After he was taken prisoner, John the Baptist was disappointed with the way everything was turning out. He had doubts. There is no way to tell how far John's doubts took him - all the Bible says is that he asked Jesus if he was really the one who was to come, or was there somebody else out there? Even after the baptizing Jesus and witnessing what he did, he had doubts.
I believe the reason John had doubts is because he expected something greater out of Jesus and for the office of the Messiah. He expected Jesus to establish a new political kingdom with Israel on top of the world.
Jesus answered John with a description of his ministry: “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 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. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me (Luke 7:4-6).”
This is not the description of a political uprising or political power. From a 1st Century point of view, Jesus' ministry looked more like the Elijah figure that was suppose to come before the Messiah. And John the Baptist looked like neither. This fact did not escape the people of Jesus' day.
In John 10:41 the people wondered about Jesus talking to each other, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true." They expected the Elijah figure who prepared the way for the messiah to be the one who did all the miracles, signs and wonders. The messiah was to be more the King David figure who was warrior.
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