Recently, I was heading to the gym and realized I didn't have a book to take with me. (I like to read while I'm hitting the cardio...keeps me from getting bored!) So, I grabbed one of my old reads, "The Barbarian Way" by Erwin McManus. This is a book that my Sunday School teacher, Hugh Hale, recommended several years ago. It's a short read (about 140 pages) and I'd definitely recommend it if you haven't checked it out.
All that to say, the section I read that night had an excerpt that seems to have stuck with me ever since. It's from the story of the life of John the Baptist. It's one of those times that a very familiar story suddenly takes on a different twist. Allow me to let you in on the developments...
John the Baptist is a very popularly known Bible figure. He's the crazy guy in the wilderness who wears camel skins and eats locusts with honey who's going around dunking everyone and telling them to "repent." He's a very important person within the story of Christ in the sense that his life was foretold by prophesy and he was described as the "forerunner" who would prepare the way for Christ's coming. (some big shoes to fill, I'd say!)
John also had some really neat interactions with Jesus. We see their first encounter from the womb when his mother Elizabeth feels John jump in eutero as a pregnant Mary walks into the room. Then, later in his ministry, John is given the privelege of baptizing Jesus. At this encounter, he sees the heavens open up and God declaring "This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased." So, if anyone has "certainty" in their faith in who Christ is, I would say it's John. From the very beginning, the Holy Spirit seemed to be resonating with John, affirming to Him that "yes, this truly is the Christ of God."
However, despite all of this, there's a story at the end of John's life that is a little disturbing. Due to a series of events, John finds himself in prison at the hands of Herod. It's then that his disciples approach Jesus and ask, "Are You the One who is to come, or should we expect someone else?" (Matthew 11:3) This is a hard story to grapple with at times. Here is John, the same one who faithfully declared to crowds of people how sure he was of the divinity of Jesus, now wrestling with doubt. I wondered what went wrong.
Erwin McManus had a few interesting thoughts to share.
"John was living between prison and platter when he sent this message to Jesus. Shouldn't he expect Jesus to drop everything and come to his aid? After all, he had always been there for Jesus. Where was He when John needed Him? Was He unaware that John needed help? Was He indifferent to John's dilemma? Or was He simply not the Messiah as John had always believed?"
Jesus' response may be even more perplexing. He told John's disciples to go back and report what they heard and saw: "the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." (Matthew 11:4-6)
Jesus lists off all the things that have been happening: blind seeing, lame walking, etc. All of these things John is well aware of. Perhaps, this is the source of his issues to begin with. John KNOWS what Christ is capable of, but he is not seeing it happen in his own circumstances right now.
So, perhaps John's question to Jesus came as a result of unmet expectations. John had seen and heard all of all the miracles He was able to perform. He had even seen heaven itself open up and the Spirit of God descend upon Christ before John's very eyes. Why at this point would he not believe? Because it was personal. It was not about Christ's power or the abilities He possessed. It wasn't about the evidence. It was about Him and John.
John was in prison and alone, facing his own execution. It would be easy to hope that Jesus would come through for him and rescue him in this time of need. After all, wasn't He capable of that and so much more? Instead, John gets nothing as much as even a visit from Christ (that we are aware of). Wouldn't that cause a person to question?
Christ's answer gives us the response John needs...as well as the response that those of us in John's situation can be encouraged by thousands of years later. "Bessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
"Jesus was saying to him, 'John, I'm not coming through for you. I'm not getting you out of prison. I'm not sparing your life. Yes, I have done all this and more for others, but the path I chose for you is different from theirs. You'll be blessed, John, if this does not cause you to fall away.'"
There are times when are expectations may not be met. Perhaps we didn't see God come through in the way we had hoped. Maybe we face our own "prisons" sometimes when we feel incarcerated and alone. Although it's difficult, in those times we have to trust that we are fulfilling God's purpose for our lives despite our tough circumstances. Perhaps we're seeing the hand of God everywhere but within our own lives. Others are blessed and we are struggling. During these times, may we learn from John and recognize that we each are given different paths to take within the kingdom of God. And when we are faced with that prison and immenent danger, may we heed the words of Christ, not falling away on account of Him.
