Answering Doubts -- January 7, 2009

Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”
Luke 7:22-23

John, the greatest of the first covenant’s prophets, had questions about who Jesus was. He had heard God call Him the Lamb, he himself baptized Jesus, he saw the Spirit descend on Jesus, the sky open, and he heard the Father declare that Jesus was His son, but he still wondered what to think because had been arrested. It’s easy to doubt in the tough times and John’s were the toughest. He was living in a dungeon facing execution.

Jesus did not scold John for asking if he had heard form God right. Jesus even defended him to the crowd and named John the greatest prophet born to humanity. Jesus did answer His question. He pointed out what John’s disciples had actually seen as the answer. We can do the same for ourselves when life brings us to low points.

We can’t afford to castigate ourselves for our doubts. We need to point out what we have seen Jesus do right in front of us. I was blind but now I see. I am not so crippled anymore because Jesus is healing me. I am no longer diseased and outcast from His kingdom. I can hear the voice of God instead of silence. He has saved me and I am not ashamed of Him. We, like Jesus, can do this for those around us too. Without putdowns we can assure them that the Savior is at work by our testimony.

Telling What I Have Seen,

Pastor Jason