SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2025 | THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT YEAR A
Isaiah 35:1–10 | Matthew 11:2–15
Re-claimed and Transformed (Matthew 11: 2-15)
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Grace, Mercy and Peace be to you from God our Father and the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
In our Gospel reading for today, John the Baptist is in prison. Herod has jailed John at the request of his wife, Herodias. Herodias was furious because John had criticized her marriage to Herod. Why? She was already married to his brother.
John is a preacher of the Law. He simply declares what the commandments say: Herod, the Sixth Commandment declares that you shall not commit adultery. And what does this mean? Herod it means that you should fear and love God so that you lead a sexually pure and decent life in what you say and do and husband and wife love and honor each other.
Herod you’re committing adultery with your brother’s wife. This is not decent. This is not pure. This dishonors the institution of holy matrimony. It dishonors God. It is not good, it is evil. So Repent!
But Herod does not repent. Herod does what he wants to do. He indulges himself, and he refuses to stand up for what is good and right. He allows selfish lust to control him. And then he defies the preacher of the Law. He defies the Law itself. He defies the law-giver.
This, by the way is what all sinners do, by nature.
I mean this time of year, as we move through Advent into Christmas, we hear John the Baptist saying, “Prepare the Way of the Lord. Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” And we say, Amen. Amen. Yes, Yes, it shall be so. But meanwhile the sinful nature says, NO WAY! I’m not going to repent. Repentance is hard. It’s hard to admit that we’re wrong.
Adam and Even didn’t want to do it. They tried to hide from their sin. And then they tried to blame somebody else for their sins. It was the woman’s fault. It was the serpent’s fault. It’s your fault God.
And we’re experts at this and any other kind of deflection. We’ll do anything at all that will take the attention away from our sin. Anything at all that will free us from the obligation before God to admit that we’re wrong. Anything at all that will enable us to make no change in our lives, but to keep on sinning. That’s what our sinful nature wants. Not repentance. And we want it so badly that we’ll fight with God and embrace sins that lead to pain, suffering, and even death in order to get our own way, in order to avoid accountability.
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Ok, so John is there in prison for preaching the Law to Herod and Herodias. And from his prison cell, he sends word to Jesus. He asks a question : “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look to another?” (Matthew 11:3)
This is an interesting question coming from John. Surely John knows the answer to this question. John leaped for joy in his mother’s womb when Mary the mother of the Lord came for a visit. John Baptized Jesus in the Jordan and heard the voice of the voice of the Father and saw the Spirit descending on Jesus like a dove. John pointed his own disciples to Jesus, saying, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Surely John knows the answer to his own question.
Maybe. Maybe as a good teacher, John is posing a rhetorical question to Jesus so that Jesus can proclaim the truth about who He is.
Or maybe John doubts.
How many of us know the truth, proclaim the truth here in the sanctuary of the Lord…and yet still struggle with doubt. Many of us. Most of us. All of us? With the father of the demon-possessed child in Mark chapter 9, don’t we say, “I believe; Help my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24)
Maybe John is struggling because he’s in prison for preaching the Law. God, I’m just doing what you called me to do. And here I am in prison. Why God? Where is the justice? Where is the vindication that your Messiah is to bring? Where is our salvation? “Jesus are you the one who was to come…or should be looking for another?”
And underneath that question, there is perhaps an unspoken rebuke: Jesus, you’re not living up to our expectations. You’re not living up to my expectations.
Now, how does Jesus respond? He quotes Isaiah. He points John and his disciples back to the Word of God and the promise of the Messiah. He says,
“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. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” (Matthew 11:4-6)
Jesus points to His own fulfillment of the prophesies. He is healing the blind, the lame, the lepers, and the deaf. Even the dead are raised by Him. He is preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God. He is showing forth the salvation of God in His Words and deeds. He is transforming the lives of His people.
Yeah, but. But John is still in prison. Herod and Herodias are still engaged in their adulterous relationship. The Pharisees and Sadducees are still wreaking havoc on the spiritual lives of the Jews. And the idol worshipping Romans are still occupying our nation.
And in our day, people continue to twist and reject God’s Word. They can’t accept the created order of things. They don’t believe men are men and women are women. They kill babies and the elderly for the sake of convenience. They reject the family and God’s calling for husbands and wives, mothers and fathers and children. They reject and insult and belittle the church where the treasures of God are freely given to all who believe. They run after money and power. The leave the poor and oppressed to fend for themselves. There is no love or compassion. There is no truth.
And in the face of all this we, like John ask…Jesus, are you the one who is to come or should we be looking for salvation somewhere else? I mean really, is this place, this simple sanctuary on Lower Roswell Road, is this really a holy place? Is this really where we find the salvation of our God? Is this it, or should we be looking somewhere else?
Well what does God say?
Isaiah, chapter 35…the verses that come right before those that Jesus quoted.
Isaiah says, Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 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.” (Isaiah 35:3-4)
Strengthen the weak hands and the feeble knees. When the weight of the world and its curse weigh down on us…when we look around and we think, is this it? Is this our salvation? Then our hands are weak and our knees are feeble. We are about to be crushed. And our hearts grow anxious. Fear, doubt, despair take hold of us. Or maybe we just become jaded, believing that nothing in this world will ever change so why bother praying or entrusting ourselves, our families, and our neighbors into God’s hands? What will it matter anyway?
But when we find ourselves weakened by this unbelief. Overcome by anxious doubts. Overcome even by our own sin. God comes to strengthen us. He strengthens us with His Word, by His unbreakable promise, which is attached to the gifts He delivers here and now in this Holy House.
Dear children of God, as you come into the Sanctuary of our God this day, as you bring your weak hands, your feeble knees, your anxious, weary and sinful hearts, hear the Word of the Lord: Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come. With vengeance… with vengeance? Is that good? Yes…Because God will come to put an end to all wickedness and rebellion and to establish His Holy and Righteous reign. And He will overthrow every one of our enemies, beginning with the power of sin to destroy us…because He has come to save us. To Save You!
Dear people of God, Hear this unbreakable promise. And know that is true. And see that God attaches this promise to the water of Baptism, where you were made His very own child. He attaches this promise to the Words of Absolution, with which He forgives all repentant sinners. He attaches this promise to bread and wine, which He declares by a Divine Mystery to be His true body and blood, given and shed for you.
And these mundane things. These simple things that come to you in the Divine Service, are the very pledge of God’s love and faithfulness to you. They are the very miracle of God who comes into our midst today… To be with you. To forgive you. To strengthen your faith and to empower you to live as dear children of God
So when look around at a crazy and corrupt world…when fear and doubt and anxiety creep into our hearts…when we ask the question that John asked, “Jesus are you really the one who was to come…or should be looking for someone else, something else?”
Then, Jesus assures us just as He did John. He says come and see. Touch the water in the font. Remember your Baptism. Remember that I declared that you are mine and washed away your sins.
Come and hear. When you confess your sin, hear and believe it when I speak through your Pastor saying, I forgive you all of your sins.
Come and taste. Take and eat. Take and drink. And know that I love you and I welcome you to my table as my own dear child.
And in this way our hearts are transformed.
Herod and Herodias fought against God’s gifts. They rejected the Law preached by John the Baptist; they embraced the wickedness and corruption of their day. Their hearts were captives to selfishness and sin. And they had no peace … because there’s never peace in rejecting God’s Word, God’s will.
But as for you, dear people of God, your weak hands are strengthened to do the work God has called you to. Today He strengthens you to lead your families in daily prayer, and in the reading of the Scriptures, and in the study of the catechism. Today He strengthens you to do your duty at work and in the various roles of service He has granted to you. Your hands are strengthened and your feeble knees bear up and as you say no to sin, and instead walk in the ways of the Lord. And as you step out in faith and give generously to support the work of the church and the school. As you willing and eagerly take invitations like those we’ve distributed to you a few weeks ago, and share them with your neighbors, asking them to come to church, to hear God’s Word and receive His gifts. Your hands and your knees are strengthened; and your anxious hearts find peace. Peace that surpasses understanding as you come here today to receive God’s gifts today in Word and Sacrament.
For these gifts truly transform us. It’s not a clever sermon or a self-help technique. It’s not a new vision or energy brought by a new pastor. It’s not a perfect bulletin or the right hymns or a special prayer. No, what transforms us and restores in us the image of God, is nothing else but God’s Holy Word and Sacraments. These work faith in your heart. These give you life and salvation, hope and a future, all on the basis of the holy, innocent, bitter suffering and death of our Lord, Jesus; and His glorious resurrection on the third Day. These gifts save you. These gifts of God transform your heart and empower you to follow Jesus, turning away from sin, and living a life of faith toward God; and love and service toward your friends and your family, and your neighbors. Amen.
The Peace of God, which surpasses understanding, guard your hearts and minds in the one true faith in Christ Jesus. Amen.