Sometimes I Wonder

Matthew 11:1-6

Matthew 11:1-6 After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee. 2 When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” 4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 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. 6 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”

The great New Testament scholar CK Barrett in the introduction to one of his books wrote, "Sometimes I wonder if Christianity is really true." When I read that, I almost fell out of my chair: "What do you mean, "I wonder if Christianity is really true?" You’re CK Barrett! You’re a famous Bible scholar! You’re not supposed to ’wonder’ about these things! You’re supposed to be sure of these things! You’re supposed to know that Christianity is true!"

Do you ever have second thoughts or even doubts? In reading the scripture I see different people with doubts. The most famous one, of course is Thomas, who doubted that Jesus was alive and had appeared to the other disciples.

1. The Question

Two Sundays ago Lance Richards came to me after church and asked me a question. He said in Matthew 11 where John the Baptist was in prison about to lose his head for being a prophet of God, he sent his disciple to Jesus to ask Him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” I told Lance that day that John probably sent his disciples so they could experience Jesus for themselves, because John was already convinced. But then I studied this and asked myself the question, could John the Baptist have slipped into being a normal human being and because of his difficult circumstances slipped into having second thoughts? John the Baptist is in prison for publicly preaching against King Herod. He felt he had been doing and saying exactly what God had laid on his heart. But now he is in prison. He hated being confined. He loved the outdoors and the freedom he had as he preached to whoever would come to listen. But now things are looking really bad. This could be the end of his life and ministry. Could he be having some doubts, some second thoughts. He hears about how Jesus is healing the sick and raising the dead and saving sinners. And in verse 2, he sends people to Jesus to ask Him, "Are you the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?"

And I’m like "How can John the Baptist have second thoughts, how could he even ask that question? He had seen Jesus in action! He even said in John 1:29, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! So if these are second thoughts or doubts where are they coming from?"

2. The Questioning

The older I get, the more I realize that we all have doubts and second thoughts. We all have moments of questioning. A high school graduate might pray for a high paying job right out of high school. But six months later, the only companies hiring are Dairy Queen and Quick Trip. And the person says, "God, I thought life after high school would go a lot easier than this. This is not what I expected at all. Are you really looking out for me? Are you even there?"

Or a woman discovers that her husband has been having an affair. They get a divorce. All of a sudden, she’s a single mom with two kids. And she says, "God, I never thought in a million years that I would be in this situation. I’ve been a faithful practicing Christian my whole life. How could this happen to me? Are you the One who was to come? Or should we look for another?"

Or maybe your like an older couple that I heard about last week. In their sixties they discovered that their pension has been mismanaged. The stocks that their pension fund managers went south and they’re not going to be able to retire like they thought. They’re going to have to keep working and now their in their seventies and still working. And they wonder where Christ is in all this. "Are you the One who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"

Or the couple who thought their jobs would be secure and they could retire from the company they had been a faithful employee to. But the pink slip was given and now they couldn’t think about working there until they retired. Now they had to worry about how they were going to survive until their next paycheck.

We’ve all had times where we expected God to do something in our lives. Maybe even something special. But, He didn’t come through exactly the way we thought He would. And we wonder, "Jesus, are you really the One who was to come? Or should we look for someone else?"

I think we can appreciate where John is coming from when he asked this question. He didn’t think he would end up in prison all by himself. He expected Jesus as the Messiah to come and punish the Herods of this world. He remembered the prophecy in Isaiah 11:4 where it says that the Messiah would “strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.” He remembered the prophecy in Isaiah 61:2 where it says that God’s anointed one would proclaim ’the day of vengeance of our God.’ He even said in Matthew 3:12 that Jesus would "gather the wheat into his barn, but burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." He was expecting a fire and brimstone Jesus.

But instead of preaching brimstone, Jesus preached grace. Instead of punishing sinners, He reached out to sinners. Instead of ushering in a political kingdom, Jesus preached about a heavenly kingdom.

And John was confused. "Why is Jesus letting the Herods of this world get away with murder? Why is he letting an innocent man like me sit here in this prison? Why is He letting my life come to an end like this? Are you the One who was to come? Or should we expect someone else?"

As I have thought and studied this the one thing I have learned from this passage is that it’s OK to ask God questions. It’s OK to say, Lord, sometimes my heart can’t understand, what’s your will, what’s your plan. Help me to understand why things are happening the way that they are.

I thank God that this church has people who are not afraid to ask questions. Sometimes I’m afraid that I won’t have a good answer for them. But I appreciate their willingness to ask good questions.

3. The Answer

Another thing I learn from this story is that Jesus sometimes answers our questions! Beginning with verse 4 He says, ""Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 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." In other words, if you want to know whether or not I am the long awaited Messiah, then take a look at my track record! Look at the people I’ve helped! Look at the people I’ve healed! Look at the people whose lives have been changed for the better!

Ladies and Gentlemen, the greatest evidence that Jesus is who He says He is comes from the changed lives of His followers. On Sunday morning, I can select 5 people. And they would come up to this pulpit and tell you how much Jesus has changed their lives. People who used to be alcoholic. People who used to wallow in depression. People who used to be blinded by the god of this age. People who have survived the pain of a difficult marriage or even divorce. And now they have been changed and given hope by the power of the grace of Christ.

Jesus was not the Messiah that John the Baptist expected. He was a better Messiah than John the Baptist expected!

This raises an important question for us today. What kind of Christ do you and I expect? What does your Christ look like? Is he a liberator or stern judge? Is he a distant, untouchable divine Son of God, or is he a personal, intimate Savior?

Sometimes, we form ideas about Jesus that are not true. We sometimes think of Him as strictly a wish granter: If I’m good, Christ will help me get a good job. Christ will help me get a new car. Christ will help me find a hot date for Friday night.

I have learned that that kind of image of Christ is dangerous, because what happens when our wishes don’t get granted? What happens when Christ doesn’t come up with a date for you this Friday night? And in the years ahead, what happens when Christ doesn’t answer your prayers for a cancer to go away, or for a child to be born?

What happens is that we find ourselves asking the same thing that John asked. "Are you the one, or should we expect someone else?"

Sometimes it’s good for us to doubt the image we have of Christ, because the image we have might not be the right one. Maybe it is time for you to have some good healthy second thoughts about Jesus.

How do you think of Jesus? Do you think of Him as demanding and overbearing, full of thou shalt do this but thou shalt not do that? Is that your image of God? If so, then you need to have some second thoughts about that Jesus, because Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Or maybe you think of Jesus as one who is distant and unconcerned with what happens to us. If so, then you need to have some second thoughts about that Jesus. The Bible says in Matthew 28:20, "I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Or maybe you think of Jesus as a person who is easy to follow and always makes sure that things go the way you want them to go. If so, then you need to have some second thoughts about that Jesus. The Bible says in John 16:33 that ’in this world you will have trouble. But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

Or maybe you think of Jesus as a teacher, and nothing more? If so, then you need to have some second thoughts about that Jesus. The Bible says in Revelation 1:17, "I am the first and the last. I am the Living One, I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever. And I hold the keys to death and Hades."

Or perhaps you think of Jesus as one way to heaven, but not the only way to heaven. If so, then you need to have some second thoughts about that Jesus. The Scriptures teach us (in John 14:6) that Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

John the Baptist may have had second thoughts about Jesus. He found that the Jesus of his preconceived notions wasn’t what he expected. But the Jesus of the real world turned out to be better than he ever imagined. Jesus then says, "Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." In other words, "Blessed is the One who does not fall away because of their misconceptions of who I am. Blessed is the One who accepts Me for who I am, even if they don’t always understand everything that happens in the world."

Second thoughts about Jesus are good, if they lead to the right thoughts about Jesus. My prayer is that you will see Jesus as someone who loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life, even when you are not always sure what the plan is. That through it all, you will learn to trust in Jesus. Things are not always as the appear to be.

It was May 7, and Roger Simms was hitchhiking his way home, having been discharged from the Army. He flashed his hitchhiking sign at a car, but almost lost hope for a ride when he noticed it was a black, sleek, new Cadillac. To his amazement the car stopped. As Roger entered the car from the passenger’s side, he notice that the driver was a handsome, well-dressed man, who appeared to be in his fifties.

“Going home for keeps?” asked the driver. “Sure am,” Roger said.

As the two conversed, Roger was able to find out that the driver’s name was Hanover. Mr. Hanover owned and operated a business in Chicago—a rather successful business at that. The longer Roger talked to Mr. Hanover, the more impressed he felt to witness to him about Christ. Finally, when they were only thirty minutes away from Roger’s home, he got up the nerve to share Christ with Mr. Hanover, eventually asking him if he would like to receive Christ as his personal Savior. To Roger’s amazement, the gentleman immediately pulled the Cadillac to the side of the road, bowed his head and received Christ. Mr. Hanover thanked Roger, and said, “This is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me.”

Five years later, Roger had married and was the proud father of a two-year-old son, and even had a business of his own. While packing for a business trip to Chicago, Roger found Mr. Hanover’s business card, given to him five years earlier. He decided he would look him up while in Chicago. After arriving in Chicago, Roger looked up Hanover Enterprises. The receptionist there told him that it would be impossible to see Mr. Hanover, but that he could see Mrs. Hanover if he wished. He was ushered into a beautiful office where a keen-eyed woman greeted him. She extended her hand and said, “I understand you knew my husband.” “Yes. I was hitchhiking home after the war, and he gave me a lift.”

“When was that?” Mrs. Hanover asked. “It was May 7, the day I was discharged from the Army,” Roger said. “Was there anything special about that day,” asked the lady. Roger hesitated for a moment. “Yes ma’am. I shared the Gospel with Mr. Hanover. He pulled over to the side of the road and leaned over the steering wheel and wept. He gave his heart to Christ that day.”
With that, Mrs. Hanover suddenly began to weep. She wept so hard her whole body shook. When she regained her composure, she said, “I had prayed for my husband’s salvation for years. I believed God would save him.” “And where is Mr. Hanover now,” asked Roger. “He’s dead,” the lady said, struggling to speak. “He was killed in a car crash right after he dropped you off. He never got home.”

Barely able to speak through her sobs, Mrs. Hanover then said, “You see—I thought God had not kept His promise. I stopped living for God five years ago because I thought He had not kept His word!”

Even when we question, God is faithful. But He has a question for us; He asks, “What are you going to do with my Son?”