Lent: Journey According To LukeSample

ARE YOU THE ONE WHO WAS TO COME?

DEVOTION
Christianity has often had an uneasy relationship with doubt. Sometimes it has been thought to be ‘unspiritual’ or the enemy of true faith. But here we may take great comfort from the fact that even John the Baptist was not always sure about Jesus’ identity. He sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus, ‘Are you the one who was to come or should we expect someone else?’

Jesus’ response pointed them to the evidence that he was indeed the long-awaited deliverer of God’s people. Alluding to the prophet Isaiah (35:5-6) he reminded them that ‘The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.’ This reminds us that the opposite of faith is not doubt but unbelief. When we doubt, the antidote that Jesus prescribes is to look again at the evidence for who he is. The blind did receive their sight. The dead were raised. And so we can be sure that Jesus is who he said he was – the one worthy of all our worship, devotion and love. Will we believe the evidence that Jesus gives?

FOR REFLECTION
• What doubts do you have at the moment?
• What role should evidence play in our faith?
• How can the evidence for who Jesus is give us confidence in our evangelism?

PRAYER
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the example of Jesus who reassured those who doubted. In the midst of our doubts, please help us to be honest and to remember the evidence for who Jesus is. May we never harden our hearts and turn away from you in unbelief, but rather help us to trust in your word and grow in our faith. Amen.