Holy Boldness

Chapter 20 T he last dance with J ohn the B aptist and the old order - M atthew 11

Sometimes the change from the old to the new can be so dramatic that even those who are declaring the new have a hard time dealing with it when it shows up. This was the case of John the Baptist. The ministry of Jesus changed everything including the best of the old. Jesus retired the old order with dignity but gave it no footing in the present. The time of the Old Covenant no longer belonged to the present order of things. The old laws were not being thrown out but were being trumped by higher laws. Old understandings were being superseded and replaced by new. They were not contradictory. They were being reinterpreted from a deeper realm of understanding of the heart of God. Therefore, to base anything upon the old would have been a negation of the new. Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “ Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Matt. 11: 1, 2) Prison is a lonely place and when someone is in isolation it can be terribly debilitating. John the Baptist was in prison because he dared to criticize King Herod for his marriage to Herodias, who was formerly the wife of Herod’s brother, Phillip. When a person has been mightily used of God and then suddenly finds himself locked up and shut down, it can be almost more than most can take. John spearheaded a move of God. He had preached to many people out in the wilderness. He had prophesied the coming of Jesus and later baptized him. He had himself announced the new order. He expected Jesus to bring judgment but instead, He seemed to bring a softer

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