Third Sunday in Advent
December 11th, Year
of Our + Lord 2022
Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches
Hill
City and Custer, SD
Seeing the Kingdom - Matthew 11:2-15
Jesus asked the crowds concerning John the
Baptist: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see?
What do you go out to see?
It is part of human nature to want to go out
and see things, to invest in a journey, short or long, in order to see and
marvel at, and perhaps understand, some new, impressive or strange thing. Moses saw a bush burning without being
consumed by the flames, and he had to go over and see it up close. The Queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s great
wisdom and came to Jerusalem to sit at his feet. The magi saw a star rise in the east, and
understanding it be a sign that a new king was born for the Jews, they crossed
field and fountain, moor and mountain, coming to see and worship the
Child. The Athenians would head to the
town square to hear and debate whatever new idea came along, even the strange
preaching of a guy name Paul.
We’re still doing it. Pilgrims come from all over the U.S. and
around the world to see four presidents carved in granite, and a Sioux chief
emerging from a mountain. Wall Drug made
itself a tourist mecca with free ice water and various claims of housing the “world’s
biggest” of this thing or that: biggest
drug store, biggest jackalope collection, etc.
Four different Midwestern towns make narrowly shaded claims to having
the world’s largest ball of twine. And
of course, Mitchell, South Dakota boasts of a palace made of corn. People go out to see all these things.
There’s something refreshing about going out
to see something new or interesting, to join the crowd and be present for,
well, for whatever. A great band, a new
chef. We are of course also enticed,
today more than ever, to stay home and have all the new and strange things
piped into our personal screens, tempted to stay home and see. I think it’s better to go out, to be in the
sunshine and fresh air, to mingle with other people, and experience things
together, for real. The flickering blue-light
images that have such a hold on our eyeballs are not reality, of course.
Those flickering images may or may not be
lying to us; probably a lot of the time they are. But in the end there is nothing there, simply
moving lights on a screen, not the actual thing. A giant ball of twine may be kind of corny
thing to go see, but even if they don’t let you touch it, (we need to preserve
history, after all), you will certainly be able to smell it, walk around it,
and be impressed that it is actually taller than you. There is something essentially human about smelling,
touching and tasting real things, of experiencing reality, in the flesh.
There is also
an implied warning in Jesus’ rhetorical questions. “What did you go out into the
wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?” Maybe Jesus is talking about nature watching. Or perhaps more likely, a shaken reed is His
way of referring to a “Yes man,” a talking head whose convictions and message
change with the times, and the preferences of the crowds. I believe we call such manipulators “gurus,”
“influencers,” or just “political hacks.”
Not worthy of your time.
“What
then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those
who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.” Most kings are worthy of derision, but Jesus
is doing more than generally condemning elites who live high off the taxes of
the people. This was likely a shot at
Herod, who lived in luxury, while he kept John the Baptizer in prison for
angering his wife. Who had been his
brother’s wife, until Herod ran off with her.
“ 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.” John was worth the pilgrimage out to the
wilderness, because he was a truthful preacher, who would prepare the way of
the Christ, the Messiah of Israel, who was coming to punish the wicked, save
His people and sit on King David’s throne, forever.
I’m all for
Christians being out and about, seeing things.
But we citizens of the kingdom of heaven need to be wise, for not everything
we might go to see is of equal value.
Much of it is pointless, or flatly evil.
As our hymn declared, angry waves are always billowing around the ark of
the church, the church’s enemies are always preparing fiery darts to hurl at
her. So, if you leave the ark and enter
the world, as you must from time to time in this life, you should go
forewarned.
Jesus’
teaching today is a strange mix of blessing and foreboding, of joy in the
miraculous works that Jesus did, and warnings against the violence of men who
will not idly stand by as John and Jesus usher in a new kingdom. The world, and especially the powerful of the
world, will not stand by passively as the ministry of Jesus is proclaimed and
His gifts are delivered. They must try
to stop them, because Jesus and His gifts are so much greater, so much better,
so much more valuable than the distractions and attractions they and the world
have to offer. I may have been formerly
impressed with the wonders of the world, or the righteousness of the
Pharisees. But when my eyes are opened
to see Jesus and His cosmic, bloody, sinner-saving work, done to redeem me, a
lost and condemned creature, well, - then
what attraction can the world hold for me? -
So, violent,
power seeking men and women do all they can to distract people, to keep us from
gathering and seeing and receiving the fruit of what Jesus has done. Their livelihood and their power depend on
keeping people from truly discovering Jesus.
The season of
Advent is all about Jesus coming. In
part we look back to the promises of the Christ in the Old Testament and their
fulfillment in Jesus’ birth of the Virgin Mary.
In part we look forward to His return in glory, when every eye shall see
and know that His message and work were true, some for their eternal joy, and
others for their eternal sorrow. And
during Advent we also remember that Jesus, although He has ascended to God’s
right hand on high, still comes to us, through the telling of His story, that
sharper than a two-edged sword, life-giving message of the New Thing Jesus did,
to open the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
It seems that
people went out to see John the Baptizer in the wilderness for a variety of
different reasons. Some earnest souls
knew their sin and sought salvation.
Some headed out to spy, fearing a rival preacher. And some probably came looking for a freak
show, to gawk and laugh at a wild-eyed weirdo, eating locusts and wearing animal
skins. Whatever their reasons, John
didn’t shake in the wind, but proclaimed the same truth to all: repent of your
sinful ways, for the Messiah, the Savior, is in your midst and will soon reveal
Himself. And He is going to clean house,
once and for all.
John’s focus
on the wrath the Christ would bring may be what seems to have left him confused. When in prison he hears of all the healings
and blessings Jesus was delivering, John sent a message to Jesus: “Are you the Christ,” John asked, “or are we
to look for another?” Perhaps someone who
will punish the wicked, right now.
Jesus quotes
Isaiah to help John and his disciples remember this excellent truth about the
Christ: “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. And
blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” Jesus reminds John, and us, that the prophets
spoke of both the destruction of the wicked and the rescue of the
downtrodden. The Christ came to do both,
and we do well to marvel and celebrate the rescue part.
And why would
anyone be offended by this Christ?
Certainly those who love their sin do not want to be rebuked. But even more, Jesus would put on a show that
made John’s camel hair and fiery message seem mild. Jesus preached against wickedness, for
sure. But then instead of immediately destroying
the wicked, instead of simply cleaning house and casting all His enemies into
the fire, Jesus brought that fire down upon Himself, on the Cross. For some the Cross is offensive, because by
it Jesus mocks all human attempts to fix ourselves. The Cross offends others because it seems so
foolish, wasteful. Others because it
contradicts what they want to believe about the nature of love. How could a loving God punish His Son for the
transgressions of others? Such thinking
ignores the seriousness of sin, and fails to grasp the nature and scope of
God’s love.
God’s love is
not merely hazy positive emotions, but rather a conscious will to rescue
enemies and create a whole new relationship between God and man. Jesus declares no one greater than John the
Baptist had ever been born. He was the
very best that humanity had to offer.
And yet, the kingdom of heaven was to be so much better that the least
soul in the new kingdom would be greater than John of the old kingdom. Every citizen of God’s New Testament Kingdom
is greater because every member has been forgiven, restored and connected to
Christ Jesus. And He is Lord of
all.
Whether you
go out to see things, or stay home to watch in private, may the Holy
Spirit
make you wise unto salvation, so that you make every effort to come out and see
Jesus and His new thing, in the places He promises to be present to bless
you. See Him through your ears, attuned
to the Holy Spirit’s proclamation. Taste
and see that the Lord is good, here at His altar. Have your eyes opened and astounded by the
Love of God, which came down to earth at Christmas time, and is delivered to
you still today, in the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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