Third Sunday in Advent, 2003
Matthew 11:2-10

John in Prison

Although Old Testament law says nothing about prisons, the Kings of Israel built them anyway and filled them up (1 Kings 22:26-28; 2 Chron. 16:10; 18:25-27). Archaeologists have discovered a prison from the third century B.C. called the Tullianum. It was located in Rome, and is pretty typical of ancient incarceration. A writer of the day described it like this: "The Tullianum is about twelve feet below the surface of the ground. It is enclosed on all sides by walls, and above it is a chamber with a vaulted roof of stone. Neglect, darkness, and stench make it hideous and fearsome to behold."

Going through the California desert on Interstate 10 you pass a large penitentiary off in the distance. It is an eerily remote complex in the middle of nowhere. Towers rise up in a few places and the fences are adorned with rolled razor ribbon coils of bayonet barbs. I often wonder what life is like in a place like that. Don Smarto, who leads a prison ministry, attempts to describe life in a state facility. He writes: "It is only a matter of time before you will view human blood and guts. Inmates and guards will be stabbed. Urine and feces will be thrown into someone's face. You will hear the prisoner in the next cell moaning and weeping after a gang rape. Amidst the horror and violence, fear and tension, coldness and suspicion, you will wonder how people can be so evil. You are now in a world a million miles away from the world you left behind ­ a world without the touch of your loved ones or the common sounds of a dog's bark or a baby's cry."

Our Gospel passage finds John the Baptist in prison. How did he get there? He had publicly condemned the adultery of the governor, Herod Antipas. Herod was not amused by this public rebuke. The corrupt ruler arrested John and threw him into a dungeon. John's imprisonment was one of those cold, dreary pits. It was located beneath the city of Macheras, a mountain fortress near the Dead Sea. There, John languished, though his disciples could visit him from time to time.

John's next action puzzles a lot of people. Matthew 11:2 says, "And when John heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"

In obedience to John's order, the two disciples of John journey to Jesus, get an audience with Him, and looking the Lord straight in the face, they pose the big question: "Are you the Messiah or not? Our mentor John the Baptist is suffering in prison and he wants to know. Are You really the Messiah? Or is it somebody else?"

Why would John ask this question? He had already proclaimed Jesus the Messiah at the Jordan River. As Jesus stepped down the bank into the water John announced, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). He trumpeted this declaration with total confidence. As John baptized Jesus, he saw the dove descend over the Lord and heard the thunderous voice from Heaven giving approval to His Son. The Lord's baptism was a Trinitarian event. John also predicted that this Christ would baptize the unrepentant with the Holy Spirit, and He would baptize them with fire (Matthew 3:11). These were symbols of judgment. The Messiah would separate the wheat from the chaff. The wheat He would gather into His barns, and the chaff He would burn (3:12). In other words, the Messiah would come as a mighty Judge, to destroy the wicked and vindicate the righteous.

Did Jesus do this? Barely, from John's vantage point! The first part about taking away the sin of the world was unclear to John because Jesus had yet to die on the cross. The second part about judging the nations remained totally unfinished. This failure to fulfill these predictions must have vexed the great prophet. The slow and daily agony of the dungeon tampers with one's brain. John began to wonder if Jesus was the real deal.

This seems to be what the passage signifies. Yet it is common to find Bible scholars who assert that John never doubted. According to them, the reason he sent his disciples to Jesus was for their sake, not for his. John's followers are the ones who lacked confidence that Jesus was the Messiah but John never did. What is the reason for such a view? These interpreters put John on a pedestal and are loathe to remove him even for a second. If John were the greatest of prophets as Jesus claimed, to attribute any trace of unbelief to him would sully his reputation.

What is the response to this approach? To maintain John's spotlessness, these commentators are forced to turn John into an actor of sorts. He feigns difficulties to Jesus and others. His doubt is counterfeit. He pretends to distrust Jesus' messiahship for the benefit of his disciples, even though he was always certain of it. He sends two of his protégés on a long trip to ask Jesus a question to which he already knew the answer. Is this the way we should interpret the scene? Maybe we should. For me it doesn't ring true. And I'm dismayed how many scholars, ancient and modern, take this stance.

You have to hold a naïve notion of human nature to think John never vacillated. The fall into sin is profound. Sin will never be eradicated until Jesus comes again. Original sin means that every single person and institution on earth is sinful and fallible. All the saints of Scripture stumbled at some point in their lives. Moses, David, Elijah and Job are the greatest Old Testament people and they had their failings. Peter, Paul, John the Baptist, and Mary are the New Testament giants and they did too.

True, John was no reed shaken by the wind. He was no pampered pleasure-seeker living in kings' palaces. Jesus called him the greatest of all the prophets. Suffering in prison can make a Christian even stronger in his faith. All that is true, but John was still human. The dreadful punishment of the dungeon buffeted him; the fear of death gripped him; trials and tribulations discouraged him; the devil oppressed him.

It appears that John, languishing in neglect, became impatient for God's Kingdom. If Jesus was the Messiah why didn't He unleash an Elijah-like wrath on the oppressive rulers? Why didn't He call down fire from Heaven and ignite a burning baptism on evildoers? Why delay so long ushering in the Kingdom? These were the thoughts that possibly nettled John's nerves.

Jesus sends back an answer to the prisoner: "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me" (Matthew 11:4-6).

This is a reference to one of the most stupendous prophesies in the Bible. Isaiah 35 paints a portrait of the messianic age. Once the Lord appears, the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. Zion, that is, the Church, will be purified, as all nations stream to her in joy. Tyrannous leaders are subdued as righteousness reigns. And then, Isaiah foretells the bodily restoration of the people when the Messiah comes: "the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. The lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing" (Is. 35:5-6). Jesus answers, "Go tell John the blind see, the lame walk, and the deaf hear." In other words, the first stage of the messianic kingdom is under way. Physical healings are happening left and right. "Go tell him. He'll understand."

And clearly the miracles of physical healing Jesus performed not only authenticated Him as the Messiah, they pointed to spiritual healing. Each type of bodily restoration symbolizes a spiritual truth for us. Without Christ you are blind to the monstrosity of your sin, your ears are stopped up to the Gospel of repentance and faith, your feet lead you astray into rebellion, and you lie dead in your sins. With the coming of Christ to earth the curse is gradually reversed. The Holy Spirit opens your eyes to see the horror of sin, He unstops your ears to respond obediently to the Gospel of faith in Christ's atonement, He strengthens your feet to walk in paths of righteousness, and He raises you from death to life. If you are in Christ today, salvation is yours. The word "salve" comes from the same root. Salve is a healing ointment. Salvation is likewise a healing of the soul.

What about the expectations of John? Were they false? No. Jesus was (and is) the Messiah! He is the Savior and Judge of the world! He will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. At His first advent He set His kingdom in motion. His Spirit has been working, and is working today, through the Church, to extend the kingdom across the face of the earth. At His second advent the Lord Christ will come again as the dreadful Judge of mankind. He will baptize with fire. He will execute the Last Judgment. His wheat He will gather into the barns; the chaff He will separate and burn up with unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:11-12).

John didn't understand the connection between the first and second advents. He never saw the cross of Christ. He was murdered in prison. His head was cut off and delivered to King Herod on a wooden platter. He never got the chance to hear the Lord's teaching after the resurrection. Jesus explained that His kingdom would grow through evangelism. The judgment part would come at the very end of time after the nations were successfully baptized and discipled. John didn't have the knowledge of these kingdom principles. His life was snuffed out too early.

The question of imprisonment should be the Church's concern. John's followers visited him while he was incarcerated, and Jesus tells us to do the same in Matthew 25:36. Joseph, Jeremiah and St. Paul spent time in confinement. Jesus tells us that visiting prisoners is on a par with feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and visiting the sick. Perhaps God is calling one of you to get involved in a prison ministry.

Several years ago I read Tom Wolfe's novel, A Man in Full. The jail environment he describes is chillingly brutal. It still haunts me. Apparently, homosexual rape has become rampant in American prisons. This is a vicious act and not a joke at all. If you want to understand how thoroughly rape can destroy a person, read Tom Wolfe's book. Prison rape may be the biggest and most shameful problem facing our nation today, right along with abortion. We should support efforts to reduce such barbarity.

What else can we say about John the Baptist? Does his little episode with doubt disqualify him as a good example? No! Jesus called him the greatest prophet. Why did Jesus give him that title? Certainly John's discipline had something to do with it. He trained in the hardness of the howling wilderness. He lived a life of Spartan simplicity. He prayed in solitude, studied with diligence, and preached with power. It is true that one can romanticize asceticism and overdo it. But to ignore self-discipline altogether is a much greater error. In ages past, the season of Advent was observed as a penitential season. Its purple stood for the self-reproach of believers as they prepared their hearts for the coming King. Advent today has long lost its sackcloth and ashes. John the Baptist puts a stop to overindulgence. We prepare for the Lord's coming with repentance for our sins.

Christmas cheer is fine. It is beautiful. Be sure to celebrate really big. In fact, the Church should promote Christmas as the greatest holiday on earth. Let's do everything to make it special. But beware: you're more prone to sin in an environment of abundance. The spiritual dangers are greater. It's too easy to forget about God. John the Baptist's model calls you to maintain self-denial in your spiritual exercises. Don't slack off on your church attendance, prayer time, Bible meditation, and quiet times of fellowship with the Lord. You learn the most in solitude. You learn the best things in suffering. Feeling is rapid; learning is slow. Adrenaline is easy; character is hard.

The Church calls you on this Third Sunday in Advent to regard the example of John the Baptist. Not necessarily to put on camel clothes or eat locusts, but rather the encouragement he gives us to work on discipline and self-denial. He also reminds us that Jesus will return one day as our Judge. That was the message he preached. Are you prepared to stand before the Great Judgment as the Judge separates the wheat from the chaff? If you have faith in Christ's sacrifice, your sins are forgiven. If you lack faith in the Lord Jesus, you will come out badly on Judgment Day. Ask God to grant you that faith today.

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