[Sermon Archive] - [Weekly Devotional Guide]

This Week's Sermon THE THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT 16 December 2007 "No Doubt" Matthew 11:2-15 LSB Series A Vicar Heath A. Trampe Soli Deo Gloria!

Living a Christian life is an act of faith. Coming to church, singing hymns of praise, and receiving the Sacrament all require faith to be received. In our increasingly materialistic and scientifically driven culture, we have reduced most of what we believe into what we can experience with our senses. Church, and more specifically the Word and Sacraments that Christians gather around do not seem real to our senses. We hear the Word oftentimes and feel nothing. Perhaps we don't even listen to the Bible passages read in church. We taste the Sacrament and think of it only as wine and wafers. That's what it looks like; that's what it tastes like. Sometimes our faith carries us through hard situations; sometimes we feel that our lives would be no different without it. If Christians experience pain and suffering like heathens, then what good is it to be a Christian? Have we ever seen somebody go to heaven? These are hard questions, and must be received by faith, not the senses. Even John the Baptist's disciples had difficulty receiving everything by faith when Christ first started his ministry. Their question shows the great strain on their faith as they asked: "are you, in fact, the Messiah or

I. We, like John's disciples, try to fit Christ into our own perceptions. (vv. 2-6)
II. We, like the crowds, scorn His messengers. (vv. 7-11)
III. Christ alleviates our doubts through His Words and deeds. (vv. 12-15)

But Christ came meekly and in peace, preaching the Sermon on the Mount and repentance for salvation. Although He performed many miracles in plain view of the masses, He didn't begin an earthy rule as Messiah that was expected of Him. Instead of overthrowing the Roman government (which was in power at the time), He preached repentance and forgiveness, which centers in His own suffering and death upon the cross for the salvation of mankind. Christ was so peaceful, in fact, that John's disciples had trouble believing that He was the Messiah. There appeared to be no judgment. Their faith in Christ was shaken, and we can understand their difficulty.

We oftentimes wonder why God doesn't immediately punish those who work evil in this world. Why does God let these people prosper? God's own words, however, even as Moses received the Ten Commandments were "The Lord [is] merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness" (Exodus 34:6b). Also note 2 Peter 3:9: "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance". God does not wish for the eternal damnation of anyone, but allows them to flourish that they might turn and follow Him.

Even so, we doubt and fall into sin because of what our heathen neighbors and co-workers are able to achieve in this life. John's disciples went though a similar process. After all, sinners were running rampant and their master, John the Baptist himself, was rotting in Herod's prison. This doubt was not only the source of grief for these disciples, but also for the crowds who had followed John and Christ up to this point.

As members of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, we are used to other Christians calling us very conservative. In fact, it's a badge that we wear with a certain amount of pride. However, many churches in our synod are moving to a style of worship that would diminish the role of Word and Sacrament ministry for the ever-so-popular praise band and feelings of euphoria that accompany what most would call contemporary, but is in reality popular worship. I know this because such a movement is running rampant in my home state of Nebraska. It seems that the farther away from God's Word and His precious Sacraments you stray, the more people come to be a part of your church. Churches that incorporate the flavor of the month experience increases in parishioners, while more tradition, liturgical churches like ours tend to shrink.

In light of this phenomenon, church growth enthusiasts and others interested in new age worship will put pressure on pastors like Pastor Meyer to change his style. They'll call him ignorant for not changing with the times. However, if Christ were here, how would He react to these changes? We cannot say with absolute certainty, but perhaps he would have asked those people what they came to Immanuel Terre Haute to see. There are no reeds shaking in this wilderness.

After all, a faithful pastor can only preach the Gospel as faithfully as possible and administer the Sacraments of Baptism, Communion, and Absolution as he has been ordered by Scripture. This was John's mission on earth, and he was considered the greatest of all men born of a woman (Matthew 11:11). What is His reward on this earth? Imprisonment and ultimately decapitation at the hands of a young woman who excited the lusts of Herod. But in heaven John's reward is great.

Jesus is the only one mentioned in the Bible as healing the blind. He allows His disciples to do great miracles, but they never heal the blind. This lets the educated reader of Matthew know that Jesus is really making this proclamation and that this is further evidence that He is, in fact, the Messiah. The miracles appear to get more and more complex with each mention, ending with the Gospel being preached to the poor. Whereas the other miracles deal with the physical body, the preaching of the Gospel is essential for the eternal salvation of the soul. Lest you let your mind wander when pastor or I am preaching to you, remember how important this duty is in the mind of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Jesus goes on to say that as great as John the Baptist is, "the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he". Luther says that here Jesus speaks of Himself, and this is a firm admonition for those who would worship John in the place of Christ. Or perhaps to those who pray to the saints instead of directly to the heavenly Father as Christ instructs us to do in the sixth chapter of Matthew with the Our Father.

Christ then says that "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force". In light of these words, how can we expect an easy existence as Christians? Jesus also mentions the high cost of being His disciple in Luke. "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23). This passage applies directly to our mention earlier of good things happening to bad people, while Christians are continuously persecuted for our beliefs. Shall we fear these hardships and trials in this life? No, because we are holding out for a treasure that neither rusts nor is stolen. This is a heavenly treasure that only Christ can give us, and it is given freely through his "holy precious blood and His innocent sufferings and death".

We know that as Christians we aren't going to have it easy in this life. As many of you can attest, however, our lives are seldom worse than the unbeliever, even in this life. While we can never be sure of what will happen to us on a daily basis, we are assured of our salvation. This must be received by faith, and it is the truth spoken from the mouth of our Savior. When you are baptized, you are really being killed with Christ and raised again to new life, to spiritual life. When you receive the body and blood of Christ at the Lord's Supper, you are indeed eating real flesh and drinking real blood inside of the bread and wine. And when you receive the holy absolution from the mouth of the pastor, in the stead and by the command of Christ, you can be sure that it is "just as valid and certain, even in heaven, as if Christ our dear Lord had dealt with us Himself". We have no doubt in these gifts, because they manifest themselves continuously in our lives. Glory be to God. Amen.