John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 3. And said unto him , etc.] By the disciples he sent; this was the message they came with, and this the question they were to ask, and did, art thou he that should come? A periphrasis of the Messiah, well known to the Jews; for he had been spoken of frequently in the prophecies of the Old Testament, as the Shiloh, the Redeemer, the Prophet, and King that should come; particularly, by this circumlocution, reference seems to be had to ( Habakkuk 2:3). It shall surely come, aby ab yk , which may be rendered, for he that cometh, or is to come, shall come. So that the question in plain terms is, whether he was the Messiah? John could not be ignorant of this, who had seen the Spirit of God descending on him at his baptism, heard a voice from heaven, declaring him the Son of God; and had so often pointed him out to others, and had borne frequent testimonies that he was the Lamb of God, and bridegroom of his church: wherefore this question was put, not upon his own account, but his disciples, that they might have from the mouth of Christ a full and satisfactory answer, which would remove all their doubts and scruples, and attach them to Christ, now he was about to die, and leave them, than which nothing was more desirable to him. Though some have thought, that Johns faith was somewhat slackened; and through his long imprisonment, he began to doubt whether he was the Messiah or not: and others have been of opinion, as particularly Dr. Lightfoot, that the reason of this message was, neither the ignorance and unbelief of John, or his disciples; but that John, with the rest of the Jews, having a notion of a temporal kingdom, and hearing of the mighty works of Christ, wonders that he himself was not delivered out of prison by him, grows impatient upon it, and asks, if he was the Messiah?
And if he was, why did he suffer his forerunner and chief minister to lie in prison? or do we look for another , to release me, and set up this kingdom?
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 2-6 - Some think that John sent this inquiry for his own satisfaction. Wher there is true faith, yet there may be a mixture of unbelief. The remaining unbelief of good men may sometimes, in an hour of temptation call in question the most important truths. But we hope that John' faith did not fail in this matter, and that he only desired to have i strengthened and confirmed. Others think that John sent his disciple to Christ for their satisfaction. Christ points them to what they hear and saw. Christ's gracious condescensions and compassions to the poor show that it was he that should bring to the world the tender mercie of our God. Those things which men see and hear, if compared with the Scriptures, direct in what way salvation is to be found. It is difficult to conquer prejudices, and dangerous not to conquer them; but those who believe in Christ, their faith will be found so much the mor to praise, and honour, and glory.
Greek Textus Receptus
ειπεν 2036 5627 V-2AAI-3S αυτω 846 P-DSM συ 4771 P-2NS ει 1488 5748 V-PXI-2S ο 3588 T-NSM ερχομενος 2064 5740 V-PNP-NSM η 2228 PRT ετερον 2087 A-ASM προσδοκωμεν 4328 5719 V-PAI-1P
Vincent's NT Word Studies
3. Thou. Emphatic. Art thou "the Coming One?" - a current phrase for the Messiah.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
11:3 {He that cometh} (ho ercomenos). this phrase refers to the Messiah (#Mr 11:9; Lu 13:35; 19:38; Heb 10:37; Ps 118:26; Da 7:13). Some rabbis applied the phrase to some forerunner of the kingdom (McNeile). Was there to be "another" (heteron) after Jesus? John had been in prison "long enough to develop a _prison mood_" (Bruce). It was once clear enough to him, but his environment was depressing and Jesus had done nothing to get him out of Machaerus (see chapter IX in my _John the Loyal_). John longed for reassurance.
