Advent 3
Dear friends in Christ! Today we are introduced to one of the main figures of Advent—St. John the Baptizer. John, too, was one whose conception and birth was miraculous—the son of elderly parents who had been childless, the priest Zacharias and his wife Elisabeth. The angel Gabriel, too, announced John’s birth beforehand to Zacharias. The circumstances surrounding John’s birth are the opposite miraculous side of Jesus’: Jesus was conceived and born of a virgin; John was conceived by and born of an old woman, well past child-bearing years. These miraculous circumstances surrounding John’s birth point to the fact that he had a special role to play. He was the one who was to prepare the way for the Savior, Christ Jesus. Before Jesus began His public ministry, John was on the scene [Matthew 3.1ff.]: preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And John himself looked the part of the new Elijah, of that prophet who would announce that the long-awaited Savior was at here: John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.
But when we come to our text, Jesus had already begun His 3 year public ministry. It began with His baptism by John. But now John was in prison. King Herod had put John in prison because John had rebuked Herod for his double sin of adultery—first Herod had cast away his legal wife and estranged Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. John called both the lowly and the high and mighty to repent of their sin—and here, as a result, he had been put in prison.
1. John’s work was to be a forerunner, one who would prepare the way for the coming Savior. John knew that his work was at its end—and yet he still had disciples, hangers-on, some that he couldn’t shake. He had already early on told his disciples to follow Jesus—pointing to Him and saying that [John 1.29] There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Some, like St. Andrew, left from following John and followed Jesus; but others still remained with John in spite of all his efforts. In fact, some of these disciples of John were rather hostile toward Jesus and were at times in cahoots with the Pharisees against Him. St Mark records an incident [Mark 2.18]: And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. And they came and said to [Jesus], “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" It seems that some of the disciples of John liked his austere life style, his preaching of repentance and had the attitude that the more strict/ extreme the better. John, knowing that his time was short—even being in prison at the time, still points people to Jesus/ still does his work as forerunner. He sends some of his disciples to Jesus that they might hear from Him Who He is: And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"
Here we come to a very vital point for us to consider during this Advent season as we prepare our hearts to welcome and receive the Christmas Gospel: [Luke 2.11] For unto you is born this day a Savior who is Christ the Lord! That point is this—not everyone welcomes and receives the Christmas Gospel; not everyone welcomes and receives Christ. That’s precisely the point that Jesus makes in our text: And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.
Many, in fact, most are offended because of Jesus. Our text is a warning that we do well to heed and that we do well to take to heart this blessed Advent season. In our text, we have John’s disciples who had heard John proclaim that Jesus is the very Lamb of God; they heard John again and again point them and others to Jesus; they themselves certainly heard Jesus preach and saw Him perform miracles and yet they would not follow Him.
When we hear the word “offend” we usually think of something like “having our feelings hurt”; or being insulted. However, the word that Jesus here uses that’s translated as “offend” is a bit stronger. “Offend” translates a word that is not really neatly translated into English. The word Jesus used gives an image of a trap to catch wild animals. The bait is attached to a stick that when touched by the animal springs the trap and catches the victim to be killed. The point of the word that Jesus uses here is that the trap is fatal; the victim is killed. So I guess you could translate Jesus’ statement this way: And blessed is he who is not entrapped because of Me. If a person is “entrapped” or “offended” because of Jesus, that means that they reject what Jesus says about Himself, and because they reject what Jesus says about Who He is and what He does they are entrapped in the sin of denial and nothing but death and damnation awaits.
The vital question, then, for our consideration this Advent season is the question that John had his disciples ask Jesus, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?" The “Coming One” is another way of saying “the Savior, the Messiah.” Do we regard Jesus as our Savior from sin? If so, that means what? I am a sinner who by my sins earn nothing but God’s wrath and damnation. It is easy for the words to roll off the tongue: I a poor miserable sinner… but do we really mean it? Do we really regard the seriousness of our sin? Do we really take to heart our utter and complete corruption and that there is nothing we can do to save ourselves from God’s wrath being poured out on us eternally in hell? Do we really take to heart our need of the Christmas Gospel: For unto you is born this day a Savior who is Christ the Lord!
It may have been the case that John’s disciples did not listen to John and follow Jesus because they were more attracted to the message of repentance John preached and his austere lifestyle; and were not happy with Jesus’ patience, gentleness, sympathy. And why? Because at heart they were self-righteous—look at how good I am; look I don’t do all those bad things like those other people; look at all these things I do in my life that are “above and beyond the call of duty.” But Jesus, the Gospel, the Christmas Gospel are all an affront because Jesus and His life and work, because the Gospel, means that I am a sinner. This Advent we do well to examine our heart and life with the question: "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?" That is, are You, Jesus, truly my Savior from sin? If so, that means what? That no matter how good I may think I am, I am a sinner who needs a Savior from sin and that Savior was born on the first Christmas.
Recognizing our sin and our need for a Savior from sin is a very humbling thing and precisely the whole point behind John the Baptizer’s work and the whole point behind Advent. By asking ourselves, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?" we are also like John getting his disciples to ponder the question who is Jesus. In our own hearts and lives, do we merely look on Jesus as a “problem solver”, someone we go to when we get ourselves in a jam but who we forget about the rest of the time? Do we look on Jesus as just some sort of teacher of morality—not as the Savior from our sin? Do we perhaps look on Jesus to give us success and prosperity? If we are honest, very often, we will find that we are like John’s disciples and look for/ expect something different from Jesus that Who/ What He really is and came for. May we today, and throughout the Advent season, heed the warning of Jesus’ words: And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me. May we, by the power of the Holy Spirit, root out these false notions of Jesus from our heart. May we instead recognize Him as our Savior, our Savior from sin, death devil and hell.
2. How does Jesus answer the question John had his disciples ask Him? "Go announce to John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and beggars have the gospel preached to them." Jesus points them to Him by referring them to the OT Scriptures. Each of these acts that Jesus mentions is an act that God had said in/ by the OT/ prophets that the Messiah would do. In other words, the miracles Jesus did, were fulfillment of prophecy; they were official acts because by them Jesus was to recognized as the Son of God in human flesh and the Savior of the world. We see that Jesus is the fulfillment of the OT.
How do we answer in our hearts and lives the question: "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?" We use Advent as a time to all the more fervently examine the Scriptures and see just who Jesus is. And as we see just who Jesus is, then we recognize that we are the sinners He came to save.
Just as much as there is a warning in Jesus’ words: And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me, there is also a glorious promise: blessed. We are blessed, dear Christian, when by faith we receive and welcome what Jesus says about Who He is—the Savior of the world, my Savior from sin. With Jesus as our Savior from sin, we gladly recognize and confess our sin. We don’t try to rationalize them away, minimize them, deny they are sin; we don’t get weak-kneed politicians to make laws saying that wrong is right; nor do we do try by our works to make ourselves pleasing and acceptable to the Lord and worthy of heaven; we aren’t self-righteous—magnifying what we think are our great works/ virtues and magnifying the sin of others. Instead, we honestly and deeply examine our hearts and lives in the light of God’s absolute holy and perfect Law, recognize our sin, sorrow over that sin and in faith hold to God’s promise to forgive us that sin for Christ’s sake; in faith cling to Jesus and His saving work.
In this faith that receives and welcomes Christ, that accepts and receives what Jesus tells us who He is, we are blessed. God Himself declares us blessed: forgiven, righteous and holy and we remain so as we remain in the faith. Through faith in Christ, every heavenly and spiritual blessing is ours; God’s wrath has been turned into grace and favor; heaven is open, hell is shut. What a glorious promise: And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me! Now the Lord continues to come and to work mightily on us in His holy word, in the glorious proclamation of the absolution, and in His Holy Supper as He gives us anew these blessed gifts and strengthens our faith to receive them. How richly we are blessed by Him.
Dear Christian, not only have the Scriptures proclaimed to us the works of Christ in both prophecy and fulfillment, but we have experienced His mighty workings in our own lives! We were all spiritually blind and lame but now by the Lord’s work we have spiritual sight—we know Him aright as the true God and by His strength we walk on the paths of righteousness. We were all spiritual lepers and spiritually deaf but now we have been cleansed by the blood of Christ, washed clean in the waters of holy Baptism; our ears have been opened to hear and rejoice in the Gospel; we who once were spiritually dead and now by the Lord’s work in His word and sacrament are spiritually alive because Christ had His saving word proclaimed to us spiritual beggars, who have nothing but sin and wretchedness; He gives His Holy Supper to us weak but repentant sinners so that we may remain faithful to Him and blessed. What a glorious command--Go announce to John the things which you hear and see—for us, we can both point others to the word of God and tell them the things we have experienced.
In this blessed Advent season and beyond may we seek Christ and His power in no other place than the sweet humble Gospel of forgiveness. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me! INJ Amen