We all have doubts.
John (the Baptist) did have his about Jesus being “the one” during his stay in prison, prior to his execution. Something about prison, or for that matter, any significant set back in our lives, may cause doubt.
Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” – Matthew 11:2-3 ESV
Here’s two of the lessons we can take away from this passage.
First, doubts may occur during adversity
Yes, we can have doubts about Jesus when we struggle. There are many biblical folk who wrestled with doubt, John among them. Yet Jesus pointed John away from his present circumstances and pointed him to the evidence:
And Jesus answered them, “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. – Matthew 11:4-5 ESV
Our feelings may pull us towards doubt. But our intellect points us toward truth. Having a fellow Believer guide us through doubt and to the truth can be helpful in stressful times. So can spending more time in God’s word.
Secondly, we all look for “the one”
John and Jesus’ disciples know the Old Testament prophecies well and this question implies the search for this. The second part of the question is “shall we look for another?” It is in our nature to focus on, love, worship and make supremely important in our lives someone or something. We all do it. When we were young, it might be the object of our romance. Later, it may become our career, making money, acquiring stuff, pursuit of a hobby or even a charitable endeavor.
It is said to examine one’s checkbook and calendar and there in lies the person’s priorities. If we don’t find Jesus as “the one”, it is our nature to continue to look and find someone or something to worship.
Jesus is deserving of our worship. When he is our “one” or the object of our worship, he provides perspective on all of the other things that attempt to draw our attention from him.
Doubt is normal. So is our search for a person or object to focus a significant amount of our attention, our resources and our time – this is our worship. The evidence points to Jesus. Believe in AND follow him. Make him the center of your worship today.
Richard Bahr 