Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?" When the men had come to Him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, 'Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?'" And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight. Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings' courts. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written:'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,Who will prepare Your way before You.'"For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.And the Lord said, "To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying:'We played the flute for you,And you did not dance;We mourned to you,And you did not weep.'"For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by all her children."- Luke 7:18-35
Yesterday we read that when Jesus concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people (that is, the Sermon on the Plain), He entered Capernaum. And a certain
centurion's servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. So
when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading
with Him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus,
they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do
this was deserving, "for he loves our nation, and has built us a
synagogue." Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far
from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him,
"Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should
enter under my roof. Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to
come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I
also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I
say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and
to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard these
things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that
followed Him, "I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!" And those who were sent, returning to the house, found
the servant well who had been sick. Now
it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and
many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd. And when He
came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried
out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd
from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, He had compassion
on her and said to her, "Do not weep." Then He came and touched the
open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And he said, "Young
man, I say to you, arise." So he who was dead sat up and began to
speak. And He presented him to his mother. Then fear came upon all,
and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has risen up among us";
and, "God has visited His people." And this report about Him went
throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.
Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these
things. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to
Jesus, saying, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"
When the men had come to Him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us
to You, saying, 'Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?'"
And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil
spirits; and to many blind He gave sight. Jesus answered and said to
them, "Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the
blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the
dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed
is he who is not offended because of Me." My study Bible reminds us that John the Baptist was imprisoned shortly after the Baptism of Jesus (Mark 1:14). Although the Baptist had directed his disciples to follow Christ (John 1:29-31, 35-37), some remained with him. While John's own faith was undoubtedly strengthened by the signs Jesus performed, my study Bible cites patristic commentary which universally sees this encounter as a way in which John convinced his remaining disciples that Jesus was truly the Coming One. The great works performed by Christ here are the signs prophesied about the time of the Messiah.
When
the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the
multitudes concerning John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to
see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A
man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled
and live in luxury are in kings' courts. But what did you go out to
see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. This is
he of whom it is written: 'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.' For
I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet
than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is
greater than he." Although He was the greatest prophet, John's earthly life and ministry remained in the period of the old covenant. My study Bible explains that the new covenant so far surpasses the old that the least in the kingdom is greater than the greatest outside of it. This doesn't imply that John will not be resurrected to the Kingdom, but it is telling us that his life on earth came before something much superior. Jesus quotes from the prophecy of Malachi, indicating that it is John the Baptist who fulfills that prophecy (Malachi 3:1).
And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified
God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees
and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been
baptized by him. See Mark 11:27-33.
And
the Lord said, "To what then shall I liken the men of this generation,
and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the
marketplace and calling to one another, saying: 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; We mourned to you, and you did not weep.' For
John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you
say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and
you say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors
and sinners!'" Jesus references a children's game common in His time. The game was played with two groups of children. One group would initiate musicians either playing a pipe for music to dance, or singing a dirge -- and the other was expected to respond with dancing or mourning. Here the image is of a second group that does not respond appropriately to either prompt, while the children of the first complain. The Pharisees were so rigid in their religion, my study Bible explains, that they were unable to respond to and engage the world around them. So they rejected John as too mournful and ascetic, and Christ as too merciful and joyous. Jesus compares those who criticize to children playing a childish game.
"But wisdom is justified by all her children." In spite of being rejected by the Pharisees, my study Bible tells us, both John and Christ are justified -- not by the opinions of men, but by their children; that is, those who would come to believe and be faithful.
Jesus seems to chastise the people regarding John. He says, "What did you go out into the wilderness to
see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A
man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled
and live in luxury are in kings' courts." The irony to us should be that John is not living in a king's court, but in a king's prison, although we know that King Herod liked to listen to him and "heard him gladly" (see Mark 6:17-20). But John was neither a reed shaken by the wind, nor a man clothed in soft garments, nor was he gorgeously appareled or living in luxury. But John the Baptist was "a prophet," and "more than a prophet," as Jesus says. John lived the radical life of a prophet fully devoted to God, and dependent upon God. He was clothed in animal skins, and ate food that was available to him in the wild (Matthew 3:4). Jesus seems to be responding to criticism of John's life of absolute poverty, what we might call a kind of wildness in his devotion to his mission and his place as the one who called the people to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. Hence, John's title in the Church as "Forerunner." Jesus says he is more than a prophet; in the tradition of the Church he is the last and greatest of the Old Testament type prophets. While Jesus is perceived as John's opposite in various ways, Christ vigorously defends John and John's way of life in fulfilling his holy mission. Let us remark upon the loyalty Christ has for all those who serve God, which we can see in His defense of John. He says to the people, "For
John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you
say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and
you say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors
and sinners!'" Perhaps the most important teaching we take from today's text is just how God works through God's myriad holy workers, all of them saints and all of them fulfilling their roles in the dispensation of God's plan of salvation. For each one is unique, and new saints are born every day; there are countless numbers of saints whom we don't know and may never be recognized, and no such thing as a "cookie-cutter" saint or repeat. This is part of our observance of God's nature of infinite creativity, which never stops, is always renewed, and always surpassing our own limited perceptions and expectations. In this sense, we are to understand Jesus' very important teaching about the justification of wisdom -- all of the children of Holy Wisdom fulfill the purposes of God which may be unknown or misunderstood by human beings, and yet all are justified in their holiness and their calling. Even when the holy are seemingly disparate from one another in appearance, such as John the Baptist and Jesus. John and Jesus are seeming "opposites" in other ways besides the rustic asceticism of John compared to Christ's joyful feasting with tax collectors and sinners. In the Church, their lives are commemorated at opposite times of the year; John's is when the summer light begins to wane, and Christ's is at the beginning of the time of the year when the light begins to lengthen (Christmas). John expresses another form of this "difference" between them when he tells his disciples about Jesus, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). God is big enough to hold these differences at once as part and parcel of the plan for the salvation of the world, and perhaps you and I may look at our world and find, indeed, contradictions which we can't explain, but nonetheless are held in the same hands of God for us all. For our faith is also found in paradox, in that which is so much bigger than we can ever resolve nor know, but which teaches us to look with humility, beyond what we already understand (Job 38:4).