Sunday, December 14, 2025
Third Sunday in Advent (Advent 3A)
Text: Matthew 11:2-15
Sermon Audio
As we gather…We don’t always feel secure in this world. We often feel trapped, imprisoned by the sin and wickedness that surrounds us. At times, we may even doubt if Jesus really is the one who comes to set us free from our prison. John asks Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” In his time of doubt, notice that John turns to Jesus for the answer to his question. He doesn’t look to his captors for comfort, he sends people to Jesus. John knows, even in his moment of weakness, that Jesus has the answers. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is the Coming One. Like John, we trust that Jesus is the one who came to earth that first Christmas to be our Savior and take our sin to the cross. He continues to come to us in His Words and His Sacraments so we can continue to trust in Him for comfort even though the world may seek to imprison us. He is the one who will come again to make all things new. Rejoice! Christ is coming and brings you His peace.
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
“Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” This is the question that John the Baptist had for Jesus from prison in our reading from Matthew. He had to know that Jesus is the Coming One. How could John be so unsure that he sent two of his disciples to Jesus to find out? Didn’t John faithfully proclaim when he saw Jesus coming to be baptized, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Isn’t this the same John who leaped for joy in the womb of his mother when his cousin Jesus, who had barely been conceived inside of the Virgin Mary, came to visit him. John is one of two people living in the world at the time that should have been confident that Jesus was the Coming One. He and Mary had known since the events of the nativity of our Lord, (that the children shared with us this morning). Yet, John still asks the question. “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
John probably had an idea that this was the end of the line for him. He was in prison and things weren’t looking good. He even knew the part about the prisoners being freed when the Christ comes from Psalm 146. He wasn’t being freed. He was still behind bars for proclaiming the truth about the Messiah. “Is this what the Christ should be doing when He comes?” Even in his doubts, John refuses to go anywhere but to Jesus for answers. He turns to Jesus to comfort his troubled heart and in doing so, he points two more people to the Coming One.
It isn’t that hard to understand where John is coming from. You have been given ears to hear when the LORD opened them up in your baptism. Yet you struggle through life. It is easy to let doubts creep in. “I do good things in this world and I do my best to keep your commandments. O God, how come bad things keep happening to me?” We may not be in a physical prison for staying true to the words of our Savior, but it can feel that way as the bars of cancel culture begin to close around us. I might get labeled a bigot if I stand and point to Jesus as the place to find completeness rather than bowing to the whims of each person’s sinful desire. Jobs are threatened and lost in our cultural prisons. As each day passes it gets more tempting to turn to government or social movements as a source of relief. When our doubts arise and our social prison walls feel like they are growing smaller, don’t be afraid to cry out with John, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” When you ask this of Jesus it is a question of faith and hope. You are going to the source of hope from your prison instead of the solutions the world offers. When you continue to come to Him in times of doubt, He will comfort you just as He comforted John. And who knows, those around you who see your faith even in doubt may just be the people you are sending to Jesus to hear that He is God with us.
When you point to Christ from your prison cell, He will assure you that He is the Coming One. “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.” Everything that was foretold by Isaiah of the Coming Christ was held true in the person of Jesus. The child born of the Virgin Mary that fateful Christmas night, of whom the angels pointed the shepherds to, is the one who would fulfill all things. Even in our doubts we are reassured by this truth. Not only that He was born and grew up to work miracles, but that He continued His walk of redemption in this world. He would continue the path to the cross where the sin and disease of the world would be put to death. His resurrection restored all things to Him. All who have died to their sins in baptism are now raised with Him in His resurrection, into His life. Jesus is our source of comfort in our doubt. He has freed us from our true prison. Our prison of sin. Even if it doesn’t always feel like it, you can be confident of your freedom when you continue to come to Christ. You who are not offended by this Gospel of Jesus truly are blessed in Him. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Like the magi, you have searched the Scriptures and come to where the Coming One is to be found. They were led by a star to the Holy Child. You are led to where Jesus promises to still be now. You hear His Words faithfully so you know that He will continue to preserve you even when you doubt in this world. You are reassured that you have had your spiritual blindness and deafness healed and have been cleansed in the waters of Holy Baptism. You have been raised in His resurrection and walk in the newness of life and continue to have the Gospel preached to you. Jesus tells us that those who are least in the kingdom of heaven are even greater than John the Baptist. You have been made least in the kingdom of heaven through the blood of our Savior in His new covenant. You feast on Him at His table in His kingdom. You see, our Lord and Savior wasn’t just the one who came that night in Bethlehem and lived in Judea some 2000 years ago. Jesus is the one who is still the Coming One, even though that can be just as hard to believe for us as it was to John the Baptist from prison. We see the Coming One now in ways that we don’t understand yet He has given us ears to hear so we can trust in His coming for our salvation.
“Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” Your God has come to save you, He continues to come and save you, and He will come again with vengeance and the recompense of God and eternally save you. You need not be anxious or doubtful. You continue to point to Jesus as your hope; just as the angels, the magi, and John the Baptist did. He has opened your eyes and given you ears to hear. You know exactly who the Christ is. Blessed is he who is not offended by Jesus. Rejoice! The Coming One has come and brought you His salvation. You are truly blessed in Christ. Thanks be to God!
The peace of God which passes all understanding guard and keep you in the true faith unto life everlasting. Amen.