The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’ ” In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. And he answered them, “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. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, “ ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)” (Luke 7:18–30, ESV)Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Today is "rejoice" Sunday. Right there in the epistle lesson it says, "Rejoice in the Lord always; Again I will say, rejoice." It's why we have that pink candle in the Advent wreath. We rejoice because of what God has done, is doing, and will do in Jesus Christ. This is all well and good, this is what we expect from this time of year. People going around with big smiles on children’s faces. Shopping trips to exotic locations, like Duluth, or the Twin Cities, to show people how much we love them by spending money we don't have. And we have the passage from Zephaniah. It's a rejoicing of what God is doing even in the very midst of trouble in hardship. And so today as we rejoice in the Christmas story, we have the account of John the Baptist reaching out to Jesus by sending his messengers and asking, "Are you the one?"
We should back up just a bit. John doesn't send his disciples to Jesus without any provocation. What he sees doesn't quite reckon with what he's expecting. He stood out knee-deep in water baptizing people warning them about God's wrath to come. "You brood of vipers!" He shouts. But what does he see? Right before this text Jesus heals the Centurion's servant. This is the Roman soldier who other people said was a good guy but told Jesus you don't need to come to my house, I'm not worthy. Jesus marveled at his faith and healed the servant. I'm sure the Centurion was more than happy with the outcome.
And then Jesus raises the widow's son from Nain. They were coming into town and the boy was being hauled out to be buried. The widow was in desperate straits. Her only means of support was about to be buried in the earth. Jesus tells her, "Do not weep." He walked up to touch the coffin raised the dead boy and gave him back to the widow. All the people around the widow marveled at the good thing God had done for her.
And then we get to John the Baptizer. He has some real reasons to question what he's seeing in Jesus. It isn't quite what he expected to see given his preaching. "The ax is already at the root of the trees. Everyone who does not repent will be cast into the fire and burned." And so, he sends his disciples to question Jesus. "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?"
Jesus sends a message back to John. We might be a bit surprised that he doesn't use the words, "I Am He!" Instead, he sends a picture back to John. John was no uneducated country preacher. The picture Jesus paints is a specific one. A picture of the fulfillment of God's word plucked right from the scroll of Isaiah and Malachi. A picture the points directly to Jesus as God's Messiah.
And he answered them, “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. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”” (Luke 7:22–23, ESV)John got the message. Jesus is it.
It's a curious thing though. The reason why John sends messengers is because he can't go himself. He's in prison. Herod the king has him there for speaking out boldly about Herod's sin. Herod's birthday is coming and soon John's head will be on a platter, severed at the whim of a teenager. John is not in a happy place. One might even question if John is reaching out to Jesus with the question, "When is it my turn?" After all we have just seen here Jesus healing every disease, giving sight to the blind, and raising the dead. We have Jesus proclaiming John is the greatest among men. Why didn't he just send a message back, "Get ready for the doors of the prison to spring open." But he doesn't. John is a dead man. It's not fair. Ultimately Jesus answer to John is "... Blessed is the one who is not offended by me."
"Jesus, are you the right one?" This is the very important question of the text. This is the very important question of life. "Jesus, are you the right one?" And it's an especially important question when things don't go the way we want them to go. Cancer is an ugly thing. God can and does heal it from time to time. But sometimes he doesn't. Violent death is out there. It could come for our family members or us at any time. The near miss doesn't always make a family closer. Money is tight. Somebody's got to win the lottery. But even when they do it doesn't make life better. Separation is the hardest thing. Whether it's distance, hardship, stubbornness or death. We grieve at separation and call out for God to end it. He is certainly able, but sometimes he doesn't. It's enough to make you ask, "Jesus, are you the right one?" What does Jesus say? "Blessed is the one who is not offended by me." The word offended is the word σκανδαλίζω. It is related to the English word scandal. It means to be caused to stumble, to be caused no longer believe.
This is the scandal isn't it. We are a consumer society. We are pragmatic, that means we worship whatever works. The world says God should give us Our Best Life Now. Or The Secret to life is how to get the most out of it through God. Shouldn't that happen when we gather and tell God how good he is? Shouldn't we get some consideration for spending our time and money to keep this church going? Shouldn't we get that when we stand with our hands in the air with our pretend smile on our face showing God that we really are happy? Doesn't that make God do what we want? This is the scandal isn't it. God doesn't always give us what we think we need.
But He does promise to give us what we really do need. "Blessed is the one who is not offended by me." Jesus is the one. He does heal and restore life. In fact, he is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the one to hold onto, even when he doesn't spring open the prison door. Even when bloody death reigns down on us. Even when disease plagues us. There is only one answer to these kinds of issues, because these issues have at their very heart sin. The sin sick broken world goes on this way. There are many questions, mostly the question "why?" But there is no answer in the world. The answer comes from God, and Jesus Christ. The answer is in the babe in the manger. Who would think that a pink squirming baby in a manger could be the answer for what sin does in the world. But he's not just a baby in the manger, he is God in human flesh. He is the God-man who does these things:
...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.He is the God-man who does these things and promises that all the world will receive its healing. He is the God-man who went to the cross to suffer sins punishment. He is the God-man who reconciles the whole world to God in his life death and resurrection. He is the God-man whose birth we celebrate on Christmas and death we celebrate because of what he has done for us. Because the answering of the "why?" question is answered first in Jesus’ death on the cross for your sin. He reconciles you to God. He removes your sin. He makes the promise of new life to you. He is coming again to make all things new, completely remove the effects of sin in the world, and make a world where human beings live together in perfect relationships with one another and a perfect relationship with God.
So today we rejoice because the joy of the Christmas story leads to the cross. "Blessed is the one who is not offended by me." Do not leave the cross or the resurrection out of the Christmas story. It is the answer. It is the reason for Christmas joy. Jesus is the one, the only one who can save the world. Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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