Dealing with Doubts. Luke 7:18-35 Even though the miracles and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ far surpassed that of the Old Testament prophets and John the Baptist, the people of Israel still thought Jesus was a prophet. They had not yet accepted the fact that the Son of Man had come to seek and save lost sinners. True – Jesus was a prophet, but He was more than a prophet. He is God! Apparently, because Jesus had not come in power to overthrow the Romans and establish His rule as the Great King of kings, John the Baptist had doubts about what his ministry had accomplished.
When a person is confined for some reason, and things are not happening as we hoped, doubts may enter one’s mind. John had been in prison for months and had been kept informed about what Jesus was doing, but it was not what he had expected. That can happen when we become fixed on our agenda and opinions. Our attention needs to be fixed on our Lord and all He has done and is doing for us, not on what we do for Him. Then, we will be adaptable to His will, even though it may be far different from what we expected.
John’s ministry ended with him being imprisoned at Machaerus, the palace fortress of Herod located east of the Dead Sea. The bold message he had for Israel was that they turn from their sins and be baptized as a public testimony they meant to do what he told them. The Jews were looking for freedom from Roman occupation and/or vengeance from God on their enemies. John had the same expectations, so doubts came into his mind when the teaching of Jesus was different, and the blessing His healing brought to people didn’t fit his thinking.
The Lord permits His children to go through hard times and sometimes arranges for difficulties to happen to us so we will become stronger in faith. We hardly need faith when things are easy and going well for us. It is in times of stress and hardship that we are inclined to call on God because we are then conscious of our own weakness and inability. We don’t need to be afraid of doubts, and we must not allow them to control our thoughts.
When doubts arise, and we face them, we are on track to resolving them. Review what you already know for a fact and what you have experienced of divine grace personally. Write them down if it makes it easier to define your doubts and how they have arisen in your mind. Then, based on what you personally know, take time to find out what God is doing now rather than what He is not doing.
The Lord Jesus Christ, while those disciples of John were watching Him, cured illnesses, delivered those who were afflicted with long-lasting physical problems, cast demons out of possessed people, and gave sight to the blind. He did that so those who went one hundred miles back to the fortress of Machaerus to tell John what was going on would have indelibly impressed on their hearts that John was the forerunner of the Messiah. The evidence was there for them to see that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus told them what to tell John, beginning the list with giving sight, then in ascending importance, the ability to walk, then cleansing and hearing. His concluding point was raising the dead. Perhaps a reference to raising the widow of Nain’s son, and most important of all – the Gospel is preached. The good news message the Lord Jesus Christ preached followed the challenging message of John when he preached.
Of all that our Lord Jesus does through His people today to alleviate suffering and sorrow in people, the greatest and most important thing we can do is to proclaim the Gospel. We can’t make people believe the Gospel and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as their own Savior, but we can proclaim the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ and assure people that if they repent of their sins and believe in the Lord Jesus, He will save them.
After John’s disciples left with the message Jesus told them to give John, He gave a wonderful tribute to John and his ministry. The people had not gone out on a tour to see the wilderness area of Israel but to hear a man whose message convicted them. He was not influenced by human opinions but by their need. Opposition against John did not stop him from saying what needed to be said. He woke up complacent people to face themselves and evaluate the awfulness of their sin as God sees it. His words were easy to understand, and his appearance was that of a man who was an individualist and could not be intimidated even by a king. His role as the forerunner of the Messiah was successful. The Messiah was here, and He opened the door to the kingdom of God. Those who enter that door are in a place of privilege that is greater than that of John.
Those who John had baptized were glad to hear that, and it was for that reason that they had been baptized. They had faced their sins and publicly confessed them symbolically. Now, a new door was opened to them, and God welcomed publicans and sinners. The religious experts rejected and despised them, but not the Son of Man, who came to seek and save the lost. The Pharisees and scribes didn’t only reject those whom they thought were of less value than themselves; they also rejected the Messiah who was there and the will of God for them. They weren’t going to be publicly humiliated by the baptism of John or paying heed to the teaching of Jesus!
Some people will never be satisfied with anything that doesn’t come from themselves and their opinions. No matter how the Gospel is presented and the truth of God through His word is impressed on their minds, they have no intention of repenting and obeying the Gospel. They are like children who refuse to play with others. They sit and will not play a sad game like a funeral. That would be their response to the preaching of John. Neither will they place a game pretending they are at a wedding, which refers to the joyful message of Jesus. All they would do was sit and sulk with their arms crossed and their lower lip stuck out. There was no way to please the Pharisees and scribes, and there was no way to reach those who would ignore the Gospel's good news.
The children of wisdom are people who listen and pay close attention to what God says and sees. They can then see themselves and what is happening through God’s eyes. Both John and Jesus were wise even though they and their messages were different. John fulfilled the lesser work of the prophet with wisdom. He was the forerunner who faithfully did the work of a forerunner. Jesus, who is the Source of all wisdom, was the embodiment of Truth and was never perplexed by what happened because He is God. Those who knew John’s message was for them were wise children. Those who knew the claims of the Lord Jesus Christ were the truth were also wise children. They were children of wisdom when they put their faith in the Lord Jesus as Savior. Those who know the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior come to know the Father through Him. “No man comes to the Father, but by Me.”