John’s disciples tell John what Jesus had been doing. They could have told John about Jesus forgiving and healing a paralyzed man. They may have told John how Jesus healed the dying servant of a Roman centurion by his spoken word. In fact, Jesus had healed many and cured many of evil spirits; he even restored the dead son of a widow back to life. Yet, John sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus if he was “the one to come or should they expect someone else?” (Luke 7:18-19).
The two went and told Jesus that John the Baptist wanted to know if they should expect someone else?’ Jesus doesn’t answer directly, but we’re told that Jesus healed many, cured many with evil spirits and gave sight to many blind people. Jesus sends the two back to tell John what they had observed and heard: the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. So Jesus sends them back to tell John that he was doing what he had he said in his Nazareth sermon (Luke 4:18) and what Isaiah had said he would do (Isaiah 26:19, 29:18, 35:5, 42:18, 61:1).
Remember that John was given his message by God and John preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Moreover, John had said that the 'Messiah’ would bring God’s wrath and that the ax was already at the root of the trees. People were to produce the fruit of repentance and non-fruit producing trees would be chopped down and thrown into the fire (Luke 7:7-9). Messiah would also baptize with the Spirit and with fire. So they were expecting God to come in judgment and gather his wheat (the faithful) and burn the chaff (unfaithful) with unquenchable fire (Lk 7:16-17; 3:1–20).
Jesus, in Nazareth, preached from Isaiah 61, that the Spirit had anointed him to preach the gospel to the poor, freedom for prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, liberation for the oppressed, and the year of the Lord’s favor.” But Jesus stopped short of Isaiah 61:2 which referenced the coming “day of vengeance of our God”. Also when Jesus sent John's messengers back he made no reference to ‘freedom for prisoners’ (4:14–30).
John had been locked-up by Herod and would have been wondering if Jesus was the ‘one to come’ then why was John in prison! In his Nazareth sermon Jesus had said that 'prisoners would be freed' and John was in prison. Moreover, John had preached God's imminent judgment; a message John had received from God. John had preached about 'chaff being thrown into unquenchable fire’, but Jesus seemed to be only bringing the restorative love and grace of God! This could explain John’s comment about expected someone else other than Jesus.
At that very time Jesus enabled many blind to see, many lame to walk, he cleansed many lepers, enabled deaf to hear, and even restored the dead back to life. So Jesus sends the two back to John to report how Jesus was further fulfilling Isaiah’s prophesies. Jesus also talked about those being 'blessed who did not stumble or were not 'scandalized’ because of Jesus.' It seems that John was stumbling over what Jesus wasn’t doing. There hadn’t been a ‘genuine prophet’ in Israel for 400 years and John was the genuine article. But had John gotten Jesus’ identity wrong? Jesus sends these messengers back to John with more reports of miracles. He also includes the comment, ‘blessed are those who don’t stumble because of me'; but he gives John no assurace that he would be released from Herod's prison.
To apply these words to ourselves; we are blessed if we don’t 'stumble or fall away' when Jesus doesn't do what we expected or act according to our timetables. We are 'blessed’ when we
remain faithful having ‘tasted of the goodness of God’ and we do not waver in unbelief (Ps 34:8, Rom.4:20). We are 'blessed' when we fix our
eyes on Jesus and to trust him with all our hearts
(Heb.12:2, Prov.3:5-6). Yes, we are blessed if we are persuaded deep down in our hearts that Jesus is the God’s anointed who alone has the words of ‘eternal
life’ (John 6:68).
John’s messengers leave and so Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John (7:24-28). Jesus had sent the back with a subtle rebuke which would have been a difficult message to receive in prison. Then Jesus speaks to the crowd on John’s behalf and asks the crowd, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? John preached God’s word with conviction and his message couldn’t be altered by the offer of reward or by the threat of punishment. John spoke ‘truth to power’ despite the consequences and he was certainly not a ‘reed swayed by the wind’. Neither did they go out to see a man dressed in ‘fine clothes’. John lived in the desert, ate locusts and honey and dressed like Elijah. No, John wasn’t the kind of preacher that played up to the influential or who catered to the elite. If John was that kind of preacher he would have been welcomed into Herod’s palace and not thrown into Herod’s prison (7:26-27).
So what did they go out to see? John was a prophet like Elijah, and more! John received God’s word and faithfully proclaimed it. Moreover, according to Jesus, John was the one who both Isaiah and Malachi had foretold would prepare the way for the ‘Lord’s Messiah’. John was Isaiah’s voice calling out in the wilderness to prepare the way for the LORD (YHWH = JESUS?). John was the one calling out in the desert make a straight highway for God (Elohim, Isaiah 40:3, Malachi 3:1). This, said Jesus, made John the greatest man who had lived up to that time! Jesus was saying that John was greater than Abraham, Moses, or David; which is high praise! John was the greatest, but in another sense Jesus said that the least in the kingdom of God was greater than John. Jesus was bringing in the ‘messianic age’ and even the least in the ‘coming kingdom’ would be greater than John. So Jesus praises John, and gives hope to all who would follow Jesus and enter the kingdom that Jesus would live, die and rise again to establish!
The people, even tax collectors, heard and acknowledged Jesus because they were baptized by John. But the Pharisees and the experts in the law heard rejected Jesus, because they had not been baptized by John. John’s message prepared the way so that those who believed John's message identified with Jesus (7:29-30). Then Jesus spoke of that present generation of religious leaders; I say this because the ‘people’ even 'tax-collectors' had believed John and identified with Jesus. The ‘religious leaders’ had their own perceived ideas and refused to accept Jesus. They were like children crying out in the marketplace. When they heard a wedding song they didn’t dance and when they heard a funeral song they didn’t cry. In other words, they rejected John and his ascetic life saying he had a demon. Then they also rejected Jesus because he came 'eating and drinking' and they called him a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners (7:31-34).
As great as John the Baptist was, his imprisonment and his own preconceived ideas created doubts for him about Jesus. Yet, John was the one spoken of by both Isaiah and Malachi, who would prepare the way for the Lord (Malachi 3:1, Isaiah 40:3). John announced ‘God’s anointed’ and was the greatest man up to his day, but according to Jesus even the least in God’s kingdom would be greater than John. Surely, John preached the ‘gospel’ and was part of the inauguration of God’s kingdom (Luke 3:18). Yet, John lived before the death, burial, resurrection, ascension and greater realization of the kingdom that would come at Pentecost. So John pointed to Jesus which marked the beginning of God’s kingdom and he was the last and greatest of the old era.
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