Do you remember your hardest class in school? Maybe it was Math, English, or History. Most of us remember what it was like to be in a class that was a challenge to us. On occasion I*ve been in a class where I*ve felt like I*ve been the only one who didn*t understand what was going on. I had a lot of questions, but I didn*t ask any of them because I didn*t want everyone to know just how dumb I was. Well, if you remember that feeling, you may also remember anticipating the day when you*d be a smart adult, and you would have all the answers. If you are an adult, you know that life still has the capacity to raise questions that you feel you cannot answer.
John the Baptist knew exactly what that was like. John had some raging questions that were brought on because everything in John*s life was going wrong. John was in prison, and would eventually be beheaded. All that John had expected, sought, and preached didn*t seem to jive with what was actually happening in his life. So John did a very bold and humble thing. He sent people to ask Jesus.
The Bible says in verse 2, Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? The reason John had this question was because he was having a hard time. I love the way Jesus responds. Jesus told them, Go and shew.... He didn*t send them with some argument. He sent them with something they could see. Now what were they to show? Were they to show some theological truth or were they to show some practical experience? The answer is yes. Both are embodied in the same person, Jesus Christ. He told them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see.
Basically Jesus was appealing to the knowledge of John. John knew what the prophets of old had prophesied that Messiah would do. He was telling them to go tell John what they*d been seeing. They were going as witnesses to tell what they knew. John would know that Jesus was exactly Who the Holy Scriptures said the Messiah was to be.
That same assurance is available to you today. When you are facing your doubts, do what John did and turn to face the Lord. The Lord Jesus is not put off by questions from a submissive, honest heart. You don*t have to have all the answers. You just have to have the wisdom to know where to look. You are free to acknowledge that you don*t have all the answers when you are willing to ask the One Who does.