3RD SUNDAY IN ADVENT

Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord. Amen.

In our dear Savior, my dear Christian friends!

"Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" according to the report of our today's text, this was the question which John the Baptist addressed to Christ; Christ was not to say, whether he was merely a wise man, or merely a prophet, or merely someone sent by God, but whether he really was the Messiah, who according to the prophecies of all the prophets of the Old Covenant should come, and for whom all believing Israel had waited with such longing.

This question, my friends, concerns us also; it was of the greatest importance not only for the Jews at Christ's time, but is likewise for us today. It is not enough that we believe that Jesus was a great benefactor of mankind, the founder of a new wonderful religion, or whether he is also the Savior of the world and the true Son of God; if our faith is to be firmly grounded, we must also know and believe without any doubts whatsoever, that Christ was the very one who had been promised to the patriarchs of the Old Testament, in short, the Messiah or Redeemer of the world who had been expected by all true Jews.

Christianity is founded on Judaism and has grown from its trunk like a tree of many branches producing much fruit; the New Testament rests upon the Old; the latter contains the promises, the former the fulfilment. If, therefore, the old Judaism and the Books of the Old Testament which contains it were false, then also Christianity and the Books of the New Testament would also be false. If the one falls, so does the other. That is why Christ says, "Had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?" Jn 5:46,47.

So, if we do not believe that Christ is the very Messiah who was to come, the very Seed of Abraham in whom all the families of the earth should be blessed, the King of Israel and Deliverer of Mankind who had once been and is even today still expected, we either do not believe in Christ or we believe in a false Christ. In the times of the Old Testament it was sufficient for salvation to believe that God would help man through a Messiah or Redeemer; but in the New Testament time, after Jesus has come into the world, it is absolutely necessary to believe that this Jesus is the Christ was was to come. This truth, that Jesus

is the Messiah, is the dividing wall between the Christians and Jews of today; it is also the foundation of our hope and salvation, Peter, therefore, says of the name of Jesus, "Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:12. And so John says in his First Epistle, "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." 1 Jn 5:1a.

I have not the least doubt, that all of you who usually come to this church consider as true the doctrine, that Jesus is that very person who should come; but Peter demands still more of Christians than such a conviction; he says, "Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you." 1 Pet 3:15, In order to help you be prepared, permit me to instruct you in that doctrine, briefly but as basically and completely as possible.

The Text. Matthew 11:2-10.

Without a doubt, John the Baptist was firmly convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, He could not doubt that, for God had said to him, "Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptiseth with the Holy Ghost." Jn 1:33. And John saw this when he baptized Jesus and at the same time heard God's voice from heaven, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Mt 3:17. He, therefore, also preached, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord," Mt 3:3. "There standeth one among you, whom ye know not,...Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." Jn 1: 26,29. Not for his sake at all did he have Jesus asked this question, but for the sake of his Weak disciples,"Art thou he that should some, or do we look for another?" This question benefits us today also; for Christ answered it in our Gospel in a way that we can be greatly strengthened in our faith. On the basis of our text I will show you that

JESUS REALLY IS THE MESSIAH WHO SHOULD COME

According to our text we see this beyond all doubt

I. From the WORKS which He did,

II. From the DOCTRINE which He Preached,

III. From the RECEPTION Given Him after His Manifestation on Earth,

IV. From the FAMILY, the PLACE, and the TIME in which He was Born,

Lord Jesus! In your name alone rests our salvation; through you alone we come to the Father. We, therefore pray, strengthen, establish, and confirm our faith in you more and more. Alas, it is a weak little light which can easily be extinguished amid the storms of the temptations of this wretched world so full of enemies, blasphemers, and mockers. You alone can preserve us so that we do not fall away, but remain with you and finally receive the crown. Do this for us all for your own sake. Amen.

I.

There is no other way of becoming certain about whether Jesus is actually the Messiah who should come than by searching in the Old Testament. That is why Christ also directed the Jews to it and said, "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me." Jn 5:39. All revolves around the question whether that what the prophets predicted of the coming Messiah was really fulfilled in Jesus. If Jesus' nature is such as the prophets describe it, if we really see the prophecies, promises, and hopes expressed about the Messiah actually fulfilled in Jesus, then beyond

doubt, he is also the person who should come, and we are not to look for another.

According to the prophets, the first thing whereby the Messiah would be recognized was his extraordinary miracles. That these were an essential mark of the Messiah was undisputed among all the Jews of Christ's time. That is why not only the people but also the Pharisees and Scribes so often demanded that Christ prove by signs and wonder that he actually was the Messiah. For thus writes the Prophet Isaiah, "Say to them,that are of a fearful heart, Se strong, fear not; behold, your God will come with vengeance (upon the unrepentant), even God with a recompence; he will come and save you (the repentant). Then the eyes of the blind .shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing." Is 35:4-6a.

All this was literally fulfilled in Jesus. In our text he answered John's question, "Go and shew John again these things which ye do hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up." Vv. 4,5a. With that Christ means to say,

I prove who I am; see, I create new eyes; men who from birth on were enveloped in darkness can now because of my power see this world; broken members are knit; at my nod benumbed hands receive new life; crippled feet suddenly begin to leap; deaf ears .begin to hear, tied tongues to speak loudly, all sickness leaves, yes, at my command the evil spirits flee, the devil leaves those he has possessed for a long time, and the dead arise from their graves.

God forbid, that Christ should have left the least little tiling undone which was predicted that the Messiah was to do; on the contrary, he has far surpassed all prophecies and therefore all that was expected. He alone did more miracles than all the prophets put together and did works which hitherto had been unheard of, so that once an Israelite in amazement exclaimed, "Since the world began it was not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind." Jn 9:32.

In this connection we must mention this special thing: not only did Christ himself do miracles but also had the power to let others perform miracles in his name, who in turn received the power to give it to others. In the chapter preceding our text we read, "And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease." Mt 10:1. This gift of imparting the power to do miracles no prophet ever had. When Elisha commanded his servant Gehazi to lay his staff upon the face of the dead child, he did not awaken; the prophet himself had to come.

Still less could the apostles and prophets perform miracles in their own names or impart the gift of doing them in their name. No, in holy zeal Peter said to the people, when they all looked him in amazement after he had healed the lame man, "Why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus....His name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know." Acts 3:12,13,16a. You see, only Je3us could perform miracles in his own name, and he thereby revealed that he did them by his own power.

.Oh, how confidently we can therefore despise the babbling of the unbelievers, who want to make of Christ merely a wise man, whose wisdom was indeed distinguished for his times, but which must be improved upon by more enlightened men of today! Come on, you wise of this world! Seal your wisdom, as Christ did, with divine miracles! - But you weakling, you can only speak proudly and

in no way accredit yourselves as preachers of the truth. Christ's sealed word will therefore remain forever and your word will be blown away like the dust of your bodies.

II.

If Christ had distinguished himself only by miracles, we still could not be completely certain that he actually was the Messiah who should come. We continue, for we see this also in the second place in the doctrine which he taught.

Even the special nature of his doctrine was predicted by the prophets. According to the clear statements of the Old Testament, the Messiah was to teach an entirely different doctrine than that of Moses, the mediator of the Old Covenant. According to his doctrine Moses promised salvation only to those who would keep the Law perfectly; but because no man can, his ministry announced death and damnation to all. We therefore read, "Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them." Dt 27:26a. But of Christ it was universally predicted that at his time all the thirsting would be offered refreshment, all the oppressed comfort, all sinners grace. Thus, for example says Isaiah, the evangelist of the Old Testament, "He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street," Is 42:2, that is, he will not scold with the thunder of the Law. "A bruised reed shall he not break and the smoking flax shall he not quench....He shall not fail nor be discouraged." Is 42:3,4a. In another passage the same prophet introduces the Messiah as saying, "The Spirit' of the Lord is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me," that is, made me the Messiah, or the Anointed, "He hath sent me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn." Is 61:1,2. Therefore Zephaniah also says, "For then," at the time of the Messiah, "will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent." Zeph 3:9.

Here is the picture which the prophets sketched of the doctrine of the Messiah. Now if we compare the teaching which was preached by Jesus, do we not find in him the true fulfilment? In our text he himself appeals to that when he adds the words, "And the poor have the Gospel preached to them."

But what is the Gospel? It is not a new law, not a new, pure, stern ethics, not a new teaching of works which we should do, not a preaching of damnation for sinners, but it is a preaching of grace, it is the joyful message that Jesus sinners doth receive, that whoever believes in him should be saved, it is the enticing of the miserable and erring, and the comforting and establishing of the fallen and frightened.

Christ, of course, also explained the Law, but that was not his real preaching; this he did as a prophet in order to awaken the secure, to show the blind and self-righteous their sins, to crush and soften hardened hearts, and thus prepare men for the comfort which he wanted to bring them.

His real ministry was the comforting Gospel. His call to men was, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,... and ye shall find rest unto your souls," Mt 11:28,29b. The content of all his teaching he indicates in the words, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Jn 3:16.

Christ, therefore, commanded his disciples to preach this same doctrine, when he left the world. He said to them, "Go ye into all the world, and preach

the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be chmned," Mk 16:15,16. And what do the disciples, the servants and apostles of Jesus, declare is the real content of the they were to preach? They say, "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." 2 Cor 5:20.

Accordingly, no one can contradict this: by his doctrine Jesus confirmed that he was the Messiah who was to come, But that this is true, we see in the third place from the way he was received here on earth.

III.

Christ himself indicates this in our text with the words, "And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me." V. 6. There are in the prophets many descriptions of the Messiah as a King with great majesty; therefore, the Jews looked mostly at this; they do that even now, and because they understand the glory of the messianic kingdom to be a temporal one, they once thought.and still think that Jesus could not be the Messiah.

Oh, what terrible, pitiable blindness! That those splendid sketches cannot be understood to mean an earthly glory, we see from the fact that the lot of the Messiah on this world is describes as most wretched. That is why Christ calls out, "Blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me," For Isaiah had already, written of him, "As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men." Is 52:14. (cp. the German.)

What do the Scriptures say was. in store for the Messiah? David says in PS 118 that he is .the stone which the builders rejected and which became the cornerstone. That is written of the Jews. Ps 41 says that the friend whom he trusted, who did eat of his bread, would lift up his heel against him; that was done by the traitor Judas, Psalms 22 and 69 say that he would be laughed to scorn and would be given gall for his meat, and vinegar for his thirst; they would pierce his hands and his feet and cast lots for his clothes; he would be like a worm and not a man, and complain that he was forsaken by God, Isaiah says that he would give his back to the smiters, and his cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; he would not hide his face from shame and spitting. He would have no form or comeliness; he would be so despised and rejected of men that they would hide their faces from him and esteem him not; he would be reckoned among the evildoers, tormented, wounded, and bruised; he would be silent like a lamb led to the slaughter and finally he buried like a godless person. Zechariah says that he would be sold for 30 pieces of silver and that his side would be pierced; the Lord of ho3ts would say, "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man thatis my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts; smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered." Zech 13:7. Finally, even Daniel says, "Messiah shall be cut off and shall have nothing," Dan 9:26.

But we also find predictions of the victory of the Messiah and the final glorious results of his deep humiliation. Isaiah says that when he will have given his life as an offering for sin, he would see his seed and prolong his life; the 16th Psalm which says that his flesh would rest in hope nor would his soul remain in hell, nor his flesh see corruption confirms this. Here apply David's other prophecies in the 68th and 110th Psalms, that the Messiah would ascend on high and lead captivity captive and would seat himself on the right hand of God. Joel and all the prophets conclude the whole matter with the announcements that the Messiah would then pour out the Holy Spirit from heaven, all nations would be called into his kingdom, and they would cling to him.

Now tell me, was not all this fulfilled word for word in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, so that, as one might say, even a blind man must see it? , Do not all the things which happened to him loudly proclaim: This Jesus is truly the Messiah who was to come? Do we not find in Jesus the picture of the Messiah, even there where the prophets have sketched the circumstances of his life to the very smallest and most insignificant details? - Oh that God would open the eyes of blinded Israel that they might see that this Son of David is that salvation for which they pine! that they might exclaim, "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the lord!"

IV.

So now we come to the last mark from which we can perceive that Jesus was the one who should come; we see this in the fourth place in the family, the place, and the time in which he was born. I can be even more brief since you have heard about this in the last mid-week Advent sermon.

In the writings of the Old Testament the family is clearly indicated from which the Messiah would descend. With every passing century God revealed this ever more clearly. At first the Messiah was promised as the son of Adam, then among his sons from the family of Seth, then among the sons of Noah the family of Shem, from among Shem's descendants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and from among the 12 sons of Jacob Judah and his descendants; and when this tribe also grew in number, God finally gave David, the son of Jesse of Bethlehem, the promise that his family was chosen and a branch from the root of Jesse would bring forth fruit for all nations and times. Finally, Isaiah added that a virgin of David's royal family was to be the chosen mother of the Savior, That all this was fulfilled in Jesus needs no proof. The genealogical tables which have been preserved for us in the Old as well as in the New Testament prove this beyond all doubt.

And Micah tells us where the Messiah was to see the light of day; he says, "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." Micah 5:2, It is not in vain that the word Ephratah is added to the word Bethlehem, for there was another Bethlehem in the tribe of Zebulon. Consequently, we can be certain that the little child in Bethlehem and not some one else is the one whom God has sent us, in whom we are to believe, and through whom we are to be saved.

The last thing which is revealed to us about the Messiah is the time when he should appear. Jacob, Haggai, and Daniel indicate this so clearly, that the least doubt must disappear. First of all Jacob says, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." Gen 49:10. When, therefore, Judah would have lost the scepter or the sovereign authority, then the Promised One would come. Haggai says that the desire of all nations must come while the second temple was still standing, and finally Daniel says from the time the command was given to rebuild Jerusalem until Christ came would be 70 weeks, that is, 'prophetic-year-weeks or 490 years.

From this it is absolutely certain: the Messiah must have come, for for almost 1800 years the second temple has lain in rubble and ashes, the scepter of Judah is gone, arid the 70-year-weeks have long ago passed into the sea of eternity.

So let us rejoice! Our faith in Jesus is no deception; he is like gold; the more keenly it is examined the brighter and clearer it shines. God is faithful in his promises. Oh, let us all simply cling firmly to it and we. will not be shamed but after a faithful struggle of faith we will be admitted to see what we believed.

May Jesus Christ, who has come to save that which was lost, help us all! Amen.