In today’s Gospel we see John basically doubting who Jesus was. He wasn’t sure and wanted to be convinced. Some suggest that his incarceration was taking its toll. Lack of light, lack of sleep, and lack of food and water soon break even the strongest of men. Also, Jesus was confounding the Jews’ expectation of the Messiah. For most Jews, and, to an extent even John the Baptist, his coming was very much connected with political and economic upheaval and victory for the Jewish people over their brutal oppressors. Jesus was indeed ‘the one who was to come‘ (cf. Ps. 118:26; Malichi. 3:1). He was, however, a different kind of Messiah from the one they were expecting. He was ushering in a different kind of kingdom – not a political or economic kingdom but a spiritual one with values different from the world and its kingdom. The signs of the kingdom were that the blind received sight, the deaf heard, the dead were raised, and the gospel of life was preached and proclaimed.
Today people still ask whether he was truly the Messiah. Were the miracles real or were they simply made up by the disciples? Did the resurrection actually happen? Blessed are those who remain faithful to the teaching of Christ. Blessed are those who believe although they do not see. Blessed are those who believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Lord’s Anointed, the promised Messiah.