Dave’s Monday Blast – April 5, 2021

I listened to a podcast recently by Pastor Andrew McCourt of Bayside Granite Bay. The essence of the message was simply this: “It’s okay to have questions?” The discussion centered around a passage found in Luke 7:18-23. THE question comes from John the Baptist who was in prison awaiting the removal of his head. In what appears to be an uncharacteristic moment of vulnerability, he asks his disciples to go find Jesus and to ask Him this simple question: “Are you really the Messiah or have I just forfeited my life for nothing?” Wow! What a question coming from the one guy that Jesus said was the greatest of prophets (Luke 7:24 – 28).  

McCourt comments: “There have been long seasons in my life when I have lived with more questions than answers.” INTENTIONAL men of God understand that there are many times when we find ourselves wrestling with the Scriptures as we seek answers to important questions. There really is no Bible Answer Man. There are times when God simply says: “I know, but I am not telling.” It is in those moments, when we cannot find the answers, that we must trust Him as God. Elizabeth Elliott comments: “faith does not eliminate questions, but it knows where to take them.”

Real Questions Build Deep Faith. Jesus graciously responded to this question in verse 22 “…Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them.” Tell them to report to John all they had seen and heard Jesus do and say in divine authority. But He also wanted John to know that the time was not right for Him to be the conquering King who would restore the Kingdom of Israel. That time will come, but it is not now. My friends…we cannot make Jesus into our image, nor does He exist to serve us. But we can be transformed into His image through the circumstances of our lives when we are tempted to ask these types of questions:

• Where is God in all of this?
• Why did God let this happen?
• Did I really hear from God?
• Did I get it right?
• Shouldn’t obedience result in a more desirable outcome?

I think I clearly understand John’s question in verse 19, and I believe the questions above are a simple extension of his question. His question is really our question. His questions are really our questions. Jesus wants each of us to know that when our faith is waning we must remind ourselves of what we have seen and heard. We must reaffirm His divine authority over our lives.