Grace and Peace to you from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and may our Lord and Savior sanctify you in
the truth; for His word is truth. Amen
Third Sunday in Advent (2010)
Listen to the Voice of God
Matthew 11:2-15
(ESV)
Now when John heard in prison about the
deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples [3] and said to him, "Are you the one
who is to come, or shall we look for another?" [4] And Jesus answered them, "Go and
tell John what you hear and see: [5] 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. [6] And blessed is the one who is
not offended by me."
[7] 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? [8] What
then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who
wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
[9] What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and
more than a prophet. [10] This is he of
whom it is written,
" 'Behold, I send my messenger before
your face,
who will prepare your way before you.'
[11] Truly, I say to you, among those born of
women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is
least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. [12] From the days of John the Baptist until
now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by
force. [13] For all the Prophets and the
Law prophesied until John, [14] and if
you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. [15] He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
The
Gospel Reading for today often times confuses people because they preceive in
the words of St. Matthew that the great prophet, John the Baptist, is doubting
the validity of Jesus as the Messiah. They begin to reason that possibly the
rigors of life in prison have worn down the faith of the prophet and now, in
order to dissolve his doubt he sends his disciples to Jesus to ask Him if
whether or not He is the Messiah or should they put their faith in someone
else? Those who see doubt in John are guilty of rejecting the Scriptures which
speak of John’s faithfulness to his calling, especially his pointing to Jesus
as the promised Messiah, the One who is to come. In truth, such as these are
guilty of not listening to the voice of
God.
God’s Word is
clear; John was filled with the Holy Spirit from conception. He was
specifically brought forth by God to fulfill prophecy (Mal. 3:1; 4:5).
Futhermore, he had been a witness of the revelation of God’s truth at the
Baptism of Jesus and there he was thoroughly convinced of Christ's Messiahship,
(Luke 3:16; John 1:15, 26-27, 30-34: 3:28). He had no doubts concerning Christ
and His mission because he had rightfully identifed Him as “the Lamb of God, who takes away
the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 ESV).
However, there
were still a few disciples following John who showed no inclination to leave
him and follow the Chosen One; Jesus. Therefore John sends them as a delegation
to Jesus with a pointed question: “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we
look for another?” (v. 3). The
reference was clear to everyone that knew the Old Testament, especially Psalm
40:7 and it was John’s intention that Jesus would open the hearts of the
questioners to see Him for who He really is, the Son of God incarnate. Thus,
John, desiring his disciples be saved, sends them to the source of salvation,
our Lord, Jesus Christ, so they could listen
to the voice of God as Jesus responds to their question.
Here,
in the words of John the Baptist, we find great Advent preaching: directing everyone
to go with all their questions, all their doubts, straight to source of all
answers, our Lord, Jesus Christ. What better source for the answers to our spiritual
questions than Jesus Himself? However, Jesus is no longer physically among us. Given
this is the case, how then, we ask, can men’s hearts be directed to Him? How can
we get our questions answered and our hearts relieved of their load of sin?
John
directed his diciples to the Word that became flesh, the living Christ. Through
God’s, Living Word, Holy Scripture we can also come face to face with Jesus everday.
In the days of John, our Lord walked among the people, physically. Today, Jesus
is found among us when we read, study, or listen to God’s Word. Our Lord makes
it clear when He says, “If you abide in My word, you are My
disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free” (John 8:31-32). If John the Baptist were living today, he would
say to all of us during this Advent season: “Read your Bible if you really want
to celebrate Christmas properly. Because therein you shall see Jesus as He
truly is.” If we would only read Holy Scripture, we would learn that Jesus, the
Christ Child, whom we adore and worship in this Christmas season, is really the
Messiah who was to come. As the saying goes, “Jesus is the reason for the
season.” Oh, how much greater and deeper our Christmas joy would be by truly
knowing Jesus through Holy Scripture!
Unaware
of the great joy they were about to find, John’s disciples carry out his
instructions and go to Jesus with this question, Are You the Coming One, or do we
look for another?” (v. 3). To which, “Jesus answered and said to them,
“Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame
walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the
poor have the gospel preached to them”(vv. 4-5). St. Luke tells us that
when these disciples of John came to Jesus He was in fact in the act of healing
the maimed, the blind, and the deaf. Jesus didn’t give these disciples a mere
theological answer, instead He pointed to His deeds. Actions always speak
louder than words.
Highlighting
His miracles, Jesus points directly to the prophecy of Isaiah 35:5-6 and then
He stresses clearly, “the poor have the gospel preached to them”
(v. 5). All the glorious things which the Messiah was to do, things
which seemed so impossible to man, were now being done by Jesus. Accordingly,
the answer was plain: He is the One that should come! Only the most stubborn of
fools would deny this truth, because all of Jesus’ works and all His preaching
proved it.
Therein
lays the test of a truly God-pleasing Advent preacher: Does he turn men’s
hearts to Jesus or is he merely a reed blowing in the wind? In the Church today
there are many preachers that are reeds blowing in the wind; easily tossed to
and fro by the whims of society or popular opinion. Lacking conviction in God’s
Word, they preach only that which pleases men. If they know a man is guilty of
a certain sin, they will be careful not to condemn that sin in his presence in
order not to lose his favor. They resort to political correctness and misplaced
tolerance in order to go along to get along. Not so with John. He spoke the
same whether to the poorest Jewish beggar, the rich Pharisee, or even to the
proud King Herod. His message was “Repent, humble yourselves before God.”
Contrary winds could not shake John as a reed. He remained firm as a rock, even
if it meant being cast into prison. Certainly, those that went out to see in
John a reed shaking in the wind were disappointed. It is my fervent prayer that
all Advent preachers this year might also fearlessly and honestly condemn men’s
sin without fear or favor, stand firm in Jesus and the Bible, and preach the
Law in all its severity and the Gospel in all its sweetness.
Unlike
John the Baptist, many so-called preachers today fail to send their listeners
to the source of salvation, instead they send their listeners to themselves.
They preach an inward salvation, telling their congregations to look into their
hearts, because that’s where they will find the strength to live a life worthy
of God’s rescue. Or they turn them to their reason, suggesting that since God
is a reasonable god they should be reasonable too. They suggest that since God
is tolerant, their listerners should be tolerant and accept sinful behavior as
god-pleasing. Thus, they readily embrace the ordination of practicing
homosexuals and lesbians, abortion, and promiscuous behavior. They even have
the gall to turn their hearers to them, teaching that in their ministry one
might find all the answers to life and prosperity. They turn their hearers to
the things which destroy rather than that which brings life; our Lord, Jesus
Christ! Failing to direct the hearers to our Lord Jesus is a failure to lead
the people to listen to the voice of God.
However, listening to the voice of God
is what we are to do and it’s not as difficult as it seems if we have someone
guiding us to our Lord.
How
about you? Do you send people directly to the source of salvation? Not only during
this Advent and Christmas season, but everday of the year? Do you know people
who are approaching the festival of Christmas without that firm conviction that
the little baby boy born in a manger in
After having given John’s
disciples the evidence of His identity, Jesus added the words: “And
blessed is he who is not offended because of Me” (v. 6). No doubt,
these disciples had been somewhat offended by Jesus. He was too plain, too
simple. He was doing good deeds, helping people and healing them, but where was
the judgment that John the Baptist had foretold in Luke 3:17. They had expected
a Messiah who would make a grand and striking appearance. Who would not only
help His people but also bring condemnation and judgment on the unrepentant.
There are some who may also be offended by each of us in these Christmas
holidays. People may call us plain or simple if we talk about Jesus and His
love for them. However, we can remain firm and steadfast in our belief that
Jesus is our greatest and grandest Treasure; the one really great and worthwhile
Christmas Gift we shall ever have. Our faith in Him is worth more than gold and
silver. As truly God-pleasing Advent preachers, whether among the clergy or the
laity, we will direct men’s hearts to Jesus so that they too may be able to
recognize the value of the treasure of Christ’s love.
In a world where there is so
much fear and doubt and unbelief and worry and care we ought to tell men, what
John told his disciples: “Go to Jesus, and see for yourself whether or not He
is the true Messiah, the only Savior of your soul”. Moreover, as Christian
believers, we ought to stand firm in our faith and life, solid oaks rather than
reeds shaken by the wind, trying to gain the favor and applause of men by
directing them away from Christ. Let us always listen to the voice of God, seeking His help so we might always be
true prophets of God sincerely preparing the way for Jesus in the hearts of
men.
The world is our field, the
time is now. Let us go to work now in this Advent season, directing men’s
hearts to Jesus, that they may believe what John believed and what we believe:
that Jesus, the Christ Child, is the promised Messiah, our Savior, and King,
our only sure help in all trouble and the full propitiation for all our sin. Amen.
May the peace
of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus. Amen.