Advent 3 – Gaudete December 12, 2021
Matthew 11:2-10
Are You the One?
v.2-3 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?”
Dear friends in Christ, perhaps you have found yourself asking the same question about Jesus that plagued John the Baptizer, “Are you the One? Or should we expect another?” And you can see where John is coming from. This man, Jesus’ own cousin, lived a hard life—eking out an existence in the wilderness—preaching and teaching and baptizing. His task was to be the messenger sent by God—apostled by God—to prepare the way for the Messiah—for Jesus. Through the proclamation of the Word of God people would be brought to contrition and repentance over their sin—and be told to look to the One who is coming for their salvation—“the One whose sandals John confessed he was not worthy to stoop down and untie….the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
John didn’t eat in fine palaces—nor did he wear fancy clothes, the Scriptures tell us—but rather he ate locusts and wild honey—wore rough clothing—and continually preached to all the people about the deadly condition of their sin—calling them to seek forgiveness and mercy from the hand of God and not their own pious works.
Of course, this is what eventually landed John in such trouble—he just couldn’t keep his mouth shut. He preached to and against not only the regular Jew, but also against the religious authorities—and even the political rulers of his day. Of course, one can’t go around publicly decrying the king of Galilee as an adulterer without there being any sort of repercussions. So, eventually, John was arrested by Herod in order to silence John’s rather embarrassingly accurate, accusations.
And so, John, who has dedicated his entire life and ministry in service to the Lord, now finds himself in the dank prison of Herod, knowing that it is just a matter of time before he is killed. You can picture John sitting in that dark, cold, cell running through the events of his life that brought him there—especially those moments with Jesus in the Jordan River—and you can see the evil one whispering words of doubt into his ear. “Are you sure this Jesus is the real mccoy? Are you sure he is truly the one? Perhaps you’ve been deceived. After all, IF Jesus truly is the all-powerful Lord God, then what are you doing sitting here unjustly in prison? Wouldn’t the REAL Messiah help and reward His faithful followers?” And so John in desperation—in a moment of weak faith— sends some of his own disciples to inquire after Jesus if He truly is the One who is to come, after all.
Perhaps you’ve had days like that as well, beloved. You who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ—who trust Him—who avail yourselves of His Word and Sacrament—who talk about Him to neighbours, friends, family, and strangers alike. You who try to daily repent of your own sin and live the life that God wants you to live. You who continue to boldly proclaim the truth of God's Word: marriage is between one man and one woman—people are either male or female—life begins at conception—and so forth. And yet tragedy still strikes. And yet you still struggle—you still get hurt—are forced to endure suffering and sadness in this life. You face persecution. You face loss of job—family—friends—all for clinging to the truth of God's Word. And so, perhaps you, too, begin to question whether Jesus is truly the One true God or not. “Maybe there is something to those other religions—or no religion at all—those people certainly seem to be happy—while I am miserable and depressed.”
We, like John, even as God's faithful people, are still plagued with doubts at times. Our faith constantly wavers. “If Jesus really is so great and wonderful then why do my relationships break and fall apart? Why do I struggle financially? Why do I end up being falsely accused by others, mocked, ridiculed, job put in jeopardy? Why is my life such a mess? Why is the world so awful at times? If Jesus really cared He’d do something about my situation—make it easier—make me happier—make me healthy--give me something to rejoice about! Perhaps He isn’t the one after all and I’d be better off trying to be a Buddhist or an atheist or agnostic—maybe then I’d be happy.”
What does Jesus do when confronted by the question asked by His own beloved cousin, John? Does He exhibit His superpowers and run to the rescue—smash through Herod’s guards and deliver His follower from prison? No. He simply sends the disciples back to John with the Word. Word of what they have seen and heard: the blind are given back their sight (a miracle, by the way, that had never happened before--one that was clearly messianic in nature); the lame jump up and walk; lepers are cleansed; the deaf hear; the dead are even raised to life; and the poor are evangelized/gospelized by the Word of Jesus.
This is the Good News, beloved. This is what really matters. This is what strengthens our weak and anaemic faith. The great works of Christ confirmed who Jesus is and what He came to do—namely save sinners from the fires of hell and damnation. The Word proclaims to you all He has done. Now, your life may be tragic—you may have all sorts of suffering going on—all sorts of difficulties—all manner of problems—but this news can give joy to your heart—does bring joy to your heart—for it gives you Jesus.
Remember that Jesus did not come to give you your best life now, but rather to give you the best possible life in the world to come. Life is going to be hard—it is going to be difficult—we are living in a broken and sinful world (again, one need not look far to see how truly broken it is)—thus our lives are often filled with pain and sadness. But the joy that we receive through the Word of God that announces and gives the full forgiveness for all our sins is a joy that knows no limit. For it is a joy that flows from the bloody side of Jesus Christ who was crucified in our place on the cross. It is a joy that is set free by the resurrection of Jesus Himself—who rose in victory over our greatest enemies—which do not include the bully down the street, the tax man, cancer, or crazed gunmen. Rather, His promises do include victory over our own sinful flesh, the world and the evil one himself—Satan—all by the cross of Jesus.
Our joy is found outside of ourselves. You see how depressed and weak in our faith we grow when we are always focusing on ourselves—our problems—our desires—our issues. God would have us look outside of ourselves—look clearly to Him as He has revealed Himself to us in His Word—through the called stewards of His holy mysteries—those pastors who deliver to us Christ’s overflowing forgiveness and mercy and life. In Word preached that absolves sins; in watery Word that cleanses and gives life to the dead of heart; in edible Word with bread and wine that strengthens our weak and failing faith through the sure knowledge that Jesus has died and risen again for me and you.
This is what comforts you, O people of God. Not a big fat bank account and lots of presents under the Christmas tree—not a clean bill of health—not the perfect relationship with your fellow human beings—but rather the sure and certain promise of being cleansed of all your sins—the resurrection from death to life through faith in Jesus—the fact that you have been evangelized—Gospelized—by God Himself when He washed you in water with His Word to make you His own dear child and heir of all His glorious promises.
Our joy is found in being directed not to our own possessions or stations in this life, but by hearing and believing the Word of God as spoken through His called servants, like John the Baptizer, who boldly declare of Jesus even in the face of tremendous heartache and tragedy and suffering, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” And no crazed gunman—no totalitarian government—no puffed up bureaucrat—no wicked neighbor—not even Satan himself can ever take that away from you—for you have been bought by the blood of Jesus. And there is great joy in believing that He IS the ONE Lord and Savior of us all who has come—and there is no need to look for another. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Matthew 11:2-10
Are You the One?
v.2-3 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?”
Dear friends in Christ, perhaps you have found yourself asking the same question about Jesus that plagued John the Baptizer, “Are you the One? Or should we expect another?” And you can see where John is coming from. This man, Jesus’ own cousin, lived a hard life—eking out an existence in the wilderness—preaching and teaching and baptizing. His task was to be the messenger sent by God—apostled by God—to prepare the way for the Messiah—for Jesus. Through the proclamation of the Word of God people would be brought to contrition and repentance over their sin—and be told to look to the One who is coming for their salvation—“the One whose sandals John confessed he was not worthy to stoop down and untie….the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
John didn’t eat in fine palaces—nor did he wear fancy clothes, the Scriptures tell us—but rather he ate locusts and wild honey—wore rough clothing—and continually preached to all the people about the deadly condition of their sin—calling them to seek forgiveness and mercy from the hand of God and not their own pious works.
Of course, this is what eventually landed John in such trouble—he just couldn’t keep his mouth shut. He preached to and against not only the regular Jew, but also against the religious authorities—and even the political rulers of his day. Of course, one can’t go around publicly decrying the king of Galilee as an adulterer without there being any sort of repercussions. So, eventually, John was arrested by Herod in order to silence John’s rather embarrassingly accurate, accusations.
And so, John, who has dedicated his entire life and ministry in service to the Lord, now finds himself in the dank prison of Herod, knowing that it is just a matter of time before he is killed. You can picture John sitting in that dark, cold, cell running through the events of his life that brought him there—especially those moments with Jesus in the Jordan River—and you can see the evil one whispering words of doubt into his ear. “Are you sure this Jesus is the real mccoy? Are you sure he is truly the one? Perhaps you’ve been deceived. After all, IF Jesus truly is the all-powerful Lord God, then what are you doing sitting here unjustly in prison? Wouldn’t the REAL Messiah help and reward His faithful followers?” And so John in desperation—in a moment of weak faith— sends some of his own disciples to inquire after Jesus if He truly is the One who is to come, after all.
Perhaps you’ve had days like that as well, beloved. You who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ—who trust Him—who avail yourselves of His Word and Sacrament—who talk about Him to neighbours, friends, family, and strangers alike. You who try to daily repent of your own sin and live the life that God wants you to live. You who continue to boldly proclaim the truth of God's Word: marriage is between one man and one woman—people are either male or female—life begins at conception—and so forth. And yet tragedy still strikes. And yet you still struggle—you still get hurt—are forced to endure suffering and sadness in this life. You face persecution. You face loss of job—family—friends—all for clinging to the truth of God's Word. And so, perhaps you, too, begin to question whether Jesus is truly the One true God or not. “Maybe there is something to those other religions—or no religion at all—those people certainly seem to be happy—while I am miserable and depressed.”
We, like John, even as God's faithful people, are still plagued with doubts at times. Our faith constantly wavers. “If Jesus really is so great and wonderful then why do my relationships break and fall apart? Why do I struggle financially? Why do I end up being falsely accused by others, mocked, ridiculed, job put in jeopardy? Why is my life such a mess? Why is the world so awful at times? If Jesus really cared He’d do something about my situation—make it easier—make me happier—make me healthy--give me something to rejoice about! Perhaps He isn’t the one after all and I’d be better off trying to be a Buddhist or an atheist or agnostic—maybe then I’d be happy.”
What does Jesus do when confronted by the question asked by His own beloved cousin, John? Does He exhibit His superpowers and run to the rescue—smash through Herod’s guards and deliver His follower from prison? No. He simply sends the disciples back to John with the Word. Word of what they have seen and heard: the blind are given back their sight (a miracle, by the way, that had never happened before--one that was clearly messianic in nature); the lame jump up and walk; lepers are cleansed; the deaf hear; the dead are even raised to life; and the poor are evangelized/gospelized by the Word of Jesus.
This is the Good News, beloved. This is what really matters. This is what strengthens our weak and anaemic faith. The great works of Christ confirmed who Jesus is and what He came to do—namely save sinners from the fires of hell and damnation. The Word proclaims to you all He has done. Now, your life may be tragic—you may have all sorts of suffering going on—all sorts of difficulties—all manner of problems—but this news can give joy to your heart—does bring joy to your heart—for it gives you Jesus.
Remember that Jesus did not come to give you your best life now, but rather to give you the best possible life in the world to come. Life is going to be hard—it is going to be difficult—we are living in a broken and sinful world (again, one need not look far to see how truly broken it is)—thus our lives are often filled with pain and sadness. But the joy that we receive through the Word of God that announces and gives the full forgiveness for all our sins is a joy that knows no limit. For it is a joy that flows from the bloody side of Jesus Christ who was crucified in our place on the cross. It is a joy that is set free by the resurrection of Jesus Himself—who rose in victory over our greatest enemies—which do not include the bully down the street, the tax man, cancer, or crazed gunmen. Rather, His promises do include victory over our own sinful flesh, the world and the evil one himself—Satan—all by the cross of Jesus.
Our joy is found outside of ourselves. You see how depressed and weak in our faith we grow when we are always focusing on ourselves—our problems—our desires—our issues. God would have us look outside of ourselves—look clearly to Him as He has revealed Himself to us in His Word—through the called stewards of His holy mysteries—those pastors who deliver to us Christ’s overflowing forgiveness and mercy and life. In Word preached that absolves sins; in watery Word that cleanses and gives life to the dead of heart; in edible Word with bread and wine that strengthens our weak and failing faith through the sure knowledge that Jesus has died and risen again for me and you.
This is what comforts you, O people of God. Not a big fat bank account and lots of presents under the Christmas tree—not a clean bill of health—not the perfect relationship with your fellow human beings—but rather the sure and certain promise of being cleansed of all your sins—the resurrection from death to life through faith in Jesus—the fact that you have been evangelized—Gospelized—by God Himself when He washed you in water with His Word to make you His own dear child and heir of all His glorious promises.
Our joy is found in being directed not to our own possessions or stations in this life, but by hearing and believing the Word of God as spoken through His called servants, like John the Baptizer, who boldly declare of Jesus even in the face of tremendous heartache and tragedy and suffering, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” And no crazed gunman—no totalitarian government—no puffed up bureaucrat—no wicked neighbor—not even Satan himself can ever take that away from you—for you have been bought by the blood of Jesus. And there is great joy in believing that He IS the ONE Lord and Savior of us all who has come—and there is no need to look for another. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.