The chief priests and elders took offense at Jesus: being studied experts in Scripture they believed they knew what the Messiah would be like, and Jesus did not fit their mold. He revealed to them their cowardice and pride and sadly was unable to teach them anything, for they were satisfied in their own estimation to know enough already.
But then two of John’s disciples come to see Jesus, asking Him if He is the Messiah, instead of questioning Him little by little. They do not fear being wrong; if He is not the Messiah they will “…look for another.” They are pursuing the truth with eager hearts, unafraid of a “yes” or “no” to their enormous question. What they receive in response was more than they could ever have hoped for: a “yes” shouted out by dozens of miracles. They took no offence at Jesus: they knew what signs to look for in a Messiah and when Jesus pointed them out, they came to believe not because of what they were told or what they figured out, but because they believed in the prophecies and saw that they were being fulfilled. They walked “…by faith, not by sight,” (2 Corinthians 5:7), and as they returned to tell John their steps must have been very light indeed.
When we struggle to see God in our midst, perhaps we might do well to consider if we are “taking offense at Him,” if we are not inadvertently putting Him in a box, holding Him in an image we cannot let go of, such that when we encounter Him we are disappointed or scandalized. If we can learn to be attentive to the flowers He leaves in the wake of His passing, if we can come to recognize the fruits of His work in our midst, then we might begin to witness God revealing Himself to us as He is, and when that happens, everything changes (1 John 3:1-3).