EDITOR'S NOTE: On Oct. 23, 2021, I was ordained as a minister of word and sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and installed as pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. I also served the same church for four years from October 2017 to October 2021 a synodically authorized minister. The journey together these past four years has been an amazing one, full of learning, growing and a deepening of my theological mind. This sermon took place on Dec. 11, 2022.
This week's gospel: Matthew 11:2-11
Messengers from John the Baptist
2 When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” 4 Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with a skin disease are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. 6 And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”
Jesus Praises John the Baptist
7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 What, then, did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. 9 What, then, did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written,
‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’
11 “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist, yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
The message:
Well, what a difference a week makes for our eccentric prophet hero who was a voice calling out in the wilderness just last Sunday… only to find himself locked in prison today.
Last week … John stood confidently on the bank of the Jordan River, castigating the religious leaders who came to see him as vipers. … He had swagger, as the kids these days say.
He was prophesying, telling the faithful that he was nothing more than a mere foot soldier in God’s army, but that there would be someone more important coming. That the messiah was going to follow him, and that he -- John -- was unworthy of even tying the savior’s sandals.
His belief was unwavering. … And we can probably assume it was these actions that landed him in prison.
After all, it wasn’t the wisest of decisions in 1st century Jerusalem to go around spouting off about heavenly kings that were going to come and upend the Romans' centuries-long rule. You know, the Roman soldiers and governors frowned a bit on public insurrection.
So there he is … Just a week ago John was in the wilderness prophesying and baptizing believers in the river, warning of Jesus’ coming. … Could there be a better life for a prophet?
A week later, he’s locked up. … I have to believe the turn in events must have rattled his cage a bit, right?
One moment, you're out there making waves, converting the believers … and the next, you find yourself in prison. .. And 1st century prisons in the Middle East were not a picnic.
So, I think that John’s desire to learn more about who this Jesus is … is understandable, right?
After all, it was the prophesying of the savior to come that landed John in jail. … So, it’s understandable a part of him wants to know if the news about this Jesus fella was true.
That had to be unbearable for John. Here he’s in prison for predicting what Jesus’s public ministry would be like, and then John can’t even be there to witness it when it supposedly starts to take place. … He has to hear about second hand from his disciples.
John is in prison just for talking about the savior, and there this Jesus is, out there freely walking around, healing people and bringing them back from the dead. … It hardly seems fair!
So I can understand why John’s confidence might be shaken.
“What do you guys think?” I can imagine him saying to his buddies. “You think he’s the real deal? … I mean, if he is, well all fine and good, I’ll gladly do my time in here. … But, you know, it sure would be nice to know that I’m in here for good reason. … Don’t you think that’s fair?”
And his buddies are like, “Of course, John. I mean the least Jesus could do is let you know that you were right. It’s only fair.”
Emboldened by his friends, I can see John adding, “OK, so this is what you’re going to do. … I’m going to send you to talk to Jesus. You tell him that I’m parked here in prison, and it would be comforting to know just exactly whether he is the messiah or not. … You know, just let him know it’d be a little easier doing the time here if I knew my prophecy had already come true.”
“Yeah, OK, John,” his buddies say. “We’ll go do that; we’ll ask Jesus just what it is he's up to for you”
So John’s buddies go off to find Jesus, and get his story.
When they do find him, they tell him of John’s plight … and give it to him straight. “Hey, Jesus, you know … John’s downtown in lockup, and we think it’d be great if you could reassure him that you were in fact the messiah. It’d be reassuring if he knew he went to jail for a good cause.”
And after all of that … Jesus does the one thing no one who has asked a question wants: He redirects the question.
All Jesus had to do was tell John’s buddies, “Yes, I am the messiah,” and I’m sure that John would have been overjoyed to do his time in prison … because he would have had the consolation of being right! … He would have been the one who prophesied the coming of the savior!
But Jesus doesn’t give John that satisfaction. … Rather, he sends John’s buddies back with no answer at all. He just tells them to go back and tell John all that they had witnessed.
“Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”
I can just about imagine the scene when John’s buddies relayed the message. “Well, what he’d say,” John excitedly asks when they get back. “Is he, or isn’t he the messiah?”
And his buddies say, “Well … he didn’t answer. He just said to come back here and tell you about all the medical work and social work he was doing for everyone.”
Stunned, I see John stammering out: “Well, all that’s just fine and good for those people, but seriously, is he … or is he not the messiah? If I’m going to rot here in prison, I’d like to know that I’m rotting for a good purpose! Thanks a lot, Jesus!”
You see, even John, the imprisoned prophet whom Jesus goes on to praise later in today’s gospel … is human after all.
It wasn’t enough for him to hear of the miracles that Jesus was performing, and with that proof, know that Christ had come.
No, even John -- the greatest believer ever, according to Jesus -- wants some kind of tangible proof to hang his faith on. … “Jesus, are you the messiah? Are you the one we’ve been waiting to come?
And rather than answer the question, Jesus responded: “Look around you, John. Tell me what you’re seeing. … So do you think I am the messiah … or not?”
Is there anything more maddening than when someone answers your question … with another question? … Especially if you’re the one sitting in prison!
Faith Family, I think there are two points that we should take away from today’s gospel text.
The first is … that even John, when faced with being imprisoned because of his public proclamations about the coming savior … even John, the greatest man ever to be born, according to Jesus … even John, eventually comes to a circumstance in life where he has to battle his own unbelief.
Is this guy out there performing miracles, the messiah or not, John has to ask. And not only quietly to himself. … He brings his buddies into it too, “Hey, do you guys think he really is Christ?”
So this isn’t just a passing thought. … Oh no, this is a full-blown crisis in confidence for the prophet!
I don’t know about you, but it brings me some comfort to know that even the greatest prophet in the history of our faith stumbled a bit when confronted with earthly difficulties.
And Jesus didn’t even get mad at him for it! He didn’t send John’s buddies back to him with a scorching rebuke for his question. … No, just the opposite. … Jesus goes on to praise John to the crowds.
So, the next time you find yourself wrestling with a bout of unbelief, remember that John the Baptist once upon a time found himself in the exact same circumstances. … And Jesus understood!
Ok, and the second message from today’s gospel is this: When you do find yourself in a situation like John … when your faith is running low, and you’re begging for some consolation from God … just a little proof that he’s there, that Jesus is still walking this journey with us … then maybe it’s time to switch up your perspective.
Instead of begging for an answer to your current situation, maybe it’s time to take a look around to see where indeed God is active.
It’s natural for us to want to see where God is active in our own lives. It’s human nature for us to want Jesus to reveal himself to us … personally. … But, this isn’t what God promises us. … He just promises us that he will be faithful to us if we believe.
Faith Family, we learned today that John was no different than us. When he ran afoul of the leaders of the day, and found himself imprisoned, he wanted to know it was for good reason.
Now, we might not find ourselves in a 1st century Middle Eastern prison any time soon. But at some point, each of us IS going to suffer a similar crisis in confidence as John the Baptist.
And what Jesus is telling us in the gospel today is that the easiest route out of that unbelief is to look around us and see where God actually is in action. … That, Faith Family, is where we will see our proof, and that is the antidote to our own unbelief.
And that is the Good News for this Third Sunday of Advent, Dec. 11, 2022 … Amen.
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