Is doubt sinful? I’m very thankful the Bible addresses doubt on several occasions, because it’s an issue all of us—no matter how resilient our faith feels at the moment—will experience. In this week’s passage from Matthew 11, we learn that even the bold and rugged wilderness prophet, John the Baptist, experienced doubt from the dark confines of a prison cell, and I am tremendously grateful that Matthew records how Jesus responded to John’s doubt! To be clear, doubt is not unbelief. We see unbelief demonstrated in the Pharisees’ scoffing and rejecting of Jesus and His message. Unbelief doesn’t ask questions; it dodges and ridicules. In his book Faith Wins, Adam Groza helpfully defines doubt: “Doubt is faith looking for answers.” In John the Baptist’s case, he had already proclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah and even heard the Father’s approval of Jesus at His baptism! He knew the truth and believed it. When we find him doubting, we see it’s due to his circumstances—unmet expectations of what the Messiah would do, particularly for him. And how does Jesus reply? Does He tell John everything’s going to be all right? Does He encourage John to just believe in Himself? No! Jesus points John outside himself to God’s Word! He strings together several prophecies from the book of Isaiah and invites John’s disciples to report everything they see and hear Jesus doing. Jesus shows mercy to this doubting disciple and afterward affirms his faithfulness before the listening crowd, and this is how you can expect Jesus to respond to your doubt. Let your doubt—your faith looking for answers—press you further into God’s Word! You will find mercy!
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Mike