Got Doubts? Your in Good Company.
If these thoughts seem familiar, I have written alot on these verses on my blog. Here they are again.
"Look the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'" John 1:29-30
These are the words of John the Baptist as Christ is starting His public ministry. John the Baptist was absolutely sure that Christ was the Lamb of God, the One.
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Fast forward a bit and Christ has chosen His 12 disciples. He sends them out on His behalf to preach the good news, heal disease and sickness and drive out evil spirits. (Matthew chapter 10)
In Matthew chapter 11:1 the 12 disciples have regrouped with Christ, he has given them instruction and he heads to Galilee to teach and preach.
The next verse, Matthew 11:2, we find out that John the Baptist, the one who prepared the way for THE ONE from the time he was in his mother's womb, is in jail. John the Baptist finds himself perplexed, his expectations were different than what was being allowed to happen.
When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" Matthew 11:2
Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." Matthew 11:4
I don't know what has me thinking about this group of verses this week but I keep coming back to them. In my Psychology class yesterday, the professor mentioned that he appreciated people with questions, and those that struggle with doubt. He has in the past taught some classes on the subject of doubting and faith. I have heard it somewhere before that the opposite of faith is not doubt and I appreciate those words. I take comfort in the fact that John had doubts about Christ when he was faced with being jailed and ultimately he was executed. John believed, John was confused because he was in jail and it seemed to him as though Christ was doing nothing to change that, then Christ tells him all the good that is going on and then the words, "Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
I wonder how many times in my life I have not liked what was happening and wondered if God was real, or what kind of God would allow "fill in the blank," to happen. I find peculiar comfort in the fact that John the Baptist was raised to prepare the way, he was prophecied over in his mother's womb to the purpose of his life, he would make the way clear for Christ, but he had doubts when things got bumpy for him.
If I was John I might have liked to hear, "I'll be coming to get you a.s.a.p.," or "I'm sending an angel for a midnight jail break." Christ's words "Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me," are difficult to read, however, we are not promised the easiest or most comfortable solution, we are promised persecution and difficulty if we follow Christ. He could have fixed John's problem, but in this case for whatever reason, it was Kingdom business that John stay right where he was, but he was blessed for it.
------------
We might not understand it, we might not agree with it, we might be outraged by it, but if we don't fall away on account of Christ we will be blessed.
"Look the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'" John 1:29-30
These are the words of John the Baptist as Christ is starting His public ministry. John the Baptist was absolutely sure that Christ was the Lamb of God, the One.
---------------
Fast forward a bit and Christ has chosen His 12 disciples. He sends them out on His behalf to preach the good news, heal disease and sickness and drive out evil spirits. (Matthew chapter 10)
In Matthew chapter 11:1 the 12 disciples have regrouped with Christ, he has given them instruction and he heads to Galilee to teach and preach.
The next verse, Matthew 11:2, we find out that John the Baptist, the one who prepared the way for THE ONE from the time he was in his mother's womb, is in jail. John the Baptist finds himself perplexed, his expectations were different than what was being allowed to happen.
When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" Matthew 11:2
Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." Matthew 11:4
I don't know what has me thinking about this group of verses this week but I keep coming back to them. In my Psychology class yesterday, the professor mentioned that he appreciated people with questions, and those that struggle with doubt. He has in the past taught some classes on the subject of doubting and faith. I have heard it somewhere before that the opposite of faith is not doubt and I appreciate those words. I take comfort in the fact that John had doubts about Christ when he was faced with being jailed and ultimately he was executed. John believed, John was confused because he was in jail and it seemed to him as though Christ was doing nothing to change that, then Christ tells him all the good that is going on and then the words, "Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
I wonder how many times in my life I have not liked what was happening and wondered if God was real, or what kind of God would allow "fill in the blank," to happen. I find peculiar comfort in the fact that John the Baptist was raised to prepare the way, he was prophecied over in his mother's womb to the purpose of his life, he would make the way clear for Christ, but he had doubts when things got bumpy for him.
If I was John I might have liked to hear, "I'll be coming to get you a.s.a.p.," or "I'm sending an angel for a midnight jail break." Christ's words "Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me," are difficult to read, however, we are not promised the easiest or most comfortable solution, we are promised persecution and difficulty if we follow Christ. He could have fixed John's problem, but in this case for whatever reason, it was Kingdom business that John stay right where he was, but he was blessed for it.
------------
We might not understand it, we might not agree with it, we might be outraged by it, but if we don't fall away on account of Christ we will be blessed.
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