For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife. For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her. And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask. And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger. And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her. And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison. And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus. (Matthew 14:3-12)
We are first introduced in Matthew 14 to the last events in the life of John the Baptist. This predecessor to the Messiah, who had spent his ministry (however short it was) on the banks of the Jordan River crying out against the sins of the people, was now dead - his life ended at the hands of the very ones he preached to! The Scripture introduces to us this scene, and after telling us that the messenger of God was silenced (by death) by those content to remain in their sins, it goes on to tell us that his (John's) disciples took him and buried him. Then they told Jesus!
It wasn't until after the message was forever silenced. Until there was nothing left to be done, that the disciples told Jesus of the tragic news. Sure, Jesus had been aware of John's imprisonment. Sure, as the sovereign Lord manifested in flesh, He knew that John would die in that prison. Still, I find it an interesting note that they buried the messenger (with the message) and then told Jesus.
How many times in our daily lives do we struggle with things? We have promises given to us by God that we've held until we just can't seem to anymore. We become weary with doubt and despair because the one that hates the message the most is constantly beating us down with lies and disparaging remarks. All day long comes the string of deafening lies: You're just not good enough. If God was going to do that, He would have already. Why don't you realize that God doesn't love you that much? Et cetera. We have dreams and hopes that we are waiting to see fulfilled. Like John in the prison cell, we question Jesus - Are you the Messiah or should we search for another? We forget to believe in the One that we confess to be the Only True God. We gaze forward at the mountains wondering if what you are striving for lies just on the other side. And then we begin to ask God: Is it possible? Can you really move these obstacles (these mountains)? Can you really bring this to pass? All the while, we talk of how He is God of the Impossible.
Slowly, we allow those promises, dreams, hopes, desires and goals to fade into the darkness. We forget to hold on to the truths we hold dear and they die inside of us. Every once in a while something stirs us and we remember, but we let it go past without making an effort to grab ahold of renewed hopes and promises. We bury our desires and we go on living. It never occurs to us until we have buried our hopes and dreams, to fall on our knees and bring the pain, doubt, despair and hopelessness to Jesus. Until it is already buried that is. Then we look for new direction, new dreams, new promises, new hope.
The ironic thing is that we are so busy (like the multitude) seeking Jesus for the next miracle, the next blessing or the next "word of truth" to be whispered in our ear, that we don't even notice that Jesus is standing there saddened by the loss of what we allowed to die. While He has compassion on us, we are unable to hear Him say: You feed the multitudes. We are too busy with our own lack to notice anything else. Send them somewhere else, Lord. Let someone else pray with him, Lord. I can't witness to her today, Lord; I really am having a bad day. We sound like the disciples focused on our lack instead of what we do have to offer: We have nothing here but .... Surely, Lord, this isn't enough to make a difference.
In spite of all this, Jesus performs another miracle. Multitudes are fed. Then Jesus alone is left to deal with the crowd. We are already off on our next mission. Jesus said go. Isn't it ironic that Jesus sent them into the midst of a storm? Isn't it sad that He was left yet alone? No one notices the heart break of Jesus over the death of the messenger or the message he carried.
Let me just say this one thing: when you are ready to move on because things didn't work out the way you expected or when you are ready to pull out the shovel and bury your hopes and dreams, don't think that the fact that you gave up means that Jesus is passive about the death of those promises, hopes, dreams or goals. Don't think that because you didn't consult Him until after you effectively buried what you consider to be useless, that it doesn't affect you or Him. Chances are you will find yourself in the midst of storm being reminded of just how much you need Him. Chances are He will be wiping tears from His eyes as you remain oblivious to the fact that He is alone and saddened by the death of what He meant to be great.
Maybe it would make more sense to consult Him before the burial next time. Maybe it would be better to mourn with Jesus than to invite Him later. Jesus doesn't just want to serve refreshments after the funeral, He wants to be there in the hard moments of your life. He wants to hold you whilei you weep. He wants to be there in every moment. And who knows, the God of the Resurrection just may revive what you thought was dead in your life!
We are first introduced in Matthew 14 to the last events in the life of John the Baptist. This predecessor to the Messiah, who had spent his ministry (however short it was) on the banks of the Jordan River crying out against the sins of the people, was now dead - his life ended at the hands of the very ones he preached to! The Scripture introduces to us this scene, and after telling us that the messenger of God was silenced (by death) by those content to remain in their sins, it goes on to tell us that his (John's) disciples took him and buried him. Then they told Jesus!
It wasn't until after the message was forever silenced. Until there was nothing left to be done, that the disciples told Jesus of the tragic news. Sure, Jesus had been aware of John's imprisonment. Sure, as the sovereign Lord manifested in flesh, He knew that John would die in that prison. Still, I find it an interesting note that they buried the messenger (with the message) and then told Jesus.
How many times in our daily lives do we struggle with things? We have promises given to us by God that we've held until we just can't seem to anymore. We become weary with doubt and despair because the one that hates the message the most is constantly beating us down with lies and disparaging remarks. All day long comes the string of deafening lies: You're just not good enough. If God was going to do that, He would have already. Why don't you realize that God doesn't love you that much? Et cetera. We have dreams and hopes that we are waiting to see fulfilled. Like John in the prison cell, we question Jesus - Are you the Messiah or should we search for another? We forget to believe in the One that we confess to be the Only True God. We gaze forward at the mountains wondering if what you are striving for lies just on the other side. And then we begin to ask God: Is it possible? Can you really move these obstacles (these mountains)? Can you really bring this to pass? All the while, we talk of how He is God of the Impossible.
Slowly, we allow those promises, dreams, hopes, desires and goals to fade into the darkness. We forget to hold on to the truths we hold dear and they die inside of us. Every once in a while something stirs us and we remember, but we let it go past without making an effort to grab ahold of renewed hopes and promises. We bury our desires and we go on living. It never occurs to us until we have buried our hopes and dreams, to fall on our knees and bring the pain, doubt, despair and hopelessness to Jesus. Until it is already buried that is. Then we look for new direction, new dreams, new promises, new hope.
The ironic thing is that we are so busy (like the multitude) seeking Jesus for the next miracle, the next blessing or the next "word of truth" to be whispered in our ear, that we don't even notice that Jesus is standing there saddened by the loss of what we allowed to die. While He has compassion on us, we are unable to hear Him say: You feed the multitudes. We are too busy with our own lack to notice anything else. Send them somewhere else, Lord. Let someone else pray with him, Lord. I can't witness to her today, Lord; I really am having a bad day. We sound like the disciples focused on our lack instead of what we do have to offer: We have nothing here but .... Surely, Lord, this isn't enough to make a difference.
In spite of all this, Jesus performs another miracle. Multitudes are fed. Then Jesus alone is left to deal with the crowd. We are already off on our next mission. Jesus said go. Isn't it ironic that Jesus sent them into the midst of a storm? Isn't it sad that He was left yet alone? No one notices the heart break of Jesus over the death of the messenger or the message he carried.
Let me just say this one thing: when you are ready to move on because things didn't work out the way you expected or when you are ready to pull out the shovel and bury your hopes and dreams, don't think that the fact that you gave up means that Jesus is passive about the death of those promises, hopes, dreams or goals. Don't think that because you didn't consult Him until after you effectively buried what you consider to be useless, that it doesn't affect you or Him. Chances are you will find yourself in the midst of storm being reminded of just how much you need Him. Chances are He will be wiping tears from His eyes as you remain oblivious to the fact that He is alone and saddened by the death of what He meant to be great.
Maybe it would make more sense to consult Him before the burial next time. Maybe it would be better to mourn with Jesus than to invite Him later. Jesus doesn't just want to serve refreshments after the funeral, He wants to be there in the hard moments of your life. He wants to hold you whilei you weep. He wants to be there in every moment. And who knows, the God of the Resurrection just may revive what you thought was dead in your life!
