Sermon - Advent 3 - Luke 7:18–28

 

This Sunday is the Sunday of “Joy”. 

We see it in our reading from Philippians, “Rejoice in the Lord always!  I will say it again, rejoice!”

We see it in our Old Testament reading:

“Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!”

We see it in the Advent wreath, where the pattern of blue candles is broken by the pink candle, the “Joy” candle.

Joy, Joy, Joy everywhere.  Everywhere except in our Gospel reading.  At least at the beginning.  Where we see John the Baptist sitting in Herod’s prison.  Waiting, wondering, longing for salvation.

Advent sets this strange tension before us.  The words of our hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel…” say it well, praying that Emmanuel would “ransom captive Israel that mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear”  That part seems to fit John sitting in his cell.  But the refrain goes, “Rejoice!  Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, oh Israel!”

One of the great Bible interpretation debates centers on this reading and why, why exactly did John the Baptist send his disciples to question Jesus? 

One side of the debate claims John was despairing in prison.  That he had lost hope, and who wouldn’t?  He was sending his disciples to get some reassurance from Jesus that yes, Jesus really is the one who is to come, the Messiah, and that all John’s preaching was not in vain.  That John wasn’t seeing Jesus act like the Messiah he expected:  Where was the winnowing fork of judgment?  Where was the baptism of fire and spirit?  And while you’re at it Jesus, remember me over here in my cell.  Don’t forget your cousin when you come into your kingdom.

But the other side of the debate has a higher view of John.  That his faith was unwavering, and that these disciples of his were sent by John to Jesus for their own benefit!  That they needed the reassurance.  After all, their teacher was in prison.  All the preaching of repentance and the baptism of the crowds had been squelched and squashed.  There John sat and rotted, and maybe we are next.  John had put his trust in Jesus, and now he directs his disciples to Jesus.  John always points to Jesus.  So the debate goes.

Maybe the whole debate really misses the point.  Whether John despaired or was unwavering, whether he meant the question for his own sake, or was trying to teach his disciples.  The answer to the question is clear, and instructive for us.  The answer is always found with Jesus.

Whether you are despairing or depressed this Advent season.  If your world seems a prison cell of sorts, with chains and fetters you can’t escape – grief, anxiety, stress – the guilt and shame of sin, or the physical impacts of sin’s brokenness borne out in your body.  This dark world is a mournful exile for all of us at times.  We long for salvation, for ransom and freedom. 

Or maybe your faith is strong, unwavering.  Perhaps you feel that joy that the pink candle represents.  You, too, can learn from John’s question and Jesus’ answer, and appreciate anew the cause for all rejoicing.  Emmanuel has come to you, oh Israel!

So how does the conversation go?  Jesus, John wants us to ask, are you really the one?  Or should we be looking for another?

Luke tells us that at that very hour Jesus had done quite a few miracles, healings, and wonders, which surely these disciples of John would have seen.  Then Jesus answers them, not with a simple yes or no, but like he does:

Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.

All of these miracles and wonders are signs.  They are the signs of the Messiah.  The Old Testament is replete with prophecies about the Messiah, when he comes, doing these sorts of things.  Healing, casting out demons, even raising the dead.  Jesus does it all.  He lets his actions speak for themselves.  Tell John what you see and hear.  He’ll know what it means.

But the best of all, the topper of the whole list, isn’t even that he raises the dead.  The point of it all is this:  the poor have good news preached to them.  The Gospel!  Yes, even for the poor.  The good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.  That in him, the kingdom of heaven has come.  That in him, forgiveness of sins is proclaimed.  That in him, the lamb of God, the sins of the world are taken away, just as John preached, so does Jesus.  Only Jesus is also, himself, the very content of the Gospel.  It’s all about him.

With the words, ““Blessed is the one who is not offended by me” Christ is prophesying that people will take offense at his teaching and they will become despisers of the gospel. They will reject a Christ who appears weak to them; a Christ who refuses to tell them what they want to hear; a Christ who condemns them as sinful and unclean, as in need of his salvation.

Only the penitent are prepared to meet the true Messiah. That is why John had to prepare the way. To the humble and lowly Jesus comes with salvation. To the meek and mild the Christ comes with a peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil. 4:7). With a comfort that calms the fears of even the most terrified consciences. With a joy that causes the heart to break forth into singing and dancing.

Soon John would go his way into death.  A greater man never born among women.  Jesus heaps on him some of the highest praise.

But greater than John, even, is the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven.  Greater than John is the one who dies for the sins of the world.  The one who lays down his life for his friends.  The one who lives a perfect life of righteousness and covers you with it, like a fine robe.  The one who does baptize with the spirit and fire, cleansing you to live as his own - ransomed, redeemed, regenerated, renewed. 

Christ is the Messiah, the one who came and who is yet to come.  See his wonders, and hear his good news.  And rejoice.  I’ll say it again, rejoice!  Emmanuel has come to you, oh Israel!