Why Did John Doubt?

 

Matthew 11:2-11 is the Gospel reading appointed for the 3rd Sunday in Advent in the Year of Matthew. It is a passage that has created much debate around the question "Why did John doubt?" Was it John's imprisonment? Was it his disillusionment?  Or was he simply asking a question that others were asking? All of these scenarios have been forwarded.  It will be the preacher's task to bring Jesus' word of hope to the listener today who is still asking the question, "Are you the one who is to come or shall we look for another?"

(The following questions are not meant to be exhaustive, but are best used in conjunction with other fine sets of questions available to exegetes. These questions have been formulated to help understand how the Word is functioning in the text, a fundamental concern of Law and Gospel preachers.  For more on this method and on Law and Gospel preaching in general, see my brief guide Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com, amazon, or through your favorite book store.) 

 1.  How does the Word function in the text?  This text functions mainly as Gospel in that Jesus aligns himself clearly with the God of healing, compassion, life, and salvation. "The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them."

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  Only the gentlest form of the Law is present in this text as Jesus says to John's disciples, and in turn to John, "And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me."  By this comment, it is clear that John has been scandalized by Jesus' ministry and is no longer certain Jesus is the One for whom Israel has waited.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We identify with John whose hopes have been dashed.  He announced, even prior to Jesus' arrival on the scene, that the One who is coming would wield his winnowing fork, clearing the threshing floor, and the chaff he would burn with unquenchable fire.  To John, Jesus' ministry didn't look anything like that.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  This text is a call to faith, not a call to obedience. There is no word here to invite us to live in a certain way in response to God's grace.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  Herman Stuempfle's classic couplet Despair/Hope is certainly a fine choice here.  Also Lischer's Embattled/Victorious would be a possible couplet.

6.  Exegetical work:  The early theologians could hardly conceive of John being unclear who Jesus was. Gregory the Great, however, wrote this:  "John wants to know whether he who had personally come into the world would also descend personally into the courts of hell."  (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, NT, vol. 1a, p. 218).  The Reformers are consistent in believing that John was not asking the question about Jesus' identity for his own sake, but for the sake of his disciples.  Modern exegetes, however, have noted John's earlier encounters with Jesus and determined that John's lack of clarity about Jesus was real.  Tom Long says this:  "What has provoked this doubt in John?  Every indication is that his wariness grows out of the fact that Jesus has not lived up to John's expectations." (Westminster Bible Commentary, Matthew, p. 125).  Frederick Bruner agrees:  "Why was John in doubt about Jesus?  Because John's Coming One in Matthew 3, we recall, was mainly a figure of power, mainly a bringer of judgment, mainly a carrier of...'fire,' with an ax in one hand... and a shovel in the other hand to sift the chaff..."   "...what [Jesus] taught [in the Sermon on the Mount] seemed more calculated to put axes in the hands of his opponents than... of his disciples." (Matthew, A Commentary; The Christbook, Matthew 1-12, p.505).  

Blessings on your proclamation!