The 3^rd Sunday of Advent

SERMON

Text: Matthew 3:1-11

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD, make His paths straight.’” And John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but 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.”

In Christ Jesus, Who is coming again to judge the living and the dead, dear fellow redeemed:

Christmas is just one week away! I would imagine that most of you by now are well on your way with your preparations for the holidays. It takes a lot of preparation to get ready to celebrate the holidays. There are lists of people to invite to any variety of festive occasions, and seemingly endless lists of grocery items to purchase for those occasions. There are Christmas card address lists to review and update, and, of yes, there are always presents to buy and wrap! Our world spends a lot of time, money, and energy with preparations for the holidays. Unfortunately, many people who are busy preparing for Christmas this year will fail to make the most important preparations—preparations of the heart! Such preparations are indeed the most important—to prepare our hearts as we look back to Bethlehem’s manger to see God Himself incarnate as our Savior from sin. However, let us bear in mind that as we prepare our hearts for the holidays, we are not only and not even primarily looking back to Bethlehem’s manger, but rather we are looking ahead to the end of time and what the Scripture’s call our final redemption (cf. Romans 8:23). In order to assist ourselves with such preparations, let us this morning consider the ministry of John the Baptizer, whom God sent to prepare the way for His promised Savior. John’s message is just as valid for us as it was for the people of his day. Let us, therefore, listen as John urges us—PREPARE FOR THE COMING OF THE LORD!

I.

How are we to do that? John urges us, first of all, repent of your sins! Matthew introduces John’s ministry with the following words, “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, ‘Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Repentance is the first and foremost way we prepare for our Lord’s coming. The word “repent” means literally to have a “change of mind.” When we choose to sin against our God, we reject His will and follow our own. Repentance implies that we recognize our failure, sorrow over it, and genuinely want to change our attitude, words, and conduct. Such repentance is the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, for by nature our hearts are cold and opposed to the will of God for our lives. Through the preaching of the law, God confronts us with our sin and the just judgment of God upon our sin. Through the preaching of the gospel, He informs us of His grace and love for sinners. The Holy Spirit uses both the law and the gospel to lead us to sorrow over sin and rejoice in our Savior.

Now, of what should we repent? We should repent of all sins, but those sins will vary among us depending on who we are and where we are in our lives. John the Baptizer addressed those people who came to him collectively, for we all commit common sins, but he also addressed people individually discussing those sins peculiar to those individuals. He talked to tax collectors about the sins of greed and to soldiers about the unlawful use of force. Martin Luther in his discussion of confession in the Small Catechism urges us to “examine your place in life according to the Ten Commandments. Have you been faithful as a father, mother, son, daughter, employer or employee? Have you been disobedient, unfaithful, or lazy? Have you been bad-tempered, used foul language, or been easily provoked? Have you injured anyone in what you’ve said or done? Have you stolen anything, neglected your duty, been careless, or damage anything?”

My dear friends, a recognition of sin, genuine sorrow over sin, and faith in the atoning work of Jesus is not a matter of theory to be objectively considered from a distance. No, it is personal—so very personal, as we examine our personal lives, recognize our personal failings and their effects on our relationship with God, and finally as we are uplifted personally by God and claimed as His own dear children! PREPARE FOR THE COMING OF THE LORD! Repent of your sins!

II.

Secondly, John urges us to refrain from relying upon externals! There were many people from all of the surrounding regions who came to hear John the Baptizer. Many of them were led by the Spirit to repent of their sins and receive John’s baptism. There were others, however, who came out of curiosity to see and to hear, but who felt no need for repentance or baptism. These people are identified in our text as the Pharisees and Sadduces, the religious leaders of the Jews. Matthew writes, “When he (John) saw the Pharisees and Sadduces coming to his baptism, he said to them, ‘Brood of vipers! Who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come?….Do not think to say to yourselves. ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.”

The Pharisees and Sadduces had established an elaborate system of spiritual theories and laws by which if kept with reasonable success they deemed themselves righteous before God. The promised Messiah was not considered to be a Savior from sin, but rather a Savior from external political oppression, who would return to the Jews their proper power and prosperity. Part of their spiritual system was an absolute confidence in their ethic lineage—they were direct descendants of Abraham. It was literally believed that no Jew would ever suffer eternally for Abraham’s merits were sufficient to rescue them all from the punishment of hell. John warned these religious leaders not to be deceived. Salvation was not a matter of ethnic background or any other external matter. Rather, it was a matter of humble repentance and a personal relationship with God based upon sincere faith in Jesus.

My dear friends, do not allow yourselves to believe that any external will save you from your sins. Membership in a church does not save. Burial in a Christian cemetery does not save. Belonging to one particular family as opposed to another does not save. Salvation is to be found alone in Jesus and a faith, which accepts God’s gracious gifts of forgiveness, righteousness, and eternal life. Your Savior calls out to you, “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Go him, dear friends! Rely upon His grace and blessings! Yes, PREPARE FOR THE COMING OF THE LORD! Refrain from relying upon externals!

III.

Thirdly, John urges us to respond with appropriate fruits of faith! John proclaims, “Bear fruits worthy of repentance…even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” How important are fruits of faith in the life of a Christian? They are very important. They do not save us, for the Bible assures us that our eternal salvation is a gift of God’s grace alone received by faith alone (cf. Ephesians 2:8-9). However, they are to flow freely from our hearts and fill our lives as a testimony to our faith and a means whereby we can glorify our God!

Upon calling for repentance, John the Baptizer urged those listening to him to “bear fruits worthy (or appropriate) of repentance.” What does that mean? It means that there are appropriate responses for making amends when we sin. It means that given our situations in life, there are appropriate works to fill our lives and touch those involved in our lives. John urges tax collectors, who had cheated people, to pay back those whom they had cheated. He urged them not to take any more money that they were supposed to in the future. John urged soldiers not to use unnecessary force and intimidation in the future. These were appropriate displays of the sincerity of their repentance.

In the same way, when we sin and are then lead by God’s grace to repentance, our fruits of faith should be appropriate. If we have stolen something, we should return it to its rightful owner. If we have slandered someone’s good name, we should apologize to the person offended and attempted to set the record straight with those to whom we have spoken untruths. If we speak harshly to our husbands or wives, we ought apologize and refrain from such language in the future. Individuals intent upon responding appropriately to our Lord strive not to make excuses for sin, but rather confront sin in their lives directly and pray for the strength to avoid such sins in the future. Good works do not have to be and most often are not large or dramatic actions. Rather they are simply a matter of loving one another, as God would have us love. Paul once wrote, “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8). A kind and encouraging word, a helpful action, a quiet compliment—these are ways we can PREPARE FOR THE COMING OF THE LORD! Yes, let us respond with appropriate fruits of faith!

IV.

And, finally, John urges us to rejoice in the outpouring of the Spirit! John stated, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but 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.” John was preparing the way for the promised Savior—the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. Even so we are to prepare our hearts and lives for His coming! He is the grand and glorious One, to Whom all authority has been given in heaven and on earth, and in Whose hands rests our entire future. That future is secure because of the work Jesus has done for us, and the promises Jesus has made to us! Let us, therefore, rejoice in His gift of the Spirit who fills our hearts and inspires our lives!

The context here is baptism—John’s and Jesus’ baptisms. However, while John here speaks of baptism as we know it—that means of grace by which faith is instilled and strengthened—he is not limiting his thoughts to that. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He promised to send His Holy Spirit to be our Comforter and Helper (cf. John 14:14:16,26; 15:26). The Spirit, Jesus said, would abide with us forever and instruct us in the truth. Even so, the Spirit has powerfully entered the hearts of each of His children instilling faith and causing it to grow. It is the Spirit Who is at work creating those godly virtues of which the Scriptures speak and which are so essential to our Christian lives—“love, joy, peace, lonsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22).

Let us rejoice, dear friends, in the outpouring of the Spirit! Paul assures us in the beautifully mysterious first chapter of Ephesians, that we have been “sealed with the Holy Spirit of promises, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14). We are the “purchased possession” concerning which Paul writes. We have been purchased by God with the precious blood of Christ and will ultimately as God has promised be redeemed unto eternal life.

Dear friends, let us PREPARE FOR THE COMING OF THE LORD!

—Pastor Paul D. Nolting