Daily Devo w/ Pastor Eric October 14, 2021
If John Had Doubts About Jesus, What Chance Do I Have?
Matthew 11:6-15, NIV – “Blessed is anyone who does
not stumble on account of me.” As John’s
disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did
you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man
dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces.
Then what did you go out to see? A
prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written:
“‘I will send my
messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’
Truly I tell you, among those born
of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet
whoever 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 been subjected to violence, and violent people have
been raiding it. For all the Prophets
and the Law prophesied until John. And
if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
Yesterday, we talked about Jesus responding to John the
Baptist’s question about whether Jesus was the Messiah. John seemed to be wavering in his belief, and
Jesus gives him some scriptural reassurance to reinforce his faith. As he finishes giving John’s disciples the message
to deliver to John who is in prison, he makes the statement at the beginning of
our passage for today.
“Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” (Mt
11:6)
This is a transitional statement that is for John and for
the crowd that Jesus is now turning to address. The crowd has heard the
exchange between John’s disciples and Jesus and will need some reassurance of
their own. If the great John the Baptist
is having doubts about Jesus, then who wouldn’t have doubts? So Jesus talks to
the crowd about John.
The
interesting thing about Jesus’s remarks to me is that Jesus does not even
address John’s doubts (or the crowd’s for that matter). He simply talks about the greatness of John
and John’s ministry. Though we (two
thousand years later) may miss it, he is drawing a contrast between John (“among
those born of women there has not risen anyone greater”) and the man that imprisoned
John, the King Herod Antipas, whose public symbol was a reed (“a reed swayed by
the wind”). At some point though, you
might expect Jesus to say something like, “John was great, but even the greats
have doubts sometimes.” Jesus does not
make any such statement. What he does
with the crowd is similar to what he did with John/John’s disciples. After affirming John’s greatness, Jesus
quotes scripture.
“This is the one about whom it is written:
‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare
your way before you.’”
The quote is from Malachi where Malachi talks about one who
precedes the Messiah, an Elijah-like messenger.
By invoking this prophecy Jesus is simultaneously proclaiming that John
is that Elijah figure AND that He (Jesus) is indeed the Messiah. This is confirmed when at the end of our passage
for today when Jesus says, “if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah
who was to come.”
The
implicit message of Jesus here is not a prescription to get rid of doubts, but an
invitation to believe in the midst of doubts.
In fact, that is the very root of real faith itself. Believing is easy when there is no cause for
doubt. But Jesus acknowledges that there
is great cause for doubt (“the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to
violence, and violent people have been raiding it”). Because of this, doubts will always be with
us, but the invitation of the Kingdom is to keep on believing anyway. The reasons for our doubts will fall away,
but the Kingdom is forever.
This
sets up the last observation for today.
It concerns Jesus’s surprising statement, “whoever is least in the
kingdom of heaven is greater than [John the Baptist].” Why would anyone be “greater” than John, much
less the “least in the kingdom?” There
is a lot that could be said here, but you’ve already endured a lot of explanation
today, so I’ll keep it brief. At this
point in Matthew’s story, there is great confusion about the true nature of
Jesus’s identity even among Jesus’s followers (and John the Baptist for that
matter). They hear Jesus proclaiming the
Kingdom, but they aren’t ready for the “mind grenade” that it will come through
Jesus’s death and resurrection. They
expect to see Jesus become an earthly king, not a crucified messiah. There is no possible way for them to
comprehend what even the most casual believer in Jesus embraces now – that the
Kingdom that Jesus ushers in necessitated His death. It is His death that makes the full
expression of the Kingdom possible. The “least
in the Kingdom” now know something John the Baptist could have never known
before. You and I know that that too, “if
we are willing to accept it.”
Question: How do you
choose to believe in Jesus and His Kingdom, in spite of doubts caused by all
that is around us?
Prayer: God, “we
believe. Help us in our unbelief” (Mark 9:24) Amen.
Prayer Focus: Choose
a couple of specific people that you know that have not chosen to believe in
Jesus yet. Pray for them today.
Song: Bill Gaither - I
Believe, Help Thou My Unbelief
Note: I have to confess. I am not a huge fan of Bill Gaither fan
(though my Mom adores him!), but this song deeply touches me and speaks to
message for today.
No comments:
Post a Comment