Have you ever had failed expectations? I am talking disappointments in something you had hoped for, planned for, worked for, or believed in, but the results ended up not rising to meet your hopes. I would venture to guess that we all have experienced this to some extent, because life is filled with the unexpected. Sometimes it is easy to cope with these unexpected results, but sometimes it can result in great pain and anguish. Failed marriages, lost job prospects, disappointments in friends, children, loved ones, people letting you down… maybe realizing that the failure is in you, and you have let yourself and others down or maybe it isn’t you but doubt begins to grow within you…these can all lead to great soul searching, agony, and trouble of the soul and mind.
The book of James has written these words to those who feel downhearted in the midst of disappointment and suffering. James says, “be patient… as an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast.” It is not always easy to be steadfast in faith, in hope, when we are in the midst of suffering and turmoil. It is difficult when the world, the devil, our flesh, and the many events around us are constantly trying to tear us away from faith and the hope which we have in the expectation of Christ’s fulfillment. As we think of our own feelings and experiences, let us remember what James said. We are not alone in our suffering or doubt. Let us take courage in today’s Gospel lesson which speaks of John the Baptizer suffering in prison, but who receives words of encouragement from our Lord.
John was a great prophet, and as Jesus said, “John was more than a prophet, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.” But where was John as we introduced the Gospel reading for today? He was in prison. According to some preachers, shouldn’t he have been having success, glory, and sunshine for doing God’s Work? No. Because that is not the reality of life as sin and the truth of God’s Word war with one another. John was living the weight of that spiritual and emotional war and despite the greatness of his prophetic power and His belief in Jesus as the Messiah, the account today shows that he may have been having his doubts about the Messiah, perhaps even about his own prophetic ministry. He had done everything he was supposed to do, and here he was in prison for preaching the truth and rebuking sin, most likely facing execution, which we know that he did.
We heard last Sunday that John preached repentance: preparing the way the Lord. John likely expected Jesus to immediately fulfill everything John had been given to preach. John expected Jesus to come baptizing with the Holy Spirit and real fire, that He was going to be a judge right then and there, as John declared about the Messiah, “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and “He will clear His threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” Jesus did not do this right away; bringing judgment and punishment upon all things was not what His first coming was all about. Therefore, John probably wondered as Jesus seemed to fail to meet his expectations. He sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” John was the last of the Old Testament prophets. John preached with power. John baptized the Lord Jesus and heard the voice from heaven and saw the Spirit descend as a dove. Surely someone who had all these experiences wouldn’t crack under pressure.
Wrong! For us Christians, there is never a time when faith is very far from the edge of unbelief. Satan never leaves us Christians alone, but each day he works harder to take us away from Christ. John was no exception. The sad reality is that preachers can lose the faith they preach to others. Both the preacher and the hearer are not immune to unbelief but need constant help. But how does Jesus respond to this questioning? Jesus answered John’s disciples, “Go and tell John what you hear and see.” Jesus understood John’s doubts. He understood that John needed assurance. He did not condemn John, but Jesus appointed John’s disciples to be apostles- sent ones, ones sent to deliver their witness to John. Jesus invited John’s disciples to witness His work and then take the proclamation of His work back to John. Jesus was fulfilling the Scriptures, Jesus was healing the blind, the lame were walking, the lepers were being cleansed, the deaf were able to hear, the dead were being raised up, and most importantly, the poor were having the good news preached to them. The miracles which Jesus performed were His credentials as the Christ. They validated His authority in His preaching as the One who was sent from God. These miracles pointed to an even greater miracle which only God Himself could perform, the miracle of forgiveness for sin and the gift of faith. This is the significance of the good news being preached. This good news is that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the anointed Savior, who not only works physical wonders of healing, but also brings spiritual healing and faith by the forgiveness of sins. John the Baptist was correct in thinking that the earthly ministry of Jesus was about judgment, but that judgment of God’s wrath for sin was placed upon Jesus. As Jesus was taking the burden of the ills, diseases, and pains of the world upon Himself, He also was taking the sins of unbelief and doubt upon Himself to the cross.
You see, John the Baptist, as great as he was, could not live up to the expectations of the Law. When it comes to the expectations of God’s Law, everybody has been and is a failure. It is not that the Law is unfair, it is that since Adam and Eve all creation, especially humanity has become twisted and sinful. Nothing goes the way it should it seems, good people do bad things, the pure becomes spoiled, and the expectation for this mess should be nothing but doom and punishment. That is why Jesus came, so that the more realistic expectation of punishment, condemnation, and eternal suffering would be turned away for those who repent and believe this hope: “Blessed is the one who is not offended by Me” said Jesus. We are blessed and accounted as righteous through faith in Jesus Christ by the forgiveness of sins. Jesus became a curse for you on the cross, so that you might be saved. Jesus became an offense to His Father by taking your guilt so that by His Word and through Holy Baptism you would believe and not take offense at the cross. By believing in Him you are now no longer offensive to the Father. As you were baptized, you have Christ placed upon you. You have His righteousness earned for you. You are forgiven through faith in these words even as John the Baptist was forgiven and saved through faith despite any doubts he had had.
Guadete, a Latin command to Rejoice! That is the theme of this Sunday in Advent, the significance of the pink candle. It is the theme of the Introit which we spoke earlier: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! The Lord sets the prisoners free. The Lord lifts up those bowed down. The Lord loves the righteous”. Dear friends, let this joy, the joy of the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ preached to you this day encourage and comfort you. Let it dispel all doubt and fear. May His joy abide with you always and be in your mouth and in your lives continually. You are forgiven through faith in Jesus Christ. He forgives your failures, and He gives us more blessings than we should ever expect. He promises to hear and comfort us when we call out for help when our earth-bound plans and expectations fail. He will help you and carry you through those times… even as He has carried your sins to the cross and buried them in His tomb.
When you are weak and heavy laden come to Him, confess your sins and your burdens, then receive His absolution, His forgiveness and love. Come to the altar and let Him remove the bitterness of the disappointments and sins of this life and fill your mouth and heart with the sweetness of His grace in the very body and blood of Jesus Christ given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins. In this way He fills your mouth with joy again by His Holy Spirit. Rejoice with the Church as we wait and watch for the expectation of His final coming which will not disappoint. Rejoice, that by His Spirit we are given His love and forgiveness to be able to remain steadfast in the confession of faith. The Lord has taken His judgements away from you. The Lord God is even now in your midst, a mighty one who will save and has saved…you! In Jesus name, Amen.
Pr. Aaron Kangas