(Source from “The Word Among Us”)

Are you the one who is to come? (Matthew 11:3)

Do you ever have doubts? Everyone does, even John the Baptist. Herod had thrown John into prison and kept the threat of execution hanging over him. Sitting in that cell, John began to wonder if he had laboured for nothing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus a question: “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3).

Why would John ask such a pointed question? Probably because Jesus’ ministry didn’t fit John’s idea of what God’s kingdom should look like. Unlike John, Jesus wasn’t a fire-and-brimstone preacher. He seemed more concerned with healing sick people than with overthrowing Herod. He wasn’t popular with many Jewish leaders either. So doubts about Jesus began to creep in.

Rather than rebuking John’s disciples, Jesus described his ministry: the sick are healed, the dead are raised, and the poor hear the good news (Matthew 11:5). John’s disciples would have recognized these as signs of the Messiah foretold by Isaiah (35:6).

Jesus wasn’t put off by John’s doubts. Quite the opposite, he praised John as the greatest of all those “born of women” (Matthew 11:11). Jesus knew John; he loved him and understood the trial he was enduring. Knowing what John was going through, he treated him with compassion. And he will do the same for you.

You may have doubts. Bring them to Jesus. Ask him to help you recall his work in your life: when you experienced his forgiveness, knew his love, or felt his presence. Let him reassure you that he knows you and loves you. Let him strengthen your faith. As Isaiah proclaims in another prophecy, “A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench” (Isaiah 42:3). With his love, Jesus can set your doubts to rest and fan your smouldering faith into a blazing fire.

“Jesus, help me to believe in you more and more each day.”