Isaiah 40:1-11; 1 Corinthians 4:1-5; St Matthew 11:2-11
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward (Mt 10:41). Of the prophets, Jeremiah was thrown into a cistern, Daniel to the lions; Jonah was swallowed by a fish, Isaiah sawed in half. Micah, Amos, and Ezekiel were all martyred. Others were beaten, stoned, and killed. These men spoke for God; they were His malachs, His messengers, servants of the Coming One, stewards of the mystery of the faith, sent to turn the hearts of men back to God. And these were their rewards. Persecution, suffering, and death. Such is the way of the Cross.
And now St John, the last and greatest of the prophets, sits in prison, enchained for Christ, awaiting his martyrdom. Indeed he is more than a prophet, for he is the culmination of the men of old. He stands on the cusp, not only proclaiming the Coming One, but pointing to the One who is here, even now.
Abraham longed to see Christ’s day. St John lived it and was glad. He baptized the Christ. He proclaimed Him to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He heard the majestic voice from heaven. He decreased that Christ may increase.
His reward is the same as those before him - hatred, rejection, persecution, ridicule, death. His head will be severed from his shoulders and be served up as the grotesque appetizer for a sinister politician.
Such a life was not a surprise to St John. He knew his vocation. His martyrdom was expected and no doubt greeted with joy, even as St Paul prayed, For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better (Phil 1:21).
Since this is true, what is happening here? Why is St John sending disciples to Jesus with such a question as, Are You the Coming One, or is it someone else? Is he doubting? If he is it is quite understandable; that he wouldn’t would be quite surprising.
He is in fact among the company of the prophets: Moses, Elijah, Jonah and Jeremiah - they all doubted at some point. Doubt is not the absence of faith any more than courage is the absence of fear. For his prophet par excellancé is still a man. A man of flesh and blood. The Voice in the wilderness needed a preacher. Even pastors need pastors.
And what St Matthew records for us is a magnificent sermon from the Shepherd of souls, a sermon of great comfort in weakness, a tender word to St John and to us.
Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. “What you hear and see,” Jesus says. The Word that is preached and the signs that accompany it. The forgiving, liberating, life-giving Word that has broken into this present darkness and brings Life and Light to men; and the signs of the Messianic age, the miracles of the One who is anointed with the Spirit of the Lord.
That is His answer to St John’s inquiry, Are you the Coming One? A bold and definite, “Yes!” St John is a servant of the Lord and a steward of the mystery that is Christ Jesus. It is in Himself, in His person, that Jesus brings the kingdom of heaven - the coming kingdom - now.
And His kingdom continues to come now in what you hear and see. For He gives you His Spirit by and through His preached Word. He opens your eyes to behold Him in faith. He straightens your limbs that you may take up your cross and follow after Him. He cleanses you from all impurity of body and soul, the leprosy of your sin. He raises you from death, from being dead in your trespasses and sins, to new life in Him. This is the Good News, the Gospel of the free forgiveness of all your sins, which is proclaimed to you, my friends; you poor in spirit.
And blessed is the one who is not scandalized by Me, Jesus says. As if He is saying to John, His forerunner and cousin, “Blessed are you, dear brother. For you have the favor of the Lord. I have not forgotten you. I have not forsaken you. I know your plight, your suffering. They are mine, too. For you have gone before Me to prepare My way. And indeed you shall go before Me in death, signifying My own death. But it is My death that will give your death meaning. It is My suffering and martyrdom that fills your suffering and martyrdom with hope and joy. Be comforted, dear friend, for your warfare is ended. You shall receive double comfort for your sins.”
Christ Jesus preaches such a comforting and beautiful sermon to St John and also to us. Blessed is the one who is not scandalized, that is, not offended by, the offense of His Crucifix. For this is your joy and your hope. The Crucified Christ is what gives the blind their sight. The Crucified Christ makes the lame walk. The Crucified Christ cleanses lepers and makes the deaf hear. The Crucified Christ raises up the dead to life. The Crucified Christ is the preaching of Good News to the poor. For the Crucified Christ is the end, the finishing, the telos, of all the prophets‘ rewards.
For Jerusalem who stoned the prophets and killed those sent to her, took the Son, the heir, carried Him outside the vineyard and killed Him. He is the Messenger of the Lord. He is the Malach YHWH, the Angel of the Lord. That is why that quote from Malachi concerning St John actually says more about Jesus. He changes the pronouns. He takes the prophecy of the Lord, spoken by the final prophet, and applies it to Himself. Malachi proclaimed the Messiah to be the messenger of the Lord. Jesus makes Himself the Lord and Messiah and John is the His messenger!
This is why of those born of women none has arisen who is greater than St John. He is among rare company. For few have been prophesied of old. Of course St Mary, the Mother of our Lord, for she is the Woman of whose Seed is the Christ who crushes the serpent’s head. She is the Blessed Virgin who conceived and bore a Son, calling His name Immanuel. She holds a rare and unique honor among women, even as St Elizabeth said, Blessed are you among women (Lk 1:42). And Mary herself spoke, All generations will call me blessed (Lk 1:48). She is the bearer of God, the Mother of our Savior and Lord. She is indeed honored and blessed.
Now there is also St John the Baptist. The Voice crying in the wilderness. The messenger of the Lord; His forerunner who goes before to prepare His way. He is Elijah who is to come. He is more than a prophet. But his greatness lies not in his own glorification or honor, but in his humility and magnification of the Christ, the Lamb of God.
Yet the lowest One is greater than he. And this is Christ Himself, the One who made Himself poor, who made Himself nothing for our sakes, that by His poverty you might become rich in the favor of God.
For as great and powerful as John was - and this is in the Gospel sense, not the worldly - he was unworthy to loose the sandals of Jesus. But the One whom John baptized, Who was anointed with the Holy Spirit, emptied Himself of His greatness so that you may be filled and comforted and made acceptable before God; declared righteous for the sake of the Coming One.
Behold He is here. And in Him you are knit together in love. By Him your hearts are encouraged and comforted. For as I said, this sermon of Jesus to St John is also preached for your sake. You needn’t look for another. This One has come! He broke into the dungeon of your sin and death to set you free. He dresses you in the splendid clothing of the King. He has made Himself your brother, you are His co-heir. Thus in faith you too are great, for you lay hold of the One he proclaimed.
This is the cause of your rejoicing this Gaudete; that is “Rejoice Sunday.” You are justified by faith. You have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Rm 5:1-5).
Do not be confounded, then, dear brothers, by your suffering in this present age. It is for your eternal benefit and good that you suffer now. As it is written, Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God (Ac 14:23). You who hold fast to the Great Prophet, even Jesus Christ, you receive the Prophet’s reward; a reward always hidden under suffering and the Cross. If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of His household (Mt 10:25). And you are of His household, living stones who are built up as a spiritual house, to be a royal priesthood; founded upon Christ the Chief Stone.
Come then, and partake of the priestly food. Participate in the Holy Mysteries of God - His Baptism, Absolution, and Supper - faithfully given to you by His stewards, His messengers, for your good. The Lord has judged you. His verdict declared: not guilty. In His sacred mysteries He speaks peace to you His people, to His saints. He comforts you with His tender Word: you are forgiven. Rejoice in the Lord; His salvation is near.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward (Mt 10:41). Of the prophets, Jeremiah was thrown into a cistern, Daniel to the lions; Jonah was swallowed by a fish, Isaiah sawed in half. Micah, Amos, and Ezekiel were all martyred. Others were beaten, stoned, and killed. These men spoke for God; they were His malachs, His messengers, servants of the Coming One, stewards of the mystery of the faith, sent to turn the hearts of men back to God. And these were their rewards. Persecution, suffering, and death. Such is the way of the Cross.
And now St John, the last and greatest of the prophets, sits in prison, enchained for Christ, awaiting his martyrdom. Indeed he is more than a prophet, for he is the culmination of the men of old. He stands on the cusp, not only proclaiming the Coming One, but pointing to the One who is here, even now.
Abraham longed to see Christ’s day. St John lived it and was glad. He baptized the Christ. He proclaimed Him to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He heard the majestic voice from heaven. He decreased that Christ may increase.
His reward is the same as those before him - hatred, rejection, persecution, ridicule, death. His head will be severed from his shoulders and be served up as the grotesque appetizer for a sinister politician.
Such a life was not a surprise to St John. He knew his vocation. His martyrdom was expected and no doubt greeted with joy, even as St Paul prayed, For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better (Phil 1:21).
Since this is true, what is happening here? Why is St John sending disciples to Jesus with such a question as, Are You the Coming One, or is it someone else? Is he doubting? If he is it is quite understandable; that he wouldn’t would be quite surprising.
He is in fact among the company of the prophets: Moses, Elijah, Jonah and Jeremiah - they all doubted at some point. Doubt is not the absence of faith any more than courage is the absence of fear. For his prophet par excellancé is still a man. A man of flesh and blood. The Voice in the wilderness needed a preacher. Even pastors need pastors.
And what St Matthew records for us is a magnificent sermon from the Shepherd of souls, a sermon of great comfort in weakness, a tender word to St John and to us.
Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. “What you hear and see,” Jesus says. The Word that is preached and the signs that accompany it. The forgiving, liberating, life-giving Word that has broken into this present darkness and brings Life and Light to men; and the signs of the Messianic age, the miracles of the One who is anointed with the Spirit of the Lord.
That is His answer to St John’s inquiry, Are you the Coming One? A bold and definite, “Yes!” St John is a servant of the Lord and a steward of the mystery that is Christ Jesus. It is in Himself, in His person, that Jesus brings the kingdom of heaven - the coming kingdom - now.
And His kingdom continues to come now in what you hear and see. For He gives you His Spirit by and through His preached Word. He opens your eyes to behold Him in faith. He straightens your limbs that you may take up your cross and follow after Him. He cleanses you from all impurity of body and soul, the leprosy of your sin. He raises you from death, from being dead in your trespasses and sins, to new life in Him. This is the Good News, the Gospel of the free forgiveness of all your sins, which is proclaimed to you, my friends; you poor in spirit.
And blessed is the one who is not scandalized by Me, Jesus says. As if He is saying to John, His forerunner and cousin, “Blessed are you, dear brother. For you have the favor of the Lord. I have not forgotten you. I have not forsaken you. I know your plight, your suffering. They are mine, too. For you have gone before Me to prepare My way. And indeed you shall go before Me in death, signifying My own death. But it is My death that will give your death meaning. It is My suffering and martyrdom that fills your suffering and martyrdom with hope and joy. Be comforted, dear friend, for your warfare is ended. You shall receive double comfort for your sins.”
Christ Jesus preaches such a comforting and beautiful sermon to St John and also to us. Blessed is the one who is not scandalized, that is, not offended by, the offense of His Crucifix. For this is your joy and your hope. The Crucified Christ is what gives the blind their sight. The Crucified Christ makes the lame walk. The Crucified Christ cleanses lepers and makes the deaf hear. The Crucified Christ raises up the dead to life. The Crucified Christ is the preaching of Good News to the poor. For the Crucified Christ is the end, the finishing, the telos, of all the prophets‘ rewards.
For Jerusalem who stoned the prophets and killed those sent to her, took the Son, the heir, carried Him outside the vineyard and killed Him. He is the Messenger of the Lord. He is the Malach YHWH, the Angel of the Lord. That is why that quote from Malachi concerning St John actually says more about Jesus. He changes the pronouns. He takes the prophecy of the Lord, spoken by the final prophet, and applies it to Himself. Malachi proclaimed the Messiah to be the messenger of the Lord. Jesus makes Himself the Lord and Messiah and John is the His messenger!
This is why of those born of women none has arisen who is greater than St John. He is among rare company. For few have been prophesied of old. Of course St Mary, the Mother of our Lord, for she is the Woman of whose Seed is the Christ who crushes the serpent’s head. She is the Blessed Virgin who conceived and bore a Son, calling His name Immanuel. She holds a rare and unique honor among women, even as St Elizabeth said, Blessed are you among women (Lk 1:42). And Mary herself spoke, All generations will call me blessed (Lk 1:48). She is the bearer of God, the Mother of our Savior and Lord. She is indeed honored and blessed.
Now there is also St John the Baptist. The Voice crying in the wilderness. The messenger of the Lord; His forerunner who goes before to prepare His way. He is Elijah who is to come. He is more than a prophet. But his greatness lies not in his own glorification or honor, but in his humility and magnification of the Christ, the Lamb of God.
Yet the lowest One is greater than he. And this is Christ Himself, the One who made Himself poor, who made Himself nothing for our sakes, that by His poverty you might become rich in the favor of God.
For as great and powerful as John was - and this is in the Gospel sense, not the worldly - he was unworthy to loose the sandals of Jesus. But the One whom John baptized, Who was anointed with the Holy Spirit, emptied Himself of His greatness so that you may be filled and comforted and made acceptable before God; declared righteous for the sake of the Coming One.
Behold He is here. And in Him you are knit together in love. By Him your hearts are encouraged and comforted. For as I said, this sermon of Jesus to St John is also preached for your sake. You needn’t look for another. This One has come! He broke into the dungeon of your sin and death to set you free. He dresses you in the splendid clothing of the King. He has made Himself your brother, you are His co-heir. Thus in faith you too are great, for you lay hold of the One he proclaimed.
This is the cause of your rejoicing this Gaudete; that is “Rejoice Sunday.” You are justified by faith. You have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Rm 5:1-5).
Do not be confounded, then, dear brothers, by your suffering in this present age. It is for your eternal benefit and good that you suffer now. As it is written, Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God (Ac 14:23). You who hold fast to the Great Prophet, even Jesus Christ, you receive the Prophet’s reward; a reward always hidden under suffering and the Cross. If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of His household (Mt 10:25). And you are of His household, living stones who are built up as a spiritual house, to be a royal priesthood; founded upon Christ the Chief Stone.
Come then, and partake of the priestly food. Participate in the Holy Mysteries of God - His Baptism, Absolution, and Supper - faithfully given to you by His stewards, His messengers, for your good. The Lord has judged you. His verdict declared: not guilty. In His sacred mysteries He speaks peace to you His people, to His saints. He comforts you with His tender Word: you are forgiven. Rejoice in the Lord; His salvation is near.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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