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This puzzled me for many years . Why didn ’ t Jesus say these things about John the Baptist in the hearing of John ’ s disciples so they could have brought him that word ? It seemed to me like that would have helped John more than just telling him to look at the miracles , and he ’ ll be blessed if he believes .
Years after I first had these questions , I was reading from Isaiah 35 and came across the passage that says , “ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened , and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped . Then shall the lame man leap as an hart , and the tongue of the dumb sing : for in the wilderness shall waters break out , and streams in the desert ” ( Is . 35:5-6 ).
It suddenly struck me that this was exactly the answer that Jesus gave to John ’ s messengers . Look at what Jesus said in Matthew 11:4-6 : “ Jesus answered and said unto them , Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see : The blind receive their sight , and the lame walk , the lepers are cleansed , and the deaf hear , the dead are raised up , and the poor have the gospel preached to them . And blessed is he , whosoever shall not be offended in me .”
Jesus performed all the miracles Isaiah prophesied He would do , and threw in the healing of a leper and raising someone from the dead just for good measure . What Jesus did was He perfectly fulfilled the prophecy about Himself , and then referred John the Baptist back to that word . Jesus reminded John of the scriptures , to deal with his doubts . That ’ s Jesus ’ method of dealing with our doubts .
Many of us have Bibles lying around gathering dust . Some of us even carry one . But when we ’ re struggling with unbelief , we don ’ t want a scripture ; we want something tangible , something emotional that we can feel . We would rather have Jesus just put His arm around us and say something about how everything will be all right . That would make us feel better . But overcoming doubt isn ’ t just about feeling better ; it ’ s about getting back into faith that only comes from the Word of God ( Rom . 10:17 ).
Jesus sent the Word back with John ’ s disciples . He knew this would stir up John ’ s spirit to overcome the doubt . Peter understood this about faith when he wrote about it in 2 Peter 1:12-15 , which says , “ Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things , though ye know them , and be established in the present truth . Yea , I think it meet , as long as I am in this tabernacle , to stir you up by putting you in remembrance ; Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle , even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me . Moreover I will endeavor that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance .”
Peter was stating how important it was for his words to be received , as they were , in truth , the Word of God ( 1 Thess . 2:13 ). To prove to them that these were not just fables he made up , Peter refers to the time they were with Jesus on the mountain . They saw Jesus shine as the brightness of the sun . The Shekinah glory cloud of God overshadowed them all , and they heard an audible voice out of heaven say , “ This is my beloved Son : hear him ” ( Mark 9:7 ). They also saw Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus . That is pretty impressive !
But Peter went on to say in 2 Peter 1:19 , “ We have also a more sure word of prophecy .” What could possibly be more sure than all these supernatural signs ? Peter gives that answer in the next verse when he talks about the Scriptures ( 2 Pet . 1:20 ). The Scriptures are more sure and more faith building and doubt destroying than seeing Jesus transfigured or hearing an audible voice from heaven . Hallelujah !
The only sure way to overcome doubt is to place your faith in the Word of God and depend on that more sure word of prophecy . Don ’ t allow your five senses to dominate your thinking . You must come to a place to where God ’ s Word is more real to you than anything you can see , taste , hear , smell , or feel . When you ’ re in doubt , refer back to the Word of God just the way Jesus told John the Baptist to do . Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word .
There are only two times recorded in the Bible when Jesus marveled at anything . Once He marveled at the people ’ s great unbelief ( Mark 6:6 ), and in Matthew 8:10 He marveled at a Gentile soldier ’ s great faith . A faith that made Jesus marvel is worth examining . What was different about it ? The number one difference was what the centurion said , “ But speak the word only , and my servant shall be healed . For I am a man under authority , having soldiers under me : and I say to this man , Go , and he goeth ; and to another , Come , and he cometh ; and to my servant , Do this , and he doeth it .” ( Matt . 8:8-9 )
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