John Looks to Jesus With His Doubts

John had been cast into prison about December, A.D. 27, and it was now after the Passover, possibly in May or June, A.D. 28. He hears about the work that Jesus is doing reported to him by his still loyal disciples. But something bothers John about what he hears. It has been a long time in the prison for some time, locked away from his preaching, his ministry and his wilderness. He had to be wondering if it was worth it. He then sends two disciple to Jesus with a very difficult question, Matthew 11:3 Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?

Now there is no doubt that John is having doubts, serious doubts about the man, his cousin, Jesus of Nazareth, but the key to understanding what John is asking is in the work another. There are two words in the Greek for “another.” One means “another of the same kind,” as when Jesus said, “He shall give you another Comforter” in John 14:16. But that is not the word used here. This is the word for  “another of a different kind.”
 
John had been preaching, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” He has warned this generation of vipers that the Messiah was coming with and would sweep the chaff into a fire of judgment. But his disciples weren’t bringing that report back to him. Where was the judgment, where was the fire that the Messiah of God was supposed to bring.

John was aware that some believed there were two Messiahs, one who was to be the suffering Messiah as Isaiah 53 prophesied and another judging Messiah who would be the captain of the Lord’s Army and cleanse Israel of both its internal sin and external enemies. John was asking, “Are You the Messiah, or do we look for another Messiah, a different kind of Messiah, the one who will purge the nation and judge sin?”

W.A. Criswell said about this passage, “John knew Jesus was the Lamb of God. He is asking, ‘Are you the Lion of God?’”

Jesus gave his answer in his deeds. Jesus in their presence healed many.  Luke 7:21 And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight. 22 Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.

Jesus tells the disciples to return to John tell what they have seen for these works could not be done by any one other than the Messiah. Then he adds this word, this beatitude, Matthew 11:6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
He is telling John the doubts can cause you to stumble, to fall, to be tripped and trapped, but there is blessing is you hold on past the doubts.

Something else stand out here, Jesus did not fully answer John’s question, “Is there another messiah?” He reassured John that he was truly the messiah, but he did not tell him that there were two comings of the same Messiah, not two different Messiahs. The same Messiah, Jesus, the Son of God who came the first time to pay for sin, to become the sole point of judgment and the second time He comes to bring the judgment of the sin of rejecting Jesus as Messiah and Savior.

But Jesus did not tell John that, nor anyone else until it was the right time according to the Father’s timeline.

Going to God With Our Doubts

What we need to see about John and his doubts, is not that John failed because he had questions, but instead John trusted Jesus enough that he trusted him even with those doubts. The Bible is a book that stands brutally in its honesty. When the heroes of the Bible struggle, when the fail, when they have doubts. The Bible does not hide those things, does not whitewash them. Instead, we see them in all their flaws and weakness. We see it here this account  of John the Baptist. We see it with Elijah hiding in cave in fear and depression. We see it with Jeremiah down in the bottom of a well up to his bottom lip in oozing mud and wanting to quit his calling. We hear it in the voice of utter doubt from Thomas who says I will not believe. We see these things with David time after time, Psalm after Psalm.
 

Psalms 69:1-3 Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. Psalms 69:14-15 Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.

This is a man who is not sure he is going to make it. He has doubts and fears, but what is sure here and with each of these people of God struggling with their doubts, fears and failures is this truth. They can and did go to the Lord, because they knew that God was greater than their doubts.

The old song says, “If you trust and never doubt, he will surely bring you out.” And that is a great admonition, but His bringing me out isn’t based on my never doubting, it is based upon my Lord never failing.

Go to God in your doubt. Go to Jesus in your fear. Go to the throne of grace and collapse in your weakness because as John wrote in his epistle 1 John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

And have the faith to know that even if you don’t get a full explanation or answer from the Lord, you will receive what you need to make it through.

The truth is that we are often like the father in Mark chapter 9, who brought his demon possessed son to Jesus’ disciples and they could do nothing to help him. Jesus then turned directly to the man and said, Mark 9:23 If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

And do you remember what the broken father of that broken child said? Mark 9:24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

That is me, that is you if you are a child of God, Lord I believe but here are my doubts and fears, my faults and my failures, my flaws and my weakness. Lord, I believe in you, I believe in your Word, I believe in your promises, but I need your help with me and my doubts, my fear and my failure. Take it to the Lord, just like John and the Lord will get you through and you’ll leave knowing you’ve been blessed, just like John.