Why doesn’t Jesus give a straight answer when John the Baptist sent his disciples to ask if he was the saviour or they still had to wait?

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” – Matthew 11:2-6 (NRSV)

Why did John send his disciples to Jesus to ask whether he was the One? 

It would appear that John the Baptist was not aware that Jesus was the promised Messiah. But how could this be? Was it not John who said about the Messiah – “I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.” (John 1:27)? Was it not John who said – “I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:33-34)? Didn’t John see the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descend upon Jesus and hear the voice of God, the Father? Was it not John who said it was he who needed to be baptized by Jesus and not the other way around (Matthew 3:14)? Didn’t John tell his disciples “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)? John even declares that Jesus is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). So, it was not that John didn’t know who Jesus was and that Jesus is “the one who is to come”. 

If it is so, then why did he send his disciples to Jesus with such a question? At the time, when John sent his disciples to Jesus with the question, he was imprisoned and was nearing the end of his life. As he knew who Jesus was, he needed to send his disciples to Jesus so that they too can have the fullness of faith. Then why didn’t he just say, “Go to Jesus, he is better than me?” like he did before? The answer lies with what the disciples of John thought about Jesus and his disciples. 

They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” – John 3:26

Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” – Matthew 9:14

Not knowing who Jesus was and thinking that he was a mere man who is inferior to John, they (the disciples of John) are troubled because they see the fame of their master fading. If John, at this point of time, had said to his disciples to go to Jesus, his disciples would have thought that he is saying this out of humility and would have clung to him. The result – his disciples would be left with incomplete knowledge and would be in error, being broken off from Christ. So what does he do? He waits to hear from them that Christ is working miracles and then sends some of his disciples to Jesus with a question – Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another? – so that they may inquire about Jesus and come to know from His acts the difference between himself and Jesus. 

By not being straightforward regarding his intentions, John is successful in directing his disciples to Jesus using their own experience of Christ.

Christ, knowing for what reason John has sent his disciples, cures many people of diseases, plagues, and evil spirits, and gives sight to many who were blind (Luke 7:21). Then he turns to them and says – “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard” (Luke 7:22). If He had said, I am He and thus given a straightforward answer, this would have offended them and they would have thought, even if they had not spoken, much as the Jews said to Him, “You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.” This is why knowing the hearts of John’s disciples, Jesus goes on to say – “blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me”. Here, Christ, instead of saying that indeed it was him who is to come, allows the disciples of John to experience his acts and come to the conclusion all by themselves. He helps them in their journey by alluding to Isaiah 35:5&6 – Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy – which was considered as a messianic prophecy among Jews.  

There is one more instance where Jesus instead of giving a straight answer, asks Andrew to “Come and see” (John 1:38) – to come and experience. After experiencing Jesus for a day, Andrew who started off by calling Jesus as “Rabbi”, goes on to testify that he has found “the Messiah” to Simon, his brother. Instead of Jesus’s words, His actions testified to them and helped them understand that He was much more than a teacher, but was indeed the Savior about whom the prophets wrote.