carpenter. A gentle, harmless soul, spouting homespun philosophies clothed in stories about everyday life.'
'No!' 'And what have you done to this man? You have given him an impossible task - to be someone that God never intended him to be. What words did you use - he will baptise with fire, not water? The thongs of his sandals that you were unworthy even to untie? You had the ear of the people, John. They listened to you. All you had to do was to point the finger and they shifted their allegiance! They left their homes, John, and for what… to follow your dream? They gave up families, made enemies of their parents, deserted fields and ploughs, nets and fishing boats because you said 'The lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world'. Your words will have destroyed so many lives, John.'
'The Spirit spoke…not me.' 'Oh yes, the Spirit spoke. How convenient! But whose spirit really spoke, John? Does God's Spirit really talk to you? Wasn't it just your spirit? Your need to give purpose to a wasted life?'
In all his life there had been an inner conviction that what he said and did was right. He never mused over the words he spoke. He never tilted them in the light to see what shadows they cast. He never weighed them. They burned like fire in his heart and would have consumed him had he kept quiet. But now…today…imprisoned and with death approaching, the questions tumbled over in his head.
There was a sound that interrupted his inner conversation. It was the sound of people on the steps coming down to his cell. Their talk was stifled by the cold stone but still lively and animated.
'John? We saw him! We saw Jesus! We told him that you had sent us to ask him if he was the one who was to come. He told us to tell you the things we had seen! Such magnificent things, John! It is as Isaiah foretold - the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Scripture is being fulfilled, John.'
As they spoke, words cascading from their lips in a torrent of testimony, all of John's questions were answered.