Matthew 11:2-11 When we face our own mortality–when we are confronted with a
serious illness—when we stand beside the graveside of a loved one--we want to
know, and know for sure, that the one we have put our faith and trust in–is who
he says he is-- and is able to do what he has promised to do.
That is what
John the Baptist was facing as he sat in Herod’s prison waiting for the
executioner’s blade to fall. Staring
death in the face, it would be only human to have some nagging doubts, after
all, if I’m betting my life on something–it had better be right.
But for John
there was an even bigger issue than just some nagging doubts. In his mind, the promises of God were in
question when it came to Jesus.
The promised
Messiah was portrayed in two ways by the prophets of old–on one hand he was to
be the gentle, suffering Messiah who compassionately cared for all
people–healing their diseases and caring for their spiritual needs.
On the other hand, the Messiah was
also portrayed as a mighty King who would reward his followers and slay his
enemies and bring judgment upon the entire earth
Jesus, proclaimed by John as the Lamb
of God who would take away the sin of the world, sure looked like the first kind
of Messiah–gentle and meek and loving–but he really didn’t look like too much
like the second–a mighty judge and conquering king.
Facing
death, seeing one part of Scriptures fulfilled but not yet all of it, there was
a serious question in John’s mind about Jesus.
The Bible says that:
“when John heard in prison about the deeds of the
Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Jesus, ‘Are you the one
who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
Are you the
one? I don’t know if a more important
question has ever been asked-- or can be asked--and we too need to know the
answer to it and be certain about it. Is
Jesus the One? Is he the One that we can
stake our entire life on? Or is there
another? Is he the one in whom all the
promises of God are fulfilled or not?
To ask this question and to seek an
answer is not sinful doubt–at least not the way John asked it and the approach
he took.
What did
John do with his questions? He turned to
Jesus. He turned to Jesus as the one who
could answer his question-he turned to Jesus for assurance that his faith was
not misplaced. What John did, and the
questions he had, was a deep expression of faith that is completely consistent
with other great statements of faith in the Bible. After all, “Lord I believe–help my unbelief”
is the prayer of a believer not an unbeliever.
All of us
have faith questions at times–all of us struggle to understand portions of Holy
Scripture–all of us want to grow in our faith and in our confidence in
God. John the Baptist shows us the way
to do that. Take it to the Lord in
prayer. Search his Word. That is exactly what Jesus would have us
do. He said:
“Go
and 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”.
In effect
Jesus says, search the Scriptures–see what they say of the Messiah–and then see
what I do and you will know the truth–that I am the one. Yes there are still things to come–but trust
the one who has already fulfilled so much-- to accomplish the rest. Jesus gives the same answer today to those
who struggle with doubts and questions.
God is not afraid of our questions–he is not ashamed of our struggles. He
wants us to have the assurance of a
deep and abiding faith and so he invites us to turn to his son Jesus–to search
the Scriptures—to pray to him—and to receive the sacraments for assurance-- so
that our faith in Christ does not waver.
We need that
Spirit-given certainty BECAUSE when it comes to the person and work of Jesus (as
it is revealed in Holy Scripture and proclaimed by the Church) doubt is not a
virtue. Doubt is not the sign of a
discerning spirit or intellectual superiority.
Doubt and skepticism, when it comes to our faith in Jesus Christ, are
tools of Satan that are used to trip us up in our walk of faith and the spiritual
consequences are severe.
Twisting Scriptures
to his own advantage–asking us, as he did Adam and Eve: “did God really say”--causing us to doubt--Satan
desires to steal our salvation, forgiveness, and eternal life. That’s what’s at stake when it comes to doubt
and it’s deadly serious.
Jesus told
John’s disciples: “Blessed is the one
who is not offended because
of me”. In the original Greek, that
word translated as “offended” means to “trip up” and the word itself is the
technical term for a kind of trap used to kill small animals.
Life and
death are what’s at stake when it comes to knowing and believing what Jesus says
about himself–that he is the one--none other than the True God in human
flesh–the Messiah sent to save us from our sins by his own death and
resurrection. It is eternal life to know
that and believe that for ourselves.
That is the message that the
disciples were to relay to John as he faced his own death-- and that is what
Jesus would have us know and believe today.
And for the people who surrounded him that day listening in, and for us
here today, Jesus makes the question personal.
The Bible says that:
“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? What then did you
go out to see? A man dressed in soft
clothing? Behold, those who wear soft
clothing are in king’s houses”.
Jesus says in effect, “What about
you? Where is your faith in all
this? What did you go out into the
wilderness to see? Something for
entertainment value? What did you go out
to hear? Were you drawn to John because he told you
what your itching ears wanted to hear or because he spoke the truth about the
One to come?
That’s still
a good question for us to ask ourselves regarding our worship services and our pastors.
Do you listen to what the pastor has
to say because he tells you what you want to hear- or do you listen because he
brings you God’s Word even when you don’t like to hear it? Is he a reed swayed back and forth by every
wind of doctrine-- or does he stand fast on those eternal truths handed down by
the prophets and apostles of old? Do you
come to worship to be entertained and visit with friends or to grow in your
faith and knowledge of Jesus?
The answer
for the people that day was that they went out to John precisely because he
brought God’s Word–not like their religious leaders who taught the doctrines of
men–but because John would not be swayed by the opinions of men. They went to John because he unswervingly
held to the central message of the Kingdom of God–to repent of sins and believe
in Jesus. That message is life and
salvation and the people received it in faith.
And so what
was John’s reward for his faithful service?
Fine clothes? A room in the
king’s house? No! He was cast into the king’s prison in the
rough camel hair garments of his Jordan days–known as a true prophet of God not
only for his faithful proclamation-- but also for the opposition he received
and the suffering he endured from sinful men-- like so many faithful men of God. And among them all-past, present and
future–John the Baptist was the greatest.
Jesus said:
“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.’”.
This was why
it is so necessary to recognize who John was and why he was so important–he was
the messenger sent by God to prepare the way for the Messiah.
To know John the Baptist and to
believe his message is to know and believe in Jesus the Messiah of God. That is how important John the Baptist was—because
he pointed to Jesus as the Savior of the world.
As
remarkable and as wonderful as all this is, Jesus saves the best for last-- for
he tells us that those who are the least in the kingdom of heaven are greater
than even John the Baptist–the greatest man who ever lived. Jesus says:
“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.”
How is that possible that you and
me–regular folks with regular lives-- least in the Kingdom of Heaven
as it were--are even greater than John the Baptist?
It’s because
we have been blessed to see the whole salvation story that God tells in the
death, resurrection of his son Jesus Christ.
John would not live to see it–he was executed a short time after these
events.
He never got to see Christ’s death on
the cross that atoned for the sins of the world. He never got to witness the glorious
resurrection that changed the course of the world from death to life. But we have heard it and seen it through the Word
and Sacraments and by these gifts of God’s grace we know that Jesus is indeed
the One. Amen.
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