Looking for the Real Jesus: An Advent Meditation on Luke 7

And the disciples of John shewed him of all these things.

And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying,

Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?

When the men were come unto him, they said,

John the Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying,

Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?

 

 And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues,

and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight.

 Then Jesus answering said unto them,

Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard;

how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed,

the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.

And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

 

John the Baptist, likely at this point in the story imprisoned by the evil King Herod and with most of his prior disciples now following Jesus as he had told them to do, did something peculiar:  he sent two of his remaining disciples to Jesus with instructions to ask Him if He was the long awaited Messiah.  Some modern, liberal theologians have opined that this must have been John’s faltering faith in the midst of his hopeless plight, largely abandoned in a dungeon and awaiting his execution… but that really doesn’t square with Jesus’ declaration that no greater Prophet had ever arisen in the history of the world than John the Baptist, and his commission was specifically to prepare the way of Jesus’ arrival.  What I find more consistent is that John the Baptist, knowing his time was coming to an end, looked after two of his last remaining and doting disciples by very intentionally and directly sending them to Jesus with the questions that they needed to understand.  Then Jesus showed them precisely what they needed to see, and told them exactly what they needed to hear, so that they might know who He really is.

 

Being the greatest prophet to ever arise, St. John the Baptist’s model is a high bar for modern pastors to aspire to, but a necessary one: everything they do and say should point their people to the real Jesus.  No pastor or teacher is entitled to their own disciples, because like all pastors who have come before and all who will come in the future, they are fallen creatures who cannot by their own strength, power, or cleverness, escape death.  John prepared his hearers with the preaching of repentance and the forgiveness of sins by faith in the Lamb of God who takes the sins of the world away.  That Jesus—the real Jesus—was born of the blessed Virgin Mary, walked among His people full of grace and truth, performed miraculous healings, exorcisms, and resurrections, and taught all who would listen to Him the path to eternal life.  His Word was and is and always will be the life of the world, and faith in His Word—a Word made flesh which lived, and died, and rose again victorious over sin, death, hell, and the power of the devil—is where the miraculous is found.  There in His Word the Holy Spirit works the resurrection of dead souls, giving them a new birth from above by Water and Spirit.  By that Word the powers of evil and death flee away, where the eternal life Jesus gives to His disciples transcends mortal death, because their lives are kept in Jesus and His irrevocable victory through His Cross.  By that Word the darkness of deception, lies, and confusion are dispelled, so that the faithful may see clearly the narrow path which alone leads to salvation.  By that Word, we know the real Jesus.

 

Of course, it is not uncommon in our age to see preachers of everything but the real Jesus.  It’s hard to build a large cult of personality with a message that is content to sit in a dank prison cell waiting to have your head chopped off by a murderous politician, all so that the last remaining friends you have visiting you in that horrible place might leave and follow Jesus.  Few are likely to fill stadiums or convention centers with a message of self-sacrifice, of the humility to submit one’s mind and body and soul to the Word of God, so that even as they die in this world, they will live forever in Jesus.  It’s hard to make millions by fleecing people of their money, when the message is simply to have no fear, only trust and follow Jesus.  Not many newly minted PhD scholars will win their academic credentials by promoting the simple truth of the Gospel which Jesus preached to the poor, and not many talk show hosts will move preachers of simple faith and repentance into the limelight of cinematic fame.  As it was in ages past, and will be until the Lord of Glory returns, the path to riches, fame, pride, and worldly prosperity are not the Way of the Cross.  And while it is true that the wisdom of God in the lives of His people can nurture peace and prosperity through reasonable prudence and the avoidance of gratuitous evil, the Word of God is clear that His goal is not to pursue the endless satisfaction of disordered personal passions, but to breath forth the restoration of the soul by the power of His Holy Spirit, found only in reunion with God the Father through His only begotten Son.

 

While preachers of false paths will bear their judgment before God regardless of how well attended or dapper they appear in this world, we must realize that their material success is a reflection of our own failures, too.  It is our own hearts which go looking for these other paths and false words which pad our pride, give license to our desires, and affirmation to our wickedness.  It is our own fallen nature which resists the Light of Christ, preferring the darkness because our own thoughts and works are so often evil.  But thanks be to God, that our salvation is not built upon our own fallen hearts or reliance on false teachings by corrupted leaders, but upon the Eternal Word of Jesus which pierces our darkness, gives sight to blind eyes, hearing to deaf ears, understanding to muddled minds, and life to dead souls.  It is not us who by our fallen nature go looking for the real Jesus, but the real Jesus who comes looking for us.  It is His Word which the holy angels sang forth on that first Christmas night, just as it was His Word which all the Prophets spoke forth to prepare the world for His Advent.  It is His Word which He spoke to His Apostles who preached it to the first century Church, and it is that Word which resounds in Holy Scripture to every generation since.  It is the Word of Christ which reveals the real Jesus to every heart that will repent and believe in Him, that by His grace they might live forever in Him.

 

As we walk ever closer to the blessed joys of Christmas Day, hear the Word of Christ come to you, that you might be prepared to receive Him and His gifts in faith and joy.  Dive deeply into the Word of God, that it might fill you with His wisdom, light, life, and peace.  See the path of salvation He has made for you, and feel the strength He gives to your heart to believe in Him, your mind to perceive Him, your hands to serve Him, your feet to follow Him where He leads, and your voice to declare Him to your generation.  Let the paths of false messiahs, false teachers, and false hearts, melt away in the life-giving warmth and reconciliation of God With Us, whose Word alone is our life and comfort, forgiveness and hope, now and unto ages of ages.  Amen.