Conversation in Faith

Last week I wrote, that John the Baptist’s expectation of the Messiah– axes, winnowing forks, and fire– didn’t fit well with what Jesus actually did. “Evidently even the prophets didn’t fully understand the nature and message of Jesus. Jesus was not the Messiah most people were expecting.” And “It is interesting that Matthew does not clean up John the Baptist’s rough edges and harsh judgment. Our personal response to John the Baptist’s statements could be a check on our own expectations about the Messiah. Are we expecting Jesus or someone with winnowing forks, axe, and fire?”¹

This week we read about John the Baptist’s question for Jesus. Herod had imprisoned John (and eventually executed him) and so John had to send his disciples to ask his question.

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with a skin disease are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What, then, did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces.What, then, did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’”Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist, yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Matthew 11:1-11 NRSVue

It appears that John had noticed the difference between the Messiah he was expecting and what Jesus was doing. John took a direct approach to resolve this problem, he sent his disciples to ask, “Are you the one or do we keep waiting?” Jesus didn’t respond with a clear yes. He quoted the prophet Isaiah and asked John to compare what he, Jesus, has been doing with what Isaiah prophesied. “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be opened;then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.”² John’s disciples departed, presumably to report back to John.

John the Baptist had some definite opinions and as a prophet, he spoke up. His said unpopular and even dangerous things which got him in trouble. So we might expect a person who boldly stated his beliefs to be unwavering in them. We might expect him to stick to his original understanding of how the Messiah would act. But instead he asked a question. When he received an answer, he basically had three options. He could deny that Jesus is the Messiah, he could change his own mind about how the Messiah would act, or he could pretend there’s no discrepancy.

Matthew’s gospel doesn’t tell us what John’s response was. But by telling this story, Matthew presents the possibility that even the prophets among us can sometimes be wrong. Even the most wise and prophetic among us may need to rethink and relearn. This is what growing in faith involves. As Paul wrote, “For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part, but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end.”³ This quote from Paul begins and ends with love. When we grow in love, we may well end up rethinking many things.

Then Jesus talked to the crowd about John. What did they think they were going to see? Were they expecting to find answers from people wearing fine clothes in the places of power? The people who wore fine clothes thought they had the answers. Or were they looking for someone with the courage and message to speak up against the Empire and its client kings? Were they looking for a prophet to shake up King Herod? Who did they find when they went out to the Jordan River ? They found the very odd, and slightly mistaken messenger, John the Baptist. A messenger who wondered about what Jesus was doing and was willing to ask questions. This incarcerated man with questions was the messenger who prepares the way for the Messiah!

And then Jesus reminded the crowd that the Kingdom of Heaven is not comprised of hierarchies. John the Baptist was the messenger. He was more than a prophet. He fulfilled Elijah’s role. John prepared the way for the Messiah. Important as that is, John is not “over” others, or better than others. He is, as all people are, a beloved member of the Kingdom of Heaven.

One wonders if John the Baptist as he sat in Herod’s jail was perplexed and even worried. Things were not as he expected them to be. He was in prison with an uncertain future. Jesus, using the words of the prophet, offers confirmation and reassurance. When John the Baptist heard the words of Jesus, he may have remembered the rest of the passage from Isaiah.

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and shouting. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God.

Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.”

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be opened; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp; the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God’s people; no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Isaiah 35:1-10 NRSVue

We are not the only people to live in troubled times. But that realization does not erase or minimize our current troubles. Some days it is hard to imagine a joyful future. Like John the Baptist, we have questions. We might wonder along with John the Baptist, have we misplaced our faith and our trust? Have we been fools? As he did with John, Jesus reminds us – Do not be afraid. Sing for joy. The Kingdom of God is on its way. The distressed are healed. The good news comes to the poor. Ravenous beasts- of all sorts- will be gone. The desert will bloom. It will be unmistakable, even fools will find it. Joy will abound. Rejoice!

1. https://conversationinfaith.com/2025/12/07/enough-peace-even-for-a-brood-of-vipers/ and footnote 7. ↩︎
2. Isaiah 35:5-6 NRSVue ↩︎
3. “Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part, but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see only a reflection, as in a mirror, but then we will see face to face, Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known, And now faith, hope, and love remain, these three, and the greatest of these is love.” I Cor 13:9-13 NRSVue ↩︎