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QUESTIONS FROM THE HEART (2)
John the Baptist appeared on the stage of history as a man on a mission John 1:15 (NIV)
(John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ”) John replied, “……but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me.” (John 1:26-27 (NIV).
What conviction!! What authority!! What certainty!!
Can you not hear his voice ring out across the Jordan? It is obvious that he has, once and for all, settled the question, “Who is this Jesus?”
Or has he?
“When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” Matthew 11:2-3.
What happened to the conviction? The authority? The certainty?
I read these verses and I am confronted with the fact that John is harbouring doubts where once he was possessed of certainty. It’s as if he is saying,
I read these verses and I am confronted with the fact that John is harbouring doubts where once he was possessed of certainty. It’s as if he is saying,
“Is there even the slightest possibility that I could have been wrong in what I have believed about Jesus?”
No, I am not being critical of John. I know myself too well to allow that kind hypocrisy to take root in my heart. What I am doing is pointing out that even the ‘giants of the faith’ know that looking at life through prison bars can dramatically change one’s perspective. When God acts or responds in unexpected ways (or doesn’t act or respond at all), it is the ‘exceptional’ person who looks through those prison bars (whatever form they may take) and doesn’t ask the question, “Are you the One….?”
