Objection Life in the Overruled! Kingdom Learning from John the Baptist
by James W. Moore
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ased upon my own experiences as a believer I find that there are three spiritual states possible to a sinner like me—unbelief, belief, and doubt! I have also found that these three states are experienced by the various characters of whom we read in Scripture. I am very thankful for this fact, as it gives me hope of my union with Christ as my Savior and Lord. As I have sought to run the race set before me, I have left behind me a trail of failures with few successes. Thus I am thankful that my experiences are neither foreign to, nor absent from, the men and women of Scripture. Sometimes life hurts. And sometimes the “doubt” or “unbelief ” in our hearts multiplies the pain to the point of being unbearable! Confusion and fear then rule, and we become “worthless” to those around us, but especially to our loving Savior. During one such “hurt” of life I found comfort in the example of John the Baptist, which I now share in the hopes that you, too, may find comfort in the midst of your life “hurt.” Consider the witness and testimony of the Lord Jesus regarding John Baptist and his ministry: Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. (Matt 11:11) Would you not delight in a testimony such as that coming from the Lord Jesus concerning you? These words of Jesus tell me that John the Baptist had an “absolutely necessary ministry” and that he was exactly the right man for the job. God made no mistake in calling John the Baptist to the ministry of being the “forerunning” herald of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ—the task was given to no other! I am sure as John was preaching “the baptism of repentance” he could hardly contain himself as he labored in fulfillment of his calling as the “forerunner” of Christ the Messiah! Yet at the end of John’s ministry, while he was in prison, the reports of Christ’s ministry caused John to send his disciples to Jesus with a question: When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities. Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Matt 11:1-3) What I am about to say, I do not say dogmatically, but I believe it to be true. John’s disciples did not come to Jesus to only remove their own doubts concerning Jesus, which they
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FULFILLED MAGAZINE • WINTER 2018
apparently had, but to inquire concerning doubts that John the Baptist had about Jesus! John the Baptist doubting? How can that be, considering John’s unique ministry and having such a testimony as “none greater born of women” from the Lord of Glory Himself? Can such a one as this doubt the very One he has so faithfully preached at great cost to himself? Confusion, dissatisfaction, frustration, disappointment, doubts, and unbelief are all possibly inherent in this one simple question on the part of John the Baptist! How could this be? Have you and I ever asked Jesus this question since taking Him as our Savior: “Are you the One or shall we look for another?” John had warned his listeners of coming judgment, and announced Jesus as the one who would bring that judgment: But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (Matt 3:7-12) John was confused as he received reports of Jesus’ healing ministry—not a ministry of “judgment” as John had proclaimed! In fact, when Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue, He stopped short of reading the text that proclaimed the Lord’s day of vengeance: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19) Jesus was not fulfilling what John had preached and expected Him to do; therefore, John appears to doubt that this Jesus was the one he expected and proclaimed! But John’s doubt was the result of Jesus not fulfilling John’s own
