December 9, 2015

Wednesday: “For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it” (Luke 10:24; NIV).

            John was a prophet and he was also a man of his time. How can we reconcile these two things: that he was God’s authoritative messenger and that he misunderstood Jesus? One of my friends put it simply: he was sinner just like us. That’s a great insight. None of us, no matter how advanced in the faith, gets it all right.

            There’s another thing to say, though. The prophets, with the Spirit’s aid, peered into an unknown future. They didn’t know how long until God would act and they didn’t know fully what form that action would take. I think part of Jesus’ response to John’s doubts (Luke 7) meant that John should have been joyfully surprised at the eruption of God’s grace in Jesus.

            We don’t know what God is up to in our lives, either. Nor do we have special insight into His timing. What we do have is a clear vision of His greatest intervention: sending His Son in human flesh to redeem us in our sinfulness. Perhaps God’s grace is no longer a surprise to us, but it ought certainly be a source of joy, even (especially!) when we don’t understand God’s action.