The One Who is to Come is Coming Soon Thanks to the Lord of No Other – Wednesday of Third Week of Advent

 Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another? (Luke 7:19)

This is the question that John the Baptist commanded two of his disciples to ask Jesus in sending two of his disciples to him.

Ever since his baptism by John the Baptist (e.g. Luke 3:21-22) and fending off the temptations from Satan (e.g. Luke 4:1-13), Jesus had been in public, preaching and healing throughout Galilee (Luke 4:14-7:17). In the meantime, John the Baptist was imprisoned because he chastised Herod Antipas for divorcing his wife, who was the daughter of Aretas IV of Arabia, to commit adultery with the wife of his own brother, Herod Philip, Herodias, who was actually Herod’s own niece (Luke 3:19-20). John was like St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher, who were executed because they protested Henry VIII’s divorce on the moral ground rooted in Jesus’ teaching on marriage.

Obviously, John the Baptist’s disciples had been carefully observing Jesus in his actions. So, they reported John the Baptist in prison about all what they had observed about Jesus and his ministries (Luke 7:18), upon Jesus healing a Roman centurion’s servant (Luke 7:1-10) and raising the widow’s son from the dead in Nain (Luke 7:11-17).

Then, John the Baptist called two of his disciples and sent them to Jesus to ask:

Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another? (Luke 7:19)

In regard to this question to ask Jesus if he is the one to come, as prophesized and for whose coming that John the Baptist was called to prepare (Malachi 3:23-24), you may ask why John had to ask such a question as he sure knew that the incarnated Christ had appeared to him (i.e. Matthew 3:13-15) and even testified to him (John 1:29-34), calling him as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

It does not seem to make sense that John the Baptist had to ask Jesus if he was the one to come, knowing that he had baptized the incarnated Christ who was to come, as prophesized. Yet, why?

The question, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”, is not for John the Baptist to ask but rather for his disciples to ask directly to Jesus so that they would be able to figure out what to do with Jesus. At that time, John the Baptist knew that his mission to prepare the coming of the one who is to come was competed. So, he rather wanted his remaining disciples to start following Jesus as his disciples, sensing in prison that he would soon die in prison. John the Baptist sent two of his disciples to Jesus with the question, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” so that they can make a transition from following John to Jesus, because he, as the last prophet under the old covenant, had completed his preparatory mission for the coming of Christ, who had already come, been baptized by him, and begun his public ministry (i.e. Luke 2:7; 4:14; 7:21).

So, Jesus answered this question, rather than “yes” or “no” but with these words:

Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me (Luke 7:22-23).

With this reply, Jesus was assuring that he had been fulfilling the Messianic prophecies such as Isaiah 35:5–6; 61:1, not only to the disciples of John the Baptist but John the Baptist himself. This way, the disciples of John knew directly that Jesus was the one who is to come and had already been fulfilling what was prophesized for him to do (e.g. Isaiah 35:5-6; 61:1; cf. Luke 4:21). Additionally, Jesus blessed those who listened to him and believe in him (i.e. Luke 6:47-48; 11:28; cf. Luke 4:22-30; 7:31-35).

The way Jesus responded (Luke 7:22-33)  is also to remind that his first coming is for salvation and the Good News ( Isaiah 35:5-6; 61:1) while his second coming is for judgement and redemption of the faithful and just as already indicated by John the Baptist (Luke 3:16-17).

The one who is to come – why do we need to know as John the Baptist wanted his disciples to know?

Remember, a very important message that we received when we started Advent preparation?

In the Gospel Reading of First Sunday of Advent, Cycle C, Luke 21:25-28, 34-36, we heard from Jesus, “Be vigilant at all times”(Luke 21:36).

Though this Gospel narrative is about Jesus preparing his disciples for his return, not to be fooled by false prophecies about his second coming, the principle of vigilance is applied for our Advent preparation for the coming of the incarnated Christ.

Why?

Because there can be false prophets and teachers to fool us about “the one who is to come” with “a false one”.  We need to know who is “the one who is to come” against “false ones”.

Look how Advent Season has been in recent years. We seem to listen more to what secular world says about this season. So, many of us are lost in commercialism and consumerism in the name of preparation for Christmas. In fact, now the secular world discourages us to say, “Merry Christmas”, for the sake of “tolerance” to different beliefs. And, even those who set up Christmas trees and making Christmas decorations, how many of them really putting at least the same efforts in what we are supposed to do, as preached by John the Baptist: preparing the way of the incarnated Christ to come, by making ourselves the straight and smooth way of his coming upon repentance and conversion of our hearts (i.e. Luke 3:4-6, 11-14). Do you think the incarnated Christ, the one who is to come, really cares about how big your Christmas tree is? Do you think he would be so pleased that your houses’ Christmas lights are the brightest in the neighborhood?

Let us not forget the one who is to come – who is actually coming and coming nearer to us! So, our hearts are filled with joyful expectation (i.e. Luke 3:15) and burning with the Holy Spirit, as our Advent preparation becomes invigorated (i.e. Luke 16:16).

Because of the importance of knowing who is to come – who is coming accurately, John the Baptist sent his disciples directly to Jesus with the question, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”(Luke 7:19).

And the importance of knowing “who is to come” accurately is reflected in the First Reading (Isaiah 45:6c-8, 18, 21c-25). In this reading, taken from Isaiah’s oracle to Cyrus, king of Persia, Isaiah 44:24-45:25, we see God was appointing this king to help the Israelites refresh their understanding of who He is, in the hope that they would not sin and offend Him, for the post-exilic period. The Israelites acted, in the past, as if they had forgot who their God was, drifting to foreign and pagan gods. Thus said God:

I am the Lord, there is no other (Isaiah 45:5, 6, 14, 18, 21-22; Exodus 20:2-3; Deuteronomy 4:35; 5:6-7); cf  Isaiah 42:8, 43:11).

So, in this First Reading narrative (Isaiah 45:6c-8, 18, 21c-25), we make sure that “the one who is to come”(Luke 7:19), now “one who is coming nearer” is one with (John 10:20,38) the one who proclaims, “I am the Lord, there is no other”( Isaiah 45:5, 6, 14, 18, 21-22; Exodus 20:2-3; Deuteronomy 4:35; 5:6-7), knowing his Christological truth, which is reflected and revealed through his ministries. And we can see a juxtaposition between the way Jesus assured John the Baptist’s disciples that he was the one (Luke 7:22; cf. Isaiah 35:5–6; 61:1) and the way Yahweh tells why He is the Lord, one there is but no other (Isaiah 45:6c-8, 18, 21c-25).

In accurately understanding who is the one who is to come and is coming nearer to dwell in our hearts, we know it is because Yahweh, the Lord, one there is no other, so loves us (i.e. John 3:16). Let us make sure we are worthy to receive the one who is to come and is, indeed, coming soon.