Luke 7:18-35
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%207%3A18-35&version=NLT
It seems like John was getting tired and discouraged. Being incarcerated unjustly will do that.
He had prophesied that Jesus was the lamb of God. He believed Jesus was the Messiah. But just like everyone else, he was confused about how the arrival of the Messiah was going to play out. John had,I assume, heard the voice from heaven say, “This is my beloved Son…” So why didn’t Jesus crush the Romans and get him out of jail already?
John sends his disciples to ask, “Are you the one who the scriptures said was coming? Or are we still waiting for someone else?” Read: “Did I miss something? Shouldn’t you be rescuing Israel? And me?”
And in response Jesus cites the things that the prophets predicted the Messiah would do. Give sight to the blind, healing to the lame and leperous, hearing to the deaf, life to the dead and Good News to the poor.
Jesus could have simply said, “Yes. I’m him. Get with the program.” But that was never his style with genuine questions.
I think Jesus was graciously saying, “Don’t lose hope, John. Don’t give up. Take a look at those passages again. They promised the Messiah would rescue his people. This is what rescue looks like.”
When John’s disciples leave to deliver his message, Jesus talks to the people about him. I think he wants to remind them of two things. 1. John was a really special man chosen by God for an incredibly honourable mission, and 2. John was the prophet who scriptures said would come before the Messiah. So they could infer that Jesus was, in fact, that Messiah.
Then Jesus makes the confusing comment that, although John was the greatest man born, the citizens of God’s Kingdom are all greater than he was. I guess he was saying that John was the greatest child of a man but those in the Kingdom are children of God. I don’t think it was meant to be a commentary on John’s status in the Kingdom. I think it was a comparison between the glory and position of being a member of the Kingdom of God versus being even the most powerful member of any human kingdom.
When we reach verses 29 & 30 Luke makes an interesting comment. He implies that those who chose to be baptised by John acknowledged and accepted that God’s way was the right way, whereas those who rejected baptism by John signified that they also rejected the purpose God had for them. So what was God’s way and what was the way of the religious leaders?
Recall that John had preached a baptism of repentance and forgiveness from sin. He basically taught that we needed to repent of our sin by actually changing our ways and being baptized as a symbol of that change. This was a materially different message than the system of sinning and sacrificing that was taught by the religious leaders. Every possible contravention of the law had been spelled out and the appropriate sacrifice was prescribed. If you did something wrong, you had to do something to pay for it. Both systems seemed oriented toward teaching people to follow the law of God, but the religious leaders were only concerned with performing certain behaviours, whereas John taught that what we needed was a change of heart.
Jesus knew the religious leaders had decided against him. They wanted to find fault, and they were going to do it no matter what he said or did. So he didn’t even try to earn their approval. He concludes, “I don’t need to argue my point. I will wait for the lives of my followers to prove the superiority of this way.” Wisdom doesn’t waste time in explanation and self-defense. The result of a wise choice demonstrates the wisdom of the one who chose it.
I like this last verse (35) because Jesus gives us an example of how to handle people who disagree with our faith and our conduct. You don’t have to argue your point. If people don’t want to hear it, then inspiring, eloquent words won’t change their minds. Simply live wisely. Let the result of living according to your wise beliefs demonstrate the truth of those beliefs.
I don’t want to walk away from this passage without circling back to a phrase that is sticking with me. Not to be dramatic, but I think tragic is the word I’m looking for when we read Luke’s assessment of the religious leaders who had rejected John’s baptism and, by inference, the message he taught. Luke says they had rejected God’s purpose for themselves. God had both instructed and gifted some of his people to teach and interpret his law. He had a purpose for these teachers of the law, a good purpose. They rejected it. Worse. They missed out on it. I don’t know if you’re aware of this. If not, it is my absolute privilege to inform you that God has a purpose for you. A big part of that purpose is to help you understand who he is so that you will trust him with your life and future. Part of God’s purpose is to give you eternal life, to welcome you into his family and kingdom, to help you become everything you were designed to be. He also has very specific plans to work in and through your life to bless the world through you. He has big plans for you. You are a part of his master plan. There is a wonderful, fulfilling purpose for your life.
But you are allowed to reject it. The religious leaders did.
Ultimately, God will do what he is going to do with or without you, but he made you for a reason. If you choose to get to know him and allow him to lead and define you, you will increasingly find his purpose for your life. It’s a good purpose. There is a very good reason God made you. There’s even a good reason for which he made me. I don’t want to reject it.
