Sermon for Advent 3, LSB Series A Pr. Ron Rock Zion, Beecher, IL ++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++ Nothing To See Here Or Is There? 3rd Sun. of Advent, A Sunday, December 12, 2010 Zion Lutheran Church, Beecher, IL Sermon Text Isaiah 35:1-10 & Matthew 11:2-15 Old Testament Reading Isaiah 35:1-10 Epistle Reading James 5:7-11 Gospel Reading Matthew 11:2-15 In the name of Jesus. [Amen.] Our sermon is based on the Old Testament and Gospel readings just read. Dear friends in Christ Jesus, As some of you know, I hail from the State of Kansas. When that comes up in conversation with some people, from time to time Ill be told something on the order of: Yeah Ive been through Kansas before; but I timed my trip so I could drive through there at night! Theres nothing to see there! Well as you might imagine such words arent taken by me in the best light at all! After all, Kansas is my home state and I do have a sense of loyalty toward it! But yet, at the same time, I do know how some pioneers described that part of our nation from Texas up through North Dakota sometimes referring to it as The Great American Desert! And for that reason, even though it does offend me, I do understand it when some people speak contemptuously about my mother state. And now, to parallel that a bit, in todays Gospel reading, John the Baptist is in prison. Were told that he sent some of his disciples to see Jesus and ask Him: Are you the One who is to come, or shall we look for another? (Mt. 11:3, ESV) With that question, John set up his disciples to ask Jesus what His identity really was. Was was Jesus indeed the Christ of God first promised to Adam and Eve after their fall into sin in the Garden of Eden? Was Jesus the Messiah who prophet after prophet had predicted would come and Who would usher in the era where God would dwell with man once again? After Jesus answered Johns disciples, Johns disciples left presumably to return to John. Then Jesus asked those who remained with Him: What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? (Mt. 11:7b-8a, ESV) Those remaining with Jesus knew who John the Baptist was. Thats because we can infer from Jesus questions to them that they had, themselves, previously gone into the wilderness to hear John preach. And what did they see while there? Did they journey from the city to see a dried up reed shaken by the wind? Did they go in order to see a man dressed in soft clothing (Matthew 11:7b-8a, ESV) something that only kings can afford to wear? With His questions, Jesus is telling them that if the only thing that they saw while in the desert was a side-show of sorts with an eccentric, crazy-eyed preacher dressed in rough clothing and who they think is no more significant than a dried up reed blowing in the desert wind. If thats all that they saw, then the main thing that was going on whistled right past them! And having missed the main point of it all, theyd have returned to town disappointed, and as they went, theyd have told everyone who they met on the road: Turn around and return to town with us. Its not worth the trip. Theres nothing to see here! As it was then so it is today. So very many people in our times come into contact with Jesus and His Gospel and, either out of arrogance or foolishness they declare: Theres nothing to see here! For they look for a side show of sorts. They look for tricks and gimmicks of this world and go away disappointed. But, please notice something. How did Jesus answer Johns disciples questions? Hear Him again: Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. (Mt. 11:4b-5, ESV) In other words, Jesus told them something that if theyd just be open to it Hed told them something that would stun them. Through His many prophets, including Isaiah, God had promised His people that He would restore them from their bondage to sin and death and the misery of this world. Through Isaiah, God told them that someday they would see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God Behold. He said, Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you. (Isaiah 35:2, 4-5, ESV) And when He would come, these incredible things would happen right in front of their noses if theyd only look: the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. (Matthew 2:5-6, ESV) With that said, Jesus had just connected the dots for Johns disciples Hed connected them for those who still remained in front of Him and Hed connected the dots for us as well! Jesus connected His work what He was doing as He went from town to town to the predictions given through Isaiah of what would come about when the Messiah came to the earth. For by this time, Jesus had performed many miracles causing the blind to see the deaf to once again hear the crippled to walk and those unable to speak, to again open their lips, and with their own mouth, declare praises to the almighty God! You see, those gorgeous promises of God to restore hope and healing and peace to His people predicted by Isaiah, were now being fulfilled by Jesus. Unbelievers those only concerned about things of this world then and now couldnt care less about these things. To this day they hear Gods Word, and although their eyes see how God has worked and continues to work among His people they dont or choose not to understand all to their eternal loss! But, by Gods grace, His fulfilled Word doesnt escape us! No! In His love, God has given us ears to hear and a heart to believe His message of hope. And through that we see greater things than the blind receiving their sight than the deaf once again able to hear or the crippled now able to dance and run! Yeah, through the Gospel promises we believe that the greater thing that Jesus did for all people beyond His restoration of physical maladies for some was His coming to this earth to be our Brother, to fully identify with our sinful human flesh and sentence of damnation to hell for our sins. He came to this earth to put all mankind on the Way of Holiness (Isaiah 35:8, ESV); that is, the path to eternal life with God once again. That restoration came about through His work on the cross where He was crucified unto His death and while doing so He paid the price of our sins paying it in full so that through repentance and faith in the risen Lord Jesus we might enter the eternal, heavenly Zion with singing and everlasting joy (ever and always) upon our heads! (Isaiah 35:10, ESV) And so, we as Gods people, we come today to our humble house of worship with joy matching the pink candle of joy on the Advent Wreath. In joy, we savor the work of God done for us and even among us to rescue us from this body of death (Romans 7:24, ESV) so that at the end of our earthly lives we might see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God (Isaiah 35:2, ESV) without end! A few minutes ago I mentioned that out of loyalty to my mother state of Kansas, I take offense at those who condescendingly dismiss the state as ugly and declare that Theres nothing to see here! But, if you were to travel through the Flint Hills found in the eastern part of the state in the spring time, youd marvel at the rolling hills abundant with lush green grass and on which you can spot from miles away numerous herds of Angus or Hereford cattle grazing into the wind. Photographers and artists travel from across the world to take in a Kansas sunrise or sunset the beauty so profound and gorgeous to the eye. And, the vast fields of wheat waving in the wind, ripe for harvest, are stunning to see whether or not the observer has a vested interest in farming. Those who are blind to those realities are to be pitied for they miss the beauty right in front of them! And, just like them and so much worse so many look at Christ and His Gospel and they, too, say: Theres nothing to see here! And by doing so, they miss not just earthly beauty but they miss true joy and peace that lasts forever! And so, on this day, we as Gods people thank Him for opening our eyes to His Truth. We thank Him for calling us to faith in Christ, so that we might see that Christmas is far more than a winter festival. Yeah, we take joy in knowing that Christmas signals the fact that Gods promise to rescue His people have been kept fully, completely, and eternally in the Babe of Bethlehem! May God bless us and keep our eyes open to what is to be seen in Jesus nothing less than forgiveness, life, and salvation! Thanks be to God! [Amen.]
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