On Doubt

In this lesson we will meet two personalities: one of faith, one of doubt. The interesting thing about the pair is that they are not whom you might expect. The man of faith is a Roman centurion, not even a Jew. The man of doubt? John the Baptist.

The Centurion

(Mat 8:5-13 NIV)  When Jesus had     (Luke 7:1-10 NIV)  When Jesus had    

entered Capernaum, a centurion came  finished saying all this in the      

to him, asking for help. {6}         hearing of the people, he entered    

"Lord," he said, "my servant lies    Capernaum. {2} There a centurion's   

at home paralyzed and in terrible    servant, whom his master valued      

suffering." {7} Jesus said to him,   highly, was sick and about to die.   

"I will go and heal him." {8} The    {3} The centurion heard of Jesus and 

centurion replied, "Lord, I do not   sent some elders of the Jews to him, 

deserve to have you come under my    asking him to come and heal his      

roof. But just say the word, and my  servant. {4} When they came to       

servant will be healed. {9} For I    Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with   

myself am a man under authority,     him, "This man deserves to have you  

with soldiers under me. I tell this  do this, {5} because he loves our    

one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that     nation and has built our synagogue." 

one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to  {6} So Jesus went with them. He was  

my servant, 'Do this,' and he does   not far from the house when the      

it." {10} When Jesus heard this, he  centurion sent friends to say to     

was astonished and said to those     him: "Lord, don't trouble yourself,  

following him, "I tell you the       for I do not deserve to have you     

truth, I have not found anyone in    come under my roof. {7} That is why  

Israel with such great faith. {11}   I did not even consider myself       

I say to you that many will come     worthy to come to you. But say the   

from the east and the west, and      word, and my servant will be healed. 

will take their places at the feast  {8} For I myself am a man under      

with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in     authority, with soldiers under me. I 

the kingdom of heaven. {12} But the  tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes;    

subjects of the kingdom will be      and that one, 'Come,' and he comes.  

thrown outside, into the darkness,   I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and  

where there will be weeping and      he does it." {9} When Jesus heard    

gnashing of teeth." {13} Then Jesus  this, he was amazed at him, and      

said to the centurion, "Go! It will  turning to the crowd following him,  

be done just as you believed it      he said, "I tell you, I have not     

would." And his servant was healed   found such great faith even in       

at that very hour.                   Israel." {10} Then the men who had   

                                     been sent returned to the house and  

                                     found the servant well.              

It is well for us to consider the centurion. He is a military man, approximating a captain in the army we have today, for he commanded a hundred men. As such, he had a number of disadvantages with respect to faith. Indeed, one might reasonably ask how such a man could have come to so great a faith, given these facts:

·        He is not even Jewish. He is Roman, and Roman during a time when the Jewish belief was almost universally despised throughout the Roman Empire. Jews were viewed as bigots, those who claimed that only the Jew could possibly benefit from God -- all others were automatically destined to hell. Jewish dietary laws were ridiculed. Jews in general were viewed with suspicion, distrust and a sense that there was something fundamentally wrong with their minds.

·        Worse, he is a conqueror. What worse could be said -- from the point of view of the conquered? This man is the commander of the local company of the conquering army. This is a tremendous social barrier. How did this man ever acquire such a faith?

He does, however, possess certain advantages. We would do well to study these, as they overcame the barriers we listed above.

·        He is a man who knows the nature of power, and is comfortable with his place in the power structure. He is not a petty tyrant, but a man who would understand Churchill's comment that "power, rightly understood, is a blessing."

·        Politically, he is very astute. It may be that he built the synagogue for the Jews out of piety -- but the elders who spoke for him must have at least respected him and considered him worth.

·        Most important, he is a seeker after God. That a Roman could be said to "love our nation" could only arise from this search for the true God.

The centurion, like any good soldier, is a man of action. The novelist will tell you that character is not so much described as portrayed. What can we learn from his actions?

·        He acknowledges his place. He does not consider himself important enough to disturb the prophet (I doubt he knew much more than that) or teacher, but also he knows that he need not. He therefore balances his own lack of importance with his need -- and sends those whom he considers will be heard more readily. Only as Jesus approaches does he speak directly -- and then only to indicate that it is not necessary that Jesus come.

·        He intercedes. He does not do this for himself but for his slave. In that, he imitates the prophets, priests and kings of the Old Testament. He puts himself, humbly, in between God and man.

·        He does so on behalf of a slave. Please note the expression that the slave is "highly valued." A slave in the Roman Empire is nothing more than a living tool; the slave master could legally have him killed at a whim. And to what trouble does our centurion go?

Jesus comments on none of this. He commends the man for his faith (and grants his request). But it would seem that one who knows his own place and then intercedes for others, no matter how lowly, may be an example of great faith.

We must now go over to the other side, and see doubt -- and how Christ handles it.

John the Baptist

(Mat 11:2-15 NIV)  When John heard   (Luke 7:18-30 NIV)  John's          

in prison what Christ was doing, he  disciples told him about all these  

sent his disciples {3} to ask him,   things. Calling two of them, {19}   

"Are you the one who was to come,    he sent them to the Lord to ask,    

or should we expect someone else?"   "Are you the one who was to come,   

{4} Jesus replied, "Go back and      or should we expect someone else?"  

report to John what you hear and     {20} When the men came to Jesus,    

see: {5} The blind receive sight,    they said, "John the Baptist sent   

the lame walk, those who have        us to you to ask, 'Are you the one  

leprosy are cured, the deaf hear,    who was to come, or should we       

the dead are raised, and the good    expect someone else?'" {21} At that 

news is preached to the poor. {6}    very time Jesus cured many who had  

Blessed is the man who does not      diseases, sicknesses and evil       

fall away on account of me." {7} As  spirits, and gave sight to many who 

John's disciples were leaving,       were blind. {22} So he replied to   

Jesus began to speak to the crowd    the messengers, "Go back and report 

about John: "What did you go out     to John what you have seen and      

into the desert to see? A reed       heard: The blind receive sight, the 

swayed by the wind? {8} If not,      lame walk, those who have leprosy   

what did you go out to see? A man    are cured, the deaf hear, the dead  

dressed in fine clothes? No, those   are raised, and the good news is    

who wear fine clothes are in kings'  preached to the poor. {23} Blessed  

palaces. {9} Then what did you go    is the man who does not fall away   

out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell   on account of me." {24} After       

you, and more than a prophet. {10}   John's messengers left, Jesus began 

This is the one about whom it is     to speak to the crowd about John:   

written: "'I will send my messenger  "What did you go out into the       

ahead of you, who will prepare your  desert to see? A reed swayed by the 

way before you.' {11} I tell you     wind? {25} If not, what did you go  

the truth: Among those born of       out to see? A man dressed in fine   

women there has not risen anyone     clothes? No, those who wear         

greater than John the Baptist; yet   expensive clothes and indulge in    

he who is least in the kingdom of    luxury are in palaces. {26} But     

heaven is greater than he. {12}      what did you go out to see? A       

From the days of John the Baptist    prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more  

until now, the kingdom of heaven     than a prophet. {27} This is the    

has been forcefully advancing, and   one about whom it is written: "'I   

forceful men lay hold of it. {13}    will send my messenger ahead of     

For all the Prophets and the Law     you, who will prepare your way      

prophesied until John. {14} And if   before you.' {28} I tell you, among 

you are willing to accept it, he is  those born of women there is no one 

the Elijah who was to come. {15} He  greater than John; yet the one who  

who has ears, let him hear.          is least in the kingdom of God is   

                                     greater than he." {29} (All the     

                                     people, even the tax collectors,    

                                     when they heard Jesus' words,       

                                     acknowledged that God's way was     

                                     right, because they had been        

                                     baptized by John. {30} But the      

                                     Pharisees and experts in the law    

                                     rejected God's purpose for           

                                     themselves, because they had not    

                                     been baptized by John.)             

It is surprising to some that John the Baptist is here portrayed as being in doubt as to who Jesus is. Indeed, some commentators indicate that John did this only to strengthen his disciples. This seems unlikely to me. So we must ask ourselves what happened? Like the centurion, John had his disadvantages and advantages:

·        John is in jail. This is a most depressing place, far worse than the brightly lit and sanitary prisons of our day. You must remember that only in the late 19th century did anyone consider that a jail should have anything but the worst possible conditions. The objective was to make the cell as miserable as possible, so as to reduce the man in it to the most pitiful state as soon as possible. We are all creatures of our circumstance.

·        He is in jail for opening his big mouth. He has challenged Herod's marriage to Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. There is always the thought in such circumstances that "perhaps I should have been a bit more diplomatic." For most of us, we tend to see suffering as sometimes the punishment of God (and sometimes it is); I suspect John was wondering if this whole thing wasn't a mistake.

·        In short, John's focus is on John, not on others. He needs help, and sends to get it.

As for his advantages, they are listed in the Scripture above. It is interesting that Jesus does not condemn John's doubt; rather, He pronounces what might be taken as his eulogy. We may learn something from John's predicament. It is interesting too that his is not the only case of doubt among the heroes: you might also consider

·        Job (Job 30:20-21)

·        David (Psalm 22:2, which is prophetic as well of Jesus)

·        Moses (Exodus 4:10) , a man who was sure God had picked the wrong man.

·        Elijah (1 Kings 19:13-18) calls fire down from heaven -- and then runs from Jezebel. The complaint is interesting.

·        Jeremiah (Jeremiah 15:18) wants to know if God lied to him.

·        Abraham (Genesis 12:12-13) tries to pass of his wife as his sister to keep from being killed.

·        Peter can't seem to stay above water (Matthew 14:29-31)

Why are we like this?

·        Often, as with Elijah, our emotions triumph over our reason. We tend to think of faith as being an emotional thing ("I feel it in my heart") but forget that the Scripture portrays it as entirely rational.

·        Our lack of faith is usually a reflection of ourselves. We ourselves know that no one is completely trustworthy; all are sinners -- and therefore we put our complete trust in no one. This is accurate -- until we paste that mental image of untrustworthiness onto God.

·        Sin itself can be a barrier. The process is complex, but I may simplify it with a quotation from a brother-in-law who is now a true brother. "I wanted to sleep with ...., therefore there is no God."

Cure for Doubt

There are many things we can use as "cure for doubt." Here are some suggested by the evidence given here:

·        Unlike John, we should stay in the community of believers. We are social animals, and we are affected by the attitudes around us. It is harder to stay faithful when you're in solitary confinement. It is also hard to stay faithful when your only contact with your fellow Christians is on Sunday.

·        We need to focus on the problems of others, not on our own needs. If God is using us to deal with the troubles of others, we will have no thought to spare to create problems of our own.

·        We may indeed use Jesus own defense: look at the evidence. Remember that faith is not an emotion but a rational response to the facts. It is well that we do so.

·        Like the centurion, we need to seek God -- not to seek his absence. This involves obedience and care for others, but starts in the human heart as a quest: who is this God?

There is one other cure for doubt. You probably have not thought of it in the context of doubt versus faith, but I submit that these two episodes are next to each other for a reason: that you may see that curing doubt is not an injection but a lifestyle: a lifestyle which turns not on the self but on others. John inquired for himself; the centurion interceded for the lowest of the low.

Intercession

The opposite of doubt is faith; faith without works is dead; and I submit the highest of works is to intercede for others. This is shown in the fact that intercession is nothing less than boldness based on faith. In intercession, the Christian takes his courage in his hand and steps up to the throne of grace to ask the king of kings and Lord of Lords for a favor -- for someone else.

Does this seem too much for you? After all, the first principle of intercession is this: by definition, the strong intercede for the weak, not the other way around. Indeed, in the Scripture we are assured that such intercession is made for us

·        by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26-27)

·        by Christ Himself, as our High Priest (Hebrews 7:5)

In the Old Testament, intercession was the function of prophets, priests and kings. Clearly, then, we see intercession as something the mighty do for the weak.

But we also see that intercession is commanded to the Christian!

·        First, for our brothers in Christ (1 John 5:16)

·        But also, for all those in authority over us! (1 Timothy 2:12)

Imagine that! We, the strong and mighty, are commanded to pray for Bill Clinton, the weak. And not for him only, but for all in authority. We are the strong, interceding for the weak who run this world.

How can this be? The answer (as always) is found in the Scripture:

(Gal 3:26-27 NIV) You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, {27} for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Think of it this way: we, the disciples of Christ, were clothed with Christ at baptism. We are indwelt with the Holy Spirit. How then, does God the Father view our prayers when we are in His will? He looks down and sees the face of His Son Jesus. No longer the weak and puny I but the mighty one, the King of Kings, now intercedes at the throne of heaven. Who on earth stands with more power before that throne? No wonder I am commanded!

Therefore, throw away the doubt which comes from looking at yourself as nothing but man -- and take up the faith and confidence of one who is clothed with Christ.

(Heb 4:16 KJV) Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Faith is not accomplished by half measures.