Matthew 11:7 “As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: ‘What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind?”

Jesus’ picture isn’t hard to get. You’ve seen grass bend in the direction of the blowing wind. The slipstream from every passing truck on the highway is enough to bend the grass and point it in the same direction as the traffic. One might expect a little more resistance from the reeds you see growing along the edge of a pond or lake. They are considerably fatter than a blade of grass. But they are also hollow. There is nothing inside. When the wind blows the reeds go with the flow. They bend with the breeze. The direction in which they lean changes as often as the breezes themselves.

Jesus knew that preachers can be like that, and often people like them. They go with the flow. They bend with the breeze, because they are empty and hollow on the inside. Every culture develops its own beliefs and values. Sometimes some of them happen to agree with God’s. Many of them do not. The people going out to John the Baptist struggled with ideas about right and wrong not so different than false ideas popular today. Some believed their strict moral values and pious lifestyle put them in a “most-favored” class with God. They used that idea to defend their harsh criticism of less perfect people and their choice not to associate with them.

First Century Jewish society was less confused and deceived about sex and marriage than Twenty-first Century America after the “sexual revolution” (or “rebellion”). But John still had to address lackadaisical attitudes about adultery with the king. Jesus found that even the religious conservatives had gone wishy-washy on divorce. Some people just assumed that one of the perks of power was the ability to put the squeeze on the little guy. Others could look at their excess, and their neighbor’s poverty, and see no connection. They drew no conclusions. They felt no obligation to help.

What’s a preacher to do? Both John and Jesus could have preached volumes about non-controversial issues on which all agreed. In his “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus repeats the phrase “You have heard that it was said…” six times. Each time he follows with some non-controversial idea everyone could agree to: Don’t murder, don’t insult people, don’t cheat on your wife, don’t break your promises, don’t let bad people get away with bad behavior, love your friends. How nice.

If Jesus stopped there, we could all feel good about ourselves. He could have told some chicken-soup-for-the-soul stories about people being nice to each other, and everyone would go home with warm and fuzzy feelings. If he kept his mouth shut about our anger issues, porn, divorce, watching your mouth, and worry, no one would have felt a need to kill him. He could be popular with everyone.

John the Baptist, likewise, could have complimented the Pharisees about their righteous exterior instead of calling them a bunch of snakes. He could have winked at the king’s sexual escapades. He could have overlooked the soldiers’ abuse of power, and the general greed and hard-heartedness of his listeners. Then everyone could like him. He might have died a national hero instead of a wretched, lonely prisoner.

But is that what the people went to see–someone whose message bent whatever direction the winds of popular opinion were blowing? Is that what we expect from our preacher–someone who never steps on our toes, makes us feel uncomfortable, or calls us to be different than the culture around us?

We still need preachers who will stand against the prevailing winds. We need them not just because we have been bad and need a spiritual beating. We need them because only such preachers will lead us to the cross, where a beaten and bleeding Jesus dies for our sins. A sober, uncompromising message of God’s law still goes together with a liberating, unconditional promise of God’s grace. God’s winds blow in the direction of redemption and love. Listen to the preachers who push in that direction.