All me to begin with an illustration: “Joe Scriven was a missionary from Ireland to Canada, working among the Iroquois Indians. He was joined by his fiancé, who was also from Ireland. Just before the wedding, she was killed in an accident. Joe buried her with his own hands and a broken heart. A year later, in a letter to his mother, he reflected, ‘What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged. Take it to the Lord in prayer’.”(1) Scriven knew that the best thing he could do during this difficult and heartbreaking trial was to take all his griefs, troubles, and discouragements to Jesus; and in our passage today, we will see that this is what John the Baptist had to do, to move from doubting to faith.
Is Jesus the Messiah? (vv. 1-3)
1 Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities. 2 And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”
John was thrown into prison around the same time that Jesus was tempted in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1). The Bible says, that after the wilderness testing, “when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee” (Matthew 4:12). “Herod of Antipas of Galilee had paid a visit to his brother [Herodias] in Rome. During that visit, he seduced his brother’s wife. He came home again, and dismissed his own wife, and married the sister-in-law whom he had lured away from her husband. Publicly and sternly John rebuked Herod . . . [and so], Herod took his revenge and John was thrown into” prison.(2) You can read this account in Matthew 14:1-12 (cf. Mark 6:17-29).
John had been doing the will of God; and yet, he was thrown into prison. How did that make him feel? What did his disciples think? John had been certain that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. He had faithfully proclaimed His appearing. Perhaps he was struggling to reconcile his beliefs with what was taking place. Commentator Adam Clarke says, “It is very probable that John now began, through the length of his confinement, to entertain doubts, relative to [Christ’s] kingdom, which perplexed and harassed his mind; and he took the most reasonable way to get rid of them at once, by [appealing] to Christ Himself,”(3) sending some of his own disciples to ask Jesus, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” (v. 3). “Are You really the Messiah?” they wondered.
Have you ever been in a situation where things did not work out the way you had hoped? Maybe you are a believer who has been faithful to raise your children in the ways of the Lord, but then one of them suffered a terrible illness or tragedy? Or, perhaps, one of them grew up to live a sinful life. Maybe this has left you wondering where you went wrong, or where God went wrong; or it might be that you are even doubting His promises and faithfulness. Perhaps you are an unbeliever struggling with doubts, wondering if Jesus is really the Savior who died on the cross for your sins. Like John, the best thing to do is to bring your struggles and doubts to Jesus, seeking His clarification.
Proof of Messiahship (vv. 4-6)
4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”
John was seeking proof that Jesus was “the Coming One” (v. 3); and so, Jesus gave evidence that the messianic prophecies had been fulfilled in Him, as He provided healing to the blind, the lame, and the leper; and He had raised the dead and preached the gospel (v. 5). In Isaiah 35:5-6, we read of the coming Messiah, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing.” We also read in Isaiah 61:1, “[He] has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.”
These prophecies speak even today; to anyone wondering who Jesus is and feeling drawn to Him. These miracles were not only convincing proofs of the Messiah; they were emblematic of the work of salvation in the souls of men. Listen to the parallels: “1.) Sinners are blind; their understanding is so darkened by sin that they [cannot see] the way of truth and salvation. 2.) They are lame; [unable] to walk in the path of righteousness. 3.) They are leprous, their souls are defiled with sin, the most loathsome [of all diseases] . . . 4.) They are deaf to the voice of God, His Word, and their own conscience; and 5.) they are dead in trespasses and sins . . . being separated from [God] by iniquity. Nothing less than the power of Christ can redeem them.”(4)
John was apparently a student of prophecy, because in John 1:23, he applied one of them to himself, declaring, “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the LORD,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” The original prophecy is found in Isaiah 40:3. When news of these miracles had been relayed to John, they gave him hope that Jesus was truly the Messiah; and hope that he had not labored in vain or suffered in jail for nothing. Maybe you are having doubts, because the Lord has spoken something in His Word that has not yet been fulfilled. Maybe He spoke of His guidance, and the way is still unclear; or perhaps He promised His protection, and you have been hurt. Continue trusting, and He will fulfill what He has spoken in His perfect timing.
Jesus said, “Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me” (v. 6). The Greek word for “offended” here is skandalizo, which, “in its root, signifies to hit against or stumble over a thing.”(5) Jesus was saying, “Blessed is he who is not tripped-up because of Me.” Unbelievers are often offended at Jesus, denying His Lordship and rejecting His salvation. Even believers can become offended and stumble, when they suffer trials and God does not deliver them in their preferred timing. Charles Spurgeon, known as the prince of preachers, stated about this verse, “Blessed is he who can be left in prison, can be silenced in his testimony, can seem to be deserted of his Lord, and yet can shut out every doubt. John speedily regained this blessedness, and fully recovered his serenity.”(6)
Upsetting Misconceptions (vv. 7-10)
7 As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You’.”
In these verses, Jesus sought to correct people’s misconceptions about both John the Baptist and Himself, as their wrong ideas could lead to missing the Messiah and salvation. Jesus began by asking, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?” (v. 7). The “reed shaken by the wind” is a phrase that people used of King Herod. “[Herod] had coins minted in his new capital. Normally coins have portraits of rulers on them, but it is forbidden under Jewish law to depict human beings or animals. So, he chose a harmless emblem, one perhaps meant to signify his new capital by the Sea of Galilee: reeds, a reed waving in the wind – [this was] on his first coins, where otherwise his portrait would have been. So, he is mocked as being a reed waving in the wind.”(7)
Jesus continued to both ask and comment, “But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses” (v. 8). Jesus contrasted the nature of Herod with John the Baptist. John the Baptist lived out in the wilderness eating locusts and wild honey. He was a poor man. Herod, on the other hand, was a wealthy king. By contrasting John and Herod, Jesus was indirectly contrasting Himself and Herod. When people came looking for the Messiah they expected to see “a reed shaken by the wind” (v. 7), or rather, a wealthy and mighty king. But instead, they found the Jesus who was meek and lowly; thus, upsetting their misconceptions.
Jesus, while still speaking of John the Baptist (vv. 9-10), quoted Malachi 3:1, which says, “Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming, says the LORD of hosts.” “Jesus declared that John was nothing less than the divine herald, the divine forerunner, whose duty and privilege it was to announce and hail the coming of the Messiah.”(8) But in reminding them that John was to herald the Christ, Jesus again caused them to think about the Christ – specifically, the qualities of the Messiah. He stated that John was more than a prophet (v. 9), and so was Jesus! Jesus is called a “prophet” in Luke 13:33 and Acts 3:22-23; but He is also called a “priest” in Hebrews 3:1, and a “king” in Revelation 17:14.
Jesus is “prophet, priest, and king.” But the prophetic and priestly functions were “offensive to the expectation of the Jewish people, who longed for political deliverance from Roman domination.”(9) They were looking for a militant, earthly king to save them. Clarke affirms that the Jews expected a temporal deliverer; and brings a present-day application, stating that “many might be tempted [today] to reject Christ, because of His [humble] appearance; and so, lose the benefit of salvation through Him.”(10) Our misconceptions about who Jesus is, or what He is expected to do for us, can result in rejecting Him and forfeiting the gift of eternal life. So, it would be a good idea to ask yourself, “What are some misconceptions that I have about Jesus? What is it that is keeping me from coming to Christ for salvation?”
Entering the Kingdom (vv. 11-15)
11 “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
In verse 11, Jesus said something rather confusing: “He who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he,” or greater than John the Baptist. Over in John 14:12, Jesus stated that believers would do greater works than Himself, because He was leaving to be with His Father. They would have more years of kingdom service than Jesus’ three and one-half years; and they would benefit from the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was speaking here of opportunity. Those in the future would have something that John did not have, which was “the full revelation of the love of God” – the complete gospel message. Commentator William Barclay says, “It took Jesus and His cross to show men the length, breadth, depth and height of the love of God,”(11) something that John never lived to see.
In verse 12, we encounter another perplexing statement. In the original Greek, the words “violence” and “violent” can also be translated as “force” and “forceful.”(12) So, with this in mind, was Jesus saying that the kingdom of heaven is under violent attack; and so, Christians must violently and forcefully guard it? The Amplified Bible says, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violent assault, and violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize].” That last statement, which refers to seizing it as a precious prize, might better communicate the intention. GOD’S WORD Translation says, “From the time of John the Baptizer until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful people have been seizing it.”
Commentator Matthew Poole interprets it this way: “The hearts of men and women have been inflamed with a desire after the knowledge and obtaining of heaven, and heavenly things.” Those who serve the Lord, do their work with seriousness, zeal, and fervor. He continues to add, “The violent take it by force [means that it is] not lazy wishes or cold endeavors that will bring men to heaven.”(13) Commentator Donald Carson has this to add: “The kingdom has come with holy power and magnificent energy that has been pushing back the frontiers of darkness . . . The kingdom is making great strides; now is the time for courageous souls, forceful people, to take hold of it.”(14) So, if you want to enter the kingdom of heaven, then you must passionately pursue it and aggressively seize the opportunity.
In verse 13, Jesus said, “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.” All the way up until John, the Lord spoke through prophets to communicate His law and warn of future judgment should the people fail to heed the ways of God; and this would describe John’s ministry, as he warned people to repent. Jesus saw the ending of an era with John. Things were getting ready to change. Hebrews says that “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son” (1:1-2a). When Jesus arrived, the call to repentance came from someone greater than a mere prophet; and people no longer needed a prophet’s help to be reconciled to God; they needed Jesus Himself.
In verse 14, Jesus said that John “is Elijah who is to come.” John was prophesied in this way in Malachi 4:5-6, which was later confirmed to John’s father Zacharias, in Luke 1:16-17. So, how was John like Elijah? First, John the Baptist is described as “clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey” (Matthew 3:4). Elijah is described as “a hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist” (2 Kings 1:8). Secondly, both Elijah and John the Baptist fearlessly confronted those in power when they were acting against God’s will (cf. 1 Kings 21:20). Thirdly, just as Elijah was taken away, so will John be taken from them. We read in 2 Kings 2:5, “Now the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, ‘Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from over you today?’” and soon thereafter, Elijah was taken up in a whirlwind by a chariot of fire (2 Kings 2:11).
John might not have lived to see the resurrected Lord, and to know “the full revelation of the love of God,” as Barclay put it, but he still received enough information to affirm that Jesus was, and is, the Messiah. It has been suggested that when John’s disciples took back word to him, that he had an opportunity to believe and put his faith and trust in Christ, and become part of the kingdom. Think about the thief on the cross. He did not see the resurrection, but Jesus still said to him, “Today you will be with me in Paradise” (cf. Luke 23:33-43). John would be martyred and ascend into glory; and through faith in Jesus Christ, we too will one day ascend to be with our Savior.
Time of Reflection
Jesus concluded by saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (v. 15). So, what are we to hear and understand? What can be applied to our lives when we find ourselves searching for answers? First, everyone struggles with faith; believers and unbelievers alike. When we struggle, then like John the Baptist, we need to ask Jesus for clarification; or that He would make Himself known to us. Secondly, when Jesus reveals Himself as Savior of our soul, and even Lord over our circumstances, we need to put our faith and trust in Him, rather than become tripped up by doubt or unbelief. Thirdly, we must put aside our misconceptions about who Jesus is, or what He is expected to do for us, so that we do not miss His salvation. And last of all, we must lay hold of the kingdom, zealously seize our salvation, and passionately pursue the mission to which Christ has called us. This is the process of moving from doubting to faith; something which John experienced.
Over in John chapter 5, Jesus stated of John the Baptist that “he was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. But I have a greater witness than John’s . . . You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; [but] these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life” (vv. 35-36a, 39-40). “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (v. 24). Jesus said that people had been looking to John and to the Scriptures for answers; but now they must now look to Christ. His witness is greater than John’s, because eternal life is found in Him; and I want to close by giving you an opportunity, during our invitation, to confess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
NOTES
(1) “Trials,” Sermon Illustrations: https://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/t/trials.htm (Accessed July 19, 2025).
(2) William Barclay, “The Gospel of Matthew,” The Daily Study Bible, vol. 2 (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1958), p. 1.
(3) “Adam Clarke’s Commentary,” Power BibleCD (Bronson, MI: Online Publishing, Inc., 2007).
(4) Ibid.
(5) Ibid.
(6) David Guzik, “Not the Messiah They Expected Him to Be,” Study Guide for Matthew 11: https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/matthew/matthew-11.cfm (Accessed July 7, 2025).
(7) Gerd Theissen, The Shadow of the Galilean (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986), p. 6.
(8) Barclay, p. 6.
(9) Guzik.
(10) Clarke.
(11) Barclay, p. 7.
(12) Blue Letter Bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g971/kjv/tr/0-1; and https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g973/kjv/tr/0-1/ (Accessed July 8, 2025).
(13) “Matthew Poole’s Commentary,” Power BibleCD (Bronson, MI: Online Publishing, Inc., 2007).
(14) Guzik.
