Where To Go With Doubt

Today, we're going to look at a man from history who expressed some doubts. And we'll see how Jesus treated him under some very difficult circumstances. And it's not doubting Thomas. It’s John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin.

Luke 7:18-28 is a really interesting narrative about faith and doubt in Jesus. Here’s what it says:

18 Then John’s disciples told him about all these things. So John summoned two of his disciples 19 and sent them to the Lord, asking, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

20 When the men reached him, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to ask you, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’”

21 At that time Jesus healed many people of diseases, afflictions, and evil spirits, and he granted sight to many blind people. 22 He replied to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news, 23 and blessed is the one who isn’t offended by me.”

24 After John’s messengers left, he began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind? 25 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothes? See, those who are splendidly dressed and live in luxury are in royal palaces. 26 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is the one about whom it is written: See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you.

28 I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John, but the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

Maybe you've heard about John, but you don't know all of his details yet. John the Baptist is a cousin of Jesus of Nazareth. Now, I don't know about you, but I loved getting to go to family weekends or holidays, Christmas celebrations with my family, and hanging out with my cousins. We played together, we got jealous of what each other got for Christmas presents, and we got into our fair share of trouble together. I love my cousins, and I have had some really good memories with them.

The older we got, the less and less we got to hang out. I imagine it's kind of the same with Jesus and John. They may have had family gatherings when they were younger, but now John has this wilderness ministry where he's baptizing at the Jordan River.

Jesus and John both had a mission, and they both had disciples. And as you probably know, John baptized Jesus. And that's the only time we know of from Scripture that they were together as adults. We just don't have any other recordings of it.

Do you remember that scene, the baptism of Jesus? The entire Trinity is acting together visibly. When Jesus was baptized and came up from the water, the Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove. And God's voice came from the heavens and said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The Father, the Spirit, and the Son all together visibly and audibly as Jesus begins his ministry.

And some of the Greek behind those words, just to try to help paint a picture, are amazing. Jesus is standing there in the water, and the Spirit, the pneuma, the breath of God, descended on him like a dove. The Greek word for like is hosei. The Spirit looked like a dove. And then a voice from the heavens sounded. Sometimes that word is translated into rumbling or shouting, but either way, it's an audible voice. This was not some sort of secret thing that everybody around didn't see. And they were all like, “What's happening right now?” They saw it and they heard it. “This is my beloved Son.” What a scene. And John was right there. He witnessed it firsthand. He must have been standing right beside Jesus when this act of the Trinity happened. Can you imagine seeing that?

And yet, according to Luke's Gospel, we know that John, a prophet, one who had a miraculous birth, himself, one whom Jesus bragged on and hyped up quite a bit, had some doubts.

So, why did John doubt?

I think we need some context. Things weren't going well for John the Baptist. Matthew 11 tells us that when John sent his disciples to Jesus, he was in prison. He had offended Herod, and things were not going well. And we know the end of the story. It does not end well for John. He'd later be executed by Herod, beheaded. I wonder if John knew, or if he had a feeling that he wasn't going to get out of this alive.

But I wonder if being alone in a prison cell was enough to get him thinking really hard about different things. He was able to talk with his disciples, and he asked them, “Hey, go to Jesus and just make sure, ‘Are you really the one? Or should we be waiting for someone else?’”

How though? I mean, after what John had seen and been a part of, after his whole life, being a minister, preparing the way for the Messiah, fulfilling the scriptures the way he did, and admitting that he did that, why did John doubt he may have been disillusioned?

Have you been there? You don't just get bummed out. You can kind of feel it in your gut, and it's always there. We get disappointed when we don't get what we want for our birthday present. But we get disillusioned when we don't get any presents for multiple years in a row because someone forgot.

Maybe John in prison was getting really disillusioned with his calling and ministry and his faith that Jesus was the Christ, even. Maybe he thought that Jesus would rescue him if he were the Messiah. It's not all recorded, but that would be a very understandable human thing to think. Maybe John was getting disillusioned.

John was also facing some pretty major adversity. King Herod had a fearful respect for John as a man of God. He probably had some sort of traditional, weak faith or just some traditional roots and some belief attached to God. And he was scared to hurt John for whatever reason. But John was talking smack about Herod and his ungodly marriage. And that’s what got him thrown into prison. John made some powerful enemies, one whose family members would eventually politically work the puppet strings and end his life. To say that he was facing adversity is kind of a big understatement.

What about you? Have you ever felt disillusionment and adversity in your life? I have, many times.

So, where did John go with his doubts?

John could have sat there in prison and just philosophized. He could have relented. He could have gone to Herod and said, “Hey, sorry, man, no big deal. I'll leave you and your wife alone. Just let me out, okay?” He could have turned to his own wisdom. He could have turned to bitterness. He could have turned to anger. He may have even thought about starting a rebellion. That was happening a lot in those days. And he had very faithful disciples who followed him and did what he asked.

He didn't do any of those things. What did he do? He went to Jesus. Even in doubt, even expressing that doubt openly, he went to Jesus.

Always, always, always go to Jesus. He can take it. Go to him about anything. He's ready to listen. He's looking forward to it. I promise you. He can take any doubtful or frustrated statement or concern that you have, any fist that you shake at the sky. Never be reluctant to take your doubts, fears, failures, or sins to Jesus. He already knows them anyway, and he's ready.