Before John the Baptist’s arrest and imprisonment shortly after Jesus began His public ministry, he boldly and confidently proclaimed Jesus as “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) and “the Son of God” (John 1:34). This was primarily, but not exclusively, due to his hearing God audibly declare from Heaven that Jesus was His beloved Son when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River (see Matthew 3:16-17). However, John began to doubt that Jesus was the promised Messiah after he was arrested.
It may seem peculiar or shocking that John doubted Jesus’ identity after publicly announcing Him as the Son of God and the Lamb of God. But his doubt makes sense in context.
John knew he had been set apart from birth as the Messiah’s forerunner, to prepare people to receive Him as Savior and Lord. Therefore, John spent his life preaching repentance, baptizing with water, warning people to flee God’s wrath, and proclaiming the coming Messiah.
John was also familiar with Old Testament prophecies that foretold of the Messiah as the sacrificial Lamb (see Isaiah 53:4-9) who would preach good tidings to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, open prisons to those who were bound (see Isaiah 61:1) as well as fight against the nations (Zechariah 14:1-5), destroy sinners and the power of darkness (Isaiah 13:4-9), and establish His earthly kingdom to judge, rule, and reign (see Zechariah 14:8-9, and Daniel 9:24-25).
However, the New Testament had not yet been written, so John did not have detailed information on when and how each Messianic prophecy would be fulfilled. He also did not understand (along with many other Jews) that the Messiah would come to the earth twice: once as the sacrificial Lamb who would die for the sins of the world, and once to conquer the powers of darkness and rule and reign as sovereign King.
Therefore, because John assumed the Messiah would come to earth only once, he expected Jesus, the Promised Messiah, to fulfill every Messianic prophecy during His earthly visitation.
Consequently, when John was arrested shortly after Jesus’ baptism, he expected Jesus to rescue him from prison, since Isaiah 61:1 declares the Messiah would “proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners.” When Jesus did not do as John expected, he was confused.
Next, when John did not hear about Jesus destroying the powers of darkness or establishing His kingdom on Earth, his confusion grew. Then, once John heard rumors that Jesus was a prophet who performed miracles among the people (see Luke 7:16-17), his confusion turned to doubt because Jesus’ actions did not fully align with John’s expectations of the Messiah, causing him to question Jesus’ identity as the Coming One.
Thankfully, John did not let his doubt about Jesus solidify in prison. Instead, he sent two of his own disciples to ask Jesus whether He was the promised One or whether they should expect another.
In response, Jesus performed a variety of miracles because He knew John was familiar with Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah’s earthly works, and He wanted John’s disciples to give him a firsthand report of seeing those prophecies in action to eradicate John’s doubt.
Afterward, Jesus told John’s disciples in Luke 7:22, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.”
Jesus’ words and accompanying miracles confirmed His identity as the promised Messiah. But Jesus knew John’s doubt did not stem from the Messianic prophecies themselves, but from his faulty assumptions and expectations about how and when they would be fulfilled. So Jesus concluded his answer with “Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me” (Luke 7:23) because He wanted John’s faith anchored in what God’s Word declares, not in his understanding, interpretation, or application of how those declarations would transpire.
I hope this information helped you understand why John doubted Jesus’ identity and cleared up any questions you had.
