Imprisonment and Death of John
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He healed their diseases, He taught the people. The poor peasants and
laborers, who were shunned by the rabbis as unclean, gathered close
about Him, and He spoke to them the words of eternal life.
Thus the day wore away, the disciples of John seeing and hearing
all. At last Jesus called them to Him, and bade them go and tell John
what they had witnessed, adding, “Blessed is he, whosoever shall find
none occasion of stumbling in Me.”
Luke 7:23
, R. V. The evidence
of His divinity was seen in its adaptation to the needs of suffering
humanity. His glory was shown in His condescension to our low
estate.
The disciples bore the message, and it was enough. John recalled
the prophecy concerning the Messiah, “The Lord hath anointed Me
to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening
of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year
of the Lord.”
Isaiah 61:1, 2
. The works of Christ not only declared
Him to be the Messiah, but showed in what manner His kingdom
was to be established. To John was opened the same truth that had
come to Elijah in the desert, when “a great and strong wind rent the
mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord
was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord
was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the
Lord was not in the fire:” and after the fire, God spoke to the prophet
by “a still small voice.”
1 Kings 19:11, 12
. So Jesus was to do His
work, not with the clash of arms and the overturning of thrones and
kingdoms, but through speaking to the hearts of men by a life of mercy
and self-sacrifice.
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The principle of the Baptist’s own life of self-abnegation was the
principle of the Messiah’s kingdom. John well knew how foreign
all this was to the principles and hopes of the leaders in Israel. That
which was to him convincing evidence of Christ’s divinity would be no
evidence to them. They were looking for a Messiah who had not been
promised. John saw that the Saviour’s mission could win from them
only hatred and condemnation. He, the forerunner, was but drinking
of the cup which Christ Himself must drain to its dregs.
The Saviour’s words, “Blessed is he, whosoever shall find none
occasion of stumbling in Me,” were a gentle reproof to John. It was not
lost upon him. Understanding more clearly now the nature of Christ’s