Why Doesn’t God Just Tell Me ‘Yes or No’?

By David Schrock—

More than once, the Bible says your ‘yes’ should be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ should be ‘no’ (Matt 5:37; 2 Cor 1:17-20). Because God desires us to be impeccably honest, he instructs us to let our speech be filled with sincerity. Accordingly, the gospels bear witness to Jesus’ plain speech—conversation that is gracious and true, bold and guileless.

Yet, there is a puzzling encounter between Jesus and John the Baptist that challenges the notion that Jesus’ speech is always plain. The episode takes place in Matthew’s gospel, and it is worth our consideration because it has great import for the way God leads his saints, especially saints experiencing a season of darkness and trial.

Jesus, John, and the Need for a Word from God

In Matthew 11, Jesus’ forerunner sends delegates to Jesus with a desperate-hearted yet honest question. Matthew 11:2-3 records the inquiry: “Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’”

You can understand John’s confusion. After receiving word from God that Jesus is God’s Son (John 1:32-34) who has come to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29), John baptizes the king of the coming kingdom (Matt 3:13-17). Yet, shortly afterward, John is imprisoned for proclaiming the arrival of the kingdom. Instead of reigning with the Messianic king, he is rotting in a jail cell.

Imagine the kinds of questions that might have entered John’s mind: How could this be?  If God’s word is true, surely Jesus should be establishing the earthly reign of God, he should be restoring Israel and defeating enemies. He should be setting captives free! If Jesus is really the Messiah, how could it be that he, as Jesus’ forerunner, could be stuck in prison?

But as confusing as John’s imprisonment was to him, Jesus’ response may be more surprising to us. John asks a simple question, and yet Jesus’ answer seems veiled and distant. To the question of his identity, Jesus could have easily said, “Yes, I am the one! I am the Christ.”  After all, when Jesus spoke to the Samaritan women in John 4, he volunteered that he was the Messiah: “I who speak to you am he” (v. 27). And to his own captor, Jesus would reply to Pilate’s question of identity that he is a king whose kingdom is to come (John 18:33-38). So why is he so ostensibly aloof to John?

In a moment for pastoral care, Jesus gives a lesson from Old Testament survey. Enigmatically, Jesus alludes to the Old Testament, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them” (Matt 11:4-5). While it seems like Jesus evades John’s question; we need to see that he does just the opposite.

Jesus is a wise and caring Savior. He knows that God’s Word creates faith (Rom 10:17). So, the Word incarnate points John to the Scriptures that testify about his life and ministry. Jesus did not give a simple answer; he gave a superior announcement: “All that the prophets of old and all that you proclaimed, John, is coming true! Do not take offense. You will be blessed as you hold fast in faith.”  Jesus does not simply give a ‘yes’ or a ‘no,’ or a theologically-nuanced ‘yes and no’ because he knows that John needs something more sure. John needs to see that all that was prophesied in the past, all that John himself had declared in public was indeed coming true in Christ, even if it was not coming the way he would have expected.

In a more real and powerful way, Jesus tells John, “I am the one! Trust me.”

Blessed Is He Who Does Not Take Offense At Me

So it is for all Christians. While we long for God to give us quick answers, God points us to biblical promises that take time to understand and apply. Instead of an immediate vision in the sky or writing in the sand, what we find in Scripture is the call to believe God’s word. All that our triune God has done in the past gives us firm confidence for believing all that he will do in the present and in the future.

Jesus, who authoritatively sends his Word and Spirit to his believing children, does not give us “spiritual fixes” as much as he comforts us with promises from Scripture. Instead of supplying solutions to our problems, he beckons us to behold his grace, his truth, his glory, and his goodness. At first, these mere words often seem insufficient and cold, but as they take residence in our hearts, they become infinitely powerful. They strengthen our hearts with comfort, joy, and faith. God’s word gives hope, life, and strength.

Jesus’ final word to John has been called the hidden beatitude, and it is simply this: “Blessed is he who does not take offense at me” (Matt 11:6). On our pilgrimage toward Christ’s heavenly city, God brings into our path adversaries and affliction.  He does this not because he does not love us, but because he does.  He is forming in us the image of his Son, and he wisely governs our lives so that we come to Jesus with open ears. His intention is the blessing of fellowship with his Son.

God uses trials in your life to refine your faith and bless you with a greater knowledge of himself. While we want an answer, he gives us an advocate. When we seek a ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ he reminds us that all of his promises are ‘yes’ and ‘amen’ in Christ (2 Cor 1:20). His word is sufficient and it will bear us up in all circumstances, just as his word has always promised to do (Ps 119:25-32). Take heart beloved, for blessed is he who does not take offense at the voice of his shepherd.

David Schrock is a Ph.D. candidate in systematic theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church (Seymour, IN). David also blogs at Via Emmaus. He is married to Wendy and is the father of Titus and Silas.