The story of John the Baptist’s question to Jesus is one way the gospel writer seeks to establish the authority of Jesus. “Are you the One who is to come or shall we look for another?” discloses a measure of uncertainty from John and his disciples. The answer Jesus gives, referring to his work on behalf of the blind, the lame, the lepers, the deaf, the dead and the poor, all makes reference to themes found in the prophet Isaiah that characterize the promised messiah (Isaiah 61:1-3).