WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.980 Have you ever struggled with doubt? 00:00:09.519 --> 00:00:13.339 I'm not talking about doubting yourself, 00:00:13.339 --> 00:00:14.179 ! 00:00:14.179 --> 00:00:16.760 whether you can do something, 00:00:16.760 --> 00:00:19.379 or whether you're right or wrong about something. 00:00:19.379 --> 00:00:19.379 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:37.000 Have you ever struggled with this kind of doubt? 00:00:37.000 --> 00:00:44.000 Maybe you're even feeling this right now, today. 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:46.000 Sometimes, if we do have doubts, 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:50.000 we feel that church is the last place that we can say it. 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:55.000 Because this is supposed to be the place of faith, right? 00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:58.000 Maybe you've even been scolded or rebuked 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:02.000 for expressing your honest doubts. 00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:04.000 Well, this morning as we look into the Word of God, 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:09.000 we discover that one of the greatest men in the Bible 00:01:09.000 --> 00:01:12.000 wrestled with doubt. 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:15.000 And here in the Gospel of Luke, where we've been reading, 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:19.000 this is maybe the last place that we'd expect to read something like this. 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:24.000 Three weeks ago, we heard about the jaw-dropping faith of the centurion. 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:30.000 Just say the word Jesus, and my servant will be healed. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:36.000 Two weeks ago, we heard about how Jesus raised a widow's son from the dead 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:39.000 in the middle of his funeral, right in front of everyone. 00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:41.000 What's next? 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:46.000 Here's what's next in Luke 7, verse 18. 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:59.000 John's disciples told John about all these things, 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:02.000 the things Jesus has been doing. 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:06.000 When calling two of them, he sent them to the Lord to ask, 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:09.000 Are you the one who is to come? 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:12.000 Or should we expect someone else? 00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:16.000 When the men came to Jesus, they said, 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:20.000 John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:23.000 Are you the one who is to come? 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:27.000 Or should we expect someone else? 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:30.000 This is unexpected, isn't it? 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:36.000 The first thing we see here is some of these disciples of John 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:39.000 giving a report to him. 00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:44.000 It's John the Baptizer, the guy that we heard about in chapter 3. 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:48.000 John had disciples, he had followers of his. 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:52.000 And according to Luke, they tell John about all these things 00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:53.000 that Jesus has been doing. 00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:55.000 And we look, what are these things? 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:57.000 The raising of the widow's son from the dead. 00:02:59.000 --> 00:03:01.000 The healing of the centurion's servant. 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:05.000 Possibly even the preaching of this great sermon 00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:08.000 that we just spent weeks going through in Luke chapter 6. 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:14.000 So they go and tell John about how Jesus has been doing all these things. 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:17.000 And why do they do this? 00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:20.000 Because John can't go and see for himself. 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:25.000 Luke's already told us that he's been locked up in prison by Herod, 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:27.000 the ruler of the region. 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:30.000 Matthew, in the parallel account of this, 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:34.000 mentions it explicitly on this occasion. 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:36.000 Matthew 11, verse 2. 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:37.000 He says, 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:41.000 When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, 00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:43.000 he sent his disciples to ask him. 00:03:43.000 --> 00:03:45.000 And it's the same question. 00:03:45.000 --> 00:03:48.000 So John is in jail. 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:54.000 And he hears this report of these miracles that Jesus is doing. 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:55.000 Amazing things. 00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:00.000 And he calls two of his disciples and sends them to Jesus to ask, 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:01.000 Are you the one? 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:04.000 Or should we expect someone else? 00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:10.000 How could John be asking this? 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:15.000 If there was anyone who knew who Jesus was, 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:17.000 that he was the Messiah, 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:19.000 that he was the one that they'd been waiting for. 00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:22.000 If there was anyone who knew who Jesus was, 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:25.000 beyond the shadow of a doubt, 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:27.000 it was John, right? 00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:31.000 Let's remember who John is. 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:33.000 This isn't just any old guy. 00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:36.000 This is John, the son of Zachariah, the priest. 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:40.000 The same Zachariah who was visited by the angel Gabriel 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:43.000 at the temple in chapter 1 of Luke's Gospel. 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:45.000 And what did the angel tell Zachariah? 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:49.000 The angel told Zachariah that his son would be a prophet, 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:52.000 great in the sight of the Lord, 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:55.000 and filled with the Holy Spirit of God, 00:04:55.000 --> 00:04:57.000 even from birth, 00:04:57.000 --> 00:04:59.000 before he is born. 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:03.000 John was to be the one to go on before the Lord 00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:05.000 in the spirit and power of Elijah, 00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:07.000 a great prophet in Israel's history. 00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:10.000 John was to be the one to begin the work of turning 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:13.000 the hearts of the people back to the Lord, 00:05:13.000 --> 00:05:15.000 to make them ready for the Lord. 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:18.000 Not only this, but John's mother, Elizabeth, 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:24.000 was a relative of Mary, Jesus' mother. 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:27.000 They exchanged some pretty significant words about Jesus 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:31.000 before either John or Jesus was born. 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:36.000 John's mother, Elizabeth, knew by the Holy Spirit of God 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:40.000 that her Lord was in the womb of Mary. 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:43.000 We looked at that when we were there. 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:46.000 So these were the parents who raised John. 00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:48.000 Zachariah and Elizabeth, his own father, 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:50.000 his own father declared this prophetically 00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:51.000 on the day that John was named. 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:52.000 He said, 00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:53.000 And you, my child, 00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:56.000 will be called a prophet of the Most High, 00:05:56.000 --> 00:05:58.000 for you will go on before the Lord 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:00.000 to prepare the way for him. 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:06.000 He was to grow up to be a great prophet of God, 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:09.000 a man who would hear from God directly 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:12.000 and speak on behalf of God to the people. 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:16.000 And then we heard from Luke in chapter 3 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:18.000 that when John was a man grown, 00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:22.000 the word of God came to him while he was in the wilderness. 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:25.000 He heard the voice of God 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:28.000 and he began to speak. 00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:32.000 He was going through all the wilderness country 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:33.000 around the Jordan River, 00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:35.000 preaching that people should repent 00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:38.000 and declaring that God would forgive those who do. 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:42.000 And the people were coming from all over the place 00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:43.000 to hear his preaching 00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:45.000 and to see him dunking, 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:46.000 baptizing people in the water 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:48.000 as a sign of their repentance. 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:52.000 The people were wondering if John might be the Messiah. 00:06:53.000 --> 00:06:55.000 And what did John tell them? 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:56.000 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:57.000 He said, no. 00:06:57.000 --> 00:06:59.000 There is one coming after me 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:04.000 and I'm not even worthy to bend down and untie his shoes for him. 00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:08.000 He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit of God. 00:07:09.000 --> 00:07:11.000 He is far greater than me. 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:14.000 Where did John get that message from? 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:16.000 He got it from God. 00:07:17.000 --> 00:07:21.000 He was a prophet who heard the word of God speaking to him. 00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:24.000 And then one day Jesus showed up 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:26.000 where John was preaching and baptizing 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:29.000 and John baptized Jesus 00:07:29.000 --> 00:07:31.000 and Luke tells us that everyone there 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:35.000 saw the Holy Spirit come down in the form of a dove 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:37.000 and rest on Jesus. 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:42.000 Not only that, but they heard audible voice of God 00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:45.000 speaking from heaven saying, 00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:48.000 this, you are my son whom I love. 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:50.000 With you I am well pleased. 00:07:51.000 --> 00:07:53.000 John was there in the water. 00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:57.000 When this happened, 00:07:58.000 --> 00:07:59.000 he saw it. 00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:00.000 He heard it with his own eyes 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:03.000 and ears. 00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:05.000 Heard and saw it with his own eyes and ears. 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:07.000 In the apostle John's gospel, 00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:08.000 we read that from then on, 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:11.000 John the baptizer began pointing people to Jesus 00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:13.000 and saying this about Jesus. 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:16.000 Look, the Lamb of God 00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:19.000 who takes away the sin of the world. 00:08:19.000 --> 00:08:20.000 This is the one I meant 00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:22.000 when I said, 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:24.000 a man who comes after me has surpassed me 00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:26.000 because he was before me. 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:28.000 I myself did not know him, 00:08:29.000 --> 00:08:31.000 but the reason I came baptizing with water 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:34.000 was that he might be revealed to Israel. 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:38.000 Then John gave this testimony. 00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:40.000 He said, 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:43.000 I saw the spirit come down from heaven as a dove 00:08:43.000 --> 00:08:44.000 and remain on him. 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:47.000 And I myself did not know him, 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:50.000 but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 00:08:51.000 --> 00:08:54.000 the man on whom you see the spirit come down and remain 00:08:55.000 --> 00:08:58.000 is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. 00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:00.000 These are the words of John. 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:07.000 I have seen and I testify that this is God's chosen one. 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:17.000 And from then on, many who heard John began to follow Jesus. 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:23.000 John knew better than anyone that Jesus was the one, 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:25.000 that he was the Messiah, 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:27.000 that he was the very son of God. 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:30.000 And now he's receiving word from others 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:33.000 about the great miracles that Jesus has been doing. 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:38.000 How could it be that John is now sending these guys to Jesus 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:39.000 to ask the question, 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:42.000 are you the one who is to come? 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:46.000 Or should we expect someone else? 00:09:51.000 --> 00:09:53.000 Somehow, surprisingly, 00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:57.000 despite all John had seen and heard, 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:01.000 evidently things are not unfolding with Jesus 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:03.000 in the way that John expected. 00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:06.000 He was a prophet of God. 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:08.000 The spirit of God was in him. 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:10.000 He saw the spirit of God 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:13.000 and heard the voice of God at Jesus' baptism. 00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:18.000 And yet John was still a man like us. 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:22.000 And as I mentioned already, where is he right now? 00:10:23.000 --> 00:10:24.000 He's in prison. 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:29.000 Which back then was not a comfortable correctional facility 00:10:29.000 --> 00:10:31.000 where you're fed and treated well 00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:35.000 and you're just waiting to get out on parole. 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:38.000 It was probably a dark and dirty cell 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:42.000 where he was cut off from relationship with people 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:44.000 most of the time, alone, 00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:50.000 perhaps mocked by the guards and laughed at, 00:10:51.000 --> 00:10:52.000 treated inhumanely, 00:10:53.000 --> 00:10:55.000 with no end in sight. 00:10:55.000 --> 00:11:01.000 Even prophets are not immune 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:04.000 to dark nights of the soul, 00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:06.000 to depression, 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:09.000 yes, and even to doubt. 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:13.000 If we look back in time, 00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:15.000 even the great prophets of old, 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:17.000 like Elijah and Jeremiah, 00:11:17.000 --> 00:11:19.000 were at times greatly troubled, 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:22.000 distressed, 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:23.000 distressed, 00:11:23.000 --> 00:11:24.000 discouraged, 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:26.000 depressed, 00:11:27.000 --> 00:11:28.000 lonely. 00:11:29.000 --> 00:11:30.000 And in those times, 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:31.000 sometimes all we can see 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:33.000 is the darkness around us, 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:35.000 the troubles. 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:38.000 All we can feel is the heaviness. 00:11:41.000 --> 00:11:42.000 We don't know exactly the thoughts of John 00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:44.000 as he sat there in his prison cell, 00:11:45.000 --> 00:11:46.000 but maybe it was something like, 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:48.000 I know he's the one. 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:50.000 I saw the spirit come down upon him. 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:51.000 I heard the voice. 00:11:51.000 --> 00:11:52.000 I see the miracles. 00:11:53.000 --> 00:11:56.000 But here I am in a jail cell. 00:11:57.000 --> 00:11:59.000 And the things Jesus is doing and saying 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:02.000 are not looking to me like the great kingdom 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:04.000 of the Messiah that we've all been waiting for. 00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:10.000 What would be true of the Messiah 00:12:11.000 --> 00:12:12.000 when he comes? 00:12:13.000 --> 00:12:14.000 We could look back in Luke's Gospel 00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:16.000 just a couple pages to what Jesus was reading 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:17.000 in the synagogues. 00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:20.000 What he read in the synagogue in Nazareth. 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:21.000 What he read in the synagogue in Nazareth. 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:26.000 Chapter 4, verse 18 and 19. 00:12:27.000 --> 00:12:29.000 The spirit of the Lord is on me, 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:31.000 read Jesus, 00:12:32.000 --> 00:12:34.000 because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. 00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:38.000 He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:41.000 and recovery of sight for the blind, 00:12:41.000 --> 00:12:46.000 to set the oppressed free, 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:49.000 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. 00:12:51.000 --> 00:12:54.000 And you can almost imagine John sitting there in prison wondering, 00:12:55.000 --> 00:12:57.000 where's the freedom for the prisoners like me? 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:02.000 Where's the setting of the captives free? 00:13:02.000 --> 00:13:07.000 This doesn't feel like the year of the Lord's favor to me. 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:14.000 I believe that doubt had taken hold in John's heart. 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:16.000 Some will have a hard time agreeing with that, 00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:18.000 but it's so hard. 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:20.000 I mean, 00:13:21.000 --> 00:13:24.000 is it hard to believe that the prophet in his current circumstances, 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:26.000 even with all that he has seen, 00:13:27.000 --> 00:13:29.000 is it hard to believe that he could experience doubt? 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:35.000 Didn't Jesus chide his disciples frequently with these words, 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:37.000 ye of little faith? 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:43.000 Were they not truly worried and panicked and anxious about all sorts of things, 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:48.000 though they had Jesus with them all the time? 00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:51.000 The one they believed was the Christ. 00:13:51.000 --> 00:13:55.000 I believe that doubt took hold in John's heart. 00:13:58.000 --> 00:14:01.000 That there was a mixture of faith and doubt 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:06.000 and powerful feelings and confused thoughts. 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:10.000 As John looked at how things were going with Jesus, 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:14.000 and it wasn't going as he expected. 00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:18.000 Where's the kingdom of this king? 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:22.000 When does the rule of this son of David begin? 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:26.000 Are you the one who is to come? 00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:29.000 Or should we expect someone else? 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:36.000 Some will say that it's possible to be 100% sure of your salvation in Jesus, 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:40.000 to have complete assurance beyond the shadow of a doubt, 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:43.000 and actually I agree with that and I believe that, 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:48.000 but I also believe that it's possible to have true faith in Jesus 00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:51.000 and really struggle with doubt, 00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:55.000 and really struggle with unmet expectations. 00:14:55.000 --> 00:15:00.000 Maybe it's prayers that you've been praying for a long time, 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:03.000 and it just seems like they're going unanswered. 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:09.000 Maybe it's a way that you are expecting God to intervene and do something, 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:12.000 and you've been asking him to do it, and it's been years. 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:18.000 Maybe it's a hardship or trial in your life that you never thought you would face, 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:21.000 simply because you're a Christian. 00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:27.000 Some will say that if you don't have 100% certainty of your salvation in Jesus, 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:29.000 then there's something wrong with you, 00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:31.000 and you might not believe at all, 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:34.000 or even get the gospel, or even know Jesus. 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:37.000 Are you truly born again? 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:40.000 If the Spirit lives in you, 00:15:41.000 --> 00:15:43.000 do you not hear his assuring voice in your heart? 00:15:43.000 --> 00:15:44.000 Stop doubting. 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:45.000 Stop doubting. 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:47.000 Just put your trust in him and in his word. 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:48.000 It's simple, isn't it? 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:54.000 It sure seems that simple when you have that 100% certainty, 00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:57.000 and you're not wrestling with doubt, 00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:00.000 when things are going well enough. 00:16:01.000 --> 00:16:06.000 But trials like John is going through right here in the story 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:11.000 often have a way of exposing where our faith still needs to grow. 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:16.000 And so John sends these two guys to Jesus to ask him the question, 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:20.000 are you the one, or should we expect someone else? 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:24.000 Let's carry on. 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:26.000 We read in verse 21. 00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:27.000 John. 00:16:27.000 --> 00:16:39.000 At that very time, Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses, and evil spirits, 00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:43.000 and gave sight to many who were blind. 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:45.000 So he replied to the messengers, 00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:49.000 go back and report to John what you have seen and heard. 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:51.000 The blind receive sight, 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:53.000 the lame walk, 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:56.000 those who have leprosy are cleansed, 00:16:57.000 --> 00:16:58.000 the deaf hear, 00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:01.000 the dead are raised, 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:05.000 and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:10.000 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me. 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:15.000 It seems, according to what Luke says here, 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:17.000 that on this very occasion, 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:22.000 that they're seeking an audience with Jesus to ask John's question for him, 00:17:23.000 --> 00:17:25.000 Jesus is doing great miracles, 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:27.000 left, right, and center, 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:29.000 healings. 00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:31.000 It says, 00:17:31.000 --> 00:17:32.000 at that very time, 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:33.000 or quite literally, 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:34.000 at that hour, 00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:37.000 Jesus cured many diseases, 00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:39.000 sicknesses, 00:17:39.000 --> 00:17:40.000 evil spirits, 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:43.000 and he gave sight to many who were blind. 00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:49.000 And so these two guys arrived to Jesus in the midst of a great miracle session, 00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:54.000 maybe similar to the one that was described earlier at Peter's house in Capernaum, 00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:55.000 back in chapter four. 00:17:55.000 --> 00:17:57.000 And, you know, 00:17:57.000 --> 00:18:00.000 I imagine Jesus surrounded by all these people, 00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:02.000 pressing in on him, 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:05.000 or perhaps lining up to be healed. 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:06.000 And one by one, 00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:07.000 Jesus is doing, 00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:09.000 as we've read in some of these miracle accounts, 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:11.000 laying his hands on them, 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:13.000 be clean, 00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:14.000 be healed, 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:15.000 get up and walk, 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:17.000 be cleansed. 00:18:17.000 --> 00:18:21.000 And we notice that Jesus, 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:24.000 when they finally get to asking the question, 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:26.000 doesn't give them a straight answer, 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:28.000 a simple answer to these, 00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:29.000 to this question. 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:30.000 He doesn't say, 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:31.000 yes, 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:32.000 I'm the one. 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:35.000 He says, 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:38.000 go back and report what you have seen and heard, 00:18:39.000 --> 00:18:41.000 and then describes what they've seen and heard. 00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:42.000 He lays it all out. 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:43.000 The blind receive sight, 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:45.000 the lame walk, 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:48.000 those who have leprosy are cleansed, 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:49.000 the deaf hear, 00:18:49.000 --> 00:18:50.000 the dead are raised. 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:54.000 What is Jesus saying by all this? 00:18:57.000 --> 00:18:59.000 All of these people are having their trouble, 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:01.000 their ailments, 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:04.000 their problems reversed and cured. 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:06.000 And these are not small things. 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:10.000 These are things that only God can do. 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:14.000 But I think there's even a deeper message here. 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:21.000 I think Jesus is encouraging John to think about what he expects from the Messiah. 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:30.000 To go back and to remember what God has already declared about how things will be about the Messiah, 00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:31.000 expectations. 00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:32.000 Years ago, 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:36.000 this is what God said through the prophet Isaiah. 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:40.000 I'm just going to read this little longer portion here from Isaiah 35, 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:42.000 the first seven verses. 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:45.000 The desert and the parched land will be glad. 00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:49.000 The wilderness will rejoice and blossom. 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:50.000 Like the crocus, 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:52.000 it will burst into bloom. 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:55.000 The desert will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. 00:19:56.000 --> 00:19:58.000 The glory of Lebanon will be given to it. 00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:00.000 The splendor of Carmel and Sharon. 00:20:01.000 --> 00:20:03.000 They will see the glory of the Lord, 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:05.000 the splendor of our God. 00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:08.000 Strengthen the feeble hands. 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:11.000 Steady the knees that give way. 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:13.000 Say to those with fearful hearts, 00:20:13.000 --> 00:20:14.000 Be strong. 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:16.000 Do not fear. 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:18.000 Your God will come. 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:19.000 He will come with vengeance, 00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:21.000 with divine retribution. 00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:23.000 He will come to save you. 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:27.000 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened 00:20:27.000 --> 00:20:30.000 and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:33.000 Then will the lame leap like a deer 00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:36.000 and the mute tongue shout for joy. 00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:39.000 Water will gush forth in the wilderness 00:20:39.000 --> 00:20:41.000 and streams in the desert. 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:43.000 And it just keeps going on. 00:20:43.000 --> 00:20:46.000 This was a message of hope and deliverance 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:49.000 spoken through Isaiah to Israel long ago 00:20:49.000 --> 00:20:51.000 about how God would come to save them 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:55.000 and bring about the great reversal for them. 00:20:57.000 --> 00:20:59.000 And how is that reversal described? 00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:02.000 The eyes of the blind will be opened. 00:21:03.000 --> 00:21:06.000 The ears of the deaf unstopped. 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:09.000 The lame will leap like the deer. 00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:12.000 The mute tongue will shout for joy. 00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:15.000 It's like Jesus is saying, 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:17.000 these are the very things that I've been doing, John. 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:19.000 Do you see it? 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:22.000 God has come to save you. 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:24.000 I have come to save you. 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:30.000 The things Isaiah and the prophets told you to look for 00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:31.000 are happening. 00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:33.000 I'm doing them. 00:21:33.000 --> 00:21:35.000 I am the one. 00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:39.000 Look at the signs and believe. 00:21:39.000 --> 00:21:44.000 And then there's the last thing in this list of reversals 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:46.000 that Jesus tells them to report. 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:52.000 Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard. 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:56.000 Report to him that the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 00:21:57.000 --> 00:22:00.000 The good news is proclaimed to the poor. 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:02.000 Isn't that what Jesus has been doing? 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:06.000 Proclaiming good news everywhere he's going. 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:11.000 In fact, Mark's gospel kicks it off in this way. 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:13.000 After John was put in prison, 00:22:13.000 --> 00:22:17.000 Jesus went into Galilee proclaiming the good news of God. 00:22:17.000 --> 00:22:19.000 The time has come, he said. 00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:22.000 The kingdom of God has come near. 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:24.000 Repent and believe the good news. 00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:27.000 That's what Jesus has been doing. 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:31.000 So much of the message of Jesus is good news. 00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:35.000 In fact, the whole story of Jesus has come to be called the gospel, 00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:37.000 which means the good news. 00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:41.000 The angel declared to the shepherds on the night of Jesus' birth, 00:22:41.000 --> 00:22:46.000 I bring you good news of great joy for all the people. 00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:48.000 The Savior has been born. 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:50.000 He is Christ the Lord. 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:54.000 And since then, since Jesus began preaching, 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:57.000 he has been preaching the good news of the kingdom, 00:22:57.000 --> 00:23:00.000 the good news of salvation, of forgiveness. 00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:05.000 And we notice, Jesus says, 00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:07.000 Report to John what you have seen and heard. 00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:10.000 The good news is proclaimed to who? 00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:12.000 To the poor. 00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:18.000 What is Jesus just finished saying to the crowds before this? 00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:23.000 Blessed are you who are poor, 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:26.000 for yours is the kingdom of God. 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:29.000 Blessed are you who hunger now, 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:31.000 for you will be satisfied. 00:23:31.000 --> 00:23:33.000 Blessed are you who weep now, 00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:35.000 for you will laugh. 00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:37.000 We looked at that weeks ago. 00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:49.000 He was talking about the great reversal that's coming for the people of God. 00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:56.000 And I think there's an even deeper message than that for John here too. 00:23:56.000 --> 00:24:00.000 Tell him what you have seen and heard. 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:02.000 The good news is proclaimed to the poor. 00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:05.000 I think that was meant to trigger something in John's mind. 00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:10.000 The words of Isaiah 61 verse 1, 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:12.000 which we looked at earlier, 00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:13.000 where it says, 00:24:13.000 --> 00:24:16.000 The spirit of the sovereign Lord is on me, 00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:21.000 because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. 00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:23.000 In other words, 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:23.000 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:25.000 I am that one. 00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:27.000 Look at what I am doing. 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:37.000 I am the one whom the Lord has anointed, 00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:40.000 specially chosen. 00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:43.000 Look at what I've been doing. 00:24:43.000 --> 00:24:46.000 I've been proclaiming the good news of God to the poor. 00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:48.000 John, 00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:54.000 Jesus basically encourages John to do what we all must do. 00:24:54.000 --> 00:24:57.000 In his moment of despair and doubt, 00:24:57.000 --> 00:25:01.000 he encourages John to look at the signs that he has been doing 00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:05.000 and follow them to the unseen truth that they point to. 00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:08.000 That Jesus is the one. 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:13.000 Isn't it something though, 00:25:13.000 --> 00:25:15.000 that in this reminder, 00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:17.000 which he sends back with these two guys, 00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:22.000 look at the next line words after proclaim the good news to the poor. 00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:25.000 He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, 00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:28.000 to proclaim freedom for the captives 00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:31.000 and release from darkness for the prisoners. 00:25:31.000 --> 00:25:33.000 Isn't that something? 00:25:33.000 --> 00:25:36.000 Jesus encourages John, 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:37.000 this prophet in prison, 00:25:37.000 --> 00:25:42.000 to believe in him as the spirit and dwelt anointed one of God, 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:46.000 by pointing him back to the promise that the Messiah will set the prisoners free. 00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:52.000 It's as though Jesus is saying, 00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:56.000 John, look at all I have been doing for people. 00:25:56.000 --> 00:25:59.000 I've been turning things upside down for them. 00:25:59.000 --> 00:26:00.000 The blind are now seeing, 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:02.000 the deaf are now hearing, 00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:04.000 the lame are now walking, 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:05.000 the dead are raised. 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:12.000 The poor are hearing the good news proclaimed to them, 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:14.000 that they will inherit the kingdom of God, 00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:16.000 though right now they have nothing. 00:26:17.000 --> 00:26:19.000 And your time will come, John. 00:26:21.000 --> 00:26:23.000 Your reversal is coming too. 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:28.000 I will set you free from that jail cell in time. 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:32.000 From the darkness in time. 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:34.000 Have faith in me. 00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:36.000 See the signs. 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:38.000 Believe in me. 00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:43.000 At the center of the Christian life, 00:26:43.000 --> 00:26:48.000 and at the center of our experience as followers of Jesus, 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:50.000 is faith. 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:55.000 And faith is trusting in what we cannot see. 00:26:55.000 --> 00:27:00.000 We walk by faith in Jesus, 00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:03.000 and not by sight. 00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:06.000 Not by what we perceive. 00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:08.000 Not by what we feel. 00:27:09.000 --> 00:27:13.000 John couldn't see in the darkness of his prison cell, 00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:16.000 how this was going to turn into the glorious kingdom of God. 00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:19.000 This wasn't, it seems, 00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:23.000 the path to the throne that he was expecting, 00:27:23.000 --> 00:27:24.000 the Messiah. 00:27:26.000 --> 00:27:29.000 And sometimes we feel that same way, don't we? 00:27:29.000 --> 00:27:32.000 Our experience, what we see, what we feel, 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:33.000 as we go through life, 00:27:33.000 --> 00:27:37.000 doesn't always seem to fit with what we expect from God, 00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:40.000 according to what we read in his word. 00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:43.000 And that's where faith comes in. 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:48.000 It's not blind faith. 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:51.000 It's not that God hasn't revealed anything to us, 00:27:51.000 --> 00:27:56.000 or that he hasn't given us any signs which point to those unseen truths, 00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:57.000 and that unseen reality. 00:27:57.000 --> 00:27:58.000 He has. 00:27:59.000 --> 00:28:01.000 We might even think sometimes, 00:28:01.000 --> 00:28:05.000 if God would just speak to me with an audible voice, 00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:08.000 or let me see him with my own two eyes, 00:28:09.000 --> 00:28:10.000 well, guess what? 00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:14.000 John actually experienced that at Jesus' baptism, 00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:18.000 and yet he still came to wrestle deeply with doubt. 00:28:22.000 --> 00:28:26.000 Listen to how Jesus finishes off the message for John. 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:28.000 Verse 23 says, 00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:32.000 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me. 00:28:33.000 --> 00:28:34.000 Some other translations say, 00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:37.000 Blessed is he who does not take offense at me. 00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:40.000 One commentator said, 00:28:41.000 --> 00:28:44.000 Literally, the word used here means to trip up, 00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:45.000 or to be entrapped. 00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:48.000 But here it's used figuratively, 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:51.000 of someone who refuses to accept Jesus' claims, 00:28:51.000 --> 00:28:52.000 or to draw near to him. 00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:57.000 Now, I'm not sure, really, what Jesus meant by this, 00:28:57.000 --> 00:29:00.000 but I wonder if he's saying something like this, 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:02.000 Are you willing to trust me, John, 00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:07.000 even if I haven't yet measured up to your expectations? 00:29:11.000 --> 00:29:14.000 Don't let what this all looks like on the surface 00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:17.000 cause you to stumble and fall. 00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:18.000 Look at the signs. 00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:22.000 Look at the word of God spoken long ago. 00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:24.000 Look at what I'm doing. 00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:26.000 Have faith in me. 00:29:27.000 --> 00:29:30.000 It will, in the end, turn out to exceed everything 00:29:31.000 --> 00:29:32.000 you thought and imagined. 00:29:33.000 --> 00:29:33.000 00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:35.000 Wait. 00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:37.000 You will see it. 00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:41.000 One day I will set you and many others free 00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:43.000 from the prison cell. 00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:45.000 And you will see. 00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:51.000 May these words of Jesus encourage you today, 00:29:51.000 --> 00:29:52.000 if you're wrestling with doubt. 00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:56.000 Or despair. 00:29:58.000 --> 00:29:59.000 Or loneliness. 00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:04.000 Others have felt this too. 00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:10.000 Don't let go of the faith that you have in Jesus. 00:30:11.000 --> 00:30:14.000 He will not, in the end, disappoint. 00:30:14.000 --> 00:30:18.000 The great reversal is yet to come. 00:30:19.000 --> 00:30:22.000 It awaits the end when Jesus returns. 00:30:23.000 --> 00:30:27.000 At Jesus' word, the blind have seen. 00:30:28.000 --> 00:30:29.000 The deaf have heard. 00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:31.000 The lame have walked. 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:33.000 Lepers have been cleansed. 00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:35.000 The dead have been raised. 00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:37.000 And if you have faith in him, 00:30:37.000 --> 00:30:41.000 your time, your great reversal, is coming too. 00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:45.000 Let's pray. 00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:58.000 Father in heaven, we thank you for this little snippet of what happened long ago. 00:30:59.000 --> 00:31:03.000 And not what we expected, but precious to us, 00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:07.000 because we, most of us, have all experienced a struggle 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:10.000 similar to this at one time or another. 00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:14.000 And we want to pray, especially for those who are going through that right now, 00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:17.000 that you would be present with them, 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:20.000 that you would speak to their hearts, 00:31:21.000 --> 00:31:23.000 and that you would strengthen their faith in you, 00:31:24.000 --> 00:31:29.000 and that you would lead them and help them through whatever difficulties they may be facing. 00:31:29.000 --> 00:31:33.000 Be with our brothers and sisters around the world, 00:31:34.000 --> 00:31:36.000 who right now are sitting in a jail cell, 00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:38.000 because of their love for you. 00:31:39.000 --> 00:31:42.000 We commit them to your care. 00:31:43.000 --> 00:31:44.000 And we pray this in Jesus' name. 00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:46.000 Amen.