This past Sabbath I preached a message from Matthew 11:1-15 called Deep Questions from Dark Places. When John the Baptist was in prison (a dark place) he sent disciples to ask if Jesus was the Messiah (a deep questions). Our journey of faith passes through dark places and we need to be bold enough to take our deep questions to Jesus. I can relate to John’s experience, but I am amazed by Jesus’ response. Jesus did not rebuke John for his questions but provided evidence that He, in fact, was doing the work of the Messiah. He reminded John of who He is. Jesus calls us to a trust that is based on knowing His Character and not all His reasons. Then He affirmed who John was. Even calling him the greatest ever born of women! Jesus shows how He feels about doubters who seek Him for answers, He loves them. Going through a dark time? Have deep questions? Take them to Jesus. He can handle your struggle.
Here’s what I forgot to say….
In the sermon I explored the idea that deep questions arise when our expectation doesn’t match our experience. John expected something a bit different from the Messiah and Jesus didn’t meet His expectation. God doesn’t always live up to our expectation but He always lives up to His Word!I want to go a bit deeper with this thought than I had time to do in the sermon. So here is a though… When Jesus shows up He doesn’t always bring clarity. In fact, sometimes things seem perfectly clear, until Jesus messes with it. His actions mess with our Certainty Box.Abraham had clarity. God promised him offspring that couldn’t be counted. But God let him get old with no son, and things became less clear. The clarity returned with the miraculous birth of Isaac only to get blurry again when God told Abraham to sacrifice the promised son. Jonah had clarity about the fate of the Ninevites. Then God shows up and brought conviction through Jonah’s preaching. When the city repented Jonah was confused. And the disciples, they thought they understood where things were leading until Jesus knelt down and washes their feet. He told them that one of them would betray Him. He had them to put their swords away. And they watched Him put up no resistance to His arrest and crucifixion.Our lack of clarity does not mean that God is not at work. Sometimes, it is just the opposite. Seeking clarity is not the same as seeking Jesus. Seeking certainty is not the same as seeking truth. So our confidence should not be based on the clarity we have about our situation but on the relationship we have with Jesus.
This week I have studied early Adventist history for a class I am taking. I have been reminded that the Seventh-Day Adventist Church is a movement that grew out of deep questions from dark places. Early Adventists experienced a Great Disappointment. Advent believers were scatter, many denouncing the hope that disappointed them. But there were others who were willing to ask deep questions in that dark place. They sought God to learn where they were wrong. And God led them in truth as those deep questions were brought to Him. What if they hadn’t been willing to take their deep questions to Jesus?