Have you ever had cause to ask this question? If not for yourself, perhaps for someone else, or even for someone in the Bible? For instance, John the Baptist. Have you ever read the story of when John the Baptist was in prison and wondered why Jesus did not rescue him, or at least visit him? Why Jesus seemingly kept His distance when His close friend and cousin was imprisoned? Have you ever felt like that in your own life, like you’re in trouble but Jesus is not quite showing up in the way you expect? How did you handle this? I’ve been reflecting on the story of John the Baptist recently, particularly regarding this period of his life, and Jesus’ response to John’s predicament.

For context, “Herod had sent soldiers to arrest and imprison John as a favour to Herodias. She had been his brother Philip’s wife, but Herod had married her. John had been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you to marry your brother’s wife.” So Herodias bore a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But without Herod’s approval she was powerless, for Herod respected John; and knowing that he was a good and holy man, he protected him. Herod was greatly disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so, he liked to listen to him.” (Mark 6:17-20, NLT)

We know that Jesus loved John, so it was not that Jesus did not care. And yet, He did not pull off a great rescue, something which He would have had the power to do. Why? For the same reason that He suffered and died on the cross – He was following His Father’s will to the letter. “Then He said to them, “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me.” Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.” And further on… “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?”(Matthew 26:38-39, 53-54, ESV). John himself knew the importance of doing what God required, as this was the very argument that convinced him to baptise Jesus when he felt unworthy to do so (Matthew 3:13-15).

It was not yet time for Jesus to be widely known, and that sort of move would have brought far too much attention to Jesus when He had barely even started His ministry. Bear in mind that He was still in the process of choosing His disciples. We note that even when He healed people around that time, He warned them not to tell others,  Mark 1:43-44b (NLT) “Then Jesus sent him on his way with a stern warning: “Don’t tell anyone about this.” There was a time to be low key and a time to proclaim loudly, and Jesus had the wisdom and discernment to know the times and seasons. The question for us is, are we willing to prioritise God’s will over our comfort, and to wholly trust His wisdom and plans for us?

Now we may understand and accept that. Yet we may still be asking, couldn’t Jesus at least visit John in prison? After all that’s what He asks us to do (Matthew 25:34-40, Hebrews 13:3). Looking at the context and the timing of John’s imprisonment, we may observe that it was likely just after John had baptised Him, around the time Jesus went to the wilderness or immediately afterwards. Mark 1:11-15 says  “And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness,and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

I cannot claim to know what was in Jesus’ mind at the time. Maybe He did not want to come under Herod’s radar just yet? We know that at the time of John’s death, Herod had not heard about Jesus. Mark 6:14-16 (NLT) states, “Herod Antipas, the king, soon heard about Jesus, because everyone was talking about him. Some were saying, “This must be John the Baptist raised from the dead. That is why he can do such miracles.” Others said, “He’s the prophet Elijah.” Still others said, “He’s a prophet like the other great prophets of the past.” When Herod heard about Jesus, he said, “John, the man I beheaded, has come back from the dead.” By the time Herod heard about Jesus, John was already dead, hence him saying that. Why? It’s not stated why, but I believe Jesus wanted to fulfil the first part of His mission on Earth (Luke 4:16-21) before political drama entered the picture. As such, as much as He may have wanted to visit John, it might have led to other events that could potentially derail His ministry.

Beyond all that though, what was John’s actual mission on Earth? To be the messenger who prepared the way for Jesus (Mark 1:2). And He carried out His mission well. So it wasn’t necessarily a case that he had disobeyed God and this was some sort of divine punishment. Granted we don’t know whether he was specifically asked to speak against Herod at that particular point in time, but he did so because what Herod did was against God’s law. We do know that John had a bit of a spicy tongue, calling the Pharisees and Sadducees a brood of snakes (Matthew 3:7), so I’m not quite sure how his encounter with Herod went. In any case, the scripture does not tell us that John was acting against God’s wishes. Moreover, imprisonment can be an opportunity to be a witness for God, so who knows? (Luke 21:12-13). I have to say, I do admire John’s forthrightness and willingness to put his head above the parapet for God. Sadly though, he lost the said head as a result. A lesson we can learn is that taking a stand for God may not always result in immediate justification and rescue as happened for Daniel and his friends. But there will always be an eternal reward.

Which leads on to a key point. John’s mission was complete. He had prepared the way, and the Messiah had come. As such, what was the point of Jesus rescuing John only for him to suffer a few more years on Earth before going to Heaven to receive His crown of life (Revelations 2:10). Given that John’s parents were elderly, there was a chance they may have been dead by then. (As an aside, isn’t it interesting how God works these things out? Having John in their old age would likely have spared them the grief of seeing/hearing about him dying the way he did). There is no record that John had a wife or children either, so there was no one relying on him for provision or support, which was the case for the man whom Jesus raised to life in Nain (Luke 7:11-17). As such, personally, if I were in his shoes, with my mission on Earth complete, I will be more than happy to swiftly leave the prison gates and enter the pearly gates, to leave the depressing darkness of the prison and enter the glorious light of Heaven, to cast aside the chains and receive the crown.

But before that glorious transformation, how did John feel while he was still in the darkness of the prison? Was there any possibility that he felt abandoned by Jesus? We cannot tell for sure, but we know that during this time, he must have felt low enough to start experiencing some doubts regarding Jesus identity. Leonard Ravenhill states that “John the Baptist’s training was in God’s University of Silence. God takes all His great men there.”

Matthew 11:2-6 (NLT) records that, “John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen— the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” And he added, “God blesses those who do not fall away because of me.”

This was the same John that saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A Man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’ I did not recognize Him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that He might be revealed to Israel.” Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon Him.I didn’t know He was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, He told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.” (John 1:29-31, NIV). The very same John who was given some extraordinary signs to identify Jesus as the Messiah was the same John left wondering if Jesus was really the Messiah! Oh, challenges can indeed shake even some of our firmest, deeply held convictions. But, even if our faith convictions shake and rattle during such tempestuous winds, may they never fall off.

Thankfully, John does not have to endure silence throughout. He sends a message to Jesus and Jesus responds, and this is recorded in Matthew 11:2-6 (quoted earlier). This is such a moving yet beautiful passage. It not only highlights our human vulnerability and predisposition to doubt in times of suffering, but also our Savour’s beautiful response in such times. Jesus does not criticise John and say, ‘Ah, ah, John, how can you of all people be asking such a question? You should know better!’ Neither does Jesus say, ‘are you sure you are still in the faith at all?’ Instead Jesus reassures John that his work of being a forerunner was not in vain, that He, Jesus, was indeed doing just what John knew and foretold. That John’s prophecies were being fulfilled, even though he wasn’t physically present to see it. That He was undeniably at work as the Messiah, as prophesied in Isaiah 61 and read by Jesus Himself in Luke 4:16-21, bringing the good news to the poor, proclaiming that captives will be released, restoring sight to the blind, setting the oppressed free.

Jesus knew that John would understand that He had to be at His Father’s business, and that this was the greater business to be about at that time. Even His request in verse 6 for John not to fall away, or as the NKJV puts it, to not be offended because of Jesus, is framed as a blessing rather than a rebuke. Not only that, just after John’s disciples left, Jesus told the crowd that “of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist” (verse 11). The same John who had just questioned Jesus’ identity was being called the greatest man on Earth by Jesus Himself! What an honour, to be praised this way by the Messiah Himself.

Nevertheless, as great as John was on Earth, in the Kingdom of Heaven, even the least person was greater than him. I believe this was Jesus trying to say that even the greatest person on Earth was nowhere close to being as great as the least person in Heaven. Heaven is truly on another level. Indeed, nobody on Earth can be greater than anyone in Heaven, and this is a beautiful promise for anyone about to leave Earth and go to Heaven. There is a greatness that no amount of accolades or wealth or success or Earthly power can give. Only being in the Kingdom of Heaven can give that.

Eventually, John was killed, we know that Jesus experienced grief as a result. It might have also been difficult for Him to know that He could have done something to rescue John, yet in a sense, He could not. Sometimes the thing that can really sting in times of grief is the fact that we were not there, that we did not do something to stop it, that we let it happen, directly or indirectly. Still, we can observe how Jesus handled His grief. Matthew 14:13 (NLT) records that “as soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone…” Mark 6:31 records that Jesus also invited His disciples to go to a secluded place and rest a while.

However, as is so often the case, the demands of life and ministry made it difficult for Jesus to actually grieve in peace. Mattheew 14:13-14 continues on to say, “…But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns. Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.”

Jesus’ compassion led him to postpone His grieving and attend to the crowd then. After doing that though, He still made out the time to be alone, to pray and take His grief, His hurt, His burdens to His Father. “Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while He sent the people home. After sending them home, He went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while He was there alone.” (Matthew 14:22-23). In doing so, Jesus showed us that when feel like we are carrying so much on our shoulders, there is someone we can carry them to, Our Heavenly Father. We may feel like we don’t even have the time to deal with the emotions threatening to overwhelm us because of the demands on us.

Again, Jesus understands, but also shows us that we can and should do all we can to make out the time to take these burdens to our Father, because we can only bear them for so long before their weight causes us to collapse. You may feel like you don’t feel like praying, or like there is no point in praying, after all God did not show up when you needed Him. But I have heard it say that when we don’t feel like praying is when we actually need to pray the most, and I have experienced that in my own life. There have been times when I felt such a heaviness that I did not even have the strength to say words during my prayer time. During such times, I merely sat in silence, or listened to worship until such a time when words could proceed from my mouth again, maybe to quietly sing along to a song playing at that point. I can say though that having that time was valuable, time to just sit with God and receive His comfort. I was certainly more blessed and comforted when I did that, than when I did not bother to observe that quiet time at all. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NLT) says, “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” God’s presence can truly be a comfort to us at such times. May we not rob ourselves of the blessing that it is.

I pray that as we reflect on this, in times when we feel forgotten or abandoned, we will hold on to God’s promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us. May we not believe the devil’s lies that God does not love us or care about what we are going through. Instead I pray we will hold on to the truth that nothing can separate us from God’s love. I pray that we will remember to take our burdens to God in prayer rather than attempting to carry those heavy, heavy burdens around. May we receive the grace to look up and see the light that shines in the darkness, a light which the darkness cannot make sense of. And may our God, the source of all comfort, comfort us and bless us with His strength, peace, joy and hope. Amen and Amen.

I find the song I will sing by Don Moen resonates during such times.

Image source here.