Gospel for Dec. 15,2021:
Luke 7:18b-23
At that time,
John summoned two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord to ask,
“Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”
When the men came to the Lord, they said,
“John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask,
‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?’”
At that time Jesus cured many of their diseases, sufferings, and evil spirits;
he also granted sight to many who were blind.
And Jesus said to them in reply,
“Go and tell John what you have seen and heard:
the blind regain their sight,
the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear, the dead are raised,
the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”
Given earlier events (the Visitation) and John’s interaction with Jesus during Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan, why would John send two disciples to ask Jesus if he is the one who is to come? Doesn’t John already know?
I think it is evident John does know–it is his followers, and millions like them in succeeding centuries, who have this question. They expect a Savior who conquers in the conventional sense: visible triumph, evening the score, payback for evils done to them. It amounts to a worldly misperception that does not understand sin and everlasting death as the partnered greatest evils that face all people. Neither of these evils are ones we can absolutely overcome.
Jesus relieves many kinds of suffering in his ministry, including banishing evil spirits and raising a few of the dead to a longer human life–all as signs of his ability to overcome both sin and everlasting death. He is the one who is destined to finally defeat our two greatest enemies, which are the ultimate causes of all our suffering, too. Stopping all human suffering, sorting out just who should pay what for which actions in diverse circumstances, and transforming limited natural life into everlasting life–these are beyond the abilities and the responsibilities human beings have been given.
John sends disciples (two–because two witnesses are required by the Torah to establish facts) to see how Jesus responds to their human question, so they can learn and pass on what he, John, already knows: Jesus is the one, the only one.