In the Name of Jesus
Matthew 11,2-10
3. Sunday in Advent GaudeteEpimachus and Alexander, Martyrs 250
12. December 2010
1. O Heavenly Father, grant unto Your beloved church so that, remembering her own unrighteousness and corruption, she may take no offense at the lowly presence and the despised word of her only King, the Just, the Helper, Jesus Christ; but always rejoice in His wonderful advent, and receive and accept Him in pure and ready hearts, gladly rejoicing in Him, and rendering all praise and glory to You forevermore. Amen. (Löhe 414).
2. Our sermon text for this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from the Gospel according to St. Luke where the holy evangelist writes: 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 arrive, or shall we wait for someone else?“ And Jesus answered them: ,,Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight and the crippled walk, lepers are made clean and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me.“ As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: ,,What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in fancy clothes? Behold, those who wear fancy clothes are in kings’ houses. Did you go out to see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it has been written: »Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.«“ (Malachi 3,1) This is our text.
3. John the Baptizer, the older cousin of Jesus and the one sent by Yahweh to prepare the way for Christ Jesus, is locked away in prison. By Chapter 11, John’s ministry has decreased as he’s been imprisoned for about a year at this time and Jesus’ ministry has increased. The elevation of Jesus should be an event of great rejoicing, but John was having doubts about this as he languished in King Herod’s prison. This was not Herod the Great who tried to snuff out Jesus’ life by ordering the murder of all infant boys two years and younger in the Bethlehem region. John’s Herod is Herod Antipas who ruled over one-quarter of his father’s great kingdom as the tetrarch of Galilee and Perea. Galilee is the territory of northern Judea and is where Jesus lived and conducted most of His public ministry. Perea is the territory east of the Jordan River between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. Herod Antipas, then, was the king of both John and Jesus.
4. The challenge in Chapter 11 is that John the Baptizer had preached and prepared the people for the forthcoming Christ who would have a ministry of judgment. Men and women, therefore, needed to repent and be baptized so as to be ready and prepared for His arrival. John’s proclamation is summarized with these words, »I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is arriving after me is mightier than me, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.« (Matthew 3,11-12). From what John is hearing from his disciples, Jesus, whom he had baptized and identified as the promised Christ and Messiah, does not seem to be living up to what John had preached.
5. Even though the Old Testament prophesies are coming true, Jesus’ ministry will have a paradoxical character that can cause one to stumble and fall away without proper eyes to see and ears to hear (Gibbs 555). Whether or not John entertained such a thought, many Christians struggle with Matthew 11’s record of John’s treatment, namely, why is John locked away in prison and eventually beheaded, and Jesus doesn’t even protest such outrages? Why is John who is a prophet and more than a prophet shown such dishonor? This does not look like the reign of God (Gibbs 556). This is essentially a spin on the age-old questions, Q: Why does evil run rampant in this world, and why doesn’t God stomp evil out?
6. Thus John sends his disciples to inquire if Jesus really is the promised Christ or should they wait for someone else to arrive. Jesus tells these disciples to report to John what they see Jesus doing and hear what Jesus is preaching. Jesus is fulfilling the prophecies about the Christ. The Prophet Isaiah proclaimed: »The Spirit of Yahweh who is the Lord is upon me, because Yahweh has anointed me to preach to the poor and weak who are oppressed by the rich and powerful; He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the year of Yahweh’s favor« (61,1-2). John is told that in Jesus’ ministry: »The blind regain their sight and the crippled walk, lepers are made clean and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me« (11,5-6). John is told that Jesus is fulfilling the Prophet Isaiah. This is why Isaiah is sometimes referred to as the Fifth Evangelist or Gospel.
7. The words and works of Jesus are manifestations of His great work on the cross and through the empty tomb. What Jesus is doing in Matthew 11 is a foretaste of what He will do to sin, death, and the devil. ,,God the Father has wiped out the ancient sin by His promised seed, His dear Son, Jesus Christ; that He has satisfied God’s wrath, taken away eternal death and on the last day He will raise His believers and redeem them from death and hell and every tragedy to bring them to eternal life. This is the comfort we have through Jesus Christ. Satan is overcome. Death is strangled, sins wiped away, hell destroyed guilt paid for and the Father has called us acquitted, rid of and freed from sin. The inheritance is prepared. Life is brought. Heaven is open. Our dwelling is ready. Out of the bleeding wounds of Christ flows all of our grace, salvation, and blessedness“ (Luther 21).
8. The complete answer to John’s question to Jesus is: A: ,,The reign of God has broken into history in the person of Jesus, and He is the Coming One. But the power of evil men remains strong, and Christ will not overthrow that evil—yet“ (Gibbs 557). Evil will be overthrown on the last day when the Lord Jesus Christ returns in glory, but Christ has given us such a healthy and overwhelming dose of the gospel that evil and its effects have been defeated although they still linger on a little while longer upon this earth. Christ and His gospel are in our midst on this earth through His Church with her Word and Sacraments. Nevertheless, evil things will still occur. People will still become sick. People will still die. Sinners will still harm others with their wicked actions. We are still sinners who must repent of our sins. God’s goodness, however, is mightier than evil and our sins. Until Christ returns to cast death and the devil into hell and give us resurrected, sinless bodies, Jesus gives His Church the gospel to sustain her and her Christians until they meet Him in glory.
9. The gospel reported back to John through his disciples strengthened him and sustained him. John remained in prison certain that the reign of heaven was unfolding outside his four walls through Jesus Christ. John would later go to the executioner in confidence that even though an evil action was about to be done against Yahweh’s greatest prophet, nevertheless John was victorious through Christ. What is true for John the Baptizer two thousand years ago is still true for us in the 21st century. Christ and His gospel are enough and they sustain us during our life on this sinful and fallen earth with all its horrible evil and wickedness. Jesus says: »Blessed is the one who is not offended by Me« (11,6). When we receive Jesus and His gospel by faith, everything that Jesus promises and the gospel offers is received for us.
10. Jesus describes the greatness of John’s ministry by quoting the Prophet Malachi: »Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.«“ (Malachi 3,1). Advent is a season of preparation as we await the celebration of our Lord’s arrival. It is a time to be refreshed by the words of the Prophets who proclaim the Christ’s arrival that brings salvation. It is a time for us to be in repentant contemplation as we acknowledge and confess our sinfulness. It is a time where by faith we receive the promises of Christ.
11. John the Baptizer described Jesus as a judge who would dispense judgment. He said Jesus will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire (Matthew 3,12). When Jesus returns on the last day he will condemn all the wicked to everlasting punishment in hell. Yahweh’s law reveals that every person is numbered among the wicked and deserving of Yahweh’s wrath, and so the law batters against our fortified hearts in order to demolish and smash ever bolt and lock that our prideful hearts have established. Once this is done, Christ arrives and gently raps on the door of our heart. When this happens we should respond with the passionate cry, ,,Enter in, O dearest Jesus!“ When we have Jesus in our heart we are removed from the mass of evil-doers and transplanted to the wheat fields of the believers. Those who believe in Christ and trust Him for their forgiveness and salvation are thus credited as righteous in Yahweh’s sight.
12. Jesus’ words of comfort to the imprisoned John are also words of consolation to us. The devil is defeated. Death is mortally wounded. Sins are washed clean. Hell is closed to us. God the Father has pronounced us ,,not guilty“. Q: How do we know this? A: Through what Christ has done. Jesus healed the sick, forgave sins, and preached the gospel. All of these works were fulfilled when Christ was crucified for us in our place and when He rose from death to life on the third day.
13. Thus the 3rd Sunday in Advent is called Guadete, that is, Rejoice! Rejoice for all Christ our Lord has done for us. But He is not done. Rejoice for all Christ does for us day after day. He answers our prayers. He strengthens our faith through His Word. He gives us the forgiveness of our sins in the Sacraments. If we have doubts, then Jesus consoles us. Therefore, we can leave His Divine Service (Gottesdienst) today and every Sunday with peace and joy, rejoicing in all that our Lord does for us. Amen.
14. Let us pray. O Heavenly Father, our Gracious and Righteous Lord, You sent Your only-begotten Son to us so that He could preach the gospel whereby we hear and believe that You are a merciful God who forgives sinners and promises them everlasting life. Amen.
One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you!
All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the New Testament Greek Manuscripts, Luke © 1995 by Reuben Joseph Swanson.
Gibbs, Jeffrey A. Matthew 11:2— 20:34. Copyright © 2010 Jeffrey A. Gibbs.
Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.
Luther, Martin. Luther’s Family Devotions. Gathered © 1877 George Link. Translation © 1996 Joel Baseley.
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