Third Sunday in Advent
Isaiah 40:1-11; 1 Corinthians 4:1-5; Matthew 11:2-11
In the name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“Among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist” (Matt. 11:11). That’s remarkable. What about Isaiah or Elijah? What about Abraham or Moses? John is the greatest, Jesus says. Which is interesting, because when Jesus gives His response to the disciples of John the Baptist, these are the words He wants the greatest born of women to hear: “Blessed is the one who is not offended by me” (Matt. 11:6).
That word, “offended,” isn’t the same as we use it today. People often cry, “I’m offended,” when what they really mean is “I disagree,” or “I don’t like that.” Someone might even say they’re “offended” at the smallest thing. But that’s not the same as this word. Here, it’s the word σκανδαλίζω, or “scandalize.” And this word is often used by the Gospel writers to refer to someone losing faith in Christ. So, when Jesus told the parable of the Sower, and He explained about the seed that falls among the rocks but withers at the first bit of suffering, and it says “he falls away” (Matt. 13:21), that’s this word, “scandalize.” It refers to losing faith.
But what that means is that Jesus wants John the Baptist to hear “Blessed is the one who doesn’t lose faith because of me.” That sounds strange, doesn’t it? Why would anyone be at risk of losing faith in Jesus because of Jesus? Well, maybe you already know why? Our Savior doesn’t always act the way we expect Him to act.
Just listen to this answer He gives the Baptist. Jesus says, “Go and tell John what you hear and see” (Matt. 11:4), and then there’s a list. Pay attention to the list. Jesus is quoting the prophet Isaiah. He’s pointing out all the things the Christ was foretold to do. The coming Savior would do these.
Except, don’t think Jesus is trying to prove Himself. He’s not saying “Look, I’m the Messiah because I do Messiah things.” That’s not what’s going on here. John the Baptist already knows Jesus is the Christ. He’s known that since his leap in the womb. But listen to the list, because, yes, Isaiah had foretold that the Christ would open the eyes of the blind, unstop the ears of the deaf, and make the lame walk. That’s from Isaiah 35. Isaiah 26 says that He would raise the dead. He would bring good news to the poor. Isaiah 61. And that’s what Jesus ends with “the poor have good news preached to them” (Matt. 11:5). But that text Jesus is quoting from, Isaiah 61, doesn’t end there. It continues. Right after the poor have good news preached to them, it says the Christ comes “to set the prisoners free” (Is. 61:1). Jesus doesn’t include that one. He leaves it out. He does not say that He’ll set the prisoners free.
In our minds, we’d think those words are the one thing John needs to hear. That’s what would bring John comfort, to know that Mary’s Son comes to set prisoners free. The Baptist would have been waiting to hear that, as he watched for his disciples to return. The blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, even the dead are raised, the poor have good news, and John, knowing the Scriptures, knowing what comes next, would have been waiting to hear that the prisoners are set free. But it never comes. Instead, John hears this: “Blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
John sits in a madman’s prison. There aren’t three meals a day. There’s no yard time. There are chains and bars and the constant moaning of those dying of disease in Herod’s damp, dirty cells. And the Lord would withhold the one comfort John was longing to hear.
But our Savior hasn’t come to set us free from the prisons of this world just yet. The things you suffer now, the thorns in your side you pray to be removed, They’re not always removed. They will be, of course. That day is coming. The resurrection is coming. Your redemption from all the prisons you find yourself in is coming. Your longings will end, your afflictions will be over when Christ returns. But in the meantime, what should John’s disciples have done? Should they have just added it in? Should they have said to themselves, “Jesus probably meant to say that part too. I’m sure He just forgot. Everything will be okay”? They would have wanted to comfort John in his pain and his suffering. Should they have just said, “I’m sure He’ll set the prisoners free too, that’s what He means.”
No. Watch that you don’t misquote Jesus because you’re trying to comfort someone in their suffering. We dare not change God’s Word even out of compassion for one another. Do not forget the warning at the end of Revelation not to add to the words of Holy Scripture nor take away from them, lest God take away your share of eternal life. That’s the warning. But that’s exactly what we’re tempted to do. How easy it would have been for John’s disciples to just tell him that Jesus sets the prisoner free. And it would be easy for us to speak words of false comfort to others, or to ourselves, thinking God wants me to be happy, so surely He doesn’t mind this sin. He understands that I’m too busy right now. He’s not really concerned with how I spend my time or my money. Yes, it’s gossip, but I need to tell someone. Pornography’s bad, but my spouse isn’t available, or I don’t have a spouse. Whatever it is, we think, “I need this. God wants me to be happy, doesn’t He?” All of a sudden, divorce doesn’t matter, marriage doesn’t have to be between one man and one woman, I can change my God-given gender, I can abort my child. I can do what I want, believe what I like to believe, because otherwise I would have to suffer.
Watch it. We dare not embrace sin in an attempt to avoid suffering. We dare not speak something God did not say. Jesus left it out. What He said, instead, is “Blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
So John, you greatest among those born of women, sit in prison. Sit with your pain. Sit with your ailment, your affliction, your grief, sit with the thorn in your side. You have some suffering that will not be taken away this side of glory. Loved ones are not always healed, marriages aren’t always fixed, families are divided sometimes. Maybe you even have a strong desire to some sin. Sit there. Don’t give in to it. Don’t reason to yourself that God surely wouldn’t want you to suffer. And don’t give in to the despair of sitting in that prison. Rather, “Blessed” that’s the word Jesus uses, “Blessed is the one who is not offended by me when I don’t remove suffering.” That’s hard for us to hear when we so badly long to hear something else. But think about it, if those words were what John needed to hear, don’t think you’re stronger in your faith than the greatest born of women. When you’re given to suffer in this life, don’t be offended by Jesus. For your Jesus was not offended by you.
He would not abandon you. Even when He was given the task of bearing your afflictions and your sin—sin He didn’t commit but had to suffer for anyway—He wasn’t scandalized by that. Jesus didn’t command a legion of angels to spare Him from that hour, but rather endured your despair, endured your suffering, your every longing, your prison, the eternal discomfort of the cross and the damnation that was assigned to you. And He did it all for the joy that was set before Him. That is, you. You are His joy.
And your joy is found in Christ. Not your present circumstance, whether you feel a lot of stress or not. Your joy is not contingent upon your health or the health of your loved ones. Maybe there’s a lifelong disease. Maybe your temptation to a certain sin is greater than your neighbor’s. Maybe your family isn’t with you this Christmas, or it’s tense. You don’t feel happy or comforted. That does not mean you don’t still have joy. For your joy is in Christ.
And He does not leave your side in your prison. It’s not as if Jesus left John in prison while He Himself lived it up in the pleasures of life. The Christ was headed to the cross. He was deprived of every comfort. Whatever John suffered in prison, Jesus also suffered at Calvary. And the same is true for you. Your God does not remove all discomfort from you just yet. He doesn’t relieve every burden. Instead, He says, “Pick up that burden,” “Take up your cross and follow me” (Matt. 16:24). And you follow Him, because He has gone ahead of you. He has conquered what now weighs you down. He’s reversed it, giving you His own life, promising eternal rest, that you might not be offended when life threatens you, but rather rejoice!
That’s the meaning of the service today, Gaudete Sunday. It’s Latin for “Rejoice!” And on this rejoice Sunday, you’re given John in prison awaiting Herod’s sword, because that’s where we live. Sit there. And rejoice! Because your joy, your comfort, is in Christ alone. The cross is your redemption. Christ is risen for you. And those are the words you use in your conversations, and the conversations you have in your own head, that when you so long for peace, don’t fall into the fake comfort of saying “Everything will be okay,” but rather say, “Christ gave His flesh for this.” And still, He gives that flesh and blood for you to eat and drink and rejoice, even where you sit.
In ☩ Jesus’ name. Amen.
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.
"If God is for us, who is against us?" 