Ah, church camp.
That week during the summer when you swore allegiance to all things Jesus, only to find yourself still a flailing sinner once you returned to your “normal” life.
Teenagers are not the only ones that have these spiritual highs. We adults have our experiences too—times when God is so vivid that we wonder how we could ever have had moments of doubt. Surely, we’ll never find ourselves in a cold season again.
John the Baptist had one of these high moments (Matthew 3:13-17). The heavens opened up, a thundering voice boomed down upon his ears, confirming to John that this man that he is baptizing is indeed the son of God. “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased”.
It doesn’t get any more obvious than this. An audible voice from the heavens confirms that Jesus is the son of God—exactly who He says that he is.
You’re thinking to yourself, “Man, if I had an experience like that I would never question God again. Never! I would know without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is exactly who He proclaimed to be.”
Then you find yourself in a prison cell…
Maybe that voice wasn’t the Lord…maybe it was merely a poorly digested locust.
Maybe I misunderstood what God was saying…
Maybe something happened and God had to scrap the original plan…
Maybe…
And so you find yourself asking the question that you thought you’d never ask again, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Matthew 11:1-19)
Comfort and Rebuke
I’m both comforted and haunted by the soft rebuke of Jesus. “And blessed is the one who is not offended by me”. I’m comforted by this soft rebuke because it smacks of grace. Jesus gives John evidence and says, “keep trusting, John, keep trusting, and you’ll be blessed”.
But I’m also haunted because it’s not as if Jesus is unconcerned about John’s doubt. In that rebuke is also a warning—if you stay in this pit, if you deny what you know to be true, and you become offended by me, then you won’t be among the blessed.
John the Baptist teaches us that even an audible voice from heaven cannot shield our frail humanity from doubt. Yes, we are but dust. And yet, we are met with unfathomable grace. When you find yourself in a prison cell of doubt—take heart, one that was greater than all those “born among women” had doubts.
And yet we aren’t allowed to stop there. John’s doubt isn’t commended, nor is it swept under the rug. It’s softly rebuked by Jesus—as also should ours be. Even in a prison cell, when all seems backwards, we are called to open our eyes and trust what we know to be true. And yes, we can trust even if our heart and mind are flooded with a million maybes.
“The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.”
Why?
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased”.
