Year A Third Sunday in Advent December 16th, 2001 Matthew 11: 1-11
Heavenly Father empower us to accept Jesus on his terms and not expect him to change to fit our preconceptions of God. Amen.
Title: “Living up to religious expectations.”
The Baptist, in prison, sends his disciples to question Jesus whether he is the Messiah. Jesus answers by pointing to his works. Jesus then teaches that the Old Testament, represented by John, is important but limited compared to the New Testament.
After the Sermon on the Mount, the summary of the message of Jesus, in chapters five to seven, Matthew records the meaning and the practical results of that message for people, ordinary people, in chapters eight and nine, where he gives numerous healing miracles, exorcisms and even nature miracles. In chapter ten, Jesus sends out his disciples to do the same.
All this confuses John the Baptist. If Jesus is not the kind of Messiah the general populace was expecting, a political deliverer, neither was he the kind John was expecting and preaching about. In chapter three verses seven to twelve, he predicted that the Coming One would baptize the repentant in the Holy Spirit and destroy the unrepentant. John expected a more religious Messiah, more of a judge than a king, who would establish justice, a justice consonant with the holiness of God. If Jesus did not fit the expectations of a political Messiah, neither did he fit the expectations of a religious one, at, least in the apocalyptic sense, a sense so prominent in the Baptist. Chapters eleven and twelve, deal with these various reactions to Jesus; chapter thirteen explains and at the same time hides, Jesus’ message and meaning in a series of parables; and chapters fourteen to sixteen, treat of even more reactions to Jesus, ending with Peter’s confession that he is the true Messiah, the Son of the living God in chapter sixteen verses thirteen to twenty.
In verse two, John…in prison: John’s arrest was noted in chapter four verse twelve, but the full story of how he got there and why is not told until chapter fourteen verses three to twelve. Herod’s illicit wife, Herodias was behind it all. The Baptist had the audacity to speak the truth about their illicit marriage and paid the price for it. Like every true prophet before him, he had the wisdom of God in his mind, truth on his lips and courage in his heart. For a man who did not even live in a house, prison had to be especially torturous. He had time to think. Jesus and his disciples did not fast as John and his did. Jesus associated with the very people John and the Law kept at a distance.
Heard…of the works of the Messiah: “Works,” certainly refer to Jesus’ miracles, but probably are meant to include his preaching as well. The “works,” of his disciples chapter ten, would no doubt be included. John had proclaimed the coming of a vengeful judge and a fiery judgment, but Jesus was showing mercy by healing. This did not match John’s preconceptions.
In verse three, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” “He who is to come” was not a title for the Messiah which was prominent in Scripture. There is a verse from Isaiah 59:20, “He shall come to Zion as redeemer,” which was used in the synagogue service in a messianic sense and remains as an ancient part of the daily service. Probably the average person used the title rather than the more theological ones used by scribes. John seems astute enough to already know that Jesus was fulfilling what Isaiah 61: 1-2 said about healing. Yet in the same text it says “liberty to captives and release to the prisoners.” John certainly was not being let out of prison! Is he “mightier than I, John,” or not?
In verse four, “Go and tell John what you hear and see…” Jesus avoids theological argumentation. Instead, he points to the evidence, what he and his disciples have done in chapters five to ten.
In verse five, the poor have the good news preached to them, first, Jesus’ miracles are itemized, reflecting the phraseology of Isaiah 35: 5-6 the first reading for this Sunday, a passage which tells what God will do in the time of salvation. It was not exactly expected that the Messiah would do such things as give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, etc. Only God could do these things. These were more than what the Jews expected of their “Messiah.” Matthew is telling us that Jesus is divine. “Raising the dead,” does not appear in Isaiah 35: 5-6, but it does appear in Isaiah 26: 19. “Cleansing lepers,” does not appear at all in Isaiah, showing that Jesus’ deeds are not limited even to Old Testament texts. If such deeds did not form part of the general expectation or “profile,” of the Messiah, they should have. Everyone missed them, but they were there. In Jesus’ own understanding of his mission the relief of suffering, as in Isaiah 61: 1-2, looms large, but it reaches its climax in the “good news to the poor,” the godly minority described in the Beatitudes of chapter five. Jesus is here saying that if his mission is too “gentle,” for John, John has missed the biblical pattern on which Jesus’ mission is founded. Jesus is saying to the Baptist that he, like others, is substituting that pattern with more popular distortions of it and believing in them more than in what all of Scripture says.
In verse six, blessed is the one who takes no offense in me, Matthew’s quoting “blessed,” here is surely meant to remind of the Beatitudes. “Takes offense,” translates the Greek verb for “stumbling block,” skandalon, English “scandal, scandalize.” To what “offense” or “stumbling block” is Jesus referring? His un-ascetical behavior? His association with the poor? The outcasts? Sinners? His placing the demands of mercy over those of the Law? Perhaps Jesus left it general to cover all kinds of “scandal.” Indeed, many were “put off,” by his style of ministry, his approach and manner. It failed to tally with people’s expectations of what a Messiah should be, even what a holy person should be, a “very religious” person. In a beatitude reminiscent of the nine in chapter five, Jesus gently appeals to John, and others, to not “look for another,” for to do so would be to look for the realization of his own dreams rather than those of God.
In verses seven to ten, more than a prophet, John’s preaching caused a remarkable stir, a movement into the desert, back to Israel’s roots, her basic faith. John seemed to lead that movement. Jesus now, having answered John as to who he is and is not, proceeds to locate John as distinct among human beings and as a special ambassador of God. In a series of three rhetorical questions or metaphors- a reed swayed by the wind, someone dressed in fine clothing, and a prophet- Jesus zeroes in on just what function John plays in God’s great plan. John is no weak, vacillating people-pleaser with his finger to the wind, saying what people want to hear. He is no dandy, no self-styled aristocrat, a person who uses finery to prop himself up and hide his inner emptiness, no “politician” or “diplomat.” Indeed, his clothing resembles that of Elijah, one thought of as the forerunner, herald of the final age. And he was no ordinary prophet. He was more, much more. He is the messenger of whom Malachi 3:1 spoke, preparing the way for the Messiah.
In verse eleven, none greater, Jesus pays him the highest compliment, among humans there is none “greater.” John is the greatest of the prophets, God’s spokesmen, and, indeed, the greatest of humans. “Great” here refers to his function in God’s plan, not his personal achievements. Jesus did not engage in that sort of flattery, even in the case of his own mother. That purpose was leading to a new order, the kingdom of heaven, of which John was the herald, but only the herald, no more than that. John, of course, knew that and said as much in chapter three.
The least in the kingdom is greater than he, to be in the kingdom, even as the “least,” least known and least important in terms of mission or assignment or role, is to be “greater,” than John, greater in the sense of having a greater mission as well as a greater privilege, not “greater,” accomplishments. It was not John’s privilege to be involved in the ministry of Jesus, as it is ours, with its new perspective, eternity now, and dynamic Spirit. Yet, to speak of him as “outside the kingdom,” in this sense is not, of course, to pronounce on his personal salvation, any more than that of any of the Old Testament saints, but only to refer to his place in the development of God’s plan for everyone, including John and people before Christ
Sermon
We can only wonder what happened when John received Jesus’ answer. He knew his Scripture well enough that the Messiah Jesus was describing would then set prisoners free. He was a prisoner. How would he be set free? Not by release, but by a martyr’s death. And that was real freedom and real entrance into the Kingdom. Like Moses, it was John’s divinely assigned task to lead people to the threshold of freedom, but not experience it himself, at least in this lifetime. Just because he questioned and doubted does not mean he gave up hope. Would Jesus have complimented him so highly if he had or would have? How hard was John’s lot! He, an outdoorsman, cooped up in a prison cell! Yet, he still focused on Jesus. Like his own predecessors in prophecy- Habakkuk, Malachi, and, especially, Jeremiah- he wanted to know just when justice would be done, how long must he suffer. And, like them all, he listened, learned and kept faith with God. And so must we, for we are the John the Baptist of our day, our time in God’s great plan and history of salvation. If we do not experience ourselves the “release from captivity,” at least, in its complete sense, we should still keep faith and hope with God. He will deliver and so should we continue to deliver his word to others.
We can take heart in the example of John. If he, so holy, so ascetical, so well versed in Scripture, could have a wrong notion of who Jesus is and is supposed to be and act, how can we not expect that we have some revisions to make as well in our ongoing and growing understanding of Jesus and our role in salvation history? Jesus was not exactly what he had expected. True, he did not expect what most did- a political leader or, military conqueror. True, he expected a Messiah of a more religious nature. But, just because it was religious and felt “holy,” and “pious,” did not mean it was right and true. Though we cannot know for certain, we can safely presume that a man who did not buckle under the punishment of the king and his wife, would not buckle under doubts. John knew the justice of God and he knew his holiness, but he could not know the depths and extent of his love. He had not seen the cross. We have. In that sense we are “greater,” more privileged than John. If more privileged, then we have a “greater,” responsibility, as Jesus says elsewhere, to be faithful to our calling, as he stayed faithful to his. It all begins with accepting Jesus on his terms and not expecting him to change to fit our preconceptions of God, of him, of religion.
John’s courage, his fidelity in the face of adversity, his willingness, to accept a role and function in the kingdom less than the “greatest,” all these prompted Jesus to single him out for praise. He will say the same to us: “Come, you “blessed,” of my Father. Inherit, not earn or achieve on your own by works righteousness the kingdom…” Our own humility would make us be more confident that John the Baptist is already in that kingdom, but our faith in God’s mercy makes us confident, if undeserving, that we will also be there too. If John happens to have a “better,” or “higher,” or “greater,” place than we, talking purely in a human way, none of us will resent being the “lesser,” or “least.’ We will be so happy to be there it will not matter where we sit, just so long as we fit. That is what John meant when he says in John, “He must increase. I must decrease.” We do well to imitate and echo that sentiment as we are today what he was then- the herald, the forerunner of the, Second Coming, of the Messiah.
If we are to imitate the humility of the Baptist, and we need to do so if we are to fulfill our function as heralds of the Second or Final Coming of Christ, then we must do what he did. When we find that our hopes and expectations of Christ are not met, let us say we or someone we have prayed for have not experienced a cure or relief or release from some captivity, and then we must go to the source, go to Jesus, and ask him the reason. Then, and this is most important, we must listen to his answer. In the case of the Baptist that answer did not come directly from Jesus, though it could be traced to him, but it came from his, John’s, disciples. Jesus quoted Scripture, but he also sent someone else to deliver the message. We need to be open to revising our expectations in the light of a better reading of Scripture and to recognize and listen to Christ’s emissaries who deliver that revision. Only then, by constantly matching what Scripture really says with our own expectations can we become “the least in the kingdom.”
Doubts are salutary if they lead to being open to God’s answers.
Repeating errors-even for centuries- does not make them true.
It is more important that we meet God’s expectations of us than he meet our expectations of him.
Being heralds of the Final Coming of the Kingdom of God is no easier than being the herald of the First Coming.
Our place in the Kingdom is determined by God, not by us or by our accomplishments.
The Least…Greater: Contrasting the Baptist with the Baptized Jesus applies a paradox in order to make his point. This “greatest vs. least” contrast is but another version of “the last shall be first and vice versa,” and “the humbled will be exalted and vice versa.” Without in any way dismissing John’s contribution to the advancement of the Kingdom of God, Jesus states that his disciples, no matter their role or function, be it large or small, dramatic or low-key, are actually “greater,” than John. He certainly does not mean that all of us, Christians, are holier than John or more ascetical than he, for he has made it clear that “among those born of women, that is, all humans, there has been none greater than John the Baptist.” So, in what sense are we, later Christians, “greater than he?” What is missing in John, and, indeed, in all the prior prophets, is joy. There really is no joy expressed in John’s message or life. His message is “no nonsense,” strident, apocalyptic. Since we only know John and know about him from what we read in Scripture, we might even conclude that the last time John experienced joy was the first time he experienced it when he “leapt for joy” in his mother’s womb! No doubt, he did have his moments of joy, like all other human beings, but he is not depicted as a happy person, like Jesus is, especially while shut up in prison. Compare and contrast that to Paul, when he writes his letter to the Philippians from prison. In Philippians 4: 4 he writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always! I say it again. Rejoice!” See the second reading for the Third Sunday in Advent for Year C. That is the fundamental difference between the Baptist and the Baptized, namely, us. John only knew certain sides or aspects of God, like his justice; he never really knew his love and the extremes God would go to show his love in offering himself for those very sins that John was so quick to point out. So, when John questioned Jesus because he was not being as strident as was John, Jesus responded with behaviors that produce joy, behaviors like the blind actually seeing and the lame actually walking and the good news, joyful news, actually coming true for the long-suffering poor. John’s disciples, who continued on as a sect long after the death of John, did not have the joy because they did not have the Holy Spirit, a fact John himself was quick to point out. John made it clear that Jesus would baptize in the Spirit and that John was incapable of that. Such humility, no doubt, accounts for Jesus’ high assessment of him. The miracles of Jesus stand as proof that the Kingdom has already arrived in his arrival and the joy of the Kingdom can exist and abound even while sin still appears to predominate the human condition and that the presence of sin cannot overshadow the presence of God for those who accept Jesus as their Messiah. The Last Day, the Day of the Lord, the Day of Reckoning and Judgment, has already begun in Jesus’ arrival the first time and will be completed at a time of God’s choosing, not human reckoning.
Joyless Christians: There are some people who think they are Christians, but they are really followers of John the Baptist. Since John and Jesus are so close in their message, it is easy to equate the two., despite the fact that John was at pains to make sure that did not happen. A joyless Christian is a contradiction in terms, an oxymoron, something like “jumbo shrimp” or “hot ice.” The reality can exist, but the terms to describe it contradict each other. Because Christians have experienced the fullness of God, God in all his aspects, they know that his Spirit can contradict and cancel out all evil and that brings joy. Christians know the love of God, but that does not make his justice any less just. It simply puts it in context. Jesus’ answer to John’s question put Jesus in context, the context of God, not the context of human expectations of what God should be, be like, and do. Amen.
