december 11 2022
2022 Advent 3 December 11th
Old Testament: Isaiah 35:1-10
Psalm: Psalm 146
Epistle: James 5:7-11
Gospel: Matthew 11:2-15
Sermon
Text: Matthew 11:2-15
Sermon Title:
Grace to you and peace, from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
John the Baptist preached of the coming Kingdom of God. As we heard last week, he preached both strong Law and sweet Gospel. He preached both repentance and faith; pointing everyone who would listen, to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For this, the governing authorities, both religious and political, conspired to kill him and eventually succeeded. Throughout its history, both Old and New Testaments, the people of God; “the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence”. (Matthew 11:12b) This is one of many themes that appears repeatedly in the Bible; God often acts in ways different from what people want or expect.
In the Gospel text for today, John is not dead yet, but He is in jail for daring to proclaim the law of God to the authorities of his day; something we seem very reluctant to do in our day. John publicly condemned the divorce of King Herod, who had afterwards married his brother’s wife. “John had been saying to Herod, it is not lawful for you to have her”. (Mark 6:18b) John had been faithful to his calling from God; preaching repentance of sins and faith in Christ for the forgiveness of those sins. In doing this, many of his own disciples began to follow Jesus; which is exactly as he would have wanted; after all John said that “He (Jesus) must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30) and “I am not worthy to untie His sandal”. (John 1:27b)
Still, John had likely not expected to end up in prison for his proclamation of that “the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”. (Matthew 3:2b) Perhaps he was wondering why Jesus would allow him to remain in prison, while so many of the wicked were not only free, but remained quite powerful. (Something many of us wonder today as well). Maybe, he was wondering where was the coming judgment of God that he had been told to proclaim? At the very least, John was concerned about how his disciples would respond to these circumstances. So, “when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Jesus, Are you the One who is to come, or shall we look for another”? (Matthew 11:2-3)
Jesus didn’t just say yes; He pointed to His mighty works saying, “Go and tell John what you hear and see; 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”. (Matthew 11:4-5) All this is what was prophesied by Isaiah in the Old Testament reading today and elsewhere in his prophecy. Then Jesus said to them, “Blessed is the one who is not offended by Me”. (Matthew 11:6) Blessed is the one who does not stumble or fall away from faith because they suffer in this wicked world for the sake of the Gospel.
“As they (John’s disciples) went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John. What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings houses. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written; Behold I send My messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you”. (Matthew 11:7-10)
As was mentioned last week, and Jesus affirms here; the Old Testament Scriptures pointed to John the Baptist as the one who would come announcing the Christ. “If you are willing to accept it, he (John) is Elijah who is to come”. (Matthew 11:14) Then Jesus said, “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”. (Matthew 11:11) What does this mean?
We know from the Holy Scriptures that John was a prophet sent by the living God to proclaim repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, the long-promised Messiah. But, we also know that he did not live long enough to see the completion of Jesus’ ministry; His atoning death on the cross for the forgiveness of the sins of the world, His bodily resurrection on the third day. In that way, we who look back on these historical events recorded in the Bible, have an advantage on those who lived before.
All of the great things Jesus had to say about John the Baptist, and yet at the end of our text this morning he is still in prison, awaiting execution. This is offensive to those who think that Jesus is a means to an end, a way to receive not just spiritual, but material blessings in this world. Some people, when they do not get what they want or expect from God or when the Bible testifies to the truth of something they do not like, or when they suffer some insult or even great persecution like John, they abandon their faith for what is more comfortable. The truth is though, John is right where he is supposed to be, because even from prison he is proclaiming Jesus as the Christ.
Getting back to what I began the sermon with; Jesus said something interesting; “For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John … from the days of John the Baptist, until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force”. (Matthew 11:13, 12) You see, John was not the first, nor was he the last, preacher/prophet of God who suffered violence for the sake of the truth of God’s Word. Our Lord Jesus Himself suffered the pains of mocking, arrest, lying witnesses, beatings and crucifixion.
In the great faith chapter of Hebrews, the author speaks of Old Testament saints (and not just prophets and preachers) who “were tortured … suffered mocking and flogging and even the chains of imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute afflicted, mistreated … wandering about in deserts and mountains and dens and caves of the earth”. (Hebrews 11:35b-39)
In the New Testament, we hear of Stephen being stoned to death. We know from history that the Apostle Peter was crucified upside down and the Apostle Paul was beheaded. Eleven of the twelve disciples were martyred under both Roman and Jewish authorities. Various kinds of authorities have violently persecuted the church throughout its history; sometimes Christians persecuting other Christians, such as during the time of the Reformation. Historically and in recent decades, countless Christians have been killed in the name of Islam. Atheistic communist and socialist governments have killed or imprisoned many millions of people; including violently suppressing the church, in the last 150 or so years.
For the most part, so far, the persecution in our own country has not been violent; but threats to our freedoms, both religious and economic are very real. The passage (and) signing of the “Defense of Marriage” act recently, not only enshrines so-called gay marriage into federal law, (which is an abomination to our Lord) it opens the door to endless legal actions against individual Christians and churches simply trying to be faithful to God’s Word.
We also saw this during COVID, as our own government, supposedly for our own good, threatened fines and imprisonment if we didn’t do what they said; and a few pastors were arrested, jailed and fined. In many places, they forbade gathering around God’s Word, receiving the Sacrament, and visiting the sick, just to name a few. This was a radical overreach and we need to be aware that it could happen again. We seem to have forgotten that what people need to be comforted with when death is all around, (is not science) it is the Good News of the Gospel; that Jesus has conquered death, by His own death and bodily resurrection.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to understand the times we are living in. These types of things are happening at an increasingly alarming rate, and to ignore they are happening is foolish. We need to realize that our faith in Jesus will cost us; it will cost you. If you are not willing to make the sacrifices necessary now, in order to remain faithful to Christ, (while the consequences are somewhat mild) your faith will not survive when the persecution gets worse. (Matthew Dent)
Therefore, in the face of these, sometimes violent trials, we in the church must say with Luther, “Here I stand, I can do no other”. We stand with all the prophets, apostles, martyrs, and all who have confessed the Gospel, whether in peace or subject to violence. “We pledge to remain faithful, come what may, even in the face of those who violently oppose the Kingdom; be they believers in Isam or Hinduism or any other man-made religion; be they political leaders, academics, mobs, or invaders; be they people in the church who are offended by what we believe, and so oppose the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Through it all, may God grant us the grace to remain faithful; to take up our cross daily and follow Jesus; who saved us by His grace alone, through faith alone. Let us (daily) read the Scriptures. Let us treasure every opportunity to assemble together; confessing our sins and receiving absolution and receiving the body and blood of our Lord in the Sacrament. Let us proclaim the light of Christ in an increasingly dark world. Let us live lives of prayer and good works; living as baptized Christians; whether we are loved or hated by the religious and political leaders of our day.
The words of our Lord remain true in this fallen world; “the Kingdom of Heaven has suffered violence and the violent take it by force”. (Matthew 11:12b) Whether we end up suffering violence or not, beloved; we confess the same unity of faith with those who do. We confess that the Kingdom of Heaven has come near in the person of Jesus; who He has conquered sin, death, and the devil for us; so, we rejoice in His precious gifts and promises, “for the Lord is compassionate and merciful”. (James 5:11b) “He who has ears to hear, let him hear”. (Matthew 11:15)
The peace of God …