Read: Luke 7:18-35
18 The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19 calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 20 And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” 21 In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
24 When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 25 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. 26 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written,
“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’28 I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” 29 (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, 30 but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)
31 “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,
“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’33 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”
The Greatest Man of Doubt
The passage for this week is one of my favorites, and often when you write or teach on a passage near and dear to your heart, you tend to feel that you can in no way do it justice. But I wonder if John felt the same way. Did John feel he wasn’t doing Jesus justice as John sent his disciples to ask the Lord the question deep inside his soul?
Those who know me well know that I am a doubter, a natural skeptic, and an untrusting person who figures everyone is always lying; okay, maybe that last part is a little extreme, but you get the point. If I don’t see it, touch it, or have it proven to me then it must be untrue. Hence the reason I don’t trust Calculus! I have struggled with my doubts at various times during my years as a follower of Christ, and during one of those hard times I came across this passage, and it was healing to my soul.
When we hear of John the Baptist, we almost always hear how wonderful, how faithful, how trusting, and how extreme he was as he would do anything needed to prepare the way for Jesus. So why in the same breath can we not discuss John’s doubt? Do we treat John’s doubt as a hindrance to his fellowship with the Lord?
I truly could write so much on this, but, as always, I am limited in my time and space and your attention. For that reason, let’s look at one particular piece. It is a strange piece, a piece that is so small and seemingly insignificant that maybe we would read past it and not even consider it. But the beauty of God’s word is that sometimes, when we read a word or phrase, it pulls our minds to another place of Scripture, and that is exactly what happened to me while I was reading these verses recently.
To quickly set the scene, John sends his disciples to Jeus with this question: “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” The disciples come; they ask; they watch Jesus; they receive an answer and head back to assure John of who Jesus is. At this point in the passage Jesus turns to the crowd and begins a series of questions regarding John.
Luke 7: 24- When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?”
Reed. That word struck me; it triggered a memory, a memory of this verse: Isaiah 42:3,
“a bruised reed he will not break,
and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.”
A “reed.” In Luke, Jesus asks the crowd if they came to see John to see if he was shaken. Was John weak? Was he bruised? Did the crowds look for John to fail? Did John feel like he had failed as he sent men to convey his doubt to Jesus?
But in Isaiah we are told that Jesus will not break a bruised reed. In John’s doubt, Jesus answered. In John’s doubt, Jesus did not strike. In John’s doubt, Jesus showed compassion.
The servant of God most high, Jesus Christ, did not come to break those that are struggling. He came to bring forth justice, to see that wrong is made right, and to see that those in darkness are brought into the light.
And when John said,“Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (vs.19), he was not met with contempt. He was met with proof. He was met with the works of Christ.
When we doubt, we might think that we can’t bring those doubts to Jesus. We think we can’t question Him or ask if He really is the one who will bring us peace and comfort. We stay back. We struggle with our doubts, and we try to solve them on our own.
Earlier I asked if we treat John’s doubt as a hindrance to his relationship with Christ. Do we see in the scriptures that his doubt caused a hindrance? I would argue no. For the bruised reed He will not break. When we are frail, weak, confused, or weary He answers our doubts. He invites us to watch Him work, to witness His actions. and to have our faith strengthened. John had doubts, so he confronted them, and his faith was strengthened in return.
For this reason, let us learn from John. He did two key things in his doubt: he told others, and he sought Jesus. If we are doubting, we don’t have to do it alone. We can share our struggles and doubts with others, and we can ask them to help us through it. And we are always invited to come to Jesus. We can share our doubts with Jesus, and, just like John, we can expect to be met with kindness and compassion, with understanding and answers.
For as Isaiah says in 42:1,
“Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him;”
If we take time to really gaze upon Jesus, then we will find that we are bruised reeds in the hands of a tenderhearted Savior. There we will find answers to our doubts and assurance of our hope.
