Matthew 11:2-11 | Di Paolo | John the Baptist in his prison had heard what Christ was doing

Matthew 11:2-11   John the Baptist in his prison had heard what Christ was doing

Saint John the Baptist in Prison Visited by Two Disciples, Painted by Giovanni di Paolo (1403-1482), Tempera on panel Painted in 1455 © Art Institute of Chicago John in his prison had heard what Christ was doing and he sent his disciples to ask him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or have we got to wait for someone else?’ Jesus answered, ‘Go back and tell John what you hear and see; the blind see again, and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised to life and the Good News is proclaimed to the poor; and happy is the man who does not lose faith in me.’ As the messengers were leaving, Jesus began to talk to the people about John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the breeze? No? Then what did you go out to see? A man wearing fine clothes? Oh no, those who wear fine clothes are to be found in palaces. Then what did you go out for? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet: he is the one of whom scripture says: ‘Look, I am going to send my messenger before you; he will prepare your way before you. ‘I tell you solemnly, of all the children born of women, a greater than John the Baptist has never been seen; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is.’   READ MORE     Reflection on the Painting In today’s Gospel reading we hear about John the Baptist being curious about Jesus’ ministry. John in his prison had heard what Christ was doing and he sent his disciples to ask him some questions. We may have thought that John would have known all the answers already, but no, even him, just like the rest of us, has questions for Christ. It is a passage that can give us comfort;  John the Baptist, the powerful, austere, humble man who held such a high esteem among the Jews, still had his moments of questions and darkness. Especially being imprisoned in Herod’s dungeon, he must have wondered: is this where I am supposed to be? Was I wrong about Jesus? He does not just sit on the question, no, he takes initiative and sends messengers to Jesus. So, rather than just endless pondering over questions, he takes firm, resolute action and sends his friends to seek the answers straight form Jesus himself. And what does Jesus do? Well, Jesus does not send back reassurances; he just asks the messengers to open their eyes and see the evidence of Jesus’ life and all the miracles He did. It would have been easier for Jesus to reassure John in a very expected way, but by not doing so, He even asks John to keep deepening His faith and dig deeper and deeper in the mystery of his own faith. We can’t favour our own thinking, or trust our own minds. We are called to try and enter the mind of Jesus and think from there; in Him, through Him and with Him. Giovanni di Paolo was an Italian painter, working primarily in Siena. Apart from becoming a highly accomplished painter, he was also a prolific illustrator of manuscripts, including Dante’s texts. His ‘trademark’ so to speak is the slightly elongated forms of his figures and use of cold, harsh colours, set in unusual, almost surreal like settings. by Patrick van der Vorst