Jesus responded to the Baptist’s question if he was “the one” by pointing out that the mercy of God brought healing to those who were hurting. Then he appended a curious statement: “Blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.” Jesus suspected that he wasn’t living up to John’s expectations. He did not preach fire and brimstone as the Baptist expected the “coming one” to do. Jesus asked the Baptist not to “take offense” that he was who he was. And not just John: the Pharisees expected Jesus to hang around good people, not sinners; the disciples expected Jesus to deal with the Romans. We must let Jesus be who He was as sent by God in order to understand what it means that God-is-with-us.
