Advent 3 December 11, 2016
Advent 3
Matthew 11:2-11
December 11, 2016
“There’s Only One”
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Whatever else good or bad you could say about our next President, you can say that he’s one of a kind, right? There’s only one Donald Trump, right? We say that about a lot of people. There’s only one Michael Jordan or there’s only one Michael Jackson. Well, that’s fine, but of course it’s actually true about every single one of us. There’s only one person in the entire world like you. Only one person with your DNA, only one with your fingerprint, only one with your unique voice.
Now that also means there’s only one Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary. He also had a unique DNA, unique fingerprint, and unique voice. So there’s only one you. There’s only one Jesus. Now God has promised that one of us—one of us unique humans—would be born to save the world. John the Baptist knows this in our Gospel reading today. There’s only One person who will save the world. So John the Baptist’s question in the Gospel reading today is—out of all the unique people in the world, is this one unique guy, Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary, specifically THEE One? Is He the Messiah? Is Jesus the One, out of everyone else in the world, to save the world?
This would seem to be an important question. Is Jesus THEE One to save me and everyone else in the world? Is Jesus the One I should trust above all others and entrust my life into His hands? Or am I the one who will save myself? Do I know just as well as Jesus does?
Look at John the Baptist sitting in prison in the Gospel reading today. This is the question he’s struggling with. Has he been right all this time? Is Jesus really THEE guy? Or did he make a mistake? John certainly would have done things differently. He wouldn’t be sitting in Herod’s prison where, as we know, he will soon be beheaded.
Now remember that Jesus and John the Baptist are cousins. Their mothers, Mary and Elizabeth, were cousins. So you know how it often is with cousins—you can banter back and forth a little bit. It’s family, you know. So I think John was especially comfortable, as a cousin of Jesus, to send over this question and just lay it all out there, “Look, cousin, are you really who you say you are? Were you being serious all this time? You really are the Christ? The Messiah? You really are the One? Be straight with me, cousin.”
Now this really is THEE question, you see. It’s the most important question you’ll ask in your entire life. Is Jesus THEE One? Is He the One to save me?
John the Baptist may be struggling with that question because he’s just sitting in prison waiting around. It is so hard to sit around and wait. Don’t we all know this? It is hard to sit around and wait? Think about John the Baptist, pacing around his prison cell, wondering if he’s going to ever get out of there, wondering every day if that day will be his last. His mind is racing. And he’s going over and over this question—Is Jesus the one to save the world?
For you and me, it’s also very hard to sit and wait. When life is moving along as it’s normal breakneck pace—and you’re running around to work and school and family gatherings and shopping and sports and music and doctor appointments and vacations and everything else we busy ourselves with—when life is moving along normal we don’t think about this bigger question as much. We just keep moving day to day to day.
But when we have to sit and wait—then it gets hard. When a close family member dies, and we have to sit around and wait because nothing else seems so important anymore. And we sit around and wait with family and funeral arrangements. And that’s when we’ll ask a question like John the Baptist—Jesus, are you the One? Are you the One to save the world? And save me?
Or when you’re sick and in pain—and all you can do it sit around and wait and wait and wait for the pain to go away. And wait for the next treatment or the next medicine—and all of those normal busyness things just aren’t as important anymore—then you begin to ask a question like John the Baptist—“Jesus, are you really the One? Are you the One to save me and the rest of this world?”
Or when you’re sitting and waiting for things to make sense. When your life is upside down and nothing is going as you plan and nothing is making sense and the world just keeps on chugging along without you and you’re feeling lonely and depressed—then you ask like John the Baptist, “Jesus, are You the One for me? Are You the One to save the world?”
THAT is an important question. Is Jesus the One?
Well, there is one thing about Jesus that makes Him a bit different from every single one of us and a bit different from every other person that has ever lived on this earth. It’s more than just a different fingerprint and a different voice. Jesus has a different Father. Jesus wasn’t born of an earthly father as you were. He was born of God the Father in heaven. He is fully one of us and yet also fully God.
This means that out of all the rest of the unique people on earth including yourself, Jesus is the only One who is uniquely capable of saving you and the rest of the world. There’s only One Jesus. And He is THEE One. The One that God specifically sent into this world to save you.
So Jesus sends words back to John, His cousin, “Hey, cousin, look at what I’m doing. The blind are seeing again. The lame are walking. Lepers are being healed. The deaf are hearing again. The dead are being raised up. And the poor are having good news preached to them. Can you believe this, John? Have you ever seen anyone else in the history of the world who can make blind people see or make dead people walk again? There’s only One who can do that. Yes, cousin, I’m the One.”
Jesus ends with these words, “Blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” See, there’s really only two options. Either you will be offended by Jesus or blessed by Jesus. He IS the One. The one to save the world. There’s no getting around it. So either you’ll be offended by Him and you won’t like the things He does and the things He says and you’ll think that you could save the world a whole lot better than He has done. Many in the world are just that—offended by Jesus. They think HE is ridiculous. Or you will be blessed by Him. You will believe that of all the people in the earth-He alone is the One who can save you and save the world.
And Jesus is the One. He’s the only One who is able to save you from your sins. He is the only One who could live a perfect life for you and then hand it over on the cross. No one else can do that for you. He is the only One who is stronger than death and so He died your death for you on the cross and rose from the dead on Easter morning so that you can live forever in heaven.
There’s only One Jesus. You and I are not Him. John the Baptist wasn’t Him. We cannot save the world. Only Jesus. He’s the One for you. Whenever you’re sitting and waiting like John the Baptist—remember this. There’s no other one to save you. He’s the Only One who can save you from your own sin and from the devil and from death. He’s the only one who can makes all things work together for your good. He’s the Only One who can promise You that He will never leave you nor forsake you. He is the One for you. Always. Always.
Now, this Sunday gives opportunity to say one more thing that’s important to remember once in a while. And that’s about why we have pastors and what their job is. John the Baptist had just one job and he wanted to get it right. His only job was to help others see and know Jesus. And that is the whole reason Jesus has given all other pastors. Jesus knows we all have a hard time sitting and waiting. He knows we all have many doubts and many tribulations. So He gives pastors to always, always be helping us to see and know that Jesus is the One for us.
In our second reading today from 1 Corinthians, Paul is trying to make the same point. People were getting all wrapped up in who their pastor was. Some were saying they followed Apollos and some were saying they followed Paul. They were making the pastors out to be the important ones. Paul says, “No, no, no.” You’re missing the point. This is how one should regard us, he says, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Pastors are nothing. Just servants and stewards. That’s all they are. Their whole job is to be servants who bring Jesus and His mysteries to us. So through preaching and through Baptism and through the Lord’s Supper—all a pastor does is just over and over tell us that Jesus is the One and bring His forgiveness to our souls that need it. May we never forget that and start acting like my pastor is all that important—it’s just what my pastor does. He helps us to see THEE One—the Only One—Jesus Christ, your Savior. Amen.