Questions and Expectations

Questions and Expectations

Third in Advent (Rejoicing Sunday)

Collect of the Day: O Lord Jesus Christ, who at thy first coming didst send thy messenger to prepare thy way before thee; Grant that the ministers and stewards of thy mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready thy way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, that at thy second coming to judge the world we may be found an acceptable people in thy sight, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen.

Gospel: Matthew 11:2-15

2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,

3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?

4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:

5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.

9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.

10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.

15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

People tend to form expectations about Christmas. When those expectations aren’t met, they get depressed and sometimes angry. Therapists sometimes tell clients, “Expectations are resentments waiting to happen.” Today’s Gospel is about unmet expectations.

1. John’s Question about Jesus

1.1. Have you ever felt let down because things didn’t turn out the way you expected? John the Baptist’s life purpose was to prepare the way for the Messiah by preaching, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” One person he called to repent was King Herod Antipas. Herod had fallen in love with Herodias, his brother’s wife. She divorced her husband, he divorced his wife, and the two got married. John told Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” So Herod arrested John and put him in jail. Herod wanted to execute John, but he was afraid of the people who regarded John as a prophet, so John remained in prison.

John’s disciples who visited him in prison told him about Jesus’ ministry, and John sent them back with a question: “Are you the one to come, or are we to expect another?” You can understand John’s being perplexed. He called people to repent because the Messiah was coming soon and would bring salvation to those who repented but judgment to those who did not. But John languished in prison while Herod remained in his palace. Judgment had not arrived.

1.2. Jesus sent John’s disciples with instructions: “Go 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.” The prophet Isaiah had predicted that such things would happen when the Messiah came. One example is in today’s lesson from Isaiah: “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.” All the things Jesus cited were miraculous except the last and most important, “The poor have good news preached to them.” Jesus does not ignore the weakest, most marginalized, and least important members of society, but preaches the good news of salvation to them. Jesus is saying to John, “Listen to the reports of your own disciples. Am I not doing the works of the Messiah?”

1.3. Jesus adds a mild rebuke: “And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” John stumbled because what Jesus was doing did not match John’s expectations. Why was John in prison? Where was the judgment on the wicked like Herod?

All the things Jesus cited are works of salvation. They show that Jesus has come to reverse the curse of sin. Ultimately that will require Jesus himself bearing the curse of sin on the cross.  Healing diseases, raising the dead, and preaching good news to the poor show that the age of salvation has arrived. What John did not understand is that accomplishing salvation and extending salvation to as many as possible means the delay of judgment.

We can be like John as we are puzzled about what Jesus is doing in the world now. We may wonder, if he is our Savior, why our health and wealth and other circumstances don’t match our hopes. We also wonder why Jesus allows the things he does - ISIS, terrorists, genocide of Christians in the Middle East. We ask what Jesus is doing in this world.

Neither the day of full salvation nor the day of final judgment is now. The day is coming when he will put everything right. He will remove every vestige of the curse of sin, raise our bodies to eternal life, and give us all the blessings and joys of salvation.  Then he will the judge all and execute judgment on the unrepentant. But this is the age of mercy, grace, and salvation when Jesus, who is not willing that any should perish, is calling on all to repent, believe the Gospel, and be saved.

2. Jesus’ Question about John

When John’s disciples left, Jesus asked the crowd the same question three times, “What were you expecting when you went out to see John?”

2.1. Did you expect a man who was a reed shaken by the wind? A man who wanted above all things to be liked? A man who would change his message to not offend his hearers? Did you expect to hear a Norman Vincent Peale, Robert Schuller, or Joel Osteen? Someone who would preach a positive and optimistic message to make you feel better about yourselves and more able to cope with life? Did you expect a weak, vacillating man?  

Not John. His theme was, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” When Pharisees and Sadducees came to witness his ministry, he spoke roughly: “You vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? If you’re going to repent, show the fruits of repentance. Don’t think you are safe as the children of Abraham. God can raise up children of Abraham from stone. Already God is laying the axe at the roots of the trees of Israel. Those who do not bear the fruit of repentance will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

He warned them that the Messiah would baptize with the Holy Spirit but also 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.” Though John mistakenly thought that salvation and judgment would happen simultaneously, his message was true. The coming of the Messiah means that all are moving toward final judgment.

2.2 Did you expect to find a man dressed in soft clothes, the kind of clothes worn in palaces by kings, their families, and attendants? That wasn’t John. His clothes were as austere and rough as his message. He lived like a man of the desert where he conducted his ministry. He wore clothes made of camel hair, a leather belt, and ate locusts and wild honey.

2.3. Did you expect to see a prophet? You were right about that, but he was far more than a prophet. He is the messenger that Malachi, the last prophet of the Old Testament promised would come to prepare the way for the Lord. In fact he is the prophet Elijah God promised would come before the great and awesome day of the Lord arrives. Among those born of women there has been no one greater than John.

Jesus’ rebuke of John’s questioning from prison was mild. His commendation of John to the people could hardly have been stronger. No human being in the history of the world was greater than John!

2.4. But Jesus added a surprise: As great as John was, “Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” Do you understand what Jesus is saying? If you are the least important person who has ever been a member of the kingdom of heaven, you are greater than John the Baptist. How can that be? I know that I am not nearly so bold or courageous as John the Baptist. I doubt you would claim you are. I know that I was not given the privilege of preaching to prepare the way for Messiah. Neither were you. But we are greater than John.

How can that be? St. Peter explained: “Concerning this salvation, the prophets (including John) who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.”

We live in a day John and all the prophets could see only from a distance, hope for, look forward to - the day when Christ has accomplished our salvation by his death on the cross, by his resurrection of the dead, by his ascension to heaven, and by his pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the church. We live on the other side of Good Friday, Easter, Ascension Day, and Pentecost. John looked forward to the day of salvation. You live in the day of salvation! There’s something to rejoice about on the Rejoicing Sunday.