Word to the Wise
Thursday, December 9, 2021 - 2nd Week of Advent - Thurs
[Isa 41:13-20 and Matt 11:11-15]"Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force. All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is Eliljah, the one who is to come. Whoever has ears ought to hear. [Matthew]
The role of prophet in Judaism was important, but dangerous! They continually held Judaism to account for the integrity of their faith. That role seemed to have disappeared in the years immediately before Jesus' time, but the prophecies were well known, especially the one about Elijah returning before the Messiah. Jesus was willing to concede that role to John the Baptist, but Jesus was not the kind of Messiah that John the Baptist envisioned. Jesus preached a kingdom of peace and love. John's vision was quite a bit more dramatic. Those who would accept Jesus' kingdom would be "greater" than John the Baptist.
Whether dramatic or peaceful, both Jesus and John the Baptist were a threat to established authority. Herod put John to death and Pilate did the same to Jesus. Thus, Jesus words about the kingdom being subject to violence were not only prophetic, but were being fulfilled in the time of the evangelist, Matthew.
In Advent, the season of prophetic promise and fulfillment, we are reminded that the fulfillment can be costly. The child in the wooden manger would die on a wooden cross. Advent is not just about Jesus' birth but about his whole life and the life of the kingdom he was born to preach. AMEN