"AN INQUIRING MIND"
MATTHEW 11:1-11
INTRODUCTION:
Peter Parker, a.k.a., Spiderman has reached a crisis. It seems that his life is falling apart, nothing seems to be going right. He’s been fired from work, he’s failing at school and even struggling in his relationships. Worst of all, as Spiderman, he’s losing his powers. In an attempt to find answers he visits his family doctor.
Video Clip - Spiderman 2 - Chap. 26 - Start:0:59:58 - End:1:03:32 - 3:34
Peter’s difficulties arise from his indecisiveness and doubt. He doesn’t know what to do or who to trust and as a result he is doing everything poorly. The same can occur to us, even if we seem to have “everything together.” Doubt and it’s complications can happen to anyone, including those who we look at as having great faith! It happened to the “SuperHero” we’re studying this month: John the Baptist. In fact, it may surprise you to learn that he came to a point in his life where not much was working for him either, and he expressed indecisiveness and doubt! Can you believe that? How did that happen? After all, this is the man about which Jesus said in vs:11, "there is no one greater." Yet, as we’ll see, John now is wondering if Jesus is really who he says he is. And John’s wondering if he has made a mistake. Well, John’s doubt gives us an opportunity to discuss and understand our own doubts and hopefully learn that an open-minded inquiry can actually serve a positive purpose in our search for truth and in finding or reinforcing our faith.
I. THE REASONS FOR JOHN’S DOUBT:
First, let’s look at the reasons for John’s doubt. Look at vs:2 "When John was in prison, he heard about the things Christ had done. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is coming, or should we look for someone else?” Now, what possible reasons could this great man of faith have for asking that question? How could a man of such strong character, as John, be a victim now of such torturous doubt? How could this man who so confidently said of Jesus, "Look, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world,”(Jn 1:29 NIV) now wonder if Jesus is the One? I can think of at least three reasons why John may have doubted and they are the same reasons we and others doubt today.
(1) Doubts come due to adverse circumstances. Notice where vs:2 says John is located: “When John was in prison...”John at this moment is confined to a dark horrible dungeon. Next week we are going to discuss why he was placed in prison, but for now just understand that he did not deserve to be there. He was no criminal. As we saw last week he fulfilled God’s mission in a unique way. He had prepared the way for Jesus, and had gotten out of the way, stepping aside and saying that Jesus must increase and he must become less. That’s not deserving of a dungeon. He had done everything God asked him, he had not disobeyed God nor forsaken his mission. How could God allow this? If Jesus was God’s Son why didn’t He rescue him? What possible good could come of John being shut up in a dungeon? He couldn’t preach, he couldn’t prepare the hearts of others to look for Jesus, he couldn’t baptize anyone in this dirty cell. Could he have been wrong about Jesus?
You know unpleasant or difficult circumstances can create doubt in our lives too. If there really is a God, why is it your mother has cancer? Why is it your child is hurting. Why is it that you are struggling to make ends meet when others are making money hand over foot? How could 9/11 happen? It’s hard not to question the care or the existence of God under those circumstances. Now, certainly none of us expect everything to be perfect in this life. The Bible says that “God lets the rain fall... whether they are just or unjust;”(Mt. 5:45) In other words, God doesn’t play favorites. And we know, from life experience, that tragedy can happen to anyone, no matter your race, your gender, how good you are, whether your name is Kennedy or Smith. But when tragedy strikes it is only natural for people to doubt. Even John the Baptist questioned the credentials of Jesus when his life took a turn for the worse.
(2) Doubts come due to unrealized expectations. John may have been somewhat confused by Jesus’ methods. John had already correctly identified Jesus as the Son of God. But when you look at some of the things John said that Jesus was going to do, he may have been confused by the way they were being carried out. For example: John said that Jesus would exercise His power in establishing a kingdom. John predicted in Mt. 3:11- "The one who comes after me is more powerful than I.." But Jesus didn’t seem to be exercising the power that John had expected. In fact, Jesus’ methods seemed pretty passive.. "turn the other cheek.." "Love your enemies.." And John had predicted that the Savior was going to exercise judgement. Mt.3:12- "He (Jesus) is going to clean house - make a clean sweep of your lives. He’ll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false he’ll put out with the trash to be burned.”(MSG) But Jesus didn’t seem to be coming in judgement. He was known to associate with sinners. John began to wonder: Have I been premature in proclaiming Jesus as the coming One of God?
(3) Another reason doubts come.. Due to the silence of God. Don’t you know that John was praying in this dungeon. He had to know because of circumstances, that his very life was in danger. He knew Isa. 42:7 where it predicted that the Chosen One would ".. free captives from prison and release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness."(NIV) Well, here he was.. in prison, sitting in a dark dungeon. Where was God? Where was Jesus when he needed Him? Why didn’t God speak to him like he had to his father Zechariah, through an angel? And while John was rotting away in this cell Jesus was traveling the countryside, gaining in popularity. If John lived today you might have heard him say in exasperation.. "What is UP with this?"
Sometimes God’s silence can cause us to doubt. “Why is there no explanation?” Why doesn’t God respond with some answer for me? But often times we must just trust and understand that we aren’t always going to be able to figure God out. Isa. 55:8-9- "My thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are not your ways,” declares the LORD. “Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts."(NIV) Sometimes God’s ways seem slow. Sometimes God’s ways seem unfair. Sometimes God doesn’t answer our questions in the timing we think is right. It’s during those times that we must recognize one of the most fundamental things about faith. If we believe in God than we must admit that He is God and we’re not. When we are able to do that there is a certain peace that comes from knowing that He will do what is right, in the right time, for the right reasons with the right outcome.
II. THE REACTION OF JOHN TO HIS DOUBT:
Now, I want you to see the way John reacted to his doubt. Notice vs:2- John didn’t give up on God. He didn’t gripe and tell the guards how badly he had been treated by Jesus, it says.. "...he sent his disciples to Jesus." You see, John was honestly seeking God’s solution to his questions and problems so he sent his disciples directly to the source. You see it doesn’t do us much good to respond to problems emotionally, we need to make sure we go to the source to find answers for our doubt. John didn’t have the Bible but he did have the One who the Bible is written about, so he went directly to Jesus. You see, there are two types of doubters.
(1) There are the negative doubters. Negative doubt comes from a person who is being dishonest with himself and others about his uncertainty. W.C. Fields, the famous actor of silent film, when he was aged and on a hospital bed surprised people because he was an avowed agnostic and yet he was reading the Bible. And someone asked, "Mr. Fields we didn’t know you believed the Bible?" To which he responded, "I don’t.. I’m just looking for loopholes." You see, the negative doubter doubts out of convenience. It would be inconvenient to get answers because that would cause a radical change in their life style. Or the negative doubter doubts out of selfish pride. To believe would require swallowing pride, bowing before the Creator and repenting. So, this dishonest doubter isn’t interested in the truth, he is interested only in what pleases him and so he looks for loopholes or doesn’t look at all.
(2) But then there are positive doubters. This person openly admits he or she has questions and will objectively evaluate the evidence. Galileo said, "Doubt is the father of discovery." I talk to so many people who have problems with God or Christianity or certain doctrines of the Church and you ask them.. "Well, have you read what the Bible says about that?" And they say, "Well, I don’t know what it says.. exactly.." Truth is, most of the time, they don’t know what it even says, "un-exactly." If you have honest questions, you need to willingly & objectively evaluate the evidence. You see, you can either choose to accept or not accept, but if you really have questions, God will honor and appreciate the sincere seeker. John openly admitted his question, but he was willing to objectively evaluate the evidence.. he didn’t jump to conclusions but sent his disciples to ask, from the source.. "are You the Chosen One?"
And Jesus knew John was an honest seeker. That’s why He said in vs:4- "Go back and tell John what you hear and see.." In other words, take back this evidence to John. Notice that Jesus was very helpful to John. He wasn’t like the preacher Ben Ferguson, tells about in his book, God, I’ve Got a Problem. He tells of a brilliant high school student, who went to his preacher and asked: "Why is it that the Bible says it took only 6 days to create the earth when science is saying it took billions of years?" "And why do their aging tests seem to bear it out?" The preacher angrily responded: "If you really believe you don’t ask questions like that!" That’s not what Jesus did. Anyone who was honestly seeking the truth was helped by Jesus not scolded. Listen, if God is all He says He is then He’s not going to be intimidated by our honest questions.
Now, some of you here may have some honest doubts today. You want to believe the Bible is true. You want to believe there is life after death. You want to accept God’s existence as fact. I want you to know this morning that God is not threatened or displeased with you. God is not up in heaven ringing his hands saying, “Oh, I hope he/she doesn’t ask me something I don’t know.” Nor is He upset that you’re upset, He wants you to understand even if that understanding is “I don’t understand, but I’ll trust you.” You see, the issue is not that you have doubts, but rather what you do with your doubts. Go to the source God has given. Rom. 10:17- ".. faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of God."(NKJV) Investigate the Bible, it can stand it. And if you’ll do that I believe you will come to the same conclusion that Augenstein, Luther, Calvin, C.S. Lewis, Josh McDowell, Charles Colson, Lee Strobel & hundreds of other brilliant doubters have come to. That Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God and His Word is the source for all of the answers to life.
If a friend called you and said, "I just heard your name on the radio, and they said if you will call the radio station in the next 15 minutes that you will win $1000 in cash free!" How would you react to that news? Would you say, "I don’t believe you, you’re such a kidder." -OR- "I haven’t got time to call any radio station." I know what I’d do.. I’d investigate. I’d call the radio station to see if it were true. Now, Jesus Christ has an offer much greater than that. Free riches for eternity. It’s yours by accepting Jesus as God’s son and submitting to what He asks of you. Wouldn’t it be crazy to come to the end of your life and miss out because you never took the time to honestly investigate who Jesus was and what He would have of you?
III. THE RESPONSE OF JESUS TO JOHN’S DOUBT:
Now, as we close today I want you to see Jesus response to John’s doubt and how He resolved it for him. First, though notice how Jesus did not respond.
Look at vs:4 and see that He didn’t rebuke John for his doubt. Jesus doesn’t say, "I am so disappointed in you John. You of all people, where is your faith!" But neither does Jesus give a direct answer to John. He doesn’t say, "Go back and tell John, I said, `Yes, I am the Chosen One. You were right the first time, I am the Lamb of God. I’m going to die for sins and raise from the dead, now, enough of this doubt.’" Doesn’t say that. And notice that Jesus didn’t even visit John in jail let alone save him from His circumstances. Couldn’t Jesus, have gone Himself? He could of just “said the word”and miraculously released John! You know, pop in the dungeon, after his guards fainted and said to the wide-eyed John, "Got any more questions, about me..?" But Jesus didn’t do any of those things.
Starting with vs:4 Jesus gave John 3 principles to investigate. The reason I say that Jesus wanted John to investigate these principles is because the answer He gives is cryptic, almost confusing. Vs:5- "Blind people see again, lame people are walking, those with skin diseases are made clean, deaf people hear again, dead people are brought back to life, and poor people hear the Good News." That’s the answer to "Are you the one who is coming or should we look for someone else?" Gene Edwards, in his book The Prisoner in the Third Cell relates how he thinks this answer effected John’s disciples. After hearing Jesus’ answer he writes: "John’s three disciples stood, stunned. After a long moment of obvious confusion, they turned and made their departure. And when they give John the answer they very honestly say, "Teacher, the answer is very strange. We do not understand it.” You have to admit this answer isn’t clear. Blind, lame, dead people? But Jesus knew that we learn best what we discover personally. Ever been driven somewhere, maybe even several times? Then you’re asked how to get there and you’re not really sure? But you drive it once, on your own, and you’ll know the directions. Jesus knew that John would learn best when his mind was stimulated and he found the answer on his own. Let’s look at what he could of discovered.
Remember, one of the things that John had preached was that the Kingdom of God was at hand. So Jesus gave him a message about that kingdom. A message that said to John.. "Everything is going as planned. A kingdom (a different one than you might have imagined) is being founded. A kingdom three characteristics that you know well, John." (1) A kingdom where the rejected are received. "The blind see.. the lame walk.. Skin diseases (lepers) are cured.. deaf hear.." Those are all of the shunned ones in Jesus’ day. They had no place, no name, no value. But those who people called trash, Jesus called treasure. And John would of remembered the scripture in Isa. 29:18 where it predicted the Son of God would "At that time the deaf will hear.. the blind will see.." I can see John’s eyes light up a little as he realizes this is a kingdom where people have value not because of how they look or what they do but because of who’s they are. In a world that measures the value of people by the size of their salary or shape of their body, God measures it by the heart. That’s a reason for joy!
(2) A kingdom where the dead are raised. John’s eyes opened even wider as he remembered Ezk. 37:13 where God said in the day of the Chosen One that "I will open your graves and bring you out of your graves.." Certainly only the Son of God, the King of Kings, can do that! John knew in that moment that his dungeon could never hold him no matter what might happen to him he would never truly die.
(3) A kingdom where good news is preached to the poor. John’s nodding his head now.. "Yes, yes.." He remembers Isa. 61:1 that says the Chosen One would.. "..preach the good news to the poor and bind up the brokenhearted."(NIV) The poor are not those with no money but those who understand their "poorness" compared to God’s perfection. Jesus is telling John, this kingdom is one where membership is granted not purchased by the members. This a kingdom of forgiveness. And this forgiveness does not occur when you do enough but when you admit you can’t do enough. This is the kingdom Jesus proclaims to John. Maybe John at this point had to explain it to his disciples: "Don’t you get it? It is Him.. He is establishing the Kingdom of God.. not a physical kingdom but the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God. It’s a kingdom of acceptance, eternal life and forgiveness.” Then maybe his disciples said, "One more thing John..Jesus said.. "Whoever doesn’t lose his faith in me is indeed blessed." I can see John’s head bowing, nodding slowly and maybe praying. "I will not fall away from You, Oh God. I will be faithful even to the end." John never heard Jesus say he was the greatest man born of woman. He didn’t get to see Jesus’ miracles. John may have never understood God completely. But he had gone to the source and his investigation led him to do that which Jesus had requested of him.. He did not lose his faith in Jesus.
And I want you to notice vs:11- "I can guarantee this truth: Of all the people ever born, no one is greater than John the Baptizer. Yet, the least important person in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John." Catch that last phrase.. After saying that John is the greatest man to ever live he then says.. “Yet the least important person in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John.” Who is He talking about? He’s talking about those who believe and have given themselves to Him. He describing those who are residents of the Kingdom of heaven. Now “greater” here doesn’t mean we’re greater than John in character or value but, we are greater in privilege. John didn’t get to know in this life about Jesus’ death to cover sins, or about His resurrection to defeat death for all time, never had the privilege of seeing the church established or spread of the good news. So, we who are of the kingdom that John spoke about, have even greater privilege than he.
So the question this morning is: how are you responding to your doubts? How are you and God doing with your set of circumstances? Remember, it is not a sin to doubt. Sometimes circumstances that are difficult will arise or our expectations of God will fall short or we will hear nothing but His silence. But when the doubts arise and those fears assail, I challenge you, come to the source. Come to Jesus, come openly and objectively to His Word the Bible, and if you will come to Him, He promises you acceptance, forgiveness and eternal life; and you will find that it’s true.."Whoever doesn’t lose his faith in me is indeed blessed."
{All Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, God’s Word Translation unless otherwise noted.}
