Dealing with Doubt

The old Negro spiritual said this: 
Nobody knows the trouble that I've seen

Nobody knows my sorrow

Nobody knows the trouble that I've seen

Glory hallelujiah

Sometimes I'm up and sometimes I'm down

Oh, yes lord

You know sometimes almost to the ground

Oh, oh yes lord (lyricsmania.com).

Most of us at one time or another have felt this way:  Sometimes up, sometimes down, sometimes almost to the ground.  Or, the same idea expressed another way: “Sometimes I have to reach up to touch bottom.”

There are times when we feel that way about our spiritual life.  God may seem far away.

TRANSITION

We may not often think about it, but the Bible tells of faithful followers of God who sink into doubt.  Even some of the prophets of God sink into depression and doubt.  We look at one of those men of God today: John the Baptist.

This may surprise us because, as Luke tells the story in chapter 3, John the Baptist is a fearless preacher who calls sin and wrongdoing what it is:  sin and wrongdoing.  As he is baptizing, he speaks harshly to those who come down in the Jordan River.  I remember a man mountain of a deacon in a church I served.  He was about six foot six, with the muscular strength as an auto mechanic who could practically lift a car off the blocks single-handed.  His shoes were size thirteen or fourteen, and he used to say, “If a preacher don’t step on my feet in a sermon, he ain’t doin’ much preachin’.”  Well, Rod would have said, “Sic ‘im” to John the Baptist.  John calls some of his listeners “snakes”:

"You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?[8] Bear fruits that befit repentance .  .  .

John speaks plainly to people who take pride in their ancestry and seem to rely on that heritage to keep them in good standing with God:  do not begin to say to yourselves, `We have Abraham as our father'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham  (v. 8). 

He uses the analogy of a fruit tree:  The tree which doesn’t bear fruit will get cut down.  And this is aimed at these “heritage people” who rely on somebody else’s virtue to get them by.  Fruitless trees will get cut down, and Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees.

This fearless preaching stirs the hearts of the crowd there on the banks of the Jordan.   They begin to ask among themselves and of John, "What then shall we do?"

John studies the crowd and addresses specific groups in his audience:

First, he looks at ordinary, run-of-the-mill people.  People who probably don’t have rich stores of resources.  He challenges them to give generously, even sacrificially to those who have less.  

He’s saying, “Whatever you have of material goods, look around you.  There are folks with less.  Share with them:

[11] And he answered them, "He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."

Tax collectors are there, asking what they should do to show signs of true repentance.  These men with a reputation for skinning the people, taking more in taxes than were required.  [13] And he said to them, "Collect no more than is appointed you."

Roman soldiers are there, exercising crowd control, lest some troublemaker start saying things to rouse the anger of these subject people.  But these onlookers, there because they are assigned, feel John’s call to repentance and ask, "And we, what shall we do?"

When soldiers are assigned to a foreign territory, they often rob or rape or otherwise abuse the local citizens.  And he said to them, "Rob no one by violence or by false accusation, and be content with your wages."

John’s preaching is so pointed, so courageous, the crowd is in awe of him.  They wonder whether this man is their long-awaited Messiah who will lead them to go up against the Roman army of occupation: [15]  As the people were in expectation, and all men questioned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he were the Christ .  .  .

But, No!  John says, Get that idea out of your heads. A mightier one is coming.  I’m not even worthy to kneel down before him and untie his shoes when he’s ready to rest his feet.  John says I’m baptizing you with water, but this is just a hint of what the Mighty One will do: he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

JOHN IN JOHN’S GOSPEL

In the Fourth Gospel, which was written some time later than Luke, we have further description of how John the Baptist saw Jesus.   John is eager to make the same point, that he is not the Messiah.  Rather, his work assignment is to prepare the way for this One.  Here is the Baptizer’s description in the first chapter of John, beginning with verse 29:

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!  [30] This is he of whom I said, `After me comes a man who ranks before me, for he was before me.'   [31] I myself did not know him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel." [32] And John bore witness, "I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him.  [33] I myself did not know him; but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, `He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'   [34] And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."

WHEAT FROM CHAFF

Now, back in Luke, chapter 3.  After John the Baptist has challenged various groups to show signs of repentance, he says again that the one coming after him will come in power and judgment.  

He uses a figure of harvest time which people in an agricultural society can understand: The Mighty One will separate the wheat from the chaff on the threshing floor.  The good will be gathered into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.

John mentions fire twice in these verses.  The baptism the Messiah brings will be with the Holy Spirit and with fire, which probably is the same fire he mentions on the threshing floor.

[17] His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. 

Today, we have sophisticated threshing machinery which goes through the field gathering grain and separating the wheat from the chaff.  But John is preaching in a time when this separation is done by hand:  The harvest workers on the threshing floor scoop up the grain and chaff together, tossing it into the air and letting the wind separate the chaff.  The grain will be stored, but the chaff will be burned.

So John the Baptist sees Jesus as a fiery Messiah who will come in harsh judgment.  This is his bold, daring message calling his hearers to repentance.

But in a moment, we will see this fearless preacher degenerate into a fretful, doubtful questioner.

JOHN IS SO HUMAN .  .  .

John continues his forthright preaching.  Even to the point of calling out King Herod for his adultery.  After all, sin a sin, even in the life of the King.  But kings and others in authority have means of striking back when they are offended.  So John is put into prison.

Our John is a courageous preacher. But our John is so human, and when he sits in prison, wondering what will happen to him, he sinks into doubt.  We see a very discouraged, dispirited John the Baptist in Luke, chapter 7.  He has been preaching his heart out, giving the message God has given him.  But now look at him.

He can’t get it sorted out.  From what he hears, Jesus simply is not the firebrand John had envisioned and preached about.  Rather than breathing fire and brimstone and warning of destruction to come, Jesus goes around healing people of their diseases and raising the dead.  John’s disciples hear and perhaps see the work Jesus is doing, and some of them bring word to John, their teacher.  What’s wrong here anyway?  As he sits in the stinking jail, when his own disciples come by, we see in verses 19-20 that he tells them to go ask Jesus whether He really is the One John has pointed out:

And John, calling to him two of his disciples, sent them to the Lord, saying, "Are you he 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 he who is to come, or shall we look for another?'"

Many poems and songs describe this discouragement and doubt.  One very moving song from the stage musical called Lost in the Stars. 

The title song is sung by a father whose son has left home for the big city.  There, the son gets into serious trouble with the law.  The father goes in search of his wayward son and sings as he searches.  At times, God seems to have left the scene, forgetting His promise to be ever-present.  The upshot is, ".  .  .  we're lost out here in the stars" (www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/kurt_weill/)

John the Baptist probably feels about that lost as he stews in prison while trying to figure out what Jesus is up to.  This is why he wants to hear from Jesus: "Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?" 

JESUS IS SO THOUGHTFUL

Here is John the Baptist, all torn up and doubled over with doubt, sending word to Jesus to explain Himself.  Now, we need to see how Jesus deals with John’s doubt.

Jesus has been busy healing people, and the first thing we notice is that Jesus doesn’t stop what He has been doing.  We can deduce from this, Jesus will not be held accountable to John or to you and me when we can’t figure things out.  Jesus doesn’t change the way He does things because we get upset.  In this case, we see in verse 21 that He goes on doing what He’s been doing.

[21] In that hour he cured many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many that were blind he bestowed sight. 

Jesus continues His work for two reasons:  First, people are hurting and need His help.  Second, He wants to give a visible, visual answer to John’s question. 

[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. 

Then Jesus adds,  [23] And blessed is he who takes no offense at me."  Through it all, we hear no words of censure for John, not even with this.

Lots of people in that period are offended as Jesus uses the power of God to heal the blind and lame and lepers and deaf and to raise people from the dead.  So He is sending word to John not to be offended because He is not the Messiah John had expected and preached (Malcolm O. Tolbert, “Luke,” The Broadman Bible Commentary, Volume 9. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1970, p. 67).

Jesus not only refuses to condemn John’s doubts.  He praises John, beginning in verse 24.  He raises a rhetorical question: What did you look for in John? What did you find in him?
When John’s messengers leave, Jesus asks the crowds three questions:

"What did you go out into the wilderness to behold? A reed shaken by the wind?

That is, did you think you’d see something as frail as a reed which blew in the wind by the riverside?  The implied answer: No indeed!  You found a man as sturdy as a tree planted by the water, a tree which would not be moved.

[25] What then did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings' courts. 

Again, the obvious answer is “No!”  He is not like the crowd of yes-men who flatter the king in turn for being fed fine food and drink and who dress in the finery of the king’s court (William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke, The Daily Study Bible Series.  Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1955, p. 89).

The third question from Jesus, as you might suspect, calls for a “Yes.”

[26] What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 

Yes!  John the Baptist is a prophet and then some.  He is in the classic mold or mode of Elijah.  

Many people believed Elijah the prophet would come back to earth as a forerunner of the Messiah.  We find that belief expressed in the closing verses of the Hebrew prophet Malachi.  Jesus quotes the passage in verse 27:

This is he of whom it is written, `Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.' (4:5).

So Jesus has heaps of good words for John in verses 25-27.  Then He makes a strange, paradoxical statement in verse 28:

[28] I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."

The Bible has some statements which are difficult to understand.  This is one of them.  But Jesus seems to be saying John was the last of the prophets who, so to speak, stood at the gate pointing to the kingdom which Jesus would inaugurate.  So, those who share in Christ’s kingdom are even greater than John the Baptist.   Anyway, Jesus is high in praise of His forerunner.  

APPLICATION

Many things can bring doubts to our minds regarding what we believe or what we have believed.  Remember, John is in prison facing an almost certain death sentence.  He is there because of his bold preaching which has centered in Jesus as the Messiah.  Now, to cap it all off, Jesus isn’t acting like the Messiah John has preached about.  So he has double cause to doubt and ask serious questions about Jesus.

When you and I face difficulties, that may be the time we are most likely to doubt.  We wonder why God is doing this to us or why God is allowing this to happen.  Sometimes, it seems about the same, whether God sends problems or simply permits problems.  

Or we may be prone to doubt the truths of God if we are not living close to Him.  If our thoughts turn every way but toward God during the course of a day, perhaps we should expect to fall into doubt.

Some Christian ministers condemn all doubt about God.  A religious encyclopedia from a major denomination has this to say about religious doubt:

“It follows that doubt in regard to the Christian religion is equivalent to its total rejection, 

the ground of its acceptance being necessarily in every case the authority on which 

it is proposed .  .  .  whereas a philosophical or scientific opinion may be held provisionally 

and subject to an unresolved doubt, no such position can be held towards the doctrines 

of Christianity; their authority must be either accepted or rejected. The unconditional, interior

assent which the Church demands to the Divine authority of revelation is incompatible with any

doubt as to its validity (“Doubt,” The Catholic Encyclopedia,  http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05141a.htm.

If this is the official tea).ching of your church group, you probably feel pretty helpless when doubt comes rolling in. 

There’s a more sensible, more sensitive regarding religious doubt.  Many ministers and lay members will tell you to expect doubt as you try to live close to Jesus.  One writer likened the walk of faith to walking the Adirondack Trail:  “It’s a sometimes rigorous, daily climb, often with breath taking, panoramic views. But muddy trudges are part of it too.”

This writer, Cameron Dezen Hammon, tells of facing serious doubt when four of her friends died in just four years
(Cameron Dezen Hammon, “Dealing with doubt about religion: It's part of any faith and nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to hide,”hipsterchristianhousewife.blogspot.com/, April 15, 2012).

Two of these deaths were unexpected, two were not — though no less painful. During those times, I doubted everything — that God heard my prayers, that I would ever not be sad, that my heart and the broken hearts in my community would heal). 

Ms Hammon thought of a man in Mark 9 (17-24) whose son was demon-possessed.  The boy would throw himself to the ground, foaming at the mouth and gritting his teeth.  The disciples had attempted to heal the boy but were unable.  The father was distraught when his son was not healed.  He pled with Jesus, “Help him if you can.”  Jesus said, “Why do you say, ‘If you can’?   All things are possible to those who believe.  In that moment, the man turned from desperation to faith as he said, “Lord, I believe.  Help my unbelief.”

Ms Hammon said she imagined the man “holding out his hands to Jesus, offering each palm stretched open. In one calloused hand he holds belief. After all he has seen the miracle with his own eyes. In the other hand, he holds doubt.” If we are honest with ourselves, that may be how we come to Jesus: faith in one hand, doubt in the other.

Ms Hammon concluded, I imagine Jesus is saying in this exchange, it’s OK that you have doubts, just don’t hide them from me.

CONCLUSION AND BENEDICTION

There is no simple one-two-three formula to relieve you or me when doubt comes marching in on our times of peace and assurance.  But if you struggle with doubt, I hope you will keep in mind how Jesus sought to help John:

He told John to look for positive signs of God’s work in the world.  In that instance, the sick were being ministered to and the poor were being fed.

As John’s friends and followers were leaving Jesus and going back to John in his prison cell, Jesus also told the onlookers what John had done, reminding others of the kind of man John has been, a man of courage, a man of integrity.  Perhaps those words of commendation made their way back to John as he was locked in prison.

Perhaps most significant, Jesus did not condemn John.  He understood John’s circumstance and knew doubt would be par for the course.

So Jesus offers you the same encouragement.  In closing, when you are facing doubt about yourself, about the church, about the world at large, about God Himself, claim these promises:

God’s love that will never let you go.

God’s grace that is greater than all your sin.

God’s peace that passes all understanding.

Leave no doubt: These are yours through Christ our Lord.  Amen.