John’s Question
Question: Is there
someone famous that you would like to ask
one question? What would the question be?
Question: If you
could ask God one question . . . what would it be?
Question: Did John
the Baptist ever have doubts?
Now let’s look at Scripture, and the one question that John
the Baptist
had for Jesus. John was in prison at the
time . . .
Matthew 11:1-15
(NIV) Jesus and John the Baptist:
1 After Jesus had finished
instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from
there to teach and preach in the towns of
2 When John heard in prison what Christ was
doing, he sent his disciples
3 to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should
we expect
someone else?"
4 Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you
hear and see:
5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who
have leprosy are cured,
the deaf hear, the dead are raised,
and the good news is preached to the poor.
6 Blessed is the man
who does not fall away on account of
7 As John's disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak
to the crowd about John:
"What did you go out into the
desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind?
8 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in
fine clothes? No, those who
wear fine clothes are in kings'
palaces.
9 Then what did you go out to see? A
prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
10 This is the one about whom it is written: " 'I will send my messenger ahead of
you,
who will prepare your way before you.'
11 I tell you the truth: Among
those born of women there has not risen anyone
greater than John the Baptist; yet
he who is least in the kingdom of heaven
is greater than he.
12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the
kingdom of heaven has been
forcefully advancing, and forceful
men lay hold of it.
13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until
John.
14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah
who was to come.
15 He who has ears, let him
hear.
Per New Testament Survey (Robert G. Gromacki)
regarding Matthew 11:2-5:
“Even John the Baptist began to doubt . . . To assure John,
Christ performed
miracles in the presence of John’s messengers and pointed out that these
fulfilled messianic prophecy (cf. Isa. 61:1-2) . . .
Christ then called upon
John to trust Him and the purpose of God . . . .”
Isaiah 61:1-2 (NIV):
1
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives and
release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year
of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our
God,
to comfort all who mourn,
Per the Peter Sippel on www.qhpress.org
regarding Matthew 11:2-5:
“ . . . We don't really know what caused this wavering . .
. The second half of the answer clearly
refers to and quotes from the prophecy of Isaiah 35 . . .”
Per the IVP commentary on Matthew 11:
“. . . Yet John struggled with human weaknesses, including
misunderstanding and doubt
(11:1-6). Aware of our own frailties, we can draw encouragement from the
struggles of
our biblical predecessors; God uses imperfect vessels even while he is
summoning us to
greater maturity in him . . .”
Per Matthew Henry’s commentary on Matthew 11:
“. . . The remaining unbelief of good men may sometimes, in an
hour of temptation; call
in question the most important truths. But we hope that John's faith did not
fail in this
matter, and that he only desired to have it strengthened and confirmed. Others
think that
John sent his disciples to Christ for their satisfaction. Christ points them to
what they
heard and saw . . .”
Per website www.wels.net:
According to Matthew 3:14, and
more explicitly, in John 1: 29-34, John the Baptist knew
who Jesus was ("I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of
God."). However, in
Matthew 11:2, after Jesus had been baptized by him and while in prison,we read that
John the Baptist sent "his disciples (2 of them according to the Spanish
translation)to ask
him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone
else?"
Question: If you
could ask God one question . . . what would it be?
Optional reading:
Luke
7:22
References:
Gromacki, Robert G., “New Testament Survey”, Baker Book House,
And the following websites were
accessed on Sept. 21, 2007:
http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=3852
http://biblebrowser.com/matthew/11-5.htm
http://www.qhpress.org/quakerpages/qhoa/areyouhe.htm
http://scripturetext.com/matthew/11-5.htm
http://www.wels.net/cgibin/site.pl?1518&cuQA_qaID=1&cuTopic_topicID=813&cuItem_itemID=18485