Advent 3 - Gaudete - 12-12- 2010

Advent 3 - Gaudete
One Year Lectionary,
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (December 12, 2010)

“No Doubts”

Readings:  
    Is. 40:1–11   
    Psalm 85   
    1 Cor. 4:1-5   
    Matthew 11:2-11
       
Sermon Form:    Deductive

+INI+

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

The text for today is as recorded in the Gospel reading of St. Matthew the 11th chapter, especially the following verses.

Matthew 11:2-11 (English Standard Version)

 2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3and said to him, "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?" 4And 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. 6And blessed is the one who is not offended by me." 7As 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? 8What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10This is he of whom it is written, "'Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.' 11Truly, 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.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Today's Gospel reveals a struggle that bothers, and prods all believers at one time or another.  We all struggle with doubt, one only need turn on the T.V. station and soon you will hear fantastic numbers being assigned to the age of the earth or as Carl Sagan used to say billions and billions of years. Whether it be this particular doubt or another, from time to time, even the most ardent believer will wonder if Jesus is really the one, meaning the one who can save them from sin.  Is this God-man Jesus the one who can give me an eternity free from doubt and fear.  In today's Gospel, we see that even John struggled.  He sent his disciples to Jesus and asked, "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?"(v. 3)

But hold on for just is minute, isn’t this the John the Baptist, the prophet, who was already at work before Jess was even born?  For while John was still in the womb when Mary came to visit his mother Elizabeth, wasn’t this the same John who leapt for joy at His coming?  Isn’t this the same John who pointed to Jesus and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"(Jn 1:29) How can this same John doubt that Jesus is the Lord - the promised one - the Messiah?

The answer is that this doubt comes from the nature of the Advent of Christ.  We could say that the Advent of the Christ is a lot like a trip to the mountains.  When we first see the mountains on the horizon, they all appear to be about the same distance away.  They also appear to be a lot closer than they really are.  When we get closer to the mountains, we realize that those mountains that appeared to be right next to each other are actually many miles apart.

Biblical prophecy is like that.  When the Lord gave a vision of the future to His prophets, that future appeared to be all of one piece.  Now that we live in that future, we understand that thousands of years can separate the events of God's salvation.  So it is with the Advent of the Christ.  He came once to take on human flesh and save us from our sin.  He will come again to judge the living and the dead and take His people to live with Him forever.  We now know that these events are thousands of years apart.

Sometimes you’ll hear about Jesus by saying He is here now, but also not yet.  St. Paul may have said it best, "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known."(1 Cor 13:12)  Don’t let that confuse you, we know that Jesus is with us now, but we do not see Him yet as one day we will.  We know that we already live in the Kingdom of God, but we do not yet experience it as we will in eternity.  So as Christians, here on this earth, we live in the "now, but not yet."

When John's disciples came to Jesus and asked their questions, Jesus gave them an answer that brings comfort and assurance.  Not just comfort for John, but for all who believe in Jesus.  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."  And Jesus asked John to remember the words that God gave to the Old Testament prophets - words like the ones we read this morning from Isaiah, “5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.”  As the Word of God incarnate, Jesus is not only the great prophet who gives us the promises of God, but He is also the God who keeps those promises and fulfills those prophecies.

To be clear, there are indeed people who would criticize Jesus for His answer.  They ask, "Why didn't Jesus just say He was the Christ?" They say, "This seems like a pretty round about way to give an answer."  They want us to believe that Jesus never made any special claims about Himself.

Maybe we should look at it this way, just think about the number of people in our world today who actually believe they are Napoleon of France or Cleopatra of Egypt and there are even people alive today who actually say they are Jesus of Nazareth.  We don't give any credibility to people like that, we don’t listen to them.  In fact, we hope that these people are receiving treatment from caring professionals.

So the real challenge here is that it is one thing to say that you are the Messiah.  And it’s an entirely different thing to show that you are the Messiah.  It is one thing to talk well, but what is it that we say about people who can talk well? You can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk? Jesus knew that actions speak louder than words and Jesus allowed His actions to do His teaching for Him.  He challenged John's disciples and John himself to compare His deeds to the prophecies from God.  Was He fulfilling the words that God gave to the prophets of old?

And Jesus walked the walk, no doubt about it.  With His teaching, Jesus described the reason for His first Advent.  He took on human flesh so that His mother laid Him in a manger.  He grew up in a sinful world and yet, He Himself never sinned.  He then submitted to beatings and crucifixion and, while He hung on that cross, He absorbed the full punishment for our sins.  His friends buried His lifeless corpse in a tomb and yet, that tomb is empty.  Hundreds of witnesses saw Him alive after He died.  They ate with Him.  They touched Him.  They had conversations with Him.  The credibility of those witnesses has been sanctified by the fact that those witnesses refused to change their story even in the face of torture and death.  The historical evidence is clear beyond any reasonable doubt.  Jesus Christ has risen from the dead.  This is the sign that is greater than the witness John received from his disciples.  Jesus fulfilled His own promise to rise from the dead.

And Jesus had high words of praise for John.  He said, "Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist."  With these words, Jesus tells us that John is not only the last of the Old Testament prophets, but he is also the greatest of them.  Never the less, King Herod executed John before he could witness the fulfillment of those prophecies.  John saw neither the crucifixion nor the resurrection before he died.

And we who believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of sin live after the crucifixion and resurrection.  We have the comfort and assurance of the resurrection.  We have the comfort and assurance that is superior to even that of John the Baptist.  That is the reason Jesus can say, "Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than [John]."

Yet with all that we do know, we all still have our doubts from time to time.  But Christ gives comfort even in our time of doubt for the resurrection is always there for us when we have those doubts.  The witness of those who were with Jesus after His death gives us historical evidence that Jesus lives.  We can live in the certainty that Jesus is our savior.

And for that reason, we who live between the first Advent and the last Advent can look forward to the day when Jesus comes to judge the living and the dead.  For on that day we shall stand clothed in the righteousness of Christ and we shall live with Christ for eternity.  This is the encouragement, comfort, and assurance that will, one day, be with Christ in His Kingdom for eternity, no doubt about it. Amen

The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

+SDG+