More Than A Prophet
By Pastor Joseph Urbina, Jr.
“We’re the only Gospel some people will ever read.” If this comment by the late revivalist R.J. Schambach is true, then what kind of people should we be in order to make the best presentation?
I remember while at the University of Arizona, some of the readings were quite hard on the eyes. There is a big difference between reading a comic book and reading someone who is explaining how gravity bends light. God wants our lives to be an easy read. Are we making it too difficult for people to see Jesus?
In Matthew 11:7-10, the Lord Jesus points out a very special person in His own life and brings out the testimony of this remarkable man through a very simple yet astute observation: “And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, ‘What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.’”
In the USA, the curious term popping the question has come to mean a proposal of marriage. But this passage, Jesus pops the question that concerns the quality of character. What kind of character traits will allow people to easily read the Gospel in us?
In the span of four verses, Jesus highlights for us five characteristics that we should consider if we’re to become a good Gospel read. John the Baptist’ disciples have just left to deliver Jesus’ response to John’s doubts about Messiah when Jesus launches into his commentary to the crowd on John’s character. As we unpack these verses, we find the core question What did you go out to the wilderness to see? is answered with other questions: A reed shaken with the wind? (verse 8)
The biblical commentator Adam Clarke takes the reed as an emblem of an unsteady mind. A character that bends when opposed. A person swayed by popular opinion. Proverbs 25:19 says that “Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and afoot out of joint.”
This is a person who cannot take a stance – much like some in our present political landscape. I marvel at how many support ANTIFA without understanding the real focus of this organization, all because they are afraid of retaliation. In today's terminology we use terms like caved, folded, herd mentality – people who follow without question because they don’t want to make waves. So, a reed would be a person who is fragile inside. In You Can Call Me Al, Paul Simon sings of a man who is soft in the middle, without internal fortitude, lacking convictions, a yes man.
Jesus asked, “What did you go out to the wilderness to see? A reed shaken in the wind?”
This is the same word for shaken that is used in Acts 4:31 when the Holy Ghost filled the disciples in the upper room and in Acts 16:26 when an earthquake shook the prison where Paul and Silas were being held. Hebrews 12:27 puts it this way: “And this word, yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.”
Are we reeds shaken by the wind? While shaking is necessary, its purpose is to remove what we don’t need in our lives, not to destroy us. If the devil can take us down with a rubber band at 50 yards... be assured, people will notice. The Lord never wastes words.
In verse 8, He now introduces another character: a man clothed in soft raiment. It is interesting that He would use the words man and soft in the same sentence. Soft speaks of being malleable; of conformity. But most importantly, it speaks of losing our distinctiveness.
I remember teaching a 3rd grade class where there was a student I thought was a female. When I took attendance, this particular student answered to a male name. I got a revelation that day. Do not assume that just because a student has long hair—and this boy had hair down to his waist – that the person fits your gender criteria.
The point Jesus wants to make here is crucial. Adam Clarke explains that when the believer or the church mirrors world’s customs, this is a compromise for the sake of peace. “When the church and the world shake hands,” he says, “it’s guaranteed that the world will win.” In other words, don’t let your testimony be so blurred that it’s beyond recognition!
“The Lord Jesus’ words are of utmost importance as He relates what people should see in us, His church.”
Jesus said by their fruits you shall know them. By making these statements, the Lord attests to the crowd that John the Baptist was not a man-pleaser (reed) or a self-pleaser (soft clothes). He was a man of convictions. Furthermore, the Lord tells us, “They that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.” This speaks of worldly aspirations which may have the tendency to turn into idolatry.
But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet (vs. 9). The prophets were men who spoke as the oracles of God. They were tasked with opening people’s conscience to their sin and pointing them to the solution: repentance.
In Ezekiel 18:1-4 the Lord said, “Ezekiel, I hear the people of Israel using the old saying, ‘Sour grapes eaten by parents leave a sour taste in the mouths of their children.’ Now tell them that I am the Lord God, and as surely as I live, that saying will no longer be used in Israel. The lives of all people belong to me – parents as well as children. Only those who sin will be put to death.”
These people believed that the children would be judged for the parents’ sins. God addresses this issue and puts the responsibility squarely on the sinner’s shoulders. The entire chapter is a remarkable word, and quite sobering. Yet verse 23 says: “I, the LORD God, don't like to see wicked people die. I enjoy seeing them turn from their sins and live.”
John the Baptist was tasked with revealing a) the person of the Messiah, and b) the purpose of the Messiah. Listen to John’s testimony of Jesus in John 1:34: “The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said: Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! He is the one I told you about when I said, ‘Someone else will come. He is greater than I am, because he was alive before I was born.’ I didn't know who he was, but I came to baptize you with water, so that everyone in Israel would see him. I was there and saw the Spirit come down on him like a dove from heaven. And the Spirit stayed on him. Before this I didn't know who he was. But the one who sent me to baptize with water had told me, ‘You will see the Spirit come down and stay on someone. Then you will know that he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I saw this happen, and I tell you that he is the Son of God.”
We should do likewise. The question remains: is Jesus' person and purpose revealed in us when people see us? The Lord Jesus’ words are of utmost importance as He relates what people should see in us, His church.
When He said John was more than a prophet, it means that John, unlike the other prophets, knew Jesus personally. They were family. Are we family in Jesus? I wonder, would people see John the Baptist’s character when they look our way? Would they see we are part of Jesus’ family? Would they see the Gospel in us and be drawn to Him?