Learning the Jesus Way of LifeSample

Jesus and John the Baptist

Pray: Jesus, give me the faith to go where you go, do what you do, trust what you say, and love how you love. Today, I commit to following you. Amen.

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 NIV

Have you ever had a conversation with someone where you just couldn’t believe what you were hearing? Maybe it was with someone who, for as long as you’ve known them, argued passionately that Michael Jordan is the best basketball player of all time. Then, one day, you hear them saying something totally different—that LeBron James is, in fact, the greatest. Your jaw would hit the floor in shock! How could they change their mind so drastically on something like that?

It’s tempting to have a similar response when we read John’s question from the verses above. Like, hold on, John! Weren’t you the guy who said you weren’t even worthy to untie Jesus’ sandals? Aren’t you the guy who called people to repentance and prepared the way for Jesus? Weren’t you so intense about it that you lived out in the wilderness like a prophet of old and ate bugs and stuff? What happened to make you question Jesus?

But, perhaps the better question is: What makes you question Jesus?

Often, we begin to question Jesus when He doesn’t meet our expectations. If He doesn’t show up when or how we want Him to, doubts build and our confidence fades.

Maybe you prayed that your parents wouldn’t get divorced, but they did. Maybe you asked God to heal a relative who was really sick, but they still passed away. Maybe you begged God to make that cute guy or girl pay attention to you, only to find out they're already taken.

Expectations reveal more about where our trust is than they do about God’s trustworthiness.

What does that mean? It means that when we place our hope and confidence in a particular outcome, and it doesn’t play out as we expected, the disappointment we feel is on us. Because our faith wasn’t actually in God—it was in our own plans.

Your expectations of God are not God. Your expectations of Jesus are not Jesus. Just because He doesn’t do what you want Him to, when you want Him to, and how you want Him to, doesn’t mean He doesn’t love you. Sometimes, the greatest obstacle to deeper intimacy with Jesus is the expectations we’ve placed on Him.

That may sting a little to hear, but faith, in a Biblical sense, is not simply believing in a set of statements about the way the world works. It’s not a math equation to solve where you figure out the right inputs to get the outputs you want. It’s trusting in a person—Jesus. It’s trust, based on evidence, that produces obedience.

Having that kind of trust isn’t always easy, especially when things don’t go the way we hope. And that brings us back to Jesus and John. How does Jesus respond to John’s question? How would you? With hurt or frustration? Confusion or irritation? Listen to what Jesus says:

Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” Matthew 11:4–6 NIV

Jesus doesn’t put John on blast for his doubts. Jesus responds by reminding John of the evidence to trust Him, of the prophecies being fulfilled day after day.

What does this mean for you? It means there is space in the Jesus way for your questions. You will not be dismissed for your doubts. You won’t lose your seat at the table when you go through something hard and need to be reminded of the reasons for your confident hope.

In the next passage, Jesus shows us that he sees John's questions not as a trap to avoid, but as an example to follow.

As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Matthew 11:7–11 NIV

John sets an example for us when it comes to dealing with our doubts and disappointments. We bring those questions to God. We process our doubts with people we trust. And we keep following Jesus.

When John was imprisoned, feeling isolated and confused, what did he do with his question? He sent his followers straight to Jesus. He didn’t hide his doubts from Jesus or the people around Him. Instead, he shared his wrestling with the people closest to him and sent them to Jesus.

And Jesus commends John for faithfully following Him, even before the questions are answered and the doubts are dealt with. He says no one is greater than John the Baptist, yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than him.

What in the world does that last part mean? John, like the prophets of old, died looking forward to the total fulfillment of the promise that we, as followers of Jesus today, get to walk in. Because we live on the other side of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we get to know what it’s like for the presence and grace of God to be unleashed in the world. We get to know what it’s like for the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead to live inside of us. We get to know what it’s like to be part of Jesus’ Body, the Church—the tangible expression of heaven on earth. We get to experience so many of the things that John and the prophets were dreaming of.

Pause to consider what you get to be part of. Pause to consider John’s example. He was all in on the Jesus way of life, and he never got to experience the fullness of what we do. So, what will you do? Will you go all in too?

Application: What would it look like for you to go all in? Is there a question you need to bring to God? A doubt you need to bring out of the dark and into the light of trusted relationships? A step you need to take to embrace the work that the Holy Spirit wants to do in you and through you? Consider what you get to be a part of, and say yes to following Jesus more fully today.