Sunday, December 7, 2025
Second Sunday in Advent (Advent 2A)
Text: Matthew 3:1-12
Sermon Audio
As we gather…If a voice cries in the wilderness, does it make a sound? If there is a lone “crazy” person crying out and nobody is listening to him or heeding his call, does his message even matter? With the way the world is going, sometimes we as Christians can feel that way. Does it make a difference that I come here every Sunday? Does it matter if I raise my family in the faith? Am I teaching my children only to have them turn from the faith when they grow up? John the Baptist was one such voice crying in the wilderness, and even though many people rejected him such as the pharisees, nonetheless, many people listened to him and heeded his warnings. When we share God’s Word, and when we follow His commandments, we never know the difference we’ll make. Yes, the tree that has fallen in the forest may not be noticed as it falls, but the impact can be felt for years. In the same way, God’s Word never returns empty.
What a beautiful sanctuary we have a day after decorating. Thank you to everyone who helped decorate. We finally threw away the old Christmas tree and got a new one. Lord willing, it will serve our congregation for many years.
As we put up decorations, our thoughts shift to trees. Where are we going to put the tree? What decorations are we going to put on the tree? What presents are going to go under the tree?
John the Baptist also had trees on his mind. But he doesn’t care so much about all those things. He wants to know what fruit is growing on the tree. What can that mean? He cares more about your heart as you prepare for Christmas more than the outward decorations because that’s what God cares about.
John the Baptist is preparing for the one who is mightier than He, whose sandals he is not worthy to untie. Even now, John the Baptist is preparing us for Christmas as we prepare for the arrival of Jesus Christ, the mightier one. John wants you to be ready because THE MIGHTIER ONE ENJOYS FRUIT WITH HIS PENITENTS.
First, I. The mightier one expects fruit of repentance. More than the perfect decorations or the right presents, Jesus Christ expects the fruit of repentance. This is the way to prepare for Christmas.
John the Baptist proclaims to the crowd, “Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” He wants presents under the Christmas tree. He wants apples on the tree. He wants people who say that they believe in God to live like it.
Let’s look at three kinds of bad fruit of repentance. First, fruit can’t be a hand-me-down. John the Baptist sees the Pharisees and Sadducees, the religious elites of their time. He calls them offspring of vipers and then he yells at them saying, “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.”
The Pharisees and Sadducees were overly obsessed with who their ancestors were. In the church, there are only children of God, no grandchildren of God. Some people can be fooled into thinking that since their dad or grandpa helped build the church, that their ticket to heaven is punched, even if this individual doesn’t know if he actually believes in this whole Jesus thing or can’t be bothered to attend worship. Fruit of repentance can’t be a hand-me-down, each of us must turn from sin and turn to Jesus Christ, the mightier one for salvation.
Second, you can tell good fruit from the way it looks. That is, it’s one thing to say you’re sorry for your sins and want to do better, but if that’s just words with no intention of follow through, there is no true fruit of repentance. In Luke’s account of the ministry of John the Baptist, when the people hear John’s sermon, they ask what shall we do? He tells them to share food and clothing with those who have none. He tells tax collectors and soldiers to live honorably.
Dear Christian friend, you are called to live a holy life. That is a part of bearing fruit in keeping with repentance. If you’re sleeping with your boyfriend, stop it, even if it means he breaks up with you. If you’re watching pornography, stop it, and seek out the support of Christian friends to help you quit the habit. If you’re getting drunk every weekend, stop it. Avoid places of temptation like bars or parties. If you’re gossiping and telling half-truths, remember the 8th commandment, you shall not give false testimony against your neighbor, which tells us to speak well of others and put everything in the kindest way. Hear God’s Word and live according to how the Lord would have you live following the Ten Commandments, loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself.
Yet this demand is not legalism because we are not asking you to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Our third idea about the fruit of repentance is that good fruit grows on the good tree. Many organizations and false churches do a lot of good works that are ultimately not fruit in keeping with repentance. In late September, a man set a Latter Day Saint, or Mormon, meetinghouse on fire and shot people inside the building. The shooter then committed suicide. What a horrible thing!
A Latter Day Saint started a go fund me for the family of the shooter and raised over $300,000. Now, we can say that is objectively a good thing. However, because the Latter Day Saints don’t rightly believe in God—they deny the Holy Trinity—this fruit of repentance is not attached to the true tree. We cannot win God’s favor through our works, but rather through faith the Lord works in our hearts to produce fruit of repentance.
The mightier one expects fruit. “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.”” He accepts no hand-me-down fruit. He expects the fruit to be good. He expects the fruit to be connected to the tree.
Which brings us to our second point, II. The mightier one gives us Spirit and fire to produce repentance. John the Baptist tells us that although he baptizes with water, “he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
The only other time the word mightier one is used in the Gospels is a parable Jesus tells about Himself. Satan is the Grinch who stole the presents under the tree. He is the strong man who you would be a fool to rob. However, Jesus is the stronger man who overcomes Satan stealing the presents back for our use.
Jesus has defeated Satan for you. Jesus was baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire as He endured the wrath of God for you on the tree. The manger scene, the creche, is tied to the crucifix. The Christmas tree to the tree of Calvary.
Because He died and rose to forgive you and give you new life, you no longer need to lean on dad or grandpa’s faith, you can participate in the church and take an active role hearing God’s Word and serving. You realize these promises aren’t just for people who have been to every service and know every Bible verse. You aren’t a grandchild of God, through baptism, you are a child of God.
Through His suffering and death, Jesus prunes away the bad fruit you produce. The mightier one is stronger than your sexual sins. The mightier one binds the strong man of your addictions, and walks with you on the bumpy road to recovery. The mightier one forgives you for your careless words and sets a guard over the door of your lips so that you can call upon Him in the day of trouble. He forgives you when you sin daily and are in need of forgiveness.
He forgives you of your carelessness thinking that it’s more important that you do good than that you trust in Him. He calls to you to get to know Him better through His Word so that you can first of all believe who He is, and know that you yourself are made holy and righteous by Him alone.
Moreover, the mightier one sends you the Holy Spirit and fire. Through Christian baptism, the Holy Spirit dwells in you. He is the same Spirit who empowered Jesus the mightier one to overcome the mighty man Satan, and through Him we can bear fruit in keeping with repentance, even if it is in fits and spurts in this life.
THE MIGHTIER ONE ENJOYS FRUIT WITH HIS PENITENTS. That is, Jesus wants this fruit of repentance from you, His penitent, that is, His repentant person. Why? Because III. The fruit of repentance is sweet. All of us are gearing up for Christmas and making preparations. It can be a stressful time.
There is a reward for the hard work, the smile on the faces of your loved ones as they open the perfect presents, the family enjoying a meal you prepared, or the hard work now in the office to get some time to relax a bit at the end of the year.
The Holy Spirit works through the Word to turn you from sin and to turn you toward Christ. This action is a fruit that is sweet and worthwhile. It was a worthwhile venture for John the Baptist to do this to prepare people for the start of Christ’s ministry. The Holy Spirit used John’s fearless preaching and bold proclamation of repentance to inspire people to follow Jesus Christ the mightier one. As the Lord speaks to you through His word, He may be inviting you to repent in a certain way this month. I pray you would hear that voice and follow it. When Christmas comes, the Lord not only wants you to enjoy the festivities with all their outward trappings, He wants you to enjoy this life as He shares with you the sweet fruit of turning from sin and following Him. Amen.