Luke 7:20 - And when the men had come
to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the
one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’ ”
Have you
ever struggled in your faith? Perhaps you made a strong start as a Christian
but some disappointment or unanswered prayer along the way led you to question
Jesus’ reality and power. Maybe you have been recently considering trusting in
Christ but a question or two still holds you back. If so, you are not alone.
Luke 7:18-28
shows John the Baptist, whom Jesus calls here the “greatest born among women,”
uncertain about Jesus. John was Jesus’ first endorser (see Luke 3). He put his
whole life on the line to be the Forerunner, whose role was to prepare people
for the coming of the Christ (Luke 7:27). Yet, after being thrown into prison
and facing a death sentence, he naturally wonders, “Did I get it right? Is this
Jesus really THE one?”
It is so
tempting to measure God’s reality by our circumstances. We want God to fit our
expectations. When things do not go our way, we begin to question him.
Yet, notice
that Jesus does not rebuke John for his doubt. He sends John’s disciples back
with both an encouragement (“Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the
blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf
hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.”- Luke
7:22) and a warning (“Blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” – Luke
7:23).
Doubts do
not disqualify us, but we must not remain in them. John did the right thing
with his doubts. He took them to Jesus. He got the evidence and the reminder
that he had been right all along. Take any doubts you have to Jesus today.
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