Insights
Rev Gav
What does the world expect?
Matthew 11.2-11
When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.’
As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written,
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.”
Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Reflect
John the Baptiser (Baptist) was much more than someone who heralded the arrival of the Messiah, but embodied the kingdom and its values that Jesus came to inaugurate. So, how come we read, in today’s Bible passage that, via his disciples, he questioned if Jesus was the expected ‘One’? Through his disciples he asked, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Why this sudden act of self-doubt?
The answer lies in ‘expectation’. What did John the Baptist expect?
In our modern, contemporary world, when a group of people or government implements a regime change, what happens? Revolution. A coup d’état. Violence. War. There is no other mechanism is there? People take arms, or professional armies or special forces move in to overthrow the oppressive dictator, overlord, or government.
The Jewish people expected the Messiah to restore the fortunes of Israel, and given that they were living under oppressive Roman rule, if the Messiah was going to turn up, then this would mean the Romans would be defeated.
Within Judaism, there was a group called the Zealots, and they believed that if they took up arms and revolted, then God would vindicate them and their actions would herald and establish the Messianic age. In fact, several revolutionary leaders had already tried and been brutally quashed yet, given that freedom could only come through violence, the expectation was that the Messiah would overthrow the enemies of Israel and establish God’s rule once and for all, and John the Baptist (and the majority of others) expected the coming Messiah to do exactly this.
Therefore, John’s question was valid. Jesus did not seem to be starting a revolution, an uprising, or gathering together an army. Hadn’t he read the memo?
And so, John sent his disciples to ask Jesus outright and get a straight answer. “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus replied in the affirmative, but explained what this would mean, “…the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.”
In other words, the way of God’s Anointed One — the Messiah or Christ — is not the way of violence, but of the way of compassion, kindness, healing, and restoration. And anyone who follows this way (or rather, follows Christ) is considered to be aligned with God’s way and member of God’s coming kingdom.
The exciting thing is that Christ’s revolution began in the belly of the beast. It started within an oppressive empire. A revolution of love, joy, and peace grew and spread despite the power and authority of the Romans and their puppet overlords. Like a computer virus, it infected and spread throughout the empire until, eventually, the impossible happened — the empire itself was converted to the way of Christ.
At the time of writing we live in a turbulent world, and in our ‘western’ countries there is an expectation that the way of God is the way of exerting ‘Christian’ power and authority over the powers of liberalism, inclusion, and diversity. This is called Christian Nationalism, and it is a collaboration between (right wing) political leaders and (conservative evangelical) churches.
I wonder if, at some deeper social level, the rise of Christian Nationalism is an unconscious response to a world that is not as it should be — where jobs are in short supply and the environment is being been raped of resources. Rather than blame an out-of-control and rampant capitalist consumerism, materialism, and individualism, it is easier to blame our lack of adherence to ‘Christian’ values and those who ’embody’ such unchristian ways — those of other faiths, races, creeds, sexualities, abilities, and genders. This ‘othering’ leads to discrimination, marginalisation, and untold horrors.
The faithful Christian could do well to remember John’s question which was less, “Are you the one?” and more, “Is this the way?” We are to remind the world that true Christian revolution occurs in the belly of the beast, and that God’s way is one of love, peace, and joy within the oppressive empire of consumer capitalism, materialism, and individualism.
To right-wing political leaders and conservative evangelicals, FAB Church is the enemy, representing all that is wrong with society, because we welcome, embrace, and stand with the marginalised. We refuse to give up proclaiming that Jesus Christ is sovereign and, through acts of service, refuse to stop being witnesses to God’s love. We do not engage in violence, nor do we seek to enforce our brand of ‘Christianity’ on others, but instead put first God, others, and the world around us. We worship God, are compassionate to people, and are stewards of God’s creation, valuing the environment.
We do not seek to bring a kingdom of power, subjugation, and authority, but one of humility, service, and sacrifice — and it’s a daunting task. If you were a Christian looking to take a side, the glitzy, slick, famous, glamorous, wealthy, powerful leaders and churches will be appealing, and the downtrodden, humble, serving, marginalised, ineloquent, bruised, and broken leaders and churches will seem unappealing. Yet, as Christ demonstrated, the latter is God’s chosen way, and although it took several hundred years to influence an empire, this way of love won, and it will win again.
Therefore, dear friends, do not give up hope, even when things seem hopeless; even when you struggle with your own pain and suffering; and even when you watch the news in disbelief or despair.
We are revolutionaries — not the kind the world expects, but exactly the kind the world needs.
You, like Jesus, defy expectation.
Amen.
and then