Matthew 11:3

New Living Translation

“Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?”

For Encouragement 

It has happened to all of us before. We believe and testify with certainty, yet our expectations can still clash with the outcome. We dream it, plan for it, and live toward it. Then we ask: Why is the outcome not matching what we expected?

John the Baptist encountered that dilemma at the end of his life. The forerunner of the Messiah could not understand some things. God had clearly identified His beloved Son to him. Then the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus at His baptism, and with heaven opened, God the Father spoke: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:16-17).

John had faithfully declared Jesus to his disciples as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (Jn. 1:29). Jesus is the Messiah who brings the kingdom of God on earth (Matt. 3:2; 4:17).

When we are in straits, questions flood our minds. The Romans still ruled Israel, and Herod had imprisoned John for condemning Herod’s marriage to Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, and he was facing death (14:3-5). So, where was Jesus’ ministry as liberator from Gentile rule and sinful behavior?

Have you been in John’s situation before? What were your thoughts—pure or filled with anger and disappointment?

John sent to ask Jesus whether He was the Messiah to come or if they should expect someone else (Matt. 11:3). Jesus’ actions did not align with John’s expectations of the Messiah, so he sought clarification. He did not reject Jesus. His faith did not waver as many impugned him. He needed light to clear the fog in his eyes. Did he understand the Messiah’s role?

When we can no longer understand something, the best person to ask is the one who spoke to us, not someone else. John knew this, so why did he not go to the Father for clarification, but go to Jesus? Think about it.

John knew the Son knows all things and that His answer would be the Father’s. John’s question was about the Messiah, and he knew Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. Yet his expectations of the Messiah’s role and of what Jesus was doing became unclear. The Romans still ruled, and unrighteousness, like his case, persisted. So what’s going on, Jesus?

Notice Jesus’ response to John’s messengers: “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor” (4-5).

John would understand that these are the works of the promised Messiah, and I am fulfilling them. You are suffering for righteousness’ sake, so do not stumble on me.

Reader, despite your suffering for Christ, do not let your opinion about Him shift because of His work in your life and the world. He is still your Lord and Savior, your righteous Judge and Protector. His thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are our ways His ways (Isa. 55:8). They are higher than ours. What we expect may not be what we see or experience. Yet, He is still God and does not change. Trust Him through all your troubles to the end. His grace suffices to keep you through it all (2 Cor. 12:9).

Pray with Me

Dear God, guide me through the fogs of life and do not let me stray from you. The witness of your word is clear and dependable, so help me hold on to you when life’s storms rage. May your grace uphold me through all my troubles and pain. In Christ I pray, amen.

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