Third Sunday in Advent

Third Sunday in Advent (A)

December 11, 2016

Text: Matt. 11:2-15

            “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Matt. 11:3; ESV).  It is the question of Advent.  Is Jesus the long-promised Savior, or are we to look for salvation somewhere else?  John’s question does not betray a lack of faith.  Far from it.  He is languishing in prison for the sake of Christ and His Word, and in the end, he will lose his head as he decreases and our Lord increases.  The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force (v. 12).  John sends his disciples seeking a word from Jesus, a simple word, a Gospel word: I AM.  I am Jesus, YHWH saves.  Look no further.  For there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).  John, you can die in confidence and peace for the Name of Jesus, for He is, indeed, your life and salvation.

            You ask this question, too.  “Are you the One, Jesus, or shall we look for another?”  It’s not that you don’t believe.  Far from it.  It’s that you languish in the prison of this fallen flesh.  You know your sin.  You know your guilt.  You know your utter inability to free yourself from your sinful condition and work your way into God’s favor.  And in the end, you will die.  Death and taxes, as they say.  The evidence of the fall of all creation is all around us in corruption and decay.  So we need a word of hope.  We need a Gospel Word.  I AM.  I  am Jesus, YHWH saves.  You can die in confidence and peace, for the Name of Jesus is on you… You are baptized into Christ, and He is your life and salvation.

            What answer does Jesus give John’s disciples?  “Go and tell John what you hear and see” (Matt. 11:4).  What you hear comes first.  Go and tell John about the preaching.  Faith comes by hearing.  Jesus comes to preach the Kingdom of Heaven into your ears.  Then tell him what you see.  The actions of Jesus fulfill the Scriptures and confirm the preaching.  The blind receive their sight.  The lame walk.  Lepers are cleansed.  The deaf hear.  The dead are raised.  And the capstone of all the miracles: The poor have the good news, the Gospel, preached to them (v. 5).  Those languishing in sin and death and mired in the brokenness of this world hear a Word of hope.  Salvation has arrived.  The things Jesus does are the things spoken of by the prophets signaling the arrival of salvation.  Death itself is being reversed.  All that is broken is being restored.  Jesus has come, and He lives up to His Name.  The LORD saves.

            John is the messenger who prepares the way for our Lord’s arrival.  He is sent to point us always and only to Jesus.  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” he proclaims (3:2), as the people come to him to be baptized and confess their sins.  “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” he preaches (John 1:29), as his ministry comes to an end and our Lord’s begins.  John is not the Christ.  He is the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, preaching in the place of emptiness and death.  John baptizes with water, but Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire.  John is Elijah who was to come (Matt. 11:14).  He is the last of the Old Testament prophets, and he witnesses the fulfillment of the prophecy.  From John we learn what it is we should look for in a preacher.  He is not a reed shaken by the wind, bending this way and that depending which way the wind blows.  In other words, he does not tickle fancies or scratch itching ears.  He does not preach what people want to hear.  He preaches what you need to hear.  He does not dress in soft clothing.  That is to say, he doesn’t preach for a paycheck.  He’s not in the ministry for his belly or to live in the lap of luxury.  On the contrary, a leather belt and camel’s hair are his raiment, and locusts and wild honey his meat.  Why, then, is he out there in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance?  Why is he in the dungeon awaiting execution for having preached the sanctity of marriage to the powers that be, King Herod and his illegitimate wife?  He is there because he was sent.  The love of Christ compels him.  He is given a Word to preach, and woe to him if he does not preach it.  But the preacher also needs the Gospel.  The preacher especially needs the Gospel.  Go and tell John what you hear and see.  Go and tell him the Scriptures are fulfilled.  The Savior comes.  He advents.  Jesus saves us from our sins. 

            And what is Jesus’ answer to you?  What is His answer to your question, “Are you the One, Jesus, or shall we look for salvation in someone or something else?”  His answer is the same as that which He gives to John.  What do you hear?  What do you see?  You hear the Scriptures.  You hear the preaching.  You hear that your sins are forgiven in the stead and by the command of Jesus.  You hear that He died for your sins on the cross.  You hear that He is risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and He is coming again to raise you out of death and give you eternal life.  In the hearing of this preaching, the Holy Spirit gives you faith to believe it.  And then you see the water of the font, and you know it is what Jesus promises, the washing away of your sin and your new birth in Him, the Name of God placed upon you making you God’s own child.  You see the bread and wine of the Supper, and you know they are what Jesus says of them, His true body and blood, given and shed on the cross for you, now placed in your mouth, for the forgiveness of your sins.  It is the manna that sustains you as you sojourn in this wilderness.  These things are miracles of God no less than those our Lord performed during His earthly ministry.  You who are blind to the things of God now see by the healing Word of Christ.  You who are lame in your spiritual impotence Jesus raises up unto love and good works.  You who are leprous with sin unto death have been cleansed and made whole.  Your deaf ears have been opened.  You’ve been raised from the dead already now spiritually, and on the Last Day in your body.  Indeed, you poor, you who have nothing in and of yourself with which to save yourself or earn God’s favor… you, who are enslaved to sin and death in your fallen flesh, and suffering in this fallen creation… you, who have no hope outside of Christ… you have the Good News, the Gospel, preached to you.  Jesus has come.  He is your Savior.  He forgives all your sins.  He loves you and makes you His own.  In Him, you have eternal life. 

            So to answer your question, “Are you the One, Jesus, or shall we look for another,” Jesus brings you to Church and gives you Himself.  He comes.  He advents, right here and right now, in His Word and Sacraments, for your salvation.  And since that is true… Since Jesus is your life, and that life cannot be taken from you, what can you suffer for the Name of Christ and His Gospel?  You can suffer all, even death, in confidence and peace, knowing Jesus will not forsake you.  You can speak the truth in love to a world that does not want to hear it.  You can suffer the scorn of family members and friends who can’t believe you hold on to this religion nonsense.  You can tell them Jesus loves them and invite them to your Church.  You can suffer fines.  You can have your business ripped out from under you, as our brothers and sisters in the marriage industry have had in recent times.  Much like St. John.  You can suffer imprisonment.  You can lose your head to be served up on a platter.  You can suffer the paradox of living in the reality of light and life in Jesus, even as you experience darkness and death in this world.  Because in the End, Jesus wins.  He’s already won in the cross and empty tomb.  Beloved, Jesus comes.  Joy is breaking through the gloom.  That is why the rose candle glows this morning, light piercing the violet of repentance.  Christmas is coming.  The Virgin conceives and the days are fulfilled.  The Table is set and the Feast is before you.  God in the flesh arrives.  He comes.  For you.  For the forgiveness of sins.  Blessed is the one who is not scandalized by Him.  And blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.  Hosanna in the highest.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son (+), and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.