The Third Sunday of Advent
December 15, 2013 - Pastor Adam Moline
Isaiah 35:1-10 James 5:7-11 Matthew 11:2-15
Grace, mercy and
peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our text today is from the Gospel just read, especially these words, “Go
and tell John what you hear and see.”
Thus far our text.
Dear friends,
John’s question to Jesus in our text today is an interesting one. “Are you the one, Jesus, or should we wait
for another one?” This question asked by
John is quite a different seeming sentiment from just a short time before, when
John shouted out to Jesus, “I ought to be baptized by you, and yet you come to
me” or when John said, “You are the Lamb
of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
But Jesus isn’t
doing what John expected him to do.
Jesus hasn’t come with an army to overthrow the Roman Empire, Jesus
hasn’t even come with an army to release John from Herod’s prison where he is
awaiting his eventual execution. Isn’t
that what the Messiah is supposed to do, isn’t he to restore David’s kingdom,
isn’t he to return Israel to its rightful place of power and authority in the
world? Isn’t he to be a powerful worldly
ruler? Isn’t he to have an army
following him, willing to die to complete his mission?
Jesus hasn’t done
any of this? Jesus hasn’t come in
power. Jesus hasn’t massed an army. Jesus hasn’t even rescued John from his
prison cell and impending death. And so
John wants to know if Jesus is the messiah, or if there is another one coming
after Jesus who will accomplish these things.
In plain words, Jesus isn’t who John expects. So John, from his prison cell in Machaerus
sends his disciples to find out when and if Jesus is going to do his “messiah
stuff”.
And so John’s
disciples ask the question, “Are you the coming one, the messiah, or should we
expect another? And Jesus responds this
way, “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.” This list that Jesus
quotes is the same list that the prophet Isaiah gave us to look for when
writing of the Messiah 700 years earlier.
Jesus is saying, “Throw out your misconeptions, I am the Messiah, and
the things that I am doing are messiah things!
I am doing exactly what God asks, and my salvation is not an earthly,
temporary salvation, but an eternal heavenly one.” And John’s disicples return to tell him this
message from Jesus, and not long afterwards, St. John the Baptist, the greatest
prophet in scripture, confident in his faith in Christ, is beheaded by King
Herod.
And as we read our
text this morning, dear friends, it begs the question, “What do you expect from
Jesus?” Do want a Jesus who will confirm
you in whatever it is that you think is right?
One that ignores the sins that you know you commit, or one who tells you
simply “Its ok, no big deal? Because
this is not the Jesus of Scripture. Or do
you want a Jesus who is only a friend and nothing more, one to whom you can
talk about what is going on? Do you want
a Jesus who entertains you each week? Do
you want a Jesus who will allow for only Christian presidents and
congressmen? Because that’s not the
Jesus of Scripture, either.
Do you want a
Jesus who listens and does exactly what you say and want, without any concern
for what he tells you? Do you want a
Jesus who heals Uncle Bill on your time table, who can bring back grandma, or
who will increase the funds in your bank account and help you live your
purpose-filled best life now? That’s not
the Jesus of scripture.
Listen to what
Jesus says and look at what he does. The
Jesus of scripture is one who tells the truth – you’ve sinned, and that there
is now way around that fact. And the
Jesus of Scripture says, “I’ve done something about it. Hear the things that Jesus has done. He went to suffer and die for your sins, to
die that you might be forgiven. He went
to Jerusalem to the cross, bearing your sins and guilt, and he was nailed to a
rough wooden cross. He hung naked and
filled with your shame as the citizens of Jerusalem entered town. He suffered and died. He was buried. And he rose again. Why?
So you could belong to God. So
that you might be healed, not in this world, but forever in heaven. So that your life might go well in heaven,
not necessarily on earth.
Is Jesus the
Messiah we expect and want? Not
necessarily, and yet he is the messiah all the same. He is our God. Christ the crucified – the God of our
salvation. We need not expect
another. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
