John Points To Jesus
Matthew 11:2-10
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
St. Matthew 11:4-6 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you hear and see: The blind receive their sight 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.”
Dear fellow redeemed in Christ our Lord… When the stadium lights go dim and the preacher strolls out and the spotlight shines on him and the crowd cheers because he is going to preach to them how to have success in life… well, that’s not John the Baptist. When the Cadillac Escalade pulls up into the circular drive of the huge mansion and the preacher pops out in a silk suit with his entourage in tow… that’s not John the Baptist. When any preacher gets up and begins telling people what they need to do to please God, or that being a Christian means somehow changing yourself or getting your act together, or that, if you just have more faith you will get what you want from God no matter how religious he sounds, that’s not John the Baptist.
No, dear friends, John the Baptist is the preacher in prison. In our text he is the prisoner of an evil king; he is wasting away in a dark and smelly dungeon, and it won’t be long before Herod has John’s head on a platter as the centerpiece at his birthday celebration.
Which preacher’s sermon would you rather listen to? Be careful how you choose. Only John’s preaching points to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Only John’s preaching points to the One who was sent by the Father to be the Savior of sinners. Only John’s preaching points to your Savior.
When we hear today’s text, we may wonder whether John is doubting. He’s not; he’s just interested in verifying whether Jesus is the One about whom John has been preaching, and John will be comforted – even in the dungeon – by Christ’s words and works.
Jesus has come, but He has also allowed His faithful preacher to remain in jail. Why doesn’t Jesus use His divine powers to blast open the front gate and bust John out of prison, or send an angel like He did with Paul and Silas? That’s certainly an interesting question, but those types of questions point out a problem, for it is a great offense to many people when Jesus isn’t what they expected or what they hoped for.
For example, they hear that Jesus says in John 14:14, “Ask anything in my name and the Father will grant it;” and so they ask for their cancer to be taken away, and it isn’t; or they ask that their house not burn down, but it does; or they ask that their kids are kept safe and that their parents not die, but it doesn’t turn out that way.
Dear friends, it is very easy to wonder just what Jesus is all about if He’s not all about what you want. It might be fair to suspect that John prayed for the Lord to get him out of prison. But as we all know, that didn’t happen. However, in the not-too-distant future, John himself will be released from that dungeon, released from his own sinful body, and taken to heaven. Talk about a jail break! Jesus does save John; and He does so in a much greater way than getting him out of jail, because Jesus died for John. He went to the cross for John. He paid for John’s sins.
And that is exactly what the Scriptures said the Savior would come to do. Jesus gently reminded John that everything He was doing was a fulfillment of the Scriptures – healing the blind and deaf and lame, preaching the Gospel, saving sinners, taking away sins. These are the things the Scriptures said the Savior would do. These are the things that Jesus does.
You see, dear friends, the comfort Jesus provides for John and for you and for me does not come to us because He does what we think He should do. Jesus comforts us in the ways He has promised. And in His work of salvation, John has a rescue that is far greater than being set free from any earthly prison. Now John’s sins are paid for. No more guilt and condemnation for John. In Christ, God is now for John and with John in all things, even in prison! And in Christ, God is now for you and with you in all things in this life.
Now, can we take John seriously even if he doesn’t seem to be quite sure? Well, if you want to go in that direction and focus only on John and try to figure out what exactly is going on in his head, then you are missing the point of this scenario. Like every other reading we hear in the Divine Service, it’s not about the people around Jesus, it’s about Jesus. This questioning of John doesn’t end with John somehow getting out of jail or at least learning that things will be all right or getting to see revenge done to King Herod. It’s not about John. Rather, John’s questioning leads us to learn and to know who Jesus is. And we learn and know those things by the Scriptures, by the works that Jesus does, and by the fact that what He is doing is fulfilling the Scriptures.
Think about it: what happens when John’s disciples send to ask about Jesus? They find out immediately that He is the true Savior because of His wors and works; He does what the Scriptures say.
There are two witnesses that preach about Jesus: One is John, and the other is the Word. And the two always match up. John can’t preach anything about Jesus other than what the Scriptures teach. By asking Jesus, John is making sure his preaching matches up. And His preaching is confirmed: Jesus is indeed the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
That is exactly how all preaching should go. John’s job is only this: to point sinners to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. That’s the only job of any preacher ever – to point sinners to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Pastors must point you to Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. If they don’t, then run away from them and find one who does.
“But how can I be sure?” you might ask. Perhaps, like John, you aren’t sure. You have some problem, some difficulty, your own “prison” in life. You may be out of work, you might be facing surgery, you might have strife in your marriage, there is illness or sorrow or death in your family… And you ask, “Is this Jesus really the One who can help me?”
And then your pastor points you to Jesus. See? Jesus died on the cross for your sins, just as the Bible says. Look at Jesus’ works: He washes sinners at the baptismal font; He absolves sinners in Holy Absolution; He preaches the Good News of forgiveness from the pulpit; He feeds you with His own body and blood at the altar.
If you’re looking for some other Jesus, you will end up stumbling over the true one or you will miss Him altogether. But if you know and believe that you are a poor and miserable sinner who has nothing but the mercy of God to hope for, and you believe by God-given faith that Christ paid for your sins and rose from the dead for you, then these works of Jesus are your proof that He is the One.
And there, dear fellow redeemed, in those gifts, Jesus is much more than your therapist or your fishing buddy. He is your Savior. He is your Savior from all sin, from all evil, from all death, and from the devil. He is your Savior from whatever is against you, including the wrath of God Himself. You have been rescued by Jesus.
And so, our Advent repentance is to ask: What did you come out to see; a reed blown around by the wind? If you want something new and exciting and different each week, this isn’t the church for you. Here you have nothing but the unchanging Jesus giving Himself for you and to you in the Word and Sacraments for your eternal life.
Did you come to see a man in fine robes or a silk suit? No. Just the same old black shirt with a collar that means one thing: the preacher is not the big deal. The big deal is your Jesus; the big deal is Jesus crucified for your sins and coming to you in His holy gifts of Word, water, bread, and wine.
Did you come to see a prophet today? A preacher? I suppose, but more than a preacher. Your preacher is just a man, like John, whom the Lord has sent to prepare His way. And when the Lord comes, the preacher’s job is always to get out of the way. The big deal isn’t the guy in the alb and stole and collar. The big deal is the Lord who comes to you today to forgive your sins and keep you in the one true faith. The big deal isn’t that here in the church you can find just the right Jesus to fix every one of your problems. No, here you have a Jesus who gives you what you NEED most of all: forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
And that’s what we are about here at Divine Savior each and every time we gather: we are about Jesus Christ and Him crucified for sinners, for us, and for all mankind. We are about Jesus and all the ways He comes to us with His grace, His favor, and His forgiveness. To be sure, that singular focus is offensive in this world. So be it. The world doesn’t give a hoot about you or me or this congregation or our purpose. But that as the world’s problem, not ours.
Always remember your Baptism. Make use of Individual Confession and Absolution. Tune your ears to the preached Gospel. Receive Jesus’ body and blood as often as it is offered. Those are the only things that really matter the most. Together we will make absolutely certain that church is never ever about anything other than those things.
You have the Scriptures. You have the preaching. And that means, without a doubt, that you have Jesus. And having Jesus, you have forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
In closing, I will simply quote John the Baptist: Behold Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
