You have heard about God and Messiah; you have read the Bible; you have prayed and worshiped and felt close to God; you may have had some genuine spiritual experiences; you may have been baptized and joined a congregation of Believers; you may have served the Lord; you may have shared your beliefs with others; you may have had done some or all of these things; but there are times when you have doubts. Can it really be true? Is God real? Is Yeshua the Messiah? Did Yeshua rise from the dead? Can the Bible be trusted? Is Heaven real? Did those miracles really happen?
Would is surprise you to know that one of the very greatest men who ever lived, John the Immerser, a prophet and the special forerunner of the First Coming of the Messiah, also had some doubts – doubts about Yeshua really being the Messiah?
The Baptist was one of the very greatest prophets. Yeshua said about him that among those born of women, that is, among human beings, there was no one greater than John. John had amazing spiritual experiences. He was privileged to see a unique and powerful spiritual experience – the Spirit of God descend and remain on Yeshua at Messiah’s baptism. John believed Yeshua was the Messiah, and the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Like Elijah before him, John knew the Lord, and was bold and courageous and willing to stand up for truth, and speak for God, and rebuke the sins of powerful political leaders. And like Elijah, it got him in trouble. John had been arrested and put in prison for speaking about the sins of one of the Herods, who had wrongfully married his brother’s wife.
John was in prison, and while there, perhaps sensed that he might die there. He may have been thinking thoughts like this: If my cousin Yeshua is the Messiah and Israel’s true king, and a prophet who is doing great miracles, and the Savior, and I am His special forerunner sent to prepare the way for Him, what am I still doing in Herod‘s prison? Why can’t Yeshua get me out? Why won’t He save me? If He is Israel’s rightful King, can’t He use some of His royal authority and get me out of the prison of this illegitimate king? Can’t He use some of His miraculous powers to rescue me? But Yeshua isn’t acting to help me. Maybe I was wrong about Him. Maybe He is not the Messiah. Maybe I made a mistake. John, great prophet and forerunner of the Messiah, was struggling with doubts.
Maybe you have doubts – about God, or Messiah, or the Bible or the reality of miracles or Heaven. There are wrongs ways to deal with doubt, and there are right ways to deal with doubt. The wrong way to deal with doubt is to ignore those doubts, or give up the Faith because of your doubts, or not to go to the right people, places and resources to get those doubts answered properly. Would the God of knowledge not provide the answers for your questions? The answers are there! Seek and you will find! Knock on the door of God’s throne-room, and it will be opened to you. He have the Lord’s promise: If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God for wisdom and it will be given to him. Go to the right resources! Persevere until you get the answers!
John dealt with his doubts about Yeshua in the right way, in a productive way, in a way that we should imitate if we ever have doubts. He went to the right person. He took his doubts to Yeshua for answers. John sent two of his disciples directly to Yeshua, asking Him: Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?
Luke tells us that at that very time Yeshua cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind. And Yeshua answered and said to John’s two disciples, “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 Good News preached to them. Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.
At that time God was using Yeshua to do miracles. Not just a few miracles, but many miracles. Not miracles that were not witnessed by others, but miracles that were done in front of many reliable eyewitnesses. And not just any miracles, but God-ordained miracles, God-empowered miracles, miracles that were specifically connected to messianic salvation that are found in the Word of God. Yeshua called John’s attention to the reality of these miracles, particularly:
The blind receive sight: which is a miracle connected to Messiah found in Isaiah 35:5.
The lame walk: which is another miracle connected to Messiah found Isaiah 35:5.
The deaf hear: which is again another miracle connected to Messiah found Isaiah 35:5.
A couple of the kinds of miracle Yeshua mentioned are not specifically mentioned in the Bible as being connected to the coming of the Messiah, but they are profound miracles of healing that foreshadow Messianic redemption:
The dead are raised up:
The lepers are cleansed:
Yeshua wanted John and us to know that God was using Him to heal human beings of life-ruining physical diseases, and that this foreshadows the complete healing of mankind. God was using Him to raise the dead, foreshadowing the giving of new life to humanity.
Yeshua also mentioned that the poor have the Good News preached to them – something that the Messiah would do according to Isaiah 61:1, and something that Yeshua was doing.
The world is full of bad new. We desperately need to hear Good News like – God is faithful to His promises, to His covenants, to His people! God wants to reconcile us to Himself! God wants to make final atonement! God wants to fully and completely redeem us! God wants to heal us! God wants to give us eternal life! God wants us to be His worshipers. God wants us to be His sons and daughters, His friends and eternal companions! God has sent the Messiah to bring this about! Now is that very special and long awaited time! I am the Messiah! I am the God-Man! I am Immanuel! I will make final atonement. I am the Savior of dying humanity. Know who I am and believe in Me. Believe this Good News. Yeshua was bringing Good News about the reality of God, the nearness of God, the love of God, the salvation of God, the only true hope for a lost and dying and corrupted world.
Yeshua communicated to John, using facts, using history, and using the Scriptures, that He definitely is the Expected One, the Messiah! John should know that and trust Him, even though he is in jail; even though he may be facing death; even though Yeshua might not save him from death. Even if John dies in jail – Yeshua is still the Expected One.
What should John do? Listen to Yeshua’s final advice: Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me. John should know that Yeshua is the Messiah, and should trust Him, and have confidence in Him, and believe in Him, and stay true to Him – no matter what – even if he is disappointed and dies in jail. And so should you!
I have met quite a few who believed in Yeshua at one time, but later, when disappointments came, stumbled over Yeshua, and became offended by Him, and withdrew their faith from Him and rejected Him. They will not be blessed. Quite the opposite. A day is coming when they will greatly regret their stupidity and faithlessness. Make sure that isn’t you!
In this life, you may suffer unjustly, like John, but Yeshua is still the Messiah and God is still good and blessed is he who does not take offense at Yeshua. You and your friends and family may not live to be 80 and die in full health, but Yeshua is still the Messiah and God is still good and blessed is he who does not take offense at Yeshua. You may be persecuted because of your faith in Yeshua, but Yeshua is still the Messiah and God is still good and blessed is he who does not take offense at Yeshua.
Who was John? A man filled with the Holy Spirit from before birth. A man who denied the comforts of the world. A man who courageously and boldly stood against corrupt political power. He was the first great prophet to come among us in 400 years, ending the 400 silent years when Israel had no prophetic voice.
John was a prophet, but more than just a prophet. John was one of the only prophets about whom there is a specific prophecy in the Bible. Yeshua, quoting Malachi 3:1, lets us know that applies to specifically John, His special forerunner prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, “Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way before You”.
Then, Yeshua tells us that John was the greatest man to have lived until that time, that among those born of women there is no one greater than John – greater than the first man Adam; greater than righteous Noach who saved humanity; greater than faithful Abraham, Isaac, Jacob – the fathers of Israel; greater than Moses the prophet and redeemer and lawgiver; greater than Israel’s other prophets; greater than the great judges and kings of Israel who lead us; greater than all the holy men and women who came before. That’s great!
Then Yeshua teaches us something truly amazing – that the one who is least in the kingdom of God, the least gifted New Covenant saint – is greater than John. Greater in what ways?
John’s coming marks the end of one dispensation and the beginning of another, and the privileges and blessing of New Covenant saints are superior to those of the holy ones of the older covenants.
We have a better covenant.
We have a superior atonement. We have a greater kind of forgiveness. We have a better Priest, Priesthood, Temple, Sacrifice.
We are closer to God. We have better access to God.
We have a better relationship to the Holy Spirit.
We have greater knowledge. We have greater revelation of God, Messiah, salvation, Trinity, Heaven, New Jerusalem, eternal life, resurrection.
John and Yeshua, great prophetic forerunner and Son of God and Savior and Messiah had done so much good! Brought so much revelation! Imparted so much truth! Given so much Torah! Corrected so many of our errors! Yeshua had done so many great miracles! What an amazing thing, what a privilege to have these two great men among us, in our nation! We should have been so grateful, so thankful for each one of them! Yet, the majority of the Chosen People did not respond to them with faith, with belief, with appreciation, with gratitude to God.
Luke tells us that many of the tax collectors and common people agreed with Yeshua’s assessment of John. But most of the leaders, specifically the Pharisees and the specialists in Torah, those who should have understood the most, did not agree with Yeshua’s assessment of John. They rejected Yeshua’s assessment of John, and they rejected Yeshua too. They rejected the forerunner, and they rejected the Messiah.
Why? Even though they were full of religion, they were far from God Himself. Even though they were enamored by Torah and its minutia, they missed the essence of Torah – not laws and legalism, but Messianic salvation and Eden restored by the coming of the Messiah! Eventually, sadly, tragically, most of the Jewish people followed the leaders, and continue to follow these blind guides to this day.
Then Luke gives us his Holy Spirit-inspired analysis: The Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John. By rejecting the prophet John, and his message that Yeshua was the Messiah, and then by rejecting the Messiah, who is the Savior of Jew and Gentile, these Jewish people rejected God’s purposes for themselves – God’s good purposes of salvation from the overmastering and totally destructive forces of Satan, sin and death. They rejected redemption for themselves. They rejected salvation for themselves. They rejected sonship for themselves – becoming eternal sons and daughters of the Almighty. They rejected reconciliation with the Most High God for themselves. They rejected eternal life for themselves.
The majority rejected the messengers as well as the message they brought. The problem wasn’t or isn’t with the messengers or the message. Yeshua knew that the problem wasn’t that John was too strange, or Yeshua enjoyed life and was too close to sinners, which is why He made this comparison: To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children who sit in the market place and call to one another, and they say, “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.” For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, “He has a demon!” The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, “Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!” Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”
John led a very austere life, and most of the leaders concluded John was too extreme, too weird, and shouldn’t be listened to. He and his message must be rejected. On the other hand, Yeshua was very much part of the life of the community. He enjoyed life with us. He ate and drank wine with us. Most of the leaders didn’t like that either. They thought he indulged too much, that He was not sufficiently separate from sinners, not holy enough, not therefore He and his message must be rejected. But the reality was that both were sent by God; both were true messengers and prophets; both were vindicated by having successful lives and ministries. Both accomplished God’s purposes for themselves and for Israel. The problem was not with them, or with the message they brought.
The real problem was with the leaders and most of the people – who placed too much importance on form and not on substance; who thought they were close to God but were actually far from God; who thought they understood Torah but in reality didn’t really understand Torah; who trusted their leaders, but most of the leaders were spiritually blind guides. Don’t make the same mistake as the majority of the leaders and people of Israel!
Observation: Some part of the Messianic Movement are making similar mistakes today. They are emphasizing minutia of Torah, and getting involved in legalism, and ignoring or de-emphasizing the essence of the Torah – Messianic salvation. They are ignoring or de-emphasizing the greater blessings of the New Covenant!
God is still speaking to us today through these same prophets, only now their messages have been written down in a Book. Through the Bible, from Genesis through Revelation, the prophets and the Messiah are still calling to us today.
We must recognize and accept all the prophets, all the prophets of Israel, the prophet John, and the revealers of truth like Matthew, Mark, Luke John, Paul, and of course, the supreme prophet and teacher – Yeshua. If we don’t, we will reject God’s purposes for ourselves – which so many among the Chosen People did, and continue to do. Let us not make the same mistake.
It is dangerous, damaging and destructive to reject any of the prophets. You will reject God’s purpose for your life. It is dangerous, damaging and destructive to reject the Messiah, who is the greatest prophet. You will reject God’s purpose for your life. It is dangerous, damaging and destructive to reject any part of the Bible. You will reject God’s purpose for your life.
And, if you know messianic salvation, God wants to use you like a prophet, like a John the Baptist, like Yeshua who brought good news, and speak through you with the message of salvation. Won’t you commit your life to that great purpose? Pray that the Lord gives you the grace and courage and wisdom to faithfully and accurately proclaim the truth, in a way that brings honor to our God.
And, pray for those you will bring the message to, realizing that great things will happen to those that listen to us, and bad things will happen to those who reject us and the message we bring and the One we represent.
36-50
Many of the leaders had rejected John because he was too austere, too extreme. They rejected Yeshua because He was too close to sinners, and ate and drank wine with people.
She had faith. She probably knew that He, unlike most of Israel’s spiritual leaders, was willing to relate to people like her.
She probably knew Yeshua was bringing Good News about the reality of God, the nearness of God, the love of God, the salvation of God – even for someone like her.
She probably knew that many thought the young Rabbi was the Messiah, and the rightful King of Israel.
She probably knew that God was using Yeshua to heal human beings of physical diseases and remove evil spirits. She may have understood this foreshadows the complete healing of mankind and the destruction of demonic dominion over mankind and the elimination of the evil god of this world. She probably knew that God was using Yeshua to raise the dead, and she may have understood this foreshadows the giving of new life to humanity.
Not the same as a similar incident which occurred in the house of Martha and Martha and Lazarus shortly before Yeshua died.
Those who sin much, and are forgiven much, love God much.
The reality is that we all have sinned much. The older you get, the wiser you get, the more you will understand that.
We are all sinners.
Those who know the Lord, know salvation, know Messiah, are trying to live better, be holy, still need to know that we fall short in many ways. We need to have the attitude of one sinner helping other sinners.
Not all of us are the same. Some do live better. Some are more righteous.
Claims to forgive sin – something only God can do.
This woman loved Yeshua, understood something about who He was. It is faith in Yeshua that is the source of salvation, not the legalistic system and understanding of the Pharisees (and their disciples, the Orthodox Jews of today).
Do you love much or little? Serve much or little? Willing to humiliate yourself much, or not at all?
She did something humiliating, in front of a party that she was not invited to, into a house that she was not invited to enter. She did humiliating things, but didn’t care. Hand out pamphlets? Oh, I can’t do that. Clean up after an Oneg? That’s beneath me. Witness to others I run into. Too embarrassing. What if they reject me, make fun of me, make me feel uncomfortable?