Luke 7:17–35
17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.
18 John’s disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, 19 he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’”
21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 23 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
24 After John’s messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 25 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces. 26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is the one about whom it is written:
“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’
28 I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
29 (All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John. 30 But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)
31 Jesus went on to say, “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:
“‘We played the pipe for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not cry.’
33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ 35 But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”
Waiting on a Miracle
Everyone likes a good “testimony” right? By “good” I’m referring to how something difficult is now finally coming together to—well, let’s be honest—make the circumstances of my life at least a little bit easier today than they were yesterday. We love to tell the stories of the victories and the miracles and of how God “came through” for us.
I don’t remember the class during my Bible College training, but I do remember the questions that our College Professor asked after a chapel service where an exciting testimony had been given. “Why do we only hear testimonies of when the ‘miracle’ happens and everything works out great? Why do people not stand up and tell the stories of when their circumstances haven’t worked out in a desired way yet? Where are the stories of when the check didn’t arrive so you could stay in school, or of the car that broke down that couldn’t be fixed, or the chronic health issues that weren’t healed, or the difficult ministry season that didn’t resolve as desired? Where are the testimonies when what seems like the end of the story isn’t the one we wanted to be written?”
These questions are why the passage in Luke 7 is so meaningful. A faithful follower of God, John the Baptist, finds himself within circumstances that—quite frankly—seem inconsistent with his passionate and faithful ministry for Jesus. John has questions. He is struggling with doubts. If Jesus is who he says he is and John is his faithful follower, then why is John still stuck in this stinking prison? “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else” (7:19)?
Now we need to understand this was not a question of intellectual doubts. John had heard the voice from Heaven concerning Jesus “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17). John’s doubts were not intellectual even as your doubts in Jesus are likely not intellectual. They were emotional. “Why? If you are the God who heals, who sets the captives free, then why am I stuck in these circumstances?”
This is the honesty of the Scriptures. In the Gospel of Luke we read story after story of relative strangers experiencing a healing touch and deliverance from their unwanted circumstances by Jesus. But that’s not what happens to John. When John’s disciples relay the question to Jesus, the answer is, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard,” followed by a list of miracles that are taking place in someone else’s life. This almost seems like adding “salt to the wound.” What do we do with such a disappointing answer? In his classic book Disappointment with God, author Philip Yancy captures this experience so well:
“Disappoint occurs when the actual experience of something falls short of what we anticipate….I found that for many people there is a large gap between what they expect from their Christian faith and what they actually experience. From a steady diet of books, sermons, and personal testimonies, all promising triumph and success, they learn to expect dramatic evidence of God working in their lives. If they do not see such evidence, they feel disappointment, betrayal, and often guilt.” (p.9)
Jesus sends John’s friends away at this point, so perhaps John never hears what Jesus’ next words were to the gathered crowd. “I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John….” Jesus’ words regarding John were not criticism for a lack of faith that left him in his unwanted circumstances. They were words of praise, even though John’s present circumstances did not look like a life of victory.
So, what ought we to make of this? Within story after story in Luke, both before and after this account, we see the power and authority of Jesus at work to change all sorts of debilitating circumstances. But in the life of John the Baptist we see a faithful follower stuck in an unwanted prison that eventually ends with his death. A powerful woman with a grudge would later demand John’s head. Maybe your unwanted circumstance isn’t quite so dramatic, or maybe it actually is?
First, our circumstances are not a measure of God’s love or pleasure with our lives or ministries. Sometimes we live through the point in our story in which the miracle has not yet taken place. In these moments we are simply called to persevere with faith, to just keep walking the road with Jesus in faithfulness while we wait. In John’s case, the answer would not even come in this life, but he would have to wait for the next. Even if you are left hearing about the work of God in others while persevering through your own unwanted season, Jesus is still Lord, and worthy of our faithfulness.
Second, don’t let your disappointments lead you to give up or fall away. Look at what Jesus said in verse 23, “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” It is as if Jesus is saying, “John, I know this is not what you expected. I know you wish you had answers, but I’m not really giving them to you yet. But John, you will be blessed. You will know my best, if you do not fall away from me because I and the circumstances of your life are not what you envisioned them to be. John, I know this is not what you expected when we started out together. Everything is not as it seems. I know. My friends disappointed me too. I too was arrested. I too suffered. I too was left alone. I cried out from the cross, ‘My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?’ I know. But the answers you are looking for are not here, not yet. Remain faithful even if you are still at the point in your story where the miracle hasn’t happened yet. Don’t fall away from Me because the things in your life are not presently as you think or wish they should be.”
Yes, there are intellectual answers I could give. You probably are already familiar with them. There is a robust theology of suffering, of “The Problem of Pain” (C.S. Lewis) and “Disappointment” (Philip Yancy), but intellectual answers might not help your heart in a moment of unwanted circumstances. When our doubts are emotional doubts, like John, we need to rest in our faith in the goodness, faithfulness, power, and love of Jesus. Our circumstances do not define our relationship with Jesus or the pleasure he has in us. Today may not be the day for your miracle yet. You may not be at that point in your story yet. Today may be your day for faithfulness, mixed with tears. Just know you have not been forgotten. Know that your present circumstances do not define God’s joy in you. The assignment today may be hard, but choose faith and know that despite being stuck in a stinking prison cell, Jesus does love you very much. Remain faithful in the assignment he has given you.
Author Bio
Rev. Kevin Roberts is currently completing 27 years as a pastor of smaller rural churches with 19 of those years previously being bi-vocational while working in health care. He has served with his current assignment at
Fort Macleod Alliance Church for the past 8 years. Kevin and Karla have been married 35 years and have 3 adult daughters.
Luke and Acts taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
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