John may have expected a slightly different kind of messiah. But nevertheless, had an idea in his mind of who that messiah ought to be. Jesus simply says, I am the messiah and you will be blessed if you’re not put off by me as I am, whatever your expectations. It’s quite something. Later on, Jesus points out that the religious leaders couldn’t be pleased in their expectations at all.

I was recently prepping a sermon in Matthew 11. The passage concerns John the Baptist’s doubts concerning Jesus. Is he really the one God has sent? Should we be looking for someone to come after Jesus?

Jesus doesn’t even answer John directly. He just references Isaiah and effectively says to John, these things are happening. In a sense, Jesus is saying to John, if Isaiah’s prophecy of what the messiah would come to do didn’t factor into your thinking, then it should.

Given John’s earlier confession of Jesus, the question is always asked: how could John go from everything he said about Jesus at his baptism to wondering whether he is really the one Israel have been waiting for? But, to be fair to John, he had been preaching a message that included confession of sin and repentance from it because judgement was at hand. But it was that very message that got him locked up by Herod. It’s not totally unreasonable to think – if Jesus has come to judge the world and is going to restore the kingdom – what am I doing in a jail cell at the behest of a bloke like Herod! I think there’s enough in the passage – and earlier descriptions from John’s disciples – that John is a product of his times and Jesus just isn’t what he is expecting.

It is into that context that Jesus gives his answer. Effectively, he says, do you see the things the prophets said would happen coming to pass? Am I doing the kind of things the prophets said the messiah would do? If I am, then whatever current expectations might be, there are good reasons to believe that I am the one God has sent to save his people. That is Jesus’ basic answer. Look at what the prophets prophesied and compare it to what I am doing. There is your answer.

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