Heralding Deliverance: Comparing John the Baptist and Samson in Light of the Coming Savior
Christmas is celebrated by more than white Westerners in the Bible Belt. For the Karen (pronounced “Kuh-ren”) hill-tribe Christians of Myanmar and Northeast Thailand, Christmas comes with many community celebrations. Its traditions go back generations with serving others, gathering for worship, and telling the story of God’s deliverance through the gift of Christ fills much of the month of December.
Taking time to truly reflect on the story of God’s coming deliverer is important to Christians around the world. Though we Westerners can often view Christmas as a pinnacle of Western culture, inundating others who might belong to other faiths and traditions, for most Christians in the Majority World they celebrate Christmas in marginalized and oppressed contexts. Deliverance means something deeply to them, both in terms of repentance and a right relationship with God, but also a just and right relationship among men, among Kings, and others who have power over them.
Taking time to look into the Gospel of Luke, as many do in Christmas services, and reflecting how we can see that the evangelist keeps in mind the heritage of deliverance in scripture as he reports even on the call of John the Baptist. Sometimes the reflections of the Old Testament in the New is lost, but for Christians in Africa or Asia, where their cultural backgrounds feel very comfortable in readings of the Old Testament, comparing or contrasting John with someone like Samson would be easily seen.
Both Samson and John the Baptist are to be heralds of deliverance. Samson’s calling was heralded as Israel was waiting to be delivered from Philistine occupiers. John the Baptist came at a time when many Jews in the first century expectantly waited for a messiah who would come and set new kingdom for Israel. Thus Israel would be emancipated from the Romans and heathen Hellenistic cultures. However, ultimately, John the Baptist would prove a greater follower of God’s plan than Samson.
The beginning of their stories show that their father’s had to be convinced of their existence in their barren wives. John’s with questioning the angel in the same way as Abraham questioned God’s messenger, “How is this to be. . .?” Both would be “seperated” from general society from birth– Samson taking on the Nazirite practice, and John living in a similar way.
In the final part of their lives, unfaithful women end up causing their deaths. However, Samson’s was caused by his lack of taking his vows seriously, whereas John, being called a prophet to call Israel to repent and prepare for the deliverer, was killed because of his unwavering adherence to his responsibilities.
It does seem quite possible the four evangelists would find intentional familiarties between Samson and John. Maybe this would even be akin to the focus on presenting Christ as the new Moses. Sharing both their stories gives insight into each other. However, I sense that these narratives and lives would be better understood in Nigeria or Myanmmar more easily.
To learn more on the Christmas traditions of Karen Christians, read here.