Struggling with Doubt / John the Baptist Sends Jesus a Message from Prison (10/1/2023)

Let's open up to Matthew chapter 11 Matthew chapter 11 and the title of this message is struggling with doubts

Struggling with doubts might surprise you to know that the greatest prophet who ever lived

John the Baptist he struggled with doubts matter of fact That's what this whole passage is about John is in prison and he sends messengers to ask

Jesus. Are you the one? Are you the one or should we look for?

Another so you see even some of the greatest men and women of faith at times

Depending on their situation what they're going through they They experience doubt so we're gonna look at this passage.

We're gonna see how John Handles that and hopefully we will learn how we should deal with it if and when doubts come

So let's begin reading Matthew chapter 11 Matthew 11 1 through 12

Says now it came to pass when Jesus finished Commanding his 12 disciples that he departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities

And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ He sent two of his disciples and said to him.

Are you the coming one or do we look for another and Jesus answered and said to them

Go and tell John the things which you hear and see The blind see in the lame walk the lepers are cleansed in the death here the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them and Blessed is he who is not offended because of me and as they departed

Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John What did you go out in the wilderness to see a reed shaken by the wind

But what did you go out to see a man clothed and soft garments?

Indeed those who wear soft clothing are in Kings houses But what did you go out to see a prophet?

Yes, I say to you and more than a prophet For this is he of whom it is written behold

I send my messenger before your face who will prepare

Your way before you assuredly I say to you among those born of women

There has not risen one greater than John the Baptist but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he and from the days of John the

Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the

Violent take it by force and may the Lord add his blessing to the reading of this word

Okay, so that last statement verse 12. That's sort of a head scratcher

So let's cover that first this idea Jesus says from the days of John the

Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force

Try to explain that because I think if we do if we understand it, it'll help clarify everything else

So John the Baptist he started his ministry before Jesus, right? He is the forerunner matter of fact, you see in verse 10.

This is he of whom it is written So John fulfilled Old Testament prophecy.

He is preparing the way for Christ so from day one that John started preaching this message the gospel message and at the time it was

Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand from the very first day

John started preaching that people were excited you can imagine if you're a first century Jew and you hear the kingdom is at hand

Yeah you're gonna want to listen and you're gonna get excited about that news and that news that message was spreading all over Israel and Then Jesus when he began his public ministry

He picked up the same message as John repent for the kingdom is at hand

So Christ started healing, you know, John was making many disciples. Jesus was making disciples.

He was healing Performing miracles clearly the kingdom was advancing. There's no question about it.

People were believing on the message The kingdom was advancing all throughout

Israel one translation puts verse 12 this way That from the time of John the

Baptist from the time he began preaching until now the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully

Advancing I think that's true But it also says this other translation and the violent are attacking it

Okay, so the kingdom is advancing but violent people are attacking the kingdom of God now

Is that true? Is that taking place? Where people opposing the work? Yes, we're violent people

Attacking it. Well John the Baptist what happened to John? He was killed. I mean at this point he's in prison, but he's gonna be beheaded by King Herod Jesus what happened to Jesus?

He was crucified. What happened to the Apostle James? He was killed again by Herod killed with the sword

Stephen was stoned to death. So clearly violent people were Attacking the kingdom of God.

So that's one idea that the violent are attacking it, but another Translation puts it this way or here's what one commentator says about verse 12

It could be rendered in this way that the kingdom presses ahead relentlessly and Only the relentless press their way into it

Thus magnifying the statement by Christ that remember in chapter 7 verse 14

He said because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life and there are few who find it

So only those who are the most committed only those who are relentless Enter the kingdom either way, however, you understand this verse.

I think the message is similar Living the Christian life entering into the kingdom of God.

It's not easy. It's not gonna be easy Living who can testify to that living the

Christian life is not easy Now getting saved you could argue is easy believe on the

Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved Yeah, but things don't start getting complicated until after that, right?

So I Think that's true that it is hard And if you've been following along with the messages, isn't this what

Jesus was telling his disciples back in chapter 10 You know in this world you will have tribulation the

Christian life is a battle Things are not always gonna go your way Matter of fact, a lot of people because of your faith will be opposed to you.

That's just the nature of it so That's I think what Jesus is saying and if I can sort of paraphrase verses 6 through 9, you know this statement

Who did you go out to see you know, who do you think John the Baptist was? Anyways, well, I think

Jesus is saying John you know, what kind of preacher were you expecting?

What kind of prophet were you expecting one who wore what we might say one who wore Armani suits and got invited to the

White House? Is that the type of preacher you're looking to is that the type of man you're expecting?

Did John wear soft clothing? No, he Yeah, he was he was a little rough around the edges

That's what some people would have would have said about John. Did he get invited to the king's house?

No, he was in the king's prison So is that what you really expect a

Christian leaders supposed to be like no What did you expect to see a reed shaken by the wind?

What does that mean? Basically? Did you expect some weak preacher who? Bends to popular opinion and just is worried about offending people all the time.

Is that the way you thought John? Was or is that what you expected him to be like? Well, that's the way some religious leaders are but that's not

John the Baptist So I think one idea Jesus is communicating is that people have all sorts of misconceptions

About what a preacher is supposed to be like people have misconceptions about what else?

Who the Christ was supposed to be, you know, I think it's safe to say that Jesus Christ is the most

Misunderstood person in human history, you know You go out on the street and ask ten different people who he was who they believe he was what he did

You're gonna get you know, eleven different answers as they say, so that's part of what Jesus is saying

You know, who did you think John was? one of these types of preachers No, so they had the scriptures.

What should they have expected? Well John came Let's see if you know the story John came in the spirit and the power of who?

Elijah so really having the the Old Testament the Jews should have expected that John the

Baptist was like Elijah and Elijah was a guy who lived out in the wilderness and he was hairy and he was kind of You wouldn't have fit in with modern society

So they should have known that okay, they should have expected that but you know how people are

They think what they want to think, you know, they have all these ideas in their head So point being if John was misunderstood, of course

Christ himself will be Misunderstood and you know, the irony is that John may have misunderstood who

Christ was because here he is in prison You know, the kingdom is at hand was the kingdom about to be ushered in John might have expected that and yet Jesus was going from city to city to city and he was being accepted by some but Rejected by most

I can understand John being in prison and seeing and hearing about all that and starting to wonder

Is he really the one? It looks like that's what's taking place.

All right, let's turn to Psalm 118 for a moment But I just want to expand on this idea that people misunderstood not only

John But the Jewish people they really misunderstood who the

Christ was and what he came to do Because really that's the most important question.

Who is Jesus Christ or for them is Jesus the Christ? You know, is he the

Messiah? This is the most important question of all So the people they had the they had the scriptures, right?

So the scriptures told them who the Messiah Was supposed to be right?

Yeah, but there's two different Aspects to Christ in his ministry. There's what he came to do the first time and then what he is going to do the second time look at Psalm what did

I tell you to turn Psalm 118, right? This is the day verse 24 look at verse 24

This is the day the Lord has made we will rejoice and be glad in it

Save now I pray Oh Lord Lord, I pray send now prosperity in Blessed is he who comes in the name of the

Lord? So this was the idea that they had and they weren't wrong completely But many of the

Jews they thought that when the Messiah when the Messiah came blessed to see, you know The Jews would accept him the nation would embrace him here to send to power

There would be something like a war or a revolution The Messiah would drive out the Romans he would defeat

Israel's enemies and then the kingdom would be established That's what they thought and then he would reestablish the throne of David and he would usher in peace and prosperity

Okay, so that's what they thought and they based it on verses like this and we saw send now

Prosperity blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord so that is in the

Bible But there's other things in the Bible too, right? So they were focusing in on the good

They were focusing in on what they wanted to see and these other parts that didn't really fit.

What did they do? They ignored it look at verses 22 and 23 of that same passage

So they were to focus maybe on verses 24 and 25, but look at 22 and 23

The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone

And this was the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes

So they were missing the part about how Israel would reject the Messiah, but it's there, right?

Who's the stone that the builders rejected? Yeah Christ so it was foreordained or prophesied that the

Christ would be rejected also Isaiah 53 we don't have time to turn there. But I mean that is a passage where it's so very clear

Describing the really the crucifixion of Jesus what 800 years in advance?

So let's turn to Psalm 22 I just want to show you one more thing But this the the thing that's happening here is is those verses that didn't really seem to fit

Those verses that kind of brought out the the negative side of the ministry

People do what they they filter that stuff out Ever last week mentioned everyone has a filter and we think of a filter as what comes out of our mouth

Some people say they have no filter, but of course they do everyone does But we also have a filter of what comes in So we all understand and interpret information differently as it comes in So you had all these verses about the

Christ and what he would do a great king But you also had verses that he would be rejected and despised and even killed

So look at Psalm 22 starting in verse 1 My God my

God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me and from the words of my groaning?

This is what is called a messianic psalm. So who's speaking here? Well, it's

David writing but he is speaking for the Messiah So the Messiah is gonna say

I have been forsaken by God See the Jews just couldn't understand that you know, what does this have to do with John in prison?

I think John maybe was starting to wonder did I get the Christ wrong?

Did I think he was gonna be one thing and now it's gonna happen a different way John's wondering there's still people today who who wonder do

I have Jesus all wrong? And by the way, the majority of the people in this world do have

Jesus all wrong and the same type of thing happens today When people go to church, what do they want to hear?

You know the average professing Christian they want to hear love joy Peace right they want they want to hear the good things

We all want to hear that but there's Another side of the story remember there's there's the wrath and the judgment part

So what what does the average minister do? Well, just leave that part out, right?

We're only going to tell you One side wait, here's the thing when you only tell people one side they totally miss it

They misunderstand the message of Scripture. They they can misunderstand who Jesus is

So you saw that in Psalm 22 one look at verse 16 for dogs.

This is still the Messiah Talking for dogs have surrounded me the congregation of the wicked has enclosed me

They pierced my hands and my feet So I want you for a moment to put yourself in the shoes of a first century

Jewish man Let's say there was a man and he went to a rabbi and he said rabbi this can't be

Talking about David, I mean, I know David wrote it but David never had his hands and his feet pierced.

Did he? Rabbis, I know that's true David David didn't go through this.

So rabbi, is it possible that the Messiah is going to be rejected and Crucified what would the rabbi have said?

That it would have been totally dismissed. It would have been absurd The Jewish man might have been accused of blasphemy

I don't know, but it would have been seen as backwards absurd and Offensive we're not going to talk about stuff like that.

That's the same thing that happens in churches today where You know in just an example in the book of Genesis God created the heavens and the earth and how many days?

Six days he rested on the seventh day you go into some large and maybe small churches too, but when in these large

Institutional denominational churches and you tell the Reverend doctor PhD whoever and they say

God created the heaven and the earth in six days They might laugh you out of it. Do they believe that they don't believe that or you go to the last book of the

Bible? And how talks about the final judgment the great white throne where people are going to be

Unbelievers and be cast into the lake of fire. Is that being preached? No, so if you don't believe the beginning and you don't believe the end

Are they believing what's in between is the question? So the same type of thing is happening today that happened back then the stuff that was

Offensive and that just didn't really seem to fit or they didn't want it to fit just got ignored

Therefore the Jewish people missed who the Messiah was the information was there, but they missed it

They filtered it out. So now you have John Let's go back to Matthew chapter Matthew chapter 11

Now you have John in prison and again, you wouldn't think that the Greatest prophet

I'm gonna prove to you He was the greatest prophet in a moment, but you wouldn't think that John the Baptist would have this issue of misunderstanding the

Messiah Remember when John identified Jesus, what did he say? Behold what?

The Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world So you see John had to have understood the crucifixion that he would die as the

Lamb of God Not necessarily you can go back in the Old Testament the prophets they wrote they didn't always understand what they wrote

When David wrote Psalm 22, did he really understand what would happen? I don't think so So we don't know what's going on in John's mind

Except that he is having doubts. Does it look like John's having doubts to you?

Are you really the Christ? That's what he's asking. Are you the coming one or should we look?

For another way, that's kind of a shocking thing, isn't it? Do you imagine if well?

Okay, I'm the pastor. I'm not I'm no John the Baptist, but if I started questioning whether or not Jesus was the

Christ I mean, whoa, that's a pretty Serious thing and yet that's where John the

Baptist was. Why was he in that frame of mind? Well, he's in prison, okay again things are not going the way he thought so you're in Matthew chapter 11 look at verses 2 and 3 again

He sends two of his disciples to ask Jesus are you the coming one or do we look for another?

You know John the Baptist. Let's not forget. He's he's a human being He is at a low point in his life

And that's when the enemy often attacks when you are at a low point if John's looking around at his

Situation here. He is in prison. It was totally wrong for him to be there That's when the doubts came.

Have you gone through doubts? If you had doubts usually when people go through The time of doubt it's not because of something that they read in the

Bible I mean that that might happen, but usually it's an illness. It's a death

Some tragedy strike something happens and you start questioning You know

God's purpose or your purpose and all of this So John is a normal human being

Now some I read some commentary some people said and I think this is a natural instinct

Some people want to defend John the Baptist Well, this isn't John having doubts. This is he's doing this for the sake of his followers

But if you look at verse 4 Jesus says to them go and tell who? Go and tell

John. I mean John is clearly the one Who's wavering? But look at verse 11.

I said he is the greatest prophet who ever lived. What did Jesus say about John? Assuredly I say to you among those born of women there has not

Risen one greater than John the Baptist. What do you say? He's he's saying he's the greatest prophet who's ever lived

That's what Jesus is saying about John is John the greatest prophet See if Jesus says that that ends the debate right among us

Christians if Jesus says it, that's it Why was John greater than Elijah or Elisha?

Well, he was the forerunner he said these men prophesied of Christ he actually got to see

Christ He actually got to be a partaker of that ministry. He was the forerunner laying the groundwork.

So John was greater He got to see what Moses dreamed of seeing but John was greater and speaking of Elijah Did Elijah ever have doubts?

Yeah, I did see if you look if you look closely all the great men of God at times struggled they had

They had doubts remember Elijah is great Mount Carmel victory first Kings 18, you know what he's doing in the next chapter hiding in a cave alone

You know just depressed Thinking that he was the only one left So verse 11 when

Jesus says There's another statement. That's kind of confusing. So John's the greatest prophet verse 11

Jesus says but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John Jesus is talking about the church age here.

So because the church age We could say is the initial phase of the kingdom of God right now

It's spiritual, but we're praying thy kingdom come but we're living in the the church age or the initial phase of the kingdom

Let's just say One of us were the were the least in the kingdom What is

Jesus saying? Well, you're greater than John How do you make sense out of that? Well Our position in Christ is greater than what

John had Yeah, even right now John is trying to struggle to understand who

Jesus was and what he came to do We know we know all about it. Don't we we have the full story right here

I wonder what John the Baptist would do for this We're having a completed

New Testament, but it's mainly about being in Christ We are in a better covenant John at this moment is still under the

Old Covenant. We are in a higher Position but either way John going through this time of doubt

So in making application, you know when your dad John's down, he's he's in prison

He's going through something. He never thought he would go through He probably knows that he's about to die or that could happen very soon, which it does

So when we are at a low point that is when we start to have these questions.

That's when we start to doubt So if you ever have had doubts, I'm not gonna ask you to raise your hand, but have you had doubts?

Yeah, I don't think John is Questioning the existence of God, but that's not it

I don't even think John is questioning whether the Old Testament prophecies are true. He's just wondering do

I have something wrong? The way things are going it shouldn't be like this.

Have you ever thought that I know I have it seems like something's myth Something's missing. Maybe I've misunderstood, you know, a lot of people will go through that.

Some people will seek Counsel, they'll reach out to someone who's mature in the faith That's the right thing to do because what does

John do his response is to reach out to Jesus He seeks reassurance from Christ himself.

That's the right thing to do. So if you're having doubts seek Christ and Jesus isn't here to respond

Literally in the same way that he did with John but seek out counsel find someone who's gone through that and And talk to them and get some reassurance, but you know, some people don't reach out at all

When some people are going through times of doubt, they just bottle it up. They don't talk to anyone and Then after a time that again what

I said earlier if you don't deal with an issue It's gonna get worse and worse and worse. So if you're having doubts reach out

So many people they don't some people they They don't admit there's a problem

Until it's too late in more serious cases when people have doubts they begin to Deconstruct as they say today

Some people they'll they'll continue in their doubt and eventually they just sort of drop out and you don't hear from them anymore

Maybe they pop up years later and and now they're denying the faith Thankfully John never went down that road

But doubts are real if you ever notice someone having doubts

Here's what you should do James 5 19 and 20 brethren If anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back

Let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way

Will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins if you know someone struggling without reach out to them

If you are struggling without reach out to someone Don't feel alone

Again, the greatest prophet who ever lived went through times of doubt why because he's in prison and This can be the temptation.

I'll just close with this when you start looking around at your experience When you start looking around at your situation

Maybe you're going through a time of sickness and you don't understand why maybe someone you love has been mistreated

They're going through something. You're you're in a place where Lord you just ask Lord why?

This doesn't make sense That's where you start to question.

Maybe you question. Does God care? Does God even care about me? Or did

I get the whole message wrong? Am I missing something? Just as John reached out to Jesus for Reassurance, I would just plead with you to reach out to someone and talk to them

So John reached out to Christ and here's here's the answer. Here's the solution if you're struggling without don't don't look around Look where?

Look to Christ. This is what John or what Jesus said to John Look at verse 4

Jesus answered and said to the messengers go and tell John Tell John the things which you hear and see

What's that? the blind see And the lame walk the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel

Preach to them. So that's what we need to do. We need to focus on Christ Don't focus on your situation

Don't focus on all the people that are denying the faith. Don't focus on empty pews

Don't focus on those things focus focus on Christ Focus on him and what he has done that he died on the cross for our sins

He rose again the third day There's over over 500 witnesses 1st

Corinthians 15 that could attest to that focus on that and You will be reassured

Focus on the gospel look to the gospel That's the answer. Amen. Let's let's close in prayer

Heavenly Father. I just pray Asking that if there's anyone here this morning who is doubting and Lord, we can be pretty sure that there are a few

Lord maybe they're not doubting the existence of God that you created the heavens and the earth.

Maybe that is what they're dealing with Maybe some people go to school and they're being taught the opposite of what the

Bible says Maybe it's experience. They've had a bad church Situation and they say well if people

Truly have the Holy Spirit in them. Why are they acting like this or maybe somebody's suffering?

And they feel like Lord that you don't care whatever it is I pray that your

Holy Spirit would drive them to reach out to seek reassurance

Lord there is hope Strengthen our faith daily and help us all