Question:
Why did John send his disciples to find out about Christ? Didn’t he know who Christ was?
Answer:
We can be sure that John did know who Jesus was, and that He was indeed the Messiah. Several statements of John show this fact, one being at Jesus’ first appearance, when He came to be baptized by John. John resisted Jesus, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” (Matt. 3:14). John looked to Jesus as his superior.
In John 3, John explains clearly that he was not the Christ–indicating that he knew who was the Christ. “You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him’ “ (John 3:28). Certainly he understood his mission, to “prepare the way” for Christ to come, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah (Isa. 40:3-4).
Why, then, did John send two of his disciples to Jesus? It seems very likely that John sent them to convince them, not him. John wanted them to see and hear firsthand what he himself already knew. He knew that they must ultimately give their loyalty to Jesus, and wanted them to be prepared. He did not want the change to shake their faith or confidence in God or His ministers.
The mission was a success. Jesus sent the disciples back with this message: “ The blind see 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” (Matt. 11:5).