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Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities. And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?" Jesus answered and said to them, "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."
- Matthew 11:1-6
In our recent readings, Jesus has been speaking to the Twelve Apostles just before they set out on their first mission (see readings beginning from The kingdom of heaven is at hand). In yesterday's reading, He concluded His preparation for them: "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to 'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law'; and 'a man's enemies will be those of his own household.' He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward."
Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities. And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?" In John's Gospel, John the Baptist makes the statement about Christ, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). Here we see the action: John is in prison (imprisoned by Herod Antipas), and Jesus is now sending out His apostles on their first mission to teach and preach. Church Fathers suggest that John asks this question in order to guide his own disciples to Jesus. My study bible says that undoubtedly, John's own faith was also strengthened through Christ's response.
Jesus answered and said to them, "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." Jesus tells John's disciples an answer that includes the things Isaiah predicted as signs that would accompany the coming of the Messiah (Isaiah 61:1). My study bible says that Jesus performed these miracles in the presence of John's disciples (Luke 7:21) so they could see with their own eyes works that only the Messiah could do.
The times are changing. John is considered to be the last of the Old Testament type prophets. "He must increase, but I must decrease" is a statement not only about John the Baptist and Jesus. It's also a picture of what is happening: a new time is being born, a new covenant being made and announced. A shift is happening that will affect the entire world. At this point in the Gospel, not too many people know that. And John's disciples come asking, as they are sent by him. In that context, we have to wonder what Jesus means by adding to His answer, "And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me." St. Hilary gives us an interesting answer, in which he notes it's tied to the idea that the poor have the gospel preached to them: "Poor people are those who have abandoned their lives, who have taken up his cross and followed, who have been made humble in spirit. . . . Because all experiences of this kind come together in the Lord and because His cross was to be a source of offense to many, He declared that people are blessed if their faith is not threatened by a cross or death or burial." The word that Jesus uses here in the Greek is scandalized (σκανδαλιζω). The meaning of this word is rooted to setting a trap or snare, its action being to cause to stumble, to sin, to become indignant; to shock or offend. All of these things will be responses to Christ's ministry, and, as St. Hilary remarks, in particular to His death on the Cross. Jesus names all these good, brilliant, wonderful things that characterize His ministry, but ends with "and blessed is he who is not offended because of Me." It is important for us to think hard about what offends in Jesus' ministry, what scandalizes. To become scandalized is to fall into a trap, a snare -- and if we take Jesus' words seriously, to do so is to fail to achieve a blessing. Sometimes when "Good" intervenes it is seen as scandalous, disruptive to the normal order. That's the time we really need to think, and to pray. There is no telling what may scandalize because it's not what we're used to. It breaks up the order. It asks us for change. Jesus' warning is for our good; to be offended is to fall into a trap because something is not what we expect, or comes in a form that doesn't fit what we wanted. So many saints fall into this category. We really need to pay prayerful attention. Christ's kingdom of heaven is something that is not within the "rules" of worldly power. His sacrifice is an affront to all the worldly norms, and it's tied to the fact that the grace of the gospel is free to all.
