Advent 3 A
Advent in Your Ears
Matthew 11:2-15
15 December 2013 – Redeemer
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John the Baptist was home schooled. He was raised and taught in the house of a priest. He never went to seminary, but before he was born the Lord called him to the prophetic office. Like the prophets of old John wasn’t called to a congregation. He was sent in the Lord’s own way. Jonah was sent in a big fish. Daniel was sent in captivity. John was sent wearing camels hair with bits of grasshoppers caught in his beard.
The Lord granted John great success. Hundreds if not thousands of people came out to be baptized by him in the Jordan River. John baptized Jesus Himself, saw heaven opened, heard the Father speak, and witnessed the Spirit descend like a Dove. John was no people pleaser. He wasn’t a reed swayed by the wind of public opinion – He promised no one their “best life now” or that everyday would be a Friday if they believed in Jesus. He called sinners to repent and still he succeeded. He even called the religious leaders to repent and there wasn’t any fallout. The crowds probably cheered John on as he knocked the mighty from their thrones. “You give it to them preacher!”
It is not hard to believe in Jesus when there is evidence of the Lord’s goodness all around you. It is not hard to believe in Jesus when you are getting married to a handsome young man or your wife holds your newborn daughter in her arms. It is easy to believe that God is on your side when you enjoy your work and your employer rewards your diligence and ability.
When you are in a prison cell trust is a harder to come by, especially when you have done nothing wrong. John the Baptist preached the truth – King Herod had taken his brother Philip’s wife and John called it what it was – adultery. Herod, you are an adulterer. Herod responded, “John, you’re under arrest.” There are a couple of ways to silence preachers. You can lock them up in jail or you can separate their heads from their bodies. Herod chose both.
John had done nothing wrong. He had prepared the way for the Kingdom of heaven, but now he doubted. “Is this how the kingdom of heaven works? What is Jesus doing? Why am I locked up for setting sinners free? Why doesn’t Jesus topple Herod, seize the throne, and spring me from this place?”
We have all been in that prison cell, not literally, but in that place where we are all alone, where life is not going according to plan, where success is gone and failure has come. Sometimes we land in prison by our own most grievous fault – lust led to divorce, drinking led to an accident, gluttony led to a heart attack, laziness led to unemployment, neglect led to a rebellious child. Other times we simply land in prison – Christian parents lose a child to an accident or illness, your spouse leaves you for his pleasures, the doctor says, “I’m sorry. There’s nothing we can do.”
In those prisons we doubt with John. “What is Jesus doing? Couldn’t He have saved my marriage, kept my child safe, cured this illness? Why doesn’t Jesus topple my Herod and set me free from this prison?”
This may sound strange, but if you didn’t believe you wouldn’t doubt. Where were John’s doubting questions directed? Where are yours directed? Are they not directed to Jesus? If you did not believe you wouldn’t be plagued by doubt. This is part and parcel of the Christian life – sinner and saint, old Adam and new Man, doubt and belief side by side.
Today we learn from the greatest born among women, from John the Baptist what to do in our doubt. Send your questions to Jesus. When John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” Take your doubt to Jesus. Ask Him the questions and then listen to what He says.
Jesus answers John with His Word, “Go and tell John what you hear and see.” See what great compassion Jesus has for doubting sinners, for John, for you. Jesus could have said, “Go and tell John, ‘Have you so quickly forgotten the Jordan. I thought you were a prophet! Act like one. Didn’t my Father speak from the cloud? Didn’t the Holy Spirit descend on me like a dove? Shape up John. You’ve seen more than most. Stop doubting!” No, Jesus does not treat John as he deserves. A bruised reed He will not break and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out. John has come to Jesus and Jesus will not cast him out.
Tell John what you see and hear. Jesus gives John His Word and the Signs. Everything Jesus has done is the very confirmation of what John the Baptist heard from the prophet Isaiah and what John himself preached. When God comes down to rule on earth He comes to undo sin and death. All the havoc which sin has wreaked on the human body Jesus undoes – the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and at the top of the list, the most amazing miracle, the sign above all signs – the good news is preached to the poor. Sermons are the greatest evidence that the Kingdom of heaven is near.
A sermon is all that John receives from Jesus. John is not set free. His eyes are not given anything to see except the executioner’s blade. Soon he will be silenced as a preacher. No more baptisms. No more success. Only a sermon – glad tidings to poor John.
He who has ears to hear let him hear because it is by the Word that Jesus comes to us. Jesus knew the weakness of signs – John the Baptist was already doubting the signs at the Jordan. A wicked and perverse generation seeks a sign and so Jesus told the crowds the only sign they would get was the sign of Jonah – the Son of Man would be three days in the belly of the earth before He would be spit out of the grave alive. The greatest sign of all is the One that no one wants to look at – Jesus on the cross, God’s Son dead for your sins, buried in your tomb. God’s Word tells us the cross is our freedom, that Jesus’ offering of His body and blood is our deliverance. All the little prisons we make for ourselves here are nothing compared to the bondage of our hearts to sin. Bound to sin we are bound to die and bound to hell.
The greatest sign of all is that Jesus bound Himself. He bound Himself to our flesh. He bound Himself to our sins and then He let Himself be bound to the cross, bound to death and hell. Three days later He rose from the dead and the resurrection sets us free. How do you know Christ rose? Because someone announced His advent in your ears. Someone proclaimed the good news to you. Peter told the crowds in Jerusalem. Paul told the Corinthians. 500 witnesses who saw Jesus alive confessed the truth. The extraordinary apostolic signs died out in the early church. All that was left for us was the same thing John received. Advent in your ears – the glad tidings that Jesus did exactly what the prophets said He would do. He was born of a Virgin, baptized into your sin, died on the cross and rose again three days later. That’s God’s Word for you in your prison – its the word that forgives you all your sins, unlocks the door of every prison and guarantees your freedom to live forever. Advent in your ears – Jesus has come and He did exactly what He said He would do. That’s what John received in prison, that is what you receive now. Advent in your ears – the Word of Jesus – it is all you get, but it is more than enough to deliver you from prison. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Pr. Bruce Timm
14 December 2013 anno Domini