Matthew 11:2

Now when John heard in the prison the works of the Christ, he sent by his disciples, and said unto him, Art thou he that cometh, or look we for another?

John had grown uncertain as to whether Christ was indeed the Messiah or not. The uncertainty probably arose from the following circumstances: (1) John had been cast into prison, and Christ had made no move to free him; (2) John was suffering cruel and unjust persecution and probably foresaw his approaching martyrdom; (3) Jesus' identity as the Messiah was not being proclaimed at that time with the dogmatic certainty which John doubtless expected; (4) the reasons for Christ's reticence about his Messiahship could not have been clear to John. In fact, people would be somewhat in the dark about this, even today, had it not been for Luke's concise statement of the strait in which Jesus found himself at that moment. "I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!" (Luke 12:50). The philosopher John Locke traced the narrowness of the path our Lord had to travel. It was his purpose to die for the sins of the world; but his purpose would have been thwarted if he had been put to death for sedition. The popular misconception that the Messiah would supplant the Romans made it very difficult to walk the fine line between convincing all people of good will, on the one hand, that he was actually the Messiah, while, on the other hand, at the same time dispelling any thought that he would take the secular government away from the Romans. That Jesus was indeed hard pressed or "straitened" to find the true ground between those two parallel courses is evident. In this frame of reference, it is easy to see why Christ would openly declare himself the Messiah while conversing with the woman at the well of Samaria (John 4:26), whose word was worthless in court because she was a Samaritan, and upon other occasions fail back upon more noncommittal expressions such as "thou sayest."

The deputation from John, therefore, precipitated a very delicate situation. It was absolutely necessary that John be confirmed in his conviction that Jesus was the Messiah, but not by any declaration that would result in Jesus' being hailed into court as a seditionist. Dummelow summed up Christ's skilled handling of the question in these words,

By a reference to Isaiah 61:1, he declared plainly enough, and yet not too plainly, that he was the Messiah. He worked a number of miracles in their presence in proof of his Messianic claims (Luke 7:21), and finally sent them back to John with a message in which he expressly mentioned his miracles, and promised a blessing to those who should attach themselves to him. The spectacle of Christ's miracles must have been particularly impressive to the disciples of John, who performed no miracles (John 10:41)[1]

It should be noted that in times of personal misfortune, suffering, hardship, or persecution, one's faith is inclined to waver; and those things which seemed so positive and certain under more favorable circumstances and in brighter days tend to be dimmed and obscured. Any sufferer who struggles with life's tribulations and feels that his prayers have not been answered can find deep: and sympathetic thoughts for John and his doubts. Note too that John took the wise course by presenting his difficulties and uncertainties directly to the Lord. If he had inquired of the Pharisees, or others, he could have found no alleviation of his distress. Take it up with Jesus. That is always best, and in fact is the only way to solve problems and doubts. Note again that Jesus said, "Go show John AGAIN ..." (Matthew 11:4, KJV). This teaches that even the best men and the most faithful disciples need to be told "again and again" the wonderful things of Christ and his kingdom.

Tell me the story slowly, That I may take it in. That wonderful redemption, God's remedy for sin; Tell me the story often, For I forget so soon: The early dew of morning Has passed away at noon.[2]

- Hymn: "Tell Me the Old, Old Story"

[1] J. R. Dummelow, One Volume Commentary (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 664.

[2] Kate Hankey, Hymn No. 227, "Tell Me the Old, Old Story" (Chicago: Great Songs Press, 1960).