Step 4, Part 1 - Apostles and Prophets

Doubting Doubt

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The Process

Step 4 – Part 1 

Apostles and Prophets

 

Ephesians 2:19-20 – ¹⁹Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, ²⁰built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. (NIV)

 

  What does the first part of verse 20 say?  Does it say, “… built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, for whatever little that’s worth!”

 

  Certainly not.  “Other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid.” (1 Cor. 3:11)  How can I help but be redundant when I say that to understand that our beliefs as Christians are “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets” is absolutely foundational.

  Now, the main subject of this study is John the Baptist.  The Church today teaches universally, throughout all of Christendom, that John the Baptist, when he was in prison, doubted Jesus’ true identity.  I say, it doesn’t look that way to me, and I’ve been trying to present fact after fact in order to support why I feel that way.

  Let’s remember some things that we already know about John the Baptist, primarily, that he was a prophet.  John the Baptist is often called “the last of the Old Testament prophets.”

  In one sense, John the Baptist was an ordinary man, in the sense that there was nothing divine about him personally.  But in another sense, John the Baptist was not an ordinary man.  He was not only a special person, he was an exceptionally special person.  In fact, he was an exceptionally special person unlike any other mortal man who ever lived.  That is not my opinion.  That is the way that the Lord Jesus Himself described John the Baptist:

Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist. (Matt. 11:11),

Or

For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist. (Luke 7:28)

 

  That’s quite a powerful endorsement.  And we are told many things about John the Baptist that would incline us to suspect that he was aware of the role he was in, for example, in John 1:22, 23 we read –

  Finally they said, “Who are you?  Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us.  What do you say about yourself?

  John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” (NIV)

 

  Look at the boldness of John the Baptist.  See his apparent complete lack of concern for his own welfare.  Do you really think that confidence in Jesus’ identity is going to waver in a person who openly stirs up scandal about Herod and Herodias? (Luke 3:19)

  Now think about John the Baptist when he was in prison.  His situation was dire.  Herod was already known to be a brutally savage ruler.  John the Baptist had very good reason to fear for his life.  (What?  I suppose John should have thought of that before he opened his big mouth!)  John the Baptist had very good reason to worry that he might not come out of Herod’s prison alive.

  BUT –

  He still had reason to hope that he would come out alive.  “Hey, it could happen,” he might have thought.

  Indeed, it very well could have – who knows?  I’ll go further than that:  It’s perfectly possible that up to the last few minutes before John the Baptist was beheaded, he might have been thinking, I know the Lord’s going to bring me out of all this.”

  In fact, let’s widen the possibilities of what might have been going through John’s mind as broad as we can, in order to understand why it is that Christians universally are taught that John the Baptist doubted Jesus’ identity:  Let’s say that John reached the point of total despair, that he had given up all hope of ever getting out of Herod’s prison alive.

  Still, he did not know that for a fact, did he?

  But let’s take this line of thought even further.  Even if John the Baptist had been thinking to himself, “I’m done for!  I just know it.  I’m a goner!” still, up to the very last 5 or 10 minutes before he was executed, John the Baptist did not know that his death was going to come soon or many years later.  In other words, even if John the Baptist had lost all hope, he still had reason for hope.

  There’s another side to this, because remember Ephesians 2:20 says “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.”  But before I go on, let’s notice that there is a distinction that should be made.

  What distinction?  There is a distinction between the possibility that John the Baptist had lost all hope of ever getting out of prison alive, and the possibility that he might have doubted Jesus’ true identity.  A person can reach the deepest depths of despair about his life situation and still not doubt Jesus’ identity.

  Sure, the Bible does give us the account of the prophet Jonah, or even Balaam, for that matter, who were not people you would call exemplary servants of God.  But even in those instances, their shortcomings had nothing at all to do with doubts about who God is.

  But now let’s compare and contrast John the Baptist – a prophet – and his prison experience, with Paul – an apostle – and his prison experience.

  Like John the Baptist, Paul was an ordinary human being in most respects.  On the other hand, Paul – also like John the Baptist – was one of a very unique set of people.  It’s not that the words prophet and apostle are interchangeable, but it’s that both prophets and apostles were uniquely used of God is the point I’m trying to make.

  Look at the things Paul had to say to us when he was in prison.  We see, in the book of Philemon, that there were times when Paul had hopes of being released safely (v. 22).  Nevertheless, look at Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 4:6, 7.  There came a point when Paul knew his time was coming to an end:

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure is near.

 

  Do you see any sign that Paul doubted Jesus’ identity, either in 2 Timothy or anywhere else in Paul’s writings?  There is none.

  Now, give these things a lot of very careful, thoughtful consideration:

  We have John the Baptist on the one hand – with all that he knew about himself and his role in ushering in the messiah, with his reasons for hope of coming out of prison unscathed and with the sudden onset of his execution coming on the spur of the moment, completely unexpectedly.

  While Paul, on the other hand – who wrote, “I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.  Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.  Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move.  I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers.  I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked” (2 Cor. 11:23-27).  And Paul never once, throughout all that hardship, never once doubted Jesus’ identity.

  And yet the Church teaches universally throughout all of Christendom that John the Baptist doubted.

  There are a whole lot of people who aren’t thinking this through as thoroughly as they should.

  So the point of this section is this:

  It’s OK for churches to teach that John the Baptist, being an ordinary, fallible human being, could have been capable of having any number of shortcomings, like anyone else, for even the Bible itself would remind us of that, as it does in the cases of a number of other personalities:

“Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are …” James 5:17

“We too are only human, like you …” Acts 14:15

 

  Yet that concession must – it must – stop short of making a quick and easy leap to the conclusion that John the Baptist would allow his own personal predicament and discomfort to cause him to doubt Jesus’ identity, for the Bible itself tells us that as well.  It says as much in the passages just cited above, in the passage of Ephesians 2:20, referenced at the beginning of this section, in the description of the long list of prophets and others mentioned in Hebrews 11.

  And the experience of the countless martyrs down through history should be sufficient to incline us to think – not that John the Baptist had less faith than those who had died believing in the Lord Jesus Christ without even having ever seen Him, but more!

  Again, I emphasize that we must take into consideration the fact that John the Baptist, just as Jesus said, was exceptional among anyone else we could name.  The quick and easy tendency for people to conclude, “Well, sure – John was despondent in prison and so I can understand how he would have doubted Jesus’ identity,” is sheer and utter nonsense!

  But really, as I have been saying from the beginning of this study, there is a far bigger point to be made from this than simply debating whether John the Baptist did or did not doubt Jesus’ identity.

  There are two points, actually.  The first point is rather minor, although it should be made, and it is this:  Whether John the Baptist did or did not doubt Jesus’ identity is not the main thing.  Perhaps he did and perhaps he did not.  Obviously, you can tell which way I think the matter should be decided.

  But I’m willing to admit that I might be wrong if someone can show me, with convincing evidence, where I’m wrong.  So far, that hasn’t happened.  And I’ve been submitting this study to experts in Christianity, pastors, educators – anyone I can find – and I’ve been doing it since before 2015, over 5 years ago.  So far, I’ve had only a few responses that were only standard pat answers that did not address the propositions I raise in this research project.  Those pat answers that were given to me continue to fail to be credible when I have put them through the biblical tests as I’ve endeavored to present in this study.

  But mostly, my requests for help have been flatly ignored.

  But the first point I’m trying to make is this:

  Maybe John the Baptist doubted – maybe.

  BUT –

  There are plenty of good reasons to doubt that he doubted.

  Therefore –

  Churches should not be teaching that John the Baptist unquestionably and undeniably did doubt.  Instead, at most, they should be teaching that maybe John the Baptist doubted, and then go on to investigate the matter further, at least to the extent that I, a layperson, an amateur researcher, have done.

  So, I remain with my original task, namely, to continue to try to present this study to anyone, however I can, to the best of my ability.

  But still, the more important point – the far more important point – is yet to be made.  It will be found at the end of this study.