And Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight 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 does not take offense at Me.”

Now as these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ palaces! But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written,

‘Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You,
Who will prepare Your way before You.’

Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.

For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. (Matthew 11:4-15)

How did the Lord respond to John the Baptist’s doubt?

Jesus didn’t say anything about judgment. He didn’t say, “Go tell John that the wrath comes later. Go tell John to go find a book on dispensationalism.” He doesn’t say anything about that. He says, “Just go tell him what you’ve seen and heard firsthand.”

I want you to understand what’s going on here. These signs were proofs that Jesus was the Messiah. Look at Isaiah 26:19:

Your dead will live;
Their corpses will rise.
You who dwell in the dust, awake and shout for joy,
For your dew is as the dew of the dawn,
And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.

One of the elements of the coming messianic kingdom would be the resurrection of the just. And you can be certain that John the Baptist knew that very well. And then look at Isaiah 35:3-6:

Strengthen limp hands, and give courage to the knees of the stumbling.
Say to those with an anxious heart,
“Be strong, fear not.
Behold, your God will come with vengeance;
The recompense of God will come,
But He will save you.”
Then the eyes of the blind will be opened,
And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.
Then the lame will leap like a deer,
And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy.

That’s what’s going to happen when the Messiah comes. Healing will take place. Those who are weary, those who are shaking, those who have deep anxieties will no longer have to fear. The blind will see, the deaf will hear, and the lame will walk. The mute will speak. And what Jesus did in His life was give previews of the coming kingdom. When He does that in His kingdom, that kind of healing will sweep the world.

And so, what Jesus is saying is, “Tell John that what you’re seeing is what the prophet said would happen when the King came. John, you’re going to be blessed if you believe this. Don’t be offended by it.”

For the most part Israel was offended by Jesus, and they rejected and executed Him. But what about John?

John was beheaded before Jesus died. He was beheaded before Jesus rose from the dead. He never heard much of what the Lord taught, because he was a prisoner. He never saw the power displays. Not all of his questions were answered before he was murdered.

The kingdom, however, had been previewed, and John had gotten the message. He was satisfied. And when he died, his disciples reported to his Messiah that he was gone.

The greatest man that ever lived was gone. His task was done. He left what he didn’t know, couldn’t know, to his Lord. He didn’t have to ask any questions of Jesus anymore, because that was all the evidence he needed.

And we have so much more than he had, don’t we? We have the whole unfolding of all of Jesus’s life, death, resurrection, ascension, and intercession, along with the whole explanation of all the Epistles and the wonderful book of Revelation to explain the future.

If you’re a doubting believer, you don’t need to be. You can erase that doubt and be a believing believer if you’ll go to the Word and get the full information.

Jesus said, “Blessed is the one who doesn’t stumble over Me.” Most of the Jews did, and they still do, because of their own lack of revelation and wrong expectation. But blessed is the one who doesn’t stumble, but who embraces Christ in faith. And that blessing is for time and eternity.

This post is based on a sermon Dr. MacArthur preached in 2001, titled “Why the Believer Doubts, Part 2.” In addition to serving as the pastor of Grace Community Church and the voice of Grace to You, Dr. MacArthur is the chancellor of The Master’s University in Santa Clarita, Calif. You can learn more about TMU at masters.edu.