Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, February 16, 2025
by Pr. Sara Gorman, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: Sometimes our answers are right in front of us.
Today’s reading comes on the heels of Jesus healing a Centurion’s slave and raising a dead man to life. And yet, the people are wondering, is he the real deal? These people have been around John the Baptist, and have wondered a similar thing—is he really the Messiah?
Perhaps John was tired of working to pave the way for the Messiah. Time had passed and things were still relatively the same. The supposed kingdom of heaven still looked a lot like a Roman Empire. When was the Messiah going to do his job and bring this kingdom reality to life? When was he finally going to give John a break? Was Jesus going to release the captives as the Messiah was supposed to, since after all that’s what John had been preaching?
What Jesus had been doing as he was roaming the countryside was great, but not quite as much as John and other Jewish individuals thought he would be doing. Or was it? Was John just not seeing the whole picture, and as a result missing out on all the other clues of who Jesus was? Sure the kingdom was still under Roman rule, and things hadn’t changed as drastically as he would have liked, but change takes time. And when we get too caught up in the details we miss the bigger picture.
When Jesus asked the crowd who John was, he wasn’t doing so to be facetious. Jesus was asking because he wanted to know and understand what those around him were thinking and following. And he wanted to point out that neither one of them was doing the “right” thing. They were both being criticized for exactly what they were doing. There was no right way to go about this prophet thing, as someone would always find something wrong. Again, paying too close to the details and not looking at the bigger picture.
