Doubting John

Service Notes

Report from music event last night

VBI starts this week.

Ordination for Chestley Howell on Thursday night

Next Sunday night we will observe the Lord’s Supper together

Luke 7:18–35 (KJV 1900)

18 And the disciples of John shewed him of all these things. 19 And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? 20 When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? 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. 23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. 24 And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? 25 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts. 26 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. 27 This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. 29 And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. 30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him. 31 And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? 32 They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. 33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. 34 The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! 35 But wisdom is justified of all her children.

Introduction

The week before Easter we looked at the life of a man named John the Baptist. We looked at his bold witness and considered what he might preach the week before Easter.

This week we see what he has been up to since we last heard from him. / If you were paying attention when we read you will know he got “locked up”

Who has doubts?

Israel had long waited for the Messiah to come.  And we wouldn't be surprised to have somebody in Israel ask the question, but we are a little surprised that it comes from the mouth of John the Baptist.

John the Baptist was from a great family

He was born to Zacharias and Elizabeth who were related to Mary, so he was sort of in the same family as Jesus. [Ever have the family member who doesn’t seem to be paying attention.]

John would have heard the story of his leaping for joy in the womb.

He would know of Jesus’ virgin birth.

John’s dad preached one of the greatest messages about Jesus of all history.

Luke 1:67–79 (KJV 1900)

67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, 68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; For he hath visited and redeemed his people, 69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us In the house of his servant David; 70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, Which have been since the world began: 71 That we should be saved from our enemies, And from the hand of all that hate us; 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, And to remember his holy covenant; 73 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, 74 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies Might serve him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before him, All the days of our life. 76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord To prepare his ways; 77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people By the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercy of our God; Whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, 79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.

Zacharias had faced his doubts and after a long season of being silent and overcoming his doubts.

Look at the effect this type of preaching had upon young John the Baptist

Luke 1:80 (KJV 1900)

80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

John would have known the old testament prophecies about Jesus

John would have first been introduced to this “one who would come” when he read “Let us make man in our image.”

He would learn of the purpose of the “expected one” as he read about the fall of man.

He would have learned of him in the sacrifice made for the sins of Adam and Eve

He would have learned about Him in the picture of the ram offered instead of Isaac.

The Old Testament was filled with stories of the coming one and John knew it unmistakably Jesus.

John had boldly declared Jesus was the Messiah

Luke 3:16 (KJV 1900)

16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:

John 1:36 (KJV 1900)

36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

This man with an incredible upbringing, clear calling in life, and who once boldly declared Jesus was the Messiah; doubted.

John was not the first of last person to be here.

When discussing doubts and unbeliefs Bible students will often think about the story from Mark.

Jesus confronts a father whose son is demon possessed.

The boy was mute, had seizures, and foamed at the mouth.

Been this was since childhood, leading us to believe he was a teenager.

Jesus tells the man. Mark 9:23

Mark 9:23 (KJV 1900)

23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

The father responds with this famous, words that even thought they come from his heart and mouth they might as well be our words.

Mark 9:24 (KJV 1900)

24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

It is reality but it is not an acceptable reality and it needs to be addressed. 

Moses doubted God. 

Gideon doubted God. 

Elijah doubted God. 

Jeremiah even expressed doubt. 

The apostles doubt and here John the Baptist doubts. 

The pivot from strong, life altering belief in the promises of God to doubt can be clearly seen with Peter.

Matthew 14:28–31 (KJV 1900)

28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

We all know of doubting Thomas but what about Doubting Everyone Else

Thomas doubted and said he needed proof.

John 20:25 (KJV 1900)

25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

Doubt is simply a struggle to believe.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (KJV 1900)

13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

All temptation is rooted in doubt. Yielding to temptation is letting doubt guide our decisions and not faith.

Look at John’s two options

You are the Messiah and I can stop looking and trust that my current conditions are part of your plan.

You are not the Messiah I keep looking.

What brought John and brings us to this crossroads of doubt and faith?

John was dealing with a deep and personal tragedy.

Is prison in the desert really the reward for faithfulness in ministry?

The prison would not have have modern luxuries but that had to be the least of John’s problems.

I am sure John thought what others would say ‘I do not belong here.”

Jesus is so easy to find in jail because everyone leaves Him here when they leave.

I would expect the opposite for John. He probably never felt farther away from God’s plan for his life.

John only received the occasional update. He wasn’t there watching Jesus heal people and do miracles. / Imagine disciples reenacting the story outside of John’s window

John did not have all the information available to us but he had faith

1 Peter 1:10–11 (KJV 1900)

10 Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.

The advantage the Centurion had that the jewish people did not have is that he did not have wrong expectations about the Kingdom

John shows how he had been influenced by common teaching by asking if Jesus was the long expected Messiah or just a step towards him. (some say Elias, others say Moses)

Things just didn’t seem complete to John.

The model prayer of Christ teaches us what to pray but the Psalms teaches us how to pray.

Do you think John remembered and prayed this prayer?

Psalm 73:13–14 KJV 1900

13 Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, And washed my hands in innocency. 14 For all the day long have I been plagued, And chastened every morning.

Couldn't the Messiah do something about it?  In fact, Jesus had never even been to visit him.

So this is what loyalty to Christ gets you?

Doubts comes from our inability to deal with negative circumstances when we perceive ourselves as being faithful people.

Man on the cross didn’t have this struggle. Luke 23:39-41 “39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. 40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.”

Jesus always addresses the heart of the problem in his answers.

Jesus sends the disciples back with an answer.

Luke 7:21–23 (KJV 1900)

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. 23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

The significance of this answer would not have been lost on John, a student of God’s Word

Isaiah 61:1 (KJV 1900)

1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; Because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

During his time of doubt John received all he needed

Jesus cares for him.

Jesus is all powerful.

Jesus is aware of his situation.

If Jesus thought it was best he could deliver him from prison but that was not his plan.

Neither Matthew nor Luke recorded the reaction of John the Baptist after his disciples returned to him.

John knew to whom to turn in his doubts

1. John went directly to God with his doubts.

We also see this with the other doubters of the Bible

Asaph in Psalm 73:16-17

Psalm 73:16–17 (KJV 1900)

16 When I thought to know this, It was too painful for me; 17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then understood I their end.

Doubting Thomas said he would wait around for an answer from Jesus.

John 20:25–26 (KJV 1900)

25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. 26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.

John let his suffering drive him to God with all his thoughts and emotions rather than from him. God knows him. Burying his pain will do no good. He goes to him in honesty.

Jesus answer John with “this is who I am” not “this is what I am going to do”

In addition to the answer look at what Jesus says about John.

Luke 7:24 (KJV 1900)

24 And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

Why not say this before the messengers went to John. This message was for the onlookers not for John.

John simply needed to hear Luke 7:23

Luke 7:23 (KJV 1900)

23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

Going to God with our doubts shows that we recognize that even though we are weak and without answers we know He strong and the answer

2. After going to God with our doubts we should return to worshipping Him

I just have to believe the prison cell looked different to John after hearing from Jesus. It looked like opportunity and not a glitch in God’s plan.

Psalm 73:16–17 (KJV 1900)

16 When I thought to know this, It was too painful for me; 17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then understood I their end.

The sanctuary takes us from temporal to the eternal.

The sanctuary reminds us that not knowing what is next in our lives is not a problem as long as we can fully trust the One who knows

Instead of despising not having answers we can rejoice knowing the One who needs to know does

Isaiah 55:8–9 (KJV 1900)

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways, And my thoughts than your thoughts.

After bringing him your complaint and asking for wisdom, stop, listen, and recall who he is and what he has done.

3. We can find rest in our prison cell.

Used to jokingly tell teenagers I will only bail you out of jail one time. Well I got the call one night. I decided to wait until the morning. Lesson learned. There is no rest in the jail cell.

Great comfort knowing God has lead us to our valley.

Psalm 73:21–24 (KJV 1900)

21 Thus my heart was grieved, And I was pricked in my reins. 22 So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. 23 Nevertheless I am continually with thee: Thou hast holden me by my right hand. 24 Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, And afterward receive me to glory.

It is not a joy that solves all of my problems, but it is a joy that provides reassurance of the presence of God and the reality of the gospel.

John shows the incredible peace found in being misunderstood but finding joy in simple obedience.

Psalm 73:25–26 (KJV 1900)

25 Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. 26 My flesh and my heart faileth: But God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.

John’s simple obedience in his trail was still preaching loudly.

John had been given a hard assignment as a preacher in the dessert. But he was given visible, outward signs that his obedience was making a difference.

Pharisee once again were having to face their unbelief.

They are like little children who wanted people to respond to their music.

They wouldn’t listen to John the Baptist for one reason and say they won’t listen to Jesus for the exact opposite.

Jesus response to the father and John was the same.

Mark 9:22 (KJV 1900)

22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.

Look at the heart of John. He didn’t ask to be released. He just wanted to be sure that his obedience was rightly directed.

We see this in his plans to seek the true Messiah if he had not found him.

He wasn’t even out of prison but was making plans.

Doubts arise because people have wrong expectations. They have a view of a plan that isn't God's plan at all.

We ask the wrong questions

How much longer will I be here? Is there a better assignment available? Do you even know what you are doing? Why is my life harder than the life of the wicked?

John “Jesus I just wanted to check with you and make sure you are the desire of all nations that we have been waiting for.” “You are” That is all I need to know.

Jesus answer to both the father and John is great mercy

Jesus’s rebuke to a believer who is allowing unbelief to govern his behavior is a great mercy.

We should never be too fearful to go to God with our questions.

Jesus Will Help You See Your Unbelief

Unbelief will rob you of joy and purpose in life.

But the presence of unbelief in us is often subtle. We don’t always see it clearly.

Our doubts can seem to us understandable, even justifiable.

John experienced the reward of being someone who diligently sought for God.

Hebrews 11:6 (KJV 1900)

6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

If you want God to confront the doubts of your heart that are keeping you from fully experiencing His joy and peace go to Him today.

You are not a prisoner in a cell, but you may be in a prison of your own making.

Call out to him this morning.

Psalm 139:23–24 (KJV 1900)

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.

I have found that Jesus still answers.

He will help you fight your unbelief by

Exposing it even though you have tried to conceal it.

Do not fear his discipline; fear unbelief.

Unbelief will rob you of joy, and, if undealt with, it will destroy you.