Why does Jesus answer the apostles of John with the words, "blessed is the one who is not offended by me"?
Jesus focuses on those who do not stumble—those who believe, the ones he will save, whom he calls blessed. Because those blessed ones also suffer for Jesus, Jesus assures John that Jesus has not forgotten his captivity, nor is there someone else yet to come, because Jesus will also suffer—for us. Jesus answers John’s question Whom should I wait for?
by pointing to how Jesus will indeed offend many, as the Messiah described in Isaiah 53:1–12—the One who was despised, rejected, afflicted, and put to death. Both his miracles and his sufferings mark him as the One who comes with the winnowing fork in His hand, who baptizes with the Spirit. John’s proclamation of Jesus as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world
(John 1:29), will be vindicated by Jesus sharing the suffering of his herald.
The disciples can report back to John that dark clouds are already gathering over Jesus, pointing to the coming conflict and the suffering of the Messiah, which parallels and completes the suffering of his forerunner. Yet Jesus’ message is not one of pessimism. His focus is not on those who stumble because of him, but on those who do not stumble: those who believe. These are the ones he will save, and he calls them blessed. This is a firm guarantee, one for which he himself stands. Clearly, the salvation of believers and becoming the object of vexation, hatred, and persecution belong inseparably together. John can therefore rest assured that Jesus has not forgotten his captivity. Nor is there another who still has to come, as John had begun to suspect. For the Messiah proceeds along the path of his forerunner’s imprisonment and through his own suffering. Only in this way can he guarantee the salvation of all who believe in him.
John had asked, Whom should I wait for?
and Jesus responded that the waiting is for those who believe in the Messiah described in Isaiah 53:1–12—the One who was despised, rejected, afflicted, and put to death. For such believers, he is indeed the Coming One. They need not look for another; they need only to take account of what they hear concerning Jesus—both his mighty works and his rejection by many. His miracles and his sufferings together mark him as the One who comes, the One with the winnowing fork in his hand, who baptizes with the Spirit.
As such John, as the forerunner, is comforted in his captivity. He is in exactly the right place—precisely where he needs to be for this moment in redemptive history. His imprisonment corresponds to the Messiah’s humiliation. There is no need to wait for another: Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world
(John 1:29). Matthew 11:6 therefore contains a proverbial, even mysterious statement, in which John should recognize the answer to the tension between the Messiah’s deeds and the prophet’s imprisonment.1
6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”