Luke 7:18-35, “What if I Sometimes Doubt?” A Bible Study Devotion.

Luke 7:18-35, “What if I Sometimes Doubt?” A Bible Study Devotion.

Read Luke 7:18-35

Have you ever doubted that Jesus is who he said he is? Have you ever been so moved by God that you were sure of his promises, enjoying the “view” from the mountaintops, only to have your situation change and begin to doubt as you head for the valley? Most people would say yes. So what does Jesus think of you when you doubt? Let’s turn to scripture…

Just a little while ago, John the Baptist was the talk of the town. He had them lined up around the block just for a few seconds with him in the river. He was the man to see. People knew his name. Even the Messiah himself showed up for a dip in the water. Not only that, but right after, God himself made a guest speech to all the people present. I doubt that John could feel much closer to God at that time. He was on the “mountaintop.” He even made this now famous quote, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” In other words, John is not doubting right now…

Just a little time has passed and we see John sitting in prison. The valley is surrounding him; the mountaintop far in the rear view mirror. What had he been thinking? “How did this happen? I was just baptizing Jesus himself, God was speaking at my venue. And now I’m sitting in jail?” “Is this how this is supposed to work? Was that even Jesus at all?” None of that is written in the Bible, just a guess. But it does say this in verse 19, “he (John) sent them to the Lord to ask, ‘Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” That my friend, is doubt…



So John’s guys go find Jesus and ask him John’s question. (Side note…) I like how they phrase the question to Jesus. “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who was to come…” like they are saying, “look dude, we don’t doubt you but John wanted to know…” anyway, back to the lesson…

The first thing we see is good news. Jesus gives them an answer. He could have shrugged his shoulders and said, “maybe, maybe not, ha ha ha.” However, he does not simply say “yes.” Correct me if I’m wrong, but Jesus will never give a “yes/no” answer in all of scripture. Not his style… What he does do is point them to the things that he has been doing. His answer is so much more than a simple “yes/no.” The answer is worthy of its own study in itself. He points out that he can heal sickness, blindness, lameness, deafness, and even deadness. Flip quick to Isaiah 35:5, 6 and 61:1. Here he is showing that he is fulfilling prophecy. So he is proving he is the one by the miracles, and the fulfillment of prophecy.

After he gave them the answer they came for, he decides this is a good teachable moment. So he turns to the crowd and uses the situation to drive home some points. Sorry, but it will not fit in this devotion… However, he does say this, that we do need to hear right now in verse 28,”I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

So follow this progression of logic…

• John doubts Jesus is who he said he is…
• Jesus says John is the best…
• Jesus says that anyone in his kingdom is greater than John…
• Hence, Jesus is cool with you doubting…

So next time you have seconds thoughts about this whole Jesus thing, remember what Jesus did for John. He pointed out the things that he has done. He showed him that the things Jesus did cannot be done by man. Try and remember the things that He has done for you…least of all dying to cover the penalty for your sin…

Written by Chris Vasecka

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