The One Who Is to Come
The Third Sunday in Advent – Vicar Anderson sermon
Text: St. Matthew 11:2-10
In Christ Jesus, who through His Word, reveals himself as the Savior, that by believing in Him you would have eternal salvation, dear fellow redeemed:
The John we hear about in our text is John the Baptizer. John was prophesied as the Lord’s messenger, sent before Jesus, to prepare the way for Him (Mal.3:1). This was promised hundreds of years before Christ and now the time had arrived for this promise to unfold. There had been many prophets throughout history, but John’s coming was prophesied in the Old Testament. The coming of the Messiah is important and God required a forerunner, one who would make way for His coming.
John had the honor of physically baptizing Jesus in the Jordan River. He saw and heard God the Father pronounce Jesus to be His Son (Matt. 3:15–17). John testified that he saw the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus as a dove and remain on Him (John 1:32). And when he saw Jesus approach him he proclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
John knew who Jesus was and faithfully preached about the coming of the Savior. So why, then, does he ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come or shall we look for another?”
Did John need confirmation that his job of preparing for the coming of Christ was successful and now finished? Or did he ask for the benefit of his disciples? So they would be encouraged and assured that Jesus was the one they had prepared for and the one they should now follow. Although we can’t know the exact motivation behind John’s question, we can understand why he would ask it.
When referring to Christ at an earlier time, John declared to his followers “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). He was to come before Christ but then he was to step back and Jesus was to step forward. This courageous forerunner of Christ knew what his duty was. His job was to make sure people were ready for Jesus’ coming. His preaching showed people their sin and their need for Jesus. He wanted to turn sinful people away from their sin, toward the one who would take their sin away.
In doing this John ruffled some feathers. Some people didn’t want to acknowledge their sin, but John didn’t back down. He called the religious leaders and teachers a “brood of vipers,” or in other words, newly hatched snakes. Not a very pleasant thing to be compared to and it’s hard to believe they would have taken this insult well. John boldly preached the Word of God and was not afraid to call sin anything other than what it was…sin.
As a result of his preaching, John was thrown into prison and while there he sent his disciples to Jesus with a question. His time there must have been weighing on him and we can sympathize with what John was experiencing. It’s possible he had some trepidation about what would happen to him next, or maybe he felt he might never make it out of prison. John was never released from prison and ultimately beheaded at the order of King Herod.
Picture being in the crowd that day standing around Jesus when John’s disciples came. Imagine the thoughts you would be having; “Could this really be the Messiah, the one promised long ago? Was He your Savior or should you continue looking for another?” John’s disciples had been concerned that Jesus was rapidly gaining followers and they wanted to know the reason (John 3:26). They wanted to know who this man was.
Even today, we doubt if Jesus really is how the Bible describes Him because to us it doesn’t make sense. Could He be born without sin and never sin in His life? We find ourselves in situations that can cause us to question our Lord. Is Jesus with us now, even though we feel terribly lonely? Does He see that we are struggling? Where is He when we have difficult decisions to make? If He was our Savior wouldn’t we be able to feel Him near us, or inside us?
So, we too ask; is Jesus here or shall we look for another? Our fears and doubts cause us to look frantically for the answer! Maybe we turn to our family for help, or our closest friends, or we latch on to someone else who seems to have the right answers. We look for evidence of Jesus inside of ourselves, thinking that is where He shows Himself. Sin affects each one of these options, not a single one of them is a perfect answer. Instead we should turn to what Jesus said and revealed about Himself, because all other options will fail.
In His answer to John’s question, Jesus quoted the words of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. Written 700 years before the Savior would come and words John certainly would have been familiar with. Jesus answers John’s disciples saying, “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. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me” (Matt 11:5–6).
Our Lord has the power and strength to do miraculous things. One time Jesus reached out His hand and touched a man with leprosy and He was immediately cleansed (Mark 1:40–45). At another time in His ministry Jesus healed ten lepers just by saying, “go and show yourselves to the priests” (Luke 17:11–19). Jesus restored the lifeless limbs of paralytics (Matt. 5:1–8) (John 5:1–9), and still another time, Jesus restored the lifeless body of His beloved friend Lazarus who had already been in the grave for four days (John 11:41–44).
Because of what Jesus was doing by His own power and authority, the blind were no longer stuck in darkness and the deaf no longer in silence. The good news of the forgiveness of sins was being preached to those in spiritual poverty, and those who believed in Jesus were blessed!
Jesus makes it clear that He is the one fulfilling what was promised in God’s Word. All those who are in need have no reason to look anywhere else because Jesus is meeting all of their needs. He rescues all who find themselves lost and in need of Him. Jesus does not offend a repentant sinner because, “the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost”(Luke 19:10).
The response Jesus gave to John’s disciples would have brought tremendous amounts of joy to all who heard His Words. To all who were waiting for His anticipated arrival it would have brought relief and comfort. The one John had said was coming has truly come and He is here to save us from our sins.
Then Jesus, in His all-knowing wisdom, goes on to affirm for everyone that John is who he claimed to be as well. He says, “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 11:9–10).
With these Words, Jesus builds up John’s reputation and He builds up John’s disciples. In proving John’s credibility, Jesus also encourages everyone who believed the message John had been preaching.
John was not a reed tossed this way and that by the wind (Matt. 11:7). He was not weak or watered down in his preaching, in fact he was willing to say the truth even if it meant he would make enemies or even lose his life. He held fast to the truth of God’s Word and it was convicting people.
People were going out to see John in the wilderness and many were being baptized for the forgiveness of their sins. It wasn’t because John was telling the people what they wanted to hear or impressing them with his expensive clothes and charming personality; he was simply preaching the truth.
The proclamation of God’s Word brings sinners to their knees in repentance and lifts them up again with the assurance that their sins are forgiven. It does the same thing in our lives as well. We hear God’s Word preached in church and it draws us close to our Savior. Nothing other than the truth of the message should bring us to hear His Word. John, the messenger of Christ knew that the Gospel changes the sinner’s heart, and this can only happen by hearing the message (Romans 10:17).
This truth must be preached even if it means we are hated for it. The truth that all people are helplessly stuck in their sin and the only answer is Jesus Christ. His Word humbles us, turning us toward our Savior, making our poor and needy heart into one that is rich and satisfied.
In His Word we learn that regardless of the wicked things we have done, there is one far greater than us who took those things upon Himself, to destroy them once and for all. So that by believing in Him, the Son of God, we may have life in His name (John 20:31). We don’t need to look anywhere but to our Savior Jesus Christ who brings lasting comfort and relief to each one of us.
The afflictions we face in our lives are meant to drive us to His Word. Directly to the feet of Jesus, where all our worry and despair subside, to the foot of the cross where all our anxiousness, doubt, and fear were destroyed. Jesus is by your side through all the hardships you endure. He has come to assure you of His love for you His beloved child, to comfort you with the forgiveness of your sin and to put to rest all your worries and fears.
We can be certain that Jesus is exactly who He says He is. “The One who is to come” has arrived and He is with you always, even to the end of the age (Matt 28:20).
“All praise, eternal Son, to Thee,
Whose advent set Thy people free:
Whom with the Father we adore
And Holy Ghost, for evermore” (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary, 106: 5).
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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(picture of Jesus healing a man with dropsy)