Matthew 11:1-3 - Are you the one who is to come?

11:1-3

Jesus had sent out the twelve disciples on their mission. Jesus continued to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee. No doubt He healed many as well, but teaching and preaching was the focus. John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about Jesus, or the Messiah as Matthew calls Him here, to draw attention to the distinction between Jesus and John. John sent his disciples to check out who Jesus was. Now, there are a number of things to note. One is the way prison sometimes operated, for it seems that John had some freedom, if he could send his disciples to meet Jesus. In those days prisoners sometimes had to rely on people on the outside to provide them with food. So John would have contact with his disciples. More importantly are the apparent doubts that John seemed to be having. Remember that he had preached boldly and clearly about Jesus, he had also met Jesus when he baptised him. John had preached boldly about Herod’s immoral behaviour, and that was the very reason that he was in prison. Yet now he is asking “if ...”. First we need to recognise that being in prison, especially if a death penalty is likely, is not easy! So for John to have doubts is not unreasonable. Secondly, communications were not like today. So John would be hearing stories, and not all of them would be accurate (fake news is nothing new).