Luke 7:16-20: a reflection

16Fear took hold of all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited his people!” 17This report went out concerning him in the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region. 18The disciples of John told him about all these things. 19John, calling to himself two of his disciples, sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are you the one who is coming, or should we look for another?” 20When the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptizer has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you he who comes, or should we look for another?’”

Even John the Baptist, the great prophet who had pointed others to Jesus, comes to a place of doubt in his hard imprisonment, and he does something wise with his doubt: he sends it straight to Jesus. John, calling two of his disciples, sent them to Jesus, saying, Are you the one who is coming, or should we look for another? John, in prison, when Jesus did not seem to be doing what John may have expected, was troubled by real doubt, wondering whether Jesus was truly the one. And rather than letting the doubt fester in silence, he brought it directly to Jesus himself, asking honestly. This shows that when Christ does not seem to meet our expectations and doubt arises, the wise thing is to bring the doubt directly to him. Even John doubted, and brought his doubt to Jesus. When Christ seems not to meet our expectations, bring the doubt to him. Take your honest doubt to Christ, as John did. Doubt is best brought straight to Jesus.

Notice what John does with his doubt. He was in prison, in a hard place, and Jesus was not doing what John perhaps expected the Messiah to do; and so a real doubt arose in him: are you the one, or should we look for another? This from John, who had baptized Jesus and pointed others to him. But notice: he did not let the doubt simply fester in silence, nor did he turn away; he sent his disciples to bring the question directly to Jesus, asking him honestly. This is wise, and encouraging for us. When Christ does not seem to meet our expectations, when our circumstances do not match what we thought following him would mean, doubts can arise, even in those who have long known and loved him. And the wise thing to do with such doubt is not to let it fester in silence or to turn away, but to bring it directly and honestly to Jesus himself, as John did. Christ does not despise the honest doubt brought to him; he received John's question and answered it. We can take our real doubts straight to Christ. Bring your doubt to Christ rather than letting it fester in silence. Even long-held faith can meet doubt; take it to Jesus. Christ receives the honest doubt brought to him. Do not turn away in doubt; bring it to Christ.

That is worth taking to heart, for when Christ seems not to meet our expectations and doubt arises, the wise thing is to bring the doubt directly and honestly to him, as even John the Baptist did from prison. We can let doubt fester in silence, or turn away from Christ when he does not seem to be doing what we expected; but John, troubled by real doubt in his hard imprisonment, sent his question straight to Jesus. Christ receives the honest doubt brought to him. When doubt arises in you, do not let it fester or turn away; bring it directly to Christ, as John did. Bring your honest doubt directly to Christ rather than letting it fester in silence or turning away, as even John the Baptist, the great prophet who had pointed others to Jesus, when he was in prison and Jesus did not seem to be doing what he expected, was troubled by real doubt and sent his disciples to ask Jesus directly, are you the one who is coming, or should we look for another; for when Christ does not seem to meet our expectations, when our circumstances do not match what we thought following him would mean, doubts can arise even in those who have long known and loved him, and the wise course is not to let such doubt fester in silence or to turn away, but to bring it directly and honestly to Jesus himself, as John did, since Christ does not despise the honest doubt brought to him but receives it and answers, so that we can take our real doubts straight to him.

Lord Jesus, even John the Baptist, the great prophet who had pointed others to you, comes to a place of doubt in his hard imprisonment, and he does something wise with his doubt: he sends it straight to you. John, calling two of his disciples, sent them to you, saying, Are you the one who is coming, or should we look for another? John, in prison, when you did not seem to be doing what he may have expected, was troubled by real doubt, wondering whether you were truly the one. And rather than letting the doubt fester in silence, he brought it directly to you, asking honestly. This shows that when you do not seem to meet my expectations and doubt arises, the wise thing is to bring the doubt directly to you. Show me what John does with his doubt. He was in prison, in a hard place, and you were not doing what he perhaps expected; and so a real doubt arose in him. This from John, who had baptized you and pointed others to you. But he did not let the doubt fester in silence, nor turn away; he sent his disciples to bring the question directly to you, asking honestly. This is wise, and encouraging for me. When you do not seem to meet my expectations, when my circumstances do not match what I thought following you would mean, doubts can arise, even in those who have long known and loved you. And the wise thing to do with such doubt is not to let it fester or turn away, but to bring it directly and honestly to you. You do not despise the honest doubt brought to you; you received John's question and answered it. Take that to my heart, for when you seem not to meet my expectations and doubt arises, the wise thing is to bring it directly and honestly to you. When doubt arises in me, keep me from letting it fester in silence or turning away; help me bring it directly to you, Lord, as John did, trusting that you receive the honest doubt brought to you and answer it.