18 And the disciples of John told him of all these things. 19 and
John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to the Lord,
saying, Art thou he that cometh, or look we for another? 20 And
when the men were come unto him, they said, John the Baptist hath
sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that cometh, or look we for
another? 21 In that hour he cured many of diseases and plagues and
evil spirits; and on many that were blind he bestowed sight. 22
And, he answered and said unto them, Go and tell John the things
which ye have seen and heard; the blind receive their sight, the
lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead
are raised up, the poor have good tidings preached to them. 23 And
blessed is he, whosoever shall find no occasion of stumbling in
me.
24 And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to say
unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the
wilderness to behold? a reed shaken with the wind? 25 But what
went ye out to see? a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they
that are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings’
courts. 26 But what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto
you, and much more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is
written,
Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,
Who shall prepare thy way before thee.
28 I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there is none
greater than John: yet he that is but little in the kingdom of God
is greater than he. 29 And all the people when they heard, and the
publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.
30 But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected for themselves the
counsel of God, being not baptized of him. 31 Whereunto then shall
I liken the men of this generation, and to what are they like? 32
They are like unto children that sit in the marketplace, and call
one to another; who say, We piped unto you, and ye did not dance;
we wailed, and ye did not weep. 33 For John the Baptist is came
eating no bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a demon. 34
The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold, a
gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and
sinners! 35 And wisdom is justified of all her children.
Due to the darkness of his dungeon or to the long delay of Jesus in
fulfilling his cherished hopes, the mind of John the Baptist became
clouded with doubt and he sent messengers to Jesus to ask whether or not
he was really the Messiah whom John had declared him to be, “Art thou he
that cometh, or look we for another?” John had not lost faith in God or in
his promises; he believed that if Jesus were not the Messiah, the Messiah
was still to come.
The Master lovingly reassured his great herald by sending back the report
of the mighty works which he was accomplishing. John was already familiar
with these acts but the recital must have dispelled his fears. Jesus
sympathizes with us also in our hours of darkness, but his relief usually
consists in reminding us of facts we already know concerning his power and
love and presence and the truths of his written Word.
Jesus, however, does not praise us for our doubts; he sent to John a
gentle and loving rebuke: “And blessed is he, whosoever shall find no
occasion of stumbling in me.” This benediction he pronounces upon all who
in spite of darkness, imprisonment, delay, and mystery still confidently
put their trust in him.
It was upon this occasion when John seems to have failed that Jesus
pronounced upon him unparalleled praise, declaring that “among them that
are born of women there is none greater than John.” He vindicated this
deliberate judgment and thereby, showed wherein true greatness lies. He
spoke first of the character of John and then of his career. He praised
the man and then the messenger. He described his moral and then his
official greatness.
His expression as to the character of John is voiced by two questions, to
each of which a negative answer of course must be given: first, “What went
ye out into the wilderness to behold? a reed shaken with the wind?” Surely
true greatness does not lie in the moral cowardice which bends before
every breeze; quite on the contrary, John was like a rock which no storm
could move.
Then there was a second question: “What went ye out to see? a man clothed
in soft raiment?” Surely greatness does not lie along the line of
self-gratification and indulgence. John endured all hardships and was
oblivious to all human delights because he was so devoted to his divine
task. Courage and consecration—these constitute prime factors in moral
greatness.
The real greatness of John consisted, however, in his mission. Jesus
declared that he was the messenger whom Malachi had predicted should
prepare the way of the Lord. Other prophets had appeared and had predicted
the coming of the Messiah. It was given to John not only to declare that
the Christ would come, but to point to him and to say, “Behold, the Lamb
of God! ... this is the Son of God.” No greater dignity had ever been
conferred upon a human soul; and no higher privilege can now be enjoyed
than that of turning the thoughts and hearts of men to Jesus Christ, the
Saviour of the world. The present followers of Christ have a larger
knowledge of him than was possessed by John. What their relative positions
will be in the glory of the perfected Kingdom will depend upon the
comparative faithfulness with which they serve their Master.
The praise of John is sharply contrasted with the condemnation of the
Pharisees which Jesus now turned to express. He declared that these
professed leaders were like children sitting in the market place,
complaining one to another that they are willing to play neither at mock
funerals nor at mock weddings, for when John came they refused to follow
him because his aspect and message were too severe, and when Christ came
they criticized him as being too genial, “a friend of publicans and
sinners.” The trouble with the Pharisees was that they made an excuse of
the demeanor of John and the conduct of Jesus for refusing what was
essential in their mission and message. They were unwilling to repent at
the command of John or to put their trust in Christ in response to his
promise of grace and life. Thus some men are still refusing to accept the
salvation which is offered because of something in Christianity which is
purely external, while they fail to appreciate its true essence; but there
were those in the days of Jesus, and there are those to-day who are
willing to accept both the call to repentance and the offer of life, “And
wisdom is justified of all her children.”