John the Baptist was sitting in prison and wondering if somehow he had gotten things wrong. Getting thrown in prison should not be the result of acting as the forerunner of the Messiah. Was he misguided in thinking Jesus was the Messiah? How could things work out this way?

Luke tells us:

So John summoned two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord, asking, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

Luke 7:18b-19 (CSB)

Jesus’ response is instructive. First, he does not chide or rebuke John for his doubt. John’s doubt and confusion is understandable considering his circumstances.

Secondly, Jesus responds with evidence. Jesus said to John’s Disciples:

“Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news, and blessed is the one who isn’t offended by me.”

Luke 7:22-23 (CSB)

Jesus points to the things that could only be done by the Messiah as evidence that John was not off track. Jesus provided evidence that he was indeed the long expected Messiah

The question I have to ask myself is this, “if John the Baptist, arguably the greatest prophet sent before Christ, experienced doubt and confusion, why would I assume that I should be exempt?”

Life does not work out the way we think it should. We are broken people in a broken world and as a result walk a crooked path through the rubble.

But, in the midst of it, we have Jesus making the world a little less chaotic and demonstrating that he has the power to make things right. He demonstrated this power while walking on our planet and he has promised to return to complete the job at some point.

Like John, we need to bring our doubt and confusion to Jesus knowing that whether soon or late, he will resolve it for us.