St. John the Baptist in Prison, Visited by Salome
Retrieved from https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/objects/10138, December 9, 2022
O God of Isaiah and John the Baptist,
through all such faithful ones
you proclaim the unfolding of future joy
and renewed life.
Strengthen our hearts to believe your advent promise
that one day we will walk in the holy way of Christ,
where sorrow and sighing will be no more
and the journey of God's people will be joy. Amen.
through all such faithful ones
you proclaim the unfolding of future joy
and renewed life.
Strengthen our hearts to believe your advent promise
that one day we will walk in the holy way of Christ,
where sorrow and sighing will be no more
and the journey of God's people will be joy. Amen.
A prayer from the Revised Common Lectionary a Service of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library
Exploring the Text: From prophecy to proclamation to presentation
In Isaiah 61, Isaiah shares a prophecy that will later be picked up by Jesus. In verses one and two he says:
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor,
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, (Isaiah 6:1-2a)
When Jesus begins his ministry, he picks up this text while teaching in Nazareth and declares that it relates to him. In Luke 4:16-21 we read:
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus declares that this prophecy in Isaiah is talking about him, and he takes it as his mission statement. Consider what he says he came to do.
We see all these things reflected in Jesus’ teaching and ministry.
By the time we get to this passage in Matthew 11, Jesus is well into his ministry. John the Baptist, his cousin and the first one to herald him as the Son of God (John 1:29-34), is in prison and has begun to question and doubt. He sends on of his disciples to Jesus to ask if Jesus really was the one they had been waiting for, the Messiah, or not. Jesus’ response was to go tell John what they had seen.
What Isaiah had prophesied, what Jesus had proclaimed, is now being presented as proof that Jesus is who he said he is. When we struggle with doubt, when we have questions, we can go back to the same thing. We can remember what Jesus has done, and we can regain our confidence that Jesus is who he said he is just like John did.
David W. Dalton
In Isaiah 61, Isaiah shares a prophecy that will later be picked up by Jesus. In verses one and two he says:
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor,
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, (Isaiah 6:1-2a)
When Jesus begins his ministry, he picks up this text while teaching in Nazareth and declares that it relates to him. In Luke 4:16-21 we read:
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus declares that this prophecy in Isaiah is talking about him, and he takes it as his mission statement. Consider what he says he came to do.
- Bring good news to the poor
- To set people free
- To make the bind see
- To deliver the oppressed
- To declare the time of God’s favor
We see all these things reflected in Jesus’ teaching and ministry.
By the time we get to this passage in Matthew 11, Jesus is well into his ministry. John the Baptist, his cousin and the first one to herald him as the Son of God (John 1:29-34), is in prison and has begun to question and doubt. He sends on of his disciples to Jesus to ask if Jesus really was the one they had been waiting for, the Messiah, or not. Jesus’ response was to go tell John what they had seen.
- The blind can see
- The lame can walk
- Lepers are cleansed
- The deaf can hear
- The dead are raised
- The poor have the good news preached to them
What Isaiah had prophesied, what Jesus had proclaimed, is now being presented as proof that Jesus is who he said he is. When we struggle with doubt, when we have questions, we can go back to the same thing. We can remember what Jesus has done, and we can regain our confidence that Jesus is who he said he is just like John did.
David W. Dalton