His Throne And Kingdom Are For You (Matthew 2:13-23)

Text:  Matthew 2:13-23

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

In 37 BC, some 35 years before the birth of Jesus, King Herod became king of the Jews.  King Herod the Great, as he was called, was not born the king of the Jews and wasn’t even a Jew to begin with.  King Herod was a Roman Citizen who acquired the throne of Judaea (Judaea was the land that surrounded the cities of Jerusalem, and Bethlehem in the first-century) by a Roman Senate appointment.  Now, even though he was named King of the Jews, it took him 3 years of fighting to get this title to stick and to be effective. 

As a king, Herod was fond of splendor, and spent great sums of money in rebuilding and adorning the cities of his small empire.  He rebuilt the city of Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast, and also the city of Samaria in honor of Emperor Caesar Augustus.  He restored the ruined temple in Jerusalem, a work which he began some 15 years before the birth of Jesus and a work that wasn’t finished until after his death.  Just a side note, this temple was even named after him.

Now, why do I mention all of this?  Am I simply interested in giving you a history lesson for today’s sermon?  Yes, I am interested in giving you history, but the reason for doing so is for you to understand today’s Gospel text within its historical context.  I want you to understand Herod, for when you understand the person of Herod, you will be able to understand his actions towards the birth of Jesus and ultimately be able to understand yourself in relationship to Christ.

You see, in Matthew 2:3 we read that Herod was troubled about the news that he received from the Wise Men about Jesus, the King of the Jews, being born.  Did you hear that? The Wise Men came to King Herod the Great who at that time was the ‘King of the Jews,’ and asked him where the ‘King of the Jews’ had been born.  The Wise Men revealed to King Herod that God had brought about the birth of the rightful heir to King David’s throne, the Christ-child; Jesus.

Can you imagine how threatening this news must have been to King Herod?  What would’ve you felt like if you were in King Herod’s shoes?  He wasn’t a naturally born king; he acquired the throne and the title “King of the Jews” by fighting and ruled his kingdom by force.  In fact King Herod had long feared the loss of his position.  Over the years Herod grew increasingly paranoid.  He put many people to death to secure his power and he even killed his wife and 2 children because he was considered by some to simply be ‘mad.’  No wonder why King Herod was disturbed about the news of Jesus being born.  He was fearful of losing control, losing his legacy, losing his accomplishment, losing his achievements, losing his power and so forth.  Therefore, after hearing the news about the Messiah being born in Jerusalem, through the Wise Men, it makes sense why Herod became furious and decided to protect his kingdom and rule by going on the offense.  Yes, he was not going to sit back and let a newly born baby take his spot as the King of the Jews.  Thus, King Herod made the command to have every young boy two years old and under slaughtered.  Herod didn’t know which boy was the king, so he ordered a mass killing of these ‘Holy Innocents’ in Bethlehem and the surrounding area.  The murder of these children by Herod resulted in the first martyrs of the Gospel in the New Testament. 

My friends, while it would be easy to write Herod off as a madman and simply be done with him, the reality is that he does capture and characterize our human condition.  You see there is not a person alive who does not have the need and desire to be right, to be in control, to seek comfort, to have recognition, to have esteem, to be whole, to be happy, and on and on.  In other words, the human condition is that each and every one of us, like Herod, wants and needs recognition of ourselves, we want to be fulfilled; we want to establish and maintain our ‘own’ thrones; our ‘own’ empires where we are at the center and where we rule with complete freedom.  Thus, when the throne of ‘self’ is challenged, we get defensive.  Indeed, we defend our comfort, our control, our identity, and our autonomy.  We defend our legacy; what we have built; what we’ve achieved in life; what we’ve accomplished.  We not only defend but we ‘fight’ for the preservation of our empire when the king of me, myself, and I is threatened.  Indeed, this is the tactic of our old Adam, what we call our sinful nature.  You see, the old Adam doesn’t believe the Gospel, never has believed the Gospel and never will believe the Gospel. He operates from the context of unbelief. The old Adam, our sinful nature, wants independence, not dependence.  Our sinful flesh wants to be God, to be all knowing, all powerful, and so forth.  Therefore, the idea of the kingdom of God found in the person and work of Jesus Christ is a threat to the sinful nature.  The sinful nature does not want to be de-throned and the sinful nature will resists God’s Word and the Christ at all costs.

Even though the Devil, the World, and our sinful nature have resisted the kingdom of God throughout history, there is good news.  The good news is that the Kingdom of God found in the Christ has not and cannot be overcome.  This kingdom has been protected and maintained throughout hundreds of generations even though there has been tremendous opposition towards it.  God preserved the lineage of Jesus in the Old Testament.  The Christ-child was preserved from the attacks of Herod.  The reason why?  Nothing can stand in the way of God’s plan of redemption.  Despite Herod’s attempts to stand in the way of the coming throne of Christ; despite the world’s attempts and our hard hearts towards the Gospel, Christ still came and still comes to us.  Nothing could stand in the way of Christ’s coming, nothing can overcome Christ’s rule.  Not even the gates of Hades can overcome the Gospel truth that Jesus is the Son of the Living God who was born into human history and journeyed towards the Cross.  Yes, there was nothing that could’ve kept Jesus from going to the Cross or kept Him in the grave.  There is nothing that we can say, think, or do that can go back into time and prevent Jesus from dying or prevent Him from rising.  God’s plan of redemption would not be deterred by the events of the past, present or future. 

What this means is that the very thing that King Herod was standing against, the Christ-child born in Bethlehem, is the very thing that He truly needed.  Yes, the very thing that we often resist as sinners is the very thing that we need.  In other words, Herod was fighting to keep things such as: His kingdom of comfort, his legacy, his esteem, and his worth, yet this was the very thing that Christ was born to deliver to him.  Is this also not the same with you?

In the Gospel, that is good news, you are given the comfort of knowing that your sins are actually forgiven.  In the Gospel, you are given assurance that Jesus achieved everything for you.  In Jesus Christ you are given a legacy of being a chosen, baptized child of the King.  In Jesus Christ you are not given esteem in yourself but unshakable esteem found in Christ.  In Christ’s work for you, you are given an identity, an identity of being Saints in God’s eye; Saints clothed the forgiving waters of your baptism.  Yes, Christ frees you and me from our self-enslaving thrones.  Christ frees you from the need to justify yourself, the need to be in control, the need to have recognition, and the need to seek manmade fulfillment.  May the old Sinful nature in each and every one of us be utterly killed and destroyed, for we are forgiven of this idolatry, placed in the shadows of the Cross and given every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm. 

Baptized Saints of Zion Lutheran Church, the sins of your past, the sins of today and the sins of tomorrow cannot and will not destroy the authority, power and work of Christ and His Word for you.  You, who have ears, hear this present reality.  In Christ you are forgiven, are chosen, have a legacy, and have an identity.  In Christ, God is well pleased with you, for Christ has sufficiently accomplished everything for you and has made you citizens not of any earthly kingdom, but His kingdom that will have no end. 

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

And The Word Became Flesh For You (John 1:1-14)

Text:  John 1:1-14

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Today is the day that we have been journeying towards for the past four weeks. 

Four weeks ago, as we began the season of Advent, we encountered the fact that Jesus Christ approached your sin in His birth in a manger and He approached your sin on the donkey as He rode into Jerusalem towards Calvary’s Cross.  We heard that at the Cross—a Cross that should’ve been for you and for me, a Cross where you and I are not only unable to pay for our sin but a Cross that we are totally and utterly afraid of—Jesus encountered your sin and mine, bore it upon Himself, was forsaken by the Father, endured hell, and then said “It is finished.”  We learned that the very sin that causes us to step back from is the sin that Jesus stepped towards and into when He was born in the manger.  Yes, the very sin that we try not to own is the very sin that Jesus owned on the Cross, as if it was His very own. 

Three weeks ago we heard the news that we needed to be gifted repentance, sorrow for and an understanding of our sinful condition.  We learned that we desperately need to be given the gift of repentance.  Our pride and our self-reliance, our stubborn belief that by our own goodness we can please God; these are the things that need to be continually killed in us so that we can be prepared to receive the kingdom of God.  Yes, we heard that repentance is a gift that prepares us to receive the greatest gift of all, Jesus, our forgiving Savior.

Two weeks ago in preparing for this day we asked the questions, “Who is Jesus?  Who is He to us personally?”  And finally we asked, “Who do we expect Jesus to be?”  We answered these questions hearing that Jesus was the suffering Messiah who came in a manger and the glorious Lord coming again.  We heard that He is the one who came to ransom you from sin, death, and the Devil.  He is the one who came to atone for your sin.  We learned that we can expect Him to continually come to us in His Word and His blessed Sacraments, where He declares you forgiven and delivers to you real grace.

Finally, this past Sunday and last night we looked at the names of the babe in the manger, ‘Immanuel’ and the name ‘Jesus.’  We heard that Immanuel means ‘God with us’ and that the name ‘Jesus’ means that He saves us from our sins. 

The past four weeks of Advent have been like a funnel, leading us to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  The past four weeks have challenged us to ask difficult questions about Christ, and to examine ourselves. The past four weeks of Advent are intended to cause us to anticipate, contemplate, and assess just who Jesus was when He came in His nativity some 2,000 years ago. 

Today, our Gospel text from the Apostle John reveals to us what happened in the manger some 2,000 years ago.  The Gospel text for us today is the climax of this Christmas Season.  This climax is that the Son of God became flesh and dwelt among us!  This is huge!  Do you hear this?  The Son of God became flesh and dwelt among us!  This is remarkable.  God took on our human nature; He took on flesh.  God Himself took on this poor and feeble human nature.  God is eternal, all powerful and all knowing, yet He descended from the heavenly throne and became true man.  Do you know what this means?  This is not some theological nuance that is only important for theologians.  Rather, it is extremely relevant to each and every one of you, right here and right now and here is why.  The Son of God was made man, so He could take your place on the sacrificial alter and die for your sins and the sins of the world. Keep in mind that if Jesus was not true God and sinless, His life and death would be nothing and you would be lost and damned.  If Jesus was not God, His life and death would have no power over sin, death, and the devil.  On the other hand, if Jesus was not true man, how could He have kept the requirements of the Law and how could have He died.  Indeed, in Jesus we see true God and true man.  In Jesus, the Scriptures boldly show us that Jesus is fully God and fully man; therefore, this gives us tremendous assurance, hope, and confidence.

An old church father contemplating on this once said, “Now I can see that God my Lord is not angry with me; for He is my flesh and blood . . . If He were ill-disposed toward me, He would not have taken on my flesh and blood.”[1] Indeed, my friends, the very fact that the Son of God was put on flesh, gives us confidence in the hours of our greatest doubt, fear, pain, and worry.  Martin Luther once said that little is gained against the devil when we reply with long words, but rather when we are bombarded with the lies and accusations of the evil one we are to say, “I am a Christian of the same flesh and blood as my Lord Christ, the Son of God.  You settle with Him, devil!”[2]  We can go on to confess, “You see devil, for us human beings and for our salvation the Son of God came down from the heavens, was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary and became man.  This happened so that He might be crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, suffer death, be buried, and then rise again!  This was all done for us; it was done for me.”

Yes, Jesus, the Son of God, became man “for our sake in order that we might enter into great glory, that our flesh and blood, skin and hair, hands and feet, stomach and back might reside in heaven as God does.”[3]

My friends, as Advent concludes this day and as we celebrate Christmas today, may we confess that “Christmas is not about us and our families. Christmas is not about sales. Christmas is not about big family dinners. [Rather,] Christmas is about the Christ. Christmas is about the Son of God coming into the world . . . to suffer and die in the place of all sinners [in order] to restore communion between the Father in heaven and all mankind. Christmas is about sinners coming into the presence of God and receiving the forgiveness of sins. Christmas is about what Jesus is doing for you. Christmas is about God the Father manifesting [i.e., showing] His love for you in the flesh of His Son Jesus. Christmas is about hearing Jesus and hearing what He has done for you throughout His earthly ministry, His suffering, His dying, His descent into hell, His rising again from the dead, and His ascension into heaven. Christmas is about the life you have in Jesus and your life begins in His being born in Bethlehem. The Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end born to redeem you from death and to give you life.”[4] 

Beloved baptized saints rejoice! “Rejoice because on this happy morning, your Savior is born for you. Jesus is The Lord and King of glory. The angels of heaven sang of His birth and now, today, you join with your songs of worship and praise.”[5]

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

---

[1] Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermones in cantica, Sermon II, Patrologia, Series Latina, CLXXXII, 792.

[2] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: Volume 22 (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1957), 106.

[3] Luther, Luther’s Works: Volume 22, 110.

[4] Rev. John Wurst, Your Savior is Born (www.pericope.org, Accessed 12-21-13) 

Note: Brackets added.

[5] John Wurst, Your Savior is Born.

Jesus, For He Will Save His People From Their Sins (Matthew 1:18-25)

Text: Matthew 1:18-25

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

One of the most interesting things about having a baby is the intricate process that a family goes through in picking out a child’s name. This indeed has become important event for families.  There are websites and books numbering in the thousands that help families understand the origin of a name, the meaning of the name, and its popularity.

The reason why we spend so much time with picking a name is that we want a good solid name that will represent a family’s values and expectations.  We want to have a name that will communicate to the child who they are.  We pick names for the sake of the child. 

Two thousand years ago, an angel of the Lord visited Joseph, Mary’s husband.  The angel visited Joseph before he was married to Mary and before she had given birth to the Christ-child.  The angel of the Lord said to Joseph that the child conceived in Mary was from the Holly Spirit.  The angel of the Lord said to Joseph that he should remain with Mary and name the child “Jesus,” for Jesus would save his people from their sins. 

Did you get that?  The angel gave Joseph the name to place upon the child.  No name books, no internet name websites, and no family feedback.  This is the name that the child in Mary’s womb shall bear; the name ‘Jesus.’

The name Jesus is an extremely profound name. It means God saves or the Lord is Salvation.  The name Jesus is actually the Hebrew name Joshua.  If you think back to the Old Testament, Joshua was the one who led the wandering nation of Israel into the Promised Land.  Keep in mind that Moses led the people out of Egypt into the wilderness, but it was Joshua who led the army of Israel into the Promised Land.  He led them into the Promised Land as they overthrew city after city in great battles.  Therefore, there is no doubt in our mind that the name Jesus invokes the idea of being rescued, being saved, being delivered.  The name captures a person who conquers and leads.  The name Jesus most definitely brings to our mind the great victories of Joshua, as city after city fell in Israel’s journey into the Promised Land. 

Tonight, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we remember the name given to the babe born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus, God saves.  But like the people of the first-century we must ask the question, “Jesus saves us from what?”

It seems to me that most people are very open to having a personalized Jesus, one who saves them.  Who would not want to have a personalized savior, one who delivers, conquers, and leads?  But the question arises, what does Jesus save us from?  Is He a Savior that saves us from bad finances and then gives us prosperity?  Is He a Savior that saves us from our failed hopes and dreams and then makes our wildest dreams come true? 

There is no doubt about it that the people of Israel in the first century had high expectations of a Messiah, a Savior to save them from the oppression of the Roman Empire.  They were in bondage to a foreign government.  Therefore, they most definitely had hope for and political aspirations of a Messiah who was to come, a Savior who would deliver them from the oppression of the Roman Empire. They most definitely wanted a Savior who would establish them as a great nation, a free and autonomous nation.  Would this Jesus born in the manger be the one to accomplish this for them, for His name does mean, “God saves.” 

My friends, the angel of the Lord said to Joseph that Jesus shall save His people ‘from their sins.’  With this phrase all ideas of a political savior are swept away.  In other words, Jesus is not a means to our earthly agendas.  Jesus does indeed save, but we need to hear clearly what He saves us from.  You see, Jesus was born and given the name ‘Jesus’ because His whole mission and purpose was to pay the price needed for God to forgive our sins,  that is, Jesus saves us from God’s wrath and God’s condemnation.  Because of Jesus’s work on the cross we can say that there is no condemnation for you who are in Christ Jesus!  That is a present reality.  But get this, it gets even better: He also saves us from our sins.  In other words, Jesus not only makes it possible for God the Father to forgive you and me by taking upon Himself the wrath of God, but He also rescues you and me from sin itself. 

My friends, while we hope to be rescued from: bad finances, low social standings, bad GPAs, bad credit ratings, low stock portfolios, and so forth, these things are not the great threats in our lives. Rather, the great threat to us is our sins.  The reason being, sin is like glue. It clings to us, damns us unto death, and puts us in the grave.  Ah, but take comfort you baptized children of God.  Jesus saves you from your sin. Yes, the Gospel puts you not in your own grave, but in Jesus’ grave where you are promised a future resurrection at His second coming, a resurrection of the body; full salvation free from sin, free from the fear of death, and free from the pathetic lies and deceit of the evil one. 

Yes, the name Jesus embraces and describes the entire saving work of the Son of God, work that is accomplished in His nativity, life, death, and resurrection; work that He accomplished and will accomplish for you and for me.

This Christmas Eve we remember the name Jesus; the name that means, “God Saves.”  Yes, in Jesus you are saved from the wrath of God and saved from your sins unto everlasting life. 

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Immanuel, God is With Us (Isaiah 7:10-17; Matthew 1:18-25)

Texts:  Isaiah 7:10-17; Matthew 1:18-25

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Several years ago a movie titled, “Cast Away” was released.  The movie stared Tom Hanks.  The general storyline of this movie is this.  Tom Hanks finds himself stranded on a deserted island after a tragic plane crash.  He is alone on the island.  No company.  No help.  No cell phone.  No electricity.  He was totally helpless.

Well, in this movie there were several scenes where Tom Hanks strenuously exerts himself in order to grab the attention of people searching for him.  He gathers a bunch of logs and trees and writes the word ‘HELP’ on the beach so that planes or helicopters might be able to see that he was still alive and in distress.  In another scene he sees a ship in the distance, several miles out to sea, and he shakes a flashlight at the ship and waves burning palm branches back and forth yelling ‘Help.’ 

Thinking about this very simple story, is this the way that it is with God and us?  Is God standing above us and at a distance?  Did God create the world, grant order to the world, and then simply step back letting the world run its natural course?  Does God stand at a distance, apathetic to you and me, refusing to intervene with the world, thus putting the pressure on us to get His attention; putting the pressure on us to somehow ascend and climb to Him? 

You see my friends there is a temptation for us to believe the lie that God is inactive, apathetic, uninvolved, and at a distance.  We can mistakenly believe that God is like a senile old man who is hard of hearing.  This results in a Christian life that is all about us climbing up to either God or to heaven in order to be in His presence. Indeed, we can easily picture this Christian life as one where we are alone, thus resulting in the need for us to climb a spiritual ladder or ascend to a higher state of being where God can be found and where we can attempt to get His attention. 

Unfortunately, this idea of an inactive, nonintervention God, leads us to believe another lie, and that lie is: that it is all up to us to ascend to God.  Tragically, as fellow citizens in this world we so desperately try to ascend to God in various ways, whether we are aware of it or not.

One of the ways that we attempt to climb to God is through what is called, ‘moralism.’  “The way of moralism seeks to earn God’s favor, or a satisfying life, through the achievement of moral perfection—always doing what is right, avoiding wrongdoing of every kind, keeping oneself under control by sheer willpower and a scrupulous conscience.”[1]  In other words, we work to draw closer to God—upward and onward—through the growth of good moral deeds.[2]  We imagine that each good deed positions us one step higher on the ladder and one step closer to God.

There is another way that we attempt to climb upwards to God and that is through our minds and logic.  We say to ourselves, “If only we could exercise our minds, our intellect, and figure out the complexities of truth, the workings of metaphysics, and the answers to the great philosophical questions of time—then we would attain the right knowledge and find ourselves in harmony with God.”  We imagine that as we gather nuggets of information, that each nugget of information puts us one step closer to the mind of God.

Finally, there is a third way that we attempt to climb upwards to God and that is through our mystical experiences and emotions.  This happens as we attempt to leave the world behind and enter into direct conversation with God through personal mystical experiences.  We look inward and then upward to God, trying to escape the busyness of life and try to connect to God through elaborate meditations and mystical experiences.  We imagine that we can find oneness with God as we quiet our minds and hearts and look within the deep caverns of our hearts.[3]

With all of this said, let me ask you these questions, ‘Have you been climbing the ladder?  If so, how is it going?  Are you tired of climbing?  Have you reached the top; have you reached God?  How far do you have to go?  If you reach the top, how do you think that you are going to stay there?’

My friends, while we can commend that it is good to live morally upright lives and to do good works, we err when we believe that our good works move us up a ladder towards God. 

My friends, while it is good to understand wisdom and knowledge, our minds are simply not able to comprehend all there is to know about our universe, ourselves, and God. 

My friends, while there is definitely a hidden-ness of God, for there are mysteries in the Christian faith, the things that are not revealed in the Scriptures are not for us to know. 

Frankly, the problem with all three of these approaches of approaching and climbing up to God is that they depend on you and I using and exerting effort to reach upward to God, a God who is believed to be an apathetic and lethargic observer who doesn’t have much interest in humanity and the world.[4]  Furthermore, the problem with these three approaches of attempting to approach God through our morals, intellect, and emotions is that they honestly don’t work.  How will you and I know if we have done enough good works to climb the ladder towards God?  How will you and I know if our reason is enlightened enough?  How will we know if our mystical experience is genuine enough?  Can we really trust our feelings 100% of the time?  Furthermore, just how high and how far do we have to climb to reach the God?  Frankly, trying to gain eternal life with God through our climbing and self-development is spiritual suicide.[5}

In our Old Testament reading for today it says that a virgin is to conceive and bear a son, and the son shall be called Immanuel.  Now, get this.  Immanuel means, ‘God is with us.’  Did you hear that?  Immanuel means, ‘God is with us.’  Yes, God is not a passive, apathetic, and distant God.  He is active.  He is one who descends.  He is the one who comes down to us. 

My friends, Christmas teaches us that the Christian faith is not about our climbing up to God.  Rather, Christmas teaches us that it is God who comes to us.  Yes, God put on human flesh and blood and lived in the same world that we live in.  “He ate, He slept, He loved, He cried.  He understood human life not as a dispassionate observer on the cosmic plane, but as a fellow participant.  He lived it.”[6] 

The direction is not us climbing to God, but this Christmas Season we hear the story of the Messiah coming to us; the direction is from God to you and me.  “Jesus was born in poverty and died in disgrace and thought it well worthwhile.”[7]  In other words, the Son of God’s coming into this world was for you.  His perfect life was for you.  His dying was for you. The Son of God had the courage and love to come to us and take upon Himself the virus of sin that infected this whole creation. 

Is this not the nature of God?  Think of all the examples in the Scriptures!  He is the Shepherd who searches and seeks out the lost sheep.  He is the Father who runs out to the prodigal son. He is the one who grabs a hold of the sick.  He is the one who comes at Christmas, comes for you and me. 

Yes, God is the one who is active!  The heavens were ripped open 2,000 years ago and He plowed right into humanity in the nativity of Jesus Christ.  This means that we get to be receivers!  No climbing, no huffing and puffing, no lack of assurance; just receiving grace upon grace from our descending God.

It gets even better!  Not only did Christ come to us, but He promises that He will never leave us nor forsake us, that He will be with us to the end of the age.  Yes, He still comes to us today.  He comes to us in His Word.  He comes to us in His blessed Sacraments.  He came to you and washed you with the powerful waters of your baptism.  He comes to you giving you His very body and blood, for the forgiveness of your sins.   The Lord comes to you to deliver personal and powerful grace; grace that declares you forgiven!  Indeed, we have a God that comes to us, to be with us and abide in us, the church.  The Lord God comes to us to claim us, abide with us, and someday take us home with Him. 

No climbing.  No ascending. We are receivers; the reason being?  Immanuel, God is with us!  He is with you!

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

---

[1] Gene E. Veith, Spirituality of the Cross: The Way of the First Evangelicals (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1999), 18.

[2] Adolf Koberle, The Quest for Holiness: A Biblical, Historical, and Systematic Investigation tr. John C. Mattes (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 1936), 6.

[3] The idea of the 'three approaches of ascending to God' is taken from Adolf Koberle's book, The Quest for Holiness. 
[4] Veith, The Spirituality of the Cross, 23.

[5] John W. Kleinig, Grace Upon Grace: Spirituality for Today (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2008), 16.

[6] Robin Fish, Immanuel, God With Us (www.pericope.com, accessed 12-19-13)

[7] Dorthy L. Sayers, Christian Letters to a Post-Christian World (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing, 1969), page unknown.

Who Do We Expect Jesus To Be? (Matthew 11:2-15)

Sermon Text:  Matthew 11:2-15

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Two of the most important questions that you can answer in this life are the questions, “Who is this Jesus and what is my relationship to Him?”  Indeed, these are two of the most important questions that you can ask yourself.  They are important because your answers reveal who you believe Jesus is and who you believe you are.  You see, how you understand Jesus dictates and defines how you understand the church, how you read the Bible, how you live, and how you understand truth.  My friends our understanding of these two simple questions have lasting ramifications in this life and the next.

So, who do you say Jesus is?  Is Jesus a mascot that cheers us on in this life with inspirational slogans, as we stumble and get up?  Is Jesus a Life Coach that coaches us and shows us how to live; a mere example that we must follow?  Is Jesus an overconfident Jewish Rabi preacher that found the true path to right living and the secret knowledge that opens up the flood gates of wisdom?  Is Jesus a new Moses?  A new Moses that came to give us new and improved commandments to follow? 

Depending on whom we believe Jesus to be will lead us to yet another question.  That question is, “Who do we expect Jesus to be?” 

Both you and I know that expectations are very powerful.  There is not one of us here who hasn’t expected something to be one way and it ends up being totally the opposite of what you expected.  Therefore, what do expect Jesus to be and do for you?  And has Jesus always met up to your expectations?

As a pastor, over the last 10 plus years of interacting with people over the Christian faith, one of the most painful things that I have encountered is that of unfulfilled and failed expectation.  My heart grieves when I hear of the pain, misery, and tears that people experience in life when hopeful expectations of marriage, family, and the church are shattered.  Painfully though, the greatest heartaches that I experience as a pastor are when I hear of people’s expectations upon Christianity and our Triune God.  You know what I am talking about.  The expectations that God will do something, only to realize that He won’t fulfill those expectations. 

John the Baptist, in our Gospel text today, is no stranger of failed expectations.  In our Gospel reading for today we see that John the Baptist had been arrested and imprisoned.  From prison he sent word to Jesus by his disciples with the question, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”  Yes, John raised these questions and sent these questions through his followers to Jesus.  You see, this is important for us to understand because before John went to prison he confessed and said the following about Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  This is the One who will baptize you with fire [fire being understood theologically as judgment].  This is the One who will separate the wheat from the chaff with His Judgment Day winnowing fork.  This is the One who will bring release and freedom and prosperity to those languishing in bondage and despair.”  But now, in prison, John is experiencing the frustration, doubt, and pain of false expectations.  Keep in mind that “prisons in those days weren’t like prisons today.  There were no TVs or beds or showers or medical care or three hot meals.  Prison was essentially a dark, dank dungeon where people basically wasted away.  If and when death came, it was a blessing.”[1]  Therefore, in John’s question to Jesus, “you can almost hear John’s angst screaming out from the question.  ‘Hey!  I’m dying here!  The Messiah is supposed to put an end to all of this misery and suffering and bondage and oppression!  If you really are the Messiah, now’s the time to pull the trigger!  If you really are the Messiah, how about putting an end to this bondage and oppression?!  Start with me!’”[2] 

The issue at hand with John the Baptist is that he, like others, questioned Jesus because all he heard about was Jesus’ works of grace. Both John the Baptist and the people ‘expected’ a Messiah of grace and ‘judgment.’  Therefore, when Jesus did not meet up to his expectations, he questioned and he doubted. 

You see, John the Baptists was right to expect a Messiah of Grace ‘and’ Judgment.  However, what his expectations were not ready for was that Jesus’ coming in the manger was His coming in ‘grace’ and that Jesus would return later at His second coming with ‘righteous judgment, power, and glory.’  In other words, John’s expectations were not prepared for the suffering and misery that came between Jesus’s first coming in the manger and His second coming at the end of the age.   

Is this not the same struggle that you and I experience as Christians living in between the two comings of Jesus? 

“You and I both know that it’s very easy to proclaim the joy and wonders of God when things are going well in life, but as soon as things go south the first words out of our mouths often echo the questioning of an imprisoned John the Baptist: ‘Why is this happening to me?  Should I be looking elsewhere for some help?  Is all this just a sham?  Is it a waste of time?  If you really are almighty God, make something happen!  Fulfill all that talk about victory and release from bondage and prosperity and life and health and joy!’ As soon as life hits a rough patch the very first thing we often do is question God and His means of grace.  ‘I’ve been baptized.  I go to church.  I eat and drink this bread and wine that I’m told is the very body and blood of Jesus, yet nothing has changed in my life.  I still languish while the foul unbeliever gets ahead.’”[3]

My friends, as baptized believers in Christ we live in this strange paradox.  We live in between the two comings, the two advents of Jesus, and in so living in between the two comings of Jesus we believe, teach, and confess that the powerful kingdom of God has broken into human history in Jesus Christ in that manger some 2,000 years ago.  However, we can know and expect that the power of the evil world still remains strong and Christ will not overturn evil until His second coming.  We also believe, teach, and confess that Jesus has come to save us from our sins, yet we know and expect that the world stands in opposition to the truth of the Gospel and that we daily war against this sinful nature that still clings to us.[4] 

Therefore, you may ask, “What does all this mean for me then?  Should I trash all my expectations of Jesus and simply learn to pull myself up by my bootstraps as I live in between the two comings of Jesus?”  No, my friends, for you and John the Baptist need to hear and see what Jesus has done and will do.  You see, after John the Baptist’s question was brought to Jesus, Jesus responded, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.”  In other words, Jesus is proclaiming to John that He is indeed the Messiah despite John’s doubt, for Jesus was truly fulfilling the prophecies of the Old Testament, even though it was not happening according to John’s expectations. John needed to hear in the midst of that prison the message that Jesus was indeed the Messiah regardless of what his expectations told him about Jesus.  John’s expectations of Jesus needed to be refined.  John’s doubt, his questions, his false expectations were met with the reality of Christ and who Christ was and what He was accomplishing. 

It is same for us today.  In the midst of our false expectations, in the midst of our helplessness, and in the midst of our lives in between the two comings of Jesus we are to see and hear what Jesus has done.  And get this, unlike John the Baptist, we get a complete picture of what Christ has done and we can hear the promises of what Christ will do.  Therefore, when you find yourself saying, “Where is God when I needed him the most?”  The scriptures answer you and me saying, “He is on the cross, where you need him the most.  There Jesus fulfilled God’s promise for you: ‘Neither death, nor life … nor anything else … will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  There we discover ‘in all things God works for the good of those who love him and who have been called according to his purpose.’”[5] 

Who is Jesus?  He is the suffering Messiah who came in a manger and the glorious Lord coming again.  Who is He to you?  He is the one who came to ransom you from sin, death, and the Devil.  He is the one who atoned for your sin. What can you expect of Him?  You can expect Him to continually come for you in His Word and His blessed Sacraments, where He declares you forgiven and delivers to you real grace.  You can expect that He will never leave you nor forsake you and you can expect that He is coming back to you to take you with Him to paradise forever. 

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

---

[1] Jason Zirbel, Christian Expectations: Advent 3, Series A Sermon (www.pericope.org: Accessed 12-13-2013).

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Jeffery Gibbs, Concordia Commentary: Matthew 11:2-20:34 (Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2010), 557.

[5] Richard Eyer, Pastoral Care Under the Cross: God in the Midst of Suffering (Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1994), 143.