The Concern of John the Baptist (Matthew 11:2-6; Luke 7:18-23)

This sermon was preached on 10/6/2012

Shortly after baptising Jesus, John was arrested by Herod and put in prison because of his faithful preaching, especially about Herod’s own immoral behaviour with his sister-in-law (Matt. 14:1-4). As he sat in prison (Matt. 11:2), it was inevitable that John would begin to look back on how his life had gone so far and he would have recalled many interesting details, especially about his involvement with Jesus of Nazareth, because he had been the reason for everything else that John had done in his life since his childhood. This time of incarceration, however, caused John to begin to doubt Jesus and so he sent two of his disciples with a question to Jesus.

 You may be familiar with the suggestion that it was not John who had doubts about Jesus but rather it was John’s disciples. Such a suggestion cannot be deduced from the passage and is an attempt to portray John as incapable of doubting. One wonders why it should be attempted to prove that he did not have doubts. James Stalker shows the weakness of the attempt when he writes: ‘Learned men have taken strange offence at this narrative, as if it contradicted other parts of the Gospel. It is held to be totally irreconcilable with the testimony said to have been borne to Christ by the Baptist; because one who had received such divine tokens as were vouchsafed to John at the baptism of Jesus and had pointed out the Messiah so distinctly could never afterwards have asked such a question as is here attributed to him. But this is one of the instances in which learning overshoots itself, and the plain man or the simple Christian is wiser than his teachers. Those who are taught by experience are well aware that the soul has its fainting-fits, and that one whose faith at one time is so great as to remove mountains may at another time be weak and unbelieving.’

 Stalker also notes the similarity between John the Baptist and Elijah: ‘In the Gospel the Baptist is frequently compared with the prophet Elijah; and, if ever there was a man who was a giant in faith, it was Elijah; yet Elijah had his hour of weakness too. He who on Mount Carmel was able to stand up without flinching in the face of the prophets of Baal and the thousands of Israel was found on another occasion, in a pessimistic mood, far from the confines of the Holy Land, a fugitive from his work, and wishing only for himself that he might die.’

 It is clear that John had doubts about Jesus because the message that John sent includes himself – it contains the pronoun ‘we’: ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?’ John was as involved in the message as were his disciples. The reply of Jesus also indicates that he knew that John had doubts because he says to the disciples that John sent, ‘Go and tell John...’ The answer of Jesus was for John’s personal good.

The causes of his doubts

There are various reasons why people may have doubts about Jesus. One common one is ignorance – they have doubts because they do not have enough knowledge about Jesus. The remedy for such an attitude is straightforward – they can go and find out about Jesus, perhaps from what the Bible says or else read a book or articles online about him. Another common reason for having doubts about Jesus is prejudice. For example, followers of other religions have doubts about Jesus because his claims run counter to what they advocate. The solution to their attitude is to investigate who Jesus and what he has done.

John had neither of these reasons. It is quite clear that he cannot be classified as ignorant about Jesus, nor was he prejudiced against Jesus (in fact, he was eager to know that Jesus be the One that was promised). Yet he now found himself in a spiritual position in which he had doubts that Jesus indeed was the Deliverer. Why? I would suggest three possible causes.

 First, John may have been impatient with the rate that Jesus was proceeding with his mission. John had announced that the King was coming, and that when he arrived he would purify the nation. Yet there was no sign that Jesus was doing this. In fact, instead of bringing judgement, Jesus seemed to be doing the opposite. The Saviour seemed to be content with teaching objectionable characters about God’s grace rather than dealing with the corruption that abounded in society. John may have been unaware that Jesus was instructing his disciples about how and why they were to engage in worldwide mission after he had gone back to heaven. Impatience with Jesus is a frequent reason for doubt among his followers. It happens in all kinds of ways. His disciples plan an outreach event and nothing of significance is found in the response. Earnest prayers can seem as if they are being ignored. And the consequence is impatience, and impatience will lead to doubting either the willingness of Jesus or the capability of Jesus.

F. B. Meyer, in describing John’s problem with very real divine delays, comments that ‘God’s children are sometimes the most bitterly tried. For them the fires are heated seven times; days of weariness and nights of pain are appointed them; they suffer, not only at the hand of man, but it seems as though God Himself were turned against them, to become their enemy. The heavens seem as brass to their cries and tears, and the enemy has reason to challenge them with the taunt, “Where is now your God!” The waters of a full cup are wrung out in days like these; and the cry is extorted, “How long, O Lord, how long?” You and I have been in this plight.’

Second, John was looking at God’s providences without understanding what the Lord had in mind. Providence basically comes in three ways as far as we are concerned. There are good providences, there are difficult providences and there are neutral providences, with each of them having their different shades of effect. It is easy to have assurance when providences are good, when things are going well, when we can deduce that God is working things for our good. We can even have such assurance when things are neutral because they are not so very bad and can be accompanied by good things. The problem with that kind of assurance is that it does not remain when things go upside down. So here is John and he looks at his circumstances, notes all that has happened to him, assumes that Jesus is not concerned, and concludes that somehow Jesus has failed him. This is a very common situation among God’s people, but the reality is that it is caused by having a wrong basis for one’s sense of assurance. We cannot maintain strong assurance by always looking at providence because eventually something will happen that will remove that type of assurance.

Third, John was listening to other people, in this case, to his disciples. Matthew and Luke tell us that John’s disciples came to him with a report about what Jesus was doing. Their report must have been negative because it was their contribution that John sent the question. John listened to them even although there was a very good reason why he should not have. The reason was that they had not listened to his message when he had told his followers that the Messiah had arrived. They should have stopped following John and started to follow Jesus. At best, they were disobedient disciples.

Half-hearted followers are one of the biggest causes of doubts in the lives of Christians. They come along with their negative assessments, distort the situation and weaken the faith of others. If we want to maintain our sense of assurance we will have to learn to ignore such people. Someone who is not following Jesus fully is not equipped to make an assessment about the affairs of his kingdom. But if we listen to them, we will find that our faith diminishes, and with it our sense of assurance.

One obvious lesson from John’s response is that such doubts can happen to anyone, no matter their previous experiences. As we know, John had profound spiritual occasions, had been devoted to God since childbirth, endeavoured to follow the way of God as closely as possible. If we think we are immune automatically from imitating him, we should think again and realise that such doubts can be found in the lives of God’s choicest people.

Nevertheless, John had retained one wise action and that was to bring his doubts to Jesus himself. Perhaps John wanted a personal word from Jesus that would explain why he was in Herod’s prison. He is like a sick man making his way to the doctor hoping that somehow the doctor will have an answer. John was being secretly guided by the Holy Spirit as he sent his disciples with his request to Jesus. The Spirit works in secret to lead the puzzled and doubting disciples of Jesus to him for an answer. When that happens, they will discover that Jesus is the good Physician who is able to diagnose the problem and provide the remedy.

The cure for John’s doubts

Jesus’ response, according to Luke, was twofold. First, he performed some miracles and preached to the crowds; second, he sent John a cure for his doubts, which was that he should think about what Jesus is doing. Jesus, when he heard about John’s dilemma, continued to do what he had always done. He did not swerve from his purpose nor did he deliver John out of the circumstances that he was in. Jesus had the ability to deliver John, but the Saviour knew that physical deliverance is not the answer to a spiritual problem. Sometimes we pray to the Lord and say, ‘O Lord, if you change my circumstances, then I will serve you better.’ The heavenly Physician knows whether or not that will be the case. Even if that was the case, it is important to recall that Jesus is not merely working for our immediate needs; in addition he is also focussed on the glory that will be ours in eternity. So Jesus did not promise John that he would be rescued from prison. Yet John’s disciples were told by Jesus to be careful, very careful, about what they say about him.  

As we look at what Jesus told John to do, we cannot help but see how simple his remedy is. He says to John’s disciples, ‘You have seen what I have done. Now go and tell John what I have done.’ Jesus knows that if this commandment is obeyed, it will be a cure for John’s problem. We might respond and say that while his advice was easy for John’s disciples it is not so easy for us. If we think in that way we are wrong. We have a full record of Jesus in the Bible. He testified that he can be found anywhere in the Old Testament, the Gospels are full of what Jesus said and did, and the Epistles are explanations and applications of what he did for sinners. Many of our spiritual problems are caused by our failure to keep our eyes on Jesus in his Word, and most of them would disappear when we fill our minds with what the Bible says about him.

 Not only is this remedy simple, it is also suitable for everyone. We all have access to this programme. If Jesus had said, ‘John, your problems will disappear if you spend so many hours a day in prayer,’ John might have said, ‘I have no energy, nor do I have the inclination to pray at the moment.’ Others might be able to do so, but others may not. But to start thinking about Jesus, well we all can open a page in the Bible and look at what it says about Jesus. There are no excuses about this. By now in our spiritual lives, we should have filled our minds with what the Bible says about Jesus.

I don’t think Peter ever forgot this remedy. Years later, he was to write to Christians who were having problems with their discipleship and were in danger, as he puts it, of ‘losing their own stability’. Among the pieces of advice he gives them is this statement: ‘Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ’ (1 Pet. 3:18). No doubt Peter has experimental knowledge in mind, but it must be based on what the Bible says about Jesus. The author of Hebrews tells his wavering readers to consider Jesus and how he endured the cross (Heb. 3:1; 12:1-3), with him promising that it is an effective remedy for ‘growing weary and faint-hearted’. Paul tells his readers again and again how the example of Jesus is suitable for humility (Phil. 2:5-11), for financial giving (2 Cor. 8:9), and for practical brotherly love (John 13:15). This remedy of Jesus is guaranteed to be successful.

The challenge of Jesus to the cured

Having informed the disciples of John about the cure that their leader needed to take, Jesus then told the disciples to pass on to him a challenge as well. The challenge was a gracious one because it was accompanied by a promise: ‘Blessed is the one who is not offended by me.’ Obviously Jesus recognised that what he was teaching and doing could cause offence. In John 6:61, Jesus rebukes several temporary disciples who were offended at his teaching.

We don’t know which of Jesus’ teachings or actions may have caused John to be offended and there is little point in speculating about them. What we have to do is watch out that we are not offended by some of his teachings! Today it is possible to be embarrassed by what Jesus taught about eternal punishment or by his claims to the only way to God. If Jesus has cured us from our sins, the challenge he gives us is to adhere to his teachings and not deviate from them.

James Stalker warns a certain type of disciple about another type of offence that can produce spiritual havoc: ‘They are offended by his cross; they are afraid to confess him and to take the consequences. Their convictions about Christ are going one way and their conduct the other. Far oftener Christ addressed himself to this state of mind, and about it he expressed himself more plainly: “Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven; but whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.”’

Yet Jesus also reminds John’s disciples that he was blessed despite his difficult circumstances. His state of blessedness concerns what he had received from God, in other words, salvation from his sins. That is a very rich state to be in because it includes a wide variety of aspects. Salvation includes forgiveness of sin, adoption into God’s family, the fulfilment of his promises, and the guaranteed prospect of glory. Perhaps John’s troubles had caused him to become focussed on earthly comfort. Whether or not that was the case, Jesus comforts John by reminding him of the blessing that is given to all who trust in the Saviour.

There will also be marvellous blessings on the Great Day. I read this extract in a sermon by C. H. Spurgeon and it explains clearly the riches that will be enjoyed when Jesus returns: ‘But what blessedness awaits you if you are not offended in Jesus. You are blessed while you are waiting for him, but your best reward is to come. In that hereafter, when the morning breaks on the everlasting shore, how will they be ashamed and disgusted with themselves who sought their own honour and esteem, and denied their Lord and Master! Where will Demas be then, who chose the present world and forsook his Lord? Where will that son of perdition be who chose the thirty pieces of silver and sold the Prince of Life? What shame will seize upon the coward, the fearful, the unbelieving, the people who checked conscience and stifled conviction because a fool’s laugh was too much for them! Then they will have to bear the Saviour’s scorn and the everlasting contempt of all holy beings...

‘But the men who stood meekly forward to confess their Lord – who were willing to be set in the pillory of scorn for Christ, ready to be spit upon for him, ready to be called ill names for his sake, ready to lose their character, their substance, their liberty, and their lives for him – oh how calmly will they await the great assize, when loyalty shall receive honor from the great King. How bright will be their faces when he that sitteth on the throne will say, “They confessed me before men, and now will I confess them before my Father which is in heaven. These are mine, my Father,” says he “they are mine. They clave unto me, and now I own them as my jewels.”