going on are all things the prophets said would happen when the Messiah comes. The turning back of death and disease should be expected, and they are what is happening. Well, there is one thing left off the list, perhaps the one item John wanted to hear, and it is the promise that the Messiah would set the captives free. Instead, He says, “Blessed is the one who is not offended by Me.”
This response graciously highlights the struggles of the faithful, the battles that come in various forms throughout your journey of belief. For though you are bound together in a common faith, you have all come along different paths. Some of you were born and raised in the faith. You cannot remember a time when you did not go to church. It has always been part of your identity. Some of you have found your way here today after receiving the work of the Spirit later in life. Convicted of sin and turning to the Good News, you are, perhaps for the first time, taking seriously what it means to be a child of God. Others have come through times of prolonged absence from the Church. Maybe you were hurt or discontented and wandered away, but now you are trying to navigate the path before you. Each of you has a unique story which led to this moment.
Your story is marked by times of great assurance and comfort, but also times of hardship and grief. Sometimes you come to church excited to be here and ready to go. Other times you barely make it through the doors, holding back tears and just trying to get through the service. Sometimes the grief you experience in this life is so profound and prolonged it shakes your faith to the core. You pray, but it does not seem to help. You worship, but the pain does not dissipate. And it is in these dark moments that the real struggle of the faithful begins.
It begins as doubts. Perhaps, they are uncertainties regarding the Word and promises of Christ, questions that aim to give some sense to the pain and suffering you experience. Maybe the promises are not what you thought they were, or maybe they were not meant for you, or maybe you have not done what you need to do to make them work. But if the pain and hardship remain, if the suffering you experience goes on unabated, that singular question begins to form. It is the one you do not want to speak out loud for fear you might come undone in asking it. Is this the one who is to come, or should we seek another? Do we have it all wrong?
Our Lord asks His followers about John. “What did you go out into the wilderness to see?” Who was this man that now has doubts about Jesus’ identity? Well, he was a prophet, the prophet, the final prophet who prepared the way for the Lord. All the other prophets of God spoke of the coming deliverance of God. They prophesied and proclaimed to the people of God that there would be a redeemer, a Messiah who would reconcile fallen humanity to the Father in Heaven. They all said He would come. They offered insight into what it would be like and what we could expect. But John, John did not say the Messiah would come. He said, “He is here.” And because of this privileged position, Jesus says, “Among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.”
But then Jesus makes an incredible statement. He says, “Yet, the one who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.” The least of you, the weakest of those who have faith in Christ, are greater than John, for the Kingdom Christ brings is not marked by power and temporal authority. It is a kingdom of faith, a kingdom of promise. It cannot be imprisoned or destroyed by violence, though they will try. Your greatness is not found in your strength but in the greatness of the King who has called you His own. And you remain His own even as you doubt, even as you question, even as you fear you may have it all wrong.
For in good times and bad, in times of confidence and times of doubt, we gather together. We gather around the gifts of Christ. And what do you hear and see? You hear the proclamation that you are forgiven, you are loved, and you are blessed by your King. You see the washing of holy baptism, you see the gathering around the table of the Lord, and you see the fellowship of the saints as we sing the praises of the One who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. His gifts pour out for you, here and now. Your king has come. He comes even now in these promises, and He will come again in glory. And on that day, all the suffering, all the pain, and all the tears will come to an end. So, we pray, come Lord Jesus, come. Amen.
