Third Sunday in Advent, 2020. The Messiah Is Here! Matthew 11:2-10

Video link of the service

The Hymn #73           Lift Up Your Heads Ye Mighty Gates

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual       

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Hymn # 63                 On Jordan's Bank the Baptist Cries

Two Electrifying Alerts: The Messiah Is Here!

The Hymn # 660                  I'm But a Stranger              

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #657                 Beautiful Savior   

Announcements and Prayers

• December 18th - Sixth Wedding Anniversary of Corey and Abby Meyer Fagan.
• December 21st - Star of Bethlehem, Jupiter Saturn conjunction.
• Luther's Galatians in color has been ordered for many. Thank you Norma Boeckler, Alec Satin, Virginia Roberts, and Janie Sullivan.
• Walther, the American Calvin is next. Then Creation Flowers, then the Bible text and translations.
• In treatment - Christina Jackson, Rush Limbaugh, Mary Howell will be home for Christmas
• Randy Anderson's completed his final just-to-be-sure chemo. Scan is clear.
• Doctor's care - Pastor Shrader, Pastor K, Dr. Lito Cruz, Jeshra Palangyos.
• Pray for Lyne Cruz' retirement red tape to be removed.
• Our media ministries - Alec Satin, Norma Boeckler, Travis and Lauren Cartee, Pastor Jordan Palangyos.
• Our Education Expert, is being honored at Vespers with her favorite hymn, "All Praise to Thee." She is recovering at home from heart disease.
• Our President and his staff/cabinet, our military justice system.

KJV 1 Corinthians 4:1 Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. 4 For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

KJV Matthew 11:2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? 4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. 7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? 8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. 9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

Third Sunday In Advent

Lord God, heavenly Father, who didst suffer Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to become man, and to come into the world, that He might destroy the works of the devil, deliver us poor offenders from sin and death, and give us everlasting life: We beseech Thee so to rule and govern our hearts by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may seek no other refuge than His word, and thus avoid all offense to which, by nature, we are inclined, in order that we may always be found among the faithful followers of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, and by faith in Him obtain eternal salvation, through the same, Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Two Electrifying Alerts: The Messiah Is Here!

KJV Matthew 11:2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?

This passage can strike people as mysterious, but the thoughts expressed are plain and simple, if we grasp the background. But the trouble is, as Luther wrote in his sermon on this text, many take the clear words of the Bible and turn them into grotesque ideas, because one error leads to another.

Two electrifying events took place to alert everyone - The Messiah is here! The first was impossible to miss in the clear skies, whether the moon was shining or not. The Star of Bethlehem beamed brightly and brought the Wise Men to Jerusalem and Herod, rocking the entire region. First, who could miss this event? Even now, our jaded population is waiting for something similar. Telescope widows are all too aware of their husbands excitedly explaining why had to be up at 3 AM to see a celestial event. But this one was visible to everyone and for a long period of time. 

There are several possibilities for the Star of Bethlehem, but I favor two or three planets appearing closely in the night sky. This was regarded as a threat to Herod and a promise of the Messiah. The event can be programmed at a planetarium, and atheists complain bitterly that the Star of Bethlehem planetarium programs are enormously popular. 

But that was so long ago, not forgotten - but like the events of this year, making people wonder if their hopes would ever be realized.

John the Baptist was the second great shock. He baptized Jesus and said the ordinary looking man was the Messiah. This was far closer to everyone, because this event was predicted in Isaiah 40. John was the one foretold who would be the forerunner of the Messiah, so his preaching of repentance - in the desert - meant the Messiah would be finishing the task they all awaited.

Isaiah 40 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins.

3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

God's timing is impossible to ignore. The Star of Bethlehem raised hopes and stayed with the people. I remember when we could see Jupiter and Mars rising in the Eastern sky, about 40 years ago, so bright, red and white, that people asked me the name of the "stars." Around that time, all nine planets were visible in the sky at once, a once in 900 years event. 

So when John the Baptist alerted the population, it confirmed the Star of Bethlehem hopes, and John spared no one in his message of repentance and hope in the Messiah.

the works of Christ

John knew Jesus' title and mission, but he saw this time as appropriate for showing his own disciples that the main event was happening. John would be executed and Jesus would die and rise again. As someone has said many times, teaching is often not enough - one must show them as well. 

We have to close our eyes and plug our ears to accept the mistaken idea that John, who baptized Jesus as the Messiah, was not sure Jesus was the Messiah. The disciples, perhaps like the Dow ag expert who came to see my 9 foot Silver Queen corn. 

Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?

In asking this question they would hear the answer from Jesus the Christ, Himself.

We should look at this part as our own guide to our faltering thoughts and steps. Can this really be true, that God wins? The miracle signs are all through the Bible, predicted and fulfilled. Moreover, we have many examples of difficult encounters where people asked Jesus, beyond all hope for an answer. Or they confidently expressed their faith in His ability to heal, with just His Word, or by touching the hem of His robe.

4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

This has been portrayed as Jesus answering  with all the proofs, annoyed or impatience. But it an example of Jesus witnessing to the Messianic reign which the Old Testament predicted so many times. 

The so-called Life of Jesus Movement came from rationalistic scholars (like Albert Schweizer) writing books on what they did not believe about Jesus - huge books in many cases. For most of them, Jesus did not believe He was the Messiah or the Son of God. And the disciples of these nitwits wrote tons of material on how seldom Jesus even spoke of such things. (See the Concordia Publishing House for this and much more in the future.) But here we have Jesus making the claim Himself, as He often did, but the flinty hearts of the rationalists will not accept it.

If the Gospel of John is raised as additional proof, they rave against the Fourth Gospel. They use scorn and sarcasm to make their case, as if saying, "Do you believe me or your lying eyes when you read your KJV Bible?"

These are the miracles Jesus performed, and God still does the same today. We should never let the rationalism of others come between us and the Word of God itself. The Bible judges all books, as I tell the Old Testament students, and no ecclesiastical authority is higher than the work of Professor Holy Spirit, whose one and only published Book remains a best seller, an anchor for our Faith and a comfort for all souls.

7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? 8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.

A reed shaken with the wind?

The answer to this is - "No." John the Baptist was not common - he was unique, in fact, unique among all the prophets. He had the hardest work to do. The previous prophets spoke of the future Messiah, so people could imagine that Savior. For many, that was a military leader like King David.

A man clothed in soft raiment?

Even the artists today show prophets in shaggy clothing and unkempt hair. John's mission was to proclaim repentance for sin and faith in the Messiah.

9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

Luther:

48. We must accustom ourselves to the Scriptures, in which angel (angelus) really means a messenger; not a bearer of messages or one who carries letters, but one who is sent to solicit orally for the message. Hence in the Scriptures this name is common to all messengers of God in heaven and on earth, be they holy angels in heaven, or the prophets and apostles on earth. For thus Malachi speaks of the office of the priest. “For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger (angel) of Jehovah of hosts.” Malachi 2:7. Again: “Then spake Haggai, Jehovah’s messenger (angel) in Jehovah’s message unto the people,” Haggai 1:13. And again: “And it came to pass, when the days were well nigh come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers (angels) before his face,” Luke 9:51.

Thus they are called God’s angels or messengers and solicitors, who proclaim his word. From this is also derived the word gospel, which means good tidings. But the heavenly spirits are called angels chiefly because they are the highest and most exalted messengers of God.

49. Thus John is also an angel or word-messenger, and not only such a messenger, but one who also prepares the way before the face of the Master in a manner that the Master himself follows him immediately, which no prophet ever did.

This part reminded me of the work of Presidential advance team. They go immediately before him and tell those they meet to prepare for the event. A hospital is taken over and the staff subordinated to caring for the President in case anything happens. 

These passages for Advent remind us of the impact of Christ, in teaching, in performing the miracles predicted in the Old Testament, and fulfilling Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22.

Everything was accomplished in the manner prescribed, which did not always stick with the people and the scholars. So God awakes us too, by allowing great calamities to threaten us and the peace of the world. He also sends us miracles and reminds us of what He has done in the past.

God allows false teachers to punish those who are slack and lazy, refusing to address error by teaching the Word of God. But He also uses those teachers to wake us up to those errors. They serve some function, even as they harden and blind themselves against the Gospel.

This year especially we should be aware of our parallels to the corrupt and degenerate Roman Empire, which was the glory of the world in Jesus' time but already failing. Jesus - with nothing more than miracles and faith in Him - knocked the grandeur of Roman paganism into the dustbin of history.