John the Baptist has been executed by Herod’s command. It was a command born of impulsiveness. A sentence of beheading, handed out after a period of confinement on charge of sedition. And though Herod himself knows that John did not deserve such, he and his government do not even see fit to give John a burial. Rather, the Word meekly records, “John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.”
John’s disciples would’ve been the first to hear of John’s demise, as they likely attended to him daily while he was in prison. In those days prisoners only ate what family and friends provided. But that day they found that John was not in his cell. He had been summarily executed. There was no trial, no opportunity for John to face a court of his peers. No opportunity for John’s disciples to bear witness of his character. The tetrarch had spoken, and he had the authority of Rome to back him up. His word was final.
John’s disciples are given the body, and in accordance with Jewish custom, they bury it straight away. They cannot wait until they tell Jesus, because it was (and is) considered a great dishonor to keep a dead person from burial. But once they can honor John the Baptist by means of proper burial, they immediately go and tell Jesus.
Of course, Jesus was John’s cousin, so that makes sense just from the perspective of family. But Jesus was also the man John the Baptist had identified as Messiah.
You cannot keep following someone you hold in high esteem if they are dead, but you can move forward in your own life by pursuing what that relationship meant. John’s entire ministry was about getting ready for the kingdom of God, and now John was gone but the king was here. Jesus was the One that John’s disciples knew to follow, because John had told them so. The apostle John makes that clear in his Gospel, “The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.” One of those disciples was Andrew (brother to Simon Peter), so we can also know that Jesus’ group would have some lines of communication with John’s group by means of the friendships Andrew and the other disciple had forged. Therefore, it is possible and even logical that all of John’s disciples knew they would become Jesus’ disciples at some point. John’s untimely death is simply the obvious turning point. From here on they would follow Jesus the Messiah.
Dealing with the loss of a leader is never easy. Dealing with the loss of a family member is never easy, either. But that time of loss is made much more bearable by focusing on Christ. As Christ conquered death, we can morn our loss knowing that the separation will not be permanent. We can allow our grief to sharpen our focus on Christ, drawing near to Him and speaking to Him so His Spirit can comfort our soul. Best of all, we can know that doing so honors the one we’ve lost, because they too depend on Christ in the next life just as much as we depend on Christ in this one.
Death is not the end of the road; it is only a bend in the road. The road winds only through those paths through which Christ Himself has gone. This Travel Agent does not expect us to discover the trail for ourselves. Often we say that Christ will meet us on the other side. That is true, of course, but misleading. Let us never forget that He walks with us on this side of the curtain and then guides us through the opening. We will meet Him there, because we have met Him here
Erwin Lutzer
APPLICATION: Worship
Just as God was with Israel on both sides of the Jordan, our Lord is here with us, on the way with us as we move between worlds and there with us on the other side.