Matthew 11:2-11 - Advent Questions - December 15, 2019

Things really changed quickly and drastically for John from last week, didn’t they? It’s like two totally different lives. Last week he was the talk of the town, with crowds flocking into the wilderness to hear his preaching of repentance and receive his baptism of forgiveness (Matthew 3:1-12). This week John is in prison. Why? Because he had the guts to tell King Herod that he was sinning by taking his brother’s wife as his own (Matthew 14:3). Then again, we know just how quickly things can change. I would argue that just stepping through those doors makes for a pretty big change. Out there, these days are all about parties and gifts and good cheer. But in here, we are continuing our season of repentance, preparing not our homes or budgets but our hearts for Christmas. The Lord prepares our hearts today by answering three questions to remove any doubts about who Christ is and what he is coming to do.

Our first question is quite seasonal, since Advent means coming: Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else? Why would John have asked this question? The one to come was an Old Testament title for the Messiah, the Christ (Psalm 118:26). John had already pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God (John 1:29). But as we noted last week, from John’s perspective, he was supposed to come as a fierce and vengeful Judge. He was supposed to strike at the root of every impenitent tree and sweep the chaff of unbelief into the unquenchable fire of hell. But he didn’t. While John is locked up in prison Jesus is freely roaming through Israel doing unthinkable things: eating and drinking with sinners and giving them forgiveness. He’s calling people to repentance, sure, but he’s not carrying an ax around, he’s not cutting down any trees, he’s not confronting immoral kings, he’s not trying to get John released. What gives, John (or his disciples) wonder? Is Jesus the Coming One, or should they be looking for another?

Do we ever wonder the same thing? We believe that God will not be mocked, yet he is (Galatians 6:7). We believe that the wicked will be punished and the righteous rewarded (Psalm 73), but the wicked seem to thrive in their wickedness and believers seem to suffer. We believe that Jesus rules the world for the good of his Church (Ephesians 1:22). But maybe we got it wrong. Islam seems more of a force in the world today than Christianity. No one dares to mock or antagonize Muslims. But Christians? Christians are mocked on every front. We who believe that God’s Word is truth (John 17:17) are labeled as bigoted and intolerant and accused of having a phobia to every lifestyle or religion God calls sinful. We believe that Jesus is always with us, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:20) and yet so often we feel alone and abandoned, that no one is hearing our prayers or cares about our struggles. Have we made a huge mistake? Should we be looking for some other religion? Some other Savior?

What’s the answer? The answer is the same today as it was then. Go back and report to John what you hear and see. What had John’s disciples seen and heard? Well, they had seen Jesus, fulfilling one OT prophecy after another: healing the blind, the lame, the leper, and the deaf (Isaiah 35:5-6). They saw Jesus raising the dead. And they heard him preaching to the Gospel of forgiveness to those who were stuck in the bankruptcy of sin. Because Jesus is fulfilling Scripture, John should be convinced that he is the One.

What do you see and hear today? How many blind, lame, lepers or deaf have you seen healed? How about dead men raised? That’s the hang-up, isn’t it? John was in danger of falling away from Jesus because he didn’t bring the judgment John thought he should bring when John thought he should bring it. Today, many risk falling away from Jesus because Jesus doesn’t seem to intervene in the world and our lives in the physical, tangible ways we’d like him to. But we do have one very important thing in common with John – one unchanging truth to hang our faith on: we both hear Jesus preaching the Gospel of free forgiveness to sinners who cannot afford it.

But we have even more than that. We have much more than John. We have 2000 years of history. 2000 years of millions of serious and sober-minded people taking what Scripture records as real, reliable, historical fact. We have Jesus’ death and resurrection, never disproven, witnessed by hundreds. We have baptism, a personal sign from God that you have been adopted into his family and made a citizen of his Kingdom. We have absolution, the proclamation that the King himself has covered our debt of sin with his blood so that we are free to live in peace. And today we have the clearest sign of Jesus’ enduring presence and blessing: his own body and blood. As Jesus told John: blessed is the [one] who does not fall away on account of the humble and unassuming ways that Jesus reigns in this world. Jesus is the one who is to come. He’s come for you. Only don’t look for him to be writing or enforcing laws or ruling from a White House. Instead, look for him where he promises to be: conceived in a virgin, lying in a manger, hanging on a cross, present in water and Word, bread and wine.

Question #2: What did you go out into the desert to see? Jesus asked the crowd as John’s disciples were leaving. They hadn’t gone out to the desert to see a reed swayed by the wind – a spineless, pandering preacher whose message changes right along with the winds of culture. They went out to see a prophet who preached an unchanging message, who called everyone – even kings – to repentance and offered baptism for forgiveness. They hadn’t gone out into the desert to see a man dressed in fine clothes – that is, a trendy, hipster type of man who lived a life of luxury, like those in kings’ palaces. No, they went out to see a man whose appearance and lifestyle proclaimed the unspoken message that there are more important things than earthly comfort.

Why did you come to this desert? Yes, we have a brightly lit tree here, but our main focus remains on what Adam started at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and what Jesus did to fix it on the tree of the cross. We don’t sing about how white snow or a red-nosed reindeer or a little bit of good cheer can make everything in the world right. We sing about how our only hope for peace is for God to send his Son to die for us. We have wonderful snacks provided by the ladies, but the main meal here consists of nothing more than bread and wine. We don’t have egg-nog or apple cider here, only plain water that is poured over sinners’ heads in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Why have you come to this place that seems so out of line and out of touch with the world all year long – but particularly this time of year? Why have you come to this place that doesn’t find any lasting value in the sappy, greedy, gluttonous “Christmas spirit” that the world so cherishes?

Let’s be honest: there’s better food, better drink, jollier music and more good cheer out there than in here. So, what have you come here to see? They went by the thousands and thousands into the wilderness to see a prophet, but Jesus says, he was more than a prophet. He was the one sent to prepare the way for the Lord (Malachi 3:1). That’s what they went out into the desert to see. What about you? People come to this place not by the thousands, but by the dozens. Not to find a fortune teller but a truth teller. Not a “vision-caster” but a preacher of Gods’ Word. You come here to be served by one who has been sent and called by God for a few very specific purposes: to preach, teach, baptize, and commune. You didn’t come here to have your body healed, but your soul; not to be made rich in this life but to be made filthy rich with eternal life; not so that you can be successful in this world, but so that you may prosper in the world that will never end. Like John, I’m not the one who was to come, but I will do everything in my power to point you to him. And finally, that’s why you’re in this desert place. Jesus is here. You’re drawn to this place to worship not before a Christmas tree but before a cruel cross because of the one who died on that cross for you. Because his pain speaks to your pain; his suffering speaks to your suffering; his sorrow speaks to your sorrow; his death gives you life.

One more question. One that will clarify the other two. This one isn’t explicit but implicit. Jesus says he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than [John the Baptist]. Who is the least in the kingdom of heaven? Is it you? Me? Children? Shut-ins? Who is it? Maybe you want it to be you. Maybe the attacks of the devil and the world might lead you to think it is you. But it’s not. I don’t care how miserable your life is – the least in the kingdom of heaven isn’t you. It isn’t me. It wasn’t John. Jesus says this about John: among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.

The least in the kingdom, any kingdom, is the one who has to do everything for everyone else, right? Just think of the sins you committed in the past week. The sins of commission and omission. The bad things you did and the good things you failed to do. However many you can think of, the reality is far worse. The reality is that you and I are not even aware of a fraction of the sins we commit day in and day out (Psalm 19:12). And in order for you and me and any other sinner to go to heaven, all that we failed to do, didn’t want to do, couldn’t do, had to be done. God’s holy standard for us had to be met and our sins had to be paid for. Who was going to do it?

Who is the least in the kingdom of heaven? It’s got to be the one who did everything right (Luke 23:41) and yet gets the blame and punishment for doing everything wrong. That isn’t you or me or John. That was Jesus. Paul tells us that God made him to be sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). God held Jesus accountable our sins of unbelief, greed, gossip, lust, complaining, doubt and despair. When God saw his only Son so completely covered with the sins that disgust him, all his wrath was poured out in that moment on the man on that cross on the hill outside of Jerusalem. And Jesus, by pouring out the very last drops of his blood, sweat, and tears did what we could never do: he put out the flames of God’s wrath so that now there is peace on earth between God and man (Luke 2:14).

That’s why you’ve come to this desert today. You’ve come because you know what it’s like to waver in faith, to doubt God’s love and presence, to be locked up in a prison of guilt and shame, to lack any joy in life. But don’t doubt this, Jesus is the One who was to come – and he’s come for you. That’s why you’ve come to this place that continues to talk bluntly about sin and grace – even though it’s probably politically incorrect to do so this close to Christmas; it’s why you bring your children here to sit at Jesus’ feet instead of plopping them in the lap of a fat man in a red suit. Because while you may have doubts out there, here those doubts are dispelled. Here you are reminded that Jesus’ perfect life flowed through the water of Baptism to cover you in his righteousness. Here is where you listen to the word of his forgiveness which sends your sins into the depths of the sea, never to be seen again (Micah 7:19). Here is where the body and blood he offered up as the perfect payment for sin 2000 years ago is distributed to assure you of your forgiveness. Here is where God the Son humbles himself to serve you as the least in the kingdom so that miserable sinners like you and I might become the greatest in the kingdom. That’s why you’re here. You’re here because the Holy Spirit has led you to recognize that the source of true peace and lasting joy isn’t wrapped in paper under a tree but in cloths and lying in a manger.

There are two seasons going on right now. There’s the season of reindeer and lights and gifts out there. And there’s the season of repentance and faith and preparation in here. By all means, celebrate both. But never forget that only one can dispel your doubts, only one can bring you peace and joy and certainty that will last beyond December 25th and into eternity. Amen.