Art Thou He That Cometh, or Look We for Another?

 

Some people understand the passage above as meaning that John the Baptist lost his faith when he was imprisoned. In other words, they think that John the Baptist believed in and bore witness to Jesus before he was imprisoned, but after being put in prison, he lost his faith. There can be many interpretations of the words of Scripture in this way, and at such times we need to discern which interpretation is most firmly grounded in the words of the Bible (Rom. 12:2). If we cannot prove something by the words written in Scripture, then it will be beneficial for us not to judge further according to human thoughts.

 

In any case, such an interpretation may perhaps come from applying human weakness to John the Baptist. However, we must first understand that John the Baptist and Jesus were different from other people in certain ways. That difference is that these two men had already been prophesied of, that is, appointed, by the word of God long before they were born. When we consider that everything is fulfilled according to the word of God, we can know beforehand, through the word of God written in the Old Testament, what kind of lives these two men would live.

 

In the case of John the Baptist:

 

Isaiah 40:3-9 “3The voice of one that crieth, Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of Jehovah; make level in the desert a highway for our God... 6The voice of one saying, Cry. And one said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field. 7The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the breath of Jehovah bloweth upon it; surely the people is grass. 8The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand forever. 9O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up on a high mountain; O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold, your God!”

 

Malachi 3:1 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me, saith Jehovah of hosts...”

 

Malachi 4:5-6 “5Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come. 6And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers...”

 

Therefore, the Gospel of John testifies of John the Baptist as “a man sent from God.”

 

John 1:6 “There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John.”

 

For this reason, like Jesus, this man also received his name from God. From his mother’s womb, and even after he grew up, his clothing and food were different from those of others.

 

Luke 1:13-17 “13But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: because thy supplication is heard, and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. 14And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. 15For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16And many of the children of Israel shall he turn unto the Lord their God. 17And he shall go before his face in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to walk in the wisdom of the just; to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”

 

Luke 1:41-44 “41And it came to pass, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit; 42and she lifted up her voice with a loud cry, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. 43And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come unto me? 44For behold, when the voice of thy salutation came into mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.”

 

Matthew 3:4 “Now John himself had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey.”

 

John the Baptist lived in the wilderness wearing camel’s hair, with a leather girdle about his loins, eating locusts and wild honey, and baptizing with water for one reason only: to reveal and bear witness to Jesus, the true Light, in the world, according to the word of God.

 

John 1:19-31 “19And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent unto him from Jerusalem priests and Levites to ask him, Who art thou? 20And he confessed, and denied not; and he confessed, I am not the Christ. 21And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he saith, I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered, No. 22They said therefore unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? 23He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet. 24And they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25And they asked him, and said unto him, Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ, neither Elijah, neither the prophet?... 31And I knew him not; but that he should be made manifest to Israel, for this cause came I baptizing in water.”

 

And through the following passages, we can clearly see his upright and unyielding character.

 

Matthew 3:7-10 “7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said unto them, Ye offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of repentance: 9and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 10And even now the axe lieth at the root of the trees: every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.”

 

John the Baptist was also imprisoned because he directly told Herod that it was wrong for him to take his brother’s wife.

 

Mark 6:17-18 “17For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; for he had married her. 18For John said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife.”

 

Through these Scriptures, we can discern what kind of person John the Baptist was. Therefore, interpreting that he suddenly lost his faith in Jesus and began to doubt Him after being imprisoned is difficult to understand.

 

On the other hand, through the following passages, we can know that John the Baptist’s disciples had doubts and concerns. This is because not only did those who had followed John begin to follow Jesus, but even some of John’s own disciples became disciples of Jesus.

 

John 1:35-37 “35Again on the morrow John was standing, and two of his disciples; 36and he looked upon Jesus as he walked, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God! 37And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.”

 

John 3:26 “And they came unto John, and said to him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond the Jordan, to whom thou hast borne witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.”

 

Matthew 9:14-15 “14Then come to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? 15And Jesus said unto them, Can the sons of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then will they fast.”

 

From these passages, through the words written in Scripture, we can know that the disciples of John the Baptist, unlike John himself, were not yet able to fully believe in Jesus. Therefore, concerning Matthew 11:2-3, where John the Baptist sent his disciples from prison to confirm again that Jesus was the Christ, it would be right not to understand it simply through human thinking, as though John had lost his faith because he was imprisoned. Rather, we should understand it as John, who was facing death, seeking to confirm again to his doubting disciples that Jesus is the Christ, and also as God seeking to make us who read this word today know again that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior. For this was the very role and mission of John the Baptist that God had spoken of long ago (John 1:7). And now, this is also our mission.

 

Jesus spoke of John the Baptist as follows.

 

Matthew 11:7-15 “7And as these went their way, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to behold? a reed shaken with the wind? 8But what went ye out to see? a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft raiment are in kings’ houses. 9But wherefore went ye out? to see a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. 10This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, Who shall prepare thy way before thee. 11Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist: yet he that is but little in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and men of violence take it by force. 13For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14And if ye are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, that is to come. 15He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

 

Amen.