'When Jesus finished giving these commands to his twelve disciples, he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns. When John heard in prison of the works of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to him with this question, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” Jesus said to them in reply, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me (Mt. 11:1-6).”’
Matthew was writing with the benefit of hindsight and the knowledge that Jesus was the Messiah hence the statement, ‘When John heard in prison of the works of the Messiah (v.2).’ John The Baptist did not know if his cousin, Jesus, was the Messiah. John was put in prison by Herod Antipas because John told him it was unlawful for him to have the wife of one of his brothers (Mt. 14:3-4; Lv. 18:16). John sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he was the Messiah. Jesus might have been just another prophet like Elijah who was to come before the Messiah; “Now I am sending to you Elijah the prophet, Before the day of the Lord comes, the great and terrible day (Mal. 3:23; Mt. 11:14).” Jesus described the work he was doing which was not the work of the king or conquering hero the Jews were expecting. Jesus’ work was the fulfillment of what the prophets said would be signs of the Messiah and his kingdom (Is. 26:19, 29:18-19, 61:1). Jesus said that anyone who accepted his works as signs of the Messiah would be blessed.
Almighty God, we have no way to repay the debt owed to your Son for the willing sacrifice he made so we could be reconciled with you. Grant us the grace to follow His command to make disciples of the whole world, and the wisdom to discern our role in your overall plan of salvation. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen!
References:
Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, & Roland E. Murphy, (Eds.). (1990, 1968). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentis Hall, Inc.
Jose M. Casciaro, Santiago Ausin, Gonzalo Aranda, Claudio Basevi, Vincente Balaguer, Francisco Varo, James Gavigan, Brian McCarthy & Thomas McGovern (Eds.). (2017). The Navarre Bible - New Testament. Dublin 8, Ireland: Four Courts Press.
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