A Great Man Doubts

In a previous church, one of the deacons made an appointment to see me in my office at church, and at the end of the meeting, which lasted I suppose for 45 minutes or so, as he was leaving, he looked at my library, my many books, and he pulled a book from the shelf which was on the resurrection of Jesus. And he surprised me by asking this question. He said to me, I often wonder if Jesus really rose from the dead.

What do you think? Well, I was taken aback by the question, particularly as he spent the last almost hour criticizing one of the church's ministries. But I replied that I certainly did believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, that that is one of the great foundational truths of orthodox Christianity, that Paul, as he describes the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15, says that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again according to the Scriptures.

And I offered to discuss the question with him. I offered to lend him the book on the resurrection that he had picked up, and he simply shook his head and left my office. Here was a church leader, a deacon in the church involved in ministry, a member of the church for many years, but on his own admission had doubts about the resurrection of Jesus. He wasn't the first to have such doubts. One of Jesus' disciples, Thomas, also doubted the resurrection of Jesus, you may recall, and he took a special appearance of the resurrected Christ before Thomas could exclaim with this magnificent statement, my Lord and my God.

And yes, he believed that not only did Christ die for his sins and was buried, but bodily rose from the dead. I ask you this morning, do you ever have any doubts about the Christian faith? Do you ever doubt the resurrection? Do you ever doubt that this book, the Bible, is in fact the Word of God? Do you ever doubt that Jesus is the only way of salvation?

And do you ever wonder really, is Jesus really God? The reality is our faith sometimes wavers and falters and doubts arise. You know, these doubts can be very helpful if they cause us humbly to look for answers, if they cause us to re-examine our faith, is what one ancient theologian called the sunnier side of doubts.

Yes, doubts can be helpful if they drive us to look for solid and wise answers. In our passage today, we're going to deal with a man who had doubts. He was a great man, a wonderful man, a man who had a unique ministry in the redemptive purposes of the Gospel.

We've met this man before. His name is John the Baptist. In chapter 10, as we saw over the last couple of weeks, Jesus says, sending out his disciples with the Gospel and warning them of serious persecution, of hostility. And now we read of a man, of a faithful man who is imprisoned because of his fearless preaching. But in prison, he has doubts about who Jesus is. Let's open our Bibles to Matthew chapter 11 as we're going through the Gospel of Matthew consecutively on these Lord's Day mornings.

And we're going to read first of all the first three verses of Matthew chapter 11. When Jesus had finished instructing his 12 disciples, that's chapter 10, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities. Notice that the priority of Jesus was not to perform miracles.

He did that. His priority was to teach and preach. A priority, can I say, which characterized the early church and which also should characterize every true church to preach and teach. Verse 2, now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, this is the first time since Matthew chapter 2 that Matthew has used the word Christ, Messiah. He began his Gospel by saying that Jesus is the Christ. When the wise men come in Matthew 2, they are wondering where the Christ, where the Messiah is born. But here again, Matthew refers through the voice of John to say regarding Jesus, he describes him as the deeds of the Christ, the Messiah. He sent word by his disciples and said to them, are you the one who's to come or shall we look for another? John has doubts.

Now as I say, we've met John the Baptist before. Remember he came preaching in the wilderness. His message was clear. His message was authoritative. His message was urgent. What was his message? Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

What a message. God's voice, as it were, had been silent for 400 years and now comes a prophet, in fact the greatest of the prophets, and declares with great urgency, with great passion, repent. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. He's dressed like a prophet. He's wearing a garment.

We're told of camel's hair. He's got a belt around his waist. He's a rather strange character. He lives in the wilderness.

He eats locusts and wild honey. And many responded to his message and came to the River Jordan as they confessed their sins and were baptized. But John, of course, did not want just an outward profession. He didn't want the people just to go through some kind of ritual.

He urged them to demonstrate that they had truly got right with God by bearing fruit, he says, in keeping with repentance. What was John doing? Well, in fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy, John was preparing the way of the Lord. He's the forerunner.

He's the advanced man. The Lord is coming, and John is going ahead of him to prepare the way. And John has the inestimable privilege of baptizing Jesus in the River Jordan.

It would have been amazing to be there as the Lord is standing in the River Jordan and John is going to baptize him and does baptize him and the heavens open and God the Father speaks, this is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. John was there. John heard it. John also saw that dove coming representing the Spirit and lighting upon Jesus. He was there.

He saw it. He'd heard the voice of God. And as we read about John, this amazing character, one of his outstanding characteristics is his humility. John was not the kind of preacher that promoted himself. He didn't want to be, we would say in contemporary terms, he didn't want to be a celebrity. No, he realized that he was a voice.

You don't see a voice. Jesus is described as the Word. You see a Word, but John is a voice crying in the wilderness.

His life is not about himself. No, he keeps pointing people to someone else, namely our Lord Jesus Christ and says in John 3, he must increase as Jesus and I must decrease. Jesus must become more important and I must become less important. A good lesson for all preachers, a good lesson for everyone, that Jesus is all important and merely the voice crying in the wilderness. And as we heard through the song that Brian sang and as we've been reminded this morning, this great ministry is to point people to Jesus and say, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Can you hear John? He's got his disciples, he's got his followers but in a sense he's saying, no, it's not about me.

I want you to look at someone else, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. What a magnificent man, a lovely man, a fearless preacher, man who comes filled with the Spirit, but now he's in prison and in prison he has doubts. We read that in verse 2, when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Messiah. Now think of it, John is a man who loves the open air.

He's a man's man. He lived in the wilderness and now because he had the courage to even to go to King Herod and to challenge him about his moral life, now he's confined in a dark dungeon, which must have been very, very depressing to a man who loved the sun and the open air. Some of you, as I have been in one of our trips to Israel and Jordan, we saw the dungeon, we saw the prison where John was.

There it is. It's in present day Jordan and to the right hand side of the screen, to the right hand side of the road, there's an inlet there and that is the fortress and Josephus says that that is where John the Baptist was imprisoned. It's on the east side of the Dead Sea, as I say, in present day Jordan and we visited it.

We walked up that road and looked inside to the dungeon, a terrible place. John has this magnificent ministry, but it comes to a very abrupt end. He's still a young man, he's in his early thirties and in prison he hears about the deeds of the Christ. Yes, the ministry of Jesus is continuing. He hears from his disciples, but now his is at an end. He's not one of the twelve. He's not being sent out by Jesus to preach and to perform miracles. He's in a dark dungeon in a fortress.

It just seems so unfair, doesn't it? Furthermore, John had preached that judgment was coming. He had preached about the axe being laid to the root of the trees. But where was the axe of judgment? It didn't seem that God's judgment was now coming on people who hadn't repented. Where was the kingdom of heaven? He had preached the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

He thought the kingdom of heaven was going to come in Jesus, but there was no sign of it. What was happening? You ever had doubts? Life seems unfair.

Your life has kind of closed in and you become in the dark, perhaps depressed, discouraged because of events which are totally out of your control. And you start asking these questions. Notice the question John asked. It was a very insightful question.

He got right to the heart of the matter. Verse 3, when you come to Jesus, ask him this question. He tells his disciples, are you the one who's to come or shall we look for another? Is Jesus really the Messiah? Is he really the Christ? I mean, after all, the Messiah is meant to set up his kingdom on earth. He's meant to bring deliverance to those in prison and here I am still in prison and there's no sign of the Messiah. So is Jesus really the Messiah or did I get it wrong?

Should I look for someone else? A man, a great man has doubts. John has doubts. Now let's read of Jesus' commendation, verse 4. Just listen to how Jesus answers so beautifully and ask how you would answer if one of your brothers or sisters had doubts. Jesus answered, go and tell John what you hear and see. The blind receive their sight and the lame walk lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear and the dead are raised up and the poor have good news preached to them and blessed is the one who is not offended by me. As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds.

Now let's just stop there. Think first of all of Jesus' answers to the disciples of John. Notice what Jesus does not do. Jesus does not condemn or criticize John. Isn't it the case that we who are followers of Christ must to our shame sometimes say how quick we pass judgment on people? Sometimes without even knowing all of the facts.

How quick we are to criticize, how quick we are to malign often good people, often behind their backs. What does Jesus do? Jesus points to the evidence that He is the Christ. That He is in fact the long promised Messiah.

How do you do that? Well the Old Testament prophets had said that when the Messiah comes, He would open the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf. Let's read that for example in Isaiah 35. Nowhere in the Old Testament do we read of a blind man receiving his sight. Just think, if someone came to Calvary who was blind from birth and I could give them sight, you'd be pretty impressed by that wouldn't you? Incredible wouldn't it? That's what Jesus did.

And several times. But here's the prophet Isaiah. Now he's writing 750 years before the birth of the Messiah. Isaiah 35 verse 4, say to those who have an anxious heart.

Anyone anxious today? Be strong, fear not, behold your God will come with vengeance. With the recompense of God He will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap like a deer and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. And then Isaiah 61, chapter 61 towards the end of Isaiah's prophecy. Isaiah 61 verse 1, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me. This is going to be quoted in the gospels. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.

He has set me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are burnt. What does Jesus say? Verse 4, go and tell John what you hear and see. That is the teaching of Jesus and the mighty deeds of Jesus, the miracles of Jesus authenticate that He is the true Messiah. Anyone can say they're the Messiah. Anyone can make a claim, but there's another thing to authenticate it by your teaching and by your healing, and that's exactly what Jesus says. Tell John, listen, the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, deaf hear. In fact, the dead are raised and the poor of the gospel preach to them.

No, there is no question that Jesus is the Son of God, that He is the true Messiah. Here is the evidence. You've heard it.

You've seen it. Go and tell John what you hear and see. And verse 6, the blessing comes to those who are not offended, but rather have personal faith in Jesus the Messiah. And then, Jesus' commendation of John to the crowds. First He speaks to John's disciples, now He speaks to the crowds. Verse 7, and as they went away, John's disciples, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John. He's going to speak about a man who has doubts, a man who is in prison questioning whether he is the Messiah. What's he going to say to the crowds? What did you go out in the wilderness to see?

A reed shaken by the wind. What did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing. Well, those who wear soft clothing are in king's houses.

What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is He of whom it is written. Jesus is quoting Malachi 3 verse 1, behold I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you. Truly I say to you, among those born of women, there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist, yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence and the violent take it by force for all the law, for all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

Isn't that a magnificent commendation of a man who has doubts. Jesus now challenges the crowds then regarding John. Are they new John? He's saying many of you went out into the wilderness to see John. I mean, what did you think of John then? Did you see a kind of fickle, wimpy kind of individual, a reed shaken by the wind? Was he the kind of preacher – Jesus is asking the crowd – was he the kind of preacher that changed his message to suit the people, like the politician who sees, reads the polls and sees the way society is going and then says, well this is what I believe. Was that kind of attitude characteristic of John?

A reed shaken by the wind. Someone who changes his message to make it popular to the crowds is that kind of person. No, you know he was dressed as a prophet. And John came in the spirit of Elijah. He comes in the very fulfillment of the Old Testament prophets.

Yes, he is my forerunner. He's a prophet. Now, the prophet was at the very top of the spiritual hierarchy. But John, Jesus says, is in fact more than a prophet. More than a prophet? Greater than a prophet? And you're doubting? Yes, says Jesus, in fact, among those born of women there has not arisen a greater than John the Baptist.

What a statement. Think of all of the great men and women of the Old Testament. Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Rachel and Ruth and Moses and King David himself. Yes, but John is greater than all of them.

What a commendation for a commendation. You say, what way is John the Baptist greater than all of the other prophets? In what way is he better than a prophet? He prepares the way for Jesus. Yes, the prophets made prophecies through their types and shadows.

That is true. But when John comes, he points directly to the Christ. He points directly to Jesus and says, now that one is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is the unique forerunner of Jesus who points everyone to God's salvation and in that way he is greater than all of his predecessors.

Do you get the point? What a privilege John had. Remember it said of him, he's filled with the Spirit from his mother's womb and this is the man who now has doubts.

And then Jesus says something remarkable, almost unbelievable, did you catch it? Let me read verse 11 again, truly I say to you among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist yet the one, listen to this, the one who is the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. In what way is the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven greater than John the Baptist? Well John is the end of the law and the prophets.

Verse 13, for all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. John is at the end of the age, the end of the age of the prophets and the law. John stands at the transition of the old age and the new age.

He stands at the point of transition between the old covenant and the new covenant. Yes, but with the coming of Jesus, what have we been learning? What has Matthew been teaching us? With the coming of Jesus, something radical, something totally different has come.

The new wine has come. A new age has dawned, the age of the kingdom of God, an age which will never end. The eternal kingdom of God has come in the person of Jesus. What does it mean when John said and Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is at hand?

Why? Because Jesus is the King. He is King Jesus, not only King of the Jews but King of Kings and Lord of Lords and the new covenant is greater than the old covenant. Those in the new covenant. Who's in the new covenant?

This is encouraging, isn't it? If you're an authentic follower of Jesus, you are in the new covenant. You are in the kingdom of heaven and that we are adopted into God's family, that we are empowered by the Holy Spirit. And think of this, we witness with even greater clarity than John that Jesus is the Lamb of God.

Why? Because we are on the other side of Calvary and we have the fullness of revelation which John didn't have. We know that the Lord Jesus Christ, yes, John said He's going to take away the sin of the world.

We know that through His death, His burial and resurrection, He has taken away the sin of the world. And that we who have responded to this magnificent offer of salvation in Jesus entirely of grace, we enter into that kingdom, that kingdom which will last forever and ever. And in that way, we are greater than John the Baptist even if you're the simplest, the least in the kingdom of heaven.

In some churches, someone would shout Hallelujah. Is this, are you grasping this, brothers? In the fullness of revelation, we know what Jesus has done and is doing for us. And we who are His disciples, we are the light pointing people to Christ. What an incredible privilege that we have that through the grace of God, we are greater than John the Baptist. And what is our task?

Yes, to be a light, to shine for Christ, to point people and say to people, here is our magnificent Savior, the only Savior of the world. Is there opposition? Of course there's opposition. We saw that in the last two weeks from John chapter 10. There's great opposition.

Some of you have experienced that perhaps this week as you've shared your faith, that people reject you, that people ridicule you, that people say no, all kinds of things. Did you notice verse 12, from the days of John the Baptist, until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence and the violent take it by force. Yes, there is violent opposition of evil, seeking to take the kingdom by violence.

It's under attack. Yes, and that violence will continue. John himself is soon going to be executed through the whim of a dancing girl. John's voice, the magnificent voice that cried out in the wilderness, his head is going to be cut off. His message is going to be silenced. The kingdom of God is suffering violence and of course our Lord Jesus Christ is going to be taken by evil hands, is going to go through a mockery of a trial, is going to be beaten, is going to be scourged, is going to be spat on and eventually is going to be crucified. Yes, the kingdom suffers violence, but the kingdom shall prevail.

Jesus says the very gates of hell shall not prevail against her. Thank you, David. Now, what's the crowd's response? How do people respond to this?

Rather sadly, isn't it? Verse 16 through 19, but to what shall I compare this generation as a generation that's listening to Jesus? It's like people, children, sitting in the marketplace and calling to their playmates. We played the flute for you and you did not dance. We sang a dirge and you did not mourn. For John came neither eating nor drinking and they say he has a demon. The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they say, look at him, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners, yet wisdom is justified by her deeds. The crowds respond, some people are just never satisfied, are they?

The generation of Jesus is likened to children playing a game in the marketplace. They play the flute, but people don't dance. They sing a dirge, people don't mourn. They don't want to dance, they don't want to mourn.

What's the point? John is the ascetic. He's living in a desert eating locusts and wild honey. People criticized him for that and said he went so far as to say he had a demon. Jesus is different. On the other hand, Jesus, the Son of Man, comes eating and drinking, they say, and the crowds criticize him as a drunkard, as a glutton. They criticize John because of the way he lives and they criticize Jesus in the way he lives.

John is a withdrawn individual. Jesus is a friend of tax collectors and sinners. People object to John's austere message of repentance and object to Jesus' message of grace and compassion and love and celebration. Some people are always finding fault, aren't they?

Some people will never, ever be satisfied. Whatever you say to them, however you explain the gospel, there's still criticism and this was true even then. But wisdom, verse 19, wisdom is justified by her deeds. That is, we see the reality of wisdom, of truth by the actions of John and Jesus. A man has doubts. Let me ask you, what do you about your doubts?

Do you have doubts about Jesus? How is he described here? He's described here as the Messiah. He's described here as the great teacher, verse 15, he who has ears to hear let him hear. Listen to the words of Jesus, reflect on that and see him in action. He heals, he raises the dead. And furthermore, although he's mighty in power, although he's God incarnate and can, with our spoken word, bring peace to the lake, yet also he's a friend of tax collectors and sinners.

I don't know if we have anyone from the IRS here, if they are you probably want to keep anonymous. I don't know if we've any tax collectors, but I do know that we've a big bunch of sinners here today. And there's a lot of sinners listening on live stream. Think of this, Almighty God, the Holy God is described as a friend of sinners. We sometimes sing with a friend we have in Jesus. It's one thing to know someone. It's one thing to work with someone. It's another thing to be described as a friend of so and so. Think of this, Jesus is my friend. You say, John, we know you, you're far from perfect.

That's right, it's true. I'm a sinful man, but Jesus is my friend. And this is the message of the gospel, that God comes to us and loves us.

You have your doubts, your faith falters, you fall into sin sometimes, you're a corrupt tax collector, you're a devious business person. Listen, Jesus is a friend of tax collectors and sinners, and He loves you. He loves you. Loves you. Sitting over there, Jesus loves you.

Isn't this wonderful? And that Jesus certainly, certainly loved His friend, John the Baptist. What do you do to receive Him as your Savior? You have to realize that He did die for your sins, and if you are a follower of Christ, afresh to embrace Him. What was John's basic problem?

I think you know what it was. It's the same problem we have when doubts and fears and anxieties and worries come into our lives. I mean there was John, one could have excused him if he was self-pitying.

One could have excused him if he was a little bitter. Well, what do you do? What am I to do when these doubts and fears and anxieties and worries come into our lives? I'm reading that because of COVID and other things, the level of anxiety in our society has gone up. Have you noticed how fearful people are? Even of COVID-19, there's an irrational kind of fear. Yes, we understand it is certainly a disease and we're to be careful, but to live in fear? The Christian to live in fear?

What's the problem with us? Well, we spend more time talking about our problems and looking at our tough problems rather than hearing Jesus and looking at Jesus. What was our Lord's answer? His basic answer to John's disciples.

Again, verse 4, go and tell John what you hear and see. That's the answer. That's the answer to your doubts. That's the answer, brother, to these fears that you have, that anxiety that is gripping you, that keeps you awake at night.

This is the answer. Hear Jesus. Listen to Jesus. Open His Word and listen to His voice and get your eyes not off — not on your tough circumstances, not on the darkness, not on the prison, not on the injustice and the unfairness of it all. Yes, life is often unfair. Life is often unjust. That is true. But this is the Christian response. Hear Jesus and listen to Jesus.

Will you do that? The human driver of a dog sled team has an interesting relationship with these dogs. You've seen these dog sled teams with a man — I've never been on one, but must be magnificent and he's got, say, half a dozen dogs. And his relationship with these dogs is an intriguing one because the dogs know if a storm is coming, they can sense it. The dogs know if they're being followed. The dog knows if an animal has gone over the trail even a day or two before.

But there's a lot they don't know. When they leave home, these dogs — think of this — they don't know whether they're going to go a mile, five miles, 10 miles, 30 miles, 100 miles. Runners, can you imagine you're just running and you don't know how long you're going to run?

When I did Cross Country, we knew it was about five or six miles you're going to run. But I can't imagine just saying, well, you're going to run and you're going to keep on running. That's exactly what the dogs do. They keep running and running and running and running. And there's no way that the human driver can say to the dogs, now, today, we're going to take it easy.

We just want you to — it's only going to be a mile or two. No, the dogs have no idea, but they keep running and they keep running and they keep running. So, the dogs have to trust the driver.

There's that relationship between the dogs and the man. In life, we don't know what lies ahead. John didn't know what lies — lay ahead.

He's going to get his head cut off. He didn't know that at this time. You don't know what lies ahead, and you don't know the speed with which events in our lives will unfold. Isn't it true that something can happen very, very quickly in our life? Just in a split second your life can be turned upside down, and sometimes it takes a few weeks or months. We just don't know the speed with which events unfold in our life, and we certainly don't know how far it is to the finish line. You don't know how long you're going to live, and I don't know how long I'm going to live. I don't know if the Lord Jesus is going to come today or is going to come in a hundred years.

I believe it's very soon, but I don't know. That calls not for doubts, not for fears, but for trusting our magnificent Savior. He has infinite wisdom, infinite strength, and He is my friend. He loves me and He loves you intimately, more than any other human beings. And around you today, things may be very, very dark, as John felt in that dark dungeon.

I couldn't imagine spending a day or two in that dungeon, far less being thrown into it, no light, no sentence given, you're just there, you don't know what's going to happen. And in the darkness, in the problems of life and the injustices of life, and the health and family difficulties that come into all of our lives, doubts, anxieties, and fears are very normal, aren't they? Here's a great man who had doubts. Who here in a problem hasn't cried out to God and said why and questioned God.

What's the answer? Hear Jesus. Go tell John what you hear and see. Hear Jesus. See Jesus. He's in control and all is well.

Do you hear me? God is in control. The Lord Jesus is in control. There is no need to panic.

There is no need to fear. If you're a follower of Jesus Christ, your life is in the hands of God. Precious hands, powerful hands, loving hands, do not fear. And nowhere on earth do we hear and see Jesus more fully, more intimately, more joyfully, more trusting fully, is that word than here at the Lord's table. We come to the table of the Lord. What are we doing? We're listening to Jesus. Do this in remembrance of me.

We're looking at Jesus, looking to Jesus the author and the perfecter of our faith. I need to get my eyes off these difficulties. They'll depress me. They'll cause fear.

They'll cause anxiety. I need to hear Jesus. I need to look up and I need once again to hear what John says. Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Will you behold the Lamb?

Let me bow in prayer. Perhaps, not perhaps, I know some of you have never yet come to Christ. Will you come to Him?

A friend, a Savior, a Redeemer, the Lord, God, triumphant over the grave. Will you come to Him and trust Him? Others of you are believers in Jesus Christ, but you need a fresh to hear from Jesus.

You need to hear His words. We're going to sing in a minute this old hymn. I want us all to take it to heart, just as I am, though tossed about with many conflict, many doubt. That's John the Baptist, tossed about with many conflict, many doubt. Fighting and fears within, without, O Lamb of God, I come.

I come. I'm going to pray and then we're going to say goodbye to our live stream audience and then those of us here in the sanctuary are going to break bread. Father, we do thank You for our Savior. May all of us behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.