An outline for John's question and Jesus' reply
Introduction: Jesus had just performed two miracles by healing the servant (slave) of a Roman centurion (supervising 100 soldiers) and raising a dead young man back to life. Some disciples of John the Baptist heard of this and shared the news with John. But instead of rejoicing in what the Lord was doing, John began to have doubts. After all, John was now in prison and it didn’t seem that the kingdom of Heaven was anywhere close to being established. John then sent two of his disciples back to Jesus with a question. How would Jesus respond?
1 A message from John
Text, Luke 7:18-20, KJV: 18 And the disciples of John shewed him of all these things. 19 And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? 20 When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?
--Situation: John was in prison; Jesus was heading south (towards Jerusalem, perhaps).
--John had preached “the kingdom is coming” but there was no seen or perceived action by King
--Give John credit: at least he wanted to know if what he had preached was correct or not.
--Hope and expectations, delayed long enough, may well begin to wither; could be current case
2 A message for John
Text, Luke 7:21-23, KJV: 21 And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight. 22 Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. 23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
--John MacArthur in a “Grace to You” radio message showed that John’s question was related to the prophecies, especially in Isaiah, about the coming herald announcing the coming King. He then showed that by the miracles Jesus performed, He was indeed the coming Messiah as prophesied in Isaiah. Examples:
--“the blind see and the deaf here”: Isaiah 35:5
--“the lame walk: Isaiah 35:6
--“the dead are raised”: Isaiah 26:19
--“to the poor the Gospel is preached”: Isaiah 61:1, Septuagint (LXX) translation per https://biblehub.com/sep/isaiah/61.htm
--The phrase “blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me” has various shades of meanings. The English word “scandal” comes from the Greek word used here. Dr. John Gill addresses this in his notes at https://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/luke/7.htm
--Whatever human reaction/s Jesus may have felt, He did not condemn His forerunner. He not only used words but verifiable deeds to reassure John, that, yes, I _am_ the One Who is coming and there’s no need to fear. So far as I find, John never doubted Jesus again!
3 A message about John
A Three questions for the crowd
Text, Luke 7:24-26, KJV: 24 And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? 25 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts. 26 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.
--Note, the Lord waited until John’s messengers had left before He addressed the crowd near Him. Only the Lord knows why.
--Question 1: Did you come to see a reed shaken by the wind? John’s message never changed.
--Question 2: Did you come to see a man in “soft raiment”? John wore a garment of camel’s hair secured around his body with a leather belt (Matthew 3:4). Poor, he had no fine clothing.
--Question 3: Did you come to see a prophet? John was a prophet and even more: some, like Isaiah and Jeremiah, saw glimpses of the LORD (Isa 6, Jeremiah 1) but none of them ever saw the LORD in flesh like John did (John 1:14)
B Two declarations for the crowd
Text, Luke 7:27-28, KJV:27 This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.
--First, John was God’s own messenger to prepare the way of the LORD (see Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1). Gabriel explained some of this to Zacharias, John’s father (Luke 1:17)
--Second, Jesus gave John one of the greatest tributes ever: He said among all that were born of women, no prophet was greater than John, but, He added, the least in the kingdom of God was greater. The Scofield Reference Bible has a footnote for Matthew 11:11, a parallel passage, which gives additional information (https://biblehub.com/commentaries/sco/matthew/11.htm)
C Some final words for the crowd
Text, Luke 7:29-35, KJV: 29 And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. 30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him. 31 And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? 32 They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. 33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. 34 The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! 35 But wisdom is justified of all her children.
--Some, the ones whom John had baptized before, “justified” God. Most often, God Himself justifies and is the justifier. The Epistle to the Romans has a great deal about justification. Here, according to Dr. A. T. Robertson, those listening “considered God just or righteous in making these demands of them. Even the publicans did. They submitted to the baptism of John (see notes for this verse at https://godrules.net/library/robert/robertluk7.htm)”.
--Others did not: the Pharisees and lawyers (or, Sadducees, per Matthew 3:7) had come to John’s baptism but there is no record that any of them were actually baptized. John had some very strong things to say when they showed up!
--The Lord even used a couple of illustrations from games children seemed to play; “wedding” (we piped but you didn’t dance) and “funeral” (we mourned but you didn’t weep). Someone once remarked that a stiff upper lip stems from a stiffened heart.
--The Lord made one final comparison saying that the religious leaders were never satisfied, in so many words. John ate little (not much in the desert but locusts and wild honey! Note that John was never invited to any feasts but Jesus and the disciples were (like the wedding in Cana, to name one, John 2). Jesus came and associated with people. The critics said John was demon possessed but Jesus was a glutton and wine-bibber. Never satisfied, only critical.
Conclusion: John had doubts, and asked questions. Jesus answered those doubts with observable deeds, proving who He was. Then Jesus addressed the crowd with confirming words for John and points to ponder for the rest. Even when we have doubts or periods of uncertainty, like the old hymn says, “Tell it to Jesus!” He will speak peace to our souls.
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV)
