Did John the Baptist fully understand Jesus? In today’s Gospel Jesus describes John as a prophet and more than a prophet. Jesus quotes Scripture to describe him: “Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, he will prepare your way before you.” Yet it seems that John did not fully understand Jesus or at least had questions about Jesus’ pastoral approach.
In the previous verses John sent his disciples to question Jesus: “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” (Luke 7:19). John described the “one who is to come” this way: “His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” John had some doubts about Jesus because he expected more “fire and brimstone” from Jesus and less mercy and compassion. He expected Jesus to announce the wrath of God not the mercy of God. Jesus in turn challenged John to widen his horizon and his understanding of the ways of God. Jesus challenges John not to be scandalized by his pastoral approach: “And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.” (Luke 7:23).
It seems today that many Christian priests, preachers, and teachers sound more life John the Baptist than Jesus. They emphasize more the wrath of God than the mercy of God. Jesus’ pastoral approach was to empower and enable people to change not out of fear but out of the overwhelming experience of God’s love and compassion. This has been a constant theme in the preaching and writings of Pope Francis as it was in the letters of St. Paul:
“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” (Ephesians 2:4-5).
Image: “St John the Baptist” by Lawrence OP is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.