CHURCH

LUTHERAN

Our Savior's of Elderon

2nd Sunday in Advent 16Matthew 3:1-12                 INI                2nd Advent 16

            There were some days this past week where it didn’t feel like December, did it?  Temperatures in the upper 40’s and fifty, no snow, just rain. But, go to the stores and you’ll see all kinds of evidence that it is indeed December. You’ll see wreaths, garland, lights of all kinds, different ornaments, all kinds of Christmas decorations. Perhaps you’ve even begun to decorate your home. But of all the decorations, which one is the most important one? Is it the Christmas tree we talked about last week?  Well, for many people the tree is most important, but for others it’s something else.

            There is another decoration I want to talk to you about. From God’s perspective, this is the most important decoration of them all. Do you know what it is?  I’ll give you some hints. First, it’s invisible. Second, it’s visible. And third it’s a decoration God wants us to leave up all year long. Do you know what it is?

WHAT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT DECORATION?

Imagine taking your child or grandchild to the mall to see Santa Claus and get her picture taken with him. But when you get to the front of the line you don’t see a big man with a white beard and a red suit.

Instead, you see a scrawny, leathery face with a long messy middle-eastern beard.  He’s wearing some type of brown animal skin. Later you find out its camel’s hair. He’s eating grasshoppers and honey. Meet John the Baptist.  Jesus called him the greatest prophet of all.  This morning we’re going to look at his life and listen to his message and learn about that most important decoration that God wants us to have.

Matthew chapter 3 tells us the John was living in the desert of Judea. Out by the Jordon River. His message was simple. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”  Jesus, the promised Messiah is coming.  The Savior of the nations would soon take away the sins of the world. Soon he would send his apostles and disciples into the world to share the Gospel with others.  Soon he would also come in judgment on the last day. All that, and more, is the kingdom of heaven, John says. It’s time to repent.

There’s an interesting illustration of repentance here. Matthew tells us that John the Baptist; .” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord,  make straight paths for him.’”

Hundreds of years earlier, the prophet Isaiah said that John the Baptist was coming. Look at his illustration of repentance; “make straight paths for him.” Make straight paths in your heart, and in your life.  Repentance is radical road construction which takes place inside of you. Our thoughts, our wants, our desires, our feelings, all these things tend to be crooked inside of you.  Spiritual potholes are everywhere in our soul! Our love for God is up and down; repent, John says. Make straight paths for him.

In Old Testament times, before a king would visit a town, the roads had to be repaired.  If the road had high spots, the would be chopped down and leveled off.  If the road had low spots they would be filled in. If the road was crooked, it would be straightened out. Once the road was smooth and straight it was ready for the king. John tells us to do this inside of ourselves. Your thoughts, your desires, your wants, your feelings, your love for God, all needs to be straightened out.

Of all the Christmas decorations, the most important one is an attitude of repentance.  It’s invisible because it’s a change that takes place inside of you. That’s what John was illustrating with his lifestyle. He didn’t wear name brand cloths, he wore camel’s hair, the same thing the poor would wear at that time. His grasshopper and honey diet was the diet of the poor. He lived in the desert instead of in a nice house.

Do you see the point John was making with his life?  “What I’m doing on the outside, I want you to do on the inside, get rid of your love for things, get rid of your materialism. Get rid of your pride. Be humble, someone who is focused on spiritual things, someone who is focused on worshiping God and serving others.

John uses some very strong language in our text for today. The Pharisees and Sadducees had arrived. They were very pious outwardly, but inwardly, they were proud and materialistic. John calls them a brood of vipers, and tells them to produce fruits of repentance.

The Pharisees and Sadducees claimed to be humble and spiritual, but everything they said and did showed they were proud and materialistic.  John compares them to a tree and says that the axe is already at the root of the trees and every tree that does not produce fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

He condemned the Pharisees and Sadducees because they wouldn’t change. They would not repent. They would say and do things to make them look pious and spiritual. But there wasn’t any real change in their hearts and live. They were proud and materialistic and they liked it that way.

 You and I struggle with that too. It’s easy to act humble and spiritual.  It’s easy to frown when people talk about pride and materialism. It’s easy to come to church and smile and shake a few hands. But let me ask you, what kind of religion are you looking for?

Do you realize most people are looking for a feel-good religion, one that makes them feel good about themselves. How many times have you heard people say; “Oh, I love that TV show, it makes me feel so good,” referring to some pseudo-Christian TV show.  They like it because it makes them feel good.  But, is that what it’s all about?

The answer is NO! That’s not what Christianity or John the Baptist are all about. John isn’t standing out in the desert telling people to smile because God loves you the way you are so everyone can go home feeling good about themselves.

No! God is telling people to change, stop being yourself, repent, be different from how you normally are. Of course, we don’t like to hear that, do we? No! Admit it or not we’re the Sadducees and Pharisees that John condemns in the desert, people who act pious and religious.  Yet, deep down inside, we like being proud and materialistic, and that’s what we want to be like. But in these verses John’s condemning us and warning that God’s wrath is coming our way.

However, we don’t need to be afraid. By the power of the Holy Spirit we can do what these people did, repent.  Verse 6 says;  6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. They confessed their pride, their materialism and they were forgiven by God in their baptisms just like you and I confess our sins and receive God’s forgiveness. God forgives all our sins, including pride, materialism and slowness to repent.

God forgives us because of the One who came after John the Baptist. We read; . But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.   Even though this coming one was very powerful he would be very humble. Instead of being materialistic he would be spiritual. The coming One would produce more fruit than anyone who ever lived. He allowed himself to be cut down and thrown into the fire, even though he had done nothing wrong.

This man was Jesus Christ, a true human being yet at the same time true God. He lived perfectly for you. He was cut down and thrown into the fire, crucified on the cross, to take away all our sins. On the 3rd day he was raised from the dead, and just as John baptized people for the forgiveness of sins, so Jesus has baptized you.  Perhaps it was through your pastor, or someone else, but when it happened it really was Jesus baptizing you, forgiving you, washing away your sins.

When you walk out of here today, you can walk out of here with the same comfort the people in the wilderness had. They walked away knowing their sins were forgiven. They walked away empowered to make changes in their lives, changes that glorified God.

You have the exact same comfort these people had, perhaps even more, because you know that Jesus has taken away your sins. And like those people you have been given strength to make real changes in your life, to straighten out what’s in your heart and to show it with your life.

Several years ago newspapers carried the story of Al Johnson, a man from Kansas who repented, who came to faith in Christ. What made this story so remarkable was not his conversion, but the fact that as a result of his newfound faith in Jesus, he confessed to a bank robbery he had committed when he was 19 years old. Because the statute of limitations had run out he couldn’t be prosecuted for the offense.  But, because of his complete and total change of heart, he not only confessed to the crime, but he voluntarily repaid all the stolen money! That’s repentance – radical reconstruction of the heart.

Of all the decorations, you have, this is the most important one. It’s invisible, because it first takes place in your heart where the Holy Spirit changes you through the Word and Baptism. It’s visible because you are given the strength to show repentance in your life, just like the bank robber. And, unlike other Christmas decorations, repentance is something that you and I leave up all year round. Amen

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