Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
Matthew 11:2-3
John the Baptist here is asking Jesus whether he was the Christ. The reason being was that he was in prison. Can Jesus be the Christ if John is in prison? Wasn’t he supposed to “set the captives free” and to “break every chain”?
John’s excellent question is answered by the one who runs the show. And so Jesus basically tells him, “You’re right, but you’re wrong. I am doing what I promised I would do, just not in the way you imagined.”
What does this have to do with today? Let me suggest something: As we talk about the specifics of future events forcasted in the Bible, there’s usually attached to the preacher, the author’s, the speaker’s mouth that I think this passage would caution against–confidence.
Yeah, there are some things we are confident about in respects to the future, but when we get to the details of things, I would think that we could exercise a little humility in the certainty of events forcasted in the Bible. Or more specfically, our interpretation of those events.
After all, if John the Baptist got it wrong, we’ll probably get some things wrong as well. And do remember that, according to Jesus, John the Baptist was the “greatest prophet who ever lived.”
