top of page
Search

Read The Spiritual Signs

Signs: they are very much a fact of life. Much of our life is devoted to reading and interpreting signs. The road ahead is closed: turn right now to follow this detour. I am light-headed, my blood sugar must be low: I need to eat. There are clouds rolling in from the north and the temperature is dropping: it is going to snow. There are signs in the faith life as well. A certain word keeps coming to me in prayer, perhaps the Lord is telling me something. To grow in the spiritual life we have to learn how to read the spiritual signs. We have to understand how it is that Jesus speaks to us and what things block that communication. In this third week of Advent, let us pause and consider how God speaks to us and how we can be more open to hearing the communication as we anticipate his coming.

Messengers from John the Baptist & Jesus Praises John the Baptist

Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is he who takes no offense at me.” As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to behold? A reed shaken by the wind? Why then did you go out? To see a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, those who wear soft raiment are in kings’ houses. Why then did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.’ Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Matthew 11 : 2-11

Scriptural Analysis

The last time we encountered John the Baptist in Matthew’s Gospel was in chapter four. John was arrested and that event prompted the start of Jesus’s kingdom ministry. The time frame between these two events is unknown but in sending out his disciples that indicates that some uncertainty had taken hold of the prophet. For whatever reason, the works of the Messiah did not quite seem to match John’s expectations.

John sends out his disciples with the instruction to ask, “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?” This points back to chapter three when John talks about the one who was to come after him, “He who is coming after me is mightier than I.” (Matthew 3:11) The one who is to come is a Messianic title in Jesus’s day, “Blessed be he who enters in the name of the Lord.” (Psalm 118:26)

What is interesting is how Jesus chooses to answer this question. He could have replied to John’s disciples with a simple yes. Why give him a list of accomplishments? It is possible Jesus was trying to steady John’s faith whit this answer: here is everything that I have done, judge for yourself:

  1. The blind regained sight (Matthew 9:27)

  2. Those who are lame are now walking (Matthew9:1-8)

  3. The leapers are cleansed (Matthew8:1-4)

  4. Those who are deaf hear (Matthew9:35)

  5. The dead have risen (Matthew9:18-26)

  6. The poor are hearing the good news of the kingdom (Matthew5:3)

This is an impressive list of achievements. However, this list is also a list of Old Testament prophecies from the Prophet Isaiah waiting to be fulfilled. Isaiah is full of prophecies of the final age when God will bring healing. Jesus is aware that John is likely familiar with this list so Jesus’s response is designed to show John that he is fulfilling these prophecies. For example:

  1. The dead come to life, “Thy dead shall live, their bodies shall rise.” (Isaiah 26:19)

  2. Those who are blind see and the deaf hear, “In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see.” (Isaiah 29:18)

  3. The lame will leap for joy, “The lame man leap like a hart.” (Isaiah 35:6)

  4. The poor hear the good news, “The Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted.” (Isaiah 61:1)

Jesus encourages the faith of John with a final beatitude. “blessed is he who takes no offense at me.” The person not scandalized by Jesus is encouraged to faith.

Jesus now asks a series of questions to reveal the identity of John the Baptist. He will furthermore, explain the mission of John by pointing to the scriptures. Once John’s disciples leave, Jesus asks the crowd about their interest in John. John had drawn people from all around out into the wilderness: some from a great distance. This was not a small accomplishment. Surely there was something that intrigued the people.

Jesus asks if they came out to see a “reed shaken by the wind?” This is a way to describe a people pleaser which John was not. He spoke the truth even when it got him in jail. He asked if they are to see a man in fine clothes. This was also not John. Finally, Jesus asks if they came to see a prophet. This was accurate yet Jesus says John’s more than a prophet. He was so because John himself was the fulfillment of a prophecy.

There are two prophecies pointing to John the Baptist. The first, is from Exodus, “I send an angel before you, to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place which I have prepared.” (Exodus 23:20). The second is from the prophet Malachi, “Behold, I send my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple.” (Malachi 3:1). John is to lead people to a new promised land: the promised land of redemption. There they will encounter the Lord.

Additionally, John is the new Elijah. It was said that Elijah, “Wore a garment of haircloth, with a girdle of leather about his loins.” (2 Kings 1:8) Additionally, his mission is transferred at the Jordan just like Elijah’s mission was handed to Elisha at the Jordan, “Pray you; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” (2 Kings 2:6-12)

Jesus then tells us that no one born of woman is greater than John. He is the latest and greatest of the prophets and the messianic forerunner. Jesus then says the least in heaven is greater than John. This describes the saints in heaven of the messianic times as opposed to those of the Old Testament times. John has a foot in both camps. He is the last of the Old Testament and the first to have violence directed at him in the times of the Messiah.

Daily Application

As you read and dig into John the Baptist, his question about Jesus’s identity, and the response, you can’t help but be filled with awe. All of this unfolded according to what had been prophesied centuries earlier. Divine providence is truly amazing. However, you are also left with the head-scratching question, how did the people miss it? How did so many devout and knowledgeable people fail to connect the dots and understand who Jesus is and what his mission on earth was?

The reason for that failure had to do in large part because of the biases of the people. In the past, their great leaders wielded the power of God in the earthly realm to secure the Jewish people. Moses defeated the Egyptians, Joshua defeated the inhabitants of the promised land, and David defeated the Philistines. Although God was with them through all of this, there was a real tangible earthly event or series of events that provided freedom and peace for the people. They expected the Messiah would do the same thing and thus missed his far more important mission of conquering sin and death.

We too have biases that can prevent us from hearing the voice of Cod and recognizing his signs in our life. One of the biggest biases we have is sin. Mortal sin cuts us off from the life of grace and makes it really hard to see God’s signs and hear his voice. While not as severe, continued venial sin also clouds our spiritual sight. That is why as one desires to grow deeper spiritually, there must also be a sincere desire and effort to root out all sin in their life. Of course, this starts with confession to ensure there is no unrepentant sin.

This desire to root out sin in our lives is impossible to live out with the grace of God. On our own, we are incapable of doing it. However, if we turn to him, the grace we need will flow. Now, it will be hard. In some ways, it is like starting an exercise routine. That first time you get on the treadmill hurts. You don’t feel the best and it takes every bit of your strength to make it the 10 minutes you are starting with. However, over time it becomes easier and easier until you reach a point where you feel worse if you don’t exercise. The spiritual life is the same way. Resisting sin, at first is really hard but with God’s grace, you can fight. With each successful resistance to temptation, it gets easier until the idea of sinning becomes repulsive for you.

As our third week of Advent kicks off, let us turn to our Lord and ask him to help remove our spiritual biases. Let us pray for the grace we need to root out all sin or anything else that may be making it hard for us to recognize his signs. Then let us keep our hearts open so that we may read the spiritual signs that are around us as we eagerly anticipate the coming of our Lord.

Additional Resources

Comments

bottom of page