From Doubt to Discovery: John the Baptist's Advent Hope

Devotional

Day 1: Advent hope amid broken dreams and disappointment

Some seasons carry laughter; others carry the ache of loss, scarcity, or prayers that seem unanswered. Advent does not hide the night; it teaches you to face it with an honest heart. The light of Christ does not erase darkness all at once, but it breaks in quietly and decisively. Hope grows not by pretending, but by trusting that God is at work even when expectations collapse. Bring the heaviness you carry into the presence of Jesus and dare to hope again, right here, right now [02:16].

Matthew 11:2–3
From his prison cell, John heard what the Messiah was doing. He sent his followers to ask Jesus, “Are you truly the One we’ve been waiting for, or should we keep looking for another?”

Reflection: Where do you feel the weight of unmet expectations this Advent, and how could you bring one honest, specific question to Jesus in prayer this week?

Day 2: Honest doubt as doorway to deeper faith

John’s question from prison shows that real faith can ask real questions. Pain narrows perspective, and isolation can distort hope, yet faith seeks understanding by carrying its questions to Christ. Your doubt need not drive you from Jesus; let it drive you toward Him. Confession is not failure—it is the beginning of discovery. Name your uncertainty before God, and let that honesty become the soil where deeper trust takes root [10:07].

Genesis 15:2–6
Abram said, “Lord God, what can You give me when I have no child?” God brought him outside and said, “Look at the sky and try to count the stars—so shall your offspring be.” Abram chose to trust what God promised, and God treated that trust as right and good.

Reflection: What is one concrete doubt you will speak to Jesus this week, and how might you invite a trusted friend to pray with you as you seek understanding?

Day 3: Mercy first: unoffended by Jesus’ unexpected ways

John expected fire and an axe laid to the root, yet Jesus arrived with healing hands and good news for the poor. The kingdom did not come weaker than John imagined; it came kinder and truer—mercy arriving before judgment. Jesus answered John’s question with Scripture-shaped evidence: the blind see, the lame walk, the outcast is restored. Then He offered a blessing for those who refuse to trip over His unexpected way. Look again at Jesus; let mercy reshape your expectations so you are not offended, but anchored [16:46].

Matthew 11:4–6
Jesus said, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: sight is returning to the blind, the lame are walking, skin diseases are cleansed, the deaf are hearing, the dead are being raised, and the poor are receiving good news. Joy belongs to the one who doesn’t stumble over Me.”

Reflection: Where do Jesus’ timing or methods frustrate you right now, and what would it look like this week to “look again” at His mercy at work around you?

Day 4: Your doubt doesn’t erase your calling

Jesus would not let John’s prison moment define his life. He told the crowd John was no reed blown about by the wind, but a steadfast servant—more than a prophet. John was the greatest born of women, yet even the least in the kingdom now stands in a greater story because we live on the far side of the cross and resurrection. Your present uncertainty does not cancel years of obedience, nor does it diminish the worth of your calling. Jesus remembers your faithfulness and invites you to keep running your leg of the relay with the full baton of the gospel [21:26].

Matthew 11:7–11
Jesus asked, “What did you go out to the wilderness to see? Not a fragile reed swaying in the breeze. You saw a prophet—and more than a prophet. This is the messenger promised to prepare the way. Truly, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

Reflection: Think of one act of faithfulness God has grown in you over the years—how might remembering that grace steady you in today’s questions?

Day 5: Hear and move with the advancing kingdom

The kingdom of heaven is not standing still; it presses into the world with unstoppable power. When the King draws near, neutrality is not an option—hearing means obeying. This is not information to analyze but an invitation to receive, trust, and act. Don’t wait for a perfect moment; take one faithful step now—toward surrender, reconciliation, generosity, or service. Those who have ears to hear will move their feet toward Jesus today [25:49].

Matthew 11:12, 15
From the days of John the Baptist until now, the reign of heaven has been pushing forward with force, and decisive people are taking hold of it. If you have ears, truly listen.

Reflection: What single, practical step of obedience will you take this week in response to Jesus’ invitation—one action that moves your feet, not just your feelings?

Sermon Summary

I began with a picture of 150,000 obsolete inventions auctioned off—an odd museum of broken dreams. That image presses close in Advent because this season is not primarily about fulfilled wishes but about waiting with ache, longing, and honest questions. Advent teaches us to hope without pretending, to trust that God is at work in the dark. Into that space steps John the Baptist in Matthew 11: a bold forerunner now sitting in prison, wrestling with unmet expectations. He expected the Messiah to come with fire and an axe at the root; instead he hears of mercy, meals with sinners, healing hands, and good news to the poor. The gap between expectation and reality becomes the soil where doubt grows.

From John’s story I traced four facts that move doubt toward discovery. First, confession: honest doubt can coexist with deep faith. John does the most faithful thing a doubter can do—he sends his question straight to Jesus. That is the pathway of the saints: Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David all lived in the long stretch between promise and fulfillment and asked God hard questions. Faith seeks understanding; it does not suspend the mind but engages it.

Second, compassion: Jesus does not shame John. He points him to Scripture and to what is unfolding before his eyes—the Isaiah signs fulfilled: the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the poor hear good news. The kingdom has arrived, but mercy precedes judgment. Then Jesus pronounces a tender blessing: “Blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” He invites John (and us) to receive a Messiah who is better than our expectations, even when he is different from them.

Third, confirmation: Jesus defends John’s honor before the crowd. A moment of uncertainty does not erase a lifetime of obedience. John is more than a prophet, the greatest born of women—yet the least in the kingdom is greater, not because we are better, but because we live on the far side of the cross, resurrection, and the gift of the Spirit. We carry the final baton in the relay of redemption.

Fourth, a call to respond: the kingdom is forcefully advancing. In Scripture, to hear is to obey. Neutrality is not an option. Advent is an invitation to move—now—toward trust, surrender, and concrete obedience. Jesus is worthy of our investment, devotion, and sacrifice.

Key Takeaways

1. Honest doubt can deepen faith Bring your questions to Jesus, not away from him. Doubt doesn’t kill faith; it can purify and mature it when it drives us toward Christ. The saints grew not by denying confusion but by wrestling faithfully in the gap between promise and fulfillment. Courageous questions can become the doorway to clearer sight. [10:07]
2. Jesus meets doubters with compassion Jesus replies to John with Scripture and evidence, not shame—Isaiah’s signs are unfolding in real time. He reframes the kingdom as mercy before judgment, restoration before fire. “Blessed is the one not offended by me” honors those willing to receive a Messiah who defies expectations yet fulfills them more deeply. [14:34]
3. Your identity is not your doubt John’s prison questions did not cancel his calling; Jesus publicly affirmed him as “more than a prophet.” God remembers faithfulness even when our knees shake. A weak moment does not rewrite a faithful life, and grace holds us steady where certainty wobbles. [20:10]
4. Respond decisively to God’s kingdom When the kingdom breaks in, hearing means moving. Neutral admiration is not obedience; the moment to trust and surrender is now. Advent asks us to take a concrete step—into confession, reconciliation, generosity, or mission—because Jesus is already at work. [23:24]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:51] - Auction of broken dreams
[01:35] - Advent: hope amid disappointment
[03:15] - Reading Matthew 11:1–15
[05:32] - John’s doubt and four facts
[06:20] - Why John is imprisoned
[07:27] - Unmet expectations fuel doubt
[10:07] - Honest doubt deepens real faith
[11:38] - Faith seeking understanding examples
[14:34] - Compassion: Isaiah’s signs fulfilled
[16:46] - The beatitude of the unoffended
[18:54] - Jesus defends John’s calling
[21:26] - Greater than John: why and how
[23:24] - Respond to the advancing kingdom
[25:49] - Advent invitation: move now

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
- Matthew 11:1–15

Observation questions

What specific deeds does Jesus point to as evidence that the promised Messiah is at work (see Matthew 11:4–5)? How do those deeds match Isaiah’s prophecies about the Messiah?
How does John’s question from prison reveal the expectations he held for the Messiah, and what about his situation (prison, isolation) likely shaped that question? [04:03]
In Matthew 11:7–11, how does Jesus describe John’s identity and role? What tension appears between John’s high status and the claim that “the least in the kingdom is greater than he”?
What does the phrase “Blessed is the one who is not offended by me” suggest about people’s reactions to Jesus’ ministry and style? [16:46]

Interpretation questions

How should the difference between the expected judgment-bringing Messiah and the mercy-oriented ministry Jesus displays be explained in light of first-century Jewish expectations? [07:27]
How does the claim that “the least in the kingdom is greater than John” depend on the cross, resurrection, and the Spirit? What does that say about how people participate in God’s story? [20:10]
What does Jesus’ pointing to the Isaiah signs (blind seeing, lame walking, the poor hearing good news) teach about how to identify the kingdom’s arrival—by power, by mercy, or both? [14:34]
What does the image “the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence” mean for understanding how the kingdom advances—passively or forcefully—and how should that affect believers’ behavior? [23:24]

Application questions

Honest doubt can coexist with true faith. What specific doubt are you carrying right now that you need to bring directly to Jesus? What would it look like to bring that doubt to Christ this week? [10:07]
Jesus meets doubters with compassion rather than shame. When has a spiritual leader or friend let you wrestle instead of shaming you? How can you extend that same compassionate listening to someone else who is struggling? [14:34]
Your identity is not erased by a moment of doubt or failure. Name one faithful thing you have done that God remembers, even if you now feel weak. How can you remind yourself of that truth when discouragement comes? [20:10]
Neutrality is not an option when the kingdom breaks in. What one concrete step of obedience (confession, reconciliation, generosity, joining a mission, etc.) will you take this Advent to respond to Christ’s kingdom? Set a specific action and timeline. [25:49]
The kingdom advances by mercy and by force. Where in your life are you tempted to “wait” or remain neutral about following Jesus, and what small, immediate action could move you from spectator to participant? [23:24]
How can this group practically help one another move from doubt to discovery in the next month (prayer partners, honest check-ins, reading Scripture together)? Name one tangible commitment the group can hold together. [10:07]

Sermon Clips

Advent does not deny this pain, but it teaches us to hope again. Not by pretending everything is fine, but by trusting that God is at work in darkness. The light of Christ does not erase the night all at once, but it breaks in it quietly, faithfully, and decisively. So Advent invites us to wait with an honest heart, believing that even in disappointment, God is drawing near. [00:02:27] (39 seconds) #HopeInAdvent

When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of a Messiah, he sent his disciples and asked, Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else? Jesus replied, Go back and report to John what you hear and see. Blind receive sight, lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me. [00:03:36] (31 seconds) #ReportWhatYouSee

What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? Men dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in the king's palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I'll tell you. And more than a prophet, this is the one about whom it is written, I'll send my messenger ahead of you who will prepare your way before you. [00:04:12] (29 seconds) #PrepareTheWay

Why was he in the prison? John the Baptist, he criticized or condemned Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great. Herod Antipas married Herod and it was problematic because in order to marry Herod he divorced his wife and Herod happened to be not only his niece but the wife of his brother. And according to Levitical law, you cannot marry your brother-in-law's wife until he is dead but he was still so Philip, his half-brother, still alive and well and he married his wife, divorcing his own wife. So this marriage was a marriage driven by political ambition and carnal desire rather than covenantal faithfulness. [00:06:18] (53 seconds) #SpeakTruthToPower

John's doubt, you notice today, grew out of unmet expectation. Unmet expectation. He had preached the Messiah would come with the judgment fire in hand and ax laid at the root of the trees. You know Matthew 3.10, he said the ax is already at the root of the tree every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. Yet what John hears about Jesus is not a judgment but a mercy. [00:07:37] (32 seconds) #MercyNotJudgment

You know he heard that Jesus healing the sick, teaching the crowd, forgiving sinners and even eating with the tax collectors and prostitutes. The kingdom has indeed arrived but not in the way that John has imagined so gap between his expectation and reality became a soil in which his doubt took root. Also the circumstances cloud spiritual clarity. Pain narrows the perspective. Isolation distorts the hope. John is no longer preaching by the Jordan River. He is confined behind the prison walls and that prison became a laboratory of doubt where unanswered questions echoed louder. [00:08:09] (52 seconds) #PrisonOfDoubt

Faith actually makes questions. If you really have a faith you will have questions, not just any question, good questions, important questions. All biblical characters grew their faith through their honest doubt. Abraham followed God at the age of 65 the promise to have a son when did he get the son at the age of 100 do you think during 35 years he didn't have a doubt especially when he was 100? Many functions die. Joseph has a dream from God that everybody including his parents bowed to him when he was 17 and then what happened he became betrayed and sold as a slave. [00:10:40] (48 seconds) #QuestionsGrowFaith

We cannot simply admire Jesus from a distance or remain spectators to his work. His coming demands a response, one that engages our heart and our mind and our life. Discovery means decisive action when Jesus reveals who he is and we are called to move. We are not called to move someday in the future but now we move toward him in trust and toward obedience now, not later, toward the surrender of what we have been holding back. [00:23:55] (42 seconds) #RespondNowInFaith

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