I Did Not Know Him

“And I myself did not know him.” John 1:31

This is a surprising statement from John the Baptist. Wasn’t John a relative of Jesus? Mary was so close to Elizabeth as to rush to her and be with her at the time of their pregnancies. Even so it says in the 1st chapter of John, that John the Baptist did not recognize Jesus for some time. 

When John the Baptist was in Herod Antipas’ filthy prison awaiting execution, he was afflicted with doubt and questioned who Jesus, his “cousin”, was. His pain may be heard in the question he sent his followers to ask of Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

Doubt is an insidious thing. It is one of the powerful tools of the invisible enemy which he uses craftily to great effect. Many of us grew up with stories about Jesus, the babe in the manger, who was revealed to be Savior, deliverer, the Immanuel, “God with us”. Although we celebrate Christmas with much heart, attend the dawn masses, put our family pictures in Facebook with our greetings, we may also, like John the Baptist, entertain doubts about who Jesus is. 

Did Jesus get mad that John doubted Him? Did He renounce John? No, he invited John’s faithful friends to observe Him as he healed the sick and delivered some from demons. “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” (Luke 7:22)

John’s painful questions would have been put to rest because he would have recognized the prophecy of Isaiah about the coming Messiah in those words. If we have any doubts about who Jesus is, we need only to talk to Him and tell Him. He may send someone to testify about Him, or He may give us the desire to read the Bible, how the Old Testament and the New is filled with God’s intervention in history from the time of the Patriarchs. Christ fills and illumines its pages. 

Let Christ fill our hearts to overflowing this Christmas week. He awaits with open and gracious arms!