Matt.11.2 - "Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3 - And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? 4 - Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 5 - The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 - And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me."(KJV)
When incarcerated, most inmates worry about continuity on the outside. John the Baptist was troubled that the work he came to do would be compromised by his imprisonment. "Ask him if he is the one or if we should wait for another?" He enquired. His worry was; "….will the healing continue? Will the preaching of the good news progress while I am in prison". The Messiah understood the coded message in John the Baptist's question. He (John) feared that the man outside the cells might not be the hoped-for Messiah and that he might mess up the laid foundation or even fail to carry on the work he had set out to do. He feared for his flock. It oppressed his heart. Yahushuah sent back the report: "Ask John to stay cool. The mission he has been doing, for which he is distraught behind bars and much more, is advancing. In fact just report to him what you have witnessed with your own eyes and heard with your ears" Our savior did not seek to get John out of Prison. He did not initiate rescue interventions through Herod nor Herodias. No diplomacy.
In essence the Lord seemed to be saying;
John.17.15 - "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil" His concern was to keep John at ease by knowing that on the outside of the cell, the Ministry was going on uninterrupted in spite of his imprisonment. He was to bear the burden of incarceration, the pain of bandage, knowing that ministry outside jail was taken care of.
This is the John- the Baptist concept of Prison Ministry. It shifts the focus from the Prisoner and his sentence and turns to looks at the torn apart family, the wounded community the dysfunctional society as occasioned by incarceration. This discourse between John the Baptist and Yahushua gives us a window into the broadened approach to prison ministry. Let us however look at the traditional justification of prison ministry.
Matt.25.34 - "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 - For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:36 - Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.37 - Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 - When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 - Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 - And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."(KJV)
The above citation has been the norm in authenticating Prison Ministry. It has been referenced world over by actors in thus ministry. They all have been "going to him in prison" Indeed there are many types of prisons and bondages from which our Savior came to set captives free. In specific reference to the prison behind bars, we don't carry out a prison break. It is the same savior who humbly accepted to be held in a dungeon of which it is written
Isa.53.8 - "He (the Messiah) was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken." A Prisoner he was at one time. He tasted it all. He stayed put. It is written of him;
Heb.4.15 - "For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." Imprisonment to believers is portrayed as the order of the day. Luke.21.12 - "But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake." How much then should believers take keener interest in incarceration and its aftermath seeing that belief and incarceration are inseparable eschatologically?
It is a near echo of the Lord saying "…the poor you will always have...."(Matt.26:11) Then indeed under the sun, incarceration will always be there as long as crime and the great controversy exists.
We will all do well if we listened to the saying "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" We need to begin asking ourselves this one question; "In the unfortunate event of being incarcerated what would I have the society accustomed to with regard to my family which imprisonment renders functionally indisposed?