The Prophet was right
Gladstone Baptist Church – 18/9/05 am
Have you ever watched a Marathon? I can remember going down to Kingsford Smith Drive in Brisbane to see the Commonwealth Games marathon. It was early on in their race and all the runners looked fresh and strong. But sometime during that race, as will all other marathons, the runners reach that point where they wonder whether they can keep going. They hit the wall. They doubt they can finish the race. Their muscles burn with pain; their strength is gone. They feel defeated.
Often we feel like that as we go through life. In many ways we are like a marathon runner. We have a long distance race ahead of us. There are some steep hills and some valleys. There will be times we feel as though we are physically finished, but at other times but then we’ll get our second wind.
This morning, I want to talk about the problem of doubt. Doubt can either be a virus that drives us away from God or the motivation to study the evidence more carefully and therefore draw us closer to God.
Everyone has doubts. The problem is that some Christians leave their doubt untreated because they don’t want to admit to it. They wrongly think that to be a real Christian, they must be absolutely certain about everything and they are so afraid to admit that doubt is starting to creep in.
What doubts are you struggling with this morning?
1. Maybe you doubt that God has really forgiven you.
2. Or you wonder whether the Bible really is the Word of God.
3. Or you question why God lets people suffer.
4. Or you’ve been praying for help with a struggle in your life, but so far there has
been silence, and you’re wondering whether anybody’s at home in heaven, or if
there is, whether He really cares.
5. Maybe you have questions about how God created the world or even how He’ll end
it.
6. Or you’ve said to yourself, “I think I’ve become a Christian, but sometimes I’m not
sure. Maybe I wasn’t sincere enough when I was baptized.”
I want us to look at someone this morning that we might be surprised struggled with doubt.
Read Luke 7:18
18 John’s disciples told him about all these things [What things? The healings of those possessed by evil spirits (4:31), the leper (4:12f), the paralytic (5:17), the centurion’s son (7:14), the dead son (7:11) and Jesus’ radical teachings When John was told of these things] . Calling two of them, 19 he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”
John the Baptist was the one chosen by God to ANNOUNCE THE MESSIAH. Isaiah predicted his coming in Is 40:3 “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.” He was a STRANGE CHARACTER. Matt 3:4 describes him as being dressed in camel’s hair with a leather belt, who ate locusts and wild honey. He was the Grizzly Adam’s of the first century and he drew a crowd – not just because he was a bit of an oddity, but because of what he was preaching. He preached a STRONG MESSAGE which condemned the so called “religious” practices of the day and those that practiced them to the neglect of true holiness. He called for confession of sins and a repentance. He baptized people as a sign that they were repenting. It was fairly common in Jewish society to undergo ritualistic washing. John’s baptism was an adaptation of this. It was a symbol that the people being baptized were sorry for their sins and were seeking forgiveness from God.
John was a guy who wasn’t scared of what others thought. In fact, he regularly RUBBED POWERFUL PEOPLE up the wrong way. He called the Pharisees and Saducees “a brood of vipers.” (Matt 3:7) He also publicly confronted Herod - the Jewish king of Judea. Herod had divorced his first wife in order to marry his brother’s wife and John condemned this as unlawful and as a result, he was thrown into prison in Machaerus.
John remained in prison and it is while in prison that he began to have some DOUBTS. He called some of his disciples and sent them to Jesus to ask “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” “Are you the promised one? The Messiah? Or have I got it completely wrong.”
How vastly different from the John we knew of old. Turn over to John 1:29
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.”
John had been totally convinced that Jesus was the Son of God, the promised Messiah, but now he was full of doubt. What happened?
Doubt is caused by many things … Some people are …
A. NATURAL doubters – their personality and makeup tend to focus on uncertainties and questions
B. REBELLIOUS doubters – Whether they want to admit it or not, the doubts come from a desire to rebel against God’s direction in their life. Their questions are like Satan’s in the garden of Eden – Did God really mean that?
C. DISAPPOINTED doubters – They have desired something, asked God for it, and have not received it as of yet. They are disappointed and their disappointment raises doubts in their minds
D. WOUNDED doubters – They’ve had a tough life – abused, abandoned, defeated, afflicted in some way
E. INTELLECTUAL doubters – The have questions that just haven’t been answered quite sufficiently.
Which type of doubter are you?
John’s doubt was probably a mixture of the last three.
He was wounded. John was sitting in prison remember. He didn’t deserve it, he was speaking the truth as God’s prophet and now he was in prison for who knows how long. We know that as circumstances transpired, John would never leave prison – Herod had him executed shortly after this account. John wasn’t used to being cooped up in a prison cell like this. Remember, he lived in the desert – in the wide open space with the wind in his hair. Waking up with dew on his face. Enjoying seeing the stars at night. Being cooped up would have induced a great deal of stress and depression on John.
Have you ever been wounded like John and become disillusioned with your faith. Where was God when it mattered. You stood up for Him, but when you were in trouble, he seemed to desert you!!! Ever felt like that – hurt and wounded – John felt that and it led to doubt.
He was Disappointed. Disappointed in Jesus. Jesus, hadn’t quite lived up to his expectations as a Messiah. John had misunderstood the nature of God’s messiah, in the same way that everyone else had. Listen to these descriptions and see if you can figure out what type of Messiah John was expecting …
Is 42:13 13 The LORD will march out like a mighty man, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies.
Is 63:1 Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? “It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.” 2 Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress? 3 “I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing…. 6 I trampled the nations in my anger; in my wrath I made them drunk and poured their blood on the ground.”
Everyone, John included, expected a conquering messiah who would release captives, and overthrow the unjust rulers. But John was still in prison - so much for releasing captives. Herod and the Romans were still in power – so much for coming as a mighty conqueror. Instead of doing what he was supposed to do – bringing judgment, Jesus was focused on mercy. Talk about a disappointment.
Have you ever had a picture of what God should be like, or what he should do in a particular situation and He does just the opposite. You think justice is deserved and you have it all worked out how that justice is to be obtained, but Jesus comes in and shows grace and mercy. Talk about a let down.
John was disappointed and this led to doubt.
I’m sure John also had Intellectual doubts – wasn’t this just his cousin. How could he be doing all of these things he is reported to be doing. I wonder whether John’s doubt was a bit like Thomas’ doubt. I won’t believe it unless I see it with my own two eyes.
But instead of letting his doubts undermine his faith, John sets out to find out the truth, so he sends two of his disciples to go and find out the truth from the horses’ mouth …
20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?’”
21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 23 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”
Jesus answered John’s doubts by pointing to his ACTIONS AND TEACHINGS. These were all fulfillments in themselves of the Messiah.
- blind receiving sight - Is 35:5
- lame walking – Is 35:6
- the lepers healed – a new sign
- deaf hearing – Is 35:5
- the dead raised – a new sign
- preaching to the poor – Is 61:1
John’s understanding of the Messiah needed TWEAKING, ever so slightly. Jesus was fulfilling the predictions of the Messiah, but what John didn’t realise was that the Old Testament spoke of two appearings of the Messiah. The first would be marked by grace and compassion. The second, by judgment and exaltation. John was only recognising the second of these.
How do you respond when Jesus doesn’t line up with your expectations? Do you reject Jesus or refuse to change your understanding about him? Jesus challenged John “I am the Messiah, but you have a picture that is warped.” We need to constantly be reassessing our dogmatic ideas about God and Jesus to make sure they are accurate and not just acceptable to your preconceptions.
Jesus’ words in vs 23 are interesting … 23 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”
Jesus addresses the root of John’s doubts. He says, blessed is the man who doesn’t doubt and fall away because of the mysteries of how GOD DEALS WITH THEM.
Blessed are the Jobs who suffer yet stay faithful.
Blessed are the Josephs, who endure unjust treatment yet refuse to live in bitterness.
Blessed are the Hoseas, who continue to walk in obedience even though their spouses leave them.
Blessed are the Pauls, who pray for relief from a thorn in the flesh, yet also respond “His grace is sufficient for me”
Blessed are all those who can live with unanswered questions, who can rest in what they see, and who can wait patiently for God to reveal what they can’t see.
Blessed are you if you doubt, but you work through them and don’t turn away from Jesus because of them.
Some have commented that Jesus seems to be condemning John’s lack of faith here, but there is nothing further from the truth … Jesus asks the crowd 3 rhetorical questions …
1) 24 After John’s messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind?
No way - You don’t find reeds in the desert, there is no water for them. John wasn’t like a reed at all. He wasn’t a wishy washy person who was prone to changing his mind like a weak old reed being blown around in the wind. No – John was more like a big old Gum tree which was not going anywhere – ROCK SOLID, stable and not scared to face up to the consequences of his word.
2) 25 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces.
John wasn’t a wishy washy reed and he wasn’t some fancy pants either. The description here is someone who is wearing clothes that were soft to touch. The use of these words in Greek implied that the wearer was a bit “effeminate”. John didn’t fit this image at all – he was the camel clothes man – rough and hard – a STRONG MAN if ever there was one.
3) 26 But what 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:
”‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’
Who did they go out to see? A PROPHET from God. One who was following in the footsteps of Elijah who stood up to Ahab and Jezebel and the 450 prophets of Baal. That’s who you came to see…
28 I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
Jesus defends and affirms John. He says – don’t look down on him, because he is the GREATEST OF ALL MEN. But immediately he adds – But the least of those in the kingdom of God is GREATER THAN JOHN. For Jesus, anyone who belongs to the kingdom of God is greater than the one who was sent by God to announce the kingdom. The kingdom of God is a concept that Jesus spoke often of. It stands for the rule of God. Jesus is saying, anyone who has submitted to the Lordship of God through the forgiveness I am offering is greater than John, because they have forgiveness and a personal relationship with God.
To have a relationship with God is far more valuable than someone who preaches about God till the cows come home. Having a relationship and being part of God’s kingdom is what is really important.
At this point, Luke notes that …
29 (All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John. 30 But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)
Everyone has doubts and when we come to the topic of whether Jesus is who he says he is, there must be doubts too. I said at the beginning, that those doubts can either be like a virus that drives us further and further away from God or they can be the impetus to make us want to study the evidence and acknowledge who Jesus is – even if we don’t have all the answers. When it comes to Jesus, there is always a decision to make. Luke testifies that many people who were truly seeking God and wanting to live a life of righteousness had already recognised the rightness of John’s teaching and had been baptized previously – they, like John, were satisfied with the fact that Jesus was from God. The facts were accepted as RIGHT. But there were others – like the Pharisees and the experts in the law who refused to accept John’s warning and now they were refusing to accept Jesus’ teaching also. They REJECTED God’s purposes. Jesus describes them this way
31 “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:
”‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.’ [this was apparently a little ditty that the children used to chant when friends refused to play with them]
33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.”’ 35 But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”
Jesus draws a contrast between John and the Pharisees. John had doubts, yes, but investigated them and was open to God’s truth. But you couldn’t make the Pharisees happy.
Jesus came preaching the kingdom and living a fulfilled life of joy and freedom. He played the flute of God’s wonderful kingdom, but the Pharisees listening, refused to join the celebration. They just condemned … “How dare you heal on the Sabbath?” “Why do you let your disciples pick grain to eat on the Sabbath?” “Why are you eating and drinking with sinners? – you are a glutton and a drunk!!!”
John was the opposite – he came preaching the serious message of confession and repentance. The response to his song should have been weeping, mourning and putting sackcloth on. Yet the Pharisees rejected it. They didn’t cry, instead they condemned John’s spartan life and dismissed him as being demon possessed. John lived in the desert after all and in Jewish thought, this was where the devil lived.
Here is an example of a group of people who refused to listen to God’s message as presented through John and Jesus. Why? Because their doubts became a virus that pulled them away from God.
We all have doubts which are caused by personality, rebellion, wounds, disappointments or intellectual problems. These doubts can lead us away from God or they can lead us to God. In themselves doubts are not evil. The problem comes when we refuse to deal with them or when we allow them to drag us away from God.
Yancey writes that doubt “is the skeleton in the closet of faith and I know no better way to treat a skeleton than to bring it into the open and expose it for what it is: not something to hide or fear, but a hard structure on which living tissue may grow.” Doubts can be the skeleton on which you build your faith.
John’s situation didn’t get any better after he dealt with his doubts. We know that not too long after this, he was executed and his head presented on a platter as a gift to Herod’s step daughter. But I am sure after this encounter with Christ, John’s faith never wavered. He recognised the wisdom of God and saw that it was right. I believe that though he doubted at times , John remained the old Gum tree because he came to realise that he was right – “Look, here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
Is Jesus the one and only Son of God or should we look for someone else? According to Luke’s presentation of the facts, based on his miracles and message, Jesus is the Son of God and there is salvation is no one else. In his first coming, Jesus offered salvation to all who will place their faith in him. He will continue to offer that personal salvation until his second coming, and then comes the judgment. If you want to be saved from your sin and the wrath to come, now is the time to find salvation. Place you faith in Jesus the Son of God, and he will save you from your sin and give you eternal life, his life, now and forever. You have some doubts? That’s okay, don’t ignore them and pretend they are not there. Let’s examine the facts and let them speak for themselves. God’s way is true and wise. When we see that we can accept the truth. Once you grasp the reality of who Jesus is, your doubts will fade away – don’t believe me? Ask the prophet!
