The vast majority of John the Baptist’s life is wildly unrelatable. He is Jesus’s actual cousin. He baptizes Jesus himself, along with hundreds, or maybe even thousands of others! He spends time in prison after clashing with religious authorities in Ancient Judea. Even his death is unrelatable; he is beheaded by King Herod. 

 

But one question John asks is incredibly relatable. We are told in Matthew 11 verses 2 and 3, “Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”” 

 

Despite being the person who baptized Jesus. Despite acknowledging “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (Matthew 3:14). Despite this intimate knowledge of Jesus, John is still left wondering if Jesus is actually the savior of the whole world. Is Jesus the Son of God who will save sinners and restore God’s kingdom here on earth? 

 

Doubts linger in John’s mind. I can only imagine how being imprisoned would give you lots of time to question your life decisions. Maybe Jesus was just a gifted teacher, not the Messiah. Maybe John should, as he said in his question, “look for another.”

 

His question to Jesus is so relatable because it’s a question we often ask. We see so many ways that people live their lives and many of the people who don’t follow Jesus seem quite successful and happy. We often wonder, is following Jesus worth it? Is he who he says he is? Was he really raised from the dead? Will he really come back and make all things new?

 

Maybe we should look for someone else to follow and for another way to find meaning, purpose, and joy in this life. 

 

But Jesus doesn’t leave John the Baptist’s question unanswered. “And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them” (Matthew 11:4-5). 

 

I think it’s important that Jesus says “what you hear AND see” (emphasis mine). 

 

On the one hand it is important what we ourselves see. Do we see Jesus working and moving in the world today? Have we seen him move in our life, changing us by his Holy Spirit? Have we seen prayer answered and seen people be healed? Have we felt his presence and do we feel his joy? These are the personal experiences of faith which is, as the author of Hebrews puts it “the confidence of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). 

 

What we have seen in the past and do see right now helps us confidently follow Jesus and trust that he is our Savior.

 

What we hear is also important. Are our ears always tuned into the latest New York Times or Fox News headline or are they tuned into the explosive growth of the Church in the global south? Are we too busy to live in community, caught up in our own little worlds or are we taking time to hear the stories of those coming to faith for the first time or back to faith in our own Church? Are we listening to the stories of where God is on the move? 

 

What we hear from others encourages our faith when we feel spiritually weak. 

 

If the man who baptized Jesus had tough days, days where he wondered if Jesus was who he says he was, we can expect that we will to. I think Jesus responds to our doubts with the same kindness he responded to John’s doubts. 

 

What do you hear? What do you see? 

 

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13).  

 

As ever,

Pastor Tyler