From Doubting To Faith

All me to begin with an illustration: “Joe Scriven was a missionary from Ireland to Canada, working among the Iroquois Indians. He was joined by his fiancé, who was also from Ireland. Just before the wedding, she was killed in an accident. Joe buried her with his own hands and a broken heart. A year later, in a letter to his mother, he reflected, ‘What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged. Take it to the Lord in prayer’.”(1) Scriven knew that the best thing he could do during this difficult and heartbreaking trial was to take all his griefs, troubles, and discouragements to Jesus; and in our passage today, we will see that this is what John the Baptist had to do, to move from doubting to faith.

Is Jesus the Messiah? (vv. 1-3)

1 Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities. 2 And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

John was thrown into prison around the same time that Jesus was tempted in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1). The Bible says, that after the wilderness testing, “when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee” (Matthew 4:12). “Herod of Antipas of Galilee had paid a visit to his brother [Herodias] in Rome. During that visit, he seduced his brother’s wife. He came home again, and dismissed his own wife, and married the sister-in-law whom he had lured away from her husband. Publicly and sternly John rebuked Herod . . . [and so], Herod took his revenge and John was thrown into” prison.(2) You can read this account in Matthew 14:1-12 (cf. Mark 6:17-29).

John had been doing the will of God; and yet, he was thrown into prison. How did that make him feel? What did his disciples think? John had been certain that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. He had faithfully proclaimed His appearing. Perhaps he was struggling to reconcile his beliefs with what was taking place. Commentator Adam Clarke says, “It is very probable that John now began, through the length of his confinement, to entertain doubts, relative to [Christ’s] kingdom, which perplexed and harassed his mind; and he took the most reasonable way to get rid of them at once, by [appealing] to Christ Himself,”(3) sending some of his own disciples to ask Jesus, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” (v. 3). “Are You really the Messiah?” they wondered.

Have you ever been in a situation where things did not work out the way you had hoped? Maybe you are a believer who has been faithful to raise your children in the ways of the Lord, but then one of them suffered a terrible illness or tragedy? Or, perhaps, one of them grew up to live a sinful life. Maybe this has left you wondering where you went wrong, or where God went wrong; or it might be that you are even doubting His promises and faithfulness. Perhaps you are an unbeliever struggling with doubts, wondering if Jesus is really the Savior who died on the cross for your sins. Like John, the best thing to do is to bring your struggles and doubts to Jesus, seeking His clarification.

Proof of Messiahship (vv. 4-6)

4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

John was seeking proof that Jesus was “the Coming One” (v. 3); and so, Jesus gave evidence that the messianic prophecies had been fulfilled in Him, as He provided healing to the blind, the lame, and the leper; and He had raised the dead and preached the gospel (v. 5). In Isaiah 35:5-6, we read of the coming Messiah, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing.” We also read in Isaiah 61:1, “[He] has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.”