Focal Passage: Matthew 11:1-6, 16-24
In this passage we encounter three kinds of people. All of them are close to Jesus and exposed to truth, but each responded differently. John is in prison questioning with honest doubt. There are crowds of people who criticize Jesus expressing comfortable doubt. And there are the cities who totally ignored Jesus showcasing hardened doubt. Every response to Jesus reveals the heart toward Jesus.
The first person is John the Baptist (vv.1-6). He’s now in prison and he’s beginning to question. This once bold preacher who introduced Jesus as “the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29) now sits in chains, wondering if he misunderstood the mission. His question is not rebellion or unbelief. It’s confusion mixed with disappointment. I love Jesus’ response. He doesn’t shame him. He welcomes the question and points him to evidence. (vv. 4-6) In other words, Jesus reminds him, “look what God is doing.”
Have you ever been on hold with a customer service representative and you think they are coming right back to the phone, but the longer you wait, the more you wonder? This is John’s question. He didn’t unfollow Jesus…he sent a message that said, “Hey, just checking.” It was an honest question and those don’t deny or disqualify faith; they actually deepen it. Doubt becomes dangerous only when we stop bringing it to Jesus.
Josh Sinquefield
The next type of person we see are the people who criticized Jesus (vv. 16-19). In these verses Jesus describes a generation that always has an opinion, but never a commitment. They accused John of being too serious and Jesus of being too joyful. Nothing could satisfy them. These are the spectators, not the seekers. They analyze everything but decide nothing. Their doubt is a comfortable doubt keeping them safely uncommitted. These are like the sports commentators who have an opinion on what the players should do but aren’t actually on the field themselves. It’s easy to critique Jesus and His followers at a distance, but it’s harder to follow Him up close. Comfortable doubt keeps you at a distance.
The last group are the cities who totally rejected Jesus (vv. 20-24). These cities had seen miracles, heard truth, and experienced Jesus close up, but they never repented. Their problem wasn’t the lack of evidence, but lack of response. They were so familiar that it led to indifference. It’s like when the weather gets bad and a storm is coming. There are signs beforehand: temperature changes, winds pick up, clouds change, warnings sound; but if we don’t do anything with that information it doesn’t keep the storm from coming. The storm still comes and we are in danger. These cities saw the signs, heard the truth, and did nothing with them. Their delay became disobedience. Seeing Jesus doesn’t equate to surrendering to Jesus.
So, we have three responses. One questioned and stayed close. One criticized and stayed comfortable. One ignored and stayed unchanged. All three encountered Jesus, but only one moved toward faith. For us, which response best describes how we handle doubt? Honest questioning, comfortable criticism, or quiet indifference? Jesus does not crush honest doubt, but He does confront undecided hearts. At some point, every question becomes a choice and every choice reveals where we truly stand with Him. B&R
