Sometimes it seems a hard and frustrating life, serving God. John the Baptist certainly had reason to think so as he waited in jail for his eventual execution. Not only had he laid his life on the line in the faithful exercise of his prophetic gift, but it now seemed that the climax of his ministry, launching the career of Jesus, was amounting to nothing at all. Where were the expected fireworks, the fierce judgement the Promised One would bring from God on all the malefactors in Israel, including Herod? It looked as though Jesus had another agenda entirely!
Jesus sends him a compassionate message, inviting John to understand what is going on in terms of the oracles in the book of Isaiah, which both of them loved. Matthew’s account of this moment of faithful care for God’s servant relies on the scriptural echoes it sets of in the readers. We need to follow the same path, not only to understand his text, but to understand God’s faithful action in our own lives.
You can find what I have to say here….
Howard Pilgrim