Last Time on Tales of Faith
This text comes immediately after the text from last week (In fact, arguably, the story of raising the man from Nain could have been paired with this paricape).
Background
John the Baptizer plays a significant roll in all of the gospels, and is there at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Biblical scholars like John Dominic Crossan suggest that it is likely that Jesus was himself a disciple of John’s who chose a slightly different path. Luke’s gospel even starts with the annunciation of John’s birth, with an angelic messenger appearing in the temple to Zechariah. The angel Gabriel tells Zechariah all sorts of wonderful things about the child to come, but also casts him with the “spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17). For Second Temple Jewish people expecting the coming of Messiah (anointed one), this Spirit of Elijah would be a clear indication of this child’s role. For those of us less familiar, with First Century Messiah lore, the gospel writer makes it clear through the renewed voice of Zechariah when he says/sings,
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for God has looked favorably on God's people and redeemed them. God has raised a mighty savior for us in the house of God's servant David, as God spoke through the mouth of God's mighty prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us... And you, child (John), will be called prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his/God's ways, to give knowledge of salvation to God's people by the forgiveness of their sins." NRSV (with modification)
Elijah, the renowned prophet written about in 1 Kings, and who left the world in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2), was expected to return to prepare the way for the Messianic age. In fact, during the Passover feast, our Jewish siblings reserve a seat and cup for Elijah, and at some point during the Haggadah (telling) the children are asked to check at the door to see if Elijah has returned.
John is asked in Luke 3 directly if he is the messiah, and denies it. Towing the gospel writer’s assertion that John is important, but as the one making way for Messiah.
“As the people were filled with expectation and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (Luke 3:15-17 NRSVUE)
First Century Palestine was one full of expectation of Messiah, the descendant of David who was to restore the Kingdom and bring about a ‘messianic age’ of peace. In the 6th Century BCE, the descendants of Judah had been returned to the Jerusalem under Cyrus the Great of Persia. They remained vassals of the Persian empire until it was conquered by Alexander the Great and his Greek empire, which became the new overlords of the Hebrew people (and when they received the new moniker of ‘Jewish,’ descendants of Judah). After Alexander’s death and the Greek territory divided, the Jewish people were under the Ptolemy, and the Seleucid empires, with a brief glimmer of Judean autonomy during the Maccabean revolt of 152-141 BCE. The Seleucid (or Hasmonaean) Dynasty was conquered by the Roman Republic in 63 BCE. Pompey himself laid siege to and captured Jerusalem and appointed Hyrcanus II as ethnarch and High Priest, but denied him the title of king. Pompey would later be instrumental in transforming the Romans Republic into the Roman Empire in 27 BCE. In 40 BCE, Harrod the Great was appointed the “King of the Jews” by the Roman Senate, and ruled Judaea as a client kingdom of Rome. After Harrod the Great died in 4 CE, his territory was split between his sons, his son Archelaus was made ethnarch of Judea, and Harrod Antipas governed Galilee. Just 2 years later, Archelaus was dismissed, and Judea was made a Provence of Rome.
Thought Experiment
Here is a thought experiment to put those dates into a context that makes more sense for us: Imagine if North America had remained a colony of Brittan, and then lost World War II and became the territory of Germany in the 1940s (in the 1980s the German government was officially reorganized into the Third Reich). The last time we had national sovereignty was a brief stint during the American Civil War (I suppose there are some who believe that, but that is besides the point). As recently as 2006, the Southern states have become official Reich states (while the Northern states remain Reich territories). All the while there are hushed rumors of a ‘son of Washington’ who would come and give us independence again*. The memory of pre-German rule is only two or three generations back, and most adults remember what it was like when they were not under direct Reich control. Now, Nazi Stormtroopers are everywhere, and occasionally militias and terrorist cells will rise up to fight. Charismatic leaders will claim to be the ‘elected one,’ most face gruesome ends. Most people try to keep their heads down, and silently hope that someone will come and save them.
*timewise, it would actually be something more like ‘Son of Arthur,’ but Washington sells the ‘freedom and independence’ side of this messianic hope.
Today’s Text
John, who has been imprisoned by Harrod Antipas, sends some of his disciples to Jesus asking, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” This question makes a lot of sense, given all of the ones who had called themselves Messiah, and in light of John’s given role of ‘preparer’.
Jesus’ answer, however, is an interesting one. Unlike the mighty men who have adopted the title of Messiah for their political ends, Jesus does not (at least in Luke’s gospel account). He does not step forward and say, ‘I am Messiah Jesus, will you join me in my noble quest?’ Instead, Jesus invites these disciples to consider the evidence:
the blind receive their sight;
We have not actually seen anyone receive their sight in Luke’s gospel, but this is one of the lines added to the Septuagint version of Isaiah 61 which Jesus preached from in chapter 4.
Jesus did use the image of the blind leading the blind in the Sermon on the Plain in chapter 6.
In Chapter 18, we will hear a story about Jesus healing a blind man on his way to Jerusalem. Incidentally, this is the first of two times the Messianic title “Son of David” is used in Luke’s gospel.
the lame walk;
Luke 5:17-26
those with a skin disease are cleansed;
Luke 5:12-16. This story also includes a ‘Messianic secret,” Jesus telling the man not to tell anyone.
the deaf hear;
There is not an account of this in Luke’s gospel, but it fits with the list.
Mark 7:31-37 and Matthew 15:29-31 recount a deaf person receiving hearing.
the dead are raised;
We just saw this in Luke 7:11-17
the poor have good news brought to them.
This is throughout, but a specific reference to Isaiah 61 (in both the Hebrew and Septuagint) which Jesus preached from in Luke 4.
Jesus finishes his list with a statement of, “And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” This is an interesting phrase. In many ways it goes back to the parable of trees and fruit in Luke 6:43-45. It is as if he is saying, look at this fruit, look at all the people who are healed, whose lives are changed. Now think about the other ones who have claimed the title of Messiah, what fruit has their actions born? I’m on your side, I’m a good tree.
This seems to be enough for John’s disciples, because they take these reports back to their Rabbi.
Then Jesus turns to the crowd, and discusses the significance of John. He starts with a list of rhetorical questions about going out into the desert. He assumes that many of the people who are in this crowd had also been the kinds of people who would have gone out to see John, and even be baptized by him. They didn’t go out to see something inane and unremarkable (a reed shaking in the wind). They did not go to check out a man in fine robes, like they could see in the palaces of Harrod, Pilate, or Caesar. They went out into the wilderness to see a real prophet, a man of God, like the prophets of old. He wasn’t refined or safe or comfortable, but he told them what they needed to hear. Then Jesus tells them that John was indeed a prophet, even more than a prophet, the one that Malachi talked about when he said, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,/ who will prepare your way before you.”
This is getting pretty close to claiming that John is Elijah, and at least implying that Jesus is messiah, but he still does not say it outright.
Then Jesus hits them with an allusion to the kin-dom of God: John was great, the best even, of those ‘born of women’ at least (and this feels like a literary surprise like Éowyn’s line before she stabs the Witch-king of Angmar in the face, but most biblical scholars do not believe that it is). But in the Kin-dom of God, even the lowest citizen is greater than John.
This gets an interesting response. The tax collectors and others who had been baptized by John accept this statement as a confirmation of the God’s justice. Those who have been initiated into the mysterious workings of the Kin-dom, understand what Jesus is saying. But the Pharisees and scribes, who are so caught up in the authority structure of their institutions don’t get it. In fact, Luke here says that they not only do not understand what Jesus is talking about, they have even “rejected God’s purpose for themselves.” Luke will continue to grapple with this listening/not listening in chapter 8 with the Parable of the Sower (and Octavia Butler continued to grapple with it two millennia later.
Jesus finishes up with a parable of children in the marketplace who expect people to follow their music and moods. He compares the Pharisees to the fickleness of street urchins. John took on Nazarene rights, he refrained from wine and strong drink, and ate locusts in the wilderness; and they didn’t like it and said he had an evil spirit. The Son of Man hangs out and parties with the wrong people (tax collectors and sex-workers) and they say he is a glutton and a drunkard. There is no pleasing them.
Conclusion
What is it that we are looking for? Do we see the mystery and majesty of God’s creation, and the devastation that we have wrought upon it, and still wait for more evidence before we do something? Do we see the blatant dangers of Christian Nationalism sprinting towards authoritarianism, and still wait for the evidence that will really convince us to get involved? Do we see the world’s largest oligarch running rough-shot through our government’s bureaucracy with his ‘big balled’ DOGE puppys, and think, ‘you know, if he starts messing with something that directly effects me, then (maybe) I’ll say something’. When we see the new chair of the Democratic Party refusing to learn anything from the last 12 years and court the ‘good billionaires,’ but at least they are better than the other guys, so who cares? When the United States President says that we are just going to ‘take over’ Gaza, after we funded Israel’s carpet bombing of the people there, and that the Palestinians will be forced to leave, and will not return because ‘they won’t want to,’ but we’re going to withhold judgement until we see the plans for the luxury condos that they are going to build. When our trans siblings, who were already un-aliving themselves at alarming rates before, now have every shred of hope ripped from them, but wasn’t it just easier when there were only two genders?…. Ok, I will stop now.
How much is enough, how much more data do we need to collect, how many more need to die?
Liturgy
Call to Worship (Luke 3)
Leader: The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
People: Prepare the way of the Lord, make God’s paths straight.
Leader: Every valley shall be filled,
People: and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
Leader: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth;
People: and all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Amen.
Prayer of Confession (Unison)
God of salvation, we are surrounded by the goodness of your creation and your continued creation in our own lives. You bring healing and wholeness, you proclaim good news to the poor, you bring new and abundant life. So often we marvel at the works of human hands, and are blind to the signs of your work among us. We see your Spirit at work in ways that we cannot explain, and yet we keep looking for more signs. We are like children who are never satisfied, accepting only what we expect. Give us eyes to see the signs of your glory, give us ears to hear your prophets, and give us hearts that are attuned to your kin-dom. Amen.
*Assurance of Pardon (Malachi 4, Luke 7)
Leader: For you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go our leaping like calves from the stall. Among those born of women no one is greater than John the baptizer; yet the least in the kin-dom of God is greater than he. Friends, hear and believe the good news of the gospel. In Jesus Christ we have already been forgiven.
People: Thanks be to God!