Old Testament Joseph and John the Baptist are two men who were up against mighty mountains. I tend to love Joseph’s story. But the story of John the Baptist? Not so much.
Joseph faced two mighty mountains. The pit and prison. Of course, there were also mountains of rejection, sadness, and grief he faced and maybe those were actually the mightiest. But Joseph was faithful. All the platitudes came true for him. He tied a knot in his rope and held on. He asked and he received. What a great story Joseph is! But it’s not just a rags to riches story. It’s a huge story as my son Jake pointed out and it’s a grace narrative. You see, Jesus promised to be born through Abraham‘s lineage. Joseph was not just preserving grain and food for a long term famine, he was preserving a remnant on earth to save their lives by a great deliverance. (Genesis 45:5-8.) It seems the math here is No Joseph=No Jesus.
Did Jesus have a back up plan for Joseph? In case Joseph was not faithful? In case Joseph threw up his hands and quit? This part of the story puts a new, critical importance on faith.
John the Baptist did not have the same great story Joseph did. His seems pretty awful. He was up against a mighty mountain as well. Even though he was a relative of Jesus himself, John the Baptist was in prison. Never to be released like Joseph, John the Baptist would have his head removed and served on a platter. And what was Jesus’s last message sent to John the Baptist? “Blessed is he who is not offended by me.” (Matthew 11:6)
Well good night! Decapitation is pretty offensive. I’m offended for John the Baptist. I mean, what is the point to the story? I don’t like it one bit. Like Joseph, John the Baptist was faithful and his mountain was not removed.
In this life.
The grace narrative — the story of grace — does not culminate in this life. We want it to because it’s the only life we know. Mountains of trouble and sorrow fall on us and it does not seem fair. It seems mean and cruel. Offensive.
It seems the narratives of grace, faith, and hope are what keep us from staying offended at Jesus. It seems the story of grace is what walks with us until that day our mountains are made flat. In this life, or most likely, the next.
So, tell me the story of Jesus
Write on my heart every word
Tell of the sorrows He bore
Tell of the cross where they nailed Him
Tell of the grave where they laid Him
Stay, let me weep while you whisper
Tell how He’s gone back to heaven
Tell how He’s coming in glory
Tell me the story most precious
Sweetest that ever was heard.
(Frances Crosby)