Text: Matt. 11:2-15
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10 This is he of whom it is written,
“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’
11 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.
Many people who call themselves Christians believe the way to be accepted by God is to try sincerely to live a good life. Some believe that God is satisfied if a person lives the best life he can. Others think that the main emphasis of the gospel is on God’s rules for right living.
Some I’ve talked to - even Lutherans - wrestle with the assuredness of salvation and whether they will spend eternity in heaven with Jesus.
There are times where you are unsure or doubt things in this life or feel unsure of how you’ll live up to other’s expectations.
For Lutherans though, we should have great confidence in God’s work and promises for us unto salvation as the scriptures attest.
In our text today, doubt and unsureness were a problem for some of the disciples and followers of John the Baptist.
They brought to John an account of Christ's work, of His preaching and its effect, of His miracles of healing and the astonishment of the people.
John himself, filled with the Holy Spirit from his birth, having been a witness of the revelation of God and being thoroughly convinced of Christ's Messiahship, that He was the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world, had no doubts concerning Christ and His mission- or did he?
John’s message about Jesus was clear - but a few disciples were still clinging to him showing no inclination to leave him and follow the greater Teacher.
Even John in prison wrestles with that for which he was sure that this is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!
Therefore, he sends his disciples with a definitely worded question:
“Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
John knew that the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world was Jesus. It was his intent to continue to point to Christ and though many of John’s disciples had begun to follow Jesus, others needed to be brought to Christ so that they might also believe. But John too in his circumstance wondered am I in prison for the truth or a false hope. We need to be sure.
What is different today?
It is still the same unbelief and unsureness, caused by sin which clouds the understanding and reason in unbelievers and for those who have been brought to faith but have fallen back in to ways of the world and unbelief.
Life in this broken world - filled with sin - and the working of the devil, can take the focus off of Jesus causing apathy or a lukewarm faith that quickly turns cold and dead to Christ and fails to recognizing Him for who He is … the savior of the world.
Jesus tells John’s disciples:
4 … “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.
Adding …
6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
Jesus sends them to John with the assuredness that the works that he does testify as to who he is, and for those who trust and believe in him and are not offended, they are his sheep and follow him.
In John’s gospel in chapter 10 a different visit occurs with Jesus in the Temple in Solomon’s Colonnade. A question is asked by other Jews.
24 [Saying] to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.
John 10:24-25
The contrasts of the two accounts and the questions asked:
“Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
“If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
For the disciples, they return to John with joy that Jesus and the works he does testify to who he is. The one to come.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me:
Psalm 40:7
The others who demand “If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Have a different response to the works of Jesus.
31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”
What stands in the crosshairs of these different result? The gift of Faith.
For we, who have been enlivened by faith and have been made members of God’s house, see the works of God as a testament to our fallenness and God great mercy.
in our lives God’s Spirit conforms us to word of God. At times bringing repentance and other times comfort and forgiveness.
If we rail against the word it speaks to the reality of where our hope and trust is truly placed as we stand confronting the word and conforming ourselves to the filthy rags of our own unrighteousness.
If we stand against the word, we stand against Jesus and we stand outside the stronghold of his forgiveness.
7 As 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? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. 9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written,
“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’
John was sent to prepare the way so that you might rejoice in the coming of the one who would save you from your sins. But not only you, for Christ came to redeem the world corrupted by sin and to give, by the power of the Holy Spirit, faith to believe this blessed good news.
We rejoice today that God was not so callus that He walked away from our failing and sin filled life, but has sent his son to be the very sacrifice that you and I could never be. He came in the incarnation; God joined to human flesh so that He might take your place and be both the sacrifice for sin and savior for the world.
Rejoice that God did not forget you in your sin but sent his son.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.
Rom. 3:23-25a
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
10 This is he of whom it is written,
“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’
11 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.
Many people who call themselves Christians believe the way to be accepted by God is to try sincerely to live a good life. Some believe that God is satisfied if a person lives the best life he can. Others think that the main emphasis of the gospel is on God’s rules for right living.
Some I’ve talked to - even Lutherans - wrestle with the assuredness of salvation and whether they will spend eternity in heaven with Jesus.
There are times where you are unsure or doubt things in this life or feel unsure of how you’ll live up to other’s expectations.
For Lutherans though, we should have great confidence in God’s work and promises for us unto salvation as the scriptures attest.
In our text today, doubt and unsureness were a problem for some of the disciples and followers of John the Baptist.
They brought to John an account of Christ's work, of His preaching and its effect, of His miracles of healing and the astonishment of the people.
John himself, filled with the Holy Spirit from his birth, having been a witness of the revelation of God and being thoroughly convinced of Christ's Messiahship, that He was the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world, had no doubts concerning Christ and His mission- or did he?
John’s message about Jesus was clear - but a few disciples were still clinging to him showing no inclination to leave him and follow the greater Teacher.
Even John in prison wrestles with that for which he was sure that this is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!
Therefore, he sends his disciples with a definitely worded question:
“Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
John knew that the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world was Jesus. It was his intent to continue to point to Christ and though many of John’s disciples had begun to follow Jesus, others needed to be brought to Christ so that they might also believe. But John too in his circumstance wondered am I in prison for the truth or a false hope. We need to be sure.
What is different today?
It is still the same unbelief and unsureness, caused by sin which clouds the understanding and reason in unbelievers and for those who have been brought to faith but have fallen back in to ways of the world and unbelief.
Life in this broken world - filled with sin - and the working of the devil, can take the focus off of Jesus causing apathy or a lukewarm faith that quickly turns cold and dead to Christ and fails to recognizing Him for who He is … the savior of the world.
Jesus tells John’s disciples:
4 … “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.
Adding …
6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
Jesus sends them to John with the assuredness that the works that he does testify as to who he is, and for those who trust and believe in him and are not offended, they are his sheep and follow him.
In John’s gospel in chapter 10 a different visit occurs with Jesus in the Temple in Solomon’s Colonnade. A question is asked by other Jews.
24 [Saying] to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.
John 10:24-25
The contrasts of the two accounts and the questions asked:
“Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
“If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
For the disciples, they return to John with joy that Jesus and the works he does testify to who he is. The one to come.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me:
Psalm 40:7
The others who demand “If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Have a different response to the works of Jesus.
31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”
What stands in the crosshairs of these different result? The gift of Faith.
For we, who have been enlivened by faith and have been made members of God’s house, see the works of God as a testament to our fallenness and God great mercy.
in our lives God’s Spirit conforms us to word of God. At times bringing repentance and other times comfort and forgiveness.
If we rail against the word it speaks to the reality of where our hope and trust is truly placed as we stand confronting the word and conforming ourselves to the filthy rags of our own unrighteousness.
If we stand against the word, we stand against Jesus and we stand outside the stronghold of his forgiveness.
7 As 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? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. 9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written,
“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’
John was sent to prepare the way so that you might rejoice in the coming of the one who would save you from your sins. But not only you, for Christ came to redeem the world corrupted by sin and to give, by the power of the Holy Spirit, faith to believe this blessed good news.
We rejoice today that God was not so callus that He walked away from our failing and sin filled life, but has sent his son to be the very sacrifice that you and I could never be. He came in the incarnation; God joined to human flesh so that He might take your place and be both the sacrifice for sin and savior for the world.
Rejoice that God did not forget you in your sin but sent his son.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.
Rom. 3:23-25a
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
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