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(2 Tim. 4:9–22; Luke 20:1–8) The priests, scribes and elders did not believe in the Lord. In order to lead them to faith, He asked them a question: “Was the Baptism of John from heaven or from men?” (Luke 20:4). Reason about this impartially, and your reasoning will lead you to faith. What is said about the appearance of John can be said about every event that accompanied the coming of the Lord in the flesh, and about the coming itself, with all its connections. Consider all this, and there will be one conclusion: “Truly He was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:54). Different thoughts may come, bewilderments may arise, inconsistencies may appear, but at the end of all research there will emerge one comprehensive conviction that it is impossible to think otherwise than as depicted in the Gospels and apostolic writings. “The great mystery of godliness: God appeared in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16), while remaining a mystery in itself, will be clear to the mind due to the moral necessity that its own research will impose on it, to confess one way and not another. Unbelievers either do not study everything as they should, or they study superficially, with someone else’s mind, or they adopt an unhappy mood that is contrary to the requirements of faith and, in order to justify their unbelief, are content with the very little to deny faith. And believers are shaken by the speeches of unbelievers for the reason that believers, content with simple faith, do not explain to themselves the foundations of faith. Those speeches take them by surprise, which is why they hesitate. You might be interested in: