“Call unto Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3
Difficult circumstances, and the limitations of men, can be enemies of faith, but also, great opportunities of seeing more of the glory of God. In Matthew’s gospel we read of John the Baptist who had been put into prison by Herod the King. John, who had been accustomed to the wideness of the horizon, and the freshness of the morning, was now confined to a prison, where sunlight was certainly limited, and where the horizon was a combination of four walls. This was the man who had come as the Herald of Christ’s coming, filled with the Spirit while in his mother’s womb, and who had baptized Christ in the Jordan River. John had declared to Jesus that it was He, Christ, that should have been baptizing him, and not the opposite. God had also revealed to John, that the One on whom he would see the Holy Spirit “…descending, and remaining upon Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” (Jn. 1:33) John would then testify that Christ was “…the Son of God.” (v.34) John also went so far as to declare, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (Jn. 1:29) John’s knowledge of who Christ was, was clear, exceptional, and a powerful testimony to all who heard him declare it. He had baptized Jesus, seen the Spirit come upon Him, thus, declaring that He was the Son of the Father, well-pleasing in His sight. And yet, sometime later, as Jesus was increasing and John was decreasing, we find him in a prison, unjustly accused be Herod. It is there in that place of confinement, where even John is tested with regard to his faith, after hearing about the works of Christ, that he sends two of his disciples to ask Him: Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” It is then that Jesus, in response to John’s inquiry, gives a new and fresh vision of Himself to John, one that would encourage, and strengthen him, enabling him to cast away all doubt, again taking that position of faith in the faithfulness of God, who had from the very beginning of his ministry until this moment, sustained him. The Christ which he believed, whom he had baptized, and declared to be the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, had remained unchanged. This One of whom he was hearing was absolutely the same. Jesus’ answer to John was exactly what John needed to be strengthened in his faith, renewed in his resolve, and encouraged to believe God. Jesus gave the following message to John’s disciples for John: “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” (Matt. 11:4-6)
What was the great need of John the Baptist at this time of his imprisonment, when limitations were so confining. It was for a new and fresh vision of Christ, who He was and what He did, and would do. John had been the “voice of one crying in the wilderness” announcing the coming of the Messiah. God had worked through him to create an awareness of what the Father would do. By his preaching the rough places were made smooth and the crooked places straight. John would be in essence the greatest herald of all time, for by his words, the power of his actions, he would prepare hearts to receive Christ, the Messiah, as Savior and Lord. God would give John a new and fresh vision of Himself at a moment when faith needed strengthening.
This God does today for the one who will answer His command: “Call upon Me, and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things.”
Dear Father, Show us Christ’s greatness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.