Reflection for October 22

Last updated on October 23, 2024

“The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah.”
Luke 3:15

Thirty years have passed. Today’s reading focuses on the emergence of John the Baptist. John was Jesus’ cousin. The two of them no doubt spent summers and holidays together. It seems like Jesus knew from an early age who he was. He knew his birth story. I imagine too that John’s parents told him when he was growing up that God had big plans for him. He would “bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.” So perhaps at some point they talked together about what their futures were going to look like.

When they were both 30 years old, John began his ministry. He went in the wilderness. He wore weird clothes and ate weird foods. And people flocked to him, in part I’m sure because he was an oddity, but more importantly, because they wondered if he might be the promised Messiah.

Every Jewish boy and girl grew up hearing about the Messiah who would come and set Yahweh’s people free. And boy did they need freedom right now. They were under the rule of an evil king. It wasn’t Herod anymore. He was dead. But it was his sons, who were just as evil. The Herodian dynasty wasn’t really in charge though. It was the Roman Empire who truly called the shots.

It had actually been 700 years since the Jewish people were free. They were first conquered by the Assyrians, and then the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and finally the Romans. During that time God had raised up prophets who reminded the people that God wasn’t done with them. God was one day going to send a Messiah.

Over the last 400 years there had been no prophets. Had God forgotten about his people? The recent whispers were, “Maybe not.”

In setting the stage for the entrance of the Messiah, we must remember that God’s people were desperate for some good news. They understood in a very tangible way that they needed God’s help. And they were about to receive that help, though in the most unlikely way.