The Agonising of John
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
What names come to mind when you think of Giants of the Faith?
Biblical ewxamples are many, Abraham, David, Noah and the prophets. Peter, paul and the opostels.
More recient examples would be Martin Luther, william tynsdale and john Nox.
More recient would be John wesley, Charles Spurgion, Tozer, ravenhill...
The list goes on.
But out of all of these 1 was the greatest. No in my opinions of the matter, but in truth. God called him the greatest man of faith had that ever lived.
Who was this man?
11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
John the Baptist of a man of incredible faith, of that there is no doubt or dispute. And when you are talking about the greatest man to ever live, it might seem like a bad idea to comparee your life to his because i am bound to not only come short but very short.
Yet John has always been one of my favorite people and i have a great “soft sport” for him. And i find his life so encouraging to my own.
this passage about John starts with a surprising mention.
2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples
John is in prison. As the last of the OT prophets John came to call people to repentance and prepare the hearts for Jesus.
John was in prison because he courageously condemed the adultrus marriage between Herod and Herodias. He would later be beheaded by Herodias and head served on a silver platter.
This was a man of faith, of courage and of conviction.
But my friends, faith can be a funny thing. Faith which is strong in one season can falter in a another.
It is easy to have faith to bring your umbrella in the rainy season with heavy clounds, but when the sky is blue you may question the umbrella.
At the hight of his ministry John boldly roclaimed the gospel, he was doing what he was born to do.
Out in the wilderness, preaching repentance, baptising the multitudes, living by his convictions - These where the perfect conditions for John’s faith.
But things changed. Locked in a prison. No audience to prerach to. we do not know if his Nazerite Vow could be followed. His life out of his hands. as the day, the weeks, the months went by - it took a toll on poor John’s faith.
Ao much so that look at what he sends his disciples to Jesus about:
2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples
3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
What is John asking? he is asking Jesus: are you actually the Messiah? are you the one Isral has been waiting for?
What is so precious about this is that John knew the answer. John Himself had proclaimed it!
31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”
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!
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 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.
He knows Jesus is the son of God, the Messiah - but this is the reality of hardship.
John was a man of faith, but his faith is tested, its being tried, it is in the fire and John is struggeling.
We live in a very strange time in the life of the church. A time where struggle is seen as weakness or a lack of faith. Many peole feel ashamed or ambarresed to go through times of spiritual struggle. They know that they will be judged by the Religious lerders (pharasee).
Those who pretent NEVER to struggle, Nevr to wrestle with issues, Never question God.
but here is John the Baptist, the greatest man of faith to ever live and he send people to question Jesus.
John faced and expewrienced such injustice, such misery, such lonliness, such mistreatment and his faith was struggeling.
My frineds i want to tell you today that it is ok to struggle. It is ok to wrestle. It is ok to come to God with your faith insecurates and seek His help.
We live in such a false world. false smiles, false righteousness, false faith, false enthusiam, false happiness.
This is how the pharasees liveed - in false faith and false righteousness and Jesus told us:
20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Let me just say a few points about doubt for a moment.
There are of course a few things which we never doubt - We never doubt in the existance of God for He has made his existance plain.
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
I would also say we never doubt the existnace of Jesus because that is a HISTORICAl fact and we never doubt that he is the messiah because he proved it by his ressurection. (John doubed if Jesus was the messiah but we have for understand that John did not have the ressurection of Jesus yet as proof).
What then is it that we doubt?
It has to be God’s love and providental care.
The disciples doubted in when they though Jesus did not care if they died in the storm.
And John doubted it when he was scheduled to die in the prison.
It is in those dark, stormy moments when we just dont understand how or why God does not intervene that our doubts may rise.
John brings his doubts to Jesus
John brings his doubts to Jesus
When John brought his doubt to Jessus how did Jesus respond?
“Ye of little faith!!”??? - No.
4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see:
5 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.
Jesus send no rebuke, he gently encourageds John to try nd look ourtside of his prison cell to what God is doing around the region.
Of of the most prominont reasons for our doubts and struggles is that we get overly focused on our current and personal situation.
John was in prison. John was being treated unjustly. John was under threat. John was alone. john was wronged.
And so it was very easy for John to becomes, for lack of a better phrase - self cntered in regard to faith.
Its an easy way of thinking to fall into.
But Jesus tells john to look outside of his cell, ourtside of his situation. The blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the gospel is preached, souls are being saved.
GOD IS AT WORK AND IS FAITHFUL.
GOD IS AT WORK AND IS FAITHFUL.
Jesus does not rebuke John, he comforts him.
John, i know you are confused right now, i know that things dont seem to make much sense, i know you are man of faith and i know your faith is under preassure - but turn your eyes upward john, look to God, keep the faith, run the race, fight the good fight.
When John hears the good reports of God working through Jesus in the lives of so many people, John’s faith is comforted and setteled.
John’s situation does not change but his spirit is refreshed with the good news.
The word of God always brings strength to our faith.
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
John, locked up in prison, hears the word of Christ and his brocken spirit once again sours like it did in the winderness when he was preaching.
The same can be true for you my frinds.
Go into your prayer closets and pour out your heart, your fears and your doubts humnly before God. Open his Word, let the holy spirit strengthen your faith through it. Look outside of your cell, see how the kingdom of God advances.