There is a scene in the Gospels where John the Baptist is in
prison and begins to wonder if he has Jesus and Jesus’ message all wrong. John
believed that the Messiah would be a grand military leader, round up an army of
followers to take on and overthrow the Roman government. But that was not the
message he was getting from what he was hearing about Jesus. So he sends some
disciples to put it to Jesus point blank: “Are you the one who is to come, or
are we to wait for another?”
Yet, we still might ask why would John the Baptist have any
doubts about who Jesus was? He had heard what Jesus was doing, namely what
Jesus told John’s disciples to tell John what he was doing: the blind seeing,
the lame walking, lepers being cleansed, the deaf hearing, even the dead being
raised to life. Only the Messiah could do such things, right? Well, maybe
wrong. Maybe many people can, could and do some or all of that. And maybe some
were doing it even during John’s and Jesus’ time.
Why else would John need to have his disciples ask such a
question? Even today blind people see again, the lame walk again, lepers and
the like are cleansed, deaf people receive their hearing back or hear for the
first time. Those who perform such miracles are not called the Messiah today
and they were not called the Messiah back then even if they did and do
Messianic deeds. Some were called doctors and some were called miracle workers
but none were called the Messiah.
So if giving sight to the blind or making the lame walk is
not a sign or the sign that one is the Messiah, if such great deeds can be done
by the ordinary, what was it Jesus said to tell John that sealed the deal for
John, let John know that Jesus was who he said he was and who John believed he
was? I can’t prove this, but I think it was that last words Jesus told John’s
disciples to say to John: “blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”
No one could take offense in what Jesus said and did,
honestly take offense. It is true that many people took Jesus to task for
breaking the Sabbath, for not being politically correct. But those who did
knew, in the most secret places in their hearts, even if they would not admit
it publicly or to anyone else, that there was nothing in what Jesus said or did
for which they could take offense. Nothing.
That is what John needed to hear. That is what set Jesus
apart from anyone else before or after. He simply never sinned. Even those who
did or do wondrous deeds, like a Mother Theresa or a Francis of Assisi, sin and
on a daily basis. They would be the first to say they do, too. Granted, their
sins may pale into insignificance when compared to ours; nevertheless, they cannot
or ever say, “blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” Neither can you or
I. Jesus could and did.
We know that we sin every day, give offense to others, give
them pause to doubt us and about our love and care and concern for them. Giving
no offense and no reason to doubt means becoming more and more aware each day
of our responsibilities to teach others by word and example. Not easy, but
Jesus never said it would be. But we must try.
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