Third Sunday in Advent (2022)

John the Baptist had watched the Holy Spirit descending from heaven in the form of a dove and lit upon Christ, He heard the voice of the Father which said, this is my beloved Son with whom i am well pleased. But now he sits in prison wasting away, and he sends his disciples out to see whether Jesus was the one or not.

Does John Doubt?

Some believe that John doubted.

John the baptizer has been cut off from the river Jordan and locked away in Prison, and the message that he had been preaching was brought to a halt by King Herod who had him arrested.

They believe that John is filled with sadness.

So they hear these words of John and believe that they come from a place of depression. For if Christ was the one that John was waiting for then why do they not yet see his kingdom in all its power and glory and might.

They forget that John even in the womb rejoiced that Jesus had come.

John had been filled with the HOly Spirit since his conception, and when he heard the voice of mary who carried Christ, he leapt for joy pointing out that there is the Messiah the Son of God, John’s entire life had been about pointing people to Jesus, and showing them their savior.

John didn’t send his disciples for his benefit, but for their sake.

He wanted them to know who the Messiah is, who the Lamb of God is that takes away the sin of the world. So he was pointing people yet again to Jesus.

What did the Disciples Find?

They saw with their own eyes miracles.

If you look at the list of miracles that they witnessed in their time there. The Gospels tell us that they did not record everything that Jesus did, and if they tried too there wouldn’t be enough books to do it! Sure enough here we read everything that Jesus was doing in their sight and it was amazing.

These were not the works of men, but God.

Anytime miracles were done, they were typically quite limited, they were not widespread and when God would do them through his prophets it was rare, but in their time seeing Christ look at everything they witness. He heals the blind, the lame, leprosy, deafness, raises the dead, and the poor have the good news.

John knew he must diminish, he was the forerunner.

This is what John wanted the world to know and see, he already knew that Jesus was the Christ, the son of God, he wanted others to see it as well, and so when they come here, they see the works that Jesus is doing, because John’s ministry wasn’t about him, but about Jesus, and

That meant his disciples must leave him.

He wanted them to be followers of Christ, not him, and if they were to be his students and continue in what he was doing, they were point people to Jesus, not himself.

Jesus’ Miracles Prove What?

These things don’t just happen by luck or chance.

For a miracle is not something that is improbably, but something that is impossible, a blind person should not just receive back their sight because someone touches them, or makes mud with spit and puts it on their eyes. Saying to a lame person, rise and take your mat, does not cure them. The dead, are dead they don’t come back to us.

The miracles that Jesus performed were greater than what came before.

There was something different that was going on here, for the prophets who came before might perform a few miracles as God gave them to do, but Jesus is an endless fount of miracles that they just pour forth wherever he is.

Neither prophet nor apostle were his equal.

They could not come close to what Christ accomplished in terms of quantity or quality. He was unique and above all others, but they

They were done in plain sight to show that Jesus is God.

This is why John was so excited about Christ, for JEsus is the God in the flesh, the second person of the trinity through whom all things were made, walked the earth, and brought to people these blessings. You can see why John would leap at the presence of Christ, and proclaimed behold the lamb of God, and why he would send his disciples from him while he is in jail that they might see Jesus.

What does this mean?

We should fear and love God, and cling to Jesus.

We should not cling to earthly teachers, but rather always cling to Jesus, and this is what earthly teachers are meant to do. So be careful of any pastor or christian who points continually to themselves to establish the faith and does not point to Jesus. For Jesus is the one that matters, and we find him and his teachings and his life, in the Bible.

John was sent to prepare the way pointing to Christ.

For he was the one foretold, by the prophet Isaiah who was the messenger that would prepare the way pointing people to Jesus, and how did he prepare that?

John proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (Luke 3:3)

This paved the way when Jesus went down into the waters, it then gave to us a way to be united with Christ as Jesus’ disciples then began baptizing people for the forgiveness of sins.

Why did John keep pointing to Christ?

John is a prophet and he knew what Christ had come to do.

That is what every prophet did as they recorded what the Holy Spirit gave them to say, they were to perform the work of the kingdom. It was the most important thing that was going to happen in the history of mankind, that the Son of God would enter into the creation to save it.

Each of these Miracles, point to Christ’s Kingdom.

It also showed to his followers, what this Kingdom was going to be like, and we can learn from this as well. Why is it that we are so excited about the coming of Christ, its because he is going to fix all of these problems that have existed from the beginning.

Let us share the Gospel and point people to Jesus.

This is why we too want to point folks to Jesus. It is why we as Christians should go forth joyful sharing with others everything that Jesus has done for the sake of the world. That they might learn the works of the Son of God.

Now my brothers and sisters, there is one thing I touched on just briefly, it was that the poor hear the good news, that God has not forsaken his creation, but sent his only begotten son into the world for our sake. You and I cannot perform miracles like Jesus, but we can share the good news. The Son of God was born in Bethlehem to give up his life as a ransom for us, that we might not die eternally, but inherit a kingdom which does not perish. What must one do to be saved? Repent, and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, this promise is for you, and for your children and for all who are far off, for everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself through His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. In His name. Amen.

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