Now when John had heard in the prison
The person here spoken of is John the Baptist, the forerunner of
Christ, who was now in the prison of Machaerus; being put there
by Herod, for his reproving him for taking Herodias, his brother
Philip's wife; and whilst he was there, an account was brought
him by his own disciples, see ( Luke 7:18 ) of
the works of Christ,
the miracles he wrought; as the healing of the centurion's
servant, the raising from the dead the widow's son of Nain, and
the like; upon hearing of which,
he sent two of his disciples,
who might be the most prejudiced against Christ, because of the
increase of his followers, and the decrease of their master's;
and because he did not live such an austere life as John did; and
who, notwithstanding all that they had heard, and their master
had told them of Jesus, were not easily persuaded that he was the
true Messiah. Moreover, two of them were sent, both because it
was more honourable to Christ, and that they might be proper
witnesses of what they saw and heard; and since it was not so
much for himself, as for the sake of his disciples, that these
messengers were sent.