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Continuing in our study of Luke. So today we are in chapter seven. I’m gonna read a little longer passage for you today. This is gonna be Luke 7, verses 18 through 35. And if you’re using one of the pew Bibles, it’s on page 503.
So Luke 7:18-35.
So let me read the sacred text and then we’ll pray and then we get to work. As I mentioned, we’ve got a lot to cover today, so please hear the words of our God. So Luke wrote this. The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, calling to his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord saying, are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?
And when the man had come to him, they said, john the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another? In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits and many who were blind. He bestowed sight and he answered them, go tell John what you have seen and heard. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up. The poor have good news preached to them.
Blessed is the one who is not offended by me.
When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John. What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind. What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing.
Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings courts. What then did you go out and see? A prophet? Yes. I tell you more than a prophet.
This is he of whom it is written. Behold, I send my messenger before your face, and he will prepare your way before you.
I tell you, among those born of women, none is greater than John. Yet the one who is the least of the kingdom of God is greater than he. When all the people heard this in the text, collectors too, they declared God just had been baptized by the baptism of John. The Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him till at the end. Shall I compare this people, the people of this generation?
And what are they like? Like children sitting in the marketplace, calling out to one another. We played the flute for you. You do not dance. We sang a dirge.
You need not weep for John the Baptist came. He eating no bread and drinking no wine. And you say he is a demon. The Son of man has come, eating and drinking. You say look at him.
A glutton, a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. Yet wisdom is justified by all her children. So that’s God’s word for us this morning. Would you please pray with me?
Lord, I pray that you would bless this time for our good and for your glory. Please help me to be a good communicator. Help me not to stumble over my words, hoping not to speak that which is not true. Keep me from error. And Lord, pray for the congregation that you give them ears to hear what the Spirit is saying and pray song in Jesus name.
Amen. So, as mentioned many times over the years, I became a Christian in my early 20s, where things of God became very real to me. For me, I actually had a little bit more of a dramatic conversion where I distinctly remember where I was when Christ drew me to himself. So in small ways I can identify with the Apostle Paul in the moment of my conversion, where it felt like scales fell from my eyes in order for me to see Christ. Then after I was converted, my excitement for the Scriptures, the things of God was, was very real.
I could not get enough of God’s Word and the truth found in it. However, for me, some of that excitement started to challenge maybe six months to a year or so into my Christian walk, where I began to experience my real, first real crisis of faith, where for the first time I actually battled some real doubts. And this crisis of faith, this battle of doubts is brought on because of a couple of truths found in Scripture that I could not reconcile in my own heart and mind. That kind of put me into a tailspin, simply could not understand the truth of God being sovereign over all things, where nothing happens outside of his counsel of his will, his divine election, how that fits in the truth. We also see in Scripture that mankind, like, we’re not just like robots, but we’re responsible for our actions, our choices, including responsible for the call of Christ to respond to it in ways that we repent and we believe in Him.
For me, I cannot understand how these two truths could work together and as mentioned, put me into a tailspin in my new faith where I began to struggle with some real doubts. That is, until I met someone who’s older and wiser than me in the faith. Help me trust God’s Word and what it says over my own limited understanding by having the trust that there’s just some truths in Scripture that we might not fully ever grasp that they’re a mystery to us. Because for us to actually be able to fully grasp them, we’d actually need to be God, One whose ways are higher than our ways, whose thoughts are higher than our thoughts, where to him and him alone belong secret things that are beyond that are beyond our human understanding, which includes some truths in Scripture that are beyond some of our human understanding, like how divine sovereignty and human responsibility, how to fit together as well as shows how God is at work in our life and the world around us where God is working out his great plan to unite all things together in Christ. We’re in this plan.
Some of these things just don’t make sense to us. They’re a mystery to us, they’re confusing to us. And for my older, wiser friend, these mysteries should not draw drive us from God, rather drive us to God to trust in him, to trust in his word, to trust in his good plan in ways that we worship him as God, the God who is so much greater than we. Which for me, not only is this the right counsel, but this is such helpful counsel, encouraging counsel I needed here then, but also I’ve visited many times in my 20 plus years of being a Christian where I have been learning that my doubts should not cause me to run from God, but to run to God, the One who is so much greater than I, the One who is there to help me in my unbelief with his grace and his wisdom and peace, which also surpass my understanding. Now tell you that story today just to help set us up for the story that I just read for you from Luke concerning John the Baptist, who in the text Jesus honored as one who was great.
Back in the text, of those born of a woman, Jesus said none was greater than John. Yet we see in this text that even in John’s greatness John had doubts. We’re in this text. It seems like John almost had like, had like a crisis of faith where he’s having a hard time understanding Jesus, the ministry of Jesus, the plan with Jesus, where John is having such a hard time reconciling these things in his own heart and how God was at work around in the world around him, as mentioned, began to have wonder and doubt if indeed Jesus was the Christ. For us to work through this story, there’s a couple things that I hope can come from this time.
So first, as you work through this story this morning, I do hope it’s a comfort to you and any doubts that you might have in your own faith concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. So unfortunately in this life doubts are going to be a reality that we face. So as you have doubts in your life I hope it’s comforted you that John the Baptist, the great John the Baptist, had doubts. And not only that, in this text, as John had his doubts, we see that Jesus actually didn’t shame him. Rather, Jesus ministered to John through his Word, which is the second hope I have for us in this time, as doubts come your way.
My hope is that we follow the model of this passage and let the doubts that are creeping into our heart, let them compel you to by faith to actually go to Jesus and ways that he is ministering to you from His Word. So by grace you would trust in him as God, even if you’re having a hard time reconciling things in your own heart. Okay, so that was introduction. Please look back with me at the texts. We can work through it just kind of verse by verse.
So see in verse 18, the disciples of John, which is referring to John the Baptist. So we met a few different times already in our study of Luke, starting already in chapter one, we learned that he was born of a mother, Elizabeth and Zechariah, where he learned in chapter one that John would be the promised prophet of God who would prepare the way for the Christ to come. We also learned that John and his family related to Mary, the mother of Jesus, as it appears that Elizabeth and Mary were cousins. We were in chapter one, that John, as he first came in contact with Jesus when each other were still in each other’s mother’s wombs, that John leapt in his mom’s womb as he leapt before Jesus. Our text disciples of John came to, came to him, and they did so by giving a report to John, which in the text is a report of all of these things.
Now, all these things in verse 18 is referring to all the things and no doubt more the things. We’ve been working through the last several weeks in our study of the Luke, where we have read reports that Luke recorded for us, which took place during the public ministry of Jesus Christ, some assume. And these reports coming to John’s ear probably would include reports of like the teaching ministry of Jesus, which was his primary ministry as Jesus came to preach and teach God’s Word to fulfill the Scripture. No doubt reports also shared with John included some of the miracles that Jesus was performing throughout the region, including like casting out of the demons, the healing of the sick and the lame. In our text, last week, if you were here, report a young man that Jesus brought back from the dead.
And all these reports that came to John, they had to be incredible reports for him to hear. Incredible even Though as mentioned, Jesus was like his relative. I’m guessing at least in small levels, John grew up with Jesus. Or most likely John would have been told about Jesus being the Christ from when he was born of Mary, the his mother who was a virgin. Furthermore, I’m guessing John probably would have witnessed some of the various things of Jesus life that was a sinless life that he lived.
In chapter three of Luke, which we went through a few weeks back, we read how John baptized Jesus, whereas he was baptized Jesus. Remember how the Spirit descended upon Jesus as a dove where God the Father spoke from heaven, declaring Jesus to be the Son with whom he was well pleased. So in some ways I’m sure John was not shocked by these incredible reports of the Lord Jesus Christ. I’m sure in some ways they made sense to him. However, in the text, as John heard all of these reports, rather than these reports like further filling his heart with faith, further causing him to leap with joy over Jesus, we see that as John received the reports, he had his doubts.
In fact, he had some real doubts concerning Jesus. So in verse 19, John called two of his disciples to himself to send them on a mission on his behalf, which is a mission to go to Jesus, and simply asked the lord in verse 19, a very straightforward question. Are you the one who is to come or should we look for another meaning Jesus? Are you indeed the promised Christ of the Scripture or are you not? Which by the way, I’m assuming for John’s entire life he probably was told that Jesus was the Christ.
I’m guessing for most of his life he probably believed to be true, particularly when he baptized Jesus, that Jesus was the Christ. Not. My guess is he probably even testified to that truth to others. But now in our text, John is not so sure, began to wonder and doubt that which he heard, that which he professed to believe that it actually was true. So he sent word to Jesus to see what Jesus had to say.
Now, a few things here. So first, as we work through the rest of the story, I do not think that John’s doubt were an indication that he did not have faith in God. I think throughout the Gospel of Luke, John is presented as a man of great faith in God. However, even for this great man of faith, even he had doubts that crept in. And by the way, this is true of so many heroes in the Scriptures as well as throughout church history.
For so many of the heroes have battled doubts unbelief, on different fronts. Let’s do the second thing. So then why was John doubting here? Obviously for us, it’s hard to know why, but let me give you a couple reasons that most scholars pointed as possible contributing factors for John, factors I think that we actually can identify with that might cause us to doubt as well. So first, perhaps John doubted Jesus because of his current life situation, which for John was not a favorable situation.
Now, for us, we don’t see in our text today, but as Matthew as he recorded this scene in his gospel, Matthew included a detail on why John had to send someone to Jesus rather than going to himself. And that detail was that John actually couldn’t go himself because he was locked up in prison, which was brought on because John proclaimed the truth as he called people to repent and believe in God. So for John in this scene, he was in a very unfavorable situation. We’re in prison. No doubt he’s facing various forms of suffering where no doubt he had like lots of time on his hands.
And as we know, when we’re idle, when we have a lot of time on our hands, we can get into our own heads. And in our own heads, we don’t always come up with the right conclusions. Potentially for John, this less than ideal situation was leading him to have some doubts. That’s what I’m sure that we can identify with. I mean, just think in our own life, when things are just not adding up in our own life the way we want, how easy it is to doubt, how prone we are to wonder.
As we just sang, we have a hard time reconciling how God loves us, how he’s good to us, how he’s sovereign, yet our life situation feels so far less than ideal. That’s one potential reason why John had these doubts. Second potential reason why John had the doubts in the text revolve around who it was who put John in prison, which was the Roman appointed leader of the area, Herod the Tetrarch, as he put John in prison because John was like calling him out in his sin. For John, like so many others in this period, the expectation of the Christ who was to come was that the Christ would lead some type of military or political conquest by which Israel would drive out the Romans who ruled over the land. So for John, as he sat in prison because of Rome, as this Roman ruler, perhaps he began to doubt Jesus.
If Jesus really was the Christ, why wasn’t he doing something more to this end? Why is he not kicking out Rome? I mean, after all the reports that John just got, he would have learned there’s a huge crowd following after Jesus. So why didn’t the Lord like empower the crowd to revolt against Rome? Why didn’t he just do like some type of military miracle, maybe perform so many other miracles, why couldn’t he just do a military miracle?
I’m sure for John, like so many generations of Israel prayed, the Lord has sent to Christ to do something on this end to get rid of Rome that is set in prison. Nothing. Instead, Rome appeared to have just as much, if not more power and control than they ever had. So perhaps that’s why John began to doubt. To doubt, question.
You know, what was Jesus doing in the world around him? Once again, probably something we can identify here as well. We look in the world around us, we watch the news, things don’t make sense.
Begin to question, where is Jesus in any of this?
Why is he not doing something?
No, not sure exactly why John had his doubts. It does seem like these potential reasons was probably a factor for him. Keep going. Verse 20 we see these two men from John as they left him, we see that they found Jesus and they said to Jesus, Jesus, John the Baptist has sent us to you with a message. Really more of a question.
Jesus, can you tell us plainly, are you the one who is to come? Are you the long awaited, the long promised Christ that we’ve been telling others you are? Or were we wrong and shall we look for another?
Do we miss something here? Right now we’re having a hard time reconciling things. This question here recorded twice in the text by Luke. So the anniversary 18 are you the one who is to come or should look after another? Now again, verse 20 Are you the one who is to come or you should look for another?
I think this is Luke stressing a point like there’s real doubts here. There’s a real crisis of faith here. As John came to Jesus through His two disciples. Verse 21 as Jesus heard the straightforward question, rather than giving them the answer right away, Jesus did the thing that only Jesus could do on his own accord. And in that hour he healed many people.
He healed those who are suffering from disease and plagues to heal those who are suffering from evil spirits. In the text we read how you healed the blind so they could see. And after Jesus did these incredible acts in front of the disciples of John, which I’m sure caused them to maybe feel a little silly for having these questions of doubt, which by the way, perhaps we could identify this as well, where we can really struggle with some type of crisis of faith, some doubts, only for the Lord to do something that only he can do in our life that gives us peace and assurance, but pushes away the doubts, at least for the moment where we can’t even believe why we ever doubted. In the text, after the miracles that Jesus performed, we see that he turns back to the disciples of John to help them understand what he just did actually was the answer to their question. Because what he just did was he fulfilled the scriptures and what the scriptures said would be true of the Christ who was to come.
Verse 22 if you take your eyes there, Jesus answered them, hey, go back and you tell John what you have seen and heard. The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are clean or cleaned, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news preach to them in this response. This is Jesus speaking scripture as he used several passages from the Old Testament book Isaiah to form this response. Passages that were declaring that what the Messiah would look like when he came. So let me just read these passages to you and just listen how they’re found in verse 22 of our text.
So from Isaiah 26:19, your dead shall live, their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in their dust, awake and sing for joy. For your dew is the dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead. Isaiah 35 verses 5 through 6. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. Isaiah 42 verses 6 through 7. I will give you as a covenant for the people a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind. Isaiah 42, verse 18. Hear you deaf and look you blind, that you may see one more mention.
All these are speaking about the Christ who is to come. Isaiah 61:1. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. The Lord has appointed me to bring good news to the poor. For us this morning the answer that Jesus gave to satisfy the doubts of John his disciples was scripture.
So by the truth of God’s word they would be set free from their doubts.
Verse 23 after the Lord spoke scripture to the disciples of John, he shared with them that blessed is the one who is not offended by me, which here it seems to me like Jesus is really challenging the hearts of John’s disciples who perhaps in their doubts were starting to like almost like be offended by the ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus was not doing the thing that they wanted him to do. Well, perhaps this verse here is maybe more of a challenge of the crowd around him. Jesus is certainly going to challenge Here in just a second. Maybe it’s a little bit of both.
This verse here, John or Jesus is challenging both John disciples as well as the crowd, who maybe were a bit offended by the ministry of the Lord Jesus, particularly in what he was not doing in terms of overthrowing Rome. I think we identify with this here. We’re in our own life, perhaps we’re offended by the Lord Jesus, what he’s doing, not doing. Keep rolling. Verse 24.
The conversation between Jesus and disciples of John came to this conclusion and the messengers had gone back to John to give them this report from Jesus. We see. Then the Lord turned to the crowd to speak to them about John. And as Jesus did this, we see that he didn’t speak ill will about John. He didn’t like criticize him for having doubts.
He didn’t shame John in front of everyone. Like of his example, what not to do. Like crowd, do not be like John. We see Jesus showed honor towards John, this one who had his doubts, saying to the crowd, what did you go out and see in the wilderness? That’s what I was referring to.
Luke 3, where John’s ministry of calling, of repentance and baptism took place in the wilderness, the Jordan River. So you see the crowd. So many went out to the wilderness to sit under the ministry of John. So crowd, what did you see was in Texas? Rhetorical question by Jesus.
And he answered them. Did you see like a reed shaken by the wind with a clear answer? So that. Or answer that question. No, that’s not John.
He wasn’t some type of like weak individual who was like easily shaken like a reed in the wind. So I like keep that in mind as you think about the doubts that he had in the story. Wasn’t a weak person. Verse 25, same question. Then.
What did you go see? Right. Another rhetorical question. Was it a man dressed in soft clothing? Is that what you saw?
Meaning, was John some type of privileged individual who lived a life of ease, who could afford expensive clothing? The answer in the text, nope, John was not that either. John wore a garment of coarse camel hair and a leather belt. This is not clothing of luxury, but actually a picture of repentance. So in the text, behold those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury, they don’t wear what John wore.
Those are the ones who wear soft clothing. There’s folks, they’re not out like in the wilderness like John, eating locusts and wild honey. Those types of individuals who are privileged, they’re in the king’s court eating the finest Meals. So clearly that wasn’t John, verse 26. So yet again, right a third time.
What then did you go out and see? Only for this time, Jesus gave the people the right answer to his rhetorical question. What did you see when you went to look at John? I’ll tell you what you saw. You saw a prophet.
That is who John is. A prophet of the one true and living God. And not just any prophet. Jesus said that John was like more than just a prophet, but John was the very prophet who was written about in Scripture, saying, behold, I will send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you. It’s here.
This is not Jesus quoting Malachi 3 of a prophet who would come to prepare the way for the Christ this year. This is Jesus showing real honor towards John, even though John had his doubts, which is honor, Jesus only continued to show him in verse 28, saying to the crowd, I tell you, among those born of a woman, none is greater than John. I mean, no one has a resume greater than his. Even though I keep saying the context of the passage. He’s struggling with doubts, confused, maybe even offended by the ministry of Jesus, that John, John the Baptist, was the one who is the great prophet who was to come, the one with the great resume that no one could rival.
Which keep going on the theme here. I hope this encouragement to any of us here this morning and doubts that you’re battling, or maybe you have confusion concerning Jesus and how he’s guiding your life in ways that maybe you wouldn’t have hoped or anticipated, or maybe even having some hard time not being offended by the ministry of Jesus, maybe some of the standards he’s calling us all to live by, or how he’s like sovereignly guiding your life here in this text. For John, Jesus honors his people, all of his people, even if we’re not as great as John the Baptist, which actually leads the next thing we see in the text. So all these things said about John, Jesus greatly honored him. We see then Jesus shift a bit in the conversation with the crowd.
We then use John as an illustration for a little like, almost like comparison and contrast to challenge the crowd here, which I think, as you read through this, I think it might be a challenge for us as well, but also perhaps maybe some more encouragement in the challenge for those in the text, for those who have faith in Jesus, even if you have doubts amidst the faith, but for those who have faith in Jesus Christ, even if that faith is so small, where you feel like your faith is so little, that you’re like in the text, like the least in the kingdom of God. Jesus said those with even little faith, least of the kingdom of God faith, they’re still greater than even the great John the Baptist. Now this is perhaps a little confusing. Let me try to explain. So as mentioned, after honoring John, Jesus now uses John as an illustration to compare and contrast, to make a larger point where he’s going to really challenge the crowd here in particular, like the religious leaders who were in the crowd, religious leaders who thought like their own resumes, ensured they’d be accepted by God.
So in this illustration here, earthly speaking, no one, say it again. No one had a better resume than John. I mean, he really could one up everyone. The great prophet, the forerunner of Christ, no one born of a woman having a resume greater than his. However, friends, even that resume is not enough.
Even John the Great, John the Baptist, the one who baptized Jesus Christ, even he could not earn his way into eternal life by his own resume. Even John had to have faith. The scripture is so clear, it’s only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s the only way we can enter into the kingdom of God. So in this comparison, this contrast, even those with the smallest measures of faith in Jesus Christ, even if they have doubts in their faith, that’s still better, that’s still greater than someone with the greatest earthly resume yet lacking faith in Jesus Christ.
The text in verse 29, Jesus pointed out how this comparison contrast is actually being played out as all the people in the crowd heard him say this. The text included tax collectors who were despised by society, who social outcast, would not have had a resume. The other society would have clamored after yet. But we see in Luke, many of which had faith in Jesus. And as they heard of Jesus, as he heard them speak about faith, they declared God just having themselves been baptized by John as a testimony of their faith.
Verse 30. The Pharisees, the lawyers who is earthly speaking would have great resumes as they heard Jesus say all this, right? They would understood Jesus was condemning them as Jesus condemned them. The ones who rejected God’s purposes for themselves.
But they did not have faith. The text was evident by their rejecting John’s call to repent and be baptized. So here in the text, in this comparison contrast, the despised tax collector, even with little faith, was greater than the Pharisees, the lawyers and their oppressive earthly resumes. And I hope this is encouragement to us as well. Friends, it’s not about resume building the hopes of trying to impress God.
Rather it’s faith simple Faith, even mustard seed faith, that’s what matters to the heart of God. This morning, even in the midst of your doubts, if you have faith in Jesus Christ, where you’re trusting him, friends, you’re great in the kingdom of God.
And finally, we’re going to end our text to study this morning, starting at verse 31. If you take your eyes there, Jesus continues to compare and contrast, this time comparing that generation of people and what they’re like. I think this here not only is probably hearkening back to the generation of people who wandered in the wilderness, but also specifically talking to the Pharisees and the lawyers, the ones who are trusting in their own resumes. Verse 32, Jesus compared them to children sitting in a market who had called out to one another in song, which pointed out to like a fickle nature, where they said to one another, hey, we played the flute for you, this instrument of celebration, yet no one danced. We sang a dirge.
It’s a song of mourning, often used at funerals, but you did not weep. This is fickle, this is inconsistent. No matter what type of music was played, one could not win. Not happy, always complaining, always grumbling. In the text, Jesus says, this was the Pharisees, the lawyers particularly, as he looked at the great prophet of God, John the Baptist, and the Christ of God Jesus.
Verse 33, For John the Baptist came with a pretty aesthetic lifestyle, probably took some type of Nazarete vowel or something close to that. So he didn’t eat bread, he drank no wine. But for the Pharisees, the lawyers, they rejected him. His message ultimately is they rejected God. As they grumbled and said, john, he just has a demon.
But then verse 34, in their fickle, judging, complaining hearts as the Son of man, which is Jesus now referring to himself as he came eating, drinking wine, they said, look at him, he’s a glutton, He’s a drunkard. And even worse, as he’s eating and drinking wine, he’s doing so with despised tax collectors and sinners.
Jesus is showing that he’s a friend to them. For the Pharisees lawyers, their fickle hearts, they’re not happy with Jesus either. Well, they also rejected the Lord Jesus Christ. So even though the Pharisees lawyers thought they had this stellar resume, Jesus pointed out they’re fickle, they did not have real faith. Always complaining, always judging, never happy, always trying to pull the speck out of the eyes of others, even though a huge plank was in their own eye.
As Jesus called out the Pharisees for the fickle attitudes towards the things of God closed the section by saying wisdom is justified by all of her children which referring to that which we hold to the end, will come out of us when the fickle behavior of the Pharisees and lawyers towards the things of God His Word resulted in not only them rejecting John the Baptist, but ultimately rejection of Jesus Christ and His grace in their life, the very one what Scripture is about as they bore children of non stop complaining and judging, grumbling constantly pointing out what they felt were faults in others, making their children those children their true actual resume which stands in contrast to those who have faith in Christ, who seek to keep God’s Word, who bear fruit of their life of a love for God and a love for others, including love for other sinners, even tax collectors and sinners, love for those who may be struggling with their own doubts. That’s we’re going to end our text today, but before I close, I want to close just like giving two real quick thoughts as related to our doubts. Doubts that can creep into our hearts. Doubts can leave us have a real crisis of faith. So when doubts come your way, and they will, even if you have strong faith like John the Baptist in this life, there will be doubts that we will battle on many different fronts.
So as doubts come your way, just two thoughts for us from this text. So first, as doubts creep in, run to Jesus with your doubts. And I think that’s the model we see in the text here. Yes, John the Baptist, he had his doubts. But rather than running from Jesus and the rejection of Jesus, like the Pharisees and the lawyers in the text, he sent messengers to Jesus to hear from him, where Jesus is able to minister to the messengers only to John through His Word in ways that only he can.
So friends, may that be true of us as well. As doubts creep in, whatever they may be, let those doubts lead you to run to Jesus Christ in ways that you’re trusting in him, trusting in His Word more than you’re trusting in yourself. For some, perhaps this is something you need to do even this morning, maybe for the first time. So perhaps you’ve been around the things of God in ways that you know about Jesus, but you have doubts. Doubts are actually keeping you from putting your faith in him, perhaps doubts that he’s actually worth leaving all things behind in order to have Him.
And today I actually want to invite you to let those doubts actually lead you to him in ways that you actually are going to trust in him today more than you’re trusting in your doubts that today, by faith, you would actually run to Jesus Christ. All of us here, you have trusted in Jesus, but your walk with him is just really not what you want it to be because you’re struggling with, like, some assurance of your faith where these doubts are just loud voices in your head, where you feel like your faith is like the least of the kingdom of God. And if that’s you this morning, I also wanted to invite you to let your doubts cause you to run and trust in Jesus Christ, knowing that Jesus, he loves his people. And as we run to him with our doubts, with our unbelief, we’re not going to be met with him, like, shaming us.
Rather, he promises as we come to him, he’s there to care for us, to minister to us, to give us his peace. And he promises this. No matter how many times we’ve already come to him with our doubts, he still will receive you. There’s not like a punch card where you only get so many times to run to Jesus with your doubts.
He will meet you there with his grace upon grace upon grace. Actually, the second thing I want to leave us with before we close, so his doubts creep in.
Rest in Jesus with your doubts. And here I’m specifically speaking about resting in his resume, about to sing here, just a bit. Our worth is not our own.
It’s not our resume. Our worth is found in Jesus Christ, his resume, which is a resume that’s unlike ours. Ours is filled with sin and unbelief, complaining, judging, fickle. The resume of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of man. It’s a resume of perfection where Jesus did everything perfectly, where he lived the life of faith, that we could never live without sin in order to fill the Scriptures, including what the Old Testament book of Isaiah prophesied about.
In his great love, Jesus laid down his life on a cross to take on the judgment, the punishment of our sin, where he bled and he died for us, where he was buried, only to rise again from the dead on the third day to be the atoning sacrifice of our sin. And according to God’s good word, Jesus sovereignly calls out to all to come to him and put their faith in him so that his resume, his righteousness, would be counted as ours, so that we might be justified before God, forgiven our sin because of Jesus Christ, because of his great plan, which is not a great plan to drive out the Roman rulers was a great plan to drive out and defeat sin and death for us forever and ever. Amen. Which, by the way, this is the greatest of all mysteries, according to his great plan so far beyond our understanding that Jesus would love us in this way to do that for us. Yet, friends, that’s where we must rest, in what Jesus has done for us.
So yes, in a real way, we should live a life of faithfulness before God where we’re growing in our faith, which is part of hopefully our resume of our resume. It’s not what we rest in, it’s his to close. Let me just share something else that was shared to me that’s been so helpful to me over the last 20 plus years of being a Christian. So I’ve heard this a few different times. So it’s not the strength of our faith that justifies us.
It’s not having like no doubts. It’s not what justifies us. Rather, it’s the object of our faith. That’s how we’re justified. It’s the object of our faith.
It’s the Lord Jesus Christ. So, friends, today, in the future, as doubts creep in, and unfortunately, they will let those doubts cause you to run to Jesus and rest in Jesus, the great object of our faith, who loves us in such a way that he calls and continues to call us to himself that we might believe. Let’s pray.
Lord, we are very prone to wander.
And Lord, there are so many things that we just do not trust you in ways that we should.
But I’m sure if we were to survey all the different doubts that fill the hearts of this room, it’d be a very long list.
So, Lord, I do pray that in this time that through your word, through your spirit, that you would minister to us.
And not only would you drive the doubts away, but you would use the doubts to cause us to run to Jesus, to rest in him.
And Lord, pray for those who maybe are here this morning, who have yet to believe that today would be the day of their salvation. Today they would taste and see that you are good, that they would believe that you did die, you did rise again from the dead, that you do offer forgiveness, that you are the great treasure worth leaving all things behind in order to have.
Lord, for many others that are here that do have faith, but they’re struggling.
So Lord, I pray that you just give them peace and assurance today.
Help them to trust you, trust your word more than they are trusting in their doubts.
Pray this on Jesus name, Amen.