John the Baptist was an incredibly strong prophet and follower of Christ. He lived in the wilderness, wore camel hair (not the designer kind), ate locusts and honey (probably got stung a few times), challenged the religious leaders, preached repentance, stood up to Herod in his sin, and eventually was beheaded for his faith. When we think about people like John in the Bible, we tend to really believe we’re not cut out for the Christian life.
But did you know that John had moments of doubt in his faith?
“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?’”
Matthew 11:2-3 (ESV)
While some scholars believe that John did not doubt, but sent his disciples to Jesus for their own benefit, it seems clear that John had at least a little bit of doubt surfacing. After all, he was in prison for doing the very thing God had called him to do - preach repentance. He likely believed the Messiah had come and was going to instantly dethrone all the corrupt religious leaders and the Roman government itself. John preached of “the wrath to come” (Matthew 3:7) and that Jesus would “clear his threshing floor” (Matthew 3:12). But how long would he have to be in prison?
He had heard of the miracles of Jesus, but was Jesus truly the promised Messiah, or maybe just another prophet from God? We don’t know exactly what caused John to question, but something bothered him enough to send messengers to Jesus to make sure He really was the Messiah.
If someone as strong in their faith as John experienced moments of doubt, then I can take comfort that I am not alone or even in the minority when doubt sets in my own heart. There is a difference between doubt and unbelief. Doubt is when we are asking questions about our faith and wrestling through the things that cause us to have those questions. Unbelief is a blatant rejection of who Jesus is. Here are a few things to keep our doubts from turning to unbelief
Ask the hard questions
Many of us might have been afraid to approach Jesus and ask if He truly was the Messiah. Not John. He made sure that whatever questions he had were brought right to Jesus. In your time in prayer, ask God to reveal the truth to you. Seek out your pastor, a trusted godly friend, or counselor who will be able to walk with you through your doubts and point you to the truth. We should never be afraid to ask questions as a Christian. When something is tugging at your faith, make it known and relentlessly pursue the truth.
Stay in the Word
If you read Matthew 11 further, you’ll see Jesus answer John’s doubts by pointing him to the Scriptures about the Messiah. Jesus is the living Word of God, He could have directly answered John’s questions, but He pointed John to the place every believer should go when doubt creeps in - the written, revealed Word of God.
Take the Lord at His Word
Nothing about John’s circumstances changed. He honestly had not even received any new information about Jesus (he already knew the prophecies), but Jesus’ words were enough for him. He didn’t need a miracle or a change in his circumstances, he simply needed the assurance of the words of Jesus. For the Christian, we are to take refuge and comfort from our doubts in the sure and steadfast Word of God. We are to believe Him over and above our doubts. We are to allow His Word to be a comfort for our anxious hearts. What He says should always move us from the shifting sands of doubt and plant our feet firmly upon the Rock that is Himself.
Doubt is a very real and common struggle for believers. You are not alone in this battle. Take comfort in the story of John the Baptist. Because if someone whom Jesus said was not a “reed shaken in the wind” (Matthew 11:7) could experience doubt and overcome it by the Word of God, then you can too!