Was Jesus referencing Isaiah 61? "The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners."
A friend of mine observed that Jesus and John were both rabbis, who knew Scripture through and through. John would have immediately recognized the allusion, and it would have been glaringly obvious that Jesus did NOT tell John's disciples that "the prisoners are freed." Was this Jesus' way of telling John that he was not going to be released from prison? This is the end of the road, John. Your time is up. Your mission is accomplished.
So how did John feel about that? He had to have known he was a special person. He would have known the story of his conception and birth, and apparently he didn't have a typical upbringing, what with the living in the desert and eating locust and all. In Matthew 11, Jesus even says plainly that John is the Elijah who was to come before the Messiah. If John knew he was "Elijah," what must he have expected to accomplish with his life?
John was apparently willing to surrender--he said, "He must become greater; I must become less." But what dreams did he have, even within the context of surrender and service? What did he hope and expect to accomplish for God? Did he hope to be used by God to turn the Pharisees' hearts to Jesus? Did he expect to bring Herod to God's feet? He was the new Elijah--but Elijah performed miracles. We have no record of John doing so.
Sitting in his prison cell, unable to preach to the crowds anymore, did John feel confused? Did he feel dismay that all the fanfare had come to this? Did he feel he'd been wasted? His whole miraculous conception and birth, his strict devotion and servanthood, for a short time of preaching and now prison?
From my vantage point, he was born simply to get people's attention so he could point them to Jesus, for a short time. Then he would be killed by Herod. That's it. No softening of Pharisees' hearts, no sweeping revival in Jerusalem. Just a weird life, then a gruesome death. In this context, it makes sense that Jesus says to John via John's disciples: "Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." You'll be blessed if you hang on to Jesus even when Jesus doesn't make sense to you.
In 21st Century America, we are repulsed by the idea of God "using" someone like that. I'll wager that even many people who call themselves believers would come up for air about it. What about John's self-actualization? What about the wasted potential?
I've gone round and round with myself about this. I've even written and then deleted paragraphs here. I do not believe that the purpose of this life is simply to secure fire insurance against hell, then to grit our teeth and bear this poisoned world until we're airlifted out. I think part of the kingdom of God is to redeem THIS world, to live redeemed lives, following Jesus' example. But I also think we perhaps cling to this world too tightly, out of fear and an inability to see past the day our heart stops beating. So the idea that God created John to be used in this way seems cruel and manipulative. But from his current vantage point, what do you think John thinks about it all now? If he's seeing Jesus face to face, I don't think he thinks about it at all.
Here's Peter Kreeft's take on this world/that world:
"In the light of Heaven, everything we do and everything we experience takes on two new meanings. On the one hand, everything becomes infinitely more important, more serious, more weighted with glory than before. If we are practicing only for a casual pastime, our practice is not terribly important, but if we are practicing for the world championship, it is.
"On the other hand, Heaven makes everything earthly seem light and trivial by comparison. Saint Theresa says that the most horrible, suffering-filled life on Earth, looked at from Heaven, will seem no more than a night in an inconvenient hotel. Saints and martyrs know the value of this life and this world; they love it because God loves it. But they lightly give it all up for Heaven. Heavenly light gives us not only 'an eternal weight of glory,' but at the same time a lightsome spirit, as in the Cavalier poet:
'Man, please Thy maker and be merry,
And for this world give not a cherry.'"
(From "Thirty-Five FAQs About Eternity," found at http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics-more/35-faqs_eternity.htm.)
So what does this mean for me?....
