1 Corinthians 4.1-5 + Matthew 11.2-10
Gaudete, the Third Sunday in Advent
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Before John was even conceived, the angel Gabriel said, “He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Lk 1:17). That is precisely what John did in his ministry. His preaching was with the same spirit and power as the Old Testament prophet, Elijah. He fearlessly showed his hearers their sins. Those who came to a knowledge of their sins, were sorry for them, and wanted to amend their sinful lives, received the baptism John preached, a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins (Lk 3:3). Bring sinners to repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of their sins was how John made ready a people prepared for the Lord who was to come.
John faithfully discharged his office. He was not a respecter of persons. He did excuse the scribes and pharisees from repentance. Nor was he partial to the poor so that they were exempt. His message was for everyone: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matt 3:2). St. Luke records that when the multitudes came out into the wilderness to be baptized by him, he said, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Lk 3:7-9). He also told them, “His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire” (Lk 3:17). John’s message could not have been clearer. God’s wrath is coming. No one is exempt. No excuses will be accepted. Repent of your sins. Be baptized to be forgiven of your sins. Then bear fruit worthy of repentance so that you abandon your sins. Otherwise, you will be cut down like a dead tree and, like chaff, thrown into everlasting fire.
That John was not a respecter of persons, and was faithful in his office of preaching repentance to all men, is evident in the fact that at the beginning of today’s gospel lesson, John is in prison. Herod had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; for he had married her. For John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife” (Mk 6:17-18). Herod had divorced his wife to marry Herodias, who had divorced her husband, Philip. As a public figure who was publicly sinning, John preached against Herod so that others would know this behavior—and the heart that led to this behavior—was sin. And while Herod let John live, his days were numbered. Herodias, Herod’s new wife, could not bear John’s preaching and when the opportunity arises, she gets his head on a silver platter. So, we see what is always the case. Some hear the preaching of repentance and respond with repentance, faith, and go on to bear fruit worthy of repentance. Others cannot bear to hear that their behaviors—and the heart that leads to those behaviors—is an abomination to God—so they must silence the messenger one way or another. As today’s gospel lesson begins, John has been imprisoned but has not yet been beheaded.
It is with these two things in mind—His preaching of God’s coming wrath and the fact that he is imprisoned—that he sends two of his disciples to Jesus to ask him, “Are You the coming one, or do we look for another?” Jesus has come. John baptized Him, saw the Spirit alighting on Him, and he proclaimed Jesus to be the very Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Yet there is no wrath. The ax was not laid at the root of the tree, ready to cut down the impenitent unfruitful. Jesus was not cleansing the threshing floor, gathering the wheat into His barn and tossing the chaff into unquenchable fire. John had been faithful to His divine calling, even to the point of being imprisoned. Yet, Jesus did not seem very much like the Coming One he had foretold, so he goes straight to the source, sending two of his disciples so that he might better understand Jesus.
And Jesus is happy to answer. He tells them, “Go and tell 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 the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” Jesus is not chastising John. He is encouraging him. Jesus points John to His deeds, because these are the deeds the prophets prophesied about the Christ. Primarily, though, He points John to what he hears: the poor have the gospel preached to them. Not the financially poor, but those who are poor in spirit, those who acknowledge their spiritual poverty, that they have nothing to offer God but everything to ask of Him. Jesus preaches the gospel to them. He opens the kingdom of heaven to them. He gives His Holy Spirit to them to live new lives in which they bear fruit worthy of repentance, fight against and no longer living in their sins. Wrath is still coming. Judgment is still on its way. But before the appointed time for judgment, the gospel much be preached so that all might come to repentance and escape the wrath that is to come. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me. It is as if Jesus were saying, “I am the Coming One, dear John, and all that your preached about Me is most certainly true and I will accomplish it. You leave that to Me, though. You, for your part, remain faithful no matter what.”
Then, after John’s disciples leave, Jesus encourages the crowd. They knew that John wasn’t a reed shaken by the wind, someone who would tell them what they wanted to hear. They knew he wasn’t a king or ruler who would give them luxury or prosperity. They went out into the wilderness to hear John because they knew he was a prophet. Jesus confirms for them that John is more than a prophet. He is the forerunner of the Messiah foretold by the prophets, who would prepare His way. All that John said would come true. The Messiah will come with His winnowing fand in hand. He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire” (Lk 3:17). But not right now. Now He comes in blessing. Now He comes to heal the broken in body as proof that He, by His word alone, heals the broken in spirit. Now, He comes to die for the sins of the world, so that all who repent of their sins and trust His atoning death receive the forgiveness He earned. It’s as if Jesus were saying, “If you listened to John you will listen to Me, for I am Coming One whose way He prepared. Remain faithful to My word and teaching, and you will not come into judgment, but when the appointed time arrives, your praise will come from God the Father, for He will welcome you into His everlasting kingdom because you have believed in Me.”
And just as John had to be faithful between Christ’s two advents, so do we. In today’s epistle Paul speaks of who Christians view faithful ministers. They are servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. Like John, ministers cannot be reeds shaken by the wind of popular opinion. Like John, they cannot live the soft life of luxury in the world. Like John, they cannot care for men’s judgment one way or another, for accolades or admiration, criticism or castigation. The only thing that matters is faithfulness. And while you are not servants of God and stewards of the mysteries of God, you are Christians, and as Christians, faithfulness is required of you as well in between Christ’s first and second advent. You are tempted to be a reed shaken by the wind, to go along with the world’s thinking, so that you are no different in your worldview and behavior than the unbelieving. You are tempted by the world to seek the soft life of luxury and love the things of this world more than the mysteries of God—His gospel, His sacraments, His promises. You are tempted to faithlessness, even as ministers are so tempted.
So that you remain faithful and persevere unto the end, Jesus encourages you. The day of wrath will come. The Judgment still approaches. But today Jesus still preaches good news to the poor in spirit, so that you might live in repentance and in the promises He made to you in Holy Baptism. Remain faithful no matter what, just as John did, between the two advents of Christ. Amen.
May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
