When St. John the Baptist sent two of his disciples to the Lord, he asked “Are You the coming One, or do we look for another?” (Luke 7:19) Was that doubt in Jesus person?
John did not doubt the Lord for many reasons:
1. It was impossible for John to doubt Christ as he was the messenger before His face to prepare the way before Him (Mark 1:2) “This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe”. (John 1:7).
He could not witness of the Lord unless he knew Him, and John did witness with strength ” This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.'” (John 1:15).
2. John clearly recognised Him and his testimony of Him during baptism was obvious.
When he saw the Lord Christ coming toward him he said: ” Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! “This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.” (John 1:29 & 30).
3. John explained how God guided him to recognise Him saying: “I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptise with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptises with the Holy Spirit. ‘ “And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:33-34).
4. It was because John knew Him and believed in Him that he hesitated to baptise Him.
Therefore when the Lord came to be baptised John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptised by You, and are You coming to me?”(Matt. 3:14) but he yield when he heard the Lord’s words “It is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness”.
5. John’s faith grew when he saw the Divine revelation at the time of the baptism.
“Then Jesus, When He had been baptised, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3:16-17).
6. John bore another witness when Jesus began to baptise and preach.
John’s disciples came and told him, so he said “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. “He must increase, but I must decrease. “He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.” (John 3:29-31).
7. Furthermore, from the second day of the baptism he witnessed also and sent his disciples to Him.
The Bible says after the account of the baptism “Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus .” (John 1:35-37).
8. Why then did John send two of his disciples to Christ saying “Are You the coming One, or do we look for another?”
St. John sent these two disciples to Jesus, while he was in jail (Matt. 11:2). When he heard about the miraculous works of Christ, he realised that his ministry was over and he was about to die. He wanted before his death to hand down his disciples to the Lord Christ. So he sent them with this massage to hear, see and then join the Lord… and so it was.
That is why the Lord said to these two disciples ” Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: “The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. “And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me” (Matt. 11:4-6).
This message was more for the two disciples than for St. John.
About John, the Lord told the people on the same occasion:
“But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. “For this is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.’ “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” (Matt. 11:9-11).
9. It is illogical that the Lord would say this testimony about a man that doubted Him.
Another point about St. John’s faith in Christ is:
10. St. John was introduced to Christ while he was in his mother’s womb.
The Bible recorded that St. Elizabeth while she was pregnant with John, said to St. Mary when she visited her “For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. ” (Luke 1:44) John the babe leaped to the Babe inside the Virgin St. Mary. How could that be? The angel of the Lord answered that saying “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. ” (Luke 1:15) .
