Do circumstances in your life ever steal away the joy of Christmas? Do they raise doubts in your mind about Jesus? Many question why there is so much suffering, unemployment, divorce, or the death of loved ones. It is particularly hard for some around the holidays. Sometimes these thoughts going through someone’s mind might make them question God. Is He really there, and if so, why does He let these sorts of things happen? This can even happen on occasion to Christians. It happened to John the Baptist, as we see in our Scripture passage for today. Let’s see what happened, and how Jesus responded to him.
To best understand this passage we need to look into the background of what had happened to John the Baptist. As we learn in Scripture, John was the son of Zachariah, a priest in the Temple in Jerusalem, and he grew up in a comfortable home. The Lord then called him to a difficult ministry where he left his comfortable lifestyle to live in the wilderness, and then eventually to be the forerunner of Jesus, the Messiah. He preached a message of preparing the way for the Messiah, and particularly of repentance from sin. John did not soften his message depending on his audience, as he even called out the sins of the king, Herod Antipas. That eventually got him arrested, and later executed.
At this time, John was sitting in prison, which in first century Israel was a very wretched place to be. While sitting there, with chains on his arms and legs, probably with only dry bread and water to drink, Satan began to attack his thinking. He began to wonder if perhaps he might have been wrong in thinking that Jesus was the Messiah (vs. 2-3). He wondered if perhaps he had been too hasty in coming to that conclusion. So John sent two of his disciples to Jesus with the pointed question, asking if He was the Messiah, or should they be looking for someone else. John had preached against sin and God’s coming judgment, but it seemed that he was now the only one facing judgment. He obeyed God, and now look at what had happened to him. His faith was taking a beating.
Even the greatest prophet can wrestle with doubt when expectations clash with reality. John had questions, and he was beginning to have doubts. However, doubt is not unbelief. It is a struggle of faith while under trial. True believers can have doubts at times. When we do, we need to bring them to Jesus, just like John the Baptist did, and not hide them. John the Baptist did exactly that. He brought his doubts and questions to Jesus.
How did Jesus respond when John the Baptist sent some of his disciples to Him with questions and doubts? He did not chastise him for lack of faith (vs. 4-6). Instead, Jesus pointed to the prophecies that were fulfilled in His ministry, and the works that confirmed that He was the promised Messiah. Specifically the Lord mentioned the healings He had performed, such as the blind having vision restored, the lame walking, the lepers being cleansed, and the deaf having their hearing restored. Jesus also pointed out that the Gospel message was being proclaimed. This was the fulfillment of Isaiah 35:5-6 and Isaiah 61:1.
The experiences and feelings that John was facing while being in prison, the feelings we may have with the trials we are facing, should not cloud the truth of God’s Word. When doubts arise, we should look to the objective evidence of the Bible and the works of Jesus, not on our feelings. Some people’s faith may slip because they feel that Jesus’ way is not what they expected. However, true faith rests in knowing Jesus as He is revealed, not as we might want to imagine Him. Jesus calls these believers blessed.
Jesus proceeded to praise John, not put him down (vs. 7-10). John the Baptist was not someone who was weak or vacillating like a reed shaking in the wind, and he certainly wasn’t someone who succumbed to the lures of the world like someone who is concerned with wearing soft raiment. Jesus proclaimed that John is “more than a prophet” because he directly prepared the way for the Messiah (Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1). Having a faithful ministry for the Lord requires courage, simplicity, and devotion. John the Baptist’s example rebukes the compromise and worldliness that we see in so many well-known preachers of today.
Our Scripture concludes with Jesus proclaiming that John the Baptist was the greatest prophet (vs. 11). This was because he directly announced the Messiah’s arrival. Yet even the “least” in the Kingdom enjoys greater privilege, because we live on the resurrection side of redemption. Salvation’s fullness in Jesus surpasses even the greatest Old Testament privileges. The indwelling Holy Spirit and completed Gospel revelation are blessings that John never experienced.
As we look back over this Scripture passage we learn that when the trials that we all face might bring some doubts, if what we might be going through, especially in the holiday season, causes us to question why God allows these things, we need to turn to Jesus like John did. We need to return to the Bible and let the words and life of the Lord Jesus strengthen our faith.
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