DELIVERANCE FROM DOUBTS - Pt. 1

Matthew 11:1-6 “And it came to pass when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.”

There are many, many people who struggle with questions and doubts. Even many of God’s best servants like Abraham, the father of faith, and David, who went through discouragements and was used by God to write Psalms of encouragement. In the last three “Challenging Concepts” we looked at the life of Elijah, who could face the large number of false prophets, but then ran from Jezebel. We could point out more of God’s servants who had questions and doubts but that gives a good reminder that God’s best servants had times of questions and doubts.

The man John the Baptist was no exception. I love this passage of Scripture in Matthew 11 because it shows just how human was this great man of God. Remember, John was of priestly descent. His father, Zacharias, was a priest and his mother Elizabeth was of the daughters of Aaron. John was also chosen by God as the forerunner of Jesus. His ministry, one of repentance, attracted a large following.

But it seems as if John, sitting in prison, has a time of questions and maybe even doubt. Why? Why did these questions come? He preached that the Messiah was coming but now seems to want to make sure that Jesus was the One Who was to come.

As our narrative starts here in verse 1 we read "And it came to pass when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities."

Jesus had been giving some private instructions to the chosen twelve. He then completes this and takes His teaching and preaching ministry beyond that chosen circle. I’m glad this part is included because if He had not extended the gospel beyond the inner circle you and I would not have had the opportunity to be saved. Peter writes in his second Epistle 3:9 A. . . not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.@

Verse two reveals that John is in prison, but is not in isolation because he can send and receive messages and does so. Let’s notice some thoughts:

1. HIS DOUBTS

Notice verses 2-3 "Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?"

What were the CAUSES of his questions and doubt? You would think that this man who had come out of the wilderness preaching fire and brimstone was so bold and confident that nothing could shake his belief system. He had separated himself from society and to preaching the kingdom of God was at hand. He had brazenly preached against the external emphasis of the Sadducees and Pharisees and had called them “a generation of vipers.” Even though this last of the Old Testament prophets didn’t feel worthy to do so, he even baptized Jesus at the start of His ministry. Why now the questions?

In a book entitled If I Really Believe, Why Do I Have These Doubts? Author Lynn Anderson lists some different types of doubters:
(1) Congenital Doubters (born that way)
(2) Rebel Doubters (nobody tells what to think)
(3) Disappointed Doubters (if God loved, why?)
(4) Wounded Doubters (from family, friends, etc)

But what about John? Why is he going through such questions that he resorts to sending some of his followers to ask Jesus if He really was Who He said He was? Let me give you a few of my own ideas:

(1) He could have been DISCOURAGED – Here he sits in a confined location. He’s used to the wide-open spaces. He had come from the wilderness and now finds himself closed in. He has gone from liberty to bondage, in a circumstance that he cannot change. You could understand the questions which might flood his mind.

(2) He could have been DISAPPOINTED – John did not have the privilege of the entire Word of God as we do. He had imagined the kingdom being ushered in at that time. If Jesus was the Messiah and possessed the scepter of David then why hadn’t He set him free? Wasn’t that the teaching of Isaiah 61:1 "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."

(3) He could have been DISILLUSIONED – Notice verse 2 "Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, . ." While sitting in that prison, John hears about all that was happening in the ministry of Jesus. He heard about the healing of the sick, lame and blind. He also heard about Him raising the dead, but where is the attack on Rome? Where is the freeing of the Jews from the persecution of Rome? Isn’t this what all the Jews are waiting for?

Have you ever been here? I’m not talking about in prison, but having questions and maybe even doubts. Have you ever been in circumstances which you can’t change or in problems which you cannot solve?

I’m going to be totally transparent. In fact, I have been accused of being too transparent at times. I have had questions in my life. I have even wondered why God would do something for so-in-so and not for me.

One of the reasons we have doubts and questions is that we listen to our fears. Our fears come from the heart and we learn from Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" We read also in Proverbs 29:25 “The fear of man bringeth a snare: . . .” The Apostle Peter is a great illustration of this when he was accused by this little servant girl by the fire. He lied about knowing the Lord.

A person gets into trouble when he thinks as a natural man. God’s ways are not our ways. The wisdom of the Word of God tells us in Proverbs 16:25 "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."

What had happened in John’s life that would have brought this fear? He had gotten into trouble with the authority. He had boldly stood against King Herod and his action of taking his brother’s wife. And because of that he had been thrown into jail. In fact, he had been in jail for quite a long time. You can imagine how easy it would have been for him to be disillusioned. He begins to think. What else was there to do? He thinks of his circumstance, his future and what he knew about the coming Messiah. John thought the Messiah would overthrow the authority but Herod is still on the throne and he’s in prison. He began to question his life, his ministry and whether or not what he had preached was right or not.

Have we not questioned things that have happened in our lives? Have we wondered why things were going right in other’s lives and we were having difficulties?

If John is having some doubts, is that unbelief? How does Jesus deal with the questions of John? Next week we’ll answer those questions.

That’s my view; how about you?