John the Baptist, as he’s known in the Scriptures, had a special role in the biblical narrative. In Luke chapter 1, an angel of the Lord appears to John’s father, Zechariah, and tells him the following:
“Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. There will be joy and delight for you, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and he will never drink wine or beer. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb. He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.”
(Luke 1:13-17, CSB)
John was marked from conception—designated from birth for a unique purpose: to announce the coming of Jesus Christ. John lived out his purpose faithfully, a model servant and follower of Christ. His contemporaries questioned if he was the Christ himself, which he faithfully used as an opportunity to point to Jesus as the one they were looking for (John 3:22-30). There is no doubt that John the Baptist believed that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah. However, in Matthew 11:2-3, we’re surprised with an unexpected twist in John’s story: doubt.
In Matthew’s Gospel we’re told of an instance where John the Baptist’s disciples bring a significant question to Jesus on John’s behalf:
“Now when John heard in prison what the Christ was doing, he sent a message through his disciples, and asked him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’”
(Matthew 11:2-3)
This question is striking given its source. This is John the Baptist, forerunner to Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit before his birth; humble and devoted prophet of God! His entire ministry was telling people that Jesus was the coming one… and then we see him unsure? What happened?
The text gives us two clues: John was in prison and he heard about the works of Christ. We’re left to infer that by the time of his question, his circumstances and Jesus’s ministry were not quite what John had expected. Perhaps he thought he was announcing the beginning of a new earthly kingship, and Jesus had yet to obtain any titles. Or perhaps John just knew that his own death was imminent and he wanted some final reassurance before he died. Matthew doesn’t explicitly tell us why John was asking this question, but he gives us something better: Jesus’s response.
How might you expect Jesus to respond to John’s doubt? To yours? Do you assume he’ll be angry or disappointed? Do you think he’ll chastise John for asking questions or rebuke you for second guessing? On the contrary, Jesus responds with affirmation. He doesn’t answer John’s question directly but instead replies by inviting John to examine the evidence himself. He tells John’s disciples to report back what they could hear with their own ears and see with their own eyes. Not only was the fruit of Jesus’s ministry validating in itself, but it was the fulfillment of the words of the prophet Isaiah who spoke of the future of God’s people.1
Jesus was gently reminding John of what he knew to be true. Rather than just tell him, “Yes, John, I am the one,” Jesus prompted John to recall why he believed in the first place. He offers him proof that Jesus was exactly who John had believed him to be, the very Christ he had prophesied. Jesus gave John what he needed to believe.
We don’t have to be afraid to ask questions or be ashamed of our doubt. Questions and doubts are human, and so are we. When we find ourselves doubting what we once knew to be true, we can be reassured that our questions are not a threat to God. Not only can he handle them, but he is the only one who can help us resolve them. God gives us what we need to believe through people, evidence, and hope.
The people of God are meant to be a communal people, helping each other to know and love the Lord. In the case of John the Baptist, we see that it was his disciples who actually took his question to Jesus. John was imprisoned and therefore unable to make the trip to Jesus himself. Without the help of his disciples, he might have been isolated with his doubt, relying only on his own tenacity or the wisdom of his nearest cell mate. This isn’t God’s plan for his people. From the beginning of time God intended for his people to live in community with one another. It was not good for Adam to be alone, and so a helpmate was created for him, someone of his own kind.2 Later, the author of Hebrews reminded us to gather together and encourage each other.3
For Christians, it’s important that we surround ourselves with other believers and let ourselves be known. When we have questions or doubts, the family of God should be a safe place to take them and trust that we will be met with compassion and truth. Within the local church, we get to bear one another’s burdens and remind each other of what is true about God. And most importantly, we get to lift one another up in prayer. Just like John’s disciples went straight to the source with John’s question, we, too, get to take one another’s burdens straight to the Lord in prayer.
In addition to giving us people to help us believe, the Lord has given us evidence of who he is. Jesus’ response to John was to cite the evidence: the blind could see, the lame could walk, those with leprosy were cleansed, the deaf could hear, the dead were raised, and the poor received the good news! Not only did these miracles point to a divine miracle-worker, but they echoed God’s promise in Isaiah to deliver his people.4 In essence Jesus was reassuring John, “I am who you thought I was.” And we have that same assurance through the Scriptures. When our belief wavers and we begin to question God’s goodness, or his compassion, or his trustworthiness, or his justice, we need look no further than our own Bibles to find encouragement.
We can also look to our own lives or the lives of the people we love to find evidence of who God is. Just recently a friend pointed out that God is answering a prayer I shared with her at the beginning of the year. It was a reminder that he hears our prayers5 and loves to give good gifts to his people.6 I love to look back at notes in my Bible or prayer journal and see the specific ways the Lord has worked in my life. And one of my favorite things in the world is when people I’ve prayed with follow up with me later and tell me how God answered our prayers. When we find our faith shaken, looking back at the examples in our own lives of who God is and what he has done can be so reassuring.
Lastly, the Lord gives us hope to help us believe. In our story in Matthew, it’s actually not to John but to his audience that Jesus shares this hope. In Matthew 11:11 Jesus tells the crowd, “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared, but the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” After praising John to those in attendance and extolling his character (which should give us great comfort for how Jesus views us in light of our own doubts and questions), Jesus goes on to honor all who trust him for salvation. He even calls them greater than the esteemed prophet. As Alexander McLaren put it, “In Christ’s eyes greatness is nearness to him, and understanding of him and his work.”7 It is not the strength of our belief, or the absence of doubt, or the amount of knowledge we acquire that bring us hope of a future with Christ; it is proximity to him. To quote the Psalmist,
“My flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the strength of my heart,
My portion forever.
Those far from you will certainly perish,
You destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
But as for me, God’s presence is my good.
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
So I can tell of all that you do.”
(Psalm 73:26-28)
Friend, when your faith is shaken, rest assured that it’s God’s good pleasure to give you what you need to believe. He’s not threatened by your unbelief and you don’t need to hide it from him. On the contrary, we can follow John’s example and take it straight to the Lord. We can surround ourselves with other Christians who will help us get to him when we’re unable to go on our own. We can remind ourselves of the evidence of who God is—in the pages of the Scriptures and the stories of our own lives. And we can rest assured that our hope is found not in our own constancy, but in Christ alone. Even when we’re faithless, “he remains faithful” (2 Timothy 2:13).
Do you struggle to believe that God is who he says he is? Are there parts of his character that your circumstances (or someone else’s) cause you to doubt? May I encourage you to do any or all of the following:
- Find a place to record your own evidence of God’s faithfulness to you—a journal, planner, Bible, or regular chats with a close friend.
- Take your questions and doubts to the Lord in prayer.
- Find a community that is faithfully following Jesus and let them know you, doubts and all.
- Start reading through the Gospel of Matthew and highlight every time Jesus gives someone what they need in order to believe him.
Footnotes:
1 Isaiah 35:5-6, 61:1 CSB
2 Genesis 2:18, 22-23
3 Hebrews 10:25
4 Isaiah 35:5-6, 61:1
5 Psalm 65:2
6 Matthew 7:11
7 Alexander McLaren, “John’s doubts of Jesus, and Jesus’ praise of John”.
Photo Credit: Emilee Carpenter
Kelly is a follower of Jesus, wife to Scott, mom of 5, keeper of plants, and lover of both stories and spreadsheets. She leads women’s discipleship at her local church in Hamilton, Ohio alongside some of her favorite people. Kelly’s natural curiosity makes her an eager learner, and she’s passionate about sharing the truth of the Scriptures with others. When she’s not working, studying biblical Hebrew, or volunteering for her kids’ school, you can probably find Kelly eating chips and watching reruns of Frasier.
