What happened to John the Baptist? You remember last week in the gospel, John was strong and certain – a voice crying out in the wilderness. He preached repentance, he warned of the “wrath to come,” the ax at the root of the trees, and unquenchable fire. There was no hesitation. John the Baptist knew exactly what the kingdom should look like.
But today? Today the Baptist is in prison. Today he has a question. “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” Last week there was confidence. This week, doubt. What changed?
Maybe this: John’s vision was so focused, so singular- wrath, ax, fire – that he could not see anything else God might be doing. His expectations became blinders. He was looking for a Messiah of judgement…and missed the Messiah of compassion standing right in front of him.
Jesus’ response is gentle, not critical: “The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor receive good news.” In other words, “John, take off your blinders.” God is bigger than you imagined.”
I understand the Baptist – maybe you do too. It is easy for us to put on blinders without even realizing it. Sometimes we focus so intensely on one thing – a worry, a problem, a cause, a project, a fear – that it narrows our whole world. We see only what is wrong. Only what we expect. Only what we fear. And like John, we end up imprisoned in our own thinking. Blinders come in many forms:
*The darkness of violence or injustice that makes us believe nothing will ever change.
*Feelings of being overwhelmed that hide the small good we can do. * Past guilt that will not let us imagine forgiveness. * Grief that steals our ability to notice joy. * Expectations of how Jesus should act that make us miss how he is acting. * Busyness and exhaustion that keep us from seeing the people who love us.
Every one of these can be a prison. Every one of these keep us from seeing God at work.
So what blinders are you wearing today? What is narrowing your vision? What is keeping you from noticing the Christ who is already in your life?
And here is the good news Jesus gives to John – and to us:
*If you feel in the dark, the blind receive sight. * If you feel powerless, the lame walk. * If you feel ashamed or unworthy, lepers are cleansed. * If you can’t hear God anymore, the deaf hear. * If you think nothing can change, the dead are raised. * If you need hope, the poor receive good news.
Jesus is painting a picture of life without blinders- a life where grace is larger than our fears, where God is doing far more than we have allowed ourselves to imagine.
John asks, “Are you the one who is to come?” Jesus answers not with arguments but with evidence of a world being reborn.
Today the same answer is given to us.
So, what about you? Are you ready to lay aside the blinders? Are you ready to see again? Because the Messiah is here – doing more than we expected, more than we imagined, more than our blinders ever allowed us to see.
Is he the One?
Yes.
But we must open our eyes.