December 12, 2010
Dear friends in Christ.
It has been said that God sometimes baffles us and disappoints us in order to make us succeed. In many ways, that is exactly what the Lord did to Philips Brooks. Born in 1835, Philips Brooks is best remembered today as the author of O Little Town of Bethlehem. However, former generations accounted him as the greatest American Preacher of the 19th Century. Yet, if Philips Brooks would have succeeded in his position as a school master, he never would have stood in the pulpit to move men with his mighty ministry. This is also what the Lord did to an English Man named Frederick Robertson. Born in 1816, Frederick Robertson long dreamed of being a military officer, like his Father, and his dream was to serve the Empire in India. Yet, at the wish of his Father, just two weeks before he would have received his military commission, Frederick left school and went on to become an amazing preacher. You see, if Frederick had succeeded in his goal and received his military commission in the British Army, never would have written the sermons which still throb with his great and yearning spirit; sermons which are still read and studied today! For these two men, if God had not disappointed them they may never have received the great blessings that he longed to pour into their lives.
In many ways, the very same thing could be said for the life of John the Baptist. Turn with me, if you would, to our lesson for this morning from Matthew 11 and we’ll take a look at the disappointment and the perplexity that John was facing. Now, as you are turning to Matthew 11, let tell you about some of the events leading up to our lesson today. Though John had served well as the forerunner to the Messiah, preaching in the spirit of Elijah of old, calling Israel to repentance and pointing them to place their faith in Jesus as their Savior, John had come upon some disappointing and troubling times, as he was now locked away in Herod’s prison. He was locked away in Herod’s prison because he had forcefully preached that it was wrong for Herod to have married his brother Philip’s wife. When John was put in prison, Jesus left the region of Judah and Jerusalem and headed up to Galilee where he preached the gospel of salvation, he healed the sick, he restored sight to the blind, he cleansed lepers, he even raised the dead, but he did not bring any kind of judgment upon the people as John had said that he would. It was because of this that John was confused and perplexed; he may even been a little disappointed. That is why Matthew writes as he does in Chapter 11 beginning with verse 2: “When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” 4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 6 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” 7 As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 8 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. 9 Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written: “ ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ 11 I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. (Matthew 11:2–11, NIV)
Are you the one who was to come, or should we be expecting someone else? This was John’s question, born out of his disappointment and his frustration at being locked away in prison for preaching the truth of God’s Word. Though it is sometimes difficult for us to conceive of any type of doubt ever crossing the lips of such a great Prophet as John the Baptist, as we study the Scriptures, there are many examples of God’s prophets facing disappointment, frustration, perplexity, and even doubt. Take for example the Prophet Elijah. Immediately after his great victory for the Lord over the 950 false prophets on Mt. Carmel, we see Elijah fearing for his life. We see him running away to the Mountain of God, doubting his effectiveness, and even despairing of his life. We see Jeremiah weeping and complaining to the Lord because all the people of Israel were against him and no one seemed to listen to the message that the Lord gave him to preach. We see Jonah running away from the Lord so that he wouldn’t have to go to Nineveh, doubting that his message would be affective, and then growing angry and sullen when it caused the people to return to the Lord. Even Moses doubted that he would be able to lead the people Israel, when the Lord called him to be his prophet.
Yet, in the same way that the Lord answered each one of his prophet’s concerns, removing their doubts and fears and building them up in his Word, so also the Lord Jesus does the same thing for John today. For as Jesus replies, he doesn’t simply say, “Go back and tell John, ‘Yes, I am the one who was to come! You don’t need to look forward to anyone else!’” Rather, Jesus basically tells John, “Judge for yourself, based on what you have heard and seen.” “Judge for yourself, based on the things I am doing, things which Isaiah said I would do.” “Judge for yourself, and you will see that there is no doubt that I am the one who was to come! You do not need to be looking forward to someone else!” Take a look with me again at Chapter 11 beginning with verse 4: “Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 6 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” 7 As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 8 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. 9 Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written: “ ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ 11 I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. (Matthew 11:2–11, NIV)
What a comfort these words must have been to John as he sat in prison! What a great assurance for him to hear his cousin and his Savior assure him not only that he, Jesus, was the one who was to come into the world as the Messiah, but that he, John, the forerunner, had done his job of preparing the way for the Lord, extremely well. As Jesus stood before the crowd of people there, he told them, in no uncertain terms, that even though John was currently sitting in prison, he had done his job to prepare the way for the Savior! John was the messenger whom the Lord God had revealed ahead of the Savior to prepare his way. John was the one who pointed Jesus out as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the Word. John was the one who had so eloquently proclaimed the Law of God, cutting the people to the heart, moving them to repentances, and preparing them to receive Jesus as their Savior. Thus, in pointing to his actions as the Messiah, and pointing to John’s actions as the forerunner to the Messiah, Jesus reveals two witnesses that proclaim him as the one who was to come to be the Savior of the world! He is the one who was to come not simply because he said so, but because he was the one who accomplished what the Scriptures said he would. He was the one who was to come not simply because he said so, but because John, the forerunner whom the Scriptures foretold, prepared the way before him and pointed him out to the people.
Though the Lord had, in some ways, disappointed John and even frustrated him by locking him away in prison, John’s ministry was that much more successful because through his imprisonment, even more people came to place their faith in Jesus as their Savior. Even we, because of the ministry of John, have been blessed by the Lord our God, because we too have come to faith in Jesus as the Messiah who has freed us from our sins. In fact, we too, can take the same comfort that John, his disciples, and the crowd of people took that day as Jesus revealed that he was the one who came as the Messiah! In fact, today, as we look forward to the celebration of our Savior’s birth, we can be certain that he is the one who came into the world to save us from our sins. He is the one who came into this to give his life as the Lamb of Atonement so that his payment for our sins might wipe God’s slate clean. He is the one who came into this world to preach the Gospel so that his word would be carried to the people of every nation, tribe, and language. He is the one who came into the world so that you and I might be made his own and live under him in his kingdom!
Though there may be times that the Lord does baffle us and even disappoint us, we know that he is doing it to make us successful in him. Just as he made John the Baptist successful in his ministry of preparing the way for the Savior, so also he will make us successful in our faith. What a comfort it is to have our Savior’s assurance that we don’t need to look for anyone else! He is the one who was to come into the world! Jesus was the one who was to come into the world to free us from our sins. Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church --Le Sueur, MN
