Jesus causes quite the stir in Luke 4 (his first public words). In the synagogue in Nazareth, he reads from Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And then Jesus says, “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Wow! What a claim!
John the Baptist was in prison when Jesus spoke these words, but I imagine John heard about it somehow and took Jesus’ words to heart. Perhaps he even took Jesus literally. That is, maybe John the Baptist anticipated Jesus literally to bring good news to the poor, give sight to the blind, and proclaim release to the captives. John is probably thinking, “In a little while, the Christ is going to free me of these chains.” But Jesus didn’t.
In Luke 7, John sent two disciples, asking, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” With John in prison, this question sounds more like, “If you’re really the one, then why I am still in jail?!” Jesus tells them to look around: the blind are seeing, the lame are walking, the lepers are being cleansed, the deaf are hearing, the dead are being raised, and the poor are receiving good news.
But wait. What about the captives?! I can almost hear John now: “You said you were going to release the captives! Here I am – I’m a perfect candidate!” Then, Jesus closes with, “And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” Jesus tells John that He has His own plans. Jesus is the Messiah, and He’ll fulfill the words from Luke 4 on His own terms. Jesus will release the captives, but John won’t be one of them.
John the Baptist passes from the scene almost without notice. Unlike Matthew and Mark, who explain the details of John’s death, in Luke Herod admits to beheading John after the fact. That’s it. John died as a captive, but this does not make Jesus unfaithful to His promise. Jesus will still release the captives.
Near the end of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is hanging on the cross between two captives. One of them says, “If you are really the Christ, then save yourself and us!” That is, “Release the captives!” But the other man trusted Jesus: “Remember me when you come into your kingdom!” And finally, hanging on this cross, Jesus makes good on his promise and releases the captive: “Today you shall be with me in Paradise.”
We serve a Lord who is true to His promises. Still, like John, most of us have expectations in mind. When these expectations are not met in the way we hope, or are not met soon enough, then we start to worry and doubt. But remember that our Lord is always faithful.
Blessings,
Pastor Matt