John the Baptist was put in jail because he told the king that he couldn’t lawfully have his brother’s wife. As John sat in a prison cell awaiting his fate, he sent a message to his cousin Jesus. In the message he asked Jesus if he was in fact the one or should the search and waiting continue. I’m sure John remembered the day of Jesus’ baptism. It seems highly unlikely that the Father’s voice from heaven slipped from his memory. Difficult circumstances are probably the most fertile ground for the seeds of doubt to grow in. I’m sure the confinement of prison gave John plenty of time to think. “Maybe I should have minded my own business concerning the king’s adultery.” Again and again I think he asked himself, “Is Jesus really who I think he is?” “Why doesn’t he visit me?” “I’m not as sure now as I once was when God spoke from Heaven.” “I think I should double check.” It was understood by John that when Jesus came forward his role as the announcer of Christ’s coming would fade. I don’t think John imagined his retirement in a prison cell? I would imagine that when John realized that Jesus wasn’t going to visit he sent some of his followers with his message of inquiry.

Jesus received the message and told John’s followers to report what they had seen and heard. “The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the gospel is preached to the poor.” I wonder if any of John’s followers had the nerve or the presence of mind to tell Jesus. “I’m sure John will be glad to hear, as he sits in prison, about how successful your ministry is becoming, but that’s not what he asked us to find out.” John’s disciples were expecting something else from Jesus. They were expecting, I think, a simple answer to a simple question: “Are you the one?” Jesus didn’t give them the answer they expected, instead he pointed to the evidence of his identity: “Tell John what you have seen and heard, tell him that.” In light of John’s circumstances it would have been nice if Jesus gave to John what he asked for: a little bit of hope. Maybe the answer Jesus provided was enough for John. I don’t think it would have been enough for me.

When John’s disciples left Jesus turned to the crowd and declared that John the Baptist was the greatest man who ever lived. Time out! Maybe the departing disciples of John caught this or maybe they didn’t. The fact remains that Jesus’ high praise of John was not part of the message they were to take back to John. John was the cousin of Jesus. Jesus said that John was the greatest. It just seems to me that maybe Jesus could have taken a minute to reach out to John in a more meaningful way. But that’s just me thinking, I don’t know and I don’t get it.

Later John was executed in prison.

John the Baptist had a starring role in the life and times of Jesus. He and Jesus were cousins. Their moms were sisters. John had the supreme role of announcing the arrival of the Messiah. He witnessed the spoken word of God at Jesus’ baptism. Jesus himself declared that John the Baptist was greatest man who ever lived. John the Baptist wasn’t really executed in prison. He was murdered at the request of a dancing girl. Go figure.

At the conclusion of Jesus’ message to John he said: “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” Matt. 11:6 I haven’t read any commentaries on that so I maybe I have this wrong. Maybe Jesus was telling John, “Don’t give up on me because things haven’t turned out the way you expected or you don’t understand what I’m doing.” Or “Hang in there even though you don’t get it.” “Hey John, the story ain’t over and the fat lady ain’t singing.” As far as John the Baptist was concerned the fat lady may not have been singing but the skinny girl was dancing.