The Unnamed Messengers
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| "St. John the Baptist in Prison Sends His Disciples to Question Jesus" by Ermenegildo Lodi |
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“And John, calling two of His disciples to Him,
sent them to the Lord, saying, ‘Are you the One who is to come, or shall we
look for another?’” (Luke 7:18-19).
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ!
Elizabeth, Gabriel, John, Mary, Zechariah—these
are the usual names we hear each Advent. Their inclusion in the story by name makes
our understanding of the Incarnation inseparable from their particular parts in
the story.”[i]
But there are others in Scripture who, even
though they had a significant role to play in relation to Jesus, remain unnamed.
I am thinking, for example, of the shepherds keeping watch by night, the
thieves crucified with Jesus on Golgotha, and the owners of the colt Jesus rode
into Jerusalem. The biblical authors did not feel compelled to tell us their
names, but this does not diminish the significance of their interaction
with Jesus. Indeed, sometimes it is the unnamed characters in the Bible who can
most help us find our own place in the biblical story.
At the center of this week’s reading from Luke
7 are two such people. “Luke describes them only as disciples of John. He does
not tell us their names, but rather focuses our attention on the task they are
given.”[ii]
John sends these two disciples to ask Jesus a question. Their question is one
every thinking Christian asks at some point in life, and the answer they
receive from our Lord is ultimately the only answer any of us ever receive. For
as you’ve probably noticed, the Lord does not find it necessary to answer all our
questions. But He does give us all the information we need to know for salvation,
life in this world, and eternal life.
Back to the unnamed messengers… The place from
which John sends them highlights its urgency. John has not been mentioned in
Luke’s Gospel since 3:20, when he was put into prison. Presumably, he is still
locked-up for being faithful, still in danger of execution (which was coming)
for doing his job, and still suffering the darkness of sin despite the arrival
of the Light of the World. “His question reveals uncertainty about the very message
he has been proclaiming. It reveals the challenge of living (and dying) by
faith. Luke thinks the question is worth repeating. John tells them what to ask
in verse 19, and then they ask it in verse 20, ‘Are you the One who is to come,
or shall we look for another?’”[iii]
Much debate has raged over the centuries
whether John doubts that Jesus is the Messiah or if it is only his disciples who
doubt. Some, who cannot imagine such a strong character as John wavering in his
faith, explain that, although John himself never wavered in his faith, he sent
his disciples with this question so that they might come to see Jesus as the
Messiah and begin following Him.
But what about the possibility that John’s
question was personal? Recall how John prophesied that the Coming One would act
in fiery judgment (Luke 3:7ff.). Yet Jesus was not doing that. Now, as he faces
death for his life’s work, John seems to have been assailed by doubts. That’s natural,
isn’t it? People at the end of life often look back and ask, “Did my life mean
anything? Have I accomplished what God intended for me?” This is especially true
if life has recently taken a dramatic turn for the worse. Would it be so surprising
if, under his current conditions, this great man of faith also looked back and
wondered?
A straightforward reading suggests that not
only John’s disciples but also John himself questions Jesus’ messiahship and
that he sends his disciples to Jesus find out the truth. Indeed, in the Gospel,
all human observers of the ministry of Jesus struggle with the way in which
Jesus demonstrates He is the Messiah.
In His first sermon, Jesus announced that He was
present to set the captives free. Who is more captive than John the Baptist as
he sits in prison because of his ministry as the forerunner of Jesus? The scruffy
prophet has to be wondering why he’s still sitting there. John was raised up to
proclaim, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John
1:29). But the progress or manner of Jesus’ ministry has not been what John expected.
Riddled with doubt, John takes his doubts to
the right place—Jesus! And Jesus tells the unnamed disciples, “Go and tell John
what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have
good news preached to them.” (Luke 7:22).
The miracles that are reported to John are significant
in that they point to the blessings of the Messiah that come when the new era
of salvation breaks in, as Isaiah prophesied. In adding the words, “And blessed
is the One who is not offended by Me,” Jesus also takes John and his disciples
back to the writings of Isaiah, where the Lord had said of the Messiah, “And He
will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both
houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many
shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and
taken” (8:14–15). Would John, like many others, be offended by Jesus when He
does not meet their messianic expectations?
There are, at this point, two possible stumbling
blocks that could cause observers to be scandalized. First, the offense could
come simply from identifying Jesus of Nazareth as the prophesied Messiah.
The miracles and teaching of Jesus identify Him as this Messiah. But not all are
willing to acknowledge this. The people of His hometown, Nazareth, were offended
because they thought they knew Him too well for Him to be the Messiah (Luke 4:22).
Others in Israel wondered if anything good could come out of a hicktown like Nazareth
(John 1:46).
Second, the scandal could come because at His
first Advent, Jesus reveals Himself primarily as a Messiah of mercy,
compassion, and forgiveness, and not one of vengeance. He has come to serve, to
seek, and to save. His ministry now is not to execute judgment, but to absorb
God’s wrath for sin.
Many expected the Messiah to come in wrath to
execute vengeance upon those they considered to be enemies of God and Israel.
Instead, Jesus comes in solidarity with all human sinners and bears in Himself
the vengeance and wrath of God against His enemies, including us and our sin.
That is why Jesus’ ministry is filled with miracles of forgiveness and release
for those who are in bondage. Jesus is the One who comes to bring mercy, compassion,
and forgiveness!
“Are you the One who is to come, or shall we
look for another?” John may have been the first to articulate this question,
but every follower of Jesus who has encountered difficulty and suffering for
their connection to Jesus has asked it at some point. I can imagine a number of
profiles: The pastor who faithfully proclaims the commands and promises of God
in Christ, and yet sees his congregation diminish in size and influence and
viability; the grandmother who returns to the exhaustion of parenthood to care
for a grandchild because the parents are unable to do their duty; the single
man who channels his love for a family (that God has never provided) toward
needy members of his congregation; the young man or woman who, despite the
pressures to give into the world’s encouragement to create their own identity,
refuses to make God in their own image.
What do these people have in common? They are
suffering for doing good, for living and serving faithfully in Jesus’ name.
They remain unnamed to most people, and they share the same question asked by
these unnamed messengers: “Are you the One who is to come, or shall we look for
another?”
Jesus’ answer is ultimately the only answer we
get. “If you want to know who I am,” Jesus says, “look at what I do and listen
to what I say.” The messengers presumably saw these things for themselves. But
John did not. When they return to John, they only had a report, only a witness,
only a word, only a promise. It doesn’t sound like much—the witness of a couple
of unnamed disciples—but it was enough for them. And it still is today.
And so today, the Lord sends you another
messenger. His name will never be listed in the history books, but that’s okay.
What is important is the message that he brings, in so far as it is of whom Jesus
is and His Word and His works.
Who is Jesus? Jesus is the Incarnate Son of God,
conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. What does Jesus do? He
performs miraculous healings and proclaims God’s Word with authority. Though
equal to the Father, He submits to His Father’s will and remains faithful unto
death. Though very God, He humbles Himself under human authority, even when
treated unjustly and cruelly. He suffers the scorn and mocking of sinful man
and the righteous wrath of God in payment for the sins of the world. On the third
day, He rises from the dead, conquering our greatest enemies, sin, death, and
the Devil. He ascends to heaven where He lives and reigns on behalf of His Bride,
the Church. One day, He will return to judge the living and the dead. He will
take you and all who have believed in His name to be with Him forever.
And having now heard this Good News, you go out
into the world as His messengers. Equipped to follow in the steps of these
unnamed disciples you bring the message of Jesus’ saving work to the people in
your lives—your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers. Some of them may have
never heard this Gospel before, or at least, have not ever really listened. But
many others might be in the same position as John—believers under trial who
need some reassurance. Remind them of what the Lord has done and who He is.
Here are some examples:
The pastor who questions his ministry? Remind him
of God’s promises. “You are not called to be ‘successful’ by worldly standards
but to be faithful. Sow the seed of the Word and trust that God will bring
forth a harvest in His own way and timetable. As St. Paul writes: ‘Preach the
word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with
complete patience and teaching’ (2 Timothy 4:2). ‘Be steadfast, always abounding
in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor has not been in
vain’” (1 Corinthians 15:58)
The grandma who finds herself raising another generation?
Encourage her. “What you’re doing is important. Jesus says, ‘As you did it to
one of the least of these… you did it to me’ (Matthew 25:40). It is a
particularly good thing that you are doing for your family, but it can’t be
easy. I will be praying for you. But more than that, I want you to know that I
am willing to help. Call me if the kids need a ride. Call me if you’re worn out
and need a break. Call me if you just need to talk to an adult for a while. And
remember St. Paul’s encouragement to the Christians of Galatia, ‘Let us not
grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to
those who are of the household of faith’” (Galatians 6:9–10).
The lonely single man? Remind him that Jesus
was a single man Himself. “Jesus knew loneliness. He knew what it meant not to
fit in and not to have a place. He knows what it meant to rely on others. Our
Lord understands more acutely than any of us what it means to be single, what
it means to be truly alone. His disciples abandoned Him. His own hometown
rejected Him. He was tempted by Satan himself. Despite all this, He’s also the
one who willing took on all the sin and shame and dirt of the world. And He did
it alone.
“He’s also the one who raised you from the
dead, the one the grave couldn’t hold, so that you don’t have to be alone. He’s
the one who joins you to Himself in Baptism, so that you are always someone’s,
always His. He’s the One who places you into a family, a community, His Church.
He’s the One who promises never to leave you, never to forsake you” (Hebrews
13:5). He knows your loneliness. He understands your fears. He hears your
worries. And He answers because you matter to Him.”
The young man or woman who seeks to maintain
their own identity and to resist peer pressure? Remind them who they are, whose
they are. “You are a baptized child of God, a co-heir of Christ.” Encourage
them with the words of St. Paul: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what
is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).
Please
be assured. Even if the world does not know your name, the Lord Jesus does! Go
in the peace of the Lord and share the Good News of great joy. Christ the
Savior is born. For His sake, you are forgiven for all your sins.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit. Amen
Unless
otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English
Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[i]
Gospel: Luke 7:18-28 (29-35) (Advent 3: Series C) | 1517, https://www.1517.org/articles/gospel-luke-718-28-29-25-advent-3-series-c.
[ii]
Gospel: Luke 7:18-28 (29-35) (Advent 3: Series C) | 1517,
https://www.1517.org/articles/gospel-luke-718-28-29-25-advent-3-series-c.
[iii]
Gospel: Luke 7:18-28 (29-35) (Advent 3: Series C) | 1517,
https://www.1517.org/articles/gospel-luke-718-28-29-25-advent-3-series-c.
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