When [John’s disciples] came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’”
Luke 7:20 (NIV)

John the Baptist languishes in prison. The passionate preacher in the wilderness had, not long before, commanded vast crowds who gathered to hear his fire-and-brimstone messages. He railed against the evils of his day, spoke against the powerful and corrupt, and called people to repent of their sinful ways. People flocked to be baptized by him. The religious establishment scorned him. His voice carried weight and his rhetoric swayed multitudes. Then he crossed Herod.

Part of the secret of the Roman Empire’s success was that when they conquered and occupied a foreign land, they allowed the local rulers to reign and the local religions to remain. The local rulers of Judea were three sons of Herod the Great. Theirs was a powerful, violent, and corrupt dynasty. Herod Antipas had a political marriage to the daughter of Arabia’s ruler, but he had a lusty thing for his niece, Herodias. The only problem was that Herodias was already married to Herod’s brother. This didn’t stop Antipas from scheming, conniving, and bullying until he had what he wanted.

John the Baptist called him out, and that wild man preacher could sway multitudes. It was a PR nightmare for Antipas, who like all good politicians, tried to pass himself off as a good, God-fearing Jew. So, he did what politicians do to this day. He censored and silenced his critics. He threw John into prison. Nothing to see here.

John, meanwhile, is waiting for Jesus to do His thing. The thing he told the crowds about. The fire from heaven! The ax of judgment cutting down the corrupt! The victorious messiah who will wipe out the likes of Herod and establish an eternal earthly kingdom of justice and righteousness!

Oh, and yes, get me out of this stinking prison.

But, it wasn’t happening.

“I’m still here. This is not what I expected. This was not what I had envisioned for how things would play out.”

Impatience sets in.

“Maybe I was wrong about Jesus. Maybe Jesus isn’t the ‘Marvel Messiah.'”

So, John tells his disciples to go find Jesus and get an update. When are you going to take down the Herod Administration? When are you going to set up your Kingdom? When are you pushing these Romans back across the Med?

“When can I expect you to get me out of prison?”

Jesus responds to John’s question:

“Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.”

It’s a paraphrase of the same prophecy of Isaiah that Jesus quoted in the synagogue back in Nazareth:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
    to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Yet, in Jesus’ paraphrase, He omits the part about “proclaiming freedom for the prisoners” and “setting the oppressed free.”

Ouch. That’s quite an omission, cuz.

Along my life journey, I have found myself languishing at certain waypoints on life’s road. This wasn’t what I had planned. Things aren’t working out as I envisioned them. What’s worse: nothing is happening. I feel stuck. God, don’t seem to be doing anything. What about those promises? How long? How long will I be stuck here? God? Hello?! I. don’t. want. to. be. in. this. place. any. longer!!

Here’s what I’ve learned from those seasons. There were reasons I could never see in the moment that I can now see in the review mirror. Circumstances that needed to change. I needed to change. Situations needed to be set up for the next stage of the journey. People needed to be moved. Life has a lot of moving parts.

I have also learned from those seasons the hard lesson that John learned in today’s chapter. If I have faith that “all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose” (Rom 8:28), then I surrender the right to define what “good” looks like.

John the Baptist will be beheaded.

So will Paul.

Peter will be crucified upside down.

Jesus’ Kingdom is not a kingdom of this world. That’s what He told Pilate. As a disciple of Jesus, I must embrace that my life journey through this world may not always be as I had envisioned because it’s not about me and an earthly kingdom. It’s about me channeling God’s kingdom while I’m here. Sometimes, that means being patient, surrendering, and having faith to persevere when I’m languishing in my present circumstances.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.