The Doubting (?) Baptist

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me” (Matthew 11:2-6 NRSVue)

John the Baptist was imprisoned and in chains. 

Herod Antipas, at the urging of his wife Herodias, imprisoned John The Baptist for publicly opposing their marriage. Herodias had divorced Phillip, Herod’s half-bother, to marry Herod. John denounced the marriage as adulterous. This did not sit well with Herodias. She didn’t want John in jail. She wanted him dead. To silence his nagging wife, he had John arrested and jailed. But Herod Antipas respected John. He would visit John’s cell and talk. Herod even allowed John’s disciples to visit and talk with their master. 

But being imprisoned and in chains gives a man time to think. John’s disciples kept him informed on Jesus’s ministry and activities. John had baptized Jesus and heard a Voice saying of Jesus, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). John himself had preached that Jesus was Messiah. But Jesus did not fit the concept of the Messiah. The prevailing belief was that the Messiah would overthrow the oppressors of Israel and restore the throne of David and Solomon.

Did John have doubt? Could he have been mistaken in proclaiming Jesus, “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29.) He dispatches his disciples to ask Jesus directly, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus’s answer is that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor receive the good news. You have seen this. What do you believe, John the Baptist?

Doubt is questioning what one has seen. Doubt probes into our belief systems, asking what do you believe and why do you believe it? Thomas believed because he could see and touch the risen Christ. Abraham and Sarah believed because they had a son in their old age. Moses believed because he performed and saw wonders he could not have done without belief. John’s question was not that he did not believe, but he wanted more than just belief. He wanted to be certain he was right to believe. 

Certainty is elusive. Certainty is knowing – not just believing, but knowing! So John the Baptist, imprisoned and in chains, having seen for himself that the blind could see, the lame could walk, the lepers could be cleansed, the deaf could hear, the dead could be raised, and the poor could receive the good news, wasz compelled to ask, “Are you the One?” Is that doubt?

What about us, today, in 2026? Have we “seen” that the blind can see, the lame can walk, the lepers can be cleansed, the deaf can hear, the dead can be raised, and the poor can receive the good news? And having “seen” for ourselves, are we still compelled to ask Jesus, “Are you the One?” Is that doubt?

Is “Is that doubt” a troubling question for you? It is for me, sometimes.

Jerry Lipscomb