Today, I'm going to try to tackle a few interconnected episodes. It's kind of a lot, but this whole section teaches one main thing, and if we want to hear that one thing, we need to grab it all at once. The simplest onramp to today's verses is to begin, simply, by rereading last week's passage, Luke 7:11-16:
(11) And it happened on the next day, he (Jesus) went to a city called Nain,
and they were going with him-- his disciples, and a great crowd.
(12) Now, as he drew near to the gate of the city--
and LOOK! He was being carried out-- a dead person , a one and only son to his mother--
and she was a widow,
and a large crowd from the city was with her--
(13) and seeing her, the Lord had compassion on her,
and he said to her,
"Don't weep,"
(14) and approaching, he touched the coffin/bier.
Now, the ones carrying it stopped,
and he said,
"Young man, to you I say, Rise!,"
(15) and the dead one sat up,
and he began to speak,
and he (Jesus) gave him to his mother.
(16) Now fear took/seized [them] all,
and they glorified God, saying that
"A great prophet was raised among us!,
and that
"God has visited his people."
That's where we cut off our story last week. Jesus, by raising this widow's son from the dead, brings to mind the centuries-old story of Elijah raising a widow's son. The crowd realizes they are face-to-face with a brand new, great, prophet.
And they also realize that it's through this prophet Jesus that God is visiting his people, to help them (and that idea is implicit in the word "visit," as a number of translations bring out). This Jesus is anointed by the Spirit, and empowered, and speaks and acts as God's representative. And I should add to this, that Jesus isn't simply telling people God's plan, and God's vision, for his people. Jesus is actualizing it (h/t Luke Timothy Johnson, Prophecy). He's bringing God's vision into being. And as this happens, God receives glory.
Now, the other thing that happens through all of this, is that Jesus becomes famous. When God gives you a great anointing, and uses you to do signs and wonders, the word about you spreads. But the idea about that, again, is that this word gives God glory. Jesus becomes famous, and God becomes highly praised.
At this point, let's start adding in our new verses. Let's read 17-20 (it seems like people often put verse 17 with the preceding verses, but it's very clearly a Lukan connecting sentence, that transitions to what follows):
(17) and this word went out in the whole of Judea concerning him and in all of the neighboring area,
(18) and they reported to John-- his disciples-- about all these things,
and calling to himself two particular disciples of his, (19) John sent [them] to the Lord, saying,
"You-- are you the coming one, or another, should we expect?" [Luke 3:16]
(20) Now, the two men, coming to him [=Jesus], said,
"John the Baptist sent us to you, saying,
"You-- are you the coming one, or another, should we expect?"
What do you find yourselves focusing on here?
There's one sentence in these verses that we read and hear twice. "You-- are the coming one, or another, should we expect?"
Normally, this is not how you tell a story. There's an art to storytelling, and part of that art is keeping things moving by not repeating yourself, and not including details that are unnecessary. There was a way for Luke to write his story, that didn't involve this repetition.
And Luke is a gifted storyteller. So why does he do this?
By repeating this detail, Luke makes this question the focus for this entire little episode. Who is Jesus? Specifically, is he "the coming one," or should "we" expect someone else?
Now, who is "the coming one"? Who are we talking about?
Our gut reaction, which is probably mostly right (glossing over the issue of whether they're a link here to the promised prophet like Moses in Deuteronomy 18), is to link this "coming one" with the promised messiah. God had promised King David that he would always have a descendant on the throne. And this promise becomes linked with the idea of a really special king, who rules over a really special kingdom. And it's through messiah that God himself will reign over Israel.
Everyone expects a coming messiah. John had been pretty sure that this messiah is Jesus. But there's something about Jesus that bothers John-- that makes him unsettled. That makes him wonder if Jesus isn't actually the messiah. There's something surprising about Jesus, at least up to this point.
And so what does John do?
He doesn't simply reject Jesus as messiah. [He's open-minded on this, open to persuasion, in a way that the Pharisees/scribes/biblical scholars are not]. John sends two messengers to get the answer from Jesus' own mouth. And the reason he sends two messengers, probably, goes back to Deuteronomy 19:15. Every issue should be settled on the basis of two or three witnesses. So John sends two.
So have I made a mess of this, and lost everyone, or no? John's unsettled about Jesus. He's not sure that Jesus is the messiah. And so he sends two witnesses to get his answer.
Verse 21:
(21) In that hour he healed many people from their weakness/sickness and torment/suffering and evil spirits, and to many blind people he gifted/graced to see,
(22) and answering, he said to them,
"Going, report to John what you saw
and you heard:
Blind people regain sight. [Luke 4:18; 7:21; 14:13, 21; 18:35-43; Isaiah 29:18; 35:5; Isaiah 61:1]
Lame people walk. [Luke 14:13, 21; 5:17-26; Acts 3:1-10; Isaiah 35:6]
Lepers are cleansed [Luke 5:12-16; 17:11-19; 2 Kings 5? This one is less obvious].
Deaf people hear. [the word can also mean "mute"; Luke 11:14; Isaiah 29:18; 35:5]
Dead people are raised up [Luke 7:11-17; 8:40-56; Isaiah 26:19].
Poor people are being proclaimed the good news, [Luke 4:18; 6:20; 14:13, 21; Isaiah 29:19; 61:1]
(23) and blessed is whoever doesn't trip by me.
So John was unsure of Jesus, and sent two messengers who will be witnesses to the truth. And what Jesus offers, is two witnesses to the truth. He tells them to report to John two things: "what you (1) saw, and what you (2) heard."
If you "look" at what Jesus is doing for the crowds, and "listen" to what you hear happening, you will find an answer to your question about who Jesus is.
Jesus assumes that John knows his way around the OT. When John hears this report, Jesus expects him to remember specific passages, mostly from Isaiah 29, Isaiah 35, and Isaiah 61.
We won't take the time to read those passages, but Jesus is doing many of the things that the OT says will happen when the messiah comes. The key word here, is "many." Because there's a catch. And the catch, is that Jesus isn't doing everything people expected. There's something missing. And it's this missing bit, that's the issue here. There's something that John's messengers didn't see, and didn't hear, that everyone expected from a messiah.
What is this missing piece?
It has to do with God's judgment, and vengeance.
The easiest way I can think of to show you this, comes from comparing two passages (both of which play big in Luke). Let's turn to Luke 4:16-19 (NRSV updated no reason):
16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set free those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Notice how Jesus ends his reading: "to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Now let's turn to the passage he's (mostly) quoting from, Isaiah 61 (NRSV updated no reason):
61 The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me
because the LORD has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
What's the very next line in Isaiah 61?
"The day of vengeance of our God."
This is what's missing. This is what's surprising about Jesus. God isn't coming in vengeance on his enemies through Jesus. God is coming, through Jesus, with an open invitation to everyone to come to him. This invitation is open to Roman centurions, who are oppressing God's people (Luke 7:1-10). It's open to "sinners"-- people who aren't keeping the covenant with God, who have removed themselves from truly being part of God's people. It's open to tax collectors.
Jesus is offering grace, and mercy to everyone. He's announcing that this is the year of God's favor. This is the time when God comes with love, and acceptance, with open arms, wanting everyone to come to him.
And this is not what John expects. Let's flip back to Luke 3, and listen to John's message:
Luke 3:9:
9 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Luke 3:16:
16 John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with[b] the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
John expects the coming one to have a mission of judgment. This messiah will burn the chaff. He will throw fruitless trees into the fire.
But what is Jesus doing? Not this. Not this, at all.
So Jesus knows that this missing bit is tough on John, and on others. He knows that people struggle with the unexpected nature of his ministry. And so he offers a blessing in verse 23 to everyone who welcomes Jesus as messiah, despite this:
(23) and blessed is whoever doesn't trip on me.
Part of what gives people like John, and Joseph, and Zechariah, the strength to live rightly toward God and people-- to be "righteous"-- is that they trust in God to avenge them. They leave room for God's wrath (Romans). But what happens when your enemies turn from their sins, and turn to God? What happens when God accepts them? And what happens when the unfaithful people around you, who don't keep the covenant, who are selfish, who don't really love God, come back to God? Is all of this good news? Or do you find yourself tripping on Jesus here, frustrated, confused? Do you feel ripped off, like you were faithful for nothing? [Later, the parable of the firstborn will unpack this in great detail. It's a true struggle].
Can you handle what Jesus is doing? Or do you trip on him, and find yourself rejecting not just Jesus, but the God who sent Jesus?
"Blessed is whoever doesn't trip on me."
Up to this point, the question has been, "Who is Jesus?" Do you trip on Jesus, because he's not doing everything you expect? In verse 24, we find ourselves asking the same sorts of questions about John. Jesus points out that people have also struggled with John:
(24) Now, when the messengers of John were departing, he began to speak to the crowds concerning John.
"What did you depart into the wilderness to see?
A reed by the wind being shaken?
Jesus here challenges the crowd to think about what kind of person it wanted John to be. What was it going into the wilderness to see?
A reed, by the wind, being shaken?
The image here is one that we still use today. Some people have a strong sense of self-preservation. They test which way the wind blows, and then they go with it. In Hollywood, the studios do test screenings of movies to see how the audiences react. Did they find it funny, and entertaining? Did they find themselves regretting the loss of two hours of their life? Studios see which way the wind is blowing, and they adjust things.
There's pastors, and churches, that do the same thing. Everyone who teaches knows that certain things are going to make certain people upset. They have to make a decision about whether they'll gloss over those things to protect themselves. And they know which things seem offensive, but aren't actually at all. I could talk about abortion, and transgenderism, and liberalism, and some of you might say, "Oh, he's so brave to take about those things." But with this group, that's mostly pretty safe. I can act tough and brave, but really, maybe I'm just a reed shaken by the wind.
And so Jesus asks the crowd, is that what you wanted from John? Someone who tells you what you want to hear? Someone who you can push, rather than someone who will push you? Did you go all the way out into the wilderness so you could feel good about yourselves, and your life? Or did you go out there, to be pushed? What were you seeking?
Jesus then asks a second question:
But what did you depart to see?
A man in soft clothing being dressed?
LOOK! The ones in soft clothing in luxury living, in the royal palaces, they are.
Did you go out into the wilderness to find someone wearing soft clothing? Someone who is polished, and successful, and well-put together? A Washington D.C. insider? A successful lobbyist?
Jesus says, if that's what you're seeking, you don't go out into the wilderness. Right? Some of you have done wilderness hikes. Do you pack a suit?
No. If you're looking for someone wearing soft clothing, you go to a palace, to D.C..
Verse 26:
(26) But what did you depart to see?
A prophet?
Yes, I say to you, and even more than a prophet.
The reason the crowds went into the wilderness was because they knew John was a prophet. What they were seeking was something we all seek from our pastors. We want to find someone who, when they open their mouth, have God's words come out. You can hear God when they speak.
We maybe don't think about it this way. We are often like the crowds. We haven't quite figured out what we're doing, and what we're seeking. But Jesus helps them to reflect on what they're doing. They're seeking a prophet, sent by God, who speaks God's words.
That's John. He's a prophet.
But he's also more than a prophet: he's the forerunner. Verse 27-30:
(27) This one is [the one] about whom it has been written:
LOOK! I am sending my angel/messenger before your face/presence, [Exodus 23:20?]
who will prepare your way before you. [Malachi 3:1?]
(28) I say to you, greater among the ones born of women than John, no one is.
Now, the most unimportant/smallest in the kingdom of God, greater than him, he is,"
(and all the people, hearing-- even the tax collectors-- vindicated (or: proved right) God,
being baptized by the baptism of John.
(30) Now, the Pharisees and the biblical scholars, the plan of God they rejected for themselves,
not being baptized by him.)
All I want to focus on, in these verses, is the stuff I have in parenthesis. What we are reading here, is Luke's explanation of what's going on. As the narrator of this book, he interrupts Jesus' words to help us understand what we are seeing. And these two sentences are two of the most important in the whole of Luke-Acts. Luke is telling us how to read his book.
God is visiting his people first through John, and then through Jesus. God's plan was to prepare people for Jesus, by having them repent, and prepare themselves for him. And you did that, through John's baptism.
This plan was for everyone. Or, maybe better, this plan was for every Jew.
But what happens, is something surprising. We maybe expected Jesus to come against tax collectors and sinners in judgment and vengeance. But what we're seeing, is these people welcoming God, welcoming John, and welcoming Jesus. They are accepting God's plan with gratitude, and they're proving God to be right. They're showing God's kindness, and mercy, and faithfulness.
And the people we maybe expected to naturally accept God's plan-- the religious leaders, the well-respected, the righteous-- they are the ones rejecting God's plan.
Both parts of this are shocking. We expect Israel to be made up of sheep and goats. As the band Cake as famously sung, sheep go to heaven, and goats go to hell. But who are the sheep? Who are the goats? Everything looks backwards.
The Jewish leadership is tripping on Jesus. They're stumbling on him. And the reason for this, again, is that they didn't get baptized by John. We can think of John as the onramp to Jesus. And when you miss your onramp, you miss Jesus as well. Reject one part of God's plan, and it naturally leads to rejecting another part.
So Luke has interrupted Jesus' words with his own explanation, that helps us understand what's happening, and what Jesus is saying. In verse 31, Luke quotes Jesus again:
(31) "And so then, to what will I compare the people of this generation?,
and what are they like?
(32) They are like children -- the ones in the marketplace sitting, and calling out to one another,
who say, "We played the flute for you, and you didn't dance;
We sang a lament, and you didn't weep."
(33) For John the Baptist came not eating bread nor drinking wine, (Luke 1:15)
and you say,
"A demon, he has."
The son of man came eating and drinking,
and you say,
"LOOK! A man -- a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners,"
Jesus says "this generation" is never happy. They rejected John the Baptist, because he wasn't what they expected. And they are rejecting Jesus, because he isn't what they expected. They don't like Jesus' lifestyle. Jesus knows how to enjoy life. He enjoys a nice steak. He enjoys a couple nice glasses of wine with that steak. Jesus is the kind of person who is the life of the (dinner) party. And people look at Jesus, and they're bothered by that. Jesus is having too much fun. He's enjoying himself too much. He's the opposite of John. And Jesus is doing this, with the wrong types of people. He's hanging out with tax collectors and sinners-- "sinners," again, meaning people who live outside of God's covenant with Israel.
And so what happens, is that "this generation" is tripping on Jesus. And they're tripping on the same thing, the same issue, that John nearly tripped on.
Jesus didn't come in judgment. He didn't come bringing vengeance. Jesus came as a way for God to show kindness and mercy. As a way to call his people back to himself.
You can look at Jesus hanging out at the bar on a Friday night, and be bothered. You can count the number of beers he's had, and think, "That's one too many." You can criticize him for who he's throwing darts with. For whose house he's watching the Super Bowl at.
If you do that, you are rejecting God's plan for yourself (verse 30). And you might be a sheep right now. You might be someone who is "righteous." But you risk turning into a goat.
Let's close with verse 35:
(35) and the wisdom is vindicated/proven righteous by all her children."
In general, you can tell when someone lives wisely, and has a good plan, by the end result. You can see the wisdom of God's plan, by what God's plan accomplishes.
People who were outsiders-- outside of the covenant, who had rejected God-- find themselves accepting God's invitation. They received John as a prophet, who speaks God's words, and were baptized by John. They then received Jesus as a prophet, and as "the coming one," who speaks God's words. They heard God's invitation. They understood God's plan. And they came home to God. They said "yes."
Is this a good thing?
For some of us, this should be an unsettling section of Luke. We should be bothered. We should find ourselves rethinking life.
When we see people who are outsiders coming to Jesus, what's our response?
When we see Christians acting like Jesus, eating steaks and drinking alcohol, hanging out with "sinners," what's our response?
When we look back on our lives, I suspect that some of the best memories we have, will be the time spent with outsiders. I get far more joy out of goofing off with outsiders, hanging out with them, than I get from hanging out with any of you. No offense. Those are the moments I feel like I'm working with God, and carrying out God's vision for the world. Those are the moments I feel like I'm most like my Father, loving people, showing them kindness, being a good friend. I don't do enough of this. I feel bad about that.
But I promise you that if I catch you drinking a couple beers while you're playing cards or fishing with an outsider, I will give you a huge smile, and praise God for you. You understand God's plan. You understand his heart for people. You understand that this is the year of the Lord's favor, that this is the time of God's open invitation to all people. And when you lead people to Jesus, God's wisdom, and your wisdom, will be obvious to everyone who rejects God's heart, and God's plan.
Translation:
(17) and this word went out in the whole of Judea concerning him and in all of the neighboring area,
(18) and they reported to John-- his disciples-- about all these things,
and calling to himself two particular disciples of his, John sent [them] to the Lord, saying,
"You-- are you the coming one, or another, should we expect?"
(20) Now, the two men, coming to him [=Jesus], said,
"John the Baptist sent us to you, saying,
"You, are you the coming one, or another, should we expect?"
(21) In that hour he healed many people from their weakness/sickness and torment/suffering and evil spirits, and to many blind people he gifted/graced to see,
(22) and answering, he said to them,
"Going, report to John what you saw
and you heard:
Blind people regain sight.
Lame people walk.
Lepers are cleansed.
Deaf people hear.
Dead people are raised up.
Poor people are being proclaimed the good news,
and blessed is whoever doesn't trip by me.
(24) Now, when the messengers of John were departing, he began to speak to the crowds concerning John.
"What did you depart into the wilderness to see?
A reed by the wind being shaken?
But what did you depart to see?
A man in soft clothing being dressed?
LOOK! The ones in soft clothing in luxury living, in the royal palaces, they are.
(26) But what did you depart to see?
A prophet?
Yes, I say to you, and even more than a prophet.
(27) This one is [the one] about whom it has been written:
LOOK! I am sending my angel before your face/presence,
who will prepare your way before you.
(28) I say to you, greater among the ones born of women than John, no one is.
Now, the most unimportant/smallest in the kingdom of God, greater than him, he is,"
(and all the people, hearing-- even the tax collectors-- vindicated/proved righteous, God,
being baptized by the baptism of John.
(30) Now, the Pharisees and the biblical scholars, the plan of God they rejected for themselves,
not being baptized by him.)
(31) "And so then, to what will I compare the people of this generation?,
and what are they like?
(32) They are like children-- the ones in the marketplace sitting, and calling out to one another,
who say, "We played the flute for you, and you didn't dance;
We sang a lament, and you didn't weep."
(33) For John the Baptist came not eating bread nor drinking wine,
and you say,
"A demon, he has."
The son of man came eating and drinking,
and you say,
"LOOK! A man -- a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners,"
(35) and the wisdom is vindicated/proven righteous by all her children."
