Being weak is no sin . . . (part 2)

When John's friends return to the prison with Jesus' reply, this is what they were told to say to John:

" . . . tell him what you have heard and seen — the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. And tell him, ‘God blesses those who do not turn away because of me". (Matthew 11: 4-6 NLT)

Now for years, ever since I've heard or read these verses I've always wondered at the last sentence Jesus said: " . . . God blesses those who do not turn away because of me". It doesn't seem to fit. Everything else Jesus says fits the theme of answering the question John asked. But that little part on the end just didn't seem to answer anything John asked, and therefore made me wonder whether Jesus was answering a question John wasn't asking!

I think this is exactly what Jesus was doing. I think the first part was the answer to John's spoken question, and the last line was the answer to John's unspoken question: "Jesus, what's going to happen to me"? The reason I think this is so is because of what unfolds in prison for John. It's recorded in Matthew 14.

King Herod, who put John in prison, has thrown himself a birthday party at the palace. At some time during the party his step-daughter is dancing in front of him, and Herod is all turned on and makes the girl a stupid promise that she could have anything she wanted! Now, if you're the king you should be careful what you promise to give to someone. Maybe he was drunk at the time, or maybe he was just thinking with his penis, but a lot of other people heard him promise the girl anything, and so Herod knew that whatever she asked for he would have to come good with the promise. The girl went and spoke briefly with her mother, then returned to Herod and said, "I want the head of John the baptiser brought to me right here on a plate".

Is she serious?! She can't be serious! For a few seconds Herod must have been waiting for the girl to start laughing and say, "just kidding". But she wasn't kidding, and if you read between the lines you can tell that Herod would have actually given the girl half of Jerusalem rather than this grisly request. You see, Herod actually didn't mind John at all. He didn't like his preaching, or the way John highlighted his blatant sins, but he wasn't ready to just kill the guy for no reason. But herod was a people pleaser to the back teeth. He had the authority to put any prisoner to death, and he also had the right to go back on his stupid promise. But his reputation in front of his cronies and officials was more important to him than doing the right thing; and so he ordered the deed be done.

Like most of us I've seen my share of hollywood blood and gore scenes; but I think this must go down in history as one of the most gruesome, obscene, and cold-blooded acts of pathetic treachery recorded. It isn't hard for us to imagine the scene, and I can picture quite clearly the severed head on the plate being brought onto the palace dance floor. But think back a few moments before this, and put yourself in John's cell. He hears footsteps coming toward his jail cell, the door opens, a couple of soldiers walk in and one of them has a sword drawn. I do wonder if in that brief moment John remembered Jesus' last sentence. In fact, I wonder if John had reason to turn it over and over in his head since Jesus said it to him. You see, everything else Jesus said in that reply was about good news. But I believe Jesus' message to John was different - I believe it was a personal message to him to remember that whatever happens, being weak is no sin, just remember who holds the future. And don't forgot that he who called you to this task you're doing will see it through to the end with you, and will take you home to be with him when all this is over. His message to us today probably isn't all that different: You may be healed of blindness, deafness, being lame, or some skin disease; but if it doesn't happen to you personally don't get thrown out of your tree.

God is still God. His message to one person may not be your message. His particular promise to some may not be his promise to all at exactly the time we expect it. But don't stumble because of it! Don't turn away from God, or take offence because somebody else got something you wanted. Don't get angry with God's choices. Jesus had the ability to free John from prison, but he had a bigger, better plan for him - to take him home! There's no way John could have seen this coming: Jesus only asked him to hold on tight no matter what happens.

Talk soon . . .

Being weak is no sin . . . (part 1)

Do you remember the story of John the baptiser? (Or the ‘Baptist’, as you may recall him)? Do you recall his fearlessness and boldness when he was confronting the hypocritical religious leaders of his day? He called them ‘snakes’, and he likened them to ‘graves that were painted white’ – clean on the outside but dead on the inside. He boldly challenged the ordinary people, also, to stop continually doing the wrong thing, whether they were at work, or home, or at play. He confronted injustice at a personal level, and challenged people to do their part in making society a better and fairer place for all. He taught them to honour God and prepare their hearts for the coming of the Messiah.
Of all the words you would use to describe John, vulnerable probably wouldn’t be one of them. Or would it? In the New Testament, in Matthew 11, John is in prison (for telling King Herod he wasn’t such a nice person), and he asks his friends to go and ask Jesus if he really is the Messiah – the promised one sent from God. Now this in itself is odd, considering that it was John himself who baptised Jesus, and then saw the heavens open and saw a dove fly over and land on him. And he heard with his own ears God’s voice speak from above that Jesus was indeed the promised one. If that wasn’t enough John also saw and heard about some of the miracles that Jesus was doing, and how Jesus had taken over where John himself had backed away from public life. John knew this was exactly how the Prophets of old had predicted the Messiah would come, and that he himself was the fore-runner – the one who would ‘prepare’ the way for him.
So, you would think that ‘vulnerable’ is not a word that would suit John. Believe it or not, John is very vulnerable at this time. He is in the typical position of a battle weary soldier who needs encouragement to continue fighting when it seems that all the odds are stacked against him. Think about it: you are in prison for doing the work you believe God asked you to do. All you’ve done to land yourself there is tell the truth to an insecure tyrant who has lots of authority but no conscience.
But John’s friends are allowed to visit him, so he asks if they will just check with Jesus that it is indeed worth all the effort. I understand his feelings of vulnerability, and I would ask Jesus in a heart beat the same question if I knew he were around!
Jesus’ response to John is very interesting, and I’ll talk about that next blog; but I believe words recorded by Matthew earlier are the words John needed to hear.
He (Jesus) will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. (12:20NLT)
At this moment John was a weak reed, a flickering candle. He was experiencing a moment of weakness everybody experiences that works hard to achieve a greater goal than their own life and needs.
John’s friends delivered Jesus’ reply to him (next blog), but if Jesus himself had gone to the prison to see John, he would have encouraged him not to be discouraged, not to be unhappy about where he was, or what was to happen in the immediate future. He would have put a hand on his shoulder and said, “Well done, friend”.

Talk soon . . .