“What did you go out to the desert to see a reed swayed by the wind?
Then what did you go out to see?
Someone dressed in fine garments?
What appealed to the crowds about John the Baptist? It wasn't that he was a great political figure like Herod Antipas, who minted coins with the image of a reed, who built and lived in fine palaces, and who had such an excess of luxurious garments that he would later use them to mock Jesus (see Luke 23:11)¹.
John was rather one who shunned those things that seemed impressive in the eyes of the world for the sake of preparing the way for the Kingdom of God. He preferred camel's hair to fine garments, the desert to palaces, and was as a consequence a much more solid figure than Herod who, because of his dependence of worldly things, was like a reed swaying this way in that to chase and to protect them.
Jesus was helping the crowd to recognize that although Herod superficially seemed to have triumphed over John by imprisoning him there was in fact something deeper at work. The validity of the prophecy of John the Baptist was vindicated by the fact that he bore persecution and did not waver. Those in positions of authority throughout history were often persecutors of the prophets God sent to speak his words. John's imprisonment not only did not disqualify him from such a role it was such a common element in the lives of genuine prophets as to help prove him true.
A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
This is the one about whom Scripture says:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
he will prepare your way before you.
John contained within himself all that was most true in the earlier prophets who had pointed the way to the Messiah. He was utterly zealous for this message, and compared even to Isaiah he pointed more clearly toward the fulfillment of the promises. John was a living sign that the yes to all of the Messianic prophecies was to be found in the person of Jesus himself, the lamb of God, at whose baptism the sky opened up, the bridegroom in whose presence, John, the friend rejoiced even from his mother's womb.
The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease (see John 3:29-30).
The crowds would have been tempted to see John's imprisonment as a catastrophe and an indication that God's plan was not about to be fulfilled. It could have even called into question his testimony to Jesus himself. But this was a worldly way of considering events. John's greatness was undimmed by his suffering at the hands of worldly powers.
I tell you,
among those born of women, no one is greater than John;
yet the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he.
For all that John was, for all his greatness, he was nevertheless only a sign pointing forward to something that could only be tasted after Jesus himself opened the doors to the Kingdom of God for those who would believe in him. John demonstrated the Old Testament at its best, zealous for God, longing for the Messiah. But only the Messiah himself could begin to inaugurate the age to come. John died for the sake of the truth of God. But it was not until the resurrection of Jesus himself opened the door to heaven that John, as just one among the multitude of the saved, could enter in.
It was in Jesus himself, the Holy One of Israel, who would welcome mankind back into fellowship with God in a new and eternal covenant. To point forward toward Jesus was the joy and delight of John. He was happy to recede into the background and even to die that Jesus himself could be revealed.
For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great tenderness I will take you back.
In an outburst of wrath, for a moment
I hid my face from you;
But with enduring love I take pity on you,
says the Lord, your redeemer.
¹ Gadenz, Pablo T.. The Gospel of Luke (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture) (p. 147). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
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