How Does Jesus Deal With a Doubting Believer?

Posted by deangonzales on May 25, 2009
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johnbaptist There are times when we’re full of faith. Other times we find ourselves struggling with doubts. Doubts about the Bible. Doubts about Jesus. Doubts about the resurrection and the life to come. Perhaps some of you are struggling with doubts at this very moment. How does Jesus deal with doubting believers? I recognize that the terms “doubting” and “believers” appear incongruous. Literary experts would describe a “doubting believer” as an “oxymoron.” “Doubting believer” sounds like “pessimistic optimist.” The two terms don’t seem to fit. However, as the passage below makes clear, genuine believers may at times struggle with doubts about Jesus. Let’s look at the text under two headings: first, a true believer struggling with doubts; second, a gentle Savior dealing with such doubts:

A True Believer Struggling with Doubts (Luke 7:18-20)

The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 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?’” (Luke 7:18-20).

John the Baptist having doubts about Jesus! This is the same John who’s already seen God the Spirit in the form of a dove anoint Jesus at His baptism. He’s already heard with his own ears God the Father speak from heaven and identify Jesus as His beloved Son (Luke 3:22). He’s already pointed to Jesus and proclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). But now John the Baptist, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, appears to have second thoughts about Jesus! “Are you the One who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

Unlike many Christian biographies, the Bible doesn’t gloss over the faults and weakness of great Christian leaders. Without question, John the Baptist was a true believer and an eminent servant of God. In verse 28, Jesus will say to the multitudes, “I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John.” But John had his weaknesses. And Luke doesn’t hesitate to record one of John’s weaker moments. I believe he does this because he’s writing to people like you and me who have our weaker moments. He gives us this point of reference with which we can identify.

But Luke does not merely call attention to John’s doubts. He also highlights two factors that occasioned John’s doubts. Notice firstly,

The depressing nature of John’s circumstances

According to the parallel account in Matthew 11, John’s doubts came while he was “in prison.” Luke has already alluded to John’s incarceration in 3:20. The Jewish historian Josephus tells us that John was held in the fortress of Machaerus, located five miles east of the Dead Sea. Most commentators believe that by this time John had been imprisoned for about one year.

John was not enjoying the best of circumstances. It’s hard to think of worse circumstances than to be locked up for a long time in a dungeon. But that’s where John found himself. And as C. H. Spurgeon remarks, “Dark thoughts may come to the bravest when pent up in a narrow prison cell.” Perhaps this is why John Bunyan portrays the place of doubting as a dungeon in his Pilgrim’s Progress. Bunyan had 12 years of personal experience locked up in prison, and he knew how depressing such circumstances could give rise to doubts.

The apparent deficiency of Jesus’ ministry

There was another factor that occasioned John’s doubts. In verse 18, we’re told that John’s doubts came when he had heard about Jesus’ ministry. Having heard of Jesus’ ministry while in prison, John did not become more convinced that Jesus was the Messiah. Rather, he becomes less certain. There was something about Jesus’ ministry that appeared deficient to John. Therefore, he sends his disciples on a fact-finding mission.

What was the apparent deficiency of Jesus’ ministry? At this point we can only speculate on the basis of inferences from this passage and others. But it’s likely that John was questioning Jesus’ ministry because it lacked the element of final judgment that John and many of the Jews had expected.

Here’s what John was expecting from the Messiah:

John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” (Luke 3:16-17).

Like many OT prophets, John saw the coming of Messiah as one single unit. He didn’t realize the Messiah’s coming would actually be in two phases: the first phase, mercy, and the second phase, judgment. Instead, he believed the Christ would save His people and judge their enemies at the same time.

So when John heard about Jesus’ ministry, he detected a missing element. Where was this Son of David who would make His enemies His footstool? Where was this mighty king who would liberate His people from the oppression of ungodly people? After all, here John, the Lord’s servant, sits rotting in prison, and Jesus isn’t doing anything about it!

Can we not identify with John? We have put our faith in Jesus Christ. We have experienced some of the blessings of the Christian life. But then comes depressing circumstances. God sends trial into our life. Perhaps, it’s a chronic illness. Perhaps, it’s the ongoing reality of a spouse or child who persists in unbelief. Perhaps, it’s an interpersonal conflict with a fellow believer. Or perhaps it’s been the lack of growth. On top of that, it doesn’t appear that Jesus answers our prayers for deliverance. He hasn’t removed the depressing circumstance. He hasn’t rescued us from the trial. As a result, we’re struggling with serious doubts about Jesus and the gospel!

Let me gently warn anyone here who may be saying, “Others may doubt, but I’ll never doubt”: “Let him who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall. There is no temptation which is taken you but such as is common to man.” If godly John the Baptist struggled with doubts, it’s very likely our day will come. It may be the news of cancer. It may be the death of a child. It may be persecution like that experienced by John. Put that together with the fact that Jesus may not fly down from heaven and rescue us from that trial when we pray. Lo and behold, we’ll find ourselves struggling with doubt.

We may doubt whether Jesus is who He claimed to be. We may doubt whether the Bible’s really true? We may doubt whether there really is a resurrection from the dead? As Matthew Henry points out,

The remaining unbelief of good men may sometimes, in an hour of temptation, strike at the root, and call in question the most fundamental truths which were thought to be well settled.

When we find ourselves in such a state, we may question the genuineness of our faith or the reality of God’s love. Have I really trusted in Christ, or have I been a fake? Does God really love me, or has He forsaken me?

When that happens, remember John the Baptist! If John the Baptist could be a genuine believer (highly favored of God) and yet struggle with doubts, then it’s possible for you and me to be true believers but find ourselves struggling with doubts! I don’t know about you, but the fact John struggled with doubts gives me a degree of hope.

And yet the greatest encouragement does not come from the reality of John’s doubt, but rather from Jesus’ response to John’s doubt.

A Gentle Savior Dealing with Doubts (Luke 7:21-23)

Jesus responds to John’s doubt in three ways:

Jesus gives John’s disciples a first hand demonstration of his ministry (21-22).

This is implied in verse 22 when Jesus says, “Go and tell John what you have heard and seen.” The first thing Jesus did in response to John’s question was to preach the gospel and to perform miracles in the presence of John’s disciples (21). John and his disciples had already heard about Christ’s ministry. Now Jesus gives them a live demonstration.

Jesus gives John an OT description of his ministry (22).

In verse 22, Jesus draws from at least two Messianic passages in the OT to describe His ministry: “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.” If you’ll look at the cross-reference in your Bibles, you’ll probably find Isaiah 35:4-6 and Isaiah 61:1-3. Both of these passages describe the coming of Messiah. Thus, by applying this OT language to His own ministry, Jesus is answering John’s question: “Yes, John, I am He! I am the Expected One. You do not need to look for another.”

Jesus gives John a gentle warning not to stumble over him (23).

“Blessed is the one who is not offended by me,” said Jesus to doubting John (7:32). The Greek word translated “offended” literally means, “to be scandalized.” In the NT, it refers either to someone who is caused to fall into sin or to someone who is caused to fall into unbelief. It’s the second usage that Jesus has in mind here. “God’s blessing will rest upon the man who does not fall away into unbelief because of me.”

Jesus is giving John a gentle warning. He’s not trying to frighten John. He’s not trying to make John doubt His salvation. Jesus does not say, “Cursed be the rascal who falls away because of me.” Rather, He is trying to encourage John not to give up. “John, if you’ll only trust in me, you will enjoy the blessing of God.”

In one edition of Christianity Today, there’s an advertisement for a book entitled The Rod. In it the author argues that Christians will be punished throughout the millennium for their sins and failures in this life. And on the front of the book there’s a picture of a hand with rod raised in the air. Struggling believer, let me assure you, Jesus isn’t standing over your head with a club in His hand. The Jesus of the Bible will not break the bruised reed or quench the smoking flax! He’s a gentle Savior who deals tenderly with His saints. But there’s another lesson we can draw out from Jesus’ words:

Jesus’ warning implies there is something about His earthly ministry that will tempt men to take offense at Him. It wasn’t so much what John heard about Jesus’ ministry that caused him to doubt; it was what John was not hearing! John wasn’t hearing about judgment. John wasn’t hearing about a Messiah riding forth in victory and liberating the people of God from all of their enemies. There was something about Jesus’ ministry that seemed to be too weak to be that of the Messiah. It’s a mercy of God John did not live to hear about the crucifixion!

Apparent weakness is what was tempting John to stumble—to fall away from his Savior. This is precisely what actually caused many Jews to stumble over the gospel. Writing to the Corinthians, Paul says, “For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness” (1:22-23).

So when Jesus declares, “Blessed is he who is not offended because of me,” He concedes that there are dimensions of His earthly ministry that may tempt people to disbelieve. But then, He encourages John not to give in to these temptations! In essence, He says, “John, you’re going to be a happy man in the end if you will continue believing in me.” This is how Jesus dealt with John’s doubts.

What practical lessons can we draw from this portion of Scripture?

1. We must accept Jesus as He presents Himself to us and not demand that He conform to our expectations.

John the Baptist not only expected the Messiah to save him from his sins, but he also expected him to rescue him from all his trials! He wanted a Savior who would not only deliver him from inward guilt and corruption, but who would immediately rescue him from the corruption and misery in the world around him!

But Jesus did not stop what He was doing and say, “Well, I guess I’d better change my plans and conform to John’s expectations.” No! Instead, Jesus keeps on doing what He had been doing—the very works of Christ John had already heard about.

He basically tells John, “Look John, as your disciples have born witness, I am doing the very works of mercy that were prophesied of the coming Messiah. Now I’m not coming in judgment at this time, John. And I can’t tell you when I’m going to do that because that’s classified information. However, you’ll be blessed John if you don’t fall away because of me.” And Jesus doesn’t give this message to John directly, but He sends it to John through messengers.

Aren’t there times when we’d like the Lord Jesus to do things a little differently? Aren’t there times when we’d like him to rescue us from our unpleasant circumstances? Aren’t there times when we’d like him to remove our thorn in the flesh? And if He won’t do that, we wish that He’d at least come and pay us a personal visit. Or if not a personal visit, then perhaps He could send an angel. Or if not an angel, then at least a dream or vision or some direct revelation. But Jesus does not conform to your expectation, does He? Instead, He sends you back to the Bible, and tells you to believe it.

We say, “If only I knew when Jesus was coming back!” I confess that I’ve often wished that. So did Jesus disciples. After His resurrection they asked Him whether He was going to restore the kingdom at that time. Do you know how Jesus answered them? “It’s not for you to know the times and the epochs which the Father has fixed by His authority” (Acts 1:6-7).

That’s what He says to us. It’s not for us to know. Jesus does not have to give us a reason for everything He does. He does not have to conform to our expectations. Rather, He will keep on doing what the Father gave Him to do, and He will do it in the manner the Father commissioned Him to do it. And He says to you and me, “Do not take offense over me.”

Let us imitate the faith of the thief on the cross. He had no hope of getting off that cross and saving his life. His only hope was a dying Messiah hanging on a nearby cross. The King of the Jews—crucified in weakness! But that did not hinder the thief! “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Do you remember what Jesus said? “Today, you shall be with me in Paradise!” In other words, “Blessed are you because you are not stumbling over me!”

Perhaps you’re not yet a believer. Perhaps you justify your unbelief because you have doubts about Christianity. Perhaps you’ve told God you won’t believe until He satisfies all your doubts. You’ve demanded that He live up to your expectations!

My friend, it will never happen! God’s very nature requires that He call the shots and that we submit to His will. He offers you the Jesus of the Bible—take Him or leave Him. But remember: “Blessed is he who is not offended because of Jesus.” Let us accept Jesus as He presents Himself to us and not demand that He conform to our expectations.

2. We may have doubts about Jesus and His ministry, but we must not entertain those doubts.

The word “entertain” means to extend hospitality towards or to hold in mind. It’s one thing to have doubts and to struggle with doubts. It’s another when you and I give doubts a place of lodging in our hearts. When we do this, our doubts will soon change into skeptical unbelief.

Today, our society praises skepticism as if it were one of the greatest of virtues. There’s even a new postmodern movement among evangelicals called the “emerging church,” which praises skepticism! The skeptical Christian is viewed as sincere, honest, and truly authentic. In an interview, one of their members said,

I grew up thinking that we’ve figured out the Bible, that we knew what it means. Now I have no idea what most of it means. And yet I feel like life is big again—like life used to be black and white, and now it’s in color (Christianity Today, Nov. 2004, p. 38).

But the Lord Jesus Christ does not praise such skepticism. He does not commend John the Baptist for his “open-mindedness.” Rather, He gives him a gentle warning—“John, blessed are you if you do not take offense at me,” that is, “You will be eternally happy if you refuse to entertain those doubts you’re struggling with. John, don’t stop believing in me.”

That’s what we must do. And when we do find ourselves doubting like John, we need to fall on our knees and say, “Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief.” We need to go back to the Scriptures, as Jesus took John, and read of the “works of Christ” and believe. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God”

Could that be the reason why we haven’t had victory over our doubts? Could it be that we haven’t been reading our Bible? It’s difficult to show hospitality to doubt when we’re showing hospitality to Scripture. Get back to the Bible. Read it. Study it. Meditate upon it! Because Jesus promises a blessing upon those who refuse to entertain doubts about Him: “Blessed is he who is not offended because of Jesus.”