december 4 2022
2022 Advent 2 December 4th
Old Testament: Isaiah 11:1-10
Psalm: Psalm 72:1-7
Epistle: Romans 15:4-13
Gospel: Matthew 3:1-12
Sermon Text: Matthew 3:1-12
Sermon Title: “Crying in the Wilderness”
Grace to you and peace, from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
“Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”. (Matthew 3:2) “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance … every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire”. (Matthew 3:8, 10) “And they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins”. (Matthew 3:6). These are some of the texts we will consider this morning; from the Gospel reading.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “Whatever was written in former days, was written for our instruction, that through the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope”. (Romans 15:4) The Scriptures, the Old Testament books, are there for our learning, for they speak of our Savior Jesus. Isaiah wrote of Him in todays Old Testament reading, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse … and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him”. (Isaiah 11:1-2a) We will hear much more of Isaiah’s prophecies of Jesus in the readings during the Advent/Christmas season.
Jesus said “the Scriptures (Old Testament) bears witness about Me” (John 5:39b) and “Everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms, must be fulfilled. Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures and said; thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name”. (Luke 24:44-47a) Since the Old Testament too speaks of Jesus, in the church, we continue to study and think on them. As CFW Walther wrote; “Without the Old Testament, the New Testament would be a building without a foundation or a tree without roots … who can doubt that the Old Testament remains of the greatest relevance for New Testament Christians … everything contained there remains essential reading for Christians everywhere”. (Sermon on Romans 15)
Even John the Baptist was spoken of in the Old Testament by the prophets Isaiah and Malachi, as the forerunner of the Christ, as we will hear more about next Sunday. Luke also records the miraculous circumstances surrounding his birth, being born to two elderly parents, and declares, “He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God” (Luke 1:16) and “you child will be called the prophet of the Most-High; and you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people, in the forgiveness of their sins”. (Luke 1:76-77) Today we hear of the beginning of John’s ministry of proclaiming Jesus as the Christ; “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”. (John 1:29b)
“In those days, John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”. (Matthew 3:1-2) The wilderness/desert that John was preaching in was symbolic of the spiritual wilderness/desert that had come upon the people of Israel in his day. We certainly can relate to this as well, since in our day we also live in a spiritual wilderness/wasteland with fewer and fewer faithful churches and pastors who are willing to proclaim the truth of God’s Holy Word.
Now, the Kingdom of Heaven is not an earthly kingdom; for Jesus said, “My Kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36) Rather His kingdom is God ruling and reigning in our hearts through His perfect Word. John’s preaching echoed that of the Old Testament prophets; (particularly Elijah) most of whom were rejected by the people. Like the preaching of the prophets, John’s preaching was urgent and to the point, directed to all of Israel; calling for them to turn from their sins and unbelief, to prepare for, to welcome, and believe in the long-promised Messiah; the God/man Jesus Christ.
“For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said; The voice of one crying in the wilderness; prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight”. (Matthew 3:3) To make a straight path, is to clear it of all debris that would be an obstacle in traveling. Here it means to clear out all of the debris in our lives; all the sins which would hinder Christ coming to us. In other words, drop everything that is unimportant and “prepare the way of the Lord”. (Matthew 3:3b)
Matthew doesn’t tell us exactly when John’s ministry began, but Luke does in great detail; “in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Ceasar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea … during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas”. (Luke 3:1-2) The wilderness where he preached and baptized was barren and mountainous and mostly uninhabited. As Luke recorded “He was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel”. (Luke 1:80)
Now, John’s appearance was (like Elijah) fitting for a prophet with his particular message; “He wore garments of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all of Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins”. ( Matthew 3:4-6) So, John’s baptism is elsewhere in Scripture called a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”. (Luke 3:3)
Again, John’s preaching style was very direct and to the point. He did not mince words or beat around the bush; and John certainly wasn’t worried about how his preaching made people feel. He wasn’t preaching and baptizing in the wilderness in order to win friends and influence people or to “grow the church” so that he could get the praise of men. He was simply proclaiming the Kingdom of God, that it is near, at hand, and the people; that you; had better be prepared. John was also no respecter of persons; he proclaimed the same message to the religious and political authorities that he proclaimed to the common people who came out to see him.
Lest you think that John is too harsh, I would remind you here again, as I have said frequently in recent months, the job of the church and the pastor is not to play to people’s emotions or to make them feel good about themselves or to motivate/inspire them to greatness. His job is to proclaim God’s Word of Law and Gospel faithfully and let the Holy Spirit work faith when and where He wills. If you do not like/agree with this, your argument is with God, the Bible and the Catechism, not with the church or its pastor.
Also, as we talked about last recently, truly loving someone means being willing to do what is best for them, no matter the cost to you personally; and doing what is best for someone is not about making them happy. The churches motto isn’t, “If it feels good, Do it”. Love includes being willing to warn them of the dangers they are in; it means to speak the truth in love to them, even if it is painful to hear. The most important thing that John the Baptist could do, the thing he was called to do, was to direct people to repentance and faith in Jesus, and that is what he did.
Part of doing what was best for them, meant that he did not baptize all who came out to him. John called out the hypocrites in his midst; “when he saw many of the Pharisee and Sadducees coming out for baptism. He warned them; You brood of vipers (literally, you sons of snakes)! Who warned you to flee from the wrath that is to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance”. (Matthew 3:7-8)
Some would say, How dare he talk to the people in such harsh terms; but John is not just some mean and nasty preacher who should have been nicer to his hearers to win them over; No; he is speaking the truth in love to them. Jesus used similar language on many occasions in warning about the wrath of God against our sins. The Apostle Paul also declares, “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men”. (Romans 1:18a)
Remember that many who came out to be baptized were “religious” people who were going through the motions, without true repentance and faith. We know this because of John’s words to them that there was no evidence of repentance. They were so righteous in their own eyes that they did not see their own need to turn from anything. We are often just as self-righteous, even though we break God’s commandments daily and not in small ways, even encouraging others to do the same.
So, we say nothing when family members or friends are living together before marriage or engaging in other sexual immorality; some even demand that pastors marry them without repentance. We tell them its okay, to be greedy, its okay to hold grudges and refuse to forgive others, its okay to stay away from God’s house, because we are mad at the pastor, or the elders, or some other member of the congregation. John is telling each of us this morning; “bear fruit in keeping with repentance”. (Matthew 3:8b)
Why then did the religious leaders come out to see John? Scripture does not say exactly, perhaps just curiosity; perhaps they thought; since John was for the moment popular among the common people; they could somehow latch on to his popularity and maybe bring John under their control and use him to further their power. Either way, John warns them; and in warning them to repent, John is loving them. (If we could communicate with those in hell, which we cannot; I think we would hear them saying; Why didn’t someone warn me.)
Regarding this repentance and bearing fruit, our Lutheran Confessions teach that “the chief purpose of the law (of God) is to show man to what utter depths his nature has fallen and how corrupt it has become … this (Word) then is a thunderbolt by which God with one blow destroys both open sinners and false saints … true repentance is nothing else than to have contrition and sorrow (terror) over our sins and yet at the same time to believe the Gospel … that our sins have been forgiven for Christ’s sake. Then good works, which are the fruit of repentance, are bound to follow”. (Augsburg Confession, Article XII) Repentance is not a one-time act; it is something we are to do daily, as is taught in the Holy Scriptures and the Catechism. Our entire life is to be one of repentance; daily dying to sin and rising “to live before God in righteousness and purity forever”.
John’s preaching exposed the fake piety and corruption of the Pharisees and Sadducees saying; “Do not presume to say to yourselves; we have Abraham as our father, for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now, the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire”. (Matthew 3:9-10) Again, Jesus spoke similar words in warning against false prophets. Of course, this makes perfect sense, as John is the forerunner of Christ.
John is saying that one does not enter the Kingdom of Heaven by virtue of who they are born to. One does not enter the Kingdom of Heaven by the faith and good works of their ancestors. Neither do we enter it by virtue of being born into a Lutheran (or other Christian) family. No matter their background, when people reject God and His Word, at some point, He moves on to the next group who will listen to and value His gifts of Word and Sacrament. Jesus told His disciples; “If anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet, when you leave that house or town”. (Matthew 10:14)
If we continue to reject His Word and refuse to repent of our sins and turn back to God; if we insist on doing things our way, on our own terms; shaking our fist at God, He will ultimately reject us and give the Kingdom to others who will receive it in faith and humility. Remember Pharaoh, who first hardened his own heart and later God confirmed him in unbelief. Paul also speaks about how, “since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a debased mind, to do what ought not to be done”. (Romans 1:28)
John continues, “I baptize you with water, for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I (for Jesus is true God), whose sandal I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:11-12) in hell. John is warning of Christ’s coming in judgment once again, as we have been hearing now for several weeks in the various Scripture readings. “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts”. (Hebrews 4:7b) Our Lord is coming again soon and the time for preparation is now, today; not tomorrow, not next week, next month, or next year; for when He comes, the time for repentance will be past.
So, how shall we, the church, prepare for that great and awesome day? By making your arrangements today, before He comes to judge the living and the dead. Remember, Christ Jesus humbled Himself by dying on a cross to atone for the sins of the whole world, so that all who trust in Him would be saved from eternal death. Remember that He has done everything necessary for our salvation; making us His own child in the waters of Holy Baptism; and clothing us with His perfect righteousness. So, prepare your hearts for that day of His coming again by confessing and putting away your sin (repentance) and holding fast (faith) to the One who rose bodily from the dead, conquering sin, death, and devil for you, for me, and for all.
Be strengthened in your faith, gladly receiving His precious gifts of forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal life in the Means of Grace; the Word and the Sacrament; here in this place; for this place is where He has promised to be. Christ is coming soon for His church, “to gather his wheat into His barn”. (Matthew 3:12a) “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”. (Matthew 3:2) Amen.
The peace of God … Amen.