The text for our sermon this morning, the third Sunday in Advent, comes from the Gospel reading that was just read. But in particular, when Jesus answers John’s disciples, He says, “go and tell John what you’ve seen and heard. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk. Lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up. The poor have good news preached to them,” and especially this last verse, “and blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
God’s grace, mercy and peace be unto you, from God our Father, from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Please be seated.
“Blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” It also dawned on me as we read our Psalm today, that line in the Psalm where it says, “yes, the Lord will give what is good and our land will yield its increase.” Yes, the Lord is good, the land will yield. But what happens when the land doesn’t yield?
We find John the Baptist in prison. Today, we find John the Baptist suffering in darkness, in Herod’s dirty, dark dungeon. He prays to Jesus. He sends his men to Jesus and John wonders, perhaps, “the Lord is good, but I’m still in prison.” John the Baptist, in his time of darkness, teaches us where peace is found. That the good news, the gospel, the working of Jesus, frees you from all darkness, forgives you your sins, and gives you strength to persevere even in the worst of times.
Advent is about preparing for Christ, remembering that Christ will return one day. John the Baptist had first hand experience with what it means to Advent. What it means when Christ comes. When Christ comes into this world. When Christ comes by His preaching. When Christ comes by His presence, a battle always follows. A battle is inevitable. When Christ shows up, either by His word or by His sacrament, or when He’s going to return in person on the last day. A battle always follows. But you can be guaranteed that peace also follows. Where Christ is received by faith, peace is abundant. The land does indeed increase in its return.
Now, over the years, I’ve had a few friends who are pretty big dudes. They’re pretty physically intimidating. It’s part of the reason I love being around them. It humbles me. Every once in a while, I like to tussle with them. Just the mere presence of a large man invites competition. When he comes into a room, a little advent of his own, all the other guys want to test their strength against him. They want to start a fight, especially if there’s beer involved.
Our pride, particularly when a large man is in the room, all the other men, they wonder to themselves, “I could take him.” We always want to take out someone bigger than us. Not only physical size. Believe it or not, as a pastor, when people hear that I’m a pastor, they try to theologically spar with me. I have to admit, probably like my friends that enjoy a good fisticuffs, I too, enjoy the challenge. In our reading today, a battle does take place. This battle is not only physical–it is physical, John the Baptist was put in prison, put in shackles–but it’s also a spiritual battle is taking place in our reading today.
Jesus is stepping onto the stage. John the Baptist is becoming less and Jesus is becoming greater. The forerunner’s role is shrinking, so that Christ may increase. And the devil, and this evil world sees a formidable opponent. A big man is coming onto stage, Jesus Christ. He doesn’t look big. He isn’t physically intimidating. But the devil knows who Jesus is. This evil world knows who the Son of God is and a battle takes place. Even that selfish sinner inside all of the people, even who follow John, perhaps even John the Baptist–Jesus steps on the stage, and all of us who have that sinner inside of us wants to fight.
Even though Jesus is the Son of God from all eternity, even though He cannot be defeated, even though the devil knows this–evil is not sane. Even though the devil knows Jesus as the Holy One of God, he still wants to fight against Jesus. And so he has John the Baptist arrested. Not because John wanted to fight, but because John preached the truth. There is no logic that would have convinced Herod otherwise. There is no logic that will convince people who are stuck in sin. Evil is not logical, nor is it sane. Just like trying to convince a hot-headed little drunk man he can’t beat up my friend. They are determined to accomplish evil. John the Baptist, is in prison because he preached against Herod’s abuse of marriage. John was God’s voice, so Herod picked a fight. The presence of God in His Word arouses evil, even the evil in Herod’s heart. And it was a bar fight, nonetheless. A measure of a man, “who does John think he is? I’ll arrest him. I’ll flex my muscle.”
And we wonder now, John sitting in prison and sending his friends to Jesus to ask him, “are you the one who is to come?” We wonder, was John doubting? John had seen the Dove, the Holy Spirit, descend on Jesus at His baptism, and perhaps yet that bully of John’s sinful flesh still wondered, “are you the one who is to come, or should we wait for another?” But if you noticed, even if John was doubting, John still knew what to do. John still knew who it was he needed to go to, who John needed to pray to. If you think about it, John sending his disciples was a sort of prayer to Jesus. So John probably was feeling a little beat up, a little bullied. John probably was in a pretty weak place, a place where he wondered, “is waiting on Jesus a winning strategy?”
It is possible that John was doubting, but we do see, in the end, John remains faithful. John is able to give his own life for the truth, because Jesus answered his prayer. “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we wait for another?” This is how Jesus answers John’s prayer, and John’s prayer was half right. “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we wait for another?” Jesus was the one who is to come. But how does Jesus answer the second part of his prayer? This question about waiting?
John must wait on Jesus, and perhaps that’s the most difficult part of our lives as Christians, and probably what John was struggling with. He had to wait on Jesus. He could do nothing. Everything was out of his power. It wasn’t that Jesus was the wrong Messiah, but John had to be reminded of Psalm 27. “Wait for the Lord. Be strong and let your heart take courage. Wait for the Lord.” Isaiah 40, “but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not be faint,” John. Psalm 37, “be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Fret yourself not over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices.”
How many times do the scriptures encourage us and remind us to wait on the Lord? We love Jesus like John does. We trust Jesus, but if you’re like me, you often find it hard to wait. To follow Him through the darkness. And perhaps we get frustrated our sinful flesh gets the best of us. You too know this by experience. No matter how illogical our sins are, no matter how much we want to be faithful, that old sinful flesh in us is pretty stubborn. No matter how much we’ve hurt people in the past by losing our patience, it’s still so easy to fly off the handle. No matter how many times God himself has had mercy on you, no matter how many times he’s gotten you out of sticky situations, even protected your very life, it’s just so easy to take each day for granted.
No matter how much money God has blessed you with, no matter how many blessings God has given you, it’s just too easy to be tempted to think security and happiness is linked to our possessions. No matter how blessed you are with friends and family and perhaps even children, it’s too easy to take them for granted and consider them a burden. It’s almost as if our fallen heart and flesh wants to flex against God in the ways that he blesses us. God blesses us, and we’re like that hot headed little man that wants to prove we can do it without his blessings. Our flesh likes to size up God, perhaps even try to unseat him from his throne, thinking we know better. Or perhaps we shy away from the truth. Perhaps we’re not even willing to suffer a little bit for speaking the truth to those we love, when they go against God’s Word. John the Baptist was willing to go to prison. Our flesh likes to stand up to God, belly up. But Christ will not be deterred from His task, because God is not here to bully you. God is not here to fight you. God is not here to destroy your faith.
Jesus is not deterred from His task, even though John is in prison. Even though Herod is trying to unseat the God that John the Baptist says is the king over all. Jesus’ task will not be deterred because He’s here to preach. He’s here to free us from the prison of our sins. He’s here to win by dying. He’s here to rescue us from that bully that dwells in our flesh. Jesus comes to keep you from falling into unbelief. Because John was beheaded in prison, and yet he was willing to stay faithful. Our Lord kept John faithful even at seeing that blade coming straight for his neck, and that same God will keep you faithful. John died in prison, but John was truly set free. John was set free when he heard Jesus’ answer to his prayer, Jesus said, “go and tell John what you’ve seen and heard.” In John’s time of need, what did Jesus do? He didn’t free him from prison, but he preached to him. The blind receive their sight. The lame walk. Lepers are cleansed. The deaf hear. The dead are raised up. The poor have good news preached to them, and blessed is the one who’s not offended by me. “Blessed is the one who’s not offended by me.” Something for us to remember.
Jesus didn’t knock down the walls of the prison for John, Jesus didn’t destroy Herod in a big, flashy, sort of mano y mano way, to show who is really stronger. Because God didn’t even want to fight against Herod. God doesn’t want to fight against you. God doesn’t come to earth, and his son Jesus, to fight against mankind, but to save him. John didn’t have to fight to be freed from prison because he knew, in Jesus Christ, he was free. Not only would he never be imprisoned by Herod for good, also his own sin would never imprison him. With Jesus, we are free. “Blessed is the one who’s not offended by me.” This is also for you. When Jesus doesn’t answer your prayers in the way you think He needs to. No, the answer to every prayer is to hear the working of Jesus. To hear the good news so that we may trust that Jesus is who He says He is. That we may hear the good news of His dying on the cross and being raised for our justification, and then to wait on Him. “Blessed is the one who’s not offended by me.” The greatest offense will be when Jesus is crucified. The greatest offense is not John being imprisoned and suffering and dying and losing his head. John was a sinner. The greatest offense is not you suffering or dying. For you are a sinner, just like John, just like I am. We deserve every bit of suffering and sadness in this world. We deserve every bit of it, for our sin, for our rebellion. But John, and we, are set free by faith in the promise that Jesus is the one, and he is the one who we should wait on, even now. Jesus forgives you all the times you’ve doubted. Jesus knows when you’ve been at your lowest, and He still loves you. Yet He might let you sit with John in prison for a little while.
But yet, even John staying faithful as a beautiful encouragement for us, there’s another beautiful part of our text, an amazing working of the Holy Spirit. What I find most amazing in this reading, in the working of the Holy Spirit, is that it worked faith in the hearts of all those who were witnessing this. Did you see it in the text at the end? Did you witness what happened? Even though all the people around knew John was in prison. They knew he was in prison just for being faithful. They all knew John’s days were numbered sitting in prison. They all knew that perhaps this same fate might await them. We read this in the text. Towards the end, it says, “When all the people heard this, how Jesus answered John’s prayer. All the people and the tax collectors too, they declared God just.” Can you believe that? I couldn’t even believe I read those words. Even hearing all the bad news about John, even seeing the sad situation that he’s in, these people heard the good news of what Jesus was doing, and the Holy Spirit convinced them to glorify God and to declare, “God is just. God is good. Rejoice, O people.”
Because while it might be a mystery why Jesus let John sit in prison, the greater mystery is God’s mercy on us. So he invites you to wait on him. To live by faith, because you have a big friend who goes with you everywhere. You’ve been baptized into Jesus. It’s no longer you who live but Christ who lives in you. You’ve got a big friend. He’s got your back. No bully can outmaneuver him. The devil can’t outsmart him. All of us who’ve been baptized. So don’t be surprised when trials and temptations come. It’s just a reminder that you’ve got a big guy with you. Not even death was able to defeat him. So wait on the Lord and be of good strength. John was called the greatest, but to the outside world, he looked weak, pathetic. It seemed as if Herod in the world was too strong for Jesus, but it is Jesus who wins. He is raised from the dead. And where is Herod? Where is Herodias? Where is the adulterous mistress? “Blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
And may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.