Letters From Timothy

I apologize for the long and unannounced lapse in correspondence! From now on, I will press harder to make sure my letters reach you every Wednesday and Sunday.

This Sunday, I’ll pick back up discussing Jesus’ response to the death of John the Baptist.

Note the first verse in this reading (Matthew 14:13) , which describes how Jesus “withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.” The Bible stops short of actually saying “Jesus was extremely sad.” This is strange, since the Gospels usually don’t hold back on descriptions of Jesus when he was sad or in grief (John 11:35, Matthew 26:37-38). But even though this particular reading doesn’t explicitly say that Jesus is sad, one can think of no other reason that he would withdraw from the crowds to spend time alone. This is another clue in the Gospels that Jesus was more human than many Christians realize. Even the mighty Son of God had to grieve alone for the death of his good friend. It is strange to imagine Jesus, as I am, sitting on an empty shore with his arms wrapped around his knees in front of him, and his head buried in his chest. But that may well be what he did.

What went through the mind of Jesus as he sat there and grieved for his beloved friend? One has to wonder. Was he silently asking God why John had to die? Was he lamenting that John died too soon? If you believe, as most Christians do, that Jesus was one and the same as the Father, it would seem that Jesus would already know that John was going to die, and why. Maybe Jesus did, but for some reason it still saddened him. But as Jesus grieved alone, was not John feasting in Heaven? Why was Jesus sad?

Actually, one could ask why most devout Christians cry when their loved ones pass away. Sure, they may not always understand why their loved one died, but surely they believe that he or she was experiencing the euphoria of Heaven? The fact is, the loss of any human life, regardless of your beliefs, is tragic. Perhaps Jesus grieved because the world had lost such a remarkable person. Perhaps Jesus knew that John’s other friends (if he had any) would also be sad.

If Jesus’s grief, then, shows his human side, then certainly what he does next shows his divine nature. Jesus’ flock doesn’t give him the peace he desires to mourn for John. It is unclear whether the masses knew why Jesus left, but they followed him either way. And when Jesus returned from his grieving and saw the crowd waiting for him, still hungry and sick and needy, he did did not do what I believe most any person would do, and rebuke them for not giving him space. Instead, he realized the immediate need of the crowds, and healed them anyways. And therein lies an important and often unnoticed teaching of Jesus: grieve the dead but remember your obligation to the living. Jesus shows this obligation by performing a miracle for them that went over so well he did it again (Matthew 15:34-38).

It’s good to be writing again. God Bless.

-Timothy