The book of Luke gives a very succinct report of John the Baptist:
First he is in Elizabeth’s womb, then he is baptising Jesus about 30 years later and then he is in jail.
Luke is definitely not wasting paper here!
But, I will say this. Luke does have a way to highlight the facts rather effectively, and I have Kris Langham of the TTW app (Through The Word) to thank for this amazing insight!
When John was jailed, his life became challenging. His focus started shifting to the walls of the world surrounding him and in a moment of doubt, he reached out to Jesus, asking… ”are you it? Are you the one, or was I wrong?”
Now this is the beautiful thing… the last person, I could imagine doubting, is John the Baptist, filled with the Holy Spirit from before his birth, grew up together… thoroughly knew Jesus. But the devil played his part, and although he couldn’t tempt Jesus, he could get John to doubt.
But John’s response is our example… he sought confirmation from Jesus… no-one else! He went straight to the source!
“So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: 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.”
(Luke 7:22 NIV)
And Jesus responded… not with platitudes or whirly swirly words, but with real-world examples, (“And they overcame him….by the word of their testimony;” Revelations 12:11 KJV) testimonies and tangible stories of known people in familiar places. Jesus Encourages John how he knows John will be encouraged… and then He admonishes John to keep his Faith.
”The blessing of heaven comes upon those who never lose their Faith in Me no matter what happens.”
(Luke 7:23 TPT)
When life gets too much, and you feel the walls of the world coming in, about to crush you, and the devil whispering lies in your ears that sound so true. Lift your eyes away from the bricks and bars up to heaven… Go straight to the source… go straight to God.
Let Jesus speak to your doubt and the Holy Spirit give you power to persevere!
Be blessed… and do me a favour… find your favourite worship song and share it with someone today!
