Luke 3:19-20

Posted by DJL on Jan 11, 2013 in Daily Bread | 0 comments

But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done, added to them all by shutting up John in prison.

We’ve have traveled with John a long way.

We were first introduced to him as the hope of a barren woman and incredulous man and witnessed as he leapt in his mother’s womb at the approach of his unborn Lord. We have heard his father – tongue only just loosened – sing his praise and listened as an adult John chastised and instructed the crowds in the wilderness. We have seen him draw all that are willing into the waters of Baptism and point to the coming Messiah who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. And now we watch as John is imprisoned, shut up not because of what he has done wrong, but for pointing out the crimes of another. It is probably the last place we would expect him to be.

Or is it?

John, as we’ve commented on before, is a truth-teller. He tells the truth about the crowds, who turn in repentance and ask what they should do. He tells the truth about himself – he is a voice crying in the wilderness, not the messiah but rather a herald of the One to come. He has told the truth about Jesus, who ranks far above him and will baptize with the cleansing fire of the Spirit. And, apparently, he has told the truth about Herod, rebuking his sins.

Herod, however, does not repent, or ask what he can do, or look eagerly for the coming Messiah. Rather, he shuts John up in prison, hoping that will both stop his preaching and remove him from the public eye and memory.

John is a truth-teller, unafraid to speak truth to power. And his reward is what truth-tellers often get – imprisonment.

Yet for those who would be cowed by the likes of Herod or his many followers through the centuries, notice that John’s truthful sermons still reverberate through the ages while all we remember of Herod are his sins.

The truth will out. John’s truth, Jesus’ truth, God’s truth.

Yes, we have travelled with John a long way. We will go with him all the way?

Prayer: Dear God, give us the courage to side with the truth, to point to the truth, to speak the truth, even – especially – when it is as difficult as it is needful. In Jesus’ name, Amen.